The Land Without Magic

MackenzieW

A/N: This is the sequel to my Outlaw Queen/Outlander hybrid "All That Was Me." I would encourage you all to read that first if you haven't. Thanks!

Disclaimer: I do not own Robin, Regina, Roland or Emma. They belong to Adam and Eddy. I'm just playing with them for now.

We were strangers on a crazy adventure
Never dreaming how our dreams would come true
Now here we stand, unafraid of the future
At the beginning with you

("At the Beginning," Anastasia)

Chapter 1: Homecoming

I never wanted to be famous. My mother did. She wanted people to know her name, to envy her. To have the magazines and gossip columns talking about where she went, who she spent time with, what she wore, and all that. Mother wanted to rub elbows with the rich and powerful in hopes that she could share in some of their power.

When she realized my father wasn't going to be the mover and shaker she had thought and she was limited to just a small social circle in upper class society, Mother turned her attentions to me. She wanted me to achieve the celebrity she never did. But I wanted everything she didn't—my own career, a loving husband, two point five children, the white picket fence, a dog and anonymity. And I managed to get that once I severed my ties to her.

Yet celebrity found me because on June 20, 1982, I walked into Sherwood Forest for a fairy hunt and was not seen again until October 23, 1983. I was picked up by a father coming back from a camping trip with his son and brought to the nearest hospital. There, it was determined I was two months pregnant and I had come in with a newborn baby I had rescued from the side of the road. The American public was going to love my story. Especially once they learned that I had told the hospital staff another man was my husband and I had sent my real one away when he came to be reunited. It was heartwarming and scandalous all at once, making the "Regina Mills Story" the next big thing no doubt.

"Who are those people gathered outside?" Robin asked, coming to stand by me. We both stared out the window in my hospital room, watching as reporters lurked around the entrance to the hospital.

I sighed, letting the curtain fall back into place. "Vultures. I'd rather face Zelena's flying monkeys than them."

"I doubt they're that bad," Robin said, leading me back to my bed where Roland played with his wooden animals. As I sat down on the bed, Robin sat in the chair he had slept in. He held my hands, rubbing them.

"Oh, they are that bad. Who knows what they are going to say about me, about you, about Roland?" I glanced over at the boy. "I don't want them anywhere near him."

"Then we'll protect him. Together. And I'll protect you if they are that bad."

I smiled, leaning forward to kiss Robin. He pulled me onto his lap and I melded against his body. Robin's heart beat under the hand I placed on his chest, the heart I had held only hours earlier. We exchanged a few more languid kisses as my other hand snaked to the back of his neck. His arms tightened around me as one hand caressed my back.

Loud knocking broke us apart and sent Roland scrambling under the covers. I hopped off Robin's lap as Daniel stood in the doorway, glaring at us. "Good morning," I said.

"Well, it's morning," Daniel said, walking into the room. "I'm not sure how good it is yet."

He and Robin glared at each other as I turned my attentions to Roland. Lifting the blankets, I found him curled up on the bed. He watched me with tear-filled brown eyes. "Can you make the scary man go away?"

"He's a friend of mine," I told him. "And I need to talk to him because I've been away for a very long time."

Lucy burst into the room, panting. Her coat hung open, revealing a silk blouse and black skirt underneath, and her dark hair was pinned back into a bun. Except for the fact she couldn't catch her breath, she looked the picture of poise and sophistication as always. It was comforting to see.

She glared at Daniel. "I told you to wait for me."

"I didn't want to leave Regina with this man a second longer." Daniel stared down Robin, who balled his fists tighter.

I sighed, motioning for Lucy to come over. She did, giving me a hug. "What do you need me to do?" she asked in a whisper.

"Can you take care of Robin and Roland for me while I talk to Daniel? It's probably best if we have some privacy."

Lucy nodded and I leaned down to talk to Roland. "This is my friend Lucy. She's going to take you and your papa to get some breakfast, okay?"

"Will you still be here when I come back?" Roland's voice shook and broke my heart. He had been through so much change in such a short time, no wonder he was afraid to let me out of his sight.

I nodded. "I'll be right here, waiting for you. Okay?"

"Okay," he said, voice small.

Straightening up, I turned to Robin. He and Daniel were almost nose-to-nose, glaring at each other. I sighed, placing my hand on Robin's arm. "Hey, can I talk to you for a moment?"

He nodded, following me toward the bed. I kept my hand on his arm, assuring him and myself. "Look, Daniel deserves an explanation. And I think it's best if I give it to him alone. So why don't you and Roland go get something to eat while I do that. Okay?"

Robin shot a glance at Daniel and I turned his head to look at me again. "It's Daniel. He's not going to hurt me nor is he going to carry me off. You trust me, right?"

"Of course." He lifted my hand, resting it over his heart. I understood his meaning and stood to give him a quick peck.

He picked up Roland and, with one last glance at me, followed Lucy out of the room. I watched him leave, fiddling with my robe as he left my sight.

"You know, I often imagined how our reunion would go," Daniel said, voice low. I closed my eyes as tears filled them as he continued. "I never imagined that I'd find you cuddling a young boy and kissing another man. That you wouldn't be happy to see me or that you would send me away."

I nodded. "I know. And I know it's a mess."

"A mess?" Daniel slammed his hand on the table. "That's all you can call this? A mess?"

"What do you want me to call it?"

He ran a hand through his brown hair. "I don't know."

"Why don't we sit down?" I motioned to the chair Robin had slept on and Daniel took it, remaining on the very edge though. I sat on the bed, folding my hands on my lap. "How did you know I was here? I didn't use your name or information."

Daniel frowned. "I know. But the hospital staff was alarmed by what the man who found you said so they called the cops. The cops recognized your name and contacted me. Lucy and I jumped in the car as fast as we could, driving up here."

"Oh."

"In fact, they're coming here today to talk to you," he continued.

I figured that was going to happen. Robin and I had talked early this morning, coming up with a story to tell the authorities. "I know lying is probably against your honor code, but this world is vastly different from yours," I had told him.

He nodded. "I understand. If this is for the best, I can do it."

Now, it appeared time to test if our story would hold up. "Do you want me to tell you everything before the police come?" I asked Daniel.

"No. I'll let you tell the story once. But I have other questions I want you to answer."

"About Robin and Roland?"

Daniel nodded. "Did he kidnap the boy too?"

"Roland is his son," I said, crossing my arms. "And I wasn't kidnapped."

"That's what he's conditioned you to think. I'll get you help. The boy too if he means that much to you." Daniel placed his hands on my arms.

I shook him off. "I haven't been conditioned to believe anything. And Roland is Robin's. He favors his mother."

"And where is she?"

"Dead."

Daniel raised his eyebrow. "Awfully convenient, wouldn't you say?"

"Marian is dead."

"Marian…and Robin? And you met him in Sherwood Forest." Daniel laughed, shaking his head. "Regina, he's playing you. Can't you see that?"

I sighed, knowing I couldn't tell him that Robin really was Robin Hood. My stomach turned and I pressed my hand to my abdomen. This couldn't be good for the baby…nor would telling Daniel about the baby. But it was going to come out sooner than later, I knew.

"Regina? Are you ill?" Daniel frowned. "Should I go fetch a nurse?"

Before I could assure Daniel I was fine, my daughter decided she hadn't liked the breakfast the hospital provided after all. I grabbed the basin as I began throwing up, tears falling from my eyes.

"Okay, I'm definitely going to fetch the nurse." He jumped up. "Wait here."

"No, it's okay. You don't have to get a nurse," I said before retching again.

Daniel stood in front of me, frowning. "You're sick."

"I'm pregnant," I told him.

It looked like the air rushed from and he sagged onto the bed next to me. His eyes clouded with anger and for the first time, I was afraid of him. Maybe I should've let Robin stay after all.

"Did he force himself on you?" Daniel's voice was low and I realized the anger wasn't directed at me, but at Robin.

Anger now coursed through me at his accusations. Robin had always taken his cues from me when it came to our relationship and didn't deserve Daniel's anger. "Of course not. I slept with him willingly."

"Because he kept you to himself. You thought you loved him."

I realized Daniel was grasping onto the Stockholm Syndrome theory as a safety blanket. It was his shield to keep out the truth—I had fallen in love with another man, willing went to Robin's bed and was now carrying his child. But his denial wasn't going to help either me or him, so I took his hand and softened my voice. "No, Daniel. I do love him."

"So you just forgot about me?"

"No, not at all." I took his hand. "I thought about you for a long time. My feelings for Robin grew gradually and our relationship transformed slowly."

He didn't say anything and I nudged him. "I also get the feeling that might be the same for you and Lucy."

"What?" His eyes grew wide and he shook his head. "I don't know what you're talking about."

I rolled my eyes. "Please. I know you, Daniel. And you expect me to believe that when you found out I had been found, you called Lucy over your mother?"

"She's your best friend."

"Still." I then ran a hand over the sleeve of his expensive blue suit. "And while you've always been a good dresser, this outfit screams that Lucy was involved."

He sighed. "We got closer after you disappeared. She got me through some really low times and…well…things changed."

"Are you too seeing each other?"

"We were always together but they started to become dates a few months ago," Daniel said. "But we started sleeping together before that. First it was two people comforting each other and fulfilling a need…"

"And then became something more?"

He nodded before sighing. "Now what?"

"I guess we get lawyers and start divorce proceedings," I said. "It'll be better for everyone involved."

"I guess so."

Knocking disturbed us and we both looked up to find a gentleman in a suit standing in my doorway. He pulled out his badge and introduced himself as FBI. "I have a few questions for you, Mrs. Ahern," he said.

I nodded, motioning to the seat by my bed. "You can sit there if you want."

He thanked me, taking the seat as he pulled out a notepad. "I'll start by saying we're all glad you've been found safe. But now we have some questions. Can you tell me what happened?"

"Wait, wait!" Another man in a suit, this one with graying dark hair, burst into my room. "I am Joseph Thompson, Mrs. Ahern's attorney."

"I didn't call for an attorney." I frowned as I looked him over.

He chuckled, shaking my hand. "You probably don't remember me, but I'm your cousin by marriage. Barbara Mills, you remember her?"

"Cousin Barb! Of course," I said, smiling. She had been my favorite cousin, having been much older and the only one who would call my mother on her bullshit. Barbara had moved away around the time of my parents' divorce and the last time I saw her had been at my wedding to Daniel. She had been one of the few Mills' relations to show up, the few not alienated by Mother's ways.

The agent frowned. "Mrs. Ahern doesn't need an attorney. She's done nothing wrong that we know of."

"I know. But I'd like to stay here for her sake," Joseph insisted.

"Fine," the agent said. "Just try not to make this difficult."

Joseph nodded, leaning down toward me. "If you need anything, I'll be right behind you. Okay?"

I thanked him, turning back to the agent. "What would you like to know?"

"Let's start at the beginning," he said. "We know you went into Sherwood Forest with a Cassandra Sampson and a few other ladies. Mrs. Sampson said they had been arguing about which way to go and when she turned around, she didn't see you. Can you tell me what happened?"

"Of course. I'm afraid I tripped over a root and landed rather hard. I think I may have blacked out for a bit," I said, repeating the story I had spent hours crafting. I continued, explaining that I was disoriented and ended up wandering further into the woods. There, I was found by Robin and taken back to his cabin.

The agent frowned. "He had a cabin in the woods? Why?"

"Robin was part of community that decided to leave society for different reasons," I explained. "His was the violent death of his wife after their son was born."

I continued, saying that even though I remembered who I was, I hesitated to return. "I was still grieving my father. And being with Robin and Roland…well, it didn't hurt as much. So I thought I could just disappear and start a new life with them."

"Then how did you end up in Maine?"

That was a question we hadn't been able to come up with an answer for. Maybe it was time bring out the amnesia defense again. "I don't remember."

"Really, Mrs. Ahern? You expect me to believe that?" the agent asked.

Joseph came to my rescue. "Mrs. Ahern has had a strenuous forty-eight hours and needs her rest. Perhaps you can finish this another time?"

The agent narrowed his eyes but nodded. "Fine. For now."

Once he left, I collapsed onto the bed. Joseph patted my shoulder. "We'll leave you alone for now. I'm going to leave my business card on the nightstand, if you need me."

"Thank you," I murmured, closing my eyes. I felt like I was going to sleep for a hundred years.

When I opened my eyes a couple hours later, Roland was playing with his wooden animals on the empty bed and Robin was back in his chair. He sat up when he noticed I was awake, giving me a soft smile. "How did it go?"

"As well as can be expected." I sat up, stretching. "How about you?"

"The interrogation by that agent wasn't very welcomed, but I managed." He frowned. "I just didn't know how to tell them we got here."

I sighed. "Neither did I. We're going to have to work on that. Unless my cousin can get them to back off."

"He's that powerful?"

"He's a lawyer. They know the ways to do that." Taking his hand in mine, I gave it a tug. "Come on, there's enough room for you."

Robin took off his boots before climbing into bed. We rearranged ourselves until I was lying partially on top of him. As his arm wrapped around me, I let out a content sigh. This was where I belonged.

"What's going to happen with you and Daniel now?" he asked.

"We're going to have to legally end our marriage. I don't think that'll be too hard. I have you, he has Lucy, and I don't think he's going to want to drag this out either." I played with the zipper on his vest. "Whatever kind of relationship we have after is yet to be determined."

He kissed my forehead. "What about us?"

"I still own my father's house. We can move in there, though we'll probably need new furniture. And we need to get more clothing." My mind went into planning mode and I felt more like myself.

Robin chuckled as Roland climbed onto the bed with us. He curled up on his father's chest and watched me. "I'm glad you're still here, Mama."

"Of course I'm still here." I pushed his curls away from his face as I smiled at him. "I am not planning on leaving you, my little knight."

He frowned though. "What about the Queen? Is she still trying to hurt you? Is she going to take you away again?"

"No, Roland. The Queen is far, far away. She can't hurt anyone, especially Mama," Robin said, rubbing my arm. "We're safe here."

I pulled him closer to me. "You know what? After we all get settled in, we can take a trip to New York City."

"Really? Just like from your story? And can we sail there?"

"We won't be able to sail." I leaned down to whisper: "We're going to fly."

Robin's hand stilled its caresses and I could hear his frown in his voice. "But your magic? I thought it was…"

"It's gone. Or suppressed, I'm still not sure which."

"So how are we going to fly?" he asked.

I laughed. "It's something called an airplane. I'll explain how it works later but we can take it to New York. The flight's not even an hour."

"Really?" Robin's eyes were wide and full of awe before he shook his head. "I feel I may never understand everything about this world."

I pushed myself up, laying a hand against his cheek. "I'll be right here to help you navigate it just like you helped me in the Enchanted Forest."

He snaked a hand behind my neck and pulled me down for a kiss. We rested our foreheads together as he smiled. "Then I'm in very good hands."

They kept me one more night as a psychologist came to talk to me. He ruled out Stockholm Syndrome and signed off on my being mentally fit, allowing me to leave the next day. I looked forward to going home and putting all of this behind me.

Barbara came the morning they released me. I was happy to be reunited with my cousin, hugging her tighter. She was still taller than me and still as fit as I remembered her. Her dark hair was shorter and now streaked with gray. Barbara's smile was warm and I felt comfortable being with her again. "It's so good to see you again, Regina," she said.

"You too," I agreed. "We shouldn't have waited so long."

"No, we shouldn't have. And I promise it won't take one of his disappearing for a year-and-a-half to me again." Barbara winked at me as I laughed.

She and Lucy had bought the three of us fresh clothes to change into—especially as I still only had my summer clothing. Barbara also bought a stuffed bear for Roland, which he named Little John after his beloved uncle. The name brought a strange look to Daniel's face and he stared at me until Lucy ushered him out so we could change.

I helped Roland into his new clothes before leaving him holding Little John as he sat on the bed. Robin had pulled the privacy curtain between the two beds and I could hear him changing on the other side.

"Do you need any help?" I stepped past the curtain and placed my new clothes on the bed.

Robin was already in his new jeans but was shirtless was I got there. He shook his head. "Where's Roland?"

"Sitting on the bed. Why?"

"I don't want him to see this." He motioned to his chest. While he had been declared free of new injuries, he still had some fading remnants of Zelena's tortures—yellowing bruises that would be gone in a few days, a few welts almost gone and a few scabs almost healed over.

I ran a finger lightly over one welt. "She can't hurt us anymore," I reminded him softly.

He kissed me, hand coming up to my neck. As I clutched his arms, relishing the feel of his muscles under my fingers, my nightgown loosened. I smiled into the kiss, murmuring my thanks against his lips. I was going to miss him helping me dress and undress each day, his sure and nimble fingers tightening and loosening my laces. Never had I been so grateful that they decided to put zippers in the back.

We finished dressing and Robin took my satchel, shouldering it. My day nurse, who I found less judgmental than my night one, met us with a wheelchair and a bright smile. "Ready?"

I nodded, sitting in the wheelchair before putting Roland on my lap. The nurse let Robin push me, guiding him through the hallways as everyone followed us into the elevator. She looked at us, frowning. "There's a heavy media presence in front of the hospital. Security feels it's best if you go out the back."

The doors opened and the nurse led us to the back exit. A member of the hospital security staff met us, serious. "Some reporters decided to cover all their bases and are out there as well."

"So now what?" Robin asked, placing his hand on my shoulder. I reached up and laid my hand over his, curling my fingers around it.

"The cars are out there," Joseph said. "We'll just have to become a human shield."

I stood, holding Roland close to me. Lucy and Barbara moved to the front as Daniel took my right side. Robin took my left side, allowing him to block Roland as well. He kissed my head as to doors opened.

A roar of voices crashed over me and Roland buried his face in my shoulder, arms tightening around my neck. Robin tensed up beside me, ready to fight to protect us. Joseph, at the back, gave us a little push forward. Reporters lunged at us and all I saw were faces obstructed by cameras, recorders and microphones as they shouted their questions at me.

"Ms. Ahern, is it true you've been living in the woods the entire time?"

"Were you kidnapped? Held prisoner?"

"Mr. Ahern, are you standing by her even though she left you for another man?"

"You! Sir, are you her lover or her kidnapper?"

"Ms. Ahern, are you really pregnant?"

We arrived at Barbara's car and she held the door open. Robin helped me into the car before they closed the door, muffling the questions of the reporters. I sat Roland in the middle, buckling him in as Robin opened the other door. He paused, looking at Daniel before holding out his hand. After a moment's pause, Daniel took it and they shook. Robin climbed in, closing the door behind him. Once he was certain Roland and I were okay, he closed his eyes with a sigh.

Joseph and Barbara climbed into the front seat and she turned to face us, smiling. "You ready to go home to Boston?"

I nodded, leaning back against the seat. "Home sounds wonderful."

A/N: And I'm back! Did you miss me? Or more accurately, did you miss this verse?

For those who didn't get a chance to read the announcement, I know I originally said the sequel was going to be called "Once Upon a Time." That was because, at the time, I thought it would cover the events of the series as Regina helped Emma break the curse. But then I got the new idea, saved Robin from the curse and as I was writing this, I realized I couldn't just go straight to the series proper. So "Once Upon a Time" will now be the third story in the series and this will cover the years leading up to it.

I know some of you have probably also been patiently waiting for "The Life and Times of the Wicked Queen," Zelena's backstory. I am so sorry for the delay but I took one look at the chapter and was embarrassed. It was not up to my standards so I am elbow deep in major rewrites. I hope you all can be a bit more patient.

Well, I guess I'll see everyone next week! If anyone wants to make a cover for this story, message me please—here, Twitter, tumblr, carrier pigeon, whatever. I'd appreciate it.

-Mac