TemperanceTales: I do not own Once Upon a Time in anyway shape or form and I give full credit to the creators. If you don't like OC I warn you this story has an OC and will not necessarily go in the order that the actual show goes. Enjoy.

Chapter One: Meeting in the Autumn Breezes.

November for Storybrooke meant the Thanksgiving Festival was coming. It was that day in fact and Henry was sitting on the bench alone. He had his book in his lap, watching people bustle about the stands for the harvests. He gave a little grimace and looked back down at his book. He didn't really get along with too many of the other students. It wasn't necessarily that they didn't like him, it was just the fact he was the mayor's kid. He didn't blame them; his mom wasn't exactly the nicest person in the world. In fact, she was as far from nice as you could get. Turning the page, he stared down at the picture on the next page.

Suddenly, the wind kicked up and sent the pages flipping about. In his attempt to grab the story book, he sent his bag to the ground spilling the contents. Groaning, he closed the book and bent down to pick up the fallen objects. He was putting the notebooks back into the bag when he heard a light soft voice.

"Here."

Henry looked up to see a girl he had never met before. Her hair was a chestnut brown with baby blue eyes. In her hand she was holding his flashlight out patiently waiting for him to take it. He did just that and said, "Thanks."

"No problem," she said, helping him put things back into his bag. Zipping the bag shut, Henry stood up and so did she. He smiled and said, "I've never seen you around here before."

"I've been around," she said, shifting a basket that had been on her other arm. Now that he wasn't preoccupied, he got a better look at her. She was about his height, not too much shorter. Dressed in sweatshirt, scarf, and jeans she didn't seem all that out of the ordinary. He then stopped his observing and asked, "What's your name?"

"Autumn," she said, sincerely, "What's yours?"

"Henry," he said before peering down at her basket, "What's in there?"

"Food from my garden," Autumn said, "This year I've got a bunch of fruit to give to Granny. Wanna come?"

"Sure," Henry said, and he turned to stick his book into his bag. He was just zippering his bag when she asked, "What's that book you were reading?"

"It's a book of all fairytales," Henry said, putting the bag onto his back, "You know, like Snow White, Cinderella-."

"Red riding hood, Jiminy Cricket," Autumn interrupted with a smile, "Yes I know them. I think I have a similar book."

"Cool, my teacher Miss. Blanchard gave it to me," Henry grinned as they walked down the busy sidewalk, "How come I've never seen you at school?"

"Oh I don't go to school," Autumn said, shifting the basket again, "Even though I do know some people from the school."

"Oh," Henry said surprised, "Where do you live?"

"You know the Stables?" Autumn said and Henry nodded, "I live out in the woods beyond that."

"That's a bit of a walk to town, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but I don't mind it," Autumn shrugged. They stopped at the corner and waited for the street to be clear, "So your mom is the mayor, isn't she?"

A sense of nervousness came over him but he said, "Yeah, she is. Adoptive mother actually."

Autumn nodded and said, "It must be cool."

"Not really," Henry mumbled, "There are a lot of people that don't like her so it gets…"

"Lonely?" Autumn said before going out into the street, "That stinks."

"Yeah," Henry said and Autumn said, "Well I like you, even if your mom isn't as nice."

Henry gave a weak smile before saying, "Thanks."

They entered the diner and Granny was standing behind the counter. She glanced and said, "Ah Autumn! Almost thought you weren't coming. Mr. Gold came looking for you today."

"Sorry, I had some things to take care of," Autumn said, putting the basket on one of the empty tables. She pulled out bags from it and turned to give it. Granny exchanged it with a roll of money and said, "Here, now hurry off and find Mr. Gold, before he gets irritated."

"Kay," Autumn took it and hurried back over to Henry. She smiled and said, "Okay, just one more stop."

"You know Mr. Gold?" Henry asked as he followed Autumn out of the diner. She just nodded her head, giving no verbal answer. They continued down the street weaving in and out of the crowds. Henry watched Autumn shift the basket to her other arm with interest. He then finally asked the question that was bugging him.

"How do you know Mr. Gold?"

"Oh, I started bringing him some of my apples," Autumn said, "I met him a while back, when I was staying with Granny. Interesting really, since we never talked until the last Thanksgiving Festival."

"He doesn't scare you?"

"Hardly," Autumn said, with her carefree smile, "I mean I know why other people find him intimidating but I just don't."

They rounded the corner and Henry spotted someone down the road. Mr. Gold was walking towards the shop looking rather harassed. Autumn didn't seem to notice or at least didn't let it show. This mildly concerned him since he didn't want either of them to face Mr. Gold's wrath.

"I'd be careful," Henry said, "When he's in a bad mood, he can be a real grouch."

"Oh, it'll be fine," Autumn said, "You don't have to come in with me if you don't want to."

"No, I'll be fine," Henry said, a little forced and Autumn rewarded him with a smile. Taking his wrist, she led him across the street and over to the pawn shop. She opened the door to hear Mr. Gold's irritated voice.

"Next time, don't be late on your payment!" Mr. Gold hung up the phone and sighed. Henry gulped as the entry bell caught Gold's attention. But his business smile returned as he said, "Ah, Miss Autumn, I was wondering where you were."

"I had something to take care of this morning," Autumn said, walking forward with the basket. She pulled out a bag and said, "Here you are, Mr. Gold."

"Thank you," He also exchanged the bag for a small roll of money. She took it and asked, "How is your leg?"

"It's been alright, not as painful as it usually is this time of season," Mr. Gold said, walking over to his books. He spotted Henry and he said, "I see you've met young Mr. Henry."

"I'm glad I did, it beats walking around by myself," Autumn said, and Mr. Gold chuckled saying, "I bet it does."

Henry didn't say anything to that, but found himself looking everywhere but Gold and her. Autumn did notice this but made no comment about it. She merely finished talking with Mr. Gold and bad him farewell. Mr. Gold watched the two leave with a small smile on his face. So she had finally met Henry. It would only be a matter of time before she met the majesty herself. And then maybe he could uncover the mystery that was this child.

"So what is your favorite fairy tale?"

"Hm?" Henry looked at Autumn, who was staring at him curiously. Henry smiled and said, "Oh, I have to say Red Riding Hood."

"Yeah she's pretty cool," Autumn said grinning.

"What's yours?" Henry asked as they sat down on a bench somewhere down the road. Autumn sat next to him and said, "Mine would be Beauty and the Beast. But it's not like the other stories."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, the beast this one isn't the prince," Autumn said, "It's-."

"Rumpelstiltskin!" Henry said excited, "We do have the same book!"

"Cool!" Autumn said grinning, "So you know about the Dark Curse?"

"Yeah," Henry said, "And how the savior will come and break the curse-!"

Henry froze and almost groaned. He let that slip, and he just met her too. His belief wasn't something that he talked about a lot. Mainly because he didn't want people to think he was crazy. And now he had just told someone he had just met that. But then he heard something that even shocked him.

"Yes, she will."

Henry looked and saw the pure honesty on Autumn's face. There was no way he misheard her, she said it so clearly. The expression on her face was calm; she was waiting for him to speak. Henry almost shook as he said, "You-You believe it?"

"Yes," Autumn said, "I do. So the curse…is that why the clock doesn't move?"

"Yeah, it's why the clock never moves," Henry said, "The evil queen banished everyone here and they don't remember who they are, so they don't remember their happy endings. The only one who can stop it is the savior…but I don't know who that is yet."

"Well who is the evil queen?" Autumn asked and he scowled.

"The Mayor is the Evil Queen," Henry said, almost angrily, "She really lives up to her reputation even here."

"Ouch," Autumn said, wincing, "That sucks."

"Yeah," Henry said, "It's kinda the reason I don't really talk to others…"

Autumn watched Henry and said, "Well, you can always talk to me. What she does isn't your fault."

"Henry!"

Henry looked over to see his 'mother' crossing the street. He just looked at her until she made it over saying, "Where have you been? I've been looking for you everywhere!"

"I've been hanging out with my new friend," Henry said, looking at her with a smile.

"Oh?" Regina looked at the girl next to her and said, "What's your name?"

"Autumn," She said, politely.

"Well Autumn, it is a pleasure to meet you," Regina said with that ever so fake smile. She then looked at Henry and said, "Well, come along Henry. You can talk to your friend at school tomorrow."

Autumn looked at Henry, who let out a heavy sigh.

"Alright," Henry said, "Can I say goodbye first?"

"Very well, I will be over in the shop. Wait for me here," Regina said and looked at Autumn with that fake smile of hers, "It was very nice to meet you Autumn."

Autumn smiled, until Regina walked away that is. She looked at Henry and said, "Does she smile like that a lot?"

"Yeah," Henry said, glumly.

"I'm sorry," Autumn said, "But hey, thanks for not telling."

"Huh?"

"That I don't go to the school," Autumn said, with a weak smile and Henry said, "It's okay. It's not her business anyway."

"So," Autumn said, as she stood up, "I could meet you at the school tomorrow."

"Cool," Henry grinned, "We can talk more about it then."

"Sure," Autumn said with a smile. Taking her basket, she hurried off down the street and out of sight. Henry smiled before glancing back towards the shop Regina had disappeared into. He wondered what they were talking about.

"Gold."

"Madam Mayor," Mr. Gold said as he shut the book he was examining, "Do what do I owe the pleasure?"

"It's about that little girl that comes around your shop," Regina said, tapping the desk, "Autumn."

"Ah yes," Gold said, "Young Miss Autumn. Quite the little dear, very charming."

"She's seemed to have taken a liking to my son," Regina said, "And I must say I have never seen her before."

"Well, you can't possibly know everyone in Storybrooke, dearie. Besides, she's harmless. In fact you might like her, she's a fellow gardener," Mr. Gold said, putting the book back on the shelf behind him. She said, "She's a gardener? Clearly not very well known."

"Well I would assume not, she's just a child," Mr. Gold said as Regina winced at her own ridiculous comment, "You know, if your concerned about her being a bad influence on Henry you can always find out about her the old fashion way."

"Oh?" Regina asked.

"Getting to know her," Mr. Gold said, "Honestly, I think you might be getting a little too worried over a child."

"Oh, I'm not that worried," Regina said, with a light scoff, "I'm just curious on who is hanging around my son."

"I'm sure," Mr. Gold said, before turning away. Regina then said, crossing her arms, "You seemed to think fondly of her. How did you two ever meet?"

"I meet her at Granny's one night, collecting rent. However, we didn't really get to know one another until last festival," Mr. Gold said, "She was giving away some of her apples to people as part of the 'giving' theme they had last year. I originally told her that I had no interest in charity but she told me I might as well take them since she wasn't leaving my shop with them. Needless to say, I liked the taste of the apples and we've been doing business ever since."

"Bossing you around," Regina said with a smirk, "I like this child already."

Regina snatched the purse she had rested on the desk and smiled tightly saying, "Have a good day Mr. Gold."

"Have a good day," Mr. Gold said, not even bothering to look at her as she left the shop. This was good because he had a little smirk of his own.

S.C.

"So, I think I know who the savior might be."

Autumn looked at Henry, leaning up against the tree. She was wearing a thick grey sweatshirt with jeans and sneakers. The school yard was filled with students as they ran around playing. It had been a week or so since she met Henry and they had been discussing the book and the dark curse like crazy. She said, "Who?"

"…My biological mom," Henry said, pulling out his book and opening it. Autumn looked at him curiously. He hadn't really mentioned knowing about his real mom before. There was a spare piece of paper inside with a picture of a woman with blonde hair. She stared at the picture and then she read the name.

"Emma Swan," Autumn repeated, "You think she's the savior? Your biological mother?"

"It would explain why I'm stuck here," Henry said, "And look! She even has the same name as Snow Whites daughter and she's the same age the savior would be."

"Well yeah, but a lot of people have the name Emma," Autumn said with a frown, "What makes you sure that it's her?"

"Well," Henry said, "I read an article. She was found outside of this town abandoned. She doesn't have any parents that they were able to find."

"Hmm," Autumn said, "That would make her likely candidate. So let's say she is the savior, how are you going to get her here?"

"Oh, I'm working on that," Henry said, shutting the book, "So, why don't you come to school?"

"I just don't," Autumn shrugged, the hood covering her head shifting, "I can read and things like that so why do I need to?"

"Fair enough I guess," Henry said, not pressing it further, "It would just be nice if we were in the same class so we can spend more time together."

"Autumn!"

Autumn glanced over and saw Paige run over to her. Henry seemed to be in deep thought as Autumn said, "Hey Paige, how are you?"

"I'm good," Paige said, "It's been a while since I've seen you. Hi Henry."

"Hi," Henry said, fiddling with his book. Autumn then asked, "You two know each other?"

"We're in the same class," Henry said, finally snapping out of his deep revere and Paige said, "Yeah, so Autumn, are you coming to stay the night tonight?"

"Yeah," Autumn said with her usual smile. Paige smiled with a mixture of happiness and relief, "Good, so how is Excalibur doing?"

"Excalibur?" Henry asked and Paige said with a smile, "Her knight in shining armor."

"He's fine," Autumn said and the bell rang loudly. Henry groaned and Paige said, "So…I'll see you after school?"

"Yeah," Autumn said as she watched Henry stand up. She bad them farewell as they hurried back into the school. Autumn let out a sigh before walking away. Today was one of those days she really didn't have much to do. Not that she particularly minded, it just left her a little bored. But it was alright, she liked this town. And nothing would take her away from here. She would make sure of it.

"Lisie!" The man said, calling over the windy weather. The home was large in a field in the country. He was tall and had a kind looking face. His eyes were searching the fields as he called the name again. He then smiled as he saw a young child running towards him with a bright smile. Walking off the porch, he scooped up the girl and said, "Hey Lisie girl, what were you up to?"

"I found something in the forest," Lisie said as the man went into the house. Lisie then said excitedly, "I found a rabbit! A really big one too!"

"Oh? A really big one?" he said, smiling as he took her into a rather cozy looking living room. Putting her down on the couch, he said, "Was it as big as you?"

"Yeah!" she said, eagerly, "It was really, really big!"

He laughed and said, "Alright, rabbit's aside Lisie girl, I have a meeting to attend upstairs. Can you promise me that you won't go chasing after any rabbits?"

"I promise!" she said, making a cross of her heart and he grinned saying, "Alright, I'll be back."

He stood up and went out into the hallway where another man said, "Finally ready?"

"Ah, come on August. You haven't been waiting that long."