Prompt: In an effort to avoid celebrating the Cupid's Festival, an Enchanted Forest holiday that revolves around love, Robin and Regina both end up on the castle's rooftop during the missing year.


Robin's footsteps hardly made a sound as he ascended the staircase of the castle's highest turret in search of solitude. With every step the sounds of the courtyard festival faded and so did the ache in his heart, even if it wasn't by much. This holiday, Cupid's festival, as they called it hadn't been easy to deal with since Marian's death. As her face entered his thoughts his hand subconsciously reached for the small pouch he'd kept strapped to his waist ever since her death.

Upon reaching the final step he discovered an exit to the castle's rooftop. The heavy wooden door creaked as he pushed it open allowing a cool gust of wind to blow across his face. Silence greeted him as he walked out onto the stone terrace and peered over its edge down to the courtyard. Above him a full moon glowed brightly as it competed with the festival lanterns below. Cheerful music had been playing when he'd left but from this high up it couldn't reach his ears. On the rooftop it was peaceful.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Well it was peaceful while it lasted.

With an irritated breath he turned to find the queen standing behind him, one hand on her hip and annoyance expressed in her eyes as usual. A dark blue velvet dress hugged her curves as she strode over to him channeling intimidation into every step. Robin merely rolled his eyes at her. After months of living and working beside her, the queen's attempts to strike fear into his heart no longer carried any weight with him.

He offered her a tight-lipped smile. "Good evening milady."

"It's your majesty," she replied automatically her tone filled with bite. She raised an eyebrow at him curiously. "Why aren't you at the festival like everyone else?"

He hesitated before answering her, "It's hard to sit through a festival of love when yours is no longer with you."

For a brief moment he thought he saw understanding flicker in her brown eyes but it disappeared as she squared her shoulders and lifted her chin at him haughtily. "Well if you're looking for a hiding place I suggest you look elsewhere. This one is taken."

Robin sarcastically glanced around the rooftop. "That's funny I didn't see your name written on it."

"Well that's one of the perks of living in your own home. You don't have to write your name on anything because everyone already knows it belongs to you," she replied snarkily. "Now I won't ask again thief. Leave."

Robin narrowed his eyes at her challengingly. He didn't really care about staying on the rooftop but there was something about this woman that made pushing her buttons irresistible.

He took a step closer to her and shrugged his shoulders. "Fine I'll leave but you should know the minute I'm out of your sight I'll report your whereabouts to the princess. And we both know just how much she's been dying to see you today."

The queen's upper lip curled into the beginnings of a snarl at his threat. She'd been hiding from Snow all day and everyone knew it. It seemed the princess wouldn't let this day pass without trying to give her some form of support or comfort. And Regina was not in the mood to receive either.

She let out a seething breath. "Fine but you stick to your side and I'll stick to mine."

"Wouldn't have it any other way," he replied sarcastically.

With that they both turned on their heels and walked to opposite sides of the rooftop, her facing the west and him facing the east. Silence returned as they both became lost in their own minds. For a short while Robin reveled in his victory over the former evil queen but soon, as was always the case with her, his thoughts turned curious. He'd never seen a woman so unwilling to show weakness in his life. In the short time he'd known her she'd faced every challenge with a glint of determination in her eyes and a sarcastic comment on the tip of her tongue. So what was it about today that had sent her into hiding?

Turning his head over his shoulder he snuck a look at the silent queen. He hadn't noticed it when he'd arrived but she'd dressed down that day. Instead of one of her elaborate hair-dos she'd allowed her hair to fall down to her back unrestrained, a few strands of it even blowed in the night wind. And even though the moonlight cast a pale shadow over half her face he could tell that her skin was free of the make-up that she usually wore as a mask. For a moment he thought that she was hunched over in pain but on second glance he could see that she was staring at something in her hands.

Curiosity moved him forward as he silently slinked behind her. Peering over her shoulder he saw that she was gripping a piece of parchment between her hands. No, not a piece of parchment. A portrait. A hand-drawn one at that. Even from where he stood Robin could see that it was the portrait of a young man with a strong jaw and thick hair. Far too old to be her son from what he'd heard.

Who is he?

A gasp flew from the queen's throat and she trembled in shock as Robin realized he'd made the fatal mistake of voicing his question aloud.

She turned to him rage burning in her eyes and growled, "I told you to stay on your side!"

Her anger sent him back a step. "I'm sorry," he mumbled apologetically. "I didn't mean to invade your space."

She only shook her head at him as she quickly folded up the parchment in her hands. As she tucked it safely into her sleeve with shaking hands, Robin felt his curiosity rear its ugly head once more. Before he could stop himself he whispered, "Who is that?"

She looked up at him wide eyes, as if she was shocked that he would dare ask such a question. "He's no one you need to be concerned about," she whispered forcefully.

It was then that he remembered the flicker of understanding he'd seen in her eyes.

"He was someone you lost," Robin realized softly.

The queen clenched her jaw as her gaze dropped to the ground. "I've lost many people."

"Yet something tells me he matters just a bit more than others," replied Robin. "You loved him."

Sucking in a breath of air through her nose Regina shook her head him. "I don't want to talk about this. And I don't have to."

She pushed him aside and began to make her way to the staircase door. Watching her back as she swiftly walked away from him Robin suddenly felt a desperate need to keep her from leaving. A need to hear the story she was so determined to keep buried deep inside of her. And as if it was written on the wall in front of him he knew just how to do so.

He called out to her. "Regina!"

His voice echoed in the wind and Regina stopped dead in her tracks just as he knew she would. The queen was capable of many things but letting a common thief call her by name was not one of them. As the she turned to face him, an insult residing on the tip of her tongue, he quickly reached into the pouch strapped to his waist and pulled out a ring. Before one syllable could escape her lips he tossed it in her direction and due to instinct, she deftly caught it in her hand.

The insults she'd been preparing to hurl died on her lips as she looked down at the ring in her hand. It was a plain, gold ring. Unremarkable in every way but as she looked back up into Robin's eyes she could tell it was worth more than it appeared. "What is this?"

"A wedding ring," he answered softly. "My wife's."

His eyes dropped down to the ring that now rested in her palm. "Apart from Roland… it's all I have left of her."

Regina ran her thumb over the tiny piece of metal in her hand. Robin could see an internal debate play out behind her eyes before she finally let out a sigh and asked, "What happened to her?"

"A job," he answered sadly. "One that wasn't necessary but lucrative. We'd heard about an opportunity from a trusted source. A simple get in and get out operation at a nearby castle. Marian thought it was too dangerous. Roland had just been born and my face was everywhere by this time but… I pressed on about it. I convinced myself the reward was worth the risk. She knew I would go no matter what so she told me she would come as well. I didn't want her to but I knew she could handle herself and I thought at least this way she wouldn't worry about me. We left Roland with Tuck and snuck into the castle. All we had to do was scale one wall to get in and scale it again to get out. And things went exactly as planned. We got the gold and we were going to leave but… somehow the guards were alerted to our presence. We were scaling the wall to leave and I reached behind me to pull her up. I had her hand in mine… but a stone gave away and she slipped through my fingers. She fell to the ground, was immediately rushed by guards. I wanted to drop down to help her, I was going to but she looked up at me and shook her head. Roland was a baby and he couldn't lose us both. So I stayed hidden. I watched as they threw my wife in a prisoner's cart and hauled her away. The last thing I saw was her tossing her wedding ring between the bars. Found it in the grass after they'd left. I think she meant it as a way to give me hope but… I wasn't able to save her. By the time I caught up to them Marian had already been executed. My wife died because I left her behind."

A lump formed in Regina's throat as she handed him back his wedding ring. He ran his thumb over it wistfully. "You wanted to know why I didn't attend the festival. That's why."

Regina stared up at him with wide eyes. He'd bared his soul to her and now, looking up into his blue eyes, she recognized a level of regret that she thought she'd only find in her own reflection. Regina pressed her lips together before reaching into her sleeve and sighing as she pulled out the hand-drawn portrait she'd held earlier. It crinkled in her grip as her hands trembled.

"His name was Daniel and he was my true love."

"A prince?"

"No," she said with a watery chuckle. "A stable boy with a heart of gold. I loved him from the first moment I saw him. And he was doomed from the minute he laid eyes on me."

Robin narrowed his eyes at her curiously. "Doomed?"

A haunted look appeared in her eyes as she nodded. "My mother had… ambitions. For herself and for me. She wanted me to marry for power and status. So of course when the king offered to take my hand in marriage she happily accepted on my behalf. I was distraught but I hadn't given up on Daniel. We planned to elope, to escape together, to finally have the life that we had dreamed of. But on the night we planned to leave she found out. And for a moment she convinced me that she actually wanted the best for us but then… she stuck her hand into his chest. She ripped his heart out and crushed it right in front of me. Daniel was dead before he hit the ground and a month later I was married to the king."

A haunted look grew in her eyes as she slipped the parchment back into her sleeve. "He was a good and kind man, my stable boy. And he was murdered for the simple mistake of loving me."

"Is that why you're avoiding the princess," asked Robin. "Because she wishes to speak with you about that day?"

Regina avoided his gaze as she shook her head. "No. I don't wish to speak with her because she will only try to convince me that loving again is a possibility."

"And you don't believe that's true? That you can love again?" asked Robin.

She turned to face him. "That's just it. I did love again. I loved my son more than anything in this or any other world. And now I've lost him as well. He doesn't even know who I am. In his memories all the time we had together he now remembers with his birth mother in my place."

She walked over to protective barrier that rose from the rooftop's edge and gripped it with a sigh. "Giving him up to keep him safe was probably the best thing I ever did for him and that's why I'll never choose to love again."

She looked down at the festival below wistfully. "Though Snow will only try to convince me differently I know that even if there was a chance for me to find a man capable of looking beyond my past, my darkness and my scars the best thing I could do for such a person is ensure that they never lay eyes on me. I'm too dangerous of a person to love."

Robin had only seen this side of the queen twice before. A mother who struggled to move forward after losing what she most held dear. Looking at her only one word came to Robin's mind.

Weary.

He could see it in the way she held onto the barrier, as if was the only that was holding her up. Oh, what he'd give to lift the weariness from her bones.

He moved to stand beside her at the edge's barrier.

"I don't believe that's true," said Robin firmly. "If anything I believe that any person should consider themselves quite lucky to find a place within your heart."

She scoffed at him as a smile tugged on her lips. It didn't go unnoticed by the thief beside her.

"Have I entered an alternate universe or did you really just crack a smile for me?"

She shook her head. "Not at you. At your foolishness," she replied. "Your words are pretty thief but I doubt you'll find anyone willing to agree with you."

"Oh I already know of two," said Robin. "The princess for one. I've seen all you've done to protect her child from the witch. I doubt you would do as much if you weren't concerned. And I know that she's grateful for your efforts."

Regina only rolled her eyes in response.

"And secondly," continued Robin, "I know my son always counts himself lucky to be in your favor."

The mention of his son caught the queen's attention. "Roland?"

"Yes Roland," he said nodding his head. "My son has become quite taken with you since we moved into the castle and it's easy to see why. You make him feel safe and cared for. It's the reason why he's still waiting for you at the festival."

Regina's head whipped to Robin's face. "He is?"

"Yes," said Robin. "He'd hoped to present you with a token of his affection today. I told him there was a chance that you might not be present but he refused to believe that. I offered to take him to bed but he insisted on waiting for you."

A disbelieving breath escaped her at the thought of Roland, the dimple-faced the little boy she'd grown so fond of, waiting up for her at the festival. Robin took in her reaction with hopeful eyes.

"Whether you believe it or not, whether you want it or not you are loved Regina. You just have to open your eyes to see it. You've already received love. Now it's up to you to decide whether or not you want to return it."

The queen's fingers stretched out against the stone wall of the barrier as she took in a deep breath. Robin could see an internal battle behind her eyes before she stepped away from the rooftop's edge and headed over to the door. "I suppose I should head down there."

He arched an eyebrow at her. "To the festival?"

She nodded. "It appears there's a little boy waiting for me. I'd hate to leave him disappointed."

She moved to head toward the staircase but then hesitated before turning back to him. "Thank you… Robin."

The ability to speak alluded him as he realized she'd called him by his actual name. Instead he just sent her a small grateful smile and that appeared to be enough for her as she continued to head for the staircase.

As soon as the queen was out of sight Robin leaned back against the rooftop barrier with a sigh. With the silence and the moon as his only company he made a vow never to let the queen know that the castle he and Marian had stolen from was hers.


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