A/N: The next chapter should be a good one. Plot progression in this chapter! The pace seems a bit off in this chapter, so I apologize for that. Also, I definitely didn't read through this thoroughly before posting it, so I'm sorry if there are any major mishaps. I appreciate all of you so much! Your support and comments mean the world to me. I'll do my best to update ASAP. Until next time!

Chapter 10: You Know You're Better Than This

"It is done."

Snow White breathed heavily, closing her eyes as the guilt that weighed at her conscience threatened to make her crumble. She turned to face her husband, who read her expression with no difficulty. David knew her so well. His eyes softened and her reached to cup her delicate chin in his palms.

"Snow, it had to be done. She threatens the kingdom just by breathing. If she ever plans to challenge the crown, we could not afford putting our people's lives at risk entering another war."

"I agree, but assassination David?" Snow's green eyes glistened, brimming with conflicted tears. "As far as we know, she isn't planning anything! She isn't even expecting an attack."

"She was seen by one of our most reliable knights in the Northern Territory. That is well out of her range. Regina is plotting something, Snow. And the only way to prevent the kingdom's devastation is by destroying her."

Snow's brows furrowed and her lip quivered unsurely. "That very knight also said that she was powerless, David," she retorted stubbornly. "There has to be something going on that we're unaware of."

"All the better reason to kill her," the King deadpanned harshly.

Snow met her true love's gaze with a strained, withering expression. She knew that the smart move was to take her stepmother out of the picture completely. David spoke sense. This, she was aware of. However, she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something amiss with the whole situation. Something wasn't sitting right with her.

David sighed deeply and held Snow's shoulders in a comforting way. "I know that the two of you have a history far more extensive than I will ever understand. Somehow, despite it all, I think that part of you still cares for Regina. So, to you, this seems brash. But, Snow," Charming stared into the brilliant green orbs of his beloved, melting at her tortured gaze. "She is never going to change," he breathed almost regretfully. "Time and time again we have given her chances at redemption. Time and time again, she refuses. And now, she threatens us with a dark curse." David's hand found its way to his wife's stomach. "She threatens our child, Snow. There is no other alternative. She must be stopped by any means necessary."

Snow swallowed thickly and placed her own two hands over David's that still lingered on her abdomen. A tender yet sad smile pulled the corners of her lips upwards.

"You're right," she agreed, though reluctantly. "She has denied every chance we have given her. Perhaps I still pine for the good I knew she was at one time."

"Are you sure there was ever any good in that woman?" David prodded, genuinely curious.

Snow met her husband's inquiring stare and nodded. "I know she was. She saved my life once..." Snow's lips pressed together so tightly that they thinned to nothing, and she was suddenly overwhelmed with emotion. Turning away from David, she repressed a sob by placing the back of her hand upon her mouth. However, before David could console her, she regained her composure.

"So the assassin has left?" Snow inquired hoarsely.

"Yes," Charming confirmed, wrapping his arms around Snow from behind in a loving reassurance. "It will all be over soon, darling. Everything is going to be okay."

While Snow wanted so desperately for this to be true, she knew that everything was far from okay. Despite all that flew through her mind, the image of a boy drifted to the forefront of her thoughts. A boy named Henry. Exuberant and bright. Polite and kind.

Why was it that she felt the decisions she and her husband made directly affected him?

...

The Evil Queen brooded, thoughts drifting to the predicament with her prisoners. They often did as of late. In fact, Henry and his mother replaced any of the bad intentioned devastation she planned to unleash on Snow White and her precious Prince Charming. She knew she had promised to enact a dark curse within the coming year, but coincidentally, that was the last thing on her mind.

"Still pondering what to do with your special guests?" The Evil Queen's personal minion appeared in the mirror of her vanity. Her attention snapped to him, and her lips curled into an annoyed sneer.

"That is none of your concern."

"I believe the way forward is clear," the mirror continued, undeterred. "They pose a threat. Execution is—"

"Enough!" The Evil Queen barked so acrimoniously that her voice shook as she seethed in rage. Her own reaction surprised her, as the thought of any harm coming to the child that continued astound her made her skin crawl and her stomach churn into knots. What was this feeling that overwhelmed her so? When had she obtained the sudden urge to protect Henry? "I shall not have you speaking so freely. I alone will determine what to do with them."

The mirror's knowing expression sent a shiver down the Queen's spine. "Don't tell me you've come to care for the child," he chuckled darkly, though clearly amused. "When did the Evil Queen develop a soft spot for children?"

The Queen rolled her eyes, her nostrils flaring in annoyance and anger, as she turned away from the mirror with a low growl.

"Shall I remind her majesty of all the lives she's taken in the past year alone? Many villages were demolished under your orders. Many children perished in these—"

Before the mirror could finish, the Queen snatched the closest object she could find and hurled it at her vanity. Glass shattered, the sound of its destruction piercing the air. The Evil Queen felt vaguely satisfied with her small outburst. However, the sound of her mirror chuckling from the mirror that hung on the wall wiped any feelings of satisfaction from her.

"My, my. Quite a temper we have today."

"That's enough," she snarled, whipping to face the jeering expression of her own personal henchman. She sauntered towards the mirror with a menacing glare, seeing red. "If that's all you have to say," she sneered with a slight tilt of her head, "then you can leave."

"Whatever her majesty desires," the mirror sighed over-dramatically, clearly enjoying the effect his words had on the Queen. However, before another exchange could be made, the mirror's reflection vanished as he abided to the queen's command.

Regina visibly relaxed at his departure, shaken by his words. Pacing about the room, she rubbed at her temples, feeling a migraine threatening to surface. She had no idea what to do with Henry and his mother. There were so many unanswered questions that lingered. She couldn't just get rid of them. Especially the boy...

"Is it true, my daughter?" an older, withered voice spoke from behind the Queen, Regina. "Is it true that you hold a boy and his mother captive in the dungeons?"

Regina slowly turned to face the one person she could trust and find comfort in. Her father, Henry. He seemed distressed and slightly disturbed by the information he had overheard from the knights of the castle.

The Queen swallowed and nodded curtly, almost ashamed. "It is," her voice came out strained and coarse.

Her father sighed and approached his daughter. "I assume you have a good reason then?"

Again, Regina nodded, guiding her father to a lounge chair and taking a seat opposite of him. "I do," she clarified. "The woman... she has been posing as me in the Northern parts of the forest. She resembles me in many ways... And her son just happened to be collateral damage."

"Have you figured out what their purpose was?" Henry asked.

"No," Regina bristled at the reminder of her failure to determine what the boy and his mother were actually doing in the Enchanted Forest.

"Are you sure that they are plotting against you, Regina?" Henry implored. "Have they done or said anything to suggest that they mean you harm?"

The Queen's expression melted as she looked into her father's eyes. The simple questions perturbed her.

It never was and never is our intention to bring harm to you.

I wish I could tell you.

When you're ready you'll know...

A series of statements that the young boy had said rang through her head. Henry, the child that seemed to know exactly who she was. Who seemed to sense her motivations and deepest, darkest secrets. He had told her on multiple occasions that he and his mother weren't planning on hurting her. What had swayed her into believing otherwise?

Regina didn't have to say anything for Henry to determine the answer.

"Then why do you have them locked up in the dungeons, darling? Don't you think that they'd be more willing to speak if you showed them hospitality?"

The look Regina gave him reminded Henry of the days of his daughter's innocence. When she was lost, lonely, unsure and confused. A young girl that expected the world but received nothing. Only emptiness.

"If they aren't a threat, then the way forward is clear..."

Regina looked to her father with a calculating, contemplative look. She looked like she was about to snap at him with some harsh comment. However, instead, something that rarely happened occurred. Regina leaned over and kissed her father on the cheek. "Thank you, daddy," she whispered into his ear.

In that moment, as he watched his daughter leave with a sudden determination and drive, Henry felt as if he had ignited a spark of light into his daughter's dark heart.

"I love you, darling..." he whispered into the dead air.