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Stumbling through the forest, with Roland in his arms, and the crumpled map in his hands, he gave an annoyed sigh, as he folded the map into a square and pushed it into his belt. Robin was good at many things, but map reading was not one of them. He decided that the two should give up for the day, and try again to find the queen's castle tomorrow. Robin set Roland down on a nearby log, and grunted as he sat on a rather uneven part of it himself. As his moved into a more comfortable position, something caught his eye. The shimmer of a knife in the dying sunlight. He stood, only to find that the shimmer died away. Yet he was still uneasy. "Follow me Roland, and stay close. I think someone is watching us." Without warning, an young man jumped from behind a tree trunk, holding a knife to Robin's throat. But after a second, he dropped the knife, and laughed, "Robin?"
Robin was bewildered, somehow, he recognized the voice. As he turned around, his eyes lit up, and he wrapped his arms around the man. "Will!" he exclaimed, "What... What are you doing here?"
"Well, I heard noises coming from over here, and came to investigate. What about you?"
"It's kind of a long story. You see, we were lost in the woods, as per usual, and we stumbled upon the... uh... Dark One."
"You what?"
"Wait, Will, before you say any more. He offered us a deal. He's going to give us gold. And that will give me a chance to raise Roland in a good home. But only if we steal something of his, from the Evil Queen."
"Bloody hell! Robin, what were you thinking. You know you shouldn't make deals with the Dark One. He's dangerous."
"I know, and that's why I need you to take care of Roland for the next couple of days. Just until I sort this mess out. Please?"
"Okay, but just for a few days, and only because you helped me out before."
"Oh, thank you Will. I won't forget this." Then he turned to Roland, "Now Roland, I need to take care of the thing that the Dark One wanted me to do, so I need you to stay with Will for a few days, okay?"
"Yes Papa."
With that, Will began to walk away with Roland. But just before he was out of Robin's sight, he turned and said, "Meet me in three days at the old hideout, an hour's walk from the Queen's castle."
"Okay, I'll see you then."
After a cold night of sleep, and a few more hours stumbling blindly through the forest, the thief finally looked upon the open road that lead to the glistening palace ahead. He felt his stomach clench and a few beads of sweat run down his forehead. This was the biggest robbery he had ever done. He was nervous, but he couldn't give up now. Not when his and Roland's futures were on the line like this.
He decided that it would be best to steal the mirror during the day, as it resided in the Queen's chambers, and he didn't want the task of sneaking past a sleeping Evil Queen being added to his list. So, Robin waited at the side of the road, concealed by a few bushes, until he had watched the Queen's carriage drive by, and waited until it was well out of sight before beginning to advance towards the palace.
As he stood beneath the looming gates, all nerves that he had vanished, and were replaced by excitement. It had been just under six months since Robin had even considered stealing from anyone. And now, here he was, about to steal a Magic Mirror from the Evil Queen. With an intake of breath, Robin stepped through the gates, into the palace.
He soon realised that finding the Queen's chambers would not be as easy as he had first thought. The palace was a maze, and it was impossible to navigate without a map to at least guide him through. After what Robin thought to be at least an hour of wandering desperately through hallways, and dashing around corners when he saw guards coming, he finally stumbled upon quite a grand door at the end of a corridor. He had a feeling that this was the door that would lead the the Queen's chambers.
So he stepped forward, and opened the door, to find what he had come to steal, the mirror.
What Robin saw inside the room was magnificent. There was an exquisite bed, with the most grand headboard he had ever laid his eyes on. A small distance from the bad, was a large dressing table, which was bigger than his small dining table back at his old home in Sherwood. He found himself go into a sad daze when he thought about his old home, and remembered all of the good times he had spent there with his son and wife.
Suddenly, jolting back to reality, Robin caught a glimpse of something shimmering on the table, and just as Rumplestiltskin had said, there was a small hand held mirror, laying there in the mid-afternoon sunlight. The mirror was beautiful, and was engraved with lots of patterns and markings. And there, right at the bottom of the handle, were the letter, 'R+C' in bold cursive. Remembering where he was, and realising that the queen could return at any moment, he picked up the delicate piece of metal and glass, and placed it carefully into his bag, before lifting out a rope, long enough to hang from the railing of the balcony that was attached to the grand chambers of the Queen, all the way to the ground, many stories below.
He uncoiled the rope, and set about tying it to the railing, but before he got far, he could make out the faint click of shoes coming down the hallway just outside the room he stood in, that he guessed could only belong to the Queen. Knowing that he could never escape in time, his eyes darted around the room, desperately trying to find a place to hide. Seeing an opportunity, he abandoned his rope, and the half finished knot, and dived under the Queen's bed, and just in time, because just at that moment, she walked in.
The Queen began talking to who Robin could only assume to be a guard, but he couldn't quite hear what they were saying. After a few minutes, the guard left, leaving the Queen alone, or so they thought.
Robin's chested heaved with anxiety, for he knew that he couldn't go undetected for long, as he watched her feet move slowly towards where the dressing table was. After a few seconds that seemed to last forever, he heard a loud shout of "No!" coming from above his head. "Who would dare to steal from me?" The voice screamed again, as if waiting for an answer that would never come. Then, the Queen stormed over to the balcony, where Robin realised he had left his rope. Maybe it would trick her into thinking that he had escaped, but no, she was too smart for that. The Queen tugged the rope hard, and smirked when the knot came undone in her hands, knowing that this could not possibly have held anyone's weight. "I know you're in here!" She coaxed, with a tone of danger in her voice. "Show yourself, thief, or pay the price!" Robin knew that he could not evade the Queen forever, and knew that the quicker she found him, the less painful his death would be. If he was lucky, she would snap his neck and be done with it. So, slowly, he slid out from under the bed, and raised his arms into the air in submission.
As he did so, the Queen laughed, a sly chuckle, and a wicked grin spread across her face. "Well, I've finally found an outlaw stupid enough to try and steal from my own castle, and think that he could escape with the stolen possessions, or at all, in fact. Why did you think you could accomplish such a feat? Huh?"
"I was forced to, by, a certain person who wanted to get their hands on this." And as he said this, he pulled the mirror from his bag and held it out to the Queen. "He promised me enough gold to bring my son up in a good home."
"Would this person be Rumplestiltskin, by any chance." Robin nodded, and the Queen circled the thief. "The Dark One has sent many a thief into my castle to steal this, but none made it much further than the castle gates. How did you do it?" When the thief refused to answer, and instead, bowed his head and stared at the floor. "Well, however you did it, you will be punished severely!" As she said this, her temper started to build up, until her blood was almost boiling and the smile on her lips had vanished. She lifted her hand to force the outlaw to stand, instead of his current kneeling position. Then, before he had a chance to even plead with her, she stomped towards him, until he could feel her breath, mingling with his own. She stood for a moment, watching the worried expression on his face, and enjoying every moment of it, before plunging her hand into his chest, lingering there a few seconds, and then pulling it out, along with Robin's glowing heart. "Please, your majesty, don't do this. I have a family, a son." He pleaded, and as he did so, he reached out to grab her wrist. "How dare you ..." The Queen began, but then she look down to his arm to shake him off, and saw the very thing she thought she would never see.
A tattoo of a lion, embedded on his wrist.
