Regina woke to Emma shaking her shoulder, her long blonde hair brushing Regina's chest as she tried to get her up. "Wake up, Regina, your parents are expecting you at breakfast any minute now."
"Ugh, can I just stay in bed? Please?" the princess pleaded. "I don't want to see them today."
Emma sat on the bed beside her as Regina sat up. "What'd they do this time?" She was no stranger to being angry at parents. Her own had left her at the castle the day she was born with nothing but a blanket embroidered with her name and a note pleading with the king and queen to care for their daughter. Having just given birth to Regina, Cora had initially wanted to turn her away, but pleading from Henry and her favorite servant, Eva, had made her reconsider. Eva, who had been raising Mary for two years at the time, begged to be allowed to raise Emma as her own. Cora had relented, and ever since, Mary and Emma had been sisters in the truest sense, and their closest friend had always been Regina.
"One of the worst things I can imagine them doing- Mother not only arranged my marriage, but if she has her way, I'll be marrying that horrible Robin Locksley! Meanwhile, I went to Granny's last night, and met someone… but he's promised to someone here as well, so even if we get to see each other again, we'll never get to be together."
"And he's probably a peasant too, right?" Emma asked. "So even if it wasn't for the fact that you've both been promised to other people, your mother would never approve. What can I do to help?" While Mary always advocated for following the rules, Emma, like Regina, was more adventurous. However, Regina's older friend enjoyed tales of romance more than her sister and friend, so Regina knew that Mary would be willing to help in any way she could as well.
"Cover for me when I go see him tonight?" Regina asked.
"How about I go with you and Mary covers for you?" Emma suggested as a counteroffer. "That way, you have someone watching your back, and someone to make sure this man is worth your time. What's his name?"
"Phoenix," Regina informed her, a wistful smile growing on her lips. "He's… I know you're like me, you're independent, but Emma, he actually understands that. I told him how things are here, what I imagine Robin's going to be like, and he said that he would allow his wife to live as independently as she liked. No fancy dinner parties, no balls, no awful dresses-"
"He sounds too good to be true," Emma commented skeptically.
"That's what I thought at first too- but I believe him, Emma, and if you had seen the look in his eyes when he was telling me his thoughts on the matter- you'd believe him too, I know you would."
"Are you- you're not in love with him already, are you?" an incredulous Emma asked. "You know I love adventure as much as you, but that sounds like a terrible idea, even to me. You know what your mother will do to him if she finds out."
Regina was shocked. "Emma, I thought you were the one of the three of us who always took the most risks! Who are you, and what have you done with my friend?"
"Just trying to make sure you know what you're getting yourself into," Emma told her gently. "You know I'll help with any scheme you come up with- Mary too, especially when she finds out the circumstances. I'm just trying to make sure you look at the situation from every angle so you know the risks."
"All right, thank you," Regina responded gratefully. "I appreciate it."
"Anytime," Emma assured her. "Now, you go have breakfast and I'll update Mary on the plan."
Regina's day was filled with dreaded preparations for Lord Locksley's son's arrival to the castle in three days. The only thing keeping her from beating her head against a wall with frustration were the thoughts of Phoenix that completely monopolized her focus.
Her mother noticed. "Regina, you need to focus. You'll need to know all you can about the Locksleys' culture before you become one of them. You'll want to please your future husband, and knowledge of his way of life is a first step."
"Mother, as I've told you, I don't want to marry Robin Locksley!" Regina cried. "Why does my opinion not matter in a decision regarding how I live my life in the future?" Her anger was fueled by Phoenix's words from the night before. Surely, if there was even the slightest chance that he was telling the truth and there were some people on the other side of the forest that believed that women should be given the same freedoms as men, there was a possibility that she could help people in her kingdom adopt their beliefs as well.
"Stupid girl," Cora scoffed. "You're young, you don't know what you want. And even if you did, there is no guarantee that it would be in this kingdom's best interest. It's time you learned that I know what course of action is best for you."
"Mother," Regina said slowly, trying to rein in her temper while showing her ire at the same time. "You've been training me to become queen of Misthaven for as long as I can remember. If I don't know how to effectively run the kingdom now, will you ever trust me to rule?" She thought she knew the answer, she was just curious what her mother's response would be.
"No, of course not," the queen stated plainly, her words a knife to Regina's heart and self-esteem. "You're always running off with those servant girls, you never take any of your lessons seriously."
"What lessons?" Regina asked incredulously. "Needlepoint? How to dance? I think it would be much more efficient if I spent time learning about the kingdom's assets, allies, and enemies, don't you?"
But she had made her first mistake, a fact that was made clear when she saw the smug smile on Cora's face. "Foolish girl. Diplomacy is as much about conversing during a dance as it is about council meetings with your allies. You need to learn about the customs of other lands so that you can more easily persuade others to follow the best course of action for Misthaven. Flattery is everything, dear, and the first step toward that is all of those "lessons" you claim are a waste of your time."
Regina was tempted to ask what would happen if she didn't want to be queen. But she knew that if she wasn't queen, Zelena would be, and Zelena was her mother's daughter in every way. Having her in charge of the kingdom would ensure that workers were taxed unfairly, and the kingdom's money would be used for frivolous purposes instead of being used to benefit the entire kingdom. Finally, she spat out, "When I am queen, I will be the one deciding what is and isn't proper behavior for a queen, Mother. And I'll tell you now: it won't be anything like what you've done before."
As she turned and walked away, Cora called after her, "Oh, that I'm well aware of dear. But mark my words, you'll be thankful for being next in line to the throne one day."
"I doubt it," Regina muttered as she turned and walked away, shoes echoing on the cold stone floors as she walked away from her mother.
When Robin woke up, he kept his eyes shut, willing the image of the beautiful woman he had met the night before at the tavern to remain in his thoughts for the rest of the day. In his mind, it seemed almost as if meeting her had been a dream, the best dream that he never wanted to wake from. Her purple dress brought out flecks of a lighter shade of brown in her eyes, and those eyes were perhaps the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
Then he remembered her smile, and he immediately took back his previous statement. The way she had smiled at him as he was telling her his people's views on women's roles in their society was alight with a passion that he had never seen in anyone else. It gave him hope that maybe the princess of Misthaven wouldn't be as spoiled as the people of Nottingham believed.
Speaking of which… what were he and Reina going to do about their current situation? He knew that he didn't want to even meet the princess of Misthaven, let alone marry her. The connection he felt to Reina was too strong for him to even contemplate marrying another woman.
Suddenly, he had an idea. He knew it was a risky one, but he had to try. His father enjoyed making deals more than anything else, so he may be able to make a deal that would allow him to not marry the princess and marry Reina instead. He hurried to the room where his father dealt with matters of the estate.
"Father," he greeted the older man, who was sitting at a desk poring over documents that Robin was unable to read upside down. "I want to make a deal with you."
Robert immediately looked up, crossing his arms over his chest. "And what deal is that? You know every deal with me comes at a price. Are you willing to pay it?"
"I will agree to meet the princess and spend time alone with her, uninterrupted by anyone- servants, you and Mother, her parents, et cetera- for an hour. If, at the end of that hour, I do not wish to marry her, you will allow me to marry whomever I wish, regardless of their social status."
The lord's arms unfolded, his fingers meeting each other as his elbows rested on his desk. "I would like to amend that deal. You may have time alone to get to know the princess, but you will spend an entire day with her. And you will have an open mind when you meet her and truly give her a chance. Who knows? She may surprise you."
Robin was skeptical that he would need an entire day to know if he enjoyed the princess's company or not. He had only known Reina for a little over an hour, and by the end of that hour, he had felt the connection between them so strongly that he knew that no other woman could possibly hope to compete with her.
On the other hand, this was more than he had ever hoped for. He had expected his father to never agree, or ask for something unreasonable. Compared to what he had imagined, this was doable. He nodded and held out his hand. "Agreed."
"Agreed," Robert confirmed, shaking his hand and nodding. "I will send a messenger to Queen Cora and King Henry and see if they are agreeable to arranging for the two of you to spend the day together tomorrow."
Robin nodded and left. He didn't know how Reina would react when she found out what he had done, but he knew it was for the best. And in the meantime, he would daydream about running his fingers through her long ebony hair, which had been tucked in the hood of her cloak the night before, until he saw her again.
On his way back to his room, John stopped him. "You seem preoccupied, mate, what's on your mind?"
John was the only person apart from his mother that he could trust at the manor, and had been with him the night before. He knew he could tell him. "Do you remember the woman I was talking to last night?"
"Impossible to forget her- you couldn't keep your eyes off of her." John commented, as if the answer should have been obvious to the heir to the Locksley estate.
"I'm meeting her again tonight. And if all goes according to plan, I'll be marrying her, as soon as I fulfill my end of my deal with my father."
"One moment, mate," John cautioned. "You're not marrying her unless I meet her first. And I'm sure Will and Tuck will say the same. How about we all spend time together tonight, and then let you have time alone with her?"
"All right," Robin agreed. He did want Reina to meet and get to know his friends, and them, her. While he knew he would ultimately follow his heart, it would be much easier if he had his friends by his side.
As Emma had predicted, a doe-eyed Mary had readily agreed to make excuses for Regina that evening. So long after night fell and many in the castle were asleep, she donned the same purple dress of Emma's that she had borrowed the night before and she and Emma surreptitiously set off to Granny's tavern.
When they entered, Regina's chocolate eyes were immediately drawn to Phoenix's blue ones across the tavern. He had been sitting with the same group of friends as the night before, but the moment he saw her, he stood and walked toward her. She met him halfway, and their arms wrapped around each other. In the same moment that she let out a sigh, he hummed with contentment.
She pulled back just enough to look up at his face. "I'm guessing you had a day that was just as trying as mine?"
"Indeed. And there are things I need to tell you, but first, let me introduce you to my friends. They want to meet you."
It was at that moment that she finally remembered that Emma was standing right behind her, waiting to be introduced. Gesturing for her to come forward, Regina told him, "As does mine. Phoenix, this is Emma, one of my best friends."
"Only one of them?" he asked, a twinkle in his eye.
"My other close friend, her sister, is covering for me. As you may have guessed from our conversation when we met, my mother wouldn't approve of me being here."
"The same is true of my father. But I say we should forget about the parents that force us to do things we don't want to do for the moment and have some fun while we get to know each other better, and then we'll talk about important matters before we part. Are you in agreement, milady?"
"Absolutely," she said, taking his hand as they followed him to the table where he had been sitting. There she met Will, who seemed to be the one most likely to get the group in trouble, John, who was every inch Phoenix's right-hand man, and Tuck, who seemed the most sensible of the group. The tavern's proprietor, Granny, and her daughter, Ruby, joined in as well, embarrassing the men by relaying stories of their youth to Regina and Emma.
She and Emma sat talking with the men for what seemed like a lifetime. Through it all, Regina learned many stories about Phoenix and the group he called his Merry Men, which had her laughing so hard she cried tears which Phoenix gently wiped away with the tip of his finger.
At last, Regina and Emma noticed the late hour, and Regina asked Phoenix if they could talk privately. The crowd around them rapidly dissipated, leaving them alone at a table meant for far more than two.
"What did you want to tell me?" she asked, reaching across the table to take his hand in hers.
"I made a deal with my father. If I spend the day tomorrow with the woman he's chosen for me to marry and have an open mind while interacting with her, he'll allow me to choose who I marry. I don't want to, but it's the best solution we have at the moment."
She pondered his words for a moment. "As much as I hate the thought of you being with someone else, you may be right. What if I find out where she lives, and find you while you spend time with her? I've been told I'm spending the day with my intended as well, but I'm sure I can sneak away."
His eyes lit up. "As much as I would love that…"
"Please? It would make my day, my mother's making me spend the entire day with my intended as well. It would be the one bright thing in my day if I got to see you," she begged.
"All right. But, Reina…" he drifted off. "I am a man of honor, so I do intend to keep my word. I know it will be challenging, but don't make that more difficult for me, if you can."
"How would I make it more challenging for you?" she inquired, a gleam in her eye as she reached out to caress his cheek.
"That, for starters," he muttered, warmth and frustration in his eyes as he gazed at her. "Just- don't make it obvious that we share a connection, all right?"
She nodded, and with a soft kiss to the back of her hand, they parted.
On their way back to the palace, Regina and Emma saw a peddler selling trinkets across from the inn.
"Ladies, is there anything you want, anything at all? This lamp," he indicated a tarnished bronze lamp sitting beside him, "has the power to give you your heart's deepest desires."
Regina saw that Emma noticed as she glanced at the peddler with interest. "What will it cost me?" she asked. "All magic comes with a price, after all."
"Nothing, dear lady," the peddler hurriedly assured her. "You said so yourself, each gift comes with its own price."
"Not worth it," Emma declared, grabbing Regina's arm and starting to pull her toward the castle. "Come on Reina, let's go."
"No," Regina stated firmly, thinking of Phoenix. She could maybe use it to be with him. "I'll take it."
"Then it's yours," the vendor said, passing it to her.
Once she was safely in her room, Regina took a closer look at the lamp. She saw writing on it that was dusty, and therefore unclear. She rubbed the lamp, and a fairy popped out of the lamp in a rush of green smoke. She was blonde and had on a short green dress. "I'm Tinkerbell!" she said cheerfully. "What is your wish, mistress?" she asked.
"What do I wish?" Regina asked. "I'm not exactly sure… how does this work?"
"Don't tell me you don't know! You rubbed the lamp, so I'm to grant you three wishes. Now, what is your first wish?"
A/N: This chapter contains prompt 141 for OQ Prompt Party 2019. Thank you for reading, and let me know what you think!