A/N: First of all thanks so much for reading and reviewing, I really appreciate that you like this well enough to give feedback. So this chapter is a really a short one meant to set the pace of what's about to happen. Hopefully I'll finish and update next one soon. Other than that enjoy!
TAKEN
She didn't want to be afraid anymore. But the thing about fear was that once it knew your face it never really abandoned you. It just lay dormant, and while it might had fooled you into thinking that you had conquered it and grew stronger from it, it was really waiting for a cataclysm to show its ugly face once more and take control of your every cell. It was then when you realized that it had crawled under your skin and settled deep inside of you; that it had feasted on your entrails until there was nothing inside of you but fear itself.
She wanted to banish that feeling out of her system, or maybe to lock it somewhere where it wouldn't bother her anymore because this was Leopold after all, the man that for a long time she believed to be the one she was going to spend the rest of her life with… a man that destiny had put on her path once again.
She also had to remember that if it wasn't because The Outlaws had taken her away she would by now be his wife. She had no real cause to fear him, but still, for some reason she did.
In the past, back in her previous life he had been nothing but gallant towards her, a real gentleman that despite of his position as King only treated her right. But this was not the past, it was the present and in this strange present his eyes were unkind and his demeanor screamed vicious.
"Aren't you glad to see us?" Rumple said almost in a sing along tone. "Because we have come a long way just for you."
As the mocking man said that, The King remained on his spot. He said nothing, but he never took his cruel eyes away from her.
She flashed them what she believed to be a genuine smile, it felt phony on her face and the effort of it made her cheeks ache. She was afraid it came out as a grimace but because she knew she had to play well the cards that destiny had given her, she kept it.
"Of course I am. My King." She did a subtle courtesy, making sure that the smile would keep plastered on her face.
That right there did the trick because Leopold finally moved from the place he has been standing, then when he was close he reached for her to help her down the horse.
He did it effortlessly, and as his hands circled around her waist she was unable to suppress a shiver that ran down her spine.
She couldn't help it, after all the things she knew him to be capable of, there was now a mixture of fear and repulsion settling deep into her gut as he touched her.
Now more than ever, she felt like a lamb trapped in the lion's den. She plain and simple didn't know how to play this game life had forced upon her and being at a loss disconcerted her.
She was walking on thin ice and it could break under her feet. It was going to break, she could feel it cracking already.
Fortunately for her, the stern looking man pulled away soon enough to take a good look at her. His eyes were critical and condescending, but she stood as straight and proud as she could. "You look like one of them." He said, his tone anything but kind.
Regina looked down to her clothes and then back at him. She had dressed comfortably warm just like Zelena, the traitorous witch, told her to and it came into her mind that in his presence she has always been clad in fine satins, silk and velvets.
She used to dress like the future queen she was supposed to be, but now she looked like one of the so called savages, just like he pointed out.
Lifting her face in fake defiance, she tried to force upon herself a wave of bravery that would allow her to speak without her voice cracking. "What can I say, it's cold in this wasteland."
Rumple giggled at that and she grinned, it was easier than smiling.
"So let's take care of that, I have the perfect dress for you." The Imp, as people called him behind his back, threw his arm over her shoulder and walked with her to the camp. The King followed like a silent shadow.
It made her feel on edge that she couldn't see him, but the touch of Rumple also made her feel out of her element.
If she could only keep on with this. But it took great effort on her part not to push him away and tell him not to touch her and right there she knew that everything was going to be so much of an internal battle from now on.
Clenching her jaw so hard that it hurt, she focused her attention on her surroundings, trying to ignore the man at her side or even the one behind.
Zelena was nowhere to be found; somewhere amidst her exchange of words with her new captors the woman had taken off. Not far she assumed because her horse was still there.
She wanted a word with the redhead, hell, she wanted more that a word with her.
Keeping the scanning of her surroundings, she saw that were a few warriors scattered around the camp going about their business. Some of them she knew by sight and a few others by name, all of them strangers to her either way.
"So did my father send you for me?" She asked for lack of something better to say. She could only hope that it had been the case, but deep in her heart she knew it wasn't.
Rumpelstiltskin wavered and took his moment before answering. "As it happened to be, your father and the King kind of lost contact the moment he signed a treaty with The Outlaws instead of honoring the one he already had. That's treason in case you were wondering." Giggling again in that way he had that made him sound a madman, Rumple clapped his hands hard.
Her heart stopped. She was very well aware about how men liked to play their games of power and well, the most powerful King in all the Kingdoms was Leopold. Her father didn't even had half the might her former betrothed had and if he wanted to he could dethrone him.
He could even ask for the man's head and more than a few loyalist would bring it to him on a silver place and no, that wasn't good.
As she thought about that, fear started to take control of her once again and she was unable to say anything at all.
"Your father, dearie, is old and useless; he's dragging the Kingdom rapidly into a pit. He made some terrible choices that will cost him dearly. But you and The King, I've foreseen that you are going to make great things together. Once you marry the Kingdoms will finally be under one rule only and your reign shall be remember through all eternity."
Regina scoffed at that, she was unable to hold it. "I'm already married."
That she was wedded was a fact no one could ignore so no, she couldn't marry Leopold even if she wanted to, and she didn't. It was against her Gods' way, she was not going to mess with the Gods, even though when they had messed with her.
Rumple stopped in his tracks and glared down at her, he did it in disdain and with a snarl on his lips. "Oh yes, that. Guess we'll have to make you a widow then! But fear not, as that won't be hard thing to achieve because as we are finding out, Outlaws are not that hard to kill."
He continued to walk and she had no choice but to walk by his side.
"Now where was I? Oh yes, once you marry, we'll take control of everything. Even the Enchanted Forest will fall under our future epic rule."
Once that was said he took a look over his shoulder and apparently thinking he was out of The King's hearing ratio he leaned against her and whispered into her ear. It made her skin crawl and she had to bite on the inside of her cheeks to keep from telling him off.
"Now just don't go around reminding The King about the unfortunate event of you being married as he is still not taking that so great. I think he wanted to take your maidenhood." Giggling and putting some distance between them, he used his free hand to make an gesture that seemed to be obscene.
Uncomfortable, she cleared her throat. "What about my mother?"
He snickered. "Cora served us well to get the marriage between you and The King going, but she didn't do a good job if you ended up marrying another man, now did she? We have you now where we want to so she can rot in there as far as we are concerned."
She blinked her shock away. The man was talking about getting rid of her father, killing Robin and turning on her mother and he actually expected her to agree with it all?
She couldn't help but to tense under the weight of his arm, thing that he noticed because he halted and faced her. "What?" He snapped.
She was mad at both of them, mad because their plans included the destruction of so many just so they could gain power.
"Seems to me you have all of this very well planned, Imp."
"Of course I planned it perfectly. Would have been better if you wouldn't have let yourself be taken and if you wouldn't have spread those pretty legs of yours so fast but still here we are and still the wheel spins."
Suddenly, she saw the man as the brain behind the muscle, he was the great instigator and she licked her lips, nodding as everything became clearer. "Very well played, now I wonder how long will it take you to turn on the King and rule yourself."
Rumple's eyes darkened. But before he could reply to that she felt how someone grabbed a handful of her hair and yanked hard at it to force her head back.
She gasped both in shock and in pain.
It was Leopold, and as he leaned into her she noticed that his reddened face was distorted in his anger.
"If I were you I would keep my mouth shut, because even if Rumpelstiltskin thinks I need you, I really don't. Specially now that you turned into nothing more than a savage whore. You are lucky I'm still willing to take your worthless self and make you Queen." He gave another yank that sent to her brain a horrible stab of pain, it made her eyes water.
"Careful now, we do need her. Remember I told you. You without her and her without you is not how it will play out." Rumple said in a nervous giggle as he tried to make the King let go of Regina.
But he wasn't letting go, if anything he was hurting her even more. "Now be sure about this, Princess, I'm going to take extra pleasure in killing the one you ended up whoring for, and I'm going to make you watch." With that he pushed her away and left fuming. He was gone before she could even blink.
She stumbled clumsily into Rumple and he grabbed her by the arm to steady her. She pulled angrily away from him and shot him a heated glare. "Don't you dare touch me." At least she wouldn't have to pretend anymore.
"Careful how you talk to the one that can make you stay alive in this, dearie." The Imp stared down at her with eyes of steel before following Leopold like the dog that he was. Once they were both gone she was left alone with a pounding scalp and a wary heart.
Lifting her chin and twisting her lips, she wondered why destiny had lead her life turn for the worse so abruptly, why did everything that would happen only served to complicated her existence?
She had no answer so swallowing hard down, she looked around, trying to figure out what to do.
Scanning her surroundings, she noticed that the warriors that were around ignored the scene that had just taken place and continued with whatever they were doing before. Regina took a good look at them, all of them. If she ever got the chance to get out of here and back to the Kingdom… without Leopold that was, she was going to have them all hang.
"If I were you I would try not to piss him off, he's been in a rotten mood as of late."
Regina turned around to face the insolent man that was talking to her. He was one of the Kingdom's warriors, she had seen him before but she didn't know his name. His face she did recognize because she has seen him many times training on the yard.
"Keep your advice to yourself, I don't need it." She hissed full of contemp.
He smiled more widely. "Yeah, sure, I noticed… anyway, my name is Kristoff." He was still smiling to her but she turned and walked away from him. Where to? Anywhere were she could be alone and wonder about her fate.
"Where are you going?" He said catching up to her and walking by her side. What a pest.
She sighed in annoyance. "Did he send you to watch over me?" She asked with her hands on her hips. If that has been the case it was way better than Leopold himself taking care of her, but still... "If that's so you can go away, I'm not going to sneak out." Just because she didn't knew how to go back, but that was information she didn't need to share.
"Oh no, no… he didn't send me." He said and put a hand on her back so that she would keep walking. She did, she walked with him away from prying ears, her eyes squinting and the fact that he was touching her very present in her mind.
"Then why are you following me?" She asked, stopping in her tracks and facing him.
His hand dropped now that they were in a secluded corner and he sent her an apologetic smile. "Why? We are just trying to help you. Maybe find a way to get you out of here when The King and his cronies aren't watching… I don't think it would be possible tonight but we'll see."
"Are you serious?" Regina didn't want to believe him, but just because she knew that when things seemed to be too good to be true they certainly weren't true.
"Sure I am. That's why I was sent here to join the King's caravan. To get you back."
Back? "Did Robin send you?" Hope was the last thing one would lose, even when deep in your heart you knew it to be impossible.
"Robin?" The man frowned and gave her a quizzical look. "No, it was your father, The King."
TBC