I really need to get my butt in gear and speed it up with the updates! Poor SLBP is being neglected. Soooooo close this time! So close! Hope you enjoy it :)
"I swear if she keeps wandering off in the morning I'm going to tie her to a god damn tree at night," he mumbled to himself under his breath irritably as he pushed through a wall of branches to find himself at the shore of a pool at the bottom of a waterfall. A waterfall with a very beautiful and very bare Regina underneath. The water level hit just below her navel so he saw nothing beneath her waist and her back was to him but he couldn't pull his eyes away from the way the muscles moved in her back and shoulders as she lifted her hands to run her fingers through short wet hair and tilt her head back so the falling water landed on her face.
His throat went dry and it only got worse when she pivoted to get under a heavier stream of falling water and unknowingly gave him a side view of her narrow and well toned body as well as breasts that were lifted slightly given her arms were still up and her hands still in her hair. He knew he should look away, run away really, but he was entranced by her and his heart thundered in his chest when her hands released her hair and she bowed her head down to run them over the back of her neck and enjoy the cool water falling on her neck before her hands moved over her shoulders and chest, soft delicate fingers lingering over her round breasts as chilled water dripped from fingertips and hardened nipples.
He tried to stop staring, he tried to pull his eyes away from her but he was enthralled. When her dark eyes shot up to meet his own his heart all but stopped beating. She had her head bowed slightly and turned so he could see her face, one hand was up on her chest just below her shoulder while the other had stopped in the process of moving up so it now rested just beneath one of her breasts. He was waiting to be scolded or for her to cover herself with her hands or turn her back to him but she simply smiled at him and closed her eyes and shook her head and from what he could tell she was laughing under her breath as she continued moving under the water just as she had been before.
Yet still he watched the clear water fall smoothly over her figure and drip from her top lip to her bottom lip when she parted them. She wasn't close to him but she wasn't too far, roughly sixty five feet, close enough for him to see her clearly and catch many details but not close enough for him to see them all. He cleared his throat and shook his head, forcing his feet to walk him backwards as Regina continued to move her hands over her body as though she didn't have an audience.
He stopped though, startled when his back collided with a tree and his paranoid mindset immediately believed it to be another person. With a tense breath he shook his head and closed his eyes to try and clear his mind and find it in him to walk away. Whatever motivation he had found to make himself leave was all lost again when he opened his eyes and watched the water fall smoothly over her strong shoulders and back as she moved her arms up so her hands were in her hair once again.
The black lingerie sitting neatly atop her folded clothing didn't exactly help his case either.
...
Regina found him back at their camp they had made for the night trying to make a fire to cook the already skinned and prepared rabbit skewered over the wood. "Enjoy the show Charming?" She teased and tossed a small fireball from her hand into the wood.
David stared at the fire and carelessly tossed his flint to the side to watch the wood burn, unable to look her in the eye, "...yes," he was met with a purr of a laugh from behind him.
"There is nothing to be ashamed of," she grinned and laughed quietly at his behaviour, "it's just a body David and you're only human."
"A beautiful and incredibly tempting body," now he was just kicking and swearing at himself, "I did not just say that out loud!"
Regina laughed quietly and nodded as she walked by him and patted his shoulder as he covered his face with his hands, "you did."
"Oh my god," he groaned in to his hands absolutely furious with himself.
"Relax. If you hadn't have stared I'd be worried about your sanity," she chuckled and shook her head as she sat down a friendly distance beside him and ran her fingers through her damp hair, "if the tables were turned I'm sure I would have watched as well," she nodded and when he lifted his head from his hands to finally look at her she shrugged playfully.
"I'll leave a note next time," she winked and grinned and he laughed quietly and shook his head, "maybe I'll find something hideous to wear for the rest of the trip," she teased and gave him a playful nudge with her shoulder.
"There is nothing that you could wear that could keep you from being one of the sexiest women alive."
Regina's smile grew impressively at the flattery and he only bowed his shaking head and rubbed his face, "well you are just on a roll today aren't you Charming," she laughed quietly and he groaned in to his hands, "that mouth of yours is going to get you in trouble dear."
"You have no idea," he mumbled in to his palms and when he finally brought himself to lift his head and look her in the eye he found her to still be laughing quietly at him. So he moved forward, turning on his hands and knees so his right hand held his weight on the ground by her hip and the other reached over her causing her to lean back on her hands to try and avoid the close proximity.
He kept moving closer and she kept moving backward but she was running out of room to run to. His blue eyes had pinpoint focus on her dark eyes and she found her heart rate begin to increase beyond her control as he kept getting closer. She soon found she wasn't breathing but for the life of her she couldn't find it in her to inhale. Then she ran out of room to escape to and his face was right over hers and her eyes flashed to his mouth for only a moment against her will. He stayed there for a moment before he grinned and his fingers plucked up an unknown object that he had been reaching for.
"Two can play at this game," he whispered teasingly against her mouth before he moved back up in to the place he was sitting in before but now had a dagger in his hand that had been behind Regina. He couldn't help but grin at the flustered expression on her face completed with wide eyes and slightly parted lips.
"Rude."
David laughed quietly as she cleared her throat and pushed herself back up with a dark and playful expression, "you'll manage I'm sure."
Her moment of girlish fluster over, she smirked at him and cocked her head with a thoughtful hum as she looked him up and down. She'd be lying if she said she didn't feel his overwhelming want for her when he was close. She had felt it more than once but she herself did not feel much in return until moments ago when he crawled over top of her. She didn't linger on it however because it would do her no good. She wasn't about to go after him and she was sure he would be able to stop himself from making a mistake and if he didn't she saw no reason for herself not being able to stop him instead.
She had to be good. Pursuing Prince Charming for a little fun and games was not good.
"Hey uh..." He paused as he fought for the right words and poked at the cooking rabbit with the tip of his dagger, "are you alright?"
Regina nodded and watched him poke the rabbit knowing that he was referring to the night before when she refused to let him touch her after sharing a particularly vulnerable memory, "yes," she answered quietly, "I'm fine."
"I had no idea..."
Regina smiled with her teeth showing white but it was a remarkably sorrowful smile and it did not reach her eyes that avoided his as she whispered, "no one did. No one does."
"...is that why you had him killed?"
"The main reason, yes..."
David nodded with a frown as he poked at the fire now, "if you don't mind me asking, how is it that Snow never knew?"
"I made certain she would never know. I took precaution to make sure she would never know what kind of a man Leopold was when there was no one looking."
"...why?"
Regina furrowed her brow and frowned at the question, her body starting to shake as tears started to pool in her eyes despite how much she wished them away, "because he was her father. She didn't have a mother, all she had was her father. I couldn't take her father from her."
If that wasn't a parallel Regina had unintentionally drawn between herself and Snow then David didn't know what was. No he did not know much but he knew from Snow that Regina's mother was anything but kind and he knew from personal experience that Regina's father was always at her side. No matter what she had done or was doing, that man stood by his daughter. All she had, it seemed, was her father and he was starting to realize now that throughout her life Regina was not nearly as selfish or cruel as she appeared to be.
She was selfless until selflessness broke her.
When he looked her way he could see she was trying not to cry in front of him once more so he offered her time because time was always taken from her. So time he offered, "I am going to go fill the water skin for us before we leave. I drank most of it when I got back this morning," he smiled a small smile but she didn't see it for her eyes were closed but she did give him a small nod. Before he stood up to leave he reached over and gave her hand a small squeeze, "I'll be back in a bit. Maybe I'll try to find some dinner for us for tonight. I may even get lost," he added and by the way her face creased with further attempts to keep herself under control informed him she understood the underlying meaning of his last comment. That she could take as much time as she needed.
"Thank you."
...
"Regina!"
She lifted her head to her name and started laughing under her breath when she caught sight of him running full speed toward her, "what? You disturb a hive of angry bees in your search for food?" She teased but without slowing down he snatched her wrist and pulled her to her feet and dragged her behind him, "David! What the hell?!"
Her questions were answered and many more were brought to mind to replace them when the screech of a dragon was heard above them paired with the sound of large wings moving through the air. She looked up and behind them as they ran and sure enough there was a dragon flying over head. A very, very big dragon, "trust you to find a dragon and make sure it's the biggest one!" She snapped angrily, "what the hell David?! You mistake it for an oversized squirrel?!"
"We were going after the same deer Regina! He scared the shit out of me when he fell from the sky and on to the stag! Apparently he wanted a little human meat on the side! And since when were dragons a problem in this part of the forest?!"
"Oh this is ridiculous!" She planted her feet and ripped her arm from his grasp and the dragon flew right past them because of their quick stop but it rolled in the air and came right back, "we are not about to outrun a fucking dragon!" When the fire was seen leaving the creature's mouth Regina lifted her hands and an invisible field was placed in front of her and David just before the heat licked their skin. When the stream of fire ended she dropped her hands and in turn the shield was gone as the dragon screeched loudly and flew past them only to turn back around and try again.
David stood off to the side with his muscles tense and ready to move as he watched Regina handle her magic and the left wing of the dragon broke repeatedly and as it broke in to smaller and smaller pieces Regina had formed it in to a ball which caused the dragon to shriek in pain as it spun out and hit the ground with a loud crash that shook the ground. Naturally he whipped out his phone and started taking a video.
The maimed dragon still had legs and it pushed itself to its feet and screeched at Regina, the woman taking one step back for every step it took forward. Her hands were out at her sides with purple magic just waiting to be used, she leaned forward slightly and grinned viciously through her parted teeth as she tried to catch her breath. She was so small, her full height not even close the length of the dragon's head and yet she showed no fear. "Hey Henry. How's it going kid? We uh we found a dragon," he panted and laughed under his short breath, "thought you may want to see it and uh you see your mom in action, that sorta thing."
He had never been so happy to see the evil queen in her. He didn't have a sword, he didn't have a shield, he had nothing, he only had Regina. His dagger and bow weren't going to do any damage to a dragon. He was ready to run and get her once more when the dragon opened its mouth to breathe fire but Regina was quicker and she moved her hands as though she was spinning a large wheel and the dragon's head unwillingly followed the motion and it's neck was snapped crudely and the beast collapsed. It was no longer a wonder why her kingdom was never plagued with dragons. He let his breath go and Regina let her offensive posture relax in to wariness but it was short lived at the sound of two more dragons.
Regina whirled around to face him with her arms moving in sharp angry movements, "what the hell were you doing out there?!"
"Why the hell is there more than one?! Dragons live alone!" He was met with a furious growl and he caught the dagger she threw at him and once it was in his hand it became significantly heavier for she had magicked it in to a full sized sword. She stormed off but then stopped and turned back around to point at the phone.
"Are you seriously taking a video right now?"
David laughed and shrugged because under her fury there was also amusement and more than a hint of excitement to show off, "what eleven year old boy doesn't want to see his bad ass mother battle a dragon or three?" She laughed in return with a shake of her head as she turned on her heels and focused on the dragon coming straight for her and himself.
She downed her dragon in no time at all and he had to jump to the side to barely avoid its spiked tail when it crashed to the ground and then try to regain his balance enough to move out of the way of the fire provided by the second dragon. He spun his sword in his hand in anticipation as his dragon rolled back and came at him again. This time he was quicker, "Regina!" He called and as she spun around he tossed the phone and she caught it with a laugh. As the dragon flew toward him he swung his sword with old unused strength and beheaded the beast as it flew by low causing its body to bounce and tumble over the forest floor.
"Good job Charming," she grinned and tossed him back the phone, "thought you may have lost your touch," she smirked but both of their laughs disappeared when the ground shook beneath their feet with large heavy footsteps running toward them. Quickly and efficiently she snatched the bow from around his body and plucked an arrow from the quiver on his back to shoot it through the eye of an ogre as it burst through the tree line with an angered roar.
"Oh yeah," he breathed out an adrenaline filled laugh at the sound of more running footsteps and another dragon in the sky, "your mom is also quite handy with a bow. Who knew!" When Regina snatched her needed arrows from the quiver he ran backwards to get the full ogre in the shot. The pair of them were having much more fun than they should be having.
He didn't flinch when she spun around and aimed her second arrow in his direction after killing the other. He almost found it odd he trusted her so easily and so fully with his life and as the arrow slipped from her fingertips and in to the eye of the ogre coming up behind him they both grinned and David skipped to the side to avoid the falling dead body. They were both reminded that their job wasn't done by the screech of the dragon in the sky.
Regina laughed up at the sky and flexed her fingers, "are you ready for the grand finale Charming!?" She called over to him and his expression filled with anticipation for something extravagant.
"You're never one to disappoint your majesty!" He grinned and assured she was in the frame of his phone and that it was still recording as she was slowly enveloped in purple smoke. A few short moments later he caught glimpse of a much larger eye peer through the smoke. It was her same dark chocolate brown but the pupil was now narrow. Like a lizard. He began to laugh and shake his head, "oh no way! Henry this is going to be spectacular!"
Just as he finished his sentence enormous black wings unfolded from the smoke and they were followed by a very elegant and feminine head and a long neck covered in smooth black scales. A low rumble vibrated in her throat, a laugh at a low frequency that vibrated in his chest and caused him to laugh as well. Black scales reflected the sunlight as she stretched her wings and lifted herself in to the sky with strong powerful movements, immediately catching the real dragon's attention and having it come hurdling toward her.
His phone followed her up in to the sky and he laughed in his own excitement as well as the image of Henry's when he was to watch this footage. Regina took the green dragon head on and viciously attacked it, claws and teeth ripping away as wings flapped to keep them both suspended. The dragon shrieked and fought back but Regina wouldn't let it touch her. She clawed at its belly with her hind legs and took its neck in her jaw while the claws of her front legs tore at its wings and fought off the front legs of the green drag as it shrieked and roared.
They were sent spiralling downward and while the green dragon flailed and fought to get away from Regina's grip, she simply folded her wings and let them fall. When they were roughly the height of a house from the ground Regina let go of the dragon, giving it an added push to slam the dragon's head hard in to the ground so the force followed up its neck effectively breaking it as she outstretched her wings to catch the air and slow her pace significantly before she landed on all fours.
David laughed as he ran up to her enormous dragon form holding her head up high upon her long arched neck as she gave her wings one last stretch before she folded them, "that! That was awesome!" He pushed his head back to look up at her while he laughed in adrenaline filled excitement.
"Breathe fire! Regina! You've got to breathe some fire for the camera!" He laughed and felt his chest vibrate as she laughed, like a bass turned up too loud. He could see the smoke start to lift from her nostrils and he found himself acting like a giddy schoolboy bouncing and laughing, "quit teasing!" He yelled up at her and could have sworn he saw her smile before she opened her mouth and released the fire burning deep in her belly.
He hollered in approval and jumped up, throwing his free fist in the air as the stream continued and he felt the heat radiate backward toward him. When the flame ended he watched a red forked tongue slip past her teeth and it made him laugh all the more and bounced up to her side to touch the scales on her leg and found them to be incredibly warm, "this is so cool," he laughed and crouched down to touch the sharp black claws digging in to the soil, his hand just big enough to wrap around the large claw.
"This is beyond impressive!" He laughed and stood up tall again to find she had lowered her head to his level, "your eye is almost as big as my head!" He motioned to her eye with both hands and then focused the camera on the familiar dark brown iris before it was obscured by purple smoke.
"I've never tried a dragon before," she laughed and shook out her arms and stretched her neck, "mice, cats, birds, smaller animals. Never a dragon."
"You turned in to a dragon!" He laughed and looked up at the sky, "and you took down another dragon in mid air! Don't tell me you are not excited about that!"
"I never said I wasn't," she grinned and tucked her chin. David ended the video with a laugh and pushed his phone back in his pocket which allowed for her to get more in depth, "David," she shook her head and laughed as he bent down and pulled at a dark green scale on the dragon's shoulder about the size of his palm. With a wave of her hand the scale came loose and he went stumbling backward with a laugh.
"For Henry," he lifted the scale and then put it in his back pocket, "magic is awesome!"
She shook her head once more and laughed but then began looking around, pivoting on one foot, "David this wasn't right. Four dragons and three ogres in the same place at the same time? It's not-" she stopped in her tracks and her voice ran silent when she met her mother's gaze across the clearing in the trees. Cora lifted her chin in acknowledgement and a smile graced her lips but Regina's heart continued with its hurried rhythm only now it was with fear rather than enjoyable thrill.
It was her mother that broke eye contact first and nodded to Regina's side toward David and it had Regina's breath catching in her chest and her head shaking slowly and subtly.
"It's not what?" He asked with a smile and turned around to find her staring at something and shaking her head, "Regina? What-" he turned his head to follow her gaze to find a large ball of fire speeding toward them.
He ran forward and pulled her to the ground with him, spinning them so he landed first to absorb the impact and she was on top of him before rolling and protecting her small self with his larger one. They stayed like that for a moment or so, her underneath him on her side with her legs curled and her hands and arms covering her head and him laying over her with his arms wrapped protectively over her head as well. When he heard nothing but silence he slowly lifted his head to find she had magicked them to a completely different area in the forest.
He let his arms move to support his weight on either side of her shoulders and she twisted at her waist so her legs remained curled on their side and her upper back and shoulders laid flat on the forest floor. She tried to steady her erratic breathing and she looked around for any further danger and he couldn't help but drop his gaze to her chest as it heaved to struggle for air. Laying down her shirt seemed lower and the swell of the tops of her breasts were more prominent, catching his eye immediately. The strained muscles of her neck distracted him further and he followed the sharp lines to her jaw and then to her parted red lips, her eyes had stopped darting around and now they were completely still and looking straight in to his own.
He was studying her and her heart thundered in her chest as warmth fluttered in her stomach, "what are you doing?"
David shook his head and moved his right hand to touch the soft skin of her neck, "I don't know," he watched his fingers move over her jaw and found himself slowly being reeled in closer and closer to her parted lips and dark eyes.
She didn't understand what was happening. They had only just become what some people may call friends and it was after years of hating one another and now he may just kiss her because now neither of them could push the other away. She suddenly wanted him to kiss her, she wanted to feel that roaring fire inside her again. So she remained still as he leaned further down with his own lips parted slightly. She was truly surprised by how much she loved feeling his weight on top of her and by how much heat he had caused to grow between her legs. His soft hot breath blew across her lips and jaw causing her heart to skip frantically in her chest. She didn't move, she didn't know what would happen if she did.
The sides of their noses touched and there was a moment of pause with their mouths just barely hovering. She got no closure. Instead he pulled away and got up off of her and hurried away leaving her flustered and breathless on her back.
She alternated between holding her breath and quietly and shakily gasping for air as she moved her hips so she now laid flat on her back and then raised one knee as she ran her hands over her face and in to her hair. Her heart was still pounding against her chest and the rush of excitement and anticipation was now bouncing around inside her with nowhere to go, "god damn it," she whispered and tried to catch her breath.
