Regina was, perhaps for the first time in her life, truly relaxed, her mind blissfully empty and unaware of the dangers that lingered outside the warm safety of her tent. Robin had gently kissed her goodbye and had departed, telling her that he could not linger with her in the midst of the day, no matter how much he wished. He had also told her to stay in the tent and get some sleep, perhaps read a book and Regina had been too comfortable and drowsy to protest, instead gazing at him from under thick lashes, taking in the strong muscles that had brought her the pleasure her body was still faintly tingling with. So she was left alone in the tent, lingering in a state somewhere between reality and the world of her dreams. She breathed in deeply, allowing the smells of the tent to full her heart with the warmth that she longed to keep there for as long as she could; it smelled like lavender and wild roses, like the pine needles of the forest and the faint waft of sweat, a reminder of the tireless labor that Robin had performed to make her feel better. She sighed happily and closed her eyes, pulling the sheets up towards her nose and smelling the sheets. They smelled different, more like him; a mix of forest, morning sweat and the smell of the wild's hunt. It was an odd, but not unwelcome realization that she probably would smell like that someday too, since the people of the forest rarely used oils or perfumes to scent themselves. The oils Robin had used on her had obviously been an exception. Cora had always made her take steaming hot baths that made her skin a glowering red and would make her use a great variety of oils and perfumes to make her smell appeasing, many of which would leave sting upon her skin and leave the battered cost of beauty behind. Yet it was important, Cora had said and she had listened. She smiled, opening her eyes and looking at the shadows of trees dancing against the canvas ceiling of her tent, allowing the soothing movements to draw her eyes closed and lull her into a dreamless, gentle sleep.
She was awoken by a presence, a shadow lingering over her, blocking the light that had fallen upon her eyelids earlier, tickling them softly, daring them to open and come and play. Now the darkness touched them, but she opened her eyes against it. She curved her mouth into a smile, expecting her husband to stand by her bedside much like he had earlier in what still felt like a dream rather than a memory.
The truth made her eyes fly open, driving out every good thing about that memory, that dream. Because standing at the foot of her bed was not Robin, not Roland, not even one of Robin's merry men that still scared her at some occasions. Standing there, casting a shadow in what before had been a room bathed in light, was Cora.
She wanted to scream, but her voice caught in her throat as her mother sauntered towards her bed, her body betraying her and she scooted bed towards the head of the bed. Suddenly she was not the queen anymore, she was back to the little girl that wanted to please her mother, or else would suffer the consequences. Cora for her part gave an almost in perceivable smirk, apparently satisfied with her daughter's reaction as she strode through the room, running her fingers over the artifacts and curiosities in the tent. Her eyes especially lingered upon a charcoal drawing of Roland with his father, both smiling with twinkling eyes and identical dimples. Her mother lifted her finger towards the drawing and smoothed her finger over the charcoaled lines, leaving a smudge over the side of Roland's face. Anger reared its head in Regina's heart at that moment, briefly overtaking her deep-rooted fear for this woman that she called her mother. She forced herself to sit up straight on the bed, like her mother had taught her and mustered her courage.
"That does not belong to you." She snapped, not wanting to do her mother the pleasure of addressing the reason of her visit, or, for that matter, her poisoning if Robin. She did not desire to hear her mother's reasons, she had heard enough of her mother's wicked tales to know that there was little truth to them anyway. Cora laughed, cackled and walked towards her daughter, stroking her cheek with a gentleness that left Regina's heart shaking more than a stinging touch would ever be able to. She feared her mother, but yet the part of the little hopeful girl in her wanted to please her mother, to be told she was a good girl, to be rewarded with lemon cakes and riding lessons. Part of her was just the little girl that just wanted to be loved by her mother more than anything.
Cora laughed at the little girl, laughed at her the same way she laughed at the queen and shook her head. "Foolish girl. It belongs to you, and you belong to me. I own all of this." She gestured around the tent and pursed her lips, taking in the sight of her daughter. "For all it's worth."
Regina was seated on her bed, bare, covers desperately pulled up towards her chin to protect her body from her mother. Yet her daughter managed to keep her head up high, to stare into her eyes like the young girl she had offered to Robin just months ago never could. The forest had taken residence up in her daughter and it shone in her eyes with a ferocity and strength that Cora had not seen there for some time, not since she crushed the foolish stable boy's heart. Yet hope was as freely taken away as it was given, Cora mused. Once the outlaw was gone, she would rip the forest from her daughter, quench the fire simmering in her soul; she would break her as she always had and her daughter would be obedient, as was her nature, her birthright.
"Leave now, mother, or I call the guards." She sounded like the forest and Cora chuckled, moving towards the bed and forcing Regina to the headboard with a simple flick of her fingers. Regina instantly felt the familiar sensation of a ghostly hand clenching her throat and she gasped for breath, the fire of courage in her soul already sputtering to stay alive as she tried to pry off the invisible hand squeezing the life from her. The sheet slipped down from her body, baring the breasts that she had shown so freely to Robin before to her mother by force. She gasped as the cold air hit her body and uselessly battered her arms against the headboard in an attempt to free them. She screamed for help, but knew that her voice would not reach the outside of the tent. Cora had always seen to that; nobody would ever hear her cries.
Cora ignored her daughter's shouts for help, her angry cries and threats and instead stalked to the bed angrily and slamming her daughters back into the headboard when she reached her to quiet her. Cora stood over the bed, studying her daughter for a few seconds, before a small smirk formed on her lips. Suddenly she restrains were gone and Regina quickly scrambled to pull the covers up to her neck. She felt the tears stinging in her eyes, not of pain of fear, but of frustration, because for all her magic and bows and newfound courage, she could not stand against her mother, could not even raise a finger to touch her. Cora bowed down to her, trailing her finger over Regina's cheek, smiling at her in what almost could have been loving if her mother had not been heartless and stone-eyed as ever.
"You do not threaten me, dear, do you understand?" Cora asked her softly, her voice sweet. Regina couldn't hold back her sobs, but refused to acknowledge, instead staring into her mother's eyes, broken, yet defiant. Cora uttered a disapproving sound and within seconds her daughter was slammed against she headboard again and Cora sat down next to her.
"Honey I need you to understand I don't want to do this. I'm just trying to have a conversation with you and you're pushing me away." She flicked her hand almost carelessly and Regina gasped for air as her throat was released. "That hurts me."
"What do you want, mother?" Regina's voice trembled, but she managed to sound still somewhat in control of her emotions, not wanting herself to break, not wanting to give her mother the pleasure, the power. "I did what you wanted, I married Robin, I pleased him, I did everything he desired. Why can't you just leave me alone? Leave him alone?" Her voice cracked as her memory took her to the terrifying fate that had almost befallen Robin at her mother's hand. Cora raised one eyebrow and Regina instantly knew she had made a mistake, mentioning him, baring her heart for just a second to her mother. Cora smiled sweetly.
"You care for him?" Cora shook her head and gave her daughter a disapproving glance. "Regina, love is weakness. I thought you'd know that by now." She stood up from the bed and waved away her daughter's start of a reply. "It matters not. Your relationship with the savage is no longer of importance, for it will end soon enough. That is what I want, for you to be of this savage man."
Regina startled, grasping the covers tight as she forced herself to stay calm. If she lost control for only a second, Cora would win and then all would be lost. "What is that supposed to mean? Your attempt to murder him failed and I doubt you'll get the chance again." She glared at her mother. Cora was powerful and Regina did not doubt that she would be able to get to Robin if she actually wished, but for now words were all she could wield, so she did. Cora laughed as she took in her daughter's glare.
"Murder your husband? Well dear what kind of mother would that make me? I am here to warn you." Cora walked away from the bed and faced the mirror, stroking her finger over the glass and Regina swore she could see it rippling underneath her fingertips. Only now she remembered how her mother insisted that she kept mirrors in her room at all times, remembered the whispers of servants that Cora had eyes everywhere. She vowed to smash the mirror the second her mother had left and her head reeled as she thought of the things her mother could have seen.
"I am here to warn you, dear." Cora told her, glancing at her daughter through the mirror. "The men of the forest have made many enemies in years past and have been hardly tolerated by the neighboring lords. Now they have overstepped; for they have taken a woman of noble birth, a princess, as their prisoner. The king wants to see their blood and she Lord of Nottingham was all too happy to lend his soldiers. There is a war coming, dear, and your husband will not live to see it end." She turned around, facing her daughter with a smile on her face. "But that is not your concern, because the king has promised me to bring you back safely from the war. He will grant us shelter at his court once this is all over. His wife passed some year ago and he sees a new wife in you after he's saved you from your savage husband." Cora laughed and was next to her daughter in a few seconds, stroking her cheek and then suddenly grabbing it tightly, pressing her nails into the soft skin.
"Don't worry dear, for soon you will be Queen. A real queen." She smiled sweetly, let her daughter go and disappeared into purple smoke just seconds later, the dark scent of magic still lingering in the room long after she'd gone.
Regina wanted to run, wanted to panic, wanted to cry, to curse the gods and her mother and the king that thought to save her from a danger that had never been there in the first place. She wanted to hide away in the expanse of her bed, to let her mother's words slide off her skin and leave her body though the tears in her eyes, but the time for wailing had been long since over. The magic trembled beneath her skin, cold in fear as it fought against the warmth in her heart. So she did not cry, she did not panic, she did not give up. She decided to fight. Her muscles burned as she stood up from the bed, her mother's magic having undone the blissful effects of Robin's massage. She walked towards the mirror and thought to smash it, but caught sight of the back dress still draped over a sturdy chair behind her. As she took the heavy fabric and let it slide through her hands she gasped for air, forced herself to stop the sobs that threatened to wreck her body. She slowly pulled the black fabric over her head and shoulders, allowing it to slide down her body until it almost reached to the ground. She then grabbed the corset and placed the sturdy leather piece around her waist. It had been some time since she had worn a corset, but she did not allow herself time to get accustomed to it again, instead lacing the corset tight around her until she could barely breathe, until she could not sob anymore. Tears still stung in her eyes, but as she looked at herself in the mirror she could feel her determination grow. She looked older now: draped in dark fabric that hugged every curve, a corset that forced her breasts to stand out and capture any man's attention. The dress was as dark at the forest, but when she moved it seemed to have an almost golden shine to it, as if golden sand had been captured in the dark embrace of the dress. The long sleeves wrapped themselves around her arms and turned from flowing black fabric to light lace until it reached the palms of her hands. With trembling hands she put up her long hair in a long tail that brushed over her shoulders and without the softening curls around her face, her cheekbones stood out sharp and angry. She reached to the black pencil that Mhairi had placed there earlier to use on her face, but as she took in the tears that streamed down her face, she decided not to use it. Her eyes were still those of the little, terrified girl, but it seemed like her essence was caught in the body of a woman that she did not recognize anymore. She looked as if she were going to war and in many ways, she was.
Cora had told her that she would be a queen soon and she had been right.
The doe-eyed princess was gone.
Long live the queen.
The man gazed at her, open mouthed as she strode from the tent. She forced herself to keep her head high, her shoulders straight and her gait sure. Her body refused to stop trembling and she struggled to breathe in the tight corset, but she forced herself to walk with the determination she promised herself she could carry.
"Regina?" Robin's voice was barely more than a breath as he took her in, his eyes wide at the dress his wife was wearing. He walked towards her, putting his hands on either side of his face and staring into his eyes. "Regina are you alright? What happened?" He asked worried, his eyes never leaving hers. Regina allowed her pose to soften as she took him in, wearing heels she was taller than she had been before, almost matching his height.
"My mother paid me a visit." She told him and her voice broke only slightly through the biting exterior that she had taken up. "She declared a war." She told him solemnly, staring into his eyes, willing for him to understand. "And I'm going to fight back this time, Robin. I won't let her take you the way she took him." Robin had thought she looked nothing like her mother the day they met, but now he saw the resemblance.
Robin trailed his hands down her shoulders, feeling the sturdy leather there, down her arms until he reached her hands. They were trembling and suddenly underneath the heavy, dark dress was still Regina, the terrified girl that loved with her soul but dared not to bare her heart. He looked into her eyes and he saw anger burning there, but it was an anger that was fuelled by fear, kept alive by pain.
"I will not let them take me." Robin promised, taking her hands and pressing them to his beating heart. "Hey, I won't, okay?" He gazed into her eyes and stroked her cheek with his thumb until she allowed herself to relax against the warmth of his hand. "If your mother has declared a war, I will fight for you." He promised her softly. Then he turned around to face his men, taking Regina by the hand and leading her towards him.
"We will fight your you." He bellowed, his voice roaring over the encampment. Then he pulled her towards him and pressed his lips to hers, kissing her for the first time in front of his men to their bellowing roars of war.
Damn Cora right? well did you really think she was going to be content with her daughter being the wife of some forest lord? of course not, she has to be the Queen. As always, reviews are highly appreciated.