Arrow ｡ Henry Mills [1]

FIFTY-THREE ➳ THE PEN

Henry nudged Teresa with his arm, sending her a tiny smile. "You coming?"

"Sure."

"Alright," Robin said. He turned toward the two teenagers and patted their shoulders before motioning them forward. "Come on, let's go."

➳

Robin pulled open the door to Regina's office building, allowing both teenagers to step inside.

Henry went straight to the door, but Teresa was quick to grab his arm and stop him. "Wait."

"What?"

Teresa stepped forward and rose her hand. She was unable to place it on the door, as a magic barrier blocked her hand from moving any further. She sighed. "Thought so. It's a protection spell. Looks like your other grandmother left this place locked up tight."

"Can you remove the spell?" Henry asked.

Teresa shook her head. "I was only trained to use mine for a month, Cora has years on me. Her magic is much stronger."

Robin moved past them, causing their eyes to leave the door as to watch him. Robin moved the sofa aside to reveal an air vent, which he then pulled off. After giving it a quick look over, he rose to his feet and removed his quiver from his back. "Okay. You two stay here — "

"No," Henry interrupted. "Someone needs to stand guard outside, and only one of us knows where to look in my mom's office. You and Teri wait out here, I shouldn't be long."

Robin hesitated, conflicted between wanting to get the maps and protecting Henry for his love. Finally, he nodded. "Alright..."

Robin reclaimed his arrows before heading toward the door, which left them alone. Before Henry could go inside the vent, Teresa grabbed his wrist, stopping him.

She leaned forward and placed a quick kiss to his cheek, before stepping back and giving him a smile. "Be careful."

"You too," he replied, before bending down and crawling inside the vent.

The vent was dark and cold. He blindly made his way through the darkness, soon arriving at the other end of the vent; his mothers office.

He pushed it open and crawled out, and just as he begins to stand, a voice speaks.

"Hello, darling."

Henry's eyes widened. Before him, stood the same woman that tried to kill him. "Cruella."

The black and white haired woman smirked. "Tell me, how is your mother? Oh, yes, with you, I need to be more specific. How is the one that killed me?"

Henry refused to answer her question, as fear from that day on the cliff resurfaced.

"So, darling, this is actually quite fortuitous."

"What do you want?"

"Why, you, of course. I need your help." She began walking towards him. "You see, Hades, the being that runs this place, has set up the most awful conundrum. For those of us in this ghastly Underworld, we have two choices...leaving for a better place or a worse one."

Henry glared at her. "I think I know where you'll end up."

Cruella sighed. "Charming. Just like your family. And also probably quite correct, which is why I need a third choice...to go back to the real world. Oh, how I miss it. The music, the gin, the glamour...the gin."

Henry turned around to face her, as she had walked past him to stand at the fireplace. "You're already dead. No one can change that."

"Actually, one person can...the Author. Oh, yes, that's you now."

"No. The Apprentice told me it's impossible."

"Because he didn't want you to. But, Henry, you can. The Author's power is far greater than that bearded old man wanted you to believe."

Henry's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He knew she couldn't be lying, otherwise she wouldn't be asking him to write her back to life. But all he wondered at that moment, was why The Apprentice had lied to him.

"I destroyed the quill."

"Oh, yes, yes, I know what you did. We hear it all down here. But I'm guessing you don't know much about the quill, do you? The sorcerer bequeathed the quill to all of you, but it is not a simple pen. It is a magical energy. It is a living, breathing entity."

Henry's eyebrows shot up? "It's alive?"

"Oh, yes. And when you broke it, Henry, you sent it right down here to the Underworld, its purpose unfulfilled. It epitomized unfinished business. And now you are going to find it down here with my help. And you're going to send me right back to our world."

"Why would I ever help you? You took Teresa's heart, you tried to kill me."

She hummed, a smirk resting on her lips. "Mmm, because, Henry, if I come back to life, guess what happens? The woman who killed me...your mother...is no longer a murderer." He wrapped her arm around his shoulder with a grin. "You see? You see, by helping me, Henry, you can restore mommie dearest to the pure soul she once was. You can save her."

➳

Outside, in the hallway, Teresa and Robin were growing worried for Henry, for he had yet to come crawling out of the vent. Teresa began regretting not following him inside.

After a few moments, Teresa bent down to the vent and peered into the darkness of it. "Henry?" she called. "Henry, are you alright?"

Teresa's heart began to race when she got no response from Henry.

"Henry?" she called again, her voice sounding even more worried than before. "Please answer me."

"I'm okay."

Teresa let out a breath of relief and rose to her feet as Henry crawled out. She gripped his arm, helping him go his feet.

"Did you find anything?" Robin asked, eyeing the teenage boy.

Henry shifted on his feet and shook his head. "Uh, no. Nothing. Dead end."

Teresa furrowed her eyebrows as she stared at the side of his face; for some reason he was unable to look her in the eye at the moment, which drew suspicion. Suspicion she clearly only felt, as Robin didn't seem to question it.

"Okay, well, let's head back and let everyone know," Robin said, before turning on his heel and leaving.

As Robin left, Henry went to follow, but she stepped in front of him and blocked his path. She look him dead in the eye as she asked in a whisper, "Why're you lying?"

Henry's eyes widened. "I-I'm not."

Teresa raised an eyebrow. "Henry, you lie like your grandmother. Snow was never able to keep secrets from me. I can see it in your eyes, just like I do with her."

Henry sighed, and glanced over Teresa's shoulder to where Robin Hood had disappeared. "I'll explain later."

Before she could say anything else on the matter, Henry had stepped around her and followed after Robin.

Teresa turned back toward the vent before releasing a sigh and leaving the building.