Reawakened: A Once Upon a Time Tale (34 page)

“I want to be there to take care of him,” she said. “But it’s easy to say it. Harder to do it.”

“Let me ask you a question,” he said. “As this war between you and Regina rages on, who is really getting hurt?”

She knew the answer; she didn’t need to say it out loud. How much of this could the kid take?

“But isn’t it good for him to be with me?” she asked.

“Emma, all personal feelings aside. And even professional feelings. I’m afraid you just don’t have a case for getting custody.”

“I’m his mother.”

“You are. So is Regina. And, well, the court’s gonna look at how he’s been doing since you came into his life.”

“And he’s happier, isn’t he?” Emma said hopefully.

“Maybe,” he said. “But objectively? He’s skipped school. Stolen a credit card. Run away. Endangered himself. Repeatedly. So, in the eyes of the law…”

“What about in your eyes?” she asked. “What do you think?”

“You know, a while back I told you to engage him on his fantasy life, and perhaps…” He sighed. “Perhaps I was wrong. He’s been retreating further into it.”

“So you think he’s better off with Regina,” she said.

“I didn’t say that.”

“Do you think,” Emma asked, “that she would ever hurt him?”

“No. Never,” Archie said. “Everyone else, sure. But not him. Her actions, right or wrong, have been defensive. I’m not judging here. But in many ways, Emma, your arrival woke a sleeping dragon.”

She found it to be an odd choice of words.

“So tell me,” she said finally. “Honestly. Is Henry better off since I got here?”

“I don’t think it’s a matter of being better off,” he said. “It’s a matter of this conflict needing to end. If you two are going to be in his life, you have to figure out the best way to do that. Plain and simple.”

Yup, Emma thought. Plain and simple.

“Okay,” she said. “Thanks, Doc.” She slid out of the booth.

“Are you all right?” he asked her. “You look like you’re in pain.”

“Not me,” she said. “Just my conscience.”

• • •

She left the diner in a daze, oppressed by her own emotions. What had she done to Henry? What had she done? It all
seemed so cocksure now, so bold and reckless. This was a boy, her son, who did not have the capacity to navigate this much conflict and change, and here she was, just inserting herself into his world. It turned out that she was the dragon of the past. In this case, she was the Evil Queen.

She stepped off the curb, transfixed by this horrible thought, and was almost run over by a pickup truck. It honked and hit the brakes, and Emma stumbled backward, still in a daze.

“Emma!” she heard from across the street. Mary Margaret was running toward her. “Are you okay?”

Emma looked at her and nodded.

“I’m so sorry,” came another voice—the driver of the truck. “I didn’t see you!”

Emma looked in his direction. It was David. Perfect.

“Are you okay?” he echoed, rushing up to her.

“It’s fine,” Emma said, snapping herself out of it. “I wasn’t looking. I’m totally fine.”

She felt David and Mary Margaret flanking her on either side. David put an arm around her. “We’ll take you to the hospital,” he said. “You’re not well.”

“Does anything hurt?” said Mary Margaret.

“Guys. No. Seriously.” She shucked them off. “I’m okay.”

She stormed away. She had to find Regina.

• • •

King George’s castle was theirs. King George himself was locked in the dungeon, and Snow, Granny, Red, Jiminy, and the dwarfs were together in George’s war room, planning their next step. That’s what they thought they were doing, at least—Snow didn’t need a plan. She knew her next move. She was going
to meet with the Evil Queen, unarmed, and end this conflict once and for all.

Of course her companions didn’t want her to do it.

“You’re too noble for your own good,” Red said, watching Snow remove every hidden weapon and piece of armor from her body.

“I’m not. But enough of you have risked your lives because of something that’s between the Queen and me. I won’t let anyone else get hurt because of me,” said Snow. “I’m not asking. I thank you all for your support, and I love each and every one of you. But this is something I have to do. Alone.”

She pushed past the dwarfs, looked back at her friends once more, and smiled. They were her family. They were strong. They believed in her. She loved them.

“I don’t trust the Queen,” said Red.

“I know,” said Snow. “Neither do I.”

She smiled one last smile and walked out the door.

• • •

It was not a long trip. Snow left at dawn, and an hour before dusk, she was approaching the estate where Regina had grown up, and where Snow had spent so much time as a little girl. So much had happened since those days! And she was here again. So much stronger than she had ever been. So much more in possession of herself. Even after her father had died—after Regina had killed her father—Snow White had been unable to see the forest for the trees and had been too scared and too intimidated by the size of the world to push back against it, to demand justice, to unseat Regina when she deserved to be unseated. Right then and there. In a strange twist of fate, it had taken all of this—her time alone as a bandit, her friendship
with Red and the dwarfs, and her love for Charming—for her to really come into herself. For her to be able to confront the Queen now. Funny how things tended to work out.

She tied her horse at the front of the estate and went on foot to the stables, where she knew Regina would be waiting for her.

And she was. Snow saw her on the top of the hill, watching as Snow approached. Snow walked resolutely, her head up, her eyes locked on Regina’s.

“Hello, Regina,” she said once she’d reached her.

Regina looked down the hill. “Do you remember when I ran down your runaway horse?” she asked. “Do you remember when I saved your life?”

“Of course,” said Snow. “It all looks the same.”

“Not quite,” Regina said. “This is new.”

Snow looked to where Regina was pointing—a mound of grass with a simple marker. She realized what it was. “A grave?” she asked.

“A grave,” Regina repeated. “Daniel’s grave.”

“Daniel?” Snow asked, suddenly realizing the true extent of what she had done as a child. “I thought he ran away.”

“Ran away? I told you that to spare your feelings. Out of… kindness,” Regina spat. “But he died. Because of you.”

Years. It had been years that she’d assumed that Daniel was somewhere safe. This changed everything.

“I’m… so sorry,” Snow said. “I was very young, and your mother—”

“—ripped his heart out in front of me. Because of you. Because you couldn’t keep a secret.”

“And you,” said Snow, “killed my father, and took him from me. Haven’t we both suffered enough?”

“No,” said the Queen.

The word hung in the air between the two women. After a moment, then, Regina withdrew a red apple from a black satchel. “Did you know that apples stand for health and wisdom?” she said, admiring it.

Snow did not like the look of the apple. Not one bit. “Why do I think it would kill me if I ate it?” Snow said warily.

“It won’t kill you,” said Regina. “No, what it will do is far worse. Your body will be your tomb, and you’ll be in there with nothing but the dreams formed of your own regrets.” The Queen smiled at the apple.

“You’re going to force me to eat it.”

“No, of course not,” said Regina. “That would be barbaric. And it wouldn’t work anyway. The choice is yours. It must be taken willingly.”

“And why would I eat it?”

“Because if you refuse the apple, then your Prince Charming will be killed.”

She had known it was coming, but hearing the Queen say it made her imagine his death, and along with that came a glimmer of the feeling. Agony. Years—decades—of agony. It would not be worth it to live like that anyway. She was trapped.

“As I said, the choice is yours,” said the Queen.

“I take it and he lives?” Snow said. “That’s the deal?”

“That is the deal.”

Snow nodded, took a breath. “Then congratulations,” she said. “You’ve won.”

Snow took a step forward and took the apple, and without another moment’s hesitation, she bit into it.

She chewed slowly, looking at the Queen, waiting for the
pain to come. And when it did, it came all at once, rushing over her chest. She dropped the apple; she felt her eyes go wide and her legs quiver. Regina smiled through it all.

The last thing Snow saw were blades of grass; the last she heard was a quiet laugh from the Queen.

• • •

Emma stopped on the middle of Mifflin, gathered herself, and approached Regina’s home. Before she pressed the doorbell, a thought struck her: It’s not just Regina’s home. It’s Henry’s.

Regina answered the door wearing an apron and holding a spatula. She looked genuinely surprised to see Emma.

“We need to talk,” Emma said.

“Yes,” said Regina. “I imagine we do. Come right in.” Emma remembered the first time she’d been here, which was the night she arrived in town. Everything looked the same, and yet virtually everything had changed. From the kitchen, the smell of something—pie or some other pastry—filled the whole first floor with a warm, inviting scent. She didn’t trust the feeling it evoked.

“Look,” Emma said to Regina, who was waiting patiently. “This isn’t easy. But I think this—whatever it is between us—needs to end.”

“At last, something we can agree on,” Regina said dryly.

“I want to make a deal. About Henry.”

“What kind of deal?” Regina said cautiously.

“I’m leaving town,” said Emma.

“What?” Now Regina looked absolutely befuddled. Emma enjoyed catching the woman off guard, although this time it was bittersweet.

“This? What we’re doing? It’s a problem.” Emma pointed
from Regina to herself. “I’m going to go. But there are conditions. I still get to see Henry. Visit, spend time. Whatever. And you promise not to hurt anyone again. Not David, not Mary Margaret. No one.”

“I never hurt anyone,” said Regina.

“Then it’s an easy promise to make,” said Emma.

Regina looked dubious. She crossed her arms. “Do you expect me to believe you’re really giving up?” she said.

“I’m not giving up,” Emma responded. “I’m doing what I’ve always done. I’m doing what’s best for Henry. The only way for us to stop fighting is… for us to stop fighting.”

“You’re right,” Regina said. “It has to end.”

“So then let’s make it easy,” Emma said. “I go back to Boston. You get Henry.”

“And you still get to see him. You’re still in his life.”

“Let’s be honest. We both know the world where I’m not in his life no longer exists,” Emma said. “There’s nothing anyone can do about that.”

She took a deep breath, then nodded. “Fine,” Regina said. “You’re right. Would you mind following me for a moment?”

Regina led Emma into the kitchen, where the temperature was a little higher. The place, Emma had to admit, was a real home. A clean, safe home. The lights were bright, and when Regina went to the oven, Emma watched as she pulled out a crisp, steaming apple turnover. There is no chance in hell, Emma thought, I could cook something like that.

“So what exactly are you proposing, then?” Regina said.

“I don’t know. Just that we’ll figure it out in good faith as we go.”

Regina nodded. “However,” she said. “He is my son.”

“Yeah,” Emma said. “All I want is your word you’ll take
good care of him. And no one—not him, not this town—will get hurt.”

Regina nodded. “You have my word.”

Emma stared at her; she could always tell when someone was lying. She looked at Regina for a long time, trying to see if she was being honest.

“What?” Regina finally said.

“Just seeing if you’re telling the truth,” said Emma.

“And am I?” Regina asked.

Emma nodded. “We have a deal.”

Seeing Regina smile was a strange experience. Had Emma seen it before? “Ms. Swan?” Regina said. She held out the turnover, now inside a box of Tupperware. “Maybe a little something for the road?”

Emma shrugged. “Why not?” she said, taking it.

“If we’re going to be in each other’s lives, we need to be cordial, don’t we?”

Emma nodded.

“I do hope you like apples.”

• • •

It took Henry fifteen minutes to arrive at Emma’s apartment after she’d called him on the walkie-talkie. She waited at the kitchen table, a cold cube of dread in the pit of her stomach, imagining how she was going to tell him that her time in Storybrooke was over.

When she opened the door, he took one look at her face and said, “Is everything okay? You sounded strange over the walkie.”

He came inside, and Emma remembered the way he’d so brazenly entered her apartment in Boston. The same laser-guided initiative. She loved that about him.

“Henry, yesterday… when I tried to take you away…” She crossed her arms. Do not cry, she thought. “You were right. I can’t take you away from Storybrooke. But I can’t stay here, either.”

Henry looked back at her, trying to figure out what she meant. “I don’t get it,” he said finally.

“I have to go, Henry,” she said.

There. It was out. The hardest part was over. An arrow through the heart did not do the feeling justice. Something in her was dying.

“Go?” he said finally. “You’re going to leave Storybrooke?”

“Yes,” she said. “I talked to Regina. I made a deal with her. I’m still going to be able to see you. I just won’t be here… every day.”

“NO!” he cried. “NO! You can’t trust her!” His tears were coming again, which pulled at her own.

“I have to, Henry. This is what’s best for you.”

“You’re just scared,” he said. “This happens to all heroes right before the big battle. It’s just the low moment before you fight back.”

She shook her head. “This isn’t a story. This is reality. And things have to change. You can’t skip school anymore. You can’t run away. There are consequences. You can’t—You can’t keep believing in this curse.”

He looked back at her, eyes wide, shaking his head. “You really don’t believe, do you?”

“This is how it’s going to be. I made a deal. I used my super power. She was telling the truth. She’s going to take care of you.”