Regina has been seventeen years old when she was first introduced to King Leopold.

It has been a tedious affair at first, boring in a way, and unlike any of the other girls her age she knew, or even her sister who was almost twenty, she has been completely uninterested in the Monarch.

Maybe at first she has been curious, because it was not every day that a King passed by the countryside where her father's estate was, and when the announcement came that Leopold was going to grace them with a visit, everyone started to get their wits in a twist and she couldn't help but to get caught up in the mix.

Her mother has called for dozens upon dozens of servants to clean and polish everything, from floors to windows as well of her best china; rugs were changed, she made her father get a huge dinner table that could fit the King and company, she has insisted on a brand new chandelier, and she set for all of them to get new proper clothes to receive such an important visit.

Regina has watched all of that with a sense of morbid fascination. Especially, when Cora proudly told her father the night before the visit, that she was going to make sure the King walked out of their household with the intention of marrying Zelena

That right there definitely got her full attention and that night, she sneaked into her sister's bed and they had giggled and daydreamed about what new life Zelena would get once she married the recently widowed King.

They all woke the next day excited and way over their heads, because they were so sure that her sister was going to be a Queen, and the dress her mother got for her to impress Leopold looked like it came out of a dream and it was impossible not to be dragged into the whole vibes taking hold of everyone.

But then, the King walked in with an entourage of soldiers that looked too serious to wake in her any kind of curiosity and yes, why not say it, the man himself has been a complete disappointment.

He was too old, and dull, and there has been nothing of the grace and grandeur she has expected out of such an important figure.

She told Zelena her thoughts right after the ridiculously boring banquet they just had to endure, but the response she got was her sister accusing her of being jealous.

"You are just salty because I'm going to be Queen and you're going to stay here, spending your days with your stupid horse and your stupid books, waiting to please daddy with you awful chess game while I'm going to be revered and loved through all Kingdoms, as the most beautiful Queen ever."

Regina, who has always been unruly and a bit foul mouthed, wasn't going to stay put with that so she fired back as she knew best.

"Maybe, but I'll rather stay here until I die, than marry that old man ugly man. I'll be here riding my horse and being spoiled by daddy while you have to bed that old toad every night and that's disgusting. I bet his cock is all whitered, if it hasn't fall off yet."

Getting all red faced, Zelena has thrown a hairbrush hard at her, and it almost hit her, but when she saw how off the redhead's aim was, the younger of the Mills just struck her tongue out and ran out of the room.

For the rest of the day, she stood clear of her sister and everyone in the whole house, until at one point, she was called by her mother.

It was urgent, and they needed to change her dress, and fix her hair and for Heaven's sake, can't you stand straight for once? her mother has yelled. When she asked what was going on, Cora simply said that her presence was apparently requested by the King himself.

What followed next has been one of the most bizarres things she has ever experienced at such a young age, as she, by Cora's instructions, had to stand still in front of the King as he inspected her close.

"Don't you dare move or say a thing, you hear me? You are not going to ruin this for me." Cora, who never has been too fond of her, warned her through clenched teeth before the whole thing started, and knowing better than to disappoint Mother, she did as she was told.

She didn't even breathe as the King lifted her chin to watch her face, or when he touched her hair, made her turn and then at one point, pressed his hands to her waist, grabbing her a little too tight as his little eyes kept intently fixed on her.

She bore the inspection as best as she could, even when her heart has been hammering so very hard inside her chest and a sense of dread started to fill all of what she was.

It was repulsive, the stench of wine in his breath, the dull sparkle in his eyes and how his touch felt on her shoulders as he made her turn around once again…

For some reason, as soon as he left her alone, she ended up throwing up everything she had in her stomach, much to her mother's fury.

Not that it mattered, because by the time he was to leave, the request has been done. The King wanted to marry her… and if it wasn't because her father insisted she was still too young, he would have done it that same night.

He didn't, he waited eight long months… and just a day after her eighteen birthday, she was married to the man and became Queen…

All of that has been a little over six years ago, but still to that day, Leopold was still able to provoke in her the same sense of dread he did that night so long ago.

He also caused in her the same repulsion, but unlike that night when she was too young and in a way naive, she wasn't going to stay still and quiet… not anymore.

"You really think you are going to hurt me with that thing?"

Smirking maliciously and keeping her eyes on her husband, Regina arched an eyebrow, her hold on the dagger only getting stronger.

She didn't know what it was, but she was suddenly feeling good about what was about to happen, first, because she knew Graham should have by then taken Robin to safety, and second, because she was going to once and for all, stand up against this man that came to ruin her life in all sense of the word.

She was going to get back at him because this man has taken everything from her and all the resentment that has been boiling within her through all these years, have finally reached a point of no return.

She wanted to hurt him because he took her sister from her, as they never spoke again after Leopold's intention of marrying her became public, and for taking her innocence, as she wouldn't have become such a cynic if it wasn't for him. But above everything, she wanted to end him because of what he did to Robin.

So yes, her time to do something about the man has come, and if she had to die for the cause, then so be it… but she was going to take Leopold down with her, no matter what the cost was.

"I plan to kill you with it."

Snorting, Leopold walked around her, his little evil eyes never leaving her once. "You think you'll be able to pull that off. Here, in my castle? If you believe that, then you are way more stupid than what you look."

Turning around so that she could follow the King's movements around her, Regina smirked. The gesture felt fake and heavy, but she kept it, biding her time to strike.

She also wanted to rile him up, to make him feel mad and stupid, because she'll be damned if she just killed him for the hell of it. No… she was going to make him lose it before.

"Oh I'm the stupid one here? You just had your daughter run away from right under your nose and I'm the stupid one? King George is about to take all of your lands and I'm the one you think looks stupid?"

Snarling his lips, Leopold tried to grab her, but being quicker, she moved back just in time.

"Mary Margaret didn't run away, and George is as good as dead, I promise you that."

Turning as he circled her, Regina smirked. "Are you sure? Maybe after I kill you, I'll be the one who opens the gates for George's man to take the castle. I'll offer him your head, and who knows, maybe if I explain to him how you just went crazy, I'll be spared and stay Queen and with your daughter gone, all of this will be mine. Your titles, your castles… your land… your name..."

The smile that has been on his face, turned into a hard grimace and Regina knew she almost got him… he just needed a little push.

"Maybe, I am with child right now and guess who will inherit your Throne…?

"You whore!" Moving with an agility hard to believe, Leo charged at her before she could even finish talking.

It was a quick thing, but she was able to use the dagger on her defense and before Leo could strike, she slashed at his arm, cutting him deep enough to draw blood.

It didn't even make him hiss, and even though he retreated a little, he kept circling her.

"As far as everyone will concern, your lineage will end with you… and mine will prevail. Isn't that sweet?" Now, she was bluffing, as she was not with child, nor did she plan to live long enough to see King George storm through the gates, but her narrative was good to make Leopold rage.

"I knew you were whoring yourself around. Oh, I'm going to kill that piece of trash right in front of you; I'm going to tear him piece to piece and then make you stay with what's left of him until he roots. Not tell me, was it the chest man, maybe your guard?"

Watching as his face became redder with his anger, Regina grinned. "I guess you'll never know. I'll just say that he is more of a man that you will ever be, and that we laughed about how stupid you were as we fucked every night here, in your castle… and that it's his child the one who will-"

With his face distorting in all imaginable ways, Leopold groaned, reaching for his belt so that he could grab his revolver.

Regina read his intentions though, and suddenly not feeling in the mood of dying, she snarled her lips and charged at him, encrusting the dagger on his shoulder blade.

The attack made Leopold yelp and Regina cringe, as the sensation of breaking through his flesh like she did wasn't a pleasant one, but even though it shocked her, she kept her hand wrapped hard around the hilt, her eyes wild and her heart rioting.

"You… slut…" The King reacted, and even though what she did must have hurt, he did his best to lift the arm and fire his gun at her.

He didn't do a great job out of it, as the dagger was still sticking out of him, so instead of hitting her, he fired a bullet at the floor.

His bad aim made him groan in frustration, and when Regina acted on an impulse and grabbed the gun, he started to wrestle with her for it.

It was tricky, because Leopold was after all, so much stronger than her, but he was basically doing it one handed, and Regina milked the advantage for all it was worth it

"I'm going to kill you and your bastard child."

Refusing to let him have control of the gun, the raven haired woman focused completely on it, using all of her might on the task. At the end, she was able to yank the revolver from him, but then, before she could even do anything with it, Leopold wrapped a hand around her throat and started to squeeze hard.

Gasping with the surprise, Regina held on the gun tight, her fingers fumbling with it until she found the click.

She pressed it at once, a loud bang that made Leopold yelp again making his hold on her easy a little. It didn't cause much more than that though, because right after the initial surprise of being shot went over him, Leopold was back at squeezing her neck.

"You really think you can kill me?" He hissed, his face pale but his eyes shining bright with something she was sure was insanity. He was also not letting go, strangling Regina hard enough to make her vision blur.

He did that hard enough to make her drop the gun so that she could grab on his hand instead, her nails clawing at him as the pressure of his hold kept increasing.

"Not happening… you whore."

Knowing that the man was never going to let go and that he was going to kill her if she didn't act quick, the Queen moved her hand away from his neck and grabbed for the dagger instead.

It was that way, in a moment of desperation, that she grabbed it with all of her strength, and then twisted it.

Screaming and finally stepping back, Leopold let go of her. It happened fast, one second he was reaching for the dagger to pull it out, and then he was back at staring at her, his maniac eyes telling her with no words that he was going to kill her.

But before he would go back and finish the job, the door burst open and both of their attentions went immediately to the door.

It was Graham, she observed in horror, as she has thought the man to be far away taking Robin to safety; and as she gasped, both trying to breathe and in defeat, Leopold smiled.

Yes, the bastard smiled, even if his shoulder was shredded and he had a bullet hole on his side, he just smiled as if he has won the battle.

"Well look who we have here, if it isn't the…"

Before he could finish talking, Graham took a gun of his own and without thinking it twice, he shot The King right over his breastplate, making him fall backwards as he started to hiss in pain.

Opening her eyes wild and with her chest heaving, Regina watched as Graham reached for her, making her wake from her trance so that she could move. "Come on, we have to get you out of here."

As if in a dream, she rushed out of the King's chambers with him, her hand secured in his as he dragged her from one corridor to the other. He was talking all along, saying that the rebels were there, that they needed to go and that she needed to change and God only knew what else.

She was only able to get a little of her senses back when she found herself walking with him towards her cabin.

"You can't go out with that dress, it has blood all over, you need to change."

Graham pushed a new change of clothes towards her and even though she was still a bit lost, she changed, her hands trembling and her head swirling.

Was the King Dead, was Graham finally taking her away for good? Were those gunshots she was suddenly hearing coming from all places?

"Where is Robin?"

"I sent him out, he should be safe by now." The guard said, reaching for a black hooded cloak and throwing it over her shoulders. "Now listen to me. There's a small village west of here, you'll reach it if you keep on the old road along the woods. If you lose track of it, just look at the mountains and head that way. When you get there, ask for Granny… tell her the Huntsman sent you"

Blinking a couple of times and fighting the tears that wanted to break out of her eyes, Regina shook her head no. "When I reach it? Why, you are not coming with me?"

Blowing out a breath and for the first time looking conflicted, the guard bit hard on his lips. "I can't… I have to make sure you are not followed, alright? Now, I need you to understand that you have to stay in the woods, hidden, as you can't be seen by anyone, you get that? And even once you reached the village, you can't tell anyone who you are."

"Come with me." She said instead, because she couldn't do this on her own. She didn't know the woods, and it was dark and she knew deep in her heart, that if she left like that, she was never going to see Graham again.

"You'll find Locksley in the village, so you'll be fine. Now let's get moving."

Going with him to the old back fence surrounding the stable, he guided her to a broken part that lead straight into a dark gloomy forest that didn't look too welcoming.

"Graham-" She said, turning to him to ask him once again to please go with her; but before she could say another word, the man did something that took her completely aback. He kissed her, grabbing her face hard as his mouth quickly pressed to hers.

He didn't linger much though, and when he pulled back, Regina didn't know how to ask what the hell he was doing.

Not that she needed to, because that kiss as well as the look on his eyes as he still held her face in his hands, told her all she needed to know.

This was his goodbye, and she probably was never going to see him again.

"Now run, and don't you ever look back."

Not knowing what else to do, the Queen nodded, and then, she did as she was told and she moved into the forest, leaving the sounds of war and Graham, way behind her…

XxXxX

Clenching his hands hard into fists and scrunching his eyes tight shut, Robin swallowed down the complaint that wanted to escape past his lips as a cloth damp with ethanol was pressed against the battered flesh of his back.

He didn't want to complain or whine about his misfortune, so he took the pain as best as he could. But even though he was bearing it silently, he couldn't prevent his back from arching away from the cold cloth, as the feeling of it stung and it aggravated his pain tenfold.

"You have to stay still." The old woman who was now tending his wounds, told him in a soft but firm tone and Robin tried to relax his body so that she could heal his wounds quicker.

"Stay still? He was bloody whipped, how can he stay still? Look at him, his back is shred!"

Robin took a deep shaky breath and kept his eyes closed, but even without looking, he could still visualize Will pacing around the room, fuming and wild looking, agitated and restless; and he was by no means easing the sea of emotions raging inside of him.

"I can't believe that bloody bastard did this!"

Robin wasn't so surprised because he has seen worse things happening in that camp of horrors and under King's Leopold mandate, but that didn't take away from the pain he was feeling.

Not only has he been beaten, strangled and whipped more than half a dozen times as if he was nothing, but as if that wasn't enough, this time the King took something from him that hurt even worse.

Regina...

And he didn't just take her and spoiled his plans of escaping with her before all hell would break loose in that castle, but he worked his vile antics in such a way, that she basically volunteered to sacrifice herself for his sake, and just thinking of the horrors she was probably enduring for him, was enough to make him feel broken inside, more than what his body was.

He would have rather died, and have Graham take Regina away instead of him, because for all he knew, the fate that awaited his Queen once she was alone with King and then when the rebels attacked, was not worth sparing his life.

"I would give anything to be there to kill him myself." Will added in a hiss before going on with the pacing.

Still mute and feeling devastated, Robin reached for the open flagon of wine on top of the table and brought it to his lips. He hated the taste of it, cheap and bitter, but while his back was on fire and his heart crushed, the wine provided a dull sense of stoicism.

The more he drank, the less he felt, and in that moment the last thing he wanted was to feel.

"I also can't believe we are missing the attack."

"You still can go…" Robin said at last in dull resignation, not wanting his friend to miss all the action because of him. It wasn't every day that you watched a Monarch fall, and he was sure Will was itching to go back there.

"Bugger that!" The other man shouted. "I'm not going to leave you here on your own. "You are my brother… Robin, and you never gave up on me or everyone back at camp even when you could, so no… I'm staying."

"He's not going to be on his own, me and my girl can handle him just fine without you going into hysterics. He also needs rest, so yes, why don't you go out there and make sure the Mad King doesn't make it out of this one?"

Will shook his head and ran his hands through his hair, thinking. "But..."

"Yes, go back there and help in whatever way you can…" Sure, it would be too late for Will to try and find Regina and bring her to him, as by now the rebels should be storming the castle and everyone in it, but he could at least do something in that battle...

Besides, he was beyond grateful that Will had come and helped him out of the mess he was into, but the reality of it all, was that he wanted to be left alone…

"I can… shite, mate…" Will said, halting on his tracks and looking at Robin through wild wide eyes. "I can go and bring her back to you. Fucking shit…" As if in shock that he didn't think of it before, Will turned around and without saying another word, he left.

"Well there goes nothing, he was already making me nervous with so much pacing." The old woman said.

Robin said nothing and instead closed his eyes, not wanting to feed any hope that Will could indeed find Regina...

"So was all of this for a woman? The Queen, maybe?" Granny, as she introduced herself a while back, asked, putting the cloth down and humming.

The bold question made Robin open his eyes, and as he looked at her and blinked, he just had to ask. "What do you mean?"

Granny gave him a sad smile and sighed. "I may be old, but I'm not stupid, boy. I know the King wouldn't have whipped you himself without any good reason, and the Queen is just that. I also know that Graham would have never sent a man wanted by that bloody maniac right to my door, if it wasn't for the same woman. She must be really something, uh, to have all of you so set on her."

Robin could chuckle at that, but he didn't.

"You want to talk about it? Sometimes that helps."

Robin took another sip of the bittersweet wine and said nothing, because really, what could he say?

Still, the words came out, bitter and full of sorrow.

"What am I to talk about? That I screwed it up and because of that, she could be as we speak being raped and murdered? That she sacrificed herself for me while I couldn't do anything about it? That she told me she loved me, and I was too messed up to say the words back?"

Not even feeling the pain his body was suffering, Robin took a deep breath. But then, just when he was about to release the air, he choked on it as a sob escaped him.

He tried to hold it, but it was in vain, and apparently too broke to mind that he wasn't alone, his chest gave up under the pressure and he started to cry, his body rocking and making him feel the pain on his back once again.

It didn't matter, as his physical discomforts were nothing compared to the way his soul was shattering, and as he sat there, he cried like he has never done in his life.

He cried for Regina, for Little John and for everyone else he lost, for everything that was happening… for the horrors Leopold made everyone suffer.

Granny let him take everything out of his chest, saying some soothing words he paid no attention to; she also went ahead and brought him to drink something stronger than the wine.

He drank it all once he cried all he had to cry, and as it burned all the way down his throat and straight towards his stomach, he started to feel a bit more in control.

After that, Granny finished smearing his back with an anointment that was supposed to make him feel better, and when she was through, she said her farewells and told him she was going to check him when morning came.

Once alone, he laid on his stomach and waited everything to get better… or so he hoped.

In that position and with the flagon of wine forgotten, he drifted off, images of the dark haired beauty that has come to steal his heart invading his subconscious while his back burned from the punishment inflicted.

He saw her laughing, rolling her eyes in that way she had when she was annoyed and he saw her as he had seen her that first time he first laid his eyes on her. Majestic, stunning and naive in her own way.

He saw her being his, sleeping on his arms and with that sparkle in her eyes when she was discovering new things. But above all of those images, he couldn't stop seeing her with horror in her eyes as Leopold whipped him...

"I love you… so much."

Startling from his light slumber with her voice echoing in his head, Robin sat on the edge of the bed, the quick movement sending pain from his back to his entire body.

In that moment, it felt like he was always going to carry the burden of that pain into an eternity… just like he would carry the memory of his Queen no matter where he went.

He could travel to the end of the world and he could cross the sea into new lands, but Regina was always going to be a vivid presence in his mind.

With that thought he went back to sleep, and this time, his slumber was dreamless and it was only disturbed when he heard the bell of church ringing madly.

At the sound, he opened his eyes and looked around, completely disoriented, but even when he didn't feel like it, he got out of bed, his back protesting each movement as the incessant sound felt too loud to his ears.

Once up, he looked through the window, taking notice that it was still dark, and that the skies were casting all kinds of shadows upon the earth. Still people were gathering around, talking in loud whispers and some even crying in what appeared to be joy.

It struck him as odd, because he had lived half his entire life in a small village as the one they were all in, and he knew that this was probably not a common thing.

He was about to ask. He was only on the second story of Granny's place so if he raised his voice enough, the people down in the street could hear him.

But before he could open his mouth, the answer came to him through a hysterical woman who was crying and laughing all at the same time. She kept repeating the same words over and over again, and as Robin heard them, he took two steps back and away from the window.

The bell was still ringing but the woman's words were louder inside his head. It couldn't be, no, no, no… he refused to believe it…

And this coming just when he believed he couldn't hurt anymore… God, how wrong he has been, as he could feel his heart withering inside his chest, dying a painful death as his legs began to fail him.

It couldn't be true…

But then the woman would speak again as the village slowly woke up to the news.

The King was dead, the castle has fallen… and with it, everyone who has served the Royal family in any possible way.

Meaning, that Regina, was more than likely dead...

TBC