The next day, Mary Margaret was in her loft and she sat on her sofa eating her breakfast, looking out then noticed the clock working.
In Granny's Bed & Breakfast, Alana opened the window in her room and turned to Emma who walked up to her and they looked out the window.
"Hey, I know you this a thousand times, you sure you're okay with me keeping the car?" Emma asked.
Alana looked at the yellow bug, "Yeah... I don't want anything from that man," Alana said as she walked from the window and Emma watched her.
In the street, Archie was walking his dalmatian, passing Mr Gold and Ruby was putting out the sign for Granny's Diner. Amy walked up to Ruby and the two talked, linking arms as they walked into the diner together.
In the Mayor's House, Regina was reading Henry's spellbook that she had taken from his room the night before, and she noticed that the end pages had been torn out.
Regina walked into Henry's room with the storybook and held the book up, showing the torn edges, "The missing pages, where are they?" Regina asked.
"It's an old book. Stuff's missing. Why do you care?" Henry asked as he collected his backpack for school.
"I care because you think I'm some evil queen," Regina made him look at her, "And that hurts me, Henry. I'm your mother," Regina said.
"No, you're not," Henry said.
"Well, then who is? That woman you brought here? I don't like what she, her sister, and this book are doing to you. Thankfully, both are no longer an issue," The clock tower chimed and Regina turned to it, seeing it ticking away, "What?" Regina said and Henry left while she was distracted.
Regina headed to the town square and Archie was out walking his dog, "Hey, how about that?" Archie looked at the clock face, "Guess those rusty ol' innards finally straightened themselves out, huh?" Archie said to her as he passed her.
Regina noticed Emma's car parked on the side of the road, "Yes, how about that, indeed," Regina said.
Regina knocked on the door of the twins' room and Alana answered to see Regina holding a basket of apples.
"Did you know the Honeycrisp tree is the most vigorous and hearty of all apple trees? It can survive temperatures as low as forty below and keep growing. It can weather any storm," Regina picked up an apple from the basket as Emma walked over after hearing Regina's voice, "I have one that I've tended to since I was a little girl. And to this day, I have yet to taste anything more delicious than the fruit it offers," Regina said and she handed Alana an apple.
"Thanks," Alana said as she looked at the apple.
Regina handed the basket to Emma, "I'm sure you'll both enjoy them on your drive home," Regina said.
"Actually, we're going to stay a while," Alana said.
"I'm not sure that's such a good idea. Henry has enough issues. He doesn't need you confusing him," Regina said.
"All due respect, Madam Mayor, the fact that you have now threatened me twice in the last twelve hours makes us both want to stay more," Alana said.
"Since when were apples a threat?" Regina questioned.
"We can read between the lines. Sorry. We just want to make sure Henry's okay," Emma said.
"He's fine, dears. Any problems he has are being taken care of," Regina said.
"What does that mean?" Alana asked.
"It means I have him in therapy. It's all under control. Take my advice, Miss Swan's. Only one of us knows what's best for Henry," Regina said.
"Yeah, I'm starting to think you're right about that," Alana said.
"It's time for the two of you to go," Regina said.
"Or what?" Emma asked.
"Don't underestimate me, Miss Swan's. You both have no idea what I'm capable of," Regina said.
Flashback
At Snow White and Prince Charming's wedding, the Evil Queen was looking at them, declaring war on them.
"I shall destroy your happiness, if it is the last thing I do," The Evil Queen said and she turned around and started to head for the door.
"Hey!" Prince Charming yelled.
The Evil Queen turned around and Prince Charming threw his sword at her, but she dissipated before it hit her. The Evil Queen appeared in another castle, in her chambers, the sword also appeared and she turned to see it pierced through a wall.
A man, her father, Henry Senior, walked in holding a tray with drinks on it, "Would you like something to drink?" He asked her.
The Evil Queen looked at him, "Do I look like I need a drink?" She asked.
"I was only trying to help," Henry Senior said as he handed her a drink.
The Evil Queen took the drink, "Thank you," She said.
The mirror on the wall behind them turned blue and a face appeared, "No, that was an awfully big threat," The Evil Queen turned to her magic mirror, "Destroy everyone's happiness?" The Evil Queen approached her mirror, "How do you plan on accomplishing that?" Magic Mirror asked.
"The Dark Curse," Regina said with a smirk as she sipped her drink.
"Are you sure, Your Majesty?" Henry Senior asked.
"But you said you'd never use it," Magic Mirror said.
"You made a deal when you gave away that curse," Henry Senior said.
"You traded it away," Magic Mirror said.
"She won't be happy to see you," Henry Senior said.
"Since when do I care about anyone else's happiness but mine?" The Evil Queen looked at her father, "Prepare the carriage. We're going to the forbidden fortress," The Evil Queen said.
The Evil Queen was sat in a different castle, by a fire beside Maleficent.
"How are you, dear?" Maleficent asked.
"I'm doing fine," The Evil Queen said.
"Are you? If it were me, I'd be simply tortured watching that flake of Snow so happy. Weren't you about the same age when you were to be married? Before she ruined it all," The Evil Queen's gaze fell on the fire, "Yes, you were," Maleficent said.
"Yes, it was about the same age you were when that Sleeping Beauty got the best of you," The Evil Queen looked at her, "My dear Maleficent," The Evil Queen said.
"I soldiered on, as you will too. Hopefully," Maleficent said.
"Enough games. You know why I'm here. I need my curse back," The Evil Queen said.
"It's not yours anymore. A deal's a deal. I traded yo my sleeping curse," Maleficent said.
"Which failed. Undone by a simple kiss. Now please, return what's mine," The Evil Queen said.
"The Dark Curse? Really? You must know that not even its unholy power can bring your loved one back from the dead. Have you considered a pet? They can be quite comforting," Maleficent said as she petted her pet unicorn.
"The only comfort for me is Snow White's suffering," The Evil Queen said.
"Well, it's her wedding night. I doubt she's suffering right now," Maleficent said as she looked back to the Evil Queen.
"I need that curse. I know you keep it hidden in the orb above your staff," The Evil Queen said.
Maleficent gently brushed her finger along the orb of her staff, "Hidden for the good of all, old friend. Whoever created that monstrosity, makes the two of us look positively..." She looked at the Queen, "Moral. Who did give it to you?" Maleficent asked.
"Where I got it is none of your concern. Hand it back," The Evil Queen said as she stood up, holding her hand out to the fireplace to fight for the curse.
"Must we do this?" Maleficent asked as she stood up.
"Alas, we must," The Evil Queen said.
The Evil Queen used her magic to control the fire in the fireplace and aimed it at Maleficent, but she deflected it. The Evil Queen summoned multiple weapons in the room and aim them at Maleficent's pet unicorn.
"No!" Maleficent yelled.
Maleficent jumped in front of her pet and deflected the Queen's attack. While Maleficent was distracted, the Queen caused the chandelier to fall on top of Maleficent, trapping her underneath and the Queen picked up Maleficent's staff.
"Love is weakness, Maleficent. I thought you knew that?" The Evil Queen said.
"If you're going to kill me, kill me!" Maleficent said.
The Evil Queen looked at her, "Why would I do that? You're my only friend," The Evil Queen said.
The Evil Queen shattered the orb on the staff and took the Dark Curse scroll.
"Don't do this. This... Curse. There are lines even we shouldn't cross. All power comes with a price. Enacting it will take a terrible toll. It will leave an emptiness inside you. A void you will be able to fill," Maleficent said.
"So be it," The Evil Queen said.
The Evil Queen, along with multiple other characters, standing at the end of a forest around a fire and various ingredients were being thrown into the fire.
"Who among us is tired of losing? That's why I called you here. To put an end to our misery. Today, we claim victory and move to a new, better realm. A place we can finally win," The Evil Queen said.
"And we'll be happy?" The Blind Witch asked.
"I guarantee it. But first, I need something from you. A lock of hair from those with the darkest souls. You must trust me. Because if you don't, there are other ways," The Evil Queen said.
The trees around them started to grow taller until the group was completely surrounded. The people in the group relent, and each gave a lock of their hair.
"A wise decision. All that remains is the final ingredient," The Evil Queen turned to her father who was holding a box and she removes the heart from the box before turning to the first, "The prized heart from my childhood steed. The glorious beast whose passing will fuel our victory. Let my wrath be unleashed," The Evil Queen said as she threw the heart into the fire.
A large pillar of smoke appeared out of the fire briefly before it disappeared. Laughter was heard in the background and the Queen turned to see the Gnome laughing, "Yeah, you really unleashed something, there," Gnome said and the Evil Queen used her magic to turn him to stone.
End of Flashback
The gnome that the Evil Queen turned to stone was in Regina's garden as she picked apples. A man, Sidney, walked up behind holding a newspaper, he held it up with Alana and Emma on the front page.
"The Mirror strikes again!" Sidney said.
Regina turned to him and took it, "You're late," Regina said and she looked at the newspaper.
"Sorry. I wanted to bring you the latest edition. I assure you it's one of my better hatchet jobs," Sidney said.
Regina shook her head, "That's not what I asked for. What'd you find out about them?" Regina asked as she turned to him.
"Well, the truth be told, there wasn't much. They spent a lot of time in foster homes. Th...They got into some trouble when they were kids, ah, but the details are locked up pretty tight. Since then, they're clean. Bounced around all over. The only thing I really learned was that they don't like to sit still," Sidney told her.
"Well, that appears to have changed," Regina said.
"D...Did you know that, um, Alana had Henry while they were in Phoenix? Huh, how'd he wind up here in Maine?" Sidney asked.
"So, if I'm understanding you correctly, you found nothing of value. Which means you have value, Sidney," Regina stepped up to him, "Do you know what I do with things that hold no value to me? I throw them away," Regina threatened him.
"I...I'll keep looking," Sidney said.
At Granny's diner, Alana and Emma were reading the newspaper as they held an apple each.
Amy looked at the front page of the newspaper, "So, it seems you both met the welcoming committee," Alana and Emma turned to her, "Sidney... The reporter of the bit about the two of you... He, uh, he's a bit of a..." Amy sighed, "He loves a hatchet job," Amy said.
"We guessed..." Alana said.
"Oh, I'm Amy Collins, nice to meet you both," Amy said.
"We would introduce ourselves, but... Seems you already know us thanks to this," Emma said.
"Sidney is harmless... Unless he's paid to dig... He can make something small, into something big but it's never his own wishes..." Amy said.
"We gathered..." Alana said.
"Is anything he writes true?" Emma asked.
"We hardly know, this is a quiet town and hardly anything surprising or new comes up and then... You two arrived...Must've stirred up someone," Amy said.
"Regina... I'm Henry's birth mother," Alana said.
"That's the first time you said it," Emma said.
"I can't deny it," Alana said.
"He must be happy to have you back in his life," Amy said.
"We're just here a week... Make sure he's okay," Alana said.
"That's the mother in you..." Alana looked at her shocked, "Oh, sorry... Me and my big mouth... Uh... If you ever need anything like directions or anything, I'm usually here on weekdays and evening and weekends I help out in the hospital," Amy said.
"Amy Collins, right?" Amy nodded, "We'll keep that in mind, thanks," Alana said.
"You're welcome... I should get back to work," Amy said as she backed away and turned heading to the kitchen.
Ruby was behind the counter, walked to the twins, and served them two cinnamon cocoa's, "Here you go," Ruby said.
Alana and Emma looked confused, "Thank you, but we did not order this," Emma said.
"Yeah, I know. You two have an admirer," Ruby said and walked away.
Emma and Alana looked at each other confused before turned and saw Graham in a booth. Emma picked up the cups and walked over, "Em," Alana said and sighed before followed her older sister.
Emma placed the cups in front of him and Graham looked up at them, "Ah, so you both decided to stay," Graham said.
"Observant. Important for a cop," Alana said.
"It's good news for our tourist business, it's bad for our local signage," Alana and Emma looked at him unimpressed, "It's... It's a joke," Graham looked at Alana, "It's because you ran over our sign," Graham said.
"Looks, the cocoa was a nice gesture and I am impressed that you guessed that we like cinnamon on our chocolate because most people don't," Alana said.
"But," Emma interrupted before Alana began to ramble, "We're not here to flirt. So thank you, but no thank you," Emma said.
"I didn't send them," Graham said.
Henry was sat in the booth next to Graham and turned to them, "I did," He got out of the booth and looked at Alana as the twins and Graham looked at him, "I like cinnamon, too," Henry said.
"Don't you have school?" Alana asked.
"Duh. I'm ten. Walk me," Henry said with a smile and the twins looked at each other.
Alana, Henry, and Emma were walking down the street, Henry was between them.
"So, what's the deal with you and your mom?" Alana asked.
"It's not about us, it's about her curse. We have to break it," Emma and Alana looked at each other before turning to watch where they were going, "Luckily, I have a plan. Step one; Identification. I call it Operation Cobra," Henry said.
"Cobra? That has nothing to do with fairy tales," Emma said.
"Exactly. It's a code name to threw the Queen off the trail," Henry said.
"So, everyone here is a fairy tale character, they just don't know it?" Alana questioned.
"That's the curse. Time's been frozen, until you two got here," Alana was about to take a bite out of her apple, "Hey!" She looked at him, "Where'd you get that?" Henry asked.
"Your mom," Emma said.
"Don't eat that!" Henry said as he took the apple and threw it over his shoulder.
"Okay? Don't eat yours Em," Emma rolled her eyes and threw hers in a bin as they passed on, "Alright. What about their pasts?" Alana asked Heney.
"They don't know. It's a haze to them. Ask anyone anything and you'll both see," Henry said.
"So, for decades, people have been walking around in a haze, not ageing, with screwed up memories, stuck in a cursed town that kept them oblivious?" Alana questioned.
"I knew you'd get it. That's why we need the two of us. You're the only ones who can stop her curse," Henry said.
"Because we're the daughters of Snow White and Prince Charming?" Emma asked.
"Yes. And right now, we have the advantage. My mom doesn't know that," He took the end pages of the storybook out of his bag, "See? Your mom is Snow White," Henry said.
"Kid..." Alana said.
"I know the hero never believes at first. If they did, it wouldn't be a very good story. If you both need proof, take them," He handed them out to Alana, "Read them. But whatever you two do, don't let her see these pages. They're dangerous," Alana took the pages, "If she finds out who you are, then it would be bad," The school bell rang and Henry backed away, "I got to go. But I'll find you two later and we can get started. I knew you'd believe me!" Henry called out as he turned around to head into school.
"We never said we did," Emma said.
Henry turned back to them, "Why else you two be here?" Henry asked before he ran into the school.
Mary Margaret saw the twins and approached them, "It's got to see his smile back," Mary Margaret said.
"We didn't do anything," Alana said as they looked at her.
"You both stayed. Especially you. So, does the Mayor know you're both still here?" Mary Margaret asked.
"Oh, she knows. What is her deal? She's not a great people person. How did she get elected?" Emma asked.
"She's been Mayor for as long as I can remember," Alana and Emma noticed her words but they brushed it off, "No one's ever been brave enough to run against her. She inspires quite a bit of, well, fear. I'm afraid I only made that worse by giving Henry that book. Now he thinks she's the Evil Queen," Mary Margaret said.
"Who does he think you are?" Alana asked.
"Oh, it's silly," Mary Margaret said.
"We just got five minutes of silly. Lay it on us," Emma said.
"Snow White," Mary Margaret said and the twins looked at her surprised, Henry believes that Mary Margaret was their mother.
Mary Margaret looked at them and smiled, "Who does he think you two are?" She asked them.
"We're not in the book," Emma said.
Mary Margaret turned to head into the school, "Hey, can I ask you a favour?" Mary Margaret looked at her, "Regina mentioned the kid's in therapy. Do you know where I could find the doctor?" Alana asked.
Archie was in his office, there was a knock on the door and he opened it to see Alana and Emma.
"Hey," The twins said.
"Emma and Alana Swan," He let them into his office, "I was, uh, just reading about you. Let me guess, you're here for a little help with post-traumatic stress?" Alana looked at him, "That diagnosis was free, by the way," Archie said.
"Uh, no, believe it or not, we're had worse done to us," Emma said.
"We're... I'm... We're..." Alana exhaled sharply, "We're here about Henry," Alana said.
"I'm sorry. I... I really shouldn't..." Archie said.
"I know, I'm sorry. Just tell me something," Alana sat down, "This fairy tale obsession, what is causing it? I mean, he thinks everyone is a character in his book. That's... Crazy," Alana said.
Archie sat down opposite her as Emma stood by the window, "I...I hope you don't talk that way in front of him. The word crazy is, um, quite damaging," Alana shook her head, "These stories... They're his language. He has no idea how to express complex emotion, so he's translating as best he can. This is how he communicates when he's using this book to help deal with his problems," Archie said.
Emma turned to them and walked over to Alana, perched herself on the arch of the couch, "But he got the book a month ago," Emma said.
"Has he been seeing you longer than that?" Alana asked.
"Um, yes, he has," Archie said.
"So it's Regina, isn't it?" Alana said.
"Uh, his mother is, uh, a very complicated woman. And, uh, over the years, her attempts to try and bring Henry close to her only backfired," Archie walked over to his file cabinet and brought out Henry's file, "Why don't you both take a look at the file?" He handed it out to Alana, "Um, see what I mean," Archie said.
Alana stood up and took it, "Why are you doing this?" Alana asked.
"We talked about you a lot. And you're very important to him," Archie glanced at Emma, "Both of you are," Archie said.
"Thank you," Alana said and Emma rubbed her sister's back.
"Just, uh, see that I get it back, okay? And Miss Swan's," The twins looked at him, "Just for the sake of the boy, be careful how you both handle his belief system. Destroying his imagination would be... Be devastating," Archie said.
Alana nodded and she and Emma left his office. When the door shut, Archie walked over to the phone and he dialled a number, "You were right. They were just here," Archie said.
"Did they take the file?" Regina asked over the phone.
"Yes. H-How did you know that they were going to come here?" Archie asked.
Because I'm the one who gave them the idea," Regina said.
Alana and Emma were in Granny's Bed and Breakfast, they had pushed their beds together, they were sat together looking through Henry's file. There was a knock on the door, Emma walked over, opened the door and saw Graham there.
"Hey there. If you're concerned about the 'do not disturb' signs, don't worry we've left them alone," Emma said.
"Actually, I'm here about Dr Archibald Hopper. He mentioned you both got into a bit of row with him earlier? Is your sister here?" Graham said.
Alana walked over, "No, we didn't and yes, I'm here," Alana said as Emma looked shocked.
"I was shocked too. And given both of yours shy, delicate sensibilities... He says you both demanded to see Henry's files and when he refused, you both came back and stole them," Graham said.
"He gave them to me... Have you actually checked the CCTV?" Alana asked.
"Alas, he's telling a different tale and no, because he doesn't have it," Graham said.
"Not even outside his office? We only went once," Emma asked.
"May I check your room? Or, must I get a search warrant?" Graham asked.
Emma and Alana backed up, letting him into their room, there were papers over their beds from Henry's files, "That what you looking for?" Alana asked.
"Well, you've both very accommodating," Graham said.
"Because we have nothing to hide," Alana said.
"I'm afraid, Miss Swan, you're under arrest, again," Graham said and he went up behind Alana handcuffing me.
"Just her?" Emma asked.
"And so are you, Miss Swan," Graham said as he handcuffed Emma.
"You know we're being set up, don't you?" Alana said.
Graham looked at her, "And whom, may I ask, is setting you up?" Graham asked.