Forest of Fireflies

Chapter 86

(Daniella's POV)

...........continuation from the previous chapter

"Your superpower is barely reliable." Mother seethed. Then, she added bitterly, "Besides, why the sudden insistence that I'm guilty of the massacre, hmm?"

Snow replied, "We were informed."

I held my breath as a thick silence hung in the air. Then, with a voice deadlier than poison, mother asked, "By who?"

Stubbornly, the princess replied, "No, I won't offer their names to you. However, I'm going to give you a little bit of a choice here. Admit what you've done and we'll let you see Henry. Keep your secret to yourself, and we'll keep him from you. Either way, you're going to lose your power-"

"HOW DARE YOU THREATEN ME WITH MY SON?!" Mother roared suddenly. I looked down upon her outburst. Then, she stepped right up to Snow and sneered, "You're in no position to move me. If you do, our kingdoms will be at war once again. And this time, I will crush you. I haven't even wagered anything against you, yet you're calling for conflict."

Emma managed to fit in a sentence, "So you did kill those innocents..."

"I have not admitted to anything, Swan. Besides, I have no motif to rule Wonderland. Whatever my mother does, isn't a concern to me. I'm sick of your accusations. First of being a terrible mother to Henry, and now regarding this massacre dilemma," mother replied with a dangerous glare. 

I already knew that the unCharmings were convinced with their outcome. I was worried that a full-scale conflict would arise. We cannot defeat the Wicked Witch and take down Snow at the same time!

Luckily, the heated argument between mother and Snow's little trio ended as heavy footsteps disrupted us. We turned to see a black guard approaching. He bowed towards mother and said, "Your Majesty, I'm sorry to intrude, but we just received a message and it's urgent."

I silently made a sigh of relief, and I could tell that mother was grateful for this interception as well. She gave the unCharmings a pointed stare and seethed, "You will not interrogate Daniella about this. If I hear that you've said anything to her, you'll have to face my wrath." My heart thumped as she gave the guard a nod and started walking off with him.

Snow however made no effort to say anything else to me. The unCharmings left after giving me apologetic looks.

I wasn't in the mood to return to the palace, especially as Snow's followers seem to be lurking around every corner. In the gardens, I would be relatively alone, save for the guards on duty. Besides, no one really dared to go near the apple tree. It was the only place where I could be alone. So, I certainly didn't expect that I would get another visitor so soon. 

I put the apple in my hand into the basket and murmured in an unbelieving voice, "Henry?"

He stopped a metre away from me and blurted out rather hysterically with red teary eyes, "Do you want me dead?"

"What? No! What are you talking about?" I spluttered, very much taken back by his blunt question.

He continued, "You want me dead don't you? That's why you took my heart! So that you can...so that you can end Snow's bloodline because then...your...your inheritance, the kingdom, the Enchanted Forest would-"

I didn't let him continue because A. he was making no sense. B. I already had an inkling of what he was alluding to. I gripped his shoulders and said, "Hey, listen to me." Tears were streaming down his face by this point. I had never seen Henry in such a state of internal breakdown. I looked unbelievably at him and said, "Henry, I already told you that I'm sorry about taking your heart. I didn't mean to make you feel scared or upset. Look. It's hard to explain but having magic is hard to control. I'm sorry for keeping your heart."