A/N: Stories keep talking (correction: YELLING) at me and telling me to write them. This story wrote itself.

I'm not kidding.

One of my stories literally possessed me, and used my hands to type out the beginning of this story.

Please R&R.

Regina stared at the horizon from her favorite balcony. The view it afforded her used to fill her with hope and optimism but now only seems to taunt her with the taste of freedom.

She sighed dejectedly, thinking back to not two hours previously when she learned that the girl she had saved turned out to be Snow White, the only daughter of King Leopold. That alone would have been fine if the King, thinking her worthy of raising his daughter, had not proposed to her.

And even that would have been fine, flattering even, if her mother hadn't said yes before Regina could even comprehend what he was asking.

Since then, she had been forced to play hostess to her King, now fiancé, while the servants prepared a great feast in honor of her betrothal. Being on this balcony was the first chance she'd had at being alone since it had been arranged.

She hadn't even told Daniel yet.

Her breath caught in her throat. How was she going to tell Daniel that she was betrothed to man who not only wasn't him, but old enough to be her father?

"Regina?"

The brunette gasped as she spun around to find herself face-to-face with the man she was now doomed to marry himself; King Leopold. She had been so caught up in her silent moaning that she had not heard him enter the room that led to the balcony.

"King-uh," she cleared her throat and tried to put on the mask her mother had trained her to have since she was old enough to walk, and curtsied.

"King Leopold. How may I be of service?"

He chuckled and held up a hand. "Please, call me Leopold. After all, we are engaged now."

Regina struggled to keep her face neutral as she answered, "Yes. Yes we are…"

"I'm sorry to intrude, but you disappeared so suddenly that I feared something was wrong," his smile faltered slightly as he gazed upon her face, "And forgive me for saying so, but I fear I may have been right. Is something wrong my dear? Are you alright?"

"Wrong? No, your Majesty, nothing is wrong. Everything is fine; after all, I just became engaged to the King of our fair land," she replied, making sure her tone was even and her face bare of any emotion.

Leopold chuckled again. "You and Snow have the same habit."

"What habit is that, your Majesty?" Regina asked, allowing her confusion to be evident.

"Whenever asked if 'anything was wrong' and 'if you are alright', you both say that everything is fine but neglect to say that you, yourself, are fine," he smiled at her kindly before walking back into the sitting room and taking a seat in one of the available chairs.

"So, my dear, I will ask again: what is the matter?"

The brunette stared at the King before she joined him in the room and sat demurely in the seat across from him.

They sat in silence for a time, with Regina struggling to figure out a way to tell him what was wrong.

Finally, Leopold broke the stillness by gently asking, "Is it the marriage?"

Regina froze and tensed up before dropping her gaze and nodding silently.

"I see," he said as he sat back in his chair. "You'll have to forgive me, when your mother answered in your place earlier I thought perhaps it was because you were overcome with so much joy that you were shocked speechless. Now I think, you were just shocked."

The dark haired girl simply stared at the floor, fearing the worse.

The King noticed. "Oh come now, my child, pick your head up; I am not upset with you."

Her head jolted up out of shock: he wasn't upset that she was rejecting him?

He placed his head in his hand. "Really, I'm more upset with myself. Here I am, thrilled about the prospect of a mother for my darling Snow, so blinded by it in fact, that I didn't think to ask you about it before just barging into your home and asking you to marry me. Did not even stop to consider why your mother had answered instead of you…"

Regina, out of habit, was quick to amend him, "It's not your fault-"

He waved off her attempts. "Of course it is, my dear. I should have known better than to think that a beautiful creature like yourself would want to marry a man twice your age-"

"That's not it at all!" the girl snapped before checking herself and looking down at the ground again. "-Your Majesty," she quietly amended

They say in silence once again as King Leopold contemplated her. After a short while he smiled and said, "Ah, I see. You already have someone don't you?"

Regina tensed once again before she answered quietly, "Yes, your Majesty…."

"Well why did you not simply say so? Surely your mother-" he stopped when he saw her flinch at the mention of Cora. "Oh… your mother doesn't know about it, does she?"

She gulped, "No, your majesty."

"I take it, it is someone she does not approve of?"

"No sir," Regina replied, her pain at not being with the one she loved evident in her voice, "She doesn't."

"But you love him, don't you?" he asked gently.

For the first time in what felt like an eternity, Regina raised her watery eyes to meet the King's gaze and said without a hint of doubt in her voice, "With all my heart, your Majesty."

He smiled broadly and replied, "I see," before allowing them both to relapse into silence.

Minutes passed before he sat up and inquired, "May I ask who this young man is?"

Gathering up her courage, Regina said, "Daniel, your Majesty, the stable boy."

His eyes brightened. "This Daniel, he can ride?"

Regina's brow scrunched in confusion before she answered, "Yes, well enough."

"And your mother, you're sure she would never approve of your union? She would forbid it?" he asked, leaning forward.

"She'd sooner have me marry the Dark One himself, I think," she quipped. "Why?"

He stood up. "Then it's decided."

Regina stood up as well, more than a little nervous. "What's decided?"

King Leopold grinned at her.

"I am going to help you two to elope!" he stated rather proudly.

The brunette stared wide-eyed at him; completely flabbergasted. It was nearly a minute before she was able to find her words and choke out, "Wuh-what?"

Leopold ignored her and began to pace the room.

"We haven't much time, your mother insisted that we begin the marriage preparations tomorrow. That leaves us only with tonight to spirit you two away."

Regina could only stare at him in astonishment for what he was suggesting.

"It'll have to be during the feast; it's the only time when she'll be too busy being a hostess to follow you. You'll need food, clothing- I'm sure you will have no problems procuring a horse," he stated, more to himself than to her, as he walked up and down the length of the room.

"You'll need gold; I doubt you'll be able to take any of your family's with you and I'd hate to ask you to steal from your own parents," he continued to mumble. "I shall give you some of mine; I always travel with some in case of an emergency; and this is most definitely an emergency. Two hundred gold coin ought to do it-"

"Two hundred gol- your Majesty, stop!" Regina cried, latching onto his arm and dragging him to a stop before releasing him and apologizing for laying her hands on him.

"It is no trouble at all, my dear," he assured her, "Really I should thank you; I tend to go off on a bit of a rant when I get an idea in my head. I apologize."

Regina shook her head at him and stammered, "I-I don't understand! I just rejected your marriage proposal and now you are going to help me elope with Daniel?"

He blinked at her. "I'm sorry. I neglected to ask you, I seem to be doing that a lot today," he said, concerned he might have somehow offended her. "Do you want to elope with Daniel?"

"Yes! Yes, of course I do!" Regina answered quickly. "It's just… I'm confused…. Why would you help us to runaway together?"

King Leopold smiled at her before taking her hands gently between his.

"Because, my child, when I came here today to ask for your hand in marriage, I did so for two reasons. One of which, you know, is because you would make a wonderful mother for my daughter, Snow White," he smiled fondly at the mention of his pride and joy before continuing, "And the other is because it was the best way I could think of to express my gratitude to you for saving her life."

He kissed her hands as tears began to run silently down Regina's face.

"I love my daughter, and I want only the best for her; but I will not try to give her happiness by forcing you to give up on yours'. You saved my daughter, and I am in your debt; and now, I am going to fulfill that debt by helping you get your happy ending. Do you understand?"

Regina's lips quivered before she threw herself at the King and wrapped him in the biggest hug that she could, all manners and etiquette she had learned over the years flying out the window.

Through her tears of happiness and joy, she managed to whisper, "Thank you."

Leopold returned the hug with just as much fervor as he patted her back.

"It is the least I can do," was all that he replied.

After a few moments, he gently pushed her away and placed his hands on her shoulders.

Looking her straight in the eye, he said, "Now, go to Daniel and tell him what must be done. Get him to make two travelling packs and to ready a pair of horses- I'll find some way to get the gold to him. Tonight, during the feast, come up with a reason to leave momentarily; spill something on your dress or say you must use the restroom. Then, when you're away, change quickly, meet with Daniel and ride-" he paused and thought for a moment before answering, "-East! Ride east: towards my castle! It is a busy road and your mother won't think you'd ride towards my castle when you are clearly running away from me. After you travel for a ways, take the next turn you come to and keep riding until your horses can carry you no farther."

He leaned in closer.

"And above all; find your happiness," he grinned, "Do you think you can do that for me?"

Regina sniffled and nodded her head, smiling truly for the first time since the proposal. Sadly, that smile faded when she realized something.

"Wait," she said, wiping her tears with the handkerchief Leopold offered her, "What about Snow? She was looking forward to me being her mother- this will break her heart! Not to mention my father's…"

The King grimaced slightly before shaking his head. "Don't worry about Snow, my dear. Yes, she will be upset at first, but I am sure once I explain it to her that she will understand." He chuckled before adding, "Knowing her, she will probably end up rooting for the both of you."

He grew serious. "As for your father…. I take it you don't want me to tell your mother where you are going, and more importantly who with?"

"Please don't! She'll try to find us!" Regina answered quickly. "She'll look anyway, but if she finds out about Daniel… There is no doubt in my mind she will double her efforts."

"I see," Leopold replied stoically. "Then I'm afraid I will have to wait for a time after you have left before I can tell him. I will give no specifics, but I'll let him know that you did this for your own happiness," he paused before adding, "Unless, he wouldn't approve of this union, either?"

The girl shook her head. "No, I think he wouldn't mind. I doubt he will like that we eloped, but I don't think he'll care that I married below my station," she sneered, "He did the same with my mother, ironically."

"-And she seems to be the type of woman who only allows 'marrying up', I take it."

Regina nodded.

"Very well: then I will tell your father, and only your father, one month after you have left. That should afford you plenty of time to get away and find someplace to think about settling, if only temporarily."

The brunette smiled broadly before backing up several steps and giving the King the most elaborate curtsy-bow she could manage.

Straightening back up she said with tears in her eyes, "Thank you, your Majesty. You truly are a man worthy of the title of My King, and I am humbled by your kindness."

Leopold bowed to her in return. "And thank you, my dearest Regina, for being the kind of subject that makes me strive to be a better King. And," he took her hand and placed a chaste kiss upon her knuckles, "For saving my daughter."

Standing back up, he said, "Now, we haven't much time. Go to Daniel and prepare for tonight. And incase I don't get the chance again this evening, I will say this now; go forth now, with the blessings of your King that sadly were denied you by your parents, and may you always find yourself with food in your belly, a roof over your head, and your loved ones around you. So say I, King Leopold, Ruler of this fair land!"

Regina bit her lip and tears streamed down her face once again. Wiping them off, she nodded to her King, not trusting herself to speak without blubbering, and dashed out of the room to find her beloved; her heart soaring with the fact that she could now marry him.

The brunette found her love where she always found him: in the stables, cleaning one of the many sets of tack her family owned.

"Daniel!" she cried as she barreled into his chest with glee.

"Regina!" he replied with equal fervor as he spun them both around once before setting her back down on the ground and looking into her face, concerned when he saw the trails tears had left on her face.

"Are you alright? What's happened? Where have you been? I expected you hours ago and you didn't show up and then I heard there was an important guest in the house and I haven't-" Regina cut him off with a giggle by placing her hand over his mouth.

"That's what I came to tell you about if you would be silent long enough to let me!"

After assuring him that she was fine, better than fine actually, she told him everything; about how the girl she saved was the Snow White; how her father the King had proposed to her; her mother accepting his offer; her later talk alone with the King; and how he was going to help them to elope.

As she continued her tale, Daniel's jaw dropped closer and closer to the ground and his eyes grew as wide as saucers. And when she said that they were going to elope, the stable boy immediately pulled her into his arms and proceeded to spin around the stable floor, crowing loudly with every step.

He eventually brought her back down and drew her in close for a kiss that quickly became passionate. When they both had to come up for air, he gently held her face between his hands and gazed at her in awe as if she was an angel come down from heaven.

Suddenly his eyes widened and his grin grew even bigger.

"Wait a moment," he said, releasing her face, "If we're doing this, I'm going to do it right."

Ignoring his loves' bemused expression, Daniel moved quickly back to the tack he had been cleaning before she arrived. Taking his dagger, he neatly sliced off one of the decorative rings adorning it before making his way back to stand in front of her.

Kneeling before her, the boy offered her the ring and said as seriously as he could, "Regina, will you marry me?"

Regina covered her mouth as a gasp escaped it; she'd known that they would marry, but never did she dream it would happen so soon.

Nodding vigorously, her words failing her for the umpteenth time that day, the girl held her left hand out to the boy and gasped again when she saw that the makeshift ring was a perfect fit.

Throwing her arms around his neck in a warm embrace, she exclaimed again and again, "Yes! Yes I will marry you!"

They laughed and cried together then, out sheer joy; knowing that their freedom was within their reach.

Breaking apart from yet another heart pounding kiss, the two gave eachother a long, loving long, before splitting apart and preparing for what the night would hopefully bring.

Their future.

The feast was a magnificent affair: the cooks and servants had worked themselves to the bone, getting everything ready within the few short they'd been given since the engagement had been announced. Making sure everything was perfect.

Sitting at the head of the table next to her now ex-fiancé, Regina couldn't help but feel a little guilty that all of their hard work and effort would go to waste when they discovered that she had fled. She shuddered to think what her mother might do to them when she found out.

Shaking her head slightly, Regina forced such thoughts from her mind. The servants knew nothing of the plan and thus, hopefully, would be spared. And if her mother had not been so controlling of her life, she wouldn't have had to do this.

But Cora had been controlling, and thus Regina was left with little choice but to run.

Forcing herself to focus on the dinner, the girl struggled to distract herself and keep from checking the grandfather clock in the hall that kept tally of the seconds until her freedom.

She and Daniel had decided that she would leave the banquet at 8:37; their thinking being that a time at the top or half of the hour would be too conspicuous. After leaving, she would run to the stables where Daniel had his and her mounts and a change of clothes waiting, along with their supplies and King Leopold's gold; which he refused to let them leave without.

Then she and Daniel would ride east and keep riding until this gilded cage was long gone from their sights.

It was 8:35 now.

Regina took a deep breath to steady herself.

'Keep calm, Regina,' she told herself, 'You can do this. Just lift your cup and-'

Before her hand even moved, Leopold, who was seated to her right, suddenly swept his arm to the side, clearly whilst in the middle of explaining something to the person seated just beyond him.

His arm connected with the cup and caused its contents to fly all over Regina and her dress.

Regina gasped in surprise from the sudden introduction of the cold wine onto her skin and abruptly stood up in shock. Looking at the King, she caught his eye quick enough to see him smile before his expression turn apologetic.

"Oh my goodness, my dear! I am so sorry!" he cried while handing her his handkerchief, "I was telling one of my favorite fishing tales and forgot where I was. Do forgive me."

Biting her cheek to keep from laughing, Regina simply nodded and replied, "That quite alright, your Majesty, it was just an accident. I didn't really like this dress very much anyway."

"I apologize anyway; this is a feast celebrating our upcoming union and I am spending the time talking of my old stories instead of conversing with you. Again, I ask your forgiveness," he humbly bowed his head; though Regina suspected it was to hide the smile she no doubt believed to be written across his face.

"You shall have it, My King," she said, returning his informal bow with a small curtsy. "Now I must ask for your forgiveness, as I must leave to change and have this dress seen to before the stain settles. Please excuse me." That said, Regina turned to leave the hall, forcing herself to take slow, unhurried steps, although her heart begged her to run like a galloping stallion.

"Wait a moment, Regina."

Her heart stopped, as did her feet, as her mother's cold voice invaded her ears.

Turning, she took in the sight of her mother, who had been sitting to her left, push her own chair back and made to stand up.

Cora's eyes were cold and calculating as she said, "I'll help you clean up."

Regina's heart began pounding again, though she managed to keep her face impassive, as internally she cried: of course her mother would want to assist her, or at the very least escort her out into the hallway where she could magic her dress clean without revealing her powers to the king. Cora would want to make sure that her daughter look perfectly presentable at all times.

The brunette knew that if her mother joined her, she would never get away. She would have to marry Leopold and would be forever doomed to never be with her True Love.

As her mother stood, the girl's mind whirled, trying to think of some way to get her mother to let her leave alone.

"Oh, come now, madam," King Leopold's voice called out and caused both women to snap their attention to him.

"I'm sure Regina is old enough to clean and take care of herself. Let her deal with it alone," the King said calmly, gesturing for Cora to retake her seat.

"While we wait for her return, you and I can begin discussing the plans for the wedding. I'm afraid it has been some time since my first marriage," he claimed rather sheepishly, "And I am sure I will need your help arranging everything. Regina can rejoin us when she is ready."

Regina felt like she could have kissed him for his brilliance, but instead worked to keep her face neutral.

Cora glanced between the King and her daughter before smiling demurely and sitting back down.

"You're right, your Majesty," she said with a slight bow of her head, "A wedding is a very complicated affair and the sooner we begin planning for it, the better it will be." Turning to her daughter she cooed, "Hurry back now, dear. We wouldn't want you to miss out planning for your own wedding now, would we?" her hard eyes belying her words.

Keeping her back straight and her tone even, Regina replied, "No, we wouldn't Mother." She curtsied again to the both of them before returning to her long, slow, trek to the door.

Finally reaching it, she paused and looked back long enough to catch the eye of King Leopold, already deep into a conversation with her mother.

She silently mouthed the words, 'Thank you,' before opening up the doors wide enough for her to slip out into the deserted hallway.

Regina thought she had never run so fast in her entire life.

Not even when she was running scared from her mother after she used magic on her to make her behave.

Having long since abandoned her shoes, the brunette flew across the lawns of her family's estate; the soles of her feet making a steady thumping sound as she pounded against the grass.

After what felt an eternity and yet no time at all, she found herself in the stables' doorway to find Daniel pacing the length of the floors waiting for her.

At the sight of her, he quickly crossed the room and brought her in for a searing kiss that left them both breathless.

Reluctantly pushing him away, she said, "We don't have much time! My mother will realize I'm gone any minute now. We have to leave!" She grabbed the bag that held her travel clothes and went into an empty stall, Daniel averting his eyes and smiling at the knowledge that one day soon he would no longer have to.

She emerged quickly, her stained dress left rumpled on the stall floor amongst the straw and dirt. Donning a cloak, she gave Daniel one final kiss before they both climbed onto their respective mounts and trotted them out the stable doors and down the path; not daring to break them out into a gallop until they were well past the front gates.

Once they passed them, they urged their horses into a gallop as if the Dark One himself was chasing them.

Following King Leopold's instructions they headed east; riding hard for a few hours before turning onto the next road they came to.

Then they rode; and rode; and rode some more: pushing their mounts as hard as they dared, forcing themselves to keep at a steady pace and not make the horses go too fast and tire themselves out. Begging them each to go on just a little bit farther.

Eventually, the horses could go no further, and as dawn broke, Regina and Daniel found themselves taking a rest next to a small stream.

Sitting down finally after rubbing down and taking care of their mounts, the lovers took in the scene before them.

The creek ran from east to west, and went along in a relatively straight line for a ways, allowing the sun's morning rays to dance lightly across its bubbly surface. All around the couple were beautiful trees, brimming with lush green foliage and the first birdsongs of the day. Flowers were dotted all along both sides of the bank; beautiful yellow and blue wildflowers that seemed to thrum with vibrancy and life.

Daniel picked a single golden flower and silently offered it to his love and future bride. Regina took it gingerly, and with tears in her eyes, placed it in her hair, just behind her left ear.

Daniel leaned over and kissed away the lone tear that trailed down his True Love's face. She took his hand in hers and leaned into his embrace, the two of them content to pause for a moment and take in the beautiful sight that nature had given them.

After a few minutes spent in comfortable silence, the stable boy kissed the side of his Queen's head before whispering three soft words into her ear that seemed to reverberate throughout her entire body and soul.

"We made it."

A/N: *sits staring at her computer screen in awe*

Holy shit…..

That is the longest, and fluffiest chapter I have ever written.

Hope I didn't cause you guys to fall asleep at one point. ^^"

Seriously though: did I just write that?

Damn….

*shakes slightly narcissistic thoughts out of her head*

Okay. Enough of that.

More importantly I feel I should point out to you guys that although this chapter was super heavy in the "Stable Queen" department, its purpose was to serve as a prologue for the rest of the story; the vast majority of which will be centered on Snow and Charming.

Don't worry though; Daniel and Regina will make some more appearances.

Just a heads up: the next chapter will take place 10 years in the future.

Let's see what the repercussions of Regina's elopement with Daniel are, shall we?

*grins like an imp*