He should've seen it coming.
It is a beautiful day, the air is fresh, the sun is shining through the crowns of the tall trees, drawing the forest in a bright but soft light. Birds are chirping happily, and every now and then a shy forest animal finds its way to the edge of the path, just to see who the intruders are.
Right in front of him, the queen is riding on the black stallion only she can ride on. He doubts that the horse would even let anyone else on his back but the royal lady; they seem to be a great team.
She hasn't talked much to him since the princess insisted that Robin would come along for her quest. He doesn't even know what kind of quest they are on, but he doesn't dare to ask either, too afraid she would set him on fire if he did. So he keeps his distance, lets Regina have her space. Ever since he rescued her from that flying monkey a couple of months ago, he hasn't been able to shake the feeling that there's something between them; some sort of connection. They haven't had many encounters since then though. She doesn't ask for his company, but he finds her alone in the castle's gardens more than often, staring out at the beautiful scenery. Her gaze is always sad, her expression heartbroken and her features full of sorrow when she thinks no one is looking. Her regal posture is back when she's around people; everyone expects her to be the queen, so that's what she is to them.
Right now he sees her swaying slightly on the horse, her back still straight.
Last night was rough.
It is a surprise attack. These damn monkeys are coming out of nowhere, causing the black stallion to run off with the queen on his back.
Robin is trying to get rid of the flying beasts when out of the corner of his eye he sees that the horse has taken her deeper into the forest. Luckily the Wicked Witch has only sent a couple of her unpleasant helpers, so the archer is able to defeat them relatively quickly. When he sees that no more danger is coming from the sky, he instantly races after the queen on his own horse.
It's dark. Only the moon's light can guide him through the trees. It isn't difficult for him to locate the tracks: broken branches from the bushes and trees, and the horse's footprints give him an indication for the direction the stallion has taken. He doesn't need to ride very far to spot the queen on the ground, the black giant only a few feet from her, quietly standing there like nothing has happened at all.
"M'lady! Are you alright?" her back is to him so he can't make out if she is injured. She's about to get up, slowly rising from the ground, grabbing the reins for help.
"I'm fine." she grunts, her back still to him. She softly pats the stallion's neck, one hand in his mane, leaning her forehead against the now calm and steady horse.
"You sure? Are you hurt?" he asks while getting off his mare, approaching her carefully.
"It's nothing." she still leans against the horse, her knees starting to shake slightly.
"It doesn't look like nothing." he now stands directly behind her, a hand outstretched to touch her shoulder, to get her attention. She must've felt his presence because she flips her head around to look at him, screwing her eyes shut immediately because of the motion.
"I said I'm fine." she grunts through gritted teeth, stressing every word; her eyes are still closed.
Now he is able to look over her. She has a few scratches on her cheeks, probably from the twigs he saw earlier, and a dark bruise already forming on her forehead. Where did that come from? Did she hit a stone on the ground or … He looks up; a thick branch, a little cracked, is tangled above their heads.
"No, you're not." He gestures up. "You hit the branch with your head and flew right off the horse. Let me look at it." He reaches out his hand but in the same moment she opens her eyes and grabs his arm.
"I'm fine!" she repeats, sounding stronger now. "I can take care of myself." With that her other hand leaves the horse's mane, a purple cloud swirling around it. Robin watches mesmerized as her injuries disappear while her hand moves over her face, only leaving flawless skin.
"There." she lets go of his arm and climbs on the horse's back again. Robin is still rooted to the spot, not quiet knowing what just happened. He has seen magic being used before – he has even used it himself with the Black Wand – but this was new to him.
"I don't know about you but I have places to be." she says steering her stallion back on track.
Regina still sways from side to side, her hands only loosely holding the reins; but her posture remains straight and regal like nothing happened just a few hours ago. They have been riding along since the incident; he tried to convince her to take a break but she wouldn't listen to him, of course.
They come across a little stream. The horses automatically stop not far from it. "The horses look thirsty, and frankly I could use a little break as well. What do you think? It looks nice here." He gets no answer, so he rides up next to her.
"M'lady?" He dismounts his mare and takes a step closer to her.
"It … It's your … your majesty." Her words come slurred out of her mouth and she sways even harder now. He's not sure if she knows where she is. Her whole body surges forward, her gaze unfocused. She tips to the side, fortunately to the side where he stands, and he catches her in his arms before she can fall to the hard ground.
"M'lady? Regina?" He doesn't get a reaction, her small body limp in his arms.
He looks around for a decent spot on the ground to lay her down.
He lowers her down, in the shadow of an old oak tree, pillowing her head on a bunch of moss. "Oh, you stubborn woman." he mutters under his breath as he tries to make her comfortable.
Robin's concern grows the higher the sun moves on the sky.
Regina looks pale in her sleep, the signs of the possible head injury not visible anymore. She doesn't move, but doesn't look peaceful either. She looks like she hasn't slept in weeks – maybe this is the way of her body to show that it has had enough – and combined with what happened last night, it's not surprising that she needed some rest.
The great and terrible Evil Queen lying so still is not at all what he had expected. He has heard many stories and was chased by her Black Knights more than once, but this woman right here is not some evil monster. The woman he's getting to know has a big and kind heart; he sees it every time his young lad throws himself at her. That's actually the only time he sees her smiling genuinely.
"Wha- what … happened?" Her words come out slowly and in a raspy whisper. He sighs in relief; she is awake.
"I think your meeting with that branch yesterday wasn't that good after all." he says in a low voice.
She raises a hand to her forehead and touches the area where the bruise was yesterday. "It hurts." She tries to look around, to take in her surroundings, but fails. "Everything is spinning." She shuts her eyes again, her hand still on her forehead.
"You should get some rest. Do you want to go back to the castle?" he asks, although she doesn't look like she's going anywhere right now.
She sighs. "Stay." Her voice is hardly audible, so he asks with a low "Hmh?"
"Stay." she says again. "I want to stay … for a while." He smiles, taking her arm from her head to lay it next to her body again. She begins to shiver slightly.
"As you wish, Regina." he says as he pulls off his cape to drape it over her slim form. He hears her murmur something that sounds like "Your majesty" and he lets out a low chuckle as he sees her drift back to sleep.
Robin can't help but lean forward and press his lips to her forehead. "Of course." he says when he leans back against the oak. "Of course, Regina."
He misses her smile as he looks out over the stream.
A/N: Many many thanks again to Anastasia for beta-ing this story. My writing would be nothing without you, thanks! The idea to this story hit me during watching a German movie and it wouldn't leave my mind, so here we go...