So, I bit the bullet and started a new story. This idea would not leave my mind. I was greatly inspired by one of my favourite movies, but honestly, it's going to be pretty different. There's going to be a lot of twists and turns in this one! So, I hope you're ready. Also, the characters are going to be a little different, but I wanted to portray our favourite couple in a different light. The mistakes are mine, and mine alone. Other than that, I don't own anything! Enjoy!
It's the last class of the day. English; her favourite, her forte. And it's Friday, every students favourite day of the week, especially when they are eager for the end of the school week, much like Regina is, but not for the reasons you might think. Her mother has been constantly on her case about college applications and the weekend will give her the time she needs to make some progress.
It's unusual, but she finds herself lost in her own world instead of paying attention to Mr. Hopper. His classes usually intrigue her to no end, but today he is in a deep conversation about the almost collective poor performance on their latest assignment, and she knows it's not directed at her. She's an excellent student, how could it be?
Mr. Hopper's talking stops abruptly when the classroom door swings opens suddenly and loudly. Regina's eyes, along with the rest of her classmates, focus intently on the doorway after the startling sound. He is standing smugly in the entryway and Regina heavily rolls her eyes and turns away.
He's late as usual.
"Mr. Locksley, I'm touched that you chose to honour us with your presence today," Mr. Hopper sighs, signalling for Robin to sit down at an empty desk.
"I'm English, I don't think missing this class will harm me," Robin sits at one of the empty desks by his friends. They are all chuckling with him at the pathetic attempt at a joke.
"If only your assignment grade reflected that," Mr. Hopper bit back, equally teasing as stern. The rest of the class giggles softly.
Robin grins, impressed, "You wound me." His palm presses across his chest, all part of his dramatic act.
"Might I continue?" Mr. Hopper asks, "Or do you wish to disrupt my lesson any more?"
"Oh, I wouldn't dream of it," Robin drawls, leaning back in his chair.
Mr. Hopper continues with his lecture pointlessly, no one is paying attention to the discussions of poetic techniques slipping from their teacher's mouth, even Regina's concentration fading in and out. When the day ends, indicated by the ringing of the final bell of the school day, the students begin to filter out of the classroom quickly. Regina, however, takes her time; unlike her classmates, she doesn't have a party to start preparing for or dressing for. She can take her time to collect herself, all the time in the world, in fact.
"Miss Mills, could I borrow you for a minute?" Mr. Hopper asks as Regina is packing her notebooks away. Smiling, curious, she nods her head and approaches his desk.
"Was it about my assignment?" Regina inquires, nerves beginning to bubble at the worry that she was someone who didn't do as well.
"No," he assures, "It was very good, as always. I just wanted to make you aware of a scholarship for prospective English majors." Regina's smile widens excitedly, inching closer to his desk, "I think you would be a perfect candidate."
"Really?" She's beaming.
"It's for students who show a promising future in writing and I immediately thought of you when it came to my attention. You will need to fight for it though."
Regina's always been competitive and excels in a competitive atmosphere. The mention of a challenge certainly piques her interest, "I do like a bit of competition. What do I need to do?"
"You need to write a short story. Something creative, unique. Something with a compelling story line, interesting characters, lovable and hatable ones. I know you know the ins and outs of creative writing, so it's just up to you to construct one." Mr. Hopper can see the cogs working at full speed in her mind and he smirks at her, "Are you interested?"
"Yes," she smiles brightly, "I'll start working on it this weekend."
"Great. Why don't you bring me a first draft, or an idea at least, by the end of next week and we can discuss it more then."
Still smiling, she nods and walks to the door, "Thank you, Mr. Hopper, for thinking of me."
"I really think you could win, Regina." He means it and she has never felt happier.
Dinner that evening is the same routine. Her father cooks, her mother sets the table while Regina works on her homework. Cora has been unable to stop talking about the scholarship since Regina told her about it.
"So, what will you write about?" Cora asks, setting her silverware down delicately. They're all pretty much finished eating and their daily post-dinner conversation is about to start.
"I'm not sure yet. It has to be creative and different. Perhaps I can play around with something in the fantasy genre," Regina suggests and Henry nods with a pleased moan.
"I think that could be perfect. Maybe your field trip on Sunday will inspire you," Henry says.
Regina laughs softly, "You think a field trip to the historical sites of Storybrooke will inspire me?"
"Hey, there's a lot of magic in our history, darling. You may be surprised." Henry defends and Cora swoops in to agree with him.
"Your father's right," Cora adds, "You've heard all the stories…"
"That's all they are. Stories. It's got to be different," Regina sighs, reaching for her glass of water, "I can't just write down the insane myths that someone created about our town. Fairytale characters in the modern world? Sure, it'd probably make an excellent story, but I want this to be my own."
"It will be, sweetheart, and it will be brilliant," Henry smiles, beginning to clean off the table. As usual, her focussed academic mentality ends the conversation and she finds herself spending another Friday evening filtering through books and sources, studying for the future Cora is desperate for her to have.
It's official. Regina hates Sunday morning field trips. Fair enough, they don't cut into school time, but her treasured Sunday morning ritual of sleep has been horrifically disrupted. The alarm is blaring away as she stares up at her ceiling. Eventually she turns off the alarm and rolls out of bed, huffing along the way.
Regina gets ready rather quickly, dressing in the outfit she had prepared the night before; it's smarter than her classmates would wear, but having a Mayor for a mother means that her wardrobe reaps some of the consequences. Her hair is easily managed, something that she is incredibly grateful for; one or two brushes through her shoulder length hair left it looking bouncy but neat. Her make-up is minimal, more natural than anything else, but she does like to dabble in a darker lip colour every now and then. But, not today.
Her mother's gone before Regina gets downstairs but is happy to see that a bowl of yogurt and fruit was left in the refrigerator for her. Sometimes Cora is an infuriating parent, but small acts like this reminds Regina just how great her parents actually are.
She eats slowly, having time of spare, and once she washes her dish and puts it away, she decides to head to the bus stop at the end of the street a little early.
It's a gorgeous morning, the air is only slightly chilled and breathing it in feels pure. Regina has always appreciated her surroundings, the chirping birds, the way the sun light streams through her apple tree… But, there is always something that can put a damper on a day.
And, today, it appears that it would be Robin Locksley. He's already at the bus stop, kicking a stone around with his feet. Groaning inward, she approaches him and clears her throat, "Good morning."
"Why, hello, Miss Mills. How is life in the mansion treating you?" Robin asks, his voice laced with a slight jealousy, but he tries to mask it.
"Fine," Regina grits, it appears nothing is going to change between them today. No shocker there. "How about life in the circus?" She sasses, having already reached her daily dose of Robin Locksley.
"Grand," he scoffs, ending their conversation. If you could even call it that.
Rumour has it that their mother's were once inseperable, but as far as they both know, this is but a myth. Helena Locksley and Cora Mills haven't looked at each other in the eye since before either of them were born. Neither of them knows why, but their attitudes toward each other appear to have been passed down through their children.
They stand silently until the bus arrives to pick them up and the shuffle aboard. Robin is drawn to his friends and Regina sits near the front of the bus alone. She has friends, or at least that's what she tells herself, but in reality… nobody particularly wants to be friends with the Mayor's kid. There are people she talks to, but no real friend. Nobody that she can share things with; her secrets and dreams.
When Mary Margaret and Lacey climb onto the bus at their next stops, Regina has to try very, very hard to stop the exaggerated sigh of relief that wants to claw its way out. They sit with her and they share small conversation, but it's short lived as they arrive to their destination.
All the students gather together just outside the bus and await instruction.
"Morning," Mr. Gold mutters tiredly, "I hope you're all ready to work hard this morning as the report you write for me will be based on whatever site you visit today. Since this is such a small class this year, I am going to suggest that you divide yourselves into pairs and each pair will be given one site to visit." Regina has her notebook out and is writing down any useful information that Mr. Gold gives. "The site you visit, I want you to note the architecture, think about the history we've talked about. Your report with be an intense description of what you observe. Now, everyone find a partner and we will move on with our day."
Everyone clings to a nearby friends, Regina not fussing and waiting to see who the other odd one out will be, she can just work with them. She smiles softly when it appears that Jefferson is going to left.
"I guess it's me and you?" Jefferson smiles.
"I suppose so," Regina offers a smile back, closing her notebook.
Mr. Gold is shaking his head and walking towards Robin and Will, "No. This isn't going to happen," Mr. Gold explains, signalling between both of the boys. "Will, I want you with Jefferson." Oh, God. That means… "Robin, you have the pleasure of working with Regina. Perhaps she can teach you a few things."
No.
"Uh, Mr. Gold… Sir, uh…" Regina can't oppose this man, she hates to admit it, but something about him frightens her.
"Problem, Miss Mills?"
"No," she sighs, while the voice in her head screams a big, fat yes. Spending the rest of that morning with that boy is not something she wants to endure. He infuriating and annoying and lacks any discipline.
"Good, I trust that you can keep him in line?"
She turns back to look at Robin, who is clearly whispering complaints to his friends about having to work with her, "I'll try my best," she grits, respectfully, of course while forcing a smile.
"Wonderful. Alright, everyone. Please come and pick a site out of my trusty bag here. Regina, would you like to go first?"
Mr. Gold offers Regina the bag and she sighs before sticking her hand inside. Pulling out a small, folded piece of paper, Mr. Gold encourages her to unfold it. She does and reads it, "The vault." Regina tells him, a slight upturn of her lips. She has always wanted to go inside, ever since she was a little girl.
"We get to go inside?"
Mr. Gold laughs, "No. You will study the exterior. Nobody has been inside in decades," Regina's excitement crumbles slightly, "Mr. Locksley, I suggest you make your way."
She walks at least five steps ahead of him at all times, to be honest, she's so excited that she's forgotten all about him, that is until he yells ahead to her.
"Are you going to wait for me or are you going to go out of your way to make this experience horrid?"
She scoffs, stopping at the door of the vault. The Queen's Vault. It's famous, well, only to the residents of Storybrooke. This was the thinking ground for the Queen who condemned everyone to a, supposed, miserable existence. Sure, it's all myth. Regina knows that. But, just the prospect of someone so deliciously evil existing excites Regina.
She lifts her hand to run her hand over the delicately designed woodwork of the door. She doesn't notice when Robin walks up behind her, looking at the door but not feeling quite as fascinated.
"You seem to be rather engrossed with this door," Robin laughs, rolling his eyes.
"Jut because you can't see the beauty of our history doesn't mean I can't." she mumbles under her breath, a slight hint of judgement.
"Beauty, huh?" Robin inquires, trying his hardest to ignore her insult. He walks up to the door and places his hand in it, mimicking her. He turns his head to look at her and there's something about her face; it's a look of admiration, of awe, "You know this place probably empty. I think you are letting the stories of our town cloud your judgement."
Robin reaches down to the door handle and jiggles it.
"It's locked," Regina sighs, dropping her hand back to her side.
"You want to see the inside?" Robin asks and she nods and then sighs, knowing it will never happen and lifts her head up to study the rest of the detailed exterior, "As you wish, milady."
Robin drops to his knees, reaching inside his pocket for something before he starts fiddling with the lock.
His sudden movement gains Regina's attention, "What are you doing?" And just as she finishes her question the door swings open with a loud creaking sound. Robin stands up onto his feet with a disgustingly smug look on his face. Regina's face, however, becomes stricken with horror. "You picked the lock? Are you insane? Do you have absolutely no comprehension of the law-"
"Do you want to see the inside or not?" Robin laughs moving passed her, "You need to learn to loosen up." Robin turns and looks her up and down, smirking at her serious outfit, "If that's even possible." He whispers, moving further into the vault, noticing the stairs that lower into the ground. Without a hint of hesitation he descends.
Regina stays in the doorway, hesitant and frowning at his words. But, seeing him disappear into the lower levels of the vault that she didn't know existed makes her curiosity run wild.
Screw it.
Regina walks inside, slowly, like she wading through water. She smiles at herself proudly when she makes the step in and continues down the staircase, her heart racing at the unknown.
"Robin?" She reaches the bottom of step and hears the shuffling to her left. She gasps at what she sees. Robin is looking around the small room carefully, but Regina's mind is immediately drawn to the huge mirror in the room, "This is amazing," she breathes, a bright smile on her lips as she observes the room.
Whoever designed this room wanted to make the myth in this town seem as believable as possible.
It's stunning. Grand. Fit for a Queen.
"This is strange," Robin mumbles.
"I had no idea there would be anything like this either." Regina says, giving him undivided attention.
"No. That's not what I mean. Look around," Robin states, using his arms to indicate around the room, "Gold said nobody has been down here in years. Does it look that way to you? And, the candles are lit."
Regina wants to laugh, but she can't bring herself to. Robin's right. There isn't a spec of dust in sight, the candles are all lit and look as if they have been burning for a while.
"This doesn't make any sense," Regina whispers, like she his trying to not catch anyone's attention, "Maybe Gold is messing with us? To see if we would break in?' Her face falls, realising that this could be a trap to get them into trouble, "We should go."
"Regina, you were practically bubbling with excitement walking into this room. Even if it is a trick, we're here now. Take five minutes and soak it in."
It wouldn't hurt, right? Smiling and biting her lip, she begins to move around the room. Her eyes being drawn to the intricate wooden trunks, fingering over the spines of scattered books.
"You're being nice to me," Regina says slowly as she focusses on the room.
Robin scoffs a laugh behind her, "Don't sound so surprised."
She regrets her words, sighing and turning to face him. She leans on the nearest trunk, folding her arms, "You hate me."
"Why would you say that?" Robin is adopting a stance similar to hers, "Have I ever once told you I hated you?"
"Well, no… But you very rarely say anything to me and when you do… You haven't exactly been the nicest person. You constantly insult me, judge me because of the size of my house, my mother's career…" Regina's accusations fade off, she could list off day, but it would no doubt be a waste of her breath.
Robin rolls his eyes, "I could say the same thing about you."
He's upset her, she can tell by the way he begins to aimlessly moves around the room, looking at things he doesn't even care about. Regina could respond, but there's no point, so she ignores him while she keeps looking around.
"Jackpot," Robin whispers. He's opened a cupboard in the corner. It's filled with vials, it looks like hundreds of them, each filled with a liquid of a different colour and old looking labels. He reaches inside and picks up a vial, inspecting it.
"What are you doing? Put that back," Regina scolds, walking to him. He doesn't listen though, he just laughs.
"You are incapable of being anything but a pain in my ass."
Regina's eyes pop open, his words resonating while shocking her, "Yeah, well you're a deviant child who is going to go nowhere in life because you'll be in jail." She bites back quickly, surprising herself.
With the vial still in his hand, he spins to face her. He's amused, but pissed off, "Oh, Mayor Mills, I didn't realise you'd be joining us on this lovely field trip this morning."
Mockingly, he bows and Regina scowls at him with tight lips, "You don't know anything about my Mother. At least she raised me to be respectful and driven, unlike yours who-"
"Don't," he warns with anger in his eyes, "You know absolutely nothing about my family. But, you're right. You have a perfect little life, you have every opportunity handed to you."
"What are you talking about?" She grits, reaching for the vial in his hand, hoping to put it back, but he pulls it away, "You think my life is perfect?"
"I know it is."
Sadly, Regina sighs heavily, her shoulders slumping, "It appears you know nothing about me, either." She reaches for the vial again and he quickly moves his hand again. Only this time, he loses his grip and vial falls to the floor, smashing loudly.
The red coloured liquid oozes out among the broken glass and the labelled tag, their faces staring downward at it. The liquid begins to disappear, like it's evaporating.
Regina groans, "You are an idiot. Now what are we going to do?"
Robin doesn't get the chance to offer a solution. Both Robin and Regina's bodies fall to the floor, neither one of them conscious.
When Robin wakes, he is lying flat on the floor and his head is pounding. He closes his eyes almost as soon as they open. Keeping his eyes closed, he pushes himself up off the ground, keeping his movements slow. When he stands upright, he loses his balance. He braces himself on the wall with his hands. Once he begins to feel normal, he opens his eyes and runs his hand through his hair.
His really long hair.
His long, black hair.
Confused, he pulls a strand out in front of him and notices that the hair is not his. Nor are those hands. His heart is racing, confusion setting in and then he looks down.
"Whoa..."
Yeah, those breasts are definitely not his.
He turns and catches a glimpse of himself in the large mirror on the wall. Except it's not him in the reflection, it's Regina.
This has to be a joke, or at the very least a dream. Robin laughs out loud, and when the light, feminine laughter leaves the body his soul seems to be trapped in and it shuts him up pretty quickly. Shock doesn't even begin to cover the look on his face. Her face. So, maybe it's not a joke.
Robin hears a groan then, one that sounds much more like him. His body is on the floor, starting to stir. Robin leans down.
"Robin…" He hears his own voice speak his name and it's an odd experience.
"Regina?" He asks, shocked again to hear her voice leave his mouth again.
"What happened?" She mumbles, not picking up on anything in the slightest, still groggy from their fall.
"Regina, I need you to not freak out, alright?" He tells her softly as she opens her eyes, but she doesn't listen.
She freaks out. A lot. She jumps to her feet, breathing heavily when she realises she is staring at her own face.
"What the hell?" She yells, bringing hands up to her throat when she notices the voice, finally. Robin is looking at her with eyes that aren't his, confused, slightly scared. He has no explanation, not even a single theory, so he moves to the side to let Regina observe her appearance. Her jaw drops, "Oh, my God."
"I'm just as shocked as you," Robin mumbles, Regina snapping her head when she hears her own voice.
"This isn't happening. What did you do?" She's accusing him and he doesn't appreciate it.
"Why would I do this?" He asks, hands reaching his hips.
"I don't know," Regina strains, emotions taking over and tears beginning to well.
"Wait," Robin remembers, "The vial."
Their heads dip down to study the floor. The liquid is gone, but the glass still remains, along with the old, aged tag that had been hanging from it. Robin bends down and picks up the tag, bringing it his eyes and squinting.
"Do you need glasses?" He asks, moving the tag closer and further away from his face, his vision much more blurry than he has ever experienced.
Scoffing, she rips the tag away and reads it: "Eye to Eye. See through the eyes of another. Understanding the soul of another, be it a friend or an enemy, is vital to move forward."
Robin squints his eyes together, "What does that even mean?"
"I think we just cursed ourselves." Regina tells him, not really even believing it herself, but it's the first thing that pops into her head.
Robin looks at her with pointed eyes, confusion flushed on his cheeks, "How do we un-curse ourselves?"
"I…" Regina falters as she catches a glimpse of herself in the mirror, "I can't believe I'm you."
He scoffs, insulted, "This isn't exactly pleasant for me. I'm a woman. I have long hair and…" He brings his hands up to his chest and grasps the unfamiliar growths on his chest.
Regina's eyes widen and slaps his hands away, "Stop that." He realises quickly what he did and mutters an apology. It's genuine. "We really need to fix this."
"What do you suggest?" Robin asks, desperately.
For the first time in a long time, her mind fails her. She has no idea how to fix this. She has no idea how to even handle this, let alone solve it.
She knew this field trip was going to be interest, but this is a bit more interesting than she could ever have anticipated.
So, there it is. Please let me know what you think and if you want me to continue. Because I kind of took a leap of faith with this one. Lots of twists to come, if you all want me to go ahead.