Cold.

Freezing cold dominated Robin's world. Of course, he was more than used to this sensation by now, this had not been the first, nor the second time that mad woman had thrown him head first inside the river closest to the castle.

Although this time, it was fairly easy for Robin to swiftly swim his way to the surface, and give his lungs the oxygen they had been screaming for. That was due to the fact that he was stark naked, and had no clothes, no weapons and no boots to pull him down, nothing whatsoever to weigh his attempts to surface. Robin quickly swam towards the edge of the river, shivering all over when his a-few-moments-ago-hot-and-bothered body was hit by a gush of chilly air.

He cursed the Queen, but that was something he did daily, nothing new. Although he had to admit that this time she did have a reason to have acted the way she did.

Robin had been so caught up in finally getting to touch, fuck and ravish the Queen again that it took him a few seconds to realize she had stopped moving altogether atop of him. Before he knew it, her body warmth left him and Robin could do nothing except sit up, and survey the room with his eyes, looking for the location of that damned letter opener, because he was going to gut the person who had interrupted them with it.

All plans of mutilation disappeared when he laid his eyes on said person, Maleficent. He knew her, he wished he did not – Robin still regretted having trusted Will Scarlet on that, he had put not only himself, but the entire camp at risk – but he did. That woman was dangerous; he remembered how she had almost set fire to his entire camp without even being in their presence on the occasion.

Robin had actually found it odd that the blonde sorceress was scrutinizing him with such interest, he recalled she had been irate when he had gone back to her castle – under the threat that she would incinerate the lot of them if he didn't – to try to reason with her about the looking glass. He had sworn it to her that he would find it, another promise broken by the noble Robin Hood.

But this situation he found himself in was different, her manner was somewhat all wrong – he had to remind himself that he had been wearing nearly ripped shirt and a throbbing erection, unlike the last time he had seen the woman – she had amusement and thorough interest dancing about her eyes. Robin imagined the Queen would immediately engage in some sort of magical battle with the woman, but all they did was banter, and before he knew it, he was the subject of said discussion.

Of course she wanted the damned looking glass – he was going to kill Will Scarlet if he ever saw the sodding man again – but then something rather unexpected happened. Suddenly, Robin was being engulfed by a cloud of smoke, and the next thing he saw were the she-dragon's vibrant and hungry eyes right in front of him.

Robin was not one to turn down women's advances - he had actually always preferred the fiery ones who had beat him to it, and pounced on him first - especially one as beautiful as Maleficent, but as soon as her finger touched his lips he felt disgust, he felt like he wanted to put miles in between himself and that witch.

He would be lying if he said he was not flattered by the idea that such a powerful and gorgeous woman wanted him, but there was something off, for another powerful and gorgeous woman's voice rang behind him and Robin could not fathom being with any other but her.

That moment was short- lived, for suddenly he was being pulled back, and thrown back where he had been sitting in the first place, next to the powerful and gorgeous woman who had literally taken his heart.

Regardless of his clouded feelings towards the woman, Robin did not like to be handled that way. He had loathed having magic used on him with or without his consent, but being tossed from side to side by the pair of them, as if he was a chess piece in their little power game… That had made him furious. Miraculously so, somehow, Robin had found it in him not to be angry with the Queen, for the words that left Maleficent's lips managed to steal away all of his anger's attention, Robin was no toy, he was-

Robin, however, had not even had time to finish that thought for a question erupted from the blonde's lips, and Robin felt something switch inside him, "Dear, are you jealous?"

"Territorial, that's all."

SHE WAS JEALOUS!?

Something different started to bloom inside Robin's chest, which he found ridiculous for there was no heart there to create any emotion but, alas, he had been feeling way too much ever since he had met the unnerving woman. An odd sense of pride and a wee little bit of happiness in knowing he was somewhat reciprocated in his less than healthy feelings towards her.

He could not resist but slur in her ear, "Is that so?" and was proud to see gooseflesh rising all over her glorious, naked body.

Before he knew it, he was being pulled back towards Maleficent, but this time, Robin had a plan in mind and did not jerk away from the woman's touch.

Robin was resolute in giving the Queen a nice taste of her own medicine; he remembered her with that pathetic looking, red haired lad. Even if making her jealous of him was practically a suicidal mission, he could not resist but provoke her. Robin just hoped she did not lose her head, like he had, and started shooting fireballs his way.

He let the woman push off his shirt, revealing his whole naked front to her, she touched his chest and took a small intake of air. He felt his stomach flip, he felt sick, her skin was cold and Robin could swear he could feel a hint on dragon scale on the tips of her fingers. But even if he could not see the Queen at that moment, he could somehow feel her absolute rage at what was transpiring between him and her 'friend'.

Robin was not really surprised that the she-dragon's hand was not able to continue its dangerous path down his torso, for the Queen's magic dominated his world once more. But this time, he could feel it was not only the Queen's magic that was at play; there was yet another silent battle of power there whilst the she-dragon's sorcery also fought to keep him in place.

The result did not please Robin very much, he found out that the ceiling was rather cold, being that both his butt-cheeks were now attached to it.

Robin was stunned to hear the blonde witch refer to the Queen as 'little dove', she could be a vast amount of things but a wee bird was not one of them. He, again, had very little time to ponder upon when would be the perfect moment for him to call her by that endearing pet name, for before he knew it, his feet touched the carpeted floor once more.

When the blonde witch spoke of that unnerving red haired lad, Robin did not know if he was angered or perplexed. Things happened far too fast for his brain to process what was being revealed in that banter between the two witches.

The Queen was clearly very offended by the fact that his erection had not budged from its stiff state, but Robin was actually making an extra effort to keep it that way, all that magic being used on him should have made him as flaccid as Merlin's balls ages ago. A strange thrill coursed through Robin's veins whilst he watched the she-dragon once again question the Queen about her being jealous, and he could not resist it, maybe some manner of suicidal demon possessed at that point because his lips were twitching in a smirk, and his voice was sounding, "There's enough Robin for everyone."

At that moment, after having uttered such words in the Queen's presence, Robin knew that the very least she could do was give him the usual trip to the cold waters of the river nearby.

Robin was actually grateful that he wasn't wrong, although now that it came to it, standing at the river bank, with very little choice but to wander around naked until he could think of a way to sneak into the castle without having half of the staff seeing his privates, did not seem very enjoyable.

As fate would have it, Robin did not even need to take ten steps before he came by an unfortunate soul. In this case two rather familiar figures that walked side by side completely oblivious of his presence, Dominic and Billy, the two young lads he had become acquainted with a few months ago when he first came to be in the service of the Queen. Now it seemed as if it was a lifetime ago when Robin had daydreamed about snapping both their necks simultaneously because of their incessant laughter and the way they had spoken about her.

Robin started to make his way towards the pair, unaffected by the fact that he was stark naked, and before long he could spot the expressions on their faces twist into something rather comical.

Dominic ran for it, quite simply leaving his 'patrol brother' to fare for himself as Robin approached. Billy on the other hand seemed to have frozen in shock, his eyes were wide staring at Robin and his hands were trembling slightly.

As Robin got closer and closer, he pondered upon what exactly he was going to do, would he sate a little of his blood lust and kill the poor sod? Would he simply knock the lad over the head and be done with it? Would he scare him half to death before doing one of the above?

When Robin was close enough to speak to the young man - who had turned practically as white as the princess he had once lusted after - Robin huffed a laugh upon seeing the clear dread pooling inside the lad's eyes.

"Still patrolling I see," Robin stated.

Billy simply swallowed and took in a large intake of breath. Robin waited another beat for the lad to respond, but that was clearly not going to happen.

"Lost your tongue, have you?" Robin commented with a little bit of humor, "I can't say I'm disappointed, your voice was quite annoying."

The lad seemed to be shrinking even though he was still standing his ground, Robin had to wonder how much more it would take for Billy piss his pants. Robin had to remind himself he needed those pants clean and preferably dry.

"Well?" Robin tried once more looking at the lad expecting at least a word out of him.

It took a few more moments but Billy's annoying voice sounded, timid and afraid, "I-" he tried, "Sir."

Robin grinned and started to move again, analyzing the boy. He had grown a little over the past few months, there was a wee bit of dark blonde stubble on his chin but his features remained boyish.

"That wasn't so hard now, was it?" Robin crossed his arms, regarding the young man.

"Sir, please-" the boy suddenly broke, "don't kill me, I-"

Robin really wanted to kill him, it had been months since he had killed out of his own desire, and this opportunity was far too irresistible. The begging made him an even more delectable victim to end.

"You what?" Robin huffed right beside him dangerously, "Why shouldn't I end your miserable existence?"

"I, I, I," the lad stuttered and it was pathetic, completely unworthy of even being part of any brotherhood, he was not even trying, whilst Robin was naked and unarmed, the young man had a dagger on his belt and clothes on his back, "Please, just-" he stopped again and let out a small sob and Robin was practically sobbing himself at the ridiculousness of this situation.

Billy kept his eyes on the ground, and hands clenched together, as if he was praying for divine intervention, he spoke again, "I did not mean the things I said about, about-"

"About who?" Robin's voice suddenly rose, he became interested in what this boy had to say.

"About-" the sodding lad paused again and swallowed, "-her majesty." It was as if he had dropped a stone on Robin's foot, he went on rapidly after that, "I did not know you were-"

"I was what?" Robin still could not decide if he would end this worm or not, but this conversation was making him more agitated than normal.

"That you and her-" he swallowed, seemingly afraid to continue, "I did not know you were her-"

Robin had had it

He knocked the young lad over the head before he could continue his statement. Robin did not want to know what others whispered behind his back, but damn her if they called him her toy like that sodding she-dragon just had, as if he was simply a piece of meat that got to fuck the Queen at her leisure. Although a portion of his mind told him that that was exactly his role, Robin could not believe it, would not believe it, it had to be something more, it was far too intense, far too damaging, far too unforgettable for it to be a simple affair.

There was a connection, he could feel it, he dared to think that his connection to the Queen was fairly similar to the one the Prince shared with the brat Snow White. And he knew she felt it too, she must have felt it too, otherwise he would have been buried six feet under the first time he grabbed her without her ordering him to do so.

Robin tried to brush those thoughts aside, and regarded the now passed out young man lying on the ground at his feet. He quickly stole the lad's trousers and shirt leaving him completely naked, even though Robin himself was not going to wear all of the garbs he had collected. Robin discarded of the unwanted things in the river, if the lad wanted those, he would have to work for it, or in this case, swim for it, it would serve the young lad a lesson and-

Aren't you going to end him? A dark voice whispered, He's simply a worm you can step onto and obliterate from existence, do it!

Robin stopped just as he was getting back from getting rid of the other items. Why hadn't he killed the lad already? Why was he literally playing a prank on him that brought him back to the old days with his Merry Men? He was not a merciful man, life had not had mercy on him so he had decided he would have mercy with no one.

He took certain and strong steps towards the young lad lying unconscious on the ground, his mind rushed with the possibilities of how he would do it. How he would kill this unworthy, little piece of shi-

"Laura-" left the young lad's lips almost like a prayer, and Robin stopped dead to regard him. Only then did Robin realize the young sod was shivering, his pale skin turned almost transparent white and his lips lost all rosy color. His breathing was labored but he still had his eyes closed, was probably still unconscious, but Robin could make out the name for he said it once more, "Laura, I'm-" he groaned and finished, "Laura!"

The young man's uneven breathing suddenly ceased, his chest stopped moving altogether, and in a moment of panic, Robin kneeled down and tried to feel for his pulse.

He had not done anything yet, how come the lad had just-?

Well, he had knocked him over the head, but one had to be made of plaster to actually die from such a blow. There was a small, almost untraceable pulse on the young man's neck, but it was subsiding by the second.

Suddenly a feeling so very alien invaded his chest. He was not in the presence of the Queen so he found it quite odd to be overwhelmed by this feeling so strongly. He did not want to admit he was feeling guilty, for it made no sense, he was going to kill the lad anyway.

His hand still rested on the young man's neck when Robin felt the impossible, a strange warmth emanating from the spot he touched Billy. His pulse suddenly started to grow gradually as Robin stared dumbfounded at his fingers that touched the young man's skin until the lad coughed for air, which made Robin shoot back to his feet, startled at what he saw.

What the fuck?

The young man started to groan and move his body around the earthy ground, his breathing was clearly healthy once more.

Robin had had enough uncommon things happen to him that day, so he walked away. He walked away from the young man not knowing if leaving him out there in that condition was going to result in his death or not. But somehow unable to end the sodding shit himself.

He tried not to think about it, he was probably just tired, taking a life drained him a lot.

And yet, he knew that there was something else that had meddled with his will, he just did not know what.

…

Robin had been able to walk into the castle with a fair amount of dignity, and even though he was technically still on duty, even though the sun had just set a few moments ago, he sent the Queen to hell and went back to his bedchambers. Peeling the clothes belonging to Billy from his body and throwing them out of the window for good measure, Robin put on a pair of his own saggy trousers.

Sod her, was the last thing that went through his mind before sleep took him over.

Unfortunately, Robin felt as if he had slept for only one solid minute when a timid knock came on the door. He groaned and turned to the side, his naked back now facing the door, and refused to acknowledge the sound altogether, his only intentions being to be taken away by sleep once more.

After a few moments, his ears picked out the knocking on his door again, but this time a little bit louder, and Robin, most reluctantly, opened his eyes.

It was morning already, the fact was rather obvious for he could see thin strips of sunlight coming from the drawn curtains, but that did not mean that he was in any way ready to get out of the comfort of his bed.

How had he even come to this?

A few months ago he was quite content to be sleeping on top of a pile of leaves and now, he had turned into some matter of a lazy ass, who killed for the Queen's sport, he-

"Excuse me, sir-" a timid voice drew him from those unnecessary musings.

Robin turned to face the door, and was met with the sight of that pretty, young woman with the nice behind he had thought of fucking more than one time. He groaned in response and she opened the door a little further, making daylight invade his room, and illuminate it enough for her to see him, and immediately she turned her head to the side, avoiding the sight of his person with all the fiber in her petit little body. He was confused for a moment but then, upon a small inspection, he realized he was naked from the waist up, and that had apparently been enough to traumatize the young thing.

"The Queen demands your presence in the throne room, sir," her voice sounded again and he could almost feel her fear even though he could not see her face very well, for her voice trembled.

The Queen demanded, now, did she?

Well, Robin was not feeling like obeying much today, so he turned himself to the other side, and dismissed the girl uttering, "Tell the Queen she can fuck herself today,-" he heard the girl gasp, no big surprise there, "And close that damn door will you!"

Robin was sick and tired, he wanted to sleep, and he did not give two shits about the Queen's demands at that moment. A small voice still sang at the back of his head about how the whole 'pet' thing still bothered him more than he cared to admit.

He was grateful that the girl complied with his very rude request and left, closing the door behind her. He had to wonder if she would deliver the message without any alterations, probably not, she most certainly valued her life more than he did his.

It might have been foolish, even naive, of Robin to think that he was indeed going to get any well-deserved rest that morning, especially given the words he had used to dismiss the Queen's orders. He did get about five minutes more of peace, lying on his back, slowly becoming aware of the fact that he had woken up in full alert below the belt – maybe the young thing had seen that too as well as his bare chest. Robin decided that, since he was to have a lazy morning, he would take care of it the old-fashioned way.

He slid his hand inside his pants, took himself in hand, and pumped lazily for a little bit. He groaned at the pleasurable feeling of his own touch, and tried with all his might not to imagine that it was the Queen's mouth instead of his hand at work down below, he failed miserably. He let out a rather loud moan at the very same moment that the door flew.

It did not fly open; it literally flew.

With a loud explosion, the door was yanked off of its hinges, and Robin saw the sturdy piece of wood be thrown violently against the wall that faced it. It could hardly be called a door after that, but simply a pile of wood, still smoking with magic.

Light invaded the room through the hole where his door had once been, and Robin's only reaction was to protect his eyes and groan. He turned to the illuminated side, slowly bringing his forearm away from his eyes and sitting up, and was met with the sight of a rather odd silhouette. He was sure that it was her – he could somehow feel her dark energy, plus, who else had the capacity of administrating that kind of damage to an innocent door? - but her outline looked slightly off.

Robin didn't have too much time to concentrate on the odd garments she wore that created such a sight, for before he could utter a single word, the heavy curtains that protected the room from daylight were ripped off, and thrown directly at him.

Robin fell back onto the bed with a noisy exhale of air for the curtains were quite heavy - an ancient manner of velvet - he inhaled, and a considerable amount of dust invaded his system making Robin cough. He heard her heels clicking on the wooden floor as he fought to rid himself of the heavy velvet that trapped him.

When he was able to free his head from the curtains, he was met with the sight of her standing at the foot of his bed, hands on her hips, facial expression not of one who was very pleased. And yet, he could not hold back a smile that quickly morphed into a laugh, followed by a couple of coughs – the damn dust kept emanating from the damn curtains – as he tried to free his legs from the curtains.

During his entire attempt - damn her if she had enchanted those damned drapes, making it impossible for Robin to rid himself of their prison - he continued to chuckle, tears starting to pool in his eyes at the sight. The laughter, punctuated by a few coughs, was freeing. Her face twisted in confusion as she watched him try to free himself in the midst of his merriment.

"I fail to find anything funny about this situation," her voice rang gravely.

Robin coughed once more, and was finally able to throw the curtains away. He quickly turned to the side and placed his feet on the cold floor, during that whole time he never took his eyes from her, smirk intact on his lips. When he was finally on his feet, standing by the bed clad only in his sleeping trousers, he scrutinized her from head to toe once more.

"Well you have not had a chance to look in the mirror this morning then?" he gave her, still astounded that she would wear such a ridiculous thing on her head.

The Queen's features twisted in anger as she fisted both her hands beside her body, but Robin could not help but let out another laugh, her choice of attire made it quite difficult for him to keep a straight face. Not that he was complaining about the deliciously tight, black leather that covered her legs, but from the waist up, she looked rather comical. She was wearing some manner of leather cape that surrounded her shoulders and draped down to her front, coming to stop right underneath her breasts. But the thing had no shape, or rather, it had an odd square shape that made her shoulders look broader than they truly were,

Her manic hairstyle – the puffed out, volumized curls tossed about her right shoulder – was topped by the most pathetic hat he had ever seen; its size was no rival to her hair but the black, embroidered thing had several feathers stuck to it to top it all off.

Robin couldn't help but muse that her entire outfit looked downright ridiculous.

She took a few steps and came to stand directly in front of him, a couple of paces remained in between their frames, and her eyes were dangerous and puzzled - as if she did have an idea of what he was laughing but still was not quite sure. Unfortunately, her hat was too much and somewhat distracted Robin from her anger and the eminent danger his humor had put him in.

"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked, a small streak of curiosity on her side ignited him to speak his mind.

"Oh, I wouldn't dare to speak of it, your majesty" he delivered in a forced, posh way.

Her expression changed then, she squinted and beheld him with suspicion, "I would very much like to know the reason for this-" she gesticulated with her hands whilst she spoke, "-sudden happiness," the way she uttered the word 'happiness' sounded as if she despised the very idea of ever being happy.

"As I am sure you are well aware, your majesty, men in general normally wake up happy," he wiggled his eyebrows and wondered if she was going to burn all his hair or set his pants on fire for that comment.

The Queen looked down, saw the evidence of his 'morning merriment', and scoffed.

"Were you laughing at your small number of resources to alleviate said happiness?" It was now the Queen's turn to liberate a laugh herself.

Robin felt a small knock at his ego but responded to her at the same level, not letting it show "No actually-" he placed two fingers about his lips in order to hide his grin a little, "-I merely thought Queens wore crowns, not jester hats."

Somehow, the slap she gave him across the face did not come as a surprise at all. It was strong, sharp, and filled with frustration and anger, he had to admit, he rather deserved it; he was being a jerk. But the heart of the matter was; he really didn't care.

Robin's grin faded from his lips as he felt the hit burn on his skin, as if her hand had imprinted itself on his cheek. He ran his tongue about the inside of the marred cheek, and turned back to face her, no humor left in his features. Apparently being hit across the face before he even had a chance to get a morning piss had plummeted his high spirits.

"How dare you speak to me like that?" Her voice was quiet but grave, she was somehow closer now, her eyes carried so much and yet Robin felt as if they were a puzzle to unravel, for he could not believe there was hurt swimming on her brown orbs, it must have been a trick.

"What?" he hissed at her, his head coming even closer so she could practically feel his breath on her face when he continued, "Am I the only person in this entire castle brave enough to say the truth?" Robin made sure to pour out every ounce of frustration he had been feelings towards her in that sentence, he was sick and tired, he would-

"You're nothing" she spat at him; her voice was somewhat hoarse and trembled slightly but both words rang loud and clear.

Those two words stung more than any slap, they hit deeper than the arrow that had marked his chest forever. He was actually quite surprised that a simple set of words would ignite such a turmoil of feelings in him. But those particular words cut deep.

Was he really nothing? She had to be lying. She had to be-

Robin felt a sudden surge of red, an incontrollable rage towards her dominated his sanity.

Those words just could not be true.

Robin's world was a pool of crimson, he could barely tell what was what at that point. He could only see her, that sensual Goddess painted all in tones of red, her face was a blur but her silhouette was perfection, her alluring presence somewhat mocking him after her harsh words.

Something inside Robin snapped and his right hand suddenly found itself wrapped about the woman's throat, the wild buzzing of their skins now seemed to taunt Robin, and tell him he was weak and foolish because of it, because he felt for her and he was nothing to her.

He was literally a heartless man.

He had no mercy, never had had, not after what had happened to Marian. So why should he let that woman treat him like a possession? Like a toy. Like he was nothing.

He was no pet.

The recollection of another witch's voice saying so brought a new wave of hate to the very foundations of his soul. Robin squeezed the Queen's throat, cutting off her air supply and feeling his blood pump fast and cold about his veins.

No more. That woman had no limits, but as fate would have it, neither did he.

Her face was still a blur, he could only make out the faint noises she was making in order to pull in air through her mouth, and failing at it miserably since he was much stronger. Her hands had not reached for his single one which clutched her throat, but rather her arms stayed limp at her sides.

He was no one's pet, he would show her, she was not going to-

She was his-

Suddenly, when Robin felt wetness on his working hand, his whole world turned to its usual black and white with hints of red, yellow and orange here and there once more. He quickly realized that the moistness on his skin was in fact a single tear that the woman he had been strangling produced. His grip loosened at the very next moment, as Robin caught his breath, he apparently had not been breathing during the whole exchange either. He stared back at her face, now clear as day, and marvelled as the colors slowly came back to his reality; beautiful dark eyes, whilst red dominated her lips.

She stared him down with an inexplicable something in her eyes for a moment – he could feel she was still not breathing - before she took in her first breath, eyes widening. They carried a strange amount of something Robin could only class as fear, but he could hardly believe such a feeling ever even crossed this particular woman's mind.

As she pulled in more air, coughing a little as she did so, his hand sliding down to simply rest in between the base of her neck and her collarbone. He was rather surprised she did not brush his hand aside or burn him alive when her breathing evened. She had diverted her stare from him for a few moments whilst taking in the air her body screamed for, but now she simply regarded him with an odd something about her.

He took her in, looked right back at her mesmerizing brown eyes as his wheels inside his head started working again and he became aware of what he had almost done. The buzz was ever present where his skin met hers, and it now only served to remind Robin he had almost eliminated the source of the only thing that had made him feel alive. He did not dare to break the somewhat small contact of their flesh, fearing she would never let him near her again after this.

"I may work for you-" he somehow found his voice, it was raspy and low, "-but I am not your pet,"

Her expression still had not changed; she looked a bit out of her element, maybe a little vulnerable as she only whispered; "I never said that,"

Realization hit Robin hard. She had not once referred to him with that term, now that he thought about it. She had called that red haired lad her pet, but the word had only been used by the blonde witch when it came to Robin.

For a few moments, neither of them spoke, Robin's hand was still placed on her collarbone as he wondered why she had not stopped him before; she had the most powerful magic he had ever seen, and yet, had let him almost kill her. Oh how she could amaze him time and time again with her nearing to suicidal attitudes.

Her breathing regained normality, and it seemed as if the only thing Robin's ears could pick up on was the quiet sound of her inhaling and exhaling. His eyes were fixated on his hand, and he suddenly felt himself incapable of meeting her eye. He could still feel a little bit of the anger there, but somehow repented immensely what that anger had made him do.

Robin's hand started to slide up, up her neck – which now carried red marks caused by him – he watched the journey intensively, his hand finding rest on her jawline. He finally met her eye, and her deep, dark orbs stared back at him, slightly reddened but nevertheless penetrating.

Their strange connection felt more intense than ever at this point, her lips were slightly parted, but it was clear she was not going to say anything. Robin opened his own in order to say something, but found no words whatsoever left his lips, her intense stare paralyzed his speaking ability, and it was all he could do to pray she wouldn't leave him.

Electricity flowed about the palm of his hand as it cupped her flushed cheek, his mind racing with thoughts of how he had almost-

But he couldn't have gone through with it, could he? At the time he could barely see her face, it was as if he was killing something else, not her, but maybe something dark inside himself. The dark impulses of his new life had made him blind, had made him almost-

Robin was brought from his thoughts back into reality when he heard the woman before him sigh and realized he had been stroking her cheek with his thumb, ever so lightly. Acting completely out of instinct, Robin brought his hand down to her chin and tilted it up ever so slightly. He subconsciously wet his bottom lip, which immediately brought her mesmerizing gaze to his mouth.

Robin had to admit he was rather surprised when he felt her soft lips crash against his, she was so fast that he had almost missed the moment, but now their lips were locked together, the electricity of their touch completely tantalizing and wonderful. He could hear her moan quietly against him, but her arms still hung at her sides whilst his own had found their way to the back of her neck

The ridiculous hat was the first thing to go; when she finally parted her succulent lips, Robin deepened the kiss, bringing his hands to tangle in her black curls. Her own set of hands came to life once more, and were suddenly on his bare arms, running up, feeling the muscles of his upper arm, and finding his neck so she could pull him closer. It was as if she had suddenly gone back to her old, dominant self, wanting to have control over the situation as she spun them around and took a few steps forward until the back of his knees touched the edge of the bed.

The kisses were mind swirling, they were not the type of desperate he was accustomed with when it came to her, but they were hungry, famished.

Oh, it had been far too long, Robin thought as she pressed her far too clothed body against his barely clad one.

Their lips parted only for her mouth to start trailing a path of red lip coloring on his neck, collarbone and back up to his jawline where she started to suck with vigor as Robin could do very little apart from pulling the black tresses tangled about his fingers and groan. Her tongue swirling over his pulse point after she had bit him there rather hungrily made his sight go blurry.

One of Robin's hands left her hair and started to trail its way down her body, passing by all those atrocious fabrics and leathers she insisted on wearing, until he reached her sex. It was still very much covered but Robin felt the woman moan against the skin of his neck when his fingers worked pressure on the area, her hips bucking in the direction of his working hand almost instantly.

He touched her again, his fingers curling and pressuring down her sensitive parts, and she apparently gave up in trying to mark his neck purple, using one of her hands that rested on the back of his neck to bring him slightly down, so she could hiss against the shell of his ear a satisfied 'Yes', opening her legs a little further to give him more access.

Robin complied and continued to stroke her through the heavy material of her leather pants, which earned him a couple more hot moans hitting his ear and a maddening lick right behind it. She bit down then, which only encouraged Robin to touch her with more eagerness down there.

It was when she nibbled on his earlobe that a male voice informed them they were not alone anymore.

"Your majesty-!" Robin turned his head to the door only to catch sight of one of the men under his command, standing where his door had once been, looking slightly breathless.

When the cold, grey eyes belonging to the guard actually captured what was transpiring inside the bedroom, he immediately averted his gaze and mumbled, "Apologies your majesty," he bowed his head towards the Queen and turned it to Robin still not really looking at the pair, "Sir-" he nodded his head slightly in acknowledgement of Robin and continued, "-I, I heard a scream and thought, well I didn't think, I just-"

"That's enough" the Queen's voice was once again cold and commanding, her body was suddenly not glued to Robin's anymore, "get out of my sight, and see to it that my carriage is ready."

She did not need to tell him twice, for the guard was quickly out of their sight after bowing his head a little in respect to the flushed but stone-like Queen. Unfortunately, she pushed at his chest instead of continuing their prior activities.

"Put something on and meet me in the Northern woods-" she told him whilst she took a few steps back and headed towards the whole that was now the welcoming entrance to Robin's room, "-I want to see you at the well by the main road when I get there."

And with that, she left.

…

Robin knew he had to be quick if he was to meet her on the spot she had mentioned; for all he knew, she was already on her way whilst he was still buttoning up his vest. He was rather annoyed by the fact that there was no door in his bedroom to give him the slight amount of privacy that changing clothes demanded, but regardless, he stripped and put on his usual garb and was out of the hole on his wall in no time.

After running to the stables and collecting one of the fastest horses there, Robin could see the steed was pitch black, but the stable's hands had commented on how his fur was so dark that against the sunlight it was tinged with dark blue. But Robin was unable to see that quality on the beast's mane since color had left his reality ever since he had lost Marian. The vivacity of color was being brought back little by little ever since he had first set eyes on the Queen. He could see the lovely red on her lips, the graceful orange of flowers and the vibrant yellow of the Sun, but as for the other colors, they remained a mystery, still disguised by shades of grey.

Brushing those more than depressing and thoroughly confusing thoughts aside, Robin set out on a speedy trot north.

The Northern wood was an odd place to meet. Although the name spoke of North, it was not nearly high enough to be considered so; it was still inside the borders of her kingdom, but, from what Robin had learnt in his years in the forest and at her castle, a rather deserted place. He had never ventured in such parts with his Merry Men, since it was mainly empty; there were no royals to steal from and no peasants to aid. He had also been told by many to never make use of its roads, for the woods were dense, and there was rumored to be something lurking about the trees that was not quite human and not at all friendly. Some manner of dark magic that people from the nearby villages would never speak of, so Robin now, had no idea what he was in for.

It took him about an hour to reach the well, he was already picturing the Queen with her puffy hair – and no hat, for that had been left discarded on the floor of his bedroom. He had taken it and stored it inside his dresser as an odd souvenir – and mad eyes, screaming something or other at him about being late and a thief. But to his utter surprise the well was completely deserted when he arrived.

So much for nothing, he thought as he took out a rope and attached it to the horse's saddle. He then tied the rope around the tree to make sure the beast would not run away were some wild animal to appear and startle it.

Robin had very little choice but to lean against the well and wait. After some time, he spotted an apple tree in the distance and felt his stomach growl, he had left in such a hurry he had not even had a bloody sip of water. So he pushed himself from the dirty stone of the well, and headed towards the apple tree, picking a single fruit and inspecting it, to ensure no vermin had gotten to it first.

The fruit was clear and Robin headed back to this prior position leaning against the cold stone of the well, waiting for her majesty.

What the fuck had he almost done? What the fuck had possessed him to try to strangle her?

Robin was still not sure but the scar on his chest started to burn only at the thought of how he would have felt if he had succeeded. A shudder went through his entire body and Robin felt the hollow space inside his chest ache.

He was still trying to understand why she had simply done nothing to stop his attempt on her life, she possessed the most intricate magic he had ever seen, and yet had made no use of it to prevent him from killing her.

A faint memory of a similar time when she had made a grab for his neck with brute force above a tree in the eastern woods came back to him. And Robin remembered how he had also not fought back, how he had found himself incapable of harming her, how then he had realized that he had deep feelings towards the woman.

Could she have possibly felt the same?

The very idea of it sent his blood pumping fast and his mind swirling with a mountain of thoughts.

There was no use in speculating, Robin only knew one thing, he would never lose control like that again.

Robin was just about to take the first bite out of the apple, when suddenly a gloved hand snatched it from his grasp. He looked to the side to deliver a couple of colorful words to the sodding bastard when he saw her, a little bit of smoke under feet, wide-eyed and clutching the apple tightly, making the fruit grow bad and then rot in her grasp.

"No apples today," she said gravely, and a chilly wind blew at the same moment that the apple had turned to dust, making the powder hit Robin on the chest.

"Was that really necessary?"

She did not even dignify him with an answer, but simply walked past him, that was when Robin realized she was not alone. Behind her trailed two children – Robin would have been less shocked to see hellhounds trailing behind her than children – a girl and a boy, and for a solid moment Robin could do nothing but stare.

The young boy turned around, still moving, walking backwards and asked Robin, "Aren't you coming?"

Robin blinked a couple of times before he started trailing behind the unusual group. The Queen had fixed her hair apparently, so it did not look like a bird's nest any longer but flowed naturally about her shoulder. As for the children, it was clear that the girl was the oldest, she was the tallest of the two and Robin was able to detect a rather fierce look about her, as if she was on a serious mission she could not fail, he found the look to be strange and somehow wrong for someone so young. She had long, curly, blonde hair, her dress was torn in a few places and slightly dirty. The boy, on the other hand, looked excited and yet it was quite clear he was scared, both his hair and eyes were dark, the look altogether on the boy's face reminded Robin of a pleading dog. Upon further inspection, Robin came to note that both children were somewhat dirty, especially on their hands and knees - the boy had scratched his right one.

He did not, however, trail behind the children for long; soon he was quickening his pace and reaching the Queen, who walked ahead of them.

"Would you mind sharing what you plan on doing with those children?" he asked her when he reached her side.

She did not even turn towards him whilst she responded, "No."

Robin groaned, if she kept on acting like this, this was bound to be a long, tiresome day. He suddenly felt a lump in his throat and the words escaped his lips before he could hold them back.

"About earlier-" he started but she promptly interrupted him, still not looking his way.

"Nothing out of the ordinary happened," she stated, whilst walking around a sturdy tree, he followed and tried again.

"Out of the ordinary?" he was puzzled and wondered if she had had a memory lapse of some sort.

"I've had worse encounters thief," she said gravely, her tone was haunted and Robin had to wonder just what exactly had that woman been through to turn out like that.

Robin swallowed, he didn't respond, he actually did not even know what he had meant to say about their earlier, less-than-friendly encounter, he was sure as hell that he was not apologizing, but still-

"And if you must know-" her voice rang again, drawing him away from his thoughts, "-I'm not sacrificing the children for some dark ritual." She stopped then so she could finally look at him, square in the eye, her gaze was deep, pierced his soul, "I know that's what you were thinking."

She wasn't wrong; his ideas had trailed along that direction. For what other purpose would she need children?

Robin cleared his throat and gave her, "That's rather relieving to hear-" they resumed their walk, both youngsters still behind them, "- I was just about to tell you I drew a line at children."

"Is that so?" she asked, her voice betrayed a little curiosity.

"Everyone's got a soft spot," he shrugged off.

She gave a quiet laugh before stating, "I thought your soft spot was inside your pants."

Robin had to laugh along with her, "Well, don't you know your fair share about that one-"

"Indeed" she replied, taking a sharp intake of breath that betrayed she was thinking of something the children should not hear about.

They walked side by side for another minute in silence; Robin followed the Queen's lead, trusting she would not lead him into some manner of trap, for he did not know these woods at all. He also wanted to be sure he was to find his way back to his horse if this whole affair went in an undesired direction, - she could poof herself, he was not going to trust her to transport him as well - so in addition to cataloguing every single twist and turn they had made thus far, Robin had started discreetly marking some trees down with his dagger.

He broke the silence once more, "Are you really not going to tell where we are headed?"

"No," she replied, this time she turned to face with a grin. Robin was ready with a snarky remark when she cut him off and continued, "See for yourself thief-" she pushed some leaves aside to reveal their destination, "-hope you don't have a sweet tooth."

What Robin saw beyond was downright impossible. A house, an ordinary sized house, fit for maybe a family of four - maybe five - in size. But Robin knew that no person would ever live in such a house, for it was not made out of bricks, wood and steel, but completely founded and covered with sweets, candies and chocolate.

He could hear the children reach them, gasp at the sight of the delicious house, and rather obviously try to make it past him and the Queen to take a closer look and, most probably, a bite.

It was as if their movements were in complete sync, for both he and the Queen reached for one child each and held them back, Robin grasped the young girl by the arm and the Queen came to stand tall in front of the already terrified looking boy.

"Not so fast," her voice rung seriously as she stared down at the small pair, the boy shuddered whilst the girl looked back at her with a dumb amount of courage, "Now-" she continued, "-before I help you two trouble makers find your father-" since when was she so charitable?, "-you're going to have to do something for me."

Ah, he knew there was something off about all this. Robin found himself rather curious to hear what she would have these children do and most importantly how did he fit into all this.

"That-" she pointed a gloved finger towards the sweet and sticky house, "-is the home of a witch, the Blind Witch." the young boy's eyes widened while the girl held her breath waiting for the Queen to continue.

Was it her plan to terrify the children and then throw them inside the house? Lunatic…

Her words then turned sour, "She has taken something of mine and I want the two of you to take it back," she informed them as if it was a trivial affair.

"Then why don't you go in there and take it yourself with your-" the girl paused for a while, seeming to think of how she was going to categorize Robin.

"Robin," he gave her, for he was no servant, no knight, he had made that painfully clear that morning.

The girl's conclusion came out of her lips just after Robin had uttered his name, "-boyfriend."

The Queen took in a sharp intake of breath whilst Robin tried very hard not to grin. The boy seemed to have shrunk on the spot and his sister still held her defying look, she rather reminded Robin of himself, she apparently could not keep at bay any rebelling words she had to say about the Queen.

"If you truly wish to see your father again child-" the Queen's tone was serious, "-you should not anger me."

The girl swallowed, the eye contact battle finally lost to the Queen as she cast her eyes down.

"I can't enter, neither can-" she paused and Robin wondered by which name she was going to call him, "-he. The house is protected by magic, no one can enter."

"Then how-?" the boy had apparently found his voice.

"The spell doesn't work on children," the Queen cut the boy off, he hugged his own frame in fear.

Things finally started to make sense, so the Queen wanted to steal something – he knew nothing had been taken from the castle, otherwise she would have had him execute at least a dozen soldiers for it, plus he was finding himself able to pick out her lies more and more - from this witch but was incapable of entering her house.

"Fine-" the young girl took control, "What is it that you want us to take?" she asked.

"It's kept in a black leather satchel that hangs by her fireplace. Bring me the satchel and I'll find your father for you." The Queen informed them.

"Okay-" the girl nodded and started moving, taking her brother's hand, "Come on Hansel!"

This time the Queen did not stop them, and Robin observed her as she watched the young ones, they had taken only a few steps towards the house when she spoke again.

"I would not go just yet children," both their heads shot back to look at her, "you can't enter the house now you silly things-" she let out a small wicked laugh at their foolishness, "-the witch may be blind, but she's still very much awake now. You wouldn't want her catching you stealing from her now, would you?"

The boy shook his head and said loudly, "No, no-" the pair quickly rushed back to their side.

"Well then, you will stay here and wait until the Sun sets. Because of her magic, the witch falls asleep when the Sun light ceases to illuminate these woods. She can only be awake when the Sun is out, and so you must sneak into the house when it's dark." The Queen gave them.

"But-" the girl regarded her for a little bit, "-wouldn't the witch lock the door? She wouldn't just leave it open if the magic doesn't work on children." She reasoned.

There was a small twist of doubt, almost unnoticeable, on the Queen's features, that faded away quickly whilst she lied, "That's true-" it was not, "-that's why I have someone you can pick the sticky lock for you two to enter the house."

The Queen turned to Robin who frowned at her in confusion, "Am I only here in order to snap a candy cane lock?" he asked her incredulous, rising the volume of his voice more than he intended, "You cannot be serious-"

"No," she regarded him for a beat and then turned her head slowly towards the children again, "-you will also make sure these two brats don't run away with my satchel." She took two steps and leaned forward a little to level her face with theirs, and delivered with malice, "Because if you try to trick me, well-" he huffed out a laugh, "-if I were you, I wouldn't even bother to look for your father."

Both children swallowed simultaneously and the Queen grinned, "Now, one more thing before I leave you-" she looked gravely at both the kids, "Inside the witch's house, no matter what happens, no matter how much you are tempted or hungry-" she paused, "Do not eat anything." The woman almost spelled out, "Do you understand?"

The boy simply nodded looking up at her with his sad puppy eyes whilst his sister gave her an audible 'Yes'.

"Good," she lifted one perfect eyebrow and told them, "Don't move."

Before Robin knew it, he was being surrounded by the familiar feel of her cold, magical smoke, when it dissipated, they were both back at the well, his horse still there tied to the tree and looking not at all pleased. The Queen acted faster than he did and using her magic summoned some manner of horse food that the beast quickly attacked.

Robin turned to face her, "Tell me the truth. What is all this about?"

"The blind witch has something which I desire," she explained plainly.

"That I gathered, but why did you lie to the children about the lock?" he inquired, she opened her mouth to reply but Robin cut her, "And don't waste your breath trying to convince me that you spoke the truth about it."

She regarded him for a beat and huffed before replying, "You're right. That witch's door is wide open for children of all shapes and sizes. That's why I need you-" she pointed her forefinger towards him and pushed it against his chest, "-to be there, standing guard at the door with that perfect aim of yours pointing towards the witch at all times."

"Why? Won't she be asleep?" he was still puzzled as to why she would go into so much trouble if the witch clearly had a magical type of sleep that could only be awakened with the Sun.

"She might wake up in the middle of the night, there is one way for that to happen," she informed him gravely.

Robin looked at her for a beat and then it was all clear, "If they eat something from the house," he stated and the Queen nodded.

"Yes-" her voice had been somehow different ever since she had puffed them back to the well, she sounded dead serious, there was no malice there, no evil, she actually sounded worried, "This witch she-" she swallowed, "-she's not altogether sane, she's actually quite mad." She stopped again and Robin felt a lump rise in his throat.

"Go on-" he encouraged simply.

"There's a reason why only children can enter, why the house is entirely made out of sweets, she's-" she took in a deep breath and continued, "She had a miscarriage before she acquired her magic, and now, in that ludicrous head of hers, she believes that if she eats children, her baby will go back to her womb."

Robin felt a knot twist inside his stomach. He had heard his fair share of disgusting and horrifying stories, had even been witness and cause of some of them, but this was downright disturbing. He now understood all too well the reason why his presence was so needed in this mission.

"Nothing will happen to them, you have my word." He assured her.

"Who knew a thief had honor?" she arched an amused brow.

"Who knew an Evil Queen had a soft spot for children?" he shot back at her with a little humor.

"Don't get too cocky outlaw-" her face was suddenly close to his, "-remember I know what your other soft spot is," she licked her lips and wiggled her eyebrows once.

Robin was somewhat transfixed by her lips and missed his chance to speak, before he knew it she was backing away from him and telling him, "Keep your eye on those two during the rest of the day, and do not for a second take your eyes and aim away from the witch once they're inside the house." She turned around as if to leave but turned back to deliver, "And if there's any trouble and the witch does indeed wake up, rend her and bring her to me. She has no powers when the Sun is out, I'm sure you and two children can manage-"

And with that, Robin's world was once again dominated by smoke, the magic brought him back to the place where two half oblivious kids waited patiently to enter the house of a cannibal.