Chapter Four--Fairytales vs Reality

~Storybrooke~

There was a knock on Anastasia's door. It was nearly ten at night. Who would want to talk to her that late? Unless Will had tried to break in somewhere again...

She opened the door to find Will himself standing there. Anastasia very nearly slammed the door in his face, but forced herself to keep it open.

"Hello, Ana."

"Hello."

There was an awkward silence before Will broke into a rushed apology, the words tumbling out of his mouth so fast Anastasia could hardly keep up. "Look, Ana, I'm sorry. I should have never left you, I should have stayed by your side. I'm sorry, I was only thinking about myself, but I've regretted that night ever since it happened, and Ana, I-"

Anastasia cut Will off by pressing her lips against his for a moment. "Apology accepted. Besides, it was my fault, not yours. I was the one being an idiot, not you."

"Its was partially my fault, and you can't take the blame for it. I won't let you."

"I love you," Anastasia said. "I never stopped."

"And I love you, Anastasia Red."

~

Emma woke up to the sound of the blender. Neal wasn't in bed, which meant Henry had probably convinced him that a milkshake was a good breakfast choice...again.

Emma walked into the kitchen to see both Henry and Neal drinking vanilla milkshakes. Neal picked up a third glass and held it out towards her. "We made breakfast."

Emma rolled her eyes, but took the cup anyways.

After breakfast, Emma finished getting ready. She pulled on her red jacket, and gave Henry a hug. "Have fun at school today."

Henry nodded before running off to get himself ready for school. Emma gave Neal a quick goodbye kiss. "I expect something decently healthy in Henry's lunch today."

"Yes, ma'am," Neal joked, earning a smile from Emma.

~The Enchanted Forest~

Daniel hadn't planned on falling in love with the daughter of darkest sorceress in the Enchanted Forest, it just happened that way.

He had been taking care of the horses when Regina had burst into the stables, looking like she was almost in tears. He had seen her around, and they spoke often.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Fine," Regina managed. "Just need to get my mind off of things."

"Rocinante was fed earlier, so he should be good."

Regina sighed. "I don't think riding is going to take my mind off of things at the moment..."

"Then why are you here?" Daniel asked.

"Because my mother won't look for me here." Regina sat down with her back against Rocinante's door.

"Is she troubling you again?" Daniel sat down beside Regina.

"Yes. As always."

"What is it this time?"

"Apparently I'm not good enough for her. I never have been, I know that...but can't she at least try to appreciate me?"

"Regina, you are perfect the way you are. Don't let Cora put the idea in your mind that you're not. Just because you aren't her idea of perfect doesn't mean you aren't someone else's. But if you let her tell you that you aren't ever good enough, you'll eventually believe it. You'll go to desperate lengths to hurt her, and you might end up hurting yourself in the process."

"You really mean that?"

"Every word."

~Storybrooke~

A week passed and nothing strange happened. Robin and Regina's relationship grew stronger, and Will and Ana successfully got back together.

Another week passed, and the only thing out of the ordinary was Mary Margaret announcing that she was pregnant. That was when things started getting strange. Mary Margaret and David had invited Emma, Neal, Henry, Regina, Robin, Roland, Killian, and Mr. and Mrs. Gold to dinner.

Everyone congratulated Mary Margaret and David.

"Do you have any name ideas yet?" Emma asked.

Mary Margaret shook her head. "No. We haven't really thought about it."

"We don't even know if it will be a boy or a girl yet," David pointed out.

"I would love to stay and chat, but Roland is getting tired," Robin said, motioning to the little boy who was almost asleep on Regina's lap. She had been reading to him from the storybook he was given two weeks before.

"It was nice that you could come," Mary Margaret replied.

Robin nodded. "And congratulations, again." He picked up Roland and the storybook, the held his hand out to Regina. "Milady."

Regina smiled at him and took his hand. The couple left Mary Margaret and David's after saying goodbye. When they had to go separate ways, Robin placed a kiss on Regina's lips. "Goodnight, Milady."

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight, 'Gina," Roland mumbled.

"Goodnight."

Regina let go of Robin's hand, and the two went their separate ways.

On her way home, Regina almost bumped into Tink.

"Sorry!" Tink immediately apologized. "I wasn't watching where I was going."

"It's okay," Regina replied.

"Hey, has Roland mentioned anything about you being a character from his storybook?"

Regina frowned. "No, I don't think so. Why?"

"Because he and Henry have been creating a list of the characters and their Storybrooke counterparts."

"Really?" That was the first Regina had heard of a list of fairytale characters with real people counterparts.

Tink nodded. "Apparently, I really am Tinker Bell."

"Who am I?" Regina couldn't hide her curiosity.

Tink shrugged. "They only told me who I was."

~The Enchanted Forest~

Regina had spent the day horseback riding so Cora couldn't talk to her. When the sun was setting, she finally put Rocinante back in the stables for the night. Daniel was there, as he always seemed to be.

"You doing okay?" Daniel asked.

"Fine," Regina answered.

"How has Cora been treating you?"

Regina shrugged. "Same as ever. Sometimes I wonder if she actually keeps her heart in her chest." Regina cracked a smile.

Daniel smiled too. "You know, it's possible she doesn't."

"I should probably go inside," Regina said. "Cora doesn't want me out too late. Apparently, it's 'unladylike'."

"Well then goodnight, Milady."

Regina blushed. "Goodnight."

She sped off towards home, not caring about how improper it was to run. Cora wouldn't find out, and it was either run or be scolded for being out past dark.

~Storybrooke~

It was past midnight, but Henry was still looking over he and Roland's lost of fairytale characters and their Storybrooke counterparts. It had started out as a way of passing time, but the more Henry studied it, the more he thought it to be logical. So far, he and Roland had

Snow White-Mary Margaret
Prince Charming-David
Princess Abigail-Anastasia?
Belle-Mrs. Gold
Rumpelstiltskin-Mr. Gold
Tinker Bell-Tink
The Evil Queen-Regina?
Robin Hood-Robin
Captain Hook-Killian
Baelfire-August or Neal
Red Riding Hood-Ruby
Pinocchio-August or Neal
Gapetto-?
Red's Granny-Granny
Will Scarlet-Will
Sleeping Beauty-?
Prince Phillip-?
Mulan-?
Cinderella-Anastasia?
Prince Thomas-Doctor Whale?
Maleficent-?
Ursula-?
Cora/Queen of Hearts-?
Snow and Charming's baby-Emma
Ariel-?
Prince Eric-?
Fredrick-?
Grumpy-Leroy
Sleepy-?
Dopey-?
Sneezy-?
Happy-?
Doc-?
Bashful-?
The Blue Fairy-Mother Superior?
Nova-?
Jiminy Cricket-Doctor Hopper
Mad Hatter-Paige's dad (Jefferson)?
Grace Hatter-Paige
Hansel-?
Gretel-?

There was still a lot of blanks, and they hadn't checked the book as thoroughly as Henry would have liked. He was sure Rapunzel and Aladdin should be in there somewhere, and half-expected to find something similar to Frozen.

And there was one plot hole. Emma shouldn't be under the curse, and neither should Pinocchio and Baelfire. That lead Henry to believe that something had happened, and the Evil Queen's curse had already been broken. And if Regina was the Evil Queen, surely she wouldn't have cursed herself? And if she was the Evil Queen, why was she nice? She was the one who had given Roland the book in the first place. Surely she wouldn't have risked everyone finding out the truth?

Various questions swan around in Henry's mind as he tried to fall asleep. But his brain was being too hyperactive. Henry tossed and turned for awhile, but only managed to fall half-asleep for a couple hours.

Henry woke up at four am, the list of fairytale characters on the floor next to his bed. He picked it up and read over it again. Maybe he could ask Emma about some of the blanks...

~

"Henry?" Henry looked up from his list at Paige.

"Hmm?"

"What are you doing?"

Both Henry and Paige were waiting for their parents to pick them up from school.

Henry folded up the list and put it in his pocket. "I'm working on something."

"What is it?" Paige asked

"Nothing."

Paige frowned. "Come on, why can't you tell me?"

Because you're on the list as the Mad Hatter's daughter, Henry thought. But he just said, "Because it's a secret."

Paige's dad pulled up. Paige waved goodbye to Henry, and when Henry looked at Paige's dad in the driver's seat of the car, he was sure that was the Mad Hatter. He erased the question mark after Paige's dad.

Mad Hatter-Paige's dad (Jefferson)

Henry looked over at Mrs. Dormio was was talking to Mary Margaret. Her red hair glinted even more red in the afternoon sun. Both Mrs. Dormio and Mary Margaret were pregnant, so apparently they had plenty to talk about.

Suddenly a thought hit Henry. What if Mrs. Dormio was Sleeping Beauty? Her first name-Venus-was also the name of the actual Roman goddess of beauty.

Henry added that to the list.

Sleeping Beauty-Mrs. Dormio

~The Enchanted Forest~

"Shouldn't you be getting ready for the ball tonight?" Daniel asked Regina as she walked into the stables.

Regina shrugged. "Probably. Not sure I want to go."

"And you think your mother will let you skip it?"

"Not a chance."

"I bet you look great in one of those poofy ball gowns," Daniel said honestly.

"That doesn't make them any easier to walk around in. Or dance in, for that matter."

"No, it wouldn't."

Regina sighed. "I hate dancing."

"And why's that?"

"It's no fun when you don't get to choose your partner."

"Well who would you choose to be your partner?"

Regina met Daniel's eyes. "You."

"Really?"

Regina nodded.

Daniel crossed the stables to Regina, and before Regina could process what was going on, his lips were on hers.

~Storybrooke~

Roland and Henry were in Granny's, looking through Roland's fairytale book. They had added the genie, King George, and Lancelot to their list, but didn't know who any of the Storybrooke counterparts were. Emma and Neal were watching Roland while Regina and Robin were on a date.

"What are you two doing?" Neal asked.

"Trying to figure out who some of these characters are," Henry answered. "Any idea who Ariel and Prince Eric are?"

"Can I see the list?" Neal asked. Henry nodded and handed the piece of paper to his dad.

"Interesting. So...whose Baelfire?"

"Rumpelstiltskin's son," Roland answered. "He fell through a portal."

"Well, I don't know who Ariel and Eric are, but I think you have Cinderella and Thomas wrong."

"So who are they?" Henry asked.

"I think Ashely Boyd is Cinderella and her husband, Sean, is Prince Thomas."

Henry nodded. "That does make sense." He took the list from Neal and fixed it.

Cinderella-Ashely Boyd
Prince Thomas-Sean Boyd

"You're not seriously helping with that list, are you?" Emma asked Neal.

"Let the kids have their fun."

By the time Regina and Robin picked up Roland, the two had scored the book for all of the characters and written down every named one that hadn't died in the book. The list was quite lengthy at that point.

"So is that the list Tink mentioned?" Regina asked as she watched Henry write something down. "The list with fairytale characters and their Storybrooke counterparts?"

Henry nodded. "Yeah."

"Who am I?"

"The Evil Queen," Roland answered.

"We're not exactly sure," Henry corrected. "You could be an unnamed character."

"I'd much rather be the Evil Queen," Regina replied.

"And Papa's Robin Hood!" Roland exclaimed excitedly.

"Am I now?" Robin laughed.

"Yeah! In the Disney movie, Robin Hood is a fox, but not in the book," Roland informed him.

"Good thing. I'd rather be a human than a fox."

"So the Evil Queen and Robin Hood, huh?" Neal asked.

"Well you and Mom are a princess and either a wooden puppet or the Dark One's son," Henry pointed out.

"Fair point."

"I can't believe you guys are all going along with this," Emma muttered, but she couldn't hold back a small smile.

Roland yawned. "Papa, I'm tired."

"We'd better get you home then."

Roland nodded and Robin picked both him and the storybook up. "You couldn't have gotten him a book that weighed a little less?" He asked Regina.

"Nope. If it bothers you that much, I'll carry it."

"I'm fine. Goodnight, Milady." Robin placed a kiss on Regina's cheek before walking out of Granny's.