You guys are the best! So here's another update! I am sooooooo looking forward to the next chapter! I reeeeaaaally hope I'll be able to write it and post it soon! ;) please leave a review! And happy Sunday! I hope the new episode treats you all well :)
Regina could hear the many voices filling the hall and she let out a long sigh and closed her eyes. The king and queen were already in there sitting behind the long table at the front of the room. Regina thought it best that she be the one to enter the room last rather than the queen. David and Emma had agreed. It was best that the people sat alone with the royal couple without knowing who they were and were led to assume it was the David and Regina they already knew and that she had simply decided to change her hair and wardrobe. Rather than have the queen suddenly intrude their safe space.
The people were growing impatient though. She could hear them.
"Ready?" Emma asked upon her exhale, trying to be hopeful and supportive but knowing quite well that the very moment Regina opened those doors and revealed herself there was no turning back from the riot that was going to take place.
"As ready as I'll ever be I suppose," Regina sighed and heard David sigh behind her, "we'd better get in there before they start to get angry over the fact she hasn't called the meeting to order," she grumbled out and then took a deep breath, cleared her throat, and opened the door.
The entire room went dead silent the moment she walked in. Her head was held high, her strides were strong and even, David and Emma followed behind her, the queen smirked at her, and the people all stared at her with eyes wide with shock and confusion. Their jaws were slack and the silence was tense as her heels clicked upon the polished marble floor as she walked around the table and took her seat in the middle of the table beside the queen. Emma took a seat beside her while David hung back and sat next to Snow and Henry in the front row of the crowd of people.
Regina glanced toward the queen and the woman smiled and dipped her head in greeting as she crossed one leg over the other and placed her clasped hands in her lap. She wore black trousers that cut off a few inches above her ankle, an ivory silk shirt with one more button needing to be done up and its sleeves rolled up and over those of her black blazer with three quarter length sleeves, and a pair of shiny stilettos that were a dark maroon rather than black. Her makeup was sharp and dark, her lips her usual dark red, but her hair she had left alone. It fell around her face and over one shoulder in stunning waves that had Regina missing her long hair.
She herself wore a black pencil skirt and a navy blue silk blouse tucked in to it paired with her most comfortable black stilettos. If nothing else the pair of them were at least dressed well. Regina actually found she quite liked the queen's sense of style. It was relaxed and yet still formal and sharp. "Good morning, people of Storybrooke," she greeted with a smile and all eyes snapped to her. She had never heard the hall so quiet. Even when the space was empty.
"What the hell is going on here?!"
Regina looked tiredly over to George and saw the queen smirk out of the corner of her eye, "do take a seat, George, everything will be explained," she assured but rather than the silence persisting, the entire hall blew up with enraged and confused voices as all hell broke loose. Regina watched and waited for them all to get some of it out of their system and when she was tired of questions being yelled in her direction she lit the floor on fire between her long table and the gathered people.
A roaring wall of fire about three feet tall spread out along the length of the room and when silence fell once again, the wall quickly retreated and then disappeared without a trace. Not so much as a scorch of the marble floor. The silence lingered and everyone slowly sat back down as they watched her and waited for her to speak. "Thank you. Now as all of you know, my son Henry has been missing for the past six months. He fell through a bean portal with no way to get home. While some of you are already aware of this next fact, I know many of you are unaware so I am happy to say that he has finally made it back and he could not have done it on his own. And that brings me to the obvious reason I have gathered you here today."
Regina cleared her throat quietly and then looked to the king and queen on her right and found the woman still smirking at her as she remained relaxed in her seat. "When Henry fell he found himself in an alternate universe very similar to the Enchanted Forest we all came from. In that world he befriended the Evil Queen ruling the forest and together they worked to get him back home to Storybrooke. So it is with great respect and appreciation that I have welcomed her majesty to stay in my home for as long as she pleases as thanks for bringing my son home. She could have very easily left him alone in the forest to fend for himself or performed much worse acts upon him and the fact that she did not do any such thing has me eternally grateful to her.
I know it is a lot to grasp. I am still trying to accept it myself. But I am asking you that you treat her with the respect she deserves. I expect you all to treat both Regina and David with the same kindness and courtesy you treat your fellow townspeople. They are our guests. In no way, shape, or form are they here to disrupt the peace we have so painstakingly achieved in this town," she shook her head once and let the information soak in as their whispers and sceptical glances passed through the crowd as they looked to the queen whose head was held high on her shoulders.
And then Red slowly stood up, "you have a question?" Regina acknowledged and the wolf swallowed and glanced once again at the queen.
"I just wanted to vouch for the queen. I've only met her once and I don't think I was really supposed to see her but uh...I did. I of course assumed it was the mayor and didn't think anything of it. But that is beside the point. The point is that she is really...nice. She just seems like a generally happy person. She isn't really like the Regina we already know. No offence, Madame mayor."
"None taken," Regina smiled a little and beside her the queen tilted her head thoughtfully as she looked at Red.
"Anyway, I'm game for giving her a chance...she seems pretty docile."
"So long as you don't cross her," Granny commented from her seat beside Red as the girl sat down. The supposed queen simply flicked her attention to her and gave her a little smirk before she focused her attention on Archie when he stood.
"Uh, Madame mayor, if I could, you have told us why she is here but you haven't given us an explanation as to why she has brought the company of what looks to be a second David as well."
"Yes that is the question now isn't it, cricket," Regina pushed out with a tense smile and a slow nod.
To spare the troubled woman the added ache of saying aloud that the pair of them were married while she remained hopelessly yearning for her own David, the king leaned forward and answered the question himself, "she is my wife," he told them and everyone's head snapped to his as shock silenced the room again. And then just like that the hall was filled with cries of outrage, confusion, and surprise. Just those few simple words tore apart the town's vision of perfection and balance. If good could marry evil then what other madness could occur.
He pitied the poor mayor. These simpleminded townspeople we're going to be a headache and a half.
...
"That went well."
"Was that supposed to be a joke?"
"No," Henry laughed and nudged his shoulder in to his mother's as they walked home side by side, detouring through the park just because they could.
"Good because it wasn't funny," Regina smiled, a light laugh lacing her voice as she nudged him back and he laughed quietly. This was nice, this was perfect. It was quiet and calm and the air had a little bit of a chill to it that threatened autumn's approach. So she and Henry walked with their hands in their coat pockets and soaked in the last of the green trees before they started to turn orange.
"Could have been worse."
"How could it have possibly been worse?"
"...well you and the queen didn't kill anybody," he offered with a shrug and a laugh that drew laughter from his mother as well.
"Yes there is that," she chuckled and then gently bumped in to his side again, "you okay?"
"Of course! Why wouldn't I be?"
"Just checking. It's been a rough few days for the rest of us and I wanted to make sure you were alright," she smiled and he smiled back.
"I'm doing awesome."
"Perfect," she smiled and then the pair of them walked in silence for a little while. Until Henry broke it with a question she didn't think she would ever have to hear from him.
"So why are you not with David?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well I don't really know what you'd call it...you wouldn't be his girlfriend because he's married...mistress makes you sound terrible."
"Henry!" She scolded in disbelief as she looked down at him and he shrugged his shoulders up and didn't let them drop until midway through his sentence.
"What?! It was just a question."
"Henry, I am not about to discuss the pros and cons of an affair with you right now," she snapped and he gave a nonchalant shrug of one shoulder.
"Doesn't mean you can't. In fact you probably should," he told her and she huffed out her nose with thin lips and irritated eyes scanning the park ahead of them. He let their conversation pause there, let the words settle in a little deeper. He waited until she was less touchy and less defensive. He waited until her eyes dropped to the path at their feet and her thin lips pursed outward ever so slightly. He waited until she was leaning toward conceding to his request before he asked again, "so why aren't you together."
Regina let out a quiet sigh and shook her head once, "he's married, Henry."
"So."
"What do you mean 'so'?" She scoffed lightly and Henry answered as though she and him had had this conversation many times. She supposed in a way he probably had. With himself and the queen.
"He may be married but I've only been back for a few days and I can tell he's not happy. What is the point of being married to someone if you don't even love them anymore?"
"He does love Snow and just because he's not happy right now doesn't mean that that won't change."
"Okay sure, he does love Snow but it's not the same as it used to be and he loves you more."
"Alright now you are speaking nonsense."
"Mom, come on, stop being so stubborn," he laughed out and she sighed out her nose and pursed her lips again, "you clearly love him."
"I do not."
"You do," he countered quickly and her eyes fell to her stepping feet as she crossed her jaw, "why are you even digging your heels in? You know what you want. What is stopping you from taking it this time?"
"It is wrong, Henry."
"Is it really though? If everybody is happier in the end is it really wrong?"
"Henry-"
"It's just change. There is no right or wrong in change," he reasoned and she stopped walking so he stopped too.
"Henry, I am trying to be good! I am trying to do the right thing, I am trying not to disappoint you! And now you're standing here telling me to do the wrong thing?!" She snapped in exasperation as her head spun with confusion and her body tensed while her hands flung around in frustration, "you can't just flip flop morality like that! That's not fair!"
Realizing now what her issue was, Henry gave her a small and lopsided smile with a cock of his head and she took a deep breath and ran her fingers through her hair.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you," she apologized with a soft sniff and looked back to her feet where she stood on the path.
Henry shook his head with a smile, "you don't have to apologize, mom. It's okay," he assured and she took another deep breath. "You wanna know why it took me so long to get back?"
"Because you couldn't find a way back."
"No," he told her and she furrowed her brow and looked at him in confusion, "that's not why at all. We looked for other ways just to kill time but we all knew the easiest way for me to get back was with a magic bean. It was just a matter of finding one. The reason I stayed so long was because I wanted to make sure he queen didn't have to go through everything that you went through," he nodded and she looked down at him with an expression he didn't quite know what to call.
"I stayed to make sure she found happiness. I convinced her to let David out of the dungeon because I knew I could convince him to help us find her happiness. When I found out that they had fallen in love I was furious. I was so angry and confused and I lashed out. I hated the idea. I thought it was wrong. But I had promised the queen that I would help her find love. That I would help her find someone who would make her feel like she was everything to them. So I made myself accept it. And the more time I spent with her the more I loved the idea of she and him together. I saw so many little things that just shouted that they were in love and it was just so beautiful and made everyone so happy!" He grinned and she watched him with a much softer expression now, "the whole kingdom was happy and everyone showed up to the wedding!"
He laughed a little and then sobered himself down again, "I'm not trying to make you feel worse about your past or give you more ideas of what could have happened to you. I am telling you all this because you can have it. I guess my change of heart seems kind of sudden to you but it took me a long time to completely support the idea of Prince Charming and the Evil Queen loving one another. But I do now. So you don't have to worry about what I think, mom," he shook his head with a smile, "I promised myself that I'd help you find love too. Doesn't matter who. But David seems like the easiest and most plausible option right now. Which is awesome because he's at the top of my list," he added and finally broke through to her, earning himself a small breath of laughter as she bowed her head a little.
Slowly Regina started walking again as she slipped her hand from her pocket and wrapped her arm around Henry's back so she could slide her hand in to his coat pocket, their chilly fingers entwining as he fell in step with her. He leaned in to her side and copied her gesture with his other arm, hugging her around her lower back so he could stick his hand in her coat pocket with her other hand. The action had her smiling a little as she rested her head upon his for a few steps, "and who else is on this list of yours," she inquired curiously with an amused smile. He had grown so much. The top of his head a good few inches higher than her shoulder now.
Henry laughed and then gave a drawn out 'uuhhh' in hesitance to answer but with a laugh and a gentle nudge from his mother, he conceded, "after David I had Hook."
"Really?!" She laughed in surprise as she looked down at him and he laughed up at her.
"Yup. I mean he's kind of got a thing for Emma or something but I like him better for you."
"He only has one hand."
"You can give him back his other one!" Henry laughed and she quirked her eyebrows up for a moment in thought but she still wasn't all that impressed, "then I had Hansel and Gretel's dad, the woodsman," he continued and she hummed and nodded, much more perceptive to that choice.
"I would be lying if I said I hadn't thought about it," she told him as she looked ahead of them and smiled when he laughed beside her.
"Really?!"
"Mhm."
"Huh. Awesome," he chuckled and knew she had just given a gentle roll of her eyes, "then there was Jefferson but he kind of hates you so...there's that. Then there was Archie but only cause I like him and he would be really good for you and really good to you," he nodded and she didn't say anything, "then I had George."
"What?!"
"Totally kidding!" He laughed a hearty laugh as he shrunk in on himself in preparation of a vocal lashing and she scoffed and bumped her hip in to him mid step.
"Brat."
"Come on that was funny," he laughed and she shook her head with her lips gently pursed in a smile.
"Who else?"
"Well I kind of ran out of ideas after Archie. If we managed to go through all of those then we'd have a problem," he chuckled and then he shrugged, "but as a total last ditch attempt I picked Rumplestiltskin," he nodded and she nodded in return and hummed shortly in acceptance, "that's it?"
"What?"
"You freak out over Hook but don't say anything about Rumple?!"
"Well after Hook I simply lowered my standards," she quipped with a smirk and he groaned a laugh and leaned heavier in to her side.
"But seriously. David," he pressed and her smile disappeared as she sighed.
"It's not that simple, Henry."
"I know you don't think so, but I know so. It really is simple. You either need to let him love you or wait until he gets fed up with holding back and just snaps and does what he wants. Everything will fall in to place after that."
"And how are you so sure? Because you've seen it before? I don't know if you have yet noticed, Henry, but there is quite a significant time gap between this world and the one you visited. A lot of things have happened between then and now."
"Alright, fine, I'll give you that one but that was not my whole answer," he argued and she nodded once in a gesture for him to continue, "this thing between you and David has built up slowly and neither of you really seem to notice how you guys look at each other now. It's happened so slowly that you've just gotten used to it but I haven't. When David looks at you all I see is that he loves you and wants you and when you look at him I only see how much you want to give in to him and I just want so badly for you to let yourself! I want you to be happy and I want you to be loved. I love you but I can't love you in all the ways you should be loved. I want you to be brave and take a risk, I want you to take what you want and stop holding back, I want you to follow your heart."
This was ridiculous. She was having a conversation with her eleven year old son that should be going straight over his head...but he was making more sense of this mess than she had on her own. And he was telling her to follow through with her desire for David. She wasn't sure how she felt about that. Henry had always maintained a morale compass that pointed due north while hers never pointed in any one direction for longer than a single decision and now his was changing. Or had the circumstances simply changed. Or was this like he had said; not a decision but a change. She was uncomfortable with any and all answers. Perhaps she should do as he said and follow her heart to David. Out of all the options she knew she would find comfort in his arms.
"I don't think I am ready to love again, Henry."
Her quiet and vulnerable voice touched a place in his heart and he squeezed her hand in his pocket and she squeezed his back and didn't let up. "I think you are," he told her quietly as he looked up at her and she turned her head to look back at him. Her eyes were doubtful and worried and her mouth portrayed no different. She was nervous and afraid. Love never really worked out for her but this time he was sure it would.