A Series of One-Shots 🔷️

{7} "Broken Crown" (Chris and Richard)

The dream realm was quite odd, to say the least. Chris blinked rapidly as he struggled to control his heavy breathing. What was in that tonic Varian had given him? Chris shook his head, covering his ears, as a high-pitched sound pierced his eardrums. A light that was far too bright to be in this strange place blinded him momentarily before a figure entered the realm. The father recognized the 6'0" height of Richard Bjorgman, the man who abused him and ... and ... did much worse. Chris froze right then and there, unable to move as Richard approached him. "Father?" he stammered, flinching when Richard placed one hand on his face.

Pitch tapped his foot anxiously when he saw Chris laying there. His heart ached at the sight of his amata* being trapped inside of his own mind. He snuck a glance at Kristoff, who couldn't even focus on his book long enough to distract himself. Seraphina and Varian prepared green tea using their alchemy supplies, as a way to reduce everyone's stress and anxiety. "This won't hurt Dad," repeated Seraphina, handing the first mug to Pitch. "He'll be able to confront who impacted his life the most and step onto a path of recovery."

"Christopher," muttered Richard, narrowing his eyebrows as Chris took a step away from him. Even in the dream realm, his disappointment of a son still refused to respect him. "Don't back away from me," he growled. To Richard's surprise, Chris controlled his terror and glared at him.

"Even after you died, you still cannot let go of your hold on me." Chris rolled his eyes. "Stay away from me. Do not take a step closer, Richard."

"Call me 'Father', you disrespectful－" shouted Richard, but Chris cut him off.

"－disrespectful little shit?" Chris finished the sentence, scoffing afterwards. He and Richard walked around in a circle, surveying each other. "That insult has been burned into my brain because of you."

Richard scowled at Chris. "You're remembering everything wrong."

"Oh, like how I remembered the black eye I had to walk to school with after you punched me in the face the night before? Am I remembering that wrong? Like you burned me with your cigarettes because dinner wasn't made? Am I remembering that wrong? Like how you raped me the night of my sixteenth birthday? I know for sure I am not remembering that wrong! Like how you tried to kill me because Charlie and I were cuddling on his couch? How you called us both 'faggots'? I am not remembering that wrong! Everything you did to me, I remember!"

Finally, a chink in the armor after all these years. Richard's face fell, revealing vulnerabilities that Chris could see clearly. All he had to do was keep mentioning the abuse, and he would be free from Richard's hold forever.

"Everything that I had to endure was because of you! And guess what? I grew past it. I learned how to heal, and it wasn't because of Madelyn and Rumplestiltskin. They were just as bad as you. No, I made friends who genuinely cared about me. I raised three kids who are their own people now, and I am so glad that I got to see them grow up. I learned that family isn't who you grow up with or are related to. It's what you make yourself."

"Why are you so stubborn?" muttered Richard.

"God, why are you like this?!" Chris yelled, his voice echoing around the realm. His head pounded mercilessly (when did he get a headache?), but he kept going on, "You obviously never gave a shit about me, and the only time you did was when you wanted a punching bag! Tell me I'm wrong, come on!"

Richard fell silent, stunned at how much Chris had grown into his own person. Why is it that the scrawny ten-year-old had become this father who used his trauma as a lesson?

"Come on! Tell me I'm wrong! You say I remembered everything wrong. Now's your chance to prove it! Come on, Richard, beat me down verbally! You know you want to!" Chris shouted. The headache proceeded with plaguing him, but he ignored the pain. "I see. Whenever I was too weak to stand up to you, you saw it as your chance to make me hurt. But when I put you on the spot and basically demand you to step into your old habits, you can't do it. I knew it, you're a chicken. You always have been, and you always will be. God, and to think I was going to forgive you for all the shit you put me through."

"You were－" asked Richard.

"Yes, I was going to forgive you. Not because you deserve it, but because I want to achieve inner peace." Chris clenched his fists at his sides to keep himself from punching this man in the face.

"Am I too late?" whispered Richard.

"Yes, you are. Once you make mistakes more than once, you can never fix them again. And there is literally no point in trying to mend our relationship, which we never had to begin with. I hate you, Richard, and that is coming from the bottom of my heart. I never want to see you in my dreams, nightmares, or memories ever again."

Richard shuddered as Chris started to fade away. I must be waking up, he thought as he returned to the real world.

Chris sat up, a humongous weight off his shoulders at last. Pitch set down his mug of green tea, hugging his amata* close to him. Chris embraced his mellilla*, sighing in relief. He'd finally confronted his father after all these years, and he felt so much better.

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Hey, guys, gals, non-binary pals. I hope you enjoyed the one-shot, and please comment if you did. I'm going to provide a brief analysis for Richard's presence, what this moment meant for Chris, and where this one-shot came from.

Richard had the biggest impact on Chris's life because of the abuse and rape. The whole instance of Richard trying to kill Chris pops up in Everlasting Light, but that is in the chapter I have yet to complete. This moment means everything to Chris because it is the first time he has ever confronted Richard about the abuse and rape. Everything Richard had done to him had taken its toll on Chris, and the latter was finally ready to let it all go. This one-shot is going to be a segment in Everlasting Light and will tie in perfectly with what I have planned, so you'll have to wait for it. The asterisks are for little notes that aren't part of the analysis. Amata and mellilla translate to "beloved" and "little honey", respectively.

Once again, I hope you enjoyed the one-shot and let me know what you think in the comments.