Beane Odette: Reawakened: A Once Upon A Time Tale

She had been hunting Ryan Marlow for nearly three weeks now, since he'd emptied his family's bank accounts and fled New York, embezzlement charges hanging over his head. Why he had decided to stop off in Boston for a little online dating was anybody's guess, but Emma Swan didn't care much about why the bail-jumpers she tracked down did what they did. She wasn't paid to know their stories; she was paid to find them, to catch them, and to bring them in.

She stood and watched him, uncomfortable in her high heels.

Marlow hadn't seen her yet, and she studied him for a moment. Handsome, just like he was in the pictures, but there was something smarmy about him as well. Which fit the bill, of course — arrogance and wantonness seemed to be the norm with these banker types. There was something about his cool confidence as he waited — it made her sick to her stomach, actually.

She went to him.

— Ah, you must be Emma, — he said, rising as she approached the table, and she smiled her best nice-to-meet-you smile and held out her hand. She frowned at her own fingernails. She had forgotten to paint them.

He smiled broadly, lasciviously. Like a wolf. They shook, and he kept his eyes locked on her.

— Ryan? — she said.

As she sat, Emma, after seeing something in his eyes, smiled at him and said, — Well. You look relieved.

— I'm sorry, — he said, chuckling nervously. — You just never know how a person will look when you meet them online. For real, I mean. — He went to his seat and sat. — And you are — well, you're very hot. Online and in real life.

She did not blush. She looked down, pretended to be flattered. What had his online profile said? Divorced, no children, enjoyed yoga and pickup basketball? Right. Emma knew the real «real life» story. Back in New York, he had three kids under ten years old and a wife with a part-time job, trying to get by alone. Right now the wife was sorting through a welfare application. Devastated. Broken. Explaining where Daddy was. That was real. And here was Ryan Marlow, who had it in him to date after doing that to someone.

— So, — said Ryan. — Tell me something about yourself, Emma.

Emma smiled her sexiest smile.

— Well, — she said. — First off, I'm an amazing judge of character.

Ryan Marlow looked surprised.

She was going to enjoy taking this one down.

In another world, in another time, Snow White stood hand in hand with Prince Charming in the Royal Castle's ballroom.

All the kingdom's subjects surrounded the couple. The two looked into each other's eyes as the bishop asked Snow if she would have Charming forever.

There was no hesitation. She said that she would, and the two smiled at each other nervously and lovingly as the bishop pronounced them man and wife. The court's musicians began to play, and Charming and Snow leaned together to kiss once again.

It had been something of a miracle. Charming had awoken Snow from a cursed sleep brought on by her stepmother, the Evil Queen. And they were not, it turned out, free of her yet.

This time, just as their lips touched, a tremendous clap of thunder overwhelmed the music, and many in the room cried out. The assembled guests all turned at once to the ballroom's great doors, where the sound had originated, which flew open with great violence, striking the walls on either side of the entrance.

There, in the doorway, stood a figure all in black.

The Evil Queen.

Again.

Wonderful, thought Snow. More of this.

Guards rushed her as she began to stride toward Snow and Charming, who stood in the center of the room, clutching each other. The Queen sent a half-dozen guards flying through the air with a flick of her wrist — her magic was still powerful, there was no doubt.

When she was near, Snow pushed Charming back, grabbed the hilt of his sword, and unsheathed it before he could stop her. Snow White pointed the blade at the Queen, eyes aflame.

— You are not welcome here, — she said, and her strong voice echoed through the great room. — Go. Now.

The Queen stopped walking, kept smiling.

— Hello again, Snow White, — she said.

Charming, his hand on Snow's, slowly pushed the sword down until its tip touched the stone floor.

— She has no power, — he said to Snow quietly. — We've already won.

He was right, she knew — after Charming woke Snow from the Queen's sleeping curse, the two of them united the kingdom against the Queen, driving her from power and allowing love to reign.

— Leave us, — said Charming to the Queen. — You've already lost, and I won't let you ruin this day. Not another one. Let us have our happiness. You've been defeated.

— On the contrary, — said the Queen, — I'm not here to ruin anything. I've come to give you a gift.

— We don't want it, — said Snow quickly. It didn't matter what it was.

— And nevertheless, I shall give it to you, — said the Queen. She raised an eyebrow. — Generous of me, don't you think? — The Queen was beautiful and terrifying all at once. Her features were severe, her hair black as onyx, her eyes piercing and ice-cold. Perhaps once, long ago, she had been an innocent young maiden herself, the fairest of the land, but now all could see that hatred and bitterness had pulled the warmth from her face. Snow had known her for a very long time, and every time she saw her, the Queen had become more embittered. Snow didn't understand how one person could hate so much.

As the Evil Queen spoke, more guards poured into the room, surrounding her, but her gaze did not waver.

— My gift to you is happiness, — she said. — This happiness. Today.

— What do you mean? — asked Charming cautiously.

— I mean that tomorrow, good prince, — said the Queen, — I will begin my life's work. To destroy your happiness. Permanently.

At this, Charming had had enough, and he threw his sword in one quick, lightning-fast maneuver. It sailed toward the Queen, tip forward, bearing down on her heart.

Just before it reached her, the Queen disappeared in a cloud of inky black-and-purple smoke.

The sword disappeared as well.

Snow White, her hand on her new husband's arm, watched the cloud swirl and fade.

Exhausted, Emma walked down the hallway to her apartment, holding her red heels with the fingers of her left hand and a bag of groceries in the other hand. Taking down Ryan Marlow was not as satisfying as she had hoped, and now she had a headache.

Her hand also hurt.

He had tried to run, of course. The men all tried to run. He'd made it to his car, only to find it booted. Not a difficult thing for her to set up. That's when she had rammed his head into the car.

These things — the hunt, the chases — had all become a bit predictable. What else did she know how to do, though? And where else would she go? Something was off, but she didn't let herself think about it too much. Nothing a little sleep and scotch wouldn't cure.

Inside the apartment, Emma dumped the groceries on the counter, turned on some music, and removed the birthday cupcake she'd purchased for herself. She fished out the candles she'd bought, removed one from the package, stuck it in the cupcake, and lit it. It wasn't much of a party, no. But it was something.

She watched the candle glow for a moment. Another year, another year alone.

She closed her eyes.

Please, she thought, don't let me be alone on my birthday.