A/N: I can't even begin to say how sorry I am for not being able to update sooner :( I started university and got super busy, plus I got my first writer's block, which was awful by the way. luckily, I figured out how to end the fanfiction already so writing the next chapter (which MIGHT be the last) shouldn't take long.
Ok, I'm done boring you with this stuff, enjoy the chapter and let me know what you think about it :)
P.s. I know David is meant to be poor and everything but let's just pretend he has a horse, otherwise he would've had to pull it out of the hat ;) enjoy
Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon a Time or its characters, just this story.
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David woke up hours later and found himself in his bedroom. His mother was sitting on an armchair next to the bed and when David tried to get into a sitting position she pushed him gently back down. He realized his head hurt a lot but his only concern now was Regina. He turned to his mother and asked her "Where did they take her?". Ruth knew her son wanted to find the woman and couldn't bear to see him hurt, both pysically and emotionally, and she wanted to protect him as much as she could "David.." she started speaking gently, holding his hand in hers "I know you liked her very much, dear, but you have to face the truth, she's not who we thought she was..." David interrupted her "Mother I believe her! I know her and she wouldn't hurt a fly, let alone kill a man! I gotta find her, I can't let them hurt her, I promised Regina she would be safe with me, that I would protect her..." he started saying frantically as he got up from the bed slowly. Ruth followed him, unsure whether or not he was aware of what awaited Regina, dwelling on whether or not to tell him, for it would certainly break his heart. "...David" she whispered, but her son was still mumbling about going after the woman to protect her, so she took a deep breath and raised her voice, maybe a little more than she intended to "David they're going to execute her!". A deafening silence fell over the room as David stopped in his tracks, leaning against the door frame as he slightly turned his head "what did you just say?". Ruth walked up to him, tears pooling her eyes as she cupped her son's face with her hands and looked into his watery, tired eyes, sharing his pain, wanting nothing more than to take it all away "She killed the king, or at least they think so.. It's treason and murder, that means.." "they're going to execute her..." David finished the sentence in a barely audible whisper as reality hit him. Regina's life was in danger and there was basically nothing he could do to save her now. "I have to talk to her, I have to let her know that I believe her.. I have to tell her I love her.." he whispered and his voice broke when he realised he hadn't told her he had fallen in love with her. David saddled his horse, waved his mother goodbye and left, headed to the castle.
After a couple of hours David reached the village. He wasn't planning on stopping until he reached the castle but the villagers talking in the square caught his attention, as they heard some of them talking about the queen. He pulled the reins to stop the horse in order to speak to a woman "Excuse me, ma'am, could you tell what the commotion's all about? I heard you talking about the queen, right?" the woman got closer to David and started telling him what she knew "The queen's been sentenced to death! She killed the king and almost got away with it, but they found her and now she's going to pay for killing such a kind man". If only the woman knew what he knew maybe she, like all the other people in the kingdom, wouldn't be so fond of King Leopold. David had no time to defend Regina's honor, though, so he simply asked "And when is she going to be.. executed?" the bitter words struggling to leave his mouth "In two days". That was enough information for him, one which he didn't even have the time to process as he hit the horse's sides with his boots, trying to get the horse to ride as fast as he possibly could, longing to see the woman he loved.
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The next day
David reached the castle at twilight. Careful not to be seen he left the horse in one of the stables' boxes and approached the castle's entrance, which was guarded by two sentries.
"Who are you?" one of the guards asked as he got closer "I'm one of the new servants". It wasn't that hard to believe, given the clothes he was wearing, so the other guard led him inside the palace. He escorted him to the kitchen and luckily there was no one there, so the minute the sentry left, David did as well, running throught the hallways, looking for the dungeons where Regina was surely kept.
After what felt like an eternity of running through the hallways in the frantic search of Regina, hiding whenever he heard the sound of footsteps. At some point he noticed a series of empty cells on both sides of a corridor, then stopped in his tracks because he heard some voices speaking indistinctly. He hid behind a column where it was dark enough for him not to be seen, if someone eventually walked in his direction.
David tried to eavesdrop but he couldn't quite make out what was being said at the end of the hallway, though one thing he did understand: there were two women talking.
Regina had been locked in the largest cell, which had the thickest bars, one she couln't easily escape from. There were no guards,though, she was utterly alone. Not a single soul had showed up, not even Snow White, though Regina was sure at some point she would. It was a confrontation she feared, especially since Snow thought she was responsible for her father's death. But at least she was sort of prepared for it, unlike the one she was about to face. She was feeling weak after crying through the whole night and following day, and the lack of sleep was starting to hit her. She was lying in the dark, with her back against the bars, thinking about David and how badly she wanted to see him, at least to say goodbye, something she wasn't given the chance to do with Daniel. The lack of energy didn't prevent her from wincing when she heard her mother's voice right behind her. She turned just in time to see Cora magically lighting the torches hung upon the walls, so both women were now hit by a dim light.
"I think we've got something to discuss, dear.." Cora said in an apparently calm tone that made Regina shiver, for it was the same tone she had heard so many times in her life, right before her mother punished her. Regina was somehow thankful that there were bars keeping her from her mother's reach and she figured there was a spell around the cell as well, otherwise her mother would've entered it imediately.
"Mother, what are you doing here!?" she asked the older woman as she stood, taking a few steps back in the process.
"My daughter's been sentenced to death, why would I ever be here? Sometimes you're so naïve, dear. I'm here to get you out" Her mother stated simply, as if it was the most logical thing on Earth.
As Regina stared at her mother she started realizing what had actually happened. "It was you, wasn't it? You killed the King.." she whispered but her voice suddenly broke into a desperate cry when her mother's silence confirmed her theory.
"Why did you do it, mother?" She shouted at Cora, tears wetting her cheeks as she stepped towards her mother, grabbing the bars hoping to release some of her anger.
"Because I wanted you to be powerful! You would've been queen, for heaven's sake! Surely I couldn't imagine you would be running away that very night, now could I?" Regina couldn't stop crying and even from a distance David could hear the heartbreaking sound that escaped her fragile body. "Regina, dear, I'm going to get you out of here, I promise. And then you will be qu-" but she was interrupted abruptly by her daughters screams "Mother, I don't want to be queen! I never wanted that, I was happy before, being queen means nothing to me! Why won't you let me alone? You ruined my life! I hate you.. I HATE YOU!" Under other circumstances Cora would've laughed bitterly at her for not knowing what was best for herself but Regina's last words hit her harder than she would've expected. She heard a noise coming from the hallway so she whispered to her daughter "Someone's coming.. Don't worry, I'm going to get you out of here and then we're going to get back to normal. I'm going to take care of Snow White". Regina's eyes shot open at the thought of her mother killing Snow and tried to protest but her mother was gone before she could even open her mouth.
After a couple of moments, Regina saw a hooded figure making its way towards the cell and retracted further into her cell until she realised it was David. He removed the hood to show his face and smiled at Regina, as both got close to the bars. "David! How did you get here? I was so worried about you.. Did they hurt you? I-" David silenced her as he cupped her cheeks gently with his hands and caught her lips in a passionate kiss through the bars. He reluctantly pulled away, just enough to look into her deep brown eyes, before he whispered "I believe you.. I know you didn't kill him, you would never hurt anyone" she smiled at him as she whispered "I'm sorry I lied to you but it was the only way I had to protect both of us.. And I'm sorry because I love you and I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you but now..." she closed her eyes as more tears escaped. David wiped them away with his thumbs as he placed a soft kiss on her lips before he whispered "I love you, Regina.. with all my heart" she finally opened her eyes to look at him as she turned her head a little to kiss the palm of his hand "... And I promise I'll find a way to get you out of here, then we can get married and live a wonderful life together, that's a promise".
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"Rumplestiltskin!" David screamed the moment he reached the woods surrounding the castle. He looked around expecting The Dark One to have appeared by then. He hadn't, so he screamed his name again before he let himself fall to his knees. He was desperate. Turning to Rumplestiltskin was the last resort, if that failed he couldn't even think of the consequences. He would break his promise to Regina, she would die and he would never be able to forgive himself for that.
"Do you plan on telling me what is it that you called me for, dearie? You know, I haven't got all day." David jumped to his feet and turned to find Rumplestiltskin leaning against a tree right behind him. Wasting no time with ceremonies, David got straight to the point "I need to save Regina! She's going to die if I don't do something and there's nothing I can actually do, but you can get her out, just name your price". Rumplestiltskin started walking in circles around David, "You're right, dearie, I can help you. But it won't be easy." a purple smoke enveloped his hand, then disappeared leaving a blue potion on it. "This particular potion is quite rare. In fact, it acts like a portal. All you need to do, dearie, is pour it on your hands and simply touch Regina with them" he said in his shrill voice. "It's done, then! I can sneak back into the castle and.." He was getting hopeful when Rumplestiltskin interrupted him "Not that easy, dearie. See, the cell they're keeping Regina in is protected by magic, the potion won't work if she is inside the cell. So here comes the tricky part. You'll have to touch her after they get her out of the cell but before.. you know" he said as he mimicked a throat being cut.
David stared at him for a while, horror painted all over his face as his mind raced to the possibility of Regina's death. There wasn't actually much of a choice left, it was his last chance to save the woman he loved and he would need to make it count "Tell me what you want in return". Rumplestiltskin stared at him for some minutes, as if he was trying to decide whether the man standing in front of him was able to do what he was about to ask "What I want is for you to retrieve something for me. Something that's been hidden and protected with magic so I wouldn't be able to take it." David looked at him suspiciously as he asked "What is it?". Rumplestiltskin's wicked grin faded slowly as he avoided looking into David's eyes "A heart". David was taken aback by his answer "Whose heart is it?".
"The heart of the woman I love"
