Robin's head was abuzz, his forehead covered with sweat but his face cold, he felt slightly feverish, he almost lost aim of his target.
Almost
In a heartbeat, his arrow was gone; it hit its target precisely, right in the middle of that ridiculous boy's lumbering hand, the hand that had been touching her, caressing her side, squeezing her breast. The sight had nearly driven Robin to set his aim right in between the lad's eyes. Robin was actually quite surprised he did not opt for the kill shot when the sight before his eyes was killing him.
She had not been so overjoyed about seeing him again, and made it painfully clear by using her dark magic to manipulate his body and almost squeeze the life out of him. As Robin fought to take a single breath, body hoisted from the ground he had to ask himself what had possessed him to act in such a fashion.
The answer did not come in time as he was starting to drift from consciousness whilst she was very much strangling him to death – Robin saw spots of black before his eyes whilst he fought for air. She dropped him onto the hard, cold, stone floor as if he was a sack of rubbish just before he could travel to the land of the dead.
He had record of this woman being very mad, raving mad at him, livid to the point of almost killing him when he had delivered the news of his failure in ending that brat Snow White. But this new flame in her eyes was truly insane, it was all consuming fury, as if he had tampered with a sleeping dragon inside her.
Their undeniable connection was there, always there buzzing and mocking Robin as he had been helpless to move under the Queen's powerful magic. That electricity was a vice he was not able to give up on, and she had also become a vice herself, even when she mistreated him, spat at him and treated him poorly, dropped his hot-and-ready-to-fuck-her-body into the cold waters of the river beside her castle, he just could not stay away.
So he braved her questions, he wanted to know who the auburn haired young man was and most importantly why she was behaving in the most inconsistent manner ever known to man? What was she doing with this lad? Why had she drawn away from Robin so suddenly? Why had she kissed him in that manner inside that bloody carriage only to let this boy's hands feast upon her body?
Robin's head was thumping with an alarming amount of questions, but as the Queen brought his blood soaked arrow near her lips and licked it in the most erotic manner Robin had ever seen, all the questions mingled together in a blur, his below the belt reaction never failing him.
The sexual bliss was very shortly lived for her next words were harsh and cold. The engines in his brain finally seemed to connect the dots of what the hell he was doing when she had asked him if the arrow was meant to mark her as his own.
But the arrow was never meant for her, it was meant for that boy's hand.
Although coming to think of it, along the way into their perturbed, inconstant, damaging, undefined, scorching hot and feral relationship, a part of him had started thinking of her as his own, his mate. Probably the most primal bit of Robin that could not understand that she was completely out of her mind as well as out of his reach.
Still, there had been times when she had been his.
It was foolish of him to deny he did not feel anything for her, he did, he felt it most intensely, most erratically, but Robin was not able to ponder upon what the feelings were exactly because all of a sudden a sharp pain invaded his senses. A throaty scream erupted from his mouth before Robin could stop it because the tip of the arrow he had sharpened so long ago in camp whilst in the company of the best of men was now housed inside his chest.
In that short amount of time so many things came to pass that Robin hardly knew what to focus on. As the Queen plunged the arrow on his chest, sinking it deep with her magic, Robin panicked knowing that blow would kill him, she had sunk the arrow right through his heart-
But his heart was not there, and somehow Robin knew that he would not die because of this, he could see it was not her intention as he looked deep inside her eyes and say anger but also frustration, exhaustion and-
And then it hit him, their buzzing connection vibrated through the arrow stronger than ever. The next moment his sight was washed by a new color. The color orange appeared filling in spots that had been light grey, now he could see the color of the flames in the torches, how they colored the golden statues, trees and columns of the garden. The sight was bewildering, it made him forget for a second he had an arrow on his chest.
His eyes shot back to hers and they held their gaze for a few seconds that felt like an eternity, he could see deep down her eyes, she was scared. But what was she afraid of?
Before he could read her better, Robin felt his whole body being engulfed by chilly smoke, a far too familiar fume that normally transported him to freezing cold water, and the pain suddenly ceased.
Had she finally done it? Had she killed him?
Robin decided to be taken by the magic and not fight it anymore, if he was indeed dead, what else could he possibly do? With the pain in his injured chest soothed, Robin closed his eyes and took in a deep breath.
When Robin exhaled, he was back at the castle, not dead, not at all dead but very much alive. He was back at the castle, her castle, his bedchambers. The first thing that hit his senses was the clattering sound of something dropping to the floor, his eyes searched for the source and found his arrow intact and no longer attached to his chest.
His chest was- healed?
Astoundingly so, yes, it was. He quickly opened his shirt to inspect the wound, he touched the skin where the arrow had just been and felt no pain whatsoever, no stickiness of blood, his body could register none of that agonizing pain anymore, the arrow lay clean on the floor; however, there was something else on his chest, something Robin had no recollection of ever being there before.
He walked towards a mirror, inspected his chest and found an abnormally straight lined scar, pink and closed up, all healed. No markings of stitches of any kind, quite simply a light red, slightly thick line looked back at him in his reflection on the left side of his chest.
What on earth was that supposed to mean? Why would she attack him so violently only to heal him the next moment? Was this some type of trick? And the scar-
The truth hit him like a wagon.
I am not your cattle, she had said, you are mine
She had marked him as her own; and Robin was utterly unsure of how he felt about that.
Surely he had known he was to do her bidding since she held his heart hostage, but this- It was something else entirely. Robin could not help but think back at his own sense of mad ownership over her when he had seen her with another. The flaring flame of madness touching his sanity and urging him to eliminate his rival.
Had she been touched by the same manner of mad possession?
Robin was utterly perplexed, fearing for not knowing the extent of this ownership she had over him, scar to mark him or not.
…
Robin had gone to sleep that night not knowing if he ever wanted to meet that infuriating woman's gaze ever again. Her manner was completely inconsistent and when at first he had found her ways rather amusing and very arousing, her constant mood shifts were starting to make him question his own sanity.
Robin could not help but think back about simpler times in his life, when it consisted of the bare necessities. It was solitary and utterly filled with darkness, the only thing consistent was the absolute certainty that when he closed his eyes at night he would be haunted by nightmares about Marian.
Ever since he had been separated from his heart, the nightmares had ceased but completely, and his thoughts would seldom travel about the path of regret and hatred he had been so immersed into the past year, before he met her. The sorrow was one of the only visitors he got these past weeks, a hint of regret and grief about what had happened to his wife would surprise him from time to time.
Robin would have welcomed back the soul ripping heartache and remorse with open arms if they managed to erase all of the agonizing feelings the Queen managed to imprint on him.
Even though the scar she had given him was completely healed, Robin would at times feel it burn. This odd mark she had left where his heart used to be seemed to be somehow filled with magic of its own, for at times, Robin could swear it was as if he could feel the most varied amount of emotions sipping through it.
If Robin thought the treatment she had started giving him prior to the whole engagement ball fiasco was icy and distant, the coolness of her utter indifference now cut even deeper. She summoned him scarcely, mainly to order him to organize search parties to look for that blasted girl she seemed obsessed with. However, she would never allow him to actually take part in any of the meticulously planned hunts he strategized himself, that infuriated him to no end. Robin was pretty sure she knew that the hunt was something pleasurable to him, and she was making sure he got no joy out of it whatsoever.
A whole month went by and Robin saw very little of the Queen. He knew she kept to the solitude of her chambers, but in his wretched paranoia, Robin made inquiries with her chambermaids in order to make sure there was no auburn haired male paying unexpected visits.
The young women were shy and scared at first but gave him all the information he needed about who had been inside her chambers. As they stuttered what they knew – that the Queen was always alone in the confines of her chambers and that her father would seldom be there as well but no one else - , Robin pondered on why it was that he felt no inclination to bed any of those delicate creatures who worked in the castle. Some of them were pretty enough to make several men turn their heads, but Robin found himself utterly uninterested in their lot, even though it had been weeks since he had been with the Queen.
Deep inside, Robin was quite aware that none of those women would ever live up to what he felt when he was with the Queen, there was no match for that headstrong, insane woman.
So Robin was basically fucked, left to his own devices in order to not go insane.
He did not expect this day to turn out unlike any of the others even though it was an unusually warm day for the season. The Queen had chosen to give him the orders for the week whilst she made her way to the stables. She did not bother to halt her steps whilst she spat her commands, would not even give him the decency of looking him in the eye.
Robin was past the point of taking any of her irritating attitudes seriously, after so many grey days, the Sun had finally chosen to make an appearance and even in his state, something as simple as that could still brighten up his mood. So Robin chose to simply trail beside her and listen to whatever she had to say.
He was not doing too much listening right at that moment, for even though her lips moved, he could not bring himself to register her words. There were far more enjoyable things he could do for she looked as alluring as she always did that day, and even if Robin was not allowed to touch her anymore, he could still admire her beauty. She was the fairest of all women after all, and Robin was only human.
Even with the warmth of the sun, she wore black leather boots as well as tight pants of the same material, he could see she wore a black vest but a blood red velvet coat that reached her ankles covered most of it. Her hair was neat on one of those intricate and completely unnecessary updos and her face was heavily painted, she looked dangerous and deadly and Robin could not help but feel the urge to grab a fist full of her hair and kiss her until she came back to her senses-
"Are you even listening to me?" he heard her irritated voice ring and was brought back to the here and now.
"Of course, your majesty" he was not; he had no idea what she had just said.
"Do you think me a fool?" She stopped walking then and turned to finally face him, her eyes sparkled with annoyance.
Robin clicked his tongue, pretending to ponder upon her question before responding, "No, I do not think you a fool at all your majesty,-" she narrowed her eyes at him, seemly knowing there was more to his statement, Robin did not disappoint, "-but downright insane? Yes, absolutely."
The Queen inhaled and he could actually physically feel her anger towards him build up as her beautiful eyes widened and locked on his blue ones intensively.
"Are you completely out of your mind?" she asked this time in an incredulous high-pitched tone.
"I might be getting there for certain, thanks to the exposure-" he gestured his hand towards her and he was pretty sure she groaned like an animal at that, "- but I do like to believe my sanity is not completely lost just yet-" he crossed his arms in defiance at the look she was giving him, "I'm afraid I cannot say the same regarding your own, your majesty."
"How dare you speak to me in that manner?" She took two steps towards him, never taking her eyes from his.
"Well, I'm a very daring man-" he took one small step towards her, nearly closing the space between them. Robin knew that what he was doing was completely insane, but he had not felt this alive in weeks. Her hatred, her anger, her frustration, her arousal, emanated from her person and the waves of sentiment hit him hard, igniting his already sharp tongue to continue, "And I'm not afraid of you, oh almighty Queen."
Her response was low and controlled, "You should be-" her right hand rose from her side and Robin was pretty sure he was about to get hit by some pretty damaging magic but he would be damned if he moved a muscle in recoil from her.
So he stood his ground and waited for the blow, it had already been worth it, she had been furious and Robin was happy to draw anything from her that was not the usual indifference she had been freely giving him.
"YOUR MAJESTY!"
Both their heads snapped on the direction the sound had originated from so quickly that their noses bumped with one another. There was a wee amount of pain on his nose at the harsh contact, but it was erased from Robin's senses the moment he saw the Queen quickly bring her hand up to her sore one, groaning for a moment in pain.
Robin tried to suppress a smirk at the fact that she might have all the power in the world, but she was still human, much like him, she too felt pain. She gave him a look that plainly stated she was going to fry him alive were his smirk to widen an inch further, but their exchange was cut off by a young man on horseback – the one who had interrupted their friendly exchange – when he dismounted and came to kneel at the Queen's feet.
"Pardon me your majesty," his voice was much weaker now, he was clearly out of breath, looked as if he had been riding for some time without any rest.
"Rise!" She commanded and the man was quickly on his feet, "What is it?" She inquired not seeming to have a drop of patience in her.
"Your majesty, I came as soon as I could," he started, he placed his right hand over his chest, "Being that your highness was so generous last time, I felt it my duty to inform-"
"Last time?" Robin interrupted a flare of that irrational jealousy skimming the surface, the Queen was only able to glare at him and open her mouth before the young man continued.
"Aye, her majesty has been far too generous,-" the man had a sincere smile on his face as he spoke, "-gave me enough to buy a house in the village for my family and-"
"That does not interest me, much less you outlaw-" she eyed Robin with disgust then turned back to the young soldier, "Please tell me you are not here to thank me, I have very little time for cordial empty words-"
"No, your majesty-" the young man bowed his head again, the colors of his attire were white, grey and silver, colors he recalled seeing on many knights and guards at the royal engagement, "I thought it fit to inform your highness that King George has imprisoned Snow White."
Time seemed to stand still as the words were delivered, the Queen's eyes grew impossibly large and Robin could swear he could feel her heart start to race from where he was standing.
"What?" she hissed, sounding very much like a famished snake if the animal was ever given the gift of speech.
"We caught her sneaking into the castle, I do not know why, your majesty, but she was there-" the man explained, "We took her down to the dungeons and locked her inside a cell under the King's orders but she managed to escape and-"
"So she escaped the castle?" The Queen was growing very impatient and Robin could see that a couple more words from her would result in the young man wetting his pants.
"No, we managed to catch her in the courtyard-" the man continued stuttering a little as he went on, "We took her back inside the castle and after a little while the whole guard received orders not to follow or harm her, that she had been pardoned by the King and was to walk away free." The man delivered that last piece of information with tangible fear in his voice.
"He did what?" the Queen finally advanced towards the young guard grabbing his throat with one hand, that manic look back in her eyes.
"I-" she was choking him but he managed to say, "-thought y-" she squeezed his throat harder and the man brought both his hands to her death, gripping one and trying to remove it, his eyes were impossibly large and Robin was pretty sure the young informant was going to die for trying to help.
He then did something out of the ordinary; Robin did not know why, if it had been pity towards the young man – who had a family awaiting his return for supper – or for her, for ending her informant was completely unnecessary if not downright stupid.
So he reached out his hand and touched her left shoulder, squeezing it only a little bit. Even though there were barriers of velvet and leather, he could still feel a faint pang of electricity between them. He heard her release a small gasp but could not see her face – as he was right behind her. She freed the man's throat from her magical death grip immediately after, the young spy dropping to his knees whilst fighting to get air back into his system.
She did not move for a few moments as Robin's hand remained on her shoulder, she took a deep breath and exhaled slowly through her mouth, their tingling connection growing stronger by the second.
Suddenly she snapped, she turned around to face him so quickly, he thought she had used magic, his hand flying from her shoulder. Her face betrayed rage and blood thirst, her eyes were a little reddened with a small trace of unshed tears inside.
"I did not give you permission to touch me," her tone was different; it was way beyond what he had witnessed just moments ago whilst he defied her. Then he had been pushing her buttons and knew that even though she had gotten mad, other parts of her anatomy thoroughly enjoyed his sharp tongue. But now, her tone was very much like the one she used right before she shoved an arrow in his chest, so Robin chose not to use a smart retort to her statement.
He stayed silent and kept his hands to himself as she studied him with her half-crazed orbs. Robin noted she clenched and unclenched her fists several times, probably creating half-moon marks on the insides of her hands, marks which Robin had once been rather content to carry on his back. She smirked at him, stretching her fingers out and tilted her head to the side.
"You will get the unparalleled opportunity to see what happens to people who betray me, thief-" she took a few steps in his direction and came to be nose to nose with him once more, "-see if it serves you as a bit of a lesson."
At her last words, they were engulfed by a cloud of cold smoke and Robin felt the familiar sensation of having his feet levitating from the grassy ground for a few seconds before they hit hard cold stone.
When the smoke cleared, Robin found himself in the interior of a castle he could only guess belonged to King George. The atmosphere felt a lot warmer than the Queen's castle, but then again, she was acting like a frigid bitch so Robin's impressions might have had something to do with that.
The room they had landed in could only be the throne room for the obvious flamboyant piece of furniture had its place of glory above a few steps against the wall which Robin had landed facing.
Their arrival had been sudden and most probably completely unexpected judging by the soldiers who stood guard about the room. They took one quick look at the Queen and quickly scattered off like kitchen mice, leaving the pair alone for a moment.
The Queen, however, was far too busy inspecting the room, taking leisurely steps whilst looking at the tall windows, ignoring Robin completely. To that, he had somehow gotten used to – even though her ignoring him disturbed Robin more than he liked to admit - so he took this opportunity to study her. She looked to be a little bit less crazy now that she wasn't trying to squeeze the life out of people who delivered ill news, or at least was making a wonderful impression of being somewhat sane and civilized.
The morning Sun had also made an appearance in these parts of the Enchanted Forest. The rays that shone through the windows illuminated her in a new light, making her skin look even paler and her hair shine with a reddish glimmer Robin had never seen. Robin noted that it was rare the occasion in which he would see her in the Sunlight.
She was a vision, she always was, but every day that passed, she seemed to acquire yet another alluring quality that sucked Robin into her world more and more regardless of how many cold, involuntary, lake showers he got because of it.
His musings were interrupted by the heavy steps of an older man Robin could assume was the King given the pathetic way he walked as if he was taller than everyone else inside that room. He was indeed tall, looked to be about 60 years of age, head almost completely deprived of hair on the top, some strands of silvery white still resisted on the sides. His face was false, Robin could see it right away, that look noble people had when they regarded each other as if they gave two shits about the other, but deep down they would happily sip wine whilst watching the other's execution.
People like that made Robin sick.
He was surprised to realize that the Queen standing beside him did not act in that way; instead, she was the executioner herself. Robin did not feel a drop of compassion for this King George; even though Robin was quite aware of the extent of the damage that woman could create with a flicker of her hand, he was pretty sure the man deserved it.
"What an unexpected surprise, your majesty" he said in a cordial but plainly false tone as he approached her and placed a hand above his heart, bowing his head just a little.
"Is it really unexpected?" she teased, she did like playing with her prey before she destroyed them.
"Why, yes-" the King chuckled a little, "Did you want to discuss the trading deals that-"
"I hope you do not take me for a fool George because those who have made that mistake regret it dearly" her voice was loud and commanding, a true monarch.
The King's eyes betrayed that he was nervous about the Queen's visit, for he knew damn well what she was there for, "Leave" he commanded the guards who had followed behind him to reassume their posts.
They did not need to be told twice and left. The King's serious gaze turned to Robin who had come to stand a few feet away from the pair, leaning against one of the walls, arms crossed as he watched the pair, "I said leave" he repeated and Robin felt his blood rush faster through his veins.
He was unable to deliver the colorful selection of words he had in mind for the Queen's voice rang annoyed and commanding, "You do not get to order my own around, George."
Robin had to suppress his laugh for the King tightened his jaw and gave him one distasteful look before he turned his gaze back towards the Queen.
"So, what is it you want?" He asked plain and simple, all manner of gallantry seemed to have been dropped.
"I think you know exactly what I want," she took a few feline steps towards the King but the space between them remained respectful, "Even further, I think you had what I want right here-" she pointed down at the floor, "-in this very room."
"I don't know what you are talking about."
"Do not play coy with me George;" her voice rose a little, and Robin could only guess she was a few more remarks away from setting something of the King's on fire, "-you know I can kill you in a blink of an eye and that I have very little regard for consequences." This was delivered in a softer tone, but the softness only meant that she was getting more and more resolute in taking this conversation to a level this King could not match, "Do not think for a minute that I won't kill you if I leave unhappy." The Queen's voice was low and dangerous, she prowled around the King – who remained unmoving throughout her threat – and after a few moments continued, "What was Snow White doing here? Why did she sneak into your castle of all places? Were you striking an alliance with her behind my back?"
There was a moment of dead silence and Robin had to wonder if the King was going to break and tell the truth. The air was thick with anticipation and the silence almost intolerable, when the King finally chose to speak, Robin realized he had been holding his breath, "Because she's in love."
A hard pang of anguish and hate struck Robin's chest like an arrow, he had no idea of where it had come from, he had been quite amused watching the King break under the psychological torture the Queen was putting him through – Robin always did like to see royals suffer. The feelings were strong and mingled with his own in a strange way, he looked ahead to see the Queen standing directly in front of King George, she was staring daggers at him.
"What?" It was a mere whisper but a dangerous one.
"What can I say?" the King started with a proud air about him, probably pleased with himself for having been able to make the Queen unsteady, "My James can be quite the charmer-" he smiled then a yellow, yellow smile, "Of course you know that from experience-"
Wait- what? Experience? Was that sack of bones implying that-?
"Your James?" the Queen laughed it off, "You know as well as I that the young man you sold out to Midas is not James."
This new piece of information seemed to throw the man out of his game again, but he had apparently given up on trying to deceive the Queen, "You know? How?" he whispered in disbelief.
"I think we both know how I know, George," she scrunched her face a little and continued, "That twin you procured can hardly seduce a duck-"
Twin? Did she mean the man whose engagement party she had attended just a week prior? As the wheels turned inside of Robin's head, he came to the infuriating conclusion that the list of former lovers the Queen possessed only grew by the day. His jealousy was starting to build up again at the thought of her with another-
"Well, your former step daughter is not as sharp as you-" King George continued, "She fell for Ja-" he stopped midway through and corrected himself, "-for him." There was a moment of silence and he continued, "I know for a fact she's quite taken with him, but he is not interested in runway princesses." George took a couple more steps towards the Queen, "He did disclose to me he had amused himself with her during a lonely night in one of his journeys. But just like his brother, he is quite adamant in doing what is best for his kingdom, and that is marrying Princess Abigail."
He then turned his back towards the Queen taking a few steps away from her whilst continuing to tell his tale, "He attended to Snow White himself yesterday, as I was away, and sent her away after he was done-" he pivoted around to face the Queen again who simply stood her ground, her face did not betray a single emotion, "If it is of any solace to you, he tells me she was heartbroken."
Before she could reply, Robin found his lips were moving and his voice sounding out clear for the very first time since they had arrived, "You're lying."
Now all the pieces were coming together, the young husband to be he had met at the ball, to whom he had given words of advice, was this Prince, twin, Snow White had apparently fallen for – according to the King. And from what Robin could recall from that fateful day at the golden palace, the Prince had been quite taken with her as well-
"How dare you defy me in my own castle?" King George's voice was loud and irritated as he addressed Robin.
"Well, I am certainly not afraid of you,-" he shrugged his shoulders dismissively, "-so why not call out at your ridiculous lies?" he crossed his arms.
King George was clearly not pleased with Robin's remarks and managed to take one step in his direction before the Queen's voice halted his next step, "What was he lying about?" at her last word her head snapped to Robin's direction, she had an expectant look on and an arched brow.
"The Prince-" Robin started, enjoying thoroughly the way the King's face scrunched in distaste, "He is crazy about her, about Snow White, even considered abandoning his precious royal engagement in order to be with her,"
"And you know this how-?" the Queen inquired, her voice a little too sweet for his taste.
"He told me," he shrugged the question off but at the sound of the Queen sharp intake of breath, he continued, "We crossed paths in the gardens of King Midas' palace before-"
She cut him off almost immediately, "You do not need to get into that," her eyes were dangerous, "What did he tell you?"
Robin could not suppress a small smirk but obliged, "He told me there was a mysterious young woman he had met he could not get out of his mind. He questioned whether he should or not pursue her," Robin started to walk towards the pair and finished his statement looking the King right in the eye, he leaned closer and they were almost nose to nose, "-and I advised him to drop everything and find her."
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" King George threw himself onto Robin, grabbing him by the lapels of his jacket in fury. The older man's eyes were wide with hate, "I WILL KILL YOU!" he shook Robin by his grip on the artifact of clothing but his mistreating only tickled Robin, who found the King's outburst quite hilarious.
"I would very much like to see you try," Robin chuckled back, not fighting the man's grip on him, it was clearly not worth it and much more amusing to watch as the old monarch tried to harm him.
"And they call me hot headed," Robin heard the Queen mutter.
An abnormal force got ahold of the gripping hands on Robin's jacket and they were removed in the most unnatural of movements. The back of the Queen's hand hit Robin across the chest so he would make way for her to advance towards the old King, she had a bright mad sparkle in her eye whilst she spoke, "If anybody is going to kill him, that person is going to be me-"
Given their history, that statement sounded almost like she cared for him.
"Do not think for a second that you won't suffer the consequences for letting that brat go as well as having the nerve to lie to my face," she spat at the King, her boots had no heels which made her a little shorter than the other monarch, but nevertheless she looked like a titan.
"You're going to kill me like you do your disobeying servants?" the King mocked her, but Robin could sense a trace of fear in his voice.
"Oh no, death is too easy," she smiled, "I want to see your kingdom crumble down and I want you to be witness to it. Little by little it will fall apart," her words were like poison, "Your downfall has already started for you are far too desperate to marry off-" she stopped for a beat, "what's his name?" she tapped her manicured finger on her chin twice, "David, to marry your little puppet son David off to that frigid blonde."
The King's jaw was stiff and his fists were clenched, "I'm going to start small," she continued, "By cutting off all of our tradings-" his eyes widened in horror at her statement, "-let's see who still stands after that." she spat at him, seemingly enjoying the way she was making the man shrink.
She gave the King a dazzling smile that Robin had learned to fear and before the other monarch was able to retort, Robin found himself surrounded by cool smoke once more.
Instead of landing far away from her - as Robin expected he would - when the smoke cleared out, she was standing toe to toe with him, their bodies had not been this close for the longest time, her eyes were vibrant, dark and almost hypnotizing whilst they drank him in.
For a long moment none of them spoke but simply stood their ground in a silent battle Robin was not quite sure how he gotten himself into this time.
She finally broke the silence, "How crazy is he about Snow?" her voice was slightly raspy.
Robin took a beat to reply, "Raving mad," his voice was a little low, for some odd reason this moment felt strangely intimate, "-he apparently shares some sort of connection with her" for a moment Robin had to wonder if he spoke of the Prince's feelings or his own.
"What kind of connection?" She tilted her head to the side, curious, there she showcased yet another brand of expressions, it was not the usual murderous curiosity but almost as if she was hurt by what he was saying. It was most certainly an indignant feeling; he could sense it practically radiate from her.
Very much like the one I share with you, something inside told him, but he could never voice that, he had no idea of how she would react if he were to voice an ounce of his complicated feelings towards her.
"He did not go into detail about it-" Robin lied, and the Queen frowned a little, she somewhat seemed to pick up he was leaving something unsaid, "I can only image it's something quite overwhelming for him to consider dropping everything for-"
Robin was not able to finish his sentence because the Queen grabbed his jaw with one hand and without a hint of care or gracefulness crashed her lips against his in a marring kiss. For half a second, Robin was taken aback by her actions, it had been a good while since he had last kissed her like that, but Robin's muscle memory was intact and when that half second was done, he responded to the kiss with just as much eagerness.
He grunted against her mouth and that undeniable electricity took over his senses, it ignited him to respond to her nearing desperate kisses with just as much force, teeth clattering, tongues everywhere, sloppiness reigned and it was perfection.
He bit her lower lip whilst his hands worked on their own, sliding down her back until they reached her divine behind – which was unfortunately covered with far too much fabric. Nevertheless, he pulled her with force to him whilst their tongues still danced – more like fought - together, making their bodies crash and knocking the air out of her.
The Queen broke the kiss with a slight gasp – her hand still very much holding on to his jaw with a death grip – her eyes were vibrant and hungry, by the Gods, he would be damned if he ever admitted it, but Robin had missed that look.
Her nails dug into his flesh and she dragged them down his neck until she reached the base, she did not squeeze though, but rather dug her nails there harder, taking in a sharp breath between gritted teeth whilst her eyes travelled from where her hand rested up to meet his eyes once more.
Robin looked down and her carefully applied lip coloring was smeared about her lips and most probably his as well. She made an animalistic sound that sounded from the inside of her throat and Robin only noticed he still had two handfuls of arse in his grip when she ground herself against him, drawing an involuntary groan from him.
Upon feeling his excitement down below over their heated exchange, she arched a perfect brow and asked, "Already?"
Robin did not truly know if he was capable of speech at that exact moment, so he chose to smirk back at her in reply, he did feel smug about being able to knock the air out of her.
He did not know if her response was bad or not for she gave him a killer smile that could either mean that she would devour him in the best of ways or just kill him. She then quite simply pushed him back with the hand gripping his jaw, away from the warmth of her curves. Robin was quite unwilling to let that delicious behind go, but he much more appreciated his head still attached to his body, plus he would never force her, no matter how frustrated he was, he could never do that, not after what had happened to Ma-
"I must say, you impressed me today thief," she told him, her voice slightly hoarse, "One could mistake what you did for loyalty," she took a few more steps back until her behind – which his hands missed thoroughly – met the surface of a wooden polished table.
It was only then that Robin took notice of where they were exactly, shelves filled the walls almost completely, and books occupied said shelves almost entirely. This was one of her castle's libraries, the West wing one if he was not mistaken, not the greatest in size but one he knew she had always favored. The heavy velvet curtains blocked most of the sunlight from penetrating the room, but still thin strands of sunlight did manage to illuminate it enough so Robin could see her.
As she had her back to the only ceiling high window, the sunlight coming from behind her gave her yet another shine, and damn it, Robin was fucked when it came to this woman.
Upon his lack of response, the Queen narrowed her eyes at him – even with a shadow about her, he could see her dark orbs eye him with suspicion.
Robin took a leap of faith and threw, "A simple thank you would suffice" for all the fucks in the world if she did not kill him now-
Instead the Queen threw her head back – bracing her weight in both palms on the wooden surface of the table – and laughed her delicious laugh and even in the danger of all this situation – she was laughing far too much for his liking, her amusement normally came at the cost of decapitated heads – Robin could not help but grin himself.
When her laughter subsided, she regarded him amused and a grin tugging on her lips, she hummed and stated, "Since I'm in a terribly good mood today-"
Robin made a face that spoke of pure confusion, 'good mood' was not what could be used to describe the last couple of hours, he then grinned and could not resist but tease her, "You flatter me your majesty, it's an honor to know I can rouse your spirits with only my mouth-"
Another one of her laughs interrupted his speech whilst she replied, "Spare me of your cockiness-"
Now it was Robin's turn to interrupt her whilst he walked towards her with leisurely steps, "I can recall many an occasion when you did not mind my cock-" Robin paused and grinned when her mouth opened slightly, "-iness."
He was then standing precisely in front of her, their knees almost brushing against each other. She was half sitting on the table and darted her eyes down to the bulge in his pants still with her mouth slightly agape.
One of her hands moved and Robin felt one delicate finger tracing its way up his thigh, she closed her mouth in order to hum whilst Robin stood in front of her quite unsure of what was to happen next.
When her finger neared his crotch she slurred, "You mean-" she stood quickly from her half sitting position whilst palming him with all the hand she had and squeezing for good measure, Robin's grunt was inevitable, "-this cock?" she massaged him – fucking minx – making it literally impossible for Robin to reply.
She sighed and cracked a smile at his helplessness, "I don't really mind your cock outlaw-" her mouth was now close to his, "-I rather enjoy it." She gave him one extra hard squeeze and Robin succumbed to groaning again, "It's what comes out of your mouth that annoys me."
To his utter disappointment, the Queen removed her hand from his aching erection and sat back at the table, regarding him, probably wondering when it was that he was going to crack under her ministrations.
Robin was capable of coherent thought enough to remember what they had been talking about in the first place, he smirked once more and said, "You really can't say thank you-"
She arched her brow and regarded him for a beat before uttering, "I'll say 'thank you' to you if you are ever able to capture Snow White for me."
"Fine-" Robin met her challenge head first, "-it's a deal then?"
"What?" Her face scrunched a little whilst she asked, slightly confused.
"Do we have a deal?" he explained himself, suddenly rather excited about the prospect of winning this bet, "If I capture Snow White for you, you will say thank you, with all words and letters?"
She squinted her eyes a little, but this time not in suspicion but in slight amusement and disbelief, she huffed a breath and finally replied, "Deal-" her hand rose again, but instead of grabbing his aching cock through his trousers, she took his hand and they actually shook on it as if they were normal human beings.
"Now-" she continued to speak and pulled hard on his hand, strongly enough to make him half fall on her, their bodies again pressed deliciously to one another, "Shut the fuck up and do something useful with that mouth of yours-"
His lips drowned her last words. But the Queen did not seem to mind the interruption in the least, quite the contrary, her fingers entwined in his hair and pulled him closer to her, deepening their nearing to feral kiss.
To Robin's utter delight, she opened her legs so he could fit in between them, all too soon, he made himself at home placing his hands on her hips and moved his aching erection against her leather-clad privates. Although the feel of her back in his arms was exquisite, all of the layers separating them were beginning to get on Robin's last nerve.
Robin wore his usual garb of pants, shirt and a leather vest, but the Queen always insisted upon putting on the most complicated and frustrating artifacts of clothing he had ever come across. As their kiss continued on the heated path, Robin's hands started to travel north to undo the buttons of her heavy, velvet cloak.
She beat him to it, she pulled at his hair and broke the kiss with a loud almost comical pop. His hands had reached the sides of her middle and he watched perplexed as she blew what could only be magic in his direction. Robin did not move whilst he felt the magic hit him, and yet, to his utter surprise, the spell did not harm him. He could not say the same for the laces that held his leather vest together as a strange fire burned them down into nothing. Robin looked down at her handy work and then quickly up at her to find her smirking, after a beat her hands were on his vest, relieving him of the garb with as much lack of care as she could muster.
No sooner had his vest hit the floor, her hands were on the fastenings on his trousers, her fingers brushing against his solid erection in the most tantalizing way. Seeing that apparently the magic she was using at the moment was to only benefit them both, Robin attacked her neck, having missed the softness of her skin against his lips. He sucked on her pulse point and could sense that she was a little breathless but nevertheless absolutely focused on her task of unfastening his trousers.
When Robin felt her pull down his trousers and underthings, the feeling was quickly followed by a cold sensation Robin found most odd. Most reluctantly, he pulled from her neck to inspect his nether parts and found she had also burned down his pants and everything that went with them. As he stood there naked from the waist down, his shirt still covered the evidence of his eagerness to be inside her.
He looked back up to meet her eyes and they were dark, darker than usual, it almost nearly hypnotized him, he could not look away nor could he move. When the nails from both her hands made contact with the patch of skin of his thighs, Robin forgot how to breathe. She drew them up slowly, her lips red and a little swollen hung faintly parted, as she scraped her nails up until they were painfully close to his balls. She stopped there, in that torturous spot, and ever so delicately brought one set of nails to scrape at his balls most lightly.
That alone drew an uneven breath from Robin and he then noticed he had been biting his lower lip for some time now. He released his lip and another shuddered breath when both her full palms started making their way up his torso. The journey her hands took under his shirt was slow, as if she was feeling his body for the very first time, the electric current between them was utterly overwhelming and yet, Robin could not bring himself to shut his eyes in order to bask in the sensation, her own held him captive and he was her willing prisoner.
When her hands reached his collarbone her nails dug in his flesh again but this time all the lightness of her touch had been dropped and there was a strange, frigid feel about it now. Robin soon discovered she had a magical solution for the removal of every single artifact of clothing he wore. As her nails scraped down his torso, she drew in a breath in between gritted teeth whilst he groaned, Robin was in complete shock to notice that tearing marks imitating her scrapping nails started to appear on his shirt. When she reached the very end of his shirt, it was in shreds – but still hanging on his shoulders – and his entire body covered with gooseflesh.
Her hands shot to the battered remains of his shirt and Robin's mouth seemed to want to tease her until she snapped and killed him – that was the only logical explanation for his next remark.
"Missed me all that much?"
Her hands dropped from his shirt immediately as her heated, dark eyes squinted to regard him.
Fucking hell his 'smart' tongue was going to lead him to an early grave instead of leading him in between her thighs.
Right then, from the way she was looking at him, he was going to, at best, get a very cold, involuntary shower in the river.
"You must have some sort of sick death wish," her voice sounded indignant instead of the anger he was expecting.
"Or maybe-" fuck, she was going to fry him alive, "-I just enjoy pushing your buttons," he arched his eyebrow giving her a confident look.
The Queen huffed out a breath and clicked her tongue whilst looking down at his almost nakedness, being covered only by a ripped shirt. She was standing and there was a wee distance between their bodies. When her eyes returned to his, her hand shot for his crotch again but this time, her fingers closed around his bare erection and the feel of it was like heaven and hell mixed together. She pumped him twice looking him square in the eye in defiance, and Robin could not help but groan in response, she then closed the distance between them and brought her lips to the shell of his ear.
"And look who's pushing your buttons now," she slurred and pumped him again.
Robin took in a sharp intake of breath but managed enough coherent thought to place his hands back on her waist and take a few steps in order to trap her once more between the table and himself. She had a devious smile on her face and her hand was still very much at work south.
"When the buttons are exposed, it's rather easy to-" she squeezed him hard and Robin had to stop to take a breath before he continued, "-push them" he managed in between gritted teeth.
"What can I say?" She shrugged, faking innocence he knew too well she did not possess, "Maybe I like pushing your buttons too," and with that she quickly let go of his erection, sitting on the table and lifting both her legs to cage him in between them. She leaned slightly back but her legs pulled him towards her, Robin placed one hand on a leather-clad thigh, resenting the fabric.
"You're not really playing fair" he pointed out squeezing her meaty thigh as best as leather allowed him to.
"I never play fair," she was leaning back and moving her face more and more distant from his and Robin found himself leaning forward in order not lose that maddening closeness that felt better than any drug.
He spotted a silvery shine out of the corner of his eye and his plan was made up, she was going to get as good or bad as she gave.
"Well-" he was half hovering over her and reached out for the pointy silvery object to his right, locking his gaze on hers in order for her not to see what his other hand was reaching out to, "- we will see about that"
With his last statement, Robin maneuvered so swiftly the Queen only had time to gasp.
With the far-too-sharp letter opener in his grasp, Robin leaned back a little and slashed the sharp end in one swift move from her navel to her breast.
He felt a sharp, strong pang in his chest and an alien dread invaded his senses, mingling with his actual feelings. It was gone after a beat and Robin spun the knife in his hand when the job was done, and threw it carelessly behind his shoulder, not really caring where it landed.
When Robin's eyes focused back on the Queen, he found her face to be dead pale, her eyes impossibly large, her mouth hanging open, and her legs that had been around him completely limp.
She had become somehow paralyzed, she did not move and Robin had a feeling she was not breathing. So it was rather comical when her velvet riding coat fell apart due to a precise, straight and clean cut that had been created by the now discarded letter opener.
He had cut precisely what he wanted, that ridiculous riding cloak that had been hiding the fact that she only wore a small black leather vest beneath it and nothing else. Her delicious breasts were almost popping out of the 'v' neck cleavage but at that moment they did not look very attractive for they did not rise or fall due to breathing, which meant the Queen was doing nothing of that kind.
His expression morphed from smug to confused but before he could ponder upon the subject – only a few seconds had passed and yet it felt like hours since he was staring at her haunted expression – one of her hands rose, she was pointing a finger at him.
"You-" her voice was completely off, her eyes had been unblinking until this point for now she blinked several times looking at him as if he had grown a second head, "You could have-" her pointing hand dropped but her penetrating gaze didn't as she stared him down in disbelief.
It was then that it hit him, he had been so excited about the prospect of ruining her clothes just as she had his that he did not think for a minute that slashing a pointy object in front of her might give her the impression that he was actually going to stab her.
"You didn't-" her voice sounded again, half whispered, still in disbelief and Robin could not help being overtaken by an odd sentiment for the woman before him, who, even in a moment as intimate as this, still had to have her guard up.
The color had returned to her features and she was breathing again, the darkness in her eyes had a new shimmer, it looked strange, he had never seen the likes of it reflected in her brown orbs.
"I-" Robin tried, but what could he possibly say?
Before he got the chance to utter another word, she was on her feet and grabbing two fistfuls of what had remained of his shirt. Robin was then pivoted by her grip so his sorry backside hit the table and she unceremoniously pushed at his chest with both her palms, silently commanding him to sit his naked arse on the table.
Robin was beyond confused but complied, her eyes now sparkled with lust and something else, "What on-" he started to ask but was interrupted by her loud command.
"Oh shut up-" he could trace that usual, horny annoyance in her tone, "-before I regret this,"
And with that last statement, the Queen did one of the most unroyal things he had ever seen her do. With as much grace as she could muster, which was a lot but still, she managed to climb on the table and place each of her knees on his side, straddling his waist.
He had to give it to her; she was one resilient bitch when it came to getting what she wanted, even if he had apparently scared her half to death with his letter opener juggling, she still seemed to be pretty much game for, well, anything.
Luckily for her, so was he.
He took no time after she had settled on his lap to yank her torn coat off her shoulders, she slid the garb off her arms with exasperated and irritated movements, it was too heavy, too tight, like everything she wore.
She was such a vision, she knocked the air out his chest, without thinking straight his hand went for her still pinned up hair and pulled, making her yelp in surprise but give a throaty moan when his lips attacked her collarbone, covering every single patch of uncovered skin in his reach with sucking kisses, love bites and actual bites.
The very tip of Robin's tongue traced in between the valley of her breasts and when he could finally taste leather instead of salty, smooth skin, Robin let go of her hair and closed his mouth upon the first button securing her vest to her. Instead of undoing it, Robin was way past the point of undressing the conventional way, he pulled at it and the small leather covered artifact popped out of its seams and ended up inside his mouth. Robin quickly turned his head to the side and spat it out. He looked up to find a rather pleased looking Queen, her hair was a little unraveled – his doing - and she had the most devious expression on her face. She tangled her fingers about his hair, pulling it a little, her eyes shone.
"Go on" her voice was throaty but carried a smile.
Smirking back at her, Robin went to work, yanking off button by button with his eyes fixed on her as her nails scraped his head and she moved her hips teasingly against his. When all of the buttons had found their way to the library's floor, she let go of his hair, shrugged the damned thing off and no soon had it joined its torn fastenings, Robin's mouth was closing about something far more delectable than a button.
He sucked her nipple as if his life depended on it, whilst his other hand feasted upon the other breast, the other arm encircled her waist in order to pull her closer, her hands were back fisting in his hair, guiding him along. She felt soft and the buzz that emanated from her was quite simply heavenly, plus the noises she was fabricating at the moment were quite enticing. Robin swirled his tongue about her well sucked nipple before he moved to the other and used his other hand to pinch the abandoned one, making her give a small cry of pleasure and start to rock her concealed sex against him in a more even rhythm.
But as soon as he started the same pattern of ministrations he had given the first nipple to the second one, the Queen whined out a cry and pulled at his hair with enough force to make his lips leave her nipple with one pop.
She pulled harder in order to make him look up at her, her eyes were on fire, she slurred, "Enough teasing-"
She started leaning forward to which Robin could only reply by leaning backwards until his entire back rested upon the wooden surface of the table – would the old artifact be in one piece when they were done? - whilst she hovered over him, both hands beside his head, knees still trapping both his legs in between them.
She did not lower her body to his straight away, instead she tossed the remains of his shirt to the side so his chest was exposed to her and raked her eyes over him. She licked his nipple once, which brought an insane shiver up his spine, and continued to trail her tongue up, past his collarbone and resting on his neck, she sucked on a particular spot he faintly remembered she had favored in leaving marks on. Robin groaned under her teasing, soft mouth, which was the only part of her entire body which was on him at the moment, his erection being all too ignored by her.
"I thought you said enough teasing," he managed to find his voice to protest.
Her face lifted from his neck and her lips were practically on his when she slurred, "Enough teasing me,"
Robin could not help it, he captured her lips with his as soon as the words left her mouth. She moaned against his lips and her knees finally gave way making her body meet his, she chose to stop bracing her weight on her hands whilst it was all on him, but Robin was not complaining. His hands shot to her arse and he squeezed her leather clad behind and pulled her closer to him, trying to relieve the ache of his erection.
She moaned something that sounded far too much like 'Robin' for anybody to deny and having his name slip from her lips like that ignited something inside him. Before he knew it, one of Robin's hands left her behind but came back in contact with it in the form of a slap he then realized he had been waiting to give her ever since they met.
She released a surprised but delighted moan. The Queen broke the kiss to look at him as if she could eat him alive, she bit her lower lip and Robin could not resist.
"Like that your majesty?"
She freed her lower lip and licked it whilst saying, "Yes" prolonging the 's' at the end.
Suddenly his hand was finally on bare skin, he could feel the wetness in between her thighs moistening his nether parts and Robin could not resist but give her another slap. This time the sound of flesh meeting flesh reverberated about the book cluttered room along with the sharp intake of breath she took in between her gritted teeth.
His hand stung a little, maybe he had been carried away, but the Queen did not seem to mind his exceeded enthusiasm as one of her hands snaked down and found his erection, her face having found rest on his neck once more, where she licked teasingly. When she had him in her grasp, she started to lead his aching head inside her moist, welcoming cunt when a female voice sounded from behind them making her freeze on the spot.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything important,"