It was late afternoon by the time Henry entered his room at the inn, storybook tucked securely under his arm. Reading to Snow left a calm, almost surreal feel to his heart at the thought that he could wake her back up - [i]possibly[/i]...

The music that sounded through his headphones let him put the present troubles at ease as he closed the door behind him with a distinct [i]click[/i]. He cut the music from his tape player, procuring it from its place at his belt, letting it rest on the bedside table. 

He removed Alice's diary from his coat pocket; staring at it deeply before gently placing it atop his dresser, deciding that now was not the time to read Alice's last thoughts. He held the storybook with both hands now as he walked over to the desk at the far side of the room, opening it up slowly to examine it closer. 

He pulled out one of the desk drawers, lifting out a magnifying glass to closely examine the book. He had read a bit of 'Alice in Wonderland' to Snow, but hadn't given the rest of the book any thought. Before beginning, he put on his glasses with a quiet [i]clacking[/i] noise, pushing the lens up to his eyes. 

He flipped through the pages with deft, nimble fingers; showing extreme care to avoid tearing any of the pages. The book seemed to contain most every fairy tale ever written, decorated with detailed, artistic illustrations portraying the scenes being played at the time. The story of Snow White, Beauty & the Beast, Cinderella, Rapunzel, Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, Little Red Riding hood - any story imaginable. 

Henry spent a great deal of time simply reading the stories that, where he came from, was a history; a timeline. He let himself become engrossed, not paying attention to the slowly setting sun until he had studied every page of the book, closing the back cover. 

He stood up from the desk, and realized now the importance of his mission. He was the Curse-breaker, the savior of the Enchanted Forest. Jane Doe, Faye, even Mr. Gold were only echoes of their former selves. A poor, insulting mockery of their source. He had to save them - had to save all of them. Because he knew it was what Alice would have wanted. He clutched at his key in remembrance, and could almost hear her feisty voice goading him on: 

[i]"Well, what are you waiting for? The Curse isn't going to break itself, you know! You get to be the hero now, Henry. For me..."[/i] 

Henry shuddered for a moment, blinking rapidly until he could regain his composure back into reality. If there was one thing he knew now, though - it was that he needed a drink.