Thank you, thank you, thank you for still reading and reviewing. I'm so excited the Outlaw Queen ship is growing. I just saw the promo stills for Sunday and almost didn't make it to post this. Is it Sunday yet?
It is so strange (and awesome) to have written these characters who have never interacted before, and now seeing pictures of them together... Very exciting!
I hope you enjoy this next chapter, things got a little angsty...again.
"I'm going to kill her," Regina growled. Blood pulsated in her ears and she was finding it hard to see anything but red. That bitch of a Black Fairy had been playing them for months now all to enact her grand plan for absolute power. What really pissed Regina off was that this woman had used Robin and Roland for the sole purpose to get to her. She knew those two meant a great deal to Regina. The Black Fairy, this Wicked Witch was a psychopath and Regina needed to make sure Robin and Roland were safe. She was going to receive great pleasure in hearing the snap of the Black Fairy's neck when she finally got her hands around it. She went to storm past Emma and the Charming's but Emma grabbed her arm.
"Whoa there and just where to you think you are going?" the blonde questioned, knowing full well what the answer would be.
"You know exactly where I'm going," Regina snapped.
"Killing her is not the answer Regina," Snow moved closer to her. "You've started to turn your life around, don't be pulled back into the darkness," she pleaded. Snow was always so damn concerned about her conscience.
Regina slammed her hand down on the table in anger. "There are three people in this world that I give a damn about." Her voice grew louder as she spoke, "One of them doesn't remember who the hell I am at all, another doesn't remember the relationship we had and thinks he is married to a wife who's long been dead, and the third is being forced to believe that some psychotic woman is his mother." She took a deep breath to try and calm herself, these three would not listen to her if she sounded crazed. Her voice quieted as she spoke once more, "This woman would not think twice about killing Robin and Roland. She has already told me they are not needed for her plan. We need to stop her….now," she told them.
"We will," Snow assured her, "this isn't the way though. When you calm down, you will see that. This is what you always do Regina, you always act in the heat of the moment, and never think about consequences."
Regina felt anger at Snow's judgement. "You would be joining me if Emma had told you all of the witch's plan," she bit out in anger and then immediately regretted the words she had said. Shit. Snow had no idea about the Witch's plans for her and Charming's unborn child. Emma had kept that information out when she was relaying to them what Hook had told her. There was a possibility Emma didn't know but Hook would have told her that….hell, that is probably the sole reason she had even come back to Storybrooke , for her parents.
Snow looked at Emma confused, "What didn't you tell us about the Witch's plan?" she asked her daughter. Charming's eyes were on her as well.
Emma sighed, this was clearly not how she planned on telling them. "They need to know," Regina finally said.
Emma nodded her head, "I was hoping it wasn't true, it's why I was planning to wait until we knew just who the Wicked Witch was." She reached out and grabbed her mother's hand. Tear's formed in Snow's eyes, she was smart enough to know the news she was about to receive was not going to be good. "For her curse to work, for ultimate magical power, she needs to sacrifice something of pure innocence." The words hung in the air for a moment, everyone was silent.
"No," Snow whispered, her face turning pale. Charming was beside her in an instant. He wrapped his arms around her.
"We won't let anything happen to our child," he told her. Regina and Emma shared a look, both knew something drastic was eventually going to happen. The question remained, was the witch still searching for her wand or did she only wait now for Snow's baby to be born?
Regina tossed and turned in her bed, sleep evading her. She couldn't stop thinking of Roland and Robin sitting right in the clutches of that witch. She sat up in bed, there was no one here to stop her now from going to them. God how she longed to see them, things were much different now that she remembered. With Roland it would be fine, he remembered as well. He may be a little put off that she never made it to tuck him in that night, but that will quickly be forgotten because he'll be overjoyed that she now remembered too. With Robin she would have to be more careful, she could come off as sounding crazy. She would just slowly and gently remind him. She got out of bed and dressed quickly, it was time to get to the hospital.
The hospital was quiet when she got there. Her heart raced in anticipation the closer she came to reaching Roland's room. What would she say to Robin? Robin. She longed for him. She finally reached Roland's room and had her hand on the doorknob when she heard a voice behind her, "You better stay the hell away from there," it said.
Fury rose in her as she turned to face the voice….Marian. Only it wasn't Marian, it was the Wicked Witch, the Black Fairy.
"You," Regina spat out, hatred filling every part of her.
"When are you going to learn to stay away from my son," the witch growled. Her eyes flashed, turning a slightly darker shade.
It took all of Regina's willpower to not attack the woman at those words. "You are no mother….witch," she snarled.
The witch gasped with delight. She smiled slowly, "It looks like someone has all their memories back," she cackled with glee. Her joy in finding out that she had her memories back, confused Regina greatly. What was she playing? The witch continued speaking, "You know….I really struggled with whether I should have left your memories intact or not. It would have been great fun watching you try to convince everyone I was a witch," she laughed. "That was one thing I really regretted but I have to say being Marian ended up being for enjoyable...that is until that little brat remembered everything," she sighed.
Regina still wanted to kill the woman, her mind was dark with all the possible scenarios she could proceed with. The only thing stopping her was the fact they stood outside of Roland's room. "Don't you dare speak of him," Regina growled, she clenched and unclenched her fist to try and control her temper. It was not working well.
The witch put on an innocent face, "Who? My son, sweet Roland?" she cackled at Regina's outraged face. She took a step closer to Regina, "What about Robin?" she whispered his name and Regina's desire to rip her heart out and squeeze was very intense. "He's quite something, strong and muscular,"she purred, her eyes gleamed and her smile was hateful. Her voice was low when she spoke again, "It was quite a turn on when he cried out your name when we were together."
Regina let out a fierce growl at the witch's words, "You bitch," she yelled in anger. The only thing still stopping her from wrapping her hands around the woman's neck was the sweet boy inside the room they stood in front of but her willpower was weakening.
The Wicked Witch laughed at Regina's rage and took another step closer to her. "I'm going to take great pleasure in fucking Robin one last time and then killing him in front of you," she drawled.
Regina saw red and before she could get her emotions under control she shoved the witch against the wall. The Black Fairy yelped in surprise at Regina's action. Before the fairy had a chance to react, Regina had her hands around the woman's neck….squeezing the life out of her. The witch's eyes were wide as she struggled to find breath. One of her hands came up in an attempt to push Regina away from her. She managed to grab a fist full of Regina's hair but was unable to pull, her strength diminishing. Regina squeezed harder, "You don't have anything to say now witch?" she growled as she began to feel the woman grow limp. Regina felt powerful and justified in that moment watching as the colour started to drain from the witch's face. She had already threatened Robin's life and she was out to get Snow's child. Regina was completely warranted, she was doing the right thing. Her mind thought back to Snow's earlier words to her, don't be pulled back into darkness, you always act in the heat of the moment and never think of the consequences. Regina started to falter. Damn it. What would Robin think of her actions?….Roland? Was this the right thing to do? As the Evil Queen, killing people was a second nature, it came so easily. Often their misdeeds were nothing compared to that of this woman that she now had her hands wrapped around the neck of. But she was no longer the Evil Queen, had no desire to return to being her. Robin and Roland had showed her how to be Regina again. Sure, she would never be the doe-eyed girl she once was, but killing in cold blood…..no matter how justified, just didn't seem natural any longer. She felt her hands weaken around the witch's throat. The Black Fairy gasped in the fresh air that once again flowed into her lungs.
Before Regina could come up with a plan to deal with this situation she found herself in, the witch found strength and pushed back at Regina with quite a force. Regina stumbled back, crashing into a cart, which caused her to slam her head against the wall. She fell to the floor in pain as her eyes momentarily lost focus caused by the blow to her head. She brought her hand up to touch the back of her head and felt the warm, sticky feeling of blood. She tried to stand up but a wave of dizziness assaulted her. She groaned in pain and slid back down to the floor. She closed her eyes and took a couple of deep breaths trying to push away the feeling of nausea that overwhelmed her.
"You're going to regret pulling that stunt," she heard the witch growl. Opening her eyes, she saw the blurry image of the fairy standing above her and what looked to be a needle of some sort in her hand. As the witch descended upon her, Regina found some power in her and with her leg kicked the woman in the leg that she had previously stuck a knife in. The fairy fell to the ground, crying out in pain.
"Regina," she heard a loud voice boom and looked up horrified to see Robin standing there with Dr. Whale. "What the hell are you two doing?" he exclaimed. Before she could give him any explanation, the world went black.
The first thing she registered was a soft humming noise….Tink? Beep….beep….beep….no, not Tinkerbell. She tried to open her eyes but was finding the task quite difficult, she was still so tired. She attempted to open them once more, she succeeded in opening them a fraction but was met with a bright light and immediately closed them again, groaning.
She felt a warm hand cover hers and a concerned voice whisper, "Regina?" Robin. Her eyes flew open meeting a pair of very familiar blue ones.
"Robin?" her voice cracked from disuse.
She watched as Robin's eyes flooded with relief. "I am going to go fetch a doctor," he told her, his hand lifting off of hers.
No, he couldn't leave her mind screamed. She fumbled for his hand, "Wait," she pleaded. He turned to face her his eyes wide and hesitant. Her heart skipped a beat just seeing him. This was the first time since remembering the Enchanted Forest and them, their relationship. She wanted nothing more than to pull him to her, wrap her arms around him, and bury her face into his neck, telling him how much she had missed him. Finally his words registered with her, a doctor? She glanced around realizing she was in a hospital, machines all around her. How did she end up as a patient? The last thing she remembered was coming to see Roland and Robin. "What happened?" she asked him, gripping his hand tightly.
His face scrunched up like it always did when he was concerned. "You do not remember?" he asked her gently. "You and Marian?" he said, his voice cracking slightly.
Marian. It all came back to her, their scuffle in the hall. There was no Marian. Robin still thought she was his wife and suddenly she felt such guilt. What he must think of her. Yet….he was here, with her. The Wicked Witch must have spun him quite the tale. She knew she must proceed with answering his question as cautiously as possible. Who knew where his thoughts were. She still clung to his hand, not quite ready to lose that connection with him. He didn't try to escape the hold, Regina thought that was a good sign. "We had an….argument," she started slowly."I hit my head when we," she coughed nervously, not sure what to call it, "...interacted," she finally settled on. Better not bring up the part about her strangling the witch quite yet.
"Marian insisted that you attacked her, tried to strangle her to death….I….I," he struggled to continue. Damn it. So much for keeping that under wraps. She couldn't lie to him but she was terrified on how he would react when he found out what the woman had said was true. It was probably the only thing she had said that was true. God, she hoped Robin would be able to see that.
"She….she tells the truth," she whispered. Robin let out a small gasp and pulled his hand away from hers. Regina missed his warmth immediately and panic started to rise within her as he backed away from her, his face hurt and confused. She scrambled to sit up quickly, feeling a little dizzy as she did so, "You need to listen to me though….there is so much you don't know," she pleaded with him.
He looked at her his eyes staring at her like he didn't know her. It killed her to see that look. "You tried to ki...kill my wife?" he stuttered.
"She's not your wife," she cried out without thinking.
He shook his head back and forth slowly, disbelief written all over his face, "She said you would say all of this," his voice was bewildered, "I defended you," he accused. "She said you had bewitched me, was she right?" he asked in despair, backing away from her some more.
"NO!" she blurted out, her voice emotional. She got out of the bed as fast as she could. When she finally stood, she immediately had to grab the bedside to steady herself as another wave of dizziness hit her. She took one breath and then another at an attempt to get the world to stop spinning. "Robin," she breathed his name, she needed him to look at her, "Please," she begged. He looked at her as last, his eyes full of tears, betrayed. She felt her own tears come to her eyes at his look. What if he didn't believe her, if he never remembered their love. She could not handle losing him. She took a tentative step towards him. "You need to listen to me, using your heart," she whispered, her gaze not leaving his. She took another step towards him. "Roland was right, we have all been cursed, the last year that we spend in the Enchanted Forest wiped from our memories," Regina began. "I know you have experienced those flashes too," his eyes widen in surprise at her words, "Those were real memories," she told him. She gave him a shaky smile, "You shooting me with an arrow, the horse race, our love," she whispered at the end. She stood right in front of him now, her hand reached out to grasp his arm and her eyes fell on his lion tattoo, which sent a shiver down her spine. He jumped slightly at the contact. She could see his eyes wavering. "Look into my soul," she breathed, "You will see I am telling you the truth." She felt a tear escape and fall down her cheek. She continued in a soft voice, "Before the curse was cast you told me to have hope, that we would find each other again," her voice hitched, "and we did," she softly cried out. She watched as a tear escaped Robin's eye and hope settled over her. She was getting through to him.
His voice shook as he spoke, "Marian?" he quietly uttered. "If what you say is true, it means my Marian is evil….or dead. I don't think I could handle either of those things, despite what I feel for you" he whispered.
Regina felt like she had been kicked in the stomach. Perhaps what he had felt for her in the Enchanted Forest did not compare to his love for Marian. No, her mind challenged, he couldn't remember his wife's death. He did not remember the grief that he already experienced and the fact that he had moved on, just as she had done with Daniel. Her and Robin's love had been real….and pure. She would not let her old self doubt enter into her life again. Her hand reached out to caress his face. He shivered at her touch. She said the only thing she could think of to say in the moment, the one thing she knew to be real, "I love you," she whispered.
She heard Robin let out a tiny gasp and his eyes fluttered shut. Suddenly he opened them again his eyes anxious and confused, "I...I...need to think," the words left his mouth rushed and uneven, he glanced at her unsure for a moment and then walked past her out the door.
She called out after him, knowing she did not have the strength to follow him. As he left the room, she sank down to the floor disheartened, her tears falling freely.
Emma, Snow and Charming found her still on the ground a little while later. She laid against the bed, numb. Charming had immediately picked her up and placed her back on the bed. Snow questioned her on what had happened and she told the princess matter of factly that Robin had not believed her. She ignored the three others as they continued talking, her thoughts solely on Robin and what she had most likely lost. Just like usual, everyone she loves...she loses. Why would Robin be any different?
Suddenly she felt a hand strike her across the face. Shocked and angry she glared at Snow White, "What the hell was that?" she growled. She noticed that Charming and Emma were taken by surprise at Snow's actions as well.
"Snap out of it," the princess demanded. "Where is the Regina I know at?" She waved her hand, "This woman definitely is not her. The Regina I know wouldn't just sit back and let someone take what is hers. That was a lot of information for Robin to take in. He'll see Marian for what she really is and then we will destroy her….all together."
Regina's heart raced at Snow's passionate speech. During their time in the Enchanted Forest they two of them had forged a relationship, a closeness that had taken Regina by surprise. Snow's words meant a lot to her, especially since the young woman did not remember that time, did not remember Regina's apology for her past misdeeds. She reached out and grabbed Snow's hand, "Thank you," she whispered.
The princess smiled, "There is still a little boy who remembers and who needs you," she reminded Regina. Roland. "You and Emma, go see him. David and I will go find Robin. Everything is going to be alright. Good always wins." Regina once again felt the hope rise within her.
Roland was sleeping as she and Emma entered his room. John was surprised to see the two women. He hadn't liked the idea of them visiting but Regina talked him into it. Sweet John and his love for Roland and Robin, how thankful she was for him. Roland looked so peaceful, so precious as he laid sleeping. Regina gently brushed a hand through his hair. Her other hand wrapped around his small one. He stirred at her touch and his eyes fluttered open. "Regina?" he asked sleepily.
"Yes, I'm here," she whispered. "Go back to sleep my sweet boy," she told him. Roland's eyes shut once more, his body relaxing once again. She leaned into his ear and quietly told him, "I remember too." The little boy smiled and fell back into slumber. She sat watching him for a while as John and Emma chatted quietly.
Suddenly Snow and Charming entered the room, their eyes worried. Regina knew something was wrong. "Robin?" she asked, dreading the answer.
"He's missing. No one has seen him….or the witch," Snow told her. Fear enveloped her and Regina felt her heart drop. What had that woman done to Robin?
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