Chapter Seven: The Heart is a Lonely Hunter.

Sheriff Graham was at Granny's Diner, a part of the diner had a picture of a deer in a beautiful meadow, and Graham had a few darts in his hand, one of them hit the deer. He was gearing up to hit the deer with another dart when the door opened with the jingle, he hit the deer on the body again.

"Nice shot, chief," Sidney Glass called out to him while Ruby walked past him and gave Graham a shot of alcohol. "I bet you 20 bucks you can't do it again," he said with a smirk.

Graham took the shot glass from the tray and down it while looking at Sidney, setting the glass back down and picking up the darts. He looked at the dartboard, aiming it, and threw the deer once again, looking back at Sidney.

"Next round's on him," Graham said to Ruby, nodding his head toward Sidney.

Graham was about to throw another dart when Emma came around the corner and stopped dead in her tracks.

"Emma, what can I get you?" Ruby asked her with a smile.

"Nothing," she stated simply, walking past Graham, not looking at him. Graham turned around quickly and threw the dart at Emma—well, near Emma—it landed on the wall. Emma stopped dead in her tracks again and turned around quickly, everyone looked between Emma and Graham. "What the hell?" she gasped out in shock. "You could have hit me!"

Graham shrugged. "I never miss," he stated, he walked toward her while Sidney and Ruby watched. "You've been avoiding me? Since last night when you saw me—" he couldn't say the last words for everyone to hear.

But Emma didn't have trouble saying the words out loud for everyone to hear. "Leaving the Mayor? And, yes, that is a euphemism. I'm not avoiding you, Graham. I just have no interest in having this conversation. It's your life and I really don't care." She turned around and walked out of Granny's, leaving Graham standing there for a moment.

"If you don't care, then why are you so upset?" Graham yelled out, following Emma out of Granny's.

"I'm not upset," Emma's voice raised a bit.

"If that were true, you'd be at the bar with me having a drink and not running away," Graham stood in front of her, trying to get her to talk to him.

"It's none of my business. Really," Emma said, trying to avoid the conversation, and walked past him once again.

"Can we please talk about this?" he asked, following her once again. "I need you to understand."

"Why?" she asked, confused.

"I don't know," he said, sighing heavily as he stood in front of Emma. "Maybe so I can understand."

"You need analysis, go talk to Archie."

"I want to talk to you."

"Your bad judgment is your problem, not mine." Emma started walking again.

And once again, Graham followed right behind her. "You don't know what it's like with her. I don't feel anything. Can you understand that?"

"A bad relationship? Yeah. I understand a bad relationship. I just don't wanna talk about yours." She said quickly while walking away from him just as quickly.

"Look, I know you and Regina have your own issues," he said, placing his hand on the back of her arm and facing him, "and I should've told you about that before you took the job."

"Yeah, why the secrecy? We're all adults. You can do whatever you want."

"Because I didn't want you to look at me the way you are now."

"Why do you care how I look at you?" she asked, she was kind of curious as to why he worried so much about all of this.

"Because—" Graham said slowly and heavily.

"What?" she asked, wide-eyed.

Graham stared at Emma for what seemed like forever, he leaned in, closing the gap between them, cupping her face as he pressed his lips against hers. After a moment, his eyes shot open immediately, and his memories all flashed in just a few seconds—flashes of green trees, dirt, and green bushes swirled around, a few birds chirped in the distance, and a white wolf was growling lowly.

Emma pushed him off of him, gasping. "What the hell was that?" she asked, clearly in shock.

"Did you see that?" he asked.

"How much have you been drinking?" she asked in disgust. "That was way over the line!"

"I'm sorry, I just—" he started saying.

"What? You what?" she asked angrily.

"I need to feel something." He admitted to her.

"Listen to me, Graham. You are drunk and full of regret. I get it. But whatever it is you are looking to feel, I can tell you one thing, you're not getting it with me." She stormed off down the road, leaving Graham in front of a garage.

Graham was now at Regina's house, he knocked on the door loud enough for her to hear it, and he stood there waiting for her to answer. Regina opened the door hesitantly at first, opening the door widely and realizing who it was.

"Graham," she said in a worried voice.

"Is Henry asleep?" he asked.

"Yes, why?" she asked, confused.

Graham walked forward, closing the gap between them as he placed his hands on the back of her neck, kissing her roughly. He pushed her gently inside the house, against the nearest wall as he closed the door with his foot. She pushed him off for a quick second to look at him then he went back to kissing her. His lips traveled down to her neck as she panted heavily.

Back at the castle, the Evil Queen was standing on the balcony, staring down at her husband's casket. Her husband's casket was white marble with red pedals down in the middle of the casket, five stairs came up to the casket and four huge red roses were on the white marble on a long pedestal. Snow White wearing a black dress with a black veil came to the casket and the Queen looked at her.

Snow White set a silver rose on the casket, and tears ran down her cheeks. "Goodbye, Father," she said softly, her voice breaking.

The Queen set a hand on her shoulder and Snow turned as she gasped. "I'm so sorry, Snow." The Queen said, she really meant her apology.

"I loved him so much," she said tearfully, she cried harder. She fell into the Queen's arms and cried on her shoulder while the other woman comforted her as best as she could.

"So did I, dear," the Queen whispered into her ear as her own tears came falling down her cheeks. "So did I." They both broke away from the hug and took each other's hands, looking at one another. "But the loss I feel for my husband must be nothing compared to the loss you feel for your father." Snow gasped for air as she closed her eyes, looking down. "If there is anything I could do, please let me know. I may only be your mother through marriage, but I'm here for you, dear." A single tear slipped down her cheek. "Truly and forever."

Snow breathed heavily as she said those words, her crying became harder as she wrapped her arms around the Queen once again, hugging her tight.

Regina walked back up into her castle, she entered her room with four of her guards walking behind her. "Congratulations," said the magic mirror. "Your revenge is almost complete."

Regina turned her head to him with a smirk. "One down," she looked forward, "one to go." She walked over to her vanity.

The magic mirror appeared on a smaller mirror on the vanity. "She has no idea, does she?" he asked.

"That I'm responsible for his passing?" she asked, sitting down on the chair with a wicked smirk, looking into the mirror. "She sought comfort with me. Sickening. I could've ended her miserable existence right there. Believe me, it was tempting."

"It would've sated your soul," said the magic mirror.

"The kingdom's still loyal to her," she said bitterly. "They would turn on me. They don't know the wretchedness inside her as I do. They don't know what she did to me." Leaning in close to the smaller mirror. "We must be delicate in this next phase. Her demise must be handled with care." She got up from the chair and started walking out.

"Perhaps one of your knights, Your Majesty," suggested the magic mirror, Regina stopped dead in her tracks as she looked over at the mirror.

She walked closer to the mirror, her eyes dead. "No," she simply said. "I need someone adept at murder. Bereft of mercy."

"Someone with no heart," said the magic mirror.

"Now you understand," smirking at him.

"Well, in that case, you need a huntsman," said the magic mirror.

A deer was in the middle of the Enchanted Forest, the sunlight shone brightly on the deer. The deer looked up when it heard a rustling noise, it turned its head and jumped over a tree that fell over, running away from whatever it heard. The deer stopped on a small trail and an arrow pierced its body, the deer landed on the ground with a soft thud. The Huntsman walked over to the now-dead deer and kneeled beside it. "You have died so that I may live. Forgive me," the Huntsman said to the dead deer. "Your sacrifice is honorable. I think you," he said a single tear escaping down his cheek. He wrapped his hand around the arrow and was about to pull it out of the deer when The Huntsman heard a low growling and he looked up, seeing a white wolf just a few feet away from him. The wolf walked down from the little dirt hill came closer to the Huntsman and looked at the wolf in the eyes. "Don't worry, boy. You won't go hungry tonight." The wolf whined softly and the Huntsman yanked the arrow out fast.

Graham's eyes flew open, he sat up straight in bed and was panting heavily as he was sweating all over his body.

Regina woke up and looked over at him, placing a hand on his arm. "What is it?" she asked in a concerned voice.

"I had the most intense dream," Graham admitted. "I was in the woods hunting, and I killed a deer." He explained slowly, it seemed so real. "There was a wolf." He took slow, shallow breaths as he tried to calm down his breathing.

Regina sat up, looking over at him. "A wolf?" she questioned.

"Its eyes. One was blood red and the other was black as night. The funny thing is, I think I've seen the wolf before." He breathed out, staring straight forward.

Regina leaned in and kissed his shoulder, looking at him with soft eyes. "Go back to sleep, Graham. It was only a dream." She rubbed his shoulder, trying to calm him down further.

"It didn't feel like a dream," he muttered to her. "It felt like a memory." He looked over at Regina for a moment then he pushed the blankets off him and got out of bed.

"Graham," Regina called for him softly.

"I need some air. I need to think," Graham said to her while grabbing his clothes and putting them on.

"Graham, please. Come back to bed." Regina tried to get him back to bed.

"I left my car at Granny's anyway. I need to go and get it, clear my head." He took the rest of his clothes and sat down on the corner of the bed, putting on his shoes.

"Graham." Regina scooted closer to Graham, brushing his hair to the side. "Listen, it's late." Graham pulled away from her. "You're tired, you're probably still drunk." She lightly gripped his chin between her fingers, making him look at her. "Don't leave." She pleaded with him.

"Since when do you want me to stay anyway?" he asked in disgust, pulling away from her.

"You're not well," Regina said, sternly.

Graham puts on his shirt, looking at her. "I'm fine," he said, he got up and walked out the door as Regina watched him leave. He was in Granny's Diner parking lot, he was near his car when he dropped his keys, he bent down to pick them up but stopped when he heard a growl. He looked up and saw the same white wolf that was in his dream. He jumped back—scared—while the wolf whimpered softly. Graham looked at the wolf's eyes, one was blood red and the other black as night—the wolf ran away from him. He couldn't believe it. Graham was sitting down on the pavement while the wolf walked down an empty alleyway. He was breathing hard, still couldn't believe that the wolf was real and not just in his dreams.

A bouquet of flowers sat on the kitchen table, Emma was walking down the steps of her shared apartment with her friend Mary Margaret Blanchard. She stopped when she came down the stairs and looked at the flowers, wondering who gave them to Mary Margaret or if it was for her. She walked over to the flowers and picked them up, "Really?" she groaned.

Mary Margaret was up with books in her arms and a coffee mug in one hand, noticing the flowers in Emma's hands. "Oh, hey, wait. What're you doing?" she asked, walking a bit fast as she tried to see what Emma was doing.

Emma opened the trash and threw the flowers into the trash can. "If Graham thinks flowers'll work on me—" she started saying.

"No, those were mine," Mary Margaret admitted to her, walking into the small living room.

Emma walked past her and grabbed her jacket from the hook that was near the door, she turned to look at her. "Oh," she said softly, feeling guilty for throwing them away and putting on her black jacket. "From David?" she asked, curiously.

"No," she breathed out. "Dr. Whale."

"Why would Dr. Whale—" she started to ask. Mary Margaret gave Emma the look. "Are you serious?" she asked, shocked, her eyes widening.

"I know. It's a disaster." She closed her eyes, furrowing her brows then opened her eyes, setting the books down on the coffee table.

"No, that's amazing," Emma said happily, walking closer to Mary Margaret. "You're getting over David."

"First of all, there's nothing to get over," Mary Margaret held her coffee mug in her hand, walking into the kitchen. "And second of all, it was just a one-night stand."

Emma opened the fridge door, taking out the orange juice. "Not according to those flowers," she walked past Mary Margaret.

"Yeah, maybe I shouldn't have called him," Mary Margaret said, shamefully.

"Oh, my God! You called him?" Emma asked, turning to face the other. "That is definitely not a one-night stand."

"Okay, I'm still learning. I've never had one before," she admittedly turned to look at Emma. "I felt guilty."

Emma got a glass and poured some orange juice into the cup. "Why?" she asked. "There's nothing wrong with what you did. Trust me. One-nighters are as far as I ever go."

"Yeah, but that's because you're—" she stopped talking, biting back her tongue.

"Because I'm what?" she asked.

Mary Margaret shook her head, looking away. "Never mind." She turned back around and started making her coffee.

"No, tell me. What do I do?" she asked, her voice hard.

Mary Margaret finished up her coffee, turning to face Emma once again. "You're just protecting yourself. With that wall, you put up."

"Just because I don't get emotional over men—" Emma started saying, grabbing the orange juice pitcher and putting it back into the fridge.

"You don't get emotional over men?" She asked, eyeing Emma. "The floral abuse tells me a different story."

"And what story is that?" she asked.

"The one that's obvious to everyone except, apparently, you. That you have feelings for Graham."

"Come on." She scoffed at the thought of having feelings for Graham.

"There's that wall." Mary Margaret turned her back to her and drank her coffee.

"It's not a wall," she said, defensively.

"Really?" she asked, picking the flowers out of the trashcan.

Emma gave her a look, sighing heavily. "There's nothing wrong with being cautious," she said while putting the flowers in a crystal vase.

"Oh, true. True." Mary Margaret nodded, looking at Emma. "But, Emma, that wall of yours, it may keep out pain, but it also may keep out love." She grabbed her coffee in one hand and the vase in another, looking at Emma with a smile and walking past her.

Sheriff Graham was in the forest when he heard a wolf howling, he raced into the middle of the forest, and branches were snapping beneath his feet, he stopped immediately, he looked to the right. There was a rustling behind a large bush, Graham tried to get a closer look by standing on his toes, hoping it was the white wolf but it was only Mr. Gold with a shovel. Sheriff Graham sighed in disappointment.

"Good morning, Sheriff," Mr. Gold called out from behind the bush, he had stopped digging and walked out from the bushes. "Sorry if I startled you."

"Right, sorry, I thought you were a wolf," he said softly.

"Did I forget to shave?" Mr. Gold joked.

"What are you doing out here so early?" Sheriff Graham asked.

"A spot of gardening," he simply answered. "Yourself?"

"I was looking for— " he started saying.

"A wolf." Mr. Gold answered for him. "Yeah, I think I'm beginning to catch on. To the best of my knowledge, Sheriff, there are no wolves in Storybrooke. Not the literal kind, anyway. Why are you looking?" Mr. Gold asked.

"You'll think I'm crazy," Sheriff Graham breathed out.

"Try me," Mr. Gold challenged him.

"I saw one in my dreams, and then I saw one for real, just a few hours ago. Did you see anything unusual out there?" Sheriff Graham said Mr. Gold came walking closer to the Sheriff.

Mr. Gold lifted the shovel a bit, looking at it for a long moment before answering. "I'm afraid not," he answered, looking at Sheriff Graham with a grin. "I do wish I could be more helpful." He walked past the sheriff slowly. "You know, Sheriff," Mr. Gold said as Graham turned around to face Mr. Gold. "They say that dreams," Mr. Gold turned to face Graham, "dreams are memories, memories of another life."

"What do you believe?" Graham asked Mr. Gold.

"I never rule out anything," Mr. Gold said ominously. "Good luck, Sheriff. I do hope you find what you're looking for." Mr. Gold walked away from Sheriff Graham while Graham watched him leave the forest. After a few seconds, Sheriff Graham took a few steps and looked to his left for a moment then he walked straight ahead and continued walking, trying to find that white wolf.

It was night now and the white wolf was walking through small patches of grass and big logs of oak trees followed by the Huntsman.

The Huntsman was in the pub, full of drunk men acting like fools, and waitresses handing them beer after beer. The Huntsman walked in with the wolf by its side, they sat alone in the corner of the pub, and the wolf whimpered a bit. When they entered, everyone looked at them and the Huntsman kept his head down, he didn't want any trouble from any of them. A blond waitress gave the Huntsman a cup full of beer and then walked off.

"They're letting animals in here now?" said a man loudly. "This isn't a slaughterhouse."

"Forget him. He might as well be one, too," said another man. "I heard he was raised by them. He does smell like them. Pathetic. I heard him cry over his kills. You believe that?"

The first man picked up and finished his beer then set the cup back down on the bar counter and looked over at the Huntsman, he walked over to the man. "Tell me, Huntsman, what kind of a man cries over an animal?"

"An honorable one," the Huntsman said without turning around.

"What do you know about honor?" he asked in a disgusted voice.

"I have it," the Huntsman said simply. "They have it. You don't."

"They have it?" said the man, confused.

"They're pure of heart. Not selfish and self-serving, like people," said the Huntsman. All of a sudden the wolf got up and growled at the man.

"You tell him to stop threatening me. 'Cause you know what I do to pets that threaten me?" he asked, pulling out a sword and pointing it at the wolf. "I hang them on my wall."

The Huntsman quickly took his small knife and got up, swinging it into the man's stomach, the man groaning while everyone gasped out loud.

"He's not a pet!" said the Huntsman. Then a second man came toward him with his sword but the Huntsman was too quick, the Huntsman started spinning him around and smashing his head onto a glass picture that was hanging on the wall. The crowd was watching and gasping at the whole fight.

A third guy was about to fight the Huntsman before he turned around with the second guy's knife, the third guy put up his hands to surrender and he walked off. Setting the knife down on the table, he huffed softly and sat back down, minding his business.

Regina was watching from one of her mirrors with a wicked smile on her lips. "He's perfect," she said to the Mirror. "Bring him to me." The guard nodded and took off, finding the Huntsman.

Sheriff Graham was now running into the forest, tree branches were hitting him from left and right. A wolf was howling in the distance, Graham quickly stopped and looked behind him, he ran toward his left and stopped once more as he heard the howling once again. He ran toward the howls as fast as he could, the wolf was now closed because the wolf was growling. Graham saw the white wolf between the thick trees, his mouth was wide open. He ducked under the tree root and found the wolf between two large trees, staring at Graham and he barked at him. It was the same wolf that was in his dreams, one eye had blood red and the other black as night.

"What do you want?" Graham shouted at the wolf, but the wolf only whimpered in response. "Hey!" he called out when the wolf walked away from him, he whistled for the wolf to come back. The wolf stopped and looked back at Graham, he stood there in shock when the wolf looked back at him and came toward Graham, and he started licking his hand gently. Graham looked down at the wolf and placed his hand on top of the wolf's head, petting it gently.

Once they locked eyes, a different set of memories came flashing back to him—Snow White. A dagger. Red apple. His hand lifted up. Snow gasping. Howls from the white wolf.

He blinked quickly as he gasped to himself. He looked around for the wolf but the animal was nowhere to be found. He was confused. Where could the wolf go? He was here just a moment ago. Graham looked around the forest, his eyes narrowing trying to find the white wolf again. He ran up the dirt path, walked over the log, and ran to his right. And he never looked back.

The school bell rang, and the students were filed out of Miss Blanchard's classroom. "Mary Margaret?" he asked, she was putting her students' papers on her desk. "Can I talk to you?"

"Graham? What's the matter? Are you okay?" Mary Margaret asked, her face concerned.

"I think we know each other."

"Of course we do," she said, walking toward the desk.

"No, no, no, not from here. Not from Storybrooke," he said, trying to explain to her the best way he could without sounding crazy.

"From where, then?" she asked, even more confused.

"Another life," Sheriff Graham said vaguely.

They both stared at each other for a moment, Mary Margaret looked at him like he was crazy or something, but Graham was trying to figure out what all of this meant.

A guard brought up the Huntsman while Regina lay down on her lounge chair, waiting for the Huntsman to arrive. The Huntsman stood a few feet away from her, Regina looked him in the eyes. "Do you have a name?" she asked him. "Or shall I just call you The Huntsman?" The Huntsman just stood there, watching her and not saying a word. Regina smirked and got up and off the lounge. "You're a tortured one, aren't you, Huntsman?" She slowly walked toward the man. "Is this because your parents abandoned you to the wolves?" she taunted him.

"Those weren't my parents. All they did was give birth to me. The wolves are my family," he stated with confidence.

"Wolves, indeed." Regina walked past him, giving him a good up and down. "I always felt there were two kinds of people. Wolves and sheep. Those who kill and those who get killed." The Huntsman slowly turned around. "And you, Huntsman, you are most certainly a wolf."

"Why am I here?" he asked, not wanting to play games.

"I'd like you to kill someone for me. Can you do that?" she asked.

"I kill for me. Why would I do anything for you?" he asked, not impressed.

"Because I have so much to offer. A place at my court. You will become my official huntsman."

"I'm not interested in being a pet. This place is a cage."

"You'd be awash in luxury, wanting for nothing." She walked closer to him, taunting him with her words.

"You have an army at your disposal. What do you need of me?" he asked.

"My prey is beloved by all the kingdom. I need someone who won't be blinded by that. Someone without compassion, someone who will have no qualms carving a heart out and bringing it back for my collection." She got closer when she spoke, placing her hand on his chest just above his heart.

The Huntsman jerked away from her. "That's me."

"As I suspected." She walked away from him once again. "Now, tell me, what will it take, hmm?" She slowly turned to face him, trying to seduce him to do this for her. "What do you want? There must be something."

"Outlaw the hunting of wolves. They are to be left alone. They are to be protected." He demanded this was the only thing that made him happy.

Regina took a few steps forward and then leaned in. "Simple enough," she agreed with a smile.

"So who do you want me to kill?" the Huntsman asked.

Mary Margaret sat on one of the student's desks, looking at Graham like he was crazy or something.

"Mary Margaret, how long have we known each other?" Graham asked her.

"Um—I don't know, a while," Mary Margaret answered his question.

Graham sat down in one of the chairs across from Mary Margaret. "Do you remember when we met?" he asked.

Mary Margaret opened her mouth to answer then she closed it, she had no idea when they met or how they met. "Um—" she muttered. "No," she finally answered.

"Me neither," he said. "I can't remember when I met you or when I met anyone. Isn't that odd?" he asked.

"I don't know. I mean, I suppose." Mary Margaret agreed with him. "But I think that's just life. Things get hazy."

"Have I ever hurt you?" he asked, he was hesitant.

"Oh, Graham, no, of course not. What is going on?" she answered him, frowning.

"Do you believe in other lives?" he asked.

"Like heaven?" she asked, trying to understand him a bit better.

"I mean like past lives."

Mary Margaret breathed out a chuckle, looking down at the floor and then back up at Graham. "You've been talking to Henry." She smiled at him.

"Henry?" he asked, confused.

"He has this book of stories. He's been going on about how he thinks we're all characters from them, from another land, and we've forgotten who we really are. Which, of course, makes no sense." Mary Margaret explained to Sheriff Graham, that he realized that he needed to talk to Henry. Maybe he has all the answers and maybe the book has the answers as well.

"Right, no, of course," Sheriff Graham agreed.

"Graham," she said softly, getting off the desk as she felt his forehead with her wrist. "You are burning up," she told him, squatting down to look him in the eyes. "Go home and get some rest. I think you'll feel much better after you've had some sleep."

"Right." Graham nodded, looking at her. "You're absolutely right. I'm sorry to disturb you. And thank you." He got up to his feet slowly and Mary Margaret stood up with him.

"Of course," she muttered, watching Graham leave her classroom. She was worried about Graham and how hot he was feeling.

"You know, when I was a little girl, the summer palace was my favorite place," Snow White explained to the Huntsman—but Snow thought it was a new knight to protect her from Regina. "The mountains surrounding it felt like a cradle. They always made me feel safe." Snow looked at the Knight while he listened to her then looked at the ground while they walked down a path in the Enchanted Forest. "I look forward to returning to it now." She looked over at him once more with a soft smile. "Stuffy in there?" she teased. They stopped walking while turning to each other and the Huntsman took off his helmet. "Here," Snow reached into her small fur-white bag and took out two red apples, handing one to him.

The Huntsman looked at the apple for a moment, shaking his head gently. "No," he answered.

Snow slowly pulled her hand away from him with a gentle smile, putting the apple to her mouth and biting into the apple, chewing on the apple, and swallowing it down. "You're not a knight, are you?" she asked.

"What makes you say that?" he asked.

"Without fail, every one of my father's men has offered me condolences. Except you." Snow was puzzled, she couldn't put her finger on why he was truly here.

"Please accept my condolences," the Huntsman said.

"And they all know how to wear armor. She picked you to take me. Why?" Snow asked him, finally realizing that the Queen wanted her dead, she wasn't playing around and she wanted answers.

"I think you know," he said simply.

"You're going to kill me," she stated.

"You have good instincts."

"And you have too much armor," she stated.

The Huntsman looked down at his knife, placing his hand on the handle but before he could realize what she was doing, Snow picked up a heavy-looking log and smacked him on the side. He groaned in pain as he fell flat on his stomach, Snow fled from the Huntsman down the dirt path, he looked back at her fleeing and got up and started chasing her.

Emma was at the police station with two files in her hands, walked toward her desk and she threw them on top of her messy desk. She picked up a dark, turning her body to the side facing the dartboard—there were three already thrown: one was on the board and the other two on the wall—she threw the last dart, hitting the wall but didn't stick. She groans in frustration about not making it, rolling her eyes as she bows her head in defeat, bending down to pick up the dart off the floor.

"Our tax dollars are hard at work, I see," Regina said to Emma sarcastically.

"Graham isn't here," she told her, pulling the other three darts out. "I assumed he took a sick day with you."

"So you're aware of us," Regina said, smiling. "Good. That's why I'm here. Because I'm also aware of your relationship with him."

"I don't have a relationship with him," Emma stated, walking back to her desk.

"Oh?" Regina raised her perfectly plucked eyebrow at Emma. "So nothing's ever happened between the two of you? You forget, Miss Swan, I have eyes everywhere," she reminded the other, that she wasn't going to let her forget that she could see everything and everyone.

"Nothing that meant anything," she said with a smile.

"Well, of course not. Because you're incapable of feeling anything for anyone. There's a reason you're alone, isn't there?" Regina took a few steps closer to Emma.

"All due respect, the way I live my life is my business," Emma said bluntly.

"It is until it infringes on my life," Regina said, her voice hard. "Stay away from Graham. You may think you're doing nothing, but you're putting thoughts in his head, thoughts that are not in his best interest. You are leading him on a path to self-destruction." Emma gave her a look, her eyes widened slightly. "Stay away." Regina turned and walked out of the police station, not looking back at Emma.

Graham walked up to a house, rang the doorbell, and stood back, waiting for them to answer the door. Henry walked toward the door and opened it, smiling up at Sheriff Graham. "Hey, Sheriff," Henry said brightly. "My mom's not here."

"Actually, I'm here to see you, Henry. I was hoping you could help me." Graham told the boy.

"Help you with what?" Henry asked, puzzled.

"It's about your book," he answered. "Am I in it?" he asked.

Snow White was sitting near a small pool of water, and small bushes of leaves, flowers, and other plants surrounded the pool of water. Hearing those footsteps, she didn't move from her spot, she was writing a note as tears came running down her cheeks.

The Huntsman came through the small opening and looked at her, walking toward her. "I hunt you, yet you stop to compose a letter?" he asked, confused. "I will never understand your kind."

"I don't know these woods," Snow said, still writing the letter. "You're obviously a skilled hunter, you'll find me. No matter what I do, I know how this ends."

"Yes," the Huntsman breathed out, taking a step closer.

"There's one thing that I ask that you do after you kill me," she said. She finally finished her letter, folding it up and handing it to the Huntsman. "Please deliver this to the Queen."

"Your tricks won't work on me," he muttered.

"It's not a trick. Please give it to her," she begged. "Tell her I mean every word."

The Huntsman looked at Snow for a long moment before taking the letter from her hand, opening the letter as he started reading it. Snow waited for the other to finish reading it, she wanted to get this done. A tear came out of the Huntsman's eye, taking a deep breath as he looked up at the sky and then looked at her. He placed a hand on the handle of his dagger and taking it out of his leather pocket, slowly lifted it up in the air and ripped a piece of a planet while Snow was breathing heavily, looking at him with bewildered eyes. He made a small hole in the planet and handed it to her. "Sound this when you need help," he instructed her.

"What?" she asked confused, taking the small planet.

"It's a whistle. It will bring you aid. You'll be led to safety. Now go, run." He explained.

"I don't understand. You're not going to kill me?" she asked, looking up at him with tear-stained cheeks.

"Run!" he said firmly.

Snow got up, lifting up her dress and turning her back to him, running further into the Enchanted Forest, not looking back at the Huntsman. The Huntsman saw the deer and knew what he had to do.

Henry and Sheriff Graham were in Henry's room, sitting on the bed, and in Henry's lap was the Once Upon A Time book. It was open on the page of a deer then Henry turned the page, and he looked over at Sheriff Graham.

"When did your flashes begin?" Henry asked.

"Right after I kissed Emma," Graham answered.

"You kissed my mom?" he asked, his face turned to disgust. "What did you see?"

"A wolf," Graham replied. "I saw that I had a knife in my hand and I was with Mary Margaret."

"Were you about to hurt her?" Henry asked in a soft voice.

"Yes. How do you know that?" he asked urgently.

"Because Mary Margaret is Snow White," Henry started flipping through the pages of the book as he was looking for a picture of The Huntsman. "Which makes you The Huntsman."

"So you really think that I could be another person?" he asked, hesitating.

"Makes total sense. You were raised by wolves. That's why you keep seeing one. It's your friend, your guide. It's trying to help you."

"I'm remembering this because I kissed your mother?" he asked, taken aback by all of this. "How is that possible?"

"Well, you two do have a special connection. She owes you her life."

"How?" Graham asked Henry.

"Snow White's her mother. And you spared her. If you hadn't," Henry paused, "my mom wouldn't have been born."

"What happened after I spared Snow White?" Graham asked with curiosity in his voice.

"The Queen took your heart," he said, dramatically. "She ripped it out. It's kind of her thing. She never wanted you to be able to feel again."

Graham looked at Henry for a long moment, his mind was racing with a thousand questions. Like, where is his heart? How is he still alive? How could this be possible? "Let me see that book. "He quickly took the book out of Henry's hands and turned a page, seeing the Evil Queen walking out of the mausoleum with a smirk plastered on her face. "What's that?" Graham tapped on the page, pointing out a circular shape that looked like deer antlers. "I saw that, too. The wolf was howling at it."

"That's her vault. It's where she put your heart," Henry answered, looking at him.

"The wolf wants me to find it," he said out loud, nodding slowly. "Thank you, Henry." Graham closed the book and gave it back to Henry, taking his jacket, and got up, walking out of Henry's room.

Emma was outside of the Mayor's place, sitting in the car on the passenger side with the door open. Hearing the door open and close, she quickly got up from her car and closed the door. "Hey," Emma called out to Graham. "I hear you're having a rough day."

"Who says?" he asked, sounding defensive.

"Pretty much everyone. Maybe you need to go home and get some rest." Emma said, trying to be helpful.

"I'm fine," he said, trying to walk away.

"No, Graham, you're not fine. You just went to see a ten-year-old for help."

"He's the only one making any sense," he said, standing in front of Emma.

"What's going on?" she asked, concerned for Graham's health and mental state. "What's really going on?"

"It's my heart, Emma. I need to find it," he said urgently.

"Okay," she said, not really knowing what to say at that moment. "So how are you gonna do that?"

"I just need to follow the wolf," he said, obviously it was the answer to that question.

"What? What wolf?" she asked, really confused now.

"From my dreams. It's gonna help me find my heart."

"I'm sorry," she whispered, feeling sorry for him. "I—I thought we were talking in a metaphor here. You really think you don't have a heart?"

"It's the only thing that makes any sense. It's the only thing that explains why I don't feel anything."

"Listen to me, Graham, you have a heart," Emma said gently, Graham shaking his head. "I can prove it." She took a few steps forward, her hand on his chest and she could feel his heart beating. "See? It's beating. It's real." She smiled at Graham. He shook his head lightly, she lifted his hand and replaced her hand with his own hand. "Feel that. That is your heart."

"No, it's a curse," he said, not looking Emma in the eyes gently pushing her away.

"You can't really believe that's true," she said gently. Her eyes went wide all of a sudden, looking over Graham's shoulder.

"What?" he asked, he looked where Emma was looking at. It was the white wolf. And it was across the street from them.

The wolf growled lowly and turned back, walking away from them. Graham and Emma ran after the wolf, trying to catch up to the animal. They entered a cemetery, they were still following the wolf. The wolf stopped in front of the mausoleum, they both slowed down and made a complete stop.

"Graham! Graham, be careful," Emma called out to him, trying to catch her breath.

"He's my friend. He won't hurt us," Graham said with confidence.

The wolf started howling loudly, Emma jumped slightly not expecting the wolf to howl. The wolf whined softly and turned around and walked past the mausoleum. Graham and Emma jogged and watched the wolf go into the woods, standing by the mausoleum.

Graham looked around and noticed the same logo that was in Henry's book, his eyes widened and he was in shock.

"What is it?" Emma asked, looking at the same thing Graham saw.

"It's my heart," he replied, looking at Emma and then back at the vault. "It's in there." Graham took out his flashlight, turning it on since it was getting dark now. "I have to look in there."

"No. Stop, stop." Emma pulled him away from the mausoleum.

"I have to get in there. Please." He begged.

"Graham, come on," she begged. "You really think that your heart is in there?" Graham nodded. "Okay," she breathed out."Let's find out." She walked up to the doors, trying to open them but they wouldn't open at all. "Come on!" She tugged on the doors more roughly, took a step back, and kicked the door open. They finally opened with a single rough kick, Emma looked back at Graham and he followed her inside the mausoleum.

A knight held the Huntsman by the back of the arm, they were walking down the hall in the Queen's castle and stopped at the door. "Wait here," said the knight. He walked back down the same hall as he waited.

"I see you're still in mourning," said the Huntsman to Regina.

"The time for mourning is over," Regina said, a smirk came to her lips as she walked closer to the Huntsman while looking at him. "I simply found that black suits me. Now, tell me, is Snow dead?" she asked.

The Huntsman looked down then back to Regina. "The young girl's heart, as you requested." He pulled the leather-brown bag behind his back when Regina reached for it. "First, there's something I must do." He took out the letter that Snow wrote, showed it to her, and gave it to her.

"What's this?" she asked, disgusted.

"The girl wanted you to have it," he told her.

"Read it to me," she demanded.

She walked past him while he opened it, it read:

"Dearest Stepmother, by the time you read this, I will be dead. I understand that you will never have love in your life because of me. So it's only fitting that I'll be denied that same joy as well. For the sake of the kingdom, I hope my death satisfies your need for revenge, allowing you to rule my father's subjects as they deserve, with compassion and a gentle hand. I know what you think you're doing is vengeance. I prefer to think of it as sacrifice for the good of all. With that in mind, I welcome the end, and I want you to take my last message to heart. I'm sorry, and I forgive you."

Regina's face clearly shows that she is angry, she stomps over to the Huntsman takes the letter from his hands, and throws it into the fireplace, watching the letter burn and turn into ash. "Don't tell me you're becoming a sheep," her voice hard when she spoke.

"She put others before herself and yet you hate her. What did she do to you?" the Huntsman asked, trying to understand her hatred for Snow White.

"I shared a secret with her and she couldn't keep it," said Regina while watching the fire. "And that betrayal cost me dearly." She slowly turned her head to the Huntsman. "Now," she walked toward him, "show me her heart!" her voice raised slightly, looking him dead in the eyes.

The Huntsman took off the brown leather bag and Regina snatched it once it was off, she walked past him and walked toward her vault, which contained the hearts of people who she and her mother took out of people. There was a small wooden circular table with a small wooden box in the center of it, she placed the brown leather bag on the table and took out the heart, smiling down at it. She opened the box placed the heart in it carefully and closed it shut, picking up the box and holding it up to the other boxes of hearts. Waiting for one to slide open, it took a minute to realize that it wasn't doing anything. "It should open," she said to herself, her voice panicking a bit. She looked down at the box, slowly opening it and taking out the heart, dropping the box as she looked back at the Huntsman. She walked fast to him, she was angry. Pissed off even. "This isn't her heart!" her voice hard, shaking the heart at him. "This isn't a human heart! What did you do?" she demanded.

Graham and Emma walked into the mausoleum slowly, they both looked around inside it with Graham's flashlight around the small mausoleum. "It's gotta be in here," breathed out Graham, still looking around. "Somewhere," he muttered, walking past Emma and walking into it further as he was trying to look and figure out where his heart could be. Emma stood there, clueless about what she was supposed to do and Graham on the other hand was looking behind a vase and up in a window, all around the tiny room. "There's gotta be a hidden door," he said quickly, grunting as he pushed on the wall. "A lever." He looked down at the marble casket and then behind him at shelves, flashing the flashlight into them. He saw a blue vase, and stuck his hand in it, grunting softly as Emma watched him, putting it back on the shelf. "Something," he murmured to himself.

"Graham. Hey, Graham," Emma tried to get his attention, turning him around to face him. "There's nothing in here," she said gently.

"There has to be," he said, trying to convince her. "If there isn't, then— " he trailed off.

"It's okay," she whispered to him. "It's going to be okay."

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Regina called out from outside the mausoleum, they both broke eye contact and looked at Regina.

Emma walked out of the mausoleum slowly, shocked that Regina was there. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Bringing flowers to my father's grave like I do every Wednesday," the Mayor answered her.

"Don't blame her," Graham said as he finally came out of the mausoleum. "It's my fault. I wanted to look in there." He took a step down the stairs and toward Regina.

"Really? Why?" she asked. "What were you looking for?" she asked with curiosity.

"Nothing," he lied. "It was nothing." Emma walked down and stood behind Graham while the two spoke.

"You don't look well, dear." She looked at his face for a moment. "Let's take you home." She pulled on his hand to follow her.

"I don't wanna go home," Graham stuttered before yanking his arm back. "Not with you."

Emma looked between the two as her eyes widened a bit in shock. "Oh?" her face was equally shocked. "But you'll go with her?" she asked bitterly.

"Hey, this is between you two. Leave me out of it." Emma interjected, crossing her arms over her chest.

Regina looked over at him, looking angry at Emma.

"She's right. It's between us, and things have to change," he said softly.

"And I wonder why that is, all of a sudden," she took a step forward.

"It has nothing to do with her. I've realized that I don't feel anything, Regina. And I know now it's not me, it's you."

"So you're leaving me for her?" she asked bitterly.

"I'm leaving you for me."

Regina took a couple of steps toward Graham. "Graham, you're not thinking straight," she whispered.

"Actually for the first time, I am. I'd rather have nothing than settle for less. Nothing is better than what we have." He said while leaning in. "I need to feel something, Regina, and the only way to do that is to give myself a chance."

"Graham," Regina said softly.

"I'm sorry. It's over," Graham said, looking at Regina for a few seconds before looking over at Emma.

"I don't know what I ever did to you, Miss Swan, to deserve this," Regina spoke to Emma, looking at her. "To have you keep coming after everything I hold dear."

"I told you, it's not her," he said, trying to interject the situation.

"None of this happened until she got here," Regina said, coolly.

"I'm sorry," Emma said. "You ever stop to think that maybe the problem isn't with me, but with you?" she asked a daring question.

"Excuse me?" Regina's eyes widen at the daring question.

"Henry came and found me." Emma walked behind Graham to get to the other side, still looking at me. "Graham kissed me. Both were miserable. Maybe, Madam Mayor, you need to take a good, hard look in the mirror and ask yourself why that is. Why is everyone running away from you?"

Regina looked dead in her eyes, smirking as she took a step forward, hitting her with her fists. Emma grunted as she fell to the ground.

"Regina!" Graham yelled at her while trying to catch Emma but didn't catch her on time.

Emma got up from the ground quickly. She was pissed off now. She looked at Regina and then gave her a punch in the face, Regina fell down to the ground. Then Emma grabbed her behind her black leather jacket and pinned her to the mausoleum wall.

"Stop!" Graham shouted at the two of them. "Stop! Stop! Stop it!" He ran toward the two women and pulled them off of her. Emma struggled between Graham's arms and got free after a few seconds of fighting.

Regina walked past Emma and Graham, picking up the flowers with heavy breaths. Emma walked past Regina, looking at her with an evil look.

"Not worth it," Emma told Graham while looking at Regina, walking away from Graham and Regina. The two ex-lovers stood there, watching her leave then they both looked at each other.

"Graham?" Regina's voice was soft. Graham walked past her and not saying a single word to her, she watched him leave.

Graham and Emma were back at the police station, Emma had put up her blond locks into a ponytail and had taken off her red leather jacket. She was leaning up against a desk as Graham had an ice pack in his hand. "I'm sorry," he said, sighing gently. He took a few steps toward her, pushing a lock of hair out of the way as he put the ice pack on the side of her face where Regina had punched her. She took the ice pack from him, looked at him, and wince slightly at the coldness. "I don't know what came over me," he said, walking to his desk. "How I lost my mind."

Emma took a deep breath and breathed out. "It's okay," she breathed out. "You were tired and feverish. And heartbroken."

"I don't know why I let myself get caught up with her," he admitted to her.

"Because it was easy and safe," Emma said gently, setting the ice pack next to her on the desk as she looked up at Graham. "Not feeling anything's an attractive option when what you feel sucks."

Graham chuckled lightly as he took the ice pack back and tilted his head to the side, looking at Emma. Pushing the piece of hair out of the way, he had an alcohol wipe and started cleaning the cut. Emma inhaled sharply, flinching away from the alcohol wipe as he backed off.

"Felt that," she whispered and they both chuckled softly, looking at each other.

Regina came back to the mausoleum, she walked into it swiftly with the same bouquet of flowers from earlier. She closed the door behind her, looking around the room for a moment before taking it all in. Her eyes went to the white marble casket, the name on the casket was: Henry Mills. Husband. Father. She placed the white flowers on top of the casket, taking a deep breath as she placed a hand on the casket. She pushed the casket, revealing an underground room, descending down the stairs.

"Did you think you can fool me with the heart of a stag?" Regina asked, walking past him and slamming the heart down onto a table angrily. Her hand went up and made the door close, the Huntsman looked behind him, scared. "You're not going anywhere."

"She doesn't deserve to die," the Huntsman said, walking backward.

"That's not up to you. I wanted a heart, and a heart I shall have," she sneered at him, walking closer to him. Her hand stopped forward into his chest, the Huntsman groaned in pain and his back hit the wooden doors. She yanked out his heart, it was glowing red and beating rhythm in her hand. He was panting heavily, looking at his heart in her hand.

"What are you going to do to me?" he asked with a panicked voice.

Regina leaned in, grabbed his face with her free hand, and kissed him roughly. His eyes were wide with shock at her action, she pulled away from him with a smirk. "You're now mine. My pet." She shoved his face away, turning her back to him and holding up his heart as one of the many drawers opened. She looked over at the Huntsman with a determined face. "And this is your cage," said Regina. "From this moment forward, you will do everything that I say. And if you ever disobey me, if you ever try to run away, all I have to do is squeeze." Once she said those words, she squeezed his heart and the Huntsman groaned in pain, he got down on his knees, the pain was unbearable. She kept squeezing for a good minute, she wanted to get the point across, but she stopped squeezing as she dropped her hand. "Guards!" she yelled out to them. The guards burst into the room and went on either side of the Huntsman, picking him up off the floor, and making him stand. "Your life's now in my hands. Forever." The Huntsman looked at her with fear in his eyes, he couldn't believe that his life was now in the hands of an evil monster. "Take him to my bed chamber," she directed the guards. The guards took him out of the room while Regina put Graham's heart into the open box.

Regina finally reached her vault at the bottom of the mausoleum, pushing the curtains to the side, and looking up at the boxes. She was trying to find the one with Graham's heart in it. Placing one hand on the box that was eye level, she pushed on it and it slid out. She took out a box slowly and placed the box on the table, opening the box and it was Graham's heart. It was still bright red and beating with a rhythm.

Graham was still cleaning Emma's wound when Regina was doing all of this. Once he was done cleaning, he took a step back and looked at her. "All better?" he asked her.

Emma blinked rapidly. "Yeah," she whispered. Emma was staring at him when he walked away and closed the first aid kit.

"What?" he asked.

Emma smiled, getting up and off the desk, she walked toward him. They looked into each other's eyes for a long second, her face was getting closer to his. They kissed, her arms wrapped around his neck as his arms wrapped around her waist and they kept kissing one another.

All of a sudden, Graham's eyes widen at the memories. It was still all the same: The dead deer. The arrow. The wolf. The fighting at the pub. The Queen. Snow White. The sword. The red apples. His heart. He suddenly pulled away from her and sat back on his desk, breathing hard.

"Graham?" Emma called his name with worry.

Regina has his heart in his hand, beating hard, she looked at the heart.

"Are you okay?" Emma asked him.

"I remember," he stated.

"Graham?" she said with worry.

Graham stood up. "I remember," he whispered.

"You remember what?" she asked.

Graham walked up to Emma with a smile on his face, he placed his hands on Emma's cheeks as she smiled up at him. "Thank you," he murmured, he was leaning in about to kiss her again.

Regina finally squeezed Graham's heart, and the beating of his heart became rapid. Just when they were about to kiss again, Graham groaned and fell onto the desk and onto the floor. "Graham!" she cried out in a panic. "Graham!" she cried out again. "Graham? Graham?" Turned him over on his back, panicked. She shook him, trying to wake him up but nothing was working. "Graham! Graham!" She cried out. His heart was now into ash, all of the ashes fell to the floor of Regina's vault. "Graham!" She leaned her head down to his chest, trying to listen to a heartbeat. "Okay. Okay." She muttered, she tried shaking him once more. "Graham! Come on, Graham! Graham!" She continued to shake him on her lap, he was dead and there was nothing that she could do now to help save him. She started sobbing uncontrollably. "Graham—" she whispered out.