A/N : I definitely shouldn't do that, but someone is pushing me, and maybe it'll force me to work on this faster XD Thank you to my beta for her encouragement and work, and the great suggestions that she made about this story!

I asked you which story you wanted to see first, and you chose the one about Dark Robin. So there we go.

It comes from a prompt on twitter : In which young Regina escapes from the palace and the King hires Robin to find her and kill her.

So logically, especially for those who know me, this story won't really be made of rainbows and unicorns. It's going to be hard, it's going to be tough, it's going to talk about sore subjects, and I'm going to go through it no matter what. Read the A/N each time, there will be warnings regularly depending on the content of the chapters.

Also, this story is about Dark Robin. So there is going to be some aspects of him we of course never saw on the show.

For those who don't know, I also have two other stories going on, for which I try to update regularly. I will try to do so with this one too, but it won't be a weekly update. I don't have that many chapters ready, I don't have that much time free in my life, so I'll do what I can, but please be understanding. I only update when I am satisfied with what I wrote (which is hard, trust me XD).

As for this prologue... Well, we start with a Warning about mentions of abuse. Remember, Regina is married to Leopold, and we're hearing her thoughts about the situation.

In the meantime, enjoy! (I hope)


She closes her eyes, but a tear slips free.

She can't bear any more of this. She can't keep pretending. All the lies, the false smiles, the suppressed anger… It's too much, and it's killing her.

She turns her head to the side, but winces and looks up to the ceiling again. It smells like him. His smell is impregnated in the pillow, even though he left her bed a good half hour ago.

Her husband. King Leopold. A man respected by his people, adored by his daughter, and hated by his wife.

Regina gets up. She needs to scrub her skin, to rid herself of his scent, his sloppy kisses, rough hands and most of all, his seed. God, she can't stand the thought of getting pregnant with his child. It's not that she doesn't want to have a child, but she refuses to be bound to that man more than she already is by their wedding vows.

Walking towards the large tub in a corner of her bedroom, she grabs the bucket meant to pour water into it, and heads to the water supplier in the adjacent room. She won't ask for servants to help. She needs some time to herself, not to be watched over as she removes her clothes and slips into the warm water. She wants some privacy, and forget for a second that she is the Queen of a kingdom she loathes, the stepmother of a daughter who ruined her life, the wife of a man who only remembers her when his needs have to be satisfied. She needs to forget that she's nothing more but a pretty tool others can enjoy, to her greatest despair.

Sinking into water, she exhales softly. This is better. It's not nearly enough to have her feeling free, but it helps a little. Her head is falling to the side, and she looks over the large window, out there, to the immensity of the world. A world she cannot reach.

If only she could leave.

If only she could be free.

And as she stares ahead, unable to look away, unable to rid herself of this thought, a new resolution settles in her mind.

It's dangerous, it's impossible, it could have her killed or thrown into a dungeon, but if she can make it, it could be worthy. If she succeeds, she could finally have that freedom she has always craved for.

When she steps out of the bath almost an hour later, she's determined.

She's going to escape this castle. Soon.

She's going to escape at the first opportunity, and she will disappear, away from this life she hasn't chosen, away from this prison, this shame, this torture.

When the chance is here, within her reach, she will take it, use it, and no one is going to stop her this time.

She's resolute.

She's going to leave this place, and free herself from this unwanted marriage, this surrogate of a mother she's supposed to be, and this awful castle.

xxx

Robin Locksley has never been fond of human touch.

Abandoned by his parents during his young years as a teenager, he learned quickly that life doesn't give you gifts, and that if you want something, you have to take it yourself.

So after a few months trying to steal food and being beaten every other day by older kids from the streets or merchants who caught him red-handed, he decided to learn. He joined a group of mercenaries, and they taught him how to defend himself. He learned how to fight, how to use a bow, a sword, a knife, and how to transform any single object within reach into a murder weapon.

After almost a decade by their side, he became the most fearless and effective soldier of the horde. But again, he's more of a loner, and life in a group can be rewarding but also suffocating. So he bid his goodbye to his friends, and left for a new life, a solitary one, made of travels and contracts. In less than two years, he came to be known as the most effective killer of the Enchanted Forest.

When you hire him, you can be certain that the contract will be fulfilled. When you hire him to kill someone, you can be sure that he's going to bring you the target's body, most of the time still warm. No one truly knows who he is, what he looks like, what his real name is, beside the ones who paid for his skills, and none of them is bold enough to take the risk of reveling his name and face to anyone. All they know, is that to call for his services, a raven has to be sent north, in direction of the border of the kingdom, where the night ends and the sun rises. A description only the birds can understand, and that no human can find. An assurance for his safety. The answer usually comes within a couple of days, with the same raven, offering a meeting, this time in person. That's when things get settled.

Robin doesn't take any pleasure in this, he's not murdering people to answer some primal needs, at least none that he was born to. But it is the only life he knows, the only thing he's good at, and it earns him good money.

And if his new client really is who he pretends to be, then this meeting could be his most rewarding job.

He enters the room quietly, keeps his cloak on, and waits. The door he's facing soon opens, a man enters, and then closes.

"Are you alone?" Robin asks.

"As planned." The man confirms.

"Who is the target?"

The man steps forward, coming into the light, and Robin suppresses a gasp.

This is true. This man really is who he said he was. This is going to be interesting…

"My wife." He says, holding a painting out to Robin.

He takes it, looks at it, and for a second his heart stops. She is the most beautiful creature he's ever seen. Long, lightly curled dark hair, thin features, beautiful brown eyes holding too much fierce for a girl that young. Too young to be married to a man this old…

But he shakes the thought away. She is a mission, and nothing more. However, he can't help but ask, to tingle the other man perhaps, and take some pleasure in this.

"You mean the Queen?"

Robin hears the man stiffen, his whole body tensing, suddenly on his guard.

"Yes."

"May I know why?"

"You're asking too many questions,"

"I need information to do my job properly." Robin answers in a perfectly steady and neutral voice.

The King seems to hesitate, but after a handful of seconds, relents "She's betrayed me. I can't trust her anymore, and I don't want her to be a threat to me or my daughter."

"Where can I find her?"

"That's the tricky part. She escaped the castle while I was traveling through the Kingdom. I sent people after her, but no one managed to find her until now. I don't know where she is."

Robin winces, but it's just an act. Secretly, he's satisfied. A hunt is so much more rewarding than an arrow fired through a window….

"That changes the terms of the contract. It's more expensive."

"Money won't be a problem. Do what you have to do, take all the time you need, weeks, months if you want, and then bring me her dead body. How you do it is nothing of my concern."

"Very well."

"Be careful though. She has magic."

"That won't be an issue. You will receive messages to keep you aware of my progress, and give you the location to retrieve the body."

Robin turns his back on him, almost makes it to the exit, but something makes him stop, look back at the other man. He shouldn't. He usually doesn't. But right now, something is pushing him to ask "What's her name?"

The King's eyes open wide, a puzzled and suspicious look directed at him "I beg your pardon?"

"What's her name?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"I have my reasons."

The King lets out a breath, and then reveals "Regina. Her name is, Regina."


Any review?