Notes:

Hi, I'm back with the Chapter 5. Thank you so much for your support and comments so far. You encourage me to do more, for that I am very grateful!

The title of this chapter says a lot about its content. We'll see how much damage Cora has done to Regina's psychology. Also, Henry is visiting his mother at the palace. And... Robin will finally make his decision!

Enjoy the chapter!

In the previous chapter

"You got five, dad! I have four left!"

"Because my stomach is bigger than yours!"

"But I am your son!"

Robin scowled and placed one of his pancakes on his son's plate. "You are not playing fair."

As the smile of victory spread over his son's face, he turned to his wife, who was sitting in her chair. "Wouldn't you mind not passing this habit on to our son?"

Regina winked at Henry with an evil smile. "That's my boy."

"As my grandma used to say, 'Love is weakness,' dad."

This had become a laughing stock among the family, who had proven Cora's repeated word a thousand times to be untrue. All three laughed.

"You can have all my pancakes, son. With their absence, I am only weak physically, with your presence I am the strongest dad in the world." He smiled at his family and took both of their hands. "I love you."

"Henry…" He opened his eyes with a deep sigh, the ceiling in his field of vision enabled his to distinguish between reality and imagination.

He had obviously fallen asleep in the living room of his empty house while thinking about it. There was no pancake smell, no vanilla. The woman he fell in love with wasn't his wife, they hadn't raised their son together. There were no traditional Sunday breakfasts. There were only his lonely and a house with sharp silence, devoid of cheerful voices.

He restrained himself until tears prevented him from seeing his surroundings properly, but he could no longer control his emotions. Not after that dream, not after seeing the possible life they could have. Not in his deep unhappiness.

"I got an A+ in last week's exam." The boy informed to his mother with excitement.

"Henry! I'm so proud of you. You had studied hard." She congratulated her son by pulling him in her arms and hugging him.

"Thanks mom." Smiled. "I couldn't have done it without your help."

"I guess, this dinner is becoming celebratory dinner."

Before Henry could answer, the phone was interrupted by the ringing. He picked up the phone from the table and saw Regina's name on the screen. As his excitement doubled, he met his mother's eyes. He wondered how to accept Regina into his life without upsetting Emma. He knew now that he had been unfair to her after their conversation the other day. Moreover, there was a strong attraction between him and the queen, he didn't think he could stay away from her even if he wanted to. Was it possible that he had two mothers? Could he one day call his real mother too? Maybe sometimes he could even go to the palace to stay. He could have had two houses. Even three. Regina promised to talk to his father, right? The man would now know that he had a son. He would have two moms and a dad!

"Hi, Regina."

"Henry, how are you?"

"I'm good, and you?"

"I'm fine too." She is lying. Although her voice is happy that talking with her son, it reveals the sadness inside. What is happening? "I called to tell you that... I talked to Robin."

"Was it negative?"

"No, no! Where did you get this from?"

"Nothing." He didn't say that he understood from her voice. "What did he react to?"

When Regina remained silent, her son realized that he had asked a silly question. The man must have gone crazy. It was difficult to learn both the real reason for the separation and the existence of his son.

"It shouldn't be a very peaceful conversation?"

"Yes. But it wasn't about you, trust me. What Robin always wanted most was to be a father."

As soon as the words passed her lips, she regretted.

Sixteen years ago, what Regina and Robin wanted was to be a family together. The time that had passed had brought them both to different places. The Queen's desires had never changed, but she no longer knew what her son's father wanted. She didn't want to make the current situation more dramatic and suffocate his son with the romance of their past relationships. And she might even be giving Henry false hope.

"Now he may have changed his mind." Regina thought that he was a clever boy.

"I don't want to lie to you, Henry, not anymore. So... I don't know. It wasn't a conversation filled with unicorn stickers. We'll talk again in a few days, after he has calmed down."

"You want to solve the problem between you first? I will show understanding."

"Not exactly. You are much more important than the two of us. We will compromise for you. Just give Robin some time, I promise it'll be short."

"You seem to know him very well. You probably loved each other very much?"

He waited for an acknowledgment, but no sound came. Regina still loved Robin! Henry was sure now. But did Robin still love her? It was a question that would soon have an answer.

"You left your coat here the other day. The red one." He decided to change the subject.

"Oh, I hadn't noticed."

"I- I can bring it to the palace tomorrow after school." He offered timidly. Did Regina realize that his real purpose was to see her, not bring her coat? While his heart was fluttering with hope, he was experiencing the excitement of both seeing his mother again and visiting the palace.

"Do you want to come here?"

"If there is any problem..."

"Of course not. There can be no problem. I would be very happy to see you here."

"Wouldn't it be a problem for us to be seen together? What are we going to do about it?"

"Henry, I don't care what anyone says. It only matters to me what you think. I will understand if you want to hide, but I would like to make a press release soon if it's okay with you."

"Can we talk about this tomorrow? I want to think a little."

"As you wish. See you tomorrow."

"See you."

The boy who spent the whole day with heart palpitations, unable to even listen his lessons properly, was standing in front of the door of the Storybrooke palace for the first time in his life. He looked at the towers that he had always seen from afar, which like seemed to swallow him up close, as walls that kept his mother away from him for years. This palace no longer looked as perfect as before, it was just bricks that stole his life from him.

He approached one of the palace guards at the gate, and said that he was the queen's guest. The man told him to follow him and took him to someone who he knew was more senior than him.

"May I ask your name? The Queen will accept only one person today."

"Henry Swan."

"Get Mr. Swan in. Mr. Humbert will come to meet you."

When Henry passed through the trees and flowers he had never seen before and arrived the stone stairs, the man he had seen before in the restaurant appeared from the door.

"Welcome to Storybrooke Palace, Mr. Swan." He smiled. "I will take you to our queen."

Would he always have to go to such trouble to see his mother? Wouldn't he be able to open a door and say, 'Mom, I'm home!'

He faded in his thoughts when he looked all the magnificence that surrounded him. Beige wallpaper adorned the long dark green curtains hanging from the windows. A little further on, the stairs, flanked on both sides by golden railings, stretched. And that's where the man next to him led him.

As he climbed the stairs, the crowd downstairs was replaced by a calmer atmosphere. When they got to the second floor, he wondered how much longer they'd go upstairs and where the queen was. And, he heard heels from the stairs leading higher. Then Regina's velvet voice filled her ears.

"Henry! Welcome." Her red lips curved upwards, her chocolate eyes gleaming with happiness to see her son.

"Thanks." He returned her smile.

The Queen skipped the last stair step and wrapped her arms around the boy. Henry returned the hug immediately. Was it normal for him to miss this hug so much in just a few days?

"I thought we'd have dinner together. You're out of school, you must be hungry."

Regina was definitely a natural mother. Gently placing a hand on her son's shoulder, she led him down the hall to a room that Henry realized that it's dining room. There was a variety of food on the table in the middle of the room, but what surprised the young man was that the table was small, contrary to what he had expected. While he was waiting for a long table that took up the whole room, there was one that could fit up to four people in front of him.

"Henry… Is there a problem? If there's something you don't like, just say it." The Queen looked worried.

"No, everything is perfect. It's just... It's not what I expected. I mean, this room."

"Oh, this is not the main dining room. Only I use it, and my sister when my she arrives." She said and walked to the window and parted the curtain a little. "Look, this one overlooks the backyard. I love the view."

The distant sound of the ornamental pool in the middle of the garden added peace to the environment. The queen held up her long, slender finger and pointed to a tree to the right of the pool and the bench beneath it.

"The beneath of that tree is very special to me. When you can't find me in my study room, I'll be there."

Henry turned to face the woman beside him. "Does it make any sense?"

"Of course." An acrid smile formed on his face. "I don't want to drown you in unnecessary romance, I've disarranged your life enough."

"It's true that my life is disarranged. I was very angry at first. It felt like everything was turned upside down. We had already built a perfect life with my mother, I didn't need much. So I thought so. Now I understand… There was a space that I was trying to fill, and I think it's starting to fill." He smiled.

When the brown orbs filled with tears, the queen forced herself to laugh to keep from crying. "You're going to think I'm crying over everything. I'm not that watery-eyed, really."

Henry laughed too, he said her smile was contagious, right?

"I would like to hear the story of the tree if you want to tell it." He pulled out one of the chairs and sat down.

Regina sat down on the chair across from him. "It seems we have a lot to talk about today."

The boy wished there was no end to things to talk about.

"Would you like to start with my father first? Did he call?"

When the Queen was filled with memories of that day, she averted her eyes and bit her lip. She was trying to control her emotions.

"Not yet. We didn't talk much about you. Honestly... I hardly... I said everything a bit abruptly. Firstly, I explained my reason for leaving him, then I mentioned you. And he was very… Surprised."

"She got angry."

"He is broken Henry. I broke him once again."

Deep silence enveloped the room. Regina closed her eyes, searching for a phrase to soothe her son. Because she was sure that even if Robin didn't forgive her, he would call for Henry, he would love his son very much.

"As I said yesterday, the problem is not with you. It just took some time to process. He will call soon."

Henry nodded in understanding. He couldn't be mad at Robin's reaction, and he also was angry and devastated when he found out. Besides, he knew he was adopted.

The way his mother talked about his father, the emotions in her eyes affected the child a lot. He realized that behind this relationship was a greater love than he thought. Not wanting to make her suffer anymore, he hung up on the subject until the expected call came.

"As for the concealment thing… I thought about it."

"I will respect whatever you decide."

"I thought I didn't want to be treated differently at school, on the road, talking to someone. But my selfishness would do us great harm. Especially to you. The press is somehow aware of every step you take. They'll wonder why you're constantly seeing a boy. Maybe there will be wrong news that we will be disturbed by. This will put both you and me in a difficult position. So I'll be treated differently again, this time maybe in a bad way. So… I think we'll follow your way."

Regina reached out and gently touched the fingers on the table.

"What I want is for you to be comfortable. You're not selfish, you're the smartest kid I've ever seen. And I must say, what you think is right." She said, sighing. "This life is hard, Henry. Paying attention to every step, trying to be perfect is tiring. I've lived in this depressing environment for years and I know how it feels. I will not force the same on you. This kingdom may be all mine now, but unlike those of royal blood, there are more important things to me. You are the most important value in my life. I will do everything so that you can live the way you want. If you want to get drunk one day and mess it up, I'll laugh at your videos with you the next morning. I'm not going to throw the newspaper in front of you and scold you because you are not thinking about our reputation. That's what happens in the movies, right?" They both laughed when she blinked. "I promise I won't have any interference or influence in your life that you don't want."

"Thank you."

"There is nothing to thank you for." She smiled.

"Then we'll make a statement?"

"I will have a text prepared. I'll send it to you in case there's anything you want to add or remove."

"Hm-hmm."

"Well, I think you're going to like this one." She took one of the plates from the table and held it out.

Before it was time to leave, Regina gave Henry a tour of the palace. A few weeks ago, he was sure he would have fainted from happiness if he had been here, but not now.

The most important thing Henry paid attention to in the palace was that all the queen's favorite rooms faced the back garden. Bedroom, study room, dining room. The view of apple tree adorned their windows. Finally, he got the chance to see the tree up close. They rested at their last stop.

"On my 21st birthday, Zelena threw me a surprise party." The brunette woman spoke as she looked over the apples. The story was coming...

"We had a lake house outside the city. She took me there saying it would be just the two of us, and all our friends were there when we went." She smiled when she remembered how surprised she was. That day was the turning point in her life.

"When I went out to get some air later in the evening, I sat under the apple tree in the garden... Robin came up to me and said he wanted to give me my birthday present." Tears filled her eyes as she brought her hand to her neck and grabbed the pole star necklace. "I haven't taken this necklace off since then, except when I'm out."

"He confessed his feelings to me that day, under this tree. And I said it was mutual." She smiled with her closed eyes. She turned to her son. "Then I had the tree removed and brought here, kind of making me feel like the two of you were still with me."

His mother's full eyes led the boy once again to what his life might be like in another possibility, not knowing that the woman who focused on the red fruits among the green leaves was also in the same dream.

"This agreement is very important for our country. We will guarantee all our commercial relations. The country's economy…"

For the woman sitting at the meeting table, the surrounding voices gradually faded and disappeared. Her mind pulled her out of that stifling environment and out of the walls.

As she flew above the city streets, saw the white mansion she knew, her body involuntarily dragging, though she wanted to escape quickly. She crept in through one of the open windows.

"Stupid girl! Can't you see that I'm doing everything for you?"

"All I want you to do for me is leave me alone! I don't want to live the life you chose!"

The woman standing in the corner of the room closed her eyes before the move she knew was coming soon.

A loud slap was heard in the room, and the standing young woman was thrown by the blow from the older one and fell on the bed behind her. Instead of her hand on her face, she protected her stomach.

Old Regina put her hand to her stomach with the younger version. She wanted to protect the baby who was there 15 years ago, as much as she couldn't...

"You don't understand what's good for you, Regina. A few years later, you will forget that...

"Robin! His name is Robin!"

"You will forget that man. Royal life will make you happy."

"You don't know me at all. I don't want to be queen. The only thing that will make me happy is raising our child with the man I love. I will never be happy without them." Tears stained her cheeks, her brown orbs are red from crying for days. If it was possible to really cry blood, the young woman's face would remain in red.

The queen threw herself in front of Cora, who was marching on Regina. She didn't want to let this moment happen again.

But the old woman went through her and bent over her daughter on the bed. She gripped her tight enough to show the her fingerprints on her chin.

"If you mention your bastard one more time, you'll miss the chance I gave the three of you! I won't let you ruin our lives, Regina! Did you hear me? You won't speak that man's name again! In seven months you will forget that this child even exists! If you want them to live, you will keep your word."

Regina wanted to hold her when her mother let go of her younger version and pushed her back onto the bed abruptly, but her hands met with space.

The young woman wrapped her arms around her stomach when Cora left the room and locked the door. "I will never leave you. I will always protect you even when I am not with you. I promise."

"Forgive me. Forgive me for not being strong enough." The queen said.

While two versions of Regina, aged 22 and 38, were crying in that room, it was clear that there was something wrong with the queen in the boardroom.

"Your Majesty?"

"My Queen…" Graham rose from his seat and walked over to the woman sitting at the head of the table, touched her arm gently. "My queen!"

Regina startled suddenly and returned to the palace from the house where she grew up. Her empty eyes were as full anymore as in her mind when she returned to reality. She was too detached for a moment to realize where she was.

"Are you okay? Is there a problem?" He whispered.

The Queen's eyes met with a table full of people who were staring at her with concern and surprise.

"I'm sorry. Can we take a break for half an hour?" She got up from his chair and hurried out of the room, she heard someone running after her. "My queen!"

"I'm fine, Graham. I need to be alone. Take care of our guests." She hurried up the stairs without looking at him.

She let go of her tears when she entered her room and locked the door. Her anger towards her mother overcame the emotions that had accumulated in her, and she threw the vase on the vanity to the floor. She wanted to scream, but the crowd of the palace prevented her from doing so. She placed a trembling hand on her lips and sat on the edge of her bed.

She was afraid to drop everything and run that day, knowing that her mother would keep her word and take away everyone she loved. So, why wasn't she doing it now? How could Cora intervene in her life even from her grave? When would she ever be able to step out of her mother's shadow?

Instead of getting out of this goddamn prison, she was trying to sign a deal for country. Did she care what happened to this country? After all, wasn't this country that took away her life, her son, her love?

Ah, how she hated every bit of there! She laughed at the irony of a queen who hated her country. Her laughter echoed through her tears.

The ringing of the phone pulled her out of her thoughts. She didn't want to look for a moment, she didn't want to talk to anyone. But she jumped when she realized that the ringer wasn't the queen's phone. Her own phone was ringing, Regina's phone.

As her heart fluttered to see Henry's name on the screen, she ran to her nightstand while she was calming her breathing and wiped the traces of crying from her voice.

She froze when her eyes met the name she hadn't seen on screen in years. The number once registered as 'my thief' now simply Robin Locksley. Regina remembered very well the day she changed it. She was so afraid of her mother and the king that even though her heart broke into a thousand pieces, she went to edit her guide and turned the love of her life to formal form.

She took a deep breath, trying to keep her voice from sounding hoarse.

"Robin…" Her feelings from her heart were so strong that her lips dropped his name before she could even say hello.

"Um-Regina?"

"It's me."

In the short silence, they both realized that they hadn't deleted each other's numbers.

"How are you?" She felt the acridity in her voice, he couldn't help the feeling of worry.

"I'm fine."

I'm struggling with my past. I regret couldn't help myself, you, our son. Trying to live the life I hate. For hear Henry call me 'mom' once, to hug you once... I'm just breathing.

"How are you?"

"I'm better. I think we should talk."

"Hm-hmm." Her knotted throat only let her to mutter. Part of her wanted to let go of her sobs and beg the man on the phone to forgive her. She wanted to say that she wanted him to come to her, to take her in his arms, to isolate her from the world again, to find peace. She wanted to say that 'get me out of this prison, take our son and start all over again'.

"I want to see Henry. But it would be better for us to talk first. I need to know exactly what happened in my absence."

"You are right."

"Regina, are you sure you're okay? Your voice…"

She didn't let him continue his sentence because if Robin continued, all her walls would fall. "I'm fine. I'm on an important meeting break."

"Understood. You can't speak freely."

Robin was surprised by the fact that he still understands when Regina is lying. A single glance, a single word would have been enough for him to understand her feelings. The woman never had to tell at length, because the man knew what was good for her.

Over the years, Regina had learned to hide her feelings, even in the worst situations, she managed to get in front of the cameras and make things right. There wasn't a single piece of news Robin missed about her, he couldn't have fought his longing otherwise. This obviously did not blunt the man's power over the woman. Something was wrong with Regina right now.

"Yes."

Lie! I try to fight my emotions. Help me, please, I'm getting lost.

"Okay. Whenever you're available, let's check out our schedules and determine."

"Can I call you back tonight?" Although she didn't want to hang up, Regina couldn't find the courage to speak more. Seconds later, every word she said inside could come out.

"Sure… See you soon."

Robin fought the urge to get up from his seat and as quickly as possible to the door of Storybrooke Palace to reach the queen. For the past few days, he had felt a great anger towards the woman. There were even moments when he didn't want to see her again, but those moments disappeared as soon as they came. The moment he heard her voice, a great love and compassion reappeared in his heart. The words may not have come out of his mouth, but he called out to that broken soul: We will fight, my love, we will fight for our family.

Notes:

I love travelling back in time in episodes, I should show you Regina's past because I think the past is what makes a person who they are today, and it's very important in their life. I hope you like it too and enjoyed this chapter.

Thank you for reading! Let me know what you think, please.

See you next chapter!