Written for the last day of OQ Movie Week. The Princess Diaries AU. Please, let me know what you think and if you'd like to read more!
DISCLAIMER: I don't own the characters or the storyline. It all belongs to OUAT writers and Walt Disney Pictures.
(...)
Turning off the engine, Robin glances at the rear view mirror. He finds Regina looking out of the window at the poor looking building, all the while anxiously drumming her fingers against her thigh. She looks nervous, afraid even.
"Is everything alright, Your Majesty?" Robin asks, trying to keep his voice quiet in order not to startle her.
Still, her eyes widen in unexpected surprise when she turns to him. She recovers quickly, though, scolding her features in a much less anxious expression. She tries to pretend to be calm, but Robin knows her too well to believe it.
But he can't blame her for her anxiousness.
Who wouldn't be anxious to tell the child they've given away that they are his parents?
And that's what Regina is about to do.
Robin doesn't know the whole story, he doesn't know what exactly happened, after all, he's just her driver and bodyguard, but when he's first started working at the Storybrooke's palace – it is a small country which is still a monarchy- , he heard rumors that the man working before him had an affair with the Queen.
He'd just gotten one of the best paid jobs in the country, so he tried to keep himself out of gossips, but he still heard things here and there about what happened. What he and the rest of the kingdom didn't know was that the Queen not only had an affair with the staff member, she also had his child who was sent away to live with his father right under the King's nose.
Nobody knew about the secret baby until the King died and the Queen was finally free of the prison her husband put her in. She's free and she's finally going to meet her son.
The kingdom was furious when she announced that she has an heir – she's never gotten pregnant with King's child – but she's a strong and determined woman; she stood out every bad word and attempt to take her throne until the council finally agreed to her wishes that her illegitimate son will become the King one day.
The worst thing is that the kid doesn't even know that Regina is his mother.
"We can come back another time," Robin offers when Regina bites her lip nervously, not replying to his previous question.
It's strange to see her so out of herself – usually she's bossing everyone around, she's confident, every single word that leaves her mouth is firm and feared by others. And now she's sitting in the back of the car, struggling to speak.
"I'm fine," she finally says in a dismissive tone. "I'm just nervous, that's all."
Robin nods his head then and gets out of the car. He opens the door for her and when she steps out, he takes her hand in his. It might look like an innocent touch, but when their eyes meet, he knows that she realizes he's offering her comfort and support.
She might be a Queen and a strict ruler, but Robin's got to see the other side of her, too. There's been a few times when she's invited him into her rooms for more than a work-related conversation, and during those times he got to see a completely different Regina (it turns out she has a funny side too – one time she joked that she must have some weakness for drivers because she keeps dragging them into her bed). During one of those times, she's admitted to him that she has a son and so many more of her secrets.
He thinks that she might trust him. At least he hopes so.
"You can wait for me here," Regina says firmly when he releases her hand and he's about to protest – this little town has a poor reputation, a Queen shouldn't been walking alone in a place like this.
However, before he has a chance to open his mouth, Regina has already walked away.
(…)
Regina inhales shakily before knocking lightly on the door. She tries not to look around, not to grimace at the smell that comes from this shabby hallway. Her stomach turns when she thinks about her child, her baby living in a world like this.
Before she can dwell on these thoughts for too long, the door is opened.
"I wished you changed your mind," is what Daniel's wife Emma says instead of greeting Regina.
Despite the cold reception, the woman opens the door further and lets Regina in. She walks inside and once her coat is hanged, she's seated in a small kitchen with a cup of coffee in front of her. Emma is standing in front of her with her arms crossed over her chest, looking at Regina disapprovingly.
Henry was just a baby when Daniel met Emma and they've been together since his last day. Emma became Henry's mother figure and when Daniel died, she adopted him because Henry was like a son to her.
Regina has talked with Daniel's wife a few times, has talked to her even more after Daniel died – she had to know how Henry was holding up, and from what Emma told her, Henry was struggling, a lot. Regina's heart broke back then, but she's been tied to Leopold, and he might have been a good leader but he was a terrible husband and she couldn't risk that bastard finding out about her child, so she had to stay away.
But it's six years since Daniel died, and it's all in the past now, and Henry is sixteen now and he's learned to live without his father, he's grieved and found happiness in life again.
And that's all Regina cares about.
"Why are you doing this to him?" Emma asks, snapping Regina out of her thoughts. "Why are you showing up now, when he's just got his life under control? You know pretty well that he's been struggling after what happened to Daniel, and yes, you paid for his therapy sessions, thank you very much, but it doesn't give you right to shatter his life into pieces again."
"He's my son." Regina says simply. She knows that the truth will hurt Henry, but she hopes he will understand and forgive her. After all, she's given him his best chance – to grow up with his father surrounded by love.
"And you abandoned him!"
"You know pretty well that I didn't!" Regina exclaims. "I visited him as much as I could when he was still a baby, I made sure that he could get everything he wanted. I did everything I could!"
"You were never there for him!" Emma raises her voice. "He was five when he last saw you. He has some vague memories about aunt Regina, but that's all. You abandoned him. You didn't even come here when his father died! Do you think that your wealth and money will buy you his love? Do you actually think he'll ever forgive that you chose your stupid husband over him?"
"You have no idea what my life was like!" Regina hisses through gritted teeth as she stands up. "I had no choice! My marriage was hell, the only good thing that came out of all of it was my affair with Daniel. It gave me Henry and I won't feel bad that I let my child live with his father instead of being resented by the awful man that my husband was. You've no idea what he was capable of."
Emma opens her mouth to say something else but then the sound of the door being opened echoes through the apartment. Regina's heart stops beating in her chest as she looks at Emma with wide eyes, her anxiety returning with full force.
"Emma! I'm home!" Henry exclaims from the living room and Regina feels tears filling her eyes immediately. His voice has changed so much since the last time she's heard it. "You won't believe what I'm going to tell you. Killian just bought us tickets to-" he stops, never finishing his sentence. For a moment, there's silence before Henry clears his throat. "I'm sorry, I didn't know we had guests."
"Henry, this is-" Emma starts, but Regina finds all of her strength, collects herself and turns around. She tries not to gasp at a sight of her handsome son in front of her.
Stretching out a shaky hand in front of herself, she says, "Hi, Henry. I'm Regina Mills. I'm your mother."
