Regina nudged her horse persistently as it darted across the open field; she couldn't seem to get away from her mother fast enough. It seemed like nothing Regina ever did was right, and nothing she ever did would please the evil witch. Cora had called Regina to the castle while she was riding to scold her about some other thing Regina had done wrong (that she frankly couldn't care less about) and had proceeded to threaten her - once again. She nodded and apologized sweetly to her mother as she did every time, wanting desperately to keep the peace to keep her mother from punishing her. As soon as Cora dismissed her to return the horse to the stable, she threw herself onto the golden brown steed and kicked it into gear. Pulling back on the reigns as they approached the stable house, Regina slid off the horse guiding the horse into its stall. Determined to take as much time as possible, Regina picked up the brushed and slowly combed the horse's mane; feeling hopeless and alone since even her father, though he loved her so, wouldn't stand up to her mother; she felt like she had no one.
Regina began to let her emotions run free as tears began streaming down her cheeks. She buried her face into the horse's mane as uncontrollable sobs began bursting from her. Always holding things in had it's pros and it's cons; she was now experiencing the negative side of bottling it up.
Regina had left the stall door ajar, causing the stable boy's curiosity to get the best of him. As he perched himself on a stool to clean a horse's hooves, he had completely lost focus of what he had set out to do as he gazed longingly at Regina. There was something about her that captivated him, even though he had only begun working in their stables the previous week. Losing complete sight of what he was supposed to be doing, a tool rolled out of his hand and made a loud sound as it fell to the wooden floor.
Regina's cries echoed in the stable until a loud sound caused her breath to catch in her throat, afraid her mother had caught her in a moment of weakness. Looking up, she saw an unfamiliar man in another stall with one of the horses. Normally she would have been afraid, but for some reason she didn't feel threatened by him; but she still wanted to know who the stranger was.
She rose slowly, taking a few steps out of the stall toward him. "Who are you?" she asked politely, still attempting to compose herself.
"My name is Daniel," he stated, "I'm the stable boy." He slipped out of the stall to face her, feeling extremely embarrassed that he had made his presence known to her.
Regina smiled sweetly and extended her hand to him, "Regina. Nice to meet you Daniel." When their hands touched, an odd sensation pulsed through Regina's body. She felt as though she knew this man, but she was sure they had never met. But as their eyes met, she could tell there was something mysterious about him.
Daniel's palms were becoming clammy as his nerves began to get the best of him. Feeling brave, he reached out his hand and gently wiped a tear away from her cheek with his thumb. "Are you alright?" he asked sympathetically.
Electricity shot through Regina as his rough hands touched her skin; she had never had feelings like this before. It was absurd to think that one could have feelings for someone upon meeting them - absolutely ridiculous; but the thoughts going through her mind were screaming the exact opposite of her logic. Realizing that he had asked her a question, she shook her head in an attempt to push these strange and unfamiliar thoughts from her mind. "Uhhh..." she stammered, "I, um, yes, I'm fine."
Despite the fact that this was the first time Daniel had actually talked to Regina, he had seen her frequent enough to tell that she was lying. He wasn't sure what to say, so he looked back into her eyes and something in him wanted so badly just to kiss her; his heart began beating rapidly at the thought, because he was just a stable boy.
Unable to control herself, Regina suddenly found herself with her arms around Daniel's neck, their lips tenderly pressed together. Once she became aware of what she had just done, she immediately pulled away from him. Putting her hand up to her lips, she whispered, "I'm sorry... I don't know why I did that... I'm feeling a little under the weather..." And with that, she turned on her heels and began sprinting back to the castle, too embarrassed to look back; though she was unable to keep the feeling of his lips on hers from her mind.