Hey guys. So you may have noticed I took down the story I was working on last fall. Honestly, I completely lost my muse for it and just couldn't get the next chapter finished without becoming extremely frustrated. So I just gave it up. I know that's not a good habit to start, but I promise it's not a habit I'm going to keep up. Anyways, I hope this one makes up for any disappointment. I'm pretty proud of how this turned out so I hope you all will to. I'm just planning on this being a one-shot, but I'm open to continuing it if there is enough interest.
Alrighty, I'll stop rambling.
Like always, I do not own Once or it's characters. I only own this plot.
The halls were dark, cold, and eerily silent, more so than usual. Her eyes stayed fixed on the ground as she took small amounts of comfort to each click her heels made as the former queen walked down the stone corridor. She pulled her cloak closer to her body to fight off as much of the cold as she could, but it was doing little good. As she looked up slightly to avoid running into anything, she saw a small shadow at the end of the hall just as it moved quickly out of sight. Regina's brow furrowed in confusion as she called out to the stranger, halting her movements. "Hello?" Her voice was softer than she had meant it to be and mentality kicked herself for sounding weak.
When no answer came, she walked forward with more urgency and called again, this time more forcefully. "Who's there?" As she rounded the corner the shadow had disappeared behind, she watched as it quickly duck behind a table, nearly knocking over the vase in the process. A fireball formed in her hand as she moved quietly towards the intruder. Holding her hand up in position to throw the fire, she saw his face clearly as his hands shot out in front of himself in a worthless attempt of protection.
"Please don't hurt me!" he cried in a small voice. Regina squinted as she tried to focus on the face in front of her. His curly brown hair shook as his tiny body trembled. His eyes were deep brown and full of terror. Despite the scared look on his face, she could clearly see the small dimples on his cheek. Bending down to his level, she realized she knew this boy's face. This was Robin Hood's son. Roland, if she was correct.
Quickly extinguishing the fireball in her hand, she reached for him as he pulled himself further into the corner, away from her. She sighed and scooted herself closer to him. "Roland? Honey, it's okay. It's me. It's Regina." Realization flooded his face and he threw himself into her arms.
"Gina!" he yelled as he held her tightly.
Regina hugged him and placed a comforting kiss on the top of his head. "Roland," she said as she put the boy at arm's length, "what are you doing out of bed? It's the middle of the night."
Roland smiled widely at her and clapped his hand in front of his face. "I'm looking for Henry!"
Suddenly taken aback by his words, she shook her head and frowned. "Henry who, Roland?"
"Your son, silly!" He covered his mouth with his hand as he giggled at her. Regina looked intensely at him, confused by what he had just said. "Oh, Gina!" he said, suddenly throwing himself at her again, "I was so scared before you found me!"
Regina tried to comprehend what she was hearing but she only became more confused. How would Roland know about Henry? Why had he thought it was a good idea to go looking for him in a dark castle in the middle of the night?
"Mom?" Her thoughts were cut short as an all too familiar voice spoke from behind her. Her body tensed and her eyes went wide. Spinning quickly around on her heels to find the source of the voice, she saw him standing tall with tear stains on his cheeks. Her little boy. Her son whom she feared she would never see again.
"Henry?" she asked in a voice that was barely over a whisper. Shaking her head a small smile started forming on her lips and she took a step towards him. "How are you-"
"You replaced me?" he accused. His thick and hoarse, like he had just run ten miles.
"Henry, no. Roland was just scared and I would never be able to replace you. You are my son." She took another step towards him and reached out her hand to pull him into a hug.
Henry took a step away from Regina, as if he were afraid of her. "No," he said sternly, "Emma was right. You're not my mom. She is."
Pain flashed across Regina's face as she felt her heart beat faster. Tears began pricking at the back of her eyes and she tried her best to keep them at bay, knowing they would not help her in this situation. "Henry, please. I am you mother. I raised you, helped you with homework, cooled you fevers, calmed your nightmares. That was all me. I love you."
Henry shook his head. "And where are you now?" The coldness in his voice stunned her. "Hugging and loving on another little boy when you should be trying to find me. You should be missing me!"
"Henry, I do miss you! Everyday!" Tears began falling freely as she spoke, the pain showing plainly in her eyes. "I'm doing my best to get back to you! Please, trust me." Once again, she extended her arm towards him and took a step forward.
He stepped back and put up a hand in her direction, silently telling her to stop. He looked into her eyes and without flinching told her, "I don't love you."
A loud breath of pain and disbelief came from her mouth as she looked for any sign of a lie. When she saw none, she felt her chest tighten as breathing became harder. "Henry, please -"
"I hate you! Don't even bother trying to find me. Just abandon me like you do with everyone else. Snow, the man with the lion tattoo, your father!" Henry screamed at her; his words echoing in her head.
Giving it one last try, she moved towards him with an extended hand. Had she taken another two steps, she would have been touching him. "Henry, I love you."
She saw his jaw clench before he plunged his hand into his chest and took out his heart. It was bright red, unflawed by darkness. "I loved you once. But not anymore. I could never love a monster like you."
She watched as he held the delicate organ in his hand and squeezed it gently. "Henry," she said in a panic, "what are you doing? Put that back." She took a step back and raised her hands in front of herself in surrender.
"You should have been better. Now you will lose everything. You doomed yourself and everyone around you. Including me. All because you weren't strong enough to resist the darkness." His hand squeezed his heart until it was nothing but a pile of ashes falling to the ground, soon followed by himself.
"No! Henry!" Regina shot up in bed, clutching her sheets as her knuckles turned white. Her heart was beating wildly and sweat covered her from head to toe, causing her nightdress to cling to her skin. She looked around the room for a moment as she tried to calm her breathing but she was only met with more confusion. It took her a moment to realize she was in the Enchanted Forest, and more specifically, her castle.
Pulling her knees closer to her chest, she hugged them, hoping to hold herself together and keep from breaking further. Tears flowed down her cheeks as her dream replayed over and over again in her head. Henry was lost to her. He was in New York with Emma, without any memory of her.
Regina looked out her balcony and saw it was still dark. Sighing, she let herself fall back to the mattress and stared up at her ceiling. She knew there was no way she would be able to get back to sleep. With a grunt of frustration, she rolled over in defeat. The chilly night air sent goose bumps over the length of her body as she swung her feet over the side of her bed, placing them on the stone floor.
Deciding she needed a drink, preferably something a little stronger than coffee, she grabbed her robe and threw it over her shoulders. With a quick flick of her wrist, she lit the candle on her night stand and walked through the servant's corridors to get to the kitchen more quickly, wanting to avoid bumping into anyone that could have been awake at this ungodly hour of the night. As she walked, she steered her thoughts away from Henry and towards this new witch who seemed certain she could destroy the Evil Queen's live. Regina chuckled darkly and hugged her robe closer to her. If this witch thought even for a moment she could actually win this fight, she had another thing coming for her. She might be wicked, but Regina was evil, and evil had always been more powerful.
As she got to the kitchen, she set down her candle on the center table and walked towards the back where the alcohols were kept. Searching through the bottles, she decided on the last of the Sunset Rum. She hated the taste of it, but would gladly welcome the burning in her throat if it meant she could forget her dream. Regina lifted the bottle up to her face and squinted to see the liquid despite the darkness of the room. "Is your night really that awful?" Despite the softness of the voice that came from behind her, she reflexively jumped and span on her heals, dropping the bottle of rum to the floor in the process. As the glass shattered in every direction, she felt her feet inevitably being cut and scratched before being burned by the alcohol.
Trying to move away before she could be injured further, Regina jumped forward only to trip over her feet and send herself falling in the man's direction. His arms quickly wrapped around her waist and held her up as she regained her balance to keep her from tumbling to the floor much like the alcohol. Once she could stand on her own, she pushed against his chest, putting a good few feet's distance between them. "What the hell are you doing?" she yelled at him, forming a fireball in her hand.
He raised his hands in front of himself in surrender. "A simple thank you would suffice, milady."
Anger flashed across her face as she realized who he was. Robin Hood. Extinguishing the fame in her hand, she pushed past him to where she left her candle on the table. "And just why would I be thanking you? You caused me to drop my drink, make a huge mess, get glass in my feet, and fall over. If anything, you should be apologizing to me." Summoning her magic, more lit candles appeared in a line along the table.
"Well, then, Your Majesty. I apologize for causing you to drop your drink and cut your feet. However, I did catch you when you fell. So, I do believe you do owe me a thank you," he said.
Crossing her arms, she cocked an eyebrow at him. "I don't think so. Clean up this mess."
"And how exactly do you expect me to do that?" the thief questioned as he copied the queen's stance. Smiling smugly, Regina flicked her wrist and a broom appeared in his hand. Furrowing his brow in confusion he studies the object he was now holding. "If I'm not mistaken, you are the one who dropped the bottle, therefore, you made the mess. Shouldn't you be the one to clean it up?" he stated as he pushed the broom in her direction, not expecting her to take it, but enjoying the huff of disbelieve and utter annoyance that flashed across her face.
"You were sneaking up behind me and made me drop it. That means it is your fault and your mess to clean."
Giving up the losing battle, Robin huffed began sweeping the floor in an attempt to gather all the glass into a neat pile. The clear liquid, however, shushed out further from the glass the more he tried to contain it. Growing with impatience, he momentary stopped his work and stared at the mess, wishing he could just poof it away. He heard a quiet chuck come from behind him and turned to glare at its source. "Couldn't you clean this up with your magic?" he accused.
"Yes, well," she said with a raise of one perfectly arched eyebrow, "What would be the fun in that?" A malicious smile spread across her lips, sending shivers down Robin's spine. "Besides, they didn't call me the Evil Queen for nothing, Dear."
"Oh, well now, I don't really see the evil monarchy from this point of view. Bold and audacious, perhaps. Most certainly beautiful. And even more so, stubborn. But not evil." He smiled crookedly in her direction and her face flushed with light shades of red and pink. She quickly turned her head down in a vain attempt to hide her embarrassment for him before flicking her wrist, causing the mess to clean itself. Looking back to the now spotless ground, Robin smiled and gave a light chuckle. "Thank you for sparing me the trouble, Your Majesty."
"Regina." Confused by what she meant, he cocked his head to the side and squinted in confusion. She let out a small cough, hoping it would ease some of the tension and continued with "I prefer just Regina. I never wanted to be the queen. So the formalities are not necessary."
Robin smiled at her, putting the dimples he shared with his son on full display. "Okay, just Regina. What do you say I treat you to a proper drink. I promise I will not cause you to drop this one too."
Regina rolled her eyes but allowed herself to smile at the ridiculousness of the situation. "Fine, thief. But only because I came down her with the intention of getting a drink and I refuse to leave before I've gotten what I want." She lifted her chin into the air and pulled out one of the chairs that surrounded the center table to take a seat.
Robin rolled his eyes. He walked back to the bottles and began shifting through them. "Alright, milady. What are you feeling?"
"Whatever's strongest." She studied her hands, trying to keep her eyes away from the thief's stare. The cups clanked together and he removed them from the cupboard. Regina listened as he poured the liquid into each of them.
As he walked closer to her, she could feel his eyes studying her. "That bad huh?"
She responded only with a raise of her eyebrows. She thanked him quietly as he set the cup down in front of her and took the seat to her right. Lifting the cup to her lips, she let the entirety of the bitter liquid run down her throat, leaving a burning trail in its wake.
Robin's eyes furrowed in concern as he watched her down her drink. "Woah, there. Nothing can be that bad. Slow down or I'll be carrying you up to your room after you pass out."
Regina shook her head and looked into the bottom of her cup. "My eleven-year old son is in another realm with no memory of who I am," she said with a monotone voice as she poured herself another glass, "I haven't been able to sleep since I got here due to the nightmares, and to top it all off, Snow and her dear husband are running me ragged trying to find some way to destroy the sister I didn't know I had until three days ago. And I'm dealing with all of this while living in the one place that has always felt like a prison to me. Now I dare you to tell me that what I'm dealing with is 'not that bad' one more time and that I don't need this drink or the next or the next after that."
Robin sat in silence, taking in everything she had said and tried to think of the appropriate response that wouldn't make her angrier or stressed than she already was. He settled with a quick, "I'm sorry. I hadn't realized."
Regina felt herself relax slightly in her chair as she finished her second glass, glad it wasn't quite as bitter as the first. Taking in the thief's hunched shoulders, she took on a bit of pity towards him. He had just come down for a drink and accidentally ran into an angry queen. "It's not your fault," she said with a sigh, "and I'm sorry about the whole mess earlier. That wasn't completely your fault." She couldn't help the little smirk that pulled at the corners of her lips as he scoffed.
A grin appeared on his lips as he looked over to her. "Thank you for understanding and not charring me to a crisp." He placed his hand over his chest and bowed in mock gratefulness, bringing Regina to let out a quiet laugh as well. It wasn't a full-blown laugh, but Robin felt his lips pull up in an involuntary smile nevertheless.
"I don't know if it's the alcohol, but you really aren't that bad, thief," she said as she reached for the bottle of rum only to have it moved further away by said outlaw. "Hey. I just gave you a compliment and now you're not allowing me to have another drink?"
"Milady, the fact that you gave me the compliment is the reason I'm depriving you of another drink." One of his eyebrows raised in accusation and she pouted her lower lip.
"That's not fair," she said quietly.
Rolling his eyes, Robin took another quick drink of his rum and turned to her. "Regina, I know what fairness is. Trust me. When you wake up in the morning with only a minor headache, you'll see that I am being more than fair."
Regina huffed and sat back in her chair, crossing her arms like an upset child. After a few moments she let her eyes drift in his direction and saw he wasn't paying her any mind. She turned in her chair until she was facing him fully. Careful not to startle him, she lightly placed a hand on his knee and slowly moved it up to his thigh. With a guarded expression, he turned his head in her direction. "Regina? What are you doing?"
"What do you mean?" she questioned innocently as she stood and pulled him up from his seat, nearly pressing herself against him as she grabbed his shoulders with more force than she had initially intended.
"I don't think so. You are drunk. I think you need to take yourself up to bed," he said as he gently grabbed her arms, putting some distance between her and himself.
She pulled her hands free from his to place them on his arms and pulled herself closer to him again. "Why don't you take me to bed, thief. I seem to remember you saying something about carrying me earlier." Her hands traced up his arms until they were resting at the nape of his neck, twisting the ends of his hair between her fingers. Regina rose up on her toes to close the distance between them only to be pushed back down by Robin.
"Regina, I'm warning you. You need to go up to bed, by yourself, right now," he said sternly as he pulled her hands away from his neck and pinned them to her sides.
She pulled her hands out of his grasp and quickly reached around him for the bottle of rum. Raising it to her lips, she smiled smugly at him and took a large gulp of the liquid. "Really? All of that just so you could get to the rum? I was about to call for back up or something."
Regina shrugged her shoulders and took another big swig of the liquid. "I'm not that drunk. My alcohol tolerance is fairly high thank you very much." Robin rolled his eyes and sat back down in his chair. "Awe come on. Robin, I was only joking." She felt her smile fall from her face as she realized he was avoiding all eye contact with her. With a huff she sat back in her seat and blurted out an apologetic "Look, I'm sorry. That was completely out of line," before placing the bottle back on the table.
They sat in silence for a moment before Regina decided she was finished for the night. She began to stand but was stopped by a hand on her arm. She furrowed her eyes at him in confusion as he too stood. "Why don't you let me walk you to your room." Seeing she was about to object, the thief raised a hand to stop her. "Look I know you are more than capable of protecting yourself and you really aren't that drunk, but I would feel a lot better if you would let me walk with you. I'll follow ten feet behind you if you prefer or whatever but-"
"Robin." She smiled softly at him before pulling her arm out of his grasp. "That would be fine. But I'm only agreeing to this because I know you will be following me anyways."
He gave her a small smile and bowed, waving a hand to his side and towards the door, indicating for her to lead the way. Regina rolled her eyes and walk out of the kitchen. Once again, she headed through the servant corridor, this time with an once wanted criminal walking next to her.
"So," she said in an attempt to break the silence, "Why did you and your men decide to come with us?"
Robin shrugged his shoulder. "Mostly for safety purposes. With a witch threatening to create total chaos and turn us all into those blasted flying monkeys, it is safer for us to stay in a large castle rather than in tents in the middle of the forest." He paused for a moment before chuckling, "Also, it is nice to have a good meal every day that consists of more than five rabbits and a few vegetables that have to be evenly distributed amongst more than a dozen adult men and a four-year old little boy."
"Point taken," Regina said with pursed lips, "At the end of the day, our children come first."
A frown pulled at her lips as she stared intensely at the end of the hallway, lost in thought. "What is he like? Your son?" He chose his words carefully, knowing something as simple as referring to him in pass tense rather than present could inevitably cause her more pain.
Regina smiled as images of her son played through her mind. "Henry is incredibly smart and brave, and loves with everything he has. Something he obviously inherited from his grandparents. He believes there is good in everyone, even the Evil Queen." She sent a smirk in his direction. "If anyone were to be in trouble, no matter what danger he could possibly be facing, he would be the first one to offer his help, even before Snow or Charming." She couldn't help but laugh as her thought led to more precious moments they shared. Robin reveled in the sound of it, swearing to himself he would make an effort to make her laugh more often. "Once, when he was very little, about five or six, he took it upon himself to give me breakfast in bed. The best he could do at the time was a piece of toast. He burnt it to a crisp and then slapped five spoons full of jelly on top to cover up the black." She giggled again and Robin couldn't help but join her, even if he didn't understand the entirety of the story. "It tasted awful, but I ate it all anyways, mostly because he was sitting on my bed watching me eat it and asking how it tasted with every bite I took." Finally, she turned her head in his direction and gave him a small, sad grin. "I would give anything to have that moment back, to have him back." As a tear involuntarily rolled down her cheek, she turned her head from him and quickly wiped it away.
Without giving it much thought, Robin laced his fingers through hers and gave her hand a slight squeeze for encouragement. "Regina, I know what it's like to lose someone you love. When Marian died, I thought that was it for me. I wouldn't take care of Roland, and it wasn't because I blamed him, but because I couldn't find it in myself to be happy. I was fortunate enough to be able to find happiness in Roland. I understand you don't have that here, but I want you to know you can always come to me if you need anything. And I mean anything. If you need to yell, cry, hit something even," he said with a chuckle and gained one from her in response, "I'll be here. You shouldn't have to go through this alone."
Regina felt a lump forming in her throat so she simply nodded her head and whispered, "Thank you." Looking down at their joined hands, she carefully pulled hers free from his. Coughing to clear her throat, she nodded towards her room with a small smile. "My room is just at the end of this hall. I think I can handle myself the rest of the way."
"Right, then," Robin said as he took a step away from her. He took her hand in his to kiss her knuckles and bowed. "I look forward to the day we will meet again."
Regina mocked his bow with one of her own as she grinned back at him. "As do I, thief."
Placing his hand over his chest, Robin stood straight as he feigned pain. "Your mockery harms me, Your Majesty," he stated with a dramatic throw of his head.
"Oh, my apologies," Regina played along, laughing, "would a kiss make it all better?" Their laughed died down as realization of what she said hit her. The tension between them grew thicker with each passing second, causing the Queen to take another step back and point towards her room. "I should probably get going. Lots of meetings and research to deal with tomorrow," she said sheepishly.
"Right," Robin nodded, "I'll let you go then."
Regina nodded back. "Goodnight, Robin."
"Goodnight, Regina," he stated before he rounded the corner, heading back towards his room.
Watching after him for a moment, she shook her head at herself knowing she would regret the entirety of the night when the sun came up in the morning. Walking to her room, Regina yawned widely as she realized how tired she had become. Her room was as quiet and still as she had left it, bed sheets thrown over the side, cool summer air blowing in through the balcony. She placed her candle back on the night stand before crawling back into her bed and pulling the covers to her neck. Closing her eyes, she took deep breathes and stretched to relax her body back into a natural sleeping position. A small grin graced her lips as she slipped into the first dreamless sleep she'd had since escaping Pan's curse.
Should I continue? Please let me know your thoughts in the comments. You guys are real gems! Love you lots! Mwah!