As they walked down their third trail, leaving behind mushrooms, it began to sprinkle again.

"Oh no. Not again." Regina said.

Regina actually liked to be with David in the rain. She didn't know why, she just loved how they tried to keep eachother dry. She also loved how attractive it made him. She even felt more attractive herself.

"Look!" David said. He pointed at a small, abandoned, cottage in the distance.

It started pouring again, only this time more violently. The wind picked up, practically throwing the petite woman to the ground. David noticed that she was too small to keep herself up, so he grabbed her and held her tightly to him. The thunder grew louder and louder. Lightening struck and knocked down tree branches.

"Maybe we should stay in the cottage until this storm blows over!" David was yelling because the wind was so strong that it drowned out his words.

"What!?" Regina could barely hear him. She grew terrified because of the branches falling around them. She was hoping and praying that they would be safe.

David repeated himself, this time louder and Regina agreed. They made their way to the cottage after a long struggle to get there. David opened the door and made Regina go in first. Just as Regina stepped inside, a large branch fell from a nearby tree, heading toward David.

"David! " Regina yelled. She closed her eyes. The branch was just about to hit him when Regina pushed him out of the way. David fell to the ground and heard a loud crash. He didn't see what had happened due to Regina pushing him out of the way. He stood up off the ground.

"Regina?" David was about to cry, he sounded broken and he felt as though the branch had killed him, even though it hit her instead.

"Regina, please say something." David was crying now and he wasn't sure if she was ok or not.

The storm continued and he pulled her out from under the branch and scooped her up in his arms. He brought her inside the cottage and closed the door. He set her down gently on a cot in the living room and started a fire in the he finished the fire. He sat next to the cot and cried.

"Regina? Regina, I need you to open your eyes! Open-" he paused and choked out soft sobs."

Open your eyes!" he yelled.

"I'm so sorry, I was supposed to protect you."

*About An Hour Later*

"Regina?"

Regina had awaken. She looked at David, confused. Why was she in pain? Where was she? She looked around. The cottage, she remembered.

"Hey, how are you feeling? "David asked as he smiled, excited to see she was alive.

"My head hurts, what happened? "

"You saved my life." David sounded very greatful, but hurt at the same time. His smile faded away as he looked at her arms.

"Where's my gown?" Regina didn't understand why she was only in her undergown under a blanket.

"You were bleeding, so I took it off to mend to your wounds. Why do you have so many bruises and scars, Regina?"

"You took my dress off?" Regina grew furious and she pulled away from him as he went to put his hand on her head to caress her.

"I told you, I had to stop the bleeding. You would've died if I hadn't. "

"Then you should've let me die!" David went in for another touch to her forehead and she pulled away once again.

"Don't touch me! I don't believe you!"

"About what?"

"I wasn't dying, I wasn't even bleeding! You just wanted to get my clothes off didn't you?"

"No, Regina I swear. You saved my life, so I had to save yours. Look for yourself. "

He went to pull off the blanket to show her the stab wound fron the branch but she pushed him away.

"Turn around." she snapped. He turned around and she pulled off the blanket. He was, in fact, telling the truth. The second she took a look at her wound, was the first time she felt the pain. She let out a small groan and clenched her teeth together, David immediately turned around to see if she was alright.

"Regina, where are your bruises from?"

"Nowhere, they're probably just from the tree."

She was telling the truth...about a few of the bruises which had, in fact, just showed up recently, but a few of the others, she lied about.

"I'm so sorry, I should've protected you, you should've let it hit me, not you."David started crying again and Regina forgave him for taking off her gown. She has a hard time trusting men since she moved in with the king. Regina cupped his cheek and wiped away his tears with her thumb. She pulled him in closer.

"Thank you."

"For what?" David said, eyes still filled with tears.

"Saving my life. I apologize for snapping at you. You just caught me off-guard. That's all."

"No, thank you for saving my life. And don't ever apologize for protecting yourself."

Regina rested her forehead against his forehead and they stayed in that position.

"Some walk in the forest this has been, huh?" David said with a little chuckle at the end.

"I'm actually enjoying it very much."

David pulled away to look at her as if he wasn't sure if she was joking or not. She smiled and they looked into eachother's eyes. They always seemed to become lost everytime they looked at eachother. Regina closed her eyes and moved in slowly. David took the hint and did so as well. Their mouths were inches apart, the storm was forgotten in this moment as their lips touched. Their first kiss, as they dried by a nice warm fire, protecting eachother.

"How's your stomach?" David asked as soon as they parted for air.

"It's better. I think I can move a little now."

David moved in for another kiss, this time was more passionate than ever. David started taking his shirt off and he climbed onto the cot with her. He started to undo her undergown. Her eyes still closed, Regina felt his hands all over her. She loved his care and how gentle he was. The king was never gentle. He was her first. And after the king, she always promised herself that she would never enjoy it. But this, she was enjoying. She didn't think they would go this far though.

As soon as David got all of their clothes off, Regina started to get very nervous. She was still in pain from last night with the king.

Once David positioned himself at her entrance, she whimpered, and David realized that it was a sound of pain. He immediately stopped.

"Is it your cut, did I touch it?"

"No. It's ok." Regina replied, she wanted this, she wanted tender love and care. The kind David was giving her right now, but she was in so much pain. She didn't know if she could go through with it.

"Are you sure?" David asked.

"Yes."

David proceeded, even though Regina knew she wasn't ready.

David filled inside her, he started a steady rhythm. After a few rotative motions, Regina couldn't take it anymore. She cried out,"Stop, please. David, stop. I can't!"David stopped immediately. He felt as though he did something terribly wrong and then it hit him. Was she a virgin? He asked himself. He couldn't bare to think he had hurt her like that and he started tearing up.

"Regina! I am so so sorry! Please forgive me. I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry! I should've asked first. I'm so sorry! "

"Stop apologizing, please. It's not your fault." Regina and David were both sobbing now and David couldn't believe what he had just done.

"Yes, it is my fault. I should've asked if you were ready first."

"I thought I was ready, but it turns out I'm not."

"Are you afraid?"

"No, it just hurts, that's all."

"I feel so terrible I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"It's ok, it's not your fault why it hurt."

"It's not?"

"No."

"Have you mever done it before? "

Regina couldn't answer, she didn't want him to know.

"Regina?"

"Not the way that you think. I've never wanted to do it, and whenever I do, it's never good. It's always painful. Sometimes-" She paused.

"Sometimes what?"

"Sometimes it only hurts for minutes, sometimes hours, and sometimes days. He doesn't even care."

"He?" The second David asked that, he knew the answer. He was broken for this strong and beautiful woman.

Regina couldn't answer, she was crying too much now. She nodded and her crying became more intense.

"I'm sorry!" She choked out. "It just hurts so much."

She put her face in her hands and sobbed. David couldn't bare it much longer, he wanted the king to hurt as much as she did. He wrapped his arms around Regina and just let her sob into his chest.

That night, they fell asleep in eachother's arms. David had to protect her, he had to.

The next morning, they awoke and Regina started to panic.

"We've gotta get back! Now! The king's not gonna be too happy with me!"

"What if we ran away? "

"What?" Regina was a little nervous about this idea.

"We can run away, together. He can never hurt you again."

"I don't know, it's treasonous, if we're caught, they'll kill us both."

"That's a risk I'm willing to take."Regina smiled and they headed back. They found themselves at David's jacket and they took the last trail home.

As soon as Regina returned to the castle, the king was angry as ever.

"Get to your bedroom! I expect you to be ready when I arrive!"

The king was about to do it again and all Regina could do, was think about tomorrow, when she would make plans and run away with David.