Yep, it's been ages since I updated, I'm super sorry and I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Four hours later and Regina was exhausted, she hadn't, as Robin has suggested she might, smashed it. In fact, the whole thing had gone terribly haywire. She didn't have a clue why Dr Hopper though that the other students might listen to her when she was literally one of the least popular people in the school. It had been a nightmare, no one had done what she told them to do and she'd ended up nearly losing it a couple of times.
The other pupils asked her consistently when they would get around to actually riding the horse but she didn't trust them to do that, not when they wouldn't listen to basic instructions about how to muck out and tack up. The lesson had then consisted of Regina trying her best to make everyone sit on the side-lines whilst they took their turns to ride a horse whilst she led it through the paddock. They were worse than the kids she taught at the weekends and it was virtually unbelievable.
The new instructor arrived at lunch time and she was extremely relieved about that one, she couldn't bare another minute of teaching those imbeciles how to interact with horses. As she had been so helpful, Dr Hoper informed her that she could take the rest of the day off and she certainly wasn't going to be complaining about that one, she was quite happy to go and spend her afternoon in Robin's company.
She'd grabbed a couple of plates from the dining room and was on her way up to their room, she didn't know if that would be where Robin was or not considering Dr Hopper was more than likely checking up on him. If he wasn't there though she had no idea where he might actually be, maybe he had been made to stay in Will's room, after all, that was where their teachers thought he was actually sleeping.
She was halfway up the stairs when she spotted Robin coming out of a room along the corridor, when he saw her, he offered her a cheeky smile. "Hey you, how did it go?"
"Terribly, why is everyone in our year so annoying?"
"I have no clue, where are you heading anyway?"
"I was bringing you some food; I didn't know what was happening. How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine."
"Your eye looks sore," she quipped, tilting her head to get a better look at it, there was a little bruising but other than that there weren't any visible marks on him from his altercation with Daniel.
"It does feel a little sore, but nothing I can't deal with. Miss French said that I would be fine to take park in afternoon activities anyway so it seems like you can teach me to ride after all Miss Mills. I also promise to be the perfect student."
"Okay, about that. I have actually been given the afternoon off, the replacement instructor has arrived, I think she might have better luck than I had," Regina sighed. She was never going to get the chance to teach Robin how to ride. Every time they wanted to do it something got in the way and made it so that they couldn't. She thought about it for a moment, trying to come up with something she could do about the situation. Now she knew that Robin would be doing activities she couldn't just stay in the room on her own, she would be bored to death probably like he had been all morning.
"Damn, that's annoying, I wanted you to teach me," he grumbled, reaching out a hand to pull a piece of straw out of her hair.
"Come with me," she chuckled, making him take one of the plates from her hands before looping her arm around his and leading him down the stairs. When they reached the bottom, they moved into the dining room and found a table in the corner of the room, "let's eat."
Once their plates were empty, Regina told him to stay put before standing up and weaving her way back through the tables, heading towards the kitchens. She knocked on the door before peeking her head around the corner seeking out Granny. She spotted her cleaning the counters and cleared her throat before stepping further inside. "Excuse me."
The old woman looked around and spotted her, a smile coming onto her face, "hello dear, is everything alright?"
"Yes, thank you, dinner was wonderful, you are an amazing cook."
"Got to keep everyone fed haven't I. Thank you for taking over from Daniel this morning, I much appreciate it and all your help these past few days."
"You're welcome. I was actually coming to ask you for a small favour."
"What is it that you need dear?"
"I was just wondering if I would be able to maybe borrow one of your horse for the afternoon? Robin didn't get the chance to ride and I know that he would be doing it anyway, but I really wanted to be able to teach him and just take him out for a couple of hours." Her voice was quiet but she could tell that Granny had heard her, she didn't know what her answer would be though.
"I suppose that would be alright as long as you are safe and don't stray too far."
"I promise! Thank you so much!" Regina grinned, resisting the urge to jump up and down in happiness. She turned and left the kitchen and moved back into the dining room, spotting Robin still sat at the table looking around rather aimlessly. "Come."
"What? Where are we going?"
"Ah, that would be telling, come with me," she chuckled, biting down on her bottom lip as she tugged gently on his hand, pulling him out of his seat.
"Are we bunking off again because I'm not sure if Dr Hopper is going to fall for it."
"Shush," Regina giggled, turning to look at him, walking backwards as she went. They headed outside and walked to the stables which she knew was most likely empty at that time, as soon as they were in there she stopped at the dapple mare's stall and turned to Robin. "Are you ready to go riding?"
"Seriously?"
"I just asked Granny and she said that it was fine with her so come on," she opened the door to the stall, "go inside and get to know her whilst I go grab a saddle and blankets."
"Go inside alone?"
"Yes, what do you really think is going to happen to you?" Regina laughed, walking off to find the things she would need. Once she had everything she headed back to Robin and showed him how to dress the horse and make sure that everything was secure. There were a couple of moments where he flinched away from the horse and made her laugh, he didn't seem to find it as funny but she was really tickled by it.
"She's ready now, how about you climb on and then I'll get up after?"
"You want me to get on her?"
"How else are you going to ride her?"
"I didn't really think about that one."
"Come on Robin, I promise everything will be fine," she reassured, securing a helmet on his head so that if he should fall, which would be extremely unlikely, he wouldn't hurt himself as much. She kissed his lips gently before showing him how to mount the horse by doing so herself and then slipping off to allow him to copy. "See."
"Okay, right, I'll try it."
"Good."
He took a deep breath before stepping onto the stool beside the horse and placing his boot in the stirrup how she had shown him before swinging his leg over to mount the horse. Once he was up his eyes widened and he looked down at her, "holy crap this is high."
"Hmm, she's a big girl."
"Why did you have to choose a big horse for this?"
"She has to hold us both Robin, she has to be this size otherwise we would hurt her."
"It won't hurt her to carry us both will it?"
"I really don't weigh all that much, she'll be fine, she's a strong girl. Trust me I wouldn't be doing this if I thought we might hurt her by doing it." Regina reassured, moving the step to the side before vaulting herself into the seat in front of him. She would usually ride behind an inexperienced rider but because Robin was taller than her and she really needed to be able to see in order to ride properly she was upfront. "You're just going to have to wrap your arms around me," she grinned, turning her head to look at him.
"No worry when it comes to that," Robin sniggered, his arms sneaking around her body and holding onto her tighter than she had been anticipating. "Just tell me if I squeeze too tight."
Regina laughed and shook her head, pressing a light kiss to his upper arm before facing the way she was going and kicking the horse onward. She allowed Robin to keep his feet in the stirrups, she knew that it would probably make him feel more secure in his position and sometimes at home she rode Rocinante without having a saddle or even reins. "Let's go!"
She drove the horse forward, moving out of the stables at a steady pace, allowing Robin to adjust to the feeling of having a horse underneath him. His thumb was rubbing gently across her stomach and she relaxed into his arms, enjoying the feel of his strength around her. Smiling to herself she rode the horse towards the rough country path that led through the forest, she wasn't sure where it was going to come out but it was well trodden so she was sure that it would lead to somewhere.
"So is Rocinante bigger than her?" Robin asked, his face nuzzling gently into the point where her shoulder met the base of her neck.
"Hmm, he's a little bigger yes. A thoroughbred stallion, did I tell you that my father bought him for me?"
"No you didn't, seems like a great thing to remember him by though."
"It is, anytime I ride Rocinante I feel closer to my father, I feel as though he'll be there to ride alongside me, but then I remember that he isn't, that he's gone," Regina whispered, closing her eyes for a moment before shaking her head, "sorry for dragging the mood down, let's talk about something else."
"You do know you can talk to me about things like that, you don't have to worry about upsetting me or anything like that."
Regina sighed, turning her head to look at him, one of her hands leaving the reins to stroke across his face. "I don't want to make you upset; I don't want you to have to think about that. I wanted to take your mind off everything, that's the whole point of being away from home, to escape for a moment."
"My mum doesn't get to escape though, does she? She has to endure all that treatment and pain and she's not going to survive…"
"You don't know that, they could find something, some cure, she could get better Robin, you just have to have hope, you just…"
"Regina come on; you know that's not going to happen. When does that ever happen? It didn't happen for your dad and it won't happen for my mum. The wold is a cruel place that rips people away too soon and there is nothing we can do about it."
"Robin, a little hope couldn't hurt," she should have known this would happen, she didn't want to make him sad, she wanted him to feel happy and this conversation was just getting worse as it went on. She needed to change the subject and lift the mood a little bit.
"Maybe you're right, but its just hard to even think about it."
"Then lets not, lets think about something else. Like maybe how on earth we are going to manage our relationship back at school."
"Well, nothing will change, I'll still be me and you'll still be you."
"People aren't just going to accept us, there are a lot more kids at school than there are here."
"You know what? I don't give a shit about what other people think. I've been popular all my life and to be fair, I really don't care for it," he pressed a gentle kiss against her neck, his fingers rubbing her stomach as he nuzzled against her, "I care for you though, I really do. You mean so much to me."
"Do you think that maybe when we get back to school you might change your mind?"
"No of course not! I want you Gina and I promise that I won't hurt you like that, I don't care what anyone else says, you know that."
"I do, like I said, I just worry about it being different once we're back."
"Don't worry about it, I'm sure that everything will be fine and you know that I got your back whatever right?"
She smiled softly before looking back to the path in front of her, one of her hands coming to rest over his on her stomach. "So how is your first experience on a horse?"
"So far so good, but I am still quite horrified by it to be honest," he chuckled.
Regina shook her head and looked to the track. They were surrounded by forest, it lined either side of the thinning path, thick, luscious green trees towered above them and were softly swaying in the wind. It reminded her of some sort of fantasy land, like something out of Lord of the Rings or Narnia. It was the same forest she had run into after her fall out with Robin but right now it was much calmer and she felt herself relaxing the horse into a slow trot. "Don't you think its beautiful in here?"
"Beautiful and also kinda creepy. I keep expecting some kind of troll to come out of the trees."
"Or maybe the Ents, you know, the living trees from Lord of the Rings?"
"Yeah something like that," he laughed.
She smiled to herself and kept the horse moving, she could see in the distance the point where the forest broke to allow light to shine in. She was ready to make the horse run and was debating whether or not to tell Robin of her plan. She knew that he would freak out at the pick up of speed but there was part of her that couldn't resist the temptation.
Once she was at the exit of the forest that lead out to a huge expanse of fields, she turned her head to look at Robin. "Okay, what's that look? What are you planning?"
"What makes you think I'm planning anything?" she asked, pouting at him playfully before leaning in so their faces were centimetres apart, "I'm going to warn you now though, hold on tight," Regina breathed, pressing her heels into the horse and pushing her into a canter, the horse pulled forward and raced across through luscious long grass.
"Shit Regina!" Robin virtually squealed, hugging onto her with his arms securely around her waist as they virtually flew through the air. "Oh my god!"
"Wonderful isn't it!" she laughed, allowing herself to get lost in the experience, the air whipped around them as the horse powered on, her hooves thundering over the ground.
"It's crazy!"
It was exhilarating, almost like flying and it was a feeling that she had been missing since she'd left home. She hoped maybe the experience could make Robin feel better. After a few minutes she slowed the horse down again, gradually changing from a canter to a gallop and then a trot, still heading further away from the farm. They had been riding for a good half an hour and she didn't really plan on turning back any time soon, she was sure she knew the way back and wasn't worried about getting lost.
"That was so amazing."
"Wait till we try some jumps!"
"Not a chance."
"I'm joking," she giggled, one of her hands reaching around to land on his thigh, giving it a light squeeze. Whilst the horse had been cantering, she had been extremely aware of him pressed up against her, she'd never ridden with anyone in such a way before and it was a very nice experience. "But I will definitely be showing you how to jump when we get back home, though it takes a lot of practice, you might just have to watch me."
"I love to watch you."
"Sounds a little sinister,"
"You know what I mean."
"I do, I'm teasing you," she smiled to herself, spotting a large tree in the distance, it was situated on the top of a hill and she had a sudden determination to get there. That was her goal, to reach that tree, she glanced up at the sky, noticing a couple of clouds rolling in, she didn't think they were anything to worry about. "What do you think about riding to that tree and seeing what the view is like from up there?"
"Sure, are we going to go fast again?"
"Do you want to go fast?"
"I suppose," he grinned, hugging her tight in preparation for the horse picking up speed. Regina tapped her heels against the mare and she sped up a little into a gallop, she didn't want to wear her out by pushing her to a full canter again, she was already holding two people and Regina didn't think it was fair to make her run too far.
It took them almost twenty minutes to reach the base of the hill, then came the climb, they dismounted the horse at the bottom. Regina laughed at Robin as he worriedly slid from the animal, trying to find his feet on hard ground once again, she hopped off as though it were a low step, but it was second nature for her, she was used to it.
She held onto the reins and tied them to a nearby tree as they scrambled up the embankment, making their way to the top leaving the horse at the bottom and allowing her to drink from the small stream that ran close to where she was secured. As soon as they reached the top Regina flopped down at the roots of the tree and admired the view, they could see across the entire valley and it was an impressive sight.
"Where's the farm?" Robin asked, sitting beside her and wrapping an arm around her shoulders, allowing her to snuggle into his arms. She looked around, spotting the forest they had ridden through, though from where they were is seemed more like a cluster of trees. Then in the very distance was the farm, though it was a mere speck from their position.
"There, see."
"We went a little far, didn't we?"
"Hmm, but don't you think it nice to get away?" Regina questioned, looking up at him with a smile. They sat in comfortable silence and she hummed at the feel of his fingers stroking over her shoulder gently. "That feels nice," she licked her lips, thoughts running though her head of what they could do here, they could do anything and no one would know. No one knew where they were.
A mischievous grin came upon her face as she moved from her seated position on the grass to straddle his lap. Her arms were wrapped around his shoulders as she looked into his eyes, feeling captivated by his stare. "There you go again up to mischief, you're trouble."
"Oh, I know and you love it."
"That is very true."
She ground her hips against his before kissing him soundly, her lips caressing slowly over his own as her fingers slipped to the back of his head to play with his hair. They made out for a while, tongues stroking together, wet mouths attached only coming up for air when it was 100% necessary. The more they kissed the more she got turned on, she could feel an ache beginning to stir deep inside, her underwear beginning to grow damp in the confines of her jeans.
"God," she breathed, pulling away from his mouth, their lips connected by one silvery strand of saliva which should have been gross but only served to arouse her more. "Are you feeling it as much as I am?" she asked, it was a pointless question really because she knew he was, she could feel the evidence of it pressed against her through their clothes.
"Oh yes," he nodded as his hand brushed over her cheek before sliding down across her shoulder and then to the hem of the oversized hoody she was wearing, the hoody that belonged to him. His fingers crept underneath and up over her bare stomach making her breath catch as she copied his actions, allowing her touch to run across his abs.
Their lips returned to one another as their hands grew brave, touching and groping. Though seemingly it wasn't to go any further as they were both startled by a loud crash. Regina pulled back, her eyes widening as she glanced up at the sky, she'd been so caught up in Robin that she hadn't noticed the dark clouds rolling in quicker than they could have ever anticipated.
"Was that thunder?" Robin asked.
"I think so, I don't know what else it…" she stopped talking when a bright flash lit the sky, they could see each strand of the light shooting down to the ground. "Shit!"
"What is it?"
"A storm, there's going to be a storm and from the look of that, it's close."
"Didn't you know before."
"I checked! The sky didn't look like that before, there were clouds but I wasn't worried."
"And now?"
"Now I'm slightly worried yes. Come on," her arousal had dissolved and now she was focused on getting them home safely. Horses could be extremely unpredictable when it came to storms and she had no clue how this one would react. Rocinante hated it so she didn't have high hopes for being able to control the dapple mare that was currently tied up at the bottom of the hill. She was a trained horsewoman and even then she was growing concerned about being able to handle her.
Regina grabbed Robin's hand and pulled him along with her as they carefully made their way down the hill. Some of the stones dislodging as they tried to find their footing. Almost as soon as they reached the base there was another rumble of thunder and the first drops of rain began to fall. Regina knew that they wouldn't be able to out run it, there was no chance.
She could see the horse tugging on the reins that held her, trying to get free, she carefully approached her, "Robin, I can sense your nerves from here! You need to try and remain calm, she'll sense your panic and that will distress her more. Hey girl," Regina breathed, bringing her hand carefully to press against the horse's nose, "hey there, it's alright now, everything is alright." Slowly she unwrapped the reins from the tree and held them tightly in her hands.
"What now?"
"Now we have two options. We can ride her back and go very carefully, or we can lead her back. Either way if she gets spooked we could get injured."
"Which is quicker?"
"Well it took us nearly an hour to reach here and that was riding. Walking it would take at least two to three times that."
"What do you think we should do?"
"I think that once we get her to the woods, she should be fine, the trees will muffle the noise of the thunder, but out in the open here, its not good, she could just bolt and Granny will kill me if I lose her. Not to mention she could get hurt or accidentally hurt us. Personally, I think I have a better chance of controlling her riding her."
"Okay, whatever you think best."
"Do you trust me Robin?"
"Yes."
"Good. Get on her," she instructed. She was scared, she hadn't really been caught out in a storm before and horses were so unpredictable she didn't know what might happen. Robin did as he was told managing to pull himself up onto the horse, she climbed up in front of him and stroked her fur, "its okay darling, we're going to be just fine, trust me." Regina spoke softly, allowing her fingers to caress the horse in a reassuring way as she pushed her forward.
If she thought that Robin had been holding on tightly before then she had been mistaken, his grip now was like a vice and she was glad for it. He was also holding onto the front of the saddle situated between her legs and she knew that if the horse was to veer up, he had more chance of staying on that way.
"Let's go." Although she only indicated for the horse to walk, she immediately started at a pace which was more akin to a gallop, Regina wasn't complaining as long as she got to the trees safely, she didn't mind how fast they went, even if she had wanted to take it steady.
They'd been moving for a couple of minutes when the next crash of thunder sounded, the horse flinched a little, shaking her head and Regina feared for a moment that she might rear up, but she didn't, she simply picked up the pace. Flying through the tall grass heading straight towards the forest, the rain was also falling heavily now and Regina was getting increasingly worried about the condition of the ground.
A fast horse combined with wet mud was a deadly mix.
"Fuck me," Robin grimaced and she felt his face pressed against her shoulder, she could tell that he was panicking and she just hoped the horse didn't pick up on it.
"Sushh girl," she whispered, wanting to calm her, trying her best to make her slow down even if it was just a little, she could almost feel her hooves slipping over the soggy ground. "Whoa girl! Whoa," she called, struggling to even hear her own voice over the noise of the rain slamming down on them.
"Regina, should she be going this fast?"
"It's okay," she tried to reassure, even though she knew that it totally wasn't. It was dangerous and if the water carried on falling at the pace it was and the horse continued to canter towards the woods, she was going to end up losing her footing and they would all be in serious trouble. Thunder rumbled across the meadow and the sky flashed brightly, drawing a whinny from the horse as she raced across the soaked ground.
"Whoa girl!" She pulled the reins sharply backwards and knew that should the horse they were riding have been Rocinante he would have stopped, even in a storm, but it wasn't having any effect she was still running at full pelt, ignoring any command from her rider. In around half the time it had taken them on the way there they reached the edge of the trees, luckily without any incidents.
The forest looked vastly different from how it had a mere hour ago, it was dark and intimidating and Regina was terrified, even if she wouldn't admit it. They were sheltered from the rain though and she felt the horse slow as they moved along the path, she could sense that the animal was hesitant to go deeper into the forest and she couldn't blame her. It was nearly pitch black, the only light being that of the lightning flashing through the trees.
"I can't see anything, I don't know if we're going the right way," Regina stated, shuddering in her seat as Robin snuggled against her back, the only parts of them that were dry were the ones that were touching, apart from that they was absolutely soaked, as was the horse.
"I have my phone; you could use the torch."
"Yes please," she nodded.
He removed one hand from its position gripping the seat before reaching into his pocket and taking out his cell. "Shit."
"What is it?" she asked, feeling dread welling up inside her.
"I'm on five percent."
"Have you got signal?"
"One bar."
"Maybe we should call someone, let them know where we are? Hunker down somewhere in here and wait it out."
"You want to sit in the middle of the woods in the dark?"
"Not really," she shook her head, the alternative was carrying on going and possibly getting lost. At least if they waited, they knew vaguely where they were.
"Maybe we should just take it slowly and stick to the path, surely if we carry on going straight, we'll come out near the farm."
"Yeah, I suppose so," she took his phone from him and flicked the torch on, lighting the trail in front of them. She heard another rumble of thunder but it was much more muffled than it had been out in the open and the horse didn't seem as bothered by it as she had been before but Regina could tell that she was worn out from running so fast.
"Do you think there are wolves in here?"
"There aren't wolves in Maine, not that they know of anyway. Cayotes, on the other hand, I'm pretty sure there are meant to be some of them about, but they will be hiding from the storm anyway."
She had thought this was going to be something fun for the two of them to do together and it had turned out to be closer to a nightmare. She was actually freezing, her teeth were chattering as she cowered closer to Robin, trying to draw some heat from him. They kept on going at a steady pace, trying to focus on anything but the rumbling of the sky and the bright lights which were continuously flashing.
The horse sped up a little bit and Regina surmised that they were around halfway through and it would all be over soon enough. She had a feeling that the teachers were probably going out of their minds at them going missing and it was probably going to be the last straw. For Dr Hopper to send them back home would be a shame because they only had one more day left anyway.
"Are you okay?" Robin asked, his fingers brushing over the soaking wet material of her shirt. She felt as though she had just been dunked in a plunge pool fully clothed and then shoved onto a carousel horse which she had no control over. Like some sick kind of funfair.
"Just a little cold that's all, nothing I can't handle."
His hands moved to her arms and he rubbed them in a feeble attempt to warm her up, but at least he was trying. "We'll be back soon and I promise that I will assist in warming you up."
"I think I will hold you to that. I need aftercare after this trip."
"I agree," he nodded, his lips pressing to her neck, they were cold at first before warming at the touch of her skin, his hot mouth sucked playfully at her pulse point.
"You're definitely going about it the right way, I feel warmer already," she breathed, closing her eyes for a moment and in that one moment, the shitty situation turned even shittier. Behind her closed eyelids she saw a bright flash closer than any of the others before them and when her eyes opened she noticed exactly why.
The lightning had struck a large tree up ahead, causing parts of it to explode, flinging fragments of bark through the forest, these were quickly followed by the top of the tree to topple downwards and crash over the path. The horse reared up before Regina could even think to try and stop her, luckily Robin had managed to grab hold of the seat once again and they both held on but she knew that the animal was panicking and she couldn't blame her, the path was now blocked and the tree the lightning had hit was up in flames, burning from the inside out. So much for getting home and warming up, they might be turned burned to a crisp before then.
"Fuck! This is insane."
Regina just stared straight ahead trying to work out what was the best idea, she could see the flames were intensifying and glanced back at Robin for a moment before eying up the path. "Hold on."
"What?! Regina what are you doing?!"
"You said you trusted me, so trust me when I say hold on!" She ordered, taking a deep breath before loosening her grip on the reins, showing the horse that she wasn't being restrained, "come on girl go!" she kicked her hard enough to make her speed up but not enough to hurt her. Once again they were flying through the forest and she could hear Robin mumbling behind her.
"No, no this is not a good idea, Regina no."
"Come on girl, that's it!" she ignored Robin and continued to push on straight for the fallen tree if they didn't get past it now they would be trapped in the woods and that was not an option.
"How the hell are we going to get over that?"
"You know that I won medals for show jumping."
"What?! You're going to make her jump it?"
"She's a good jumper, I already know that. Just trust me, Robin."
"You said you weren't going to make her jump today."
"Well, I'm going to have to go back on that aren't I because we don't have any other alternative right now. It's either that or we're trapped in a forest which could potentially set alight. If you have a better idea feel free to share it because don't see another option."
"Are you sure she can make it over that tree?"
"Yes," she stated; her voice unwavering. In her mind, though she was having doubts, she didn't know how wide the tree was or how much of an obstruction it was, if the horse landed the jump wrong it could go very badly for them. Especially since she was carrying two people instead of one, Regina just hoped that the tree which had fallen wasn't a wide one. "Hold on."
"Fuck, fuck, fuck," he murmured, gripping onto the seat, "Regina this is…"
"Happening." Taking a deep breath she spurred her into action, pushing her even faster along the pathway as they approached the fallen tree, nerves bubbled up in her stomach but they were mixed with exhilaration also. Once they were at the tree she instructed the horse to jump and they flew over the trunk, only just clearing it as she landed on the other side and carried on running. "Yes!" Regina gasped, laughter bubbling from her throat. "We did it!"
"Thank god, I think I might throw up."
"Please don't," she giggled, pushing the horse on further and further. Soon they reached the exit to the forest and the house came back into view. The rain was still pouring from the sky and thunder still rumbled, she wasn't sure if the horse would willingly go out in it again. However, she was proved wrong when the animal propelled forward towards the stable which she obviously connected to safety. Before they knew it they were stood in the entrance to the stables and Regina slid off the horse to open the door.
As soon as they were inside, she flicked the lights on and turned to Robin, he definitely looked rather green. She cringed as she helped him down, "you okay?"
"Hmm," he nodded, his eyes closed as he held onto the side, "very, very happy to be back on solid ground."
"Right, it was kinda exciting though."
"It was terrifying," Robin breathed, lowering himself to sit on a hay bale, "at one point I really thought we were going to die."
Regina tried not to laugh as she looked at him, sure he was being melodramatic but he did have a point, what had happened was dangerous. Their lives had been in danger and it was her fault for not thinking to check the weather before heading out so far. "I'm sorry Robin, I just wanted it to be a fun date. I had no clue the weather was just going to turn like that."
"It isn't your fault and we're all fine, no one is hurt."
"That's true," she nodded, seeing to the horse, making sure that she had all the treatment she would need to cool down properly. That took about half an hour and during that time Robin was content to sit there and watch her, she was glad he wasn't asking to help because she knew that if he did, he would be in the way. "There you go girl, isn't that better? Such a good horse," she cooed, feeding her and apple as she rubbed her hand over the horse's nose.
"Are you finished?"
"Yes, come on," she reached for his hand and helped him up from the hay, they flicked the lights off and moved to the doors. Outside the rain was still falling heavily and the ground was saturated with water. Regina wasn't sure what time it was but it looked like the middle of the night even though it could only be six or seven in the evening. "You ready to run?"
"Let's go."
They ran the distance from the stables to the cottage whilst getting battered by the rain, it didn't take long for them to get there and once they did, they stumbled through the front door, laughing and absolutely soaked to the skin.
"Oh my goodness! We were so worried!" Granny gushed, holding her chest as she approached them.
Regina stood up straight and stared at the old lady, behind her she could see Dr Hopper pacing the length of the reception area, only to stop when he caught sight of them. She had a sinking feeling in her stomach as she tried to work out just how mad the man was.
"We got caught in the storm, and had to get back… we're fine and the horse is fine, I put her back in the stables and saw to her. I'm so sorry for worrying you," Regina whispered nervously, her fingers tightly clinging to Robin's as he squeezed her hand in return.
"Did you not think to get in contact to let us know you were safe?" Dr Hopper asked, coming closer to them, "or are you too selfish to do that?"
"I…"
"No Regina, save your excuses, I don't want to hear it. I already called your mother and she is going to be picking you up as soon as the storm breaks."
"What?! No, you can't do that, sir! It wasn't my fault."
"Dr Hopper, you can't blame Regina! She wanted to call but there was no signal and she didn't have her phone, mine was nearly dead. You can't just kick her off the trip," Robin argued.
"I don't have any choice! I have given you more than enough chances, earlier today I said you had one more and you blew it. You young girl, have broken the rules too many times to count."
"Fine, I guess I'll go pack then," she whispered, swallowing the lump in her throat as she pushed past the teachers and headed towards the stairs and ran up them. This was not how things were supposed to go, the whole trip had just been one crazy event after another and now her mother was going to be furious. She knew she was going to be in so much trouble and it wasn't even as if she had done anything wrong.
She'd had permission to take the horse out and Dr Hopper was making out as though she had stolen her from the stables and ran away. It wasn't like that, she was just wanting to cheer Robin up and now she had gone and made a mess of things, everything was ruined. Her mother would be so disappointed in her and she would most likely be grounded for the rest of senior year.
Regina unlocked the door to their room and pulled off her soaked sweatshirt, followed by her tee and then wriggled out of her pants. She headed into the bathroom and turned on the shower before stepping under the lukewarm spray and increasing the temperature. Her eyes flickered closed as she leant her forehead against the cool tiles.
She could have argued more with Dr Hopper but what would that have achieved? He clearly had his mindset on sending her home and maybe she was ready to go, even if that meant no more bed-sharing with Robin. She would miss feeling his arms wrapped around her as they slept, it would be weird going back to sleeping alone after having someone next to her for the past few nights.
The tears were so close to falling down her face and she was struggling to keep them at bay, a shudder ran through her body as she buried her face into her hands. The floor beckoned her and she was about to sit down when a strong pair of arms wrapped around her body, holding her tight. "Hey, you okay?" Robin asked.
She closed her eyes and turned in his arms before burying her face into his chest, her arms wrapping around his waist as she allowed the tears to fall. "I can't believe this is happening."
"I know, I'm sorry Gina. I tried to talk to Dr Hopper but he wouldn't listen to me, he's so mad."
"It isn't fair, we didn't do anything wrong. I would have understood if he had caught us the other day sneaking out to the fair, but we had permission today. Granny said we could go. I think Dr Hopper hates me."
"Hey baby, I'm sure he doesn't, he was worried that's all," Robin ran his fingers through her hair, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.
The water was still falling from the showerhead but she realised that he had turned down the temperature a little so that the water was no longer scolding her skin. She pulled back to look up at him, her eyes meeting his, the disappointment that she wouldn't be able to spend the last night snuggled up with him in bed hit her hard. Closing the gap she pressed her lips to his, her fingers trailing down his bare chest before sliding round to his ass.
The kiss went on for a couple of minutes before there was knocking coming from the main door, Regina pulled back from him and closed her eyes. "I'm going to have to answer that," she stepped out of the shower leaving him alone. Her dressing gown was lying on the bed and she put that on before answering the door. Dr Hopper was stood there with a rather sheepish look on his face. "I was just taking a shower then I'll pack and be ready to go."
"Very good," he nodded, simply standing there awkwardly, she wished he would just leave her alone, he'd already said enough. "Regina, I feel I must apologise for what I said to you earlier."
"No sir you were right, you had already given me a second chance."
"Technically that was Robin's second chance."
"Yeah well, you've called my mother now and she's probably already on her way so…"
"You do know that what happened tonight wasn't your fault Regina. You don't control the weather and I understand that it was a simple mistake."
"Great, well thanks, but I better get started on my packing, I was going to do it tonight anyway and I suppose it'll be nice to be back in my own bed." It wouldn't, as much as she had hated the idea of coming on the trip in the beginning, she was going to miss that bed and their little attic room. She wasn't even going to try and change Dr Hopper's mind, there wasn't any point to it.
"Very well, I suppose I shall leave you to it then."
"Yes," she nodded, shutting the door behind him and closing her eyes. She was going home tonight and what was supposed to have been a romantic date had turned into a disaster in every which way.
"Who was it?" Robin asked, coming out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist.
"Dr Hopper, I better start packing."
"You're actually leaving?"
"Yes, yes I am," she whispered, turning to her case and beginning to pack her things, this was the end of the trip. She was going home.
P.S. If you have never seen a video of lightning hitting a tree you should watch it on youtube, it's insane! Also poor Regina! Thanks for reading.