A/N: Hello! I wanted to have the 4th chapter ready before posting this one, but it's still being betaed and far from finished, so I'm posting chapter 3, because it's been a while since the last update. Some of you might have noticed, but I changed the titles of my chapters. This story will be made of two parts, and even if the second one will start right back when the first one ended, they are still different, and I wanted to make a distinction between them. Plus, this title will give you an idea of what the first part is about, and I think, I hope, that it is where you want this story to go ;-)
Thanks for the fav and follows and the reviews. You know how important it is for us writers to have your opinion.
Present
She takes a slow breath as she makes a pause in her story, her gaze flickering from the cold stone in front of her to the fields behind the grave. The landscape didn't change, but nothing is the same now.
Nothing, and no one.
"I missed you too much, Daniel, and when Robin tried to kiss me the first time, despite how happy I had felt over the last weeks, the pain of your loss and my love for you just came back stronger than ever. For a day or two, it was awkward. We could barely look at each other. I think he felt guilty, especially since he was the only one who knew about you. But he made it up to me. He gave me the most beautiful gift I could ever hope for at that time of my life."
5 years earlier
She's taking care of the horses, hers and the three others the men own, providing them with food and water, smiles and affection, cleaning the enclosure, feeling calm and peace around them.
The camp is quiet.
John, Alan and Much left a few hours ago, Tuck is busy reading a book, and Robin...
Well, she doesn't know what he's doing, hasn't seen him much since their near kiss two days ago. No one has, actually. He's been disappearing for hours, missing their lessons, but she doesn't mind, she's not quite ready to be alone with him now.
He killed the magic she felt growing between them, the closeness, the friendship, the newfound trust. She feels bad at her inability to go through it, doesn't want to leave being on bad terms with him when she goes away at the end of the week -especially since they have no idea of her plan for leaving. She had reconsidered her decision to go, but after this event she decided it was best. She doesn't want her life here to be altered by moments like that, and Robin is nice, and she likes him a lot really, but despite that strange connection between them that she can't quite put a name on, she refuses it to be something else. She thought he understood it.
"Regina?"
She jumps slightly at the shy and low voice coming from behind her, and takes a deep breath before turning to meet Robin's sheepish eyes. She doesn't speak, feels like he has more to say, so she waits until he takes a step closer, careful not to invade her personal space.
"Do you have a minute? I'd like to show you something."
She looks at him and sees nothing but honesty and hope, and he's been so kind to her that she can't find it in herself to refuse him. So she nods silently, and when he invites her to follow him, she does.
They get out of the camp, walk for a little while, before he stops and turns to face her, obviously anxious.
"I have a gift for you," he breathes and she furrows her brow, doesn't understand, but doesn't mouth a word. He steps to the side and it takes her a few moments before she looks ahead of her and down of the tree facing her, finally noticing the bunch of wild flowers on a root and the shining light gray stone next to it, six letters staring back at her. She opens her mouth in surprise, takes a step forward, then back, her eyes flickering between the stone and Robin, a silent question on her lips.
"When I told you about my life, I remembered your own story, of Daniel. And I realized that just like me, you didn't have the possibility to visit his grave whenever you needed it. I'm not even sure you had the opportunity to go in the first place."
She shakes her head to prove his point, eyes glassy but she lets him continue.
"So I made for you what I did for myself years ago. I created a place where you can come if you want to. It's not much, just a stone, and a name, some privacy, and those flowers I picked from a meadow nearby."
She eyes him again with a stunned face, eyes shining with tears, amazed to see that he did that for her, that he cared and understood her enough to give her exactly what she needed.
"I know it's not much and I'll understand if you don't want it. I just thought it was the least I could do after-"
She interrupts him, wraps her arms around his neck and hugs him tight, eyes closed, fighting to keep the tears at bay, thanking him with a soft and strangled voice as sobs threaten to take her.
"It's the nicest thing someone did for me in a very long time," she confesses when she pulls back and murmurs, "It's perfect."
She pulls back farther from him, turns around to look at the stone, amazement still written on her face.
"Regina?" he calls, and this is the same unsure voice he used when he came to her at the camp earlier.
She gives him a questioning look, but stays silent.
"I'm," He takes a step forward, but doesn't attempt to make physical contact with her, looks down for a second and then meets her gaze. "I am really, honestly, sorry for my behavior the other day. I was an idiot, I should have never tried to kiss you, it was stupid."
The words are out before she realizes it "It was."
He's hurt, she can see it, but he continues anyway. "I promise you, I promise, I will not try anything like that again. I want the things between us to go back to what they were. I like you, Regina. I like you a lot, and I mean it when I say I want you to be my friend. Just friend."
He looks at her hopefully, and she feels a rush of affection for that man who just did more for her in a few weeks after meeting her than everyone else she knew for her entire life. She's touched, and shaken, and she reaches for his hand, hooks their fingers in a loose hold, fingertips just touching, and he doesn't ask for more.
"I'd like that."
A bright smile lights up his face, and he nods wordlessly, gives her fingers a slight squeeze before taking a step back.
"I'll give you some privacy. I'll be around, just call when you want to go back."
She smiles softly at him, tilts her head in agreement, and watches him go before turning to the made-up grave and kneeling in front of it, grabbing the flowers and bringing them to her nose, their scent enveloping her.
Present
"I couldn't believe he did that for me. He was the first one to really care about me since you and my father, the first one to listen, the first one to remember, the first one to understand. He knew just what to do to make me smile and feel better. I never understood how he did it, but I know I loved it. I spent a while there, thinking of you, of what I had lost, of what I had found, and I was strangely happier when we went back to the camp. I felt safe again and secure. But I didn't want us to spend the next hours talking about his gift, so I asked him to give me an archery lesson, to allow us both to find back that complicity we had in those moments.
And it worked.
For almost an hour, it worked. Until the other men came back. They'd been to the village to steal some food, but they showed up with an unexpected present too. A less pleasant present."
5 years earlier
She releases the string and watches her arrow hit the second circle from the center. One of her best shot until now. A proud smile on her face, Regina turns to Robin, who gives her a nod in approval, handing her another arrow.
"I think the bow could become your weapon of choice. I watched you practice with all the others, and it's the one you're the more comfortable with, with which you've made a faster progress. You will be very good at it in the end, I'm sure."
She shrugs, acting indifferent to his suggestion, readying her arrow on the bow. "You're only saying that because it's your favorite weapon, and you want to prove the others that you're a better teacher," she challenges, smirking, and he chuckles, steps closer when she gets in position, waiting a whisper of a second before putting his hands on her waist, changing the angle of her position just a bit.
He hears her breath catch, and his is short too but he doesn't show it. He made a promise and he intends to keep it.
"Focus," he murmurs in her ear before taking a step back.
She pulls on the string, evens her breathing out, waiting, taking her time, and she's about to release her arrow when it happens.
What she's been dreading for weeks.
"Regina?" calls a strong voice, and she's startled, but recovers quickly, releases the pull on the string as she turns around to see Much walking briskly towards her, ahead of Alan, John and Tuck.
The young boy hands her a poster with a questioning look, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Can you explain us this? It's all over the Kingdom," he accuses, looking at Regina with a raised eyebrow, Alan, Tuck and John giving her a questioning and pained face.
She takes the paper from his hands, and stares at it in disbelief. It's even worse than she thought, and it's complicating everything. She sees a drawing of her, but instead of the WANTED she'd been expecting, there is a KIDNAPPED written under her face. Her eyes open widely and she can't tear them away from the warrant.
"Regina?" Robin's hand lands on her shoulder as he speaks softly, making her jump and step back, gaze flickering between the five of them, not realizing yet what she's holding in her hand. "You told me you ran away."
"I did," she finally says, meeting his confused blue eyes. "I don't understand."
"Wait! You knew?" Much asks loudly, looking at Robin, but the man just gives him a glare.
"Who is that man on the other poster?" John asks and Regina frowns, realizes there is another page in her hand, lifts the one with her face to be met by...
No!
It can't be!
She can't have done that! She couldn't have stained his memory that way!
Her mouth is wide open with horror, shock and anger, but her eyes are filled with tears, tears that she struggles hard to blink back, her fingers gripping the paper so tightly she almost creases it.
Not noticing her state of mind, Alan asks, pointing at the bottom of the page a phrase she hasn't seen yet. "Why does that say this man committed a 'crime against the King'? Who are you, Regina? Who are you really?"
When she notices it, she closes her eyes tightly and takes a deep breath, because she knows she has no other choice but to tell the truth. The whole truth.
She shakes her head, a tear escaping and rolling down her cheek despite her efforts, but she wipes it away and nods toward one of the tables by the fire.
"We should sit. It's a long story."
And she tells them everything. The part Robin knew about Daniel, added Snow's rescue and the King's proposal. She speaks about her asking Daniel to marry her and wanting to run away, being caught by Snow and making her promise to keep the secret. She's bitter when she mentions the girl spilling it out to her mother and has to suppress a sob when she's telling the part when her mother found them in the stables ready to leave, stops before confessing what happened just next.
Robin understands, recognizes the story she already told him a few weeks ago and grabs her hand, holding it tightly as he rubs his thumb over its back in a soothing movement. She lifts her gaze to meet his, grateful to see he's keeping his promise to be here when she needs him despite the fact that she clearly kept things from him.
She breathes again soundly, her voice shaking as she says "She made us believe she approved our union, but at the last second, she plunged her hand into Daniel's chest and she... she... she ripped his heart out and," she ignores the shocked faces in front of her, notices Robin's grip tightening on her as she clutches to his hand with so much strength she thinks she might break his fingers. "she crushed it. She killed him."
Her lower lip quivers lightly as she says the last words, blinking back tears, and she meets their compassionate faces when she reaches the last part of her story. "I had to pretend Daniel fooled me and never loved me when Snow thought I was getting ready for my wedding with him. I traveled to the castle the next day, and decided to run away as soon as possible. I knew they would be looking for me, I was supposed to become Queen after all. But I thought they would want me dead, or have me imprisoned, maybe even executed. I guess my mother made up a story to save the appearances in front of the King, so he could have me back if they found me," she lets out in a desperate breath. "And hurt me even more by destroying Daniel's memory. He had no family, my parents and I were the only one to know about his death."
"Why didn't you say anything?" Tuck asks gently.
Regina looks up at him, cocking her head to the side with a weak smile. "Because I had a feeling she was looking for me and I didn't want to be found. And just like you weren't totally comfortable with me knowing about the camp and betraying your secret, I wasn't comfortable about you finding out who I really am, or should be right now. People tend to have prejudice when you say you're supposed to be the Queen."
"That's fair, I guess," John admits. "What are you going to do now?"
"I have no idea. With her powers and his resources, it's just a matter of time before they find me," she sighs.
A strong and rough hand squeezes her shoulder in comfort, and she looks up to find Robin watching her intensely.
"Why don't we think about it tomorrow, after a good meal and a night of rest. We can figure out a plan in the morning."
Regina hears some approval among the men, and has no other choice but to nod in agreement.
But during the diner, her mind is elsewhere.
In a stable.
In a palace.
In front of a grave.
In front of her mother.
In front of Daniel's dead body.
She looks up at those men who agreed to help her, who are smiling and talking and laughing and she doesn't want to see them hurt. She knows that if she's found with them, no matter what she says, there is a chance they will be treated as her kidnappers, imprisoned, and probably sentenced to death. And she won't let that happen.
So in the morning, before the camp awakes, she will leave. She will leave to protect them, and she will disappear in the farthest kingdom, where neither her mother nor the King will ever find her.
xxx
Robin wakes up when the camp is still quiet. As he usually does when he's the first one up, he walks to the horses, to give them food and fresh water.
This morning, something feels off though.
The closer he gets, the more he has an uncomfortable feeling that something is missing. He only understands what it is when he reaches the enclosure and notices one horse is not there.
Rocinante.
Regina's horse.
Without a second thought, he runs to her tent, calls her name softly, then louder, his voice more urgent and frantic, and he finally enters when Tuck and John walk out of their own tents, awaken by his loud calls.
He finds what he's been dreading. It's empty. Her cloak is not there, neither are the few things she gathered or has been given since she's here. Instead, on the bed, is a letter, and he grabs it, reads it, storms out of the tent, almost colliding with his friends waiting for him on the other side.
"What is it, Robin?"
He hands them the letter, sighing deeply.
"She's gone."
His friends's eyes shoot up from the letter they haven't start reading yet to him, their surprise contrasting with his disappointment and anger. She should have trusted them. She should have stayed with people who cared about her, who are ready to protect and help her, instead of running away, again.
He takes a few steps, pacing as Tuck and John read the note.
Thank you for everything. You've been a great help when I needed it and I am forever indebted to you. But I don't want you to pay the price of my choices, you don't deserve it. When you'll wake up I'll be gone. I'm sorry I didn't say goodbye, but I think I wouldn't have been able to leave if you had been in front of me.
I will never forget you.
Regina
"She didn't think we could protect her," Robin mutters, verging on annoyance and frustration. "She didn't believe in us."
He shoots at a rock nearby, ignores the pained look of his friends, until Tuck stops him with a hand on his shoulder.
"Is this the real reason why you're that angry?"
The man looks up at him, confused, but his eyes soon open in realization. "No," he states. "I'm angry because she was one of us. She was broken and alone, just like we were when we found each other at the beginning. She could have been a part of our group, had she given us a chance."
Both John and Tuck nod their agreement, and the latter adds in a soft voice. "I understand your frustration. But there's good in her, Robin. And when you see the good in someone you don't give up on them. Especially if they don't see it themselves."
Robin frowns at his words, not sure just exactly what it is that his friend is telling him. Until John steps forward, a small smile on his face. "Go find her, bring her back. Convince her to stay with us, that we can protect her. We've all grown attached to her, and Tuck is right. We can't let her alone out there, not with all the danger that's hanging upon her head."
A bright smile lights up his face. He nods, goes to grab his bow and a few arrows just in case and saddles his horse.
She might not be ready to fight for herself yet, but he will fight for two if necessary.
xxx
She almost jumps when he silently takes a seat next to her. After a couple of hours riding and before joining the small road that will lead her way through the forest, she decided to take a break and let Rocinante rest for a moment, before resuming her journey. She took place on a log near her gelding, absently watching him contently.
She didn't expect him, or any one of them, to come after her. She knew from the beginning she had to leave those men she grew so fond of, because she didn't want them hurt if her mother found her, and didn't want to be forced to hear them asking her to go.
So this morning, she woke up before everyone, packed the few things they gave her -a warm cloak, a knife, a blanket, the bow and arrows she created for herself with Robin's help, food and water for the road, grabbed Rocinante's reins and led him out of the camp, careful not to wake anyone.
She almost walked back several times, her heart breaking at leaving behind the happiest days she's spent since Daniel's death, the nicest people she's met since he left her.
But she couldn't do that to them. She couldn't put their lives in danger.
She was outside of the King's lands, and thought it was enough, still the posters of her and Daniel Much found yesterday was the proof that she wasn't that far away.
So she had to run.
She had to leave as far away as possible from her mother, to never give her a chance to get a hold on her ever again.
"Can you tell me what you're doing?" Robin's soft voice asks, pulling her out of her thoughts.
She doesn't dare to look at him, doesn't dare to face his overprotective blue eyes she learned to lose herself into so quickly. Instead, she stares at her folded hands on her lap, shrugs sheepishly, sighs softly, "Leaving, I guess."
"I know that, I've read your note. But, why?"
She frowns at the question and his genuine questioning tone, finally lifts her head up to look at him in surprise. "Why shouldn't I?"
He cocks his head to the side and smirks, gently catches her hand between both of his, rubbing it slightly.
"Regina, I know you're scared, but you can't keep running away from everyone."
"Well, I don't really have a choice now that I know for sure she has sent men after me. I can't go back," she whispers, but there's no regret in her voice.
"You can't go back to your parents, or to the King," Robin concedes before continuing, "but you can come back with us."
"Robin, do you have any idea what they would do to you, or Tuck, or John, if they find you with me? I can't stay if it means endangering your lives."
"You can't take that decision for us, Regina," he reasons firmly. "You might not be, but we are ready to take the risk." She gives him a stern look and is about to tell him that they are fools, but he doesn't let her. "Maybe we want you to stay with us."
Regina's eyes open wider in astonishment. This time, it's her turn to ask, "Why?" Robin gives her a soft smile, but doesn't answer, so she adds, "Why would you want someone like me to stay with you? I mean, I'm a woman, I have no talent, I'm 'royalty' and I'm on the run from a powerful and merciless sorceress and a King who thinks I've been kidnapped and will be quick to assume you were Daniel's accomplices. I'm not really fitting to your standards."
He squeezes her hand gently, shaking his head. "Because we like you, and despite what you think, you are like us," he confesses, and Regina feels a pang of warmth and tenderness spreading through her at his words. "I watched you try to learn to shoot arrows with me, use a sword with John, fight with Alan. You're not as bad as you think, Regina. You're pretty good actually for a beginner, especially considering where you're coming from. And I'm sure with more regular practice and that impressive stubbornness of yours, you can be as good as we are. You're a royal, yes, but I come from a noble family myself," he recalls, showing her his tattoo. "And yes, you are a woman, but I can assure you that women can too be worthy of men if trained properly. As for your mother, I don't think she really expected you to be able to flee that far away from your lands, and that paper is probably just for good measure from the King. Even if she did, we can find a way to prevent her from ever finding out where you are. No one has ever found our camp, and we've been living there for a while now. We can hide you, and protect you."
"She has magic," Regina insists, "powerful magic."
"And we are thieves!" Robin says calmly, though amusement is piercing in his voice. "Magic is not something we're afraid of."
Regina doesn't answer that, instead lowers her gaze, staring at her feet, but Robin tucks a finger under her chin to bring her to look up at him. In the space between the two of them, he murmurs, "Just because no one believed in you before, doesn't mean no one ever will. You can make your own choices and create your own destiny, Regina, if you're ready to fight for it. You took a hold on your future when you ran away. You abandoned everything behind, your family, your name, your wealth, to be free. Don't let this sacrifice be vain."
Regina listens to him the whole way, lips slightly parted, gaze still dazed by his revelations.
"We would be honored to count you among us, Regina," he concludes, not once having looked away.
She's silent, too stunned to utter a word. She feels tears prickling behind her eyes, and has to use all her willpower not to let them fall. Aside from Daniel, and maybe her father, no one ever believed in her. No one ever talked to her that way, like she was important, like she mattered, like she was something more than just a pretty lady to wed. They may be outlaws, but they have honor, they have a heart, respect, courage, and are ready to fight for her, no, with her.
"You really mean that?" she breathes, her voice trembling with doubt, but her eyes are shining with hope.
"Do you honestly think I'll be here if I wasn't?" Robin points.
Regina's smile is shy at first, still unsettled by the trust and faith that man and his group are putting in her. But as she looks into his eyes, and sees nothing but sincerity, she can't help herself. She jumps into his arms, startling him but he catches her quickly, wraps his arms around her waist, burying his face in her hair. Her smile is wider than it has ever been in weeks, her laugh genuine, and it sounds like heaven to Robin's ears.
When she comes back to herself, she pulls back shamefully, but unable to remove the smile from her lips.
"I guess I have to go back with you then," she answers, beaming with happiness.
He takes her hand as he stands, helping her up. They just stare at each other for a minute, too caught up in the moment, too lost in their own thoughts to realize the sound of horses coming closer to them.
Rocinante's sudden neighing pulls them out of their state, and Robin quickly moves towards the edge of the road to notice a carriage coming their way. He walks back to where Regina is calming her horse and his, leading them deeper in the woods.
"Royal carriage?" she asks when she notices his frown, and he nods, grabs his own horse's reins and helps him lie down on the ground gently but firmly. Regina does the same, kneeling between Robin and Rocinante, all of them hidden by bushes, logs and rocks. They hold their breaths until the sound is nothing but a whisper, and Robin puts a finger over his mouth while he slowly raises from his spot, head popping over the rock hiding him and making sure they're out of sight. He didn't think royals would venture on that small road that is still deep in the forest, but some of them are braver than the others it seems.
He nods toward Regina, gesturing for her to get up, they're safe.
They stay silent a bit longer, just in case, helping their horses up, getting ready to go. As they're about to mount them, Regina suddenly turns back to Robin, a hand on his arm. He stills, faces her, a silent question on his face. Regina's answer is a simple, honest, and sincere, "Thank you."
His hand covers hers, and he gives her a slight nod as he says, "Let's go home!"
So, what do you think?
