Breaking Barriers

The Sleeping Curse

"Mom?" Henry said in disbelief. He rubbed his eyes and blinked. "Is that you?"
"Yes," Regina said and smiled. "I'm right here."
"This can't be real." Henry stepped back. "You- you're not real. You're back in Storybrooke."
"No, Henry, it's me." Regina said. She stepped forward and hugged him. "I enacted the sleeping curse so I could talk to you again."
"Well, that's not much of a curse now, is it?" Henry smiled. Regina sighed.
"No," she said. "It's not."
"So how are things back in Storybrooke? How are Snow and Charming? Belle and Mr. Gold?" Henry began.
"Oh, they're fine." Regina said. "Mr. Gold has moved in his sleep, which is a good sign. And Belle couldn't be happier."
"Oh, that's good." He said.
"Yes, and Charming, Snow, and Belle, it seems, were under a spell Emma cast and that's why they were helping her." Regina continued.
"I was wondering." He said. He wiped the sweat off his forehead. "It's a little hot in here, isn't it?"
Yes, I was thinking the same thing." Regina said, looking around the room. "You know, with a little work, this could be a nice place."
"We can do that?" Henry asked.
"Well, it is a dream world after all. Just think of something, and it will be there."
Henry closed his eyes and began to concentrate. Suddenly, before him, sat a wooden chair.
"Take a seat." He said, gesturing towards the chair. Regina sat down.
"Thank you, Henry. But this will burn with the heat." She closed her eyes. The flames disappeared, leaving a floor of dark tiles, and walls with colourful drapes hanging over them. But now the room was pitch black.
"Um, I can't see anything." Henry said, trying to feel his way around the room.
"Hold on, I'll fix that."
A fancy chandelier appeared above them, shedding light on what was now a nice place. They furnished and redecorated the room until it suited both of their tastes. A fireplace helped light the room with a blazing fire, and two chairs and a table were sitting right next to it. They had put in a small kitchen on the other side of the room, complete with a breakfast bar, and a fridge bursting with food. A shaggy white rug lay on the floor, to help contrast the black tile. Other few small things were added to the room, like a cabinet filled with China plates, a foozeball and ping-pong table, and a walk-in closet filled with all the clothes they could think of. Basically, it was heaven. After they finished all this, they sat down in the chairs by the fireplace and rested. It has been a long night.
"Well, Henry," Regina said. "What do you think?"
Henry looked over and grinned. "This is awesome."
"Yes, and all this is possible because of the pendant Mr. Gold gave you a while ago. Remember?"
"Oh yeah." He said. "So, can we do this every night?"
"Sure," she replied, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "And maybe we could take daily naps too."
"Yeah!" He said. "Wait, what time is it in the real world?"
"I don't think we have clock." She said. She closed her eyes and concentrated, but nothing appeared. She looked around, confused. "I guess the dream world does have its limits. I hope it's not too late in the day."
"Yeah, maybe we should wake up now." He said. "Although, it was really nice being with you again."
"You too." She smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow night, Henry."
She held him in a hug and disappeared in his arms. Henry sighed and woke up into the nasty real world.

He woke up to Emma shaking him.
"Henry, I didn't know you were such a heavy sleeper." She said. "Come on, it's time to get ready for school."
School. He was transferred to a new school in Boston, a place where he knew nobody, and had no reason to get to know anybody.
"Alright, "Henry said. He looked over at the clock, which he found it read 7:00. Not bad. He got up and got ready for his first day at his new school. There, he didn't talk to anybody and hated every second of it. He just wanted to get back to his friends in Storybrooke, Violet, Hansel and Gretel, and Dorothy, among his other friends. And most of all, Regina. He wanted to get back to her so desperately. He wanted to get back to sleep so he could talk to her again. At home, Emma questioned him about his first day.
"Did you meet any new friends there?" Emma asked. Henry noticed that she was acting as if this was completely normal, and that this was his actual life. It wasn't. It was back in Storybrooke, where his friends and family were.
"No," He answered. "I didn't really feel like talking to anyone today."
"Don't be like that, Henry." Emma pleaded. "This is your life now, a life without magic. And the dark one."
She seemed to shutter at the thought of it, which Henry considered strange, since she, herself, had been the dark one.
"But magic is a big part of our background. It's who we are." Henry said.
"Not any more." She replied. "Now it's gone, and we can live normally."
"Whatever." He said. He dropped his fork on his plate. "I'm done. Can I go to bed now?"
Emma looked at him strangely. "But it's only-"
"Please?" He begged. "It's been a long day."
"I guess." Emma complied. Henry hurried to his room and soon fell asleep.

As he waited for Regina, he thought up the piece of toast Emma had given him two days ago in Storybrooke. He inspected the words burned on the surface. CHOOSE ME. It looked like he didn't need to choose after all.
"What's that?"
He heard a voice behind him.
"You don't need a totem here, this isn't Inception."
He turned around and saw Regina.
"Mom!" He ran and hugged her. "How are you?"
"Good!" She said. "Now, I'm just fine."
"I waited all day to see you. Today seemed so long." He said.
"For me as well." She said. She walked over to the kitchen and took some stuff out of the fridge.
"What are you making?" He asked as he sat on one of the benches at the breakfast bar.
"Lasagna." She smiled. "Your favorite."
"You know you could just dream it up, right?" Henry said.
"Yes, but cooking it is half the fun." She countered.
"So," she said as she began preparing. "How was the first day of school?"
"Awful." He sighed. "I didn't know anybody there, and I didn't feel like talking to anybody."
"Yes, Hansel came by looking for you today." Regina said. "I had to make up a story of why you were gone."
"What did you say?" Henry asked.
"I told him I accidentally spirited you away." She laughed.
"I'm sure he believed that." Henry said sarcastically. "Do they all know I'm gone now?"
"Yes," she said. "Once I told Hansel that, he told everyone at the school. None of their parents believed them though."
They talked for hours on end while eating lasagna in their chairs by the fireplace. When the conversation drew to a close, Henry sat there, staring into the fire.
"What are you thinking about?" Regina asked.
"I'm thinking about how great this is." He answered. "I get sleep while talking to you. What could be better?"
"Don't forget the lasagna." She added.
"That too." He smiled. "I don't want to leave."
He leaned back in his chair and sighed. But he knew he had to go.