Chapter 12:

She had to look past the look of defeat in Robin's face when she left him seconds ago. She needed to, because if she didn't they would get hurt, or worse they would all be killed, and that's something she wasn't going to allow. So the moment she arrived at the edge of the clearing, she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and forced the images running through her head to leave her the moment she let her breath go.

'It was the only way' she kept telling herself, but she knew that if this didn't end well, she knew she would take her sister down with her. A part of her was scared of this moment, but a smaller and quieter version of her hoped that this could be the end she deserved. And end to end the pain, an ending that she hoped would be brave and honorable despite all the wrong she had done in her life. An end protecting the people she once hunted.

She opened her eyes, and when she did she was greeted with the sight of Zelena.

"Well look who finally decided to grace us with her presence." She sister mocked.

"Very observant Zelena. Now will you tell me why the hell you wanted me here?"

"Oh and spoil all the fun love? Come on, you should know me better than that I would hope."

"Cut the crap. I don't have time for your bickering nonsense."

"Oh, my apologies am I cutting into your time with your precious thief sis?"

Trying to keep her emotions at bay at the mention of his name, Regina glared at her. She couldn't show any emotion, she knew the cost.

"Or is it that little boy that you're such in a rush to get back to? Are you in such a hurry to forget the other kid Regina? Tell me what was that little basta-" she was cut off mid-sentence as she was hit by Regina's magic, strong enough to fling her to the other side of the clearing yards away.

"Don't. You. Dare. Speak his name you worthless bitch." Regina hissed as she appeared in front of Zelena, her anger was boiling through her veins. No one would speak of her son like that, not now, not ever.

Zelena sat up as she coughed and caught her breath. Regina had taken her by surprise but, she rose to her feet and met here eye to eye.

"Sore spot Regina? Don't know why, he was never yours to begin with, I don't know why you're be so upset. He should count his lucky stars that he doesn't have you anymore. Honestly, what kind of mother would you have been to him? It's no surprise he hated you so young."

Regina couldn't help the tears that started to pool in her eyes, the anger towards her sister, and the words she spoke were too much.

"You don't know a damned thing about my son." Regina spoke, as she went to lung forward to attack her sister, Zelena beat her to it. In a second she bound Regina up, choking her, and lifting her from the ground.

"NO, REGINA, IT'S YOU WHO DOESN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE. You see you were given everything that could have been mine" Zelena screeched.

"But that's going to change very soon, very soon. And you Regina, you're going to find out just who I am, and what I'm capable of." With that, she flung Regina to the nearest tree she could see.

She felt it the moment her body made contact with the tree, could hear the bones breaking, but no, she was Regina Mills, and she would not be handled this way.

Roughly, she got to her feet, and turned once more to face her sister, wincing internally every second of it.

"Jealous much aren't we Zelena. Here's the thing you failed to notice with your obsession with me. I didn't choose this life, I didn't choose to be Queen, and my life has never been mine. But here, right now? If you think for one second that I will let you think my life was full of joy and love, I'll show you different. You see I wasn't the Evil Queen for nothing." In that moment Regina sent her magic straight into Zelena, pinning the green skinned witch to the ground.

She released her magic, waves just flowing through her body, filled with hate she aimed it all to Zelena, hitting her body and pinning her to the ground, only to be shot back herself by a wave of Zelena's magic.

They spent god knows how long going back and forth, throwing spells and magic to each other. The magic was draining, every time her body made contact with a tree or the ground or rock, she saw the black spots blur her vision. Through everything she managed to hear some of Zelena's threats, threats to come after the people she thought she cared for, the threats that would leave Regina begging for her death. But she blocked everything else, because the moment Zelena started to speak of going after Robin and Roland, she literally saw red, and everything changed.

Gathering every bit of her magic, and strength, Regina thought of the need to protect that child, that little innocent boy who has done nothing but love her, and the father who did just the same. Her eyes were clouded, so she missed the color that came out of her hands, despite the reds and the deep purples that were coming from her all night, her hands shined with lighter shades of lavenders and pinks. And she didn't stop, not when she heard Zelena's screams, screams laced with fear and agony, it was the first time since she had let out anything other than a groan all night. No, she only felt the need to protect, and the need to destroy her sister.

"You lay a finger on that child or anyone else in that castle, and you will rue the day you were born. You may think you know me Zelena, but I'll say this again, you come anywhere near my people and you will find out just who I. Am." Regina seethed, as she continued her attack.

She held her down, magic pouring through every fiber of her being, but when the black spots in her eyes finally started breaking into her haze, she fell to her knees, she knew she didn't have long. She could feel her body screaming in pain, felt the blood soaking the fabrics of her dress, the bruising everywhere. Her body was on fire, but she couldn't stop.

Dead or not, she didn't care, she would make sure Zelena would never touch a single hair on anyone she held close to her heart.

She thought of Robin, and Roland, of Snow and Granny, she thought of her people, and the last thing she saw before she gave into the darkness was Zelena's defeated body, being lifted by one of her simian beasts.

Only then did she use what was left of her, and brought her back to as close as she could to the castle, but once she felt her magic surround her body, she gave into the pain and the agony.

Her world went black, and long enough to welcome it.

\\\

10 Days.

It's been 10 days since Regina came back to the castle, lifeless and bloodied.

10 days since he's been able to close his eyes.

10 days filled of fear, of losing her.

10 days and he hasn't left her side for one second.

10 Day until she finally opened her eyes.

/

The moment Roland discovered her, Robin had run to her side, his blood running cold by a simple touch, her skin was cold, she was barely breathing, but all he could feel and see was her blood. On her face, her arms, and she was still clothed, for he feared what was yet to be visible.

Snow and Granny were at his side immediately, his men rushing to take Roland away from the scene, away from the horror, others scrambling to find healers, anyone who could help.

They were too scared to physically carry her anywhere, so when Little John and Will returned with what used to be the top of a table, they carefully placed her on it, for fear of injuring her even more.

They brought her up blindly to the biggest room they could find, her chambers being too far to carry her, not to mention the stairs extra set of stairs it would take to get her there, so they carried her in and laid her in the bed.

Meanwhile, Granny had dragged Snow and Ruby down to the kitchen, and sending Ruby into the gardens all in search of herbs and poppy seeds. The Enchanted Forest was no Storybrooke, and the lack of medical technology was simply nonexistent, but she was Widow Lucas and she didn't live in these forests her entire life without knowing how to survive off natures of form of magic. Once all three had collected, they went up to find Regina, expecting to find her in any room, any room but the room she was in.

"Why the hell is she in this room?" Granny seethed.

Upon hearing her voice, Robin, Hook, and everyone else in the room turned to face her, their faces filled with confusion.

"We couldn't take her to her room Granny, bring her up one flight of stairs was bad enough, this is the biggest room on this floor. What the hell does it matter what room she's in?" Whale declared.

"She shouldn't be in here, she wouldn't want to be in her. This was the Kings room." Snow said.

"I don't care whose room this is, I need room to work on her, besides it's not like she's in any shape to argue. She stays in here until I say so, understood." As Whale spoke, Robin's whole body tensed. He didn't want Regina in this room, knowing what little she had told him, this would be the last place she needed to be, and this Whale person that he's never met before, was getting on his nerve. This man did not give him the slightest impression that he cared for Regina in the least bit, he seemed to enjoy the fact that Regina was lying powerless in front of him, like she was some toy he could experiment with. He had no right to disrespect Regina this way, and like hell he would allow it to continue. He let go of Regina to come face to face with Whale.

"You will do what you must, find out what is wrong with her until the others healers get here, and then you will leave and let Granny, Friar Tuck, and Doc handle her. She will not spent the night in this room, I'll carry her myself if I have to, but she will not be left in this room."

"And who the hell do you think you are talking to me this way, you're a damn thief, and you shouldn't even be here. Get out." Whale responded.

Next thing Whale knew, he was being slammed against the wall, his body hovering above the ground as Robin held him trying his best not to kill him.

"I won't say this again, I don't know who you are, frankly I don't care. What I know is that you're looking at her like she's your new toy, and if you think for one second that I will let you lay one hand on her, you've got another thing coming." Robin whispered.

"Enough, Whale get out. Now." Granny declared.

As Whale began to protest Little John came to Robin, and place a hand on his forearm.

"Let me take him Robin, the others just arrived, I'll make sure he stays away."

Moments later, Whale was carelessly dropped to the ground, "Make sure he stays the hell away from her." was all he said.

Robin didn't know where Little John had taken that worthless idiot but he didn't care, because now the people he trusted more were finally in the room. The men had left the room when Granny and Snow began to undress Regina, he wanted to stay but he didn't want to, but he didn't want to invade her privacy like that not while she was in her condition. Instead he made his way out the door and waited until they finished cleaning her. After five minutes he popped his head in and told them that he was off to find Roland to make sure he was okay and that he would be back in a moment's time.

After Granny waved him off, he went downstairs to find his son knowing that he was probably shaken up from everything he had seen, and sure enough when he found him he was curled up on Will's lap.

Roland has not wanted to let his father go without making him promise that he would be allowed to see his Gina soon, so Robin. Promised his little boy that once she was better he could come and see her. He spent some time with him, but he didn't want to be far from Regina for too long, so once Roland has fallen asleep in his arms, he passed him back to Will, gave the boy a kiss and went back to his Queen.

/

Two broken ribs, her entire left side of her body was covered is one massive bruise, her left arm aside from all of the gashes and bruises, her arm was broken as well.

Robin stop hearing everything, knowing that Regina had practically been tossed around like a rag doll, as her injuries were probably a mile high, all he knew but all he cared for was that she was still breathing.

From the looks of it Snow was still crying, and Granny's eyes were full of emotion, hard to read but it wasn't until that very moment that he realized how much the old wolf had cared for Regina.

"Granny, I don't know how to do it but we need to get Regina out of this room." Snow whispered. Truth is Snow felt guilty, she was slowly coming to terms with everything that had transpired that morning between her and Regina, and just the thought that they were in her father's chambers was enough to make her nauseated.

"Doc, do you think we can move her to another room?" Granny asked.

"It may not be wise, but there's a room down the hall where we could take her to, given days' time we can move her to her chambers." He replied

"We'll take her to another room. Tuck, please go and get John, and the others so we can move her." Robin declared.

As Tuck went to gather the others Robin finally made his way to Regina's side, not caring for the women in the room, he sat beside her, and ran his fingers through her hair, her cheeks, he just needed to touch her.

Snow gave Granny a curious look, but Granny wasn't about to give into the princess questioning eyes, instead, she got up, placed a hand on Robins shoulder and gave it a squeeze, then made her way over to where Snow was, urging her to leave the room.

/

The following four days since Regina's arrival and she had yet to open her eyes. A fever had run wild through her body, even with all of the herbs and medicines they were able to find, damned thing was stubborn as she was. It broke on the sixth day, but she had still to wake up. During the days and night she's would let out whimpers, and it was the only thing that Robin and everyone around him was able to hold onto, it was the only way they could tell that she was still fighting the pain that was running through her. Granny had given her milk of poppy in order to sedate her pain to some level, a night Robin laid next to her holding her hand, begging her to wake, but every day was the same.

Roland had been drawing her pictures every day of his daily adventures, though he was running low on his paper supply, so when he was allowed to see his Gina he begged her wake up in order for her to make him more paper so he could make her pretty pictures. Often he just laid down next to her and spoke to her, telling her what he had done all day, and what he wanted to do when she woke. But his favorite seemed to be when he could just cuddle next to her and sleep. No one wanted to tell him that they were beginning to lose hope, but he simply said that he was her little knight, and she wouldn't leave him when they tried to separate him from her. When Robin found out he wasn't so pleased, for he too knew that Regina would wake.

On the eighth day, things seems to start to turn around, her skin wasn't so pale, physically though she looked like she was run through a blender, but her heart beat stronger, and her breathing seemed less labored. She began to stir, they assumed due to the pain, her groans became louder, which just broke their hearts.

Granny though was worried of seeing Robin there, the man had yet to leave her side, and he wouldn't eat, wouldn't sleep, barely said a word unless he was speaking to Regina, and only cracked a smile when Roland came into the room to spend time with her. So after days of nagging, she fixed his tea up, with enough herbs to knock him out for a couple of hours. Once it kicked in, Granny sent for Little John, and when he came in he picked up his friend and laid him next to the Queen.

She made her way to Regina, and started to clean her, brought her bucket of water and her rag, and cleaned her wounds with the help of Doc, and Friar Tuck, then shooed them away when it came to clean the rest of her. She spoke to her the whole time, asking her to wake, telling her how wrong she was to leave the castle to fight the witch alone, chastised the unconscious woman the whole time, but touched her with the gentleness that only she could provide her. At sunset she left the pair to rest and Little Roland who insisted he sleep with Regina since his Papa was allowed to be with her. The look of determination from the boy made Granny chuckle, but Robin would wake soon, and god knows how long Regina would be out for. For now she knew Regina was safe.

Pain.

Hot scorching pain was all she felt. That and an increasing pressure that kept moving on her side. She didn't know what happened, she couldn't register anything else but the agonizing pain she was in. Last thing she remembered was Zelena being lifted by one of her monkeys, slowly flashes started to come to her, the fight, the magic, the threats, everything.

She fought her way through the haze that glazed her eyes, tried to move her leg or her arm, but at the slightest movement her body screamed in protest. She heard someone calling her name, didn't know who, but she felt the warmth of covers on her, the softness of a bed beneath her, the castle, she was in the castle.

Slowly she started to open her eyes, taking in the light that was coming into the room. It wasn't morning, but for the moon was still out, dawn was breaking. She turned her head to try and look around the room to find she was indeed in the castle, but was not in her own room. She turned her head once more to realize the small pressure on her side was that of her little night fussing around in bed, twisting and turning to find a peaceful sleep.

Unfortunately for her though, her body was ablaze, and she felt every turn like a knife to her ribs, as if at once she felt every single inch of her body jus screamed and begged for it to end, so she couldn't help the sharp intake of breath and the loud groans and whimpers that came out of her.

At her sounds Robin's eyes shot open and shot up from the bed, to find Regina gasping for air, and Roland moving in closer to her side. In a second he picked up Roland and placed him on the other side of the bed, and proceeded to lean over her, starring in disbelief that her eyes were finally open. But her eyes were shouting at him, begging him to stop her pain.

Regina was awake.

A/N:

Sorry For the wait, but here it is! Please don't forget to review, I'd love to hear what you think of this.