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She finds the boy on the first day. It's hard telling time over here, especially when it seems to not cooperate with the watch on her wrist, but it hadn't been dark yet.
No, she concedes, they haven't slept yet, because as much as she knows about living in a castle in the forest and about modern technology, just as little she knows about Neverland. It's a magical island and they are surrounded by trees and bushes and rocks for as far as they can see and beyond. And maybe she's imagining the thing about time an d her watch - maybe it's the monotony of their surroundings that simply makes her lose track of time - that doesn't mean there necessarily has to be actual night any time.
She's been musing exactly those thoughts, trying to blend out that there are people with her determined to be better suited for finding her son, when she hears the rustling of nearby bushes. Then, an almost inaudible asp and the scrambling of little feet over lose forest ground, as whoever had been hiding here realized they'd given away their presence. A dull thumb follows and whatever sense of self preservation their secret onlooker had vanishes in a loud cry and a series of small but distinct sobs.
Curiosity spiked, Regina tells the others to wait, slowly and carefully steps around the low bush blocking her sight and comes face to face with a tear-streaked face and a mob of dark curls. She ignores Mary Margaret's warning, Gold's annoyed outlet of breath, Emma's impatient foot-tapping (as if she needed the reminder - Henry has been her son for the last 11 years), and approaches the little boy.
His eyes widen in fear at the strangers and he's frantically tugging at the foot caught in the underbrush. Regina stops, crouches down to be eye level with him and holds out her hands in a non-threatening gesture. She smiles, which he tentatively returns. Until...
"Regina" The child is trying to scramble back a few inches, hindered by his trapped leg. There are more tears after that.
"What?" She levels Emma with an icy glare, then turns back around to the boy again. "It's okay. I won't hurt you" She takes a careful step forward and the boy, though still frightened, doesn't try to back away further.
"What are you doing?" It's clear Emma doesn't approve, but quite frankly, Regina doesn't care. Especially since they wouldn't be here if not for Emma.
"He's just a hurt and frightened child" For the boy's sake, she tries to keep as much annoyance out off her voice as possible.
"Yea, and what if he's not?" She ignores her completely this time. They are on an island full of 'hurt' and 'frightened' children, who are only too eager to let them walk into a trap, Regina is aware of that. But, and she can't explain it, she knows this boy isn't one of them.
"You want some help?" She motions to his still trapped leg and only when he gives a shy nod does she reach for the boy.
She makes quick work of freeing him from the tree root he seems to have gotten tangled up in, careful still not to hurt him any more. When he's free he tries to move away again, not really afraid anymore, but still wary of the newcomers. Another painful cry stops all his movements though.
Regina's heart breaks at the obvious anguish on the boy's face and she's about to reach for him again, thinks better of it and asks softly, "Can I take a look?"
For a second maybe, he eyes her warily, squints behind her to where Emma is still standing, now surrounded by Mary Margaret, David, Hook and Gold. Then he nods once more, closes his watery eyes and holds his breath in anticipation of the pain he's sure to follow.