Regina curls her fingers against the bronze handle to the tavern door, the cool metal burning against her palm. I can do this, I can be happy. Her chocolate brown eyes close for a moment, her shoulders lifting in a nervous sigh before dropping back down to their normal position; and then she's opening the door. She's met with loud shouts and the wafting smell of sweat and burnt meat, causing her to wrinkle her nose. She wasn't one to be called prim or proper, but this, this was disgusting. Of course I'd find my soul mate in her. The queen rolls her eyes with a quick sigh before scanning the dirty little tavern. Her eyes dart from person to person, desperately searching for him, for her last chance at happiness and freedom. No, no, no. He can't be gone! Her face became desperate, her head swiveling from side to side searching, desperately longing for the sight of the black inked lion. He was gone. Regina's mouth fell open, her eyes sank to her feet, staring at the dirty white shoes that encased them. She would have to return to the king and be forever trapped in the castle, in the binds of a loveless marriage. She let a single tear roll down her rosy cheeks.

"Pardon me, m'lady, but it's strange to see a beautiful woman such as yourself in a place as..." the voice behind her paused, as if the owner was pondering the right word to use in his mind, "well, in a place as repugnant as this. Are you alright?" The voice was thick with an accent that Regina found purely intoxicating and, yet, it carried a kindness with it that the queen had not heard in a long time. Her eyes remained downcast as she turned to face the man who seemed to be so concerned for her. A gasp caught in her throat. The tattoo! Pulling her eyes from the inky lion emblazoned on the man's arm, Regina found herself swimming in the deep depths of his blue eyes. "I- I um- yes- no I mean yes, but no- but um- I jus-" her words were lost, her thoughts jumbled from the sight of the lion tattoo. The sight of my freedom. The man laughed, a kind laugh. Not the laugh of her mother when she pleaded to choose her own love, or the harsh laugh of Leopold when she had requested the freedom to venture from the dank castle to the beautiful towns beyond. No. This laugh was filled with kindness and was accompanied with a smile so genuine it made her heart melt. It was the kind shared between friends, the kind that developed bonds and brought happiness and more laughter. Before she knew it, she wore a grin of her own, lighting up her features.

"Robin of Locksley at your service." The man- no Robin- stuck out his hand, urging Regina to shake it. With her jumbled thoughts now collected from her brief spell of excited confusion, she gripped his hand in a gentle, polite shake.

"Regina." His eyes widened a bit at the mention of her name. Another wave of confusion hit Regina before she remembered. I'm the queen… of course he doesn't want to be near me. But then Robin was smiling again. Regina felt her knees turn into stumbling jell-o, she was already in love with that smile.

"Well, your majesty, it's both an honor and a pleasure to be in your presence." He gave a slight bow, never breaking their eye contact and his intoxicating smile never faltering.

"As it is a pleasure to be in the presence of you Robin of Locksley." Regina returned his smile and, with it, a small curtsey. And there it was again, that contagious laugh of his; but he wasn't laughing at her, but with her.

"Well, your majesty, I've heard many a tale of the kind and powerful queen."

"As I have heard the dashing stories of the great prince of thieves." His blue eyes widened again. A giggle escaped from Regina, "I know exactly who you are, Robin Hood." And it was the moment she had laid eyes his handsome face, she had recognized him. His face graced many wanted posters throughout the kingdom. "It's alright. I'm actually quite fond of thieves." Regina raised her eyebrows, a flirtatious smirk pulling at the edges of her lips. Robin returned her look with one as equally, if not more, flirtatious.

"Again, I must ask that you forgive me for wondering, your majesty, but if you are married to the king, then why isn't he accompanying you to this…" he trailed off, "to this place?"

Regina's smile fell immediately at the mention of her husband. "Just because I am married does not mean I choose it, nor that I am happy with it." Her tone had grown harsh and 's face fell to match her own.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to trouble you." Regina dared a glance back into his eyes. They were swimming in sadness and something else. Rejection. Someone actually feels rejected by me.

"No, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have grown harsh with you. It's just that I don't feel married, I feel trapped." Her eyes burned with the effort of holding in tears that she was so desperately trying to hide. Regina watched as Robin's calloused hand gently reached for hers and entwined with her smaller, thinner fingers. She broke her gaze from their entwined hands to look up into his soft eyes.

"Follow me." It was a request, not a command. He was asking her to do something, not demanding. He was the exact opposite of her husband. While Leopold was cold and indifferent to her, Robin was caring and kind.

"Where are we going?" It was a simple question.

"Well, I don't exactly enjoy talking surrounded my smelly, loud brutes. Do you?" Robin smiled as he finished his explanation. Regina returned the smile with an additional laugh.

"Not at all." Regina replied, "wait."

The prince of thieves glanced back at the queen. "Just wait one second." She hadn't noticed it, but the entire time she had spent talking to him, talking to her soul mate, she had been absentmindedly tugging at the tight wedding wing that clung tightly to her ring finger. With a deep sigh, Regina clutched at the ring, her nails grasping at the constricting gold. With a few determined twists, the ring slid off her finger and fell into the palm of her hand. Glancing up at Robin, she explained, "I don't need this anymore." He smiled at her and she returned with her own smile, a smile full of the joy of freedom and the life that she was only just now beginning to live. "Goodbye Leopold. This my life, not yours." She placed the ring onto a nearby table before she picked it up again. "You know what? It doesn't even deserve to be on the table." Her voice was mixed with mocking laughter, mocking Leopold. Holding the ring between her index finger and her thumb as if it was a roach needing to be disposed of, she dropped it into a nearby mug of whisky. She watched as the gold band twisted and turned in the amber liquid, the diamond glinting against the light. When it finally settled on the bottom Regina took a deep breath. I'm free! "C'mon! Let's go!" Regina laced her fingers in between Robin's once more, an excited smile playing at her features.

Robin trekked forward towards the wooden door, his fingers still gently tangled with hers. A warmth spread up her arm, spreading from where his finger encased hers until she felt safe, she felt like nobody could hurt her. When Regina shook her head and brought herself back to full consciousness, Robin had already fought their way out of the tavern and onto the winding cobblestone street. Regina looked up at his face. She followed his gaze until her eyes found what he was gazing at. Up the road sat a gentle sloping hill covered in thick soft grass and centered on the top, illuminated by the moonlight, was a single apple tree.

"C'mon!" Regina's excitement took over her and she was dragging Robin down the rocky street towards the lonely apple tree. She was so lost in her own inner excitement that she was shocked when the hard cobblestone turned to soft grass. Regina twisted on her heel on instinct as her body tried to recover from the sudden change in terrain, her balance immediately lost and, with a shocked gasp, she toppled forward onto the soft hill, dragging a confused Robin with her.

Somehow, Robin was the first to hit the ground. He landed with a pained grunt on his back, he gave another grunt of pain as Regina toppled on top of him.

"I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to do that!" Regina pushed up off of him, her arms still a little weak from collapsing. Her elbows burned with the pain of slamming into the ground with the added pressure of holding her body up. She collapsed again on top of the thief. Scrambling to regain her composure, the queen pushed up until she hovered over Robin. She was preparing to push off of him using her arm so she would roll sideways and off of her soul mate instead of landing on top of him once more, when her gaze caught his. Her face hovered over his own, a mere few inches away. She could feel his warm breath against her face, her own gasping breaths mixed with his. Her mouth fell open, lost for words. What do you even say in this type of situation? Sorry I fell on you, but I don't regret it. I'm kind of already falling in love with you so… Regina's thoughts blurred together until she became lost in her own little world of thought. What do I say? What do I do? I'm so stupid! I never should have left the castle! He hates me now… Regina's eyes flitted desperately over Robin's face, searching for something, some kind of emotion, but she was too lost in her own thoughts to think about anything else. Her mother's voice drowned out her thoughts and suffocated her mind. Love is weakness, Regina. He doesn't love you. Her breaths quickened, her eyes widening in pain and sadness. What if her mother was right? No. My mother doesn't decide my fate. I do. Regina blinked her panicked eyes. Once. Twice. Three times, until they were finally focused on Robin's face still only mere inches from hers. How long had she been thinking to herself? Not long apparently because Robin's blue eyes were still trained on hers, his eyes never breaking from her confused face.

"Robin?"

"Yes?"

"Do you remember when I said just because I was married doesn't mean I'm happy?"

"Yes, of course."

Regina took in a deep breath and shut her brown eyes gently, closing the space between them. Her lips fell against his softly and, for a moment, panic set in when he did not respond. The fear pounding in her head was soon joined by her mother's harsh voice. He doesn't love you. But then his lips are moving against hers. Regina sighs gently, never breaking the kiss. She doesn't know how long they stay there, just that she never wants it to end, never wants to return to the dank and dark castle. She wants to stay here in Robin's warm embrace. Finally, Regina is the first to pull away. Her eyes desperately searching, her ears carefully waiting for him to become angry. Waiting for rejection. But he isn't angry, he doesn't reject her. He wraps her arms around her, pulling her closer. Suddenly her eyes are tired, her eyelids drooping.

"Robin?"

"Hmm?"

"I don't want to go back to the castle. I don't want to leave this."

"Then don't."