Henry didn't go back to sleep after that. He couldn't even if he wanted to. Before dawn he was up and rechecking his equipment. The front door suddenly flew open and Roland stepped in, wearing a sleeveless athletic vest, black cargo pants and long black boots. A silver bow was strapped over his shoulder, along with a stuffed quiver, and he was carrying two duffel bags. "What is this?" Henry asked.
"What does it look like?" Roland scoffed. "I'm coming with you."
"No. I'm going to kill Regina. Don't you see that?"
"And I can't say hello before you try and most likely fail to do so?" Roland replied, crossing his arms. "I'm going, Henry. End of story."
Henry sighed. "Fine, what do you have?"
Roland pointed at one bag. "Arrows and knives." Then at the other. "Clothes and supplies."
"Alright then. We need some horses-"
"Horses?" Roland burst out laughing. "Nah, I don't think so. Come with me, my young protege. We're in the 21st century." He picked up his bags and went back outside. Henry grabbed his own and followed. In the driveway was a black Jeep range rover. "This'll do much better. You got a game plan besides find Regina and try to kill her?" Roland threw his bags in the back seat. "Also some way to get to where she is?"
"She said she would open a portal for me." Henry smirked. "She thinks I'm not going to win."
Roland muttered something under his breath. It sounded like 'you're not'. "Think she'll recognize me?" He asked aloud. Henry's smirk faded at once.
"This isn't a happy reunion, Ro." He still didn't think Roland understood that. He had only known Regina a few months before her dive off the deep end and even after everything that had occurred, he was very clearly happy, excited even, to see Regina again. "Are you going to stop me?" Henry asked, stepping in front of the younger man. Roland frowned. "If I get my moment, if I get my opportunity to end Regina once and for all, will you stop me?" He hissed.
Roland's eyes widened momentarily as one of his eyebrows rose. Henry scowled when he scrunched up his nose just like Regina often used to do. It was a completely involuntary motion and Roland probably wasn't even aware he was doing it, and yet it was infuriating to the point that Henry felt a strong desire
to cut off his nose. "I'm just along for the ride." Was Roland's answer. "And of course to see my one and only queen." He smirked, ignoring Henry's glare as he walked down to the truck and hopped in. Henry still couldn't figure out how he still seemed to love Regina like not a day had passed since they were separated. Henry got into the car and typed in an address into the GPS.
"Why?" Henry said.
"What?"
"Why do you still love her? She's a monster."
Roland sighed. "You know what she told me before she sent me and my family out of Storybrooke?" Henry had always wondered, had often tried to guess what had been said. Roland was his best, perhaps only friend, but that didn't mean Henry didn't feel jealous and angry whenever he remembered the way Regina had yelled at him, was prepared to burn the entire town down, but then Roland looked up at her and called her Gina, and just like that she saved them from Maleficent and Lily, she softened all of her edges, she smiled so brightly the sun seemed to shine a little less. He loved Roland as a brother, but hated him all the same for the way he had stolen his mother's heart.
"What did she say?" He said nonchalantly, feigning disinterest.
"She said...no matter how many people enter your life, I will always love you more and I will always be there if you need me." Roland said. "She promised to never hurt me, even put a spell on me so she actually couldn't, even if she wanted to. That's the Regina I like to think about. The one who even though she was losing her mind, stopped everything for a child."
"Stopped everything for you." Henry snapped. "She would've killed everyone if not for you. Man, woman and child. Everyone. It wasn't a child, it was you." He looked over at Roland. "I wonder what made you so special."
"You act like I had any choice, any say, in anything that happened 15 years ago. I was 4!" Roland rolled his eyes and slammed his foot on the brakes as they skidded to a stop inside an abandoned parking lot.
"By the way I need to borrow a million dollars." Henry said, climbing out.
"A million dollars for what?" Roland asked, following suit.
"I found a guy to take me to the Enchanted Forest." Henry answered. "He tracked Regina back there and knows exactly where to take me."
"But he's not doing it for free." Roland pulled out his phone. "Where do I need to wire the money?" He said, sounding bored. With the amount of money Regina had given him a million dollars probably barely seemed like $5 to the guy. Still, it was always good to have a rich friend. A rich and generous friend.
Henry called the Dragon to ask about the account number. He relayed it to Roland and he sent the money. It took a minute to process but once it was done, a small vial appeared on the ground a foot away. He picked it up and grinned. "Ready, Ro?"
Roland revved the engine and Henry quickly got back into the truck. He tossed the vial out the window and it broke, an instantaneous explosion of magic following it. The wind threatened to rip the doors off the truck as the ground suddenly gave way beneath them. They fell through open air as a cyclone of light covered the vehicle. The next thing they knew they were falling again. The truck hit the ground with a hard crash, throwing its passengers around, but there was little damage done. Henry rolled down the window and grinned at the sight of the thick forest around them. A road was nearby and it had a signpost pointing east. His smile faded. It read Happy Birthday Little Prince. Henry got out of the car and ran down the road. Regina gift...were 28 citizens impaled on tall spears on both sides of the road. Some were still twitching and their eyes followed him. The sight of the carnage made him throw up on the side of the road.
"Henr- oh shit." Roland said as he came over. He pulled his shirt up to cover his mouth.
"She's a monster." Henry wheezed, rising to his feet. "Let's go. We need to find-" the forest around them suddenly lit up with wolf howls. Both of them exchanged looks before racing back to the truck and locking the doors.
"What's the game plan again?"
Henry closed his eyes and thought. "Grandma told me that her old castle was to the east."
"Which way is that?"
Henry looked around, not quite sure himself. Roland growled and jerked the wheel around, heading in the opposite direction of Regina's "gift". Henry reached into the back to grab his sword just in case. The howls only grew louder as they roared away. Up ahead a girl suddenly burst out of the tree line, a pair of werewolves hot on her trail. Roland wasted no time in swerving around her. Henry grabbed her and quickly pulled her in as they took off yet again. The wolves gave chase but they were quickly left in the dust.
/
"Fuck!" Roland hissed, holding his nose. Henry struggled to hold on to the woman as she fought against him. She was feisty thing, small in stature and hardly difficult to control. She didn't seem to know that because she continued fighting, even landing a solid punch to his jaw. Roland growled and pulled out his bow, nocking an arrow at aiming at the woman. "Be still...please." She slowly responded to his threat and Henry placed her back on the ground. He shook his head at Roland and moved between them.
"Hey." Henry sighed, rubbing his face. "Look, we're not with Regina or Zelena or Ruby. We've come to help."
"No one can help us. No one can stop them." She hissed. She was a small pretty blonde, probably older than she looked. She appeared haggard, tired, and completely on edge. Scars adorned her arms and her clothes were shredded from the wolf attack. Her eyes were like storm clouds, gray and foreboding.
"What's your name?" Henry asked, offering a small smile, hoping to relax her.
"Mira."
"I'm Henry, this is Roland. We've come to destroy the villains, the monsters."
Mira laughed. "You? And what army? A foolishly optimistic boy and an idiot with a bow going up against the Dread Wolf alone is suicide. If you want to add in the Mad Queen and the Wicked Dark One just for kicks then I hope you believe in an afterlife...Henry." Mira glared at him. "Did you see those 28 people? The ones strung up by their entrails with poles rammed through their chests?"
"Yeah, we saw."
"That happened because of you. She came to us and told us why she was doing it. She said to beware a man called Henry. He would only lead us to our destruction."
"Fear is the only way she knows how to rule. We can't be afraid to fight." Henry said with conviction. "Do you have other people? I need directions and a map."
Mira stared at him, as though he had lost his mind. "Did you not hear me? She is undefeatable. She has an army of werewolves and an almost limitless amount of magic at her disposal. A deer doesn't shit without her hearing about it."
"Heroes were born to win, to overcome the villains. Goodness and light will always win over darkness."
"Darkness is everything!" Mira snapped. "Don't you get it? Darkness comes when everything is gone. Then darkness is everything. No one is going to fight a war that they can't even see the good side of winning."
"Freedom, peace, a life without fear." Henry said. "That is what we will win when we defeat the evil here. Take me to your people, all that is left. I can help, Mira. I promise...or I'll die trying." She still didn't look convinced. He motioned to Roland and the archer rolled his eyes as he walked a little ways away, giving them privacy. "Regina killed my family."
"Regina has destroyed many families and killed many people. What makes yours special?" Mira replied evenly.
"Snow White was my grandmother. Prince Charming was my grandfather. My mother was Emma, the Savior. Regina herself….used to be my adoptive mother." Mira's eyes widened and she took a step back, but Henry raised his hand to show he meant no harm. "I can end this...but not alone."
"The world is not as simple as good vs evil, Henry. Nothing ever is. You have so much hope, but for us hope ran out a long time ago."
"Then you need more." He smiled. "I'll help you. Together, we can stop her."
She looked skeptical still. "You're a fool." She sighed. "Come with me."
/
Roland sighed, watching Henry act like some kind of Savior talking to the ragged and weary citizens of the small village. It was a dreary sight, one he couldn't really stand to look at. He grabbed his bow and quiver and walked off into the woods behind the village. There was an open field with a scarecrow. Perfect for target practice. He drew his bow and nocked an arrow, his body moving without thought. His father had trained him in archery since he was a boy and he was now quite the marksman. But now, it was Regina who entered his thoughts. He thought about her a lot more than he admitted. Over the years there were times she was all he could think about. Just like she would always say that he held a piece of her heart, she always held a special piece of his. It was hard to explain, and certainly not a subject he could discuss with his parents or anyone from Storybrooke. To them, although Regina had spared their lives, she was still a monster, who held no value for the human life. Anything that stood in her way was to be destroyed. But Roland had seen the real Regina. He met her and loved her and always would. And she loved him.
He loosed arrow after arrow as he remembered all the times they made cookies and baked apple turnovers together, or she told him stories, and even allowed him to sleep in her bed once when he had a nightmare and had run all the way from the forest camp of the Merry Men to her mansion. A smile touched his lips as he thought about the way she had made him some warm milk and cookies and told him she would never let any bad dreams hurt him. After that he remembered climbing the big stairs to her bedroom and into her soft bed. She laid down next to him and cast a spell to keep out the nightmares. She even left the light on for him.
Roland fired his last arrow. It flew through the air and would've landed right in the scarecrow's forehead...but it froze in midair a foot from its target. He frowned as the arrow started floating towards him. Then a fist materialized around the shaft, followed by an arm and then a body. Regina smiled at him as she stopped in front of him, pretending to examine his arrow.
"Regina?" The woman did not seem to age a day. She was just as breathtaking as she had always been. She was wearing a simple white dress that hugged her figure deliciously as well as trailed the ground as she walked. Her hair was long and silky, falling about her shoulders and being tossed gently by the wind.
"Hello my Forest Prince. Or is it King now-" She squealed when he suddenly threw his arms around her and picked her up, swinging her around happily.
"It's you! I've missed you so much!" Roland cried.
Regina laughed and kissed his cheeks and hugged him back. "It has been far too long." She giggled as he stopped spinning, but still refusing to put her down. He couldn't help staring at her. "What?"
"You're...so beautiful."
"You are going to make me blush, my sweet. Put me down now."
"Oh right, sorry." He quickly put her down and smiled at her. His Gina. "You look amazing."
Her eyes roamed over him and he couldn't help but striking a few poses for her and making her laugh. "So do you." She smiled and reached up to touch his face, cupping his chin while gently tickling his goatee as she traced it with a finger, as if trying to make sure he was indeed real. "I've missed you so much. I've thought about you every day. You've gotten so handsome. What are you doing here, dear?"
"I came with Henry." He answered.
Her eyes immediately darkened and she stepped away, smile fading. "You came with him...to kill me?"
"No! No, no, no. I would never hurt my Gina. I couldn't. I just had to see you again."
"Did Henry like my birthday gift?" She walked around him, smirking evilly.
"No." Roland rolled his eyes. He wasn't sure how he felt about Regina massacring 28 people just to send a message to her former son. The Regina he knew was completed capable of it but would never do such a thing. Then again that was the old Regina. He hadn't gotten used to the new one just yet. This was a woman to fear, not admire, not love. But...he couldn't help it...
"And what's the little twerp up to now?"
"Inspiring the people." Roland shrugged, watching her closely. She came to stand in front of him, her eyes lighting up once more and a genuine smile touching her lips. She stepped forward and he moved his arms around her instinctively. He felt her breath on his ear as she leaned forward. The sound of her voice made him shudder.
"Come with me, Roland. I once thought of you as the son that I always desired, but I have long since come to realize, you are much more. Come with me. Henry will only lead you and those people to your deaths. What did I tell you...all those years ago?"
"On our last day?"
"No, every day."
Roland swallowed. "That you would love me forever, more than anyone I would ever come to know."
"I meant that, Roland. I promised I would never hurt you. I will never break that promise."
Roland swallowed again. His eye caught a movement in the distance and he frowned, trying to pinpoint what it was. Then he saw the dark hair, the angry eyes. Henry raised the gun and he did the only thing he could do. There was a loud bang just as he shoved Regina away as hard as he could. Pain exploded in his chest and before everything went black, he heard the most horrible sound he'd ever heard in his life. Regina screamed his name, a sound filled with pure terror. "Gina…"
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