It took me more or less a month to write and revise this chapter so I think it's safe to say that the updates in this story will be monthly. I'd like to thank everyone for the lovely comments.
As I've mentioned before, the Blue Witch is the Witch from Into the Woods (played by Meryl Streep in the movie if you want to give her a face).
Robin's mom is also a Disney character. I was inspired by Cruella's The Baroness to write Robin's awful mom (she is played by Emma Thompson if you want to give her a face).
The Dead Marshes are taken from the Lord of the Rings trilogy, if you want to picture them you can see them in the Two Towers movie.
"Who's Daniel?"
The question hit her like an arrow in the heart. The first thing that struck her was the confirmation that he had overheard the not so friendly conversation she was having with Daniel's brother. How much had he heard? Did he believe Daniel's brother? Why did it matter what he thought of her?
A cold feeling of dread filled her as she realised that it mattered, a lot.
She did not give him any answer, she did not know if she was ready to talk to him about Daniel, she kept that part of herself so secluded, so secret, she was afraid to open up. For a moment she did not know what to do, what to say, she knew she could trust him, but-
"Did Marian accept your marriage proposal? When you offered her my earrings?"
She asked him about his late wife, even though the subject gave her a slight pang of jealousy, she felt that, if she was to consider talking to him about Daniel, if she was going to show him the most sensitive part of her, he should do the same.
As he spoke of Marian, Regina could not help but think of the what ifs. What if she had met him that day she gave Will her earrings? What if they had accidentally touched and felt that inexplicable connection? What would she have done?
He spoke of his feelings to her, of how he had felt when losing his wife and Regina felt closer than ever to him. That feeling was paired with a bit of shame that she had never asked him about what he felt. Her heart sank as she heard him retell how Marian had died in his arms - it had been his fault - but her ears burned hot when his voice rose, he lost his temper, snapping back at her, demanding an explanation about Daniel.
There was no turning back now, Regina tried to speak, but she did not even know where to begin. She quickly realized that she had never spoken openly to anybody about Daniel, only her father. She had never told Maleficent the whole story, only bits and pieces. She had never told anyone the sad, tragic love story she had lived, and had always kept everything to herself.
Her heart hammered fast inside her chest as she was left out of words and yet now felt the need to tell him about Daniel, after what he had told her about Marian, how could she not?
The answer came to her as if a good spirit whispered in her ear, the pensieve. She had been lucky Maleficent had been in business with the mysterious professor from another magical realm for such a long time. They had traded many different magical items and one of them was the pensieve that Maleficent had given to Regina oh so many years ago, when they had been closer.
She summoned the magical artifact, thinking of what memories she would show him, thinking it would be better, easier, if he just saw it for himself, she wouldn't have to go through the heartache of telling him how her mother had killed the love of her life so she could marry a horrid man thrice her age who rapped her on a daily basis.
Not that she would be showing him any of that.
That was too much and it hurt too much. Even though she had killed Leopold slowly and painfully, the wound his actions had opened in her had not healed completely, even thinking about what he had done felt as if throwing salt on top of the open wound.
She was so caught up that she forgot she needed a wand in order to draw out her memories. Even though she did all of her magic without a wand, this particular kind of magic demanded a wand.
"This magic is supposed to be performed with a wand, which I don't have." She took a deep breath and continued, "I should draw the memories out with a wand-" She paused thinking that maybe she shouldn't do this, but something burned inside her chest. It was not a question of simply answering his question, now she felt as if he needed to know about Daniel, he had to know, so she thought hard on how she could make this work, "But I think I can-" she got to her knees directly in front of the basin and closed her eyes, concentrated, and took several deep breaths.
She concentrated on the memories she wanted to show him and placed her hands on either side of the pensieve. It was risky, she had never seen this kind of magic being performed like this before, but Regina threw caution to the wind, feeling a mix of excitement and dread at the prospect of showing him a few of her memories.
He had trusted her and before she could register it, he was inside the pensieve, falling right in the middle of the first memory she had chosen to show him, the day she had met Daniel.
She concentrated on the few memories she set aside to show him, seeing them clearly, taking a deep calming breath, planning on removing her hands from the pensieve and letting him watch just how Snow White had ruined her life.
But when she tried to move her hands they were stuck to the pensieve, she could feel her magic fueling the artefact as she saw her younger self shoot back at Daniel the day they had met.
"Do you think I am incapable of judging?"
But she did not want to see it, she did not want to look at her stable boy's tender and gentle eyes. And seeing Robin there - a stranger who was in fact no stranger at all to her heart now - added to the picture was even worse.
Regina soon realized that she would have to stand there and watch the whole sequence of memories play out until the end for her own magic was fueling the pensieve. She couldn't simply force herself from the artifact, Robin was inside, she had no idea what would happen to him if she were to cut the connection.
At first it had been bearable, even the delicate and so dear memory of their first kiss the day her mother had given Regina her upper lip scar. She even laughed at the memory when he had fallen on his behind after trying to surprise her. And that had been her fatal mistake. She let her emotions dominate her for a second and after that, the doors to her mind were wide open.
Suddenly Robin was watching a very intimate exchange between her and Daniel she most certainly had not chosen to show him. The day Regina had surprised Daniel coming down to the stables clad in nothing more than her white slip and with a mind full of passionate desires, it had been her first time, and it had been perfect.
But Robin was not supposed to see that. The very thought of him seeing her make love to Daniel made her very uncomfortable. She fought against the pensieve, trying to shut down the memory.
"No!" she spoke, trying to tell the damn object that no, this was not supposed to be there, "Not this one."
The scene changed as Daniel spoke, "You're everything to me." and Regina felt like crying.
She was confused to see that the next scene was not in her plans also, a strange memory she did not even remember very well. It had been one of the many nights when she had sneaked out of her room to meet up with Daniel.
It had been a strange night in which she overheard voices speaking from behind the fireplace. At the time she did not understand any of it, could only recognize her mother's voice but had been far too preoccupied remembering how Daniel's touch had made her feel wonderful to make an effort to make out the meaning behind the conversation. Later she realized that the other voice belonged to Rumpelstiltskin, but what they had been planning, Regina never found out.
But this had definitely not been in the selection of memories she had picked, "What's happening?" she spoke again, trying to take him to the correct memories.
She had to concentrate really hard, focus on that fateful day when she should have just let that brat die on that horse instead of saving her. It worked, unfortunately Regina was forced to watch everything. Watching it play out had not been part of her plan, watching it play out was not something Regina could do without breaking down.
She managed to rail her emotions in for most of the time, seeing herself propose in a rush to Daniel, planning her life together, talking about true love to Snow White (she rolled her eyes inwardly at the irony of it), telling the brat she should keep her mouth shut.
But seeing her mother rip out Daniel's heart and crush it into dust had been the end of her. Tears ran down her cheeks as she watched herself go to her knees and try desperately to give Daniel true love's kiss, but light magic had never helped her, her younger self would come to figure that out in time.
Regina felt as if her chest was going to open up, the pain was awful and to make it even worse that he was there, looking at her younger self, his eyes filled with compassion and heartache.
The scene shifted and Regina had to watch as Snow White came to tell her just how sweet and wonderfully helpful she had been by telling her secret to her mother. Because Regina had a wonderful mother, who would do everything for her happiness.
This was supposed to be the last memory he saw, but as feelings of anger, grief and desperation invaded Regina's senses she could not control what was being shown anymore, her hands glued to the pensieve.
"Stop!" she helplessly told the magical artifact, "Make it-" her voice caught in her throat as she saw what her devious mind was showing him now.
The memory was of the day she had decided she was going to run away, even without Daniel, she did not want to be Queen, did not want to be married to a man thrice her age. But mother had other plans for her.
Regina was afraid what this line of memories would show him, it could not-
She blocked the memory only for it to be substituted by the first time she had used magic, when she had banished her mother to Wonderland.
"No-" she commanded for her magic to obey her and simply stop showing her deepest secrets to the man who had gotten under her skin and snaked his way into her heart, "Stop- Make it, stop" she held her breath but it was hopeless.
In the next memory her traitorous mind showed him she was confessing to Rumpelstiltskin just how much she had loved using dark magic to cast away her own mother. How the darkness had started to feast on her, she couldn't let him see that-
As she managed to cut the scene and gained a little bit of control over the situation, commanding her magic to end the enchantment a mere voice was able to make her crumble to pieces again.
"Regina, this is your duty." It was the King.
Please, please, don't show him that. She pleaded inside her head.
The scene inside the pensieve was dark, only voices could be heard, but that was enough to bring a feeling of dread to Regina's very soul. Dread turned to anger quickly as she remembered that day and how not benevolent the King had been. She was able to shut out the memory but was met with the vision of another one.
"Where did you get it?" Young Snow White held the wedding ring Daniel had given her.
That day had been the very first time she had fantasized about killing Snow, darkness taking over her will and soul little by little. It only reminded Regina how much she hated Snow, how much she wanted the girl to suffer, she only hated one person more than Snow-
Unfortunately her mind took that thought as a cue to show Robin yet another revealing memory of hers.
She had not been a virgin when her wedding night had come, thank goddess she at least had had the opportunity to share sweet nights of love making with her true love before she was destroyed by the King. Her mother had taught her a trick that faked her virtue on her wedding night, so no suspicion had been raised, but what Regina had to endure was just-
The King demanded she do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted it, he never asked, but demanded and took what he saw was rightfully his. Regina felt used, dirty and disgusting, drowning herself with white lily tea and wine after the deed was done when she was sent back to her lonely chambers - the tea was said to prevent pregnancy and the wine was so she could forget what had just happened and sleep.
What played out in front of her and the outlaw, had been one of the worst days of her life, that night had been the night when the King had shown her his true colors. Her presence was demanded in his chambers and Regina decided that she had had enough, she had been learning magic, she could get away from that nightmare. Unfortunately her magic had not been quick enough and the King's knights had been faster.
They took her back to his chambers by force and on that night Leopold had punished her for trying to run away. On that night something inside her had truly snapped, broken forever, he managed to shatter her youthful and carefree spirit. What was left was anger, bitterness and an enormous desire for revenge. On that day she vowed she would someday make him suffer as much as she had suffered.
Regina felt as if she was going to be stuck on that neverending show of her worst memories forever, but then, something happened, something different. It was as if time had slowed down as she took in Robin's expression as he watched the scene, his eyes narrowed shooting flaming arrows of hate towards Leopold's figure. When her then husband took her hair into his hand and sniffed it, Robin closed both his hands into fists so hard his knuckles turned white.
Regina was overwhelmed by her own feelings but could somehow feel what he felt - Regina would later blame the connection to the fact that he was inside her own memory - and his rage and anger only grew by the second as he watched the scene play out.
He had been a passive spectator until that point, until he lounged himself towards the King, screaming as he did so, a green light emanated from him as he charged for the man.
Regina was not sure if his actions or the strange green light that came from him had done the trick, but whatever it was, it had been enough for her to remove her hands from the pensieve. He was spit out of the magical artifact just before it exploded creating small fireworks of silver and throwing Regina back with force.
"Regina," his voice called out to her as she heard the shuffling of the leaves next to her.
Everything began to sink in and Regina was not quite sure if she wanted to open her eyes and face the music. He had seen far too much, had been witness to her mother's abuse, Regina's own dark inclinations from the very beginning and now he knew what the King had done to her-
"You were not supposed to see all that," she spoke but didn't dare to open her eyes just yet.
"Are you hurt?" he asked, changing the subject but his answer did not help to soothe her doubts.
Regardless, she would not be weak in front of him and show her insecurities, she would carry on as she always did. So Regina opened her eyes and raised an unimpressed eyebrow and gave back in her usual sarcastic tone, "Well, you've seen what I've had to endure. You know now I've been through worse. I'll be fine."
"What happened to the memory basin, hum, thing? Did something go wrong?" he asked her and she could tell he was worried about her, truly worried, the way he had quickly come to her side, the way his eyes sought answers in hers-
"Yes," she brought her eyes from his and to her own hands, she was so tired, the weight of all the events of the day finally taking their tone on her, "I went wrong." she confessed, "As I always do."
So much for not showing her weak side.
"What do you-" he started but she cut him, already asking herself why she had confessed to such a thing.
"In order to perform this kind of magic, one has to be serene, in control of their emotions." She explained looking everywhere but at him, "At first I was-" she chose to meet his eye then, and it was a big mistake, she felt so uneasy not knowing what he thought her voice got smaller, "But then I wasn't."
The silence that filled the next couple of minutes was agonizing. He seemed to be deep in thought and Regina felt uneasy not knowing what he had made of everything he saw. It scared her even more to realize that she cared so much about his opinion-
"I see it now." his voice was distant and, like his words, gave very little away.
"See what?" her voice was croaky.
"Why you hate her so." He gave her simply and Regina felt as if a grand piano had been lifted from her back.
He understood.
"She ruined my life." She told him and got up, not sure how to proceed.
He surprised her even further by giving her, "I'm sorry about Daniel."
Her heart swelled with feelings she did not want to name when his words hit her and it was impossible not to let a small smile grace her lips, "You understand now why I need to avenge his death,"
When he nodded in response suddenly Regina did not seem to be able to hold her tongue, "She couldn't keep her mouth shut, that was all she had to do." All she felt towards Snow was pouring out as she spoke,, "But no, she wanted to help me, she said." she huffed a laugh, "She didn't want to help me, she wanted me to be her mother, a substitute at least."
She rolled her eyes, and turned to look him right in the eye, feeling her chest tighten as she confessed one of her life's biggest frustrations, how her youth had been stolen from her so she could mother the girl who had been responsible for Daniel's death "But I did not choose to be a mother, I did not want to be a mother! I was seventeen!" Her voice broke a little, "She's a spoiled brat, who only thinks of herself. She took my life away from me, so now I'll take hers. She was selfish, she still is. Even now, on the run from me, she risks the lives of everyone who associates with her. She's always been a selfish little shit."
When she finished her hands were trembling, her heart was beating erratically, so when he took her hands in his and got down to his knees, Regina was sure she was going to pass out out of exhaustion and surprise.
His voice was firm and true, "I swear to you, Daniel's death will be avenged." he looked her dead in the eye, "You have my word."
Even though he was no longer the honorable Robin Hood who stole from the rich to give to the poor, Regina was absolutely certain that he meant every word he said and that he would honor his word.
She squeezed his hand in appreciation, "Thank you." and tugged it so he would stand because the image of him, on his knees, making vows to her was making her feel all those feelings she did not want to name.
Her mind went to the practical side of things, "But in order to do that I need to catch her." She remembered how utterly useless the hunt had been so far, "I can't even do that. It seems as if the whole world is against me, even if they are not on her side."
"We'll figure something out, change our strategy somehow-"
"Would it work though?" a cold feeling ran down her veins and was only soothed because their hands were still joined, "As much as it pains me to say, she has pretty powerful allies. The Blue Fairy is ancient, apart from the fact that there's more to her than meets the eye." she turned her head slightly to the side, looking beyond, "We need to find out what she's hiding. It doesn't make any sense that the Queen Fairy of Good would do what she did to Rapunzel." She was talking fast now, frantic almost, "We need to take her down, once we take her down, Snow won't have her protection anymore, she won't be able to hide for long, she-"
"Regina-" he interrupted her, placing his hands on her shoulders, "-breathe."
His touch was so soothing she could melt away in it and later Regina would blame exhaustion and the near death experience had just had to justify her confession, "I don't know what to do."
"Lucky for you, I do."
"You do? You know how I can take down the Blue Fairy?" she asked him, dumbfounded.
"Defeat the Blue Fairy? Of course not!" His accent got thicker, "But I know just how to make Snow White surrender to you, willingly, without a fight, and without the Blue Fairy."
"Go on,"
"As much as it pains me to say it, the idea came from your mother. Forgive me, I know she's your mother, but she is quite awful." She could not hold back the smirk, awful did not even begin to cover it, "She said, 'love is weakness' and although I have my doubts about that being completely true, we can use it to our advantage."
"How?"
"Isn't it obvious? Using her love against her." He explained further and she understood, "What was his name again?"
"David," she spoke Snow's true love's name with gusto, running through all the possibilities, feeling anxiety mixed with excitement, "His name is David."
"But-" he raised his finger, "We need to go about this new plan in a different way."
"Oh?" she raised a quizzical eyebrow, "How so?"
"Well, first I do think your change of plans should stay between the two of us." he explained, "Making a big ruckus over the fact that you were hunting down Snow did send out the message that you are a force to be feared, yes-" he paused to look at her as she gave him a satisfied smirk, "But it also sent out a huge warning sign for Snow White, she knows you are hunting her down, she will be extra careful" he wet his lips and continued, "She always knows where you are, you have an entire entourage with you which is kind of hard to miss."
Regina clicked her tongue as she looked back at him, he was very determined whilst he spoke, and he did have a point.
"You're right-" she took two steps towards him and nearly slipped on a gooey pile of leaves. Only then she realised that they had spent hours in that strange forest and it was beginning to get dark, plus she had not eaten since the morning. "-and as much as I would love to discuss every last detail of this new plan with you, I think it's time we get the hell out of here."
His lips twisted into a smile and he gave her, "Couldn't agree more, I'm starving."
She gave him a sincere show of teeth and engulfed them both in her magic, taking them back to the horses just outside the woods.
…
Before they got back to camp Regina used her magic to recompose herself, fixing her hair and make up as well as mending her torn clothes. They had also agreed that not a word of what transpired in the woods would be addressed to everyone else, the tale Robin would tell would be that the tip had been a dead end and they had just wasted their time in those dark woods.
Regina went straight to her spacious tent when they got to camp. She told Robin to carry on their plans, to instruct his men as if nothing had changed, to tell the whole world they were still out in the hunt for Snow White.
Regina was exhausted, mentally as well as physically, when she finally got to the privacy of her tent she sighed heavily as she dropped down to her improvised bed. Her lids were heavy and before she could register anything else, she fell asleep.
When she woke up it was dark outside and she felt the consequences of sleeping in a corset and boots. Her ribs ached as she struggled to get up from her bed, she had slept on her belly which only made it worse to move. She could feel her swollen feet ache inside her tight, high heeled boots, she also made the big mistake of turning her head to the side and sniffing herself, the smell was to say the least, very unqueenly.
With a wave of her hand she was liberated from all the clothes that tortured her body and asked herself once again why was it that she wore such uncomfortable clothes. It had something to do with power and intimidation but at that moment the argument sounded really weak.
Although her magic had rid her of her painful attire, it had done nothing to remove the smell of her skin, much less the sticky feeling of sweat and dirt that dotted her body. She needed to bathe, she needed to wash away everything that had happened that day.
Ever since the beginning of her journey she had conjured a bathtub filled with warm water in order to bathe in the privacy and comfort of her tent. But at that particular moment Regina was feeling suffocated inside the place, she needed air, needed fresh water. She had seen a small lake on her way back to camp-
Are you seriously considering bathing in the river Regina? Her mother's voice sounded inside her head. What a disappointment.
The voices had left her alone ever since she had shown Robin her memories but it was wishful thinking to believe that they had left her for good. There was something different about hearing her mother's voice once more after seeing all those out of control, awful memories. The rage bubbled inside her and made her ears burn as she thought of how her manipulative and horrible mother had broken her, how she had always tried to control her.
"I am the Queen, I can bathe wherever and whenever I wish!" her voice came out hoarse and grave.
The voice inside her head went quiet and before Regina could talk herself out of this, she got the heavy and warm robe she had worn the night before, wrapped it around her naked figure and poked her head out of her tent. No one was in sight, the camp was quiet, there was a timid fire burning a little further away from her tent and she could hear the sound of snoring faintly.
Even though the picture outside was quiet, Regina had always been cautious so she performed a dissalument spell, making herself invisible as she slipped out of her tent.
The night was chilly, and the grass beneath her feet was humid and cold. She was surprised to find that it was just what her feet needed since they were swollen because of the tight leather boots she had worn all day. And even though she knew she was invisible, her heart beat fast against her chest, an odd anticipation she had not felt in years started to build. She could track back to feeling like that when she sneaked out of her room at night to meet Daniel all those years ago, the exciting feeling of doing something for herself, something that defied mother's wishes.
She moved, making her way through the trees, trying her best to remember where she had seen the small lake. The night air was chilly and when she breathed out a small cloud of white smoke could be seen but the cold was welcome, the air filled her lungs as if cleansing it somehow, her chest felt lighter and although Regina was reluctant to admit it, so was her heart.
As she reached the lake a heavy sigh escaped her lips, the vision was quite stunning. The night sky was dotted with shining stars and the half crescent moon could be seen very clearly. The spectacle in the sky was mirrored in the lake's surface, which was so still that it was nearly like a looking glass. The lake was surrounded by trees and the ground was still of cold grass.
She got to the edge of the lake and placed the tip of her toe inside the water, which was a bad idea since the water was so cold she nearly tripped back.
"This won't do," she spoke to herself as she kneeled down to touch the water with her hand. It was indeed freezing, and of course it was, they were in the middle of winter. She took her hand out of the water and brought it to the front of her lips, she focused on the spell and blew on her hand.
Her magic created a red colored crystal ball that she now held in her hand. A smirk adorned her lips as she turned her hand to the side and the ball fell on the water. It glew as it sunk down to the depths of the not so deep lake, a few bubbles could be seen in the surface as Regina' s magic worked.
When the bubbles stopped and the water became still again, she placed her hand once more in the water and it was perfect, not too hot, not too cold, perfect.
She lowered herself and sat on the edge of the lake, letting her feet and legs sink into the warm water. Regina could not remember the last time she had felt so relaxed, she pulled the robe a little bit closer to her body feeling the cold night wind blowing and she thought about the chaotic day she had had.
It seemed as if years had passed since the night before, when she went to him, couldn't keep away from him, she had apologized, showed him her vulnerabilities and he had shown her nothing but understanding and kindness.
Their later activities had been incredible, as always full of passion and desire but there was something more there, something new. They had slept together, actually slept side-by-side, something they had done only once before. But when she woke it was with a satisfied smile on her face upon seeing his snoring, sleeping figure beside her. It got her thinking that maybe, just maybe, she could get used to that kind of imagery every morning.
But then things began to go south, first the villagers did not want to cooperate then a ghost from Robin's past as well as her own had showed up, Will Turner. When she learned that Robin had proposed to Marian with her earrings while Regina herself was suffering in a loveless marriage she felt her heart sink.
But the prospect of finally catching Snow proved to be a great distraction and her near doom. Regina thought time and time again how her emotions had clouded her judgement that day, William had nearly killed her because of her carelessness, her acting on impulse without taking a moment to think things through...
If it wasn't for him, she might have been dead by now.
Robin.
Not thief, not outlaw or even Locksley, now when they were alone she found herself using his given name just as he on occasion used hers. It sounded silly that every time she heard him say her name it felt as if they were sharing a secret. The feeling was young and adolescent but she found she liked it, they used those names when they were alone, intimate, because they were intimate in more than one sense now.
"Regina-" she heard his voice sound from behind her and chuckled at her imagination playing tricks with her.
Regina took a deep breath, closed her eyes and lowered her back to the ground while her legs were still inside the water when she heard his voice again.
"Regina?"
But she knew it was impossible for him to call out her name, she was still using her dissalument charm, she was invisible, he wouldn't be able to see her. She hummed an unknown tune as she wondered if she would start hearing his voice inside her head as well as the others and what it would say to her.
When his voice sounded again it was much closer and Regina finally opened her eyes when she heard the grass beside her head move. Upon opening her eyes she was met with the sight of him from a new angle, looking down as each of his feet were close to each side of her head, his hands on his hips and an expression of confusion mixed with curiosity in his face.
"Your feet must be freezing." His voice sounded again and she could not help but produce a laugh at his comment.
"How come you can see me?" She could not help but ask.
Had her spell worn off?
"What?" his face twisted in half amusement, half confusion.
"Nevermind-" she shook her head, "You're following me now?" she gave him, lifting a brow.
"You followed me yesterday-" he told her, not missing a beat.
She could help but smirk, "True-"she turned her head a little taking in the new angle of him. He was clad in simple sleeping trousers and a dark shirt that was untucked, and he looked as delicious as ever with his sturdy legs, strong arms and handsome features. "How long are you going to stand there for?"
Regina then realized that he was ogling her as well as she was him, his eyes were not on her face but on her chest which had been left slightly exposed when she laid down on the floor. She straightened up, sitting back up, "Come warm your feet." she gave him while moving her feet inside the water, she felt slightly nervous at this exchange. Did not understand why she had just asked him to sit with her. But she could feel that something between them had changed.
"I would like to keep my feet attached to my legs-" he answered looking at her feet, "How come your feet have not frozen over and fallen off?" He was truly puzzled.
Regina rolled her eyes and tugged at his hand so he would sit next to her. He did so but kept his feet away from the water. "Don't you trust me?" She leaned closer to him, mixing seduction with amusement, a sudden feeling of anticipation taking over her heart.
He huffed out a laugh and rather reluctantly placed his bare feet inside the water. Once they were in he turned to look at her with amazement stamped on his face. "How is this possible-?"
"Just a magic trick I learned a while back" Regina felt a little smug.
He turned his gaze back to the water moving his feet with a stunned look on his face, "This is incredible" his voice was soft, it lacked the playfulness of a moment ago.
There was a moment of silence in which they both looked at their own feet, moving leisurely inside the warm water.
"I can't believe I'm saying this-" he turned to look at her once more, "God knows you will never let me forget it, but-" he paused and regarded her for a beat, moistening his bottom lip with his tongue, "You are quite amazing."
Regina had expected him to say a lot of things but none of them resembled what came out of his mouth. She opened her own but no words came out, she was so stunned she could not come up with a single word to shoot back at him, and to make things worse she felt her cheeks turn red. She turned her gaze from him feeling silly and vulnerable.
What was happening to me? I feel as if I am 17 again.
"I mean-" he continued due to her lack of reply, "I have seen you conjure all manner of things with your magic, transport us to about anywhere, adapt enchantments to fit your will-" he placed one hand on her thigh as he continued, "I am sure not just any magician could do everything that you do-" he stopped speaking for a moment and she turned her head back towards him, he was looking at the lake again, as if remembering, "I never really liked magic, it always made me think of darkness and the unknown. When Marian died I tried every resource I could to bring her back, light magic, dark magic but none of my attempts were successful, so magic was still this unknown thing that made promises it did not own up to." he paused for a moment, took a deep breath and continued, "But then I saw your magic and although at first it seemed just like the brand of dark magic I had seen before, as time passed I realized there was something different about it, something special."
No one, not her mother, not her father, Maleficent or Rumplestiltskin, or any of her lovers had ever talked about her like that, like they were proud of her. Truly proud of her, pride with no agenda, not the kind of pride her mother felt when she agreed to marry the King or when Rumplestiltskin had been proud of her for managing to crush a heart for the first time. But pride of who she was and what she had accomplished.
She quickly came to realize that her mastering all different sorts of magic was quite an achievement and she should be very proud of herself for it, for learning the basis from Rumplestiltskin to wanting to master more intricate magic with Maleficent and also journeying on her own to find other magic sources which she could use.
Regina felt her cheeks grow hot again at his words and decided to be brave and look him in the eye to hear his words, she deserved them, "It's quite amazing, I-" he stuttered a little which was not like him, "I can't really put it to words as well as I should-" he looked back at her and when their eyes met something intense tugged at her heart, and that feeling terrified her.
Her stare went down and found his mouth, not wanting to think about the tug at her heart, the warm feeling of gratitude that blossomed in her chest and the dramatic sound of the walls she had built around herself crumble to dust at his words and care.
When he spoke again his voice was smaller as his eyes turned to look at her own lips, "And I still don't even like magic all that much-"
His last words were swallowed by a kiss that Regina could not help but give to him. In it she tried to convey what she could not in words, she couldn't bring herself to bare her feelings to him, yet again.
Not today anyway.
In reality she felt scared of what she had with the thief, the dynamic had changed and she did not know how to act, what to say.
So kissing was safe, she knew how to conduct things from here, but even this kiss they shared had a new color, felt sweeter than ever. He opened up to her and their tongues danced together, his hands finding her shoulders as her own went to tangle in his hair. She was surprised when he slowed the kiss down - as opposed to his usual wandering hands and intense kissing - and finished it giving her a final close mouthed kiss on the lips then leaned his forehead against hers.
Before Regina's insecurities could catch up with her, he spoke again,"Do my eyes deceive me or did you warm up the water to bathe-" his tone was playful and he gave her a dramatic pause before he concluded, "-in the lake."
She huffed out a laugh, "I'm the Queen-" she retorted with grandness, there was a beat and she gave him a wicked smile, "-and I can do whatever the fuck I want!" and with that she pushed him into the water, clothes and all.
The imagery was quite funny but most importantly, she had gained control again over the situation, his compliments, although sincere, had made her feel too much. All her emotions seemed to be in turmoil and she blamed it on all the events of the day.
As his head and shoulders emerged from the water and he spit a little bit of it in the process, he wiped his eyes with the palm of his hands before opening them, amusement played in his features.
An evil smirk adorned his lips as he spoke, "You do know what's going to happen now, don't you?"
He got closer to her and Regina immediately understood, "Don't you dare!"
She tried to bring her legs from inside the water but he was quicker. The next moment he was in front of her and pounced, he jumped, was able to come in between her legs, and grabbed her waist, and as everything that comes goes, before she knew it she was under water with his strong arms around her.
They emerged and Regina thanked her lucky stars the water's temperature was just right, otherwise she would have chopped off his balls. Her feet could touch the ground beneath her, the water reached just below her chest.
When she opened her eyes he was looking at her as if anticipating her response to what he had just done, ready to start off another banter session.
"You really have some nerve, outlaw," she spoke but her words did not bite.
"You started it" he gave back.
"How very mature of you to use that as an argument."
"Probably more mature than pushing an innocent thief into the strangely perfectly warm waters of the lake."
She threw her head back and laughed at his remark, "Do point me to that innocent thief, I don't see any innocent people in this lake." Her brow raised and suddenly the mood began to change.
His hands left her hips to come up in a gesture of surrender as he gave her, "I was a perfectly innocent thief before I met you."
She could not help but snort at his remark, "Innocent indeed-" her own hands went underwater to feel both his sides, running down, feeling the cloth of his shirt and the heat of his skin under it. She found the waistline of his trousers and tugged at them to make him move closer to her so she could slur in the shell of his ear, "- I don't think that smart mouth of yours was any innocent when it was under my skirts having a feast the day we met."
Her words had the desired effect for he groaned as his arms went back into the water to snake around her once more, bringing her even closer to him. His mouth was close to hers as he spoke, "And what a feast-" his eyes went to her mouth as she captured his lips in hers once more.
This kiss was quite different from the one before, it was warm and full of desire. Their bodies glued to each other as their tongues tangoed and tripped together in a dance both of them knew very well. She sighed into his mouth when his hands left her back and ventured to squeeze her backside before tugging her. Regina reacted in instinct, not breaking the kiss while she wrapped her legs around his middle letting him guide her through the water.
She felt her back against the earthy wall of the lake as he pressed himself against her, his desire for her becoming more and more evident in the intensity of his kisses and his already half hard member that was pressed dangerously close to where she needed pressure.
Regina ground herself against him, her hands on his hair as she guided the kiss that was bound to leave their lips swollen. It felt perfect, just right, this was the most intimate connection she had ever had in her entire life and that thought should have terrified her but as Regina was too swept by the haze of desire, she enjoyed herself.
She moaned as his lips made their way down her neck, sucking at her pulse point with gusto. His hands were still gripping her backside, kneading, feeling her with his intense and adoring touch, as she tried to rock herself against him just the right way.
Once she found the perfect position that made her body tremble with pleasure, her words betrayed her, "Fuck I need you."
She did not stop at first, although her body tensed up a little. He lifted his head from her neck slowly, eyes open in surprise, lips slightly parted and Regina had stopped moving altogether, her legs dropping back to the lake's bottom when their eyes locked. She was shocked and scared by what she had uttered and she was sure her face showed it. There was a pause in which they did not speak, the air heavy between them.
Regina knew that at that moment he saw right through her soul, he saw her insecurity, her wounded spirit and her battered heart.
He blinked a few times and focused his stare once more but his eyes were different then. He surprised her for what seemed to be the thousandth time that day by asking, "Are you wet enough?" Which he finished with a playful smile.
All of the tension in her body seemed to be lifted as if by magic at his words. She tried to suppress the laugh but was unsuccessful. She took a breath to recompose herself, his eager eyes still waiting for her reply, "I have an idea-" she took his hand in hers and let it underwater, under her robe, "-why don't you see it for yourself?" She placed his hand just where she wanted his cock.
His grin gave away for his teeth to worry down on his lower lip as his fingers felt her desire for him, her slickness traceable even underwater. He tested one finger inside her, that alone made her moan and press herself against his hand, she was so more sensitive down there than usual and she had no idea why.
Maybe it was the warm water, maybe it had been his compliments, or maybe it was because she was finally letting go, being herself and being appreciated for who she really was.
He pumped his single finger inside her a few times making her twist her body against him, longing for something thicker of his to fill her to the brim. Just as she found a nice position his finger left her and Regina could not hold back a frustrated whine.
Her protest was quickly silenced as he pulled her robe open and thrust himself inside her to the hilt. All the air had left her lungs as she took him in, but found it odd that he did not start moving. She met his eyes with the unspoken question and was met with a silent question of his own in his.
It looked as if he was making sure it was alright to continue, as if asking for her permission and it all felt so unlike him - not that he had ever done things that she didn't want, but they had always been so eager and caught up in the moment when they had been together that everything just happened, no seconds thoughts - but very much like the man he had been when she had been in her lowest.
Regina's heart beat fast against her chest and she found she did not want to think about any of this. She wanted to feel him, to have him there with her, here and then. What it meant, what would happen, were questions to be asked tomorrow. So she gave him a firm nod and snaked her arms around his neck as well as her legs around his hips as he started thrusting inside her, good and deep.
His pace was slow at first, he was probably enjoying himself too much in the torture of pulling almost all of the way out of her and then back in filling her oh so completely and oh so deliciously. She threw her head back letting out a throaty moan when he pressed her back to the earthy walls of the lake and went deeper.
But what she needed was faster, she needed friction, so she brought her mouth to his neck, tracing her way down there until her lips were on his right shoulder and bit him there. Robin's response was a moan of pleasure as well as surprise but she had his attention, which was what she wanted. Her lips left his shoulder and went to the shell of his ear, "Faster, fuck me faster-" she paused hearing something that resembled a horny groan coming from his throat and finished, knowing it would make him go over the edge, "-Robin."
It most certainly had done the trick. The next moment his lips found hers and he started moving faster, their kiss was a messy thing, too much tongue, teeth clattering, both of them too eager as his thrusts became more intense. Her hands were in his shoulders trying to hold herself together, all the action was bringing her over the edge, her entire body was on fire, and had she not been in the water she was sure every hair in her body would have been up, the friction between them was electric, magnificent.
It did not take long for Regina to reach her peak and when she came she was sure the stars above her shone just a little bit brighter and her lips could not hold back saying his name once more.
Upon hearing his name he picked up the pace even more and grunted against her neck things that sounded too much like, "You are amazing" and "Fucking stunning" for anybody to deny it. Regina held on to him as he rode to his own orgasm and let herself enjoy the feeling of having someone who said things like that to her and actually meant it.
He came with her name on his lips, something else that made her chest tug with warmth.
After that she knew that she was done for.
Regina's legs finally gave in and her feet found the bottom of the lake as they both tried to catch their breath. Her gaze found his, even in the moonlight she could see the redness on his cheeks, the spark in his eyes and also could register that their exchange had been so heated and escalated so quickly that he had not had time to take off his shirt, only his trousers.
"Why is it that I am always the one who gets naked first?" her voice was a little raspy, her hand reached for the collar of his shirt.
"Because you are the pretty one." He gave her such a dazzling smile she found it hard to believe she was the only one that was pretty in this relationship.
She took a breath to give him a reply and promptly remove his shirt when a noise made them both freeze on the spot. Robin's eyes narrowed as he turned towards the noise, Regina followed suit but he moved in a way that his body was in front of her, sheltering her.
How galant, she thought with a hint of irony.
But you don't need sheltering, the half naked Queen inside her head told her.
No, I don't, she agreed.
But still, the young woman spoke up, it's pretty galant of him. After all, you are naked.
I wouldn't want just anybody looking at the crown jewels, the half naked Queen agreed with the young woman.
"Sir?" the male voice Regina vaguely recognized snapped her out of her internal dialogue.
On the opposite edge of the lake stood a few of her black knights, all in less than royal guard garments, in loose sleeping shirts, some wore trousers, others not. The water was warm but Regina felt as cold as ice, she did not know what to do, she was on display there as naked as the day she had been born, robe somewhere in the depths of the lake-
"Sir-" one of the men spoke again, he was addressing Robin, "I'm sorry to disturb but the Queen is nowhere to be found." Regina frowned at that, after all she was right there in front of the man.
Robin was also wearing a frown upon his face and looked back at her as if to make sure that she was there, right behind him, clear as the eye could see. Maybe her men hadn't recognized her without her royal attire, she was soaked to the bone-
"Why would you need to speak to the Queen at this hour, Evans?" Robin responded.
"One of our scouts came back with some information that can aid in our search." Evans responded not once looking at Regina.
Upon hearing his words something snapped inside her, "What information is it?" she spoke, all her royal manner back in place, he should recognize her just by the way she spoke. Even if she was naked, the water reached just above her breasts.
But to her utter astonishment the man did not even finch at her words, looking at Robin expecting an answer from him. There was a moment of silence in which Robin looked from Evans to Regina and then back at Evans.
"Well, you heard her-" he gestured towards her, "-what's this new information?"
Evans then looked confused and stuttered a little, "I-I'm sorry sir. Her who?"
"Is this some kind of joke?" Regina grew nervous at Evan's behavior, "Am I invisible to you or-" but her words got caught in her throat when suddenly her penny dropped.
She was invisible. She had cast the spell on herself earlier that evening before going to the lake. When Robin had been able to see her she had thought the effect had worn off but it hadn't, her knights could not see her.
Before Robin could join her uttering ill words towards poor, confused Evans she placed her hand on his shoulder and told him, "They can't see me. I cast a spell on myself earlier to become invisible, but for some inexplicable reason you can see through it."
His mouth opened, then closed again, probably thinking how he might have sounded like a crazy man just moments ago.
He cleared his throat before addressing his men again, "Very well. I will contact the Queen, get your men and go back to camp, start preparations for departure. We will meet with you as soon as possible." His voice was firm and commanding, the post she had given suited him well.
"Yes, sir." Evans spoke again and turned around to head back to camp, all the other black knights followed him.
The couple inside the water watched them as they went in silence. It was only when they were mere dots in the horizon that she felt Robin's hands on her hips, he came from behind, pressing himself against her back, more specifically her backside as he spoke in the shell of her ear, "So I can see through your spell-"
"Seems like it-" she responded, tilting her neck to the side to give him better access when she felt his lips there.
"Seems like I'm pretty special then" he added with humor in his voice.
"Seems to me like you are pretty cocky."
He hummed in response to her retort, lips still on her neck ghosting over it, giving Regina goosebumps, "You like my cock-" he pressed his manhood against her behind, "-iness."
"I do-" her voice was low and sensual, he was doing things to her and she was ready for round two. She turned around to face him, putting her hands on his shoulders for balance as she rubbed her acching parts against his, robbing a moan from him "And as much as I would love to ride your cock until I wipe that cocky smile from your face-" she touched his mouth with the tip of her finger, "- duty calls."
…
The information had been very useful indeed. Apparently James, but not really James, David, had run away from his father's castle and his arranged engagement, riding into the sunset in order to find the one true love of his life, Snow White. The only thing he didn't know was that Regina was going to find him first.
As Regina sat inside her carriage, a million thoughts raced through her head, one overlapping the other not giving her enough time to ponder upon any of them.
How would she catch David? Had she really bathed in the river with the outlaw the night before? Did she have Daniel's brother's blood on her hands? Where would David look for Snow? Would he even go straight to her? Did he have a plan? Had it been a mistake showing Robin all those memories? Would she come to regret it one day once Snow White was under the sleeping curse and his heart back in place? What would he do after that? Would he even stay? Would he-?
"You look like you're going to burst into flames at any minute." His voice brought her back from her pestering questions. She had told him to travel inside the carriage with her so they could discuss the next moves in their secret plan, but she had been silent ever since the carriage had started moving.
"What?" she asked and realized she had been holding her breath and was thankful for once she was not wearing a tight corset.
She had learned her lesson in regards to what she wore and chose to put on less constricting clothes for the day. The ensemble still sold fear and power, jet black, leather boots but they had no heels, a fitted pair of black trousers that made her movements easy but still accentuated the curves of her legs, and an intricate, warm, black cape that sheltered her from the cold but still gave her the royal air of the infamous Evil Queen. Her hair was up on a ponytail and cascaded down her shoulders.
"What's on your mind? Do you know where you want to start the search?" He asked.
Regina took a deep breath before she replied, "I want the chess pieces to move a little before I go after David. George is in search of him as well, he wants him dead for having humiliated him before his own kingdom and Midas. And even though David must be eager to be reunited with Snow he's not completely idiotic, he won't go straight to her now. Especially if it might put her in harm's way. We need to be patient about that."
He clicked his tongue, studying her with his eyes and Regina felt slightly uneasy for his eyes were not undressing her - as they normally did - but scrutinized her, "You're right-" he paused, "So what are we going to do?"
"You'll see when we get there," Regina smirked, liking to keep him in the dark just to have him on his toes. She was the Queen after all, she always needed to have the upper hand.
He huffed and spoke as he looked out of the window, "Well, we are heading east so I can only imagine we are going to-"
But his words were swallowed by dark, magical, purple smoke that engulfed both their bodies and made them disappear.
As they reappeared just outside the Blind Witch's house the first thing to hit her senses was the smell, it was so bad Regina had half a mind to wave her hand and go back to her carriage. It smelled as if something had gone bad and had been left to rot under the sun. As the purple smoke cleared away Regina could match the smell it's source.
"Oh shit-" she heard the outlaw beside her gasp and turn away from the sight, hand over his nose.
The once colorful and attractive looking sweet-made house was in a horrid state. The house was rotting, half of the roof was already gone, the walls looked as if they had been half eaten at first - no doubt the animals in the forest had feasted on the house in the first few days it had been left unoccupied - but now as it withered away it had changed from it's bright and attractive colors to darker ones.
Regina guessed this had happened because the Blind Witch's magic had created the house, since she was dead, had been dead for weeks now, the magic had worn off and nature took its course.
The sight was not pretty.
Regina took in the air to speak and shuddered at the strong smell, "Don't tell me you are going soft-" she directed her voice towards the outlaw who stood a few feet from her, eying the house with disgust. She didn't wait for his reply before reminding herself to breathe through her mouth and venture towards the house.
Once she stood directly in front of the horror house, Regina concentrated on her magic and waved one hand in the air once. She took a tentative breath and the foul smell was gone. She was thankful she wore gloves when she pushed open the molding chocolate door in order to go inside.
She could hear Robin follow her steps a few moments later as she took in the sight of the house, and it was just as appalling as the outside. There were a lot of tables around the house, of all shapes and sizes, she was sure they must have been filled with colorful and delicious food before, but now, not so much. The whole sight was making her nauseous and Regina started to rethink this whole strategy.
"What is it that you hope to find here?" Robin asked her, coming from behind her as he looked around.
"Something that connects the Blind Witch to the Blue Fairy." she spoke, not really looking at him.
He huffed but said nothing and for the next few minutes they searched the house in silence. Unfortunately, she did not seem to be able to find anything useful, only a lot of bad food and broken furniture.
"Regina-" he spoke and she turned in his direction to find him holding a small frame, frowning.
"What's that?" She came around him in order to look at the painting inside the frame.
"It's a woman-" he squinted his eyes, "-with blue hair. Is this the Blue Fairy?"
"Oh no. The Blue Fairy just wears an alarming quantity of blue."
"Who is this then?" He turned his head to the side in order to meet her eye.
"That's the Blue Witch. Rapunzel's mother." she informed him.
"Oh-" his eyes went wide, "Well apart from the blue hair hint, I did not picture the Blue Witch like this."
The Blue Witch had been a beautiful woman, born with exquisite power that she learned to control on her own. She had been three hundred years old when she passed, but had not looked a day past 40, magic could do that.
"Not that it matters-" Regina started, truly curious to know how he had imagined the sorceress, "-but how had you imagined her to be?"
He tilted his head to the side a little, still looking at the painting of the woman before he replied, "I don't know. Older, meaner, she looks nearly kind here..."
"Do all witches have to look old?" Regina took the frame from his hands swiftly.
He turned to look at her, puzzled in his eyes, "Not because she was a witch. But because of what she did to her daughter."
"Most witch mothers are terrible mothers." It was out of her mouth before she had the chance to think it through.
"Like your mother?" He asked almost immediately.
There was dead silence then. Regina felt her heart race fast at the mention of her mother, suddenly she felt bare before him, and started to question once again if it had been wise to share her memories with him. She did not want to talk about her mother and her abusive upbringing, she-
"If my mother had been a witch-" he was speaking again and Regina was drawn from her thoughts, "-I most certainly wouldn't be here right now."
"What do you mean?" she could not help but ask.
"My mother is-" he paused, "-was quite the terrible mother."
"Was? Did she die?"
"To me? Yes, she did, a very long time ago." His tone was very serious.
"What happened?"
"Simple, me and my brothers were born, that's what happened."
"I don't understand..."
"My mother did not want to be a mother. She married my father, the baron of Locksley for the title alone. She did not want to share it with anybody. She was a vile and selfish woman. When she found out she was pregnant with my eldest brother, she ripped apart the bed and the pillows of her wedding bed." Robin paused for a moment and swallowed as Regina tried to imagine such a woman.
"We were raised by the servants and hardly ever saw her, and she did not worry herself too much about our upbringing, too preoccupied with her parties and just how many gowns were too many gowns." he scoffed and continued, "We did peak her interest when we came of age. When each of us reached the suitable age to marry. She had personally picked out brides for all three of us, each of them as far away as possible from Nottingham, our home. She had made it crystal clear that she did not want us there. She wanted it all for herself, the land, the title, the riches."
"You had an arranged marriage?" Regina was too taken by the story not to ask.
"I watched in agony as two elder brothers, first Caleb and then Sebastian, married women they had never met before and were forced to go away, probably never to return, I never saw them again..." he paused then and turned his eyes away from hers, looking out of the half broken window, "When my turn came I was terrified-" he swallowed before continuing, "I was sixteen, I did not want to get married and move to the Highlands Kingdom. I wanted to stay, I wanted to be in Nottingham. My home."
Regina took an unconscious step towards him and asked, her voice having turned quiet, "What did you do?"
He turned his face back towards her and answered, "I ran away. Gathered as much as I could and ran from there, hid in Sherwood Forest for days before I met Friar Tuck, he took me in. Soon I had a whole band of friends who shared my hatred towards my mother. And before I knew we had an intricate plan to break into her estate and steal as much as we could carry."
"And did you?" Regina found she was completely caught by his story, this was one of first times he spoke of his life before he came into her service.
"We did, quite successfully, after all I knew the estate like the back of my hand," there was a smile in his voice, he turned a little, looking forwards, as if seeing a scene play out in front of his eyes, "but not without me running into her on my way out,"
"What happened?"
"I told her everything I always wanted to say to her but never had the guts." he licked his lips, "It was quite freeing." he spun a little and met her eye again, "And I promised her that I would pull apart every single item that we stole and hand everything to the poor of all of Nottingham and beyond, she would never be able to set eyes on those ever again. I knew those items were the ones she treasured the most."
"That must have felt amazing-" Regina could not help but comment, thinking of how wonderful it would be to give Cora an earful of everything Regina had bottled up inside.
"It did-" he replied, "Looking back at it now, I wish I had just ended her right there, would have done the world some good to get rid of her." He huffed, "But back then I was just a lad, still with idiotic ideas about honor and goodness and all that nonsense-" he took a few steps away from her, trying to look out of the window, "Although if I was met with the choice of pushing her into an enchanted mirror, I might have taken it, even then-"
He stopped speaking altogether when the sound of the frame that held the Blue Witch's painting breaking resonated in the air. Regina did not even register it slipping through her fingers, she had been fine until he had mentioned her memory. It was as if her brain turned itself off for a few seconds before coming back to life upon hearing the sound of breaking wood and glass.
He turned back to look at her, "Is something wrong?"
She could not show him her weaknesses.
Pull yourself together Regina, several voices inside her head told her in unison.
"It slipped," she spoke, bringing her indifferent tone back, "It's useless anyway-" she looked down at the broken frame as she gave a piece of wood a small nudge with the toe of her shoe.
He had a quizzical look on his face, probably wasn't buying her indifference but that was his problem not-
"Wait" he spoke as he kneeled in front of her.
"What are you doing?" Regina frowned, he was gathering something at her feet, the remainders of the frame that held the painting.
"Ah!" He sounded far too pleased with himself, and surprised Regina by springing to his feet so fast she did not realise he was so close to her.
He held something in between his thumb and finger, at first it looked like an ordinary seed gone dry and dark, but upon further inspection Regina could see there was a strange sparkle to it.
"Do you know what this is?" he asked her, far too smug for her liking as he held the thing before her eyes.
"A dry bean," she shot back.
"Correction-" he said, bringing his face closer to hers, "- a dry magic bean."
"A magic bean?" she tried to take it from his hand to inspect it further with no success, he was annoyingly agile.
"Yes, the kind you use to travel in between realms," he told her, still dodging her attempts to take the bean. He smiled down at her, and it made her feel sappy and annoyed that he was having so much fun at her expense.
But she grew tired of his little game and with a wave of her hand, the bean was in her palm in seconds and it was time for her to smile.
"That's not fair." he protested looking at his now empty hand.
Regina leaned close enough to him so their lips ghosted over one another, "I never play fair." and before he had any time to react she gave him a close mouthed but strong kiss on the lips and then drew away without a second glance back at him, walking out of the house, pocketing the dry magic bean safely in her coat.
It was impulsive and delicious and Regina loved to play with him, keep him on his toes, insult him but not really mean it and then take advantage of those little moments.
Walking out of the house was a great relief, Regina could breathe easy once more and a strange niggling thought dawned on her that maybe, someday she would tell Robin about her mother, just as he had told her about his. He had seen some of her interactions with her mother in her memories but she found she wanted to fill in the gaps, partly because she was afraid he might have gotten the wrong idea about her mother, although he did see Cora kill Daniel, and also because she never spoke of mother to anybody, only daddy but it wasn't the same…
"And what's beyond the house?" she turned around to find him walking towards her as he asked the question, "In those not so friendly looking woods."
Regina looked back, beyond the moldering house, at the tall tree tops and dense vegetation of the woods, "Nothing really. Those are the grey woods" he had reached her and they started to walk together towards the edge of the forest, "Those woods are where the Blue Witch's garden once was." She told him, "But, ever since she died, so has the garden. Much like the sweet house, the Blue Witch's magic gave life to the garden, so once she was gone, it withered away, everything turned gray."
"But-" Robin brought his hand to his chin, "Isn't it funny that the Blind Witch built her house here?"
"Why would it be funny?" Regina did not understand his question, "She chose this spot because it was near where she grew up. Makes sense."
"Still, it doesn't make sense to me that-" he paused, "She was cast away by her mother, right?"
"Yes."
"To a swamp."
"To a swamp, that's correct."
"Why would she want to be even near the person who cast her away? Why would she build a house just outside her mother's domain?" He spoke fast and his argument did make sense, although they were trying to make sense out of something a crazy person had done…
Regina felt a sudden chill remembering how she had thought about reaching out to her mother in her worst moments, forgoing the horrid things that had happened just to be able to be held by her mother. It had been juvenile and stupid, she hadn't thought like that in years but she did understand why Rapunzel would want to be near her mother, even if she was a heartless bitch.
"Where is this swamp anyway?" He asked her.
Regina cleared her throat and swallowed before replying, "The swamp is called The Dead Marshes-" she felt the bile rise on just thinking about the place, she had been there once and did not want to return, "-it's quite a horrid place. I've been there once, in my-" she took a deep breath, "-magical training."
Regina had been struggling, she had been learning magic from Rumpelstiltskin for two years but things did not seem to be moving very fast. Her teacher thought her difficulties had something to do with the fact that she had not truly let go of the hopes of getting Daniel back, even after the whole Frankenstein fiasco. So he had taken her to the Dead Marshes just to show her how dead was dead and there was nothing she could do about that. The place wreaked of death and Regina nearly vomited when she looked upon the waters to find dead bodies there, preserved, as if they had just taken their last breath, but undoubtedly dead.
That day had been one of those few days in which she missed her mother. That day Rumplestiltskin had been most certainly worse than Cora.
"Regina?" It was only when Robin called her name that Regina realised that she had stopped talking, too lost in her memories.
"Yes?" She frowned, had he asked her a question?
"Do you have a map of the Enchanted Forest?" He repeated himself talking slowly, a hint of annoyance in his voice.
"Why?" she scrunched her face.
He rolled his eyes and huffed before replying, "Because I want to check something."
Regina had half a mind of asking him just what his problem was. Why was he suddenly annoyed? But decided otherwise, giving him a short, "Fine." before waving her hand in the air and producing a map of the entire Enchanted Forest that hung in the air, floating magically before them.
Without a word uttered to her, Robin went to analyse the map as Regina stood a foot behind him looking at the map herself, trying to understand why on earth he would need it in the first place.
After a few moments she spoke again, "This is it," she pointed the marshes out to him on the map.
Not taking his eyes from the map he pointed at another part of it, "And this is where we are. It's quite far from those marshes."
It took Regina a few seconds to understand what he was trying to show her - she had been airy that day with her head in the clouds about what had happened the day before, things that were happening now and things from her past she did not even want to remember.
"I understand what you mean, the marshes are south of the Enchanted Forest. The Blue Witch's territory is up north, so when she banished Rapunzel she really meant it, sent her as far away as possible."
"That's the point. How did a blind woman who had just lost her child, who was hurt, go from being here," he pointed to the marshes on the map, "Where she had been stuck for months. To here." he pointed to where the Blind Witch's house had been.
He had a point, it was a long way, but-
"With magic," Regina replied almost immediately, "She got magic when she lost the baby."
"Did she though?" Robin questioned and Regina was intrigued to see where he was going with this, "Because if there's one thing I will never forget in my life is the way that woman spoke when you questioned her about her magic. Now, it is a known fact that her mother died soon after banishing Rapunzel. But she said that her mother appeared and made her choose between magic and her baby."
"But that wasn't her mother." Regina interrupted him.
"I'd figured as much-" he clicked his tongue, apparently a little irritated that he got interrupted, "- not that you trouble yourself with filling me in with all the details." and apparently annoyed at that as well. Well someone was showing his teeth again, "But after your confrontation with the Blue Fairy I figured that she had been the one there with Rapunzel in the swamp. She gave her powers and we can even assume that she made her lose the baby."
"Apart from the fact that you're petty that I don't tell you all my secrets, this is all old news to me..." Regina decided to bite back.
He huffed and looked at her with a half smile on his lips, then looked at the map once more.
He pointed at the marshes on the map again and said, "She had a plan, the Blue Fairy." his finger slid up until it reached the location of the Blind Witch's house, "She brought Rapunzel from the marshes to the edge of the grey forest" he tapped it three times there, "Created a home for her there with everything she needed for her crazy fantasy of getting her child back-" his smile widened then, he paused and finally gave "Rapunzel was the Blue Fairy's Cerberus."
"Cerberus?" Regina was confused, maybe he had inhaled too much mold in the sweet house and it had gotten to his head.
"Yes, Cerberus." he repeated himself "I had an education growing up you know, and that included mythical creatures." He dragged his eyes from the map back to her, they shone with excitement, "The Blind Witch, the horrible monster who ate children, was the watchdog."
Oh
Why didn't she think of that before?
"No one wants to be in the woods where there's a mad witch eating children for supper." She spoke more to herself, the wheels inside her head finally turning.
"So, whatever the Blue Fairy has to hide, it's there. In the grey forest." He spoke triumphantly and Regina felt a strong tung of excitement in her chest she could kiss him out of gratitude.
Instead, she gave him a wicked smile, took his hand in hers and said, "And we're going to find out just what she's hiding in there."
Then she was moving, he followed her, hand still very much holding on to her own, a thrilling feeling invaded her senses as she took each step towards the entrance of the woods. As she took a deep breath she could sense it now, it was in the air, fairy magic. The smell of it oh so clear, as clear as the day she inhaled too much pixie dust when Tinkerbell took her to find-
Why was her mind taking her back to the past every three minutes?
She shook her head inwardly and looked at Robin, walking hurriedly beside her, matching her speed, their eyes met for a second and he smiled at her - she felt her lips twitch in a smile as well - before looking ahead. They were almost there when Regina felt the air thicken, the fairy magic now dense, creating an almost suffocating atmosphere, as if she was breathing sugar. She tugged at his hand whilst she halted her steps so he wouldn't go any further, he looked back at her with a quizzical expression.
"What's wrong?" His voice was soft and airy now.
"There's a very strong protection spell around these woods." She replied, moistening her lower lip with her tongue and she could swear she could even taste the sweet flavour of fairy magic.
They still held hands as she took tentative steps towards the woods. When the smell was almost nauseating and her vision was starting to become blurry due to the density of the air, Regina raised her hand to touch the invisible barrier created by fairy magic.
As soon as her hand made contact with the barrier it became visible for a few seconds, a huge dome of sparkly blue surrounded the entire forest. Regina was curious to notice that a green light emanated from her hand when she touched the barrier.
Apart from the green sparkles, the whole place was overflowing with Fairy Magic, light magic at it's stickiest. It would be impossible for her to open the slightest cut in that intricate protection barrier, not without help anyway.
Regina huffed but did not feel defeated, "Come," she tugged at the outlaw's hand one more time telling him to follow her away from the barrier.
Once they had put a safe distance between themselves and the forest, Regina spoke again, "She's definitely hiding something there," she realized she was still holding his hand and let it go, "There's a nauseatingly strong protection spell around the whole forest."
He blinked a few times and ran his tongue along his lips, "Is that why I can taste sugar on my lips?"
"Yes, that's fairy magic." she took a deep breath letting the cool clean air rid her lungs of all that fairy magic, "Magic is a living thing, it has smell, taste, color, sound. Normal people just see and hear it when it's used in spells and such. People who actually use magic normally can sense it better, with other senses, not just sight and hearing."
At that moment he was looking so intentevely into her eyes Regina nearly forgot her train of thought, "For every person who uses magic there's a different smell and taste to it. Depends on the person and where that magic came from. Fairy Magic is light magic and it smells and tastes of sugary things. My mother's magic was," she huffed out a non comical laugh, "- not light magic and had a horrid smell of ash and blood." She averted her gaze to the crumbled sweet house, "When I first came here I could smell death and the sweet stench of the Blind Witch's magic."
"So the Blind Witch's magic smelled like fairy magic-" he was by her side, "-because it was the Blue Fairy who gave her the magic."
"Exactly-" she huffed thinking about that cunning little bug, "And she is crafty little shit that Blue Fairy. She gave the Blind Witch a house made out of candy in order to distract the smell of her own magic that shields the woods. Any person who can smell magic would come here and assume the sugary smell in the air was due to the house made of sweets."
"And how can we enter the woods if it's so heavily guarded?" he asked.
"I'll have to look fairy magic up in my collection, understand it better so I can destroy it." she looked at him once more, "It's not going to be easy."
"Nothing that is worth something ever is, Regina." he was looking at her funny and before he could see her blush again she turned her back to him.
"We need to go to the summer palace." she spoke as she began to walk away from the woods and the sticky house.
"Summer palace?" she could hear him just behind her, "Why?"
"Because that's where my collection on light magic is," she explained, not turning back.
"You have a collection on light magic?" he spoke with disbelief.
"'Course I do." she spun back to face him then, "How else can I study my enemies?"
He looked convinced enough, "Point taken. Are you going to transport us to the palace?"
"Oh no, we're getting back to the carriage and taking the whole entourage to the summer palace as well."
"Why?"
"As you've pointed out yourself yesterday, Snow always knows where our entourage is going."
"What advantage do you see in that?"
"None," she smiled at him then, "It's just that, the palace was built for Snow's mother" she got closer to him wearing an evil smile on her face, "But now it's mine. As is her father's kingdom. And soon, her true love's heart will also be in my possession."