Hello friends! Sorry this was late again :/ I'm trying to be better. Haha. You're all fantastic! :)
Alas, I do not own OUAT.
It all happened so quickly.
One minute they were standing in the doorway, greeting old friends they were sure they'd never see again, and the next…
Nothing.
Just a void. And ocean of darkness. An emptiness that encompassed them so completely, crushing them, sucking the life out of them. No sign of a way out.
Just…nothing.
"Look I have the right to know my son!" Neal protested, his fists curled into balls as if he was ready to use brute force to get past a very stern-faced David.
He was by no means happy to be entertaining the man and yet, he understood the need to recognise his daughter's desires and was more than willing to step-up and help her in whatever ways were necessary. He was a father and despite still learning what that particular role entailed, he knew that simple actions were the way to show he was there and that he cared.
So if a simple action meant keeping this Neal guy who destroyed his little girl's heart away from Henry, then that was exactly what he was going to do.
He just thought she'd be in like a flash once the opportunity presented itself…
"That may be so, but Emma's wish is for her to tell Henry herself and I'm going to honour that wish," he explained coolly, asserting his royal air.
Neal pinched his face, positioning himself on the arm of the couch. David smiled to himself. He fought tooth and nail with Snow to get a couch put in the room. He wanted a guy's room – a den, one might call it – and she was having none of it. Insisted she wanted a study. For what, he'll never know. Must have been her inner teacher creeping to the fore again. Over days and nights of discussions and room layouts and absolutely everything else in the world, she eventually caved and let him decorate the room any way he wanted.
Upon thinking about his obstinate wife, his heart throbbed at their fight. Maybe he went overboard; maybe he didn't. The one thing he knew for sure: he hated fighting with her.
"But I just found out about him," the man rationalised weakly. "He's eleven; and I didn't even know." The sense of almost profound hopeless that pervaded his very manner struck David, but he steeled himself quickly, not allowing himself to feel any sympathy for him.
He sighed, hands on hips. "I realize that. I do. And I know what it's like to not know your child but," he paused to glare at him in the only way a defending father would, "you left Emma. You lied to her. She had to make a decision of what would be best for your son and she chose to give him a life where he would get everything he needed. You know it was the right decision."
"But if she had just tried to find me we could have figured it out." The lines on his forehead creased, his eyes pained, his jaw still a stinging pink from when David punched him earlier, Neal was a picture of a broken man. Suddenly he looked much older and the similarities between him and Gold that Charming hadn't noticed before were clear as day. "I just want to meet him. I want him to know that I'm here, that I'm willing to be here for him. I'm willing to be a parent." He drew his arms out wide, his husky voice dripping with sincerity.
No matter what he said, David had to respect Emma's wishes and he had to think of Henry and what was right in line with his wellbeing. And his pride and his love were roaring from within him, urging him to ignore the pitiful man who broke his child so completely that she felt like she was never worthy of love. But the royal man who believed in justice and the simple nature of understanding sincerity when he saw it, was making its voice heard too.
Flexing his hand, he gazed at the man with blank eyes. "Look, I'm going to be straight with you. I think it's pretty obvious that I don't like you." Neal's lip curled up, his hand caressing the point of impact. "I think what you did was cowardly. I believe that you thought what you did was right but, you see, to me, when a man loves a woman, he does everything in his power to protect her and keep her safe. He doesn't abandon her and leave her to fix the mess he created. No; a real man would have owned up to his mistakes. Running comes so easy to you, doesn't it? It's the best option. Cut your losses and bolt when it all gets a little too much to handle." He took purposeful steps toward him, his hand out in front, punctuating his words with a jab in the air. "You haven't even gone to see your father yet, have you? Too much to handle?"
Neal shot up, his faces inches from his. "You don't know anything about my relationship with my father so I suggest you shut up about things that don't concern you," he warned with a low voice.
"But do you know what does concern me, Neal? Emma and Henry. My family. You're lucky to be even in here in the first place. If it was up to me, I would have my sword out and I'd throw your ass out on the street and tell you to never come back. So I suggest that you pipe down about what you need and take what my daughter wants like a man."
The smirk on his face –cheeky and arrogant – made David want to slap it off once and for all. There was just something about Neal that rubbed him the wrong way. One minute the guy was a bed of sorrow, apologising profusely, and the next he was grinning and goading. He hoped that when he did get to meet Henry he'd change his tune and become the figure that Emma envisioned for the boy.
Speaking of his grandson, the kid's voice rang, faint as if far away. He turned his back on the man and faced the door, listening intently. The voice came again, louder this time. Neal must have heard it too because he sidled up alongside of him, his shoulder just brushing Charming's. It was Henry alright, and he was calling for David.
But it wasn't his usual way of calling him, all playful and happy; no, this was more of a panicked yelp.
David rushed out of the room to find the boy.
The stench of stale sweat stung Regina awake, her hand immediately rushing to her forehead as she opened her eyes one by one. The room was barren; all that occupied it was a single window half-covered by an off-beige tattered curtain that hung sadistically from its pole, a lonely table against the cracked wall, and a dusty blanket that she was lying on top of.
Bolting into a seating position, she wracked her brain for her last memory. Sifting through a load of baggage she had been saddled with as of late, she vaguely remembered driving to her enemi – the Charmings's - and then…Henry went inside and she…no, she didn't make it in. Regina brought of her hands up to her head, pressing on both sides as if it would dislodge some hidden memory.
And then it hit her like a slap to the face.
Blue mist. Blacking out.
That could only mean one thing: her mother was here.
She staggered to her feet, wiping the dust off her long, black coat, collecting her breath. She could handle her mother. She was a grown woman who was more than capable of holding her own.
She was the Evil Queen for crying out loud; she could take on her mother. And most importantly, she could beat her.
Careful so as to not make too much noise, she crept over to the window and gazed out onto a back alley.
Well that was helpful.
"It's so good to see you my dear."
Regina whipped around, her eyes guarded, trying not to give anything away. Emotion was weakness. Love is weakness. That much she had learned over the years. And yet it was so incredibly difficult to look upon the face of the woman who had ruined her life from such a young age. Whenever Regina allowed herself to think about her, allowed herself to imagine her face, she got this lump in her throat, her resentment and bitterness colliding with her distress and smothering her.
That woman destroyed her life and whether or not she did what she thought best for her wasn't the point; the point was that she stripped away everything Regina had ever wanted in life and presented her with this whole new world of regal authority and deafening pressure to be the perfect wife and perfect mother and perfect representative of a kingdom.
Daniel would have been everything she needed.
But he was gone.
Because of her.
She shook her head and pursed her lips. "Hello mother," she drawled, relying on her cool tone to keep her calm. "I have to admit, I didn't see this coming."
Her lips curled deviously. "Why's that? Because you thought you had killed me? Oh my darling Regina, I didn't think I'd have you so easily fooled."
"What are you doing here?" she spat, feeling her anger rise from the extremities of her limbs. "How did you get here?"
"That's a long story." She clacked over to her, her hands clasped gently in front of her. "I'd much rather know how you're doing, sweetheart."
The brunette's stare was cutting. "Don't you dare 'sweetheart' me, mother!"
Cora raised the back of her hand and began to brush her daughter's cheek. Letting herself fall prey for the smallest instance, Regina batted her hand away, a wily tear melting her steel, and stalked over to the other side of the room. So many things ran through her mind; so many memories – happy and sad - but so much pain, too. It would be so easy – too easy – to slip back into the role of the dutiful daughter hanging on her mother's every word and hoping and praying to get rewarded and praised.
And loved.
Because that's what she always wanted, wasn't it? To just be loved for who she was: her dreams and flaws all included?
Isn't that what every child wanted? And Regina still felt like a meek child in her mother's presence. Yes she had dominated towns, and scared peasants, and taken the hearts from countless men but none of that mattered when in an interview with the woman who borne her. She was never enough for her and that's what broke her heart more than anything. Her mother never saw the good in what made her happy, never understood what her actions would do to a bright-eyed teenager. Never cared about anything else other than power.
"Can't we talk about this like rational adults?" Cora supplied tiredly. "You are no longer a child, after all. You're a much accomplished Queen."
Regina gawked at her incredulously. "You call having a town-full of people hate my guts accomplished? I cast a curse and I still didn't win! I'm not accomplished, my dear twisted mother, I'm a failure and do you want to know why?" Cora merely smirked, her eyebrow raised, waiting. "Because I was stupid enough to believe you when you told me that I would find happiness in power. I tricked myself into believing that I would think better of myself if I was the most feared person in all my land. I let myself think that by terrorising and asserting control I was garnering respect, when really all I was doing was clocking up a list of people who wanted me dead. I followed the path of power and do you know what it got me? Nothing! I'm only starting to learn now that I can't be like this; not when I have…" she trailed off, refusing to bring Henry into this.
Cora leaned forward, her long hair draping around her. "Not when you have Henry?" she asked innocently.
She stumbled back, her eyes starkly wide. Her head tilted to the side and her body slack, that lump in her throat began to ache. "You…you know about…Henry?" she squeaked, all the façade annihilated by the mention of his name.
"I'm your mother; of course I know."
She was sick of hearing that excuse. The 'I'm your mother' was used time and time again against her so she could get her way, to manipulate her into thinking her dreams and aspirations were futile and that really hers were the best for her.
Not this time.
"Tell me how!" she demanded with venom. "I don't care for your little anecdotes and your faux-sweetness. I will not have you spin everything into some kind of right that you pretend to have. Tell me how you know about my son!"
The woman held her chin high. "It was Snow and her smart-mouthed daughter, Emma. They told me."
Regina gulped, feeling every emotion all mixing together and making her sick.
"And I know how hard it is for you, my love," she continued smoothly. Her voice was silky, lulling her into a sense of security. "I know that they try to keep him away from you."
"Actually we've worked out a deal. I do get to see him and spend time with him." Why she felt the need to defend them she didn't know, but the way her mother was talking had her worried.
"But he'll never be yours, don't you see? They'll always be there, judging you, accusing you, pulling him further and further away until you're nothing to the boy anymore. That's what they want. You out of the picture. You don't see it because it's a gradual transition but eventually you will have no part in your own son's life."
She scoffed and crossed her arms, blocking out that voice in her mind that happened to agree with her mother. Of course there would always be a part of her that distrusted the Charmings – she hated the way they referred to themselves as that, by the way – but what other choice did she have? She got to see her son, she got to spend time with him, things were civil. It was okay. Did she still hate that impossibly, annoyingly perky Snow White?
Yes she did.
But there was no other alternative and she had made peace with that.
"I'm not listening to this," she stressed with a point of the finger. "And I'd appreciate it if you left me and my son well alone."
In what would have been a perfect world, she would have stormed out of the room and never looked back. Yet, in a perfect world her mother wouldn't have magic. Heck, in a perfect world she wouldn't be such a…such a…such a witch.
She made a break for the door, clinging to her dignity, but she should have known better than to turn her back on a sorceress. A dazzling blue light surrounded her, rooting her to the spot. Her heels glued to the creaking floorboards, she swung her arms erratically the way a young child would during a tantrum.
"MOTHER!" she yelled. "MOTHER, STOP THIS! I'M NOT A CHILD!"
The witch cackled. "Could have fooled me, darling."
Regina continued to struggle even though she knew it was pointless. Even resorting to use her magic failed her and after a few more attempts of thrashing about like a dying fish, she gave in, her whole spirit dwindling. "What is it that you want?"
"Oh, I'm not here for me. I'm here to help you."
A sharp exhale. "Help me with what exactly?"
As she unfurled her fingers, the blue mist vanished, releasing her from its stronghold. The brunette breathed in deeply, letting the air traverse in and out of her lungs just to put her mind at ease.
"I have a plan," Cora divulged wickedly. "A plan for you to have Henry solely to yourself."
"What are you talking about?"
A smirk made its way onto her face, her eyes dancing in the dim light. "Come with me."
"Henry!" David called after him, racing toward the voice. "Henry, where are you?"
He was about to call again when he reached the foyer but he caught a glimpse of brown haired boy staring out the window of the lounge bemusedly. He approached him carefully. "Henry, what's wrong?" he asked.
"They're gone," the boy said softly.
"Who's gone?"
Henry turned away from the window, his eyebrows knitted together. "Both my moms and Gramms. I've looked everywhere…and they're not here."
For the first time since he went searching for his grandson, he noticed how eerily quiet the house was. Standing straight, he peered all around the room, an uneasy feeling taking over him. "When did you notice they were gone?" He tried to stay calm but everything about the situation screamed that something had happened. Something bad.
"Mom told me to go to the kitchen and that she'd be in in a minute but she never came. That's when I went out here and I saw the door open. I looked around the house – I even went out to the yard. None of them are here," he explained. His lips were downturned and his voice was wavering but he stood tall, trying to be helpful.
David, hoping to quell his fears even a little, bent down to his level, his hands resting on his shoulders. "Don't worry about it, okay? I'm sure they're fine."
"What if something happened to them? What if they're in danger?"
"We don't know that for sure but we've got to stick toget-"
"What's he doing here?" Henry interrupted suddenly as he broke away from his grandfather's grip, pointing behind the man. David didn't have to turn around to know who it was. Underneath his skin his blood boiled.
Neal's brash voice seemed loaded, as if he was carrying a heavy weight. "I'm, uh, a friend of your mom."
"Emma?" Henry inquired.
"Yeah."
David spun around viciously, in no mood for this guy right now. His wife and child were missing again and there was no way he was putting up with Neal: the guy who likes to flit and fly in and out of people's lives like the wind. "You need to leave," he ordered.
"Hell no," the man defied. "I wanna help. Emma's in trouble – I'm going to help."
"We don't need your help!"
Henry shuffled up beside him, his gaze firmly fixed on the man. Rolling his sleeves up to his elbows the same way Neal wore his, he offered his own opinion. "Why can't he help? The more people we have, the easier it'll be to find them right? We need to find out what happened and he can help us." He stepped forward, an inquisitive look on his face. "You're not a stranger here, are you?"
He licked his lips, shifting uncomfortably. "What do you mean?"
David eyed them warily, not sure what was going to happen.
"You're from…" he leaned in as if to share a secret, "…over there. The Enchanted Forest."
The room went still. The air frozen. The expressions unreadable.
He could have lied; he could have made something up. There were a million answers he could have given. Pick one, back it up. Simple as that. They could work with it.
But Neal clearly had plans of his own.
"Yeah, Henry. I am. So let's do this. Let's find your family."
David could have punched him again.
The rest of, what became clear to Regina, the house was in the same sickly squalor as her room. With the scent of sweat seeping from the battered walls, oozing into the very pores of the structure, she covered her nose and mouth with her hand, refusing to pass comment on it. Asking her mother any more questions wasn't high on her priority list as they wove through the various rooms.
But…where were they?
It was like the halls were endless, the rooms bountiful, the smell cloying. Every footstep awoke a layer of dust from its slumber and it rose higher and higher the more they walked.
Perhaps a no-breathing rule applied to the particular situation.
Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime, her mother stopped at a door. "What I'm about to show you will make you view things a little differently."
She gulped, feeling frightful. "How so?"
"I'm sure you'll understand once you see it."
What was that supposed to mean?
Without further ado, she unlocked the door showcasing a staircase that ultimately would bring them down to the basement. Regina didn't like where this was going. Nevertheless, she followed step-by-step, her eyes penetrating as they glared at the bobbing figure of the woman in front of her, sauntering down without a care in the world.
A vague noise of clanking chains was heard as they approached the open space. The Queen steeled herself.
"Here, my love, lies your hope for a future with your son." With a grand arm gesture, Cora presented Regina with something she had always wanted.
And that was the problem.
Chained to the wall, dull, limp and unconscious, were Snow White and Emma Swan.
Regina's heart began to thump wildly against her ribs and for the swiftest of moments, she allowed herself a triumphant smirk.
Dun, dun, dun!
Are you guys ready for Sunday?! I know I am! Charming family moments!
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed it and if you have time, please let me know what you thought :)