The horn sounded their doom, a deep roaring that announced the darkness that would fall upon the morning. The first rays of sunlight trickled down upon the forest and gone was the calm, gone was the beauty of the singing voices in the night sky; the dawn had arrived upon them and was greeted by shouts and hurried footsteps. Regina saw over a hundred men and women with bows and arrow rummaging around in the camp, they slapped each other on the back, made tense jokes and final vows to loved ones. Regina herself was dressed in the black dress that she had worn earlier and was seated on the bed, waiting for her husband to escort her to his son, to safety with the other men and women unfit to fight.
"Milady." Robin walked into the tent, dressed for battle in his dark leather armor, bow slung around his back and knives fastened around his belt, two dozen golden tipped arrows shining in his quiver. "The king's army will be here in half an hour." He stretched his hand out to her and she took it with only a short nod to answer. "I will speak to the men and then I will bring you to safety." He took her face between his hands and looked into her eyes with startling intensity. "There will be a lot of noise and screaming, but I need you to stay inside. I cannot fight and worry about you at the same time. Promise me you'll keep safe?" His voice was raspy from shouting commands, strained from disguised worry over the battle that was to come. Regina nodded and placed one of her hands on his.
"I promise."
Robin nodded and smiled at her, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek before taking her hand and leading her to the tent. As soon as they stepped out, the horns sounded once again and archers and rangers turned to face them. Robin gazed at them and bowed his head for a second before speaking with a strong voice that made Regina tremble standing next to him:
"The men of the cities are standing at our borders; with axes, with swords and knives to cut us down. And when they have they will take those axes to tree trees to cut down the pillars of the forest, they will take their blood and wash it on our streams, they will strip the gold from Sherwood forest and take the freedom from the uncaged animal. They will storm the valley of the gods and taint the heavenly lands with the sins of mankind.
The Sherwood forest has been a sanctuary for outcasts for hundreds of years. She has protected and sheltered us, she has granted us life and cradled us in death. The men of the cities have driven out the forest dwellers before us, and every last man and woman died defending Sherwood forest. Will we let their sacrifice be in vain? Will we turn our tails and run? Will we allow the men of the city to take our forest?"
The men and women bellowed, screams of war as savage as the forest they were sworn to protect. Robin lifted his hands to bid them to silence.
"They think we are a force of one thousand archers strong. Let's not disappoint them."
Screams filled the camp once again; "Sherwood!" screamed some, "Robin!" others. Their voices were far from the symphony they had formed during the ceremony, but somehow held a similar vigor to them. Robin allowed the warriors to shout for a while, but then lifted his hands again and the men quieted down immediately.
"To your posts. We will show them the strength of the Sherwood forest."
And with those words the men disappeared one by one, some skittering up trees with the agility of squirrels, others dissolving between the dark stems of the trees. In mere minutes near a hundred men had vanished, hiding themselves with bows drawn and eyes sharp. Only about two dozen men remained standing In the camp, wearing swords instead of mere daggers at their belt. Robin had explained to her that when a man sees his enemies in front of him, he does no longer consider the danger behind or above him.
Robin took her hand and lead her towards a tent at the far end of the camp. Two rangers armed fully with bows and swords were already standing guard outside and nodded to Robin in greeting.
"Papa! 'Gina!" Roland came running from the tent towards them and wrapped his arms around his father's legs in a hug. Robin crouched down and had to nearly wrench the boy free from his legs. He turned the boy to face him, his voice grave and serious as she spoke to the boy:
"Roland, I told you not to leave the tent." He stroked the little boy's hair and Roland bit his lip nervously, picking up not only on his father's slight anger, but also on his fear. "I need you to stay inside with Regina, okay little man? Do not leave the tent until I come back and tell you that you can." He instructed his boy and Roland nodded. Robin smiled and Regina saw the tension in his face, the way his hands trembled when he pulled the boy towards him into a hug. Robin was a brave man and Regina knew he would not shy away from the fight, he would be right at the middle of it, but there was fear in his eyes, fear that Roland would lose another parent. Robin gently pushed his boy away from him and to Regina, who took the boy's hand in her own and squeezed it tightly. Robin then stood up and turned towards Regina. Little words had to be spoken between them, because they both understood what they had to do and what could happen. So Robin just gently stroked a lock of ebony hair behind her ear and gave her a soft smile. "I will be back."
Words stuck in both their throats, words that their hearts wanted to scream but their minds still feared. So both stayed silent until the horn blared again, a final warning of the battle that would arise within minutes. Robin pressed a final kiss to her mouth before turning around and walking away, the words still hanging unspoken between them.
Regina prayed that she would still have the chance to say them in the future.
It was torture not being able to see the battle, but hearing it all the more. She had heard it the very moment the king's men had arrived at the forest, had heard their angry screams, their surprised gasps and their gurgles of death as a rain of arrows from the trees took them by surprise. The air In the tent was heavy, the anxiety that every man and woman felt hanging thick in the air between them. She was seated in the tent with some thirty men, women and children between them. They ranged from too old to fight to too young and inexperienced to see battle. From crippled to sick. Regina had sought out familiar faces In the crowd, but had found none aside from Roland. Even Mhairi was not in the tent, even timid, fifteen-year old Mhairi who loved bathing and telling stories was out fighting.
Roland was clutched to her, his little body jumping up every time there was a scream outside. Robin had forbidden Regina to even take a step outside for fear of drawing an assault towards their tent, but not knowing the progress of the battle was torture on Regina's heart. Robin, Mhairi, little John and every other face she had seen in camp before could be dead for all she knew.
"Don't worry child. Your husband is a good fighter, he will not perish." She heard a voice from beside her. Sitting there was a woman, at least three times her age with silver hair and amber eyes. Age had claimed her body, but had not weathered it down; her posture seemed still strong and stout, her eyes still sharp and her voice firm. She reminded Regina of the wise women that lived at the towns she would oft visit when she was younger, the women who could accomplish with plants and potions what her mother could only do with magic and Regina had always held a respect for them.
She sighed nervously, wrapping her hands around Roland as if she were anchoring herself to him.
"The numbers are not in our favor." She whispered, not willing Roland to hear the grim prospect that his father was facing in battle. The woman made a sound of disdain and placed her hand on Regina's shoulder.
"If it was numbers that won wars, then why did it take but one wizard to hold back the ogres, while thousands of farmers, smiths and eventually children could not? Sometimes a great leader with loyal men and women fighting for a cause, can be worth more than a thousand armies spurred by coin and greed. They say that the wizard who ended the ogres war did so to protect his son, that is the courage and strength of a parent. Robin is father who is fighting for his children, not only his son, but also his daughter: the Sherwood forest. Woe those who battle the vigilant father, woe those who take on the warrior that fights for love. Love is the most powerful emotion, the most powerful force and the most powerful weapon in the world."
Regina frowned and looked into the old eyes of the woman, they carried wisdom and reflected all that they had seen within the world. Her hands trembled and she looked towards the entrance to the tent. The shouting outside would intensify at times, roaring into the tent within waves and drop to a near silence other times. Regina listened to the sounds, nervously fiddling with her fingers, she sighed after her ears were numb by the shouts, her heart dropping down with every second the battle wore on. "This war started because of me. It feels wrong to hide while they … die, because of me."
The woman studied her for a while, her eyes as sharp as they had been in younger years. "When men desire to wage war, they will do so. They may blame the gods or the land or a woman, but the war is housed inside their hearts and it desires to be let out. The folly of men that do not control their nature is not your fault nor your concern." She walked closer to Regina as far as the crowded tent would allow, sitting down next to her and stroking her hand through Roland's thick tresses.
"But it is my fight." Regina said solemnly and the woman placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Child, how it is your fight when you don't even have a weapon to wield?"
Regina stared down at her hands, so ordinary looking, yet so powerful and miraculous, with powers that flowed from her heart brimming underneath her fingertips. She slowly stood up and gently placed Roland in the old woman's arms, her hands trembling, but her stature determined. She remembered the words that she woman had spoken to her; 'Love is the most powerful weapon in the world.' She remembered the feeling that had encompassed her when she had healed Robin's heart, the warmth that had caressed her arms that day on the hill, that had filled her heart every time her lips touched Robin's. She did have a weapon, after all, and she was going to wield it. She felt a surprisingly strong grasp on her arm as the woman held her back.
"Your majesty, you should stay here like Robin asked." The woman told her. Regina shook her head, feeling the soft pulsing welling up in her hands as her determination grew.
"No, I should not." She placed one hand on the woman's arm. "Let me go. That is an order from me as your queen." She spoke softly, but there was no room for questioning and the woman did as she asked, giving her a curious look.
"Gods be with you, Regina."
"Gods be with all of us." She answered before clenching her fists and walking from the tent.
"Your majesty! You should go back inside." One of the guards quickly turned towards her the moment she stepped from the tent, walking in front of her to block her path but not touching or grabbing her. Regina eyed the man with curiosity; he was a man, near bald with veteran eyes and streaks of grey In his chestnut hair. His voice was brusque and vigorous, yet carrying respect befitting a guard speaking to its queen. Regina gave a soft smile.
"I'm sure that's what Lord Robin ordered you to tell me, as it is what he ordered me. But I am still your queen and unless you wish to seize me where I stand, I will pass and find my Lord husband." Her voice was no longer that of the timid girl the men had seen entering the forest by her husband's hand, the one they had seen their leader marry, and they flinched just slightly at the renewed vigor that their queen held. They did not answer, passing gazes between each other as they doubted what to do. Regina decided she did not have time to listen to them and swiftly walked away from them, leaving the men standing near the tent in disarray, not willing to abandon their posts. Regina did not care for them, instead scouring the battlefield in search for her husband. It was nothing like the kind of battlefield she was used to, where giant armies would run head first at each other and the number's game was as likely a player as any, it was a different kind of war wherein Robin's men seemed artists in their own craft. The king's men were heavily armored, but no arrows went wasted as they found their marks in places that no armor could protect: aimed perfectly at the men's eyes and driven into the gap between helmet and breastplate. Regina noted that if the king's men had ever formed a coherent army squat, they had broken upon the tree line held by close to a hundred archers. The man that reached the camp were still great in number, pouring from the trees, but they were unruly and disoriented, torn away from their squat mates, solitary soldiers that fell quickly to fast arrows and clever daggers. Still many of the men had managed to form up again after they had reached the sanctum of the camp and had taken up arms towards the ground-fighters that wielded swords and axes of dragons bane metal; black as the trees in the forest and according to Robin the only thing strong enough to cut them down.
Regina moved quickly from tent to tent, keeping herself hidden and away from the heat of the battle while she searched for Robin. She wanted to scream out for him, her heart climbing up to her throat every second she could not see him, the fear that he might already be lost to her forever seizing her heart in almost crippling fear. Yet she forced herself to keep walking, fastening her pace until she was running, no longer hiding from the fight and running closer and closer towards it. Then she saw him:
He was standing near the fireplace where she ashes of the ceremony were still laid, waiting for the dead to join them, to make their travel to the heavens. Three of the king's men, heavily armored armed seemed to have been battling him for some time. Robin held his bow, the string pulled back but did not fire. Instead he moved around, quicker on his feet than the armored men that tried to catch him. His arms trembled and Regina realized that he had been holding back his arrow for a long time already, bidding his time until he could find the perfect shot to take the men down. Robin was a good archer, but he seemed to hold back until he was sure he could make the shot. As Regina took in his quiver she realized why: there was only one arrow left apart from the one in his bow. It would come to hand-to-hand combat and Robin's best chances were to take two of his attackers out before that happened. He was an archer and would not win a swordfight if he had to take on more than one man and he was smart enough to know it.
A tall man with a long sword lashed out to him, his movements too slow and sluggish to even rake him as Robin jumped aside. Yet Regina saw the strain in his movements, the way his legs shook just slightly when he hit the ground. He was tiring out and they were the greater number. They would get him eventually unless he got a chance to find the upper hand. Then the thing Robin had been waiting for occurred; the man who had swung the longswords overbalanced due to the weight of his blade and stumbled. Within half a second Robin released the arrow and it pierced itself in the weak spot underneath his helmet. The man fell to the ground seconds later, leaving two attackers for Robin to take out: a gaunt man a wielding a sword and a large kite shield and a smaller, more agile man that wielded only his sword, perchance having lost his shield earlier or simply preferring to fight without one. One of the men let out a scream of anger at his fallen comrade and thrust his shield forward. Robin easily jumped away, but to her horror Regina noticed that it was exactly what the smaller man had expected him to do, raking his arm and shoulder with his sword. She saw Robin turn and draw his bow, only to find the string cut by the sharp edge of the sword. Robin did not waste a second, grabbing for his sword hanging on his belt instead, but Regina saw him wince as he did so, saw the gash the sword had inflicted upon him. He barely managed to parry off the attack of the swordsman, his movement stiff and awkward. He jumped back at the next attack, only to find himself thrust to the ground as the shield bearer bashed against him with full force. Robin managed to thrust his sword upwards between the breastplate and trousers of the man, but lost his sword in the process, leaving him unarmed, lying on the ground at the mercy of the third man.
Regina could not stop a shriek of fear at seeing him, clutching her heart as she swordsman ran up towards her husband, prepared to kill the man that had taken two of his comrades. Then Regina remembered why she had set out in the first place: she had come to watch her husband die, she had come to make sure he'd live. She had no time to think, no time to focus on her anger or her fear, no time to call up the magic inside her or nurture the emotions that it could feed off. All she could do was feel and all she could feel as she looked at him was the desire, the overwhelming need to protect him. She let it fill her, let the warmth explode from her heart and stream towards her fingers. She took one last look at him and she unleashed it. All of it, until there was nothing left.
Then the world turned black before her and she prayed to the long-forsaken gods.
Please, let it be enough. Let him live. Spare him. Let him live.
"Regina?"
She groaned in response to the voice, her head hurting too much to tell her where she was, what had happened or who was even talking to her. She felt soft hands upon her face, a breath against her skin, felt the soft tickling of grass and the discomfort of the hard ground underneath her back.
"Regina?!" The voice urged, a panic settling in it as she hands gripped her firmer, one travelling to her neck and pressing two fingers there. She finally forced her eyes to open themselves and found his face in front of her. She blinked against the heavy sunlight, but barely got a chance to breathe in the fresh air before his arms were around her, holding her tightly.
"Oh thank the gods you're okay. Do not scare me like that again." Robin breathed against her neck. Then the memories came back in a flash; her running out of the tent, seeking Robin, her heart panicking at the prospect of losing him, seeing Robin duel with three man, seeing the sword rake him, seeing the shield bring him to the ground, her despair and finally the overwhelming light before her eyes before the darkness claimed her. She pushed him away instantly, bringing his hands to his shoulders and finding warm blood beneath her fingers.
"Robin…." She breathed, but Robin gripped her face between his hands and forced her to look away.
"It's nothing. I'm all right. You're all right. We made it." He told her before placing his head against her. "We won." He told her before taking her in his arms and kissing her lips with a force that made her heart swell, that made her forget all about the battle that had taken place … how long had it been since they had won? How long had she been unconscious? She pulled back, gasping at the intensity of both Robin's kiss and her own feelings.
"H-how?" She asked, her head still pounding as Robin pulled her to her feet with his uninjured arm. She wobbled as she found her balance, but Robin pulled her towards him as the world slowly but surely stopped spinning.
"There was a wave of light, of power, brighter than anything I have ever beheld before in my life." Robin explained and Regina gasped at his words, lifting up her hands wondering if she had indeed managed to protect Robin. "It came from nowhere and after it had passed, the battle turned into our favor; it was as if the gods had finally smiled down upon us; no man could hit us, while every arrow we fired, every cut we made, hit its mark without fail. We cut down near three dozen of the king's men before they noticed; started screaming about the magic of the Sherwood forests and they withdrew." He told her the story, his voice one of awe and wonder. Then he turned towards her, taking her hands and stroking them with a gentle touch. "My men thought it was the gods, but I know what it was. Because I had felt it before, after you returned my heart." He shook his head and laughed softly, dimples appearing and his eyes creasing as his smile reached the twinkling orbs. Regina had never been more happy to see his smile. He looked at his in absolute wonder, softly weaving his fingers through her hair and biting his lip, his smile slowly dissipating from his face as, to her surprise, she saw tears forming in his eyes. "Regina, you saved my life, you saved my son, my clan, my forest but …" A tear escaped from his eye and he laughed softly. "Why?"
Regina wanted to tell him about how the war was her fault, how she did not want him to die for her. Wanted to tell him about the magic, about what the woman had told her about love and power in the tent. She wanted to tell him about sweet, loving Daniel who had been lost because she had been too scared to fight back, wanted to tell him about how Roland needed him more than he did her. Wanted to tell him about the secrets she kept locked up in her heart, about the things she had loved and lost before him. She wanted to tell him everything, but her heart only screamed the truth that had gone unspoken the last time she saw him: when he had walked outside the tent, possibly leaving her forever, the force that had drawn the magic from her heart strong enough to win her a war. The feelings that were a weakness no longer. So she smiled at him, trailing her fingers down and placing them upon his beating heart.
"Because I think I love you."
He smiled at her, pulling her into such a tight hug that Regina was not sure he'd ever let her go.
"I think I love you too." He told her, voice shaking as a laughter bubbled up inside of him, a laughter that travelled from his heart to hears and made her body shake with it, even as tears stung in her own eyes and streamed from her cheeks.
"I'm pretty damn sure I do, actually." Robin told her as he pulled her back and pressed another kiss against her mouth, kissing her until the world dissipated around them. There would be mourning later, there would be ash strewn out to find the heavens, there would be tears and beautiful ceremonies. There would be sadness in their future, sadness and pain and suffering as there had always been, but for now Regina felt that she could cope with any future as long as Robin would be there to live it with her.
Because love, after all, was not weakness.
It was strength.
AN: Another chapter, this time really probably the last for some time, haha. I'm just so addicted to writing this story I can't help it, but I don't think you guys mind? Anyway thank you for reading the story and your wonderful reviews. You're all seriously awesome.