This is my first OUAT fic, I wanted to write a fic where Regina tells Henry her story, so here it is, I hope I did a good job, but if you spot any things I could improve on it would be much appreciated if you let me know in the reviews. Hope you enjoy!
"The truth is rarely pure and never simple." - Oscar Wilde
Regina began pacing the foyer, striding back and forth in her heeled boots. Henry would be arriving soon, it would be the first time they'd spent any sort of real time alone together since Regina had saved Snow and Emma's lives at the well. Also it would be the first time she'd seen him since she was wrongly accused of killing Archie. She didn't realise quite how nervous she was until that morning. The night before she had made the decision to tell Henry the truth, about everything. She wasn't sure that he would understand everything, or anything, but she believed that if he saw her, saw all of her, without her armour he could try to love her again.
There was a hesitant tap on the front door. Regina practically ran at it but paused before she opened it to steady herself. Having let the door swing open she saw Henry and Emma standing on the doorstep hand in hand. Emma smiled and nodded at Regina picking up the anxiousness in the woman's face. Henry let go of Emma and cautiously approached his mother, Regina knelt down and spread her arms wide, Henry found himself leaning into them feely, embracing his mother, a tear rolling down his cheek.
Having seen Henry was fine, Emma turned slowly to leave, attempting not to disturb the pair's reunion. Regina was the first to pull away from their embrace; she wiped the tear gently from Henry's cheek, smiling through the tears building in her own eyes.
"I've made us some lasagne; it is still your favourite isn't it?" Regina jested.
"Of course." Henry exclaimed running through to the dining room. Regina turned back to shut the front door.
Once they'd finished their dinner Regina took Henry through to the living room. "Henry, I want to tell you something, well a story really, mine. I know all you see me as is the Evil Queen, but that's just your grandparents side of the story. Unless you'd rather not know..." She trailed off looking hopefully into Henry's eyes.
"No, I want to know your story too." Implored Henry, sitting on the edge of his seat.
"My mother has known how to perform magic for as long as I can remember. She always wanted what was best for me, but she didn't always go the best way about getting it. Magic was my punishment if I ever dared to disobey her or did something she didn't see fit. When I was 18 I fell in love with a boy that worked in our stables, his name was Daniel. He was my true love, every time I looked at him all my troubles would melt away. I..." Regina chocked back her tears. "I'd never found anyone who could do that again, until I held you in my arms for the first time. I knew that my mother would never approve of my love for Daniel so I couldn't tell her or my father. But I got to see Daniel every day for my riding lessons, and I managed to sneak off to see him every so often. But none of that was enough; we wanted to be able to live freely together. We began making plans to run away together. I would have done anything to have spent the rest of my life with my stable boy."
Regina paused, trying to read Henry's expression, he looked concerned. "Why didn't you spend your lives together?" Henry queried.
"Well, one day, me and Daniel were out in the fields together and we heard screams. A gorgeous steed came galloping past us with a little girl clinging onto the creature for her life. Thankfully I had my horse beside me, I mounted and managed to catch up with the girl and pull her to safety. That little girl was your grandmother. I took her home and we waited until her father arrived, the King of our land. He was incredibly grateful to find his daughter safe and well after her horse had suddenly flown off from the forest which they were riding through. The King had been travelling through the kingdom for a long time looking for a wife and a mother for Snow. He was so grateful for my actions that he asked me to marry him."
Henry looked slightly taken aback, "but surely you were far too young to be married to Snow's father, you were only 18, her must have been much older."
"Yes, although in our land it was normal to marry very young and not necessarily to someone your own age. Of course I didn't want to marry the King because I already had Daniel. But before I could respond my mother accepted the proposal. As soon as I could I went to see Daniel and told him that we had to leave as soon as possible. Unfortunately Snow walked into the stables and saw us together, having just learned that I was going to marry her father she was incredibly confused. I had to run after her and explain that I couldn't marry her father because Daniel was my true love, but I asked her to keep it a secret. Snow promised and wished me good luck with Daniel."
Henry sill looked confused, Regina leant forward to hold his hand. "I did love Snow, for many years, I loved her as more of a sister than a daughter but I cared for her very much." Henry nodded. "The next day I began preparing my things to run away, that evening I snuck out to the stable to meet Daniel and leave for good. But just as we were going, my mother arrived. I've never seen her so angry. I tried explaining how much I loved Daniel and why we were running away, and she seemed to understand..." Regina stopped to catch her breath, she stared at the floor.
"Mum?" Henry rose and went to sit at his mother's side, holding one of her hands in both of his.
"She said she would give us her blessing, so I thought we were safe, but when she approached Daniel, she...she ripped his heart out of his chest and crushed it in her bare hand, killing him. I tried to bring him back, but not even true loves kiss could save him." Tears were rolling down Regina's cheeks now. Henry, sat in complete shock, snuggled into his mother, fighting back tears himself. Regina was wrong, Henry didn't just think of her as an Evil Queen, she was still and would always be his mother. He couldn't bear to see her so upset.
"Sorry Henry." Regina leaned back and wiped away her son's tears. "I didn't mean to upset you."
"I'm only upset because you are, and because I left you for so long. I did miss you." Henry looked into his mother's deep brown eyes and saw a flicker of hope in them; he smiled and leant into her once more.
"Do you want me to go on?"
"Yes please."
"Ok, well, after losing Daniel, I had no choice but to marry the king. But before we left for his castle I found out that it was Snow who'd told my mother about me and Daniel. She didn't want me to lose my mother." Regina let out a bitter laugh. "She was only young, so I couldn't bring myself to tell her what she'd done; I told her Daniel had run away and that I would soon become her step-mother. I tried to bury my resentment towards her, but occasionally it would rise to the surface. I never hurt her while her father was alive. I couldn't, she was always so innocent, and I didn't want to change that."
"My life with Leopold and Snow was fine at first, but it was soon evident that I was merely there to take care of Snow and keep up appearances for Leopold. Neither of them ever loved me. I was rarely allowed to leave the castle but when I did I was learning magic from Rumple. Magic was the only thing that kept me going, that and the hope that I would one day find a way to bring Daniel back to life. During one of our lessons Rumple wanted me to rip the heart out of a unicorn and kill it. It was so beautiful I couldn't bring myself to do it. Rumple wanted to know what was holding me back and until I worked that out, he wasn't going to teach me anymore magic. I realised the only thing holding me back was the hope that Daniel could come back. Rumple said he might be able to find someone who could help."
"Have you met Jefferson before?" Regina turned to Henry, tilting her head slightly.
"Grace's dad? No, not yet. But I know his story."
"What you don't know, is that he brought Doctor Whale to our world because Whale thought he knew how to bring people back from the dead, all he needed was a heart that had been magically ripped from someone's chest. Since I was unable to perform that act of magic, I stole a heart from my mother's dungeon. Whale tried but he couldn't help Daniel. So I had to let him go. Then I was able to continue learning magic."
"You learned how to rip out people's hearts." Henry stated, sounding disappointed.
"That's right. That was the first thing that blackened my heart. From then on, it got darker and darker, and I couldn't stop it. As Snow grew up Leopold became increasingly more impatient with me. I was barely allowed to leave the castle and I knew I desperately needed a way out. I wasn't even allowed to see my father anymore. Then one day, Leopold returned home from a walk with a new friend, a genie. He was the only person to show me any act of kindness in a long time. He had been trapped in his lamp for an eternity until Leopold had saved him. The genie thought he was in love with me, I soon realised I could use him to my advantage so I..." Regina bowed her head "I tricked him into killing the king. And I tried to make him escape, I'd secured a safe passage home for him, but he didn't want to leave me. He used his last wish to stay with me forever, which trapped him inside every mirror I owned."
"Then you tried to kill Snow too." said Henry drooping his head.
"I'm sorry Henry, yes. I thought that if I could make her pay, I would be able to fix my own heart. But that didn't work. Even when I first arrived here, I realised that what I was missing hadn't been revenge, it had been love." Regina looked affectionately into her son's eyes.
"And that's when you decided to adopt?" he said gloomily.
"I asked Gold to help me find a baby. And he brought you home. I was finally happy then. You saved me Henry. I'm sorry for hurting you; all I ever wanted was for you to love me. I held on too tight to you, I lied and I'm sorry. I hurt the people you love. But I can't take that back. I love you, I always will, I knew it from the moment I held you in my arms, I will always love you Henry, more than anyone." Tears had begun flowing down Regina's cheeks, she wanted desperately for Henry to understand. She couldn't read his expression. He was crying too, silently.
"I love you too." Henry's tiny voice replied. Regina couldn't help smiling slightly and when Henry threw his arms around her neck she began sobbing uncontrollably, reliving her past like that had been tough. She knew it would be. But she hadn't expected Henry to react like this. She thought he'd reject her and leave her all alone again. Her house was so empty without Henry filling it with his laughter, his stories, she even missed him storming up the stairs to his room after they'd argued, she missed his presence. His hugs and smiles. Regina wished he'd come home for good. But deep down she knew that was never going to happen. Not when Emma and the two idiots were her competition. Henry pulled out of the hug and Regina wiped a tear from his cheek with her thumb.
"I'm sorry to make you cry sweetheart."
"Thank you for telling me the truth Mom." Henry smiled slightly. There was a sharp knock at the door. Regina looked at the clock on the mantelpiece, she'd lost track of the time completely. She had to fight back the tears as she rose and crossed the foyer to open the front door. Emma was standing, looking a tad impatient, on the porch. Regina nodded and gestured that she come in.
"I'll go and fetch Henry." Regina's voice almost cracked with emotion. Henry rushed into the hall and grabbed his coat.
"Hi Mom." He said cheerfully. Despite his cheerful nature, Emma still noticed that he had been crying and now that she looked more closely, she realised so had Regina.
"Is everything alright kid? Have you been crying?" She looked from Henry to Regina. Both looked blankly back at her.
"No, I'm fine. I had a great time. When can I see Mom again?"
"Soon, Henry."
"How soon." Henry demanded, his voice rising. Regina looked down at her son, hope filling her chest.
"Um...is the same time next week ok with you?" Emma addressed Regina.
"That sounds perfect." Regina replied, stroking Henry's head as she did. Henry turned and flung his arms around his mother's waist.
"I love you Mom." He mumbled into her chest.
"I love you too." Regina rested her head on the top of her son's and rubbed his back gently. Emma turned to leave, warmed by the sight. Henry drew back from the hug and grabbed Emma's hand. Regina leant on the door frame and watched as her son walked down the path. Henry turned back to wave at his mother smiling broadly. Regina returned the smile weakly wondering how she was going to get through another week without her little boy.