I own no one but my own people

The Enchanted Forest, Fifteen Years Before the First Curse

The buck was large and majestic and beautiful. It stood in a thick soft mound of grass, simply basking in the warm afternoon sun as it took a cool drink by the small babbling brook.

Robin pulled back the arrow, letting the fletcher touch his cheek as he set his eyes on his prize. He let out a breath as he took careful aim through the thick brush.

!WHOOSH!

The arrow struck the animal right between the eyes and it fell silently into the stream it had been drinking from.

Most hunters aimed for the chest or the side of an animal. If they struck it in the face it would ruin the mount, destroy the trophy they looked to hang on their wall. But it was the most humane kill, which was all Robin had wanted from the beast.

Not to mention how difficult it was to hit such a small target and most archers simply didn't possess the skill necessary.

But Robin did. Even when he was a small child he had shown considerable skill with a bow, his eyesight keen and better than any man's he had ever seen. While he drilled with sword and lance as well, the bow was where Robin of Locksley showed almost an inhuman talent.

Once when he was ten, he begged his tutor to let him play outside on one of the rare sunny days their corner of the kingdom had instead of being cooped up inside studying.

So the gray haired man had challenged the young boy. A single target 200 yards out, lost amongst the woods and trees, double the length that he usually aimed at.

If he hit the target he would be allowed to finish his studies for the day. If he missed, he would have an extra chapter to read by tomorrow.

The guards and staff at Locksley Manor all laughed and jeered as the boy took aim at the edge of the woods beside their home, all of them confident that the child wouldn't be able to even see the target much less hit it.

Robin ignored all the noises from the watching crowd, instead just aiming his arrow and remembering every bit of his training.

He let the arrow fly from his bow, all of them knowing it was apt to either fall short or hit one of the nearby trees so they only watched with half interest before they were proven wrong when they saw the arrow hit the target dead center.

There was a stunned silence from the men who had watched Robin for only a moment before cheers and roars of approval rose from the crowd.

The boy grinned a toothy grin as his father's men patted him on the back, every single one of them praising the miraculous shot.

Robin had never felt so on top of the world.

"M'lord, you missed it!" the kennel master told Byron as he approached the crowd to see what all the ruckus as about. "It was amazing!"

"Why are none of you at work?" said the blue eyed man, putting a slight damper on the celebration. "And it's 'My Lord'."

"Sorry, M'l- My Lord, but Master Robin just hit a target dead center 200 yards out!"

Byron looked out across the woods, his eyes falling on the target with his sons arrows firmly embedded in it.

"Aren't you supposed to be at your studies right now, Boy?" Lord Byron asked as he turned his attention from the arrow to the young boy standing beside him.

"Yes, Father, but Professor Smith said-."

"Are you talking back to me, Boy?"

The ten year old swallowed hard, shaking his head. The bruises from his last time he had 'talked back' had just faded away and he really didn't want anymore. "No, Father, I was just explaining-."

"I don't care what Professor Smith says, I say you're supposed to be at your studies. You're ten years old and you can barely read. You should be ashamed of yourself for that."

By now any of the excitement at watching the young boy sink the arrow had disappeared and most had quickly made their way back to their jobs, none of them wanting to face Byron's wrath.

A hot blush crept to Robin's cheeks as he gazed down at the ground.

He had tried explaining to his father that the letters in his books were backwards, that the words jumbled together, that they didn't look like they should but Byron wouldn't hear of it. He instead merely called Robin unintelligent and added an extra two hours to his already rigid tutoring schedule.

"Get back up to your chambers and study," Byron ordered him. "Don't come down until it's time for supper."

"Yes, Father," Robin told him before he ran back into the castle, fighting back the tears that he had so desperately wanted to shed.

The next day a new tutor had showed up to assist him with his studies and he, nor anyone else who worked at the manor, never saw Professor Smith again…

Robin wrenched the arrow free from the bucks skull, petting the great beast.

"You'll feed a family," he told the animal as he gently stroked its shirt bristly brown fur. "You'll feed a starving child. Your sacrifice will save them."

With a slight grunt Robin threw the carcass over his shoulders, grabbed his bow and headed carefully out of the woods, making sure none of his father's men were around to spot him.

The woods he hunted in was his father's and Lord Byron had made it a crime to hunt in his forest. Afterall when men could merely shoot a meal, they wouldn't work as hard to earn the money to support themselves which meant less gold for him.

But Robin couldn't let the people who lived on this land starve just because his father wanted to squeeze the peasants dry.

Once he was clear of the woods Robin quickly and quietly made his way to the home where the hungry family lived, his eyes peeled for the forest green armor his families knights wore.

He made it to the home without incident and knocked on the door, smiling at the young couple who answered, both of them dangerously underweight.

"Robin!" the woman breathed a sigh of relief, holding a small and sickly looking toddler in her arms. "Oh may the Gods praise you!"

"My father doesn't know I'm here," he quickly informed them, still glancing around for soldiers. "If he did-..."

"We know," the husband said as he took the large buck from Robin's shoulders and hoisted it on his own. "You're a hero, Robin of Locksley."

The boy wanted to laugh. How on earth was he a hero? Just for doing the bare minimum for his people? If anything they should be demanding far more from him than what he was able to provide.

"I'm not a hero. Any decent person would be doing the same thing."

The wife shook her head. "No they wouldn't. Breaking your own father's law so that three peasants don't starve… it takes a true hero to do that."

Redness flushed his cheek as he stared down at the ground. He wasn't worthy of all this praise.

The woman clapped the young man on the shoulder and he raised his eyes to meet hers. "You ARE a hero, Robin. No matter what anyone else tells you."

"I just… I feel I should be doing more. To help you, to help the others, to help the Colters… They're going to be homeless tomorrow. My father's going to force them out and there's not a thing I can do to stop him."

Robin felt his anger rising. It wasn't fair. They were good people; they were honest, kind, hard working people. It wasn't their fault the snows had made it impossible for their harvest to grow this year.

His father didn't need their taxes. He certainly didn't need it so bad that he couldn't afford to wait two weeks for their son to send them the money. He had rooms full of gold and treasures and jewels stacked from floor to ceiling.

Byron had so much gold he barely even bothered to count it anymore.

Robin's eyes grew wide as his mind raced a thousand miles an hour. No. No he couldn't do that, he couldn't steal from his own father, he couldn't be a thief. There was no honor in thievery afterall.

But… if it was for a good cause…

Robin shook the thought away. He wouldn't do that, he would get caught too easily and as much as Robin liked to believe otherwise he knew his father wouldn't hesitate to throw him into the dungeons.

But, he thought to himself as he bid the starving family goodbye, he had already broken one of his father's laws. Plus there had to be more honor in stealing gold than stealing the life of a creature right?

As Robin walkes back to the manor he passed by the home of the Colters. He saw both William and Rebecca struggling to pull up anything from their small garden but coming up with nothing but small underdeveloped vegetation and weeds.

Robin put his head down as he walked down the dirt road so as not to be recognized, the shame and guilt almost overwhelming him, not that it would have mattered. Even in his most down to earth clothes it was still finer than anything the peasants could afford. The golden lion brooch that held his forest green cape together was worth more than their entire wardrobe ten times over.

$15,000 in gold for a one room hovel with guards that had less honor than the criminals that would do them harm to protect them and they couldn't even hunt on their own ground.

It wasn't fair. It wasn't right.

...And, as Robin looked back at the desperate family once he was far enough away so they wouldn't see his face, he decided he was going to do something about it…

—

The Underworld, Present Day

Regina's eyes went wide as she looked from her boyfriend to the well dressed man at her door. Robin had never once talked about his father. Friar Tuck was the man Robin always referred to as 'like a father to me' and he always spoke about the monk with love and affection so Regina didn't push him to talk about his father. He would tell her when the time was right.

But, apparently, that deadline has been pushed up to right now.

"So," Byron sneered at the thief. "One of your little thieving friends finally made you kick the bucket?"

"I'm very much alive, actually, and my men would never harm me," Robin spat.

Byron scoffed. "Your 'men' are nothing more than dirty criminal peasants who sleep on dirt."

"Okay so I gather that this isn't exactly a happy family reunion," Regina muttered.

"This thief is not apart of my family, your majesty," Byron told her sharply. "He abandoned his home, he abandoned his responsibilities…"

Robin rolled his eyes as he turned his back on his father and walked back into the shared apartment only to have Byron follow behind him.

"He abandoned his honor."

Too far.

Robin whipped around to face the older man, glaring into the same blue eyes he saw whenever he looked into the mirror.

"Do NOT talk about my honor!" the thief barked.

Regina quickly got in between the two men and pushed them away from one another as gently as she could, looking shocked at what was transpiring in the kitchen.

She had never seen Robin lose his temper like this.

"I think both of you need to calm down," she said as she looked from one to the other.

"How dare you raise your voice to me, Boy!" Byron shouted, ignoring the Queens plea that they calm down.

Robin swallowed hard. He hadn't been called 'boy' in over thirty years and hearing it now, in front of the woman he loved, it brought back a whole slew of memories of his father yelling at him, his fists landing strongly against his flesh, the sound of Byron's belt whistling through the air when he was a child...

But Robin Hood wasn't a child anymore. He was a legend, a folk hero, the whole world knew what he had done for people and the whole world knew his name.

"I have a name," Robin told him as defiantly as he dared.

"You HAD a name, and you threw it away. You threw away the Locksley name, one of the oldest and most noblest family names in our realm and you choose to be Robin 'Hood'," Byron spat as if the name was sour on his tongue.

Without warning he grabbed hold of Robin's hand and wrenched up the sleeve of his gray hoodie, the lion tattoo that had led Regina to him shining against his skin as proud as ever. "You don't deserve to wear that lion."

Robin snatched his arm back, pushing his sleeve back down.

"It is just as much my family crest as it is yours."

"You abandoned your family!" Byron yelled, taking a step towards his son, seemingly forgetting about the magical woman in between them.

"Back off!" Regina barked, pushing her soulmates father away from him. The brunette queen stood defiantly in front of her thief, reading and willing to throw a fireball at him if needed.

"Regina?!"

The three of them looked up at the second story of the loft as Henry, Snow and Charming came racing down the stairs, bow and trusty sword in hand.

"What's going on?" David demanded, eyeing the newcomer. "Who's this?"

"Mom, you alright?" Henry asked as he went over and stood by his mother.

"I'm fine, Henry. Everything's fine," said Regina, her eyes narrowing in dislike at the Lord. "This is-."

"Lord Byron?"

Everyone sans Robin turned to find Snow standing at the foot of the stairs with her eyes wide and her mouth agape. Her voice had barely been above a whisper

Byron straightened out his jacket, already pressed and crisp, giving the princess a rather tight bow. "Your highness."

Regina's eyes narrowed in confusion as she looked from the stunned Snow to her soulmates father. "You two… know each other? How?"

Snow swallowed hard, her eyes finding Robin's who gave a barely noticeable shake of his head. He had yet to her to tell Regina the extent of his history with the princess and both of them swore they would never speak of it and both had kept their word.

That was why they had pretended to be strangers when they met what seemed like a lifetime ago in the Enchanted Forest when Pan's curse sent them back. She was married, he had fallen in love with Marian… it didn't seem worth it to drag up their ancient history.

Snow realized what she had done and she cleared her throat.

"I- my father, we knew many different lords and noble families," the pixie cut princess said. "Robin's family was just one of them."

Regina raised a brow, not buying the excuse for a second before she turned back to the man in the crisp suit who was also staring at Snow same as Regina had been.

But she was still his princess. He would allow Snow her secrets.

For now.

"So what do you want?" Regina demanded regaining his attention.

Any niceties had out the window after she saw how he treated Robin. "Clearly you're not here to hold hands with your son."

"You're right, Your Majesty, I'm not," Byron told her, reaching into his suit jacket and handing her an envelope. "I'm here to hand you your lease."

"...Our lease?"

Regina opened the envelope and glanced over the paperwork, raising her brow when she did in fact see a legally written lease.

"I own the building," Byron explained. "Most buildings in this area of the Underworld, actually. I collect the rent, the land taxes, building taxes, any monetary debts you left in life…"

"You're the Underworld tax collector, of course you are," Robin said.

"Why else do you these these wretched souls all have jobs? Even death doesn't stop taxes."

"No of course not. God forbid you let even dead men exist in peace without you taking your share."

Byron glared at his son, his hand curling into a fist as a familiar rage filled him. He knew he was in the presence of royalty as well as that Shepherd who called himself a prince and knew he ought to behave better, like the Lord and Master he was, but after the constant disrespect from the boy up on earth, he was not about to let it happen down here as well.

"I am still your Lord and your father, Boy, and you WILL respect me," he demanded. "Or do you need a reminder what happens when you mouth off to me?"

Byron took a step towards him once more but just as before Regina stood in front of him, glaring dangerous daggers at the man.

"You lay a finger on him and I promise you that whatever pain you felt in your first death, you're going to feel it ten fold I'm your second," Regina spat with a familiar comfortable fire.

"Why on earth do you care about him so much?" Byron asked. "He's only a thief, you're the Queen. He stole from you, Your Majesty, many times."

"She cares about me because we're in love," Robin answered for her, stepping forward and wrapping his arm around the queens waist for emphasis. "As hard as I tried to live my life in a way that you would despise, I managed to do the one thing you always wanted. Congratulations, Father, your son is with a Queen."

Byron's eyes grew as wide as dinner plates as he looked from Robin to Regina to, surprisingly, Snow before his eyes found Robin's defiant ones yet again.

"You… and the Queen?"

"Yes. Perhaps if you had let me choose my own path instead of trying to sell me off like livestock, it would have happened while you were alive to see it."

Byron swallowed hard as his eyes drifted to Henry, who had called the Queen 'Mom.'

"Is this-?" he asked, pointing to the confused author.

"No," Robin said, already anticipating the question before his father even asked it.

Byron racked his brain for a moment, struggling to remember the family history. The Queen hasn't been pregnant when Leopold died. Although with the rumors about Regina, he doubted that any child she had could definitely be her husband's anyway.

Maybe she had found a new husband during the curse she had intended to cast?

But he would worry about the probably uncomplicated family tree later.

"Do you have any heirs?" Byron asked, earning a sharp glare from Robin.

"You know I do."

"No, you have an offspring. An heir is someone you're proud to hand over your life and legacy to. That child is not an heir." his father said. "Not when his mother was some filthy peasant, not when his name is 'Hood'. The boy's practically a bastard."

This time it was Robin that Regina had to hold back and could only do so with David's help.

"Don't you ever talk about Roland again!" Robin roared. "Don't you ever call my son that!"

"What else would you have me call the son of a thief and a peasant whore?"

"Get out!" the outlaw yelled as he struggled against the Queen and the Prince. "Get out now!"

"Come on," Snow said as she grabbed Byron by the shoulders and steered him out of the apartment.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed once we were alone and the door shut behind them.

"I heard you were in town and I wanted to see you."

"Well I don't want to see you!" Snow snapped dangerously.

Byron glared at the princess. "In our realm-."

"We're not in our realm though," she interrupted him, "we are in the Underworld and I'd very much like to be able to leave when my daughter is done rescuing her boyfriend and if Regina finds out about what happened, I'm not sure I'm going to be able to!"

The two glared at one another for a long moment before Byron straightened out. "You are still my princess and my daughter by marriage."

"Quiet!" Snow hissed, not wanting that particular piece of knowledge to reach anyone inside the apartments ears.

"Therefor," he said as if she hadn't spoken. "I will let you have your secrets, your highness."

With a well practiced bow, Byron turned and walked back down the stairs.

"I shall be back next week for the rent though!" he called up to her before he left the building with a slam of the door.