David knocked on the front door and then entered Regina's house, determined to appear calm. His experience with the tempestuous woman had taught him that nervousness would only irritate her further.

Heading into the kitchen with the food from Granny's, he found Henry bent intensely over loose-leaf paper and a textbook.

"Hey, kiddo," David said, ruffling Henry's hair. "What are you working on? Where's your mom?"

Henry didn't even look up as he continued to write. "Mom's in the dining room with Astrid. She said that doing magic might be exhausting, so I need to get three chapters ahead in math before we can start practicing."

"That makes sense," David said, setting the food on the counter.

"I guess," Henry replied. "She showed me a trick to make the long division easier, so that's making it go faster."

"Your mom is really smart," David observed. "Astrid is here?"

"Yep," Henry said. "Maybe you should go say hi . . . so I can finish my work."

"Sorry, buddy," David said. "I'll get out of your way."

xxxxx

David heard the light sound of Regina's laughter as he approached the entryway to her office. Reflexively, he felt himself relax in response to its genuine nature. He was relieved that their argument this morning hadn't pushed Regina into a complete reversion into Mayor Mills, however much she might continue to freeze him out—as least she was still allowing someone to see the woman underneath the power. He couldn't help but hope that he could re-earn that privilege in time. Enthralled as he was with Regina, she was so much more than the trite woman of his dreams. She was the woman of his reality. Somehow, they had become allies, partners. And he wasn't prepared to give that up.

When he reached the doorway, he was greeted with the pleasant sight of Regina and Astrid chatting merrily on the loveseat, tea cups and books scattered on the coffee table in front of them. He wished Regina would laugh more often. She was always beautiful, but when she laughed she was positively luminous. David didn't know why Astrid was there, but, as far as he was concerned, she could stay there forever as long as she made Regina laugh like that.

His perfect picture only lasted for the moment before Regina's eye flitted up and spotted him perched in the doorway. Her laughter died in her throat, a spark of hurt flashed in her eyes, and then the politely charming mask of the mayor was back in place. "David," she said. "Back so soon?" she fought to keep her voice neutral.

David cleared his throat, "Yes. Hello, Astrid, nice to see you." He turned his attention back to Regina. "I thought you and Henry might need lunch, so I picked some up from Granny's. I'm sorry, Astrid, I didn't know you were going to be here, or I would have ordered something for you too."

"Oh, it's all right. Dreamy is grilling tonight, and it's always delicious," Astrid said through a beaming smile.

"Dreamy?" David asked.

"Oh, sorry. Grumpy, or Leroy," Astrid corrected. "I knew him as Dreamy."

Seeing Regina had not made any move in response to his peace offering and not wanting to aggravate her further by staying where he was undoubtedly unwelcome, David bowed his head slightly in salutation and said, "I'll leave you ladies to it then. May I reheat the chicken fingers for Henry, Regina?"

"Of course," Regina replied with a tight smile, but David noticed, sadly, that it was devoid of its previous honesty. As he turned to go, Regina added, "You can come back, David." At his confused expression, she continued, "You can join us when you're ready." She was clearly uncomfortable extending the invitation, David was relieved to note that her mask of indifference wasn't staying on as easily as it used to.

"I'd love to," he replied with his Charming smile.

Astrid's interest was piqued. Dreamy had told her about the pair of them asleep together just that morning when he dropped off Henry, but the tension that thickened in the air with David's presence made two things clear to her. The first was that the prince was in the doghouse for some reason. The second was that they were clearly still fighting their mutual attraction.

This would be an interesting afternoon.

"I heard something interesting yesterday," Astrid said innocently.

"Oh?" Regina asked. She had invited the former fairy over for specific, Operation Boomerang-related questions but had found herself enjoying the other woman's company. Astrid seemed willing to see her as a person, which was . . . different.

"I heard," there was now a teasing tone to Astrid's voice, "that Ruby kissed David at the diner yesterday, and he wound up stunned on the floor."

Regina suddenly found her teacup fascinating.

"It is true!" Astrid exclaimed, excited. She had suspected that the queen and the prince were a true love match ever since she and Dreamy had helped with them with the diagnosis spell, but having it confirmed made it that much more real.

Regina looked up from the teacup in shock. "You don't hate me?" She spoke the words before she had a chance to filter them. "For coming between Snow White and Prince Charming?"

"Of course I don't hate you," Astrid said. "Dreamy and I know better than most that we don't choose who we fall in love with. And even if you did this on purpose, I'm grateful to you for giving Dreamy and I our second chance. We wouldn't be together if not for you."

Regina was completely stunned. She had expected unequivocal hatred from everyone who found out about the change in David's affections from the girl she'd targeted to herself. Being confronted with evidence that there was even one person who not only didn't hate her, but might actually be on her side, was overwhelming.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

Astrid smiled brightly in response. "So why are you mad at him?"

"What?" Regina asked, startled.

"Please," Astrid said, "I don't need any magical fairy super-powers to read the emotions radiating from each of you."

"That man has had a bad influence on my poker face," Regina observed darkly.

"That's not necessarily a bad thing," Astrid replied. "So what did he do?"

Regina sighed. She didn't like putting her private life on display, but the whole town would know soon enough anyway. And talking to Astrid felt like what she imagined talking to a friend might feel like. It was nice. "He invited himself and Henry to move in with me until Ms. Swan and Snow return."

"Oh," Astrid said, confused. "That sounds like a good thing. Why are you mad at him?"

"He did it in front of Henry a couple hours after I told him to work it out with Snow," Regina explained, her anger with David re-emerging.

Astrid winced. "Men are dense, sometimes," she told the queen.

Regina huffed in agreement. "Indeed."

"Has he apologized?" Astrid asked.

Regina shook her head, "No, but he hasn't had the chance, either."

"I'm sure he will. That's probably why he brought back lunch." Astrid said.

Regina nodded, though she disagreed with Astrid's last statement. David would have picked up lunch for the three of them even if they hadn't fought. He was thoughtful that way.

"But," Astrid's brow was furrowed in confusion, "Why do you want him to work it out with Snow? I don't know any of you very well, but you and David seem to . . . fit, like Dreamy and me. Why would you want to push away so precious a gift?"

Regina was spared from answering by the reappearance of David. "What did I miss?" he asked.

Astrid's mouth gaped like a guppy, but Regina was more practiced at misdirection, her composure sliding into place as she responded, "I invited Astrid over to help set everything up for Henry to learn magic."

As she spoke, David had taken the chair nearest Regina's position on the loveseat. "Great," he said sincerely. The more help, the better, he thought. "What do we need to do?"

Regina's heart fluttered at his earnestness and his unshakable faith that, despite her anger from the morning, they were still a team. The warmth that spread through her at that realization was treacherous. She needed to keep him at arms' length. But how could she, when he was so, well, charming?

Deciding to focus on Astrid, Regina addressed the former fairy, "As I mentioned earlier, the results of our magical science experiment from the other day indicate that Henry will have to perform the retrieval spell to bring back Ms. Swan and Snow. For obvious reasons, this makes me extremely nervous. I was wondering if you had any knowledge of children performing magic from our land, maybe something that could help us keep Henry safe." Not observing any sign from Astrid that she had any anecdotes, Regina cast a wider net—any piece of information could help Henry. "Maybe even something that we should know not to do?"

Astrid just shook her head sadly. "All I know is what the Blue Fairy always told all of us. We were to perform appropriate magical favors for the children we were assigned to help, but we were never allowed to teach, encourage, or permit any of them to perform magic on their own. Occasionally, we could leave them in possession of a magical object of some sort, but she always told us that it would be much too dangerous for any child to do magic." Astrid shifted uncomfortably and nervously met Regina's eyes, "And I'm sorry, but I was always too intimidated by her to ask any questions about why, even though I wanted to know. And I never heard of anyone breaking that rule, so I don't think I can be of any help."

Astrid appeared distressed at her inability to provide more informative answers. Regina firmly squeezed Astrid's hand in her own. "Don't say that," the queen said sincerely. "You have helped. Now we know that David needs to talk to his old friend, Blue. And, Astrid," Regina ducked her head to make eye contact with the self-conscious woman, "I would still like your help with a couple other pieces of this project, if you're willing." Not for the first time, Regina wanted to smack that self-righteous blue dragonfly.

Astrid smiled, "Yes, I'd love to help."

"Good," Regina smiled, and patted her hand. She then looked to David, forgetting that she had told herself to be angry with him, and asked, "Would you please call her?"

David sighed, "The last time Blue and I spoke, it didn't end well."

Regina quirked an eyebrow in question.

"I confronted her about her deception with August and Emma and the wardrobe, and it wasn't pretty."

"Ah," Regina said in understanding. "I'm sorry, dear," Regina said, surprised to find she meant it. As much as she hated that officious wasp, she knew that David had considered her a trusted ally, and that betrayal had to hurt. "If you could," Regina looked sorry for what she was about to ask him, "please call her anyway?"

David did not look happy with the idea. "I just don't think I'll get much out of her."

"I know manipulation grates against your noble intentions, dear," Regina said, "But I think you could use the guilt she must feel over that wardrobe situation to our advantage. I think she would tell you whatever she knows this time, in an effort to win back your trust."

David looked squeamish at the idea. Regina was right; such machinations were not to his taste.

"I don't like it," David said.

"You don't have to manipulate her if you don't want to, David," Regina said. "You probably won't have to. But we're talking about Henry's safety, and I do not want to leave a single stone unturned. And, given that she was the first person to threaten my life when the curse broke, I don't think she's going to tell me anything. She hates me too much."

"She threatened you?" David bristled.

"Yes, dear," Regina smiled tightly and patted his arm, their familiar magical hum taking the edge off her next statement. "As did you and the rest of the town, as I recall. We don't need to get into that. The bottom line is that you are our best chance at finding out if the Blue Fairy knows anything we need to know."

David's brow had knit in consternation at her reminder that he had wanted to kill her only two weeks ago. Thank the gods I wasn't able to. He sighed, "What should I ask?"

Astrid was watching the exchange with interest. Even more than when she'd asked the question, she now wished the queen had answered it. Why didn't she want to pursue a relationship with this man? Especially since she already had one?

"Start generally," Regina said. "Just ask her what she knows about children performing magic. She may talk enough after just this question to make follow-ups unnecessary. If not, however, please ask her if 'buffering' is the most significant challenge to safe child mages or if there is another aspect of the magic that is troubling. Obviously, we'd like as much detail as possible, and specific examples, if she has any."

David nodded. He'd worked with Regina long enough to realize that her compulsive attention to detail in all aspects of her life served her well with magic. "What do I say when she asks me why I want to know all of this?" He looked at her. They both knew that Operation Boomerang, while not top secret, was still best left as a need-to-know project. The town still didn't trust Regina, and Snow had been the figurehead of the government. While David's presence kept a tenuous peace, it wasn't out of the realm of possibility that their King dabbling in magic with the Evil Queen would blast it apart.

Regina shook her head. "I'm not going to tell you to lie to your friend, David. What you say when she asks that is your decision."

He nodded soberly. "Okay, I'll step out and call her now. Oh, and I put your salad in the fridge."

"Thank you," she said with a small smile.

As soon as David was out of earshot, Astrid turned to Regina, "I have nothing against Snow, but for what reason are you sending that gorgeous man who loves you back to his estranged wife?"

Regina blushed slightly at Astrid's casual way of mentioning David's love for her. It made it more real, hearing someone else say it.

"How familiar are you with buffering?" Regina asked. She had to stay focused on Henry and Operation Boomerang. Contemplating her relationship, whatever it was, with David, was a rabbit hole she needed to save for another day.

"Changing the subject, I see. I suppose I'll allow you to get away with it this time," Astrid teased. She didn't know what Dreamy had been so worried about when Regina called and asked her to come over. Regina had been nothing but kind to her, and, if Astrid wasn't mistaken, the woman in front of her wasn't at all like the cold front she put up around everyone else; she was just a woman in need of a friend.

Astrid could relate to that.

"I know the basics," Astrid answered. "I know that buffering is a fundamental skill that anyone must acquire in order to survive performing magic. It diminishes the negative physical impact of magic on the body."

"Well, now you're just quoting Aristotle's Metaphysica," Regina teased. "But, yes, that is my understanding as well. That a person can perform magic without proper buffering, but that person is unlikely to survive the experience."

Astrid nodded in agreement.

"Are you familiar with surrogate buffering?" Regina asked.

"I've heard of it, but isn't it really dangerous?" Astrid asked.

"If done improperly," Regina replied, the confidence in her voice shading toward the arrogance of the Evil Queen. Then, returning to a more solicitous tone, she asked, "Would you like to see it set up?"

"Oh, yes!" Astrid said excitedly. Regina was so organized about her magic. It was so easy to learn from her.

xxxxx

David paused in the doorway to the kitchen observing the scene in front of him. Regina stood in front of a simmering pot, flanked by Astrid on her left and Henry—on a stepstool—on her right. All three were staring intently into the pot as Regina carefully stirred the concoction with a wooden spoon that she held perpendicular to the stove. He felt his heart warm at the scene. Not five days ago, he had used her house to hide from the town, knowing full well that no one, including Henry, wanted to be in The Evil Queen's company. While the majority of the town would still prefer to witness her public execution, Astrid and Henry were evidence that Regina was so much more than her Evil Queen history.

The woman was astounding. And she was setting the oven timer over a pot emitting wisps of lavender steam.

She turned to Henry and watched him dismount the stepstool, clearly ready to catch him if he fell. "And now, we wait for a bit," she told her protégés. Her posture became more rigid when she then noticed David in the doorway, but otherwise she did not betray her discomfort. "Was she helpful?" Regina could not quite keep all of her derision out of the word "she."

David glanced at Henry, concerned about sharing too much with his grandson. Deciding that the adventurous boy would benefit from hearing about the seriousness of the situation, he replied, "If you consider being told to immediately stop doing whatever I was considering doing helpful, then, yes, she was helpful."

Regina scoffed, her irritation at the Blue Fairy apparent. David fully entered the room and continued, "She told me that 'magic should not be performed by children' and that we are being 'grossly irresponsible' for even considering such a thing." The prince's matter-of-fact delivery belied his aggravation at his former friend's gall at lecturing him. She, of all people, did not have any right to counsel him on how to protect his family.

As if reading his thoughts, Regina briefly squeezed his hand in empathy. "Thank you for making that call," she said. "Did she have anything more specific to add to the dangers we need to address?" She removed her hand, recalling that she was still angry with him.

"Like you expected, she mentioned buffering, but other than that, the only other thing she did was scold me for working with you," David told her.

Before Regina had finished mentally flinching at this sentiment, however unsurprising, David continued, "I told her that I was working with someone whose motives I know, someone I trust." It was with conscious effort that David did not reach out to touch Regina, to hold her and make sure she understood just how much he valued her. But, he had forced himself into her space once already that day; he would not do it again.

Regina was more affected than she cared to admit. Even though he had done it before, hearing David stand up for her moved her. That he would think she was worth defending, even advocating, struck a chord deep within her that had long been still and silent.

Not trusting her voice, Regina nodded in response and granted David a small smile.

"But Mom," Henry's voice broke the moment. "If the Blue Fairy thinks that we shouldn't do it, shouldn't we listen to her? She's always right in my book, and she is, like, the leader of the good guys."

Regina glanced at David whose jaw was clenched in anger, doubtlessly due to the so-called "leader of the good guys's" betrayal in regards to the number of people that could travel through the wardrobe. Feeling some solidarity that she wasn't the only person in the room that didn't think the cerulean pixie belonged on the pedestal about which she buzzed, Regina curbed her instinct to snap at the recurrence of Henry's overly simple classification system: good and evil.

"Henry," Regina said in her patented tone of attempted patience, "The Blue Fairy hasn't always been honest with us—"

"Of course she wouldn't be honest with you," Henry exclaimed. "You're the Evil Queen."

"Henry!" Regina was surprised to hear that Astrid was the person admonishing her son. "You shouldn't call your mother that."

"But she is," Henry said, shrugging his shoulders. His mom was trying to change, but she couldn't change her past.

"Henry," Astrid said calmly. "As Nova, I heard many stories about many places and many people. Now, I don't know what this book is that makes you so strong in your convictions, but I do know that listening to only one person's perspective on a story is a really good way to not learn much."

"But my book . . ." Henry weakly protested.

"Who wrote it?" Astrid asked curiously.

"Umm," Henry was embarrassed; he did not have any idea whose work he was treating like truth. "It was right about Emma," he asserted defensively.

"Look, kiddo," David intervened, "Even if everything in your book is true, it can't possibly have all of the stories about all of the people from the Enchanted Forest in it. Such a book would be much too large to fit in your backpack. So how about thinking outside the box or, in this case, the book?"

Henry sighed, "Okay."

"And we've talked about the 'Evil Queen' issue before," David looked at his grandson meaningfully.

"I know. I'm sorry, Mom," Henry said sincerely, if somewhat begrudgingly at having to apologize. "I know that you're helping now. And I'm glad."

"Thank you, Henry," Regina said. "Labels of good and evil aside, you don't have to do this, Henry, if you don't want to."

"No, I do," Henry affirmed. "I want to help." He was also eager to investigate the purple steam and more of this magic that his mother could do. It couldn't be all bad if it was supposed to get Emma and Mary Margaret back, right?

"Okay," Regina tried to smile, but the expression didn't quite reach her eyes. Nothing about her son performing magic, especially to get back Snow White and her offspring, could be considered an occasion for happiness. "Do you have it?" Regina asked Astrid.

"Yes," Astrid nodded excitedly as she handed a small pouch to Regina.

"Thank you," Regina's smile was more genuine this time. "David, I asked Astrid to bring a diamond from the mines," she explained as she withdrew the large chunk of diamond from the pouch and examined it closely. "Do you have any objection to us using this for Operation Boomerang?" Henry's beaming expression at her use of their mission's codename warmed her heart; she'd use a litany of ridiculous codenames if it would keep him that happy.

"If it can help us, let's use it," David said, grateful that Regina went through the formality of asking for his permission, since they both knew he would never object to anything that helped Regina and Henry stay safe while retrieving the rest of his family.

"This diamond is nearly perfect, Astrid," Regina said. "Excellent choice."

Astrid blushed at the other woman's compliment. Dreamy had teased her when she agonized over which gem to bring, but she was determined not to make a mess of the simple, yet important task that Regina had entrusted to her.

"Are you familiar with linking talismans?" Regina asked the former fairy.

"I am," Astrid replied.

"Would you like to make one?" Regina asked.

Astonished, Astrid replied, "Me? Are you sure?"

"Your magic is strong enough," Regina replied. "And, as you know, linking spells work better when they are performed by someone not party to the linking."

Astrid nodded thoughtfully. "And you want to be linked to Henry."

"Yes," Regina affirmed. "But one-way. I want him to be linked to me, but not I don't want to link to him."

Startled, Astrid almost objected, but stopped herself when she remembered Henry's presence. She knew as well as Regina that upsetting Henry when he needed to perform magic could be dangerous for everyone. Instead of protesting, Astrid settled for replying, "This is what you meant by surrogate buffering. A one-way linking." She was once again impressed with Regina's innovation with magic, but that did not alleviate her concern. "Are you sure?"

Regina nodded. "Will you do it?"

"If you insist," Astrid said.

"Good," Regina replied. "Because the timer is about to go off."

She hadn't finished her sentence when the oven began beeping.

Handing the diamond back to Astrid, Regina addressed Henry, "I'm sorry, Henry, but this spell requires blood from each of us."

Mimicking the bravery he expected a knight to have, Henry said, "It's okay, Mom."

She gave him a reassuring smile and said, "We'll just prick your finger. A couple drops should be plenty."

Regina opened the drawer next to the oven, revealing first aid supplies. She handed a band-aide to David and removed a sterilized sewing needle. Suddenly, she pricked Henry's index finger.

"Ouch!" Henry exclaimed, but he was clearly more startled than hurt.

"Sorry, sweetie," Regina said. "But the anticipation hurts more than the needle."

Henry just nodded and observed his finger as blood slowly began to pool into a mound on his fingertip.

"Once you have a few drops, just flick them into the pot. Be careful not to burn yourself on the steam," Regina instructed.

Henry's brow furrowed in concentration, calculating the exact moment at which he would have enough blood to fulfill his mother's request.

As soon as his droplets of blood hit the steam, Regina turned Henry away from the pot to face David, who was ready with the band-aide. Without sparing another moment, she pulled the chef's knife from her wooden block on the kitchen counter and sliced her palm open above the steaming pot.

"Regina!" David exclaimed, instinctively stepping toward her. He hadn't been prepared for her part in this 'linking' that she had asked Astrid to perform. The combination of Astrid's apparent concern regarding the enchantment and Regina's callous attitude toward cutting her own hand open and contributing what appeared to be nearly a cup of blood to the concoction on the stove made him feel suddenly ill. He didn't trust Blue, but maybe she was right. Maybe they shouldn't do this.

Much to Regina's irritation, David's reaction to her cut drew Henry's attention. At least I've already put the knife down, and this is nearly enough blood, she thought.

"Mom!" Henry sprung to Regina's side. Former Evil Queen or not, she was his mother, and seeing her injured, again, was scary. The steam was a much darker shade of purple now and seemed to be turning steadily darker with each drop of his mother's blood that dripped into the pot. "You said it only needed a couple drops," Henry accused her.

Regina smiled humorlessly as she slowly turned her hand over and removed it from above the pot. Before she had a chance to reach for the handle to the first aid drawer, David had pulled her hand toward him and begun silently bandaging it. Regina didn't need to look at him to feel his anger through his gentle touch, even as their magical connection hummed to life.

"It only needed a couple drops from you, Henry," Regina explained. "The spell requires more from the person in my role."

Henry processed her words, his consternation at his mother's misdirection, despite the lack of an outright lie, clear in his posture.

"Would you at least hold this above your heart?" David asked, pushing her now-bandaged hand toward her shoulder.

Regina nodded, avoiding his gaze. She hadn't quite forgiven him for the moving-in stunt he pulled in front of Henry only hours earlier. If he wanted to be miffed over a bit of blood, that was his prerogative. Maybe it would make their inevitable confrontation more balanced when it finally occurred.

"David, Henry," Regina said, "Let's move out of Astrid's way." She locked eyes with the former fairy.

Despite the fact that her new . . . mentor, she supposed, had not spoken one word, Astrid felt completely affirmed. Regina believed she could do this, so she must be able to. With complete certainty, she thrust her hand into the steam, clutching the diamond. She felt the jarring of the magic threading through the steam—magic was different here—clash with the humming of her internal magic. She took half a moment to adjust to the sensation and began to murmur the simple incantation that had never left her, despite learning it long ago.

Henry watched Astrid riveted. He'd only seen his mother perform magic a handful of times, and it had never been for anything good. It had always felt like a way for her to trap him. Without the oppressiveness that he'd previously felt from his mother's magic, he now found the process fascinating. His mother had always made it look easy; he had no idea that magic could require knowledge and work.

He didn't understand the words Astrid was repeating; he'd have to ask her what language it was later. At first, it didn't look like anything was happening, though it did seem like her hand wasn't burning, despite being in the steam like that. And then, it was like the vapors started getting sucked into her hand, but not really her hand, the diamond. And then Astrid stopped speaking, the pot wasn't boiling, and she was holding the gem out to his mother, who picked it up gently and held it up to her eyes.

"Perfect," Regina said, carefully examining the talisman.

Astrid smiled, but, rather than the grateful smile of someone in dire need of validation, her smile was one of someone that appreciated the recognition while secure in the knowledge that her work was superb.

"Wow," Henry murmured. The diamond now appeared to have a tumultuous violet storm cloud captured within it. The vapors seemed to expand from within the center of the diamond and then break like waves against the edges without escaping. It was powerful without being threatening. Henry had never seen anything that small be that cool before.

"I'm glad you like it, dear," Regina said. "Because you're going to have to wear it until we get Ms. Swan and Snow back."

Henry's eyes bugged out of his head. "You want me to wear jewelry?" he asked incredulously. "Boys don't wear jewelry."

"Ah, but knights do," David replied. "Going into battle, a knight would always carry some token from the person or people for whom he is fighting. This is your token, your reminder that you are fighting for the people you love."

Regina's breath was caught in her throat. It seemed she would never get used to the proud manner in which the prince displayed his constancy of purpose. The passion, the conviction with which he spoke every word; she was unused to someone so forthright, so genuine. She wanted to hold onto this man and never let go.

She shook herself. That was not to be. Engaging in such fantasies—any fantasies involving the Charming prince—would only hurt her more in the end.

Eloquent as David's explanation of a knight's favor was, Henry's face scrunched up in distaste at the long silver chain his mother pulled from her pocket. A few quick looping motions and a flare of purple magic later, and the diamond was securely fastened by the chain links. She handed the talisman to Astrid, who placed it around Henry's neck.

"You'll need to tuck it under your shirt, dear," Regina said. "I know it probably feels a little awkward, but this type of charm works best when it is in direct contact with the skin. And, here in Storybrooke, it may not work at all if it isn't."

"Okay," Henry said, reluctantly trusting the grown-ups, even if they were making him wear a necklace. At least maybe the kids at school wouldn't notice, since it would be under his clothes. "What is this for, anyway?"

Henry became immediately suspicious looking at the reactions of the adults to his question. He didn't have Emma's superpower to know when people were lying, exactly, but he could always tell when people were trying to hide their feelings from him. It's why he hadn't trusted his mom since he was old enough to notice the inconsistencies the curse created in Storybrooke. Before, her love for him had always been clear and unencumbered, but once she started hiding the truth about the curse from him, her underlying fear and anger continuously set off his Feelings Lie Detector.

And right now, his sirens were going off. His grandfather was looking at his mother like he eagerly awaited her explanation—and didn't expect to like it. Astrid wasn't looking at anyone's face, instead staring at a spot on the floor, clearly uncomfortable. And his mom. His mom looked like she did before the curse. Like she was going to use her cleverness to avoid a technical lie while withholding the essential truth that she refused to share with anyone else.

When she started to open her mouth to speak, Henry cut her off, "Don't lie, Mom. Just, don't. Does this do something bad? Is this to control me or something?"

"No, no, Henry, it's not," Regina's denial was immediate and honest as she bent down to his eye level. "This magic isn't to control; it's to protect. It's to help."

The knot in Henry's stomach loosened. His mother was being honest with him. But why was Astrid still staring at the floor?

"You're a little younger than the traditional age for performing magic," Regina explained to her son. "This charm will allow me to help you if your magic starts to get out of control." She attempted to placate him with a smile.

"Is it dangerous?" Henry asked. If this charm was simply some kind of protection, Astrid wouldn't be that nervous, right?

"It's experimental," Regina replied. "There's no written record of anyone using this exact charm in this situation before, so there are risks. But, I assure you, Henry, this spell makes you safer. As safe as I can make you."

"I know you will always protect me," Henry said, surprised at his own words. He did know. He knew it so clearly now. His mother would never let anything happen to him. "But what about you?"

"I'll be fine," his mom said with her smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Evil Queen, remember? I can take it."

She wasn't lying exactly, but the knot in Henry's stomach wouldn't go away.

xxxxx

A/N: Sorry, team. I couldn't quite get Henry to perform his own magic in this chapter, but I didn't want to keep you waiting any longer. I'll do my best not to make you wait two weeks for an update again, but my supervisors don't seem to understand the importance of fanfiction, so I can't make any promises.

As always, reviews are much appreciated. Thank you for your continued support of this story; it makes it so fun to write.