Prologue

Emma didn't realize she was crying until the teardrops began to fall onto the letter in her hands. The ink began to run, and Emma hastily threw the missive aside. It was all she had left of him; there was no way she was going to let it be ruined.

The Jolly Roger lurched slightly; they must have hit an air current. Emma sat heavily on her bunk, pulled up her knees, buried her head in her hands and wept. How had it come to this? She had promised they would ALL leave the island, yet David and Mary Margaret had forced her onto the ship without him.

"There's nothing we can do, honey," Mary Margaret had said as she wrapped her in a hug. "He's already gone; that's the only way Henry could have been returned to us."

"No!" Emma had shouted, struggling against her mother's arms. "He can't be dead! We found a way to save Henry, we can find a way to save him as well!"

"Emma," David stepped in and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, "Your mother's right. It's too late. It's been several hours since Pan made the switch. His body is cold by now. There's nothing we can do."

"No!" Emma repeated. She heard the panic in her voice and knew she was near hysterics. She tried to skirt her parents and run toward the dense forest, but David wrapped her in a hug from which she couldn't break free.

"Listen to me Emma!" David barked, "We have to leave NOW! The hour Pan gave us is nearly up. If we aren't gone before that, Pan and his entire army will ambush us. You know we don't have the power to defeat him; he's immortal now!"

"I don't care!" Emma shouted up into David's face. "We have to get him; save him; at least rescue his body!" Why couldn't her father understand? Prince Charming and Snow White had the most epic love story Emma had ever heard. If anyone should understand true love and what it makes a person do, it should be her father!

"Emma, please!" Mary Margaret tried again. "Henry's life is in danger. If you don't care about yourself, at least think of him. David's right. We can't wait any longer. We have to go now!"

At the mention of her son, Emma wilted, and the fight left her. They were right; she couldn't put Henry in danger. She had come close enough to losing him that she couldn't stand the thought of anything else happening to him. As long as they were stuck in this hell-hole, she couldn't be sure he was really safe.

Emma dropped her eyes and slowly nodded. Both of her parents hugged her once more and then led her up the gangplank.

Now here she was, alone again. Story of her life. Why did she think things could ever be any different? He was a thief; he had always been a thief. He stole her heart every bit as much as Pan had stolen Henry's, but she must live with the pain that resulted. Long years stretched ahead of her without him.

Why had he done it? She was supposed to be Pan's victim! She should be lying dead at the bottom of Skull Rock now, not him. Never him! Henry would have been alright without her. He would have had Regina and his grandparents and his father. But he had taken her place. He had died for her. How could she ever recover from this? Wasn't one heartbreak in a lifetime enough?