1.
'What the hell did you do to her?!' He yelled.
She took a step back. The look in his eye, so unfamiliar, a chill ran down her spine. No. She pushed her thoughts back, she couldn't succumb to these feelings, one of them needed to remain detached, even if what was between them had been destroyed beyond repair, there was no time to dwell on all of that now. Their most immediate concern, the one that needed all of their attention right now was that they were stuck in the past and she had no way of getting them back to the present. She needed to think, she couldn't let her emotions overwhelm her, break her.
'I don't remember. It was a long time ago.'
A slow ache spread through her body, but she forced herself to continue, 'I killed a lot of people, Robin. You know that,' as though reminding him of her past wrongdoings justified her actions.
He nodded, his eyes darting from the road to the trees, her words only half registering.
She wished she could remember, had irrefutable proof that it had been she who had killed Robin's wife. If she had, if it had been her fault...
Well, what a sick and twisted joke that would be. Another bad hand dealt to her by destiny himself, and whoever was responsible for presenting that string of unfortunate events to her really had it in for her, didn't they? But who could she blame? Nobody. It was not as though destiny was someone she could look up in the yellow pages, threaten or burn to the ground. She had done this to herself. The Evil Queen had been responsible for it all, and Regina? Regina was paying the price for it once more.
Robin ran a hand through his hair, some of the anger seemed to seep out of him as he did, replaced by a forced calmness.
'I have to save her,' he said. She saw how a familiar determination latched onto his features. Her stomach clenched together.
'You can't,' she stepped in front of him, blocking his path. 'You can't interfere with the timeline. We're not even supposed to be here. If you save Marian, it could create a whole string of unforeseeable consequences. You could compromise the timeline in such a way that –'
'What would you have me do?! Watch the woman I pledged my life to die at the hands of the woman I...' He trailed, the fight drained from his voice.
She took a step in his direction her hand reaching for his face but he grabbed her wrist in and shoved it down.
'Don't,' he shook his head, 'Just don't.'
It was like he had stabbed her, directly in the heart. Robin had never rejected her before. He had always welcomed her into his arms, his heart, his life. But not now, not when he needed comfort the most. It hurt. It hurt a lot. She mentally pushed the pain from her mind. She would not dwell on that now. She could not.
'Listen,' but he refused to look at her, his eyes fixated on a point behind her, accepting, for the moment, the unfeasibility of their situation.
'Robin, please,' her voice quivered.
He looked at her, regarding her with such coldness it froze her to the core.
'I know,' she swallowed down the lump that had formed in her throat. 'I'm probably the last person you want to see or talk to right now, but I'm not her,' she pointed in the direction of the village, where the Evil Queen had taken Marian moments before. 'And I don't even know for sure if I truly –' she hesitated. '- killed your wife,' she felt the tears prick behind her eyes then, but she held on tight, she needed for him to hear this. 'But we need to find a way home and I can't do that without you.' Her voice broke, just a little and his eyes softened ever so slightly.
'I need you.'
And she did. Now that her magic was failing her, he was all that she had left. Broken or not, there was no soul in this land or time that could help her, or even understand the situation they were in now. They needed to stick together, find a way home and fix the mess they'd created. Fix the mess her sister had created.
He closed his eyes and she watched his struggle. He knew what she was alluding to and as much as he hated to admit it, as much as he wanted to go after Marian and throw all caution to the wind, it would all be useless if he couldn't return to Roland.
'I need to think,' he finally said. 'Alone.'
Her heart dropped into her stomach, but she understood. He needed time, and though she did not like it, for every second they spend in the godforsaken past the more damage their presence could inflict upon the present, he needed time, so she nodded.
She watched him disappear behind the trees, his shoulders slouched as though a ton of bricks was weight him down with each new step he took; she felt it pull at her too. If only they hadn't seen Marian. Of all the timelines and places, why this one? Had it been her doing? Had it been her thoughts the time portal had latched onto, had some part of her wanted this to happen. Or had it been his thoughts? His desire for change?
Some hours past, and she feared he would not return, but he did and when she saw him she immediately noticed his change of clothes. A bow hung over his shoulder, a full sack of supplies hung from the other.
She stood but remained quiet, watching him, waiting.
'I brought you some clothes.' He nodded at the outfit she was wearing and then handed the sack over. She took it and reached inside. A dress. Nothing fancy, a plain grey one that had been weaved and stitched in the same style and color most of the villagers in and around her kingdom wore. She'd only ever once dressed as a peasant before. She hadn't enjoyed the experience much. In fact, she had almost been killed then. The life of a peasant wasn't about roses.
'Where did you–?' she gave him a puzzled look.
'One of my camps isn't far from here.' Robin started to explain. 'We usually spend the winter there and hide some of our weapons and clothing in the trees when we leave in the summer. That one –' He motioned his head toward the sack. 'wa- is one of Marian's dresses.' He paused 'I figured we might want to blend in and not stand out if we don't want to influence the timeline.'
She nodded. She had been worried about the same.
'Listen,' he said, his tone softer, maybe his walk had cleared his mind after all. 'I've given this some thought and I've decided that I'm going after her. I'm going to save my wife.'
She gripped the sack tighter.
'You can't,' she repeated her earlier mantra. 'I told you what that could do to the timeline.'
'Will it do anything, really? Has time travel ever been done before?' He retorted, but didn't wait for an answer. 'None of us truly knows what will happen to the present timeline if I rescue my wife. Honestly, I don't see how saving Marian's life could be in anyone's disinterest. Roland would grow up with a mother and the world would be a better place with her in it. She is a good person.'
Regina looked away and dropped the sack between them.
'What about us?' she asked.
Had he ever considered what changing the timeline would do to what they had had for however short a time they'd had it? He set his jaw, his fists clenching and unclenching at his side. He had. Of course he had. But he didn't care, not now, not when there was hope for his Marian, the one he would walk through hell for. He had a chance now, an opportunity and could she really expect him to waste it? Would she not have done the same in his place? Would she not have saved Daniel in his place?
'We wouldn't know any better,' he said.
It was true. If they did save Marian and altered the timeline in such a way that it would include his wife, then Regina would never have been with Robin. He'd be with his wife and she would be none the wiser. But she didn't want to be none the wiser.
'I don't want to not know any better.'
It was selfish she knew, but she never thought she would have this again, and now that she had found it, found him, how was she to lose her soulmate again?
'I only managed to defeat my sister because of you, because of what I feel for you.' She was grasping at straws, forcing reasons down his throat as to not destroy what they had. That which had been torn to shreds the moment he had set his eyes on Marian and had watched the Evil Queen taunt her.
'You have enough good inside of you, Regina. You don't need me. Your love for your son will be enough.'
His eyes, windowless, cold.
'And what if it's not?' her voice grew louder. 'What if my sister destroys me? Alters the timeline? What then? You may have your wife then but you're condemning me. You're condemning my son and every single person I ever met in my life. How can you be so selfish?!'
'Selfish?!' he roared.
'Most of the people you ever met ended up dead or miserable!'
She took in a sharp breath and stepped backward, burned by his words. He had never called her out on that. He had never brought up her past, he knew who she was, who she had been. He had always known. He had accepted that. He had.
'She is gone, Robin.' Regina glowered, her voice dangerously low. 'Let her go.'
'But she isn't,' he retorted. 'She is alive and if you don't let me do this and we leave...' he inhaled deeply before continuing. 'Knowing that my Marian will die at your hands, I don't think I would ever be able to forgive you,' his eyes burned into hers. 'I would not be able to forgive myself.' His voice trembled and tears formed in his eyes. His beautiful conflicted eyes.
She shook her head.
'And I can't let you endanger my son's life.' Bitterness consumed her now. She would fight to the death for Henry if that was what it took for him to back down.
'Then it seems we have a problem.'
'Yes, yes, it seems we do.'
A tear slipped down her cheek and she turned around. She couldn't hold them back any longer. There was too much she couldn't do, too many conflicting emotions she could not label and store away. No matter from which angle she looked at it, she stood much to lose. If she allowed for him to go on his rescue mission she would probably lose it all. She wasn't sure if she could go through that again, nor if she wanted to fight that battle with her soulmate.