Chapter 26
Henry had put Erica to bed and he was tired himself. He thought what he had to go through as a child was bad but this was gut wrenching. He had to watch his sister pull out Regina's heart out of her chest and then forced to crush it.
He thought his mother was a goner. He almost lost her once when he thought all of Storybrooke would self destruct. He never wanted to feel that heartache again. And then Daniel was shot and his heart stopped. He waited for Daniel to get up off the ground. Daniel had become a great stepfather. He took Henry under his wing.
Daniel made his mom happy and that was all Henry wanted. The thought of his mom losing that after all this time was hurtful. Some family he had but he wouldn't change a thing. He took out his cell and called Rachel.
"Henry," she said.
"Hey. I just wanted to hear your voice. It's been a crazy day," he said.
"Did you find Erica? What happened?" she asked. He could hear the panic and concern in her voice.
Henry sighed. "We found her. An old enemy and Scott had her. Hold on." He quickly ran up the stairs to make sure Erica was still asleep.
After checking he went to the kitchen. "Rachel, Scott had her strapped to a stretcher. He and his father electroshocked her."
"What?! Oh Henry, I'm so sorry," said Rachel. "Wait, his father?"
"Yeah, remember when I told you I was kidnapped and taken to Neverland. Well, Scott's father is Greg Mendell otherwise known as Owen Flynn. The reason that didn't come up in the background check was because his adopted parents covered it up."
"Where's Scott now?" asked Rachel.
"Dead. Greg killed him accidentally. And Greg is in the Enchanted Forest fending for himself as we speak."
"I should have been there," Rachel said.
"No. I'm glad you weren't there. It only got worse. Greg had Erica rip my mother's heart out and crush it to death. Greg wanted a life for a life. He wanted to kill my mother for killing his father. He used my sister to do his dirty work. After Greg killed Scott, he lunged for Erica but Daniel stepped in and wrestled with him. Then we heard a gunshot and Daniel was lying in a pool of blood."
Rachel sighed. "How's Daniel?"
"Stable condition. Mom is with him now. I'm with Erica but she's sleeping. I never thought we would go through this. I'm worried for Erica. She hasn't said much. I'm afraid she's going to internalize everything and shut down," Henry admitted.
The last thing he wanted was for Erica to close herself off. He watched his mother do that and it took a long time for her to get comfortable and open up.
"Do you want me to talk to her?" asked Rachel.
"I would like that," said Henry. "Rach, thank you for being there for all of us. I'm not sure why you stay with me sometimes."
"What makes you say that?"
"Um, Snow White, Prince Charming and Rumplestilskin are my grandparents. My mother is the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming. My adopted mother is the same woman who raised Snow White and is the Evil Queen. My aunt is Little Red Riding Hood who is married to Victor Frankenstein. I could go on and on."
Rachel laughed. "But you aren't some fairytale character. You are Henry, the man I fell in love with. Besides, what girl wouldn't want to date a prince?"
"Yeah, my kingdom is literally in another realm and I can only go there sometimes. I have to live in the real world. We have to live in the real world," Henry said.
"True but it's fun to go and watch how everyone lived. It's particularly funny to see your grandparents and Regina in their element. Seriously though, I do love you."
Henry smiled. "I love you too." He heard his brothers walk through the door. "That's John and Jacob. I got to go."
"All right. Tell them hello and I'll see you soon." She hung up.
John and Jacob walked into the kitchen. "Who was that?" asked Jacob.
"Rachel. She says hi," Henry replied.
"How's Erica doing?" asked John.
"She's sleeping," Henry said.
"So are we going to talk about Greg and what your grandpa did to him?" asked Jacob.
"He sent him to the Enchanted Forest," said Henry. He got up and put on some coffee.
"Yeah but did he keep up his end of the bargain. Henry, we know Gold just as much as you do. Why did you go to him? You could have gone to the Blue Fairy and sent him on his way," said John.
Henry pulled down cups and faced his brothers. "Gold was who I thought of first."
"You thought of him because you knew he wouldn't bother asking a lot of questions. You also knew Gold would probably do something crazy. How do we know he didn't kill Greg?" John asked.
"He wouldn't lie to me," said Henry.
Jacob rolled his eyes. "He would lie by omitting some truth. Your grandpa has had in it for Greg for what he did to Neal. Be honest, there wasn't a small part of you that wanted him to die."
"Maybe a little but I pushed that aside. Revenge solves nothing. We learned that the hard way. Look at mom, Gold, Killian…they all suffered and I didn't want Erica to go through the same thing," Henry said.
"We know the stories. That's why the four of us made a pact to pull anybody from the brink of darkness. Henry, we've all gone through it. The pull of magic is strong. We controlled it and it doesn't control us," said John.
"Now, is there a chance Greg might be dead?" asked Jacob.
Henry poured the coffee into their cups set them on the table. He sat at the table with his. He took a sip before putting it down. "Yes. There's a chance. I would like to think that grandpa wouldn't do it but he wouldn't tell us of he did."
"There's another person who might know," said Jacob. "Mom. She went straight up to him and they said a few words before he went back to using his normal voice. We can ask her."
"And if she confirms?" asked Henry.
"We know Erica and the rest of us are safe from that freak show," said Jacob.
"Why tell mom? Why not keep it to himself?" asked John.
"They still have that weird rivals/teacher-mentor thing. They hate each other but still go to one another for help," said Jacob.
"True," said John.
Erica had been listening to their conversation the entire time. She snuck downstairs when she heard John and Jacob come in.
She covered her mouth at the part where Greg might be dead. As much as she hated him, she didn't want blood on her hands. Now he was dead or at least thought dead.
She already felt remorse for Scott's death. He saved her and he paid for it. Although she didn't love him anymore, she still cared that he died. She quietly went up the steps and closed her bedroom door.
Erica looked at herself in the mirror. She looked dishelved. She looked like she hadn't slept in days. She could see the burn marks on the sides of her head. She saw the restraint markings on her wrists.
She was Erica Richards, daughter of Regina Mills. She was supposed to be smarter than that. She wasn't supposed to end up in situations like these. She was supposed to help people not drag them into her problems and almost get people killed.
She resolved within herself to never again put her heart on the line for anyone save her family. She couldn't trust anyone from the outside world about her past. No, she would continue her career as a lawyer. She would do whatever she could to protect her heart from being destroyed again.
The following day…
Regina came home to take a quick shower and get some clothes for Daniel. First, she had to check on Erica. She walked up to her room but Erica wasn't there. She checked her sons' rooms but nothing. She huffed before going to take a shower.
Erica had gone to Gold's shop early to avoid her mother and brothers. "Gold!"
Gold came from the back. "Hello princess. Good to see you in the land of the living."
"That makes two of us," she said.
"What can I do for you? Wait, let me guess. This has to do with that kidnapper and murderer," Gold said.
Erica swallowed. "Yes. Did you kill him?"
Gold smirked. "Be careful dearie. There are some questions you don't want the answers to."
"Henry wanted you to take him to the Enchanted Forest, did you?"
"He will never bother you again," said Gold.
Erica rolled her eyes. "Gold, that's not what I asked. Did you send him to the Enchanted Forest?"
Gold stared. It was like looking at the younger Regina all over again. "I sent him to the Enchanted Forest and whether he survived or not is his business. But I would guess he won't last long. Dearie, why do you care if he lives or dies? The man tortured you and deliberately put a bullet into your father's chest."
"I don't want blood on my hands," said Erica.
Gold nodded his head. "Erica, no blood is on your hands. Any blood spilled lays at Greg's disgusting feet. You have nothing to worry about. You are innocent in all of this."
"Thank you for being somewhat honest. I do know you had your own score to settle," Erica said. She left Gold's shop and headed home.
Erica got home to see Regina coming down the stairs. "Mom."
Regina lifted her head and hurried down the stairs. She hugged her daughter tight. "Where have you been? Are you all right?"
"I'm fine mom. I went to see Gold," she replied.
Regina took a step back and looked at her confused. "Why did you go see him?"
"Greg. I needed to know if Gold killed him," she said.
Regina nodded slowly. "And what did he tell you?"
"He basically said that he sent him to the Enchanted Forest like the boys asked. He said whether Greg survived is his business."
"That imp," Regina thought.
"Mom, is he dead? My guess is that he didn't survive. I know Gold just as well as you do. He probably had the wraith kill him," she said searching her mother's eyes.
"She just had to ask," Regina thought. She sighed. "Yes, he's dead. But honey, none of this is your fault. Whether in jail or somewhere else, he would've died eventually."
"Gold said that I was not at fault. He said I was innocent in all of this. Except I'm not. I was going to kill him on the spot. If it wasn't for Snow, I would have. I'm no better than Gold. I may not have pulled the trigger but I set the thing in motion," Erica said.
Regina narrowed her gaze and shook her finger. "You are so much better than Gold. You are a way better person than me. I went down a dark road and I let darkness consume me instead of forgiving. It cost me my father. You did not set this thing in motion. Scott did when he assaulted you."
"Dad is in the hospital because he me. All of you put your lives in danger," said Erica.
"And we would do it all over again," Regina said sternly.
"Ugh. Magic comes with a price and I paid it. I used magic on Scott and look how well that turned out," Erica said.
"Sweetheart-
"No! Stop letting me off the hook. I'm responsible for this. It doesn't matter what anyone else has done, the blame lays at my feet. I have to take responsibility for this mess I created," Erica shouted.
Regina felt the ground shake lightly. She saw Erica's hands glowing purple and she didn't think Erica even realized it. "Calm down, honey," she said soothingly.
"I won't calm down. Have you not been listening? Scott is dead because of me. Sure he went off his rocker but he loved me at one point. I still care that two human beings are dead. Why is everyone acting like it's no big deal? I'm not a baby. I can handle owning my mistakes. You and dad can't protect me forever. Sometimes I wonder if it had been better if Greg just killed me," Erica said clearly angry.
Regina had had enough. "Erica Danielle Richards, calm down right now. You're shaking the ground. Stop this right now!"
Erica stopped and calmed down. She didn't realize the ground was shaking. "See, I can't control my emotions."
"You can but you choose not to. We channel our anger in different ways. Our automatic defense is to lash out and use magic. You don't let magic control you. It's a part of you but it doesn't define you. Now, take my hand," Regina said.
Once she did, Regina magicked them out. They were now in front of Regina's family mausoleum.
"Why are we here?" asked Erica. Regina just walked inside and waited for Erica to come in. Regina stopped in front of her parents' graves.
"Grandma and grandpa," said Erica.
"My father was a prince but he was fifth in line to the throne. His father married him off to my mother who said she could spin straw into gold. Of course, Rumplestilskin taught her. My mother loved Rumplestilskin but she chose power over love. You know that. My father and I paid for it. My father was stuck in a loveless marriage. He couldn't stand up to my mother. He watched as she used magic to "teach me" a lesson. Any time she felt disrespected or angry or whatever, she used magic on me. I hated magic in the beginning. I didn't want to become my mother. I wanted love. Anyway, now I know my father was a silent hero. He protected me when he could and he stood by my side until his last breath."
"See I came to realize that magic was how I got things in life. As a friend pointed out, it's also how I lose things. Your grandmother and I did things in the name of love when it was really selfishness. We thought we could control every little thing. We couldn't and now they're dead."
So how does Owen come into the picture?" asked Erica.
Regina sighed and rubbed her forehead. "They happened to be here the night before Storybrooke showed up. They wandered into town. I wanted them gone in the beginning. But they were the only thing that was real in this miserable town. I grew attached to Owen and thought I could do what I wanted like I had back home. I arranged for Kurt's car to be delayed and then one day he caught me using magic. Of course he tried to escape. Graham and I cut him off and Kurt was arrested. Owen escaped."
"You killed him, mom. Why?"
"Erica, I couldn't take the chance of anyone finding out. He would probably start to tell the townspeople and I didn't want that. By the time Owen arrived with the police, I used a cloaking spell. Eighteen years passed and I adopted Henry. Who knew all this would happen?"
"Mom, why are you telling me this?" she asked softly.
"You come from a line of people who didn't think about the consequences. We acted without thinking or caring. We wanted any and everything and when we couldn't have it voluntarily, we took it by force. We lost something more precious. Our hearts. We lost sight of ourselves and let our hearts turn cold."
"Come on," said Regina. They walked down the tunnels. Regina showed Erica her father's coffin. "I kept Daniel here the entire time of the curse. I preserved his body. I couldn't part with him. Sometimes I would just come and talk to him. I wished he could tell me something, anything. I would visit him every Wednesday after seeing my father. When he came back, you wouldn't believe the joy I felt having him in my arms again."
It was unnerving to see her father's casket. She knew he had to be in one but still. Their mother never let them come to this room.
Regina led her to her miniature sanctuary. Only her and Daniel ever come to this room.
"This room is filled with things I had from back home." Erica looked at all the dresses and jewelry.
"A little risqué, weren't we?" Erica joked.
"Yes, considering I went to that from this." She showed her light blue riding outfit.
"Conservative but cute," Erica said laughing. She quieted down.
"I know you are worried. I'm worried. All of my life I've tried to learn from your past. You tried to keep me innocent from all of it until you and dad thought I could handle it. Ever since I learned the truth, I tried so hard not to be like the Evil Queen. I knew I must have had dark impulses. John and Jacob knew that too. I wanted to be like Regina, the mother who would sing the nightmares away. The woman who would talk to me when I was in a bad mood. You were and are my best friend."
"Doing what I did to Greg made me feel powerful. It scared me to feel that much magic flow through me. I ripped out his heart without a second thought. I'm scared to know what I would have felt had I killed him myself. So you see, I'm not the innocent wallflower you and dad like to think I am. I am capable of being dark just like anyone else. Nothing is innocent," said Erica.
Those last words hit Regina like a ton of bricks. Gold had told her the same thing. She felt ill. She couldn't let her daughter think in such a negative way.
"You aren't evil. Evil is not born it's made. Your father and I instilled so much goodness in you that even if you wanted to lash out, you wouldn't. You are more like Daniel than you realize. You both are stubborn, protective, and compassionate. You love giving to people in time of need. You put other people's needs in front of your own. We raised you with so much love and care. We wanted you and your brothers to feel special. You all were never a means to an end. We weren't going to force you into a life you never wanted. Honey, situations come up in our lives and it's up to us on how we react. We can either let it eat us alive or go through with grace. You are in control of how this situation shakes out."
Erica nodded her head slowly taking in her mother's words. "Spoken from experience."
"Unfortunately," said Regina. "Do you understand what I'm telling you?"
"Yes, don't go down the road you took. Don't ever go down the road Cora took. You really do have a way of getting under someone's skin. It can get very annoying," she joked.
"Old habit," said Regina. "Let's go see your father."