(The Riot Act)
Belle: why did you bring us here?
Henry: it’s a library. Our family loves a library
Gideon: answer my mother’s question nephew.
Henry: or what? My father, your older brother is already dead. So you can hardly fling him into a herd if stampeding wildebeests and blame me for it so shut up and sit down. Good. Now to answer your question grandmother. I’ve brought you here to uh lay down the law as it were.
Belle: this is about Rumple isn’t it? He asked you to talk to us didn’t he?
Henry: yes and no. This is about grandfather but he doesn’t know I’m talking to you about him.
Belle: whatever it is I don’t want to hear it. He’s let me down too many times.
Henry: really? Is that what you think? Because from where I’m standing you’re the one who let him down.
Belle: excuse me?
Henry: true love. From my understanding it means you accept and embrace everything about a person. Including their less agreeable parts.
Belle: of course I love Rumple.
Henry: yes but I don’t think you like him very much. You refuse to accept his darker inclinations and keep insisting he change into something he isn’t to please you.
Gideon: he betrayed her trust. And mine.
Henry: boohoohoo(.) Grow. Up. Rumple would do anything for you. For the both of you. And therein lies the problem.
Belle: what problem?
Henry: Rumple is too caught up in trying to earn your unneeded forgiveness that it’s distracting him from what truly matters. Saving my mother from the joker sitting next to you. My plans hinge on Rumple having his mind focused on the task at hand and you stringing him along like a cat with a laser pointer isn’t doing me or Emma any favours.
Belle: he made his choice. He loves power more than he loves me.
Henry: of course he loves power more than he loves you. When it comes down to it everybody chooses self preservation over everything else. And if you’d had the shitty live that Rumple had you’d understand. He needs magic. Otherwise he’s just a cripple whose wife abandoned him and their son because he chose to do the responsible thing instead of the honourable thing. Milah and their village called it cowardice. I call it strength. He is probably one of the most strongest people I know. And I’m including my mother and her side of the family in this. It takes a lot of strength and courage to mutilate yourself just so your son doesn’t have to grow up fatherless.
Belle: I. I never thought about it that way before.
Henry: of course you didn’t. Because as far as you’re concerned. To be good is to have an extremely narrow viewpoint in morals.
Gideon: leave her alone.
Henry: and now we come to you. You who thinks he is so hard done by because he was raised by a malignant narcissist who saw him as an accessory and extension of herself. Well I got news for you Uncle Gideon. We’re in the same boat. Only I managed to weigh anchor in my momster. And you’re still following your one’s every whim and blaming your father for it.
Gideon: he abandoned.
Henry: Reul Ghorm lost the fight against the black fairy that ended with you being raised and abused by your grandmother for decades. Not Rumple.
Belle: what do you need us to do?
Henry: forgive him so he can focus on helping me save my mother.
Belle: okay.
Henry: and you.
Gideon: what?
Henry: you need to lose the fated fight. Understand?
Gideon: or what?
Henry: you will have me to answer to.
(End of The Riot Act)