A/N : Alright... If I'm lucky, the person to whom this story is dedicated to, who asked for it and made me have headaches trying to write it, this person shouldn't be expecting it today.
So Stacy, I know I'm more than 2 months late, but I hope this 28 page long OS will gather all of your requests and be enough of an apology. I tried my best, I can assure you. I put all my heart and efforts in this story. And I'm freaking out about yours, or anyone else's, (you can ask the person sitting right next to you now XD), reactions.
To everyone, an information to help you understand where and when the story takes place. It happens in the Enchanted Forest, during the Missing Year, months after they came back from Storybrooke. Snow is pregnant, and everyone is living at Regina's old castle, trying to find a way to defeat the Wicked Witch of the West.
Now... I'm going to let you read, and hope to find you satisfied in your reviews :-)
"Regina, are you sure you're alright?"
Regina dismisses the princess with a wave of her hand. "Yes, dear. I'm perfectly fine."
"Snow is right, Regina. You look like you're about to faint."
The Queen narrows her eyes, throws David a murderous look. "You definitely know how to speak to a woman, David. It's nice of you to care, but like I said, I am-"
She stops mid-sentence as a sudden dizziness envelops her, making her stop walking and lean against a wall. She closes her eyes, breathing slowly trying to make the feeling go away.
"Regina!"
Snow's hand is on her forearm, concern evident in her eyes as she puts her other hand on Regina's forehead, wincing when the warmth of a fever hits her palm.
"Damn, Regina! You're burning up. You have to lie down, you're sick."
The older woman shakes her head slowly, her strength obviously leaving her as she miserably attempts to pull back from the wall. "Alright, I'm going. But you don't have to follow me, I can-"
Regina loses consciousness and crumbles on the ground before she finishes her sentence.
David reacts quickly, catching her before she falls, lies her down gently while Snow calls Regina's name frantically, trying to shake her stepmother awake, but failing.
"Let's take her to her bedroom!"
xxx
"What the hell is this?" David questions, noticing a mark on Regina's wrist, a red circle merely an inch wide, a black spot in its center.
"I don't know," Snow answers. "Maybe that's how she got ill?"
"Alright!" Granny interrupts suddenly. "Everyone out!"
"Granny!" The princess scolds. "What-"
"Get out of this room now, and I'll explain everything." The old woman insists, pointing at the door.
After a hesitating glance to Regina's sleeping form, Snow White follows David and the group outside. When the door is shut behind them, she crosses her arms over her front.
"What was that?"
"I know that mark." Granny says calmly, ignoring the princess' hard look."I've seen it several times before in my village. It's the bite of a Dreamcatcher."
"The object supposed to keep nightmares away?" David questions with confusion.
"That's what a Dreamcatcher is in the Storybrooke. But not in the Enchanted Forest." Granny explains. "Here, it's the name we give to a bug. It gives you a very strong fever that usually lasts several days. Some people recover, and some don't."
"What happens to those who don't?" Snow asks slowly, dread obvious in her voice.
"They die."
Silence falls over the group, Snow unconsciously turning slightly to look behind her at the closed door, where Regina is, and breathes shakily.
"Is there something we can do to fight the disease?"
"Not that I'm aware of. It's a dangerous disease, and very contagious too. After one person is bitten, anyone who is in contact with them gets sick. I figured you didn't want to fall ill and risk your own lives."
"But someone has to take care of Regina. We can't leave her alone." Snow reasons.
"I surely ain't going in there, sister." Grumpy mutters.
Before his wife can answer the dwarf, David steps in and declares. "No decision is going to be made before we know what our options are. I'll ask Belle to do some research, see if there's some kind of treatment. Depending on what she finds, we'll make a decision. In the meantime," he turns towards Snow, "no one is entering this room."
xxx
"So?" Snow White questions, pacing.
Everyone is looking at the brunette, the young woman holding a closed and thick book in her arms.
"Granny's right. From what you described, it's indeed the bite of what she called a Dreamcatcher."
"Damn it!" David sighs.
"But there's a cure, right?" Snow White asks hopefully.
Belle winces, tilts her head to the side. Does the princess really want to know what she's discovered?
"It's complicated. Let me explain: This," she glances ahead of her, as if pointing towards Regina's bedroom. "isn't an ordinary disease. There's magic in it."
"Magic?" Grumpy grunts. "How can a human illness be magical?"
"Because while the contaminated bug may be ordinary, the plants it feeds from aren't. It feeds off of Datura Stramonium, an extremely rare flower created by the combination of several magical objects. Poppies, for one, explaining the sleepy state they pull you in. Night root, known to make you face your deepest fears."
David looks down. He remembers this root too well…
"The night root's most famous effect, if ingested, is to help you face your fears. However, if injected, as it is the case here, it's more powerful. Causes strong hallucinations, often made of what could be considered nightmares. Those nightmares can lead to real, actual, panic attacks." Before someone interrupts her, Belle continues. "Finally, both of those plants have to be growing at the base of a willow. This tree isn't just a tree. It's a heavy source of magic, one that can be deadly depending on who it's used on."
"How so?" Someone among the crowd asks.
" By sucking all the happiness from whoever is touched by its sap, until there is nothing left. Used alone, it can lead someone to death. Consequently, the flower born from the combination of these three elements, the Datura Stramonium, has the ability to plunge the subject into a real nightmare, a parallel world made of hallucinations so intense, he could die because of them. The mind is so overwhelmed, the heart stops beating."
"They're literally scared to death?" One of the Merry Men standing in the back asks.
"Yes." Belle answers, but she ponders it by "And no."
"You lost us here." Snow says, shaking her head.
The other woman breathes out, looks down, then up at the group in front of her.
"The poison injected by the bug is deadly, because when the victim is in the middle of a panic attack, the body reacts in a way that the poison can enter every cell. The stronger the attack is, the faster and easier it spreads. But, there's only a limited quantity of magic that a Dreamcatcher can carry and inject. So the disease can be fought naturally, if given enough time. If the subject is strong enough to resist until the amount of poison is exhausted."
The princess declares immediately. "Regina is stronger than any of us!"
Belle sighs. "I meant emotionally."
Snow frowns at her. "I don't follow."
"What makes this disease dangerous, is how extensive the psychological effects can be. It's how the subject reacts to it, not at a physical level, but at a psychological one."
"But you just said the poison naturally disappears" David remarks.
"Yes. If given time to. If the person can't mentally fight it, it then takes the lead. And even though there is no actual damage to the body, the mind makes it seem real. Everything that happens in the nightmares, is real for the person. If he or she dies, or gives up in the dream, he dies here. The body cannot live without the mind."
"But Regina is-"
"Weak." David cuts his wife, earning a dumbfounded look.
"She's everything but weak, David! How can you say that?" she outrages.
The prince turns to his wife, explains calmly. "I meant now. She's been weakened by everything that happened, by the loss of Henry. As long as she had him, she had something, someone, to fight for, but now…"
"Add to that the fact that she must hate this place."
Snow looks up at Belle. "What do you mean?"
"Well," The woman begins, "She might have been the Queen here, but I don't think she ever felt as happy as she was with Henry in Storybrooke. Here, everything reminds her of what she'll never have."
"But she had good moments! With my father and I, when-"
"She killed him, Snow." David reminds.
"To take the power and get her revenge on me! But he loved her! She might not have known, but he loved her. And so did I. We never did anything to hurt her."
"She obviously didn't see things this way, considering that she tried to kill you for decades." Granny mutters.
Snow White's glare is cold enough to shut the woman up. "She had her reasons. But it has nothing to do with the way my father and I treated her. We always respected her."
"We're not doubting you, Snow." Sneezy says. "It's her, after all, who tried to murder us all."
David steps in, interrupts them all. They have more urgent matters to discuss than what happened in the past.
"All of this only adds to the fact that Regina is weaker than ever. Consequently, there's a higher risk for her to be affected by the poison."
The princess falls silent, realization dawning upon her. David is right. Regina hasn't been herself since they arrived in the Enchanted Forest. She's playing an act, hiding behind heavy makeup, a royal attitude and Evil Queen-like outfits, but Snow knows her better than that. Regina is hurting. A lot. And she herself might have lost her child too, but she has her husband. She has her friends. She's not alone.
Regina?
She has no one.
Or at least, that's what she must be thinking. But Snow isn't ready to give up on her just yet.
"Can we do something to help?"
It's almost pleading, to which Belle answers immediately.
"In the delirious state she's in, she's also going to have moments of consciousness, when the fever drops, sometimes a few minutes, sometimes several hours. The number of times people wake up entirely depends on them, on how much they can resist the magic. The less they wake up, the more risks there are for them to succumb to the illness. However, during those moments, Regina will need a guide, someone to anchor her to this life, to help her make the distinction between what's real, and what isn't. Whether she chooses to believe it or not, that's up to her, and there's nothing we can do about it. That's the only way to do something to help her. There is no real cure, and even someone's presence won't guarantee that she'll survive. That's why this disease is so dangerous."
"I'm going!" The princess exclaims immediately.
"Wait!" Belle interrupts. "If you've never had the disease, then you can't go in there."
"Why not?"
"Such proximity, and for several days? You could catch it. The first subject is bitten, but anyone else can be contaminated just by a long-drawn-out contact. It's like chickenpox, once you get it, you can't get it again, but for anyone else it can be just as deadly."
"I was in contact with her today, and even before that!"
"Maybe, but the contagion begins when the subject becomes feverish and falls asleep. From then, the less time you spend with them, the fewer chances you have of catching the Dreamcatcher's disease. You only were with her for a few minutes, it's very unlikely that you got infected in such a small amount of time. Granny was right to pull you all out of there immediately."
"But Regina needs help."
"And the Kingdom needs you, Snow." David reasons gently. "Our child needs you. I'm not ready to risk your life and our baby's-"
"Someone has to go!" The princess speaks out. "Someone who can help her."
"I'm not going back in there." Granny announces firmly.
"Neither am I." A Merry Man speaks.
Snow declares. "Come on! Regina is our friend-"
"She certainly ain't mine." Grumpy mutters, but Snow ignores him.
"She's also our only protection against the Wicked Witch. If we lose her, there's no way we can win the fight." The princess tries to reason.
"Or maybe it would give the witch what she wants, and she would leave us alone." The dwarf mutters.
"Leroy!" Snow scolds. "Regina deserves better than that."
"The Evil Queen, you mean!" He counteracts. "The one who ruined our lives to begin with. Sorry, but I won't cry over her death."
"But you might over the death of your friends." A voice says, and everyone turns towards Robin Hood, who'd just taken a step forward. "I've never left this land, so I've seen what the Wicked Witch can do. I can assure you, she might want the Queen dead, but she won't stop there. Once she has no opponent, she will be unstoppable. And if you've forgotten how it used to be when the Evil Queen ruled this land, her sister will be quick to remind you. As far as I'm concerned, I stand by the woman who saved my son's life, and not the one who almost had him killed."
He faces a sudden silence, the dwarf looking away, obviously unsatisfied, but Robin couldn't care less.
The Queen might have done terrible things, she might be responsible for entire villages being slaughtered, but the glimpse he got of the woman underneath when they walked through the castle's tunnels together, made him want to discover more. Because that night, he didn't see a monster. He saw the woman who saved his son's life, who gave him a toy and an incredibly beautiful smile. He saw a heartbroken mother, who thought her pain was so deep she didn't have any other option but to give up.
That's how he is certain that she was aware of the mark on her wrist, and deliberately chose to ignore it. That's how he knows that this disease, spell, curse, whatever it is that's hitting her, might be what she thinks is her salvation. And he needs to save her from it.
"I volunteer for the mission."
Both the prince and princess widen their eyes.
"You've had the disease?"
"I did, when I was young."
"Do you think you can help her?"
"I do."
"How? You barely know her." Granny points.
"Exactly," He agrees. "Unlike most of you, I'm neutral. I don't hold a personal grudge against her," He glances at the dwarves and the old woman standing next to them, before turning towards the princess. "And I wasn't the Queen's nemesis for decades. My men can take care of my son for a few days, and I know for certain I won't fall ill again, because I noticed a Dreamcatcher's bite on my leg after we used the tunnels under the castle to enter it months ago, and I've not developed any symptoms. Which reminds me, I heard the Queen went back there recently, and I think that's when she must have been bitten. It explains why she and I were the only ones touched."
"We'll block the access then." David declares.
Snow White walks closer to Robin, asks softly. "When you were sick, what helped you survive?"
"A promise I made to someone. I was young, barely fifteen, I knew I had a whole life ahead of me. Giving up would only have broken that promise."
Snow White turns to David, sadness filling her voice "But Regina has already lost everything." She turns to Robin, nods firmly, grateful. "Thank you, Robin."
xxx
Robin enters the bedroom, closes the door carefully behind him. Looking over at the large bed, he sighs. Explaining to his son that he would be absent for a few days was a challenge, but he knows his boy must already be playing with Little John, that the men consider him as their own. Roland is safe and taken care of. And if Robin wants the little boy to be proud of him, he has to make sure the Queen is safe from her own demons.
He walks closer, slowly, silent, but even from where he stands he can see how agitated she seems to be already. A soft, painful sound, a small cry maybe, comes to his ears, so he drops his bag on the floor (they agreed he won't leave the room, won't risk the infection spreading, until Regina is healed, so he brought some stuff with him, and food and water will be regularly deposited behind the door), and closes the distance separating him from the bed.
"Your Majesty?" He calls softly.
He sees her, finally. Her beautiful face, drowned under makeup, and… sweat. She is sweating, feverish, shivering, and Robin speeds up until he's sitting on the side of the bed, a hand reaching for her shoulder. But before he does, he stops himself, watches her for a short moment.
Her brows are furrowed, her features tensed, mouth slightly opened, her lips barely moving, but she's saying something.
He lends an ear, waits a second.
It's a murmur.
A plead.
The No he hears clearly.
He doesn't have the context behind it, ignores who she's pleading to and what for, but Robin doesn't think twice before reaching for her hand.
"I'm here." He assures. "You're not alone, Regina. I've got you. I'm not letting you go through this alone."
Her fingers instinctively close over his. Robin knows she didn't do it willingly, she's not even conscious right now, but it doesn't stop him from brushing his thumb over the back of her hand in a soothing way, hoping to be helpful.
From the little he remembers, it helped him.
"Forgive me if I'm being so familiar, but we're going to spend the next days together, stuck in this room. I figure calling you Your Majesty would seem a bit… awkward, don't you think?"
Regina's only answer is the erratic movement of her eyes rolling under her eyelids as she's plunged deep into another world. Her breath is short, Robin notices, and words have left her but she seems to be in just as much pain as she was five minutes ago.
He glances around, spots the bowl of fresh water on the nightstand on the other side of the bed, and winces. Too far for him to reach without leaving her side.
But it's better than nothing.
Robin releases the Queen's hand carefully, but fast enough that he can walk around her bed quickly and retrieves the large bowl and clean towels. He drops one of them inside the water while he walks back to his spot on the bed, settles everything on the other nightstand, and begins to wring a towel, before folding it and applying it on the Queen's burning forehead, wiping her cheeks a little in the process. Then, he carefully unties her long ponytail, letting her hair spread loosely on the pillow. He's no woman, but he figures it must be more comfortable.
"You're going to be alright, Regina. I'm going to take care of you."
xxx
He's been here for hours, and she still hasn't woken up.
Robin is worried. Her fever is still high, her sleep agitated (she's screamed once or twice since he arrived), and if she doesn't wake soon he's afraid she might already be too far in for him to reach her. He needs regular interventions if he wants her to be receptive. Also, like Belle said, the less she awakes, the deeper she's caught in her nightmares.
"Come on, Regina! Give me something. You have to wake up so I can help. Please! Open your eyes."
He wipes her forehead once more, but it's pointless. She's burning, the bed sheets are damp with her sweat. She must be starting to dehydrate, Robin thinks. He's applying cold and drenched towels on her forehead, on her chest, but she has to drink something. He's no healer, but fighting a fever is something he knows how to do, and everyone is aware that the most important thing is to drink lots of water. Something she hasn't done yet.
"Let me go!"
Robin is startled by her voice, raspy but stronger than it's been until now, the words loud and clear for once.
Looking over at the Queen, he wonders what is it she might be dreaming of. Is it a memory, or a new world created by the magic? Maybe it's a mixture of both, a memory turned into a nightmare. He used to have lots of those when he got the disease.
"Shh…" He tries to soothe, rubbing his palm softly up and down her shoulder. "It's just a dream, Regina. You're safe. No one is going to hurt you."
He keeps talking to her, hasn't stopped every time she's become agitated and fear and pain have taken over her features. He doesn't know if it's effective, but he hopes it is, hopes she can hear him, take some comfort from his voice and reassuring words.
So he repeats the same thing over and over again, until she settles down, relaxes a little, her furrowed brow smoothing into a calmer expression.
He's wiping her forehead with a clean towel, when Regina's eyes pop open, so suddenly he doesn't even realize.
But she does.
And makes him jump when she scoots back on the bed in one fast movement.
"What are you doing?" She asks harshly, more than defensive, but the dryness of her throat makes her cough several times.
Robin stays stunned for a moment, but quickly pulls himself together, grabs a glass on the nightstand and fills it with the fresh water he received not so long ago, and hands it to her. Regina instinctively reaches for it, sipping slowly, closing her eyes at the soothing feeling, the itching disappearing little by little. When she gives the glass back, she's still eyeing him suspiciously.
So Robin holds his hands in peace next to his head, assures, "I'm not here to hurt you, I promise. I'm just trying to help."
Regina looks around her, to the door, the ceiling, the sheets she's keeping close to her chest, then back at him. She seems totally confused, lost as to where she is and what is happening.
She hasn't realized yet that she woke up.
"Why am I here? Why are you in my bedroom?"
"You're ill, Regina. I've been taking care of you since-"
Robin stops mid-sentence when he sees the perplexity in her eyes, so he sighs, explains. "Does the Dreamcatcher's bite sound familiar to you?"
She frowns, but slowly nods. "Yes."
He tilts his chin towards her, glances at her hands.
"Look at your wrist."
It takes her a second, but Regina does, unfolds her arms and looks at the inside of her wrists, staring for a short while. The voice she uses when she speaks again is entirely different, and it tells Robin whose Regina he is facing.
"I take it that I just woke up."
He can't help but smile a little. "You did." He pauses, and then, "What do you remember?"
Unable to look away from the mark, the Queen shrugs. "Not much. I saw this the day I started feeling feverish. I recognized it, but it's not as if there is a cure."
"Did you know you were contagious?"
"I did. I was heading back to my chamber with the intention of locking myself in it, but the princess came to talk to me about something. I don't remember what it was."
"It's because you passed out during the conversation." Robin informs.
Understanding settles in Regina's eyes. She runs a hand over her forehead, winces at the feeling of sweat, takes willingly the clean towel Robin hands her.
Her voice is flat and resigned when she asks, "How long do I have before falling back asleep?"
He raises confused eyes at her. "What?"
"You're the only one here, I take it that you've had the disease in the past. Either that or you're a complete fool."
"Oh!" Robin exclaims, then confirms. "I did. Got sick, I mean. And I don't know. It depends on the person. But you should use this time to eat and drink something," He declares immediately before she has the chance. "You haven't eaten anything since this morning, and it's almost sundown."
Not giving her the opportunity to refuse, Robin gets up from the bed, gathers the food he retrieved from behind the door not long ago. It must be cold, but it's better than nothing.
To his surprise, she eats without much protest, but she stays completely silent. During that time, he devours his own plate, quenches his thirst, gets a minute to rest and drop his attention. She might have been sleeping for hours, but concern kept him alert by her side at every second.
When she's done eating, she puts the plate on the nightstand on the other side of the bed, and starts to shiver from the fever again. She brings the covers up to her chest and arranges the pillows behind her head.
"Make sure you take everything to the kitchen on your way out."
Robin almost chokes, opens his eyes wide. "I'm sorry?"
"I don't need you to stay, I'm fine."
"The fever is back, and you're going to fall back asleep very soon."
"I can take care of myself!"
"Not when you're in this state." He reasons. "This disease could kill you."
"I'm well aware."
"Then let me help! You can talk to me about your dreams. You have to let some things out if you want to be able to stand the pain it's bringing upon you."
"Talk to you about my dreams?" She scoffs. "And then what? We share stories of our childhoods, go horseback riding together, become best friends? Certainly not. And after all, what makes you think I won't be able to survive it on my own?" She challenges bitterly, defensive.
"I remember what you were ready to do when you first entered this castle. I remember how desperate you were."
Regina crosses her arms over her chest. "I'm not that person anymore."
"Aren't you?" Robin questions, lifting an eyebrow. "That was barely a few months ago, and the situation hasn't changed much for you. The loss of a child isn't easy to overcome. And this disease, this magic, poison or whatever it is, is able to use your pain against you."
She looks away, at a loss for words. Tiredness overcoming her again, and Regina knows what it means. She doesn't have much time before she falls back into a deep slumber. One made of nightmares, and a living hell.
It's not what the thief thinks it is, what everyone must assume. Henry isn't the center of this. Her son is her greatest joy, not her worse nightmare. He could never be used to cause her so much pain. If the Dreamcatcher wins, it won't be because of Henry. No. The figure who's haunted her dreams for the past hours, has been another one. One no one is expecting.
"It isn't." She says firmly, but in a much calmer voice.
"Look, Regina, I know-"
The use of her name startles her, makes her cringe, and her head snaps up immediately. "It's Your Majesty!" Regina exclaims forcefully despite her obvious exhaustion, eyes wide in shock. "How dare you call me by my name, thief?"
Acknowledging his mistake, Robin can't help but explain, "I apologize. I just got used to it today. It's hard to talk to someone who's asleep and call them by a title instead of a name."
"You better remember it when we're in public." She says lowly as she lies down. "This is no proper way to…"
Her voice becomes weaker with every second, and she's cut off by her eyes slowly closing, a strong shiver shaking her body, making her instinctively roll on her side, wrapping herself in the covers, and Robin doesn't hesitate.
He moves from the armchair he put next to her bed and sits back on the mattress, a hand rubbing her shoulder through the covers, then pressing against her forehead, wincing when he feels how warm it is again.
"You can protest all you want, but I won't leave you alone. Whether you like it or not, I will stay here until you wake up from this illness completely healed."
xxx
When Robin wakes up, the sun is barely starting to rise. The room is still dark, but he can see, thanks to the light of the candle he lit up last night, that the Queen is sound asleep, and apparently, peaceful.
After she fell back asleep yesterday, he spent the rest of the day watching over her, trying to soothe her moments of panic, with more or less success, but considering that she was sleeping all along, it wasn't too bad.
Slowly, stirring from his uncomfortable position on the armchair he pulled by the bed, he sits up, wipes his face with his hand, before getting up. He heads towards the door, hoping that something is waiting for him on the other side.
And there is something. Several buckets of water, and a large plate full of food.
Robin smiles. His friends wouldn't let him starve, and with all this water, in addition to taking care of the Queen, he should be able to wash himself a bit.
Making sure that she's still calm, Robin walks to the bathroom next door, enjoying the feeling of water running along his chest as he quickly washes himself. He then changes into clean clothes, and settles back on his seat to eat breakfast.
Meanwhile, he watches the Queen, Regina, -he can't really bring himself to call her by her title as she's in this weakened and unconscious state. He's finished his food and cleaned the dishes for a while, the sun high in the sky, when she becomes agitated again.
He leans forward to get a better look at her. She's fighting with the sheets, struggling with something, brow furrowed and breath short, her forehead shining with sweat, body trembling.
Robin gets up, grabs a towel and plunges it into the bowl of water, applying it to the Queen's forehead again, just like he's been doing regularly. He hopes it won't be long before she wakes up again, but he knows she will be weaker than last time.
With every passing moment, he remembers how his strengths weakened, how he struggled to make a coherent sentence, to speak of his nightmares, to stay connected to the real world. If it wasn't for his mother's constant and soothing voice, her soft fingers brushing his hair and cheeks, smiling and giving him a reassuring look…
He's cut off from his thoughts when Regina inhales sharply, her body shaking suddenly. Robin barely has time to pull back when she opens her eyes, but they're clouded by terror. Her gaze is erratic, terrorized, looking around quickly, her hands gripping the bedsheets so tightly that her knuckles begin to turn white.
He wants to call out for her, but knows she's not ready yet. It would only scare her more.
So he waits, gives her a moment, lets her notice his presence, and when she does she moves away on the bed, looking confused, but that was to be expected. Although, she seems to be farther than he remembers having been at this stage of the disease.
"What…" she tries, but her voice is rough, tainted with anguish and remnants of sobs, so she swallows, clears her thoughts, attempts to speak again. "What are you-" And then, she seems to remember. "Am I- Am I awake? Is this real?"
"Yes. You're awake." He says simply. Better not give her too much information before she's fully here, or she might forget something.
"So he… he's not… I'm-"
Her short breath, the weakness of her voice, the way she shakes her head slightly as if to shake away her confusion, the fact that this Regina is entirely different from the one who fell asleep, all of that makes Robin understand that he has less time than he hoped. She is more deeply affected by the poison, her state deteriorating faster than supposed to. If he doesn't make her speak now, if he doesn't help her reconnect with the real world before she falls asleep, he might only have one more chance before she's out of his reach.
"Do you want to talk about them? Your nightmares. This man you're seeing there." In front of the fear flashing in her eyes, Robin adds softly. "It's your choice, but it could help."
Regina states simply, already defeated, breathing slowly trying to calm down, but Robin notices that she seems to be secretly checking herself for injuries. "You wouldn't believe me."
"Try me."
The resolution in his voice, in his stance, the softness of his touch when he covers her shoulder with his hand, seem to waver her hesitation. And her pride too, Robin thinks. Because knowing what he knows of the Queen, remembering their previous conversation, despite the fact that she seems to be anything but herself, he's not certain she would ever speak to someone –least of all him- about her dreams.
Realizing her struggle to figure out where to start, Robin asks, "Who is hurting you, Your Majesty?"
She looks at him curiously, tilts her head to the side, frowns. And then, she glances around one last time, breathing out, apparently relieved to find that they are alone and he isn't here, because she wraps herself in the covers, lies down on her side, facing him.
"My husband."
Robin hides his surprise. So the good and kind King Leopold is considered the Evil Queen's worse nightmare? Despite the princess' words, it was a secret to no one that the Queen hated her husband, but as to say that she was afraid of him…
"King Leopold?" Robin questions, wanting to be sure. Maybe there's someone else he never heard of.
But the way Regina nods shakily is enough of a confirmation that they are talking about the same person.
"What does he do? How is he hurting you?" he questions softly.
Regina frowns, as if digging deep into her mind to remember.
"He's not… hurting me." She corrects. "I mean… In those dreams, he is. But not when… Not before…" She sighs painfully, unable to suppress a small whimper, covering her face with a hand. "This is so confusing."
Robin shushes her softly. "That's okay. Take your time." Not too much time though, he thinks, then kicking himself for even thinking that. They're lacking time, but this must be incredibly hard for her, and the poison does confuse you to the highest level. "Try to speak only of one thing for a start. Choose between dream and reality."
"He never… In real life…" she pauses, corrects, probably to help herself make the distinction. "In this life, when we were married, he never… He never… He wasn't… He wasn't mean to me. I mean… Not in the way men can be to their wives. He just… It's like I wasn't even there."
"I don't follow."
Regina gives him a sympathetic small smile. "He married me so I would mother his child. Not to have a wife or a Queen."
"So he ignored you?"
She shrugs, seems to have gathered her thoughts enough to speak in a sturdy, no matter how weak and low, voice.
"You could say that. Whether he was here or not, it wouldn't make much difference for me. I ate alone, walked through the castle alone, spent each day waiting for it to end, with no expectations whatsoever. Besides Snow White, no one would speak to me, because it was forbidden. It only changed whenever either I was called in his bedroom at night or not. That's the only moment when he remembered my existence."
Robin listens, silent, clenching his jaw at the story he's learning, but not daring to interrupt her. She must be revealing much more than she ever has to anyone.
"So no. He never hurt me. At least not on purpose. But he made my life miserable. He was the reason I was stuck in this place, instead of living my life outside. Those who've never experienced it can't tell, but loneliness is a much worse punishment than death."
So this is what her life has been made of.
Loneliness. Feeling like you doesn't exist, like your life has no purpose, no meaning.
The Queen doesn't seem to be someone who enjoys being surrounded by large crowds, but then, maybe it's because this crowd is mostly made out of people she didn't choose. People who dislike or despise her, Grumpy and Granny's reactions were the proof of that.
Maybe she likes the company, when the person is eager to get to know her and to befriend her. Maybe she'll let him be that person. Robin hopes she will, because he could be her salvation.
Maybe he can show her that, even now that her son is gone, she still has a reason to live. That she still matters.
"You know your life is different now, right?" he attempts, already knowing her answer.
"How so? They barely tolerate me, and if it wasn't for my powers, that they suddenly find very useful against my sister –another problem I'm sure they think I am responsible for-, I am more than certain that they would ask me to leave them alone."
"Is this what it's telling you?" In front of her puzzled look, he explains, "In your dreams. Is this what you see? What your husband says?"
She shrugs again, looks back at the wall behind him. "Partly."
When she stays silent, Robin insists. "Regina," he holds his breath, waits for her thunder for calling her by her name, but it doesn't come, so he goes on, "You have to let it out. Not only what you've been through in your life, but also, and mostly, what you see in these dreams. You have to make a clear distinction between what's real, and what isn't. You have to realize that what this man tries to make you believe, isn't the truth."
"It feels like the truth." She murmurs.
"But it isn't." Robin insists gently. "I've been where you are, and I can assure you that everything you see and hear in these dreams, are the reflection of what you're afraid of. I know it's not easy to talk about it, but if you want to fight the illusions and hallucinations, that's the only way." He pauses, waits a heartbeat. "You do want to, right? Fight the disease. Survive."
"I'm not sure."
Her gaze is fixed on the floor, her voice low and flat, different from the first time they entered her castle and she confessed her wish to put herself under a sleeping curse, but the reasoning is the same. She's giving up again.
"Why fight?" she resumes. "What do I have left to fight for? They sent a stranger here, because none of them cared enough to help me."
"The Princess wanted to come, but-"
"Of course she wanted to." Regina scoffs so lowly Robin barely hears the irony in her voice. "She wants to save everyone."
Robin leans back on his seat, frowning, his voice sounding slightly disappointed.
"So you're back to that, then?"
She looks up at him, finally, a sad and defeated smile on her lips, making her look even more gorgeous than she is, despite her current state.
"I never stopped. Fighting a sister I never knew I had helped, for a little while, but we keep hitting dead end after dead end. People here barely tolerate me. I've forever lost my son. And I'm tired. I just want all of this to be over."
"Don't speak like this."
"Like what?"
"Like you're already dead. I won't give up on you, Regina. I won't let you drown into your own self loathing. You deserve to live, just like any of us. You're not the same person you used to be."
"How can you know that?"
"Because I remember the woman who stood between a flying monkey and a child she didn't even know, and this woman is who you are now. You might be wearing your old clothes, you might be putting up an act, but you're not fooling me. I've seen beneath the mask, whether you want it or not, and what I saw, who I saw, is definitely not a merciless murderer. Not anymore."
"You don't know me."
"Maybe not. I don't know your story, besides the little you just revealed. But I can tell that you've changed, and that you, the woman I'm talking to right now, aren't the Evil Queen."
"That's what they keep calling me." She points out.
"They need time."
"I don't have time." She breathes, her eyes closing. "I don't have much… much time left."
Before Robin has time to utter a word, before he hurries to her bed and squeezes her hand, Regina's fallen asleep again.
"No!" he exclaims, kneeling down. "You can't give up! You can't! I won't let you. You're going to wake up again, Regina, and I'm going to convince you that you deserve to live. Your time hasn't come yet."
xxx
A full day has passed, and she hasn't woken up. She's still breathing, moving, feverish and agitated, each one of her dreams harder than the previous one, if her screams are any indication.
Robin understands bits and pieces, some words here and there, a few making sense considering the little he knows, most of them barely understandable.
He keeps talking to her in her sleep, keeps brushing her burning forehead, sweaty cheeks and neck with a cold towel, keeps holding her hand while she fights invisible threats and seems to be completely terrorized. Her fingers instinctively close over his, gripping, not releasing him. Unconsciously, she uses him as her rock, her support, despite her earlier words. And Robin is glad to oblige.
She doesn't realize that she's worth fighting for. Despite everything, Robin's always believed in second chances. He always thought that evil wasn't born, and that redemption exists for those willing to change. After all, he's had his own dark years, made poor and bad choices, has blood on his hands. Of course, he didn't imprison and coldly slaughtered entire families for no reason. He didn't have his wife murdered nor cast a curse over a whole kingdom. But he knows what revenge means. Whatever the Queen's reasons were for going after the princess, she did it for revenge. That, he knows. And he can relate.
He learned how to fight and became the best archer in the whole kingdom with the only motivation being going after the man who took his parents' lives. The one who robbed them, and couldn't be satisfied enough just with the money he stole, but decided that he had to leave no witnesses behind, and sliced their throats without a second thought, as they were at his mercy, unarmed. Except that Robin saw it all. And for months, years, he trained every day, this man's face clear in his mind, promising to himself that one day, he would find him, and make him know the same fate.
And that he did.
"HENRY!"
Robin is shaken out of his thoughts by Regina's scream, looks down at her, and freezes.
"Henry, no!"
There are tears drowning her face. She's crying in her sleep, and begging, fighting with the sheets as if they were a person –her husband, he guesses-. The poison must be distorting the reality, or creating a new one, because he knows for certain that King Leopold never met the Queen's son. But at the same time, the King isn't the King, it's only the figure the magic has chosen to impersonate in order to torture her.
And it seems to be working, because Regina becomes the most agitated she's been. She's screaming her son's name so loudly, that she covers his own voice trying to calm her down, telling her it's just a dream. And as she fights not only against the sheets, but also against him, he sees her starting to struggle to breathe. She cries and screams and coughs and suffocates, and Robin knows that if she doesn't wake up now, she might not wake up at all. She's far… Maybe too far. He hopes not, but from the little his mother told him about his illness, this looks like the final phase. Or close to it, but he doesn't know what could be worse than the state Regina is in right now.
"Wake up, Regina!" He insists. "Wake up! Listen to me!" He avoids the fist she sends his way, catches her wrist and blocks her hand against her chest. "Listen to my voice! It's Robin Hood. You're having a nightmare, Regina. What you see isn't real. This isn't real, you hear me!"
She's sat on the bed now, pushing at him blindly, hitting his chest with her free hand, screaming "No!" and ""What did you do?" and "Henry!" again and again and again, choking on her cries at the same time.
Until she opens her eyes.
She opens her eyes while Robin is still begging her to, and at first she freezes, hand stopping mid-air, her gaze utterly lost and confused, staring at him.
And then, she falls –literally falls- in his arms. Her body is shaken by another sob, and her head comes against his shoulder, exhausted.
She doesn't hug him, but she leans against him, boneless, drained, and broken. She keeps crying, unable to stop herself, tempering her cough the best she can. The hand he was holding by the wrist moves to wrap around his fingers, clutching to them.
Robin is a little taken aback, but he quickly responds by circling her shoulder with his free arm, his chin resting on top of her head, fingers trailing on her back, trying to be soothing.
His voice is softer now, reassuring. He murmurs kind words to her ear, tells her that she's awake, it was only a nightmare, none of it was true, she can relax, and breathe.
"Breathe, Regina," he repeats in front of her struggle and cough fits. "It's okay. You're okay. Calm down. I've got you."
"He… He wanted… He…"
Normally, Robin would've encouraged her to speak. But, sensing her distress, feeling her trembling body snuggling against him, he urges, "He's gone. He won't hurt you."
Surprising him, she lifts her head, looks at him resolutely. "No. If I go back there, if he wins and I die, he will never stop hurting me. I will go back to this life I hated for so long. I will never move on." She takes a slow, deep, determined breath, her voice slightly stronger than before, something incredible, considering how exhausted she looks and must feel. "I need you to help me survive this." And then, something he never thought he would ever hear from her. "I need you to help me survive so I can see my son again, and leave my past behind me."
So she tells him everything.
She tells him how, in her dreams, Leopold is very aware of her existence, and makes her pay for everything she's done.
At first, it was a physical torture, domestic violence, like they call it in the land without magic. Except that, for an unclear reason, she was unable to fight back. So she received his blows, all the while hearing him yell at her about how she had always complained about being ignored, so she should be content knowing that he was 'taking care of her'.
Surprising as it may seem, she managed to get through it without much damage. Curled up in a corner, her body entirely sore, but it was easy for her to make the distinction between the reality and the dream, what she really lived with Leopold and what the hallucinations were made of.
But then, he started trying to hurt her, not only physically, but also psychologically, breaking her confidence little by little, confronting her for all the evil she's done, how big of a monster she is.
He repeated over and over again that she was not worthy of love and care, that the reason she's always been alone is because no one can possibly appreciate someone like her.
A pretty face doesn't make everything, Regina. You have to be beautiful inside too. And when I look at you, all I see is how ugly and disgusting you are, and the demon that has taken possession of you.
You make me sick. I only married you out of pity, because I was indebted to you for saving my dear daughter's life, and you were too old for anyone else to want you as a wife. I gave you a home, the life of a Queen, and you rewarded my generosity and goodness by having me murdered in my bed by a man you enchanted to make him fall in love with you, because you were too much of a coward to do the job yourself.
Look at you now! A boy you adopted to fill your loneliness, who doesn't even consider you his mother, who ran away from you, then was more than glad to forget your very existence. An entire kingdom waiting for your death. Pity in the eyes of the only ones who pretend to care about you, because they are too kind to abandon the burden that you are.
Such a shame. Your parents must be so disappointed. Oh wait! You killed them too, didn't you? Not even able to be grateful towards the poor and unfortunate souls who gave you life and had to stand your presence until I finally got them rid of you.
No wonder why I was so little interested in you. You were of barely any use, besides your poor attempts at mothering my sweet Snow White. Why my little girl cared about you, I have no idea. And you, in your stupidity, you wasted half her life trying to kill her. What kind of monster are you to go after someone so innocent and pure?
As she reveals her husband's words to him, ashamed but trying to hide it, Robin listens, silent. All along, he holds her hand, and, for the first time in her awoken moments, she holds it back.
She reveals to him the moment she saw Leopold murder her son, Henry, in front of her. How he kept repeating that she was responsible, that she killed her own father, her own son. How she looked down to her hands to see them covered with blood. Her son's blood.
Everything you do, everyone you touch, is destroyed by your evilness. You can't even protect the few people you loved. Trust me, they would have been far better if they had never met you.
Regina focuses on Robin's hand, his thumb rubbing the back of her hand, the warmth of his palm against her now cold skin –the fever always drops when she awakes, that's what actually allows her to wake up, but now that the sweat is drying, she begins to feel chilly. She puts all of what's left of her strengths to make a clear distinction between what was real, and what was made up. She cannot deny the fact that she killed her own father, and that her son almost died by her fault. But she refuses to believe that she still is the woman who turned a whole kingdom upside down.
When she makes a mistake, confuses dream and reality, Robin corrects her, according to what he knows, or guesses sometimes. Strangely, it's like he knows her better than anyone ever did. Like he understands her. And in his eyes, there is no hate, no pity, no disgust. Only compassion, and a genuine desire to help. He complies to his task willingly, and Regina finally realizes, that he wasn't sent here by someone's order.
He volunteered to help her.
She might not be ready to show him, or tell him, but she's grateful.
And this small gesture, the way he holds her hand, the soothing brush of his thumb against her skin, is comforting her more than she can voice.
xxx
Robin takes a deep breath, then washes his face with some clean water that was deposited behind the door an hour ago. It's been almost 24 hours since the Queen fell back asleep, and nothing's happened yet, beside the usual agitation and screams, the terror seizing her beautiful face.
He sighs. She seemed resolute to fight the last time she woke up, but she was so weak. Robin ignores how she managed to speak to him for so long, how she succeeded in talking when it had become a struggle. The princess must be right. The Queen is stronger than they think. After all, she did manage to reign and hunt Snow White for years. Determination is clearly one of her qualities, no one can deny it.
Turning back towards the bed, he stretches his back, to one side and then the other, exhausted from staying in the same position for hours, from the lack of exercise too, and he has to admit it, from loneliness. He might have talked to her when she was conscious, but he spent most of his time here alone in front of a sleeping woman. It's barely been four days, and it's driving him crazy. He can't even begin to imagine what her life must have been like. After what she told him about her past, he feels more sympathetic towards her. Her harsh tone and royal attitude might exasperate him at times, but it's the only way she must have found to survive, after years of silence and loneliness.
When Robin looks up from the ground, his eyes fall upon the bed, and there she is again, sleeping, just like she's done for almost four full days.
But something is different.
He walks closer, carefully looking at her, bending a little over her.
Maybe he's wrong, but her skin seems less pale than it was. Her forehead is less shiny with sweat. Her body less trembly. Her features more relaxed.
He sits down on his seat, leans forward, not sure of what he should expect.
"Regina?" He calls softly. "Regina, do you hear me?"
She sighs, moves a little to the side.
Before opening her eyes.
She opens her eyes, and they are shining bright, although tainted with exhaustion.
Robin is still staring at her when a smile forms on her lips, her eyes leaving him to wander around her, glancing at the ceiling, the walls, the landscape outside that she can see through the large window.
Until she pushes herself up tiredly, sitting, exhaling softly.
"It's over." She breathes.
Robin frowns, needs a minute to realize, understand. But she turns towards him with a smile he's never seen before, relieved, and she swings her legs over the edge of the bed, facing him fully.
"He's gone. Leopold is gone."
Robin gives her a proud smile. "You did it."
"I did. It wasn't easy, he almost got me, but… I beat him." She breathes in awe. "I'm definitely rid of him."
"How do you feel?"
Regina ducks her head to the side, shrugs. "Tired. Even if I spent my time sleeping, it wasn't really a restful one."
"I bet. So…" Robin begins carefully. "How did you do it? How did you survive?"
"I kept telling myself none of it was real, not even the words he was saying. Instead, I focused on what you and I talked about, what you tried so hard to convince me of."
"That you deserve to live."
"Yes." She admits softly. "Also, that I am not who I was, that I've changed. That my son wouldn't want me to give up."
"I'm glad it worked, and to see that you've finally accepted your past."
Regina nods. "Not completely, there's some more work to do for me to get there. But at least, I know my husband - ex-husband - cannot be used to hurt me anymore."
"That's a good thing." Robin pauses, waits silently as he watches her nod and look down, uncomfortable all of a sudden. "I'm sorry, Regina." She looks up, and for a second he thinks that she's going to scold him for using her name in place of her title, but she doesn't, instead seems confused, so he explains. "That you had to live such a life for so long. I wish I had known you then. Maybe I could've helped."
"My ex-husband wouldn't have let you."
"But he's not here anymore." Robin points. He reaches out for her hand without even thinking, squeezing her fingers softly. "So if you need me to help you discover everything you missed during those years of loneliness, if you need a friend, or…" he lingers, unsure of what he's offering. After all, what could the Queen need besides a friend? So he lets his sentence unfinished, resumes, "know that you can come to me. Alright?"
Regina's eyes haven't left him while he talked, she's felt her heart beat faster and harder in her chest. The contact between their skins, the pressure of his hand over hers, only increased the intensity of the feeling.
"Thank you, Robin." She murmurs.
As she ducks her head to the side, a strand of hair escapes, falls over her face, and Robin's reaction is instinctive. He brings a hand to her face, tenderly brushes it away, tucking it behind her ear.
And doesn't pull back.
If so, he stays close, moves closer, and she does too.
Until their lips meet.
The kiss is slow, soft, full of tenderness, and Robin brings a hand to Regina's neck, lets his palm slide against her skin until he cups her nape, thumb rubbing her cheek, scooting closer on his seat to fully close the distance between them. When she parts her lips willingly, he presses his tongue against hers, tasting her, his nose full of her sweet scent made of apple and spices, even after all of those days of illness.
Her fingers are clutching to his, her other hand closing over his jacket, pulling him to her, and Robin is happy to oblige. After so much time watching her, after hours of discovering every one of her features, her incredible, beyond legendary beauty, even in an agitated sleep, it, her beauty, jumped to his eyes, even more than it already did the first time he saw her.
When she begins to lie down dragging him to her, he breaks the kiss, feels her beginning to argue but he moves his kisses to her neck before a word has escaped her already pink and swollen lips.
There's no rush, no hurry. It's sweet, and soft, all made of tender touches and gentle caresses. It's everything she never knew, everything she's craving for, everything he's willing to give. To her, more than anyone else. More than he thought he ever would.
He teases her gently, makes her arch in his hold when he runs his tongue along her neck, stopping and lingering when he discovers a sensitive spot. One of his hands is still linked with hers next to her head, pressing it in the pillow, while the other moves along her waist, soft, sending shivers through her regularly. She folds a knee, presses the inside of her leg against his thigh, welcoming him further between her legs, rocking tentatively, shyly.
There's no hesitation then. He parts her feet a bit more with his owns, settles more comfortably between her thighs, pressing his center to her core, and if she ever doubted that he was attracted to her, she now has the proof of his increasing desire pressing against her stomach.
Her sighs are soft and low, her moans tempered, but Robin can feel that she's in fire, in dire need of this, of discovering what feeling cared for means. His hand moves up her thigh, underneath her dress, massaging the skin under his palm, bringing the clothing up her body, slowly baring her to him. She lets him, wriggles a little to help him get her rid of her dress, sags comfortably in the mattress when they're done. Robin thinks he sees apprehension flicker in her eyes, but when he looks again, there is none. She is beautiful, and she knows it.
And indeed, his gaze roaming over her almost completely naked body discovers all kinds of wonders. She is perfect, in every sense of the way. Everything a man hopes to find in his partner. He can't help but bite his lower lip in appreciation, fingers trailing over her belly, stopping at the edge of her undergarment, waiting for her approval, that she gives immediately in a whisper that he barely hears.
The second she's rid of it, his mouth closes over the skin of her inner thigh, making her shiver violently, head snapping back and lips parted in pleasure.
"Robin…"
He doesn't need more, moves to her center, lips closing over her bundle of nerves, the surprised and satisfied Ohh! reaching his ears at the same time, and the way she clenches her thighs, pleases him to the highest level.
She should've had this all her life… Maybe it would've changed a lot of things.
He licks and nips at her for a bit longer, letting her enjoy his ministrations for as long as he can, trying to hold back his own pleasure. Her moans, her scent, the hand waving in his hair, all of those are sending waves of shivers through him. He wants to wait, he wants to give her everything she never had, the tenderness and pleasure she was forbidden to know, and he does, holds on until she tugs at his shoulder, urges him on top of her.
Her face is flushed, her eyes fluttering, her breath fast, but she seems pleased and satisfied. Her hands work to remove his clothes, the message clear, so Robin participates the best he can. He's naked in a heartbeat, presses himself to her completely now, savor the feeling of their joined bodies, enjoys it for a few more moments, his free hand sliding between them to cover one of her breasts, thumb rubbing in circles over her nipple, making her moan in satisfaction, goosebumps flaring all over her skin.
But her shy rocks of her pelvis against his are now desperate grinds. Robin links one of their hands again, uses the other one to cup her chin, presses a soft kiss to her lips. He looks her right in the eyes when his hand moves between their bodies, and he guides himself inside her.
She exhales and closes her eyes contently, a soft moan slipping past her lips when he begins to move, and damn, this is so, so good. So intense. His forehead falls against her shoulder, his rhythm still on even if Robin takes a minute to let this incredible pleasure fill him, from head to toe. He's not even certain he ever felt this before.
Regina's fingers dig into his hand, making Robin come back to her, and he straightens his back, presses a kiss to the crook of her neck, focuses on what he does. When he understands that she's holding back, struggling to stay silent, he whispers in her ear, "Show me how you feel, Regina. Let me hear how good you feel. There's no rules, no good behavior. Just be."
He can sense her hesitation, but soon, she lets go, her moans becoming louder and fully throated. She begins to clench over his shaft, and from the moment she lets go, it only takes a few more minutes before her body convulses, seized with pleasure, the fingers trailing over his back suddenly digging fingernails in his skin, spreading pain beneath his right shoulder, but Robin barely notices as he reaches his own peak, thrusting forward a bit more before sagging on top of her, breathless, and drained.
Her arm wraps around his back, her hand releases the pressure on his fingers, her soft breath caresses his neck, and Regina murmurs, "Thank you."
Robin slowly pulls back, ducks his head to the side. "For what?"
She shrugs. "For saving my life. For this." She says, glancing down between them. "You didn't have to, but it was more than appreciated."
Unsure regarding of the proper way to act, Robin pulls back, settles on his side next to her, a hand still linked with hers while the other draws circles around her belly button.
"Maybe I also wanted to." Before she replies, he continues, "I meant it when I told you I wanted to be here for you. I feel honored that you confessed so much to me, and that I was able to help. Trust me, your secrets are safe, I won't say a word to anyone."
"I know."
She stays silent then, before beginning to sit up, looking around. Robin rises on his elbow, questions, "What are you looking for?"
"Do you happen to have some food somewhere? I'm starving."
Chuckling, he moves away from the bed, grabbing his pants sprawled on the floor and putting it on.
"Of course. Give me a second."
The food is deposited on one side of the bed, Robin in his chair, Regina on the other side of the mattress, and is shared in a comfortable silence, the two adults drained after the last days and recent activities.
However, maybe carried by the ambiance and the unexpected intimacy, Robin feels the need to offer, "You know, given everything that you confessed to me, if you're interested, I was thinking that maybe, one day, I could share my own experience with this disease with you. Maybe accompanied by a proper dinner, one not made out of cold food?" They share a chuckle at that. "If you're up for it, that is. I don't want to intrude."
Smiling, Regina nods, chewing and swallowing her food before replying. "I'd like that. I figure it wasn't easy for you to help me, it must have brought back some memories."
"A little, but I was too focused on taking care of you. You were in a pretty bad state."
Regina looks down at her food. "I know." Wiping the corner of her mouth with a small napkin, she excuses herself. "I'm sorry, I'm going to leave you for a moment, I need to use the bathroom next door."
"Of course! Go ahead, I'll clean this up!"
After removing the food from the bed and placing everything on the floor next to his seat, Robin settles back in the armchair, thoughtful, while he waits for her. The last four days were quite the story. One that he won't tell anyone, he promised her that and anyway, it wouldn't be very respectful of him. But the new glimpses he saw of the Queen, only made him want to discover more. And with some luck, maybe she will let him…
xxx
"Come on! Wake up!"
Robin sighs, turns his head away.
"Don't force me to throw a bowl of water at your face. Wake up, thief!"
Robin is startled by the strong voice, and he opens his eyes, winces and blinks at the bright light hitting him square in the eyes.
"Finally! I thought you were going to spend one more day in this chair."
Robin attempts to speak, but his voice is raspy, so he swallows, wipes his face with his hand, blinking out the remnants of sleep. When his vision is clear, he faces a more than regal Queen, in full gown, hair up in a complicated bun, face drowned under perfect makeup.
What the hell is happening here?
"What… What am I…"
"You were asleep when I woke up." She cuts him off, and the voice he hears is definitely not the one he remembers her using after she woke up last time. This one is harsher, harder, the Queen back in her role, and Robin wonders why. She was so different, why would she change her behavior with him while they're still in the privacy of her bedroom?
"I must have fallen back asleep when you went to the bathroom. I'm sorry, I-"
"The bathroom?" she questions, clearly confused, and Robin frowns. He might have just awoken, but he remembers quite distinctively the last moments before he unconsciously fell asleep.
"Yes, after we had dinner. You told me you needed to use the bathroom, and I cleaned up the food before-"
He stops, looking around as he speaks, and the pile of plates isn't where he left it. Actually, it is across the room, on a small table, and there is only one set of dishes, not the two he remembers them using.
"You're not making any sense. Last time we spoke was when I was still sick. When I woke up for good, you were totally passed out on my armchair."
"But…" Robin gets up, scratches the back of his head. "No. I was here when you woke up. We talked a little, and then…" He stops himself, figures that telling her that they slept together if she has no recognition of it might not be very welcome. "We shared a dinner."
"You must have dreamt it." The Queen dismisses with a wave of her hand, turning away.
"Regina-"
"Don't you dare call me by my name again, thief!" She thunders, so loud and clear he takes a step back. "It's Your Majesty!" she clears. "Now, if you'd like to leave me alone. I have to clean all this mess."
Robin pauses, silent, confused, disappointed. So he tries, "You know, my offer still stands."
"You're still here?" she replies, huffing out in annoyance.
"Yes. Until I receive an answer."
"An answer to what?"
"Are you still interested in my offer?"
She turns to look at him over her shoulder. "What offer?"
"You accepted to share dinner with me, one where I would tell you how I survived the disease when I was sick."
"Why would I accept to have diner with you? And why in hell would I be interested in hearing your story?"
He walks closer, his boldness back, and without a warning his fingers close over hers, gentle. "Because I may have dreamt of you waking up from this illness, but before that, when you confessed your deepest fears, we shared a closeness that I am certain, you never experienced with anyone else. And I know that, despite all your pretenses, you need to feel that someone can be here for you."
"I'm perfectly fine by myself." She argues.
Robin whispers next to her ear. "Then why are you the one holding my hand now?"
The Queen almost jumps back, as if burned, the moment she realizes the truth in his words.
"I wasn't-"
"Of course not." Robin cuts her, half-amused, half-disappointed, a bit annoyed too. He thought they were past this, at least in private. "I'm going to leave you now. I'm relieved to see you well and back to your old self. Have a nice day, Your Majesty!"
And before Regina has realized, Robin has exited the room.
xxx
He enters his chamber in silence, it's still early in the day even if the sun is up. Roland must be sleeping.
Robin walks to his son's bed, smiles at the sight of his small form curled up under the blankets, suppresses the urgent need to brush his forehead, he doesn't want to wake him up. Not yet. His boy needs his rest.
And he himself needs a bath…
He heads for the small bathroom attached to their room, closes the door behind him, sighs in relief when he finds a bowl full of water and several buckets on the floor. Little John really plans everything.
Robin removes his shirt, and winces. There is a small, but noticeable pain under his right shoulder. One that wasn't there before. One that doesn't feel like the sore muscles from a restrained position.
Craning his neck and searching with his fingers, Robin freezes. He can barely see it, but he feels it. In his back, just over his right shoulder blade, there are several lines of ripped skin. He grabs a small mirror, and uses it to get a better look.
And there's no doubt.
Staring right back at him, is what he is absolutely certain are scratches. Scratches, that have undoubtedly been made by fingernails digging into his skin.
For information, this is a mix of reality (the Datura Stramonium is a real plant that was considered magical and related to dark magic in the past, and it has for effect to disconnect you from reality and make you have strong hallucinations), of OUAT's universe (you must remember the night root from episode 314, and the poppies), and my own imagination (the powers I gave to the willow and the way the Datura Stramonium is created). There's also a couple of sentences that I borrowed from Matrix (I changed them a little to fit the story), you might have recognized them.
So, what did you think?