The Art of Darkness

Chapter Two

Chapter 2

"You have to believe me!" Henry pleaded. Regina shook her head.

"Kid Im not in some storybook!" Regina was exasperated. The boy's claims couldn't be true. After all, wouldn't she remember being someone's mother?

"You are!" The boy insisted, but Regina had already started to hike off through the woods. Having no one to go to but Regina, he decided to follow her.

"What did you say your name was?" Regina questioned. Henry smiled happily, maybe Regina was warming up to him! "Not because I think your my son," She explained with an annoyed frown at seeing his face light up, "But to make sure you can keep your story straight." Story? Henry wondered. This was not some sort of a lie. This story was real, it was the truth.

"I don't have a story. I mean, I do," He glanced down toward the book Heroes and Villains, "But it's real. This world is a myth, a lie, its fiction. The world I come from is the real world. Its where you, and me, and even Snow White live together. And we are even a happy family."

"Not possible. Didn't you see the posters?" Henry nodded silently, knowing this wouldn't be easy. "The queen wants me dead." She summarized. Her voice lacked emotion, Henry could tell that she had lost hope. Why? When he read the stories of Snow during her times in these same woods, doing the same thing, there wasn't one time Henry could remember her losing hope or acting so ... Regina. Henry needed to remember this was Regina in Snow's spot; not Regina acting like Snow.

"Thats it!" Henry realized. He beamed at Regina. She looked back at him with a questioning expression.

"Now that you've realized that I'm not your mother, can I please get going?" Henry did not reply. He squatted down quickly and started ripping apart his book bag. In his frantic search he finally pulled out the novel, Heroes and Villains. Regina raised her eyebrow. "Really?" She gave him a sassy look. "The stupid book that supposedly holds my life in it? You think thats going to help all of this?" Henry didnt bother to answer her. He opened it up an read from the page,

"That day, Regina had come up with a plan to buy her way out of the woods. She was going to rob the royal carriage which would pass that day with a multitude of gold inside. She had finally given up on living in these woods with Snow after her."

"How did you, what did y- ... give me that!" When Henry realized that he had only managed to frighten and anger his mother, he began running. She chased after him; sending an arrow racing past his ear and piercing a nearby tree.

"Please!, He tried to reason with her. "Im your son!" Finally he stopped, not able to run any farther. She tackled him to the ground and held an arrow to his neck.

"Give me the book!" She hissed. "I don't know what your doing here or who you are - but give me that book!"

"STOP!" Gold - no, his alternate universe double - appeared. Regina looked up and took the arrow from Henry's neck. "Guards!," Called Gold, "Seize them!"

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