CHAPTER TWO – MANY YEARS AGO
Riding was the only thing that still brought her any sort of happiness. On days where she didn't have her magic lessons with Rumpelstiltskin, or any royal obligations, Regina would take Rocinante out for hours and just enjoy galloping with the wind in her face. It allowed her to momentarily forget what she had to go back to later.
She slowed her horse down by a stream that was in the woods off the field, and dismounted to let him have a drink before continuing on towards home. He whinnied happily as he put his neck down to drink. She stroked his neck and sighed to herself, as she thought of how much Daniel would have enjoyed this ride. Tears began to prick at her eyes as she remembered the joyous look he would get on his face as they would gallop together.
Rocinante raised his head as he finished his drink, and turned to her. He started to nuzzle her with his head a little, as though trying to comfort her.
"Do you miss him too?" she asked the horse. He seemed to nod slightly, although it was probably her imagination.
"I'm going to visit him when I get back," she decided out loud. "And I'll tell him how much we both miss him."
Regina stayed by the water awhile longer before getting back on. As much as going to visit Daniel appealed to her in a weird way, it meant going back to the palace. Her fancy prison.
She let Rocinante walk back, as there was no need to rush. She didn't want to see her husband and step-daughter anyway, and Daddy had had to visit their old estate for a few weeks for business. Aside from her deceased love's corpse, there was no one she wanted to see.
Her plans for a night alone were damaged when one of Leopold's servants stopped her in the corridor on her way to her chambers.
"Your Majesty?" he asked, bowing his neck to her as he approached.
"Yes?" she asked, hoping it was nothing.
"His Majesty the King is asking for you to be present in the dining room for dinner this evening. He has an announcement that must be made to you and the Princess."
Regina took a deep breath to stop herself from screaming. Couldn't he stop this charade and just leave her be?
"Is His Majesty too shy to come and tell me himself?" She spat out.
"I, uh, I beg your pardon, ma'am?"
The man looked so confused and slightly afraid by her tone that Regina simply shook her head and walked past him.
"Um, shall I tell him you will be down…"
"Yes, for heaven's sake, tell him I will be down shortly!" Regina yelled over her shoulder as she continued walking up to her chambers.
She was honestly tempted to just go to dinner in her riding clothes. Why bother making an effort? But she did really want a bath and there was no point in putting the clothes back on afterwards.
After her bath, she combed out her hair and put on the white dress she often wore when there was no occasion to wear anything else.
Her so-called husband and step-daughter were waiting for her when she got down to their private dining room off the Great Hall. Food had already been served and they were eating the first course.
"Regina, guess what?" Snow asked her excitedly when she came in the door. "Father just told me something ever so exciting!"
"Oh, really?" Regina asked nonchalantly, as she took her seat across the table from the old man.
"Yes, we're having royal visitors next week!" Snow said with a big grin, no doubt imagining the parties she would be allowed to stay up late for.
"Oh, how nice," Regina said.
"As you know," Leopold said, not bothering to look up at her as he continued to eat his soup, "King Henry of Nottingham passed away six months ago."
Regina remembered hearing about it, but hadn't bothered pondering the monarchy of Nottingham very much.
"So, his eldest son is now King Richard. I invited him, and his younger brother, Prince John, for a visit to reestablish our old trading agreements with Nottingham. They will be arriving next week."
"How long will they be staying?" she asked, although her real question was, how many of these royal affairs would she have to partake in?
"They will stay for two weeks while we renegotiate treaties," he said, this time looking up as a servant came around with food for their main course. "We can discuss the events later, as you'll have to be ready to fulfill some duties as Queen."
Regina tried not to let her displeasure show, although he wasn't looking at her anyway and Snow had proven herself too dimwitted to figure out when her step-mother wasn't happy.
The next week the palace was all of a bustle with trying to prepare for the royal visitors. Regina managed to get to a few magic lessons but was otherwise kept very occupied with queenly duties of supervising the decorating of the Great Hall, and the dressmaker, who always made Regina the same type of dress anyway.
Snow White grew more excited for the banquet and ball as the visit grew nearer, and her insipid enthusiasm was grating on Regina's last nerve.
"Isn't it exciting Regina?" Snow asked as she followed her stepmother out of the hall. "It's been so dull here recently."
Well it seemed they agreed on that at least.
"It'll be nice to have some fun," the Princess continued as she skipped ahead.
"I'm sure it will," Regina said, and let herself fall behind at the stairs. It would already take hours to get her ready for the arrival and the banquet, what was a few extra minutes?
It did take hours for the handmaids to help dress her, which was frustrating since Regina had learned enough magic to dress herself in the elaborate outfits and gowns in a second, but it would look too suspicious if she managed to do it all without assistance. The pale blue gown she had for the occasion had rather intricate lacing to be dealt with, and putting her hair into an intricate style always took time.
Regina did her best to smile and at least look like she wasn't dreading the evening. Not that it mattered, the maids never said much to her one way or another, and she wasn't exactly eager to make conversation with them.
Snow had made it down to the palace front gardens before Regina did, looking cheerful and pretty in the lavender gown that the servants had dressed her in.
"Oh Regina, you look beautiful!" she exclaimed as Regina approached in the beaded blue gown with a diamond tiara in her hair.
"Thank you, dear," she said, simply, moving to stand next to the King. He simply looked her up and down, and said,
"Good Afternoon."
"Good Afternoon," she replied, curtly.
"Look, they're coming!" Snow said, excitedly, pointing down the esplanade, where carriages were coming up with flags bearing the crest of Nottingham.
As was typical for a royal visit there were three carriages. The first was simply to hold the piles of luggage the royals would need. The second, and most elaborate carriage, held the king and the prince. The third was for their servants and their belongings.
A man got down from the second carriage, bowed to them and said.
"Your Majesties, I present, His Majesty King Richard, and His Royal Highness, Prince John of Nottingham."
He opened the carriage door, and two men got out. The first was tall and broad, with fair hair and eyes. He wore breeches and a red and gold doublet. A slightly younger man came out of the carriage after him, this one also thinner and with darker hair. He didn't look as pleased to be there as his brother, who was clearly the King, as he'd been the first to exit the carriage.
"Welcome, Your Majesty, Your Royal Highness," King Leopold said, graciously moving towards them to shake the other King's hand. "Welcome to Mist Haven."
"Thank you for your hospitality, Your Majesty," King Richard replied with an equally enthusiastic shake.
"I was so sorry to hear about your father's death," King Leopold said. "He was a good king, and a good man."
"That he was," King Richard. "I can only hope that I am the right person to fill his shoes."
Regina noticed the Prince seemed to be trying not to roll his eyes.
"I'm sure you will serve your people well. And I hope we are able to keep the ties between our kingdoms as strong as ever," King Leopold said, starting to lead the two men up the garden. "My servants will look after yours and help them take your things to your rooms."
There was a hustle behind them as servants from both houses began to mingle and take luggage from the front carriage. King Leopold continued bringing the men over to an eager Princess and stoic Queen.
"This is my beautiful daughter Snow," he told the King and Prince with pride. Snow curtsied to them in greeting. "And Regina, my wife, the Queen." He introduced her as she always did.
"Your Majesty," King Richard bowed to her graciously. She curtsied as she knew she was supposed to. He took her hand and kissed it, as was the custom.
After a moment in which he looked her in the eye and stared at her, Prince John also bowed to her.
"Your Majesty," he said. "It's a pleasure."
"The pleasure is mine," she said automatically, allowing him to also take her hand and kiss it. He smiled at her widely when afterwards, more so than his brother did.
The two men greeted the Princess graciously and began walking up to castle together. The Kings discussed the possibility of altering or keeping certain trade agreements, in between Snow excitedly telling their visitors about the plans for their stay. The Prince attempted to discuss the trade agreements as well but his brother would push him out by raising his voice louder. Regina simply stayed silent, knowing that her husband preferred it that way, and it made everything easier, even if it led to dullness.
The had a late lunch with their visitors, while King Richard continued to tell King Leopold about the new challenges he was facing as a young monarch, with Leopold only too happy to pass on his expertise.
Prince John was seated to Regina's right, so she couldn't help but notice his quiet yawns. He saw her see him and gave a guilty smile.
"I apologize, Your Majesty," he said, quietly. "Long journey, you know."
"Please," Regina said, almost in a whisper so Snow wouldn't hear, although she seemed oddly enraptured by her father's chat with King Richard. Regina couldn't help but smirk at the Prince. "I'm just as bored as you are."
"Don't Queens normally like banquets and balls?" He asked, with his eyebrows raised.
"Perhaps others do," Regina said. "I find them a bore."
He looked like he wanted to ask why, but the next course was being served, and then Snow interrupted them to ask Prince John some questions and he was not able to ask his own for the rest of dinner.
Regina was woken early by the servants, who had been instructed to get her ready for the hunting party that the king had planned for King Richard and Prince John's second day. One nice thing about being able to go on the hunting trip was that she didn't need to be dressed in anything horribly fancy. She could just wear her dark red cloak with the leather pants and vest she normally wore out to her magic lessons with Rumple.
The other nice part was being able to go riding, and she had to admit that although she would have preferred to ride on her own as usual, it was a beautiful day for a hunt. The sun was shining brightly, and it wasn't too windy. It was warm but not overly hot.
After the servant's left, Regina walked down to the esplanade, where there were many horses waiting to be mounted. Several of King Leopold's closest friends and advisors were joining them, as well as two of King Richard's advisors who had accompanied him on their journey.
"Regina! Regina, over here!" Regina reluctantly looked over to where the annoying child's voice came from and saw Snow standing with her father, and the visiting monarchs. The eleven-year old girl waved to her as she walked over, and her husband acknowledged her with a simple, 'good morning,' as the visiting King and Prince bowed to her.
"Good morning, Your Majesty," King Richard said, pleasantly.
"Good morning," she answered, politely. "I trust your first night with us was pleasant?" she continued, playing the role of hospitable queen.
"Very," Prince John said, with a smile. "Can't remember a better one."
"And it's such a lovely day for a hunt," King Richard said, as he moved towards his horse that was being brought forward to him.
"We couldn't have asked for better weather," King Leopold agreed.
Rocinante whinnied happily as he was brought towards Regina, and she couldn't help but smile at her beloved companion. She gave his neck a few strokes while Snow was given a leg up onto her pony.
"Looks like you have a good friend there," Prince John said as he watched Rocinante nuzzle Regina's body with his face. The Prince's mount didn't look as happy or cooperative.
"He's a good steed," Regina said as she mounted without assistance. "Never a problem with him."
"You're lucky," Prince John said, as he got up onto his own horse after a minute of struggling to get the stallion to stand still. "This one's a bit stubborn. Fast when he wants to be though. Which of course, depends on the day."
Regina laughed as they moved their horses towards the others joining the hunt. The royal advisors and a few Lords who were joining them gave short bows from a top their horses.
They all moved down the esplanade towards the fields, where the dogs began to follow the scent. Regina rode quickly at first with the rest of the hunt, but started to get bored of pretending she wanted to be there after about half an hour. And it was just around then that she happened to be coming close to a path into the trees. Almost on instinct from a desire to get away from the crowd, Regina turned Rocinante onto the path and away from the hunting party. She galloped him for a while until she was sure they were away, and then slowed him to a walk to enjoy the peaceful scenery. She came to her favorite peaceful spot by the stream, and dismounted.
Rocinante moved toward the water to drink, and Regina sat on a rock that was hidden, but still managed to get some sun. Glad for chance to relax in the peace and quiet, Regina even took her shoes off to dip her feet into the cool water.
She wasn't sure how long she stayed that way before she heard the rustling in the trees, but it was probably more than half an hour at least. Regina looked around and saw a familiar bay colored horse coming through. Rocinante looked up from the grass he'd moved towards to graze and whinnied at the newcomer.
"Hello, Your Majesty," came Prince John's pleasant voice in greeting. He rode into the clearing and dismounted his horse, who seemed happy to move towards the stream for a drink.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, surprised to see anyone there.
"Same as you, I'm guessing," he said. "I wanted to enjoy some solitude in the woods. They've caught the fox and started to head back, but I was enjoying the ride."
"And you just happened to choose this direction?" she asked.
"No," he admitted, smiling, and coming over to where she was sitting. "I saw you and your horse slip on down that path earlier. When no one else did, I thought I could be discreet as well on the way back. I didn't know if I'd run into you or not though."
"We're not that far from the castle," Regina said.
"But far enough," he said. "Do you mind if I sit down?"
Regina shrugged, and allowed him room on the rock. They sat in silence for a few moments before he broke it with another question.
"This area is a good find. Unless you're on that trail back there, you wouldn't notice it at all. When did you discover it?"
"About a week after I was married. I just, well, I felt a need to get away alone for a while. So, I rode off when no one was keeping an eye out and found this place by the time Rocinante needed a drink."
"That must have been difficult," he said, sounding impressed. "I have a hard time getting out of our castle alone when I want to. Someone always wants to insist I am accompanied."
"I worried at first," she said. "But now it's pretty easy to get away. Unless I'm expected for something specific, no one really notices if I leave."
"Must be nice," he said, with a shrug.
"Convenient," she said. "I don't know if I'd say, nice."
"No, perhaps not…" he said, seeming to think twice about what he had said. "Does your husband mind? You going out alone?"
"I'm not sure he notices either," Regina said, frankly. She wasn't sure why she was telling him all this, but it was surprisingly easy. "If he does, he doesn't care."
Prince John didn't seem to have a response to that. They sat in a more comfortable silence for a bit, and then he changed the subject and began talking about some of the ridiculous customs in his court, and she couldn't help but laugh and share some of her own. By the time they started riding back, Regina found she had smiled more than she had in nearly a year.
The ball that evening had a spectacular turnout from the lords and ladies of the land. Regina sat on her throne, looking out over the crowd that had gathered in the beautifully decorated ballroom. People were drinking wine and from golden goblets, the women were dressed in gowns in every color imaginable, and all except the Queen were dancing the night away.
She tried to contain her scowl as she watched her husband dancing with her step-daughter joyously. It wasn't that she really wanted to dance with her husband, but he could at least pretend that she was something besides a throne ornament to him.
Regina turned away from the sight to take a drink from her goblet, and when she looked back up, she saw Prince John holding his hand out to her.
"Would Her Majesty honor me with a dance?" he asked, formally, but with a smile.
"Have you already run out of other partners?" Regina asked, returning the smile.
He smiled back.
"Not necessarily. But it seems a crime for a Queen to be sitting alone at a ball."
"I told you, I find these boring," she said, shrugging.
"Well, perhaps we can be bored together?"
"Alright," she said, standing up and allowing him to take her hand.
He led her onto the dance floor, and several onlookers seemed surprised that their Queen had moved from her throne. Her husband didn't look thrilled at what was happening but he didn't move to stop them either.
She was slightly disconcerted by everyone paying attention to her, and as she began a waltz with Prince John she felt nervous. She knew she wasn't a great dancer. He knew what he was doing well enough it seemed though and steered them to the music.
"Suddenly they decide to take notice," Regina said to her dance partner, who seemed amused.
"You're the Queen, you're not hard to notice," he said.
"Well, I told you before, they never notice my absence," she said. "So, I expected they didn't care one way or the other."
The music picked up the tempo and Prince John started steering them faster. Regina laughed as they danced, and became more amused than anything else about the people who were staring. After a few songs, she saw King Leopold coming towards her out of the corner of her eye. She didn't pay him much mind and continued to laugh as she danced with Prince John. But he suddenly stopped as the King reached them.
"May I cut in?" he asked softly, although not entirely happily.
Prince John did hesitate slightly, but didn't appear to be able to come up with a good enough reason to deny a husband the opportunity to dance with his wife.
"But of course, Your Majesty," he replied, releasing Regina's arm and stepping away from her. "Thank you for the dance, Your Majesty," he continued, as he stepped away.
Her husband took her arms and began dancing with her as the musicians started their next song. He didn't say anything at first, but steered her somewhat forcefully. Regina wasn't sure what to make of this change, but she didn't think she preferred it to him ignoring her.
She was sure once he started actually talking to her.
"Everyone noticed you were dancing with someone other than me," he said, sounding irritated, but kept the fake smile on his face. "Several noblemen commented on it."
"Why would it bother them?" she asked, moderately curious, but mostly annoyed. "I wouldn't be the first Queen to share a dance with someone other than her King. It's done all the time."
"Not when she hasn't shared a dance with the King first," he said, as though this should not only be obvious, but that she should care.
Regina rolled her eyes. If that were the case, she'd never dance at all.
"Well, you didn't ask me to dance, you asked your daughter," she pointed out. "You never ask me to dance all. People comment on that too, you know."
He had enough grace to look slightly sheepish.
"So, if another man who has been friendly to me would like to share a dance with me at a ball, I see no reason to decline while my husband dances with his little girl instead," she continued firmly.
"It looks wrong to people," her husband insisted.
"Well then," she said, as the song ended and she could release him and curtsy. As she rose again she continued, "I suppose it's up to you to make sure it doesn't look wrong."
And with that, she walked away from her husband and toward a servant carrying drinks. She took a goblet of wine and went back to her throne to sit and watch. Prince John danced with a few more noblewomen that night, but he always seemed to catch her eye and wink at her. He didn't approach her again, for Leopold was watching too closely, but it was clear he wasn't afraid to in the future.
She found she looked forward to it. It was nice to have someone to talk to, besides Snow White. He at least, had never betrayed her.
