Alright! The aftermath of Snow's slip up and a hint as to where this will be going at the end ;) I'm off to go start the update for Unfolding a Plan which is gonna be a little difficult seeing as how David was kind of a prick toward Regina this episode. Enjoy this chapter! I hope it won't be too long before I update again!
"My queen."
Regina turned her attention momentarily to the servant standing in the doorway before she turned back and lifted the saddle from Rocinante's back, "yes?"
"His majesty requests your presence."
Regina motioned with her head for the servant to come and when he walked up to her she handed him the saddle and he moved to put it away. It wasn't very often that Leopold had sent for her so she needn't waste time. Quickly she ran a brush over Rocinante and closed her in her large stall, "assure she is tended to please," she spoke to the servant kindly, "feed and water," she nodded her thanks and turned, walking quickly from the stable.
...
Slowly, Regina pushed the large wooden door open in to Leopold's chambers, "you asked to see me?" she walked toward him but her relaxed and proper posture quickly became tense and unnerved when he kept his back to her. Something wasn't right, in fact something was very wrong.
"Who is he?"
Regina's heart instantly plummeted and panic threatened to settle within her, "he?"
"Snow has brought to my attention that you have been spending time with another man," he turned around to face her, she held her wrist in one hand and let her arms hang in front of her. Her expression was carefully guarded to be unreadable, he was unable to decipher what was going through her head.
Snow. The anger began to burn inside her once again, the flame that had been tamed and brought down to a mere flicker was now roaring and she wanted nothing more than to go scream at the girl, throw her with the magic Rumplestiltskin had been teaching her. She kept her voice neutral, "how do you mean?"
"Do not play games with me, Regina."
His voice dipped threateningly but she only found it reassuring that he could actually feel frustration, anger, the darker emotions. She continued dodging him, not at all willing to give up her shepherd, "I am not playing games. I wish to know what you mean by your accusation."
Leopold stepped closer to her so they were just out of arms reach from each other, "where do you go on your rides?"
"Many different places."
"Let me rephrase. Who do you see on your rides?"
"A friend."
He was growing tired of her answers, "name."
"I've only just learned his name. Seems it has slipped my mind," she was never going to give him his name. With a name, he could find her shepherd.
"Regina."
There was that threatening dip again, "yes?"
"A name."
"I cannot give a name that I do not recall."
"I'm sure you can remember."
"Even if I could I'm sure you would understand why I would be less than willing to give it up," her voice tensed angrily on the last few words. She held his stare dangerously, not daring to back down, not when the possibility of her shepherd losing his life was present. She wasn't entirely certain that Leopold's kind nature would prevent him from killing her lover. Lover. She loved him. A small smile crept over her mouth without her consent and she regretted it instantly but she morphed it in to one that was laced with a threat.
"You find this amusing?"
"Absolutely not."
"Who is this man?"
His voice was raising but it didn't phase her, "I told you already he is a friend."
"And this friend has managed to cause these changes in you? Has managed to make you happy? Seems like a lot more than a friend, Regina."
"Well you clearly do not understand what it is like to have someone who will truly listen to you when you need it most," she leaned forward, verging on aggressive.
"You talk to me! When you need someone to listen to you you come to me!"
"I can not come to you!" Her face creased in anger and accusation, she was yelling back at him now, "you would not understand! You can not hear these things! You can not know what is eating away at me! I can not share my pain with you!"
"But you can share it with a man you barely know?"
"Yes I can! I can because he is not tainted with the knowledge of who I am or who you are or who Snow is!"
"He does not know who you are?" That offered him some relief, news of the queen with another man would spread like wild fire.
"Do you think I am stupid? You think I would tell him that I am the queen? Are you mad?" She let out a dark breathy laughter.
"Well then explain this to me! I am giving you this one chance to explain yourself."
Regina was hesitant, quickly going over what he wanted to hear in her own head before she voiced it. She didn't want to give any more than she absolutely needed to him, "he approached me, we did not share our names, only a general summary of our lives. He is kind to me, he listens to me," she looked over Leopold coldly, "he has taken the time and effort to help me. He is my friend."
She had moved closer to him, her jaw was tight and her eyes dared him to cross her, "are you not happy here?"
"You know quite well that I am not happy here."
"Have you lain with this man."
"No! A betrayal like that..." She shook her head, "no."
"Would you?" Her hesitance to answer followed by silence was answer enough. It enraged him, "do I need to remind you what it would do to this family if you were to lay with another man?"
"You speak as though I am part of this family!" she spat the words at him and was shocked at the sudden harsh sting across her cheek that had forced her to stumble back. Her hand found it almost immediately, her skin was hot under her palm and she straightened her posture and looked back up at Leopold in shock, eyes wide and lips parted. She could see he regretted his actions, she knew she had pushed him and had pushed him a little too far.
He had never once laid a hand on her, or any other woman for that matter. He felt guilty, he opened his mouth to apologize but no words came out and they stood staring at one another for what seemed like hours. The air between them grew thick with tension, the silence was deafening and the look on her face was devastating to him, "Regina, I-"
She cut him off quickly, angry and not wanting to hear his apology, "no! I am exhausted! I am so tired of this! You are angry now be angry! For God's sake just show something different!"
The red mark his hand had left on her fair skin was nearly as distracting as the tears that were shining in her dark eyes, "I forbid you to see him again," his voice was quiet, still shocked at himself for hitting her.
Regina shook her head firmly, "no."
"Yes, Regina! I forbid you to leave this castle without an escort! You will not see that man again!"
"You can not keep me prisoner here!"
"I am not keeping you prisoner! You can leave when ever you like provided you take an escort with you."
"What is the difference?" Her voice was sharp and bitter.
Leopold ignored her question, "I will not allow you to do something stupid and ruin the reputation of this family and our kingdom."
Regina clenched her jaw tight and glared at him, anger tensing her entire body, fingernails digging in to her palms. He would not keep her from her shepherd, she would find a way. Her anger bursted and she didn't even blink when the mirrors and the various glassware on the tables shattered simultaneously. It more than startled Leopold and he looked around to observe the broken glass and then back to her in confusion but she offered him no change in her expression and she turned and stalked out of the room.
Furious, she walked with large quick strides, she wanted to scream. She touched her fingertips to her cheek and found the skin to still be hot, she pulled her fingers away and looked at them as if she were checking for blood despite knowing there was none. Her anger only grew when she rounded the corner and found Snow, she didn't slow her pace, she shot her a cold glare and continued on her way and was absolutely infuriated when she dared to follow her.
"Regina!" She felt absolutely sick to her stomach, she hadn't stopped shaking or crying since her father had closed himself in his chambers. "Regina wait! I didn't, it was, I-," she took her arm in her hand only to have Regina rip it roughly from her and spin around sharply causing Snow to take a step back.
"I don't care why or how or if it was intentional or if it was an accident," she stepped forward slowly, like a cat stalking its prey, "the fact is you did it," she kept her voice down, only increasing the deadly tone it carried. She continued walking forward and Snow continued walking backward, the tears streaming down her face gave Regina no consolation, she looked right past them, right down to the distrustful girl Regina knew she was.
Gradually her voice began to raise in to a venomous yell, "you betrayed me. I trusted you! I trusted you with my secret and you betrayed me again!" She saw the confusion flash over her face but was too angry and hurt to care. Regina wanted to strangle her. It wasn't a difficult secret to keep, neither was her and Daniel's and she still couldn't keep it. The trust and fondness that Snow had managed to muster up out of her was completely shattered and irreversibly so.
With Regina only inches away from her she could see the fading red mark on her gentle skin. She let out a choked gasp as she looked at it and then back to Regina's cold eyes that reflected nothing but hate and pain. Surely her father wouldn't have struck her.
"You have ruined everything," her voice quieted to a hateful whisper. It would be so easy for her to kill her.
All of her effort, all of her earned trust, all of the new friendship she had acquired was lost with one slip of her tongue. She knew she would never gain Regina's trust back and now that she had gotten a taste of what it felt like to be around her mother when she had some of that trust it was going to be hard to never feel it again. She made a move forward and lifted her hands to rest them on Regina, "mother, I-" she stopped and words were replaced with fresh tears as Regina stepped back coldly, her dark eyes digging in to her as if they were daggers.
"If any harm is to come to him, know this," she bent ever so slightly at the waist, letting her fury be known, "I will blame you," she spoke slowly, slowly and clearly so the girl would never forget, so the girl would know without a doubt that it would be her fault. There would be no escape this time, she would not show her any kindness this time.
The deep and menacing tone of her voice caused her to go tense with fear. There was more to this man than she had let her know but now she was putting the pieces together. The happiness, the changes, the devastation, the fury, the secrets, the red hand on her face...Regina loved this man without a name. Snow was not angry, she knew Regina didn't lover her father and despite hoping she would grow to love him she always knew she wouldn't. The conclusion only made her feel more guilty, hurt her more, like a hand squeezing her heart in her chest.
She quickly came to realize that Regina's eyes had become brimmed with tears that threatened to fall but before Snow could say anything Regina turned briskly and walked away quickly with long and angry strides. She covered her mouth with her hands as she let out the breath she wasn't aware she was holding and backed up until she hit a wall where she sunk down, her shoulders shaking from her cries. She had put her mother's happiness and her love at risk, more risk than she had previously thought and she was entirely uncertain of what would happen.
...
Regina threw open the doors to her bed chamber and then slammed them shut with magic, not caring if anyone saw, not even looking over her shoulder to see if anyone was there. "You stupid girl!" She waved her arm angrily, effectively flinging anything and everything in its path with an invisible force of magic, "I trusted you!"
Quite suddenly her legs gave out beneath her and she collapsed to the floor, legs tucked beside her and weight supported by both hands on the cold floor as pained cries tore her body. She didn't know what would happen, she didn't know how she was going to get out of this mess. Her chest hurt from the heavy and tight breaths she fought for through her sobs and her fingers tried to dig in to the stone, anything to hold on to. When she lifted her bowed head she caught glimpse of Daniel's ring laying on the stone floor amongst the mess she had made.
Her legs unwilling to move, she stretched forward and took the ring gently in her hand while she draped the chain over her other, her sobs quieted to shallow breaths but the tears still fell down her cheeks. She ran her thumb over the worn metal, wiping away damage that wasn't there as her brow creased with sadness. "I won't let her do this to me again," while her voice was but a whisper to herself it cracked nonetheless as the tears came faster and she closed her hand around the ring and brought it to her chest, "I won't let him get taken from me again."
...
Regina spun Daniel's ring on her finger slowly as she stared at her reflection in her intricate vanity. She wasn't looking at herself, she wasn't looking at anything, she was entirely lost in thought. The crying had stopped hours ago, the clutter of fallen and broken objects still laid on the floor, she had moved to the vanity to ease the tangled mess her long dark hair had become. It was something she had found had distracted her throughout the years, taking her time to pull her hair in to elaborate braids, focusing on every strand rather than the pain and loneliness she had to live through.
"Rumplestiltskin," she waited patiently for him to appear, never really blinking as her eyes remained glazed over in thought. It was barely seconds before he had made himself known.
"You called," he grinned and looked around the room with interest. The mess along the entire wall did not surprise him, he had assumed she could have quite the temper and was proven correct when she had pushed her mother through the mirror. There were several other times of course but he hadn't witnessed such an outburst since she had met her shepherd.
"I need an advancement in my lessons."
Her empty tone had him curious, "is that so?" He strutted up next to her, his hands dancing as he moved, "and what might these advancements be, dearie?"
She had gotten used to his lack of attention to personal space and because she hadn't been fully drawn from her thoughts and her gaze still set on nothing in the vanity mirror, she didn't even notice that his face was right next to hers, "I need you to teach me how to travel like you do. To disappear and then reappear somewhere else."
Rumplestiltskin let out a high pitched laughed as he stood up straight, "to visit, your shepherd!" He grinned widely as she spun around in her seat with wide eyes, "you think so little of me, dear!" Another shrill laugh escaped him, "yes I will teach you this simple trick but for my own reasons, not for yours."
The shock on her features had him continuing to chuckle. Of course he had known of this shepherd, he kept a close eye on the things he needed and she was most definitely one of those things. What he also knew was King Midas had a little problem with a fearsome dragon, he also knew that one of his own deals with a particular King George was about to need a renewal, a renewal that would surely bring his pretty little monster back in to his manipulative hands.
