"Are you still upset with me?" He asked, tying the first bow slowly.
"No, I'm not." She said back. "Ares taught me how to control my temper." She smiled at the thought of her boyfriend. Pan, however, grew jealous and decided it would be fun to tug...
"As we build our birdhouses, remember, what you're making is a home, not a cage. A bird is free and will do what it will. This is for them, not us." Today, the class was building birdhouses, I was helping Christianna, with hers. It had an orange roof and pink walls, with glitter. (Of course) "They're loyal creatures." Mary Margaret walked over to the window, releasing the bluebird that was in her hands. The class gasped in awe of their teacher. "If you love them and they love you, they will always find you." Something about that line sounded so familiar...
Rinnnnnggggg
The bell rang and Ms. Blanchard spoke: "We'll pick this up after recess,"
"No running," I called as the class exited.
As I walked over to my small desk, the Mayor walked in, and she did not look happy.
"Miss. Mills, what are you doing here?" Mary Margaret asked.
"Where is my son?" She demanded.
"Henry? I assumed he was home sick with you." She replied.
Sliding my backpack on, I walked over to the arguing duo.
Snow White and the Evil Queen.
"Do you think I'd be here if he was?" Then, a blonde woman walked in. She had a red, leather jacket and dark blue jeans on. "Did you give him your credit card so he could find her?" The Mayor asked.
I hid my guilt. But that was Henry's mom! His birth mom.
As I tried to hide my guilty face, the blonde woman sent me a quizzical look, as if she was onto me.
"I'm sorry who are you?" Mary Margaret asked.
"I'm his... I'm his..." she stuttered to get the word 'mom' out.
"The women who gave him up for adoption." I looked down. That was the Evil Queen shining through.
"You don't know anything about this, do you?" The women-who-gave-him-up-for-adoption asked.
"No, unfortunately not," Mary Margaret dug through her purse. The one I had previously stolen from. "Clever boy, I should never have given him that book," Mary Margaret muttered, seeing her card was gone.
"What in the hell is this book I keep hearing about?" Madame Mayor demanded
"I'm sorry, Y/n." The women crying pleaded.
I gasped, but quiet enough it wasn't noticeable. What was that?
"Just some stories," I defended, coming out of my daze. "fairytales, things like that," I stared at her. I wanted to tell her I was awake. That I remembered (almost) everything, but I couldn't.
"As you well know, Henry is a smart boy. So creative, so smart. And as you might be aware, lonely," My boss told. Mary Margaret glanced down at her small watch. "I have to go, I'm late for a teacher's meeting," Mary Margret headed for the door but stopped. "It was nice to meet you," she told the other women.
"I'm one of his only friends." I sympathize, looking at the Mayor. "He needs it," I stated, readjusting my backpack.
"What he needs is a dose of reality, I don't need a teenager telling me what is and what isn't best for my son, Y/n." Regina snapped. "This is a waste of time," she muttered before leaving the room, knocking down a stack of books. "Have a nice trip back to Boston."
I immediately went to pick up the students books, the blonde women kneeled down to assist,
"Sorry to bother you," she said,
"It's fine, it's partially my fault."
"How's the book supposed to help?" She asked, handing me the last of the books.
"Well, what are stories for?" I stood up, walking out of the room. The lady followed me. "They... give us a type of reassurance. One where we know everything's gonna be okay. Where there's a happy ending and... evil is defeated." I smiled. "As far as I'm aware, Ms. Blanchard wanted to give him hope, something hard to find when his... his mother," I hesitated. She motioned for me to continue. "His mother isn't the easiest person to have a life with."
"Yeah she's kind of a hard-ass," she told me.
"I have to agree with you on that," I chuckled. "But, believing in a happy ending is something that might bepowerful enough to get one..."
A small smile formed on Emma's face.
"Y/n," I introduced myself, hoping to get a name from her back.
"Emma," she shook my hand. And I don't know what she sensed, but something about her expectation changed. "You know where he is, don't you?"
"You might want to check our castle,"
———
That night, I made myself some eggs. Thinking tomorrow would be the same as it always had been.
But as I looked out the window of my and Mary Margaret's apartment, I saw something unexpected.
