AN: Glad to see so many of you are interested after the prologue! I thought it would be interesting to show a snippet of where we were headed first, and now it's time for the tavern meeting! I hope you like it, I tried to make it as organic as possible, although I did include some of my favorite lines between Robin and Regina from the show. Just a note, I'm introducing a minor character named Gwydion, who is named after a magician in Welch mythology. He will not feature predominantly, I just needed a magician that Robin and the others have learned from.
CHAPTER ONE
His tattoo was surrounded by green light that only Regina could see. She still couldn't see his face, but couldn't deny that at the very least, she was curious.
'I can do this,' she muttered to herself, her hand grasping the knob of the tavern door. 'I can be happy,' although she still wasn't entirely sure about that. She sucked in a breath and opened the door. She stared at the tattoo and thought for a moment of how she should approach him. She momentarily panicked at the thought and shut the door. She started to turn and run away, but saw Tinkerbell standing a bit down the street.
"Go on," the fairy mouthed with a big smile on her face. "You can do this!"
Regina nodded, realizing this fairy was not going to let her off so easily. She took another breath and stepped inside.
The tavern was fairly crowded, mostly with men, although there were a few women who were patronesses rather than bar maids. The first thing Regina noticed was that no one was dressed the way she was. A few heads turned toward her fine white dress as she walked in and she worried she'd attract too much attention.
Would they recognize her? The thought made her breath quicken in a fear, but then she realized they'd have no reason to know who she was. She hadn't left the palace since she'd been married to King Leopold almost a year ago, except to go to the woods for her magic lessons with Rumpelstiltskin. Leopold preferred his precious daughter's company to his wife's during royal appearances and visits, so no one had seen much of Regina. Without her carriage and guards, no one would have any reason to believe she was the Queen.
Still, there was no denying she was out of place here. She wasn't even sure if one was supposed to sit down first or approach the bar to order a drink. She had never set foot in a tavern in her life. Daniel had never taken her to one during their excursions and her mother certainly would never have allowed her in on. Regina remembered her mother once saying that taverns were where men hunted unsuspecting girls for their own amusement.
Regina didn't want to simply stand awkwardly and keep attracting attention, and was relieved to see an open table. She quickly took a seat and continued looking around. The place was rather rustic, and the other people there looked like they belonged there. It was a place for the farmers and villagers to have a good time and they all seemed to be.
The man with the lion tattoo was sitting at a table with a bunch of men he seemed to know. Now that she had worked out a place to sit, Regina realized she had no idea how to approach him. Should she just go over and strike up a conversation, or try to subtly move closer to him. She could now see him from the side, and part of her didn't really want to admit it but she did find him very handsome with his sandy hair what seemed like a nice smile when she could only see half of it. She thought his eyes might be blue, but she wasn't close enough to see. She strained her eyes to try to get a closer look, but she didn't want to be too obvious.
"What can I get for you Miss?" A female voice said from the other side and Regina didn't immediately realize the question was meant for her.
"Miss? Miss?" The voice said louder into her ear and Regina started. She looked up to see a blond bar maid looking at her with a confused expression.
"Is everything alright Miss?" she asked. 'Miss, that's me,' Regina thought to herself. She had rarely been addressed as anything but 'Your Majesty' in a year and hadn't expected to be called 'Miss' ever again.
"Yes, I'm sorry," she said, trying to recover her surprise and think of something to order. Wine seemed like an odd drink for this environment. "Um, I'm not sure yet," she continued nervously, moving her head slightly to look back at the man.
The bar maid followed her line of vision and a small smile began appearing on her face.
"Seems like you need something that conjures courage," she said.
"Well…" Regina began, feeling her face turn red.
"No worries, I know just the thing."
She walked back to the bar and poured an amber colored liquid into a glass. She brought it back over to Regina and set it down.
"Whisky. It'll calm your nerves," she said, before leaning in to whisper, "And it can even act as a love potion of sorts."
Regina blushed further, and took a sip. She was surprised by how strong it was and made an effort not to spit it out.
"Don't drink it too fast, it can take a while to get used to it," the bar maid said, bemused.
Regina took a breath and nodded. "I gathered that, thank you," she said.
"Well, I'll be making the rounds if you need anything else," she said, moving back to the bar to fetch some beers the bar tender had poured. Regina watched as she approached the table where the man with the lion tattoo was sitting. The bar maid seemed to whisper something to him, and he suddenly looked over in her direction. Regina quickly looked away, embarrassed to be caught staring.
'This is stupid,' she thought to herself, angrily. 'You don't even know him and you're acting ridiculous. Let's go, the fairy was probably talking nonsense anyway.'
She was about to get up and leave when a male voice near her said,
"And just what is a beautiful young lady like yourself doing in a tavern all alone?"
Regina looked up and saw a man standing next to her table. It was not the man she'd been staring at all evening. This one had darker hair and gave her a smile that made her feel squeamish. He attempted to put his hand on her arm and she shoved him off.
"I wanted a drink," she answered shortly, the way she would speak to an impertinent servant. "Is there a problem with that?"
"Not at all," he said, still grinning. "I'm just curious as to why you should be alone."
"I don't think that's really any of your concern," she said, standing up and shrugging his hand off her a second time.
"Oh come on lass, I'm just being friendly," he said, as she tried to push past him.
Regina momentarily wondered what exactly his definition of 'friendly' was.
"Let me go," she said forcefully, as he gripped her arm harder to prevent her from moving. The anger that had dissipated slightly in anticipation of what might happen tonight, started to flare up and she was suddenly tempted to use magic. But she hesitated, not wanting to draw more attention to herself.
Then, he moved his other arm, clearly intending to stop her moving again, and she lost her inhibitions. She let her anger take over again and the man went flying across the tavern and hit the back wall.
The tavern went silent, and all heads turned to see what had occurred. Regina took a breath and looked at the ground to avoid everyone's eyes. She quickly moved toward the door and pushed past a few people to exit.
She heard some mumbling start out as she neared the door. Suddenly, a kinder voice called out,
"Milady, are you alright?"
Regina saw the man with the lion tattoo standing up from the corner of her eye. She turned to look at him, and saw a look of concern that was oddly coupled with an admiring smile.
"Yes, I'm alright, thank you," she responded in a low voice.
"That was very impressive," he said with a wider smile that made her want to smile back. "Not everyone has the guts to stand up to the owner's son like that."
The men who were sitting with him nodded and murmured their assent. Not used to people looking impressed with her, Regina could only smile shyly. She looked back to where the man she'd hit with magic was slowly getting up off the floor.
"He's the owner's son?" Regina asked, surprised. "I don't know if I'd want to meet the owner."
"Oh, he's not so bad," another man spoke up. "When he knows what his son's doing he takes care of it."
"Well, I'll keep that in mind," she said, turning.
"Sit down if you want," the man with the lion tattoo invited, gesturing to the seat next to him.
"Oh, no," she said, although this is more than she hoped for. "I should probably go before there's more trouble."
"Oh, don't worry about it, the owner's already warning him to behave," the other man said, pointing to the back where an older man was telling his son off.
"Please sit, don't give him the satisfaction," the man said, still smiling.
His smile was infectious. 'You can do this,' she reminded herself, and moved to sit in the chair.
"Another drink for the lady," the man called out to the same blond bar maid, who grinned when she saw them together. "Robin of Locksley," he continued, turning to Regina with a hand out.
"Regina," she answered, shaking his hand shyly.
"And this is Will Scarlet, and John Little."
"But we call him Little John," Will Scarlet said.
Regina snorted, since John was a very large man. The bar maid came back and handed her another glass of whisky. She took a sip.
"So, we haven't seen you around before," Robin said. "Are you from these parts?"
"No," Regina said, honestly. "Just passing through."
"You on your way to a palace or something?" Little John asked.
Regina felt herself blanch at the question.
"John…" Robin said with a warning tone.
"Well it's not completely unlikely in that dress," John said.
"No," Regina said, cautiously. "I'm not on my way to a palace," and suddenly felt a wave of confidence. "Are you on your way to a buffet?" she asked sarcastically with a grin.
She saw Robin start smiling wider out of the corner of her eye and the man named Will started laughing. John got a strange glint in his eyes but Regina thought she could see a hint of a smile starting on his face.
"Oh come on Little John, don't dish it out if you can't take it," Robin said.
Little John started to laugh along with them.
"What about you?" Regina asked Robin, feeling more confident in starting a conversation. "Are you passing through here?"
"In a sense," he answered, turning in his chair to face her. "We're travelling with our magician friend whose doing shows throughout the kingdoms. We assist and he gives us a share of the cut. We've been here a few days though, that's how we know the owner's sons a problem."
"Oh, how interesting. Is he someone I would have heard of?"
"His name is Gwydion, but he hasn't performed much in these parts," Robin answered. "He does amazing illusions though, and he's hoping to gain more of an audience."
He went on to explain that they'd been travelling through the kingdoms of King George and King Midas and doing street performances for tips. Will Scarlet joked that they made extra by picking the pockets of the wealthier people who came out if there were any. Regina wondered if that was another, although more subtle, comment about her clothing, but she saw Robin shake his head at him.
"So, you're also a thief" She asked him, smiling a little nervously. Pixie dust or no, is that what she wanted?
"If you want to toss labels about, you could say that," he said, turning back to her. "How about you Milady? What should I call you?"
"I prefer Regina," she said, finding his confidence in challenging her somewhat endearing, even if she wasn't sure about the thief thing.
"And I, Robin," he said, with a handsome smirk.
Regina noticed Will Scarlet's attention was suddenly diverted from the banter to another bar maid who was eyeing him. He got a mischievous grin on his face and tapped John on the shoulder.
"C'mon mate, let's go say hello," he said, gesturing to the woman. John rolled his eyes, but got up and followed him.
"Are you going to go with them?" Regina asked Robin. He shook his head.
"Will only needs one wing man. Plus I'm hoping if I don't encourage him, he'll turn up for the show tomorrow. Gwydion won't like it if he doesn't have all of us there take money and assist."
"So, when you say you assist a magician, are you actually part of the illusions?" Regina asked. She was more familiar with the type of magic Rumpelstiltskin was teaching her, but the illusions magicians created required different skills.
Robin shook his head.
"No, so far Gwydion prefers to use us to pickpocket people during the show. He actually makes more money off that than the tricks sometimes."
"How did you come into that?" Regina asked, curious and trying to ignore the pounding in her heart. He wasn't what she had expected, although admittedly she hadn't known what to expect when all she had to go on was pixie dust.
He hesitated for a moment but started talking while he looked her in the eyes.
"I was exiled. I'm originally from Nottingham," he said.
"Oh, yes, King Richard's territory," she responded. "But his brother is actually ruling right now, if I remember correctly," she recalled something being mentioned about it at court.
"Yes, exactly. And his brother, Prince John, is a brute. He's taken over a lot of estates, and the Sheriff is in his pockets. I protested the new taxes and the drove me out. That's why I send money back. I don't have a family, but my father's old tenants need help."
"That's quite noble of you," she commented.
He gave a soft smile and shrugged. He went on to tell her that he'd met John and Will while on the run after a near deadly confrontation with the Sheriff of Nottingham. They had met Gwydion when they tried to rob him after one of his performances. It had nearly ended badly, but the magician had been impressed with them, and had taught them better techniques in exchange for their help to raise (and steal) money during their shows.
When Robin seemed near the end of his story, the bar maid who had served Regina in the bar earlier came over.
"Sorry to kick you out, but we're closing up."
Regina suddenly looked up and realized they were the only two left in the tavern. Robin pulled some coins out of his pocket and handed them to the woman.
"Will that be enough for both of ours?" he asked.
"Oh, you don't have to do that," Regina protested, feeling guilty since he obviously had little and she was wealthy. Of course, she had left in a hurry with Tinkerbell and hadn't brought any money with her, so she couldn't actually pay.
"I insist," he said, as they both got up from the table. They walked out into the street, which was quiet and dark.
"So," he continued as they walked slowly together. "You've basically heard my story, but I still don't know much about you. Where are you from?"
Regina swallowed hard. She had really started enjoying his company, and he had just an interesting story himself. There was only so much she could tell him in exchange.
"Far from here," she answered. "I left home myself, although not for the same reasons you did."
Robin's interest seemed to peak as he turned to look at her again.
"What were yours?"
"Um, well, my mother really," she answered. It wasn't really a lie after all. "She was trying to force me into a marriage I didn't want and the only way out turned out to be leaving." It didn't seem the right time to explain that her mother had succeeded, because she hadn't left in time.
"So you're searching for a different life then?" he asked, seeming to sense she wasn't comfortable with details yet.
She smiled wider.
"I guess you could say that. I'm not really sure where my life is headed." That was also true.
"Are you staying around here? I could walk you back," he offered as they reached a fork in the road.
Regina didn't want to say goodbye, but there was no place for him to walk her back to. She'd have to magically transport herself back to the Palace and that would raise too many questions.
"That's alright, I'll be fine," she said. "I'm sure you need to get back yourself."
"Are you still going to be here tomorrow?" he asked, looking like he hoped the answer was yes. "You could see the show if you wanted. I mean, I'd like to see you again."
"I'd like that too," she admitted, shyly. Maybe there was a way to make it back tomorrow night. "I'll try to make it if I can."
Robin smiled again, his blue eyes alight at the idea.
"Well I'll just hope to see you then, Milady."
"Yes," she said, although she didn't move to walk away yet.
There was a pause and he spoke up again, with a questioning voice.
"Forgive me, but would it be terribly unbecoming of a thief to steal a kiss from you?" he asked.
Later on, Regina wouldn't be sure what exactly came over her. But in the moment, she felt pulled toward him and found herself moving to kiss him on the lips. She backed away and saw him looking somewhat surprised.
"Well, you can't steal something that's been given to you," she said, and turned to run down the path, her adrenaline pumping from the sweet taste of his lips and how her heart rate had increased when they'd touched. She turned into the trees so he would be less likely to follow and used magic to transport herself back to the Palace.
She fell back onto her bed when she arrived and let the night play back through her head. She had felt light and alive for the first time in over a year. She still wasn't sure about this soul mate thing. But she did know she wanted to see him again.