Sadly, I don't own Once Upon a Time and make no profit from this story.

Sunday: Blind Date

Regina couldn't believe that Tink had convinced her that this was a good idea. But somehow Tinkerbell had convinced Red and with both of them teaming up against her Regina hadn't stood a chance. The constant nagging had given her more than one headache. She had been led away from the mill and to the local inn wearing one of her best dresses where one of Tink's friends was waiting with one of his friends so that Regina could go on some sort of blind date. Because apparently it bothered Tink that she didn't have anyone in her life to make her happy. Tink pushed the door open and Red pushed Regina inside before she could outright refuse and walk out again. She had done it before, which was why Tink had recruited Red to make sure she wouldn't this time. This was not a good idea. Tink took Regina's hand and led her towards the back of the inn. As they passed the bar Granny gave Regina a sympathetic look, meaning that Red had definitely told her about the blind date Regina was being set up on. Regina gave her a smile in response which only widened when Granny whacked the back of Red's head for being later back than she had promised. The dinner rush would start soon, and from then on Granny would need all the help from Red that she could get to serve food and alcohol to the people in the inn.

Tinkerbell stopped in front of a table with two men. One of the men Regina recognised as Tink's pirate friend, Killian Jones. He insisted on being called 'Hook', not that Regina had ever obliged him. He didn't bother to stand up, but the man he was with did. He was tall with a slightly scruffy beard and when he reached out to pull Regina's chair out she saw the lion tattoo on his inner arm. She had never met the man, but she definitely knew of him. Robin Hood, captain of the royal guard turned vagabond turned captain of the royal guard again; though this time he served Queen Snow and Prince James rather than King Richard. There was almost no one who hadn't heard about the outlaw who saved the Queen's life in the White Kingdom. What he was doing with a wanted pirate Regina didn't know, but he had been an outlaw so it wasn't that much of a novel idea that the two had met. Regina was more concerned with the fact that they obviously still kept in contact. It wasn't exactly best for the kingdom's security for guard captain's to keep pirates as friends. Then again, Regina wasn't really in a position to comment about the kingdom's security considering the amount of times she had snuck in and out of the castle.

Killian stood up after introductions had been made and Regina had sat down at the table across from Robin. He held out an arm for Tink in possibly the most chivalrous action he had ever performed and led her away to another table; but not before Tink managed to whisper in Regina's ear.

"Give it a go. And calm down, would you. Robin is lovely, and a proper gentleman."

Not that Tink had any right to talk about 'proper gentlemen' considering the company she kept with a drunken pirate. But if that was Tink's preference then Regina wouldn't interfere; at least not too much. She had already removed the enchantment on his flask that kept it constantly topped up with rum, and so far it had only yielded positive results with Killian being sober more often than not.

Granny served them both stew and mead, the meals having been paid for by Robin well before Regina arrived. There was a small amount of gratification in Granny's obvious disapproval of Robin as she hadn't informed him of Regina's drinking preferences (a wine that Granny bought a small stock of only twice a year that Regina adored) despite knowing about the date. Then again, Granny knew far more than almost anyone else about Regina's love life having found her sneaking around late at night. She was surprisingly easy to talk to and saved most of her stern and disappointed mothering moments for Red, sparing Regina from any telling off. Except about having been wondering around alone at night, she had received an ear full for that. Ever since then Graham, the man-at-arms that Granny hired to keep everyone in the inn in check (not that Granny's deadly aim with a cross bow didn't do that, but Graham kept the travellers who didn't know to fear Granny from doing anything stupid) would walk her home, or where ever else she may need to go late at night. Under Granny's direct orders he didn't ask any questions.

True to Tink's words, Robin was a true gentleman. He lead the conversation but didn't spend the whole time talking, letting Regina talk when she felt the need to and at the end of their meal, once their conversation had lulled he rushed to pull out her chair for her when they decided that their date was over. It was all rather nice, if Regina was being honest. He was a nice man, the sort of man you'd expect to work for Snow White the self-proclaimed 'fairest of them all'. His status as captain of the guard was nothing to laugh at either, especially for an exiled princess who was forced to run a mill because her mother was dead and her father was too ill to doing anything close to hard labour. Any union between them would certainly raise Regina's status and probably supply her with enough money to hire some men to work the mill. Currently it was only her and Claude and the mill was only just making enough to function. The small fortune that Henry had been given upon exile had quickly been used up by Cora who had wanted to continue to live a wealthy lifestyle and Henry who had never had a head for money in the first place. Luckily Cora, despite all her other faults had taught Regina the finer points of money handling and running a business before she died. It was only Regina's handling of the mill that had kept them alive for the past ten years.

Yet, when Robin offered to walk her home due to the darkening skies, Regina was forced to refuse the offer. Robin would surely make a good husband, but Regina was not the woman that would be his wife.

Robin left a bit dejected and without any fuss. She put it down to him being a nice guy and not the death glare from Granny, though it was one of Granny's better death glares. Regina settled down at the bar. It didn't take long for Granny to find her way to Regina's side. Red was obviously not in the building, or Granny would never had started the topic of conversation knowing that Red overheard everything that went on in the inn. Red, while one of Regina's dearest of friends was a terrible gossip, and the secret that Regina shared with Granny and Graham was a tad too delicate to spread around.

"I don't know why you consented to this nonsense."

Regina glanced at Granny. "Robin was nice, and we would make a very good match, I think."

Granny scoffed. "I think not! I've put too much time and energy into making sure you can safely sneak around and see your girl."

"Well then I guess it's a good thing that I told him my interests lay elsewhere, isn't it? Now if you don't mind me, I'm going to go home. I have a lot of deliveries to make tomorrow. The castle needs its flour. How else would they make such a large and expensive cake for the Queen's birthday celebration?"

Granny smirked at Regina knowingly before gesturing for Graham to escort Regina home.

/-/-/-/-/

Regina brewed the tea in the iron pot over the fire place. She tipped it into a large mug and placed the mug on a tray with a small bowl of porridge. Her father never ate much, but he would drink his tea. She sat with him while he ate before heading out to the wagon that Claude had loaded earlier that morning. Rocinante, one of the few things that remained in Regina's life to remind her of her grandfather's kingdom was already hitched to the wagon and more than ready for the trip to the castle. It never took long to get to the castle, only about an hour at most and it took even less than that for Regina to deliver the many bags of flour to the cook who would pay her and send her on her way. Regina would travel until she arrived at the head of the river only a few minutes away from the castle. It was a private place and had proven to be an excellent place for clandestine meetings for the last two years.

As she pulled into the secretive clearing Regina slowed the wagon down to a crawl, leading Rocinante towards the healthiest patch of grass. She took the time to release him from the wagon and loosely hitch him to a tree with enough give to graze on grass if he so decided to. Rocinante had never once refused the option of grazing. Closer to the river sat several large rocks, and on top of one of those sat the person Regina had come to see and who often came to see her in the village under the cover of darkness.

"Hello Emma."

Emma jumped slightly at Regina's voice and almost slid off the rock she was perched on. Managing to balance herself, Emma held a hand out for Regina so that she could climb up next to Emma.

"So, there's this rumour that Hood when on a hot date the other night and was turned down. I don't know what she was thinking; Hood is a very attractive man. You hear anything about that?"

Regina shrugged. "I've been offered better. Anyway, you should be more concerned that your guard captain is cavorting with pirates."

Emma dismissed the problem with a wave of her hand. "Hook's an okay guy, and he knows that there is a line of people willing to punch him in the face if he does anything illegal in our lands."

"What a wonderful plan to protect the kingdom from a possible threat." Regina drawled. "I know I'll sleep easier tonight."

"I know one way to make you sleep easier."

"Not until we're married, dear." Regina leaned up and pressed a kiss to Emma's cheek.

Emma wrapped an arm around Regina's waist and tucked Regina's head under her chin.

"Speaking of which, mother would like to meet you. She finally figured out why I keep turning down all my potential suitors."

"Well, we'll have to get right on that but I'm afraid that I'm quite busy for the foreseeable future. Running a mill isn't easy, you know?"

Emma chuckled and quickly pecked Regina on the lips.

"That's okay. I'd rather keep you hidden from the kingdom for as long as I can anyway. I like having you to myself, my queen and I already know they'll love you so much that they'll monopolise all of your time. And where will that leave me?"

It was ironic really. Cora had never hidden her desire for Regina to be Queen, and when they did eventually marry, Regina would be Queen alongside Emma. But it wasn't for their exile Regina never would have met Emma, and if it wasn't for her mother's death all those years ago, Regina doubted that she would have been free enough from Cora's clutches to fall in love in the first place let alone peruse a relationship with Emma.

"Really Emma! What would your mother say, hearing you swear fidelity to another?" Regina mock scolded.

"She'd probably coo and gush about how beautiful you are and how romantic it is. And then she'd start asking about the wedding and grandchildren and we'd have to escape to the mill to get some peace and quiet."

An exiled princess really couldn't do much better than a guard captain, unless she managed to fall in love with a princess of course.