.
He heard her walking towards him, the determined yet poised footfalls that he'd already associated with the once all-powerful Evil Queen becoming louder as she neared him. But when she reached him, she didn't speak, not immediately. Robin watched as her shadow draped over Roland's sleeping form—the little boy hugging his newly acquired stuffed animal—and was surprised to feel a sense of calm at the sight. Her presence held a protective quality, images of her boldly standing in front on his son to defend him sprung into his mind (and what a lasting impression her bravery had made).
She was good with children, he gave her that.
Robin gradually stood up from his hunched position, careful to not wake Roland. He dusted off his thighs before turning to fully face Regina, whose dark brown eyes were affixed to the boy below. She snapped back, however, awoken from her own trance when Robin made a show of folding his arms and canting his head to wordlessly ask what she wanted.
"A word?" she finally spoke, her lips pressed tightly and elegantly shaped brows high on her head.
He followed her to the outskirts of the campsite—a place she hadn't hesitated to insult at every turn—and leaned against a thick tree trunk when she stopped. "I have a name, you know."
She didn't respond to his comment, though her expression let him know she considered it. Mr. Hood, she had wanted to say, her instinct to address him like an unruly citizen of Storybrooke still in engrained in her. But this isn't Storybrooke, she reminded herself somberly. "I understand that you're a man who's adept at invading people's privacy. It's what you thieves do best, is it not?"
That was putting it mildly. "You could say that," he laughed. He lifted himself from the tree and moved closer to her.
"What I mean is," she paused, taking a step back from him so as to maintain the distance, "you didn't just steal things." She emphasized the word with thinly veiled annoyance. "You also broke into people's homes."
"Castles," he corrected. She made him sound like some vicious bandit. "And I only ever stole from those who had more than enough." Regina rolled her eyes before he could even finish. She was in no mood to debate the grey morality of his chosen profession.
She took in a deep breath before folding her hands together. "I need your help to break into my castle," she let out quickly.
Regina looked away then, suddenly very interested in the black feathers on her cloak. She didn't see the wide grin that formed on the thief's face, the way his dimples deepened then disappeared as the muscles in his face contracted.
"I'd be my pleasure, your majesty." He slanted his torso and extended his arms in a half-hearted bow. She smirked humorlessly at that, beginning her march back into the camp. "There, was that so hard?"
"Excuse me?"
"Asking nicely," he replied. "Makes things so much easier, don't you think?"
.
"There," she announced, halting to stand in front of the magical barrier that enclosed her former home. Robin came to settle at her right, mouth agape at the proximity to the large estate. Even at his most ambitious, he had never dared to come so close to the Evil Queen's castle. "Well?"
"Well what?" he retorted, eyes still glued to the sight before him.
"Any ideas on how we break in?"
They had isolated themselves from the rest of their traveling party. The queen had insisted they make this trip alone. The less fools to deal with the better, she had decided. One of the drawbacks, she was coming to realize, was her dependency on the criminal beside her; or rather, his talent for getting into places where he didn't belong.
"A few," Robin stated after a few moments, his features stern in concentration. "Though, if your guards are as merciless as they used to be, then it could make matters complicated. Fortunately for us," he grinned, glancing over at Regina, "they were never that bright."
She fixed him with an icy glare, as expected. "Says the man who spent years running from them."
"Ah, but they never caught me, now did they?"
"Perhaps they had more important delinquents to catch," she hissed, cutting in front of him as she pointedly adjusted her shawl over her shoulder. "I didn't even remember who you were."
Her words stung, and had she uttered them a day ago he might have been more offended. But no women who had so selflessly risked her life to save his son could possess the amount of venom Regina insisted on pretending she had. You don't deceive me, your highness.
She turned around when she felt him lagging behind. The thief had been quiet for too long. When she glanced back at him, the air swiftly left her lungs. He was looking at her intently, as if trying to make her out. He had a strong jaw, she observed, his stubble making the angles more pronounced. And his hair seemed to change color in the sunlight, a murky mixture of yellow and brown. I would have remembered you, she thought. She was sure of it.
"Let's just get this over with, shall we?" Regina nodded in agreement, though both were unwilling to admit their reluctance to part ways.
.
Robin raced down the arctic hallway, bow and arrow at the ready as he struggled to orient himself in the maze-like structure. Jagged beams protruded from every corner. The feel of the palace was harsh and menacing. He tried to ignore the sense of dread the place wrought and focused instead on finding Regina, who had stubbornly decided to deviate from the course he had laid out. "It's my castle," she had argued. "I know where I'm going."
And then she had vanished in a cloud of green smoke, so unlike the purple he was used to; the same green that Robin had seen terrorizing the land for months prior. Regina was in danger.
As he ascended to the tallest tower of the palace, he could make out a woman's voice. Her words echoed through the space, bouncing violently the closer he got. "I'm going to take everything away from you," he heard her say.
"Bring it," Regina challenged, undeterred by the other woman's threats. "You have no idea who you're dealing with."
Robin smiled at her tenacity, a hint of pride blossoming within him. She was quite the force to be reckoned with, and there was a certain allure to her power and confidence that he could not deny.
He watched from behind a stone pillar, back flush against its side as he twisted his neck to get a better view. The unknown woman was dressed all in black—a style choice that better suited the queen—and had rich crimson hair. But her emerald skin was undoubtedly her most distinguishing feature. The woman loomed over Regina, a few inches taller than her. But the Evil Queen never faltered.
"Let's find out," the green-skinned woman taunted, thrashing her arm forward. At her command, a winged creature descended from the ceiling, the same one that had tried to attack Roland.
The queen had been caught off guard, eyes darting around before landing on the flying monkey too late. Robin deftly held out his bow, shooting his arrow at the monstrosity just as it was about to claw at Regina's face. The creature was wounded, arrow sticking out of its breast, but not mortally so. It puffed away behind grey smoke, its red-haired owner vanishing shortly thereafter.
"You—" Regina stammered as she recovered from the thwarted assault. "What're doing here?"
"I never leave a comrade behind," he affirmed, extending his hand out to her. "We always come back for our own. It's what us thieves do best." Robin's tone was more teasing than admonishing. The queen accepted his assistance, gripping his gloved palm as she got on her feet.
The castle shook as they clung to one another, the cries of oncoming beasts screeching from beyond. "I think we're done here," Regina murmured as she firmly grasped Robin's arm. With a flourish of her fingers, they escaped the castle in a puff of purple smog.
When they rejoined the rest of the group some time later (with pieces of Regina's gown hanging loosely, and long cuts along Robin Hood's vest and shirt), they spoke briefly of their adventure together, only relaying the important details of their detour.
"Is that really all that happened?" Snow asked Regina pointedly, noticing how her gaze lingered as Robin retreated into the camp. The queen's secret smile answered her question.
.
.