After Henry (Once Upon a Time)

Chapter Twenty-Six: Last Trial

New Orleans, Louisiana...

Ivy: Henry's face looked like someone who's just swallowed hell itself, realizing the tale me and Ella embodied in both the fairytale and the real world.

"Now, you see how using Ana's death against Victoria is the worst plan imaginable. We just have to thank our lucky stars for my sister's death not to haunt us anymore than already does." 

"I see..." Henry whispered, still trying to find the hold of himself. "We need to find something else to stop Belfrey and do it the right way."

"Yes, we do, but in the meantime, we should focus on stopping me from going to jail for faking my own death. One problem at a time."

"We're really inside a hot messy bubble of problems." Henry sighed deeply as his face turned redder and unsteady.

"You tell me about it." I whispered, after a deep unsteady breath. "Samdi told us he has a great lawyer, maybe we can use him to win the trial so I don't get to jail, as for Victoria, we'll find another way to stop her."

"Yes, let's go back inside, but how will we explain the reason why we're not going to accept Samdi's plan to uncover Anastasia's death and blame it on Victoria? Don't you think he'll suspect you and Jacinda have a hand in it?"

"You're right, we do need to make up with a really good story." I realized how deep we both fell in the rabbit's dark hole, finding darkness and threats that could only be faced using both sides of the coin. The Good and the Evil. There was no way we could survive by just being heroes. As much as I hated to admit it, the only way for us to thrive against all odds was to align the two forces we always saw as nemesis and opposite. I had to be both the wicked step sister who knew a thing or two about blackmailing and manipulation as well as the girl trying to find a golden heart in Henry's arms. 

No matter what me and Henry did, we now lived in a world of fifty shades of grey and there was no way we could win this fight as heroes. At first, I judged Henry for losing his heroic traits when he thought about using Ana's death against the mother who had done nothing but trying to resurrect that girl. Now, I finally came to terms to the fact that it was about time we learned a thing or two from the villains' book. First, we survive, then, we find our humanity again.

"Mr. Samdi, we appreciate your help, but we can't get through with this. Victoria is too powerful and we should just find a way to protect Ivy from going to jail for faking her death. As for the rest, I think we just have to find a way to defend ourselves from everything she throws at us. Thanks for your help, anyways, and please, if you're still up to, can you arrange us a meeting with the lawyer you spoke of?" Henry politely replied as Jacinda stared at him with her big chocolate doe eyes enchanted by the man she once called her husband. Thank God she didn't really remember it! That woman was really getting on my nerves, right now, but I knew better than burst into a furious hell of rage. 

Baron Samdi's eyes lost the brightening Victoria's demise pictured in his mind. Amy looked at Henry proud to see her son made the right choice, to put justice and goodness in first place instead of self-preserverence. The savior was the embodiment of light, there was no way she'd ever do something as terrible as we were planning before. 

Still, it wasn't easy to shake away the feeling we should, once and for all, stop defending ourselves from Victoria. Was this how life was supposed to be? Just defeat and repeat?! 

Henry was right before, it was time we finally found leverage against the wicked woman I had the displeasure to have as mother. It was about time we brought the fight to her or we'd be cursing ourselves to an unsteady life of survival. 

"Wait! Mr. Samdi, I may have a better plan, but I don't think my friends will like it." I confessed, already wrinkling my face to everyone else's judging looks.