Author's Note: Ever since we saw the scene between Lucy and Regina at the end of "Knightfall," I've been thinking there could have been a bit more. I felt that needed to be explored, and this resulted. I had to do it as a slightly late birthday present for Leigh Ann (leighann415). Enjoy, and please don't forget to review! :)
Lucy still couldn't quite believe it. Regina was the first person who really believed in fairy tales. And she believed because she'd been to the Enchanted Forest. But then another thought struck her. "So, my dad helped break the first curse, right?"
Regina laughed. It seemed so long ago now. Everything from her Storybrooke life did. "Yeah, you could say that."
"What was he like? I mean, when he was my age?"
"He was a lot like you, actually," Regina replied. "He found out who his birth mother was, and he snuck off to New York to meet her. He dragged her back to Storybrooke, because he believed she was the one who was destined to break the curse."
"Wow," Lucy said. She'd read about all of this in Henry's book, but to hear the story directly from the Evil Queen was beyond anything she could've imagined. "So, what happened then?"
"Well, Henry tried everything he could to convince Emma that the curse was real. No matter what she said, he wouldn't give up. Believing is sort of what Henry does best." Regina couldn't help laughing. Her son wasn't called the Heart of the Truest Believer for nothing. "Even I tried to convince Henry he was crazy. I sent him to a shrink – Dr. Hopper. Of course, now he goes by Jiminy Cricket."
"So, what did my dad do? I mean, how did he break the curse?"
"Well, I tried to give Emma a poisoned apple turnover. I wanted her out of the way. My plan would've worked, if Henry hadn't decided to eat the turnover instead. He was rushed to the hospital. Of course, the doctors had no idea what to do. Emma was scared to death. She knew then she didn't want to lose him. She touched his fairy tale book, and that's when she believed. She gave Henry True Love's Kiss, and that's how the curse was broken."
"And that's when Snow White and Prince Charming found each other, right? And Belle and Rumpelstiltskin too?"
Regina nodded. "I was furious, of course. My plan for revenge was ruined."
"But then you changed, right?" Lucy asked. As incredible as it seemed, the Evil Queen ended up becoming a hero, even helping to defeat her share of villains, such as Peter Pan and Cruella de Vil.
"It wasn't easy, but I finally realized that revenge isn't a path that leads anywhere. At least, not anywhere I wanted to go. And almost everyone I wronged somehow managed to forgive me. For a while there, things were actually good." Regina smiled, remembering how everyone in Storybrooke finally got a happy ending. But then she sighed, remembering how Henry left town, which led to the present curse. "You pretty much know the rest of the story after that."
"Yeah, I guess I do. I mean, it's all in Henry's book. The only thing I don't understand is, how can we break this curse? If Henry kisses my mom, he dies."
"Believe me, I know," Regina said. "But we can't give up. That's not what your dad would want, if he were awake. The one thing I've learned over all these centuries is that heroes always win. And they win because they never give up."
"OK, but what can we do? We're in a land without magic, remember?"
"I know," Regina said. "But we're not alone. We have Kelly...or rather Zelena, to help us. She's awake too. There's got to be a way to find some magic and get this curse broken." As she spoke, Regina made her way from the back room to the bar itself.
"OK," Lucy said. "So, where do I come in?"
"Well, you just keep an eye on your mom, and make sure there's no kissing….at least for now."
Lucy nodded. She hoped she could do that. But she had no choice. Henry's life depended on it.
Just then, Jacinda walked in. "I thought you might be here," she said, giving Lucy a look of mock anger. "What are you doing here, anyway?"
"Lucy was asking for help on a school project," Regina answered, when Lucy was apparently too flustered to come up with an answer.
"Yeah," Lucy added. "It's about Henry's book."
"If it's about Henry's book, why didn't you just ask Henry for help?" Jacinda asked, confused.
"He's busy these days," Lucy replied. "But Reg….Roni was a lot of help."
Jacinda looked at her daughter. She sensed Lucy wasn't quite telling her the truth, but something told her not to press the issue. "It's time to get home, kiddo. Say goodbye to Roni."
"Bye," Lucy said, reluctantly turning to leave.
It broke Regina's heart to see her granddaughter leaving. She was clearly upset by the situation between her father and Cinderella. "Hey, Luce, remember what the book says. In the end, the Evil Queen helped everyone find their happy endings."
"Yeah, she did," Lucy said. She realized there was no reason to be sad. Happy endings existed. She knew because she had a book that said so. Plus, fairy tales were in her blood. What more could she need?
The End
