Wow. So I was so overwhelmed by your response that I decided to publish the first chapter.
I really hope you'll enjoy it.
CHAPTER 1
They had already been driving for about twenty minutes and no words had been exchanged between the two royals. David was admiring the view in silence and Regina was busy coming out with a plan as to how they should approach Henry and Emma. She knew they were in New York now -of that she was almost certain. However, she had no other information regarding their actual everyday life or how she would be able to get in touch with them.
"I can almost hear you think."
The Prince's voice startled her a little and for the first time since they had left Storybrooke, she allowed herself a quick glance towards him. She still couldn't believe she had accepted for him to come along.
The brunette sighed turning her attention back to the road.
"We're going to make a stopover in Boston." She informed him. "The drive to New York is a bit long so it'll probably be safer for us to split it in half so we can get some rest."
"Sounds like a plan." David answered simply, a small grin grazing her lips.
Regina gave him a slight nod of her head.
Silence filled the car anew and once again David was the one to break it.
"It's the first time I'm getting out of Storybrooke." He said thoughtfully, leering at the landscape through the window.
"What about the Enchanting Forest? Neverland? …" The Queen asked, lifting a brow as she eyed him.
The blonde man let out a small chuckle.
"Yes I know. But this time -I don't know, it's different. It almost feels like a vacation." He explained. "Of course, there's still the Wicked Witch threatening our lives but -it's nice."
"I'm sure you'd rather be with Snow..."
The Prince smiled, shaking his head.
"Someone has to take care of the town." He stated. "Plus, you're not that bad of a company." He let out dismissively but with a knowing smirk on his face.
Regina couldn't help but chuckle as well. She leaned on her seat, a wistful smile still lingering on her face. She felt her heart tighten a little in her chest and she bit her lower lip guardedly before speaking up.
"I'm sorry for…" David frowned, watching her. "The Wicked Witch," she explained. "In the end, she's after me. She wants to get revenge on me and it's affecting everyone."
"Is that an apology I am hearing your Majesty?" David asked, a bit surprise. "Are you sick or something?" He teased.
The brunette rolled her eyes.
"If you ever mention it to anyone, I'll turn you into a toad."
"And then, you'll have no choice but to kiss me to turn me back into a Prince…I see where you're going your Majesty." He continued, still happily taunting her.
Regina immediately felt her cheek reddening. Had he really just said that? She pondered in shock. She shook her head slightly, clearing her thoughts. What's getting into you, Regina? She scolded herself.
David cleared his voice, forcing her to come back to reality.
"For what it's worth," he started and she eyed him a bit from the corner of the eye. "You are to blame for a lot of things -like killing countless of innocents."
The brunette pursed her lips, unimpressed and the Prince had to repress a chuckle in order to continue.
"But what's happening with Zelena isn't your fault." He told her earnestly. "She is jealous because she thinks that you had a better life than hers but…I saw a little glimpse of your past, two years ago...at the stables…" Regina immediately felt her heart tightening at the thought of that dreadful day. "I…I think you had your share of drama and pain." David finished quietly.
xxx
He watched her silently, studying her. If he looked carefully, he could almost notice the invisible tears falling on her cheeks. She gave him a small smile and a simple nod of her head to which he answered. He knew how painful the subject was for her so there was no way he would push her. He remembered everything about that day. He remembered her face when she had begged him to let her talk to her fiancé…Daniel, he recalled. He remembered the despair in her eyes, the shaking of her hands…of her body. He had never seen her like that before. He would have never imagined that she was carrying so much pain in her heart. For him she was just the Evil Queen and nothing more…That day changed much.
The Prince decided to change the subject, lighten up the mood a little.
"So," he started, "how long does it take to get to Boston?"
"About two and a half hours." She told him. "We'll stop in Portland in order to eat something."
"Is your Majesty getting a bit hungry?"
"Shut up Charming." Regina snapped causing him to chuckle but he obeyed.
It took them a good fifteen minutes to arrive in Portland. They found a diner at the edge of the town and decided to stop there. stopped at a diner just at the edge of the town. Regina parked her car just in front of it.
"I can't believe I'm about to say this," the Queen spoke, parking her car, "but Granny's is a five stars compared to that."
David laughed at that.
"Come on, stop being so uptight." The Prince said still chuckling.
"I beg your pardon?" The mayor inquired with furrow of her brows as she got out of the car.
"You're on a road trip and you're wearing a pencil skirt and a blazer." David observed, getting out in turn.
"I just –it was…It was to keep up appearances." She hissed. "Plus, it's not a road trip." She let out, rolling her eyes as she headed towards the diner. "Why am I even talking to you?!" She muttered under her breath and all he did was chuckling harder. "You're a pain Charming." She groaned as the bell rang when she opened the door.
They stepped inside and went to sit at a booth by the window. Immediately, a red-haired waitress came to take their order.
"Good evening." She greeted them with a warm smile as she handed them the menu and put a bottle of water on the table.
"Thank you." David answered with a charming smile only he, had the secret.
Regina rolled her eyes taking the menu from the waitress.
"Sorry." The Prince started, trying hard not to smirk. "My wife's a bit moody." He let out, glancing at the brunette to await her reaction.
He wasn't disappointed as the Queen's eyes flashed open in shock. She looked up at him and this time he let his smirk grew wider. Suddenly, he felt someone kicking him hard in the leg. He let out a muffled cry before chuckling, amused.
"I'll take a burger with some French fries to the side." He finally told the waitress.
The young woman nodded -still confused by what was going on, before looking at Regina.
"I'll just take a salad."
"Uptight." David coughed before looking at her defiantly.
"What you think doesn't matter to me, Charming." Regina snapped and all he did was shrug his shoulder, innocently pouring himself a glass of water.
xxx
Regina looked at him, biting angrily her lower lip. He still had that annoying, infuriating smug smile on his damn face and -Damn it!
"Burger and French fries." She let out, fuming before handing the menu to the waitress.
"Alright." The red-haired woman said simply, taking both menus before heading hurriedly towards the kitchen.
David laughed and for only answer, the brunette stifled her annoyed sigh before leaning on her chair. Suddenly, they heard a phone ringing. Regina glanced towards David with a raising brow. The Prince searched himself for his phone until he felt it in the pocket inside his jacket.
"It's Snow." He informed her, looking down at the caller's name on the screen.
Regina nodded as he slid out of the booth and walked outside. After a few minutes, the waitress came back with their dishes.
"Here." She gave Regina her plate. "And this one for your husband." She said putting the second plate down.
"He is not my husband." Regina answered, annoyed.
"Oh…Alright." The waitress said simply before leaving and the Queen had to refrain herself from rolling her eyes.
The doorbell rang anew and David stepped back in the diner.
"She just wanted to know how things were going." He told her, sitting down.
"You can say it; she was worried I had killed you."
"No," He dismissed with a smirk. "She knows you can't use your magic here."
"Trust me. I've got more than one trick up my sleeve." She told him with a knowing look.
"Is that so?" David answered, holding her gaze and for one second, it almost felt like he was flirting with her.
She put that thought aside, scolding herself. That was utterly silly.
Probably sensing her uneasiness, David switched on the subject.
"So, you're not eating? It's delicious."
Regina paused before allowing herself to grab a French fry. She shoved it in her mouth and wriggled her nose.
"Unimpressive and fat."
"It's good. Eat it and shut up."
Regina's eyes widened. She was about to answer back but for the first time in -forever long, she was at the loss of words. She bit her lower lip, watching him. This trip was going to be long, she could feel it.
xxx
After twenty minutes, they paid for their food and left the diner. David followed her back to the car and a small and amused smile grazed his lips when he saw her body shake slightly as she yawned. It was such a normal and human act…It was odd to see her do such things in his presence simply because she was the kind of woman whose brave, confident, almost emotionless, mask seemed to never slip.
"You're tired." He observed as she opened her door.
"I'm fine." She dismissed.
The Prince sighed, suppressing a roll of his eyes. Good Lord, she was stubborn!
"Hey," he called her, holding her arm as she was about to get into the vehicle.
She looked at him, frowning.
"When was the last time you had some sleep? Real sleep, I mean."
"I haven't had a real sleep since I had to give my son up." She sighed, closing her eyes briefly. "I'm fine Charming." She assured.
"You're not." He insisted not caring that she was close to be losing her temper. "Come on. I'll drive and you can rest in the meantime."
That caught her attention and she watched him as if he had just told her the biggest non sense of all time. She opened her eyes when she realized he was serious.
"No." She shook her head. "You don't know where we're going and -"
"Boston." He cut. "You said it." He told her, pushing her gently to the side so he could sit behind the wheel.
"Charming, I don't have time for your childishness." The Queen let out, starting to chew her lower lip -something, he had noticed, she did whenever she was feeling like she was about to get mad but he didn't falter.
"You're the one acting like a child, right now. Get in the car, I'll drive. I'm not stupid, I can follow a sign." He muttered the last sentence.
Regina raised an amused eyebrow and he could feel the snarky response coming. The Prince rolled his eyes and she chuckled. She sighed and looked at him for a moment before going to sit on the passenger's seat.
"Thank you." He told her, a bit condescendingly.
The brunette looked at him ready to retort something but instead she just breathed out loudly before turning her head to lean it against the window.
"You can sleep." David told her, softly this time. "We'll arrive safe and sound."
A not-quite-certain hum left the brunette's mouth but she shut her eyes. The blonde-haired man couldn't refrain a smile at the sight. She looked almost harmless and -beautiful…A beautiful woman.
"Are you planning on arriving before sunrise?" Her voice startled him. "Or are you just going to stay here and get an eyeful?" She inquired, without opening her eyes.
The smile on the man's face grew bigger. He turned back to look ahead of him and started the engine. He let his hand grab the belt and buckled it up before pulling into the street.
xxx
She didn't know for how long she had been asleep when she felt an insistent pat on her left shoulder. She mumbled a closed-mouthed 'what', straightening up carefully as she rubbed the sleep off her face and opened her eyes. Immediately, her eyelids trembled in reaction to the bright, neon pink sign ahead of her. The brunette frowned, trying to adjust her vision until she was finally able to read the letters M.O.T.E.L spelled on top of a building's façade.
Regina closed her eyes briefly, sighing.
"What are we doing in a motel's parking lot?" She inquired, straightening completely on her seat before turning to look at the man next to her.
"I…" The Prince hesitated. "I thought we could stop -get some rest. You'd probably be more comfortable in a bed."
"You're lost, aren't you?" Regina challenged, raising a brow.
"Maybe." The blonde man shrugged.
"I should have never let you drive. I should know by now not to delegate -it only slow things down." She muttered, annoyed.
"Stop being such a fusspot."
Regina's head snapped up, in shock.
"I'm not a…" She stopped talking at the sight of the Prince's smirk. The brunette shut her eyes and let out a brief sigh. "You know what; never mind."
Her travel companion chuckled.
"Come on," he motioned, opening his door. "I got us a room."
The Queen sighed, thought for a moment before giving in and getting out of her car. He wasn't wrong about the fact that she would probably be more comfortable in a bed. She grabbed her purse as David busied himself with their respective travel bags. Afterwards, when all doors had been closed and the vehicle locked up, they headed towards the stairs to reach the first floor.
They stopped in front of room 132 and David took care of opening the door and switching the lights on. Regina looked around, squinting as she took in the new environment they were in.
"Fancy." She ironized.
"It's not –that bad." The Prince tried.
Regina turned to face him, lifting a knowing brow and the man chuckled, raising his hands in defeat.
"Where is your room?" The brunette asked after a while.
"H -I only asked for one room." David admitted, hesitantly.
"Very funny." Regina said, chuckling wryly before she realized that he was serious. "No. You don't expect us to share a bed, do you?"
"Afraid you might not be able to control yourself?" David shoot back with a smirk.
"You wish." She replied, looking at him with mischief. "You might actually learn a trick or two." She added, walking past him, making sure to sway her hips a little.
She chuckled inwardly at his silence before grabbing her bag and heading towards the bathroom.
Regina walked over the washbasin and turned on the water. She freed her hands by settling the bag on the bath's edge and she started rinsing them under the tap. Once they were clean enough, she bent a little and started to splash some water on her face. Seconds went by -or maybe minutes before she let her hands fall and grab both sides of the ceramic furniture. She let her shoulders drop as her entire body started to shake, and tears to roll down her cheeks.
She cried every night now. Ever since she had had to say goodbye to Henry. She never forced it -it just happened. After hours of putting up a brave face -or at least an unreadable one- so she wouldn't let herself appear weak in front of the people, it seemed only normal for her body to simply break once she was back safe, inside the four walls of her bedchambers -or her mansion. She was safe to let the mask fall.
David was right. She had no idea it was that obvious but he was right -she hadn't had a real, good night sleep in a very long time. Actually, for as long as she could remember, her peaceful nights started to fade when Henry discovered he had been adopted. She was spending her days trying to make it up to him and her nights asking herself if he would ever forgive her. Naturally, when he got the storybook -things only went downhill and her worries only increased. Worries about him hating her, about the curse breaking, about losing him forever, about Greg and his useless girlfriend -Pan and now Zelena…So yes, David was right and yes, she could use a good night sleep. However, she was afraid she didn't remember how to anymore.
A small knock on the door and an 'are you ok in there?' brought her out of her thoughts. She lifted a hand and wiped her tears away as she composed herself.
"I'm very well capable of changing alone, Charming."
She had intended of adding another snarky comment but she decided against it, as she felt her lower lip trembling anew.
xxx
Her answer brought a small smile to David. However, he couldn't help but feel that she wasn't that alright but who could blame her?! He -himself- had spent his entire life pretending that everything in his life wasn't a whole load of crap throwing at him every ten seconds but if he was honest, he was slowly starting to get sick of it.
"You have a twin brother you've never heard of." Oh.
"You have to fight a dragon." H -ok.
"An evil Queen wants to kill your wife." Well.
"You have to put your daughter into a tree trunk so she can save the world." Alright.
"Your daughter looks your age and you missed twenty-eight years of her life. Oh and you have a grandson you've only met two years ago and now they're both God knows where and don't even remember you." Well -ok.
Well that was enough. No more. He wanted sometimes to not be alright, to yell and say how much life sucked. He wanted nothing of that: for all he had ever dreamt of was to get married, have four little blonde heads and raised them on his parents' farm. He loved Snow. Of course he did but sometimes, he wished she would stop acting as if everything was good. Things weren't good. There were far from it.
The door of the bathroom opened as he got on the bed and under the covers. His breath almost caught in his throat at the sight. In front of him, Regina was standing, wearing a pair of light purple silk pajama pants and a grey tank top, hugging her figure nicely. On top she was on a loose grey -though a tad darker than the tank top- cardigan and when he let his gaze fall on her feet, he noticed their bareness. She looked positively gorgeous. Hot?! Maybe. No dark red lips. No makeup. Just natural. A natural beauty.
"Something caught your eyes Charming?" She teased as she put her bag on her chair.
He chuckled trying to hide his embarrassment.
"Well, what is there not to look at?!" He pointed out with a small smile.
He saw her pause a second and he wondered if he had crossed the line. His worries disappeared when she turned and said: "you might use a cold shower, dear." with a mocking smile.
The Prince let out another chuckle as she came to lie on the bed. She slid under the covers, only a few inches from him. She lied down and rolled to the side, slowly closing her eyes.
David smiled, watching her silently before whispering a gentle "Goodnight Regina."
Thoughts? I hope you liked. Keep reviewing it makes my world.
XoX
