Regina lounged in a reclined wooden chair on the palace grounds while Robin and Snow stood several paces away engaging in target practice. Regina had never been one for the bow and arrow. Somehow, the weapon just never felt right in her hands.

Robin had assured her many times of the bow's excellence as a weapon, and while she was inclined to believe him - it had severed him well for many years - she much preferred the rapier as a weapon of choice. Yes, it required fighting in close quarters, but she was good with it, and the flow of the blade felt almost natural to her. If she needed a weapon for ranged attacks, she knew how to use a crossbow.

Robin cheered as Snow fired a second arrow into the dead center of the target, right next to the arrow before it. "What have I told you?" he shouted back at Regina. "The girl's a natural!"

"Well done, Snow!" Regina shouted at the girl, who turned back to her and smiled.

Three years had passed in weekly visits to the castle where Regina was expected to fulfill her role as pseudo mother to Snow White. She had dreaded these visits at first, even hated them. But over time and with Robin's gentle encouragement, her association with Snow to the painful events of her past had weakened.

She knew she couldn't hate Snow, however easy doing so might seem. She knew the painful events of her past were not Snow's fault, despite whatever involvement the girl might have hand. And she also knew that there were moments when she had loved that child she'd saved from the runaway horse. So when she thought of Snow, she tried to think on those happier instances, and not on any of the others. She wanted to love this young princess, even if sometimes it was difficult.

Eventually Snow completed her training for the evening, and she and Regina took a walk around the grounds, their arms linked. Snow asked for news from the city, and Regina had very little to give. She didn't tell Snow about Robin's previous brush with death, and she didn't tell her about her own use of magic. She wasn't looking to excite Snow or cause her to worry. So she only said that criminal activity was increasing and that Robin suspected that previously ejected bandit clans were regathering their strength.

"Do you miss the castle?" asked Snow.

"Sometimes," said Regina honestly. Though her life at the castle held few fond memories for her, there were times when she missed the splendor and security of it all. Robin would certainly be safer here.

"I wonder if I'd miss it if I left," said Snow.

"You're unhappy here?" asked Regina, surprised.

"Oh, no!" said Snow, breaking stride. "I only meant … well … it's just your and Robin's lives are so exciting."

Regina might have laughed had the events of the past few days not been so serious. "Snow," she said. "Excitement comes with its own drawbacks."

"I know," said Snow, taking up the walk again. "It's just sometimes … I feel kind of … stuck here. I want to get out and see other things, meet other people. But I guess that's not really the life of a princess."

"You're young," said Regina. And indeed, Snow was only a young teenager. "And restlessness comes with such an age. Besides, I heard your father was planning on taking you across the country with him."

"I have a year or two before that happens," said Snow. "And it's only to establish continued relationships between kingdoms and show me off to potential matches for marriage."

"Well, at least you'll get to see the country," said Regina, trying to be encouraging, although she too knew what it was to feel like a prisoner within the castle walls. Though she was certain her situation had been much different than Snow's.

"I just wish I could visit you and Robin sometimes," she said. "I bet you two get into all sorts of adventures."

"Adventures sound romantic," Regina told her. "But I hear the fatality rate is high."


As soon they arrived back home, Regina did a survey of the healing hut and took note of all the resources she needed to stalk up on. Some items, like bandages, she would need Robin to gather when they were back in town. But for many items, like herbs, she went out into the woods to gather.

It took her some time, hunting down the things she needed, but she didn't mind the work. It was solitary and peaceful, and she found it was just what she needed after the hectic pace of the past few days. She always found the exercise rejuvenated her, and she was quite glad of it.

She had even found some wild flowers while she was out, and after restocking the hut, she returned to the cabin to place the flowers in a pot by the front the door. It was then that she heard yelling coming from inside, and she paused to listen for a moment.

It wasn't John - who sometimes had loud disagreements with his best friend - nor did she recognize the second voice as belonging to any of Robin's men. Though, the first voice definitely belonged to her husband. She supposed the second had to be from a citizen of the city. Though she and Robin had decided to build their home away from Nottingham to avoid such inconveniences, there were some people who ventured outside the city limits to bother Robin during hours when he wasn't at his office.

Regina had just decided it was best to leave the matter to her husband when the door burst open and a dark haired man with wild eyes stepped through it. His gaze fell upon her.

"Sea witch!" He shouted and threw himself at her.

Regina was too surprised to respond, and the man's hands seized her robes. She didn't know what his intentions were, but the next moment she heard Robin's voice: "That is my wife!"

The man was pulled off her, and Robin shoved him against the wall of the cabin. "You will calm yourself or I will have to resort to force! Do you understand me?"

The man struggled, but Robin was stronger than he looked. It seemed as though it took him hardly no effort at all to keep the man held.

"Do you understand me?" Robin repeated. And when the man gave no response and continued to struggle, Robin pressed an arm against the man's windpipe. For a moment, the man struggled harder, but eventually his efforts slackened.

"Sea witch!" he gasped when Robin removed his arm from the man's throat.

Robin pulled the man from the wall and pushed him down on his knees in front of Regina. "Look again," he said. "And tell me if you are so accurate in your accusations."

The man looked up at Regain, at first with anger and rage, but after a moment then his eyes widened and he recoiled, at which point Robin released him.

"Well?" her husband demanded.

"I-I'm, I'm sorry," the man stuttered, suddenly too embarrassed to look at Regina.

Robin took a step toward the huddled lump of a man. "As far as I'm concerned, you are just as dangerous as this sea witch you claim to have encountered. And I am fully inclined to lock you up for the night unless you can promise me you will head straight home and accuse no more women of this transgression."

The man nodded, refusing to look at Robin as well. "P-promise." He said.

"Go on, then," said Robin, taking a step back. "We'll find your brother. Until then, I hope to hear no more from you."

"Yes, sire," said the man as he cowered. But he did manage to turn to Regina. "Sorry, my lady," he said. And then he ran as fast as his feet could carry him.

Robin turned to his wife. "Are you alright?" he said.

"Yes," she told him, though she was a little shaken.

He took her into his arms and sighed. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," she said.

"I took the job," he told her.

"To help people," she reminded him.

"I didn't intend for it to torment my wife."

"That's the price of it, I suppose," she said, meaning only half of it light-heartedly. "What did that man want?" she asked as she released him.

"Apparently there's some sea witch that lives along the shore," he told her. "The man said his brother went to her for help and she turned him a bear. As much as I don't like the idea, I'm going to have to investigate."

"I'm come with you."

"No," he said, firmly. "We've been through this-"

"We have," she admitted. "I'm not a law official. I can't help you arrest or fight criminals, but this is magic, and I know magic. And no matter how much bravery or skill your men have, magic is not something any of you have personal experience with. I can help," she added as Robin tried to protest. "I can keep all of you safe. I can warn you about any dangers. You'd be going in blind without me."

Robin sighed. "There's no use arguing with you, is there?"

"No," she said with a half smile. "I'll just win in the end."

He laughed and kissed her.

"No weapons," he said when they parted. "And I will strip you naked if you give me reason think you're hiding something," he added as she debated about whether or not she could get away with hiding a rapier or crossbow under her cloak.