Chapter 11: Darkened Soul
"What are we doing here?" Henry asks, removing his helmet as Violet pulls her bike to a stop in front of The Rabbit Hole bar. He'd known about this place for as long as he'd lived in Storybrooke, it was right next to Archie's psychiatry office, but both his mothers kept him as far away from it as possible because of how seedy the place could be. After all, there were often pirates, outlaws, and Vikings that frequented the location when looking for a quick drink, no place for a 14-year-old to be hanging out, let alone two. And if the city is as bad as Violet says it is, this place is even more dangerous than before.
"Why do you think people come to bars?" Violet asks, letting her purple hair blow in the wind. Henry's heart is set aflutter at this vision of his girlfriend in this cool and collected state. He continues to stare at her, until she glares at him, signalling to him that he was being creepy.
"But it's against the law for us to drink," he protests.
"Are you stupid or something? There's no around here, the cops don't care if a two-year-old is sitting in there sucking on a beer bottle. Besides, I thought you were cool."
This takes the teenager by surprise and he swallows hard. He doesn't want to lose Violet already. They had started to make a connection, despite how conflicting her new personality was. It's hard for Henry to picture her as something other than the sweet, demure lady-in-waiting he'd met in Camelot. He knows he shouldn't be taken in by peer pressure, something his mom Regina had warned him about, but at this moment… he wants to be with his girlfriend, he doesn't want to lose her, and therefore, he's going to have to give in to that pressure. Besides, who would find out anyway?
"I…I am cool, I just usually don't go to this bar. S-Since I live in that casino hotel with my…" he swallows hard at the thought of thinking of Fiona as his mother. "Mom, so there are bars everywhere and I can get a drink whenever I want."
"Sweet," her brown eyes light up in excitement. "That means your liquor is so much better than this place. You are so lucky Henry, I usually have to hide in the alleyway to drink my booze."
"But I thought you said the cops didn't care?" he asks in confusion.
"They don't, and the owner of the bar is a friend of mine, so usually it doesn't matter, but social services do and if they see me drinking, they'll send me to juvie."
The young author nods as if he understood.
"Come on back, the owner starts her shift right about now and I always get the pick of the bottles."
The biker girl and the "reluctant rebel" make their way around to the alleyway beside the bar, next to the Purbeck Shoe Store and Archie's Psychiatry office. They come to the door that likely leads to the kitchen because of the sound of the dishes clattering and fried food sizzling on the grill. Violet gives five knocks in a distinct pattern. The two wait a few moments until the door opens to a surprise that completely floors Henry.
Standing in the doorway is his mother, Regina Mills… Except she doesn't look like his strong, confident, and edgy mother he's used to, who always wears strong makeup and pantsuits. Instead, he sees a broken and tired looking woman. There are deep dark circles under her eyes, indicating she's had very little sleep for a long time, her usually perfectly styled dark brown hair is now pulled up into a messy ponytail and she's wearing a dirty and stained t-shirt with torn jeans. Her once proud and queenly posture has given way to slumped shoulders as if she's been carrying a heavy burden for a long time and there's no trace of a smile at all. She wears big hoop earrings, long silver chains and rings on her fingers, along with boots with chains around the ankles, as if signifying she's a prisoner of some kind… which she likely was.
Henry cannot believe what he is seeing, like the weakened and hopeless state of his birth mother in the asylum, his adopted mother also appears to have given up hope of any kind. Her cheeks shine as though she's just recently been crying, and her arms are covered in scars… scars that he'd never seen before. She also chews a big wad of gum and snaps a bubble in the teenagers' faces before speaking to them.
His mouth hangs open in utter surprise as Regina seems to completely ignore the boy she'd raised and focus her attention on the biker.
"Like clockwork Vee," she said, her voice devoid of emotion or authority like it usually was.
"Anything good today?"
"We just got a fresh shipment of gin. You want to come into the back cellar and look?"
"You know I do," Violet says, pushing past Regina and disappearing inside the bar, leaving mother and son alone in the alleyway.
Henry is still completely speechless, but Regina looks the young teenager up and down with annoyance and disapproval written all over her face.
"So Violet finally found some lackey to go along with her drinking binges?"
"L-Lackey?" he stammers, trying to focus on the situation in front of him.
"Yeah, you, what did she promise you? Half? A sip? A couple of cigarettes? A night in bed?"
The young author is horrified by what has just come out of his mother's mouth. He takes a step back and blinks extremely hard, still trying to comprehend who was in front of him.
"What's up with you, Kid? You look like you've seen a ghost. Is this the first time you've rebelled against your mother's rules"
"K-Kid?" he asks, his heart sinking into his stomach almost immediately. Mother? She was his mother, had been for fourteen years. "D-Don't you know who I am?"
"Sure, I do, you're Mayor Blackwell's kid… Harry something…"
Henry's eyes immediately fill with tears and his face contorts into horror and heartbreak. She's forgotten all about him… the child she named after her beloved father! The pain is so great that his hands begin to shake. He tries fighting the tears, not wanting to seem weak and helpless in front of Violet and now Regina, but he can't help it. The curse had ripped away his mother's memories of him… of her raising him and loving him as if her very own. It was true that for the longest time, he had loathed her very existence, her being the Evil Queen at the time and making him feel like a freak for believing in fairy tales and the curse. He loved his mother with all his heart and soul, in fact, it was their true love that had broken the second curse that once plagued the town. But now, he was just some annoying kid to her, no memories or love to be found.
"Henry…" he says weakly, swallowing the largest lump in his throat.
"Yeah, that's right, Henry. Like my dad's name. Anyway Henry, why are you hanging out with someone like Vee? What's wrong with you?" she asks, raising her eyebrow and popping her gum.
"What's wrong with Violet?"
"Vee," Regina corrects. "Don't be caught calling her Violet, I learned that the hard way. And what's wrong with her? She's a girl from the wrong side of the tracks, she's part of a biker gang. She smokes a pack of cigs a day and drinks during the day."
"Well, you let the last one happen," he points out, still fighting his tears.
"Only because I know booze is the only escape from pain,"
"How… how do you know that?"
"I've lost like she had. I'm an orphan too, but luckily, I wasn't in the system like she is, which makes it ten times worse for her. I lost both my parents in a drive-by shooting and my one true love in a freak accident."
"Robin?" he ventures.
"No, Daniel. He and I were planning to leave this crappy town behind and start a new life together, but a stupid…" she stops short, now on the verge of tears herself. She chews her wad of gum a lot harder, biting her lip in the process. She sniffles back the emotion and pulls a flask from her back pocket and takes a swig from it. This scene eerily mirrors what Leroy used to do back during the first curse.
This frightens Henry immensely, Sure he would see his mom drink a glass of wine once and a while, but never do hard drinking like this, that was more up Killian's alley. He can smell the strong scent of whiskey in the flask as she wipes her mouth, using the alcohol to force her emotions back inside herself like she'd often done as the Evil Queen. He also sees that she's back to where she was four years ago… a broken, angry woman with no love in her life… pining after Daniel, instead of Robin. It's true that she'd tragically both lost them, but she was strong enough to overcome every obstacle that came her way… now she seemed to be avoiding them and drinking her pain away.
"That damned Blackwell's car…" she hisses.
Before Henry can ask for more information, Violet returns with two bottles of gin clutched in her arms. "Bombay Sapphire, you're the best Regina," she says brightly.
"Anything for my best customer," the former Evil Queen then reaches into Violet's leather jacket and removes a wad of cash. She sorts through the bills until she counts the right amount and gives the rest back to the purple-haired teen. "Do me a favour, will you? Keep this kid away from the bottle. Give the second one to Junkyard or Graves, leave him out of the drinking game." She stares at him for a long moment, as if trying to recognize his face. "He's a got a bright future ahead of himself, may even be able to get the chance to leave this dump of a town, so don't pull him into our ways…"
Henry looks on in amazement, realizing that the mothering instinct was still inside of her… it was much looser and more careless than it was before, but it was still there. He wants more than anything to run over and wrap his arms around her again. Give her true love's kiss and break this awful curse, but he knows all too well the limits to this guideline. Both parties must remember the other before this can work and it is clear that Regina Mills, the true mayor of Storybrooke, doesn't remember loving her own son. He opens his mouth to say something, but then just shuts it again.
"You're right," Violet agrees. "Besides, I didn't ask him to come along, he was sort of stalking me and asked for a ride."
"Better than the stabber you bought the last time," the brunette says, revealing a very clear scar that resembled a healed stab wound. "Stay off the main streets you two." She then ruffle's Violet's hair and then goes inside to start her shift at the bar.
Henry lets out a breath in frustration and utter despair. He cannot believe what his great-grandmother had done to everyone, it makes him sick to his stomach. His hands are shaking, and right now he doesn't care if he looks like a wuss in front of his girlfriend. The loss of his other mother has hurt, and she's as bitter and as broken as she was before she'd adopted him.
"What's the matter with you?" Violet asks, her voice also devoid of emotion or sympathy for the pain Henry is clearly expressing in front of her.
"N-Nothing, just… seeing Regina brought up a lot of bad memories," he lies.
Violet seems to accept that, in fact, her interest has been peaked. "Really, your mom and she have a history, I guess it expands to you too huh?"
"History? What do you mean?"
"You seriously don't know?" she asks as she puts the bottles of gin in her backpack and the two of them walk back to her bike.
"I… must've blocked it out," he lies again.
"Well, why don't you come and meet the gang and I'll refresh your memory," she suggests, climbing back onto her bike.
Henry is reluctant to follow her, but now that his mother no longer remembers him, he might need a sip of that gin after all. He shoves the helmet on and climbs back onto the bike. The pain is too great to handle right now, and anything to numb the pain and make him forget would be useful.
"Sure hope you can hold your gin rich boy," she yells as they both speed off to another unknown destination.
A/N: Henry now knows the kind of pain Crystal is going through, having someone you love to forget who you are. Please review and give suggestions for the story, I'm open to brainstorming. Special shout out to Jamie OUAT for her comment, please keep them coming.
