Chapter Text
Regina glared at the blonde woman, hiding her fear behind her mask of indifference. She could only imagine what Emma was going to say to her. It's been five years since they had last seen each other and their last encounter was anything but a good one. The woman has had five years to listen to the Charming's and hear whatever lies they've told her and Henry.
"So go ahead, Regina or should I say, your majesty?" Emma mocked, a glared pointed back at the brunette.
"Miss Swan…" Regina started, her tone cold as ice.
"No, don't 'Miss Swan' me. You don't have the right. You are nothing but a coward. You cursed a whole kingdom because you were jealous Snow White and-"
"You really believe that lie?" Regina started, her anger flowing through her body. "You really think I'd go through all of this because of some beauty contest? Over a little bit of jealousy? Well, you are sadly mistaken and you know nothing about me or what I've been through." Regina shouts and Emma froze. "And you don't deserve to know what I've been through or why I did what I did. I owe you or that godforsaken town absolutely nothing!"
"The hell you don't! You put them there. It's your fault that they're in this world in the first place. That they've been separated from their families. You don't get to just do that and walk away with no consequences." Emma yells and Regina shakes her head, a dark chuckle leaving her mouth.
"You think I didn't face consequences? I gave up everything for that curse, even my own father. Just to be alone and miserable for eighteen years. And when it broke, I lost the one thing that mattered to me, the only person I cared about." Regina glanced at Henry for a moment, making eye contact with the boy before looking at Emma again. "So don't try to lecture me about consequences, I am well acquainted with them." Emma stared at the former queen in shock. She never put much thought into why Regina did what she did. She had just thought the woman was cold-hearted, evil and jealous. She had never seen another part of her that act that way. She guessed she knew where Henry got that black and white thinking.
"But why did you leave?" Everyone turned to look at the quiet fifteen-year-old boy who sat in the corner of the room.
Regina sighed as she looked at him. She could feel tears well up in her eye. He looked so lost, so sad. She thought that if she had left, he would be happier, that he would enjoy his life with his real family. Being normal, growing up with friends his age. But clearly, she thought completely wrong.
"You didn't read my letter?" It was a rhetorical question, she could tell he didn't by the way he asked the question. She had hoped he would, that he would have at least had an explanation over these past 5 years but instead he had been left in the dark about it.
"I-I was scared. I was scared for my life! I thought they were going to execute me. And I didn't want you to see that. And I thought you'd be happier if I left. That you would be able to live your normal life and be happy. You weren't happy with me and I wanted to do whatever I could to make you happy, even if it meant letting you live with the Charmings. I thought me being gone would make you happy." Regina answered and Henry didn't show much of a reaction.
"Well, it didn't." He muttered and her eyes widened. Before she could respond, everyone looked towards the stairs at the sound of Neal's footsteps. As Neal entered the living room he stood next to his wife, wrapping his arm around the small of her back to keep her close.
"I think it's time you all left. You got what you came here for, you found me, found us. Emma paid off her end of the debt. Now leave." Neal could feel Regina's trembling in his arms and it made him angry. He hated seeing his wife upset and to think that he had caused some of it had really tired him out. He was ready for them to leave his home, so he could talk to his wife in private.
"Baelfire…" Rumple began to plead but Neal shook his head.
"No! I don't want to hear it. Please leave." Neal's tone made it clear that there was no room for discussion. Rumple grabbed his cane and stood from where he was sitting.
"Fine, I'll leave for tonight. But, I'll be back, I'm not giving up, Bae." Rumple said and Neal scoffed.
"Don't bother," Neal replied, anger underlining his indifference.
Emma and Henry paid one last look to the couple before the trio left out of their door. As the door shut, Regina let out a breath as she moved to take a seat on the couch. She could feel more tears well up in her eyes as she struggled to breathe properly. Neal quickly noticed this and sat down next to her.
"It's okay, Gina, I'm right here." He tried comforting her, wiping the tears that began to fall down her cheeks.
"I didn't think I'd ever see him again." Regina sobbed out and Neal sighed. He pulled her close to him and wrapped his arms around her. He could feel her body shake as she cried and he hated that their perfect morning had turned into this. "He's grown up and I missed all of it, I missed everything and he's still miserable. I couldn't even make him happy by leaving." She added and Neal kissed her forehead.
"You did what you thought was right, you tried to protect him." Neal tried to comfort to no avail.
"But I didn't! He's still hurt and in pain. All I did was hurt him more than I did before." He could tell Regina was getting more stressed with every breath she took.
"How about I tell you my story, my true story." He suggested in an attempt to calm her down, distract her from her own turmoil.
"Neal.." She sniffled, beginning to protest but he shook his head.
"No, it's fine. It was bound to happen eventually." He reasoned and she sighed. He was right, she was foolish to have thought that her past would never come back to bite her in the ass. She had just wished it had happened later, a lot later.
"Tell me your story," Regina tells him with a small, sad smile and he returns the gesture before starting to talk.
Xx***xX
"I can't believe he defended her, after everything she's done." Emma ranted as she paced the small confines of the hotel room she shared with her son. "And for her to act as if she is so innocent, "I did it to protect you." bullshit. She doesn't care about anyone but herself, she was only protecting herself."Emma went on and Henry sighed.
"I think I'm gonna go for a walk," Henry said as he stood up from his spot on the bed, effectively interrupting his mother's rant. She stopped to look at her son, his lips pulled into a frown and his eyes sad. Emma failed to realize that her son had gone through a lot in the past twenty-four hours and was trying to figure it all out.
"Okay, just don't leave the block and call me if you need me." She told him with a sad smile and he nodded.
"Okay mom, I will," Henry replied quietly before leaving out the room. As soon as he exited the hotel room, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the crumpled piece of paper. His name was written big on the outside, in clearly rushed handwriting but somehow he could still recognize it as his mother's neat penmanship. He opened it and took a breath before he began to read it.
Henry,
I'm sorry it turned out like this. I never meant to hurt you, to make you think that you were crazy, that you didn't know who you are. You deserve a mother that can love you the right way, better than me. I never knew how to love very well. My mother wasn't the friendliest of people and she took away my first and only true love. And my marriage was never for love but so I could be a mother to Snow. So it's safe to say that I haven't had many good experiences with love. But I learned that holding onto the person you love tighter doesn't make them love you back. It only makes them pull away. And I'm so sorry I did that you. I never wanted to do that you. I had just gotten so scared that I would lose you, that I would lose your love so I held onto you, so tight. You are the best thing that had ever happened to me and I only want what's best for you. I want you to have a happy family and grow up with your friends, I want you to have your happy ending. I want you to have everything you've ever wanted. And I hope that one day I'll be able to tell you my side of the story. That one day you can forgive me for all that I've done. I love you so much, my little prince, don't you ever forget that.
Love, mom.
Tears streamed down Henry's cheeks as he stopped in at the end of the block. He was so scared that this letter would be an excuse or another lie. He had even started to hate the letter because of it but it was the exact opposite. And it made him miss her even more. He wanted to hear her story, he wanted to hear her side. The book told him nothing about her except that she was evil and cruel. It never said why she did those things or why she hated Snow White. And as a child he never asked or cared, he just wanted the good guys to win and the curse to be broken.
But would she even want to tell it to him now? She had her own son now, a family that she loved and cared for. A family that loved her in return. More than he had ever shown her. He had done everything to get away from her and he couldn't imagine how awful that must have felt for the only person you loved to push you away. He had never regretted anything more. Maybe he could have helped her see that she could have been happy without the curse if he hadn't pushed her away. He was still so angry at her for leaving, for not fighting for him but he was also angry with himself. He let her think that she hated her, that he wanted nothing do with her so why would she have stayed in a town where everyone hated her and wanted her dead.
Henry sat on a bench at the end of the block for an hour or so, taking in the information of the letter and his own thoughts before returning to the hotel room. He knew that he had to go see Regina again. He had to apologize to her, to tell her that she was still his mom. And he had to ask to hear her side of the story. He couldn't leave New York without knowing what had turned her into the Evil Queen.