Regina was pacing in her room nervously; her mother had just left and needless to say she was pretty rattled up. She had just found out that Snow was the one to tell her mother about Daniel, and she was fighting hard against the growing despair in her heart. The little girl's mistake sealed Regina's fate, her mother was keeping an even closer eye on her. She was going to marry the King in a week's time, and there was no other way around it. The recent news wasn't helping at all, and what her mother had just told her was just adding insult to injury.
Her mother had just informed her that the King was on his way to her chambers, and that she was supposed to start her 'wifely duties' from tonight, if he so wishes. Regina didn't need her mother to explain further what was meant by that; she knew exactly what it meant and she was dreading it more than anything. She hadn't even had a chance to talk to the King without her mother's presence let alone have sex with him. It was called making love for heaven's sake; it required two people who were in love! And she was NOT in love with him; her heart belonged to one man and only him; Daniel. Same could be said for the rest of her body.
She was jolted out of her thoughts by a knock on the large wooden doors; she took a deep breath to calm her nerves down before she gave whoever was on the other side permission to enter. One of the doors opened, and the King entered. He had a warm, reassuring smile on his face and it only made Regina feel even worse. He seemed kind, and the last thing she wanted to do was hurt him, but she saw no other choice.
"Your mother said you wanted to see me" he spoke softly, and Regina nearly danced with joy for being right. When her mother had left the room, she had also left behind two glasses of red wine, and thanks to Regina's heightened sense of smell; she could smell the potion within it, and judging by how the plant immediately withered and died once Regina poured the drink in the soil, she was right. And now, the King had just unwillingly informed her that her mother was setting both of them up, but he wasn't that wrong. After all, she DID want to speak with him, just not in the way her mother was hoping.
"Yes, Your highness, if you please" she managed to say past the ever growing lump in her throat.
"Please, call me Leopold. And in fact I wanted to speak to you too" He corrected gently, and she could feel the guilt getting worse. He seemed like a good man, and she was about to tell him a whole lot of not so good things.
She gestured towards the couch, and they both sat down facing each other.
"Would you like to start or shall I?" he asked softly.
"I think you should" she replied. This would at least buy her more time to think of a way to approach the subject at hand; maybe he will provide her with an opening.
"Ever since I proposed to you, there had been something bothering me, but I didn't know how to ask." He started.
"You can ask me anything" she assured softly, and was surprised how steady her voice seemed; a complete contrast to how she was really feeling.
"Well, I don't know why I didn't notice at the time; but when I proposed, your mother was the one who accepted and not you. And to this day, I still haven't heard your answer."
His words were like a bucket of freezing water that was dumped on her; but it also gave her a way to start her story.
"Yes, that is true." She almost whispered.
"Well, what is your answer?" he asked, and she was stunned into silence.
After a few long moments of silence, she finally managed to find her voice "why don't I tell you a story first, and hopefully it'll answer your question?" she asked.
20 minutes later, Regina was openly sobbing and Leopold's jaw was hanging open from the shock. He couldn't believe his ears, but Regina's tears were proof enough that he wasn't hallucinating. And looking back on his proposal; Regina didn't just look stunned, she was absolutely horrified!
"Y…yo….your mother killed him?" he stuttered, and Regina could only nod.
"I have noticed that she was a bit strict and almost emotionless, but I didn't believe it was that bad" he rambled.
"No one ever does; they always think that she is just doing what is best for me, and is just too strict." She explained, through her tears.
"And she has magic? Powerful magic, you say?" he sought confirmation.
"Yes"
"She must be stopped" he suddenly sprang to his feet, and Regina's eyes widened in horror.
"No, you don't know what she is capable of, and I don't think anyone can stop her. This is not why I told you the story, I can't have you challenge her; she won't let anyone stand in her way and I won't be able to live with myself if Snow lost her father because of me." Regina put a hand on his arm.
Leopold opened his mouth to argue with her, but one look at the fear in her eyes and he relented. She was right after all; if anything were to happen to him, Snow would be left all alone and she is still far too young to run the kingdom.
"I appreciate your honesty Regina, but that begs the question; do you want to move forward with the wedding?" he asked.
"I can't. I was telling you this story because I need your help."
"Anything." His voice was filled with sincerity that it surprised her.
"Well, since I thought that I was going to marry Daniel, I…." she trailed off, unable to finish the sentence. She was a little surprised by Leopold's amused chuckle.
"You gave yourself to him" he finished for her and her face turned crimson, she was staring at her fidgeting fingers in her lap and refused to meet his eyes.
"Well, yes." She stumbled over her words, and he leaned forward so he can cup her chin and lift her face so she can look him in the eye.
"Regina, I out of all people understand what it is to be in love, and I will not judge you for giving yourself to the man you were supposed to marry. It wasn't your fault that Cora killed him, if things had worked out, you two would have been married by now." His voice was gentle and assuring and she nodded slowly. He gave her a reassuring smile and she gave him a small one in return.
"But I still don't understand what it is that you need my help with?" he asked.
"I need to escape."
"Regina, you don't have to escape; I can think of an excuse to satisfy her as to why we are not getting married, and you won't have to live as a fugitive. If I understand correctly, she will not stop until she gets you back, and a life on the run is no life at all." He reasoned.
"No excuse will satisfy her and I am not just doing this for me, I …..I'm pregnant"
The smile that threatened to split his face in half was surprising but also contagious, her tear-stained face broke into a smile as well at the mention of her child and her hand rubbed her stomach.
"And of course your mother will never let you raise that child." He concluded.
"I don't think she'll even allow it to be born" she whispered fearfully.
Leopold's eyes widened in horror and surprise, "she will kill an innocent baby?"
"She won't see it as innocent; she will think that it is the reason why you wouldn't marry me. I can't let her find out, I have to escape. I can't lose this baby, and I don't want my mother to get her hands on it." She pleaded.
"How far along are you?" he asked, the gears in his head already at work.
"About two weeks" she replied, surprised at the change of subject. She failed to see the connection between how far along she was and her need to escape.
"Well, we are supposed to be married in a week, so how about you don't run away, we move forward with the wedding and you can claim that the child is mine?" he suggested, and her breath hitched in her throat.
"Excuse me?" she wanted to make sure that she heard him correctly.
"If we move forward with the wedding, you are still early enough for the child to pass as mine, that way you won't have to live your life in fear of your mother, you get to raise your child; and the child doesn't ever have to be in danger. No one will ever know the truth, not ever Snow." he explained.
"Y…yo…you would do that?" she stuttered.
"Of course I would, you saved my daughter's life, it is only fitting that I do everything in my power to make sure that I save your child's"
"Thank you" she whispered, her voice thick with tears, fear and gratitude. She didn't think he would take it so easily, let alone offer to help her. She was also grateful that he said he won't tell Snow, she didn't trust her with that kind of secret.
"Regina, I will not let you do anything you don't want; I understand what it means to be in love and to only vow to be with this person." He remarked, and she knew what he meant. He wasn't going to force her to sleep with him, because he wasn't sure he was ready either. She smiled gratefully at him, and slowly nodded to show him that she understood the meaning of his words.
"But, since to the outside world, we have to seem like a normal husband and wife; and in order for this child to pass as mine, we need to be able to tell them that she was conceived before the wedding. After all, I am the King and if I propose to a woman, chances are I won't break it off" he joked and she chuckled.
"So since I will be spending the night here, so as to not arouse your mother's suspicions" he started, coyly suggesting that he knew why Cora sent him here in the first place, "What would you like to talk about?" he asked.
"How about what is expected of me as queen?" she asked.
Real World-Present Day.
She had been driving for hours, and the lack of sleep was starting to take its toll on her. But she was determined to push through and keep moving, she needed to get there tonight! This had gone on long enough, and she needed to end it as fast as she could.
She finally arrived at the spot she was looking for, the side of a road in the middle of a forest, right in the middle of nowhere. She parked her car on the side of the road and got out.
"Let's see if this works" she mumbled to herself, as she walked to a certain place straight ahead. She stopped when she reached a certain point, and furrowed her eyebrows in deep concentration, as well as anticipation. She slowly took a tentative step forward, and then her face broke in a bright, truly joyful smile. She started laughing with relief as she stared at a sign to her left. She stretched her arms towards the sign, and let out a deep sigh of relief before she placed both hands on her hips and smiled.
'Welcome to Storybrooke' the sign read.
Good, bad? Stop or continue. Let me know what you all think.
Metope; sorry hun but I was stuck on the name! 3