(Special thanks to a friend for the art work for the 31 prompts and to Bekki for beta reading these. And thank you to all who read, review, follow and fav this.)
Day 8-Beginnings, Middles, Ends
(Set in Storybrooke)
"Tell it again," a small little girl said as she settled into Regina's lap, they were in Regina's house.
"Haven't you heard this story, what a million times already, Charity Hood?" Regina asked as she laughed at the little girl's excitement.
"Yes, but I need it to be million and one," Charity said.
"Well, far be it from me to deny a little princess then," Regina said as she opened the story book,Henry's old story book.
"Once Upon A Time, there was an evil queen, who after being so unhappy with her life, adopted a little boy, Henry," Regina started the story.
Charity listened as Regina spoke, telling her story, minus the very bad things she had done when she was evil. "This is my favorite part, this is where you met Daddy," Charity said with a smile, that reminded her of Robin.
"Yes, and on this day after being sent back to the Enchanted Forest, the Queen saw that a little boy was about to be attacked by a flying monkey, and she scooped him up out of harm's way," Regina read the story, looking down at Charity who had an expression of many things.
"Next she turned the flying monkey into a stuffed animal for the little boy," Regina said. "his father was very appreciative that she had saved his little boy's life."
Unbeknownest to Regina and Charity, Robin stood up against the arch way to the living room, enjoying the scene out before him, Regina reading the story to Charity. He couldn't help the smile that was on his face as he looked at these two, he also recalled in his mind, the very scene that Regina was talking about, when she had saved Roland.
"You saved Robin Hood's son!" Charity said with glee in her voice.
"Yes, I did," Regina said, smiling down at the child's happiness, remembering that day that had put her life into motion.
"Together, for a year the Queen and others worked on a way to get back to their families, but in order to do so, a sacrifice would have to be made, they did so, but had no memories of the missing year," Regina said.
"You didn't remember Robin Hood?" Charity asked, even though she already knew the story by heart.
"No, and he didn't remember me," Regina said, smiling at Robin's words to her that day outside the house of 'I doubt, I would ever forget meeting you'.
"But, you did meet again," Charity said.
"Yes, when he shot an arrow at me," Regina said, giving Charity a little hug.
"But he missed," Charity said.
"No, I stopped it, his arrows never miss their mark," Regina said. "so together the Outlaw and the Queen became partners in stopping the witch, and with the help of others, also defeated her once and for all."
"What happened to her?" Charity asked.
"She was sent to Oz, and never returned," Regina answered.
"And what about the Outlaw and the Queen?" Charity asked, smiling as she waited to be told again what had happened between them.
"They fell in love," Regina answered.
"Because pixie dust never lies," Charity said.
"That's right, it was prothsized that the Queen's soul mate was indeed the Outlaw," Regina said.
"She should have met up with him in that tavern," Charity said.
"If she had, then who knows what the future would have been," Regina said.
"Why didn't she meet him then?" Charity asked.
"Because she was afraid for the first time in a long time," Regina answered.
"Afraid of what?" Charity asked, looking up at Regina with a look of wonder.
"Afraid to love again, afraid she would become weak," Regina said.
"But true love is magic, that's what you always told me," Charity said.
"And it is, it truly is the most powerful of all magic," Regina said.
"Will I ever have magic?" Charity asked, lowering her head.
"Charity, look at me," Regina said as she put a hand under the little girl's head, "you are magic. It doesn't matter if you have it or not, your loving heart is magic, never forget that."
"I won't," Charity said. "And the Queen saw his tattoo and knew he was her soul mate?"
"Yes, he had just poured her a drink for the two of them to share, and she looked down and saw on his right forearm, the tattoo of the man from the tavern, where the fairy had tried to make the Queen enter."
"What did she do then?" Charity asked.
"She was shocked and did the only thing she could do, she ran," Regina said.
"But why?" Charity asked.
"She was once again afraid, but a wise person told her not to hold back and she went to go see the Outlaw in the forest," Regina said.
"And what did she do next?" Charity asked, giggling as she knew what had happened.
"She kissed the Outlaw," Regina said in a whisper.
Robin smiled and tried to keep the chuckle inside of him, he had been so upset over loosing her heart, she had trusted him and he let her down. He had been shocked when she had grabbed him, and pulled him in for a kiss, it was truly a magical kiss, when she had pulled away and they had stared into one another's faces, he went in for another kiss, putting his hands in her hair and around her waist to pull her closer to him.
"Then what happened between the Outlaw and the Queen?"
"Well, after about six months of seeing one another, the Outlaw took the Queen for a walk in the forest, coming to a very special log there."
"The log where she started to trust him right?" Charity asked.
Robin smiled at the little girl's knowledge of their story, she knew it by heart. Robin too remembered the day he had walked upon Regina, sitting on that log in the forest, he had known she could kill him but it didn't matter, he also knew she had been upset earlier and he wanted to help her if he could.
"Yes, the log where she began to trust him, before she left she gave him her heart, literally to protect till she returned from a battle with the witch," Regina said.
"That was a smart move on her part," Charity said.
"Indeed, and later she returned to that spot and he had kept his word, he kept her heart safe," Regina said.
"But she wanted him to keep it safe again for her," Charity said.
"Yes, but he asked her why she would trust something so valuable to a thief like him," Regina said.
"And she told him, that he couldn't steal something that was given to him," Charity said.
"Yes, and as she turned around to leave, she heard him say, how she still owed him a drink," Regina said.
"Which they finally had," Charity said.
"Yes, in her office, they had a small picnic and she told him about his tattoo and the meaning to her," Regina said.
"Was he happy about it?" Charity asked.
"Extremely so," Regina said.
"So then what did they do?" Charity asked.
"Well, later they...had smores," Regina said as Robin couldn't hold back the chuckle.
"I love smores," Charity said.
Robin chuckled at the little girl's innocence. He too, loved making smores with Regina, his wife. That had been a magical night for them, it had been their first time admitting their feelings for one another, along with the first time being intimate with each other. It was also the night their little girl was conceived.
He had asked her to marry him right before she had told him that she was pregnant with their first child. The pregnancy had been difficult for Regina at times, affecting her magic at times. Regina had went full term into her pregnanct, she had also been a little moody during the pregnancy, snapping at him. Which he had just went out and gotten her a few of her favorite things to snack on, including gummy worms.
The birth had been an ordeal, lasting nearly twenty hours. Regina had yelled at him often in the birth process, squeezing his hand to the point that he loss the feeling in his hand. She had threatened to cut off his member for doing this to her. He had reasured her that she would make it through this, that her reward would be their little girl.
At 1:23 in the morning, Hope Hood had made her appearence. She came into the world a screaming little princess. She had her mother's dark hair, with his blue eyes. She was such a beautiful little girl, they had taken her home the next day. Roland had been thrilled to have a little sister, along with Henry. Both boys loved being big brothers to Hope.
After a month after the birth, Mary Margaret had thrown a party at Granny's to celebrate Regina's daughter. The whole town, now very receptive to the former Evil Queen, had come out. Tink and Mary Margaret were both godmothers. While Little John and David were both the godfathers.
"And then what happened to them?" Charity asked.
"They lived happidly ever after," Regina said.
"That they did," Robin said as he walked up behind the chair, and kissed his wife's cheek.
"Again, tell me it again," Charity asked.
"Another time, my darling," Regina said as Charity moved to put the book back in the bookshelf.
Regina smiled,"She looks just like Roland at his age,"
"Has his father's dimples," Regina said as behind them, the front door of her home, opened and closed behind them.
"Hey, Mom and Dad," Roland said as he walked into the living room.
"Hey son," Robin said as he gave his first born a huge hug.
"How was she today?" Roland asked.
"A perfect princess," Regina said.
"Daddy!" Charity yelled as she ran towards...Roland.
"There's my little girl," Roland said as he picked up his daughter.
"Nana Regina, read me Gramp Robin and her story," Charity said.
"Including the day, that Nana Regina saved me?" Roland asked.
"Including that," Charity answered.
"Quite a story, isn't it?" Roland asked his daughter.
"Just like yours and Mommy's," Charity said as the adults all laughed. "Daddy, can we go see Auntie Hope and Uncle Liam?"
"We're all having dinner tonight," Regina said.
"Yay! Are we having lasagna?" Charity asked.
"Of course," Regina answered as Charity wiggled out of her father's arms and left to go to the kitchen with her Nana Regina.
All was right with the world...