Chapter 29

Regina and Emma just smiled at the boy. He smiled back at them. He watched them as Regina leaned into Emma as they relaxed on the chaise. He knew that they had been nervous in telling him the truth of Snow's gift. His mind was racing and he wasn't sure that he would accept the title. He was technically the only son of Emma, the first born of Snow, but that didn't mean that he wanted to rule the kingdom.

"Do you think that Grams will ask before tomorrow night?" Henry asked.

"About your titles?" Regina asked.

"Yeah," he replied.

"I already told you, Henry. It is up to you. If you don't want it, don't take them."

"Gramps told me something, though," he added.

"Yeah, and what is that, Kid?" Emma asked him.

"Gramps is going to give you something tomorrow. Grams is actually on board with it, too. I was kinda impressed with what he got you," Henry told her.

"What are you talking about? It's your birthday. Why would they be giving me anything?"

"I dunno," Henry answered, as he stood up and walked across the room.

He stopped in front of table. He saw the books that Regina and Emma had been reviewing in trying to help Rhiannon. He ignored them and grabbed an apple out of the bowl beside them. He turned back around and took a bite. He walked back to the couch he'd been sitting on and sat back down. He just smiled at them as he continued to eat the apple in his hand.

"So, you gonna tell me what it is?" Emma asked him.

"Don't know that I should."

"Henry, if you have information that Emma needs, you should tell her," Regina told him.

"I don't know that it is information that she needs to know yet," Henry explained.

Regina stared at him. Her mouth twitched into a smile that he hadn't seen in a while. He watched his mother and mom waiting to see how far they were going to push him into telling them what Charming was planning. Regina decided that she wouldn't. She knew that if Charming had wanted them to know, he would have told them already. She figured that it was a family thing and not something that would be addressed at the ball tomorrow.

"Henry?"

"Yeah, Mom?"

"Are you going to tell us?" Regina asked him.

"You gonna tell me what's going on with Rhiannon?"

"What would you like to know?" Regina asked, leaning back into the chaise, getting comfortable.

She recognized Henry's stubborn side. It was the same with Emma. He wasn't going to stop asking until he got the answers that he wanted or he couldn't find another way to word it. He would continue to pick at the scab until he made it bleed or found out that there was new skin beneath it waiting to be discovered.

"Why is she here with us?"

"She is an old friend of mine and I didn't think it would be wise to leave her in Storybrooke, alone. She has magic and there is no telling what could have happened if she'd stayed behind. I also knew that there are books here that could possibly help her."

"Are you ever going to tell me what happened the other night with Grams, Ma, and her?"

"Probably not," Regina answered.

"Even if I bug you?"

"Even then, Henry."

"Fair enough, I guess. At least you aren't lying to me about it. So, besides looking for Rhiannon's daughter, what else does she need? What is her connection to you?"

Regina sat up a little bit and debated what she was going to tell him. She hadn't told Emma everything yet, but she could tell them both at the same time. She knew better than to lie to either of them because of their "superpower." She smiled at him, licked her lips and then spoke.

"She is looking for her daughter, yes. Her story is a long one and is actually the stuff of legends in our world. What the stories don't tell you is that her father tried to make an alliance with my mother. There were some things that my mother wanted from her father, things that they couldn't come to an agreement over. I was too young in my mother's eyes to learn about their dealings, but Rhiannon didn't it see it that way. She made a deal with me."

"What kind of deal?"

"She would teach me some of her magic in exchange for me helping her once she was queen."

"How would she know that you would help?"

"She had the gift of sight."

"Had?" Emma asked.

"She lost it in a battle to save her daughter. The people that took her daughter wanted Rhiannon dead. They did everything they could to kill, but they failed. She lost her foresight but survived. She tried to track her daughter's movements, but some of her friends saved her daughter and cloaked her until they could safely return her to Rhiannon."

"So Rhiannon cannot find her alone?"

"Exactly, she needs my help with magic to help her find Sorcha."

"What magic did she teach you?"

"Some lighter magic and some healing, but I was older and didn't take to it as well."

"Meaning you had already turned evil?" Henry asked.

"Yes," Regina replied simply.

"But, she tried anyway?"

"Yes, Henry, she did. She tried to save my soul before I descended into the blackness completely. She came to me after your Great-grandfather's death trying to make me see that I was going down the same path as my mother. She tried to use the memories of what she had foreseen to warn me against it. She promised me more magic if I would just let my hatred go."

"And, you couldn't?" Henry questioned.

"No, I couldn't."

"But, you still feel the need to help her?"

"I am a woman of my word."

"That you are," Emma muttered.

"Then, I will help you."

"There is nothing for you to do, Henry. When we get back, you will go back to Boston and to school. I don't know what all I can do for her anyway. I hope that I can talk to you father and find the globe that will help me find her daughter. The globe is ruled by blood magic and no cloak will stop it from letting us see where she is," Regina stated.

"So, then what?"

"I'll go with her to find her."

"And, I'll be at school," Henry stated.

"Yes, you will."

"But, you'll need me."

"Henry, this matter isn't up for discussion. You will go to school. I am sure that Emma will be coming with me. You need to finish getting your education," Regina stated.

"You're right, I will be going with you," Emma stated, flatly.

"But, why?" Henry asked.

"Why what, Henry?" Emma asked.

"Why do I need to finish my education?"

"Not this argument, again," Emma muttered.

"Because education is important," Regina stated.

"For who? For what? I am a prince. I grew up in a town that still hasn't changed even though it is finally aging. I doubt that I'll marry someone who isn't from Storybrooke or the Enchanted Forest. How could I? Do you think that anyone will be able to understand my upbringing or my heritage? Do you think that we would be able to convince anyone else to make a portal jump?"

Emma looked at Regina. She knew that he had a point. College was something that he wanted to do a year ago, but now every time he came home, it was different. He had obviously spent some time thinking about his argument. He had valid points.

"I don't think that right now is the right time to have this discussion," Emma stated.

"Well, then, when?"

"How about when we get back to Storybrooke?"

"Mom?"

"I'll think about your reasoning. You have brought up some valid points that I haven't considered, Henry, but Emma is right. Now is not the time. There are other things that we need to be worried about. I will tell you this much," Regina told him.

"Yeah, what?"

"I love you. I respect your decisions. I know that you don't exactly have an easy life or a way to explain our world to your friends. I am sorry for that. It is my fault. To be honest, I never thought about you having a life beyond the confines of Storybrooke."

"I know."

"But, I am willing to try to do whatever is needed to make you happy."

"I know that, Mom. I have never questioned that, well, maybe I have, but not lately. I know that you only want was it best for me. I just want you to know that I can help. I am not a little kid."

"I know that, Henry. I just want you to be safe. I don't know what we will have to do in order to find Rhiannon's daughter. But, I will promise you this much, Henry. I will talk to you before we do anything. I will let you know what we are going to do, where we are going to go, and anything else that might be important," Regina told him.

"Deal," Henry replied.

Regina smiled at him. Emma smiled at them both. Henry was grinning from ear to ear. He knew that if Regina was promising to tell him what they were going to do, he had a better a chance of tagging along. He could find a way to talk them both into letting him go, too.

Regina realized that Henry had managed to get what he wanted. She knew that he would push to go with them when they knew where they were going. She knew that she would probably let him go depending on where they were going. As it was now, she was willing to let him stay in Storybrooke if he didn't want to go back to school. She wouldn't push him to go even if it was something that she wanted him to do. She would allow him more now that he was of age than he knew. He would always be her son, even if he wasn't her blood.

They were brought out of their thoughts about Rhiannon and the future by a knock at the door. Emma knew that it had to be Snow coming to talk to Henry. She nodded at Regina, gave her a slight kiss, and then got off the chaise. Henry watched his mothers realizing that this was not a social call but an official one in the way they composed themselves. He straightened himself up on the couch and waited.

"Snow," Emma greeted her at the door.

"Emma, my daughter," Snow replied.

"You here to talk to Henry?"

"If I may," Snow answered.

"Of course, you can. You are and always will be his grandmother. I would never keep him from you. I might not agree with what you do, but you are family. We are family. And, family sticks together, no matter what," Emma told her.

"Even though you know what I want from him?"

"Even then," Emma stated.

"And, Regina?"

"She agrees with you and me. But, she knows that the decision in the matter is ultimately up to Henry. We aren't going to pressure him to accept and we told him that."

"You warned him," Snow stated a little dejected.

"Would you?"

"I…if I was you, yes, I would have. I would have told him everything. You truly are your father's daughter. I love you, Emma, probably more than you know, but I would never do anything to Henry without your consent."

"I know that, Mom. I love you, too. Henry is waiting for you. Come on," Emma stated.

Emma followed her mother, Snow, as they went back into the sitting area of their rooms. Emma still couldn't understand how her mother could wear the heavy gowns and move so effortlessly. She was the epitome of royalty. Emma couldn't help but wonder what she would have been like had she grown up in the Enchanted Forest with her parents. The thoughts disappeared as soon as she saw Henry. She knew that no matter how much she loved her mother and how much she wanted to please her parents, she wouldn't give up Henry for anything. He was the only thing, that if she was pushed hard enough, that she would do anything and walk away from anything for.

Regina saw the look in Emma's eyes and she was worried. She knew that look. She had that look in her eyes when Emma came to Storybrooke the first time. She was worried about what Snow said to her as they came back together.

"Henry, your grandmother would like a word with you," Emma told him.

"You all can stay. There is nothing that I have to tell him that you can't hear. I don't want to hide anything from family. We are all family. And, this is a family matter," Snow stated.

"Then, I should go," Regina said, standing up to go.

"No," Snow started, "You have always been family, Regina. Stay. This concerns you, too."

Regina just stared at Snow, but she sat back down. She pointed to another chaise and Snow sat down next to them. Emma smiled at them both before rejoining Regina on the chaise. Henry watched them. He was still mesmerized by the change in their relationship.

"Hi, Grams," Henry told her after she was settled.

"Hello, Henry," she replied.

"I know why you are here, Grams," he told her.

"Your mother told me as much, Henry, but I would still like to talk to you about it. I would like to hear your decision about the matter. Do you have any questions for me?"

"I guess I just don't understand why you aren't going to give Ma the first go. I mean I know that she is older than you, but she is your first born child. I understand the bloodline thing, but you are going to skip Ma straight to me. I think that it is a little unfair to Ma," Henry stated.

"I have spent a long time thinking about that, Henry. And, you are right; it is unfair to your mother. There is so much that I wanted for both of you that I could never give you. You are already a prince of the realm, Henry. I want to make you a Crown Prince."

"But, isn't Ma already your Crown Princess?"

"She is," Snow answered.

"But, I am the only living male heir. Doesn't that mean that I usurp her? My claim would be recognized before hers?" Henry asked.

"In a manner of speaking, yes, it would be."

Henry didn't look pleased with her answer. Emma smiled at him because she knew that he was her son. He liked things fair and honest, even when he knew that they couldn't be. He would always believe that there was a way that was better. He was "the Truest Believer." He understood there were gray areas, but his morality still tending to lean heavily to the lighter side of things. He didn't have Emma's experience and she was glad for it.

"Then, I cannot accept," he said flatly.

Snow cocked her head. Emma looked a little shocked. Regina just smiled, recognizing the stubbornness in her son. His eyes twinkled and then both Regina and Emma knew that he had a counter offer for Snow.

"But, Henry, you are the only logical choice. You mother has no other children. And, your aunts are twins. It wouldn't be wise to name them. It could split the kingdom."

"Then split the kingdom," he replied.

"I can't do that," Snow answered.

"Sure, you could. You have both my mother's and your kingdoms, rebuilt and ruled as one. It would be easy for you to split the kingdoms. Give Ava and Ruth each half. One of them will serve as Queen of the Winterlands and the other as Queen of the Summerlands. It is an ideal outcome considering. Don't get me wrong, Grams. Every kid dreams about growing up to be a prince or princess, well, in my world at least. I may have Enchanted Forest royalty in my blood, but I hardly know anything about this land, this world or its people."

"Spoken like a true prince," Snow stated.

"That he is," Regina added.

"How about this, Henry?" Snow asked.

"I'm listening," he replied.

"What if I name you both?"

"Name us both?" Emma asked, jumping in the conversation.

"I will name Emma as the Crown Princess and I will name you the Crown Prince."

"But, she would get first dibs on the throne then?" Henry asked.

"If that means that she will be named Queen before you are king, then yes," Snow replied.

"Wait a minute, here," Emma tried to interject.

"Then you have a deal, Grams."

"Good, I'm glad that is settled then," Snow stated.

Emma looked around at all of them and wondered how in the hell she was just made the leading heir for a throne and kingdom that she had no want of or knowledge about. Regina reached over and took her hand. She leaned her head on Emma's shoulder.

"You will do fine, Dear. I promise. I will help you as I can," Regina whispered into her ear.

"Grams, one more thing."

"Yes, Henry, what else, my boy?" Snow asked.

"I would like you to announce Mom and Ma's wedding tomorrow at the ball."

Emma's mouth dropped and Regina about spit the cider she had been drinking. Snow saw the mischief in his eyes. She smiled at the boy, knowing that he was the one that brought them together. He was the reason they had a family still.

"I believe that can be arranged," Snow told him.

"Did Gramps talk to you about my present?"

"He did."

"Alright, you two, stop it. What did you and grandparents conspire against me? What is going on? Tell me," Emma demanded.

"You father decided that it was time that he gave you something of his own."

"Meaning?"

"He wants to knight you both," Snow stated.

Emma turned to stare at her mother, surprised. Snow actually giggled a little. Regina sat up a little straighter. Henry beamed at his mothers and grandmother.

"Don't look so surprised, Emma. Your father has been waiting to do knight you and make you his heir apparent for years. You have my fighting spirit. He knows that you still keep the Sherriff's position. If you lived here, then you would have your own company of men in the army he is sure of it. I cannot blame him. You in a way are a knight in Storybrooke."

"She is the only Knight of Storybrooke," Regina stated.

Emma smiled. She was happy that Regina thought so highly of her, but she wasn't sure that she should take the responsibility of being a knight of realm. Regina leaned into her.

"I have already seen dress, Emma. It is beautiful and fitting. Your father has already taken a tunic for you to be fitted to the dress. I am sure that you will find it pleasing," Snow told her.

Emma just stared at her mother. Regina just laughed. Snow just gave her a large smile and then joined in the laughter of Regina and Henry.

"He's going to make me a knight?"

"I believe I already said that," Snow said.

"So, we are going to announce the wedding, knight us both and name us heirs all at his birthday ball? What will that prove? Is it not his day? Why ruin it with all this?" Emma asked.

"Ruin my birthday by announcing your engagement?" Henry asked.

"It isn't news for a birthday," Emma replied.

"No, it is news for a royal decree," Regina stated.

"Then, I'll decree it and many other things tomorrow. Come let us go to dinner and celebrate the good news. Tomorrow we shall share it with the kingdom," Snow said, standing without an answer from the lot of them as she made for the chamber's door.