I own no one but my own people
God Regina hated going on holidays.
Regina sighed as she looked out the window, already growing bored of the woodsy landscape of Sherwood and they still had an hour or more before they made it out this particularly green and dreary area of the Enchanted Forest.
She told Leopold to not go this way. She told him the fastest way to Camelot was actually to take the road through King James territory but, as always, he had ignored her and decided to go the more scenic route of Nottingham and Sherwood where pale colored eyes and thick accents were prevalent and trees and grey skies were a plenty.
And so was an eleven year old Snow's annoying excited chattering at seeing the famous kingdom and meeting the so call 'chosen king'.
"He pulled the sword right from the stone!" she reminded Leopold and Regina, again, with the bright wide eyes and excitement of a child. "The Wizard Merlin himself said he was a king!"
"He must be quite the king then," Leopold chuckled while Regina tried to stop the roll of her eyes.
When he heard rumors that Regina was practicing magic, he threatened to have his wife whipped through the streets if she didn't stop. But now that his precious Snow found a wizard she adored, people who practiced magic was worthy of admiration and respect.
Not her though. He still threatened her if there were whispers of Regina practicing magic.
"He is, Father! He's the most noble honorable king who ever lived! Apart from you of course," she added with that annoyingly sweet little perfect smile that fooled everyone into thinking she was some innocent little princess.
God Regina hated her.
Leopold chuckled at the compliment and kissed his daughter on the cheek before they both leaned back to enjoy the scenery of Sherwood Forest.
The peace and quiet was short lived however when they heard voices from outside the carriage.
"Fortune tellers, fortune tellers!"
"Fortunes, forecast, lucky charms!"
"Catch the dope! With your horoscope!"
Snow all but jumped out of her seat, pointing excitedly out the window. "Fortune tellers, Father! Can we stop?! Please, Father, please!"
"I don't think that's a good idea, Snow," Regina answered before her husband could. "There's been too many reports of bandits in this area."
Leopold glared at his wife for telling his perfect little princess 'no' but, deep down, he knew she was right. There HAD been quite a few reports of thieves in Sherwood and Nottingham, he didn't want to endanger his daughter.
Or Regina either, he supposed, for the mere fact didn't want to go through the hassle of finding a new mother for Snow then another wedding… it was easier to just keep this one alive.
"Bandits wouldn't advertise!" Snow argued desperately before she turned to her father and took hold of his hand. "Father, please! It'll be perfectly safe, I know it will!"
"Snow, I told you-."
"Of course, Sweetie," Leopold interrupted Regina before he called to the driver to stop.
The Queen pursed her lips as he overruled her. He told her the day they met that he wanted a mother for his daughter but yet it seemed any time Regina tried to tell her to do anything Leopold would undermine her to the point she might as well not have said anything.
So she just held her tongue and hoped that if these 'fortune tellers' did attack them Regina would get out of this alive.
If Leopold and Snow didn't make it, well… this vacation would end far better than she thought it would.
The Queen sighed softly as the royal coach stopped and Snow eagerly opened the door and grinned at the two men on the side of road. Regina followed her step daughter out of the carriage and Leopold climbed out after her and the brown eyed woman raised her brow at the two men who stood there.
One was a fairly large and tall man with unruly brown curls dressed in a red peasant top and a pair of dark orange breeches and was holding up a handmade wooden sign with the words 'Crystal balls, horoscopes, palm readings' scratched onto it.
The other smaller man beside him had sandy blonde hair with dazzling ocean blue eyes and a fair bit of scruff on his face wearing a turquoise top with white billowing sleeves, a red woolen cape and brown leather trousers with brown boots that laced up to his knees.
He was also rather good looking. Very good looking as a matter of fact and Regina couldn't help but let her eyes wander over the man.
When her eyes found his again he had a hint of a smirk on is face as if he had caught her checking him out and she had the sneaking suspicion that he had.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, your majesties," the blue eyed man said with a bow and Regina raised her brow again.
That was not his real voice. Regina could tell; he was trying to make his accent much less prevalent and his tone deeper.
But Leopold, like always, paid little attention to anything outside his daughter.
"Truly an honor, King Leopold," the large man added with his own bow.
Regjna watched as the blue eyed man took Leopold's hand and brought the back of it to his lips before he released it and- wait hadn't Leopold worn that obnoxiously large ruby ring on this journey? She could have sworn she saw him wearing it in the carriage but it was nowhere to be found now.
Then she noticed the man slip his hand into the pocket of his trousers for a moment.
Shit.
"This was a mistake," she said, carefully eyeing the two men in front of her. "I really don't think that this is a good idea."
"Stop worrying so much," the king told her as he watched his daughter curtsey at the two men with an excited grin. The larger man took the princesses hand, repeating the same polite gesture as his companion had.
A moment later the Queen noticed that Snow had been relieved of the diamond bracelet she had been wearing.
"Did you honestly not see-!"
Leopold whipped towards her, a fire in his eyes. "One more word," he growled at her, making sure his daughter couldn't hear his harsh words. "And I make you walk to Camelot."
Regina pursed her lips before she turned back to the men in front of her, pleasantly surprised at the cross look the blue eyed man was giving the king. It only lasted a moment but it was enough to let the Queen know he had overheard what the King had threatened.
"Father, please let me go first!" Snow begged the king, in front of perfect strangers.
Regina shuddered to think what her own mother would have done if she had acted like that in front of Cora.
But instead of slapping and chastising her, he just chuckled and nodded. "Of course, my love."
Snow grinned before she clambered back in the carriage and the large man climbed in after her. He started to shut the door but Regina grabbed hold of it and wrenched it back open, throwing iciness at the 'fortune teller'.
"The door stays open or her father goes in with her," she told him in a no nonsense tone.
Regina wanted the brat gone, yes, but she was NOT about to let a young girl be alone with a man who, if he wanted, could do whatever he wanted to her and none of the royals and probably few of the guards would be able to stop.
Instead of arguing the man just gave a polite nod and Leopold followed his daughter and the crystal gazer into the coach, shutting the door behind him.
"You're a very good big sister looking out for her like that," the blue eyed man said when they finally alone. "But I assure you my companion is as friendly as a anyone you could hope to meet."
"She isn't my younger sister, she's my step child," the Queen said a bit surly.
The man purses his lips. "So the… older... gentlemen is-."
"My husband," she confirmed, that same touch of sadness in his tone that she always had when she mentioned that word.
The man nodded before he turned towards her. "I'm sorry."
The Queen scoffed at him. "Sorry? Why on earth should you feel sorry for me?"
"Because you're a beautiful woman and from the way you carry yourself you obviously come from nobility or even royalty. Women like you don't often get much of a say when it comes to matters of the heart."
Regina pursed her lips for a moment but she couldn't find it in her heart to appear angry at his unfortunately truthful words.
"Who knew a thief could be so perceptive."
The man cocked his head to the side feigning ignorance. "A thief? M'lady, you wound me. I assure you, I am but a simple man offering my mystic gifts to all those who wish to utilize it."
"Uh huh. So if I were to order the guards traveling with us to search you they wouldn't find the King's ring? Or the princesses bracelet with your companion?"
Fear flashed in the man's eyes for a moment and Regina rolled her eyes. "Relax, I'm not going to turn you in. If that dumb oaf or his obnoxious daughter doesn't even notice thousands of dollars worth of jewels are missing from their own persons they don't deserve it anyway."
The man let out a breath of relief before he chuckled.
"Thought I was getting better at hiding that."
There it was. There was his real voice. It was light and pleasant and his accent was one that definitely belonged to someone who was more upper class than he had let on.
It was far, FAR more attractive then the disguised tone he had used.
"I didn't realize thievery is a skill that one needed to master," she said with a soft laugh. He smiled at her.
"Oh you'd be surprised, M'lady. Lock picking, being sure footed, pickpocketing… Quite a few things to learn. Most of them I'm pleased to say I'm quite adept at. Apparently I need to learn how to hide my crimes from observant beautiful queens."
Regina chuckled again, giving him a smile that wasn't so much friendly as it was… something else. Something she hadn't felt since Daniel.
"I'll keep that in mind."
The man leaned up against a tree for a moment before he turned towards her. "So… would you like your fortune read?"
She raised another brow at him. "You're not actually a fortune teller are you?"
"No but your husband is paying for it so why not take advantage of my...services."
Regina pretended not to notice his eyes travel up and down her.
"And uh… what 'services' would those be?"
He held his hand out to her and she couldn't help her smirk as she deliberately took off her rings and put them into her own pocket before she took it.
"You're a smart one aren't you?" he said as he turned her hand over in his so her palm was facing up.
"Oh you'd be surprised… Thief."
The way she said his title, 'thief', with a bit of a hiss sent a very pleasant shudder down the man's spine and the way she bit her lip he figured it had been intentional.
He cleared his throat and traced one particularly long line in her palm with his finger and she bit her lip.
This felt somehow strangely intimate. Far more intimate than anything the king had ever done to her, and even Daniel who's touched had consisted of teenagers fumbling around in the stables late at night and stolen kisses in secret.
"This one right here is called a lifeline," he explained. "See how strongly it curves? It tells me you have exceptional energy, and the way it cuts deep into your palm showcases just how much strength you have."
The man pointed to another line that started in the middle of her middle finger and trailed it slowly straight down to her wrist.
Regina bit her lip as his rough and calloused finger proved exceptionally gentle with her. She hasn't felt a kind touch in months…
"This is the head line. See all the little crosses on it? That means you're going through an emotional crisis that's somehow affecting your thoughts. But it's also broken so that tells me you're rather inconsistent with these thoughts as well."
A hard lump formed in her throat as his words rang inside her mind. Daniel would certainly count as an 'emotional crisis' wouldn't he? Not to mention her rather erratic thoughts on the princess.
One minute she was fantasizing about killing her, the next she was scolding herself for thinking of harming a young girl and hour after hour she battled with herself with these thoughts…
The blue eyed man pointed to another line in the middle of her palm and examined it closely. "Oh my… you're quite the rarity, M'lady."
"Oh?" She pushed back the tears that had so desperately wanted to fall. "Why is that?"
He slowly dragged his finger over the many tiny broken lines in her palm. "You have a fate line. Not very many people have that and those that do don't have nearly this many breaks in it."
"What's that mean?"
The man looked up from her palm and gazed into her eyes momentarily taking her breath away. "It means your fate can go a hundred different ways. You're subjected to many different changes, you just have to choose one."
She swallowed hard without taking her eyes from him. "Does it?"
"It does, M'lady."
The two strangers looked at one another for a moment longer before the blue eyed man traced her palm again, lightly fingering the soft skin of her wrist before he traveled back up again.
"Love line," he told her. "Look at how it circles so tightly around, it means you've undergone something truly devastating in regards to your heart. But this line is also so incredibly deep as well. You fall in love hard, M'lady, harder than anyone I've ever met, and you WILL have love in your life again. You will be HAPPY again…"
"I will?"
Regina didn't mean to sound like a child, she didn't mean to sound so desperate and hopeful. But instead of laughing at her childish question he just nodded, looking back into her eyes again.
"You will, M'lady. I promise you will."
She took a deep breath. "Regina."
"Pardon?"
"Regina; that's my name. Regina Mills."
He smiled at her, reaching up with his free hand and tucking a piece of hair that had fallen out of her plait before he gave a polite inclination of his head.
"Robin of Locksley, at your service."
Regina narrowed her eyes for a moment before she chuckled when she realized where she heard that name before. "We would be robbed by the prince of thieves himself."
He gave her a rather smug grin. "Royalty robbing royalty. It just makes sense doesn't it?"
Regina nodded, the smile not fading from her lips. "I suppose it does."
Robin bit his lip as he looked at the occupied carriage before he turned back to her. "Do you want to leave him?"
Her eyes went wide. "I-... I'm sorry?"
"The King. Do you want to leave him."
There was no use pretending anymore so instead she just nodded.
"More than anything."
Robin took hold of her hands again. "Then runaway with me. Let's just leave. Right now, just the two of us."
"You don't even know me," Regina argued.
"I know you're unhappy. That's all I care about, Regina. Come with me. Please."
The Queen's eyes widened as her heart slammed against her chest painfully hard. Leopold and Snow would be done with their own fortunes soon, then they would be on their way, she would probably never see Robin again…
Regina glanced down at the palm he had read and traced the line he told had meant that her fate could go so many different ways, that she could change it if she truly wanted.
Plus he told her, no, had PROMISED her that she could have love and happiness again. Was it such a crazy idea that the man who promised her happiness and love could be the one she found both of those with?
Of course it was. It was totally insane to run away with not only a man who had robbed her husband and who's companion had robbed her step daughter but who she has only known for fifteen minutes.
But as she stared into his beautiful baby blue eyes, she suddenly found for the first time in her life she didn't care about something not being crazy or improper or anything of the like. Even with Daniel she had cared about keeping up proper appearances but she didn't here, not with this outlaw.
So, taking a deep breath, she nodded, a beaming grin on her face and excitement and adrenaline racing through her veins as Robin grabbed hold of her hand again.
The door of the carriage started to open and Robin took a deep breath.
"Do you trust me?" He asked, not that he really needed too.
Having truthfully no reason too, she nodded, then Leopold, Snow and John stepped out of carriage, both of them somehow not noticing all of their jewelry and Regina strongly guessed the bag of jewels and gold they kept in with the coach as well.
He waited until John was standing beside him before Robin twisted Regina around and yanked her arm rather gently behind her back but to those watching it looked rather rough. He grabbed a dagger from his waist and held the dull edge at her neck while the actual blade pointed outwards.
"REGINA!" Snow screamed, terrified, while Leopold just looked annoyed. The guards were all on high alert but with a knife at their queens throat no one dared move towards the outlaw.
Johns eyes went wide as he looked from his leader to the two royals but said nothing at the totally new twist in this plan that he figured Robin would explain later.
"Your Queen is being held for ransom!" Robin barked with that atrocious fake accent and deep voice as he made his way towards the horses with his best friend joining him.
"Leopold, help!" Regina cried out as convincing as she could, adding a sob for good measure. "Please!"
"Release her!" Leopold ordered the thief as John made quick work of the horses restraints and gave the reigns to his leader. "Kidnapping the Queen is a crime worthy of death, Outlaw!"
"A messenger will come around with the demands," Robin told him as he set Regina on the horse, admiring her ability to pull herself upright while appearing to struggle, quickly climbing on behind her.
"DON'T HURT HER!" Snow cried as Leopold held his daughter back.
"Your stepmother will not be harmed I promise you, Princess," Robin told the girl, not wanting the child to worry too much about the woman. He waited until John climbed atop his own horse before, without either the Queen or the thief looking back, he and John rode hard into the forest that was so dense and thick that only those who had grown up in Sherwood could navigate them.
The ransom letter would never come. The guards searched for the brown eyed queen for a few weeks before Leopold gave up hope and just decided to find a new mother for his precious Snow.
Robin, meanwhile, had proven his predictions were right. Regina had found love with the blue eyed thief, she had found happiness among the men who called her their 'princess of thieves', she had chosen her own fate for once not influenced or forced by her mother, by Rumpelstiltskin, by anyone but her.
One night as Regina laid in Robin's arms by a warm fire gazing up at the stars while he gently rubbed the barely noticeable bump on her stomach that held their little Henry or Henrietta, while she was truly fine with either option so long as it was healthy she hoped so badly for it to be a Henry, she smiled.
God Regina loved going on holidays…
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