I will Survive

This is going to be a collection of little stories surrounding outlawqueen during the missing year. Because I'm going to be writing them as they come to me, time wise they will be jumping back and forth around the missing year. This chapter is set around month 3.

Enjoy!

The queen sighed as she ran her fingers along the stone-wall, the cold making her fingertips slightly numb. A small smile graced her face as she let her fingers wander below the edge of one particular stone, feeling the engraving still there after all these years.

"Such a beautiful evening Milady." As soon as the accented voice hit her ears Regina inwardly groaned. She really had hoped to be left alone for just one evening.

"What are you doing here thief?" Regina almost spat, before adding "And it's your Majesty, once again it seems I must remind you who I am." The chuckle that escaped Robins throat did nothing to calm her.

"I didn't realize anyone else knew of this balcony, it's not easy to get to your majesty." Robin gave her a small bow as he said it, a charming smile being thrown her way.

"Yes well it is my castle after all."

"From my experience, most royalty barely know their own castle, just the areas that are of use to them."

"Most prisoners learn their prison though." Regina snapped. She didn't know what had possessed her to let those words leave her mouth but she regretted it as soon as they did. What was she thinking confessing something like that to the thief? Glancing over at him she saw he was staring intently at her. Feeling he was about to say something she rolled her eyes and made to leave.

"You don't have to go your majesty, I won't mentioned it I promise."

Whether it was the sincerity in his voice mixed with a hint of something else, or the feeling of complete loneliness she had been feeling lately, Regina wasn't sure what had made her stop. Sighing and knowing this was something she would regret tomorrow she moved to stand beside him with a small shrug of her shoulders.

"What are you doing roaming the castle so late anyways thief?"

"I've lived in the woods for so long; these walls make me uneasy, I find it difficult to sleep. I suppose I thought familiarizing myself with the castle might help."

Regina nods, staring out over the kingdom, her hand absently running under the stone once more. Robin watches her for a while before finding the courage to speak.

"What's under there?" He motioned with his head to where Regina hand was. She yanked it away so fast he could have sworn she had been bitten.

"I thought you weren't going to talk!" She snapped at him, sending him one of her infamous glares. Shaking his head sadly, Robin looked out over the kingdom. Regina couldn't help the pang of guilt she felt. He was the only one that consistently treated her like more than the evil queen. The only one other than the charmings that seemed like he genuinely wanted to spend time with her, and all she ever did was bite.

Sighing heavily, Regina reached for his hand, silently thankful he didn't pull it away from her. She guided it under the stone to where he would be able to feel the engraving.

"I put it there a long time ago during my first year of marriage. I'd often come here when I needed hope. After the king died and after I became…" Regina faltered momentarily before regaining her composure. "I didn't come here then, because I thought I needed to be the evil queen and I didn't want to remember who I used to be. I didn't want to remember the hope I used to hold." Robin barely caught the last sentence, Regina whispering it so quietly as if scared of who might hear it. Robin allowed his fingers to gently trace the marking, his hand never letting go of Regina's.

"What does it say?" He questioned, receiving a sad smile in response.

"It says I will survive." And with that Regina untangled her hand from Robins and left the tiny balcony before he could respond.