If you're not a god, flying through the air is both exciting and terrifying at the same time. That's all Regina could think as she and Robin were carried aloft, some invisible wind the propeller which led them to a destination Regina didn't know. She was sure there would be some kind of retribution for what she had done, and she was determined that she would be the one who had to pay it. After all, at the end of the day, Robin had done nothing wrong. All he had tried to do was make her happy, so the thought that he would suffer for something she had caused made her sick to her stomach. He had shown her far more kindness than she deserved in the time they had known each other- more than anyone ever had, as a matter of fact. She had put up with so much insincere infatuation from the men around her in the past that she had gotten so sick of it all. All of her thoughts at the time were focused on wondering why she couldn't find a man who actually loved her, not just for her beauty, but one who actually saw the intellect and spirit beneath.
Little had she known back then that her hesitation to interact with the opposite gender would lead to something like this. She had never imagined she would find herself in love with someone who was cursed by the gods, the possibility completely inconceivable when she had decided to live a life of seclusion. If it hadn't been for Leopold's unwanted advances…
She pushed that thought out of her mind. She had more important things to worry about- such as figuring out where they were going. She knew about Robin's curse, of course, but he didn't like to talk about it, which she understood, so she had never asked for more than the most basic details. She had never known or cared who cursed him. The only thing that mattered to her was that someone who didn't deserve it had been cursed so others couldn't see him, and her heart had gone out to him when she found out.
They seemed to be leveling out now, their ascent slowing down as they came to a stop. The magical transportation had been enough of a shock, but it was nothing compared to the scenery in front of Regina now.
They had come to a stop at one end of a long hallway, the grandest foyer Regina had ever seen. There was no ceiling, but then again, she couldn't imagine that gods who resided this high above the clouds would need any kind of protection against any inclement weather that might appear out of nowhere. Besides, didn't at least one of them control these things?
But she didn't need to worry about that now. What she had to focus on was why they were here. Clearly, the idyllic state of everything around them meant that they were in the realm of the gods, but why? Had one of them been the one to curse Robin?
She glanced over at Robin, trying to gauge from his demeanor how she should react to being plucked from Earth like a ripe grape. He had dealt with these people before, after all. Surely, he would have a better idea of the correct way to act than she would.
To her surprise, all Robin was doing was staring straight ahead. His expression was stoic, much less humble than she thought they should be in this moment. What kind of person wasn't at least a little apprehensive at a time like this? She knew she was, even though she had no intention of showing it. She would give no one, least of all a god who had cursed Robin, a reason to suspect how frightened she was of him or her. "You okay?" she whispered, squeezing Robin's hand. Sure, there was a good chance that one or more of these gods had hearing like a bat's and could hear her question, but she could take precautions just in case that wasn't the case, right?
"Yeah," Robin responded, swallowing hard. "It's just- being back here-"
"I understand," she whispered, running her thumb over the back of his hand soothingly. She couldn't imagine what it was like to be back in the place where he had been cursed. Why whichever god or goddess had cursed him had brought him here to do it, she had no idea. It certainly didn't make sense to her. If you were angry with someone, why would you bring them to your home, the place that was supposed to be your sanctuary?
Then again, she considered as she looked around, maybe bringing them here had been a strategic move meant to show them the might of the gods, make them regret what they had done. She certainly regretted it, given how rapidly her heart was pounding in her chest. If something happened to Robin, and it was all her fault, she didn't know how she would ever forgive herself. He was far too good to have to endure that because of her.
Feeling his familiar callouses against the palm of her hand, she realized that she may have looked over at Robin, but she hadn't actually taken the time to finally see what he looked like. The calluses in his hand were familiar, of course, and she had felt his stubble against her bare skin more times than she could count, but everything else…
Her eyes drifted up to his face and her breath caught. He was so handsome that she doubted she would be able to look away anytime soon. His hair was blonde with just the right amount of gray, and his eyes… she could look into his eyes forever and never grow tired of them. They were deep, soulful eyes that spoke of his old soul, the fact that like her, he wasn't into following the latest trends, but would follow his own path. There was a mirth in them too that she had seen display itself more times than she could count in the course of their relationship. It was one of the many things she loved about him: that he could always find the bright side in any situation. He had certainly needed it too, given the fact that he had been cursed for so had never quite known how to describe his character- sweet but silly, soulful and lighthearted- but all of that was somehow captured in his eyes. His deep dimples, the ones that she had always loved to trace? She couldn't quite see them at the moment, but there were hints that they were there, lines on either side of his mouth, which was set into one of his rare frowns. Thanks to his silence on the subject, she had never known what he had done to deserve a curse as severe as never getting to see another woman's face again, but she couldn't imagine that it could possibly be that bad. He hadn't deserved it, that much she was sure of.
He had noticed her looking at him, and he smirked. It was a good thing she had never seen that smirk before now. She didn't know if it was the shock of where they were or finally seeing him or a combination of the two, but all of a sudden, she was weak in the knees, so much so that she stumbled a little bit.
She didn't fall, though. Before she knew what was happening, his arms grabbed her, holding her close to him, and her cheeks burned. It was one thing to go weak in the knees for someone, another thing entirely for them to see her actually do it. "Thanks," she whispered, her cheeks a flaming red.
"Anything for you, milady," he smiled.
"You may not want to be promising her anything, boy," a voice said from the dais at the front of the room. "After all, listening to her is the reason you're here."
Panic gripped her as she realized the goddess was right. Apologies fell from her lips as they continued walking forward, but he quickly shushed her. "Love, I'm the one who got myself in this mess, not you."
"Yeah, how did you get involved with them?" she asked, certain she would get an answer this time. After all, Robin couldn't really avoid the subject now.
Before he could answer, a laugh brought their attention back to the front of the hall. "He hasn't told you what got him in this mess in the first place? From what I've seen, he hasn't even told you his real identity."
Regina glared at the man who had spoken. He seemed to be the most important of them, given that he was seated on the largest throne in the center. This, then, must be Zeus. She knew she should be afraid, but given how he was talking to her- and what he was saying- she felt not a single iota of fear. Although she was curious… "Real identity?" she asked Robin, turning toward him with her eyebrows raised. Surely, given everything he knew she had been through, he wouldn't try to hide anything from her, or lie in any way- would he?
Robin sighed, and with that one sound, she knew her fate was sealed. Her eyebrows raised inquisitively, waiting for whatever explanation was coming. Although if she was being honest with herself, she didn't know if any explanation he could give would be good enough to make up for his deceit. Mal had been right. This was a large part of the reason she had been so secretive with her appearance, because she hadn't known how else to protect herself…and the one person she had trusted seemed to have taken advantage of her. This would certainly teach her never to trust another man or woman again. "My real name is Eros. Or Cupid, if you prefer."
She had been determined to maintain her composure, but at his confession, her jaw dropped open and her eyes widened in shock. No wonder he was so handsome. In fact, given that he was the god of love, famous for firing his arrows to bewitch people to fall in love with each other (and cause all sorts of mischief in the process), she would have thought that he would be even more attractive than he already was. "I would have thought you would be a bit more handsome," she snapped.
"Oh, he is," the man at the center of the dais laughed. "His current appearance was just a little extra something my wife cooked up, an extra punishment for what he had the audacity to do."
"Which was…?" Regina asked, crossing her arms and tapping her foot impatiently. She had just about had it with these gods and their imperious natures. They seemed to think they knew better than everyone else, and while yes, they had the power to do pretty much whatever they wanted, they didn't need to gloat about every little thing they did like it was some big accomplishment. Robin- Eros, Cupid, whatever his name was- might have lied to her and she still might not have been sure if she could forgive him, but there was a small part of her that kind of understood why he had angered one of these people. She wouldn't be able to have the patience to deal with them either.
"He tried to seduce my wife," Zeus informed her, wrapping his arms around the dark-haired beauty. "He should have known better, really. Almost any other god on Olympus can be easily fooled into sharing his bed, but he really should have known better than to mess with my Marian, right, love?"
Marian? Last Regina had checked, Zeus's wife was either called Juno or Hera, but she wasn't going to interrupt these gods now to try to get the facts straight. She would figure out the answer later.
"It was so foolish of him to even try," the goddess who called herself Marian laughed. "After all, I am the goddess of marriage. All the other gods- including my husband," she added, shooting a glare over her shoulder, and Regina smirked when she saw Zeus cower under her scrutinizing gaze. "Like to fraternize with every beautiful mortal or god they see, but not me. Commitments are what is important, not silly affairs that lead to nothing permanent."
"Exactly," Zeus agreed, his gaze now shifting from his wife to Robin. "So why the god of love thought he could trick the goddess of marriage is beyond me. Care to explain yourself, thief?"
Regina looked at Robin. His face was anguished, and while she was still furious with him for lying to her, she couldn't help feeling some pity for him. It seemed to her that there was more to the story. Had the gods even bothered to get an explanation from him, or had they judged him without even asking for his side of the story? "She convinced me that she loved me," he whispered. "She told me that she was done with you and wanted to leave you, that she wanted someone a little more young and fun."
She might still be angry with him, but Regina's heart went out to him regardless. Marian laughed at the recollection. "All this time, and I still can't believe you fell for that. I'm the goddess of marriage, commitment. You should have known better. Even if you are younger than Nottingham, nothing can dissuade me from being with him, not even some fresh-faced young god who thinks he knows everything about love." Nottingham was referring to Zeus Regina assumed. She was dying to know why they all used different names.
Robin's cheeks burned, but Marian wasn't done with him yet. "Now, remind me why you broke the curse Nottingham placed on you."
At that point, Regina had to interrupt. Yes, she was still furious with him, but she couldn't let him take the blame for doing something when it had been entirely her fault. "It was all my fault. I was the one complaining about being in the dark, he just turned on the light to make me happy."
"Oh?" Marian asked, turning toward her with her eyebrows raised. "And are you willing to take the blame for it- and the punishment that goes with disobeying the gods?"
Regina opened her mouth, but hesitated. Did she want to have any share in Robin's- Eros'- punishment? He clearly had been keeping secrets from her, important ones about his identity. She had been trying to stay far away from people like him, people who hid the truth about who they were, and yet she had fallen right into his trap. How he had managed to do it, she could only really blame on herself. After all, if she hadn't had the curse of being beautiful, if that curse hadn't led to her life of isolation, none of this would have happened. "I- I don't know."
"Well, I suggest you figure it out, and soon," Marian advised. "I want his suffering to start as soon as possible, and if you really love him as you say you do, you won't want him to go through these tasks alone, believe me."
"What would we have to do?" Regina asked. She may not know myths about the Greek gods well (what person in their modern era other than a scholar of the classics would?), but from the little she remembered about the labors of Hercules, any tasks the gods set them as punishment would be extremely difficult.
The wicked grin that spread on Marian's face made Regina's blood run cold. How was the goddess of marriage of all things this vindictive? "I will devise three tasks for you to prove your love for each other. If you pass the tests, your dear Eros is free to go."
Regina swallowed hard. She had a feeling she knew the answer to what she was going to ask next. "And if I choose not to help him with these tests?"
Marian cackled, her eyes filled with malicious glee. "Then he'll automatically fail. These tasks- they're designed to prove your love for each other. Without the woman he supposedly loves, Eros will be unable to even have a chance of completing them."
Regina swallowed hard. If she didn't help Robin, it would be synonymous with sentencing him to an unknown- likely eternal- punishment. There was a part of her that thought that was a just sentence, given that he had kept who he really was a secret for so long. But eternity? That wasn't something she could even begin to fathom. Before she made a decision to damn him to that fate, she had to make sure it was a just punishment. She might not be all sunshine and daisies, but she did try to be fair, and he had to be given a chance to explain his deception- if he wanted to, of course. If he didn't… Well, that would make her decision easy then, wouldn't it? "Can I sleep on it?"
"Such a strange expression," Marian murmured. Louder, she answered, "Yes, you may think about it overnight. But just this one night. Accommodations will be provided for you here."
With that, Regina was led to what must serve as a cell in the dungeons of the gods. She had a lot to think about- and very little time to do it. After all, Robin's fate rested in her hands.
