The three enjoy a quiet dinner. Henry encourages them to watch another movie, hoping to take Rissa's mind off of her missing memories and utter exhaustion.
After the first part of the movie, Regina's phone rings, causing Rissa to jump from her spot beside Henry.
"It's okay," he says, "it's just Mom's cell phone."
They both watch as Regina answers the phone, her eyes going wide before they quickly return to normal as if they were never large at all. She gives clipped responses before hanging up. She says nothing as she leans back against the couch.
"Mom?" Henry asks, hoping she answers the question he doesn't want to ask. When she doesn't, he sighs, "What's going on?"
"Nothing dear, just a little disturbance at Granny's this evening," she states simply.
"Is everything okay?"
She nods and, suddenly looking a bit nervous, "I hope so."
"Mom?" Henry pries.
After a deep breath Regina says, "It seems Leroy and some...friends," her lip curls at the word, "are headed this way."
"For a...party?" Henry asks in mock confusion.
This causes Regina to force air from her lungs it what could have been a laugh, if she wasn't so concerned. "Why don't you both go upstairs," she suggests, leaving no room for disagreement.
Henry tries anyway, "Mom," he starts.
"No, Henry," she says with a shake of her head.
He groans but looks at Rissa, who seems to be more confused than concerned. "Come on, Riss," he says as he stands from his spot on the couch and moves toward the stairs. He pulls out his phone and quickly dials his grandma as he rushes up the stairs. "Grandma, you gotta come quick," he whispers once he's at the top of the stairs, "something is happening, you gotta get here right now." He hangs up and Rissa is unsure if his grandma even had the chance to respond before the call ended.
They move into Henry's room where they shut the lights off and peek out the window, seeing lights from the end of the street.
"I don't like this," Henry whispers, checking his phone again.
It's silent as they watch the lights get closer and turn into dark blobs holding the lights. Those dark blobs become people as they make their way closer to the mansion. She recognizes some of the faces but most just look like angry strangers. "What do they want?" she whispers to Henry.
"I'm not sure," he answers truthfully. Although, he has an inkling they're not here for his mother.
The mob stops at the sidewalk in front of the mansion. Henry and Rissa carefully open the window, just enough to hear what was being said. "Bring her out!" Leroy shouts from the front.
It's then that the front door opens and Regina steps out and off the front step. They can just see her from the edge of the window. Henry and Rissa share a look, that's what Henry was afraid of.
"They're here for me?" Rissa whispers to Henry. When he shrugs she asks, "Why?"
He shakes his head, "I don't know," he says, turning his attention back to the people outside his house.
"Bring her out here right now!" Leroy repeats himself.
"Keep shouting, it will only help yourself," Regina deadpans as she crosses her arms over her chest.
"Give her to us," Leroy shouts once more.
"I have no idea what you're speaking about," she says, looking exponentially bored.
"The murderous queen. Give her to us."
Regina shakes her head, "I do not have a murderous queen. You should probably look elsewhere," she explains.
He growls, "Enough games. We don't need another Evil Queen, so give her to us and we'll take care of her."
"Mob mentality only gets you into trouble, Dwarf," she says, "And there was only ever one Evil Queen. I am offended you would try to so quickly replace me, and with a poor imitation at that."
Rissa scoffs and then realizes she was being offended at not being evil enough, what has this town done to her?
"Give her. To us," he grounds through is teeth.
Regina pretends to think about it, "Hmm, no," she decides.
It looks as if the dwarf will charge at Regina but another voice calls, "Enough Leroy." It's Blue. "Regina," she starts. "We just want to help Narissa. We, at the convent, are much more adept at handling Fae. This would be best for everyone.
Regina obviously disagrees. Henry turns to see what Riss is thinking, but he finds an empty room. "Riss?" he calls. His attention is drawn back out the window when he hears the door open.
"Now it is not polite to hold a party in someone's honor and not invite them," Narissa says, stepping off the steps and beside Regina.
"How does she do that?" Henry whispers to himself as he sees she's changed from her earlier outfit and is now in a dark gown.
"We were merely waiting," Blue says with a fake smile. "Good to see you again," she greets dryly.
"I have to disagree," Narissa states, eyes not leaving the fairy's, "Never seeing you again would be too soon."
Henry laughs and then covers his mouth, hoping no one heard. Knowing Narissa and his mom were friends totally makes sense. They're very similar.
"You wound me," Blue mocks, "But we're here for the safety of our town," she explains.
"You believe you're what's best for this town?" Narissa asks, dubious.
"Watch it sister," Leroy warns.
"Now Grumpy," she starts, causing a look of surprise to cross the dwarf's face, "Would this really be what Riven wants from his children?"
He gasps before his eyes narrow, "How do you know of Him?"
"I was there when he took his first breath. I was there when it was his turn to create a helper for humanity. I was there as he debated and debated what to do to help humanity. I was there when he decided to create something to help his partner's own creation: the Fairies. I was there when the magic was bestowed upon the very first egg. So, to answer your question: what do I know of Riven? I know everything."
"Who are you?" Leroy whispers, shocked at the knowledge this queen possesses of the creator of the dwarves.
She only shares a smirk in response. She turns back to the mob that has formed, in her honor no less. "You may leave now. Because if you stay, you will not win this fight."
Everyone looks unsure, except the Blue Fairy, "You are vastly outnumbered," she reminds the queens.
Narissa laughs, a melodic sound that makes Henry smile as shivers run down his spine. Both comforting and dangerous. She flicks her wrist and dozens of what look like gnats to Henry, fly from the flowers at the front of the house.
"Pixies," Blue grounds from between her teeth as she starts batting away the tiny creatures.
Henry is shocked, it's as if the creatures are multiplying by the second. What was once dozens, is now hundreds, possibly even thousands. He looks to Narissa, who seems focused on her handiwork, and his mom, who looks confused yet impressed at her friend. He watches as one of the pixies leaves the group attacking the mob and moves toward Henry's window. His heart begins to beat faster, was it supposed to be doing this? He nervously looks from his friend to the pixie, moving closer and closer to the open window.
"No, no, Nienna," Narissa calls, "focus down here, dear." The pixie turns around, weighing their options of obeying or disobeying. "I know, love," Narissa answers an unheard sentence, "but you're needed down here." With a beckon of her finger, Narissa calls back the pixie.
Henry releases a breath he didn't know he was holding as the pixie is moved away from his window. He watches as the mob disperses, attempting to run from the pixies.
"This isn't over!" Blue shouts as she disappears in a puff of smoke.
Narissa scoffs, "It never is," she murmurs as she calls back the pixies. They return and stop in front of Narissa and Regina, as if they were students watching their teachers, waiting for further directions. "Thank you, dears," Narissa coos, smiling wide at the pranksters before her. "You did so well, you may now have five minutes to yourselves. There are rules," she adds, holding up a finger before they could take off. "You must stay within the city. No entering the woods or waterways. Be back in five minutes. Have fun," she says, sending them on their way. The pixies immediately disperse to cause a ruckus in town.
Henry immediately shuts his window and runs down the steps and out the door. There's a scream and the three look to see a frantic Snow and Charming, with a screaming Neal, as they swat away the pixies surrounding them. Narissa waves a hand and they are teleported to in the front of the Mills' mansion.
"That was insane!" Henry shouts as he leaves the house and steps in front of his mom and Narissa.
Narissa looks confused and turns to Regina who translates, "He thinks it was very impressive."
"It was, wasn't it," she says with a smirk.
"What were those?" Charming shouts in fright, looking around for more of the creatures.
"How did you do that?" Henry asks, ignoring his grandpa - and the look of annoyance on Narissa's face - and rushing over to the flowers lining the front of the house.
"Yes," Regina agrees, also wanting to know, "Those tiny demons didn't come from my flowers, did they?"
"They're not demons, Regina," Narissa says, affronted at the thought. "Those were pixies."
"Aren't they fairies?" Henry asks, standing up from his position studying the flowers.
"Goodness, no!" Narissa exclaims. "They're absolutely different creatures," she huffs. "Pixies despise fairies. They choose to help humanity, when they're unable to live in seclusion," she adds as an afterthought. She looks at Henry and whispers, "They're also much smaller and much cuter than fairies."
"What is going on?" Charming shouts once more.
"Narissa called upon some pixies to disassemble the mob," Henry explains.
"I was merely having a little fun," Narissa says with a wink toward Henry.
He giggles, then looks more serious, "So they won't hurt anybody?"
Narissa shakes her head, "No, dear. They're merely excited children. They will play a few harmless pranks, perhaps shift some flower plants. But they're not hurtful, they just want to have some fun. And after their help protecting their home, I think they deserve a few minutes of fun."
Henry agrees as Regina says, "Excuse me? Their home?"
"Well, of course," Narissa says matter-of-factly. "You brought these plants from your castle in the Enchanted Forest."
"Yes," Regina says, not following.
"Well, you do know that they kept your garden looking perfect, yes?"
Regina straightens her posture, absolutely not knowing that, "I had gardeners," she explains.
Narissa laughs, "Yes, and the pixies fixed their mistakes. Never ask a human to do a pixie's job."
"So they've been here all along?" Henry asks.
Narissa nods, "Yes, but they're not always active. And certainly never that many at once. They cause too much trouble when they occur in groups."
"So why did that one come after me before?" he asks, thinking back to when he was in his room watching from afar.
"Oh, Nienna wanted to say hello," she says simply.
"She wouldn't have hurt me?" he asks nervously.
"Of course not!" Narissa exclaims. "Nienna has watched you grow up. They all have. They all care for you and your mother very much. They were just waiting for a signal they understood. A signal that showed you needed their help."
"And what kind of sign was that?" Regina asks with a raised eyebrow.
"A wake up call from their mother," Narissa explains, lifting her chin and showing her queenly status.
"You created them?" Henry asks in awe.
"Of course," Narissa says, "Every Fae creates creatures to help humanity."
"And you created mischievous beasts?" Regina deadpans.
Narissa gasps, "Regina, they are not beasts. And I'll have you know they've kept your garden alive for decades without a single acknowledgment from you." Regina looks to argue and Narissa stops her, "My dear, you most certainly do not have a green thumb." Henry starts to chuckle, erupting into giggles when he sees his mother's offended face. He never knew how the garden always looked so perfect when she hated dirt and always pulled all of the weeds (and some of the flowers) from the ground when she deemed them in her way.
"Henry," his mother gasps.
"It finally makes sense!" he says between laughs, causing both women to smile, light twinkling in their eyes.
"Come back now children," Narissa calls into the night air. Immediately, they hear the whispers as the pixies come back to the Mills' mansion. They fly and run through Snow and David's hair, causing them to shout in fright. "Be nice," she warns. She turns to Regina and whispers, "Told you they were loyal," causing Regina to smirk. She did always love when the other royals were mildly inconvenienced.
"Narissa," Regina gasps as she sees pixies riding up the street on five horses.
Narissa's lips disappear within her teeth, eyes wide. Her face becomes stern as she says, "Children, you know it is impolite to steal." She pauses as tiny voices start whisper-shouting. She holds up her hands, "I understand that you wanted to have some fun, but my dears, these beautiful animals have homes and were resting for the night." Another pause, "Yes, yes, next time I will make sure the horses are prepared so you may ride," she concedes. "Alright now, loves." She steps forward and smiles at the pixies before her. "I'm glad you had fun tonight, but now it's time to go to sleep." There is a chorus of tiny groans. "Come now children, return to bed."
There are softer whispers, Henry and Regina can no longer hear what's being said. They share a look before turning their attention back to Narissa, who is staring at them, nodding at what is being said.
"I will ask," she whispers back to them. She stands at her full height and says, "They have something they would like to say."
Regina looks from Narissa to Henry, then back at Narissa. She nods and one of the pixies steps forward. "Hello Miss, Henry," they greet. They both smile down at the pixie as they continue, "We would just like to say thank you for bringing us here when you came, and thank you for the playground to play and grow with. But we have do have one request." They look nervously back at their family of pixies behind them before turning their attention back to Henry and Regina. "Would it be possible for us to make the garden bigger? There is no longer enough pollen for all of us," they explain to the two humans before them.
Regina nods, unsure of what else to do, "Sure, we could maybe discuss a way to expand, if you'd like."
The pixie smiles, "Thank you, Ma'am," they say, bowing their head slightly. "Oh, and could you maybe refrain from removing our homes? We promise we know how to care for your garden and we'll keep it looking beautiful."
Narissa and Henry laugh as Regina scowls but then softens and nods.
"Alright, Children," Narissa calls, "Back to bed," she calls as she encourages them to move back to the flowers at the front of the house. When they have all disappeared back inside the flowers and the bushes she whispers, "Sleep well, loves," and waves her hands, sending out a small wave of magic that brushes over them.
"That was awesome," Henry whispers as he looks inside the flowers and sees a few pixies, but not nearly as many as were sitting outside a moment ago.
"Some were merely for show," Narissa answers his unspoken question. "They made it look more terrifying when they swarmed in huge numbers. You really only have about twenty pixies living around your house."
"Only?!" Regina exclaims. "Those pranksters have been in my town this whole time? Now how do I know which trouble is caused by them or by the delinquent children running amuck?"
Narissa smiles and shakes her head, "These pixies would never do anything to cause you any extra stress or harm," she explains. "They love you; you're their family. You gave them a home, a place to grow things, and they love and appreciate that. That's why it was so easy for them to come out and help. Yes, they love to cause a bit of trouble, but they care about their family more than that." Regina doesn't know what to say. "Let's go back inside," Narissa suggests. She waves her hand and the horses are sent back to their stable.
"Ooh!" Henry calls, "I have a question for you." He turns on the step of the porch and stops Narissa and his mom from entering the house. His confused grandparents behind them. It's silent as they wait for him to ask his question. "Can you tell me about your history with the Blue Fairy?"