Lithium (Once Upon a Time)

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Truest Believer

Storybrooke, 30th December 2012....

Dark Swan: In the docks, I waited for my son. My emerald eyes staring at the pitch- black line of the night sky's horizon.

The seagles flew over the skyline. I patiently waited for my son to appear.

I was already there for a few minutes, but he didn't arrive. I could only guess what nonsenses my parents put inside Henry's mind.

He saw me as the savior, once ago, but now, he could see me as a villain.

"Mom?" He asked me, and I couldn't help but smile. My son appeared!

"Henry?" I called him, placing my hand above his, but he took it out, instantly.

The smile that once covered my lips faded away, as if the wind blew it up.

"Mom, what happened to you? You were the savior, you were supposed to bring back the happy endings, not end them!" Henry said, with tears drowning the green in his eyes.

"Hey, who put those thoughts in your head? I'm still the same Emma you knew. It's me, Henry, your mom." I explained, but he didn't seem to catch my message.

"No one put this in my head. I can think for myself, mom. And all it took was discovering what you did to Mary Margaret. You killed her!" He said, hurt as hell.

"Henry, that was an accident. You don't know the all story. They killed Regina and they threw me in the wardrobe so that I would never be with her. Honey, Regina and I are in love. They thought they could rip us apart, they summoned a wraith to take her from me, but that monster only took "Regina's soul" leaving her other self, the Evil Queen, alive. They should know better than to deal with magic in this world, because it's highly unpredictable. Now, the Evil Queen is here with me, but it's okay, because we both want what's best for you. These people are not the heroes you think they are. Come with us, everything will be alright."

"No, they wouldn't do that. Snow White and Prince Charming are heroes!"

"Henry, just because fairytales are real, doesn't mean they are black and white. Life is made of many shades of grey. They did awful things to keep me and Regina apart, they condemned me to an awful life, alone for twenty eight years! Until you found me. I understand now, you weren't bringing me home to break a curse, you were bringing me to my family. My real family, you and Regina!"

"But how could Mary Margaret and David kill Regina? They don't have magic to summon the wraith. There's only one person that could do that. Think about it!"

"Gold..." I mumbled, angrily, as I realized Henry was probably right.

"Exactly."

"That doesn't make sense, why would Gold want to kill Regina?"

"I don't know, but it makes sense, he is the only one in town who could summon the wraith."

"He did make sure I'd think my parents did it. He was the one who told me about what they did to me in the past, ripping me apart from Regina, and that they could kill her."

"Exactly, he found a loophole, betrayed everyone just like he does. He is the dark one."

"I have to find out the truth. I have to.... But Henry, why don't you come with me?"

"Because as long as you are trapped by the darkness, I can never be with you."

"Henry, the darkness isn't that bad after all, and those so called heroes, they are even worse than us. Me and Regina raised you, we are the only ones who love you more than anything and can do right by you."

"No, you can't. The darkness can't do right by anything. You are the savior, you should know that. The shadows only drown your heart and make you feel lonely. They put a weight in one's soul but the light is freedom, is calm, is weightless and makes you fly, free from regret, from pain, from the weight of anger and it's awful taste in your heart. Please, mom, we'll figure this out, but we'll do it as heroes."

"Henry, I would very much like to work with you. But I'm not ready to give in to the light. There's much power that can be taken from the darkness, that power can also be used for good. We can bring our family together, fight all of our enemies with the darkness. I won't become the hero you always wanted me to be, I won't forgive my parents for what they did to me, I just can't."

"What if I told you that we could bring Regina back? Not the Evil Queen, Regina! The wraith consumed her, but it didn't kill her, that's not how that magic works. When a wraith consumes a soul, or in this case, part of a soul, it travels to another realm. We can save the good Regina, bring her all again, but you have to become the savior, in order to do it."

"Regina can be saved?" I asked, trembling.

"Yes, but only be the savior!"

I was happy to hear that. Of course I loved the good in Regina, even though I couldn't deny the fatal attraction I had for the Evil Queen, how her wicked tongue seduced me to the shadows, how pleasant it was, how highly addictive. Like my own brand of heroin.

True love is about caring for all the parts of someone's soul, the light and the darkness, alike. I wanted to keep the Evil Queen in my arms, and I wanted to save Regina. But even so, surrounding to the light was something to big to ask of me. I was so caught in the pleasure of crushing someone's heart, of bathing in everlasting twisted passion, the seduction that killing, destroying, dark magic gave me was undeniable.

Plus, the need for revenge, the desire for everything! I needed to find a way to have it all. Both the darkness and the light, Henry and my revenge against my parents and now... Gold, for he had a hand on what happened to Regina, Henry was right. That little twisted imp killed her! My son's theory made sense, he was the only one who could summon the wraith.

I had to find a way, to keep my dark power, my revenge and Henry alike.

All my goals now aligned. To get my revenge I needed to kill Gold, I'd take his dark one power, therefore, I'd surrender completely to the pleasure of darkness. Then, with said power, I could find a way to have Henry in my arms.

But how?! It still wasn't clear to me. I still didn't see how I could teach my son the beauty in shadows, the lust, the freedom of it. He was still so young, even though he looked like a man talking. I didn't want to condemn is soul, corrupt him in the ways of good or evil, just like my parents tried to do with me. I wanted him to choose his own side of the coin, above all, even though I wished he'd choose the darkness.

First things first, I said to myself, I need to get the Dark One's power, then Regina and at last Henry.

Then I'd have to show him the beauty of darkness, provide him a test, maybe, one that would make him choose the side of life. The dark or the light.

But how could I make him choose something as big as that? Life was a challenge, it was a game of yin and yang and we'd all have our chance to choose. It's the constant battle of said forces inside us and inside all of the cosmos, sometimes one wins, sometimes the other. But it's life that provides one's opportunity to choose, to be drawn by one or the other. So how could I provide the final choice for Henry? And how could I be sure he stayed in there?

Perhaps I shouldn't take the power of the dark one for me, perhaps I should steal it and then present it to Henry. I still didn't want to force the darkness on him, to corrupt his soul. I wanted it to be his choice.

I planned on stealing the darkness from Gold, then I'd show it to Henry, and if he is lured by it, he'll be caught on it. I hoped he would be, because then, he'd know how it feels to be viciously dark, to be free of the handcuffs of light. 

N/A: Hello amazing readers, I finished writing the entire book. It will have 42 chapters, like the other story did. As I am finished, I was thinking about publishing all the chapters at once. What do you think about it? Do you want me to post a chapter each day or to post it all at once so you can read it as you wish? Let me know, please. Love, XOXO ;)