Twice Upon A Time {reader x once upon a time}

Fruit of the Poisonous Tree

Thursday, December 19

The storm had passed and the sky was clear once more. Emma and Angie were waiting for Henry at his castle. Unfortunately, the storm had broken part of the wooden structure.

Henry came by on his bike, going directly to the castle "The storm! It destroyed it!" he exclaimed

"It's okay, we can fix it" Angie said

"Yeah, I'll talk to Marco" Emma offered

But Henry wasn't listening. He kneeled under one of the towers and started digging under it "Do you think it's still here?" he wondered

"What are you looking for?" asked Angie confused

"My book" her nephew answered

"Why did you bury it here?" wondered the blonde

"So my mom doesn't find it" her son explained, still digging

"Hiding it under your mattress wasn't good enough?" Emma teased him

"That's the first place the Evil Queen would look" Henry replied, finally uncovering a red metal box

"Why didn't you give it to one of us?" Angie asked

"Cause that's the second place she'd look" he said as he opened the box, revealing the book inside "It's still here, good"

"So your mom doesn't know about the castle?" Emma asked surprised

"No, this is our secret" her son answered, closing the box and burying it again

He was almost done when Regina arrived in her car. "Henry! Henry!" she called him "I've been looking everywhere for you. You know you have a session with Archie this morning" she told him when she came closer "I should have known he was with you two" she said to the twins before addressing her son once more "Henry, car. Now"

Realizing it wasn't the time to argue, Henry followed his mother's orders without complaint

Regina then looked at the castle "You let him play here?" she asked Emma

"The storm hit it hard, but we can fix it" the sheriff explained

"Well, can you fix a cracked cranium?" Regina said seriously "Because that's what you'll have on your hands if one of these boards collapses under his weight. You're not thinking about Henry or his safety. Just ways around me" she accused the blonde "Miss Swan, don't let your feelings cloud your judgment. People can get hurt"

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Emma confused

"You're the Sheriff now" the Mayor pointed out "It's time to be responsible" she said before turning back and going back to her car

Shortly after, Emma and Angie met Mary Margaret at Granny's

"Don't let my feelings cloud my judgement? That's all Regina ever does" Emma complained

"Well, she's just upset because you two and Henry have a special place and she... she doesn't" the teacher tried to comfort her

"How do you think she found about the castle anyway?" wondered Angie

"She knows everything about this town. She's the Mayor" Mary Margaret pointed out, taking a sip of her coffee. Her phone vibrated then, indicating she had a new message. It was from David, asking her to meet him at their spot

"Everything okay?" asked Emma, seeing the look on Mary Margaret's face at reading the text

"Yeah, I just need to go" she replied, getting up and grabbing her things "Look, if it makes you feel any better, I think you're right. I see the effect she has on Henry"