The wrong person.
[ATHC series. Sequel to Everyone wants to feel alive] : Wish realm. How Henry discovered that the Regina of his world didn't murder his grand-parents. Henry centric.
Author's note: Not canon compliant with S7. Here, Regina was locked up and not banished.
Once upon a time, everything was good in the Enchanted Forest.
The realm was in peace, the rulers of the kingdom were loved by everyone, and they were trying to make things better than they were, to make things right, the most and the better they could.
Everything was alright.
Until the day where everything fell down.
Before all this thing began, before his world itself fell apart, Henry had an entire family around him, a father who died as a hero, a loving mother, wonderful grand-parents, people who loved him, and not hundred responsibilities on his shoulders.
He was happy.
Now, the only things he can hold on to, are two graves, a disappeared mother, a crown on his head, a revenge in the heard, and thousands of "Why ?" in the head.
§§§§
He had to know.
There was something strange in this situation, something which didn't fit with what he thought he always knew and believed.
Yes, it was his feeling since the queen had came back in the kingdom and taken his grand-parents from him and his mother.
Something. Was. Just. Not. Right.
Apart the kidnapping itself of course, there was something twisted, wrong.
How the queen looked like, at first.
She was… young !
So young !
Too much young regarding to the fact that she had been defeated twenty-eight years ago.
She seemed to be of Emma's age, while she should have been much more older, hell she was supposed to be as old as his grand-parents, even older than Snow White !
So how on hell could she look that young, it made no sense !
Magic, of course, it could be the first and logical conclusion, but it didn't work either.
Henry knew too much well the story of how the evil queen had been defeated by princess Snow White and her prince Charming (queen and king once. Dead royals now, and he had to take their place. Oh by the magic, did he miss them.), how they had stopped her from casting the curse.
How they hadn't been forced to abandon their daughter, how they took her magic from her, and locked her up in prison.
How they saved the kingdom from evil.
How the former queen had succeeded to escape, regain her power and her youth was a mystery for the young man.
Rumplestiltskin was not a prisoner anymore, as he heard it, but the problem was that he had been freed after Regina left her own cellar.
(If it was really her, and not an impostor posing like her for some unknown reason.
He had thought about it too.)
Nothing made sense anymore for him.
It had been already since two weeks that the tragedy had occurred, his grand-mother's and grand-father's murder, his mother's disappearance, Rumplestiltskin's escape from his cell from which no one was supposed to go out…
The world had turned into a true hell, and there was nothing Henry could do to preserve it from its inevitable fall.
Hewas useless, he was the king (well, there was a regent who ruled at his place, waiting for him to be ready to assume his role, but still, he was the true ruler of the realm) but he couldn't find his grand-parents murderer, nor could he stop the Dark One from wandering wherever he wanted to go, he felt so little, lost in this world which was too much bigger than him.
And impossible to control.
The only way he had to fix things was to make sure that Regina was still locked up in her prison.
§§§§
When he entered into the prison, the first thing he heard about, thanks to the guards, was that the queen was still locked up, as she was supposed to be.
When Henry arrived in front of the queen's cellar, and saw her for the first time of his life, his anger exploded in him during some seconds before completely fading.
The woman he had in front of him had nothing to do with the one he had tried to kill two weeks ago.
First, the most obvious thing was her appearance : she was old.
Grey hair had replaced the dark ones she had once, and wrinkles were visible all over her face (the prison hadn't helped at all to keep her young), she was absolutely how she should have been.
Secondly, her age was really visible because of the lassitude written on her face, unlike the other Regina, who seemed to be ready to fight for what she wanted to have.
This woman had given up her combativeness a long time ago.
She raised up her head.
"Who are you ? She asked him with a defeated tone."
And then, Henry knew.
She was not the person who had murdered his grand-parents, who had taken their hearts in her hand and crushed them in front of him.
He should have known it earlier.
"My name is Henry and I am the new king of the kingdom."
She didn't even start.
"King ? She demanded, and hell, hadn't she been his enemy, he really could have pitied her.
There was nothing in her eyes, no flame, no will, just… emptiness.
The queen had died on the inside years ago, and he couldn't even succeed to hate her anymore, regarding to what she had become.
- Yes, he confirmed. I am the grandson of queen Snow White and King David. Or I was, he added.
- So, she is finally dead, the former villain whispered without any hatred in her tone. Just tiredness. Almost sadness was perceived if you paid enough attention.
- Indeed, she is. Aren't you happy your sworn enemy is now definitely gone ?
She smirked.
- I am locked up here since twenty-eight years, I wasted my life running after a useless revenge against someone who didn't deserve my hatred, I lost my father, I killed innocent people who did nothing to me, I did this just because they were Snow White's allies or because I was unhappy. I became just like my mother. A monster no one cares about. I don't care anymore about anything, I am just waiting for death to take me as soon as possible.
- You should have thought about it earlier, Henry told her sharply.
- How did she die ?
- A woman looking like you and pretending to be you killed her and my grand-father by crushing their hearts.
- It was not me.
- I know. Of course it couldn't be you. Then, who was it ?
- Maybe I can answer to this question !"
They both looked where the voice was coming, and had the surprise to discover that Rumplestiltskin himself was here.
He smiled.
"Tell me, deary, did you ever heard things about a town called Storybrooke ? And more important : do you believe in parallel universes ?"
