Breaking Barriers

The Sleep

Henry slept, although it wasn't exactly night, and it wasn't even exactly day either. He hoped that the sleeping curse would still work, even though he was technically dead. Suddenly, a bright light flashed in front of his eyes, and he found himself sitting in his chair by the fire, in his and Regina's dream house. He heard someone softly sobbing in the kitchen behind him. He slowly walked over to the kitchen. It was Regina. She couldn't escape the grief, even in her sleep, because of this sleeping curse she has cast on herself to talk to him. It really was a curse in some ways. He tapped her on the shoulder.
"Mom?" He said. Regina quickly turned around. Her eyes widened at the sight of Henry, and her grief turned into joy. She hugged him, and stayed there for a long time.
"I can't believe you're back!" Regina said, wiping away her tears. She sat in her chair and motioned for Henry to sit beside her.
"Are you actually dead?" She asked him. He nodded.
"As far as I know." Henry said. "It's really weird being dead. You don't turn into a ghost or anything, but you wake up in the same place you died. No one can see you or hear you. The sky is red, and all the dead just roam around the town. You can go between the enchanted forest and Storybrooke too. If you cross over the town line, then you're suddenly in the Enchanted Forest. It looks like the dark curse changed the underworld too."
"Wow," Regina said. "So every person who's died is there. You didn't see a... Tall guy with dark hair, did you?"
"A lot of them are like that." Henry said. "A lot of people have died."
"No, but did you talk to anyone who worked in a stable at one point?"
Henry thought for a second. "Yes. I'm actually sleeping in a stable right now."
Regina stayed silent for a moment, then smiled. "I'm just glad I still get to talk to you."
"Mom," he said. "I saw Cora. And your dad. Henry."
Regina was taken aback. She didn't really care about Cora, but her father...
"Is... Is he still angry with me?" Regina asked.
"Angry?" He said.
"Yes."
"I didn't ask."
"Oh." Regina faltered. "Can you ask him that for me? And then tell me what he says?"
Henry smiled. "Of course."
She hugged him again. "I'll miss you in the real world."
"Me too... It's tough for the people who died too, you know." Henry said.
"It doesn't matter though." She said. "As long as we can talk here, I'm happy."
"How was my funeral?" Henry asked with a laugh. Regina rolled her eyes.
"As good as funerals go."
They talked for hours by the fireside, finally happy to be together again.

"Mom," Henry said. "I have to wake up now."
Regina frowned. "I suppose you do."
They hugged one last time.
"I'll talk to you tomorrow." He said. Then he woke up, still in the underworld. Still dead. Daniel was shaking him.
"Kid," he said. "The someone wants to see you."
He pointed to the door. "Said he was your dad."
Henry quickly got up and ran to the door. His father, Neal, was standing there.
"Dad!" He said. He didn't get to say that often. He liked it.
"Nice to see you, kid." Neal said slapping him on the back. "I couldn't believe it when I saw you! How did you get here?"
Henry pursed his lips. "Emma cursed me. But she didn't know it would kill me."
"Emma?" Neal said, surprised. "She did go to jail, but I didn't think she'd ever commit murder..."
He trailed off.
"Anyway," he continued. "It's good to see you. Now we can have some good father-son bonding time."
"Bonding time?" He said. He had never had a dad, so this was strange to him.
"Yeah! They've got everything down here. They even have school. George Washington teaches history there. But I won't make you go."
"Who else is down here?" Henry asked.
"Everyone!" Neal exclaimed. "You should go to the Michael Jackson concerts, he's still really good. Thriller is a strange song to sing down in the underworld though, since we're all actually dead."
Henry laughed. "I guess so."
The man from the stable ran up to them. "Did someone say Michael Jackson? I wish we'd had him in the enchanted forest. He's awesome!"
"Hey, let's all go see him now. He's doing a show now."
Henry spent the entire day with the man and his dad. It was the best time he'd ever had, living and dead. When they all went home, Henry realized he had nowhere to stay. His dad didn't have any room in his apartment, so he went with the stable boy instead.
While he was getting ready for bed, he heard a knock at the door. He opened it and saw Cora. He immediately stepped back.
"Don't be afraid, Henry." Cora said. "I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to propose a deal."
Henry narrowed his eyes. "Why? What do I have that you want?"
"I want you to come with me to escape the underworld, Henry." She said.
"Me?" Henry said. He was a little reluctant to leave his dad, but then he remembered Regina. She would be so happy if he came back to life.
"I- I don't know..." Henry said. He still couldn't trust her.
"I knew you would say that." Cora said. "Just think of your mother. She loves you very much and would love it if you came back. Don't you want her to be happy?"
He did. Very much.
"Okay." He said. "And what do you want from me?"
"I just want to come with you. I want to apologize to Regina for the way I acted with Daniel. It wasn't right."
"Okay, I'll go." He said. "When do we leave?"
"Tomorrow," she said. "So be ready."

That night, Henry and the stable boy sat by the fire together.
"Henry," The man said. "Is Regina your mother?"
"Yes" he answered. "My adoptive mother."
"Ah." He said. "Does she ever talk about someone named Daniel?"
"Yes." He said. "That was her old boyfriend. Until Cora killed him."
"That's right." He said. "Does she... Miss him?"
Henry thought for a second. "I think so. She doesn't like talking about him."
The man smiled. "I can see why."
"Why did you ask?" Henry asked him.
"Because," the man said. "I'm Daniel."