Once Upon a Time Prompts Booklet

In Front of the Fire

Regina exits her tent and inhales the crisp night air, the weather just beginning to turn from summer to autumn. Smoke from the fire fills her nose, and she closes her eyes, lights flickering in front of her eyelids, feeling the calmness of the night overwhelm her. She opens her eyes and watches the fire for a second, how the flames dance around each other and stretch up into the starry night sky.

Very few times in Regina's life can she say that she's been truly at rest, at peace. There's something about the quiet beauty of nature that makes Regina's blood run easier, her heart expand, and her lips curl upwards. There's something about the sharpness of the wind, the creaking of old oak trees, a distant hoot of an owl, the smell of damp forest floor, and the wood smoking in a self-made fire that makes Regina feel like a girl again. Every inch and second of her childhood was spent out of doors every spare moment she was out of reach of her mother's clutches; when she wasn't shoved into a terrible dress and made to dip her head and say polite, mandatory, princess things, when her mother wasn't using her dark magic to bend and force Regina unwillingly into the husk of a daughter she wanted. The touch and kiss of nature is Regina's life form. She can breathe.

The fire is a good distance away; she begins to approach it, the coolness of the wind leaving chills dancing up and down her bare arms. As she walks, the form of a man sitting on a log in front of it begins to take shape. For a brief set of seconds, she wonders who it is; whether it's the other Hook, Jack, or someone from camp, before she realizes with a pang.

As she continues to walk closer, Henry's broad back begins to block out the flickering, dying glow of the fire. Inside, her blood goes cold because, for a moment, she hadn't recognized him, her own son. She's still sometimes hit with disbelief and almost confusion that the man in front of her is her little prince. How months ago, she'd been waiting at home for him to come back, still her quickly-growing teenager, but instead had been called to come here--to see that he's grown several years away from her. It almost hurts. It's been months since she'd chosen to stay with her boy in the Enchanted Forest instead of returning with Emma and Killian. Her heart throbs each time she thinks of the blonde with bright green eyes identical to her son's irises. And wonders, aches, what would have happened if maybe--

But. Now isn't the time. For the thousandth time, she pushes those ugly thoughts away from her mind. She sidesteps the log Henry's sitting on, stares at his profile for a long minute, waits for him to notice her.

Finally, he blinks, looks away from the fire, and up at where she's standing. He looks troubled; his thick eyebrows are furrowed, deeply shadowing his eyes, which are glinting softly in the light, almost as if there's an extra glaze above his irises. His thin lips are set in a line, prominent jaw clenched. When he sees her, his face softens, but only slightly. When he opens his mouth, only a sigh escapes his lips.

Regina wants to ask, but waits. She gives him a soft smile, instead, and gestures at the space on the log next to where he's seated. "Mind if I join you?"

His eyebrows finally un-furrow, and nods sharply before moving over slightly to give her more space. "No. No, of course not," he mumbles, watching her as she collects her cape in one hand before she sits.

Regina lets several heartbeats pass. Henry looks away and back into the fire, brow darkening his face once more. Regina looks him over; observes the way flickering light gives the shadows of his face a significant contrast, how the glow illuminates his pretty eyes, the very tips of his cheekbones, the bridge of his long, straight nose, the edge of his sharp jaw. Darkness cloaks the contours of his thin, long face, making him almost hard to see.

Oh, gods above, he's become so handsome. Every plane of his face, every hair on his head, every inch of his tall muscled body. He's perfect. Her heart throbs painfully in her chest.