"Henry, we need to talk." It was evening, and Henry had just downed an entire bowl of macaroni and cheese. He smiled brightly, but the truth was that he had been waiting for something like this.
"Is this about earlier?" The little boy met his grandfather's bright blue eyes, but he saw no anger or disappointment in them in spite of his disobedience.
When he'd lived with Regina, Henry had gotten used to sneaking out and lying and doing whatever it took to make Operation Cobra work. He'd felt guilty sometimes, but it was easy to convince himself that the wicked queen didn't deserve his respect, even if she was his adoptive mother.
Things were different now, but old habits died hard. That morning, it had been so easy to run away when he didn't like what his grandfather had told him to do. But Prince Charming was no Regina. The queen had often been too busy to worry about her naughty son's whereabouts. His grandfather, he'd begun to realize, wasn't going to let go so easily.
"Listen, Henry, even in the Enchanted Forest, we had leaders and followers, knights and generals to lead them. The point is, when you're trying to accomplish something, somebody has to be in charge, and her soldiers have to obey her. Your grandmother led the dwarfs, remember? The thing is, I'm a lot older than you, and I have a lot more experience. I'm also trying to protect you."
"I get it," said Henry, staring at the remnants of his pasta.
"If we're going to do this together, you're going to have to trust me enough to do what I tell you every time. Deal?"
"Deal," said Henry. When he thought about sword fighting that afternoon or the relief of being rescued from Regina's snake, it seemed like a very small price to pay. Plus, there was something about having a grandfather around to tell him what to do that he liked—a whole lot.
