Once Upon A Time. (Book One)

Chapter Eleven: Fruit of the Poisonous Tree.

It was a beautiful day to be sitting out in the fresh air on a bench or laying in the grass with the blanket underneath them, and that's what Henry was doing, riding his bike while Emma was in the police car watching him in the rearview mirror. She opened the car door when he got closer and got out with a smile. "Hey, kid," she said to Henry while bicycling past her, she scoffs at him. "Nice to see you, too."

"The storm!" Henry yelled as the wind was whistling while Emma jogged up to him and set the bike down. He ran toward his wooden castle that was near the sea and it was all destroyed by the storm they had.

"It's okay. We can fix it. I'll talk to Marco," she said.

"Do you think it's still here?" he asked her while digging under an opening.

"What are you looking for?" she asked.

"My book," he exclaimed.

"Why did you bury it here?" she asked, bending over him.

"So my mom doesn't find it," he explained while he kept digging in the same spot.

"Hiding it under your mattress wasn't good enough?" she asked, teasing him.

"That's the first place the Evil Queen would look."

"How about leaving it with me?"

"That's the second place." After he dug up the dirt, he lifted up a red metal box lid, peering inside was the book Once Upon A Time, and it was in perfect condition. "It's still here. Good."

"So your mom doesn't know about the castle?" she asked.

"No," he looked back at her. "This is our secret." He closed the box and pushed the dirt on top of the red metal box.

"Henry? Henry!" Regina called out. He hurried up and covered it up before she walked over to them, he quickly stood up and looked over at his mother. "I've been looking everywhere for you. You know you have a session with Archie this morning." She was in front of the two and then looked at Emma. "I should have known he was with you." Then she looked at Henry. "Henry, car, now!" she said, pointing toward the car. He hurriedly ran toward the car as Regina stood there and turned to face Emma. "You let him play here?" she asked in a disgusted tone, examining the castle behind her.

"The storm hit it hard. But we can fix it," Emma answered.

"Well, can you fix a cracked cranium?" Regina asked, eyeing the castle. "'Cause 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." Emma gave her a look that she wanted to tell her off but she knew better because if she did, Regina would retaliate and Henry would get hurt. Again. "Miss. Swan, don't let your feelings cloud your judgment. People can get hurt."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked, her voice hard.

"You're the sheriff now. It's time to be responsible." Regina walked off to her car as Emma watched her.

"Don't let my feelings cloud my judgment?" Emma echoed the words to Mary Margaret. "That's all Regina ever does." She muttered while taking a bite of her cereal at Granny's Diner.

"Well, she's just upset because you and Henry have a special place and she doesn't," Mary Margaret murmured as she took a sip of her coffee.

She brushed off what her friend said. "How did she find out about the castle in the first place?" she asked, curious how or who told her about the castle.

"She knows everything about this town. She's the Mayor," Mary Margaret said before taking another sip of her coffee. Her cell phone started buzzing next to her, she set the mug down and picked it up to look at the screen.