"Why can't you stay away from my daughter?" Cora asked as she walked closer to where Robin was.
"Your daughter? Regina is your daughter?" Robin asked completely surprised. The more he looked at this woman the more he could see the resemblance between the two women.
"Yes she is. Now I have dealth with you once before and thought that would do the trick." Cora said more to herself than him.
"I have never met you before I'm afraid." Robin said clearly confused on how this woman knew him.
"Ah, but we have met before. A few years back you were in a tavern one night, and my poor sad daughter was about to go in and meet you when she lost her courage and ran off before you two could meet." Cora said. "And you heard the door behind you close and went to follow the woman in the white dress."
"I'm afraid I don't know what you are talking about. I have never seen Regina until this day." Robin said even as he spoke there was some fleeting memory of what she was talking about.
"Well, you were on her trail to catch up with her that night when I stopped you from following her. I couldn't have her go and be happy with her soul mate now after all the hard work I have done for her now could I." Cora said.
"Soul mate? What are you talking about?" Robin asked as in the very back of his mind he saw a flash of a woman in a white dress and as quickly as it came it was gone.
"My daughter was so unhappy she was going to end her life, when this stupid little fairy stopped her and told her how she could love again. The fairy brought her to her soul mate who had a lion tattoo on his right arm." Cora said as Robin looked down at his right forearm where his tattoo was.
"Me? But why would she not come in and meet me?" Robin asked her but he also had his own thoughts running wild. This explained why he had felt such a connection to her when he first saw her. "Wait how did you stop me from following her and why would you do that to your own daughter?"
"I cast a spell on you so that you would forget ever catching a glimpse of her. And I couldn't have my daughter thrown away all my hard work to just run off with a simple thief like yourself now could I?" Cora said.
"If what you say is true, then damn you for taking her from me! You had no right to do that, I'm her soul mate and once she finds out she'll stop you." Robin said. "She can be good again and with my help she will be."
"Ah, but she won't stop me thief. She doesn't know nor will she know about your tattoo and even if by chance she did, she will not care. She is exactly what I always wanted she is a Queen and she doesn't care about anyone." Cora said.
"She does care. I felt something when we were together a few moments ago." Robin said for the first time admitting the look they had shared between them.
"That my dear was just her lust. You think you're the only one she desires?" Cora said knowing this would pain him. "I'm sure I could line up all of her knights and that most would say they have serviced their Queen." Cora smiled upon seeing how upset Robin was getting at the truth of her words.
"That doesn't matter now. What we have is fate, and we are destined to be together and once I am free nothing will come between us." Robin swore to her. He could not believe the words that were coming out from him but there was a connection between them. He was going to tell her about them being soul mates, and he hoped this would convince her that she could be loved and let him in and show her how someone could care about her.
"That's where you are wrong. You will never be enough to change her. I'm afraid you're too late." Cora said.
"And that is where you are wrong. When it's true love and destiny nothing can stand in between those two forces." Robin said.
"That's where you are wrong. You are going to go far away her, and never attempt to see her again." Cora said.
"And if I don't?" Robin asked.
"Then you poor little mother will be the one who will suffer from your decision." Cora said as she waved her hand and a puff of smoke appeared, and in the center Robin could see his mother at her home. Robin's father had died years ago and it was just his mother now.
"You lay one finger on her and I'll..."Robin started to say when the image disappeared. She could see her words had done the damage she knew they would. Robin was one that when he cared about someone he always cared and his mother was very dear to him clearly.
"You'll what? I was just going to remove your memory of this day, but instead you're going to be the one who will tell Regina how evil she is. How no one will ever care about her. This will push her away from you for good." Cora said as she moved one hand to his forehead and pulled his hair back forcing his head back suddenly.
"You're the one who is evil. You made her like this." Robin said forcefully.
"And don't you ever forget it." Cora said as she let go of him and turned to walk away. "And remember I'll be watching." she said as she disappeared in a cloud of dark smoke.
Robin was torn because he wanted to see what could happen between them as crazy as that still sounded to him but another part of him could not endanger his mother. She should not suffer because of his decisions. And he knew that what this was between Regina and him, could not be explored until he figured out a way to stop her mother from coming between them.