Day 3 of OQ Fix It Week - Quest to get Robin Hood back.
Prompt: Henry is struggling with the loss of Robin more than people realise and he refuses to lose hope.
I'd like to give the biggest shout out to the wonderful Brittany who is officially one of my favourite people on this planet. Thank you for being such a wonderful beta tonight, I just loved chatting through this with you!
Regina flinches every time the doorbell rings now. Nearly every person in town has stopped to mutter their condolences, to relay their own personal experiences with her soulmate. The manse is riddled with the flowers they bring, with food that she'll never eat. As nice as it is that everyone wants to make sure she's comfortable and not stooping back to her evil ways, it's becoming exhausting and downright annoying.
She hesitates as she opens the door, but luckily she can release that held in breath because she's greeted by the fresh face of Henry's not girlfriend, a face she doesn't mind seeing.
Regina smiles politely, "Hello, Violet."
It's a pleasant surprise until Regina remembers that a certain someone is supposed to be with her right now. Regina looks out the door, to either end of the porch, then worriedly asks, "Where's Henry?" Violet's face immediately drops, falling into a deep creased frown with drooped eyes. "Violet?"
"He asked me not to tell you," Violent whispers. "But I'm worried about him."
Regina's stomach drops, "He hasn't been with you this afternoon?"
Violet shakes her head, "That's just what he tells you when he goes to the forest."
The forest? She thinks. Why on earth would he go to the forest? Especially on a day like today, the sky's expanse is dark grey, droplets are falling slightly from above. And when Violet adds a saddened he really misses him, Regina's heart absolutely shatters.
Swallowing the lump in her throat, she squeezes tenderly on Violet's shoulder, "Thank you for telling me."
"He was a special man," Violent barely whispers. "I'm so sorry for your loss."
It took Regina a while to realise just how much Robin was loved throughout the town, even the people who only knew him for a few weeks.
"I know you are, sweetheart," Regina hugs Violet in quickly, placing a chaste kiss against her hairline. "I'll go and check on Henry. He'll never know you told me, I promise."
"I don't care about that," Violet's head shakes as she pulls back from Regina's hold. "But please tell him that I'm here for him."
Regina tells her that she will, that she'll relay the message as soon as she gets to the bottom of Henry's adventuress to the forest, even though there is a gut feeling that tells her she already knows.
As Violet disappears from view, Regina engulfs herself in a tornado of purple smoke and finds herself standing in the middle of Robin's camp, what's left of it anyway.
Regina winces at how bare the camp looks. The Merry Men all decided it was best to go home to the Enchanted Forest, and they packed up as well as they could. All that's left is the odd campfire, tent and a few blankets strewn across the ground.
At first she can't see Henry, she turns around a few times hoping to catch a glimpse of him, but he's blocked by some trees. It's the frustrated grunts and muffled voice that give his location away.
She edges up slowly, making sure not to startle him. He's pulling back an arrow and releasing it incorrectly. There's almost no power to it and Henry is so defeated. He looks tired, completely sick of the task he's obviously been practising for hours.
She stays somewhat hidden for a moment longer, lets him try one more time, but it's the same. The arrow falls before reaching the target, only this time, Henry sighs heavily and begins to cry.
"Henry..." she all but whimpers.
"I can't do it," he ridicules himself, wiping away the wetness on his cheeks before picking up the arrow again and going back to his firing spot. "He was supposed to teach us. Remember? He was supposed to teach all of us. Look at how awful I am. He would have been so disappointed."
"He could never be be disappointed in you," she assures. Robin was always praising Henry's maturity, his ability to make her smile like nobody else. Robin could sleep easier knowing that she had a son like him.
He accidentally drops the arrow and groans loudly, angry at himself and he kicks up some dirt. She's never seen him act this way, and it's gut wrenchingly sad to see him struggle so much, to see him battling with the storm of emotions inside that have nowhere to go.
All this time, the town has been focussed on her. Everyone has checked in on how she's doing, never inquiring about Henry or how he's handling the loss, herself included. Not once did she think to really ask if Henry was fine. Not once did she consider that he might have learned the art of concealing feelings indirectly from her.
He's bottled it up, much like she used to do, and it's fizzing out in the form of frustration, pain and anger.
"It's not fair," he growls softly, a pained sound from the back of his throat. "None of this is fair. Even when I'm the author, I'm still useless."
"Please don't talk about yourself that way, Henry."
"It isn't fair," he moans again, sniffing wildly to keep the rest of his tears bundled at his tear ducts. "I'm glad Ma is happy and all, but how is it fair that Hook gets to be here and Robin doesn't?"
"It isn't fair, sweetheart. But…" she hates the idea to come across as having given up, but her hope level is less than usual lately, and she defeatedly admits, "There's nothing we can do."
"That's bullshit."
She's taken aback at the sudden outburst but decides that this particular moment isn't the time to reprimand him or scold his language.
"We were supposed to be a family. Now he's gone, so is Roland, and I still can't use this stupid bow," he gestures the bow out in front of his face, "I've been coming here every day for a week and I still can't do it."
Henry and Robin spoke not that long ago about learning how to shoot together. Regina was apprehensive at first, the thought of untrained hands holding such a dangerous object worrying her, but she trusted Robin wholeheartedly and knew he'd keep their boys safe. So, she reluctantly agreed after a number of pouty faces and convincing kisses.
They never did get around to that outing.
"Pick up the arrow," she says, walking the few steps needed to stand next to him, before she clears her throat. "I'll teach you."
Henry's eyes widen, only a little, "You know how?"
"Yes," she smiles fondly, remembering, "I was taught by the best."
It had been during that pesky missing year. Robin sensed her bad mood and followed her to the garden, persistent as always and insisting that they do something to spare her mind of menacing thoughts. Of course, his suggestion was the darned bow. But it worked.
Henry picks up the arrow quickly, eager to hear the instruction from her.
"Face that tree," she instructs.
She helps him find the right stance, pushing and lifting shoulders, straightening his feet. She adjusts his arms so his elbow is pulled back, straight and in the correct position, teaches him to point his forefinger as a guide.
His stance is almost perfect when she mutters, "Now…"
Take a deep breath, she remembers Robin's voice whispering closely behind her ear, his warm breath sending shivers up her spine at the time, then telling her, And let go.
"And let go…" she whispers sadly, choking back on her sob as much as she can.
This is Henry's moment, his chance to say goodbye, and she needs to be strong for him. She bites against her inside of her cheek, ignores the tears brimming her eyes, taunting her and threatening to fall.
She's waiting for Henry to release, waiting for him to finally hit that target, but he doesn't flinch.
Instead she hears him mumble sadly, stricken with pure grief, "I don't want to let go. I'm not ready to let go of him yet."
"Neither am I, sweetheart," she steps closer to his back and squeezes his pulled back elbow. "Together?"
He nods, inhales deeply like she'd instructed him to, and lets the arrow slip from his fingers. It shoots ahead and pierces the target - not quite in the centre - but it missed the surrounding trees and dirt.
Henry laughs, a single puff of pride, "You're a good teacher."
"Not as good as Robin."
Henry drops the bow to the ground as he twists around to bury himself into her chest, exhaling the deepest sigh he can, and she gathers him in close.
"I wasn't kidding, you know," he says into her embrace. "I'm refusing to let go." Regina steps back slightly so she can stare at him with inquisitive eyes. "There has to be a way to bring him back, and I'm going to find it."
"Hades made it clear that there was no way," she counters, worried that Henry might be setting his hopes far too high, giving into the pessimist inside her, as usual.
"Hades was a villain," he argues passionately. "Villains lie when they know it'll inflict pain. I can't give up looking for a way to bring him home because an evil God who was dead set on destroying you said there's no way."
He makes an excellent point. Recalling her years of villainy, she's well aware of the things she would say to inflict the level of pain she wanted.
"You're a lot stronger that I am," she sighs, but his insistence sparks a tiny bit of hope in her belly, so she asks softly, "You really think there might be a way?"
"We won't know unless we look into every possibility, but you were soulmates," he emphasises enthusiastically. "It has to count for something, right? It can be my new operation."
Part of her wants to say no, Hades' voice in the back of her mind dancing around and convincing her that this is just a recipe for disaster. But Henry looks so hopeful, so sure that fate will bring their family back together.
"Alright," she agrees. "But on one condition," she holds up her forefinger between them until he nods in agreement, "We do it together."
A smile spreads across his face and he bends down to pick up his bow, then loops an arm around Regina's back so they can walk side by side out of the forest. She could easily use her magic, but something tells her that they need this moment in Robin's favourite place; a moment to be surrounded by the place he loved most.
"How about Operation Pixie Dust?" Henry asks.
Regina grins at the idea, pulling at Henry's shoulder to squeeze him in closer, "That's perfect."