A/N: Hey all! I'm going to warn you ahead of time to be prepared for feels. Depending on how you want to look at it, this can be a sequel to my story, "To Love and Be Loved in Return". You don't have to read it to understand this one, though. And, as always, if you do feel so inclined, feel free to review or PM me with any question, comments, concerns, fears, or critiques. Enjoy.
A young man, sixteen, pulls himself out of the well. He is almost unrecognizable from his former self- his eleven-year-old self. That was the last time he saw her. It was the last time she saw him too. That was, until now. Regina gasps quietly at the sight of him, not that he notices her presence. She is supposed to be dead after all.
The war against Cora and Rumpelstiltskin had not been easy. They had formed a crude alliance in order to gain power that in Storybrooke, was unattainable. So of course, they wanted to find a way back to the Enchanted Forest, but they also wanted to destroy Storybrooke, and everyone in it. That included Snow and her "Charming" and even Emma. Regina would have been content with this if not for the fact this plan of action also included Henry as well as herself.
But Regina soon came to realize that she no longer cared about herself; only Henry mattered. So, she approached her mother to find out her motives. As it turned out, Cora was not looking for just any power, but the power of the Dark One, himself. Regina knew right then that she had to make an ultimatum Cora couldn't refuse: herself for all of Storybrooke. Cora didn't have anyone to pick a fight with but Regina, and now Cora would win. Regina had learned how to play the game, but it was then, that she truly made the finishing move. That was why she had to stay when everyone moved back to the Enchanted Forest. That was why she had to fake her death like her mother had all those years ago. Regina simply could not allow her mother to take away everything she loved. It wasn't until now that she came to a horrifying revelation: her sacrifice had cost her everything anyway.
She stares now at the boy only yards away with tears of joy, sadness, and above all, fear. If her mother comes across him, god only know what she will do to him to torture Regina. Now she is conflicted. Regina is sure that if she warns Henry, he will try to save her from her mother's grasp, which will inevitably lead to his death, but if she doesn't, Cora will find him and blame her for bringing him here, which will inevitably lead to his death as well. Regina makes a hasty decision.
"Henry?" she whispers, almost afraid that saying the boy's name too loud will attract danger. She moves toward him cautiously. "Henry?" she repeats. The boy's eyes dart dangerously in her direction before widening at his adoptive mother's appearance.
Her hair is much longer than it used to be. Her face has aged for the first time in 28 years and the bags under her eyes are frighteningly dark. She wears the same clothes, so for the most part, she looks the same. Yet, Henry still can't shake off the fact that despite everything, she looks impossibly different. It is rather unnerving.
"Mom?"
"Henry!" Regina scrambles from her position in the trees toward her son. He notices how her posture and movements have changed to be fearful and weak as opposed to bold and strong. They embrace and she finds herself sobbing for the first time since she last saw her little boy. Henry pulls away and wipes his own tears away, eyes full of questions.
"I thought you were dead," Henry states with an overwhelming sadness that breaks Regina's heart.
"I know, sweetheart, but right now I need you to listen to me very carefully. This is the way it had to be and this is the way it has to stay. My mother... she killed Rumplestiltskin and became the Dark One before everyone found a way out of Storybrooke. I knew that you wanted to live in the Enchanted Forest, so I told her that I would stay with her willingly if she stayed here and let everyone else go. That included you." Tears stream down the woman's face.
"But, Mom, you promised. You promised you wouldn't sacrifice yourself. You promised me that you would be there for me."
Regina frowns with disgust at herself. "I lied." Henry gets that look on his face of betrayal but it is soon replaced by one that Regina recognizes in an instant.
"No. Absolutely not. I will not let you launch yourself into some heroic quest to save me. Cora will kill you just to spite me. She still believes that love is weakness, so you are to turn around and go back to the Enchanted Forest right now, before I shove you down the well myself. I have sacrificed too much to have it all thrown away by some romantic notion of happy endings. I am the bad guy. I stopped believing in happy endings a long time ago." It breaks Regina's heart to shove her son away like this, but Henry can see right through the act and pulls his brunette mother into another tight embrace.
"Fine."
"What?"
"Fine," Henry repeats. "I think it's time that someone does something you want for once. Thank you for saving everyone. You're not the bad guy; you're the hero. I love you more than you'll ever know, and I'm sorry I couldn't save you soon enough." The boy pulls away without another look at his mother and jumps back through the portal to the Enchanted Forest.
Regina gives a weak smile at his words. She knows she'll never see her son again, but she knows enough now that it hurts less.
"You saved me soon enough to save you, and that's all that counts."