I'm so sorry, it seems like forever since I've been able to update, I am just really busy at college and have so many stories, it's really difficult to update often. I wanted it to be every month but it's turning out to be every two months and I apologise. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter, let me know if you're still enjoying the story or if you're not.
Also, I have a new Instagram for my manips: Lunaandtwilight07, my twitter is the same if you don't follow me already and want to.
Regina had been working with Elsa and Tink for the past two days, they were helping her gain control of her powers, making sure that she didn't hurt people with them. Her determination meant that she got the hang of it pretty quickly, managing to both form and dismantle a fireball in the palm of her hand. She still wasn't used to it, it was strange using magic when she hadn't ever had something that she could excel in before, she had never been gifted with some kind of talent, however magic was something that she was beginning to work out.
They hadn't practiced inside, not after the whole library incident nobody wanted a repeat performance of that, she was pretty sure that Elsa wanted the rest of the rooms in her castle to remain intact. Regina was sat crossed legged on top of the hill opposite Tink, she had her eyes closed and her palms outstretched in front of her as she concentrated on the magic that was bubbling inside of her. She had just about mastered the fire ball thing, but she was seeing if she could do something else with her magic, something different.
Suddenly her hands were weighted down and she opened her eyes to see a cup of tea that was cradled in them, "yes!" She laughed, glancing up at Tink who was grinning at her, "would you care for a drink?" Regina asked, offering her the cup.
"Get you, telekinesis," Tink chuckled, taking it from her and sipping some of the tea out of the little cup, "next you'll be doing self-transportation."
"I can do that?" Regina asked eagerly, wanting to try it, it would be so helpful when it came to getting places, she wouldn't have to go on a ship and risk a god damn mutiny, how handy would it be to just think of where she needed to be and be transported there? She would be able to explore so many places, travel the world in a matter of hours instead of how long that it would usually take, probably years.
"You seem to be learning very quickly, most witches take ages to learn new powers, but seemingly you aren't most witches, I think you are very special Regina."
"I don't know about that, but I want to learn, I want to be able to do things," she stood up and bounced on the spot, "how do I do it?"
"I don't know," Tink shook her head, reaching her hand out for Regina to help her up. Regina complied and pulled her arm so that she was beside her.
"Thank you, for all your help," Regina smiled, "I feel that you have taught me so much," she nodded, "I am going to have to work out how to do self-teleportation though, because can you imagine how helpful that would be?" She gushed looking around and seeing the sun beginning to set on the horizon.
"Do you really have to go in the morning?" Tink asked, releasing a sigh as she refused to let go of her hand, "I feel like I'm losing a friend."
"I know," Regina breathed, squeezing the other woman's hand fondly, "I am going to miss you," she shook her head, "are you sure you can't come back to Sherwood? I'm sure I could quite easily locate somewhere for you to stay."
"I think we both know that I need to stay here, but I know that you are in safe hands," she looked past her and chuckled, "speaking of safe hands, I think I'm going to have to say goodnight."
"You will be there to bid me farewell tomorrow won't you?"
"Of course! I wouldn't miss that for the world."
"Night Tink."
"Goodnight Regina, I hope you rest up tonight."
"I'll try," she hugged the blonde fairy tightly before pulling back and watching as she walked away down the hill. Robin grinned at Tink and nodded at her before carrying on up the hill, "well hello there."
"Hello," Robin stopped when he reached her and sat down on the ground, she sat beside him and he wrapped an arm around her as they looked out at the sun that was setting behind the castle. "You ready for tomorrow?" he asked, pressing a light kiss to the side of her head.
"No," she laughed, snuggling into his embrace, they'd had a long talk about her magic, both promising to keep calm and not to yell at each other, to hear one another out and it had gone well. Robin had agreed for her to lean her magic, and they would see where it went from there, she knew he still wasn't happy with the whole using her as a weapon against Leopold thing, but that was something they would have to look at when the time came, because she was still determined that she might be able to do something to help in that respect, she knew she was powerful, there was no denying it.
"I am not looking forward to returning you to your parents," he rose his eyebrows at her as she cringed.
"Yeah, I am going to be murdered for this, I didn't even tell them I was leaving, well I did, just not in person, I left a note." She was not in the slightest bit prepared for the telling off she was bound to revive from her mother, she was just glad that the day after their return would be her wedding day and she could move out of her childhood home and in with Robin.
She hadn't really thought about that, sure she had known they would have to live together, they would be married so that was a given, but she hadn't even asked him where they would be living, would they stay at his castle with his parents or would they be allowed their own home, to live together without being watched constantly?
"What are you thinking about?" He asked his fingers brushing over her arm as he played with her long hair.
"Nothing much," she whispered laying down so that her head and upper body were laid on his legs.
He chuckled and stroked her cheek gently, "you're clearly thinking about something missy."
"Okay so I'm thinking about something," she giggled, looking into his eyes as he bent over her and grinned before placing a chaste kiss on her lips.
"Tell me," he chuckled stroking her cheek gently.
She found his hand and began playing with his fingers, lacing them with her own and making them dance on her stomach, "I was thinking about when we get home."
"Hmm, what about it?"
"Where are we going to live? After we're married I mean."
"Well," he traced over the little bit of lace that covered her waist, "there's this little cottage in the castle grounds."
Regina grinned at him and moved one hand up to his face, playing with his stubble, allowing it to prickle her fingers, it had grown a little longer over the course of their trip, not so that it was a full beard, but just a bit thicker and she liked it on him, it suited him very much. "Carry on."
"So it's not too big, has a thatched roof, a kitchen, sitting room, two bedrooms. An area for a tub and water pump, literally everything we could need."
"It sounds lovely," she breathed, "so we won't have to stay in the palace then?"
"I don't think so, I hope not anyway, I'd much rather us have our own space."
"So would I," she nodded, "just a little time for us to enjoy each other without the interference of your parents or mine before the inevitable where our lives get interfered with for all eternity."
"That's my idea of perfect," Robin stated, "just us together, no one telling us what we can and cannot do."
"Hmm, sounds wonderful."
"It does, doesn't it," he bopped her nose playfully as she reached up, pulling his head down to hers and drawing their lips together, urging him to deepen it, which he did, he cupped her cheek and ran his tongue across her bottom lip, asking for entrance to her mouth as she tugged gently on the back of his hair.
He supported her back before moving his legs out from underneath her, so that he could hover over her and kiss her properly, instead of being at an awkward angle. They kissed until they couldn't any longer and he pulled back, rubbing his nose against hers as they both tried to regain their breath, "I love you," he whispered, tucking her hair behind her ear gently, "and I can't wait to be married to you, to be able to call you my wife."
"Hmm, I like the way that sounds."
"What wife?"
"Yes," she smiled, "I've never been anyone's wife before."
"And I have never been anyone's husband before, I just hope that I don't disappoint you."
"In what way?" she asked, watching him as he sat up and looked back to the castle, apparently, they had missed the sunset from being too caught up in one another. "I don't know how you could possibly think that you would disappoint me."
"I just so long to be the husband you deserve, because you deserve everything, you really do."
"Oh Robin, don't doubt yourself," she shook her head sitting up and wrapping her arms around him from behind, her head coming to rest on his shoulder, "you will be the best husband to me, I know you will, you've already proved that, you treat me better than I could have ever imagined a husband would. You're loving, kind, caring and I couldn't ask for anyone better to be my soulmate, my life partner. I love you so much Robin, I really do and I think it's time you give yourself a little more credit. Don't you realise how much you mean to me? You mean everything! You are my world and you are my future."
"And you're mine," he nodded, squeezing her hands playfully as he held her to him. Her breasts were pressed to his back as she kissed across his temple and jaw.
"We missed the sunset," she quipped, gesturing to where there was still some slight red hues on the horizon.
"Hmm, I think I prefered what we were doing, I liked that very much."
"So did I," Regina nodded, closing her eyes as she laid her head down on his shoulder, she was tired and knew that they had a long journey ahead of them, the sea air was bound to make her even more sleepy, she was going to need all the sleep she could get, she hardly wanted to look like the walking dead on her wedding day, it wasn't exactly the desired look for a bride.
"Shall we venture back inside?" he questioned, his hands running up and down her arms as she continued to just hold him.
"Hmm, I think I would like to take a bath before I lay down."
"Then a bath you shall take milady," Robin chuckled kissing her arm tenderly as he unravelled her from him much to her protest, because as much as she wanted to go retire, she wanted to stay here and cuddle with him just as much, she knew thought that they would have time for that later when she snuck into Robin's chambers at night to snuggle in bed with him. She had done it each night they had been in Arendale, using the excuse that she'd had a nightmare and didn't want to be alone, well that hadn't been a lie the first night, the second however, she just hadn't been able to sleep without him.
"You've made me cold now," she protested, missing his warmth immediately as he moved away from her and stood up.
"Oh, well, we can't have that can we."
"No, we cannot," she shook her head as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and kissed her lips lightly. They began walking down the hill towards the castle, a comfortable silence ringing out between them as they just basked in the innocent touches they shared, their fingers gently caressing over one another's skin.
They pushed the door open and walked through the corridor, ascending the stairs which lead to their rooms. She stopped at her door and let out a sigh, "will you come in and talk to me whilst I bathe?"
"Regina…"
"Please Robin," she pouted at him, "I don't want to sit in there alone, you don't have to see me, I'll be hidden under bubbles," she giggled.
"Why am I getting a sense of Deja VU?"
"Because I asked you a few days ago, but I wager we've been through enough since then for you not to turn me down a second time."
He rose his eyebrows at her and let out a loud breath before that cheeky dimpled grin worked its way onto his face, "alright, but I'll come once the maids have helped you in."
"Thank you," she smiled pressing her lips against his once more before pushing the door open and winking at him.
She was laid in the bath, playing with the bubbles, the ladies had drawn the water for her and now she was enjoying the warmth that rippled over her skin, she closed her eyes and swirled her fingertips over her stomach and for the first time, she imagined how it would feel to have a baby in there, to carry a life within herself, nurture it, help it to grow and be healthy.
She pulled her lip between her teeth as she imagined it, what they would look like, who they would resemble the most, Robin or her. Whether they would have a boy or a girl first, she didn't know what she wanted, she knew one of each, both a boy and a girl, then after that, it didn't matter what gender her babies were as long as they were happy and well. Her little princes and princesses.
She wanted to be the best mother she could be, which meant not following in the footsteps of her own, she would never lay a hand on them to hurt them and she wouldn't let anyone else either. She would protect them with her life if it came down to it, they would be hers, hers and Robin's and no one could ever take them away from her, she just knew that the love she was going to feel for their children was something that wouldn't be rivalled, except maybe by the love she felt for their father.
She still had her eyes closed when she heard a light knock to the door, looking up she saw it open a slither as Robin peaked his head around, "are you decent?" he asked, his hand over his eyes, causing her to chuckle, because he was being ridiculous, he'd pretty much seen her whole body by now without clothes, but it still made her laugh at how funny and respectful he was towards her.
"Come in," she sniggered, watching as he slipped into the room and closed the door behind him before grabbing a chair and placing it by the bath tub, straddling it so that he could lean against it and look at her.
"How's your soak?"
"Lovely thank you," Regina nodded, bringing one hand out to find his and resting their joined hands on the rim of the tub, "just what I was in need of."
"Good," he grinned yawning tiredly, "I feel exhausted."
"Me too," she agreed, "how are you feeling about the journey home tomorrow?" she asked, the journey here had been less than plain sailing, in fact, it had been a complete and utter nightmare that could have ended catastrophically for the both of them.
"I just hope it goes well, we can hardly miss our own wedding."
"True," she slipped lower into the tub, her toes peeking up out of the water at the bottom, as her chin and neck went under the surface. She turned her head to look at him and furrowed her eyebrows, he was staring at her and she didn't know what he was thinking, she was usually able to tell, but right now, she couldn't work him out and it was slightly disconcerting. "What is it?" she whispered.
"Do you regret coming after me?" he asked, looking up at her, "do you regret being a stubborn madam and coming on this trip instead of staying at home?"
"Never," she sighed, "this has been quite the adventure. I feel we had the time to get to know each other better, to spend some quality moments with one another, moments that we will never forget in our lives."
"Yes, but some of them have hardly been good moments," he huffed, "some of the things that have happened on this trip have been really bad."
"Yes, but we overcame them," she sat up in the tub so that she could look at him properly, "we managed to come through that together and nothing would make me give up this adventure or the memories I have of it, I will forever cherish them and how close this trip has brought us."
"Me too," he smiled, but she could still see the hesitation in his eyes, see that he wasn't certain of what she was saying to him and she didn't blame him if she were honest, because some of the things that they had been through hadn't been good. To her though, had she not come on this trip, she wouldn't have known of the powers she possessed and she most certainly wouldn't have met these people, found some friends that she wouldn't have otherwise.
"I am happy that I got on that ship Robin. Otherwise, I would have been stuck at home, panicking, wondering what might be happening to you, not knowing what sort of danger you might be in and that would have torn me apart even more than being with you and seeing all these things first hand. Truthfully, this is more fun than I have ever had in my entire life"
He leant in and pressed a chaste kiss to her lips, "your optimism never fails to amaze me."
"Good," she took him by surprise by grabbing the collar of his shirt and yanking it hard, pulling him towards her, almost landing him on top of her in the bath. She giggled and deepen the kiss, making him kiss her with more force than he was doing, because quite frankly what he was managing now was pathetic, sweet but a little too tame for her liking, she knew he got the message when he gripped her face between his hands and ran his tongue across her bottom lip, asking for entrance to her mouth.
He was literally hovering over her whilst she was in the tub, then her arms wrapped around his neck and she tugged on him again, causing him to lose his balance as he fell in with her, resulting in the water literally flooding over the edge of the sides. He looked up at her completely stunned and she just burst into laughter, wiping the bubbles from his face as they had stuck to his stubble. "Well hello there."
"What are you doing?" he chuckled not really moving, but making sure that his weight wasn't directly on top of her.
"Well, you seemed more stressed out than me and I thought maybe you might like to share my bath and relax a little."
"Fully clothed? Whilst you're still in it?" he gave her a look which made her laugh all the more.
"You were getting too serious for my liking," she shrugged, "plus I rather wanted to see you all wet."
"Did you?" he smirked at her.
"Hmm and I knew there was no way you would get in here with me without a little encouragement."
"No, you're right, there is no way that I would have got in here with you, in fact, I need to get out."
"Why?" she scoffed, rolling her eyes.
"Because as much as you might like to think it, we aren't married yet, we still have a couple of days to wait."
"True," she sighed, narrowing her eyes at him. He was such a prude, something she had never imagined, to be honest she knew it was probably him trying to be a respectable gentleman and not come across as someone who wanted to take advantage of her and for that she respected him. Sometimes his reluctance did knock her back a little, it brought doubts creeping up into her mind and she hated herself for thinking that way, but she couldn't help it. "Do you not find me attractive?" she whispered, "am I not alluring enough for you?"
"You're having a laugh, right? It is taking every ounce of restraint I own not to just ravish you right here right now, be damned of the fact that we aren't married." His face was serious as he looked at her, she could see that he was trying to make her believe what he was telling her and she did, she knew he found her attractive, that he was affected by her, always had been. "You are the most beautiful woman on this earth."
"Taking it a bit far now," she smirked, kissing him, "why are you restraining yourself then?"
"Because, I want to do this properly Regina, I want to do right by you."
"You're an honourable man Robin of Locksley," she smiled, closing her eyes as he leant his forehead against hers, "thank you, for respecting me that much."
"I respect you more than you will ever know."
"I think when you get out of this bath you'll have taken all my bathwater with you," she laughed, gesturing to his soaked shirt.
"Probably."
Suddenly there was a loud knock on the door and Regina looked at him wide eyed, "quick, get out."
"Oh bollocks," he moved quicker than she had seen him before, literally darting around trying to find a hiding place. They couldn't be caught together like this, especially when she was naked, it just wasn't an option.
"Under the bed, get under the bed," she instructed and he did, darting under there as quick as he could.
Regina looked at the bath water and as she had expected it was barely covering her intimate parts, she closed her eyes, trying to concentrate as much as possible, but it was rather hard to do with that incessant banging on her door. Suddenly she felt warmth flood her again as the bath began filling up, god she loved her magic. Just as her relief had settled in, she heard the voice belonging to the person knocking on the door and her heart plummeted to her stomach.
"Regina Maria Mills! Open this door this very second young lady! You are in a whole world of trouble madam!"
Oooh, who is it?