8I don't own OUAT.
They can tell him their stupid reasons and pretend like he is just some kid, but his mother is out there somewhere and she is sad. And maybe his memories are all false, or edited copy's where the face of her mother is swapped, but there is still a bit of that 'it is mom and me against the rest of the world' feeling left. Besides, he hates it when they hide things from him or deem something 'unsafe'. Emma is his mother and they have spent the last year together and he has gotten to know her in years of real memories and a lifetime of memories he doesn't know what to make off.
Sometimes she wants to be alone when she needs someone around her. Not necessarily to talk; she isn't always good at that. She just need someone to be there and do things like insult her gaming skills.
He is running towards the park when he stumbles and catches himself. He leans against a tree, nearly gagging. Now that he is standing still, the heat is quickly leaving him and he shivers a little. He wipes the sweat from his brow, leans forward to take deep breaths. He watches the little clouds every breath makes for a while, his heartbeat slowing and the stitch in his side thankfully disappearing.
He thinks part of the forest is on fire , at first. Then squints his eyes and – it is a light beam. Magic. From- he starts running again, only hesitating long enough for his heartbeat to speed up again. His feet slap against the autumn leaves as he runs, glancing at the beam that leads the way for him.
He grabs his phone from his pocket, formulates a text – There is something going on with the farm. Bring backup- he does not press 'send' yet because there would be transportation and scolding and he would potentially never discover what is going on.
Besides, he wants to rescue someone for once. He is tired of being rescued, of being just a damsel in distress.
He gasps and nearly drops his phone: through a hole in the farm's roof, there is light that looks oddly like the cheesy scenes from movies where they try to show Heaven. If he is really quiet, he can hear the sound of what is possibly the wind over his heartbeat and panting. He takes one step forward, places his hand on the wooden doors.
He deflates, steps back. He has no weapons, no magic, nothing to defend himself against what is – his eyes fall on a large stone a little while back. It is not as impressive as a sword or as effective as a pistol but it will have to do. He runs back, grabs it and holds it in his closed left hand. His phone is still in his right one when he pushes the doors open in a quick motion, his thumb going to the send -
He only sees light that hurts his eyes for a moment, his legs are suddenly gone from underneath him and he has an immediate headache as his head hits the ground. More serious however is how he can hardly move and how he can feel the slight burn in his back as he is pulled towards that light by an unseen force. He pushes the stone into his pocket, uses one hand to grab on to anything, anything- ( he can hardly move that hand, the same gravitational force now also pressing down on his hand with the weight of several bookcases)
His eyes water – is it pain or fear- and he tastes blood as he somehow manages to select her number. He cries out a little, his nails breaking and the skin beneath turning into scrapes as he claws at the earth desperately. For a moment, he stills –
His body is metres away from the inferno behind him, something heavy pulling on his legs and he has is staring at the raging fire lapping at his feet. He thinks he is saved when he hears her voice. " Corazon? ".
It is too difficult. His strength wanes, his grip slips and he is flying through the air with the heat of an immense fire on his back. His voice breaks when he screams it.
" MOMMA".
The rushing of the fire is louder than her voice, the orange quickly fades into the black, his stomach drops as his body does, the warmth around him is quickly replaced by intense cold- he screams one last time ,
Then fades.
When he comes to, he can taste dirt. He spits, wipes his mouth before he struggles to his feet. There are birds chirping around him, leaves and a lot of trees. It should not be possible, is against the very laws of magic and- " the enchanted forest" he breathes. He has stared at the drawings so many times that he could never not recognize it.
He struggles to his feet and immediately looks at the phone he somehow has managed to hold on to desperately. Miraculously, it still works but when he tries to call her again, instead of his mom's soothing ( actually , in this case he can expect it to be more nerve-wrecked) voice , he gets croaks and static. And there is another problem- the battery. It is almost full now, but how would I ever recharge it here?
He quickly turns off his phone and puts it in his pocket as he hears neighs and horse feet. He watches from behind a tree as a familiar carriage comes into view and an even more familiar figure can be seen behind its tiny window. Mom.
The carriage comes to a halt and he is reminded that he is not looking at his mother. His mother's eyes are filled with awed wonder after she broke a curse; the same brown eyes are angry and a little insane when this woman stalks towards the line of villagers. He sneaks closer, so he can hear more than the general tone of her voice.
He has to grip the branches to keep himself from surging forward, thinking about- about what? How would I stop her? Even if I had a sword- that's – it might actually be worse than the false-but-not memories he has, seeing his mom like this. Seeing the evil queen wearing his mom's face.
A part of him feels hopeful – because yes, she is being pretty terrible but she has yet to rip out hearts or- when she makes a grand gesture and says 'this is what helping Snow White looks like". He does not think he has ever heard something more terrible the woman's voice as she desperately cries for help, but then his mother laughs and he gets angry and flinches and is a ten-year-old coming to the most awful realization ever again.
It is stupid and reckless, but he cannot help it. If the whole village is just going to stand there and do nothing , he will have to do it. He runs forward and barges straight into one of the guards. He falls , but he is prepared for it and manages to get to his feet far more quickly than the guard does. He places himself between the bound woman and the guard. His legs are trembling but he raises his head and uses the glare he has copied from his mom.
" Keep away from her".
The guard pulls his arm back, ready to thrust his sword towards Henry and he simultaneously gets ready to push the woman behind him to the ground and drop to the ground as well. Then there is the sound of her heels and her cool voice " Do not kill the child"
He only turns around to face her when the guard has sheathed his sword and taken several steps back. She grabs his chin- which startles him, because of how it lacks the usual gentleness- and places on hand against his chest. He swallows. She wouldn't –
" Where is she?".
" I do not know" of course he knows. No one knows the book as well as he does.
Maybe she still has that special sense, the one where she catches nearly every lie he tells her , because she narrows her eyes and snarls. " You have one last cha- ".
" if you kill her, it won't bring Daniel back" he blurts out.
She stalls. He flinches at the look at her face at first, then automatically reaches for her hand when it is replaced by sadness and pa- She glances at where he is squeezing her hand with confusion. She studies him for a while, then slowly pulls her hand off his chest and steps back. He is just relaxing when she pushes him, hard enough that he stumbles towards the guard.
" Bring the boy to my chariot" she sneers as she looks at the still bound woman. " She will spend her last night in my dungeons".
And before he can do anything, a man is dragging him towards the chariot and he can hear the woman's voice as she shouts for help and yells at the guard holding her " what kind of monster are you, release me" . He pulls and tugs and pushes against the tight grip on his arm but the stoic, faceless person ignores him.
The door of the chariot opens and he falls on the seat inside. The ev- queen speaks as soon as they start to move. "Did that dreadful Snow white tell you his name? ".
He thinks really fast. Saying 'yes' could lead to two scenario's. One; he is kept alive and might survive misleading her. Two: she forces him to tell Snow's hiding place. "No " he finally says, recognizing that she is becoming impatient.
" It was Rumpelstilstkin".
" Nope. But you can keep guessing" he shrugs. " If you want to".
He can see she is surprised. But honestly, now that she is no longer threatening an entire village, she just looks like his mom dressed up and complaining about the 'idiocy and ineptitude' of most of the townspeople. " Enough games. Tell me how you know that name".
He doesn't know where he gets the idea. Perhaps it is years of reading comics as well as books. Perhaps it is because he knows he needs some leverage her, that he cannot leave himself unprotected. " I am a seer".
She cocks her head, then laughs. It is not a pleasant one and he is suddenly struck with homesickness. " No, you are not" she finally says. They learned that some animals bare their teeth to threaten others. That is what she is doing; she is not smiling, she is threatening him.
He thinks of the prisoner and wants to yell at the queen and beg her for mercy at the same time. A part of him thinks he just has to ask her for mercy and she will give it to him like she has always tried to give him everything , but he shuts that part up 'this is not mom. This is the evil queen, decades before Storybrooke and mom.
Still, a part of him must be too stubborn to listen because he finds himself glaring at her like it is not a death sentence. " I am a seer. I know you hate gra- Snow white because she told your secret. I know your first love died. And I know that woman was innocent" he says the last words like an accusation.
She pulls her lips up in something that can hardly be called a smile. "She was a collaborator. She obviously aided my enemy, which makes her a traitor to me and the kingdom in extension".
" Even if she did help Snow- she just- ".
The queen interrupts him. "Where is she? You obviously sympathizes with her and she must have spilled my secrets again. So tell me where that cockroach is hiding, so I can properly crush her with my boot.
" I thought she did not even know Daniel died" he frowns.
The insane look in her eyes, the sparks at her fingertips and the general harshness about her fades. " No. She does not".
When he first got the book, he only saw the horrible things that were done by the woman with pained eyes and a cruel smirk. Lately, he has learned to look at more than that- until he wonders 'how deep ran the queen's hatred for Snow White'? sometimes, the queen really seems to not have been trying as hard as you would've expected from someone who will 'destroy Snow if it is the last thing she does'.
" Anyways, she never told me".
" I do not- ".
" You press your hand against your stomach when you are nervous. You have had an apple tree since you were a little girl. You are bad at remembering numbers. You are a restless sleeper and often get up in the middle of the night. You dislike certain fish types, but enjoy most meat".
She suddenly grabs his chin again and digs her nails in. He can feel them break his skin. " Who told you this about me?".
" It is k-kind of a long story".
She smiles slowly. " Oh, we have the time". She pushes him away. " The only thing I have scheduled in the morning is an execution".
" I won't tell you".
" What?".
It is probably insane that he is trying it but- "I will not let anyone die. So if you want to know what I know you will have to promise you do not hurt that lady".
She chuckles. " You certainly are audacious. However, you are also misguided if you think I will let her go " there is a seriously freaky look in her eyes. " Aiding Snow White in any way is treason".
He bites his lip hard, wanting to say so many things to her. But he suspects the retaliation would be harsh so he settles for glaring. She merely arches her eyebrow and sits back. " As soon as we arrive at my castle, you will follow my guards towards my personal chambers. I have certain responsibilities that require my attention at first, but will join you shortly thereafter. You will tell me everything you know".
"If you do not hurt her".
She presses her hand to his chest again, glances down. " You will tell me" is all she says – promises. He pushes her hand away. It is weird how his glare falters – maybe it is because his mom's look of concern and love is still fresh in his mind, or the feeling of another curse broken still lingers.
How come hating this woman was so much easier years ago?
But then again, maybe it was not. He had been hurt and so very angry and he had wanted her to lose. But he can also remember moments where he had been automatically smiled at her or reached for her hand to squeeze it. Stupid things that had become a habit. Maybe it is something like that now, or maybe it is just because he is all alone in a land he has only read about – with no way to get home or even get any food- and if he could wish for one person to be here, he would probably wish for his mom.
Either way, it messes with his head.
He could run away. There is a guard place before the door, but he is sure he could find a way around that. He could pretend to be ill or hurt. He could scream and shout and be a nuisance. Except-
He has no resources; no gold or jewels or anything that will serve as payment. His clothes will attract many questions, questions he cannot answer. He has no place to stay, no transport and no map that with 'WAY TO CURSED TOWN, STORYBROOKE, MAINE" in bold red letters. One of the only people that might be able to get him home, is a giggling madman that could demand anything – from his firstborn to his ability to love- in exchange for his help.
He is all alone, lost and without any way to defend himself or care for himself. And that is not even thinking about how much he could ruin by being here. Fortunately, he cannot rip the space-continuum apart by coming across another him , but he could accidentally prevent his birth in tens of little ways.
Ironically enough, the safest option might be staying at the evil queen's castle.
He is sulking on the couch, going through his backpack when he hears her heels. He keeps his eyes on the items he has pulled out instead of on her. It is only when she grabs the flashlight and examines it. She presses the switch and stares at the beam of light.
" I have never seen magic like this" she remarks.
He takes the flashlight from her. " That is because it is not magic"
" It is not?".
" No It has an electrical circuit made of batteries – which is the source of power- , a lamp and the switch". He presses the switch. " if you press the switch, it starts a flow of electricity- " .
" Electricity?".
" Yeah. Like- " he thinks for a moment. " you know lightning, right? ".
" Yes. What of it? ".
" Electricity is kind of like lightning. Except trapped lightning, used to power machines".
" Trapping lightning.. that still sounds like magic".
Henry shrugs. " It is not ". He puts the flashlight in his backpack again. The queen stares at the items he puts back ( his lunchbox, his thermos, grilled cheese in a plastic bag, a blanket) " How have you acquired these strange items ?" she asks.
" I have gotten most of it from my moms" he says, his throat closing as he thinks of how far from home he is.
The queen sits down on the other end of the couch. " Where are your mothers now then?".
He swallows, blinks rapidly. " Home. Which is very far from here".
" Are you lost? ".
He shrugs. Is it safe to tell her I am? She scoots a little closer. He studies her. What is her angle here? Is she being relatively nice so he will spill the information? That doesn't make sense, not if she could just- He subtly places the backpack in between them like a shield. If she is planning to take his heart, she will first have to throw it on the floor. Which might give him enough time to run.
Though if she really wants to, he is sure she could take his heart without too much trouble.
There is silence for a moment, silence that leaves Henry to contemplate whether he should run after all. He is arguing with himself when she breaks the silence. " Is there any reason in particular that you broke my mirror? ".
He glances at the mirror. "Oh. I did not want the genie to spy on me".
" So you know about him, too". The queen arches her eyebrow the exact same way his mom does- which makes sense because she is his , well she is sort of his mom. Gods, his head really hurts. He misses simpler times, when math used to be the most confusing thing in his life.
" Yes. I know almost everything" apart from your time with Leopold, you- no, she refuses to say more than ' I never wanted that marriage'.
" Have you been spying on me?". She studies him again. " Infiltrated my palace as a servant, to gather intel so Snow White knows when to attack me".
" I don't think I could pass for a convincing servant".
The smile is almost normal this time. "No, you could not" she agrees.
" Any more questions?"
" You can tell me where she is".
" I told you, I do not know".
" You seem like a smart boy…" he tenses at the look she sends him. "and yet, you are foolish enough to lie to me".
" I am not lying".
She starts to stand and stalks towards him. He glides of the couch and pulls his backpack towards him. He faces her, tries to stand tall and look like he remains unimpressed. He learned that from the days he would go with her, chatting until the meeting would start and she would stare them all down. He uses that look now, but she keeps approaching him.
Finally, she is in front of him. "I could ascertain that you will never lie to me again " she warns.
He nods.
" I would not even need your heart for that".
Truth potions. Dark magic. Artefacts she might have. He nods again.
" So tell me… " she has one arm pulled back, and he recognizes her signature move. " where did you get this information".
" You need to free her".
His eyes are on that arm so he knows when she tries it. Seconds before her hand sinks into his chest, he moves away , stumbles and starts to run. He hears the door slam, but that is not where he was headed anyways. Instead, he goes for the mirror. By the time she is in front of him again, he has a glass shard in his hand.
When she moves in again, he rushes forward. Two inches from her cheek, he drops the shard. The anger fades and leaves him feeling drained. He actually stumbles. " I am s-sorry" he says, head bent. He feels sick and tired, the fight out of him for a moment. She presses her hand to his chest- I am sorry grandma, I am so sorry- then stuns him by instead almost gently pushing his chin up.
" Why did you drop it?".
" I couldn't – ' he shudders, " I couldn't hurt you".
"Because hurting people is bad?".
" N-no" he rubs the few tears away. " Well yes, that too but- I thought you would be different. I thought it would be simple".
"What are you talking about".
He shakes his head. He kind of really wants to tell her- would that be enough to make her like mom? But he knows he cannot. He is pretty sure the rules of time travelling don't allow it , for once. And he also has no idea how she would react (if she would even believe him".
" Never mind" .
She stares at him, then shrugs. " Very well. You can keep your secrets ".
" I c-can?".
She smiles. He does not trust that smile, it is sharp like the glass shards beneath his sneakers. " For now". She takes a few steps away from him. " We will have dinner first".
Before he can even say something like 'no thanks , I enjoy food that is not potentially poisoned' , there is already a servant at the door. She comes in after a short hesitance , behind the two servants that carry a table and the others that carry two chairs. The table is placed in the middle of the room, one chair at the head of it and the other to its right.
The servant girl places the silver dish in the middle of the long table, bows and disappears from the room. When she returns, she has several smaller dishes that she quickly places on the table. After several trips, the table is filled with all sorts of food- most of which he does not recognize. She curtsies, then pulls the throne-like chair back.
The queen sits down, then suddenly grabs the girl's wrist. Henry is already moving forward, thinking of a way he can help, opening his mouth to divert the queen's attention when the grip loosens and the queen's voice almost sounds pleasant as she asks 'what have you chosen tonight, dear'?
The woman blushes, curtsies again. The queen lets her go and watches her as she hurries to where a bottle is leaning against the wall, returns with two glasses. She places one glass in front of his chair, fills the other glass and hands it to the queen.
The queen hums, then nods. " Very well chosen". The woman preens. " Thank you, your majesty" . She just stands there and Henry thinks she is staring at the queen but the woman is half turned away from him so he cannot be sure.
The queen gestures in his direction . " The boy?".
" Oh! My apologies, your majesty" She grabs Henry's glass and turns to him " Do you also want some?".
The queen tutted and pulled the woman towards her. They whispered something to each other before the woman pulled away and said " Would you also like some, sir?".
He could feel himself blush. " You do not have to call me that. It is kind of weird if you do actually".
"Very well" she pulled back his chair from him, he sat down after a short hesitation.
" Is there anything else I can help you with, your majesty? ".
"I do not think so. You are dismissed". The woman looked – disappointed? What is going on here? But curtsied one last time and left the chamber. Henry kind of wanted to ask her to stay, then felt bad about it. What if the queen got mad at her and tried to hurt her?
The queen picked up her cutlery and started to eat. He stared down at the plate, wondering whether he would really insult her if he did not eat. At all. " Is there any reason you are staring at your plate like that? I assume you have not been raised by wolves and thus know how to use cutlery".
" Of course I know, my mom taught me manners. I am just not sure whether I can eat this without getting food poisoning"
" My food is prepared by the most skilful cooks and brought to me by a servant that has earned my trust. I very much doubt it will get you ill".
" Is she your friend ? " the book never showed much of the queen, just how she destroyed his grandparents' lives. They never talked about what she did when she was staying at her castle. He suddenly really wants to know.
Mo- the queen swallows her bite. " I do not usually gallivant with servants, dear".
"I don't get it – you never wanted to be queen, right?" he carefully watches her, to see whether him asking questions like this anger her. She does not seem particularly angry, so he continues. " So why would you even care about whether someone you want to be friends or whatever with is 'of a lower social standing' That makes no sense".
" I have changed much since I believed that it did not matter whether you were a princess…" she looks more like the mother he knows when she is like this, sad and nearly subdued. Does that even make sense? " or a stable boy".
" Do you not want to be friends with her?" he asks. He always wanted friends. He just never knew how to make them. And well- people were often so different from him.
" You should really not concern yourself with my private life" her voice has changed again, now a clear warning.
" But do you think it really matters? In the end, it does not really mean that much that you are royalty. It is cool and interesting, but it is not like it immediately gives you superpowers".
Mo – the queen lowers her glass. Her lips are tinted red." Superpowers?".
" Sort of magical talents. You can have super strength or super speed".
" That sounds.. intriguing" he feels kind of guilty that he is sort of enjoying himself. Apparently, even when she is the evil queen, mom still likes talking about their usual topics of conversation. He has had hours-long talks with her about what counts as redemption, whether a hero can also hurt people, whether certain abilities would actually be possible.. He misses days and evenings like that.
" It is. But the superheroes never get their powers because they are royalty. They make them or they have them because they are from another planet or it is like fate, you know?".
The queen swallows the bite she has just taken. " I am not exactly fate's greatest admirer" she admits.
" Anyways, what I was saying, is that it does not really matter in the end whether you are royalty or not".
The queen smiles lazily. " Some would already consider such a bold statement treason".
" But not you?".
" Not at the moment. I do believe you are not intentionally offensive".
'not at the moment' and 'for now'. She only seems predictable in her unpredictability. But he already knew that. " Fine. Why do you think it matters whether you are royalty?".
" You have to claw your way up to become royalty. And once you are there, you have to be a certain type of person to remain there. You are always fighting".
"Why do you not just run away? " I don't understand. She seems unhappy, so why does she stay the queen. " why don't you just leave the kingdom and built a new life for yourself? ".
The queen curls her lip, her hand tightens around the glass. " She committed a crime. She betrayed me. I am not letting her get away with it".
" She did not mean to" he says softly, all too aware what kind of land mine Snow White is.
The glass shatters and the chair is shoved back. He knows he should be terrified of the evil queen , but he is only slightly afraid. " you- " she growls and moves her hand.
He ducks as his own glass shatters, throwing his arms up above him. The chair behind him is thrown against the wall. He can feel the table – which is heavy enough that three muscular people had to carry it- barges into the wall. He slowly removes his arms and dares to look at her. There is blood dripping from her outstretched hand, there is that bulging vein on her forehead. He waits until she slowly exhales and starts to lower her arm.
He is angry until she turns her hand and he sees the glass that is sticking in her skin. Then he just feels like he has spent the night gaming and eating too much candy. He approaches her, which surprises her enough that she just stands there and observes him.
He shows her his napkin " you hurt your hand. May I?".
She nods. She calms further as he pulls the little shards from her hand , wincing every time he removes another one. She, on the other hand, does not even seem to feel them. She stares down at them with detachment. " There is a chamber you will stay at " she says, voice also oddly detached.
He nods. " Okay" it is better than the dungeons at least. He opens his mouth, almost offers to stay with her- there is just something in her eyes that compels him to even if there is a bit of anger returning at the same time- when she waves her hand. " Go. If I wish to speak to you, I will summon you".
He does not look back as he makes his way across glass and splinters and food. The guard walks towards him. For what must be the thousandth time, he thinks about leaving. The guard's gloved hand is loosely clasped around his shoulder, like he has anywhere to run. Because that is the thing, isn't it?
He has no home here-
Does he?
He feels something not unlike hope in the night when he sneaks out , wanders around the castle and finally figures out where the entrance to the dungeons is. When he gets to the cell he knows holds the woman he tried to save, the torches flicker to light and-
She is sitting in a comfortable chair, a book on her lap and the unknown woman nowhere to be seen. It nearly makes him jump out of his skin.
He is both terrified and furious for a moment, thinking she has already executed her or brought her somewhere else to hurt her or- she slowly marks the page she was reading, then makes the book disappear. The cell doors swing open and she steps out.
" I believe that you owe me an answer" she says.
" where is she?".
" She is on her way home, which will be a safe journey if you give me what you promised".
She is still a jerk for blackmailing him, but at least she has let someone she probably hates go. "The easiest answer is that there is a book. A book about you, and Snow and the whole history between the two of you".
" Tell me".
So he does. They return to 'his' room and he curls down in a chair and she sits down at the bed as he begins. " Once upon a time"…
The conversation lasts the entire night;
" That is all it says about my childhood?".
" Pretty much".
" There was more to Leopold than the kindness most saw on the surface " she manages to grit out semi – calmly. After she has nearly given him a heart- attack by her sudden harsh words ( mostly directed at Leopold) and the fireball she threw at the door.
" Snow was very spoiled. They should have kept that" He wonders why it is so important and why it would even really matter. Spoiled is not the same as bad after all.
Then the queen elaborates and he feels like he is standing bare-footed in the snow instead of curled in a chair with a blanket around him and a fire crackling in the corner. " She had a habit of treating people more like possession than well.. people. If there was someone she liked – a servant at a foreign castle, a child, anyone really , she never found it odd that those people were taken from their homes and brought to her".
He suddenly has the image of a younger version of his mom , stuck in a castle. Dressed up like she is a doll, called to Snow's room whenever she wanted it. Surely- she must have had some control over her life. And grandma- grandma likes people , does she not? It all leaves him with a sour taste in his mouth and guilt because he had so readily and easily believed that Snow had been such a wonderful child. And she probably was- but she must have hurt people, too.
He slowly reaches out to squeeze the queen's hand. He feels bad about that too: just this morning he saw this same woman laugh at the thought of someone's execution. How could he ever feel sorry for her? But am I even feeling sorry for her? Or is it mom I feel sorry for- or even mom when she was young and hadn't hurt anyone yet.
He files the questions away to think about later and continues.
" They just skip all those years? " she scoffs.
He quietly asks her whether she wants to talk about it. She laughs harshly. " No. I do not talk about it, I would want to forget those years even existed. But they need to be listened to. ". She is tense and likely to fight again, to react with anger and harsh words so he lets it rest. But the questions just keep piling up when she looks down and scarcely swallow.
He is just getting to the part where bandit Snow meets prince Charming when his eyes start to slip closed. "she cut a tree down so the carriage would stop. Important" he mutters, yawns. He is vaguely aware of his stomach dropping and the smell of cinnamon and apples. He smiles. " momma" they used to make turnovers with those ingredients.
He buries into the bed he has been placed in and dreams of Storybrooke and family. He also dreams of castles and queens and spoiled princes and cages. The brown eyes are there in both dreams, always a little sad.
He wants to erase that sadness.
It is several days later that the door slams open and cruelly disrupts his sleep. He groans. " Someone better have died or there really is no reason for me to leave this bed". There is a low chuckle that he immediately recognizes as the queen.
He shoots up. " Oh shit no one has died, have they? " please say you haven't- no, you haven't. Right ?
The queen has been almost kind the past days. Sure she has her mood swings – coupled with fireballs and explosions and stuff which is always a bad combination- but she has not actually tried to take his heart or even been really mean to him. He has kept a close eye on her and he is sure she has no tried to execute anyone else either these past days or threatened any villages. She has even shown him the library and allowed him to ride one of her horses and told him stories of faraway myths. This all makes the guilt he feels by almost liking her slightly less (good, or else he would surely collapse under all the weight).
" My apologies, but I am waking you without death being the death being involved".
He looks down as he feels something being thrown at the bed; it is a simple shirt, a mid-length cape, brown pants and a golden-coloured breast plate with insignia. He looks at the queen again. " Where are we going?".
" King Midas is holding a ball. I am taking you with me, so get dressed. It will take us the entire day to get there".
" My but is already hating this" Henry groans. Because yes, an entire day of riding is going to suck .He is excited about the trip and the ball though; it is so cool that he gets to do stuff like that. Even if he feels slightly guilty and constantly homesick.
He jumps out of bed. " Thanks! I am going to wash myself".
" I presumably still should not send any servants?" . The queen had 'graciously allowed ' him servants , but it makes him really uncomfortable. He would rather just dress and bathe himself and only see the servants to chat with them, not to order them to do all the things he can do himself.
" Nope" he runs towards the as-of-yet freezing water . " Hey!" he says as the water suddenly starts to steam. He tries to hide how impressed he is beneath scorn- he is really uncomfortable with her using magic- because did she just telepathically warm water?
" Be quick, please" she says and disappears again.
Before he washes himself, he does what he has been doing twice a day since that first night. He turns his phone on and presses his mom's number. Static and crackling. He grits his teeth, presses down a little violently on 'ma'. More static and crackling. He turns the thing off .
He scrubs a little too hard, his skin becoming red but he cannot help it. He envisions washing away the feeling of panic and acid being poured into his lungs and eyes he gets whenever something reminds him of home. He also takes the time to let his thoughts wander from the mundane- are we going to have to dance – to things like – she is not mom. She is not redeeming herself, so why do I still not hate her like I thought I would ? – and downright painful things like – is it even possible to open another time portal? .
He rinses off, struggles the slightest bit with the unfamiliar clothing and has a quick inner debate about the insignia. It is obviously the queen and he wonders whether he wants that on her chest like he is one of her guards. Like he is rooting for her. At the last possible moment, he decides to wear it anyways.
He wonders whether that makes him bad.
The thought hits him like Zeus' weaponry, like an erupting volcano and a geyser beneath your feet. He hides behind several laughing people with drinks in their hands, tries to be as subtle as possible as he sneaks glances around them. The guard that is assigned to him- well fair enough, he cannot actually see a face but he can feel the judgement. But who cares, when the following is happening.
Emma is dressed in a red dress she must have borrowed from someone. She looks nervous and out-of-place and somehow confident and brash at the same time as she approaches the queen and taps her shoulder. For a moment, he thinks the queen will order her guards to drag Emma away.
Then-
The queen's entire demeanour changes. She smiles and steps close enough to Emma that she might even be able to feel the heat that comes off Emma's cheeks. She drags her fingers down Emma's arm and entangles their hands. Emma says something before she is pulled towards the dance floor.
He stares as the queen places her hand on the small of Emma's back and places Emma's hand on her shoulder. At the start of the dance, Emma looks awfully tense. Her shoulders are drawn back, her jaw is clenched- she looks basically like she is readying for a fight. During the dance, she starts to relax. She smiles at something the queen whispers, lips barely moving. She mutters something that has the queen chuckling.
When Emma makes to pull away regretfully at the end of the dance, the queen pulls her back into her arms. The hand on Emma's back keeps her very close to the queen, close enough that Henry is starting to feel uncomfortable watching them. Get a roo- no, don't! oh gods, gross.
He considers walking away, but really, he needs to know what is going to happen.
They're cheek-to-cheek for a moment before - did she just kiss Emma's cheek? What - the queen puts a little distance between them again. They softly talk while they dance to the music and he is struck by that thought. How right they look. Mom has somehow managed to make Emma relax and drop her guard while Emma has managed to draw a small, but very genuine smile from mom.
For two minutes, he sees enough that he realizes two things : he needs to start a new operation as soon as he gets home and two; he is now aware of things when he could've been blissfully oblivious. Because really, his mothers are not exactly subtle . Especially the queen- whose eyes drift and who keeps pressing closer and quickly keeping her distance again when the contact goes on for too long.
Like, ew. Parents, so much ew.
But they are both looking oddly content , like if this dance would go on forever, that would be Okay so he can bear all the pressed-togetherness and looks and muttered things.
Except he doesn't have to: one moment, his mothers are happily dancing together and ignoring the people around them. The next, the queen pretty much tears away and snarls. He can see ma trying to salvage the situation, doing that thing that often works with mom. Except the queen appears even more guarded than his mo – or well, who she will be in a few decades so she rips her arm from where Emma tries to gently squeeze it.
As soon as the guards are beckoned, he runs towards them. " Mom!" he yells, pushing past a guard and throwing himself in her arms like he has wanted from the very first moment he realized he was lost. She stumbles, but catches herself. "Henry" she says.
And- oh frick frack. He had never actually told the queen his real name ( he could hardly say 'oh funny thing, I happen to have the name of your dad and the name of your first boyfriend. Coincidences, huh? ). Like expected, the queen is a bloodhound smelling a bone. " Henry".
He slowly pulls away from Emma, though he remains close to her. He looks at the queen, who looks suspicious-thoughtful-mad-suspicious. He should probably cut in before the paranoia does. " Ehm, so I would like to talk to you about all this. Preferably somewhere we do not act as entertainment".
The queen smiles coldly and glares at the staring people around them. They immediately pale, redden, gasp, throw themselves in conversations and try everything to not catch her attention. The queen starts to walk, Emma and Henry glance at each other before following. The chatter and whispering and music slowly fades as the doors open and close.
As soon as they find an empty chamber, Regina instructs the guards to wait outside and ushers them in. She looks like a caged tiger and Emma is stumbling over words- all " The thing is- we, it is kind of- " as she tries to explain who she is without possibly spoiling the future. And quite possibly getting herself murdered.
He takes pity on her, interrupting her in the middle of garbled speech.
" My name is Henry Daniel Mills. And I am your son".