So, I'm still not supposed to have time to write, but I just couldn't shake the idea out of my mind. The story is almost completely written, but I will update once or twice a week only, because I'm still changing things regularly.
I warn you, this is not going be an easy journey for our favorites characters, but I hope you'll stick with me until the end.
I mostly wrote from Henry, Robin, or Regina POV, but as you will see in this chapter, sometimes I use another character.
Also, english is not my main language, so all mistakes are mine and I'm sorry about it. And I'm really sorry about the presentation, I can figure out how to insert more space between the lines.
Disclaimer : I own nothing but the idea. The characters and Storybrooke belong to A&E.
With that, I hope you'll enjoy it !
"She's a monster!"
Regina restrains herself when she realizes she's about to lose her temper. She straightens her spine and turns on her heels, leaving the Charmings, her son, Hook, Roland, Robin and his wife behind.
Why bother justifying anyway? She is and will always be the Evil Queen. No matter how hard she tries, there will always be something or someone to remind her of that. She thought redemption would give her a chance to be happy, a chance at grace, a chance at love. She tried very hard to build a future, and now it's all gone.
She ignores what Robin will decide. She probably already knows, deep down, because really, who would be fool enough to choose her when they have someone else to turn to? As she tries to persuade herself of that, she can't completely suppress that sparkle of hope, instilled in her mind, screaming at her that maybe, just maybe, one day, someone would fight for her.
But right now, pain and hurt are overcoming this feeling. Hope is forgotten, because until now, it has always failed her and never led to anything else than misery and distress.
So she walks, walks faster, hurries to put as much distance between her and them as she can. When she reaches her house, her hands are shaking and she almost drops her keys while trying to open the door. Once she finally succeeds, she enters her house, and closes the door behind her.
Yes. Why bother indeed?
XXX
The next day
Robin stares at the door for several minutes. He knows what he has to do. He knows what must be done. It doesn't feel right, but he has no choice. He's married, and no matter how he feels towards Regina, staying with his wife is the honorable thing to do. It feels like a lifetime ago, but he made a vow to Marian and he's going to keep it. He thought about it all night, while his wife was laying next to him in bed, while the diner's scene playing over and over in his mind. He's stuck in an impossible situation, and the only right thing is to do what he always did: to follow his code.
He takes a deep breath, lifts his hand, and knocks. Once. And then waits.
Waits.
Waits.
He knocks again, louder, ends up calling her name.
When no one answers, Robin frowns. It's the middle of the day, Regina should be at her office.
He turns on his heels to leave, but freezes, pushed by an invisible force. He goes back to the door, and this time tries to open it. He's surprised to find the door swinging open easily. It wasn't locked, he realizes. That's weird… Regina is usually pretty cautious about those things. Slowly, Robin steps inside, carefully, and looks around.
The place is empty. He hoped she'd be here, but she's not. Maybe she fled, poofed herself someplace else when she heard him get in. But when he looks more attentively, there's no trace of her belongings, and magic or not, there's no way she had time to clean the place from her stuff before he entered the room. The desk is perfectly in order, there's no coat on her chair, no book or paper anywhere. No sign of life. No sign of her.
His eyes wander in the room, land on the couch, the fireplace, the coffee table. He remembers yesterday, their picnic, their confessions. He had never imagined that on the very day he opened up to Regina about Marian's death, he would actually hold her against him. He had never imagined his life would fall apart in one second, and that he would be torn between two women, forced to make a choice.
Robin shakes the memory away, unshed tears in his eyes, and turns to leave. The whole place smells like her, he realizes. It feels like her. And he misses her so much already he wonders how he'll be able to look her in the eyes and break the heart she so willingly gave him.
He sighs, a surge of guilt hitting him when he realizes his intrusion, so he heads toward the exit, closing the door behind him.
He decides then to try her home. If she's not at her office, maybe she's there.
He stares at the mansion in front of him, his breath caught in his throat. He can do this! He has to do this! He has to give her up even though she doesn't deserve it. He has to stay true to his vows to Marian. So he steps forward, knocks once, twice, uses the ring bell, calls for her again. He tries to spy something through the windows, a frame, a shadow, something that will tell him she's inside and just hiding from him. But there's nothing.
He goes to her vault too. He's never been there before, so he walks carefully, makes sure not to touch anything. But the place is empty, just like the others.
She must be hiding, he thinks. Hiding from him. But he has to talk to her. So, he'll try again. He'll give her a few days. A week, he decides.
In a week, he'll come back.
Defeated, but somehow relieved that he didn't have to confront her, not yet at least, Robin walks back to the camp, to Roland, to Marian. He walks back to his family, head down, because they are his life now. However, he can't get rid of this strange feeling weighing upon his chest, and telling him that something in this whole situation, is out of place.
XXX
Emma turns to her son, frowning as she sees him fill a basket with food and DVD. She walks closer, enumerating "Okay, chocolate, DVD's, ice-cream..." she pauses and raises an eyebrow as Henry looks up at her and something she didn't see before enters her sight "Red wine? That's one heck of a late-night snack, kid."
"It's for my mom." he answers right away. Emma forces herself not to smile, touched by the gesture.
"I don't drink, and sheriff." she reminds, a hand clasping his shoulder.
"My other mom."
Oh!
"I googled 'how to get over a break-up'. It didn't talk about your boyfriend's wife time-travelling back from the past but, close enough?" he asks, the hope in his voice contrasting with the sadness in his brown eyes.
Emma feels pride warm her heart at the idea that her son cares enough to take care of his parents, even in moments when he shouldn't, and about situations he somehow is too young to fully understand.
But guilt washes over her too, because she's the reason he's doing this. She's the cause of Regina's pain. She hurt someone and though she knows she obviously couldn't let an innocent woman die, she's responsible for causing more damages than she wanted to avoid when she rescued Marian.
"That's really sweet." Emma says, leaning forward to squeeze Henry's shoulder. "Do you want me to drive you there?"
"You don't mind?"
"No, of course not! Come on, grab your coat!"
She helps him hold the heavy basket, informs her parents that she won't be long, and follows her son through the door.
She parks in front of Regina's mansion, lets Henry step out of the car.
"Thanks, mom. I'll call you tomorrow morning."
"Okay. Take a good care of her, I'm sure she'll appreciate what you're doing."
She waves Henry goodbye, and starts her car. That's when she notices it. She looks around, but still, it's not here. She turns to Henry, and realizes that he's still at the door, knocking and calling again and again. She turns off the car, walks out of it and enters the yard.
"Hey kid!" she calls, Henry turning to face her.
"She's not answering."
"Her car is not here. Maybe she's not home." she shrugs.
"Maybe. But can I call her? I want to know if she's okay."
"Yeah, sure."
Emma shoves her phone out of her pocket, and hands it to Henry. He dials the number, and waits.
Voicemail.
He tries again. Same result. He leaves a message, tells her to call him back, and hangs up, clearly disappointed, and maybe a bit worried.
Emma waves an arm around his shoulder, and leads him back to the car.
"She probably needs to be alone for a while. Give her some time, she'll come around."
Okay so I'm not really thrilled with this chapter, but it was necessary to start with. The action will come soon.
Hope you liked it. Reviews are much appreciated.