Author's Note: Wow! The response to the last few chapters was phenomenal! Thank you for leaving such kind comments. To those of you concerned with Regina and Robin's relationship... I guess you'll just have to wait and see ;) This one is kind of a transition but the next update will be interesting. Let me know what you think and thank you again for taking an interest in this story!
Chapter 13: Throw a Stranger an Unexpected Smile
"Alright Roland," Robin leaned closer to his son, assisting him in aiming his arrow at the self made target hanging a mere foot off the ground. "Whenever you're ready. Remember what I told you."
"Not too quick?" Roland questioned in a small, hopeful voice.
"That's right," Robin agreed with a warm smile. "Not too quick." Robin then slowly withdrew his hands from Roland's shoulder and aiming hand.
When he did this, Roland frowned and looked to his father with a disapproving scowl. "No help?" he asked.
"Not this time," Robin agreed with a reassuring pat on the back. "You can do this one on your own. Just do it exactly as we've practiced."
"Okay papa," Roland grinned cheekily with a confident nod. With a determined scowl, Roland aimed his miniature sized bow and arrow at the target he and his father had crafted. Roland had enjoyed painting the flat wooden object with the juices of berries. In fact, he was especially proud of it. His tiny dark brown eyes trained on the center of the target, and he took a deep breath before releasing the arrow.
He jolted backwards as the arrow took off. He watched in anticipation as the arrow embedded right outside of the center of the target. Frowning in disapproval, he looked to his father, who displayed a heartfelt, proud smile.
"I missed," Roland pouted, crossing his arms.
"No you didn't, Roland!" Robin exclaimed encouragingly, sweeping his son up into his arms. "Look where the arrow landed," he held his son upright and walked him over to the target. "It was so close! Not many people could do what you just did."
"Really?" Roland asked with a hopeful gleam in his eyes, accepting the praise.
"Of course," Robin assured, hugging his son close to him.
"I can attest to that," a man spoke from behind father and son, making Robin swivel to meet the stranger's face. "I, for one, can't shoot a bow and arrow to save my life," he continued, smiling sincerely at Roland who stared at the stranger with curious eyes. "That's why I use this," he patted the scabbard concealing the sword that hung from his hips.
Robin recognized this man immediately and bowed his head out of respect. "Your majesty."
"He's the King?!" Roland exclaimed with bright eyes, tugging on the collar of his father's shirt.
"I am," Prince Charming confirmed, taking a few steps towards the pair. It was then that Roland inspected the man's clothing, recognizing the luxury in everything he wore.
"I'm David," the King introduced himself to the small child, holding out his hand for the boy to shake.
"My name is Roland," he eagerly took the King's hand and shook it in an amusing manner that had both the King and Robin chuckling.
"You are quite a skilled archer, Roland," David responded warmly, remnants of laughter still gracing his lips.
"What do you say?" Robin whispered to his son with a nudge.
"Thank you," Roland gushed, blushing a rosy pink.
"You're quite welcome," David grinned.
"So what brings his majesty to this neck of the woods?" Robin questioned curiously, eyes narrowing slightly.
The King's steely gaze met Robin. "I've been looking for you, actually," he answered in a tone that screamed trouble to the outlaw.
"Roland, why don't you head back to camp?" Robin suggested, lowering his son onto the ground. "I'll be along shortly."
"Okay papa!" Roland obliged cheerily, oblivious to the sudden tension that manifested in the air. Robin watched as his son bolted through the trees in the direction of where he and the merry men made camp. When he was sure Roland was well out of earshot, Robin looked to Charming with a speculative gaze.
"What's this about?" he questioned with a demanding undertone.
"I have a favor to ask of you," the King admitted with a small sigh.
This took Robin aback, and he frowned in confusion. "A favor?" he repeated uncertainly.
"Rumor has it that your arrow never misses its target," the King continued, pacing about the clearing the pair stood in.
"Perhaps..." Robin reluctantly agreed, eyeing the King with attentive speculation.
"Robin Hood," Charming addressed the outlaw square on with a hesitant grimace. "What I'm about to ask you may seem harsh and blunt, perhaps even a bit crazy. Please answer me honestly." Robin nodded slowly, encouraging the King to continue. His curiosity had peaked to say the least.
"What are the odds that you could defeat the Evil Queen?"
Robin Hood's eyes briefly widened at the notion of facing the former queen. Feared by all, well adversed in dark magic, the Evil Queen had made quite a name for herself in the Enchanted Forest, even to the likes of a band of aloof thieves. Robin was just about to answer with a solid "None" when he caught the desperation and pain lingering in the King's eyes. The king didn't seem to like the fact that he was asking this question. He seemed conflicted. Perhaps assassinating the Queen was a last resort answer to a detrimental problem...
"Why do you want her dead, your majesty?" Robin decided to ask instead.
David pursed his lips briefly before answering. "She poses a threat," he replied tersely.
"Well doesn't she always?" Robin rebutted. "You have always conquered her forces in the past. Why the sudden bloodlust?"
"Touché," David agreed with a small shrug. "But this time it's different. Not only has she promised to unleash a dark curse, but she was spotted in the Northern Territory a few days ago, well out of her range. She's planning something. I'm sure of it. She must be stopped by whatever means necessary."
"So you want me to kill her..." Robin concluded.
"Could you do it?" David pressed, anxiety etched into his features.
"I could under the right circumstances—"
"Then we'll make sure that those circumstances come to pass," the King validated with a confident nod before Robin could finish his thought.
"Wait!" Robin protested a bit irritably. "That is if I were willing to do it, and I hate disappoint you your majesty, but I'm not."
This stopped Charming in his tracks, and he turned to face the outlaw with an unreadable expression on his face.
"I have a son to take care of," Robin continued. "If I were to take that gamble and try to kill the Evil Queen... Roland might not have a father. He's already lost his mother..."
"He will lose you if you don't," the King rebutted with a sad smile. "Regina is more dangerous than she looks. She plans to destroy everyone's happiness, including yours. Your son will suffer."
A pained look crossed Robin's face as he mulled the King's proposition over. While he desperately wanted David to be wrong, part of him sensed the truth to his words. From what Robin gathered, the Evil Queen was a desperate woman. Desperate for power, control, and perhaps something deeper and more meaningful. Perhaps she craved significance and understanding. Maybe even love... This could make someone do unspeakable things.
"Please. I ask you not as a king, but as a man. Think of the kingdom. Think of your son. I can get you in undetected..." David left his pleas open ended.
Robin wasn't sure if the Evil Queen deserved death. He wasn't sure if he could even kill her. However, if the King was willing to aid him in sneaking into the dark queen's fortress, he supposed he would be willing to try. If not for himself, then for his most trusted band of friends. For the safety of his son.
"Tell me what you need me to do, your majesty."
...
Regina held her son's hand as he slept. After convincing the Queen to not kill Robin, and instead imprison him in the dungeons until they had the strength to question him, Regina never left Henry's side. He had not yet awoken, and Regina assumed it would be a while before he did. Even after extracting the poison and healing the arrow's wound, the arrow once embedded in Henry, laced with dreamshade poison, required quite a recovery time.
Regina's thoughts wandered in the hours that she watched over Henry. She still couldn't believe that her son had risked his own life to save her past self. She knew he believed in her and loved her deeply, but taking an arrow for her was a different matter entirely.
"Don't you ever do that again," she found herself whispering, squeezing Henry's hand tightly just to reassure herself that he was still there.
"How's he doing?" The Evil Queen asked timidly, entering the room with uncertainty. When Regina looked up to meet the eyes of her former self, she found that the woman had chosen to turn her elaborate, intimidating apparel in for something more subtle. Her face was bare, and other than pulling back her bangs, her hair fell about her shoulders in perfect, wavy rivulets.
"He's fine," Regina confirmed softly with a slight nod. At this, a visible wave of relief came over the Evil Queen as she took a deep breath.
"Good," the Queen smiled lightly, hesitantly inching closer to the bed.
"You might as well ask," Regina sighed as she watched the Queen.
"Ask what?" The Queen questioned, narrowing her eyes.
"I know you have questions..." Regina replied ominously.
"But isn't that detrimental to the future...?" The Queen asked skeptically, finally taking a seat at the base of Henry's bed, making sure not to disturb him.
Regina chuckled. "Yes, well... Our biggest secret is out, so what damage could a few details really do?"
The Queen pursed her lips as she considered the woman's words. Of course she had questions. Who wouldn't in her position? But she knew that her questions were limited. Divulging too much of the future was sure to have dire consequences. Who knew what they had already done...
"Who's Henry's father?" The Queen decided to go with.
Regina sighed a deep and harrowing breath. "Starting with a complicated one, are we?" she grumbled mostly to herself, continuing to rub the back of Henry's hand as she organized her thoughts.
"Henry isn't ours by blood," Regina admitted. "He's adopted. I took him in as an infant and raised him."
This surprised the Queen. How was it that they seemed to be so in tune with each other? She previously thought that only a mother and child by blood would have that connection. "I see," she spoke, concealing her shock well. "And he's named after—"
"Our father, yes," Regina confirmed before the Queen could finish her thought.
"And was he born in the Enchanted Forest?"
Regina pressed her lips together thinly before answering. "No... Henry is not of this world."
The Queen's eyes lit up in immediate understanding, flaring to life with wicked joy. "The curse? It succeeds?"
Regina sighed deeply, silently cursing herself for hinting to the dark curse. "Perhaps some information is best off undisclosed," she spoke before biting her bottom lip.
The Queen pursed her lips, her eyes still alight in malicious glee. If the curse succeeded, then that meant Snow would suffer. This information alone was enough to bring a small sense of reassurance to her. The Queen hated Snow with every ounce of her being. In fact, until Regina and Henry had come into the picture, the only thing that kept her going was the sole belief that when she enacted the dark curse, Snow and her dear true love would lose all happiness in their pathetically sappy lives. It kept her disgust at bay.
"Henry once told me that, for a time, the two of you didn't get along," the Queen shook all thoughts of her step daughter away. "He said that you did some things that he didn't agree with... What happened?"
Regina was quite surprised that Henry would share something so intimate with the darkest part of her. However, she knew in her heart that his intentions were pure, perhaps subtly dropping hints here and there to recruit the Evil Queen in Operation Goldfinch.
"Well..." Regina hesitated, avoiding the Evil Queen's piercing stare. "I guess it all started when he found out that I was once...well...you. The Evil Queen."
The Queen bristled at this statement, frowning while gazing at a slumbering Henry. "Then how is it that he is so accepting of me?"
"He's changed," Regina stated simply. "Once I told him that he was adopted, he discovered my past. He felt betrayed and lied to. I did nothing to help matters. When he started to pull away, I responded by keeping him in my sights at all times, restricting him from doing things he wanted to do. I even went so far as to make him feel crazy."
The Queen's gaze melted into a sympathetic frown as she listened to herself speak. Though she had never been placed in that situation, she knew that she would have done the same thing. To lose someone as precious as Henry was a terrifying thought. "How did you get past it?"
"We changed for each other," Regina clarified in the simplest of ways. This struck the Queen, as it was the exact same thing Henry had said when he and the Queen had carried a similar conversation.
"So I assume I don't spend my whole life destroying lives?" The Evil Queen teased with mirth.
This made Regina genuinely chuckle. "That's a debatable subject," she relented, half serious.
"I suppose it's comforting to know I won't completely lose my dominion," the Evil Queen mused, while closely inspecting the woman sitting opposite of her. Sure, she was much more docile than herself, but the edge that made Regina the Queen was still there. They way her eyes served as a window to her soul. The gestures she made throughout her snarky comments. Even the facial expressions that displayed her amusements and distastes. All of this remained intact with her future self.
"Control isn't everything," Regina responded quietly, catching the Queen's attention. "Power doesn't buy everything," she continued, her sight trained on her slumbering son. "It would serve you well to realize this sooner rather than later."
The Evil Queen didn't look happy with this remark, but decided to not press the issue further. Instead a leering smirk spread across her face as she asked her next question.
"So...Who was the archer?"
Regina stiffened at this question, suddenly reminded of the major issue at hand. Robin.
"Not important," she ground out through clenched teeth.
"Oh don't give me that!" The Queen chuckled darkly and amusedly. "He's obviously important. Perhaps to you...?" Regina have the Queen a sharp look that urged her to drop the subject. "You allowed me to ask questions, and now you're revoking your offer, dear," the Queen chided while Regina held her gaze with a defensive sneer. "You didn't want to have him killed, and I obliged. I believe that is very generous of me. What he has done deserves death. Not only did he threaten my life, but he harmed Henry. If you had not insisted, he would be beyond the veil right now."
Regina shuddered at the way the Queen spoke of death so carelessly, especially referring to Robin. "He wouldn't do this without some sort of motivation."
"And what do you suggest that is?" The Queen countered in an incredulous tone. "If memory were to serve you correctly, you would recall that those who hate us exhibit no rationality in their actions. He just as well could have tried to kill me out of hatred and contempt."
"No," Regina disagreed, her heart stinging at the thought of Robin betraying her so... Even if he wasn't aware of it. "No," she repeated more forcefully. "We need to talk to him."
"You mean interrogate him...?" The Queen asked as if merely talking to another person was not in her vocabulary.
"If that's what you want to call it," Regina rolled her eyes. "But yes."
"And how do you suggest we do that?" The Queen questioned irritably. "Waltz into the dungeon side by side, only to have him question us?"
"No," Regina shook her head slightly. "But I do have an idea."
The look her older self gave her led the Queen to believe that she wasn't going to like this so called idea of hers...