A chill ran through Regina's spine, when she woke up on the day settled for her execution. The subterranean prison cell Queen Snow confined her in was colder than usual, considering it had been raining for the past three days. She could tell it, even if there were no windows there. Among the advantages that conducting a life in the forest allowed her to gain, there was the development of the primal senses, such as the sight in the dark or, in this case, the ability to hear the tiniest of rumour coming from feet of distance. She missed that life. She missed the forest, the fresh air, the smell of the soil wet from the rain, the cavern which had been her home for the past five years, before she got captured.

She wasn't in the forest, that night. She was in the tavern. It was five days after Robin's wedding to the redhead he chose to spend his life with. Regina remembered those days pretty well: that silent, ceaseless pain she felt in her chest everytime her eyes laid on him when he was around, or looked for him when he wasn't, didn't allow her to forget. But she did not remember that night. She had a foggy memory of a miserable evening spent having dinner and drinking in the tavern, when a man sat beside her, offering her more drinks. Usually, she turned them down in a matter of seconds, but the searing loneliness she felt in those days, united with the thrill brought thanks to the alcohol, let her defensive walls fell and her gaurd down. She drank, and drank, and drank, in order to haunt those blue eyes stuck in her mind and actually enjoy the company of this unknown man whose drinks she was accepting like he owned her some. Next thing she remembered was waking up in the cell she was in right now. Her bow gone, as her leather and furr clothes and, with them, the knife she always kept hidden in her left side boot in case of emergency. She remembered the triumphant and evil look on the Charmings' faces, which were the first sight for her when she opened her eyes and focused, with a headache that could split her crain in two.

It had been months, now. Almost three. No one tried to free her. Not that she had people who actually cared for her, or even noticed her being disappeared, she highly doubted it, but there were people she helped and saved from Snow's blind evilness, through the years. Entire families. So, tired of trying to escape on her own, with no means at all, she held her hopes on them. Uselessly, because there she was, still in her cell, still imprisoned and kept in place with big, rusty chains around her wrists and ankles, with only a few hours separating her from her execution.

She waited, holding herself against the wall, eyes watching without actually seeing the dark corridor beyond those large iron bars. A single tear slipped on her cheek, a tear she swiped away with an ironically sad smile: she, who fought for freedom for all her life, was going to be killed after months of imprisonment.

The guards came as she expected them to: a group of six, who she knew had the duty to escort her to the public place chosen for her execution, where the king and the queen would have used her as an example for others to never riot against them.

Free from the chains, she walked between two of the soldiers, while two of them were stepping in front of her, and two right behind her. She was surrounded. The more she looked around, scanning the tiny vital space she was given, the more that little thought of breaking free during the few minutes walk that separated her from the guillotine was discouraged. Her feet hurt and burnt at every step, as did her wrists everytime she accidentally brushed them agiainst the rough fabric of the white garment she was wearing.

"Regina Mills, encharged of theft, robbery, countless and outrageous insubordinations, crimes and instigation to riot against the royal family and agiainst her highness, the Queen herself, is now to be executed and served as an example..."

The minister, one of Snow's favorite puppets, kept talking, but Regina stopped listening as her eyes met the gaze of the woman sitting in the central row of the stalls built for the occasion. She read triumph and satisfaction on her face, showed by the evil grin that curved her lips, but there was something more, beyond the satisfaction of finally getting rid of her worst enemy: relief. Snow was relieved. Of course, she feared Regina, and those like Regina, who had had the courage to take a step against her, to threaten her crown and her power.

"Never settle!" the brunette yelled, rising her head to watch the crowd, as the wind blew through her hairs.

"Do not settle, fight for yourself and for those you love, for one day you shall be free from her!"

She smiled, as someone started cheering for her, followed by many others. A glimpse of triumph colored her big, tired eyes as she caught an expression of pure anger on the Queen's face. She watched her ordering the guards to keep the crowd silent, before she gave the executor the sign to proceed. The bandit's smile did not falter, due to the results of her last words. Instead, she held her head high, enjoying the fresh air as long as she could, and hearing the unmistakable sound of an arrow cutting the air... The unmistakable sound of... An arrow cutting the air. Her heart skipped a bit and her breathing ability abandoned her when she turned her head to find an actual arrow stuck in the guillotine's wood. She did not imagine it.

"Sorry, we are late!"

It was him. She didn't forget the sound of his voice, but she had to raise her gaze and watch him coming towards her, riding his horse, to actually believe it. Robin of Locksley, who stopped right in front of the guillotine... And his Merry Men, who had surrounded the King and the Queen with wooden crossbows and bows. It all happened in the blink of an eye. Regina couldn't even realize it.

"These arrows are enchanted, your majesty. Even if you use magic to kill us, these will not miss their settled mark, which is your husband's head!" said Will Scarlet, who was giving Regina his back, but was still recognizable.

"A single wrong movement, and he is gone, I swear to god! Try me, your majesty" added Little John, in his heavy tone which made the king's face go pale.

Meanwhile, someone behind Regina cut the chord that was keeping her hands on her back. Her eyes were stuck on Robin, whose gaze went from her to his men, his arrow carefully pointing around. He had their backs. This was a well studied plan, she could tell, because in a matter of seconds, she was set free.

Without thinking twice, with the last few forces she had left in her body, she jumped on the horse, behind Robin, surrounding his waist with her arms and holding tight as he ordered his horse to go with a quick flick of his ankle. His men followed him right after, and they ran, and ran, leaving the castle, with the guards chasing behind them.

"I've got this!" Regina assured, taking the man's bow and an arrow from the quiver on his back, before turning around and shooting. She realized she did not lose her aim, considering her wrists hurt and she had to keep a certain amount of balance in order to not fall from her unsteady place on the horse. It was difficult, her heart was ponding in her chest for the effort and the thrill, but she didn't lower the bow until they were deep in the forest, far away from the gaurds, the castle, the village, the prison.

"What the hell were you doing there?" she asked, exhausted, her forehead resting on his back as he kept going at a slower pace. He was probably taking her to their camp, she guessed, hearing his men still following them.

"I just saved your ass, I think a simple thank you would suffice!" he replied, with a smile brightening his face and eyes.

"Shut up, I had the situation under control... Well, kind of" she mocked back, remembering their banter the first time he jumped in and saved her, months ago. But her voice was so weak that Robin did not fire back, nor chuckle.

"Hold on, we're almost there" he assured her, instead, in a soft tone, and her arms were once again around him.

A day later, when she was sitting in his tent, letting him take care of the wounds that decorated her feet and her wrists, he explained her everything. Or at least, tried to.

"Sorry it took us so long, but the cell she was keeping you in was enchanted. We looked for a way to get in, but we couldn't find it..."

"Eventually, Robin was going to break in any way, we had to force him to keep calm and study a plan. It was like he lost his mind" Little John interrupted him as he walked in the tent, bringing her a bowl of what appeared a soup. She felt thankful, but she did not eat, looking at the light brown haired man giving his mate a glance which mixed irritation and amusement.

The big man winked at her, putting down the bowl.

"And those arrows weren't enchanted, we tricked them. Smart, aren't we, milady? "

Robin chuckled, after rolling his eyes in front of all that smugness.

"Did you really... ? Why?" she asked him, once John left them alone again.

He didn't answer, treating her wrists with a bandage of medical herbs. Once he was done he looked up at her, giving her a smIle which was not his usual smug and amused one.

"I had to save you, or else I couldn't return you this" he whispered, now, pressing something cold and round on her palm. She looked down, finding herself holding a silver coin. She frowned, confused, but before she could ask anything, or even remember the moment she gave him that exact coin, his lips were on hers.

Her eyes widened, as she felt the warmth of his breath, but eventually, despite the many questions forming into her mind, she moved her lips, exchanging that soft contact of his... Just for a moment.

"You got married, Robin, I... " she shook her head, interrupting that kiss, her digits still slowly stroking the beard that covered his jawline.

"I left her" he answered, his eyes meeting hers as they both sighed, of relief, or happiness, or... She couldn't tell.

"I left her soon after, because I couldn't get you out of my mind. It was you, Regina. I knew it from the very first moment our eyes met, but somehow I couldn't believe it at the beginning... After leaving Zelena, I came to find you, but you weren't there. It was then when I learnt the Queen had imprisoned you".

He took a deep breath, and Regina suddenly wondered how those months had been for him, as tears formed in her eyes. She thought nobody will even notice she was gone, and there he was, completely destroying that belief of hers.

"It took us so long because..."

She didn't let him finish, shaking her head and fighting back her tears as she held his face between her hands and lowered herself to kiss him. And then she opened her mouth, allowing him entrance while those damn tears dropped down her cheeks and his arms wrapped around her, holding her tight. And there, in his arms, she finally felt everything she had searched for her whole life: safe, at home. Free.