There are no happy endings
Endings are the saddest part
So just give me a happy middle
and a very happy start
-Shel Silverstein
"Closing time!" Enrique declared, locking the store door. He smiled as he approached the front counter. "We should hurry home, Regina. Corona is making paella tonight. I know how much you love that."
Regina moaned as she rubbed her stomach. "Corona's paella is the best thing ever. I don't know how I went so long not knowing about it."
He shook his head. "You were born in the wrong country. Thankfully you found your way here to Basque and we can introduce you to all the wonderful food our country has to offer."
"I am definitely grateful to have ended up here," Regina mused, lifting part of the counter that had hinges so she could get out. She looked around the general store and once again, she was glad that she had ended up boarding a ship bound for Basque the day she finally escaped Mist Haven. Regina had then met Enrique when she disembarked and agreed to help him transport his cargo back to his store. By the time they made it to his little town, they already had the foundations of a good friendship. His wife, Corona, insisted that she stay for the night and she could continue on her way in the morning.
Over the evening meal, though, Regina had admitted she didn't know where she was going to end up. She told them her story, about how she had been prepared to be the handmaiden to the future queen of Mist Haven before everything went wrong. She talked about how Princess Snow White had fallen in love with Prince James, a cruel and ruthless man who influenced her until she just as cruel and ruthless. Regina hadn't been the only one concerned about the changes in the princess and her parents forbade her from being with Prince James. Snow then told Regina she was going to runaway and marry Prince James, swearing her to secrecy. Though she hated to betray her friend, Regina knew she had to tell the king and queen, who stopped their daughter before she could sneak off the palace grounds. Snow hated her for doing that but Regina endured her stony glares and frosty silence, certain that one day her friend would see she had done what was best for the princess.
Not long after the king and queen foiled Snow's attempt to runaway, Regina had heard strange sounds coming from the princess' room. When she heard grunting and screams, she feared the worst and so had burst into the bedroom to protect Snow White. Instead, she had found Prince James having sex with the princess. Regina had stared, shocked, before racing for the door. James had been quicker and blocked her escape, telling her she wasn't going to tattle this time as there was no one to tattle to.
His words chilled her and she had looked over at Snow for explanation. The princess smirked as she told Regina that her parents weren't going to be a problem anymore. She and James were going to get married and rule the kingdom together now that her parents were dead. Regina had felt sick to her stomach, unable to understand why Snow would've killed her doting parents. As an orphan, Regina would've done anything to have parents in her life and wouldn't have wanted them dead.
She felt even sicker when Snow ordered James to kill her as well. Regina took advantage of his undressed state to distract him, throwing something at a rather sensitive area of his body. It caused him to double over for a few brief moments, giving her time to run. Her goal was to reach the stables, hoping the young stable boy she had fallen in love with would help her.
Prince James caught up to her quickly, grabbing her arm and throwing her against the railing of the staircase. He grinned and a terrifying glint appeared in his eyes as he pressed his sword against her throat. "This isn't going to be quick. I'm going to enjoy watching you die a slow and painful death," he told her.
"Please," she pleaded. "If you really do love her, please let her go. Don't turn her into a person as cruel as you are. Let her be who she really is."
"She is," he growled, pressing the blade closer to her throat. She felt it start to break her skin as it grew difficult to breathe.
Regina kicked out at him, once again hitting him in a rather sensitive spot. He backed off slightly but didn't recoil completely. It still was enough for her to try to wrestle the sword from him. They pushed and pulled at the weapon as they got dangerously close to the stairs. With her heart pounding, Regina made a fateful decision.
She let go.
Everything happened in slow motion after that. James lost his footing and tried to reach out for something to hold onto. She extended her hand but her fingers grazed his arm as he fell backwards. He hit a stair and she heard a sickening crunch before he bounced, rolling a bit before falling the rest of the way. James hit the ground, his body sprawled in an unnatural position.
Regina hurried down the stairs and stood over James' body, his eyes staring unseeing at a wall. She swallowed, knowing he was dead.
"James?" Snow's panicked voice pierced the silence around them. Regina looked up to see the princess' anguished face. "No!"
She came down the stairs, her skirts billowing behind her as her eyes flashed and her face turned red. Regina started to back up but Snow caught up to her quickly, snarling: "You killed him!"
"It was an accident!" Regina protested, holding her hands. Anger then filled her as she remembered: "He was trying to kill me!"
"You deserved it!" Snow yelled back, sinking to her knees to hold James' lifeless body. "You shouldn't have interfered!"
"He was no good for you, Snow!"
Snow glared at her, a hatred in her eyes more intense than Regina had ever seen before. "That wasn't for you to decide! Or my parents! Only me. And now you've taken him from me. So I will take your life from you. GUARDS!"
Two guards ran from a nearby room, gaping at the dead man in their princess' arms. One approached the two. "Did he hurt you, Your Highness?"
"No," she insisted. "Arrest Regina and have her executed."
The guard hesitated. "Only your parents can order someone be executed, Princess."
"They're dead, I killed them and now I'm queen," she snapped. "I am ordering you to kill Regina."
Snow's words shocked the guards and they didn't move right away, no doubt trying to process everything she had just said. Regina used it to her advantage, running from the room. She ducked into the kitchens and raced to the door, wrenching it open as she heard shouts coming from the barracks. Her route took her away from there, her feet going straight to the stables where Daniel had just woken up from the commotion.
Regina explained to him what had happened as quickly as she could. He told her to hide in the far stall and wait for him. After what seemed like an eternity, Daniel had returned with a sack. He handed it to her and told her it contained supplies for her, that she needed to run. She asked him to come with her but he said he couldn't. He wished her the best and they shared one last kiss before Regina ran into the woods.
After years living as a bandit, Regina finally had saved enough to book passage on a ship leaving Mist Haven. She chose the one going to Basque, figuring she would stand out too much amongst the fairer people of Arendelle. Her dark hair, tan skin and dark eyes were common traits of Basque people, so she blended well into the crowd when she got off the ship. With Enrique and Corona being so welcoming, she felt like she had found home at last.
The only thing she missed about Mist Haven was a certain thief with blond hair and blue eyes. She tried not to think about him but he haunted her dreams. His warm blue eyes, his smile, how he had looked at her…it all made her wake up with a yearning she knew she had no right to feel. Not when he was in love with another and happily married to her. She needed to move on herself and hopefully find love here in Basque.
Enrique locked up the store and they started the short walk to the house he shared with Corona, just down the street. He talked about more dishes Regina needed to try and she smiled, her mouth watering at his descriptions of them.
"Regina?" The voice made her stop and her heart sped up as she wondered if she was somehow dreaming. There was no way he was there.
She turned slowly, pressing her hand to her stomach as she took in the man standing before her. He wore a familiar brown jerkin over a white linen shirt and paired with brown pants underneath a dark green cape. His blond hair was just as thick as she remembered though a bit grayer at the temples and his blue eyes were just as warm. When he smiled, it showed off the dimples that made her stomach flip and her heart skip a beat.
"It's you," he said, amazed. He let his bag fall to the ground as he approached her. "I found you."
"Robin," she breathed, not believing her own eyes. "You're here?"
Enrique stepped in front of her. "Can I help you?"
Regina placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's alright, Enrique. He's a friend of mine from my old life."
"Well, then, you should come home with us. Have you ever had paella?" Enrique asked him.
"No, I haven't," Robin said, picking up his bag. "Thank you for your invitation."
He fell into step next to Regina, whose mind was spinning with several questions. What was he doing here? How long was he here for? Was he married? Or was Zelena with him? And why did he say he 'found' her? Had he been looking? And why?
Supper was awkward, at least for Regina. She sat at Enrique and Corona's table, staring at Robin as everyone ate their paella. He engaged in an easy conversation with the two, telling them about his life as an outlaw in Mist Haven. Regina, though, barely registered what he said as her mind was still trying to work out what he was doing in Basque.
Once everyone finished, Corona nudged Enrique before gathering up the dirty dishes. "We'll give you two some privacy while we clean up. Right, Enrique?"
"Right," he said, jumping up. "We'll be in the next room if you need us."
They hurried from the room, closing the doors that separated the kitchen from the rest of the house. Regina's heart beat fast as she realized she was alone with Robin and she could get the answers to her questions. However, she couldn't help but wonder if she wanted to know them at all.
Robin moved closer to her, sitting next to her on the bench. He reached out and took her hand. "You must have so many questions."
She nodded, looking into his eyes. Though he appeared to be neither smiling nor frowning, his eyes sparkled with happiness as he gazed at her. It softened her up a bit and gave her the courage to ask: "What did you mean by 'I found you'?"
"I've been looking for you for a year," he started.
Regina interrupted, frowning. "A year? What about Zelena? Your wedding?"
He shook his head. "I didn't marry her. I couldn't."
"What do you mean by that?" she asked, confused. "I thought she had the eyes you just knew you were born to look into?"
Robin grimaced at that. "I did say that, didn't I? And at the time I said it, I thought it was true. But as I stood at the altar, waiting for her, there were another pair of eyes I couldn't get out of my mind. Yours."
"So now you're saying my eyes are the ones you were born to look into?" she asked, her stomach clenching. There had been a brief moment back in the tavern where she had thought he had been talking about her just as she realized she could spend the rest of her life looking into his. However, she didn't know if that was enough to make such big life decisions over.
He paused as he considered his words. "You turned my world upside down. After years of watching you work from a distance and even our brief banter brightened my world more than any time I spent with Zelena. All I could see were your eyes and your smile as I held onto this and I realized I was waiting for the wrong woman to come down the aisle."
Robin pulled something from a pocket and he held it up. It was a gold coin from Mist Haven and she felt her heart skip a beat. "Is that the coin I gave you after you saved me from Snow?"
"It is," he confirmed. "I've carried it close to my heart since you left the tavern."
He laid the coin in her open palm as he explained how he told Zelena he couldn't marry her, leaving her at the altar. Robin returned to the Merry Men's camp and packed a bag. Will Scarlet followed and told him that Regina had been spotted heading toward the port town. He wished Robin luck and agreed to lead the Merry Men as Robin went to find her.
"When I got to port, you were already gone and no one could recall which ship you had gotten on nor where it was bound," he said. "So I got on the next ship myself and started to search the lands for you. I've worked odd jobs, relied on the kindness of strangers and fallen back on my skills as a thief as I've journeyed from country to country to find you."
Robin took her hand, moving even closer to her on the bench. "When I arrived here in a Basque, someone said they recalled a Mist Haven woman named Regina working in this village. So I traveled right here. And here you are."
"Now what?" she asked, enjoying the feel of his thumb against the back of her hand as he rubbed circles against it.
"I was hoping to court you," he replied.
She raised her eyebrow. "Court me?"
He nodded. "I want to have suppers with you, get to know you better, take you on walks in the moonlight, maybe kiss you in the moonlight…I want to marry you, Regina."
"You wanted to marry Zelena," she said before she could stop herself. Why was she fighting this?
Because everyone eventually lets you down, a little voice whispered. Because you always end up alone.
Robin nodded. "I did but I realized that she wasn't right for me."
"And you think I am?"
"I do," he replied. "And I hope you think that I am right for you. Please, give me a chance to prove myself to you."
She wanted to say yes but she found herself saying: "I'll have to think about it."
He just nodded in response, not appearing hurt or excited. "Take as long as you want, Regina. I won't go anywhere unless you tell me to go."
Robin stood and she found herself standing as well. He bowed to her before kissing her cheek. "I'll see you soon, Regina."
"Good night, Robin," she whispered as he walked from the room.
She sank back down onto the bench as Corona entered. Closing the doors, she hurried over and sat down next to Regina. "Well?"
Regina gave her a pointed look. "Are we going to pretend you and Enrique weren't listening at the door? Because it would be easier not to."
"Fair enough," she chuckled. She then turned serious. "So, are you going to give that man a chance?"
"I don't know. It just seems so…I don't even know the right word. He left someone at the altar and came to find me after one conversation in a tavern where I mostly insulted him. That doesn't scream romantic to me," Regina said.
"I think you have some valid reservations about Robin," Corona agreed.
Regina, though, understood her tone and prompted: "But…?"
"He also searched for you for a year, traveling through many lands. At any time, he could've decided to stop looking, to go home and either resume life with his, er, Merry? Men. Or grovel and marry this Zelena person. Instead, he pushed on until he found you. That says a lot to me about him," she replied, patting Regina's hand. "Just something to consider."
Corona stood, stretching. "Enrique and I are going to bed. You are more than welcome to stay awake. Just douse the candles before you go to sleep. And do try to get some sleep, Regina. You don't need to find all your answers tonight."
She left the room as Regina sat there, trying to make sense of her own heart in the dying candlelight.
Robin found a room over a tavern in town, helping the owner in exchange for it. Enrique also put him to work in the stockroom and Regina did her best to stay focused on her work while he was at the shop. He did leave her alone while she was working, waiting until she took a break or asking to walk her home to have a conversation with her. She enjoyed their talks and found herself growing more and more attached to him.
A few months after he arrived, Robin emerged from the stockroom with a rose in his hand. He held it out to her. "For you."
"Thank you," she said, taking the flower and breathing in its sweet scent. "What is the occasion?"
"I was hoping you would have supper with me tonight at the tavern," he said, looking nervous.
She found it adorable.
Taking another sniff of the rose, she smiled as she looked up at him. "I would love to have supper with you."
Relief filled his eyes before they lit up with joy. He gave a little bow to her. "Then shall we, milady?"
"We shall," she said, stepping out from behind the counter. She took his proffered arm and they headed toward the door.
Enrique stood there, trying to look stern but his smile ruined the illusion. "Try not to keep her out too late, Robin. You're a good stocker. I'd hate to have to kill you," he said, trying to level him with a threatening glare.
Regina rolled her eyes as Robin nodded. "I promise to have her back before ten, sir."
"Good," Enrique replied. "Have fun, you two."
He stepped aside and Robin escorted Regina from the store. They walked down to the tavern as he regaled her with some funny stories from his time working there. She laughed until tears ran down her cheeks, leaning on him for support as he held open the door for the tavern. Regina stepped inside, certain they would have a good night together.
Everyone in the tavern greeted Robin warmly and it was clear he was a favorite of the townsfolk as many were disappointed he was not working that night. However, they appeared glad that he was out with Regina, who many greeted just as warmly as they had Robin. It touched her that they were both so welcomed in the town and her smile softened as he led her to a table in the back.
"There," he said, taking the seat across from her. "We can have some semblance of privacy back here."
"You just want to try to fool around in the shadows," she teased him, giving him a playful look.
He laughed, nodding. Once his laughter died down, he stared at her with twinkling eyes. "You know, I like this look on you."
She tilted her head, confused. "What look?"
"Happiness," he replied, taking his hand. "You look happy."
"I am happy," she answered, certain of that. "For the first time since I left the palace, I finally feel like I'm at home."
His smile widened, deepening the dimples that still made her as weak as the first time she saw them. "I'm glad to hear that. Everyone deserves to have a place they call home."
"What about you?" she asked. "You left your home."
Robin shrugged. "It didn't feel much like a home. Not without you there."
Something niggled at the back of her mind as someone set down two mugs of ale for them. Regina took a sip of hers before saying: "You barely knew me. We only met once."
"We met more than that," he replied, taking a sip of his ale.
She frowned. "No, we didn't. We never directly interfered with each other's work. We just beat each other to jobs."
"Usually," he said. "Do you remember your first job though?"
Regina grimaced as she recalled her first job. She had thought she had been stealthy as she relieved a nobleman's carriage of some moneybags while his driver watered the horses but she had been caught easily. The nobleman was ready to pull her into his carriage and deliver her to Snow White for a reward when a large tree branch came crashing toward them. He released her to protect himself and his expensive carriage while she made off with at least one moneybag. As she escaped into the safety of the woods, she saw a figure in a green hood jumping through the trees and wondered if that was who sent the tree limb their way.
It clicked in her mind and she gaped at him. "You were the figure in the green hood, weren't you?"
"I was," he confirmed. "I was watching you to see if you were Merry Man material. Despite your amateur mistake, I saw potential in you. So I kept checking up on you every so often, waiting for the day when you were ready to join us. Or as it turned out, possibly replace me."
She thought she should be creeped out by the fact that he was watching her but instead, it was comforting to her to know someone had been watching out for her back then. She hadn't been as alone as she had thought.
Regina took his hands. "Thank you. You were still annoying and a thorn in my side, though. I could've escaped a long time ago if you hadn't kept beating me to jobs."
"I liked the competition," he said with a smirk. It then fell away. "But if I had known that I was standing between you and happiness, I would've backed down a lot earlier."
"Well, it wasn't like I told you why I was stealing," she replied. "And I know you were giving most of your haul away to those who needed it."
He nodded. "You need it too."
"Not as much as others," she replied, thinking of a mother with a sick child she knew Robin had helped. It was the first time she learned he wasn't just some common thief and almost respected him.
"Maybe even more," he argued before waving his hand. "That's in the past. Let's not focus on that. I want to get to know you, Regina, and I want you to get to know me."
She tilted her head. "Wouldn't that require us talking about the past?"
He chuckled, nodding. "Well, you have me there."
"How about we compromise?" she suggested. "Let's just quickly tell our pasts and then move on."
Robin nodded, taking her hand. "Deal. And how about I go first?"
"Sounds good to me," she replied.
He told her about growing up the son of a minor lord, living in the lap of luxury. However, his father fell out of favor and his lands were taken by greedy neighbors. They divided up the Locksley land between them and evicted the family. Some friendly friars took in Robin's parents but both died shortly thereafter, both from what Robin believed to be broken hearts. He then sought revenge on the nobles who had ruined his life, stealing from them in hopes of getting his property back. But when he saw the conditions the people lived in, he had a change of heart and started giving the money to them. After all, it was money the nobles had collected from them.
"That's all so very noble," she said, smiling at him. "I'm sure your parents are proud of you wherever they are."
"Thank you," he said, bowing his head to hide his tears as he wiped them away.
She took a deep breath. "I guess it's my turn."
"If you don't want to, you don't have to," he assured her.
"No, I want to. Who knows what you heard back in the Enchanted Forest," she said.
He scowled. "I never believed any of the gossip."
Regina shrugged. "I'm sure some of it was true. So I guess it begins when my mother abandoned me after giving birth to me…"
She told him everything about her life until she became a bandit. He listened and didn't judge her, just squeezing her hand as she spoke about her encounter with Prince James. When she was done, he ordered dinner for them and changed the topic. For the first time, she felt she could finally put her past behind her now and she focused on her present as Robin regaled her with stories of his journeys to find her.
The hours flew by and soon Robin announced that he needed to walk her home. She was reluctant to part from him, but she took his arm and let him escort her back to Enrique and Corona's. They paused outside the door, Robin gently toying with a strand of her hair as he asked her if they could have dinner again soon. She agreed and before she lost her nerve, grabbed his tunic to pull him in for a kiss. It took him a moment but he soon kissed her back before she broke it to slip inside the house, the promise of more dinners and kisses making her happier than she had been in a long time.
Robin continued to court Regina over the next few months, taking her out to dinner and for walks as the days grew longer. Enrique and Corona also invited him to meals at their home in order to get to know him better as well and to keep a watchful eye on them once the days grew shorter, ending their long walks out in public. As they had no children of their own, they treated Regina like their own daughter and wanted to make sure Robin was right for her.
Each time he left her to head back to his room at the tavern, she felt as if her heart broke a little. She loved being around him, loved how he made her feel as if she were the only person in the world, loved how she felt at home with him.
She loved Robin.
On her birthday—or at least, the day the palace staff had decided was her birthday—Enrique and Corona threw her a special dinner and invited Robin over to celebrate. After they shared some cake together, he dropped to one knee and proposed with a beautiful ruby ring he had bought for her in Arendelle, carrying with him in hopes he would be able to give it to her. Regina tearfully accepted his proposal as Enrique and Corona began to make plans for their wedding.
They married in the spring as the flowers began to bloom and the leaves returned to the trees. Everyone in the village gathered in the small church in the town square to watch them exchange vows, the bells ringing out the happy news. Rice rained down on them as people tossed them in the air as Robin and Regina left the church to head to their wedding feast in the courtyard by Enrique's store. Neither minded, laughing as they ran through the shower of white grains hand in hand.
Enrique and Corona gifted them the rooms above the store to use as their home. At night, Regina would kiss Enrique goodnight before she and Robin would head upstairs. She cooked many of the meals Corona had taught her as well as some from Mist Haven she had learned from the palace cooks. Robin also helped with meals, being used to cooking from the days sharing the duty with the Merry Men. He was also more than willing to help with other chores, including laundry and cleaning the house. Many of the women would joke with Regina that maybe they needed to find Mist Haven men of their own but she assured them that Robin was one of a kind, even back in their native country.
The summer after they married, Regina gave birth to their first son. Corona and Robin were there with her the entire time along with the town's midwife, holding her hand and doing their best to keep her cool through out the long hours of labor. When the midwife laid the crying infant on Regina's chest, she had never felt so happy or more tired. She rubbed his back, letting him latch onto her breast for the first time and started to cry from joy. They named him Henry, which they realized was the Mist Haven version of Enrique's name. He had become a father to them both and he was honored.
Enrique started to train both Robin and Regina to take over the store from him. "I'm getting old and it's time to enjoy my twilight years while I still can," he said. "You two are family and there is no one I trust more with it."
He began to work less and less, except for when Regina gave birth to her and Robin's second child and he needed to c over for her at the store. She had another son, who they named Roland after Robin's late father. While Henry took more after Robin, Roland looked more like her and the other children in the village. Yet Henry only stood out for his coloring—the children played with him and accepted him as one of their own. He was just as much a Basque child as them as far as everyone was concerned.
For Regina, who had struggled her whole life to find some place to belong, it meant the world to her. She pressed her hands over her heart as she watched her boys run around the town square during a festival, laughing and playing with their friends as people greeted her and Robin warmly. At last, she had a family of her own and place in this world where she belonged.
Robin wrapped his arms around her. He kissed her shoulder before asking: "Are you happy, my love?"
"Very," she said, before smiling. "Though I was thinking that maybe we should look into buying the house next to the store."
"Oh? And what's so wrong with the rooms above the store?" he asked, rocking her gently.
She lowered his hand to her stomach, just starting to round. "We're going to soon out grow the space."
Robin was quiet for a few moments before his grip tightened and he kissed the side of her head. "Are you sure?"
"Yes," she replied. "And as much as I love our sons, I'm really hoping for a girl this time."
He laughed, turning her in his arms so he could kiss her properly. She let her eyes flutter closed as she leaned against him, happy with where her life had ended up. It was the life she could barely imagine living in her stump and it was proof that happy endings could come to anyone, no matter how many times they were told they didn't.
For Day 1 of OQ Happy Ending Week: Bandit Outlaw Happy Ending