I forgot to write this in the first chapter, so here it goes:
DISCLAIMER: NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED.
I'm so happy about all the positive feedback I've received! Even if most of them where following warnings, it meant a lot to me. You can't imagine my surprise =D You guys/girls amazed me, really! I hope you all are enjoying this as much as I am. Don't be afraid to leave a review or a comment about whatever you don't (or do) like if you feel like it. I write because I like to, but it is your feedback what keeps this alive ^^
"SHE IS WHAT!?"
"Alive. Snow White is alive."
The Evil Queen was pacing around as a wild tiger, her eyes glowing with the dark, purple magic that flowed through her veins, screaming what she was going to do to that stupid, foolish girl once she got her locked back in the dungeon.
Maleficent sighed with delight, making herself comfortable in the Queen's chaise longue and following her with her eyes.
Any other person would be trembling on their knees and begging for their lives at the sight of the Evil Queen's violent outrages. Maleficent, however, was accustomed to Regina's fury when it came to Snow White getting away from one of her stepmother's many traps. Of course, the Queen was aware enough of her own weaknesses to let her rage out where anyone could see it. Still, the enormous feeling of betrayal she had was enough to make her easily manipulated. She herself knew that, and so the only ones allowed to be present during one of her frenzies were a selected few she could trust. A few Maleficent was proud to be part of. Once the fury was gone only coldness would remain. And the Evil Queen's coldness was what made her as dangerous as a dragon.
"I KILLED her. I killed her MYSELF. I saw her BURN. I have her ashes in my vault!"
"Then I'm afraid the only thing you have there is nothing but wood ashes."
A fire ball got away from the Queen's hand and impacted near her only friend. Luckily, no harm was done.
"Calm down, dear. There's still so much you can do to her, so much pain you can inflict to her."
"Calm down, you say!? Calm down when I FINALLY GOT MY HAPPY ENDING."
"You didn't. But you will. And this one will be so much greater and pleasant than the other one."
The witch's smiled like a dragon. Her calm tone was infuriating and, somehow, was forcing her to actually calm down and keep her control at the same time. Regina felt her hands burning to destroy something.
"How did she do it? How did she escape? Tell me!"
"The trolls said something about her having dark fairy dust. She threatened them but... I'm sure she was bluffing."
"Oh, she was. She tried to use it in me, but she couldn't. She couldn't because..." the sudden realization made her growl. "That insolent, consented stupid girl! I'm going to skin her alive next time I lay my hands on her!"
"Calm down, Regina, dear. We'll make her pay for what she's done to you. Don't worry. I know just how."
"Do you?"
"Yes, and you will love it."
"Are you ready, kid?"
Emma is waiting at the door of her parents loft with a coffee to go in her right hand and a marked newspaper in the other. They're going to visit some new apartments before going to Regina's.
"Are you sure you don't want me...?"
"It's okay, Mary Margaret, really." Emma frowns at the realization that she keeps calling her Mary Margaret, even when she's come to accept that she actually is her mother. "I have to get finish with this... thing," she points to the newspaper, "and it is better for Henry, too. If he thinks we are hiding something from him again... And I'm sure you'll manage pretty fine. Plus, they won't go mad with a baby there, right?" she looks at her little brother and smiles, a flash of Henry as a baby on her mind.
"I... guess." Snow frowns.
"Who won't go mad?" Henry approaches them with a big smile, certainly thrilled with the idea of finally finding a place of their own from where his birth mother can't run away to New York.
"Um..." Emma searches for Snow's eyes, not knowing what to say that's not the whole truth.
"David and Mr Gold, honey." Smiles his grandmother almost naturally. "We're going down to the pawnshop to buy Emma's nursery's unicorn mobile."
Her daughter keeps staring at her, unbelieving. When did she ever get that good at lying?
"That's great!" he says cheerfully. "Shall we go? Emma?"
"What? Ah, oh, yes, of course."
Regina's eyes flutter open at the sunlight entering through her parlor's windows. She yawns discreetly and sits up, looking around. Archie is soundly asleep in the armchair. The strange sleeping-grimace of his face is something she would rather unsee, if she could.
She yawns again and leaves the room trying no to wake him up. They must have fallen asleep last night while talking, but she doesn't recall seeing him asleep at all. Then why is he still here? Well, she doesn't recall much, either way.
She opens every courtain in her way to the kitchen. Knowing the bigmouths the Charmings are the whole town must know by now that she has been in her house ever since that night at Granny's. She sighs. The yard is looking as bad as she had wished to so the mansion looked empty. Now that they probably know, she doesn't even know how to fix it without using magic, and she promised Henry she wouldn't do it unless necessary.
The coffee machine beeps in the kitchen. She pauses it, looks for a mug and takes the pitcher.
"Good morning!" Archie greets, startling her. Before she is able to stop it, the black liquid is turn to white. Milk, plain milk. "Sorry." He mutters.
"Don't be, Dr Hopper." She roughly says leaving the mug in the kitchen table, right in fron of him. "It was for you."
"Oh." He scratches his head, yawning in a way that Regina finds mainly disgusting, and takes the nearest sit to the mug. "So... how are you feeling?"
"Disgusted." Is her succintc answer as she pours some tea for herself.
"Why?"
"You are still here, in my house, and I do not know why."
"Oh, come on, Regina." Far from hurt, he seems amused. "I'm just trying to take care of you. I told you last night; - "
"Oh, yes, that." The former Queen harshly interrupts him. "I don't even recall you falling asleep before I did, so why are you still in my house?"
"I'm telling you," he says with a nervous smile. "I-I'm taking care of you... I thought..."
"You thought?" she replies with a mocking smile, one that soon turns to a wicked one. "Don't even dare to lie to me, cricket. Spit it out."
"They... there's a meeting today at the Town Hall," he swallows, not even daring to look at her in the eye, "and they are going to talk about you."
"So you're not taking care of me," it is not a question, but a mere statement, "you are babysitting me."
"Well, technically I am taking care of you."
"So I do not, what? Go over there and kill everybody?"
"Calm down, Regina." Dr Hopper's eyes are fixed on her hands.
They have been trembling without Regina noticing, and now her tea is sand. She leaves out an angry growl before levaing her mug in the sink.
"I can take care of myself."
"I don't doubt that."
"They are going to talk about executioning me, aren't they?" Archie says nothing. "I would too if I had seen the weak spot of the Evil Queen."
She speaks of herself with hatred, as if letting out what she feels is the worst thing that could have ever happened to her. And this is not something her therapist is unaware of. It has been her main problem since the first session. Getting her to talk about her past... well, that has been the toughest thing Dr Hopper has ever done, even tougher than convincing Leroy to drink just a little bit less than he used to.
"There is nothing wrong in showing you care, Regina. You are not the Evil Queen anymore."
"I did not know it was Robin's wife, back then."
"I know."
"I should have erased everyone's memories that very moment." Her words slip between her teeth like a hiss.
"You still can, but the fact that you didn't, that it doesn't even cross your mind to use your magic to erase Robin's memory of Marian, or hers of Robin... that is the best prove of how much you have changed." He calmly states, putting his own hand over hers, softly.
She is upset, that much is clear, but she's also staring at him with suspiciousness all over her face, looking from his eyes to their hands over the table. He awkwardly takes it back.
"I'm not your friend, Dr Hopper."
"I know."
"Good. Now go tell your friends all about it and leave. me. alone."
He nods and finishes his milk before standing and leaving without saying another word.
It seems like the whole town has been waiting for this event. Everybody is at the Town Hall, just everybody. When Mary Margaret and David arrive there is so much people there, waiting around the building, that one would think it impossible to fit them all in.
"Do you think this is the right thing to do?" she asks her husband, staring with anxiety to the group of people assembled in fron of the Town Hall's entrance.
"We need to discuss this." He says before kissing her cheek tenderly. "It will be alright."
"There shouldn't be anything to discuss, though." Snow frowns.
"If we don't they might kill her anyway."
David was right. It was obvious who were the most outraged ones; they stood together, near the front doors visibly angry. If they didn't stop this madness...
She swallows.
"It will be alright." He says again, pressing softly her hand. "Come on. Let's go."
David takes her and their baby through the crowd and into the Town Hall. The meeting room soon fills and it takes a while to calm everyone down. Everybody is there. With just one look they can Red, Granny, Aurora, Phillip, Ashley, Sean, the dwarves, Marco, August, even Captain Hook. Some of them are standing, there are not enough sits for everyone. The last to arrive are Robin Hood, Marian, Roland and their Merry Men.
Snow White looks worried at her husband, and he gives her a reassuring smile.
"Well," he starts, "we are here today to discuss and fix the..." he closes his eyes just a moment, before sighing and letting it go, "the... 'Evil Queen issue'." He can almost feel the gaze Snow must be stabbing him with right now. "It has come to my attention that there is someone in town spreading the belief that she is dangerous and should be killed. Well, let me make this very clear: no one is killing nobody."
"But she is dangerous!" a woman cries and the murmurs become discussions.
"She isn't." Says Mary Margaret. "She has helped us."
"She cursed us. She is the reason why I had to let go my little boy all those years..." says Marco. "And you two, your daughter!"
"I know but - " she is interrupted by another man.
"If it wasn't for her, Zelena would have never come and we wouldn't have been cursed, again."
"She saved Roland back in the Enchanted Forest!"
"And she killed his mother!"
"I like this one!" Henry says staring out the window with a broad smile. "I can see the clock tower from here."
"And it is near the station, too." Emma adds waving her head, thinking about it. "But isn't it too small for us?"
Henry shakes his head and crosses his arms over the sill of the window to bear his chin. The soft breeze caresses his cheeks warmly. He lets out a happy sigh.
"I think this one's perfect."
"Good."
Emma nods and half-smiles to Mr Gold. He nods too and the three of them go to the kitchen. There, Belle is taking care of all the paperwork they are going to take care of before they can rent the loft.
"So, how much will it be?" Emma asks bluntly.
"I think you'll find it... reasonable," Mr Gold gives them a small smile bringing the paper over the table to them with his fingers before calmly resting his hands in his cane, "for a Sheriff's wage."
"Hmm..." she mutters looking at the cipher.
"Emma?" Henry asks, worried.
"You don't have to answer now." Belle reassures them. "We can hold this one for you for a week."
"No, it's okay," Emma nods. "I think I can do it. Yeah."
"Cool!" Henry exclaims hugging her waist as she takes Belle's pen to sign the papers. "When can we move in?"
"Anytime you want."
"Great!"
"Wellcome to your new home!" Belle stands up and shakes their hands with a beautiful smile.
"Thanks!" Henry replies and Emma smiles. "Wait, should I call you grandma too or something?"
Belle smiles confused.
"You know, because Mr Gold is now my grandparent and you two have married now, so..."
"N-Not if you don't want to, I suppose..." Belle frowns but her smile never leaves her lips.
"We should go, now." Mr Gold interyiels taking the papers from the table before limping to the door.
"Yes," Belle looks at the Sheriff, "we... we have to deliver this at the Town Hall before noon so..."
"Oh, yeah, of course. Thank you."
The librarian nods and, giving Henry another smile, follows her husband out.
"Awkward." Says Henry once they are alone.
"What did you expect?" His mother laughs. "You just called the poor girl grandmother."
Henry shrugs.
"I've always been an adopted kid, you know? I felt lonely until Mary Margaret gave me that book and I found you and suddenly we have this big family... I want all of us to be together. It is family what has changed both Mr Gold and my mom."
Emma sighs hugging him, looking around their new apartment knowing there is too much her son should not know, and should have not experienced. She can almost see their new place filled with laughter and visitors and Thanks Giving dinner, and it is as thrilling as terrifying.
"I know how you feel, kid."
The discussions are starting to scalate into heated arguments were the pro-killing are clearly winning. It is the heavy blow of the door what silences everybody. Much to their relieve it is not the Evil Queen, just Dr Whale.
Dr Whale and his maniac gaze.
"She is dangerous, Ms Blanchard," he says, approaching the Charming family with wide steps. "Everybody, listen to me! The Evil Queen has lost control of her magic. She could burn this town down to ashes with a blink of her eye."
"No!" Mary Margaret almost whispers, dissapointed.
"I say: kill her now, safe our tomorrow!"
"I cannot believe you are the one behind all of this." It is Prince Charming who says this, stepping to him.
"Is it true? Is her magic unleashed?" an afraid Ashley asks, holding tighter to her baby girl.
"She is, but not that way," Snow tries to abate her worry, "she is not dangerous. She's going through a harsh phase, that is all. Mr Gold said..."
"Yes! Mr Gold, " the doctor smiles, wickedly, turning to the couple that had joined the meeting just minutes before him, "what did you say?"
Everybody turns to them, and Belle looks to her husband, pressing his arm softly. He doesn't need to look at her to know what she is asking of him. The truth.
"She is having an internal fight about light and dark," Rumplestilskin states, "and this battle also affects her... magic."
"If she was to help us, to be good, she would not have this 'battle'!" Dr Whale blurts out and lifts his hands. "She would have already chosen good, as all of us did!"
"She is struggling because she wants to change!" Snow yells. "She wants to be good just like all of us," and she can hear Hook snorting, "but she is hurting too. She has suffered as much as we have."
"That's no excuse for what she's done." Says Marco and Whale smiles at her.
"I know it's not, but she is trying to -"
"Kill us. That's what she will do if we don't stop her now."
The shouts of support fill the room in just a matter of seconds. Half of the room is on their feet, moving towards the door. The other half looks confused, but almost everybody agrees to the decission. There only remains a few neutrals.
"Then kill Snow White too."
Everybody stops and turns to look shocked at Prince Charming's reply.
"David!" Mary Margaret exclaims. In her arms little Neal lets out a soft cry.
"What? Isn't that what this is about? You killed Regina's mother so you should be killed too." He shrugs.
"I can't believe you just said that." She whispers.
"She could come get revenge on you any moment. And we should kill Dr Whale too; he tends to bring back the dead as monsters. His last almost kills Henry. Oh, and it was Regina's fianceé, so... And we should also kill Marco, right? Because of treason. He fooled us, he said only one person could go through the wardrobe instead of two and sent his boy first. He was selfish enough to risk the Savior, our memories, our happy endings. He could do it again."
"David..." she sighs, partly relieved.
"What about Red? She is a werewolf. And the dwarves, only Graham knew how much time has Leroy spent in the cell."
"It is almost my second home!" he smiles full of proud.
"But if we did that," Snow continues, "what would be of this town? Who would remain? Haven't all we make some mistakes?"
"She killed Daniel, her first True Love." Whale replies once more, his voice filled with anger.
"No, she didn't. I did," she says, much for the shock of everyone, "I betrayed her and she became what she is now. And, even then, she was my mother."
"And then she tried to kill you."
"She has tried, that's true. But she has learnt to love since her curse broke. A curse that did not kill us, a curse that only made us forget with hated her. She's been like a mother to me ever since. It might seem hard to believe, Regina is a very complex woman but... she has tried. And she has changed."
"Dr Hopper," Belle speaks, stepping out of the crowd to address the therapist, "you saw her. You have treated her."
"I have."
"Your opinion is the best we have. Would you share it?"
"Of course." He smiles shyly. "Regina is indeed a complex woman, but she is not dangerous at all. She is trying, but she needs support. If we want her to be part of our community we have to give her at least the benefit of the doubt. She may be harsh to us, maybe even rough, but... this is the best chance we have."
"It is not. We could end her life and be done with all this nonsense!" the doctor yells but almost nobody listens.
"Snow, " Ruby asks, softly, "is it true? Do you think of her as your mother?" The red hooded girl can't believe it.
"I do.", Snow White replies lifting her chin. "She was there through my pregnacy, she protected me and my child from Zelena. She vanished her mother's spirit from my body, she even forgave me for killing her. What kind of woman does that for the girl she has seen grow up if it is not a mother?"
The question flows in the air for a few moments. The silence is tense and full of thoughts, and it drives everybody back to their seats.
"That doesn't mean she is not dangerous!"
"Oh, shut up, Whale." Geppetto spits. "Snow White, you know that there is nothing I regret most that what I did to you when the Dark Curse was casted," he says, standing, "and I can't take that back."
"Oh, Geppetto... you know we hold no grudge." The Princess sighs with a smile.
"I know it is hard to believe us, I do," says Prince Charming, "but we must give her a second chance. A chance to change."
"You don't trust her, Nolan." Victor spits.
"I don't, but that doesn't mean I don't have hope." And then David looks to his wife and they smile, and that's enough to settle almost everybody's minds.
A second chance shall be given. Her last chance.
Dinner has never been so exciting for Henry. He is almost literally jumping in his chair, impatiently, eating as fast as a cheetah.
"Relax, kid!" Emma laughs. "You're going to choke if you keep eating that way. What would your mom say?"
"She'd say I eat just like the rest of my family." He smiles widely, staring at the three of them. David frowns, but the ladies laugh at the comment.
"Yeah, she would."
"Probably." Snow adds with a smile before looking back to her plate. She is been playing her food all dinner, not really eating.
There is something odd going between the former teacher and her husband. They are not sitting together as they alway do, not looking at each other with loving eyes and, most importantly; they are not sharing any kind of conversation. And Henry doesn't know why. He has asked, of course, but they would not answer. At least not directly. They said something about being tired and not being a big deal. They said he would understand when he grows up.
What are they talking about? Why are they so weird?
"Archie talked to Regina this morning," comments Emma after swallowing a big chunk of food.
"How was she?"
"Thrilled you are spending the night at her house."
"Thrilled? Regina?" David asks.
"Well... you know... as thrilled as she can be." She replies tilting her head to the side.
Henry smiles.
"So why are you guys coming over too?" he looks directly at his grandmother.
"Belle and I thought it could be a good idea to have a girl's night with her. To help her, you know, feel our care."
"And she needs a night off your nephew, too." Emma laughs, making her mother frown. "Don't worry, we totally understand."
"When you say it that way... it makes me feel like a bad mother..."
"Nobody thinks that."
The three adults fall into silence at David's words.
"So... why aren't you coming, Emma?" It is Henry who starts again, confused by the extrange reactions everybody seems to have around him today.
"We have a new apartment, remember? Someone has to do the moving thing. Your grandpa is helping me."
"You only have three boxes. We could drop them there in the way."
"There is an inventory to make, and... things... and..." Henry archs his brow in a very familiar fashion to a former villain they all have come to know pretty well. "... and... I don't think that's a good idea, kid."
"She's not going to kill you, you know..."
"But I'm sure she'll bite me if I come near enough!", she jokes but nobody laughs. "Anyway, I think she needs her time. It would be awkward. Yeah, let's give her some time."
"I'm going to prepare Neal's things," Snow clears her throat before standing and taking her dish to the sink, "David, would you come with me for a moment, please?"
Henry gives his birth mother a look at which she shrugs and looks away. Not long before the couple has disappeared into the bathroom, the yells start.
"Why are they fighting this time?" Henry sighs. "I thought True Love couples never fought..."
"There is so much beyond those fairytales, kid." She sighs. "You'll know all about it when you grow up, believe me."
Henry chugs.
"Yeah, sure. You always say that."
"Because it's true." Emma smiles. "Plus, it is not big deal, really. They're just tired. You know how much little Neal cries at night."
"I guess..."
"Anyway," she stands and takes the rest of the dishes, "help me with this and we can be on our way, ok?"
Henry sighs and nods, following her. A quick glance at the bathroom just confirms something is up with his family, he just doesn't know what. He has never seen his grandmother so angry at anyone. Babies are supposed to make people happy, not miserable. He smiles at his nephew upon passing near him. The little one giggles happily.
"You can't be the reason, can you?" he caresses his little hand before heading over to Emma's bed, where his bag is waiting.
"Do you have everything you need? Good. Let's go pick Belle up and give this two some moments alone, 'kay?"
The awkward look Mary Margaret and David share when they get back to their apartment is soon forgotten by Henry when he gets to the mansion. Regina is already waiting against the entrance door, dressed in a simple but elegant -and clearly expensive- little black dress.
"Mom!" Henry yells even before the Bug's door opens.
"Hey, kid, aren't you forgetting something?"
"Oh, yeah. Thank you, Emma, see you tomorrow!" he kisses her in the cheek before running out and across the yard.
Emma frowns while her companions share a smile. Belle gets out too to recover her bag from the trunk
"He'll be back tomorrow." Snow presses her arm with a reassuring smile.
"Is not that what I am worried about."
"And what is it?"
"I don't know... yet. Something's weird, that's all."
"I'm sure you'll figure it out." She gives her a last pat before stepping out.
"Yeah... I will..." As she turns the car on again, Emma's murmure is hidden by the engines purr.
It was midnight when the Queen got back to her solitary rooms, at least away from the King and the repellent brat he had for a daughter. It had been a long day for her. If it hadn't been for her father, she would had probably lose her mind and killed everyone. But she hadn't which was a good sign.
She sighed and walked towards the balcony. The night fell over the realm like silk. She once was an innocent girl who believed in love and loved those kinds of moments were the silence brings peace to one's soul. And, most probably, it was the only thing that was left in her after all those years in the shadow of her husband's late wife. The anger and the hatred she needed to use her magic came from all those moments when she should have been loved, and she wasn't. And it was that indifference what was killing the young Regina inside her, hoping to be loved again.
"I hope you're not planning on jumping again, dearie!" the cheerful greeting of Rumplestilskin was something she had accustomed to, too. She turned around to look at him.
"What do you want?"
"Oh, rude, aren't we?" he smiled walking towards her. "I have a present for you, my dear."
"A present? From you?" the Queen arched her brow, amused.
"Oh, yes, indeed!" he whispered with a smile.
She eyed him suspiciously, crossing her arms in front of her chest. He had been her teacher for a long time, and if something at all she had learnt, that was that no one should ever trust Rumplestilskin's presents.
"And what's the trick?" she asked, trying to hide her inner curiosity.
"Well," he smiled looking at the floor, "for once, there's none."
Regina waved and something inside her sighed with frustation. Knowing that imp, asking was the worse by far she could do.
"Then, what is it?" and her voice came genuinely annoyed.
"I've been requested to cast a curse, dearie. And I want you to cast it!" and then he laughed in a way only a crazy man achieve.
She shuddered, barely being able to hide her thrillment anymore.
"A curse?"
"Yes, dearie."
"I know how to curse, Rumplestilskin. I have, several times."
"Oh, but that was child's play. What you have casted so far was nothing like this curse!" Rolled in his index appeared a small white parchment, the corner of his lips curving into a mad grin.
The curses Regina had learnt were nothing like that one. Until that very moment, her curses were enchanted into small items to fulfill Rumplestilskin's part in deals he had made with other people. In return, she learnt how to. Other times it was a small curse, simple enough to be casted just with magic.
"What's that?" She asked arching a brow and trying to fake indiference. It was something she was getting better at, but her master could see through all her masks.
"Something special for a very special person!" he giggles.
"And you want me to cast it?"
He stared at her and tiltered his head to his side, an obvious and slightly annoyed look in his eyes.
"Haven't I said so? You said you wanted to learn how to cast curses."
"I... did."
"Then it's decided! It will be your final test, dearie! Don't disappoint me!"
"My final test? You mean, I have...?"
"Yes! Now attend your gest. Tomorrow, you shall learn. Cast the curse, be rewarded. Fail me once, you'll be damned..." the mad man's singing voice dissapeared in thin air, right before her eyes.
Before she could stop to think what had happened another voice came into the room. A voice she had come to hate.
"Regina, where you talking to someone?"
"Uhm? Ah, no, dear, I wasn't." She smiled and she could tell Snow White was buying it. "Do you need something?"
The fifteen-year-old Snow White walked pass her and looked to the amazing views the Queen had in her rooms. She sighted.
"Father truly believes I am the fairest of them all." She lifted her chin with a proud little smile.
"Well, you shouldn't." Her stepmother couldn't help herself.
"Why?" the young Snow White frowned, turning to look at her.
"Because you're not," her harsh tone was confusing the girl, she noticed, "I am." And then she smiled and the Princess giggled, clearly thinking she was actually joking.
She wasn't, but the girl need not to know that. There is a big difference between knowing what needs to be said and truly feeling it. Time had taught the Queen this bitter difference. When it came to Snow White, she didn't feel the motherly instincts she was supposed to feel for her, the ones she herself had craved from her mother long ago. Faking it was her favorite part.
"But you will," she added trying to ignore the pain in her chest, "eventually. You should beware of the consequences then, Snow. Proudness and vanity are two as dangerous traits as hatred and rage, and they will take all you got and turn it to ashes, leaving you only with a hole in your heart."
The girl looked at her, concerned, and nodded. She left with a grimace that showed how deeply she was trying to understand her stepmother's words.
The rest of the evening flies away as the sun sets in the horizont and soon is time for Henry to go to sleep.
They have spent their time together talking about anything but last week. He is going back to school the next morning and Regina seemed to want to know everything about it. They even remembered some fond memories of him being thrilled with the science fair's fake volcano as a kid.
"I still remember some of the bedtime stories you told me as a kid, you know?" he smiles, sleepy, getting comfortable inside his old room's bed. "The ones about that Queen and her little prince. I always knew it was about us."
Snow White and Belle wait against the door frame, both looking at the floor as they focus their attention in the conversation between the Mayor and her son. They hear a soft chuckle.
"Of course you knew, my dear." Regina caresses his cheek with and absent smile.
"Did you mean it?" Belle asks in a low voice.
"What?"
"What you said in the Town Hall," Belle whispers, "about her being like a mother for you."
"Yes, that... I meant it."
"The Queen could not be happier to know that her little Prince was back in her castle." The Queen says.
"Although she destroyed his." Henry jokes.
"Hey! She built him a better one after that." She tickles him.
"Was she like that? When you were a kid." Belle smiles as they both glance inside the room. She is sure few people has seen the regal woman that happy before.
"Kind of, yes." Snow replies with a nostalgic smile. "She told me some bedtime stories about the Queen and her Princess during her first year of marriage. Then I grew older, but she was always there, giving me advice. Even if she hated me, she raised me. She gave me advice. And I think she always cared a little. She was my stepmother, after all."
"And now she is Henry's. Well, kind of." Belle smiles full of tenderness.
It's been a while since they have heard anything from the room, and it is when they quiet that Regina speaks.
"I'm sorry, Henry, it seems that, although your grandmother recalls some of my advices, the ones about eavesdropping being a bad thing and consequences are not between them."
Snow blushes.
"I will take them downstairs, I don't want their pointless talking keeping you from sleeping. Goodnight, love." She kisses softly her child's forehead before exiting the bedroom closing the door behind her.
The Queen looks at the two of them with a deadly glare.
"I will prepare some glasses." The librarian says quickly almost running down the hall.
"You lied." Regina states calmly after Mrs Gold dissapears, stopping Snow before she can do the same.
"About what?" the Princess shrugs.
"I never cared about you as a daughter. I despised you. I would have done anything to kill you. In fact, I did. I knew my part, and I played it. "
"But you raised me."
"I didn't pretend to. It was part of my revenge."
"And you like me now."
"Like you?" Regina snorts amused. "I just tolerate you."
"I have known you for a long time now, Regina, almost a life time." Smiles Mary Margaret. "I know that, deep inside, you cared about me. Just a little, perhaps. But you did. You were and you are like a mother to me."
"Stop."
"What?"
"Lying."
"I'm not lying!" Snow exclaims, offended.
"You are, my dear, and you are getting quite good at it."
Her stepmother's words send chills through her body. She frowns and looks away. She almost seems angry.
"I warned you. It will eat you and there will be nothing left." Regina sighs.
"Or maybe you are just scared someone has revealed your true feelings." Her stepdaughter replies, defiantly. "But, you know what? I don't care. Keep them there, buried." And she turns to walk away.
"Do not darken further you heart because of me, Snow. I am not worth it."