Written for OQ on Holiday, Prompts #3. Entire Hood-Mills family (Robin, Regina, Henry, Roland and Robyn) goes to Disney World during "villains' month"/#29. "Why did I agree to this trip?"
"The Happiest Place on Earth"
"Why did I agree to this trip?" Regina asked through clenched teeth. She stood in the middle of the hotel room, surrounded by characters from Finding Nemo. Regina could tolerate them but she wasn't sure she could handle another Disney princess or a surprise hug from an oversized rodent.
Robin chuckled as he came behind her, wrapping his arms around her. "You agreed to it because you wanted us all to spend time together. As a family. Especially now that I'm back."
She frowned, rubbing his arm. "Can we not talk about that?"
"We can't keep pretending it didn't happen," he replied in a low voice. "I died, Regina, but I came back. We're together again."
"And that's all that matters," she replied, turning in his arms to kiss him.
He sighed, nodding. "You're right. That is all that matters. Which is why we're taking this family vacation together."
"I know," she replied, "but why did I agree to Disney World? It's hot, there are people everywhere and I swear that they are just constantly sticking Snow White everywhere to mess with me."
Robin laughed, rubbing her arms. "I think you're hyperaware of her because of your story. And you've enjoyed the rides. I couldn't get you off Dumbo. And how many times have you ridden the Tower of Terror?"
She sighed, knowing he had a point. "Fair enough. And the kids are enjoying themselves."
"Besides, there's an extra special reason why we chose to come to Disney World during this week," he said, smiling.
"There is?" She frowned, not recalling that. "What is it?"
"VILLAINS' NIGHT!" Robyn threw back the curtain, revealing she was dressed in a long black dress with a green sash around her waist. Her blonde hair was pulled into two pigtails and she wore a headband with two black horns on it. She held out her arms. "I'm Maleficent!"
Regina smiled, picking up her phone and opening the camera. "Yes, you are. We need to take a picture to share with your mom and your Aunt Mal. Say 'wicked'!"
"Wicked!" Robyn then tried to look as menacing as possible, though it was a bit difficult with her first missing tooth and her father's dimples on display. She was absolutely adorable.
As Regina sent the pictures, Robin picked up his daughter and held her close. "Are your brothers ready yet?"
"Almost," she replied, rubbing her nose against his as she giggled. "They said they are putting on the finishing touches."
Regina held her phone against her chest as she believed her heart melted watching Robin with his daughter. It had been a struggle with Zelena at first to figure out a good custody arrangement that made sure Robyn spent plenty of time with both parents and she still clashed with Robin and Regina on certain parenting choices but they had settled into an arrangement that worked. Zelena had even agreed to let Robyn call Regina "mama," a huge step for her. She no longer saw Regina as someone who wanted to take everything from her. Instead, she finally understood that Regina also being Robyn's mother didn't diminish her role any. Regina was proud of her sister and happy with how their family was turning out.
The curtain slid open again and Roland stepped out, dressed in a red jacket over a white shirt and black pants. He had a toy sword attached to his side and he raised a hook that covered his left hand. "Captain Hook, reporting for duty!" he said, grinning widely.
"Looks like Hook managed to convince one of our children to dress up like him," Robin said, fighting his urge to smile as Regina rolled her eyes.
Roland shrugged. "Uncle Hook is pretty cool."
"At least he thinks so," Regina muttered. She then asked: "Where's Henry?"
"Right here." The curtain was pushed aside again to reveal her eldest. He was dressed in a black tunic like shirt with a red sash tied around his waist. A little golden Cobra stuck out of his pocket. "I'm Jafar."
She tilted her head. "It's not exactly a costume."
"No," he replied. "I'm Disney-bounding. It's when you put together outfits that are inspired by Disney characters and wear them into the parks."
"I see," Regina said, amused by the concept. She then reached for her purse. "I guess we should get going again."
Robyn shook her head. "Not yet, Mama. You and Papa need to dress up too!"
"Oh," Regina replied. "I don't think we're going to…"
Her words died in her throat when she saw her husband's cheeky grin. She scowled at him. "We are not dressing up."
"We're Disney-bounding like Henry," he explained, placing his hand on the small of her back. "It's part of the fun."
Robyn nodded. "Come on, Mama. We picked out a really pretty outfit for you."
"Please, Mom," Henry pleaded, turning his hazel eyes on her in full doe-eyed mode. She was always a sucker for them.
Roland also joined in his siblings, clasping his hand and plastic hook together as he looked up at her with his big brown eyes and dimples. "Please, Mom."
Caving, she nodded. "Okay, I'll dress up."
They cheered and she went to put Robyn down. However, the girl clung to her. "Can I help you dress, Mama? Please?"
"Okay," she said before smiling. "And you know what? I'll even let you wear a little makeup. But only because it's a special occasion."
Robyn's eyes widened before she hugged Regina. "Really? Thank you, Mama!"
Henry pulled out a garment bag from the closet and held it out to Regina. "Here you go, Mom. We picked out your outfit. I think you can guess who you're going as."
"I think so," she replied, taking the bag as she balanced Robyn on her hip. "We'll be right out, okay?"
"Take your time. I need to get changed too," Robin said, opening his suitcase.
Regina slipped into the bathroom and opened the garment bag, changing into the outfit the children picked out for her. It was no surprise they dressed her as the Evil Queen from Snow White, but she was impressed with how they chose to dress her. She wore a sleeveless purple dress that fell to her knees, hugging her curves in such a way she knew Robin had a hand in selecting it, which was paired with a black shawl wrapped around her shoulders. There was a black belt with a glass red gem on it that went around her waist as well as black leggings. She also found a little crown on a headband in the bag and after pinning up her hair into a messy bun, she placed it on and let the gold crown sit amongst her black locks.
She did her makeup before putting a little on Robyn. The girl marveled at her green eyeshadow and lip gloss in the mirror as Regina made sure her smoky eye and blood red lipstick was immaculate. She then picked up her phone and opened the camera. "Why don't we get a selfie?" she asked the girl.
Robyn nodded and they posed for a picture with their best villain face, which was sent to their family back home in Storybrooke. Picking up the girl, Regina smiled at her. "Let's go see if everyone is ready to leave."
They stepped out into the main room again and she stopped, looking at Robin. He wore a purple shirt with yellow felt pieces on it paired with black jeans and black boots. Little bags were tied to his belt and she raised her eyebrow. "And you are…?"
He pressed his hand to his chest, looking wounded. "I am the Sheriff of Nottingham. Isn't it obvious?"
"Of course you are," she said, chuckling. "You probably couldn't help yourself."
She handed Robyn to him, heading to sit down on the couch. "Let me get my boots on and then we can head to the park."
"Villains' night, here we come!" Henry declared as his siblings cheered.
Robin carried Robyn as they got off the monorail, joining the crowd of people heading toward the Magic Kingdom's gates. Regina held Roland's hand while Henry kept close to them, making sure none of them got separated as they queued to scan their Magic Bands. They each lined up their Mickey to the big one on the scanner, watching it turn green each time.
Once past the gate, Robin set Robyn down but took her hand. He motioned to the floral display under the train station, which had a background with the Disney Villains set up for people to pose for pictures. Their family headed to it and posed in front of it as a cast member took a picture of them. "You have a beautiful family," she told Regina as she scanned the queen's Magic Band.
"Thank you," Regina said, smiling at her husband and their children. She joined them, wrapping her arms around Henry and Roland. "Who's ready for some rides?"
"I am!" Robyn said, raising her hand. "Can we go ride Dumbo? Please?"
"I want to ride Space Mountain," Roland said, looking up at Regina. "Can we ride that as well?"
She chuckled. "We have all night and can ride them all. Okay?"
"Why don't we start in Tomorrowland and work our way around?" Robin suggested, taking Robyn's hand again.
They all agreed and headed through the tunnel to get to Main Street. Regina took a deep breath, smelling an oddly pleasing mix of popcorn and cinnamon buns floating through the air. People crowded around them, some children dressed in costumes and some adults Disney-bounding like them. Music drifted over them as they turned to face the castle, light up in a purple glow with images of the villains projected onto it. The Evil Queen smiled at them as people passed through the castle.
"Look, Mama," Robyn said, pointing to the castle. "It's you!"
Regina smiled. Though she had long since given up her evil ways and now stood as a hero, she knew a part of her was always going to the Evil Queen. She carried some of the darkness in her heart, a reminder of where she had been. Though she still had nightmares of the people she destroyed without a thought and the devastation she rained down, she did not condemn the Evil Queen. Rather, she embraced her.
(Often quite literally as she and Queenie did hug when they saw each other. However, the hints of a foursome between the two pairs of Reginas and Robins was a bit too much embracing for Regina's taste).
"Yes," she replied, rubbing Robyn's back and she caught sight of Robin's proud look. "That is me."
Night fell on the Magic Kingdom but no one inside the park showed any sign of slowing down. The Hood-Mills family easily powered through the different rides, starting with Space Mountain. Henry rode with Regina on Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin as they had both learned that the inability to miss applied not only to Robin's skills with arrows and had been passed down to both his children. Even Robyn was able to rack up an impressive score that dwarfed Regina's and Henry's, so they had their fun together without the pressure of trying to beat Robin Hood and his progeny.
They kept moving, going on attraction after attraction in a very well executed plan. Regina even put up with It's a Small World as they rode past all the singing dolls representing the different countries in the world and sat out the Haunted Mansion with Robyn, who had found the ride a bit too scary. She did enjoy the Country Bear Jamboree, clapping and jumping along as the audio-animatronic bears sang—though she thought they were real bears and even expressed concern about the three animals hanging on the wall. Robin assured his daughter that Max, Buff and Melvin were all happy where they were and always had company, which appeased her.
Regina managed to stay mostly dry when they rode Splash Mountain, though Roland somehow came off soaked. She figured he would dry off even without the sun, though she did worry when he ended up shivering when they rode Pirates of the Caribbean due to the air conditioning on the ride. Robin held his son close, trying to warm him up as they watched Captain Jack Sparrow hide from the pirates as they plundered and pillaged a town.
As they walked around the park, they found more picture opportunities. By the time the night was over and the park was about to close, all but Robin had gotten pictures with the villain they were dressed as. The poor cast member playing Maleficent didn't know how to respond when Robyn told her she didn't look like the real Maleficent, causing Regina to have to step in and smooth things over. Roland was old enough to know not to mention all their real identities but after his picture with Captain Hook he did beg to send it to their Hook to tease him about his cartoon counterpart's appearance. Regina was very proud of him for that. Henry was able to get a picture with Jafar in Adventureland, right in front of Aladdin's Flying Carpets, and they spotted the Evil Queen as they returned to Fantasyland to ride a few things one last time before heading back to the hotel. Regina posed with the Queen before pulling Robin in to join her, including a shot where he "romanced" the Disney version of the Evil Queen while Regina stood off to the side acting annoyed.
"I'm sorry they don't have the Sheriff of Nottingham out for you to take a picture with," she said as they headed back to Storybook Circus. She took his hand and laced their fingers together.
He shrugged. "That's okay. I'd rather take a picture with the Evil Queen over the Sheriff any day of the week."
She rolled her eyes but smiled as they once again went through the queue for Dumbo. Henry and Roland each took their own elephant while Robyn rode with Regina and Robin. She sat in between them, happily making their elephant go up and down as they flew through the air in lazy circles.
Robin reached over and wrapped his arm around Regina's shoulders. "So, are you still annoyed about being at Disney World?"
"It's still a little too much faith, trust and pixie dust for my taste," she started before smiling. "But I've enjoyed all the time we've spent together. So no, I'm not annoyed. I'm actually enjoying myself."
"Good," he said, leaning over to kiss her. With the castle shining behind them, it was oddly romantic and Regina almost felt like a princess in a Disney movie.
Her story, though, was much better.