A Promise Kept
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters contained within nor the shows from which they appear in. Any coincidence is unintentional. This story is not used for profit and is for entertainment purposes only.
Summary: Snow and Emma return to Storybrooke but something is amiss. Henry and Regina strive to find the true Emma and to that extent they contact a Dreamwalker: Morganna. (Swan Queen, Regal Red Belle teamwork, Regal Cricket, Mills family reparation, Merlin/Morganna)
Author's Note: A Promise Kept is second in a series of three connected stories, centering around Regina Mills, Henry Mills and Emma Swan. The prequel to this story is called Regina's Most Dreadful Nightmare. This story will be up by the end of November. It is not necessary to read that story to understand A Promise Kept, however, many elements will slowly crop up over the course of the story, and it will be an important aspect of several points made in the story and ensuing sequel, so I would highly suggest reading it in conjunction with A Promise Kept. It may not seem that way, but the names used to identify characters are used deliberately.
Chapter Notes: While the main characters are Regina Mills and Emma Swan, this chapter features the males of OUaT. They play an integral part in the arc, so please bear with this beast of a chapter. Swan Queen will be reunited, however the romance will likely not fully develop in this story.
Jiminy knew when someone gave up. A person would erase all traces of caring from their lives, a coat of indifference varnishing the layers of anger and regret. In times of great turmoil, what one would do or how they would react was indicative of their real feelings- a moment when their true heart spoke.
"Maybe my mom can do something!"
Henry Mills had been through a lot the past yea— finding his birth mother, learning about a different world, realizing how his mother had manipulated him and the town for years. Things like that are not so easily to overcome, taking years to get over, if it all. It wasn't that Jiminy felt an overpowering affection for the deposed Mayor, the former Evil Queen; he was all too aware of her actions, past and present. Yet he was an embodiment of a conscience- he could see things, people, in a way different than others. A belief, an empathy, which made him see things where others could not.
Jiminy knew that in her own twisted way, Regina loved Henry, and, despite their troubles, a part of Henry still loved her, too.
If anyone was capable of redemption it would have to be accomplished with understanding, compassion and love. Snow White, who had erased all love from her heart in order to forget the pain caused by it, had been found again by love. Magic erased it; a magic more powerful replaced it. Jiminy believed that even if one buried the feelings deep down they could still be recovered. It would be an arduous, painful process to be sure, but one worth making.
Even before Henry unconsciously admitted to his deepest feelings, Jiminy knew that the blind vengeance toward Regina wouldn't solve anything. He knew firsthand how quickly and painfully that could backfire. When he saw the mob begin to form, chanting the rather common "kill the witch" he knew that he had to find Emma. The Saviour would be the only one capable of stopping the rage-filled citizens, a power within her that made others believe.
He had to admit he was taken aback by how quickly Emma rushed to Regina's defence. Having been caught in several of their possessive spats, he knew that there was no love lost between them. Something had changed between them and he was sure that something was their shared love for Henry. Regina had helped break her own curse due to her love for her son and Jiminy believed Emma also saw that, to the truth of Regina's heart, however dark and buried it may be. Snow helping to defend Regina also astonished Jiminy but he supposed that all were capable of change and empathy.
When Jiminy attempted to lend his support to Regina he was not at all surprised by her expected reluctance in the form of snide remarks. Having lived for so long gave Jiminy the insight to know that one could never change or open up until one wanted to. He would wait.
Several days later a faint rap against his office door alerted Jiminy to the nature of his new client. Opening the door he quickly took in Regina, eyes a little sunken, pallor in her face, a barely disguised fidgeting in her hands. She looked every bit the addict and her flat statement of her length of time not using magic only cemented his suspicions.
"Please come in," Jiminy had said, mind already whirring. He didn't know an awful lot about magic but, judging from Regina's reactions, it seemed much like a drug— at least the type of magic she used. He couldn't be sure, not without asking the fairies, but his diagnosis would have to do.
Regina and he had talked at length about her attempts at changing herself, for Henry. When Jiminy pointed out that Regina wouldn't be able to truly change unless she wanted it for herself, she had merely glared sullenly at him, a smile coming to his lips.
"What are you smiling about?" Regina had snapped, crossing her arms.
Jiminy smiled in a more placating manner. "It's just, Henry made that exact face many times." Regina's posture relaxed slightly, eyes softening in a dangerously misty fashion. "I can see where he gets a lot of it from," he added gently when Regina furiously rubbed at her eyes. He wondered if all she saw now when she looked at Henry was Emma.
Soon after that Regina had enough and tromped out petulantly and Jiminy had leaned back into his chair. What he said to Regina was true but due to her nature and reluctance to expound about her past, he didn't have a clear channel in which to help her.
Regina was used to give and take- a method she took to the extremes. To reach her presently, Jiminy would have to play her games, by her rules, until they crumbled away in the face of truth.
"Jiminy!" Charming exclaimed in surprise as he opened the door to reveal his old friend.
"Hello," Jiminy replied, albeit less enthusiastically. "I hope this isn't too late of an hour to stop by."
Charming shook his head, beckoning Jiminy inside. "Not at all, Henry and I just got back from Granny's."
Smiling, Jiminy stepped over the threshold to Mary Margaret's apartment and had to repress a chuckle at the disarray he saw. "That's good. I'm actually here to talk to Henry." At Charming's confused frown, he amended, "about his mother."
Leaning against the back of the door, Charming folded his arms. "Emma will be alright— she's with Snow. I will find them."
"I don't doubt that," Jiminy shook his head. "I meant Regina."
Charming stiffened. "Emma," he emphasized, "is Henry's mother."
"That's true," Jiminy said, adjusting his glasses, "but Regina did raise him for nearly his entire life."
It appeared Charming had the sense to accept that one. "Henry has me, we're doing alright," Charming insisted and Jiminy had to wonder who he was trying to convince. "No offense, Jiminy, but the only reason Henry saw you was because Regina was manipulating him, someone she claims to love."
"I know that," Jiminy raised his eyebrow and Charming scratched his neck. "Henry is also my friend, and you know there is nothing wrong with talking about your feelings. Letting them build up inside you, buried and forgotten doesn't lead to happy endings," he said gently. Charming's posture relaxed as he took in Jiminy's words.
"Like Regina," he clarified to which Jiminy nodded. "I know Emma said not to hurt her, but it's tough, you know? Everything Regina's done to my family, the whole town…that's not easy to let slide?" He looked at Jiminy, features conflicted.
"It shouldn't be," Jiminy nodded.
"She did alright by letting Henry come back to me but that doesn't excuse what she did in the first place." Charming's eyes hardened.
"I'm not trying to excuse her behavior," Jiminy shook his head. "I'm well aware of what she's done but she has to start somewhere. It's hard to understand the reasons behind such terrible actions. We may never understand but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't show compassion toward someone, especially one who is trying to change themselves."
Drawing in a long breath, Charming shut his eyes. "Regina called to let me know that Henry was in danger. She told me that she didn't think Henry would go with her. She let me take care of it. I…"he paused, releasing a deep sigh. "…wouldn't have thought she would do a thing like that." Charming stalked off from the doorway and paced for a few moments, rubbing the back of his neck furiously. "I called her 'mom' to Henry." He turned a pained look to Henry. "I don't know, I can't think about Regina now, I've got to concentrate on taking care of Henry and finding Emma and Snow."
Acquiescing to Charming's hint that the conversation was over, Jiminy nodded. "That's a good way of looking at it. You don't have to. Just because people talk about things doesn't mean that they get better. There's lots of work that needs to be done. I'd–I'd just like to talk to Henry."
Charming nodded and turned to the stairs only to find Henry sitting stone-faced on the steps. "Henry," he began but Henry tore up the stairs. "Maybe you'd better leave," he said to Jiminy.
"He's confused; perhaps I can try talking to him?" Jiminy countered. Charming nodded slowly.
"I was so upset about not being there for Emma, I jumped on the chance to take care of Henry," Charming started, blinking rapidly a few times. "I guess I don't know a whole lot about parenting."
Jiminy laid a hand on Charming's shoulder. "No one does, not really, not until they are faced with the challenge itself. It's a relationship much like any other, one that takes time and effort, that has bumps on the way, but everything will work out," he reassured, a small grin coming to Charming's face.
Gingerly taking the steps one at a time, Jiminy drew in a focused breath as he arrived at the top of the steps, looking around to find Henry in one of the bedrooms, sitting dejectedly on the bed.
"Hey, Henry," Jiminy called by way of greeting.
A forlorn look was tossed away quickly as Henry looked up to Jiminy. He continued to adopt a steely glare quite reminiscent of Regina as Jiminy sat next to him.
"It's been awhile since we've talked, Henry."
"The only reason I saw you was because she wanted to make me and everyone think I was crazy." Henry skulked.
"But you aren't, you were right," Jiminy affirmed and Henry's frown softened slightly. "How did you feel when everyone knew you were right?" Henry shifted but didn't say anything. Jiminy tried another tack. "Regina did manipulate you, she is the Evil Queen." At Henry's shoulders slumping, Jiminy said "Did she talk to you about that?"
Henry turned to face Jiminy fully. He glared sullenly. "It doesn't matter. She did it; talking about it doesn't take back what she did. She's not my mom," he added.
"Do you really believe that?" Jiminy gently inquired as Henry stubbornly turned away. "I think your mom understands that words don't take back actions. I know she's trying to change for you. She feels badly for how she's treated you…"
"No she doesn't!" Henry whirled around and shot up from the bed. "She's evil! She doesn't regret anything else because she only cares about having me back! That's the only reason she does anything. She's manipulating you like before."
Jiminy's calm didn't waver in the face of Henry's rage. "She did do that before– but that was before you helped me find myself again. Do you remember that?"
Henry sat down slowly, face still scrunched in agitation.
"It's true that the reason she's trying to change now is because of you. Before you she had nothing else to care about, and she became afraid of losing you."
"That's why she hates Emma," Henry supplied. "She wants me all to herself, like a pet or something."
Jiminy sighed softly. "In a way, yes. Like many others, when she wants something and has it, she holds on tightly." Henry looked away quickly at Jiminy's last words. "Your…grandpa…told me you were in danger. What happened?"
Henry sighed and looked straight ahead, so that Jiminy saw his agitated profile. "I called her and had her go to Granny's while I took her skeleton keys. She keeps everything in her crypt," he soldiered on quickly as Jiminy looked at him sharply, "I just wanted to find something to help bring Emma and Mary Margaret back, she has all kinds of things in there, I thought I could find something, I was tired of not doing anything, it's not like how I thought things would be," he tapered off as Jiminy laid a firm hand on his shoulder.
"Henry," Jiminy intoned sternly, "that was extremely dangerous. You've read the book; you know our land was full of dangerous things and darkness. You know of her time as the Evil Queen, that there could be deadly things lying in her vault. Why didn't you tell David, at least, of what you were doing?"
"Emma wouldn't have told anyone, she'd have just done it," Henry said querulously.
Emma wouldn't have been so sloppy, Jiminy thought to himself.
"I just wanted to help," Henry's thunderous expression lifted.
"I know you did," Jiminy rubbed Henry's shoulder comfortingly. "But that doesn't excuse what you did. You placed yourself in danger and deliberately lied to someone, your mother, no less. That's not what we do," he added, knowing that Henry would catch the unsaid portion.
Henry looked appropriately curtailed. It was a hard lesson to learn and Jiminy did not like making Henry feel guilt but it was something he needed to hear. He idly wondered why Charming hadn't scolded Henry in the first place, and decided that Charming was probably too relieved at Henry's safety and, added to his lack of parental skills, was likely to have overlooked the opportunity. Jiminy would have to speak with him later.
"That's not what you thought she would do, is it?"
At Jiminy's words Henry lost the guilty look in his eyes. "What?"
"What you said before, about keeping you all to herself. I assume you didn't show up to the meeting you scheduled with Regina?" Henry's eyes cut to the floor.
"So when she realized what you must have done, she called your Grandpa, one of her greatest, enemies, so to speak and waited. He told me that she was afraid you wouldn't go with her and she wanted you to be safe. Do you think Regina would have done that before?"
Henry's frown softened. "No…but when we were in the mine, she let Emma come down to rescue us. And she helped Emma when I was…"he trailed off, anger clouding his features once more. "She tried to kill Emma! I died!" He sobbed and turned into Jiminy's chest.
Jiminy held Henry tightly as his cries echoed throughout the room. He was a little amazed that Charming hadn't burst in by this point but perhaps he understood that Henry needed this moment. "You're alright now." Henry shook his head fiercely but didn't elucidate further. They stayed like that for several minutes until Henry's sobs abated. Jiminy sensed there was more about that but it appeared Henry was unwilling to talk about it further at the time. He went back to the topic of Regina. "When that happened, Regina knew that your safety came first, like Emma did, over their own needs and desires. Then she let you go with Emma then, and again with David after Emma left and once more after she tried to force you to stay with her. Did you know that letting someone you love go is one of the hardest things to do?"
Henry pulled back slightly, sniffing, to look Jiminy in the eyes. "Emma said she gave me up for adoption so she could give me my best chance."
"Exactly," Jiminy nodded. "Regina is in a place where she needs to heal herself and knows that she can't provide you with what you need. So she let you go, too." At Henry bunching his brows together, Jiminy turned them so they were facing and placed both hands on Henry's shoulder and looked him square in the eye. "That doesn't mean that either Emma or Regina abandoned you or love you any less. They both still love you deeply."
Henry swallowed.
Jiminy dropped his hands from Henry's shoulders but Henry scooted closer to him on the mattress. "Tell me what you know about addiction, Henry."
Confused by the abrupt topic change, Henry floundered for a moment to answer. "Isn't it like when you become too attached to something you can't let it go?"
"That's a very good way of putting it," Jiminy encouraged. "It's defined by being a persistent and compulsive dependence on a behavior or substance. Magic, at least magic like the one your mom uses, is like a drug. It gets inside the blood and every part of the body aches for it. For someone who has used that for as long a time, and from a lonely, sad place as your mother likely has, its hold is very tight. It's been a struggle for her, but I think you'll be surprised by how much she's trying to avoid using it. She came to talk to me about it. Today," Jiminy added upon Henry's startled look.
"She's used magic to hurt people. Like making Emma go away."
Jiminy tilted his head. "Really? Do you know what happened?"
"No," Henry admitted at length. "Grandpa wouldn't tell me what happened; just that Emma and Mary Margaret were gone. I know they were trying to get the Wraith to go away. She couldn't use magic before, but I guess she found a way to because when I got there with Ruby she had Grandpa held against the wall with magic."
"But she couldn't use it before?" Jiminy was confused. If Regina had magic then why did she wait so long to try and take Henry back?
"Yeah, I don't know how it happened," Henry frowned.
"Henry," Jiminy said quietly, waiting until Henry looked back. "Words don't excuse a person's actions or repair damage that's been done. No matter what Regina does, it will never be enough. It won't change the past or right her wrongs. There's only so much she can do, and the rest has to be forgiveness, something that doesn't come easily or quickly. But…words are a good place to start. You know how much trouble she has being honest and open about herself, but, I think, for you, she will try." At Henry's perplexed look, Jiminy smiled. "This is something that only you can do, Henry. You can help her save herself."
Henry's lower lip trembled perilously. "She talked to me when she let me go back with Grandpa. She said that she was sorry for lying to me and that she made me feel like I didn't know who I was." The words came tumbling out, followed closely by tears. "She said she remembered that if she held onto me too tight that it wouldn't make me love her and that she wants me to want to be with her because I wanted to, not by using force or magic on me, that she wanted to redeem herself." He choked a little on his next words. "A–and she said she wasn't capable of loving for a long time and that she doesn't know how to love well! B–but–"
Jiminy enfolded Henry in his arms once more as Henry clung tightly to him. "I never believed her when she said that she loved me, but I still can't—"he stopped.
"You don't have to feel guilty for loving her, Henry," Jiminy said and was relieved when Henry didn't stiffen or snap back. "It's a process, but, hopefully, one day, when she says that, you'll both believe it."
Henry smiled wryly at the foal. "So when are we going to be friends so we can go out for a ride? I'd like to show Emma and Mary Margaret when they get back. Which is soon," he waggled a finger in front of the foals nose, who responded by nickering softly against his hand. Grandpa said he'd find them soon, and he always found Snow White. The Book said so…
Sighing, Henry let the brush go slack against the foal's mane. The book was reality, but there was still so much left out of it, many stories that were never included in the pages, like his– Regina's. It had only been a couple of days since he talked with Jiminy but their conversation left a burden on his shoulders that Henry could swear he felt every second he was awake. Between that and his nightmares, Henry felt exhausted all day, like he would never feel rested again.
Sometimes he felt an overwhelming sense of anger and regret, much like he surmised that Snow and the others felt towards Regina. At those times he couldn't fathom how she could be forgiven or find it in him to care why she was like that. He never before wanted to know how or why she wound up like she did– he doubted anyone did. Snow White wanted to know why Regina hated her, but not why Regina was the way she was. If anyone would've cared, it would have been Emma, the Saviour. After Jiminy left, Henry got into bed, thinking, as he always did, about Emma. Despite his anger at Regina, Jiminy's words had resounded in him, gently whispering to him that the Saviour was destined to save everyone. Everyone, including the Evil Queen. As Henry thought about it further, he thought that perhaps she was the one who needed to be saved most of all.
Henry was broken out of his pensive reverie by the horses in the stable stomping and neighing loudly. He felt an irrational and inexplicable fear travel down his spine and seeping into his limbs. He turned to come face–to–face with a strangely dressed man. He had a wild, almost displaced look about him, eyes bouncing back and forth. It was then that Henry noticed the man's arms were coated in red—blood.
"Hey, are you alright?" Henry asked. "Do you need help–"he was cut off as the man advanced on him and lifted him by his neck, the cold fingers clamping down in a vice–grip.
Emma, Henry screamed in his head, mouth open in a desperate attempt to take in air. Mom…
"Daniel!"
Henry's whole body thrummed with relief, despite still being caught in a choke–hold. She had come–to save him.
Regina stood rigidly, a deathly pallor to her face, as David stood next to her, seemingly waiting to spring into action.
"Daniel," Regina repeated, firmer this time, to the man holding Henry aloft. "Let. Him. Go." She demanded in a tone that brokered no argument. It reminded Henry of how she used to sound, yet there wasn't an underlying bite to her words, only a sort of sad resignation.
The man grunted and scrunched his eyes in pain and abruptly released Henry who went crashing to the floor. David rushed to Henry's side and lifted him by his elbow, tossing him toward the exit. "Get out of here, Henry!" He bit out before turning to rush back to Regina and the man.
Henry bolted as quickly as he could, gasping in air and rubbing his throat. He didn't stop until he reached the side of the sturdy pick–up truck that Grandpa drove. He took in huge lungfuls of air, relishing the feeling of the oxygen permeating through his body. The sounds of the scuffle inside the stable reached his ears, snapping him back into reality.
Mom, he thought fleetingly. His fear pressed him tighter to the car door, torn between wanting to help and obeying his Grandpa's orders. Things quieted down suddenly and a few moments later David strode out of the stable, a dark expression on his face which immediately lightened upon seeing Henry. Henry ran towards him and into his arms, relaxing at the strong embrace.
"You alright, Henry?" David leant down to look Henry in the eyes.
"Yeah," Henry whispered as David looked over his neck, no doubt eyeing the bruises forming there.
"Okay, let's get you home," he went for Henry's hand but Henry yanked it away.
"What about my mom?" His eyes shone against his will, more so when David's face contorted with anger.
"She'll be fine– let's get you out of here."
"No!" Henry yelled, oblivious to the pain in his throat that the exclamation caused. "We can't leave her with that man!"
Henry loved his Grandpa but after Archie's words, he knew he couldn't stand by and let things happen to his mother. He had pleaded with Emma to protect her, and he had let them both down. Saving his mom was something only he could do, and the good guys never abandoned someone, even someone as vile as the Evil Queen.
David sighed, his brows unfurrowing. "Do you know who that man is, Henry?"
Henry shook his head. The man wasn't in the Book nor had he seen him around town.
"That's Regina's True Love, Daniel." At Henry's shocked expression, David laid a hand on his shoulder. "…his death was what caused your mom to hate Snow, to make the Curse, everything."
Henry blinked rapidly. "But he's alive…"
"Dr. Whale brought him back to life somehow, using one of the hearts from Regina's vault."
Henry shivered at the mention of the vault and his failed expedition into it. "But he's not the same, is he?"
Glancing back to the stable, Charming replied with a soft "No."
"Then we've got to help her, she would do anything for someone she loves!" Henry yanked David's arm, pulling him toward the stable.
There was only a mild resistance before David strode ahead of Henry, hand moving to grasp Henry's. "Okay, but if I tell you to run, you run, got it?"
Henry nodded as they entered the stable to find only Regina and her sobs, broken as her heart likely was, Henry guessed. He heard his grandpa sigh deeply but dropped his hand and moved towards his mother. Henry was unsure of how to handle the shattered woman before her, confusion at this strange side of her, residual anger and resentment bubbling up into his mouth and souring his mouth. He remembered Emma's face and how she had ruffled his hair. "Let's go," he says instead and offers his hand to his mother.
Regina's eyes lift to his own, a glazed look dissipating as she glanced from his eyes to his outstretched hand, as if it were a spectre from a dream. She shakily moved it towards his own, keeping eye contact, as if to check if he would retract it.
Henry wanted to.
Instead, as her fingers gingerly grazed his own, a chill coating them, he grasped hers all the more firmly and turned around and led her to the truck, David's contemplative look following close behind.