I apologize both for the lateness of this chapter and the short length. I'm working really hard to get this story out faster, but my boss just quit and I've been working overtime. Hopefully things will settle down soon and I can dedicate more time to writing. Thanks for sticking with me! You guys deserve much better and I promise you'll see more chapters soon. :)

Pride Before A Fall

Chapter 6

Regina chewed slowly on her mouthful of pasta. She could feel Robin's gaze on her, so she did her best to studiously ignore him. Bad enough she was eating the food he'd brought to her. He hadn't even given her the chance to order.

Instead, she looked over at Emma, who was watching her with raised eyebrows. "So what was this all-important news, Ms. Swan?"

"I don't think I've ever seen you get anything aside from a coffee when you come in here."

Regina let out a heavy sigh, but Emma either didn't hear it or didn't care.

"I'd always imagined you were more of a salad-only type of woman."

Swallowing her bite, Regina leveled Emma with an unamused glare. "As fascinating as my personal habits may be to you, I told you I was busy today, and I strongly suggest you get straight to the point if you have anything of value to tell me." She caught Robin biting back a smile as Emma sat up straighter, looking appropriately chastised.

"Right, yeah. Well you know how we set up that whole gossip network thing and were trying to catch the person in the act?"

She rolled her eyes. "A crude description if I've ever heard one, but accurate," she agreed. "What of it?"

"Well, instead of waiting to catch the person at your office, I kinda used my superpowers."

Right…her office. Regina was suddenly glad that Emma had called the impromptu meeting. With everything going on, she'd completely forgotten that she'd arranged to meet Emma outside the office just before dark. Ignoring the superpower comment, Regina cleared her throat. "And?"

"And I noticed one of the townspeople in Granny's at the time acting pretty strangely. I followed her, and I'm telling you Regina…this is our bad guy. She lives out in this creepy cabin that practically screams 'Wizard of Oz', she kept looking behind her like she was being followed and she's got a cellar with a lock on it."

The dizziness had finally completely disappeared, largely due to the food that Robin had set in front of her, but now there was a headache quickly building. They were more and more common the longer they were back in Storybrooke, and Regina wondered if a certain blonde wasn't the source. "Ms. Swan, I'm surprised I have to point this out after your very astute observations, but just because a woman lives alone in a cabin resembling something from a movie and keeps her cellar locked does not mean that she is guilty of villainy and casting curses. And I imagine the reason she felt like she was being followed was because you were following her."

Emma's face scrunched in annoyance. "Well, when you say it that way, yeah, it does sound bad, but I just know. It's her. She's the one."

In response, Regina picked up a leaf from her side salad with her fingers and popped it into her mouth.

"You aren't going to say anything?"

Brushing her hands together to clear them of non-existent food particles, Regina swallowed again and looked at her tiredly. "I've experienced first-hand the benefits of your superpowers finding evil, and I'm not willing to jump to conclusions on this one. I think it would be safe to continue on with our original plan."

"But then she'll know we're on to her!"

"Do you have any way of proving her guilt without doing so?"

Emma's face fell a bit. "Well…not yet." She bit her lip, but then a flare of determination lit up her eyes as she leaned forward. "We'll think of something. Come on! I admit I've been wrong in the past." At Regina's hard expression she nodded. "Extremely wrong. I'm sorry for that, but this time, I don't know…it's not fueled by anger the way it was last time. I think this is really her, and there are definitely benefits to discovering that without tipping our hand."

"I'd have to agree with Emma," Robin put in, looking straight across at Regina. "It would be to our advantage if we were able to identify who posed the threat without them realizing. It would give us a bit longer to try and sort out what they want and what they're planning to do. If, as you say, this woman is not our villain, then there's no harm done. She will never know that we suspected her and we can move on to finding the real danger. But if it is her…"

Regina sighed and nodded her head. "Yes, yes…we'd have the upper hand. Fine then," she growled out. "For now, I leave the plan to you, Ms. Swan." She stood up, laying her napkin next to her plate. "I have pressing matters to attend to, but rest assured I will be checking in with you soon."

"Yeah," Emma rolled her eyes. "Of course you will."

Clearing her throat, Regina glanced at Robin. "Thank you for…the meal," she told him, thinking about the way he'd helped her up off the sidewalk and not told a soul.

"You're quite welcome, milady," Robin smiled.

"Are you leaving?"

Regina turned at the little voice to find Robin's son lingering timidly behind her and looking up at her with curious eyes.

"Yes," she answered. "I have somewhere to be." Smiling warmly at him she asked, "Did you enjoy your hot chocolate?"

Roland nodded enthusiastically. "It was really yummy!"

"Just wait until you try a chocolate sundae," she told him, winking.

Though he had no idea what it was, Roland grinned and looked up at his father. "Papa, can we try one of those?"

"Another time, Roland," he answered, and the little boy pouted, but nodded his understanding.

Regina watched as he shuffled his feet and looked up at her again, his eyes nearly hidden by his curls. "Bye," he said quietly.

"Goodbye, Roland."

As the door to Granny's closed behind her, Regina let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. Today had been overwhelming on many levels and she found herself looking back through the window to spot the thief swinging his son up and tickling him before walking toward the back of the restaurant. A strange feeling brushed through her as she watched them, and as she made her way across the street to her car, she found herself thinking about how he'd pulled her to her feet and held her steady.

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

"What's gotten into you, Robin?" Little John asked as the troop moved through the forest. "The men are curious how you came to the conclusion that letting the Evil Queen go was a good idea."

"As am I, my friend," he replied, looking up to where Regina was striding regally, head held high, about twenty feet away from everyone else. She looked every part the queen and he raised an eyebrow as he watched her turn her nose up at one of his men trying to warn her of a root directly in her path. She easily stepped over it, not even looking in the direction of the man who'd spoken, and his comrade voiced a few choice exclamations at her attitude. "There weren't many options, I'm afraid. We don't know that her loss of magic will last much longer, and had we kept her tied up, I'm sure we'd be the first targets in her fireball practice once it returned."

"But why must she travel with us?"

Roland bounded up to Regina's side, and Robin's eyes narrowed when his son easily slipped his hand into the queen's. She looked surprised for a moment but then smiled down at Roland and didn't remove her hand. "If she's telling the truth, she isn't prepared to face the dangers out there alone without her magic. And when have we ever turned down helping someone?" When Little John opened his mouth to argue, Robin put a hand up to stop him. "It's also a way for us to keep an eye on her. Now that we know others are back in the Enchanted Forest, we'll be looking for them, and if what she told me was true and she was traveling with them, we'll know for sure once we've found them."

"I still don't like it."

"Nor do I, but if we're lucky, it won't be for much longer."

They walked in silence for a minute or so before Little John turned his head away from where he'd been watching his best friend's son. "What of Roland? Surely we can't let him continue with this unusual attachment to the queen?"

A troubling thought indeed, and one which Robin was still trying to work out. His shy son had never before bonded so instantly with a stranger. To see him now, holding the hand of the woman he'd once woken up crying in fear of, had him even more worried about what Roland had been through. "No. We'll have to keep him busy, try to distract him. We'll let it go for now, but after today, we can give him tasks and missions to keep him away from the queen. We'll keep him safe and he shouldn't notice what we're doing."

"She will," his friend pointed out.

"Yes, well…let me worry about the queen."