Oh…
I know I'm unloveable
You don't have to tell me
Oh, message received
Loud and clear
Loud and clear
I don't have much in my life
But take it - it's yours
Oh…
"You think you can beat me?" the wicked witch whispers.
"Darling," she continues in a mocking tone, "I know everything you do and oh so much more."
She takes two steps back. "You had everything given to you!" she screams, grave terror appears on the faces of the townspeople. Regina stays put, not moving. She keeps her royal posture for as long as she can, not showing her weakness.
"You don't deserve any of it," Zelena spats and disappears for a second, coming back holing a young boy. The whole town gasps in horror as they see young Henry's face. He isn't moving, but they can see him breathing. Emma tries to step up but her father pushes her back. He says nothing but the message in his eyes is crystal clear, leave it to Regina.
The former evil queen, on the other hand, does nothing but pout her lips a bit, only acknowledging the fact that her son is in mortal danger. She silently thanks her heartless mother for teaching her how to hide her emotions well.
No one sees, no one understands. The people of Storybrook haven't a clue as to what is going on in her head.
They believe now that Regina has completely lost it. Alas, Henry is the only person she loves, shouldn't she be at least crying like Emma and Snow currently are?
The Wicked One makes one more move. She plunges her hand into Henry's chest and takes out his heart. It is large and spotless, as everyone could already guess. The boy doesn't move, like he's under a sleeping curse. He just lays in the arms of the witch, completely unaware of his current situation.
She presses his heart harder and it turns into ash.
Then she is in a limbo of a sorts. Trapped with all the people she had ever allowed herself to love.
"You are such a disappointment," her mother says wickedly, "maybe I should've kept Zelena and not this pathetic excuse for a daughter."
"All I ever did was love and support you," her father jumps in, "and you answered by taking my life. Why?"
Then the only man she had ever loved steps in front of her, a disappointed look on his face.
"Daniel," she wants to say but words fail her and only a small whimper escapes her lips.
"I loved you," he says, "I loved you and you allowed me to be murdered by your own mother. You turned me into a monster just for your selfish reasons. Now you seek love with a man you've barely spoken with just because some magic dust told you so. Did I mean nothing to you? How could you do such a thing to me? Even your own son is better off without you in his life," he finishes off by pointing behind her. She turns around only to be met with Henry, being sent off to school by Emma. They can't see her. Her only son hugs the savior and calls her his mum.
Regina can't take it. She starts crying.
Henry turns around, noticing her. "Are you okay?" he asks, "Don't tell me you're angry with me for loving my mum more than you. She gave birth to me. She is the savior. You're just the evil witch."
I know I'm unloveable
You don't have to tell me
Oh, message received
Loud and clear
Loud and clear
I don't have much in my life
But take it - it's yours
Suddenly Regina wakes up in her bead, screaming her head off. Once she calms down, she starts crying uncontrollably.
As she finally stops after an hour of agony, she goes to her bathroom to wash off. She closes her eyes once she sees her reflection in the mirror. She can't bear to look at her messy hair, her deep, dark under-eye circles and red eyes. She sighs, slapping some water over her face.
She tries to sleep but for nothing.
She gets up and gets dressed.
It was four in the morning when Regina Mills was wondering around in the woods by herself.
I wear Black on the outside
'Cause Black is how I feel on the inside
I wear Black on the outside
'Cause Black is how I feel on the inside
She hears the sound of branches breaking, turning around just in time to catch an arrow flying in her direction. Yet again, she is faced to the man who almost murdered her, a couple of times, for that matter.
"My apologies," the man says, "I assure you, that arrow was not meant for you."
The evil queen rolls her eyes at the thief, and, also, her supposed soul mate. She almost laughs at the irony.
"You know, I'm starting to think you're holding some grudge against me," she says as she throws the arrow in a nearby tree, using magic to direct it, she managed to plunge the arrow in the tree, "well, either that or you aren't as good with the bow and arrow as you think you are."
"You shouldn't be in the woods this late, milady. I thought you were the Wicked Witch," he replies as he puts his crossbow down.
"Get a pair of glasses already," she retorts as she sits down on a tree trunk next to her. She closes her eyes as she feels a headache coming.
He sits next to her, silent.
Neither of them really knows what's the proper etiquette for when you run into someone in the middle of a forest in four am, so they stay silent for a couple of moments until Regina breaks the silence.
"What are you doing her in the middle of the night?" she asks.
"I should be asking you the same. I heard some noise while in our camp so I came to check it out. What about you? What brings you to the woods all by yourself?" he asks back, a little mockery in his deep voice.
"I decided this as good as time as any to go on a flying monkey hunting trip," she sarcastically replies. He smirks but his smirk drops as he notices something is wrong.
"What?" Regina asks once she sees his serious face.
"Why are you here, Regina?" he asks. She is startled by his, this time, serious question and gets mad at herself for not have seen it coming.
"Nightmares," she says. She doesn't want to beat around the bush. She doesn't care if he finds her weak. She only wants to speak to someone who's willing to listen.
"Is it about your son?" he asks carefully. He doesn't want her to fall apart, seeing how fragile she really is.
"Partly," she answers truthfully, "mostly him and everyone else I've let down. And, trust me, the list goes on and on."
"I don't doubt that," he says with a shrug, she gives him the stink eye, "what?" he defends, "You were known as the evil queen once."
She takes a deep breath.
She knows he's right but it hurts, nonetheless. She somehow expected him to think of her as someone else, at least someone other than the person she was once upon a time.
"You do know you're not know as the evil queen now?" he asks, giving her a reassuring nudge, "Here, now, you're just Regina, the mayor who is currently trying hard to save this town from a wicked witch."
"Yes, the wicked witch that happens to be my sister." She states, feeling guilty as ever.
"It's not your fault she attacked you," he starts again, but she interrupts him.
"Yes, actually it is," she says, "she is here because of me. I did something to her. I don't know what but it was surely something awful. Everything around here is my fault."
Robin doesn't respond. He knew that comforting Regina wouldn't be an easy task, but even he didn't expect this much self-loathing from such a strong and powerful woman.
"You're not very good at comforting people, Hood." Regina says after long periods of comfortable silence.
And if I seem a little strange
Well, that's because I am
If I seem a little strange
That's because I am
"Come with me," he says to her. She gives him a quizzical look.
"Our tents are nearby," he half-explains, "and, as I always told Roland, the best way to beat nightmares is to stay up and talk to someone. I have an extra sleeping bag in my tent, if you'd like to continue talking."
Regina smiles. She can see he's being sincere. 'to hell with it,' she thinks. So she nods, getting up when he does and following him.
She thinks he's good enough company. She talks, he listens. He tells her stories about his master thefts and she tells him stories about her past, before she was deemed evil.
She confesses about Daniel, leaving out the part where she tried to bring him back to life. He confesses about Marian, his wife and Roland's mother.
He shows her where he keeps her heart. She says he's good at hiding things that don't belong to him.
They talk until they both fall asleep.
She isn't awoken by nightmares, but she is the first to wake.
Robin isn't surprised that she left. He is surprised he wasn't dreaming, as he knows when he sees a note on her folded sleeping bag. Only two little words, but enough for him, 'thank you'.
But I know that you would like me
If only you could see me
If only you could meet me
A/N
if you want a multi chapter fic, comment.
