Enchanted Forest
David walked along the half-buried pebble and stone path. Leaves crunching under the weight of his boots. The smell of wet stone and decaying wood and leaves filled his nostrils. He stopped briefly, as Regina continued on. Taking a deep breath in and closing his eyes, he sighed heavily. 'I'm home!'
The crunching of leaves and stones scraping beneath boots stopped. His eyes narrowed in on Regina standing a couple of metres ahead. Her head was tilted up, her gaze falling on the chirping birds sitting in the over hanging branches. The sun-dappled canopy creating flickering shadows onto the ground.
"28 years and it hasn't changed" Regina's head tilted slightly to the side.
David ran his hand through his hair, his brows squished together. "Do you think it was frozen in time. Like Storybrooke?"
Regina snorted, her lips forming a wide grin "It's a forest, Shepherd." She cackled. "Even left untouched for a 100 years; it would hardly change dear!"
His eyes narrowed again as his arms folded against his chest. "Now I remember why we weren't talking!"
Regina's brows wiggled.
"Keep it moving witch! I still have my sword!" His tone deep.
Regina waved her hand. "Moving forward." She turned away and attempted poorly to contain her laughter.
David could only imagine what she was thinking.
Camp. The one thing David and Regina managed to agree on. The sky had grown dark, grey clouds glooming over the tall canopies.
Regina raised her hand, the back of her finger tips touching David's chest. He stopped. "There's a cave nearby!"
David paused to examine Regina, his nose wrinkled. "How do you know?"
Her body leant in towards David's. "I've been in this part of the forest many a time, dear. When you're trying to escape, you need to know your surroundings."
David grimaced as he rubbed his chin. "Escaping from who? It was always Snow and I on the run. We were hardly chasing you."
"Believe it or not dear, there are scarier and more wicked people than I, out there. You're fortunate you had me for a enemy. I'm much more forgiving."
David's eyes widened, his head shook and body stiffened. "You Poisoned my wife! Separated us all for 28 years! What could be worse than that!"
"Plenty." She gave David a pained stare "We should get moving". She sighed heavily. "Before the rain soaks us through".
David nodded. He found himself gazing upon Regina with a sudden new focus.
A chill ran up David's spine. The stone wall cold to the touch. The cave whistled from the wind passing through the breaches of the rock wall. His nose wrinkled at the smell of damp moss and decaying leaves most likely tracked in by wild animals.
He watched Regina ahead with squinted eyes but raised brows. Her fingers rising and lowering with the bumps and knobs as she traced the cave wall. Eventually she stopped, tapping her place on the stone.
David's brows squished together. "What is it?"
The light was low. David couldn't see Regina's facial expression, but he could hear her deep sigh. "Nothing. It's nothing of importance now".
David focused in on Regina, before nodding. He had his own ideas 'but I better not piss her off'.
David slumped down onto the ground. Leaning against the hard rock. The cold seeping through his body.
Regina sat on the opposite side of the cave. Her legs hugging her chest. 'She had to be feeling the cold too' 'dammit! She's good at hiding emotion'. David concluded she could be as cold as the stone surrounding them. 'I'd be relieved with one of her bloody fireballs right now!'
He found his body began to tremble. He hugged himself tightly. "We need to gather resource...es in the... morn...ing". His teeth chattered against his will.
Regina tightened her grip around herself. "Agreed!"
David chewed the inside of his cheek, the constant drops of water splattering on the ground deafening. 'Blood hell it's cold!' He squinted his eyes and wrinkled his nose.
He stood up sharply. He strode over towards Regina, briefly hesitating before reaching her. He now loomed over her, unintentionally. The light from the moon seeping through the cave cracks and lighting up her features.
Her arms were crossed, forming a barrier between her and David. Her gaze darted and he noticed Regina biting her lips and swallowing.
"I don't know if you have noticed, your majesty, but it's cold."
Regina just mumbled; her brows pinched together and gaze lost somewhere in the distance.
David's brow raised. 'is she even listening?' He huffed. "I don't intend on freezing. So whether you like it or not we are getting cozy!" He invaded her personal space, plonking himself down right beside her. He inched closer.
Regina flinched at the initial contact. She tugged her jacket tighter.
With minor hesitation, David wrapped his larger frame around Regina's. It wasn't until this moment that he had realised just how small the infamous Evil Queen was. 'You always seemed taller'. His mouth formed a flat line.
Regina fidgeted underneath his embrace. Eventually she relaxed, after his reassurance.
"Don't worry. You're much warmer alive than dead." He wiggled his brows.
"Funny!" Her expression pinched. "Who knew Prince Charming had a sense of humour"
A grin escaped his lips. "There's a lot you don't know about me."
She moved closer, her nose scrunching "I know you're still a shepherd."
David shook his head. "A second ago I was a prince."
"I downgraded you dear"
He closed his eyes and smiles wistfully. "Sometimes I'd prefer if I had stay just a shepherd."
Regina frowned up towards him, a grimace forming on her face.
Her pulled her closer for the sake of getting warmer, or so he told himself. He took a large breath in before exhaling and scrunching up his nose "madam mayor! Anyone told you, you need a bath!"
Regina's eyes squinted, her brows lowering. "You're just smelling yourself, dear." She shuffled slightly. "Don't worry. I believe there's a lake down the track. You can bath your stench off there."
David chuckled to himself. He relaxed against the stone wall, pulling Regina in closer. He didn't know if it physically made him feel warmer, but something deep inside definitely did. With that he closed his eyes and drifted off to some sort of blissful sleep.
