Thanks again for the reviews, follows, and favorites! I hope you like this chapter. It was a difficult one for me to right, and I'm still not sure I am that happy with it, but I've been over it too many times so here it is.

Chapter 11

"I've returned to offer you protection." she states as a breeze gently caresses her hair, her cheek, soothing her while her body trembles under their scrutiny. All eyes find her, survey her, shock and disbelief mirroring her own, because suddenly she wonders what she was thinking. Did she really think they would listen to her, trust her, and her determination wavers with every glare sent her way.

Something Robin must notice, must feel, because he steps next to her, speaking to them all boldly, as always, "You are all in danger. The evil queen and her knights are headed directly for this camp, less than a mile away." Confused expressions find Robin beside her, and some laughs, some scoffs reach their ears, but he does not falter. Regina watches him bend at the knees, lowering himself to the ground where he sets his bow, and she does not like this, does not like him being defenseless, but she trusts him, and she knows that if it comes down to it, she can protect him. She can and will use her light magic.

Robin steps further into the camp, each step matched by his past self walking towards him, still holding his weapon, but he does not have it directed toward 'her' Robin.

"I know this is confusing." he states sympathetically, looking to his past self, then to Snow and Charming who remain still, analyzing, contemplating, "I admit that I am quite...mystified myself, but I can assure you that Regina," he turns his eyes to her, points his finger in her direction, "that woman, she is not the evil queen you know. She is not that woman, and if you refuse our help," he looks down, worry furrowing his brow, then back up to his past self, "we will all suffer the consequences."

Time seems to stand still, this moment frozen, no one moving, no one speaking, the silence deafening. It is not Robin, either Robin, who speaks next. The sound of Snow walking, boot to ground, flows to her ears, and Regina gulps audibly when she sees the princess heading her way, she passes Robin, takes slow steps to stand mere feet in front of Regina, studying her face, her expression, before glancing to the others behind her. Snow's eyes linger on David a little longer than the others, before she turns and addresses everyone before them.

"I will not pretend to understand any of this. These people clearly owe us some explanations." Snow then turns once more, back to Regina, their eyes meet, and Snow's squint as she studies Regina before continuing, "but I do understand the evil queen. I know her...better than I'd like to admit." Snow's eyes lower from Regina's, she is lost in thought, lost in memories, before she returns to the present, returns to Regina's eyes and continues with her speech, "What this man claims is the truth. This is not the evil queen." Snow's gaze falls to Henry and back again. "She has her face, but this woman is not her, and I can't explain it, but...I trust them. I think we should trust them."

Regina finds her heart clenching in disbelief. In her time, Snow and her have come to an understanding, they have moved forward, leaving the past where it belongs, in the past. This Snow surprises her, although she probably should have expected it, should have realized that Snow would be the optimist, see the best in her, even now.

The others still seem suspicious, standing tense with hands hovering over daggers and swords, but no one takes any action, until Robin, past Robin, steps forward and addresses them, addresses 'her' Robin.

"You say we are in danger, and you can help?" He questions cautiously, eyeing the small group at the edge of the clearing.

"Aye." he responds, hopefulness coloring his tone.

Robin sighs, looks from the familiar man before him, to the less familiar group he accompanies, and finally lands his gaze on Regina's warm brown eyes. She tries to plead with her eyes, tries to be transparent to the man studying her. She drops any mask, any pretense, and opens her soul to his glare, begging him to see her for who she is, and not who she was.

"Then help." he declares without breaking their eye contact, and she needs no other words, no other permission before taking action.

"Are all of your people inside the perimeter?" she asks, guiding the others from the treeline into the camp. Not everyone is happy. There are perplexed glances, shocked glares, being thrown her way, clearly in disagreement with Robin's decision, but she does not let them give her pause. They must hurry.

"Yes." Robin states tersely, a frown marring his features, and she knows he is uncertain, knows she still does not hold his complete confidence, so she looks to 'her' Robin, and the love and understanding she finds staring back at her gives her reassurance, strength, even if he still seems dismayed by their situation.

Her eyes find Henry then, and she makes very clear to her son that he is to stay with Robin, David, and Rumple, no matter what happens while her and Emma perform the spell. Emma backs her up, something that relieves her while simultaneously grating on her nerves, because she remembers when it was her, and only her that instructed Henry, but she knows this is for the best. Henry deserves his family, all of his family, and she will not deny him such a gift.

"Emma, walk the perimeter with me." Regina dictates while Emma holds pace beside her. Regina has not performed a cloaking spell in quite awhile, but it is not something easily forgotten. Rumple drilled the spell into her mind, lesson after lesson, and so she chants now as they walk the treeline. She grabs Emma's hand into her own, squeezes, and the other woman takes the hint, begins chanting along with Regina, repeating the words that leave her mouth.

They arrive back to the center after encircling the camp with the spell. Past Robin looks confused and questions her, "What do you intend to do? The leola root may be fading, but you can't possibly have use of your magic yet?"

She smiles smugly because he is right, she does not have control of her magic yet, her dark magic, so she clarifies for him, and the others that have approached, "True, but your root only prevents the use of dark magic," and her smile widens, baring her teeth, as she takes in the puzzled looks around her, "not light magic." She moves to face Emma, eyes locking with the nervous green ones across from her.

"Everyone stand back!" She declares loudly, not breaking eye contact, and she can hear it again, can hear galloping, hear the horses, their hooves hitting the dirt. They have to hurry, they must hurry, and adrenaline races through her veins as she lifts her hands, grabs Emma's and tells her to focus, to feel, to let her emotions, her instincts protect them, protect them all. A glow appears hovering around the blonde in front of her, and Regina feels her body flood with relief before she pulls on her own feelings, her own emotions.

She thinks of Henry, thinks of her baby, her young man, thinks of Robin and his reassuring smile, thinks of Roland, and his glorious brown eyes and dimples. Emotions pour forth from her body, and she feels out of control, has never let herself feel this deeply before, completely unfettered, about so many people at once. More people come to her mind, David, Rumple, and Snow, of course Snow, and her mind traces over the woman she knows, the woman who sent her husband, her true love, to help rescue Regina, the woman who right now stands a few feet away, unknowing of their future, of their friendship yet to come, yet still willing to trust her in this moment.

A blinding light surrounds her, encompasses every sense. She can feel this light, smell it, taste it, and it carefully strokes her skin, flits beside her, and then it widens, dims, pulses around her, around them, and soon it extends to the perimeter of the camp, it surrounds them all. She can see again, and she realizes her eyes have been open the whole time, but the bright light prevented her from viewing anything else.

Her eyes fall on a horse in the distance, just appearing through the trees, and Regina releases a breath of relief. They did it. They placed the cloak in time, and she watches horse after horse, knight after knight continue on their path, passing by, oblivious to the camp directly beside them. Then she comes into view, the evil queen, and Regina misses the looks of astonishment thrown in her direction, she misses the gasps of disbelief, because she can't tear her eyes from the woman on the horse, the woman she once was.

"Stop!"

Regina jumps in surprise, and panic rushes through her body. That was her, that was the evil queen, and why does she want them to stop? Does she sense something? This can't be happening, and Regina searches her memories, tries to remember any of this, hopes that they continue on their way when her own voice finds her ears again.

"I thought there were reports of Snow White in these woods? I have not seen any sign of civilization for miles! Have you?" The queen questions the black knight just ahead of her.

"No your majesty. Perhaps the reports were false." He states, and even Regina thinks he sounds like a moron, so she is not surprised by the queen's reaction.

A scoff leaves her bright red lips, and with a wave of her hand the queen mutters, "Imbecile." The man is thrown from his horse with a grunt before rising, and quickly moving as far from the queen's view as possible.

"Lead me to the summer palace. I'll waste no more of my time traipsing through these woods in a blind search for Snow White." The queen dictates, contempt and disgust filling her expression after uttering Snow's name. "I'll have her soon enough." She finishes as the horses shift direction, heading east, and Regina does remember this now. She can recall spending the day on horseback trekking through the forest with no sign of habitation anywhere. She had been so frustrated and irritated by the time she arrived at the summer palace, she insisted her guards bring the villagers responsible for the false reports to her dungeons.

Regina feels frozen, stiff, like a stone statue trapped in the past until the last horse is out of her sight. It is not until then that she hears the world around her, sees the people watching her in awe, and feels the heaviness and fatigue pull at her body. She is not used to light magic, it is powerful, makes her feel strong while she casts it, but now, afterward, it has left her feeling more drained than she can ever remember. Then again, she has never attempted a cloaking spell of this magnitude, only ever having cared about protecting herself.

Voices fill her head, swim amongst her own thoughts, while she observes her surroundings. The bright light is now just a shimmer like a dome encompassing the camp. Rumple stands near her with a knowing grin on his mouth. Emma stands before her, looking just as spent as she feels, with David beside her, or is that Charming? she wonders, no, definitely David, she thinks as he embraces his daughter. Henry is beside them, a huge smile on his face, directed towards her, and even though she feels so tired, her mind and body seem stale and old, she still returns his smile. It is a reflex.

An arm encircles her waist, and she feeds on the support offered, slumping slightly before turning into the embrace and grasping at Robin's chest gripping handfuls of his shirt, 'her' Robin. Her breath escapes in short pants, and she looks at his smiling face, now contorting with concern as he observes her state. She attempts a smile to put him at ease, but it has no affect, not when she is gripping him, and holding on like he is her lifeline. She suddenly feels sick, her head spinning, and she wonders if it will always feel like this to use light magic, or if it is just the magnitude of the spell, because she has never felt this way before, not from using magic. Her knees give out slightly, and Robin's other arm comes up, his hand gripping her hip, and she thinks he is probably holding her entire weight, but he doesn't seem to mind, only seems concerned, speaking to her, but she can't pick his words out of the jumble in her mind.

Then her eyes glance just beside Robin. Charming, Snow, past Robin, and a few of his men stand there with furrowed brows. So many emotions warring in their eyes, and it almost makes Regina chuckle because this is all so ridiculous, all so confusing. She finds her voice, but it does not come out strong, instead leaving her lips breathily, "I told you," she pauses for a breath, "I wasn't the evil queen." She chuckles at their shocked expressions, and things are starting to become clearer.

Robin's voice sounds from beside her, "What is wrong with her?" he questions Rumplestiltskin before turning his gaze back on her, "Regina, Regina, are you alright?" One of his hands cups her cheek, while the other wraps around her more tightly. The fatigue still weighs her down, pulls at her consciousness, but she feels so safe in his embrace, mutters something about being fine, but he is not convinced.

"It is the light magic," Rumple speaks, "she is not accustomed to expending that kind of power. It can be quite...debilitating, but she will recover."

"But I feel fine, definitely tired, but fine. Why did the magic not affect me like that?" Emma asks, looking toward Regina, and now she is beginning to wonder just how horrible she must look to warrant such concern.

"Light magic is a part of you Miss Swan. Consider yourself lucky. Regina's body is not as...acquainted with this form of magic." Rumple sighs, looks pensive as he eyes the camp where they find themselves. "She should rest," and with a wave of his hand, a handful of tents appear near the perimeter, just inside the protection of the cloak.

Regina feels the heaviness subside, and suddenly she feels so light, unattached, free, and it is an uplifting sensation, until she realizes she has literally been lifted, and just as suddenly, all of her faculties have returned as she turns toward the man holding her.

"No." she states, and the smirk on his face sends jolts through her, makes her feel warm and pleasant, but she will not yield.

"Well Milady, it seems you are already feeling more like yourself," and she can't help but return the grin he sends her, "but I must insist you rest a bit."

Henry moves within her view, and she cannot help but feel weak in Robin's arms, and she only wants Henry to see her strong, she wants to protect him, but before she can struggle, before she can voice another argument Henry makes a request, and she won't deny him, not now, right now she only wants him to keep smiling. "Mom, please, just let us take care of you. You need to rest."

She gulps, sighs, but then she acquiesces, to her son, to Henry, and to Robin. "Fine." Robin must take it as permission enough as he starts to walk with her, heading for one of the conjured tents. She examines him, his tense jaw, worried expression, and makes a mental note to ask him what has him so distraught.

Her gaze returns to Henry over Robin's shoulder, and she can see him smiling, talking with Emma and David, and then she catches Robin's eye, past Robin. He is watching her, watching 'her' Robin, with such an insightful gaze, like a scientist looking through a microscope, and his eyes penetrate, they pierce, making her feel self conscious and her thoughts permeable like he can read her mind. She breaks eye contact, looks back to 'her' Robin as he carries her over the threshold of the tent.