Once upon a time, in a land not so far away, there was a young boy named Henry.

Henry was a good little boy, and very smart for his age. He lived in a town named Storybrooke with the Evil Queen, who had adopted him when he was a baby. He did not know then that his adopted mother was the Evil Queen, of course. He was as happy as a boy could expect to be, and the Evil Queen made sure that all of his wants and needs were taken care of.

On his tenth birthday, his teacher gave him an old storybook. Privately he thought that he was too big now for fairy tales, but he was a good boy so he thanked Ms. Blanchard and ran home so he could open his other presents.

That night, surrounded by the books and games and – sigh - new clothes his mother had given him, he opened the book and was surprised to see that it was blank. Flipping through the pages he realized that all of them were blank. Deciding that he would ask Ms. Blanchard about the book at school the next day, Henry turned off his light and settled into bed. As he fell asleep, he didn't notice as the book lightly began to glow.

The next morning, after eating breakfast far too quickly for his mother's liking, Henry grabbed the book and shoved it into his bag on his way to school. He brought it out as soon as he got there, intending to show it to Ms. Blanchard, when it fell open on his desk and he saw that it was full of stories. He was shocked. He was sure it had been empty last night, but there was no way the pictures could just have appeared overnight! Pale and shaken, Henry returned the book to his bag and tried to concentrate on school. He would have to look at the book more this evening.

After several days, Henry had read all the stories in the book several times over. They weren't like any fairy tales he'd ever heard before, and several pages seemed to have been left blank. All of the stories came together in a curse and an Evil Queen who had banished them all to Storybrooke. He wondered if someone in the town had written it, but there was no author listed. When more than a week he still didn't know how the story ended, but something kept drawing him back to this book and its mysteries. So when the book revealed that a little boy named Henry had been adopted by the Evil Queen, and that his long-lost birth mother was both Snow White's daughter and the key to breaking the curse, he began researching private locating services on the internet in his spare time.

XxXx

Henry was having a very good day. It was a Saturday and any day he didn't have school was definitely a good day. He was certain that Snow White and Prince James were starting to get their memories back, townspeople were beginning to side with Emma against the Evil Queen, and even the prospect of breaking the curse didn't seem as daunting as it usually did.

He was having such a good day, in fact, that he took advantage of his mother's long work hours to get some planning done on operation cobra. Settling into a chair with the large book in his lap, he flipped to a promising story about the Evil Queen and a dragon. The Evil Queen was asking the dragon to protect something very important to her with the rest of his treasures. There was just something about this story that tug at the back of Henry's brain. If he could just figure out what it was...

He nearly smacked himself on the forehead when it came to him. Of course! The Haunted Cave, just outside of town!

It was a old tourist attraction, or at least it would have been if Storybrooke had ever had tourists. Now it was merely an few abandoned buildings and a boarded up cave entrance. But Henry was on a roll, and he thought that the cave deserved a little exploring, even if he came up empty. And if his hunch was correct, he might find something they could use against the Evil Queen in the final battle!

Henry raided the kitchen for snacks and gathered up a rope, flashlight, screwdriver and anything else he could think of that might be useful in a trip to a cave, congratulating himself when he remembered that caves were cold and he would need his jacket. With a renewed sense of determination, Henry set out for the edge of town, grabbing his walkie-talkie so he could fill in Emma on the way there.

XxXx

Emma Swan was having a miserable day. There was so much paperwork to be filled out in the Sheriff's office that she was seriously considering setting fire to it all and locking herself up in the holding cell for a quick nap. To add insult to injury, the Mayor had been down to 'check-up' on her so often that Emma was starting to believes that she had created all of these forms just to torture her. So it was that she greeted the crackle of her radio with much more glee than usual. The speaker crackled with static and she cursed the small-town budget that was barely keeping up with her coffee addiction.

"Emma! I think I have something big...Operation Cobra..."

"Henry? Where are you, I cant hear..."

"The cave. She's hiding something in there, something important. I know we need to find it."

Emma swore carefully under her breath, not wanting Henry to hear.

"Stay where you are. I'll come meet you and we'll check it out together, okay?"

"Okay, I'll look around and see if I can find a place where we can get in. Over and out!"

"Henry, wait, don't..."
There was no answer from the other side. Henry must have turned off his radio. Dammit. She was so not in the mood to deal with fairy-tale creatures today, but she had better get her ass to that cave before Henry managed to get into something he couldn't get out of. If she didn't already know that he was her kid, there would have been no doubt after seeing the trouble he managed to find his way into. Like mother, like son. She just hoped someone at the cafe could give her directions to the damn place.

Storybrooke was a surprisingly spread out town and it took Emma a good fifteen minutes and one illegal u-turn to find the 'Haunted Cave.' Whether there was any truth in the name or not, the place gave her the creeps. She had never liked confined spaces and a tiny cave with who-knew-what inside it did not sound like her idea of a fun afternoon. Why couldn't curse-breaking and hero-ing ever happen in magic-fun-happy-land instead of a place called 'The most haunted cavern in Maine?'

With a jolt, Emma noticed that Henry was not waiting for her out front like a good boy. Nor was he on either side of the entrance, or even hiding anywhere that she could find. Which just left... Her fears were confirmed when she found that one of the boards covering the entrance to the cave had been pried loose, providing just enough room for a ten-year-old boy to slip through. "Henry!" She yelled into the cave, hoping that the boy was still near enough to hear her. However, she heard only the echo of her own voice. Trying to control the fear she felt rising in her chest, Emma grabbed onto the other boards and pulled furiously, trying to widen the entrance so she could find Henry. How strong could old, rotten two by fours be, anyway?

Strong enough, apparently, as she conceded the fight with only splinters and bloodied hands to show for her efforts. With a groan, she pulled out her cellphone and reluctantly dialed the Mayor's office. Regina was going to kill her...

XxXx

"How could you let this happen, Sheriff Swan?" Regina growled forcefully at Emma, practically running her over as she pulled up to the entrance of the cave, tires squealing and gravel flying.

"Henry called me and told me to meet him at this cave. I told him to wait, but by the time I got here he was already inside. Instead of blaming me, we need to be focusing on getting in there and getting Henry back before he gets lost or hurt!" Emma had been through quite enough today, thank you, and she was not about to let some bitch in a power suit keep her from finding her son. "Did you bring the tools."

"Of course." Regina was already opening up the trunk of her car and pulling out a crowbar, rope, jeans, and...was she stripping?

Emma whirled around, blushing furiously as the Mayor kicked off her shoes and pulled down her skirt. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Changing. Or did you think I was going after my lost son in heels?"

"But, but..." Emma was at a complete loss to describe the utter insanity of this situation.

The Mayor breezed past her in jeans, hiking boots, and a sweatshirt, somehow managing to look just as intimidating as she did in her office. "Honestly, I didn't think you were such a prude." She tossed a crowbar to Emma and looked slightly disappointed when the Sheriff caught it before it hit her in the face. "Now help me get these boards off."

Emma just glared at the Mayor and attacked to wooden planks with newfound strength. Between the two of them they were able to remove most of the wood. Regina called out Henry's name several times but received no answer. Emma was about to make a sarcastic comment about Regina's failure when she caught a shadow of worry and fear pass over the other woman's face. There was just something about the dark woman that got under Emma's skin, driving her to challenge the woman's authority at every turn. Now was not the time for their petty rivalry.

"There are two bags in my car. Get them."

Of course, it didn't mean Regina was going to make it easier on her.

Regina set down her tool, raising her hand to run through her hair. With only a moment's hesitation she pulled her cell phone from her pocket and called the newspaper editor.

"Hello, Sydney? No, I'm not fine. Henry's gone missing, and I think he's in the old cave. The Sheriff and I are going in to look for him. We can't wait, he might be lost or hurt. I need you to get the volunteer firefighters together and call up Dr. Whale. Tell them to get down here, immediately." Without waiting for an answer she hung up on him, certain that her orders would be obeyed. She turned to Emma. "I know we don't always see things the same way, Ms. Swan, but there is a boy in there who needs our help, and it would be incredibly stupid for one of us to go in alone. So please just follow me and try not to get hurt."

'She'll be lucky if I don't push her down a hole' Emma thought, but schooled her face into a mask of indifference and motioned for Regina to go in front of her.

The two women plunged into the inky darkness of the cave, sweeping the narrow path with their flashlights as they moved deeper into the earth. Emma willed herself to focus on every tiny detail in the beam of her light, any small clue that would lead them to Henry. Suddenly, she grasped at Regina's arm, stopping her in her tracks.

"Look!"

Shining up at them on the floor was a candy-bar wrapper. Feeling the first stirrings of hope, Emma swept her light even further ahead, allowing herself a small smile as she found another wrapper about ten feet ahead. "He's leaving us a trail."

Emma could feel Regina's body relax underneath her hand in relief. "When we get out of here, I'm going to let him eat as much candy as he wants. And then ground him until he's thirty!"

Emma allowed herself to share in Regina's relief, in the common love they held for the small boy. "Sounds fair to me. Let's go."

This time Emma took the lead, carefully following the trail of candy wrappers deeper into the cave, pausing every so often to call out Henry's name. How could such a small kid have traveled so far so fast?

They had been walking for nearly twenty minutes when the first pebble clattered down the flat plane of rock to roll in front of Emma's feet. She stopped up so short that Regina almost ran into her, opening her mouth to complain until Emma furiously shushed her. Straining to listen the the wet sounds around them, Emma heard an ominous shifting and groaning from above, then the sharp crack of stone giving way. She flung Regina in front of her, diving into the darkness to narrowly avoid the thousands of pounds of earth falling down around them. Something hit her head with a kaleidoscope of pain, and she spun into unconsciousness.

XxXx

"Emma...Emma, wake up."

Emma opened her eyes and immediately regretted it. She was lying on the floor of the cave with her head resting on her backpack, and Regina Mills of all people offering her a small plastic cup of water.

Gingerly she took stock of her body. Fingers and toes seemed to be all there, and in their proper places. The wound on her head had been bandaged, another surprise.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like hell. Better be careful Mayor, or I might start thinking you cared."

Regina glared at her. "Since you're acting with your usual grace and charm I'll take that as a yes. Can you stand?"

"I think so. Give me a hand." Regina looked like that was the last thing in the world she wanted to do, but obliged. "What happened?"

"There was a cave-in. I tried moving some of the rocks while you were out, but there's no way we'll be able to get back through there without risking the whole structure falling down on us. We'll have to keep going forward until we find another way out."

Emma groaned, and not just from the pain in her head. Trapped in a death cave with Regina fucking Mills. The gods must really hate her. "At least we still have our bags."

Regina shook her head. "I have mine. Yours is under several tons of rock."

"Lovely." Emma grabbed Regina's hand and started forward. Regina jerked her back.

"What exactly are you doing, Sheriff?"
"Look, Mayor. We only have one working flashlight and I probably have some sort of brain injury. I am not about to be left behind, trip, hit my head or be eaten by a cave monster, so you're just going to have to deal with a little hand-holding until we get the hell out of here." She tightened her grip around the hand in question.

"Ms. Swan, has anyone ever told you you are incredibly annoying?"

Emma grinned. "All the time."

They walked in silence, Regina leading and Emma following. The pounding in her head was getting worse, but she refused to slow down. They had to make it out of here sometime, right? She didn't even know how big this cave was. The Mayor probably did, though. She seemed to know everything else about this town. Emma suddenly stopped, causing Regina to stumble slightly.

"You really need to stop doing that."

"Wait...do you feel that?"

"What?"

"The air. It's moving." In the dim light Emma could see Regina staring at her uncomprehendingly. "It's moving against us, so it must be coming from somewhere. There has to be an opening ahead!"

The Mayor's eyes widened slightly in relief, and she quickened their pace. She would get out of here, she would find Henry, and she would get rid of the owner of the annoyingly clammy hand clasping her own!

Finally they saw it, a pinprick of light in the distance that got larger with every step. The women were practically running at this point, desperate to get out of the damp, dead blackness of the cave. The opening was small, really just a hole in the ground, but wide enough that they could crawl through without too much trouble. Regina emerged first, dropping Emma's hand the second her grip weakened, pushing bushes and overgrowth out of the way with perhaps a bit more force than was strictly necessary. She squinted in the bright sunlight, letting its warmth wash over her, hearing Emma sit down heavily on the ground. As their eyes adjusted to the light, Emma let out a gasp and nearly scrambled back down into the cave. Far above them, a dragon screeched and blew fire, wheeling in midair to disappear to the north.

Regina turned to the Sheriff, emotions playing across her face too quickly for Emma to process them. She gestured expansively to the forest.

"Welcome to the land of fairy tales, Ms. Swan."

XxXx

Henry ran his hands over walls made of ice. Even though the whole room was frozen and his breath came in puffs, he didn't feel cold.

He had explored a little bit of the cave while waiting for Emma, leaving a trail of candy wrappers so he could find his way out if he got lost. After a few minutes, he had given up his search and decided it would be a much better idea to wait outside where it was warm and dry. When he had stepped out from the mouth of the cave, a brilliant white light had blinded him, and by the time he could see again, he was here. Wherever here was.

With nothing better to do, Henry sat down on the floor, pulled his book from his bag, and began to read.