Chapter 81

Hanna woke the next morning. She was still on the couch, but her dad wasn't here. Her mom was in the kitchen, which meant her dad was in his bed. It was his turn to be under the sleeping curse. Hanna could tell her mom was dressed for work. Was she actually going to teach today? Was she really going to make Hanna go to school? Her mom didn't notice she was awake yet, so Hanna just closed her eyes and laid still, maybe she wouldn't wake her and just let her sleep. Hanna listened to her mom's footsteps shuffle around the kitchen, making preparations for the day, and not even a minute later, the footsteps started coming closer. Her mom knelt down beside the couch, then brushed the hair from Hanna's face.

"It's time to get up, sweetie." She leaned closer to Hanna when she didn't move. "I know you're awake," she said quietly.

Hanna sighed, then opened her eyes. "How did you know?"

Snow shrugged. "I'm your mom. Now, come on." Snow stood and gestured towards the kitchen. "Your dad made breakfast."

Hanna's stomach started to growl as soon as her mom mentioned food. She got up from the couch and sat down at the counter. There was a plate with pancakes and strawberries waiting for her. "Mom, do we really have to go to school today?"

"Yes." Snow put a few bottles and some baby food into Neal's diaper bag. "We need to keep things as normal as possible."

"There's nothing normal about any of this."

"We need to try, okay?"

"Fine." Hanna put her elbow on the counter, rested her head in her hand, and pushed a strawberry around the plate with her fork.

"I'm going to get your brother ready for daycare. Please eat, then go get dressed."

Hanna stabbed the strawberry and put it into her mouth. She ate another one, then a few bites of pancake before deciding she was done. She cleaned up her plate, then went upstairs and got herself ready for school.

"Hanna….Hanna."

"What?" Hanna pulled herself from her thoughts. Her English teacher was staring down at her.

"Your book report on The Giver. Do you have it?"

"That's due today?" Hanna asked.

"Yes, the due date has been written on the board for over a week."

"Oh, I have it done. I just left it at home."

"Bring it to me first thing tomorrow, please."

Hanna nodded. She had most of the report written, and it was at home, so that wasn't a total lie. She could quickly finish it tonight. The book report made her remember that she also forgot to finish her math homework. That was next period, so there was no way she was getting that done in time. She was pretty sure there was a history exam today too. She had no idea what it was even about. She would have to ask Henry and Violet about it at lunch. Maybe one of them made notecards she could use. Hanna knew she should have just stayed home today. There was too much going on right now. She didn't have time for all of this school stuff.

"No book report or math homework today?" Henry asked when Hanna sat next to him at the lunch table.

"I don't need a lecture from you."

"I'm not. I'm just worried for you. Grandma and Grandpa are going to kill you if you don't start doing your work."

"Yeah, well, they're under a sleeping curse half the time, so maybe they won't find out."

"Hanna, I'm sorry."

Hanna shook her head. "It's fine."

"What can I do?"

"Did you make study cards for the history test?"

"Of course I did." Henry reached into his folder and held them out to her.

"Thank you." Hanna took the cards and shuffled through them. "Let's just hope whatever I can cram into my brain in the next half hour will be enough."

"You could always fake an injury and sit out of gym to give yourself more time."

"Good idea. So, where's Violet today?"

Henry pointed to a table across the room.

"She's sitting with Johnny Hughes?"

"Yup."

Hanna noticed the look on Henry's face. "I'm sure it's nothing. She's probably just trying to make more friends."

"Yeah you're probably right, but don't worry about me. You need to study."

"Right." Hanna looked back at the notecards. She was able to read through them several times before the lunch period was over and felt confident that she would do well on the test. She didn't think she would need to sit out of gym, which was good because they were playing dodgeball today, and Hanna was excited to take out her frustrations on the annoying kids in her class.

Hanna could tell by the end of the day that Henry was still down about Violet. She went to his locker after their last class. "Hey, why don't we do something? We could go to Granny's, or the arcade?"

"Don't you have homework to catch up on?"

"I can do it later."

"Hanna…"

"Come on." Hanna shoved his shoulder. "I don't want to go home right now. It's weird being home alone when one of your parents is under a sleeping curse."

"Alright. How about we go to Emma's? She just got the new Super Smash Bros. game for the Wii."

"Okay, let's go!" Hanna took ahold of Henry's hand and sent them to Emma's house.

Hanna rummaged through Emma's snack cupboard, while Henry set up the game. Hanna dropped the pile of snacks onto the coffee table. She was thirsty too. Obviously, Emma had cups, ice in the freezer, and water from the sink, but Hanna wasn't sure if she could fill up two cups with ice and water, then make them appear on the table using magic. She wanted to try though. She closed her eyes, envisioned what she wanted, and waved her hand. When she opened her eyes, there were two glasses of ice water sitting next to the snacks.

"Nice," Henry said. He held out a controller to her.

"Thanks!" Hanna took the controller and sat down on the couch. "So how does this game work anyway?"

"You've never played Smash Bros?"

"Henry, the only time I play this stuff is with you, so no I haven't."

"I need to tell Grandma and Grandpa to buy you some video games."

"Yeah good luck with that." Hanna picked up the controller from the table. So how do I play this thing?"

Henry explained the game, and they played for awhile before Emma came home.

"Hey guys." Emma sat down on the couch. "How's the new game?"

"I think I finally got the hang of it," Hanna said.

Henry set his controller onto the coffee table. "Are you sure about that?"

"I almost beat you that last round."

"No you didn't."

"If that's what you need to tell yourself, then fine. I have to go home." Hanna got up and lifted her hand.

"Han, wait." Emma stood beside her sister. "How are Mom and Dad?"

"I guess okay. I can tell they're both trying to put on a brave face for me. Mom, is still trying to keep things normal."

"Of course she is."

"It's kind of annoying."

"I know, but just try to go along with it."

Hanna nodded. "I will. I'm sure she has dinner ready. I better go."

"Let me know if you need anything."

"I will, thanks. Bye, Henry. Thanks for hanging out with me."

"Of course." Henry smiled. "See you tomorrow."

Hanna waved her hand and sent herself home. She appeared in her room. She threw her backpack onto the bed and went downstairs.

"Hey, babe. You're just in time for dinner," Snow said.

"What did you make?"

"Spaghetti."

"Did you buy the good garlic bread for Dad?"

"Of course."

"He'll like that." Hanna went over to her brother, who was sitting in his highchair eating some puffs. "Hi buddy!"

Neal smiled at Hanna.

"Are your snacks good?"

Neal gurgled and put another puff into his mouth.

Snow set two plates of food onto the table. "He loves those."

"I can tell." Hanna sat down beside her mom.

"How was school today?"

"Fine."

"Did you get all of your homework done?"

"Mostly."

"Well, after dinner I'd like you to get it all the way done, please."

"I will."

After she was done eating, Hanna went upstairs and got started on her homework. She needed to do that book report first. She got the laptop from her desk and brought it to her bed. She looked back over what she already wrote, and was thankful she had more of the paper written than she thought. She typed up a few more paragraphs to finish it, printed it out, then pulled out her math book. She had last night's lesson and tonight's lesson to do. That was going to take awhile. She made it part way through the first lesson, but decided she needed a break. She grabbed her pajamas, and went across the hall to the bathroom. After her shower, she headed towards the stairs. She paused for a moment and glanced towards her bedroom where her unfinished homework waited. Hanna decided to go downstairs anyway. She could finish her work later.

Her mom was in the bedroom holding Neal. She had her phone held out like she was taking a selfie. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, Hanna, come here we're making your dad a video."

Hanna walked closer to her. "A video?"

"Yeah for him to watch when he wakes up," Snow turned the phone towards her. "It's recording. Say hi."

"Uh…hi Dad."

Snow leaned in so she and Neal were on the screen too. "I miss you, Daddy and we love you." Snow pressed the button to stop the recording and set it down on the nightstand. "Make sure you have him watch it when he wakes up, okay?"

"Okay, I will."

Snow reached out the baby to Hanna. "Here, take your brother. Tell your Dad I already gave him a bath and he just needs his bottle."

"Okay." Hanna took Neal.

"Did you finish your homework?"

"Uh huh."

"Good." Snow kissed Hanna on the forehead. "I'll see you in the morning. I love you."

"Love you too."

Hanna watched her mom lay on the bed and lean over to kiss her dad. When their lips met a burst of true love shined out from him. He opened his eyes, while her mom's closed. Hanna plastered a smile on her face and forced her tears to go away. "Morning, Dad!"

"Hey, you two."

"Well, it's not actually morning…you know what I mean."

"I know." David leaned down and kissed the top of her head.

"Here, take Neal. I know he missed you."

"Hey, little man."

"Mom said she already gave him a bath, so he just needs a bottle. Mom made spaghetti for dinner too."

"Did she get the…"

"Good garlic bread? Yeah, she got it."

"Thanks princess." David lifted Neal above his head. "Why don't we go play for a little while, then we'll eat."

"Oh, there's a new Survivor episode. Can we watch it?"

"Is your homework done?"

"Mhmm."

"Okay, let's go."

Dad set Neal on his play mat and pulled out his toys, while Hanna put on the show. Neal lasted about a half hour before he started to get hungry. David fed him his bottle, then held him while he slept until the end of the episode. He put Neal into his bassinet, ate his dinner, then went to take a shower while Hanna stayed where she was and continued to watch tv.

"Okay, I think it's time for you to go to bed."

"Do I have to?"

"Yes, it's late and I have to go into work for a little while."

"Alright."

"Your brother should sleep all night, but if he wakes up, call me."

Hanna nodded. She looked to where her mom was sleeping, then back to her dad. "Can I just sleep down here with Mom?"

"Of course you can."

"Oh I almost forgot." Hanna ran over to the nightstand. "Mom made you a video." Hanna held the his phone out to him. "I think she wrote you a note on the notepad in the kitchen too."

David took the phone and glanced towards the counter. "A video and a note?"

"Mhmm. I have no idea what the video is. Mom was filming it when I came downstairs. She put the camera in my face and made me say hi at the end. I had no idea she was going to do that. I probably look like a crazy person."

"I'm sure you look adorable."

Hanna rolled her eyes.

"Maybe we should make one for her?" David put the camera app in selfie mode and held it out in front of them.

Hanna dodged the phone. "You go ahead. I'll see her in the morning."

David laughed. "Okay. I'll make one later." He put his phone in his pocket. "Are you sure you'll be okay if I go into work?"

"Yeah I'm good."

David pulled her close. "I'll see you later."

Hanna nodded.

David went to the door, put on his shoes, and got his coat from the hook. "Go to bed, okay?"

"I will."

"I love you."

"Love you too."

As soon as he shut the door, Hanna glanced towards her mom, then to the couch. She could go watch more tv. It's not like anyone would know. Hanna sat down and covered herself with a blanket. She purposefully didn't lay down. She knew she would fall asleep if she did that, then she would definitely get caught. Hanna watched tv for a few more hours, before climbing into bed next to her mom and going to sleep.

Each day passed about the same. David came home from work and woke Hanna when it was time for him to relieve Snow from the sleeping curse. Hanna got up, gave her dad a hug, then went to the kitchen to eat the breakfast he made for them. Her mom joined her a few seconds later. Hanna and Snow got themselves ready for school, then together they got Neal ready to go to Ashley's. Sometimes Hanna packed Neal's bag, while Snow got him dressed, and sometimes they switched. They dropped Neal off at daycare, then went to school. After school, Hanna usually hung out with Henry. They either went to Granny's for hot chocolate and darts, or to Emma's to play video games. Hanna always made it home in time for dinner. She spent some time with her mom and brother before it was her mom's turn to sleep. Then she would spend time with her Dad and Neal before her dad went to work. The cycle continued. They weren't any closer to finding a way to break the Queen's curse. As the days progressed, Hanna was losing hope and she could tell her parents were doing the same.

Hanna decided, one day after school, she was going to find Regina for a magic lesson. She didn't have one scheduled, but she needed to do something. She needed to learn more. Maybe she could find a way to break this curse. She didn't know how much more of this her parents could take. Hanna wasn't sure where Regina would be. Her office? Her vault? She could be anywhere. Hanna thought maybe she could try something. She could poof to Emma without knowing where she was. Everyone always thought it was a twin thing, but Hanna felt like it was more than just that. Poofing through Emma's spell that couldn't be penetrated even by blood magic definitely had to do with them being twins. When Hanna poofed herself into Emma's basement to find out what she was hiding, she felt something different than when she just poofed herself to Emma under normal circumstances. Hanna wasn't sure how it worked exactly, but the twin magic had it's own feel to it. If that were the case, then maybe Hanna could send herself to whoever she wanted without knowing where they were. She figured there was no harm in trying. Hanna closed her eyes, concentrated on Regina, and sent herself away.

Hanna opened her eyes and found herself standing in Regina's office.

Regina looked up from the paperwork. "What are you doing here?"

"It actually worked."

"What worked?"

"I poofed myself to you without knowing where you were."

"You didn't know I was here?"

"Nope."

Regina walked around to the front of her desk. "How is that possible? I thought you could only do that with Emma?"

Hanna grinned. "I guess I can do it with anyone."

"Well, what do you need? I'm busy."

"I need a magic lesson."

"I don't have time."

"Please! I have to do something. I need to learn more, so I can find a way to help my mom and dad."

"Hanna…"

"Just teach me how to…I don't know…poof a bunch of people away at once. If the Queen decides the sleeping curse isn't enough and comes over to crush my parents heart, then I can at least send us all somewhere else."

"I don't need to teach you that. You can already send yourself and others away."

Hanna shook her head. "I've only ever done it with one other person. I can't. I…"

"Hanna, you just poofed yourself to me without knowing where I was. Trust me you can do it."

"Really?"

"Yes. You need to have more confidence in yourself."

"Well, there has to be something else."

"I have an idea." Regina waved her hand and sent them away.

Hanna was standing in Regina's vault. This is where she kept her most important magic. There were dozens of vials of liquid sitting in boxes and on the tables, the shelves on the walls were cluttered with old boxes, scrolls, and other magical objects. There were dozens of book too.

"Don't touch anything."

"Okay." Hanna walked towards the table that held the vials. There were ones with blue liquid, purple, green. A few were bubbling, the contents threatening to spill over the top. There was one where brown liquid oozed through the bottle itself. Hanna reached out her hand towards it.

Regina grabbed onto her wrist. "Don't touch."

"Sorry."

"That will melt the skin right off of your hand."

Hanna furrowed her eyebrows at the bottle, then looked back to Regina. "So, what are we going to do?"

Regina showed Hanna all of the different ingredients she had and what types of potions they could be used to make. She explained the importance of all of them. Then she showed Hanna how to make a potion that would take away magic headaches. She let Hanna add most of the ingredients herself. Then, she sent Hanna home with a book that had information about potions and ingredients. She told her to memorize their names, what they looked like, and learn their functions. This was homework Hanna was actually looking forward to.

After the lesson, Hanna poofed herself to the loft. Neal was playing in his jumper. He bounced even faster when he saw his big sister.

"Hi baby!" Hanna kicked off her shoes and put her stuff down before pulling him out of his toy and snuggling him close.

"Where have you been?" Snow asked.

The tone in her mom's voice made her stomach drop. "With Regina. She was giving me a magic lesson."

"Can you sit down, please." Snow nodded to the table and pulled out a chair for herself.

Hanna didn't know what was wrong, but she had a feeling that she was in trouble. She sat down across from her mom and tightened her grip on Neal, grateful for the barrier he provided between her and her mom.

"Do you think there's anything you need to tell me?"

"Uhh…" Hanna looked down and fiddled with the pacifier clipped to Neal's onesie. "I don't think so."

"I got a call from your math teacher today."

"Oh."

"What do you think he had to say?"

"Well…probably that I haven't been doing my homework."

"Why haven't you been doing it?"

"I don't know."

"Hanna, look at me."

Hanna shifted her eyes to her mom.

"Do you understand how to do it?"

Hanna nodded.

"Then why aren't you getting your assignments done?"

"There's just…there's no time."

"Well you have plenty of time to go to Granny's with Henry or have magic lessons."

"Those things are fun. Can I not have fun anymore?"

"Of course you can, but you have to make time for your schoolwork too. I got online to check how you're doing in your other classes and…"

"Then you saw that I've done fine on the tests and quizzes."

"That may be, but homework is part of your grade too, and you're missing several assignments in your other classes."

Hanna turned Neal around so he was facing the table. She reached out for his rubber giraffe toy that sat in the middle and gave it to him.

"You always tell me your homework is finished when I ask. Are you giving your dad the same answer? I know he asks you too."

Hanna nodded.

Snow closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. "Hanna…"

"If I can do well on the tests, then who cares about the homework? It's just a waste of time."

"It's not a waste of time."

"But it is! If I do my homework right when I get home, then I don't get to spend time with you and if I do it when Dad is awake, I don't get to see him and…"

"I know this is hard, sweetie." Snow put her arm on the table and held her hand out to her daughter.

Hanna took her mom's hand.

"How about you trade off days? One day you do your homework when I'm awake, and the next day you do it when your dad is."

"Okay."

Snow held her daughter's hand a little firmer. "You have to get your work done."

"I will."

"I mean it, Hanna. If this keeps happening, you will be coming straight home from school. No Henry and no more magic lessons."

"Okay."

"Okay." Snow released her grip and stood. "I'm going to take your brother and get take-out from Granny's."

"I can watch Neal."

"No, you have homework to do."

"Okay." Hanna gave Neal a kiss on the top of his head, then held him up to her mom.
Hanna picked got her backpack and started walking towards the stairs.

"I want you to do your work down here from now on."

"What?"

Snow nodded towards the table. "Sit."

"But my computer is up there."

"Then go up and get it and bring it down here."

"Fine…" Hanna just went to the table. She didn't actually need her computer tonight.

"We'll be back soon."

Hanna made her way through the mountain of homework that accumulated. She took a break to eat her dinner, then got right back to work. She finished the last of it before it was time for her mom to wake her dad. Her mom was in the bathroom giving Neal a bath and right after is when she usually took her turn with the sleeping curse. Hanna put her school work away, then went into the kitchen for a snack. She glanced at the notepad her parents used to communicate with each other. Usually they just wrote encouraging messages and told each other "I love you." Hanna's name was on the page today though. Her mom wrote all about her grades slipping and lying to them about getting her homework done. Hanna didn't want her dad to know about that. Hanna held onto the corner of the page, ready to rip it from the notebook. She stopped herself. Her dad would wonder why there wasn't a message from her mom. Hanna racked her brain for a solution. She had to hurry. Her mom was probably almost done bathing the baby. Hanna got an idea. She could just make the part her mom wrote about her disappear. She wasn't sure if she could do it though. Then she remembered what Regina said earlier about having more confidence in herself. Hanna focused on which part of the note she wanted gone. She waved her hand over the page, and smiled as that part of her mom's note vanished letter by letter.