I got this idea from the first episode, when Henry yells, "My life sucks!" His line is dismissed, because he is a kid who doesn't know anything about the world, and Emma really did have a crappy life, so he's exaggerating. The show never talks about Henry's life before he went to find Emma, and there aren't a lot of fanfics that do either. But I bet his life really did suck, even if it wasn't quite to the level that Regina and Emma's did.
So I've read a lot of stories that talk about how Henry is a little brat for not automatically forgiving Regina, for running off to find Emma, and claiming that Regina isn't even his mother. I understand that Regina took care of Henry, and I think that she was as good of a mom as she could be. But I don't think that Henry is a jerk. He is mad at her because he is hurt. He's ten. And his mom is the Evil Queen who tried to make him think he was insane. I know that she only did it because she wanted to keep him for herself, but it shows that before Emma showed up, before Regina had to share Henry, Regina's love was selfish. She thought she could isolate Henry and keep him all to herself. I think it was important that Henry show Regina, that love also means respect, and she didn't respect him. She thought she could possess him. And she did make an effort once she realized that she could love and share him. I think that in season two, Henry's refusal to forgive Regina did push her to do somethings that were villainous, and I do wish he forgave her before Cora got her claws in Regina, but I also think that he was a hurt little boy. Seriously, I don't understand these people who think a ten year old should have the ability to reason and understand anything besides the hurt. Adults don't always do that. Regina didn't, thus an entire cursed kingdom. He wasn't trying to be a brat, he just didn't know what to do. He still loved her enough that he sent Emma to stop the mob that was heading to Regina's house. He did eventually forgive her, for a lot of crap, and he was only ten. Think how long it took Regina to forgive Snow for a mistake that she made as a child. Henry forgave Regina, within a year, for a bunch of stuff she did on purpose as an adult. That's pretty impressive for a kid.
Okay. Done Ranting. Hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: Don't own it!
Firsts
It all began with a bedtime story.
The Little Mermaid being read to him is one of Henry's first memories. Snuggled up in bed with his mom and looking say the pictures, he felt safe and warm. His mom was a great storyteller. She got into it, giving the characters different voices. Henry thought he could never be happier than he was in that moment.
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Henry's first day of kindergarten was full of tears. He didn't want to leave his mom. He had never really been around other kids. It was always him and his mom. They didn't need anyone else. He couldn't understand why she would send him away.
His mom kneeled down so that they were face to face, "Henry, I know that going to school and trying new things can be frightening, but it might be fun." Henry could only shake his head at this. His mom gave him a soft smile, the ones that were only for him. "Honey, please just try school. You might be surprised. You are my little prince, and I know that you'll be able to face school with all the courage that you do when facing a dragon," Henry sold up taller. He could be brave, just like mommy was when she ran the town meetings. "And I'll pick you up after school and we'll go to Granny's for hot chocolate."
"With cimomon?" Henry's eyes lit up.
His mom laughed, "Yes, with cinnamon. I love you, Henry. Don't worry, we'll still spend plenty of time together. "
"Pwomise?"
"I promise, my little prince." His mom swept him up in a big hug before leading him inside the school.
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His mom was right. Kindergarten was fun, and he made a few friends. Henry got to go to their houses, and sometimes they got to come to his and they played lots and lots. But he and his mom still did all kinds of stuff together.
Henry was confused as to why his friend's parents never seemed to want to be around his mom, and sometimes they didn't want their kids coming over to Henry's house. His mom said they were just intimidated by her, although Henry didn't know what that meant. And he couldn't understand why anyone would not like his mom. She was the best person in the whole universe!
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The first summer vacation, right after kindergarten, Henry didn't spend much time with his friends. Their parents were less likely to let Henry play with them, than they had been during the school year. It didn't really matter that much, because his mom spent as much time with him as she could.
Henry and his mom went on picnics, and played at the park. They turned the living room into a blanket fort, and his mom pretended to be the princess, and Henry got to be the hero and save her. They had all sorts of things to do. Henry was happy and glad he got to be with his mom.
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Henry was excited about the first day of 1st grade. He was a bit sad that he wouldn't get to spend all his time with his mom, but he knew that they would still do stuff together. Henry wanted to play with his friends though, and learn new things. It was going to be great!
Henry walked into his new classroom, and stopped. The grin slipped off his face, as he realized that none of his friends from last year were in his class. He asked the teacher where his friends were, and she told him that they were in the kindergarten class.
"Why aren't they in 1st grade, like me?"
"Well, dear, they're younger than you, so they are in a younger grade," Ms. Becks replied.
"But Joe is older than me, so that means he should be here."
Ms. Becks frowned at Henry, "I'm afraid that everyone in that class is younger, now if you would please take your seat."
Henry didn't take his seat. It didn't make sense that he was in 1st grade and the rest of his classmates were not. So, he continued to pester Ms. Becks, demanding that he also be allowed to retake kindergarten, since that's where all his friends were. Ms. Becks continued to tell Henry that he was wrong. At this point, Henry was practically in tears. He knew that when a person finished kindergarten they moved to the 1st grade. Ms. Becks was acting like he was stupid, and that it was fine for his classmates to still be in kindergarten. Nothing about this was right, and no one was listening to him! Ms. Becks became quite frustrated with him, threating to call his mom if he didn't sit down and behave. Henry thought it was a good idea. His mom was the mayor and would sort out the whole mess.
Henry was sitting in the principal's office when his mom showed up, "Henry, what's going on? I got a call saying that you were being disruptive in class?" Henry explained the situation to her, informing her that someone had messed up, since he was the only person who had been moved from kindergarten to 1st grade. Either his friends should move up with him, or he was still supposed to be in kindergarten. His mom got a weird look on her face, which disappeared when she started speaking, "Henry, sweetheart, I'm afraid that they're right. You are older than the kids who are starting kindergarten. You're going to have to take 1st grade with the other kids your age."
Henry couldn't believe what he was hearing, "But they aren't the right age to be in kindergarten. Joe is older than me! This doesn't make any sense!"
"Henry. You are six years old and in the 1st grade. That is all there is to say on this matter. Now you are going to go back to class and be a good little student. Do you understand me?" Henry nodded, dumbfounded. His mom had been strict with him before, but she had never been so harsh. So, Henry went to 1st grade without any of his friends.
He found his friends later, at recess, to tell them about what had happened. They didn't think anything was strange about it. They were five and supposed to be starting kindergarten this year. Henry thought it was silly, he had been to their birthday parties. He saw them turn six! None of this made sense!
And it continued to make no sense for the rest of the year. Henry still tried to play with his friends from last year, but they acted younger than Henry. While Henry was learning to read short stories, they were learning the alphabet, which Henry knew they learned last year, with him. He was learning to add and subtract, and they were learning their numbers.
Joe turned six, just like he did last year. When Henry's birthday came around, he insisted that he got to turn six again, just like his friends were going to get to. All that happened is that Henry got in trouble, and had to turn seven anyway.
Henry made some new friends from 1st grade. It was sometimes easier to get along with them, since they seemed to know more than his old friends from kindergarten. And no one ever thought that it was strange, not even his mom.
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The summer after 1st grade, was spent much like the summer before. Henry was glad, because when it was just him and his mom, everything made more sense. His friends weren't younger than him, even if they were supposed to be older. His mom was the same, just as much fun and as loving as always.
Henry wasn't as excited for the first day of 2nd grade. He walked into the room, wondering what he would find. His hopes plummeted when he entered the classroom, to find that he did recognize most of the class. He remembered them as being 2nd graders last year.
Henry didn't put up any kind of fuss over the fact that no one had move up with him. He was quiet all through the morning, and when recess began, he went to find his old friends. They were still younger than him, and in a lower grade. This year was different though. Henry could see that he had grown, while his friends had not. Last year it was easy to say that he should still be the same age and grade as his friends, but now Henry towered over the small kindergarteners. He tried playing with them, but he also realized that he didn't want to play the same games as them. He really was older.
Over the next few weeks, Henry tried to make sense of the whole situation. He went to the library and checked out books that discussed the aging process. He asked his friends, teacher, and mom about the weirdness of him growing, while none of his classmates did, but none of them seemed to even notice that anything was different about him.
His teacher had a conference with his mom about Henry's insistence that no one but himself was aging. Shortly after that meeting, Henry had to start seeing Dr. Hopper once a week.
"Henry, you can't go around telling tall tales," his mom informed him.
"But they're not tall tales. They're true, but no one realizes what's happening." Henry had decided that for some reason, probably because he was the only one aging, no one else actually knew what was happening, not even his mom.
Henry tried his best to let everyone know what was going on. Maybe, if he could convince them, then they would start aging, or something.
It did not go over the way he had planned.
Henry did not succeed in proving what was happening to anyone. His teacher was worried about him, and treated him like a piece of glass that might break. His classmates on the other hand, had no such reservations.
"Crazy Mill," is what they called him. No one wanted to be his friend, too worried that they would lose their marbles. He was shunned and made fun of, all because he tried to tell the truth.
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The first day of 3rd grade was the same as last year. Henry had once again advanced, while all of his peers remained the same. He was still considered to be crazy, especially since he was still having weekly sessions with Dr. Hopper. It didn't really matter that no one wanted to be Henry's friend, since he didn't think there was much point in making friends. He knew that next year he would move up a grade and leave everyone behind anyways. At least, Henry pretended it didn't bother him.
The only people that Henry felt comfortable around were his mom and Archie, and he knew they both cared about him. His mom didn't like it when he talked about he was the only one aging, but that probably had to do with the fact that she worried about him. So Henry didn't bring it up around her, although that didn't mean that he wasn't trying to figure out why he was the only one aging. Archie was good for bouncing theories off of, always helpful and willing to listen.
Henry spent a lot of time in the library, using books as an escape from his dismal life. The characters in books were as close to real friends as Henry could manage. He discovered a small playground out near the wharf. He called it his "castle". It was a respite from the world and his alienation from it. He didn't even tell his mom about, needing a place that was just his.
And life went on, at least for Henry it did.
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The first day of 4th grade was just as disappointing as Henry had expected. He was still the "Crazy Mill" who thought that he was the only one aging. Some days Henry thought they might be right. Maybe there was something wrong with him. Even if he wasn't crazy, there must be something about him that was broken, since he was the only person in the entire town who was able to age. He was separate from everyone else and he couldn't understand why.
He was lonely and upset. He didn't want to do much of anything. Archie called it depression. Henry called it a sucky life. It was only a few months into 4th grade, when his mom set him down in the living room, with a cup of hot chocolate with cinnamon, to tell Henry that he was adopted. Apparently, Archie thought it was best that Henry knew that he wasn't his mom's actual son. That it would help Henry to understand why he felt so out of place.
Mom kept repeating over and over, that just because she didn't give birth to him, didn't mean she loved him any less, and he would always be her son. Henry reassured her that he didn't love her any less either.
Finding out about the adoption was a relief to Henry. It wasn't that he had been born defective, he just wasn't born in Storybrooke. So maybe it wasn't that there was something wrong with Henry, there was something wrong with Storybrooke. The rest of the world probably did age, just like the books and movies said you were supposed to, but for some reason, the people of Storybrooke didn't. And Henry was going to find out why.
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The first day of 5th grade was as lonely as the past two years and Henry was no closer to figuring out the mystery of Storybrooke than he was last year. His mom tried her best to cheer him up. Every Sunday she cleared her schedule and spent the entire day with him. They played, watched movies, and read stories. His mom was the only bright spot in his bleak life.
School wasn't quite as boring as last year. Ms. Blanchard was kind and did her best to make the lessons interesting, but Henry couldn't enjoy them. He was thankful that Ms. Blanchard did try and engage him. She was the only person in the school who was actually willing to spend time with him, and she didn't think he was crazy either.
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He was sitting outside eating his lunch when he first saw the book. Ms. Blanchard gave it to him, telling him about how stories gave hope. Henry wasn't sure that there was anything to hope for anymore, but the book itself looked interesting. Bound in brown leather, with "Once Upon a Time" embroidered in gold letters on the front. When he touched, there seemed to be what felt like a rush of magic. Yes, this might be a good book.
The first time he read the book, it was a Saturday. His mom was at work, so he spent the whole day reading it. He felt like he had been transported to the Enchanted Forest. The fairy tales in this book were so different from the one that he had heard growing up. A good bulk of the book followed the story of Snow White and Prince Charming. Henry hadn't heard the story too much, since his mom had a strong dislike for anything that had to do with this particular princess, though he had no idea why.
The first time Henry had finished reading the book, he threw it across the room and refused to even look at it for three days.
The first time Henry picked it up again, he cried.
His mom was the Evil Queen.
It was the only thing that made sense. It explained why no one in the town aged: they were cursed. It explained why he did: he wasn't from the Enchanted Forest and had never been cursed. It explained her unreasonable hatred of anything having to do with Snow White. It all made sense. And suddenly Henry wished everything could go back to not making sense.
How could his mom, the woman who loved him, do such hateful things? How could his mom, who baked him cookies and made hot chocolate with cinnamon, poison another person? How could his mom, his hero, be the villain?
Maybe, she didn't actually care about him. After all, she knew what was happening to him. He thought she was as oblivious as everyone else, but the whole time she knew. She let him think he was crazy. She let him become depressed. She let him be lonely. She didn't try and help him even when she could see him drowning. You don't do that to people you love, therefore, she didn't love him.
And Henry hated his life.
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The first time Henry decided to try and find the Savior, he realized he was in way over his head. He had never been outside of Storybrook. He didn't know how he would ever find Snow White and Prince Charming's daughter. But that didn't mean he wouldn't try.
The only connection that Henry had to the world outside Storybrooke, was his birth mother. He knew that she gave him away, but he was sure it was for the same reason that Snow White gave Emma away. To give him a better life.
If she wanted what was best for him, then she should be willing to help him find the Savior. After all, that's what would make his life better, along with everyone else in town.
The first time Henry stole a credit card, it was his teacher's. He reasoned that she would be willing to pay for this venture if she had her real memories. He had already figured out that Ms. Blanchard was Snow White. Paying to help Henry find his mom, would help her to find her daughter.
The first time Henry found out his real mom's name, he fell out of his chair. Emma. Her name was Emma. The very person he needed to find was his mom. Henry was so excited. He could have a family, one that truly loved him. A mom and grandparents. Henry did his best to ignore the small voice saying he already had a mom.
The first time Henry left Storybrooke, it was thrilling and frightening. He couldn't drive, so he had to walk miles until he reached the nearest town with a bus station. It was strange to be somewhere different and new. He had spent his whole life walking the same streets with the same people who literally never changed. And now he was out in the world by himself.
The first time Henry knocked on Emma Swan's door, he knew his life was about to change.
How was that? Let me know what you think!