Chapter Eleven: Mind Games

Regina left Granny's Diner feeling angry and betrayed. It seemed as if the lunch that Henry called her for was some type of ruse – one that she had difficulty trying to figure out. The one possibility that ran through her mind was that someone coaxed him into it, using him to get something they wanted. It didn't surprise her one bit that someone would go to such extremes, but the thought of Henry going along with it without much temptation broke her heart. She walked out of the diner with her head held high, trying her best not to look weak or vulnerable to any passersby. A few stares were directed her way, and she did not have to even look to notice them. Being out in the open for a fake promise, her vulnerability began to emerge; she was beyond humiliated.

Moving down the sidewalk, she came across the TARDIS. The sight of it briefly took her mind off of Henry and his ruse. Knowing what it really was on the inside, Regina was fascinated by it. A police box on the outside and a vast spaceship on the inside – it was magic or science (or both) that she wished could've been in her grasp when she was once the "Evil Queen," as they called her. She was once promised to have it by Rumplestiltskin when he had claimed to come across it several times – some of those times being before he became "The Dark One." She even confronted it and the Doctor once when he refused to hand it over to her, leading her on a hunt to get it.

As Regina marveled over the police box exterior of the TARDIS, the door suddenly opened in front of her. By the time the Doctor stepped out and made eye contact with her, she knew it was too late to turn around and leave. Instead, she smiled and wryly said, "Doctor."

The Doctor returned her wryness in response. "Your Majesty. What can I do for you today?"

"Nothing of the sort. I was merely admiring your ship." She gently patted the "wooden" hull. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I must be going."

She walked away from the Doctor and the TARDIS, ending their conversation on an abrupt note. What the Doctor said next stopped her dead in her tracks: "Henry betrayed your trust."

Regina turned and glared at him as if she anticipated his swift observation. "Don't believe for a second that just because the transference works both ways you can start playing mind games with me, Doctor."

"This isn't a game, Regina. A friend of mine once inherited the Time Lord mind by accident, and it nearly killed her before I took it all away…along with all her memories of me."

"My magic protects me from that chance."

"And how much of your magic do you still have left in this world?"

The Doctor's question stumped Regina; she didn't have a witty retort to counteract it, because she knew it was the exact thing that she was thinking as well. It was then she and the Doctor heard David/James call out to her, running up to the both of them and interrupting their conversation.

"Regina, is Henry with you?"

She didn't welcome James's sudden presence with any positivity. "I would suspect he'd be with you, since you both conspired against me."

Her sardonic remark only agitated James more. "This is serious! The school just called and told me that Henry didn't make it to school today."

"When was the last time you saw him?" The Doctor inquired.

"Just this morning. He wanted to help me find Jefferson."

Regina frowned. "There's that name again – Jefferson. Who is he?"

The Doctor suspiciously looked her way; clearly, he knew about the act she was playing, detecting the lie as it was told.

"That's beside the point. We need to find out where he is. Do you have any ideas, Regina?"

Regina hesitated in providing any assistance for the man who took her son away, yet she knew that Henry's safety mattered more than any vendetta she had with him. "There's only one of two places he could be. And since we can rule home out, that only leaves my office in the town hall. If he's looking for this Jefferson, then he'd be looking for my records or…" She stopped for a brief moment as she appeared to be alarmed, "my keys to the town."

James accepted this information with a nod. "Where do you think he'll take one of these keys?"

Regina shut her eyes tight, finding it frustrating to reveal her secrets to James. The Doctor did it for her: "There's a vault in the graveyard right beneath her father's tomb. That's where Henry will be." Regina glared his way as he provided this information to James.

"Thanks, Doctor." Informed of the whereabouts of his grandson, James left their side, disappearing around the corner.

"You had no right in telling him that." Regina scolded.

"I had every right."

"If this is your way of trying to get me to relinquish your memories, then you'll have to try much harder, Doctor." She quickly walked away from him before any more could've been said. Watching her leave, the Doctor shook his head in defeat and returned inside the TARDIS.