Disclaimer: I own nothing.
This fanfic is based on the video by H2ORocksMyWorld with a few touches of my own.
~arrows~
Regina met Robin for dinner a little late, but he wasn't upset, because of that infectious smile on her scarlet lips. He was putting away leftovers from the dinner she had missed, the boys were sound asleep in their rooms upstairs, so he offered her a glass of wine, which she politely declined.
She took his hands in hers before he returned to putting away the leftovers, smiling with a secret in her sparking brown eyes, and she met his eyes. "I love you."
"And I love you." He returned her smile, wondering what she was hiding.
"We're going to have a new addition to our family." She told him. "I'm pregnant."
He let out a short laugh, but it was full of contentment. He pulled her into his arms and held her close, kissing her temple, and she laughed. He released her, but didn't let her move away. He set his hand on her stomach, feeling a slight bump there. He let out a laugh of amazement and took her in his arms again.
Maybe it's all about timing.
~nine~months~later~
"You have a beautiful baby daughter." Mary Margaret felt tears in her eyes as she held the baby in her arms. She was this little baby girl with big, beautiful brown eyes, light skin, black hair and cute little nose that she had to resist pinching. "She looks just like you, Regina."
"Though she has Robin's dimples," David pointed out.
"Like her big brother." Regina smiled at Roland.
"I want to hold her." Henry placed the stuffed bunny on the bed beside him and Mary Margaret gently set the baby in his arms. The baby opened her eyes and looked up at Henry, and she seemed to smile. He smiled back at her then smiled at his mom. "She's beautiful."
"What's her name?" Emma asked softly, looking down at the angel in her son's arms.
"Rosemarie," Regina answered. "Rosemarie Elizabeth Hood.
"We're calling her Rose, for short," Robin added.
"Hello, Rose." Emma took the baby. "Welcome to the family, baby girl."
Robin smiled, taking his wife's hand, and he kissed her temple gently. This was more than he could ever had dreamed of. After losing Marian, he thought he would never have another chance at happiness. With Regina, he had happiness and so much more.
Later that day, when the family had gone and Robin had fallen asleep in the chair by Regina's bed, Regina looked down at her little girl and her little girl looked back at her. She smiled with tears in her eyes at the beautiful life before her, holding Rose's little hand with hers.
~arrows~
Over the years as Rose grew up—her long ink-black hair spilling down her shoulders, her dark eyes filled with the same confidence and grace as her mother's, her taste in clothes similar to her father's—she trained in the woods with a bow, having the same passion and skill for archery as her father, with Emma's daughter, Kyla, who also took after her mother. While Rose worked on her technique, Kyla trained her magic.
Kyla lowered herself down, focusing on the small seed that had been placed where a mighty oak tree once stood long ago, focusing on the magic that coursed through her like blood. She closed her eyes, willing that tiny green seed to grow and flourish into a bigger, stronger, more beautiful than the one before. She could feel the light magic wash over her, and she opened her eyes as the tree reached into the sky, beautiful flowers and ripe fruit blooming on its branches.
She smirked to Rose. "Top that."
Rose returned her smirk. "Don't blink." Remember, the bow is not a weapon, her dad's voice was at her ear, it's an extension of yourself. Respect it, and it'll never fail you. She had her aim long before she had her arrow, and before Kyla could even comment on not blinking, the arrow sliced through the air and lodged itself into the tree.
Kyla stared and looked at Rose, stunned and more than a little impressed.
Rose walked over to the tree that was well over fifty feet away, touching the firm bark and trying to pull the arrow out, but it was stuck. She smiled to herself, feeling pride swell inside of her, and she turned to Kyla. "Well, we both did well, so I'll buy the hot chocolates."
"I can't." Kyla shouldered her purse. "Mom wants me to train with her. Fireballs and building bridges." She smiled. "Awesome shot, but next time I won't go easy on you."
Rose laughed. "Bye."
"Bye." Kyla waved before turning and heading up the trail to her house.
Rose gathered her belongings and walked to her car, placing her quiver and bow gently in the built-in case in her trunk. After all the money her parents had spent on that bow, she wasn't going to let anything damage it beyond use. It was part of her after all these years, and she was going to take care of it. She tossed her backpack into the backseat and pulled her keys out of her pocket, getting in her car.
She fastened her seat belt and started the car, seeing she was low on gas. She hoped she would make it to the gas station. It was getting late, and her phone had already died on her. She did not want to see her mom's scold. She already was in trouble for shooting an arrow into her mom's favorite apple tree. It wasn't her fault. Henry kept goading her, and she wanted to prove him wrong. She was aiming for the apple Henry had thrown in the air, but Dad called to her, she turned at the wrong moment, and it went into the tree instead. She was never going to hear the end of it. Sometimes her mom held a grudge far too long.
"Hey, Rose, wait!" Emma ran out to stop her. "Hey, your mom called. She wants you to have dinner with us, probably stay the night as well."
"Really?"
"Yeah. She doesn't want you driving in the rain anyway."
"Rain? It's not supposed—"
Thunder interrupted Rose, and she let out a small laugh before getting out and hurrying inside with Emma. She removed her coat and joined them in the kitchen to help Henry and Mary Margaret make dinner. She hadn't spent much time with her brother since he bought his own place and began his new job, so she had glad he was there to help cook while Emma trained Kyla in the backyard. It was great to catch up. She'd missed him.
She gave him a good night hug before heading upstairs with Kyla.
"I've left a tank top and shorts on my bed." Kyla pointed to them. "I'm gonna brush my teeth and change, so do you have to use the bathroom?"
"No, thank you." Rose shook her head.
"Okay." She closed the door behind her.
She changed into the clothes Kyla left her and grabbed the phone, crossing her legs on the bed and calling her home phone. She waited through two rings before her dad picked up. "Hey, Dad, it's Rose."
"Hey." She could hear the smile. "How are you? Did you eat?"
"Yes, Dad, I ate. I'm good. Tired." She repressed a yawn. "I wanted to talk to Mom before I went to bed. Is she, by any chance, still speaking to me?"
"You know your mother will always forgive you, Rose."
"I killed her tree."
"No, you didn't. It's fine. She's in the study, sending some faxes. She'll be out in a moment."
"Okay." She played it the gold tree necklace she'd had since birth as she talked to her father, waiting for her mother to finish her work. She sometimes hated how busy her mom was whenever she needed to talk to her. If it wasn't a meeting, it was some evil come to seek revenge. Rose practiced drawing an arrow and honed her archery skills so that one day she might be able to stand by her mother and defend the town against any magic and every beast that threatened their home and its people.
"Hey, Rose."
"Mom, hey." Rose bit her lip. "Um, I'm just calling to let you know I'm about to go to bed."
Regina laughed lightly. "You're sixteen. You don't need to tell me when you're going to bed, darling."
"I know, but I wanted to." She paused. "I love you, Mom."
"I love you too, Rose."
"I'll see you in the morning."
"I'll make your favorite breakfast."
Rose smiled. "Apple pancakes."
"Like mother, like daughter," Kyla murmured, exiting the bathroom, rubbing lotion on her arm.
"I gotta go."
"Okay. Good night, honey."
"Good night." She hung up and turn to her. "Really? I'm like my mother? Have you met yourself, Emma Junior?" She tossed a pillow at Kyla.
"What the hell?" Kyla tossed it right back.
"Ah! Hey!" Rose caught it.
"Move over." Kyla tried to use her angry voice, but she started smiling. "Move it, Rose."
Rose scooted over and lied down. "Good night."
"Night."
~arrows~
Regina adjusted her earring in the mirror just outside the dining room, calling to both Rose and Robin to hurry up otherwise Rose would be late for school, and David would be waiting by the edge of the woods for no reason. That would just be so tragic.
Rose hurried down the stairs. "Sorry, sorry. My alarm clock's broken." She zipped up her boot and sighed, shouldering her backpack. "I'm sorry I missed breakfast."
"I put an apple and granola bar in your backpack." She turned to her daughter. "Good luck on your test today. I know you'll do well."
She smiled. "Thanks, Mom." She kissed her cheek briefly then hurried out the door.
Robin met his wife at the door and kissed her goodbye.
Regina grabbed her coat and briefcase, pulling the door shut behind her. She stepped forward and paused, looking around as she felt someone was watching. She shook the feeling off as nothing and continued to her car.
~arrows~
Lowering the phone, Greg Mendell saved the video he'd just taken of the Mills family, smiling with satisfaction as he'd finally found her. He'd finally found a way to get what he wanted and possibly more. He hurried across the street and into his car, grasping a certain twisted leather charm on his keyring. He sent two messages to his partner: the video and the photo of the pretty young girl with her mother's big, manipulative brown eyes.
After all these years, after all this time and all the people who told him he was making up stories to cope, that there was no town here, that his father had just abandoned him. His father would have died before abandoning him, and he had. All because of this bitch. She got to live a life that she didn't deserve. She had a family while her father rested in a coffin in a cemetery, unable to see any of his goals achieved or see his own son grow up. It should be her decomposing body in that grave, not his father's. No longer did he have to feel regret or think should be—he was going to get his revenge. He was going to make sure her last breath was a plea for her life, and just when she thought maybe, just maybe, he was going to end her.
Throughout the day, he watched the young girl as she went about her normal activities, ignorant to his watchful eyes. She was very like her mother, but kinder, more...easily swayed. He knew he could break this child, and if it came to it... Wait. He rubbed his chin and watched closely as Tamara moved in.
"No, please, keep the change." Rose took a sip of iced coffee and headed toward the woods to practice as she did every day after school. She'd left her car at Emma's, so she'd pick it up on the way back from practice and get gas. She hoped her mom didn't ask her to pick anything up from the store. She wanted to work on how much power she could put behind an arrow than she already did now. "Whoa!"
A woman nearly fell to the ground as Rose quickly moved back, papers in her arms falling to the ground, and Rose bent down to help her pick them up. "I am so sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going."
"No. No, no, no, it was all me." Rose handed her the papers she'd collected. "I'm rushing. I wasn't watching where I was walking."
"Rushing where?" The woman took the papers.
"To practice." Rose stood up. "I'm kinda running late."
"Practice? Like track practice?"
"No, I'm not on any track tream. I'm an archer. I train in the woods every day after school. It drives my mom batty, because I'm always late for dinner." She shook her head. She was rambling she was so tired. How did it make sense that sometimes the longer you sleep, the more tired you get? "I'm sorry about running you over. Have a good day." She walked by her.
Tamara tossed the papers into the trash nearby and pulled out her phone, calling Greg.
"Yeah?"
"She's going to the woods."
"I'll follow her. You find her car."
"Okay." She hung up and glanced back at the young girl before she disappeared, smirking to herself, holding the young girl's cell phone. Run, little princess, run.
~arrows~
"Oh, crap!" Rose cursed, seeing the sun fall as she quickly gathered her belongings. "Damn it!" She was so late. She was supposed to help her mom with dinner, and she may have missed dinner entirely. She didn't mean to take so long, but she was so concentrated that she lost track of time. She barely noticed the change in light she was so focused.
She returned to Emma's and got her car, tossing her stuff into the trunk and driving to the nearest gas station. She tried calling her mom as she pumped gas, but she couldn't find her phone. She shook her head and just then noticed she was the only one around. She crossed her arms and felt a little paranoid at that.
Suddenly the lights turned off, leaving the station in utter darkness. She turned around, her heart beginning to race. She started to reach for the trunk when someone slipped a bag over her head, she gasped, and they strangled her unconscious.
~arrows~
Waking to find herself bound and gagged, Rose began to panic. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and fear coursed through her veins. She was tied to a chair in a dark room with no weapons and the restraints were biting into her wrists. She knew she was inside the clock tower of the library, and she knew she wasn't alone. She could feel them even now, behind her, and she turned her head to find a man she'd never met before approaching her.
He wore a hat that covered his face, but she could see a smug smile on his lips. He was covered by a long coat, so she couldn't make out his weight. She didn't know this man. She didn't want to know this man. What did he want with her?
Distantly, she heard a door open and boots on the stairs. A woman came into view, and it was the woman who she'd ran into today. She spoke briefly with the man then turned to her, and Rose saw her phone case poking out the woman's front pocket.
She felt tears burn in her eyes, and she whimpered.
The man paced, rubbing his jaw then he pulled the cloth out of her mouth, stepping back, and she met his determined and wide blue eyes. "I need you to help me find someone." He looked down on her.
Rose guarded her face and stoned her eyes, not saying anything.
"I'm looking for Regina," he pressed.
Rose swallowed. "My mother?"
"Yes, your...mother." He leaned toward her. "You seem like a smart girl...?"
"Rose," Tamara told him.
"Rose." He let out a slight scoff. "Beautiful name. It suits you well."
"What do you want?" Rose hissed.
"I want to make a deal." He met her eyes.
"I don't make deals."
"Oh, I think you'll want to take this deal."
Rose said nothing, clenching her jaw.
"I'm going to let you go." He searched her icy eyes. She was her mother's daughter. "And you, Rose, are going to go find your mother...and kill her."
"And why would I do that?" Rose growled.
"Because if you don't, we're going to come find your mother ourselves, and I'll kill her." He crossed his arms. "And then we will kill your father and brothers too."
Rose lifted her eyes, tears shimmering as her anger burned.
"Do we have a deal?"
She said nothing.
He pulled a knife out of his pocket, she flinched, but he simply cut the binds. "Go, and for your family's sake, I hope to hear from you soon."
She looked between them then walked down the stairs, rubbing her wrists. She saw her car and hurried to it as the sky opened up, mirroring the turmoil rampaging inside her. This was crazy. Absolutely crazy. She wasn't going to kill her mother. She couldn't kill her mother, even if she wanted to... Could she?
She could walk into the house oh-so silently, she knew her mom would be waiting for her in the living room, worried and irritated at the same time. She could lift her bow to the exact spot where her mom's heart would be then she could call to her and when Mom rushed into the room...
"This isn't me," Rose muttered to herself, gripping the stirring wheel and grounding her teeth. "This—isn't—this isn't—me." She took a deep breathe to steel herself. "This is not me."
She went home and ran inside. "Mom!" She searched the house. "Mom!" She bolted up the stairs. "Mom!"
The house was empty.
"Mommy." Rose pushed her hair back, sucking in a panicked breath. Calm down, it's all right. No one was home, so that meant she had time. If Greg had followed her to make sure the job was done, he would know Regina wasn't home. He would wait for Rose to seek her out and finish her. She had time to prepare while he waited. She was going to stop him. She was the daughter of the former Evil Queen and a damned good thief. She was good with stealth, so sneaking up on them was child's play. She had trust in her bow and herself.
No one threatens her family and gets away with it.
~arrows~
Greg and Tamara sat outside Regina's office through the night. No cars came, no one entered or exited from any entrance. He was patient man. He'd waited years to get Regina, to make sure he was prepared enough to stop her and her magics. He wasn't going to wait any longer. When the sun rose, Regina would either be died or on her way to death.
Time's up.
Greg opened the door and went inside, Tamara beside him.
~arrows~
Regina checked her watch and noticed the time. She'd been here all night. She was exhausted, but she'd finally gotten all of her work done. She was ready to go home and see her family. She needed to talk to Rose, apologize about her anger at the arrow in her tree and for missing dinner.
She opened the door and found a man on the other side, a woman beside him. "Who are you?"
He smiled. "I'm not telling you."
Regina narrowed her eyes.
"Bag her."
Regina didn't have time to look over as a bag was placed over her head, and she felt cool leather on her wrist. She tried to get free, but she couldn't use magic. She was powerless. It must be something in the bracelet they'd put on her. They'd gone through a lot of trouble to ensure she couldn't use magic. What they had planned after, she knew had made them go through similar lengths.
~arrows~
Tamara strapped Regina down onto the table while Greg prepared Regina for what he had been planing for so many years. He'd been waiting for this day for so long. He'd planned this and re-planned this, and to finally see it come to pass was...indescribable. After so many night seeing her face in his dreams and only being up to think of what he could do, he'd finally come up with a suitable way to punish the "queen" for what she had done. A punishment that would bring death. She was going to pay for every second he was without his father, for every tear he'd shed day, for every single time someone told him his father had simply abandoned him, and for every day she lived.
arrows
Regina's strangled groans filled the hall, her lungs were tight as electricity coursed through her, her eyes rolling to the back of her head as she grew weaker and weaker, a small, gasping breath escaping her lips. Her poor, small body fell back onto the gurney. Her heart beat was but an echo now.
"Now, you're never gonna hurt anyone...ever again." Greg looked over as Regina became very still. He wasn't ready to let this be over. It was a long way from over. He was about to slam his hand on the button to send one last shock before she truly left when David barged, in shooting at the machine and shouting "Don't move!"
He looked at them then took off running, throwing objects in his wake to slow David down, and David started to follow him.
Mary Margaret went to Regina. "David!"
He turned and saw tears in his wife's eyes.
arrows
Robin walked into the hospital with David and Killian, shaken with grief, distraught. He saw her in the room and hurried over to her, but he saw what he knew he was going to see, what he had bargained his life to not see.
Rose rushed into the room, seeing her father across the way, and her eyes burned. She saw her mother lying lifeless on the gurney, the nurse stood beside her moved, all of the equipment just placed on the bed, useless to have helped her, and Dr. Whale shook his head.
She's gone.
"No." Rose broke down as her father neared. "No." Tears ran down her cheeks, and she couldn't breathe. Her heart stopped racing, and slowed down so much that she could count the beats, and her chest was tight, as if everything had been sucked out of her. She felt as if the world had gone dark and cold things were surging through her body, wiping away everything all the warm. It was all so dark.
"I'm sorry." Robin held his daughter.
"What happened?" she sobbed. "What hap—hap—happened?"
arrows
Rose stood by her mother's grave, watching them lower it into the ground, her eyes so dry. She had gotten the full story from her father, but it did nothing to ease the pain, to the ease the anger boiling inside her. She had worn her mother's favorite black dress and her favorite earrings to feel close to her, her fingers lingering on the tree that dangled from the chain around her neck. The scent of her mother all around her, practically whispering in her ear, opened her eyes. She knew what she had to do.
Her father was downstairs, leaving her be at her request, and she sat on her bed, waiting. She played with the blanket that was once on her mother's bed, and she listened as the noise died downstairs. She had a plan. She wasn't going to back down. She just had to wait and be calm...
Memories of her mom played through her head. The laughter, the many hugs and the many times they cooked together—all those apple turnovers and apple dumplings and lasagnas. And the bedtime stories. Her mom told the best bedtime stories, using magic to bring her stuffed animals to life to illustrate. She could always make Rose laugh, make her feel better with just a few simple words. Mom was always smiling. She had the best smile, even the best scold. She could make anyone feel bad for what they had done. She always told her how much she loved her and how proud of her she was.
I'm proud of you, Rosemarie. I'll always be proud of you.
Rose grunted and tossed the blanket aside, grabbing the childish things off her desk and tossing them into a wastebasket. It was all just junk. Most of it was just there to be there. After a certain point, nothing in her room was spared, because she just didn't care. She was indescribably upset. It was all her fault. She should've done something—went down to her mom's office and warned her or she could've told her father, just yelled it at him the minute walked through the front door—but she didn't.
Damn all of it! All of this crap was so neat. So damn neat and proper when entire life was a mess! She began ripping the pictures of nature and targets off her wall, pushing the items from her dresser off onto the floor, her breathing rough.
She threw open her closet door and pushed the useless clothes aside, yanking at them angrily, trying to find some...solace in it. She grunted and began to rip at her own shirt. All of this junk, all of these clothes and lotions and pictures were nothing! Nothing! Why were they still here when the one thing that meant everything was—was gone?
She tossed her shirt into the closet and heard something clank. She pushed her hair back and saw the tip of an arrow lying on the floor. She picked it up and saw it was one of the arrows she'd made with her dad a long time ago. Etched in the arrow was an R with a crown around it. She smiled inside.
"Thank you, Mommy." She rummaged through her weapon's chest, but she didn't find what she needed. She grabbed a black top and pulled it over her tank top, tying some of her hair up and off her neck. She went to her parents' room and found her father's crossbow and the many attachments with it. She took his best scope and the keys to her car. She had unfinished business with Greg and Tamara.
~arrows~
She found them fleeing town, but there was no way in hell they were getting away. She watched as Greg's shadow was ripped from his body before her arrow could ever touch him. She was so captivated in watching the man who took her mother away scream in agony, very the way her mother must have, as his life was being slowly ripped out of him that Tamara almost escaped.
Drawing an arrow, Rose took her aim, exhaling softly before releasing the arrow, almost willing it as it sliced through the air and toward its target.
Tamara fell to the ground as the arrow pierced through her heart.
Rose smiled to herself and lowered her bow. Her mom wasn't going to come back, but at least her death was avenged, and no one else would suffer by them. She had done this not in cold-blood, but for her mother, the hero and the Queen, and for all of the other victims they may have taken before her mother. She vowed then and there how she would spend the rest of her life: She would protect the innocent and ensure this never happened to anyone ever again.
~arrows~
For the amazing video that I recommend any Outlaw Queen shipper watch. It's beautiful, and I hope my words can capture even a third of its beauty.
watch?v=k7Pyzam5Dos&index=1&list=UU-bNszPOqobyJDWP0a4QE4A
