So I decided to continue. There was no way I could leave the story ending like that.
The curse had ended in a blast of light magic much like they all do. When Anna and Elsa were finally reunited the forgiveness Elsa had for Anna's entrapment of her had cured every citizen of the glass in their hearts.
Luckily for Snow the Evil Queen had a habit for monologues. She was ranting with Snow's heart in hand when the curse finally broke. One minute away from destroying her enemy when the glass was lifted from her heart. She instantly fell to her knees. How could she do that to her son? Let him hear all the nasty things she had buried deep in her mind?
When the anger finally left Henry's heart it was replaced by thick layer of horror. The things that he had said to his mother and the things that she had said in return, they were haunting him. They rattled in his head so much he had to sit down for a minute. He hadn't spoken so harshly to her in years and even back then he never meant it like he did with the curse.
Over the next week Storybrooke was an awkward place to be. The Snow Queen had been defeated but the pain her curse had caused still lingered. People who once were loving families could hardly look each other in the eyes now. Even the Charming clan was experiencing their own difficulties. Snow and David were still dealing with what had occurred between them while they were locked up. However the biggest wedge was still between Henry and Regina. They hadn't spoken to each other since that night in the station. They were both too afraid of what the other would say to seek each other out.
In an effort to forget about her emotional problems with her son Regina had taken to helping Snow deal with damage done to town during the final battle with the Snow Queen. She tried to bury herself in the work but Snow, like always, had taken it upon herself to butt into Regina's life.
"So?" started Snow. "Have you spoken to Henry yet?"
Regina took a deep breath before looking up from the construction papers on her desk. Of course Snow would bring up Henry. "No Snow I haven't but I'm sure you already knew that."
"Regina I'm just worried about you two." Snow knew she had to tread carefully with this conversation. Regina was never one to be open with her emotions. She would most likely hide behind sarcasm and insults.
"Don't you have your own crumbling relationship to focus on?" Regina regretted those words as soon as they left her mouth. She knew Snow and David were having a difficult time moving past what was said during the curse. And she could understand more than anyone how that felt. "I'm sorry Snow. I shouldn't have said that."
"No you're right," said Snow. "David and I have been having some trouble connecting since the curse. The only difference between us and you is that we're actually trying to deal with it."
Snow took a minute to calm herself before continuing. Her relationship with David was a bit of a sore spot for her lately. They had been truly cruel to each other before Regina entered the sheriff's station that night. "We've started seeing Dr. Hopper actually. Couples counseling you know?"
"Really?" asked Regina. She never took Snow and David as the therapy types. She always assumed that their deep faith and belief was how they got through everything.
Snow nodded. "It's actually been helping a lot. We know the curse was the reason we said those awful things to each other and it was the reason we believed them so intensely. But it didn't put those thoughts in our heads. They'd always been there we just chose not to believe them. They weren't supposed to come out like they did but now that they have we can't just ignore them. The same way you and Henry can't ignore what you said to each other."
Regina felt a tear go down her cheek. She wiped it away hastily. "You know when I first held him in my arms the day of the adoption it was the first genuine love I had felt for anything in nearly twenty years. It was the most terrifying feeling in the world for me.
"I spent so many years drowning myself in the darkness and hate that I thought just by touching him it would bleed into his soul. I promised myself that day that I would shove all those negative feelings down and make sure that he never saw me how I was in the enchanted forest. And I have failed so miserably at that these past four years. From the minute he got that storybook."
Snow grabbed Regina's hand silently encouraging her to go on. After that the floodgates opened for Regina. She didn't know why but these past couple years Snow has become one of the only people she could truly be vulnerable with. "I loved him so much but I loved him in all the wrong ways. He used to look at me like I was his entire world but when he got that book and came back with Emma it all stopped. He started looking at her like she was everything and I was nothing. So I started manipulating him and terrorizing Emma trying to bring him back to me but it didn't work. I became the Evil Queen again without even realizing it and it almost cost my son his life. And you know what? I might be able to forgive myself for all of that because it wasn't on purpose. I never meant to hurt him. But that night in sheriff's station with the curse I wanted to cause him so much pain. I wanted to hurt him like he'd hurt me and I will never get over that. And I don't think he will either."
Snow handed Regina a tissue. "You don't know that Regina. You and Henry have been through so much together and you've only come out stronger."
"I was so cruel to him Snow."
"I know. I heard what you said to him but I also heard what he said to you." said Snow. Regina looked at her strangely. "I might have been down but I wasn't completely knocked out. You and Henry both said things to hurt each other that night. But it wasn't really you. She is not you. Regina I have known you for years both before and after your dark days. The Evil Queen is not who you are, not anymore. The woman in the station last night was not you. The same way the boy in the station was not Henry."
Both women knew that Regina's struggle with the darkness inside her wasn't over but Snow had seen how far Regina had come. She also knew that the strides she'd made wouldn't have been possible without Henry. The love Regina felt for her son had been her guiding light these past few years and it led her to be a better person. However Snow could also see that Regina still had trouble accepting her own redemption.
"What if he doesn't forgive me for this?" she said with tears in her eyes.
"He will forgive you. I know that," promised Snow. "But that won't happen unless you have this conversation with him."
Regina took a deep breath and nodded. She'd given him his space but she knew it was finally time to talk to her son.
Coming up next: Henry gets his own advice about what happened that night.