Collaboration between Ghost Shadow and YoshiSkittlez
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By the time Henry had walked back to his car and drove back to Granny's, it was late in the evening, the sky completely dark with only the moon and stars to light the way aside from the occasional street lamp. 

He parked right by the bed & breakfast, tapping something akin to a beat on the steering wheel as the car rumbled to a stop. 

He rubbed his eyes as he got out of the car, humming something to himself as he closed the car door, locking it in the process. Turning on his heel, he started to make his way towards the front door, oblivious to the woman leaning against the hood of a black 560 LS Mercedes Benz with her arms crossed over her chest.

"So you must be the new guy." Regina's voice called out to Henry from behind him. She opted not to move from her relaxed position leaning against her car, and instead kept her arms folded over her chest, her eyes looking Henry's vehicle up and down with a look on her face as if a cat had just vomited on her heels.

Henry stopped mid-stride as he heard the cutting voice ask him a question. "Popular today, aren't I?" He mumbled under his breath before turning, managing a smile even when looking into the face of the Evil Queen. 

"You would be correct, madam. Henry Carlyle, pleasure to meet you." He greeted, holding out his hand to shake and praying to whatever God there was that she wasn't offended by such an action. 

Regina took one look at his hand, and didn't even so much as budge her own arms.

"Such a civil, formal greeting..." She said with what almost sounded like a sneer. "...and yet you have no idea who I am..." Regina removed herself from leaning against her car and walked a small semi-circle around Henry, stopping only when her back was to his car, now leaning her back against the rear passenger side door; mostly because she just didn't want to look at it. Finally, Regina stuck out her hand to shake his, plastering on what didn't even look like a half-assed attempt of a smile.

"Regina Mills, Mayor. I simply stopped by to introduce myself. We don't get many visitors here in Storybrooke, so as you can imagine, word of your arrival reached me pretty quickly. As mayor, I take it upon myself to...get to know our guests, make sure they have everything they need to make their stay here more...comfortable..."

Henry shook her hand with a bow of his head and a smile, attempting to diffuse any suspicion or hostility at this time. "Well, a fine pleasure to meet you, Madam Mayor. I believe this meeting is more than mere coincidence. I heard you were having an issue with employment in the school...English, I think. So I have taken it upon myself to offer my services as a substitute until a more suitable replacement can be found - not to sully my own ability, mind you." He finished, placing both hands in his coat pockets. 

Immediately, Regina's black eyebrow raised as she folded her hands back into her arms across her chest.

"You've talked to Mr. Gold..." Regina observed, rolling her eyes and breathing out quickly through her nose in annoyance; not directed towards Henry though, as she looked away from him while doing so, and then looked back to him.

"I'm afraid I am in no need of your services, Mr. Carlyle. I simply can not hire a complete stranger into our school district where the safety of our children is most concerned." Her tone was flat, with just a tinge of belittling on the underside, though there was no effort on her part to hide it; almost as if it were on purpose. "Besides..." She went on, speaking normally once again. "...you're just passing through." It wasn't said as an assumption, but more of a demand, and Regina split her lips to a soft, white smile.

"That's fair enough, I suppose. But if you happen to change your mind, I'll be here a couple weeks." He informed, still keeping a friendly composure even though all instincts said to turn and run. 

"So, uh...nice town you got here! It's got a quaint, sort of rustic feel to it. What's the word I'm looking for; ah, yes, [i]charm[/i]. Good work!" He complimented whilst subtly rocking back and forth on his feet. 

"A few weeks?" Regina repeated with a soft laugh in her throat, apparently this amused her. She skipped right over the part he played into about how 'charming' the town was and cut straight to the chase. "And just what [i]is[/i] your business here in Storybrooke that would warrant such an elaborate vacation?"

"I wanted to go somewhere more quiet, peaceful. New York is a [i]terrible[/i] place to live if you want peace and quiet-"

"Try a library." Regina interjected quickly.

"...So a couple week's stay felt best for a reprieve before I head back. I already paid at the inn...is there a problem?" He asked, though not in an accusing manner, but instead playing on the ignorant tourist trope. 

Regina's eyes closed for a moment as she let out another soft exhale, contradicting her next words.

"No." She said looking back upon Henry turning her lips into a sweet smile. "No problem at all. In fact...why don't you stop by my place tomorrow evening for dinner? At least that way I can welcome you properly for your prolonged stay..."

"Well..." Henry began, as if thinking on the offer whilst letting his eyes wander down to the mayor's rather ample bosom (to which he subtly seemed pleased about) before eventually responding. 

"That sounds lovely! Should be a nice evening." He said cheerily, not letting that grin fade from his face. 

Regina adjusted her arms a bit that had remained folded across her chest as a clear indication of her catching him looking at her and non-verbally saying 'yeah, I got boobs...'

"Then I'll see you tomorrow." She said tilting her head to the side thoughtfully at him, keeping her same, sweet smile on her lips. "Shall we say...6:30?" She let up her smile to smirk just a bit and began to walk back to her car, not even giving the chance for Henry to respond. She was in control here, not him.

She pulled open her car door and began to slide herself in when her eyes happened upon the clock tower for the first time that day, losing all control of her poker face when she realized that it was working.

Her eyes shot from the clock tower to Henry, and then back to the clock with a mixture of shock and confusion written across her face, though said nothing as she pulled herself into the driver's seat and slammed the car door shut, starting up the engine with more force than what was necissary.

Henry did little but offer a short wave before heading towards the door to the inn once again. "Why are all the evil ones attractive?" He asked himself before heading inside. 

Trying to be as quiet as possible as he walked up the old, creaky steps to his room, he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding once he stepped into his room. Dinner with the Evil Queen - he had no idea how he managed to rope himself into that one. "It's alright, Chesh, just gotta go to dinner, make small talk, and leave with hopefully no injury. What could go wrong?" He asked himself bitterly. 

He removed his coat, letting it fall messily to the floor - he would worry about cleanliness another day. His eyes wandered over to Alice's diary that remained at its same spot on the bedside table. 

Overcome with curiosity, Henry figured now would be the best time to see what exactly his sister had left for him. No doubt, if she were alive, she would be more than furious at him pilfering through her personals, but he believed he was now exempt from that rule. 

He lifted the key from its place around his neck and easily inserted it into the keyhole (which had not seemed to rust or degrade over time). With a twist of his wrist, a small [i]click[/i] signaled that the key had worked and Henry let the leather clasp open, leaving only the cover to hide what was within. 

"This is it." He said in a hushed voice, letting a single hand glide across the leather of the cover, grasping it with a firm, but gentle hand. He swept the cover open, face bright with anticipation before falling suddenly. 

A multitude of emotions seemed to rush across his visage in a single moment: confusion, worry, fear, then anger. 

"No..." He finally said, voice just barely above a hoarse whisper - the page in front of him was completely empty. Devoid of any drawings or writing, the paper fresh as a new day. 

"No, no, no, no." He continued muttering in disbelief as he rushed through the rest of the pages, all of them completely blank. 

Feeling hot tears of pain and rage sting at the edge of his eyes, Henry knocked the entire bedside table to the floor with a single swipe of his arm; not caring at the loud, resounding [i][b]*crash*[/i][/b] it made upon impact, the lamp sputtering before dying. 

Henry paced about the room furiously, ignoring the sharp pain rushing through his hand from knocking the table over; running them messily through his hair, as if trying to comprehend what had just occurred. Suddenly, realization hit him like a slap to the face and, with as much venom and hatred as he could conjure in his voice, he uttered a single word - "Gold." Even in this new land, with no magic, no memories, and no identity, Rumpelstiltskin still managed to toy with him - like a plaything, a pawn in some giant game to be tortured for the Dark One's own amusement. 

But now he had crossed the line, Henry no longer cared about breaking the Curse, or returning everyone back to normal. Now it was about revenge. He let his mind search back to his visit to the pawn shop, trying desperately to think of anything he could use against the Imp. Then he remembered...

"The snowglobe!" He cried out, no longer willing or able to hide his outburst before continuing his thought. If tales would have it, Rumpelstiltskin hid a powerful entity inside a snowglobe as a way to preserve his own life from her wrath. If Henry could break into the shop and release the woman from her imprisonment, not only could he have his revenge - but his magic too. 

Upon reaching this conclusion, Henry grinned manically, his eyes wild with flame and fury. Without another word, he scooped up his coat and headed for the door with great haste.