Roses | Killian Jones

5

Regina has been getting increasingly worried about the book. She tries to confront Henry about the missing pages, but he denies everything.

She tried to beride of Emma, but it didn't work.

Then, she had her framed. Supposedly stealing Henry's files from his therapist.

Only to be bailed out by Mary Margaret.

Emma then retaliated by cutting down Regina's prized apple tree.

Regina thought she would tear them apart, but they only grew closer.

Regina sits at her tree, picking up apples and trying to save the tree itself.

" What a mess," Mr.Gold says as he walks up to her.

" Not for long. What can I do for you, Mr. Gold?" Regina asks.

" I was just in the neighborhood, thought I'd pop by. Lovely to see you in such high spirits."

Regina chuckles.

" Well, it's been a good day. I just rid the town of an unwanted nuisance," She says.

" Emma Swan? Really?"

" Yes, I imagine she's halfway to Boston by now." 

" I wouldn't bet on that. I've just seen her strolling down the main street with your boy. Thick as thieves they looked."

" What?"

" Perhaps you should've come to me. If Miss Swan is a problem you can't fix, I'm only happy to help. For a price, of course."

" I'm not in the business of making deals with you anymore."

" To which deal are you referring?'

" You know what deal."

" Oh, right, yes. The boy I procured for you. Henry. Because you felt as though... your daughter would fly from the nest."

Regina looks him dead in the eyes as she says her next words.

" I did what's best for my family... you of all people would know what that's like."

As the days pass by, Henry continues to work with his birth mother. He continues to try and convince her that the curse is real. All to his mother's dislike. She doesn't want the two around each other. Both because Henry is her son, and because of the curse.

Regina feels confident over Scarlett's obviation. Scarlett truly has no idea. And Regina feels like she's saved her daughter from herself.

However, Scarlett's suspicion has only been growing. And it all started when she couldn't remember why she named her dog Hook.

Scarlett began looking through photos, but couldn't find anything from more than 28 years ago. 

One day, as Scarlett sits at the dinning room table reading the day's paper with Hook laying by her chair, her mother walks in and hands her a cup of coffee.

" Anything interesting happen, dear?" Regina asks.

Scarlett reads through the paper, and the only interesting story she could find was the expose Sydney did on Emma.

" Same old, same old," Scarlett mumbles.

Regina brushes this off and pushes the coffee mug closer to her daughter.

" Drink your coffee. You need your energy," Regina says.

As Regina walks away, Scarlett can't help but sigh.

Nothing interesting ever happens in Storybrooke, Maine.

Henry walks down the stairs and grabs a poptart from the kitchen. He walks into the dining room and sits down next to his sister.

" Does mom know you're having a poptart for breakfast?" Scarlett asks.

" I won't tell if you won't?" Henry offers.

Scarlett nods and chuckles.

" How's therapy going, little dude?" She asks as she continues to scan the paper.

" It's alright... I think I've figured out who Archie is. He's Jiminy Cricket," He says as he continues to munch on his poptart.

Once more, Scarlett chuckles.

" Where do you get all of these ideas from, anyway?"

Henry becomes serious and looks his sister in the eyes.

" If I tell you, you're sworn to secrecy. You will officially be a part of Operation Cobra. Nobody can know."

" Not even mom?"

" Especially not mom."

Henry then explained everything to his sister. The curse. The Evil Queen. And the story book. And while Scarlett's skeptic side tells her he's just a kid, there's a part of her that just might actually believe. It would explain why she can't remember... anything, really.

" Come on, I'll walk you to school," Scarlett says.

She puts a leash on her dog while Henry grabs his backpack. As the two walk, Henry continues to talk about the curse.

" So, this means mom is the Evil Queen?" She asks.

" Yep," He says.

" And that makes me... a princess?"

" Yep."

" And your whole plan is to break the curse and defeat the Evil Queen?"

" Yep."

" What does that have to do with cobras?"

" Nothing. That's the point."

Once they reach Henry's school, they share one last hug before the bell rings. Scarlett watches as Henry runs to class, then looks down at her dog. Hook tilts his head up to look at her in return. If anything, Henry got the wheels in her head spinning like crazy.