Chapter 51
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Hanna opened her eyes, wondering why she felt so hot. Then, she realized she was in a room. A room that was red. The room was filled with fire. Hanna looked all around, but there were no doors, no windows…no way out. Hanna gasped, instantly realizing where she was. The Netherworld. Of course, she had just been under a sleeping curse. She should have been expecting this. She forgot that this is what happens after being under that curse. Remembering though wouldn't have made a difference. Hanna was still scared. She knew these flames could burn you if you were here long enough. That's what they did to Henry. Hanna looked all around to find some way to get out, but there was none. She was trapped. Hanna started to scream as the flames came closer and closer…
"Hanna! Hanna, wake up sweetie," Snow said as she gently shook her daughter, trying to pull her from that world in which she was stuck. Snow and Charming were both waiting for this to happen. They hoped that burning room wouldn't haunt her, but they knew not too much time would pass before the remnants of the sleeping curse took over her dreams. "Hanna, come on baby, wake up!" Snow tried once more.
Hanna gasped and sat straight up in her bed. She looked all around her. She was safe. She was free from that awful room, and like always her parents were right there with her.
"You're okay, Hanna," David said as he brushed the hair from her face.
"Okay," Hanna said as she nodded her head and tried to catch her breath.
"Want to talk about what happened?" Snow asked.
Hanna just shook her head.
"Alright," Snow said with a sigh. She knew Hanna probably didn't want to talk because she was still mad. Snow wished she would though. "Why don't you lie down and go back to sleep then."
"No." Hanna did not want to visit that room again. She was not going back to sleep. "I'll just go…watch TV or something," Hanna said as she went to get out of her bed.
"Hanna…" David said as he put his arm up to stop her. "It's too late to be watching TV. Why don't you tell us what happened. Talking about it will help."
Hanna sat back on her bed and just looked down. "No, I…"
"Were you in that burning room, Hanna?" Snow asked her.
Of course her mom would know. Hanna looked up and slowly nodded her head. "It was awful. I was trapped and I couldn't get out. I just…I don't want to go back to sleep. Please don't make me," Hanna practically begged as a few tears fell from her eyes.
"Okay, okay," Snow said she wiped Hanna's tears away. Her daughter needed sleep though. She could see in her eyes that she was exhausted. "We know how scary that room is. If you want, you could come sleep with us for the rest of the night."
"If you start having those nightmares again, we'll wake you up straight away. We won't let you stay in there," David promised her.
Hanna thought about their offer for a minute. She was still pretty upset with them right now. She was so tired though, and didn't think she would be able to fall asleep alone. She was scared of going back in that room. Hanna decided that she was more scared than mad at the moment, so she would take them up on their offer. "Okay…if you really don't mind," Hanna said with a shrug of her shoulders.
"We don't mind at all, sweetie," Snow told her with a smile. She and Charming both knew how terrible that room was, and they didn't want Hanna to have to deal with this on her own.
Hanna gave her a small smile in return. She picked up her blanket and followed her mom and dad downstairs to their bed. She climbed in the middle as her parents laid down on either side of her. Right now, she didn't care what they did in the past or that they had been lying to her for the past couple of days. They were here for her now when she need them and that was all Hanna cared about. She was grateful that she had them.
Hanna woke up the next morning, forgetting for a second that she was in her parents' bed. She felt a little embarrassed that she slept with them last night, but was also glad she did. They had to wake her from the Netherworld two other times after she came down here. Hanna hated that burning room and couldn't wait for those nightmares to stop.
"Hey sleepyhead," David said as Hanna came into the kitchen.
"How are you feeling, sweetie?" Snow asked.
"I'm fine," Hanna said with a small smile. She opened the fridge to get herself some orange juice.
David and Snow exchanged looks. They couldn't tell if Hanna was still upset with them about everything. Sure, she allowed them to comfort her last night while she had those nightmares, but did that mean she was on her way to forgiving them? They weren't sure. They just decided to keep the conversation casual and test the waters.
"Can we make you something to eat?" David asked her.
Hanna just shook her head. "That's okay, I can just eat some cereal." She opened the cupboard and pulled out the box of Fruit Loops. She knew they were up several times in the night, not just with her, but with Neal too. She didn't want to bother them anymore by having them make breakfast for her too.
Snow and David sighed, thinking she was still upset with them. "Are you sure? We'll make you whatever you want!" Snow offered.
"Cereal is fine. Really," Hanna said as she poured herself a bowl. "Wait, what time is it?" Hanna asked.
David looked at his watch. "Almost nine."
Hanna was confused. She sat down at the table and looked up at her parents. "Isn't it a school day though?" She was pretty sure today was a school day, but with everything else going on, maybe she had mixed up her days.
"Yeah it is, but I took the day off, and I thought you could use one too. We know you didn't sleep well last night," Snow said, reaching her hand out to hold onto Hanna's.
"Thanks," Hanna said quietly, giving her mom's hand a squeeze. "Have you heard from Emma at all?"
"No, but she did send you a text," David said as he held out Hanna's phone to her. He and Snow wanted to read the message, but didn't want to invade Hanna's privacy.
"Oh," Hanna said as she took the phone from her dad and opened the message. Hey Han, still haven't found the author. Out looking now. I know I still owe you that talk. I'll check in later.
"Is she okay?" Snow asked.
"Yeah, she's out looking for the author again. She hasn't found him yet," Hanna said with a sigh. "We should go out and help her." Hanna quickly stood from her seat to go change.
"Wait a second, kiddo," David said as he stood up to stop her. "You need to stay here and rest."
Hanna shook her head. She was still tired, but she wasn't going to admit that. "No, I'm fine. This is more important. We need to help Emma."
"Regina and Hook are helping her. You need to get some more sleep," David told her.
Hanna just looked down. "I don't want to sleep anymore," she said quietly.
David sighed and put his hand on her shoulder. "How about I stay here with you and your mom can go out and help Emma?" David suggested.
Hanna just shook her head. "No, you two go ahead. I'll just stay here and rest." She at least wanted both of her parents out there with Emma. Hanna wanted Emma to stop being so mad at them and hoped that if they helped her find the author she would.
"Hanna, one of us can stay with you. It's okay," Snow told her.
"No, you both need to go. For Emma," Hanna looked up at her mom with pleading eyes.
Snow looked up at her husband, and they decided they would do what Hanna wanted. They would both go help Emma find the author. Like Hanna, they hoped this would help simmer down some of Emma's anger a bit. They got themselves ready and packed Neal up to take him to Ashley's. Hanna couldn't rest properly if she had to take care of Neal.
"Are you sure, you'll be alright here by yourself for a little while?" David asked once more before they left.
"Yeah I'll be fine" Hanna assured him. She was tired, but there was no way she'd let herself fall asleep, so there was no need to worry about that stupid burning room.
"Okay, call if you need anything," Snow told her with a smile.
"We'll be back soon," David said, stepping forward to give her a hug, but stopping himself because of how she reacted the night before.
Hanna noticed and instantly felt guilty. She knew what they did in the past was wrong, but that didn't take away everything they've done for her since then. Even last night, when they knew she was mad at them, they were still there for her. They woke her every time she was pulled into the Netherworld and stayed awake until she was able to go back to sleep again.
"Dad, wait," Hanna said just before he started to walk out the door. She wrapped her arms around him. "Be careful."
"I will. We love you, Hanna," David said.
"I love you guys too." Hanna looked up and gave her mom a hug as well. She wanted them both to know that she wasn't mad anymore. She could tell by the smiles on their faces that they were happy to have been forgiven…now they just had to find a way to get Emma to come around.
Hanna put in a movie and made herself comfortable on the couch…not too comfortable that she'd fall asleep though. She tried to enjoy the movie as she waited for them to come back, but that was proving to be difficult. She couldn't stop thinking about everything. The author, Emma, the fact that Gold wanted to turn Emma's heart dark, and the vision their mom had of Emma crushing her heart…there was just so much going on and Hanna didn't know how to deal with all of this. Hanna just hoped Emma would at least start to ease up on their parents.
One perk to staying home alone was Hanna got to eat as much sugary crap as she wanted and her mom wasn't here to stop her. She was just starting on her third bowl of cereal when she heard Emma storm into the loft. Hanna could tell her sister was still mad.
"You have to remember something else about the author. Some way to find him. Now think!" Emma demanded.
David sighed. "We told you everything we know."
"Are we sure about that? Because secrets just keep coming out," Emma said.
"Okay," Snow said, throwing her hands up in the air. "Clearly you're still upset."
"Yes, I am still upset. You were the ones who taught me there is always a right way. A heroic way. And what you did to Maleficent's child…"
"It was our only option to make sure you grew up…good," David told her.
"I'm sorry, but if that were me, no matter what, I would not harm a defenseless person."
"And that. Right there. That goodness is exactly why we did what we did. It was worth it," Snow said just as the front door opened again.
Hanna just took another bite of her cereal and looked up to see who was coming in now. This time Regina walked through the door.
"Where have you been?" Emma asked.
Regina sighed. "In the middle of a very bad day. I'll tell you the whole story later, after I rescue Robin Hood."
"Robin Hood?" Hanna asked curiously.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Emma asked.
"I called that number you gave me, but Marian answered the phone, and I discovered…she's not really Marian at all."
"So, who is she?" David asked.
"Zelena."
Hanna about dropped her bowl of cereal when she heard Regina say that. She thought that witch was dead.
"She's has been masquerading as Marian the entire time and working with Gold. Robin is in danger, so I'm going to go to New York to find him and stop her," Regina told them.
Regina left the loft. She said she had a few things she needed to do before her trip to New York. Emma went back out to see if she could track down the author again, telling her parents to just stay here. She didn't want their help.
Hanna kept checking her phone for the time. Henry should have been home from school ten minutes ago, but he wasn't here yet. Hanna texted him earlier to ask if he was coming to the loft after school. He told her he was. Hanna even looked back through her text messages again to make sure. If he stopped at Granny's for hot chocolate without her, she was going to be so mad.
The door finally opened. Hanna jumped from the couch and ran over only to find Emma, Regina and Killian walk through. Hanna was about to complain that it wasn't Henry, but then she noticed the looks on their faces.
"What?" Hanna asked in a panic. "What happened?"
"It's Henry. Cruella took him," Emma told her.
"She took Henry?" Snow asked.
David came up beside his wife. "Why would she do that?"
Emma just held out her phone and showed them the video that was sent from Henry's phone. Henry was in the video telling Regina and Emma that of they didn't kill the author, then Cruella would kill him.
"I recognize that trail marker," David said as he held the phone and zoomed in on the video. "It's a couple miles south of the Troll Bridge."
They now knew where Henry was, so Regina, Emma and Killian were going to search the area and find Henry before Cruella could harm him. David and Snow were going to go find the author. If he's enemies with Cruella, he may know the only way to defeat her.
Emma got up to leave, but noticed how upset Hanna looked. She sighed and walked over to her sister, kneeling down in front of where she was sitting.
"We're going to find him. Don't worry, okay?" Emma told her.
Hanna looked up at her sister. "This is my fault. If had just gone to school today, I would have been with him and I could have stopped her. I could have poofed us away from her and…"
"Han, don't. This is not your fault. It's Cruella's and I'm going to get her."
Hanna nodded her head. She could see the anger behind Emma's eyes. That made Hanna nervous. "Just be careful, Emma. Keep yourself safe too, okay?"
"I will," Emma said as she stood to leave. "I'll have Henry back here in no time."
"Okay," Hanna said as she watched her sister leave with Killian and Regina. Her mom and dad were just about to walk out the door as well. "Can I come with you?" Hanna asked with pleading eyes.
Snow shook her head. "Hanna…"
"Please! I need to help. I can't just sit here," Hanna begged.
"Hanna it's not safe. Can you please just sit tight for us kiddo?" David said.
"Fine," Hanna said with a sigh. "Call me as soon as you get Henry."
"We will," David promised. He gave her a kiss on the top of her head before leaving.
Hanna waited approximately five minutes before heading out the door herself. She was not about to just stay here and wait. She was going to find Henry.
Hanna walked down the street for a few minutes before realizing she knew a way to get to the Troll Bridge a whole lot faster. Sometimes she forgot she had magic. She knew she wasn't suppose to, but she was really good at poofing herself places. Regina even said so. This skill sure came in handy at times like these. Hanna closed her eyes and transported herself to the Troll Bridge. She opened her eyes, got her bearings, and headed south.
"Help me!"
Hanna's head shot up when she heard that voice. "Henry," she said to herself. She called his name louder and ran towards his cries for help. "Henry!"
Hanna ran and ran, but couldn't seem to find Henry. His voice seemed to be coming from all different directions. Hanna eventually came through the trees and saw her sister.
"It's going to be okay Henry," Emma said.
Hanna looked up and gasped. Cruella had Henry at gunpoint. They were at the edge of a cliff.
"I'll do it, Savior. Believe me, I will," Cruella warned.
"Cruella…" Emma said as she held out hands,which were glowing with magic.
Hanna wanted Emma to do it. She wanted Emma to blast Cruella back with her magic, that would save Henry. If Emma did that though, Cruella would surely fall off the edge of that cliff and not survive…this was Henry though. Emma had to save him. She just had too, but what if this is all part of his plan? Gold. He might be planning all of this. He wants to turn Emma's heart dark. He wants to turn her into a villain. Hanna just shook her head. That would never happen. Emma was the savior. She couldn't go dark.
"Put your hands down Savior," Cruella said. "We both know you're bluffing."
"That's my son," Emma said, her glowing hands shaking.
"And you're a hero and heroes don't…"
Before Cruella could even finish, Emma blasted her with magic, sending Cruella over the cliff. Hanna quickly turned and hid her face with her hands. She felt someone wrap their arms around her. She looked up and saw her dad. Hanna looked over and sighed with relief when she saw Henry was safe.
David looked down at Hanna and saw tears in her eyes. "What happened?" He look up at his other daughter, knowing exactly what she just did. "No, No."
"Emma?" Snow said as she rushed beside her husband.
Hanna watched as Emma looked over the cliff, realizing what she had just done. Hanna saw the look in Emma's eyes. Cruella was dead. If there was a way to have save her Emma would have poofed her right back up here and made sure she was locked up for life. Hanna knew Emma didn't want to kill her, but what choice did she have?
Hanna went to Granny's the next day. Emma had promised to meet her there for lunch. Hanna sat down in the booth across from her sister. "How are you?"
"Fine," Emma said.
Hanna could tell by the look in her eyes that she was not fine. She was still feeling guilty about what she had done.
"You know you didn't have a choice, right?" Hanna said.
"I know. I had to save Henry." Emma hadn't known at the time that the author made it impossible for Cruella to ever kill anyone. Henry was never in any real danger. That's what Snow and David learned when they found the author. They were rushing to tell Emma that, but they were too late.
"Mom and Dad were trying to get to you to tell you…"
"Yeah, well they didn't. It's done. Let's just drop it, okay?"
Hanna just nodded her head. "Are you still mad at them?"
"Yes, Hanna. Aren't you?"
"Not really," Hanna said with a shrug. "I mean it was a long time ago. They were manipulated by the author and…"
"I know all of that, Han. I'm just still mad, okay?" Emma said.
"I just wish you wouldn't be. It would just be best if…" Hanna sighed. She couldn't stop thinking about the vision that their mom had. The one where Emma crushed her heart. Gold's plan is to turn Emma dark, and what if his plan works? Emma was holding onto all this anger towards their parents and that wasn't good. What if the vision comes true? Hanna couldn't get the thought out of her head, but she didn't want Emma to know. "Never mind. Let's just eat."
Emma gave her sister a curious look. Her lie detector was going off like crazy. "What?" Emma asked Hanna with a raise of her eyebrows.
"Nothing," Hanna shrugged. "If you want to be mad, then be mad. You'll get over it eventually."
"No, it's more than that," Emma said as she leaned forward and shook her head. "What aren't you telling me?"
"Nothing, Emma. Would you just order us some grilled cheese already?"
"No. What is it? Are you afraid I'll do what Gold wants and go dark or something?" Emma asked with a laugh. Emma saw the look on her sister's face. Hanna was trying not to show her true emotions, but Emma could tell that's exactly what she was worried about. "Han, seriously? You think I'm going to go dark? What I did to Cruella…if I could take that back I would. That's regret, not darkness."
"Emma, I didn't say…"
"Hanna, I can tell by the look on your face. Why do you think that?" Emma knew there was something Hanna was keeping from her.
Hanna shook her head. "You're not going to go dark, Emma."
"I know that. You seem to be trying to convince yourself of that though," Emma told her.
"I'm not," Hanna sighed.
"Han," Emma said as she grabbed onto her sister's hands and looked into her eyes. "Please just tell me."
Hanna looked up at Emma. She couldn't keep this from her. "Fine. It was just mom's vision. The one who crushed her heart…it was you Emma. The girl had blonde hair, so…"
"So it was me?" Emma said as she sat back, taking in what her sister told her.
"But it doesn't mean anything Emma!" Hanna told her quickly. "I'm just being stupid and worrying. I know you'll never go dark. You're the savior, and I believe in you!"
"Guess, I proved that vision right then," Emma said with a shrug of her shoulders.
"No. You didn't. You're not dark. You just did one bad thing, but for a good reason. That doesn't mean anything," Hanna was trying to convince Emma that what she did to Cruella wouldn't change who she really was on the inside.
"Han, just relax. It's fine. I'm not worried. Mom and Dad got that darkness out of us anyway, right?"
"Yeah, so Gold's plan won't work."
"It won't. I promise." Emma told her with a smile. "So…I'm going to New York to find Maleficent's daughter." Emma said, trying to change the subject.
"Wait, what? She's alive? How? You know where she is?" Hanna had a million questions. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Well, you were a bit concerned with my well being so I didn't get a chance," Emma said, raising her eyebrows at her sister. "I actually know her."
"You know Maleficent's daughter?"
"Yeah, her name is Lily. We were friends when we were kids."
"Wait, so let me get this straight," Hanna said as she shook her head. "Out of all the kids in the world, you became friends with the one Mom and Dad banished?"
"Guess so," Emma said with a shrug of her shoulders. "Do you want to come?" She thought it would be fun to go on a trip with her sister. "Regina is coming too. She has to rescue Robin and Roland from that witch."
"Yeah I want to come!" Hanna said excitedly. "Do you think Mom and Dad will let me?"
"I don't think they're really in the position to tell us no right now," Emma said with a grin.
"Yeah I guess you're right," Hanna said with a shrug. She wasn't mad at them anymore, but she figured she could still convince them to let her go. She could tell them that she was going to use the trip to try and soften Emma up a bit, so she wasn't so mad at them anymore either. Hanna wasn't sure if this would work, but she had to try.
Much to Hanna's surprise they agreed to let her go. Hanna packed a bag and met Emma at her car in front of Regina's office.
Snow took Hanna's head in her hands. "Are you sure you'll be okay? You're still having those nightmares and…"
"Mom, I'll be fine," Hanna assured her. "They weren't as bad last night anyway."
"Okay," Snow said, giving Hanna a kiss on the top of her head. "Be good. I love you."
"Love you too, Mom."
"Stay with your sister and Regina," David said as he wrapped his arms around her.
"I will, Dad."
"I love you. Call us when you get there."
"I love you too and I will, I promise."
Snow and David stepped forward to tell Emma goodbye. "Emma…" Snow started to say.
"Take care of Henry," Emma said cutting them off. She already talked with them about Hanna. She didn't need a heartfelt goodbye from them too.
"Of course," David said, putting a hand on his wife.
Hanna gave her parents a small smile and followed Emma into the car. She was going to have her work cut out for her on this trip. Emma was not going to be an easy nut to crack. Getting her to forgive their parents would take some convincing. Hanna would try though, and in the meantime she was going to enjoy her first road trip out of Storybrooke.
Hanna gets to go on the road trip with Emma and Regina! Who's excited?