"Papa, where's my Majesty?"
Robin feels the tuck on his sleeve and looks down at his very concerned son. They are at the Yule Ball, or Christmas Ball as the Princess made sure to also write in her invitation. He doesn't really know what Christmas is, and he and his Merry Men hadn't had many balls in the forest either.
Then just a few months ago a new curse brought back many locals who had been gone for so long that they had gotten used to new habits, habits that were unknown to people who had lived all their lives in the Enchanted Forest. That's how old and new traditions with them came from another land. Robin quickly adjusted to them and tried to learn as much from the other wondrous realm as he could.
The Yule Ball isn't the first ball in the Enchanted Forest since he moved into the Queen's castle. The Princess claims it's just because she wasn't really able to have such festivities back in the world they came from. Robin doesn't complain. He loves seeing Roland lighting up at the music and is amazed by the amount of ladies who want to dance with his little offspring.
But Roland's favorite dance partner is missing today. Again.
The Queen almost never attends this kind of events. Events with plenty of food, a variety of musical tunes and cheerful faces.
Robin can see why.
The few times she actually granted them with her presence, he could see how tense she was, how she was forced to smile, how overly polite she had to be with everyone before excusing herself to her chambers.
He doesn't know the whole story, only what the Princess has told him. The Queen saved all of them by bringing them back to the Enchanted Forest, and by paying the price of never seeing her son again. Sadness also clings to the prince and the Princess. As they too had to say goodbye to their child. But Snow White wants to believe that both Emma and Henry are alright. She has to, she can't lose hope. Unfortunately, she can't convince Regina to believe.
Roland seems to have his own magic. The moment he shows up around the Queen her smile becomes genuine and the tension leaves her shoulders. She once danced with her little knight at one of the few balls she attended. So Robin understands his son's disappointment when he can't spot 'his Majesty' in the crowd.
"I don't know, my boy."
His little shoulders slump. "But I want to dance with her again. She's the best dancer, papa!"
Robin chuckles. "I bet she is."
"Too bad you haven't gotten the opportunity to have a dance with her yourself." Suddenly the Princess stands next to him. "Yet," she winks at him.
"That's true, sadly I haven't had the opportunity, Princess," Robin answers politely.
"Snow. I told you you can call me Snow. And I'm sure you'll get the chance at some point." She smiles at him.
Robin looks unsure. "That seems to be very unlikely at the moment." He taps his finger at Roland's nose, drawing a chuckle out of his boy. "Because this little lad just pointed out to me that the Queen is missing from this lovely event."
Snow sighs. "I saw her earlier all bundled up. She probably went out for a walk in the snow. I remember her doing that with Henry on Christmas Eve every year." A sad smile shows on her face. "It's a hard time for her. For all of us," she adds softly.
Robin lets her get lost in her memories for a moment before he sees her straightening her back and looking down at Roland with a big smile.
"Would you mind dancing with the Princess instead of the Queen, Sir Roland?"
Roland is staring at the Princess, unsure of what to do. Robin nudges him. "Go ahead."
"I'm sure Regina won't mind," Snow adds. Roland's little fingers curl around the Princess' hand. "Okay, but if my Majesty appears, I'll dance with her." Snow leads him on the dance floor. "Sure you'll do."
Robin finds her later in one of the libraries close to the ballroom. He can still make out the music.
He took Roland to the Merry Men's chambers after his eyes had grown heavy. The little boy insisted he wasn't tired at all, but a big yawn betrayed him and kind words from Princess Snow convinced him that going to sleep would be a good idea.
After making sure his son was tucked in and finally asleep he sneaked into the kitchen, hoping to get another bite of the delicious turkey they had earlier.
"Don't you dare, thief. I think you've had enough at the ball."
Granny caught him. Robin ducked his head sheepishly and started explaining himself but got firmly interrupted by the old wolf. "But what you can do is," she shoved a plate with various Christmas food into his hands, "take this plate to Regina. I bet she hasn't had a bite since this morning, and even that wasn't enough for a mouse. That girl must eat."
Granny was already busy with another bowl to put away. "Now shoo shoo, you don't keep a Queen waiting. And I for myself want to enjoy this ball for a bit as well." And with that she pushed him out of the kitchen.
It didn't take him long to spot the light under one of the doors. There she is, wrapped up in a blanket, sitting close to the fireplace in one of the two armchairs that stand in front of it. First he thinks she is sleeping but as he steps closer he notices her staring into the fire.
"Did one of the Un-Charmings send you?"
She stays unmoving. Her legs are curled under herself, hands holding the blanket. Her hair falling long over shoulder before it disappears into the blanket. Her gaze doesn't leave the fire.
"Actually no. Granny sent me with this." He places the plate on the small table between the two chairs. "She thought you probably haven't eaten anything since this morning."
She glances at the plate. "I'm not hungry."
"But you need to eat something. And this looks delic- "
"I don't want to eat," she cuts him off sharply and repeats with a glare "I'm not hungry" before turning her head back to the fire.
"Well then, if milady allows I would sneak a bit of that lovely turkey because I am hungry."
"You can take the plate and leave."
Robin sits down in the other armchair and places the plate on his lap.
The Queen scoffs. "I think I said 'leave', not 'make yourself at home'."
"Oh but I find it quite comfortable here." He finally takes a bite of the turkey.
Regina breathes heavily through her nose, saying nothing for a while. Robin is halfway through her plate (she wouldn't have eaten the greasy meat anyway) when she speaks again.
"What do you want, thief?" she asks quietly.
"Roland missed his favorite dance partner tonight."
"Oh." She looked at him apologetic. "I was out."
"It's okay. He got quite a few dances with the princess. But no one will ever be as good as his Majesty." Robin smiles at her.
She shifts in her seat, pulling the blanket tighter around her small form and rasps "Tell him I'll be there next time." She stares at the fire again.
Robin puts the plate down on the table and turns to face her. "Why were you out in the freezing cold all by yourself?"
"It wasn't that cold," she counters.
"The thick blanket and the fire suggest otherwise."
She sighs. "I was taking a walk."
He waits. Robin knows when to give her space and doesn't push. He also knows that there was more to it than just a walk in the snow.
He doesn't have to wait long.
"On Henry's first Christmas I took him for a walk in his stroller. We went through the town; it had snowed the previous night and everything was beautifully white. He was mesmerized by all the lights." A small smile forms on her face. "It became a tradition, taking a walk through Storybrooke on Christmas Eve."
A frown works itself into her features. "I wonder if he took a walk today too."
Out of curiosity Robin asks "Where exactly is he right now in this other land?"
Her brows knit together. "In New York City. Why?"
"Tell me about it. Tell me about Henry, your son."
And she does.
She turns towards him and tells him about their Christmases, about their traditions. How Henry would always get excited about snow and colorful lights. How he looked up happily at his first snowman that had a crooked smile out of coal and only half a nose because all those rolling snow balls made her boy too hungry to finish his snow creation. Robin learns a lot about Christmas in this other land, through the stories of the Queen and her Prince. Regina lights up while talking about her son. She gives her tales freely, talks and talks and talks. He can tell how relieved she feels after talking about her son, sharing those precious memories.
At some point she conjures two cups of mulled wine for them, even picks a few pieces of fruit from the plate between them, never stopping describing yet another happy memory about baking cookies and hanging up mistletoes. She seems to feel comfortable with Robin and he couldn't be happier about it.
It's getting late though. Regina's voice is the only sound around; the ball's music long subsided. The castle is asleep. The fire is about to go out and Robin feels a slight chill in the atmosphere. Robin looks over to the Queen, her head tilted to the side against the headrest, eyes closed, breathing deeply.
Robin stands up, puts another log into the fireplace and walks over to the now sleeping and quiet form of Regina. The blanket slipped from her shoulders during her narration; he carefully pulls it back up and drapes it around her body. She immediately snuggles further into the warmth.
"Thank you, Robin." Her voice is low and sleepy. He knows that she isn't only thanking him for keeping her warm with the blanket and the fire. Robin knows.
He leans down and affectionately presses his lips to her hair.
"Merry Christmas, Regina."