After Henry (Once Upon a Time)

Chapter Eighteen: Unchain me

Seattle, Hyperion Heights...

Ivy: I was forgotten, alone, left in a dark corner of Hyperion Heights' police department.

 At least, the guards had the decency to let me retain my original clothes. 

It seemed that until courtyard I'd still be a "free" woman. 

Still, "free" is a relative term in my dictionary. For me it truly meant being in the arms of Henry Mills, swimming across Malibu's waters. 

Now, "freedom" was staying out of jail, chained by mother's claws. Yet, I thanked my lucky stars for allowing me to spend some days in my old bedroom, and not be damned to walk around in those orange jumpsuits that only looked good on the girls from that Netflix show...

My eyes scanned that tiny corner of the police department. Eight fifteen in the morning, the clock screamed. I closed my eyes and felt the ache of Destiny's betrayal when I saw what time it was. What was about "eight-fifteen" that the universe saw as something so important?

The door opened. At last...a breath of fresh air...it only lasted three seconds, until mother walked inside, her nose held high (same as always), those dreadful piercing blue eyes made her look even more obnoxious. It was really terrible!

"Ivy, so good to finally meet you." That awful woman whispered. Still, her eyes didn't bother to fake missing me.

"Hello to you too, mother. Having fun with my imprisonment? Where's Henry and Amy?" I asked Victoria Belfrey, yes, because that woman shouldn't be called "mother" ever again. Tears rolled down my marble cheeks, mouth corners went deep and dry, same as my crushed spirit.

"You needn't worry about them, those people are where they belong: far away from our family. Ivy, they put poisonous thoughts on your mind! They made you leave your own home."

"Home?!" I was speechless with her hypocrisy. "I only had home when I was with Henry and you were the one to take me away from that. I ran away because I wanted to!" 

"Yes, and because of your poor poor judgment you ended up in jail, pregnant and with lots to answer for." The silver haired woman taunted me with her wicked tongue. She drew the chair next to her, sitting and gazing upon my broken soul with delight.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" I asked the witch, as my cold tone whisked tears away.

"I know I never showed much empathy towards you, dear, but I do care about my girls. Speaking of which, I managed a great lawyer for you. He may not take you out of jail, but you'll stay here for just a while. Nine months, to be exact."

"What?!" My voice dead pawned. Nine months? Why would mother want me to be out of jail when clearly she was enjoying my imprisonment? Why specifically nine months? It was as if she was waiting for...No! Could she be doing that because of my pregnancy?

"Why are you doing this?" 

"Look, faking your death isn't a crime, unless it involves the tone of documents you faked and the all staging of the scene. Ivy, you did terrible things to run away, you even left a body on your place. Where the hell did you get that?!"

"I didn't kill her!" I stated, firmly, still, rather wishing to forget the sins I committed to run away from Seattle. 

"It doesn't matter, you'll have to answer for all of it. Nine months is the best time you'll get, and don't worry about the baby, detective Weaver will see that you're cared for during your time in jail."

"Of course he will..." I muttered, sarcastically, I knew all to well that Weaver aka the dark one was behind all of this. He and mother were probably awake and doing all this mess. For what goal? I could only imagine...

"I do hope that during your time in jail you think about your mistakes and for once grow a conscience! But for now, the police lets you get back home, so let's go and think clearly once we get there." 

There was no way I'd go back to mother's. At first I swallowed the idea because I thought about going back to my bed and to my things, but after all that intimidation, staying far away from the Devil was the best for me and my child.

I could still go to Henry's! I thought. After all, I was still a few days shy from the court session. It was time for me to properly say goodbye to Henry, to be with him and make him know how much I cared for him. We also needed to find a really good lawyer and not the one Victoria arranged me! I was so sure she was playing nice just to make things worse!

Henry's family always believed in hope and the power of true love and now it was my time to do the same. 

A smile covered the corners of my mouth, as my mind's eye conjured the face of my beloved and the future we could build, hands wrapped around my belly and voice whispered gently:

"Hey, baby, I won't let anything happen to us. We'll get through this and I promise you, I will love you the way my mother never loved me. You'll be happy. Now, we just need to get back to our family and figure this all out."