madehervows | IC Contact for Entranceway

[ Henry hugs her tightly, smiling and bursting at the seams to tell her everything. ]

Curse is broken, mom. We're okay.

[...For the most part but he'll get to that. ]

[She hears that in two distinct parts because breaking the curse means Henry dies and she nearly has a heart attack. She catches the end of it, thankfully and lets out a relieved breath.]

Oh thank god. So you didn't...

[She trails off, the 'die' left hanging.]

I didn't.

[ He smiles gently at her before heading inside, then turning to face her. ]

It all got really...complicated once the curse broke. We ended up in the Wish Realm. Gothel stopped being our biggest problem and uh...the wish version of me was still pretty angry about you killing his version of Snow and Charming.

[...........................................oh.]

... Well, it sounds like you're going to be telling a very long story.

[ That he does, and he sits down to begin recounting it all for her. Starting with her deciding to stay with him and being there for everything - meeting Ella, his wedding, Lucy being born. She didn't miss a second of it.

I'm conveniently skipping everything that happened because I don't remember but please assume he tells it all except for a few things we will now get into. He'll also tell her about the United Kingdoms (lol) eventually. ]

Mom, there's something else you need to know. We did take a loss.

[ Henry puts his hand over hers. ]

Rumplestiltskin died. But he died to save us, and he wasn't alone. You were there.

[She listens and takes in every detail; everything Drizella did, everything Gothel did. The fact that Zelena was a hippie (and that just makes her miss her sister, honestly,) and Robin all grown up.

But there's one thing she never expected, even though it happened once before and her stomach drops. Her feelings about Rumplestiltskin are complicated, and even she isn't entirely sure of them but... In the end, he was still one of her closest friends. And for a long time, her only friend.

That makes twice he's died to save them and she gets the feeling there won't be any bringing him back this time. She doesn't quite know what to do with that.]

What -- What about Belle?

She...

[ Henry looks down, then backtracks a little. ]

Her and Rumple both lived in a place where time moved differently. I don't know where, exactly, but they lived her entire life together in what was like the blink of an eye for us. She got old, and she died. Rumple knew she'd be waiting for him. When he died helping us, he wasn't upset. He was going to be with Belle.

[That's a lot to take in. She's quiet, impossibly quiet, for a long time. Oh Belle, she finally got the life she always wanted. With Gideon and Rumple and the loss of her hurts because after everything, they were friends. Not the best of friends, but there was respect there. They had each other's backs.]

I don't... He's not supposed to die, Henry. [Unless it's by her hand, because they have a dynamic and how dare he go and ruin it and her eyes are prickling now because. It's Rumplestiltskin and Belle. They're not supposed to die. Clearing her throat, Regina tries to focus on something else.] What -- What else happened?

[ He knew this would be hard for her, and he reaches out to rub her back in slow circles, trying to comfort her the best he can. ]

Well. You cast the curse again. But this time instead of casting it out of revenge or by using one heart, it was cast to unite all of the realms. Every single one, the Wish Realm, Arendelle, Camelot - all of them. Storybrooke is the heart of it all. And you? You're the queen. Officially.

[ He can't help the pride in his voice, just so damn proud of her for being who she is now; a leader, the person every realm agreed upon to guide them. ]

[This took a hard left turn into something good and she's speechless again. It's also a lot of information to process but...]

So we're all together? Nobody is going to be separated, ever again?

[She'll get to the queen thing in a second.]

[ Reaching out, Henry covers up her hand. ]

Never again, mom. You made sure of that.

Oh thank god.

[It kept happening and even if they always find each other, the pain of being separated never stops. If she can fix that, for everybody, then she's glad.]

Now what's this about me being queen?

[ Henry laughs and smiles, the pride all over his face for how damn far she's come. ]

Snow and David decided that the person who brought everyone together should finally hold the title. Officially. But they decided to let the people decide. And they did. They wanted you to lead them, all of us wanted that. So, you're the Queen, mom. Of every realm.

[Quietly, with a lot of emphasis:] Oh my god...

[That's... She doesn't know how to describe the way that makes her feel. She's the Queen of the realms? All of them. And they wanted her to be queen? Without her realising, tears begin to fall because this is what she wanted.

All she ever wanted was to find her place in the world. To belong and now she has it. She has a son, she has a sister, she has a family who loves and believes in her. She has so many subjects that all support her.]

I can't believe it. That's -- Oh, Henry.

[She pulls him into a hug, tears and all.]

[ Henry hugs her, smiling over her shoulder and so damn glad he could be the one to tell her this. She's always been important and she was always capable of this. It's what he'd fought for since he was a kid, and now she has it. ]

Snow and David both cried at your coronation which I don't think is a huge surprise to anyone.

[ He laughs softly, trying to make her laugh, too. ]

[She laughs, and despite the tears it's a happy laugh.]

Good. I hope everyone cried.

IC Contact for Entranceway

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