Chapter XXXI

"Sins of the Mother"

This, all the yelling, fighting and crying, was not Happily Ever After. It couldn't be. No one was happy. His mom, Emma, had stormed out and he wasn't sure if she'd be back. His grandma had started crying when Emma left and hadn't stopped since. Even Grandpa hadn't been able to calm her down. Her face was bright red with her eye makeup smeared all over her eyes and cheeks. She was hiccuping and hoarse and her short dark hair was sticking up in weird clumps and spikes. Snow kind of looked like a cartoon character, and not a very pretty one. David had looked tired, sad and frustrated.

Henry didn't understand. The Savior broke the curse. The Happy Endings had to come back. He was with his real family and everyone had their real memories again. Why wasn't everything working out?

Why didn't Emma want to be a princess? Didn't every girl want to be a princess? He wanted to be a prince. Sword fighting, adventures, rescuing people, fighting evil: who didn't want that? He sat on the stairs and tried to figure it all out. Everything was so complicated. Way more complicated than it should be.

Everyone was so mad. Mad about his Mom. Mad about Cora. Mad about Esmeralda. Mad about the newspaper. Mad about the ball. Some people, like Ava, were mad about their names. Some people, like Ashley, were mad about their jobs.

Nothing was the way it used to be. Nothing was the way he thought it would be. Everything in his life was different. Everything was changing.

Even school was different. They didn't get to hear Ms Blanchard read a chapter of The Indian in the Cupboard everyday anymore. It had magic in it and they weren't allowed to talk about magic at school. Countless books had disappeared from the school library. Harry Potter, The Narnia books, The Lord of the Rings, Percy Jackson were all gone. Even baby books, like the Magic Treehouse, were off the shelves. Mrs Potts, who was not very happy about the new book ban, had told hmm to keep Alice in Wonderland.

Their new lessons about the Enchanted Forest had become more important than old ones. They didn't even have Science,Social Studies and Health anymore. Even gym class had changed. They were practicing stupid complicated dances and fancy bows and curtsies. He never thought he'd miss dodgeball. Everyone, even the Gym teachers, hated it.

Henry missed the way things used to be. He missed normal school. He missed his room. He missed watching Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy every night. He missed helping his Mom, Regina, make dinner. He missed licking the spoons and egg beaters when she baked dessert.

He missed movie marathon weekends and pillow forts. He missed home. Yeah Regina was the Evil Queen, but she was also his Mom. She always stopped and explained things and always made sure he understood. She always made sure he was okay. She had lied, about the curse and his adoption, but she wasn't a bad mom. Not really.

She didn't even seem very Evil Queen like most of the time. Actually it was like she didn't even want to be a queen at all. Just like Emma didn't want to be a princess. It was hard to be a prince if neither of his moms wanted to be royal.

Esmeralda, who was nothing like the cartoon, was confusing too. She wasn't Regina's Mom. Cora was, but she acted like she was. Esmeralda looked at Regina the same way Snow looked at Emma. Like she always wanted to hug her. Adults were weird.

His Grandma,the actual Snow White, was happy and full of hope in his book. Now she wasn't. Ever since she'd gotten back from the Enchanted Forest, she'd been acting different.

His stomach twisted and his heart thudded. All the craziness was his fault. He'd brought Emma and ate the sleeping curse, he had been the one she'd kissed to break the curse. Nothing bad like this had ever happened during the dark curse.

He wasn't so sure now. He was confused and Emma was gone and Snow was still crying. He kind of wanted the to cry wanted to be normal again. He wanted his Mom. He wanted both of his moms. He wanted to be at home, like the night they'd all done his science project. They'd been like a real family for one great night. He wanted that again. He wanted to go home.

He scrubbed the tears off of his face and stood up. He was going home. He grabbed his backpack and let himself out of the apartment. He locked the door behind him. David and Snow wouldn't notice he was gone and he was pretty sure Emma wasn't coming back anytime soon.

It was dark outside, but he knew that the street lights stretched almost all the way home. Storybrooke wasn't Boston, he wasn't afraid. Other than weird curse stuff, nothing ever happened in boring old Storybrooke.

He was halfway home, pretending an old crushed soda can was a soccer ball, when a car passed him. He wouldn't have noticed it, but it screeched to a stop only a few feet away. He clapped his hands over his ears-it had been on awful high pitched sound.

"Henry!"

Aw man, busted.

Ruby's head poked out of the police car's window.

"Hey" he waved at her and hoped she'd keep driving.

Instead of waving back, she got out of the car. She was a deputy now, like David, and was wearing the same clothes that he and Emma had.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

The clothes weren't the only thing different about her. He'd known Ruby his whole life, had seen her almost every single day. He'd never seen her like this. She was so serious. Her long dark hair was up and back in a weird bun. He couldn't even see her red streaks. He couldn't see any red on her at all. She wasn't even wearing lipstick. She looked official, and serious and she was acting like it too.

Another change.

"Henry?"

She came closer and looked worried. She wasn't smiling or joking. She didn't look like Ruby at all. It was like she was a stranger.

There was a big lump in his throat. He knew if he tried to talk too much he would scream or cry or both. Every thing as too much-two different.

"I want to go home."

He squeezed the words out around the lump. It sounded small and wobbly. He wanted to smart off or joke with Ruby like he always did. He couldn't. Ruby looked so serious and he felt so bad. He knew that Ruby was going to take him back to the Loft. He slumped. He refused to go back.

Ruby looked around, from him to the road and back again, "You're going to see your Mom?"

He nodded.

She finally smiled, "C'mon, I'll drive you the rest of the way." She cocked her head to the side. "I'll even let you flash the lights."

The knot in his stomach loosened and the lump in his throat shrunk a little. She looked different but she sounded like normal Ruby. Normal Ruby who sneaked him cookies and gave him extra whipped cream.

The drive wasn't long, and he didn't flash the lights. They pulled into the driveway and Ruby had to let him out of the car from the outside.

She walked with him to the door. "Uh" She shifted from foot to foot like she had to pee but was holding it. "I know stuff has been weird lately" She puffed out a little breath. "But Regina is still your Mom and it isn't wrong to love her or want to be at home with her. She'll never be Storybrooke's most popular person but she's changed. Trust me, she's not the person I fought against all those years ago. She loves you a lot, you know."

She shrugged, "Families stuff is rough. I get it. I know it is not cool to talk to grown-ups, but if you do want to talk, I'm always here for you."

Yup, same Ruby. She always made him feel better. He threw his arms around her in a big hug. "Thanks Ruby!" He laughed a little, "I mean Deputy Lucas."

She hugged him back. She even picked him up off his feet for a minute. "C'mon you juvenile delinquent, I'm handing you over to the mayor." They walked up to the door and Ruby knocked. She winked at him. "Next time I'm going to cuff you."

The door finally opened but it wasn't his Mom. Esmeralda was taller than Ruby and was still dressed like she was in The Enchanted Forest. She raised an eyebrow, like his Mom. "Deputy Lucas, what has Little Henry done to require a police presence?"

Ruby tipped an invisible cap, "Ma'am, I caught this young man out walking by himself. He said he wanted to come home."

Esmeralda frowned, "Alone?"

Ruby nodded, "Figured it was a little dangerous for a kid to be out alone these days."

Esmeralda stepped aside and motioned for him to come inside.

"It is not safe for anyone." Esmeralda kept talking to Ruby. "Be careful Ruby, Daughter of Anita, Cora has a special hatred for Children of the Moon."

Ruby's face stayed still and tough. She was very brave, which was why she was Snow's best friend and his Ma's new deputy. "She's not the only one in town."

Esmeralda sighed, "But she is the most dangerous by far." She looked upset and worried, "Be careful. Your journey is perilous."

Everyone thought that Esmeralda was bad. Even he had been mean to her at the party. she didn't seem so bad now.

He looked around while the adults were talking and he frowned. "Why" he asked after Esmeralda closed the front door, "are there red flowers in here?" His Mom hated red flowers, especially roses. The Valentine's Day when he was eight; Sydney had been dumb enough to give her a dozen red roses she'd been furious. He'd seen her throw the whole vase in the outside trash barrels. "Mom hates red roses."

Esmeralda froze and looked at the vases. Her face twisted into a scowl. She looked mad. Her hands turned into fists and her arms were shaking.

"You are right. I will get rid of these while you go talk to your mother. She's locked herself in her study. I'm sure she will let you in, though."

That made even less sense. Esmeralda had to be wrong. His mom hated locked doors more than red roses. She didn't even lock the bathroom door when she took a shower. The only doors that were ever locked were the ones that lead outside. He went right to his Mom's study, he didn't even take off his backpack or shoes first. The door was closed and locked tight.

"What the!"

He pulled on the knob, it really was locked.

More changes.

He stopped to think for a second, then he knocked. Not a regular knock ,Shave and a Haircut. Just like in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. He and his Mom had watched that movie about a million times.

The door flew open almost immediately. "Henry?" His Mom immediately knelt down in front of him. She started to look him over and touch him carefully, liked he was afraid that he was hurt. "what are you-are you okay- what's happened?" She was talking super fast and she looked funny. She had blotchy skin and red eyes. Her hands were shaking.

"Mom are you okay?"

She wiped her eyes with a single shaky finger. "I'm" Her voice was stuffy and thick, like she had a cold. She cleared her throat and took a deep breath, like she was trying to calm down. He looked on her shoulder and into the study. It was a mess, like a tornado or the Incredible Hulk had torn through the room. "Don't lie to me." She was starting to scare him a little. "Please."

Was she hurt? Had someone attacked her? Was that why Esmeralda was so worried? Right after the curse broke there had been a mob at their door. Dr. Whale had tried to hurt his Mom. Had he-they-come back?

"Mom?" He put his hands on top of hers. "Did someone attack you? Or hurt you?" His Mom never cried, not even when she'd hurt her back when she'd fallen off a stepladder decorating the stairs for Christmas when he was six. Tears were sliding her cheeks again. "Mom?" She wasn't bleeding and didn't look hurt or sick but she was still crying.

"Oh Sweetheart." She sighed and squeezed his hand gently. "I'm not hurt, but I'm not exactly okay either."

He didn't understand.

"Come inside, Sweetheart, but be careful. I broke some glass earlier.

She stood back up and let him in. Broken glass-wasn't even the start. Wreck it Ralph would have done less damage.

"Was Cora here?" He looked around frantically. "Did she do this?"

His mom sighed and sat down on the one couch that was still standing. "No, Baby. I did."

His jaw dropped open. "You did all this?" Was this something an Evil Queen would do? "But why?"

She sighed again and patted the couch cushion beside her. "You're right, Henry. Cora." She shook a little, like she was cold or scared. "My Mother, she was here."

He sat down beside her and leaned close. Everyone was afraid of Cora, even his Mom. What had happened? What had she done? Why was everyone so afraid of her?

"She." His mom took a deep breath. "She isn't a very good mother. We don't get along."

Which was why he'd never heard of her before now. She'd told him about her father, but never-ever her mother. It was like she had never even existed before the curse had broken.

"Cora doesn't like that I-well."

Henry had never seen his Mom struggle with words before. She always knew what to say.

"She doesn't like how-" She stopped talking again and another tear caught on her eyelashes.

He wrapped his arm around his Mom's waist in a hug. He'd never seen his mom so flustered. Everyone was upset today. His Mom didn't have a Prince Charming to comfort her, she never had. She had him, though. They had always been there for eachother, the two of them against the entire world. Before he found out he was adopted, he had thought his mom was the biggest hero of them all. She was smarter than Tony Stark and stronger than Captain America. Then he'd found out about adoption and gotten his Book and his Mom had become the Evil Queen and he'd not seen it?

Or had she always been the Evil Queen? He frowned. Now he was confusing himself. He looked around the room, trying to figure out what to say. What to do. What had happened to everything?

"What happened to the fireplace?" It was all stretched and red and black instead of the old blue. "It's ugly now."

She didn't answer, she started to laugh instead. Adults were so weird.

"Oh My Little Prince, I love you. Only you could make me laugh like this." She put her arm around him too. "Cora decided to improve the fireplace and mantle. When I got home today, Mother was here waiting on me. We argued."

She started to run her fingers through his hair. Just like she always did when he was sick or upset. Her voice was quiet and calming, just like always. He shifted around and curled up beside her, leaning against her side. He always sat like this when she read to him or when they had very important talks.

"We don't have a very good relationship. I never wanted to treat you like she treated me. She's well, I didn't want here, near you.

Which was why she put a curse on the well.

"I won't let her touch you, not ever. I don't want her to see you, to even know about you." She kept playing with his hair. "But now she does and I'm- " she paused, "Emma and I will keep you safe." She kissed his head, "We will always keep you safe."

Only Emma was gone. Emma was gone and Cora was here and everything had changed. Everything had changed and nothing made sense.

His chest hurt and his eyes burned and he couldn't hold it all inside him anymore. He felt like he was going to explode. He fell on to his mom's lap crying.

"Oh Spirits. Oh Baby Boy."

His mom, warm and solid, was right there and taking care of him.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Henry. I swear it is okay. I can fix the study. I didn't mean to lose my temper. I won't again-"

"No!" He screamed like a baby because he had to make her understand. "It's not you or the study! It's everything!" He couldn't stop crying and he started talking and couldn't stop that either.

"Nothing makes sense and nobody is happy! Everyone is mad! School and Emma and Snow and I- I-" He was having trouble getting words out between his sobs "I wanna come home!"

A soft cloth, his mom's handkerchief, started to wipe his face. "Take some deep breaths, Darling." Her voice was quiet, calm and it helped. After a few minutes and some breaths he did start to calm down.

"Now" His mom was still running her fingers through his hair, "Can you tell me what is going on? You know you can tell me anything." She paused, "or ask me anything you want and I'll answer you. No lies, I promise."

He had so many questions. So much he didn't understand. So many things that no one would explain to him.

"What was the Enchanted Forest like?" It was something he couldn't actually figure out. "Grandma has been teaching us all this stuff and she says it was all great and perfect but." This was one of the confusing parts. "Some of the kids hate it. Even some of the teachers don't seem to like it. I hear them talking about it like it sucked."

His Mom was quiet for a moment. "So the term Enchanted Forest is more like the name of a continent than a single kingdom. It is like Europe or Africa. There were many kingdoms in the Enchanted Forest. Some were big and others were small."

"Ms Blanchard said they were sort of like states." He sat up a little, but still leaned against her. They snuggled together while she talked.

"Yes, it was a little bit like that, but-" She hummed a little, like she was thinking. "Do you remember when we read Farmer Boy?" It had been a book by the lady who wrote Little House on the Prairie, but about a boy named Alonzo. It hadn't been as cool as Harry Potter, but it had been okay. "And how everyone, even the children, worked all day and how there was no electricity?"

He wasn't exactly sure what a book about living on a farm had to do with his question.

"For most people in any kingdom in the Enchanted Forest, that was how things worked. They worked very hard and had very little. There was no electricity or running water. There weren't many schools and only rich children were able to go to them. There was a lot of sickness and wars.

Ogres were a never ending problem." She tilted his chin up a little, "And trust me, real ogres are nothing like Shrek and Fiona. Many of your classmates came from the poorest families. Very rich merchants and nobles were better off. Royals had it the best. They had the everything they wanted and had servants to do everything for them. Even to help them take baths and put on their clothes."

She chuckled, "Snow White was a princess in one of the richest kingdoms in The Enchanted Forest. She had the best tutors and doctors money could buy. She traveled between castles, palaces and manors and never had to lift a finger. Neither did Aurora or Kathryn Nolan or me, for that matter. We were at the very top. You should talk to David. He grew up as a peasant and would know better than me about their struggles."

Henry thought about everything she'd said, "So The Enchanted Forest was bad?"

She frowned, "Good and bad isn't a good way to put it. It was different from here. Harder and less civilized. Here people have more choices and technology has allowed us to be healthier and safer. The Council and the Sheriff are elected, not born into their positions."

Henry smiled, "And the mayor?"

She ruffled his hair again, "Now that the curse has broken, the mayor too."

He grinned, but then frowned again, "So if being royal was the best, why wouldn't someone want to be a princess or queen?"

She sighed, "You don't ask easy questions, My Little Prince."

They sat quietly for a bit. "I know that it all sounds like a very grand adventure, knights and battles and wearing crowns." There were tears in her eyes again, but they weren't falling yet. "But I will never ever go back there. Nor would I want anyone else to go back, not even my enemies. It would be like going back in time by a thousand years."

He'd never thought of it like that. Henry wasn't sure he wanted to give up lights and tv and stuff like that.

"Hey Mom, who's coat of arms is that? We've been learning banners in class and I don't know that one." It was over the new fireplace. If his Mom didn't want to go back to the Enchanted Forest, why did she have a coat of arms up in their house? It wasn't hers either, he'd seen that in his Book. It was green and had two golden horses rearing up on their back legs on it.

"That is my father's coat of arms. His family came from a kingdom to the south of the Enchanted Forest. People generally called it the Southern Kingdom. I am his daughter, his sole heir, and it is technically my coat of arms too. I-" She hesitated. "I didn't want to use it when I was the Evil Queen so I made my own. Cora put it up in here to remind me of my royal bloodline." She sounded annoyed at that.

"So why is it still up?" it looked like there had been two other tapestries but she'd torn them down.

"Because it is my heritage, my family. Daddy would have wanted me to have it up. He was a very good prince, he loved his people and kingdom. Having it up reminds me of him."

She smiled, "He would have loved you very much, Henry." She kissed his head again, "Now what is all this about Emma being gone?"

He explained it all: the ball, the newspaper, the fighting and how Emma had stomped out of the loft.

"And so I left. I left to come here."

His Mom's arms went tight around him. "Henry." Her voice was very serious again. "You have to promise me that you won't do that again. It is dangerous to wander around by yourself."

He opened his mouth to argue, but his Mom continued. "Mother, Cora, would not think twice about taking you and hurting you. Neither would King George or any number of people. To use you to hurt me or Emma or Snow. Another downside of being royal is that kidnappings happen. Murder attempts are a very real threat."

What! That was something that happened in movies, not in real life.

She took a deep breath, "I don't want to scare you, Henry, but these things really do happen. Kathryn, Princess Abigail, was kidnapped three times before she was fourteen. Even Snow was almost kidnapped once when she was sixteen. A small principality was desperate for gold and power and wanted to steal her away. The King found out and he and his men stopped it, of course." She shook her head, "Cora can change her appearance, Baby Boy. She can make herself look like me or Emma or Snow or David or anybody anytime. You wouldn't even know you were in trouble until it was too late."

Her face scrunched up with worry again. "You have to be very careful. You can't go places without telling someone. As much as I hate Snow and David, they would do anything to keep you safe. When they realize you're gone, they will turn the town upside down to find you. Your Mother and I would do the same."

Cora was scary enough that his Mom, The Evil Queen, feared her. She could also pretend to be anybody. That was definitely not in his book or Alice in Wonderland. How did you protect yourself against-

"Duh!" He bounced his palm on his forehead, "It's like in Order of the Phoenix."

His Mom didn't immediately answer him.

"My knock, remember. Shave and a Haircut. You opened the door because only you and I would use that knock. Cora couldn't know it because she's never seen the movie." He grinned, "She's never seen any movie, not even Star Wars. She doesn't even know what a movie is!"

His mom was staring at him and her frown stretched into a grin. "You're such a clever boy, Henry Daniel Mills."

He bounced on the couch cushion. "If I get afraid that who I'm talking to isn't who they are supposed to be I can ask them something. A question that Cora wouldn't know! So can you! We'll be able to figure her out!"

His mom nodded, "But that doesn't mean you can run around without an adult or without an adult's permission, young man."

Aw man. She was totally shifting into Mom Mode.

"I should ground you."

Seriously?!

"but considering the circumstances I am letting you off with a warning."

He let his head drop against her shoulder, "You're as bad as Ruby. She said if she caught me out again she'd handcuff me."

That made his mom smile, "It sounds like Deputy Lucas deserves a raise."

They sat together for a few more minutes but then his Mom got up. "I have to ask Esmeralda to make dinner. Would you mind helping her? She is still a little nervous about the kitchen."

He nodded, "Yeah but what will you be doing?" He looked around at the very messy study.

"I am going to go fetch your mother for dinner."