"If the man who taught me everything I know about magic thinks she's more powerful than I am, then there's no way I can win this fight…"

Tears threatened to fall from her eyes, but she held them back with everything she had. She barely knew this man, and she was already giving him more of herself than she ever planned to so quickly, she couldn't possibly start crying in front of him too. Though she assumed he wouldn't mind; he would probably try to console her, perhaps even reach over and touch her. Maybe she should start crying…

She looked away from him and cleared her throat, shaking off her wild thoughts in the process.

"Well, what's our strategy, your majesty?" Robin inquired, breaking the silence. Regina's eyes flickered to him, and she cocked an eyebrow at his formality. Concern was still present on his face, though masked by a coy, flirtatious look dancing across his features. A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.

"Our?" She asked, "I don't recall inviting you to die with me." Her smile dropped as she realized what she had said. The hopeless feeling that was filling her weighed her down, and the idea of running crossed her mind. No, Regina Mills didn't run from anyone.

"If you think I'm going to let you take on that witch alone, you haven't quite grasped who I am," he said with a smile, "So you'll have to let me at least help you figure out what to do."

"Well, I have absolutely no idea," she replied flatly, unconsciously running her fingers through her hair. "I've never been in a battle I wasn't sure I'd win."

"How did you defeat your enemies before? I've heard stories of entire kingdoms being concurred by the Queen's forces, surly you had tactics to help you win?"

She snorted before responding, "My tactics were more gruesome than I care to relive, especially in front of my son. Besides, if Rumple trained her the same way he trained me, her magic is fueled by anger, and I'm not nearly as angry as she seems to be." She felt something click inside her and she sat up straighter. "Wait, that's it…."

Befuddlement flashed across Robin's face and he leaned back while shaking his head, "I'm sorry, I don't follow."

"She's like me! She'll do what I would have done!" Regina fully turned her body to face him, scratching her nylons on the log they sat on. A glimmer of hope shined in her eyes. She could tell he still didn't understand, and how could he, he never knew what she had been like. Rumours didn't do her justice.

"And what exactly is that?" He tilted his head, examining her face as if trying to read her mind.

"Take my heart! Which means I certainly can't bring it with me." She began rolling up her sleeve, more out of habit than necessity. There certainly wouldn't be blood to worry about.

"Wait-" he placed his hand on hers, stopping her as she was removing her gloves. She felt a spark ignite her skin where his fingers wrapped around her bare wrist, and a small gasp escaped her lips. She turned her eyes back on him, expecting him to let go of her hand. When he didn't she felt heat rise to her cheeks, and she looked at him questioningly.

"You can do that? Rip your own heart out of your chest?"

"You've… you've never seen someone take a heart before?"

"I've heard stories, but I'm happy to say no, I haven't."

What a lucky man. She laughed to herself and looked up at him through her lashes, "Would you like to keep your streak going?"

He considered her offer, eyes moving back and forth quickly. She wondered what he must be thinking, what he must think of her. Finally, he shook his head and responded, "Go ahead." He leaned back and removed his hand from hers, his eyes flickering down to her chest and back up.

She took a sharp inhale before plunging her hand into her chest. She hissed at the sharp hot pain that radiated through her torso, and breathed a heavy sigh as she removed her heart. Pinching her eyes together for a moment, she waited for the pain to subside before looking at him.

"Does it hurt?" he asked, concern lacing his voice and furrowing his brow.

"That would be an understatement," she answered through gritted teeth, glancing down at her hands firmly holding her heart. Suddenly she was very self-conscious of the blackness she saw. She felt panic rise up to her throat, as if the air was sucked from her lungs. What would he think, seeing such darkness? He had never seen a heart before, not like this at least, enchanted and glowing. Surely he didn't know what to expect, and he knew of her evil past. Still, she couldn't stop the tightening of her chest as she looked over to him, seeing his eyes glued to the lump of coal in her hands. He realized she was looking at him, and quickly moved his eyes to meet hers. She felt a flutter in her heart when she looked at him, though it wasn't physically possible in that moment.

"Does it still hurt now?" he asked gently, leaning slightly closer to her as he did. For the second time tears brimmed her eyes, and she shook her head slowly. She couldn't think of the last time someone was concerned for her and only her, without the thought of keeping everyone else safe in the back of their mind. What did she do to make him want to help her?

"No," she breathed, "it certainly doesn't." Gazing into his eyes, she felt like every nerve in her body was exposed, like he could see every piece of her. Her gaze fell to Robin's arm, focusing on the small hint of inked skin peaking out of his jacket sleeve, and then at the small hard heart sitting in her hand. Fate be damned, she thought.

"Will you do something for me?"

::::::::

He didn't know what he expected, but it certainly wasn't this. Of course he knew who she was, and upon meeting her he had prepared himself for fireballs and rage. He remembered regretting shooting an arrow in her direction as soon as he saw who had caught it.

However, his perception of Regina grew to be that of a strong-headed woman who was filled with pain, rather than an angry sorceress hell bent on killing everything in her wake. Perhaps because he met her in this world instead of the Enchanted Forest he wasn't connecting the great and terrible Evil Queen to this petite yet bold woman with tears fresh on her eyelashes. Or, perhaps the stories didn't tell of an actual person, only a persona used to mask fear and agony.

She was so broken, so corrupted by darkness it enveloped her heart literally. Of course it wasn't who she was, he could tell by the bright red that shone through the blackness. Still, such damage must have come from unthinkable amounts of pain, inflicted on her and by her. He wondered how she could have overcome such a past, something so full of darkness it would forever show on her heart. What amazing strength this woman possesses, he thought.

He didn't know much of the queen's past, though he had heard rumours of her need for vengeance against the stepdaughter that destroyed her life. Some people speculated that the princess had something to do with the king's death, and it broke the queen's heart. Others higher in nobility knew the queen didn't care for the king, and assumed that the young woman was blackmailed into marrying him; why else would someone so beautiful and full of life be married to an old, unintelligent man? Of course no one besides the queen and the princess truly knew what had happened.

As he held her heart quite literally in his hands, he was amazed at the person sitting before him. He presumed that she was more exposed now than she had ever been with such a person as he, a common thief. His chest swelled with pride at her trust in him, offering him something so valuable as her own life. He swore to himself to protect her, this strong woman who he assumed rarely asked for help. What an honour it was to see so much of her, to break down the walls she worked so hard to hold around her.

For a brief moment he resented those rumours he had heard time and again, tales told from misunderstanding and fear. He wished instead for stories told of a young woman, alone and frightened, who had been thrown through hell and came out the other side stronger. A woman who made all the wrong choices trying to protect herself, trying to mend the constant hole in her heart. A woman who knows who she is, knows what she's done, and still pushes on. It was in that moment that he decided he wanted to know more of Regina than he did of the Evil Queen, but more importantly he wanted her to let him know her.

Maybe he hadn't made a mistake in trying to shoot her.

::::::::

She ran her eyes across his features as he moved his hand to hold out her heart, a dull glow in the misty darkness of the forest. Her gaze traced the curve of his jaw, down to his chest, and up his extended arm. God, he is handsome, she thought, feeling something flare up low inside her. She wondered if her heart was beating as quickly in his hand as she felt it would be in her chest.

So many emotions had bombarded her in these last few hours, and she was having a hard time sorting them out. Although her body ached, and she expected to wake up tomorrow with quite the impressive bruising across her back, she felt her pain fade to the back of her mind as he expressed his concern for her clearly on his face. Zelena had been right, she didn't always appreciate what she had, and right now she wished what she had in front of her was standing much, much closer.

He was so open, and yet so oblivious to their shared destiny. Would his feelings towards her change if he knew that they were soul mates, predetermined by magic to be together? Did he feel for her the way she was growing to feel for him? Did she even deserve this? Did she deserve someone so willing to help her, someone so determined to know her, someone whose eyes swam with desire whenever he looked at her?

Her sister's words echoed in her head as her dark eyes locked onto his light ones.

I will get everything you ever had!

Perhaps he was something she wanted to have, something she wanted to let herself have. She inhaled deeply, smelling the wet earth beneath her and the clean air that ran through the trees. It smelled like him.

She longed to touch him again, and reached out to place the small bag that held her life back in his hands. Maybe she didn't deserve this, but maybe, just maybe, she could be forgiven for being selfish.

It seemed she would be giving him more of her than she had thought.