Time Will Tell

Chapter Two

Three Days Earlier: Storybrooke

"Ugh, why?" Regina groans out loud in disgust, knowing damn well not a soul can hear her screams from inside her vault.

She clenches the old, wooden table before her, hanging her head in shame and closing her eyes as she berates herself once more.

Why do I always do this to myself? I always sit back and grant my happy ending permission to pass me by. I simply stepped aside and allowed her to leave two years ago with that insufferable man. I let her marry that damn pirate.

Her frustration is festering deep inside, it has been since the day she watched that yellow bug drive away and she just needs to release some of the pent up anger raging inside before she explodes. Before her brain can register what she is doing, her hands are sliding across the table, knocking everything down along her path. Glass shatters hazardously, liquid is spilling and crawling across the stone floor while her magical books hit the ground with a heavy thump.

She presses her palms firmly against her eyelids in a lame attempt to gain back some of her control. She inhales three long and steady breaths, urging the Queen inside to sit back down. Once she releases her clenched fists, she slowly opens her eyes again, immediately noticing a blinding light, flashing across the room.

Very slowly, she makes her way to the other side of her vault, ignoring the mess she created from her toddler tantrum. As she stalks closer toward the illuminating light, she discovers a tall, full length mirror with a gold frame decorating the edges. Something about the mirror feels familiar, yet she knows in her gut she has never owned a mirror quite like this one before. She studies the intricate detail in the gold, but she just cannot put her finger on where she has seen the mirror before.

She carefully steps closer, cautious, timid, yet uncontrollable, as if the mirror is drawing her in. She can feel this urge, as though she is being magnetically pulled closer toward the glass. When she is only an inch from the mirror, she observes how the glass isn't holding her reflection. Reflexively, her hand rises, her quivering fingertips reaching out because she can feel this need to touch. Suddenly, the glass ripples like it's truly made up of water instead.

She squints at the mirror, nibbling mindlessly on her lower lip, knowing she has seen this happen before, but where? Then it hits her like a bucket of ice being dumped over her head, forcing her blood to run cold. She shivers involuntary, knowing exactly where this damn mirror is from.

Her right foot instinctively steps back, but it's too late. The glass before her materializes into a thick liquid as it pours from the frame. Her mouth pops open, but no words escape her and she knows in the back of her mind, nobody will ever hear her cries for help. The magical liquid wraps around her body, squeezing the breath straight from her lungs and immobilizing her before it pulls her through the mirror and everything around her fades to black.

~~~~~~~

Present Day: Storybrooke

"Whoa kid, seriously, you need to stop growing. Shouldn't you be done by now?" Emma jokes, pulling back from her son's embrace, so she can take a better look at the young man before her.

Her son is now taller than her, with wide shoulders and a slight stubble upon his chin and it's utterly demoralizing. She feels so small in comparison to him now, especially when he hugs her and she can feel his entire body enveloping her. His arms have definitely filled out and she can't help but wonder if he's been working out while he's been away at college, maybe to impress some girl?

Henry breathes out a small chuckle as he stuffs his hands into his pockets, embarrassed by her comment. She takes an extra moment to study him, admiring how he somehow has become the perfect combination of herself, Neal and Regina.