To Call a Lost Witch
LockedSoulsAM
A/n: Hello new and old readers! This story has been in the works for a few years. I recently dusted out my brain and found this gem of an idea. I hope you enjoy.
Halloween is the most exciting night in Storybrooke. Storefronts lit,jack-o-lanterns carved, people dressed up in their scariest costumes, children knocking on doors asking strangers for candy. The excitement of the festivities bubbling all around. There wasn't a soul in Storybrooke that didn't like Halloween. Halloween was the one night in Storybrooke where people celebrated the wicked. The one night where all could be their true selves and have fun. Halloween was the most exciting night in Storybrooke. For everyone but the Mills family at least.
108 Mifflin Street. This particular house never saw as many visitors on Halloween. There were plenty of passersby peeking around the towering hedges never daring to enter. Kids would approach and scream before running away. Parents would rush their children along to avoid telling them the secrets that hid within the walls of 108 Mifflin Street. Tales of darkness and despair.
For Henry, it was just an ordinary house with an ordinary family. He heard the whispering and snickering while at school but he always ignored it. His mom tried her best to keep him from hearing the things the townspeople would say. As he got older it was harder to ignore. His family was different and yet they didn't feel like it. Walking past his aunt, Henry approached the front window. There was nothing out of the ordinary about this house.
There was a Tv, video games, books, and couches just like everyone else. His mom cooked meatloaf on Tuesdays. He had a normal bedroom with normal books. So why was everyone afraid of him? Aunt Beth was always one to tell him the truth but even then he knew it was the cliff notes version. Maybe one day they would tell him what he actually wanted to hear. For now, he would sit around the house and mope as he listened to the laughter of the children on the street outside.
These people were so close and yet so far. If only one person would come. It was Halloween! Surely someone would come.
Peaking his head out of the curtains, Henry watched as children approached the front gate. He stood with bated breath. A little girl dressed as Elsa moved to push the gate open. Their first trick or treater of the night.
"Mom, Mom, someone's coming," Henry shouted excitedly. "Come on!" He dashed to the front door where he was met with a scowl. Trouble.
"Henry, what have I said about yelling?" Regina Mills tucked her hair behind her ear. Her hands resting upon her hips. Without her heels, she just barely towered over him.
Bouncing on the balls of his feet, Henry shrugged. Of course, he knew the answer but right now he didn't care. There were kids coming to the house. They never came to his house. Grabbing the giant mixing bowl full of candy bars he began to unlock the front door.
"Henry," Regina called after him. With an exasperated sigh, Regina began to follow him.
"Oh, let the boy be." An older woman shuffled into the foyer. She wanted to see what all of the noise was about. "He's not hurting anyone." She swept her hair to one side of her shoulder. Regina's eyes couldn't help but follow the long locks that could only be described as salt and pepper. Though Aunt Beth didn't look a day over forty her hair was a dead giveaway.
"I'd like to raise my son to have manners." Regina rolled her eyes. "Something he doesn't seem to have when you're around."
"Hey, you and Zelena turned out just fine didn't you?" Beth teased.
"Well, one of us did," Regina muttered referring to her older sister. Sighing, Regina gestured for the impatient Henry to open the door. He begged her to buy the full-sized candy bars and she wasn't about to let them go to waste. "Aunt Beth, do you mind supervising Henry? I have dishes to do." Not waiting for an answer Regina hurried back to the kitchen where she had left the water running.
Henry flung the door open with all of his might all the while balancing the bowl of candy on his hip. He waved erratically to the kids at the end of the walkway.
"You should be sharing in the excitement with your son." Beth reminded her. "It's your right."
"Yeah, well my rights were given up a long time ago." Regina excused herself to the kitchen. She hated Halloween. She hated that Henry was so excited about it. Why couldn't he be a normal kid and like Christmas? Not that any of them were normal. Regina simply wished they were.
The little girl dressed in the Cat in the Hat costume stepped inside of the yard. There was nothing scary about this place. A firm hand on her shoulder stopped her from going any further. Looking up curiously to see her mom she questioned why she was being stopped.
"We don't go here. Ever!" The woman warned her daughter. "Let's go to the next house."
Before the young girl could protest she was shuffled down the street along with the other kids. Only then did she noticed the numbers in front of the house. Looking back to Henry, she waved sadly.
There were stories about this house. Stories about the people in them. The Mills women. The most dangerous women in all of Storybrooke. There it was. The house that stood the test of time. It didn't seem so scary on the outside. Especially not with the little boy standing in the doorway. Her mom told her stories just like everyone else had been told. Witches lived there. Evil witches that cursed women and children alike. Cursed with powers for evil.
That was enough to keep all of the citizens away from The Mills women.
Henry's demeanor immediately changed as he watched the children and their parents walk away from the house. They did this every year.
"Aunt Beth, why don't they like us?" Henry pushed the bowl of candy into his aunt's arms.
"Oh Henry, we've talked about this." Beth tried her best to cheer them up. "People don't like what they can't understand."
"But it sucks!" Henry frowned. "Everyone at school treats me like crap. It's not my fault. I didn't ask to be a witch." Half witch if they were technically speaking but Beth didn't think it was the time to correct him.
"I'm sorry Henry," Beth tried again. "How about you go and see what Zelena is doing up in her room. Might be a little magic." Beth wiggled her fingers.
"Okay," Henry said dejectedly. Though he was sad, Zelena always had tricks up her sleeve to cheer him up. He climbs the stairs slowly. Each step feeling heavier than the other. Times like this he wished he was born in a different family. A normal one. Ones that didn't do magic and didn't have the entire town hating them. It must be great to have a family like that.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Regina was angrily washing the dishes. Trying her best to be gentle, she dunked each one under the soapy water.
"You know with the flick of your fingers you could have all of that done." Beth leaned against the counter. Her niece was just as stubborn as her mother. Regina only stopped scrubbing the dishes to glare at her Aunt. Beth could admit it scared her a little but she wasn't backing down.
"I really wish you wouldn't teach him that stuff." Regina continued her scrubbing. She had an entire routine. Dunk, scrub, rinse. It wasn't the most efficient but right now she was angry.
"Stuff? What stuff?"Aunt Beth played dumb.
"Magic, Aunt Beth." Regina reminded her. "I really wish you wouldn't teach my son that stuff."
"Oh, you mean the stuff you were born with?" Beth raised a brow. "There's no harm in teaching the boy about his heritage. He likes it. It is his birthright to know who he is. Henry is a witch. He should know where he came from. Just because you swore off magic does not mean he has to."
"Henry is also a mortal and MY son." Regina raised her voice. At the look, she was receiving she quickly changed her tone. This was still her aunt she was talking to no matter how young she looked. "Henry is my son. Magic has brought us nothing but trouble and heartbreak. Excuse me if I want to raise him away from it."
"Regina, I know that magic hasn't been kind to you," Aunt Beth started. "Don't you think its wrong to keep him away from -"
"No," Regina interrupted. The doorbell rang but neither of them reacted. "Daniel died because of magic. I don't have a husband and Henry doesn't have a father. I don't need you lecturing me about it. Just please do what I ask.'
"Regina," Beth pleaded. The doorbell rang three more times. Whoever was at the door was impatient that's for sure.
"Please," Regina stopped her washing to dry her hands. Clearly, she was going to have to be the one to answer the door. "Not now. We can revisit when Henry is old enough to understand the consequences of magic. For now, he doesn't practice. We don't even know if he has powers."
"Well," Before Beth could say anything else the doorbell rang again.
"God!" Regina yelled. She marched to the front door and flung it open.
"I told you not to ring so many times,"
"Well, their porch light is on so that means they are giving out candy."
"That still doesn't mean break the doorbell,"
"Can I help you?" Regina tried her best to hide her annoyance. The last thing she needed was a riot at this time of night. If she was lucky these people would go away quickly. Behind her, she could vaguely hear Aunt Beth yell for Henry. Regina gave both of the people a once over. One of them was a child. Looking over to whom she assumed was the adult in this situation, though it was questionable by the way the kid talked to her, Regina raised her brow. Once green met brown Regina's entire world changed. What was this feeling?
The other woman hesitated to answer. Her deer in headlights expression didn't help her case.
"Hi," The woman waved her hand sheepishly. It was evident Regina didn't want to be bothered. "I'm Emma and this is Tess."
"Trick or treat." Tess smiled brightly. She was dressed as Snow White. Go figure.
"Right, one second." Regina was almost able to forget that it was Halloween. She grabbed for the bowl of candy only to be intercepted by Henry.
"Hi!" He greeted them. "I like your costume." Henry held out the bowl for the little girl to choose from.
"Thanks," Tess rifled through the bowl of candy.
"Take as many as you want, dear." Regina invited. "Henry won't be eating a lot of those after tonight."
"Cool," Tess grinned. Grabbing as many candy bars as she could she looked up. "Why aren't you trick or treating?"
"Well, Mom doesn't allow me to." Henry shrugged. It wasn't that he didn't want to. There were lots of people that would give them strange looks when trick or treating. Regina was the only one to notice. She didn't feel safe allowing Henry to take candy from people who hated them so much. He was only eight years old and she had to shield him away from so much already. "You're the first people to come to our house."
"Really?" Emma questioned. "Why is that? You guys have the biggest candy bars on the block so far."
"It's because…" Before Henry could reveal anything about their family Regina steered the conversation away from Halloween.
"I'm sorry who are you?"She asked. At Emma's look of shock, she corrected herself. "Pardon me, I'm wondering if you both are new. I've never seen you around town before."
"We just moved in," Tess spoke first.
"Yeah, we live next door." Emma pointed over to the house on the left. It had been vacant for quite some time. "My roommate and her fiance too. You'll probably meet them soon. You are?" Emma asked desperately hoping for the woman's name.
"Regina." Regina held out her hand. "Regina Mills." The moment her hand connected with Emma's she felt a spark. Literally. They both gasped quickly pulling away from each other. Narrowing her eyes, she could faintly feel an essence of magic. Beth. Regina would be giving her Aunt a big talking to as soon as everyone left.
"Sorry." Emma grimaced wiping her sweaty palm against her jeans. "That's never happened before."
"It's fine," Regina whispered. She couldn't help but notice how attractive Emma was. Her blonde hair was curled in a way that could only be natural. She was in shape. This much was clear. Her jeans were as if they had been painted on. Regina's once over was once again met by Emma's questioning gaze.
Henry looked up at them suspiciously and back to Tess. Was she seeing what he was seeing? He may be eight but he wasn't dumb.
"Well, we should get going." Emma coughed awkwardly. "There's a ton of houses on this street."
"Yes, there are," Regina agreed.
"It was nice meeting you kid," Emma shook Henry's hand. "I hope to see more of you."
"Bye!" Henry waved them off. He and Regina stood watching them leave before Henry turned to her. "Mom, can we bake them a cake and take it to them tomorrow after school? Please?"
"Henry, I don't know." Regina ushered him inside. She was reluctant about getting closer to new people. Even if one of those people was an attractive blonde.
"Mom, this could be my first friend." Henry reminded. "What if the girl likes Agent O too? Then I can show her my comics." Henry loved Agent O comics. He and his dad used to read them all the time while he was alive. They were about an ordinary kid with superhero powers fighting crime while battling middle school. They were the best.
"Okay, but only after you've finished your homework." Regina gave in. She wanted to raise Henry mortal. It was her choice to do so. She couldn't exactly do that if she didn't allow him to live like a normal child. "Now you go upstairs and brush your teeth. You can take one candy bard to school and that's it."
"Can I read a comic before bed?" Henry tried his luck.
"One," Regina warned. If she allowed him to stay up too late it would be hell to wake him up in the morning. Henry pulled her into a fierce hug.
"You're the bestest mom ever." Henry cheered before racing up the stairs to his room.
"I try," Regina muttered to herself. In search of Beth Regina walked into the living room to find her reading a book of witchcraft in her favorite chair. It was one Regina recognized all too well. Pushing the book down to reveal her face that she was purposely hiding, Regina shook her head. "You used magic on me."
"I did not." Beth rolled her eyes.
"So the shock I felt when touching Emma that had your essence all over it wasn't you?" Regina's hands found her hips. Beth looked just as guilty as Henry did whenever he took from the cookie jar.
"Deny, deny, deny," Beth said. "That was all you. Let yourself love, Regina."
"Love?" Regina took a step back. "We just met five minutes ago."
"Time is a social construct made by the patriarchy to control women." Beth shrugged.
"That doesn't even make sense." Regina snorted. "Love doesn't happen in this family. You know it, I know it, and everyone else does too."
"Well recharge the batteries then and see if I care," Beth laughed. She went to the kitchen to grab herself a glass of wine.
"That is wildly inappropriate," Regina poured herself a glass.
"What is?" Zelena finally made her presence known as she took Regina's glass from her hands before she could take a sip.
"Hey, get your own glass," Regina attempted to retrieve the one in question.
"Make me," Zelena teased. "Now tell me what you guys are talking about." Regina gave up on trying to get her glass back. She turned to the cupboard to grab another one.
"Getting your sister laid," Beth said bluntly.
Fumbling to keep the glass in her hand Regina sputtered. "That is not what we're doing."
"Oh, with whom ?"Zelena's eyes sparkled with mischief. Ignoring Regina's protest they dove into a conversation.
"There's a new babe next door. Tall, blonde, green eyes." Beth described. "Just right for your sister."
"Absolutely not," Regina said. "Now, can we talk about something else, please!"
Zelena snickered. They were always laughing at Regina's expense. She was so easy to get riled up.
"Regina is baking her a cake tomorrow per Henry's request," Beth informed Zelena. "I think she should go with your mom's recipe. The woman couldn't cook but she sure did know how to bake. Rest her soul."
"That would mean Zelena has to close the cafe for me tomorrow." Regina looked over to her sister. It was a cafe Regina owned for years now. Her very own place. It was doing pretty well despite the horror stories surrounding the Mills women. The people loved their coffee.
"For you, anything." Zelena stretched her arm out. "Let it be on record that I'm doing this so you would owe me a favor one day."
"Of course." Regina rolled her eyes.
"Now if you'll both excuse me I'm going out tonight." Zelena sat the now empty glass on the counter. "Don't wait up." Giving both her sister and Aunt a kiss on the cheek, Zelena raised her hand and disappeared in a poof of green smoke. She used magic so freely. Without a care in the world of being caught or judged for it. Regina used to be that way Once Upon a Time. With Daniel. When things were easier for her. Now things were… complicated.
"I'm going to head to bed." Beth set her own glass down. "You get some rest."
"Good night." Regina sipped from her glass. Of course, they would leave her with dishes.
Moving to clear the counter, Regina looked down at the tips of her fingers. She could feel the magic there. It would be so easy to use. With the flick of her wrist, the entire kitchen would be clean. No! She made a promise to herself and to Daniel. She wouldn't use magic anymore.
Never again.
A/n: So, if there are people interested this would be a twenty chapter story updated weekly/biweekly. I just had to put this out into the universe.