For Outlaw Queen week, day 3 Memory loss.
Special thanks to Joy Booth, for being an amazing BETA.
Robin had been going to the town line every night, since he had been forced to leave. He had been forced to leave his friends and more importantly, leave Regina. He stood there on this particular night, looking for any sign of life where he knew the line was, but he saw nothing. There was no light, no sounds, no Regina. How was he supposed to live without her. How was he supposed to breathe, knowing he would never see her again? He was in love with her, and he never fully outright said it. He had started to say, I love you, but she had stopped him by saying I know.
Marian had found work as a sitter for an elderly woman, while he had found work in a lumber yard. Marian was able to keep Roland with her while she looked after the older woman. They lived in a small, one bedroom apartment. Robin slept on the couch, Marian the bed, and Roland on a small bed they had bought. A few days after they had settled down, Marian and Robin had a long talk where Robin told Marian everything that had happened between Regina and him. From the meeting they had never had at the tavern all those years ago, to the night Marian had returned. Robin had left out more of the intimate details; there was no need to hurt her telling her this. Marian had told him she knew Robin was in love with Regina, and that, from what she had seen, she thought Regina was in love with him. Marian had promised a divorce if they ever found a way back to Storybrooke.
"I don't see how that would be possible." Robin had said.
"You're the one who always had hope, Robin. Don't give up now." Marian insisted.
"You're much kinder to me than I deserve with everything that has happened." Robin said.
"We are not the same people we were before. Time passed for you, you moved on. I would not have wanted you to stay in mourning forever," Marian nodded at her unable to argue, but still drowning in guilt.
That night after their talk, his pilgrimages began. He would stand at the line, practically a free man, and yet utterly tied to two women. His heart belonged to Regina, but now that Marian knew the truth and they had agreed to a divorce, he had no way back to the woman he loved. How cruel life could be at times, he thought as a tear escaped his eyes. When he turned to head back to his apartment, he saw Marian and Roland standing there.
"What are you two doing here?" Robin asked, feeling guilty that he was caught.
"We were just checking on you." Marian answered gently.
"Are you alright Papa?" Roland asked, as he walked up to his Father. Robin bent down and picked him up.
"Of course, little man. I'm doing just fine." Robin answered.
"Then why is your cheeks wet? Are you sad?" Roland asked with a child's innocence.
"Just a little, son, but you make it all better." Robin answered.
"Is it because you miss Regina?" Roland asked.
"Yes, I'm sad because I miss her." Robin answered honestly.
"I miss her too. She was so nice and pretty." Roland said. "Will we get to see her again?"
"I hope so." Robin answered. "Why don't we go home now?"
"Okay." Roland said. "But what about the bad man?"
Robin turned around to see Mr. Gold approaching at the town line with three women. Robin took Marian's hand and silently moved them into the woods, out of sight of the newcomers.
"Robin, what is going on?" Marian asked her voice barely above a whisper.
"I have no idea, but you must be very quiet while we try to find out." Robin said, as his son nodded. They watched Mr. Gold pull out what looked like to be a large diamond. He placed it on the ground, and they watched as the four of them used their powers to bring the diamond up, it started to make an entrance into what Robin knew was the town line of Storybrooke. It made a huge portal, marked with a golden ring to outline where the entrance was, and then one by one, they entered Storybrooke.
"Robin, now is our chance to return to Storybrooke." Marian said.
"We can't. You'll die there." Robin answered sadly. As much as he wanted to run to the entrance, he could not let Marian die again.
"Maybe the curse has left me by now. Robin we have to take this chance, it might be the only way back we'll ever have." Marian insisted hopefully.
"Marian-" Robin said.
"I want to try, Robin, please." Marian said. For a long time now she had felt guilty that because of her, Robin had to be separated from his soul mate.
"Alright, alright. We'll try, but if you get sick again, we'll have to come back." Robin agreed, though in the back of his mind, he didn't know how he would ever find the strength to leave Regina again if he had to. They quickly made their way to the entrance, Robin entered first and made sure it was safe. Then Marian and Roland crossed over. Robin kept a close eye on Marian to make sure she was not going to fall sick again.
"I'm fine. Let's go." Marian insisted when she noticed Robin's lingering gaze. They made a run for the merry men's camp. They needed to touch base with them to find out what all had happened since they had left. It only took ten minutes to reach the edge of the campsite. Robin smiled when he saw his old friend there.
"Robin!" Will called in surprise at spotting their lost leader. He ran up to his friend and hugged him. "How did you all get back?"
"We happened to be on a walk in the forest, when Mr. Gold and some strange women arrived at the line. They used some sort of magic gem to make a hole into the line. We came over after we saw them go through." Robin explained, as the other merry men came up and welcomed them all back.
"But Marian, are you alright to be here?" Will asked.
"So far, I feel fine." Marian replied, touched by the men's obvious concern.
"How have things been since we have been gone?" Robin asked, making his eye contact with Will. The younger man's smile slowly faded and he looked over at Little John who lowered his eyes. "What's wrong? What's happened?"
"Everything is alright mate. Are you guys hungry?" Will asked, wanting to change the subject.
"It's Regina, isn't it? What happened to her?" Robin asked, hating to talk about Regina in front of Marian like this, but he needed to know. Something was wrong, he could feel it.
"She's alright. Still as sassy as always." Will answered with a fake smile as he tried to walk past.
"Will!" Robin yelled rather loudly, he grabbed Will by the front of his shirt to stop him. "Tell me!"
When Will wouldn't answer, Robin let go of him and started walking towards the town. "I'll go see for myself then."
"Robin, wait." Will called after him, causing Robin to turn around. "There is something you have to know first."
"Roland, how about you and I go see if Tuck has any of those treats you like?" Marian said as she took Roland away from this confrontation.
"Will you stop being so cryptic?" Robin demanded irritation and worry working his already frayed nerves. He glanced around at his men. All their heads were either lowered or they would not look him in the eyes. "If you're not going to tell me then I have to go see her."
"That's not a good idea Robin." Will said.
"And why is that?" Robin asked.
"Because she won't know who you are." Will answered sadly.
"What do you mean she won't remember who I am? I haven't been gone that long." Robin said.
"It's not that Robin. Right after you left she tore up that page you found. She tried to hide the hurt she was feeling. In fact, she did for quite some time, but then it got the best of her. She stopped leaving her home. She didn't want to see anyone, but her son." Will explained. His words caused Robin's heart to break. He knew that when he left her, he was taking away any hope she had been starting to feel. Then to hear that she had torn up their happy ending, well, it crushed him.
"Then what happened?" Robin asked. He had to know everything. As much as it was going to hurt, he still had to know.
"Then one day, no one could find her. Finally, Henry found her in her vault, but she had no memory of you. They found an empty vial, which Belle explained was a forgetting potion that she had made." Will said quietly, knowing all this was going to hurt his friend.
"So she has no memory of me? Of us?" Robin asked, and as Will looked over at Little John , who nodded to Will to continue. Robin didn't know whether to feel afraid of hopeful of what was to come next.
"Well, she does have a little memory of your time together." Will said cryptically.
"What are you talking about?" Robin asked.
"She's uh...carrying a baby." Will said, delicately.