Hello/Goodnight! A short prompt for the ones that can support it. It is sad and depressing so if you're having a good day don't read it, please. It is truly late here and I don't know what it will look like to you, but I needed to write something like that to get some feelings off my chest. I'm sorry for what will happen, please don't hate me.

**So the story takes place after the Snow Queen is dead, once again Robin chooses Marian, she doesn't succomb to the remnants of the freezing curse she was under -cuz we all know that was a bad attempt to make the OQ relationship even more angsty... So having had enough with everything Regina leaves Storybrooke knowing that she cannot come back. She leaves without anyone knowing and is driving away from her family when the story starts.**

Please Mickaela, don't read this! I know you will even though I tell you not to, but if you do and don't listen you cannot hate me afterwards... It'll be entirely on you.

Without further notice, here it is.

I drove, clutching the steering wheel as tightly as I could. The scenery around me slowly changed from the deep vibrant green characteristic of the forest to the dull grey of buildings and streets… I drove as fast as I could, to get away, to run from my problems and to avoid the fate I could never forget about. Oh I wish I could forget about him, never remember his scent, his touch, his words and his deep blue eyes… Tears started clouding my vision again and I blinked them away, I could not let myself be weak and I would not give anyone the satisfaction of making the once Evil Queen cry, even if every single fiber of my being screamed at me to let the dams flow and let the water flow down my cheeks. He'd made his choice, he'd chosen her over me, chosen obligation over love, and so I had chosen not to be trapped into an infernal love triangle, to leave, to pack my bags and never come back to the damn city I originally created. As I left I didn't even leave a note for my sweet little prince to find when he'd decide to come home one day. If he decided to come home…

My phone rang multiple times while I was staring out at the road, the screen showing nine times out of ten the number I dreaded most. His number. Of course he wanted to talk, reassure me probably, tell me that he loved me more than anything in the world and that he'd wish it could be otherwise, but I couldn't hear it, didn't want to listen to his lies and his attempts at subduing me into coming back for him. He'd broke my heart, my soul and the last shred of hope a naïve part of me held onto… and now it was too late to say goodbye, too late to say sorry and definitely too late to ask for forgiveness.

Each time my phone went to voicemail, I would subconsciously glance at it, secretly hoping he'd leave a message… but he never did, so I'd keep staring at the road, looking out as the tourists walking along Boston's crowded streets would get in front of my Benz. At first, I hadn't planned on coming here, in fact I hadn't planned on going anywhere, but now I could not go back, the curse on the town line had decided so, and I was stuck wandering around this realm I wasn't particularly fond of. As dawn began to rise, and as Boston's greyness would fade in my rear-view mirror, my eyes began to flutter shut, they were drooping and I was exhausted –from driving and holding back the emotional turmoil inside me. I had to stop somewhere, get some rest and leave as soon as possible afterwards. I could not stay in one place for too long, because eventually someone would find out, notice my absence and maybe if they cared they'd start tracking me down. And I didn't want that, I didn't want to go back… The Charmings would definitely try to bring me home, Snow and her infuriating daughter would probably be the first to come after me, not thinking about a way to get back inside the shield that protected the town. They never really thought about the consequences these two. Like mother, like daughter… As fatigue started to take over me, making me a danger to other drivers, I pulled up on the side of the road, locked my doors, adjusted my seat and scooted in a position that would allow me to sleep for a few hours.

-/-

My slumber was restless and I would mostly whimper and cry, finally letting my walls down the only way I knew how. I tossed and turned in the uncomfortable leather seat of my dear car and finally resigned myself to another sleepless night. It seemed that lately I would get a lot of those… and I would always be waking up to the sound of my voice calling out for him. How much did I hate myself for that… for being so needy, for being so fond of him he'd became the air I breathed and the life I needed. The old me would probably have killed him for making me so weak, would probably have tortured him for being the man I was prophesised to be with and surely would have made him pay for breaking my heart like he did… and some days before I decided to leave town, those old habits of mine had become some kind of alternative that turned out to be so tempting; murder him with my bare hands, make his wife suffer until she'd follow him into the afterlife and raise the child as my own. It was something insane, a thought that I could not nurture and that I would immediately shove down and put back into the cage the Queen was locked in.

As those thoughts came back to me, I turned on the radio, hoping that music would soothe my wounds. For a while it did, I stopped thinking about everything, I would simply let my mind go blank and let myself get transported into the universe the notes and rhythm of the melody created. I was still tired, my body ached from everywhere, but at least I could keep my eyes open and alert. Not as much as I wanted them to be, but that would do until I reached my next stop, which was a long drive away. Probably too far away if I counted on my present state to get me there… but I was way too stubborn to listen anyway.

Two hours into the drive I had resumed that morning, I jumped out of my seat as my cellphone rang again. It wasn't him this time, it was Henry. My little prince. I smiled at that, although it wasn't a full one, it was rather sad if I could say. Then I picked up, wedging the mobile between my cheek and my shoulder, turning off the radio, adjusting my other hand on the wheel and then clutching the cellphone tightly as I drove one-handed. My voice was small as I greeted him.

"Hey Mom!" he said, his voice happy and blissfully unaware of the fact I was missing. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, baby." I tried to take back control over the wavering in my tone as I asked him the same.

"Oh! I'm great, Emma and I are going to Granny's for breakfast and I wanted to know if you wanted to come with us."

My smile grew involuntarily wider as he spoke.

"I'd love too, sweetheart…" I racked my brain for an excuse, something he would believe and then I found it, "…but I'm fairly busy… between my trips to the vault and the quest to find the author… I wouldn't have time to come and eat with you." My voice cracked at the end of the sentence and I thought it went unnoticed, but the interminable silence that followed suit proved me wrong.

"Mom?" his voice grew concerned and I mentally scowled myself for being so weak and letting it show that something was wrong, "Is everything alright? Where are you?"

I bit my lip, hard, so hard I could taste the coppered taste of blood in my mouth.

"Everything is just fine, baby. Don't worry about me…" I felt torn apart inside, I had promised him I would never lie to him anymore and yet here I was, "… we'll see each other soon enough baby."

He hummed and I just knew that his face was screwed in that expression he'd wear when he wasn't convinced of the veracity of my words. "Mom, you can tell me if anything is wrong. You know that right? Plus you didn't answer my second question…" he paused for a second.

"Where are you?"

"Don't worry, Henry. I'm fine," he sighed at that, something defeated and that was it, my resolve to lie my way through this conversation blew up in flames and I cracked, "let's just say I won't be around for a while… and I might not come home." I sighed and I swear I heard him curse under his breath.

"WHAT? What is that supposed to mean?! Did you leave town? Is that it? Did you cross the town line? Why? Why would you do that? Mom! How could you leave me like that? How dare you leave without saying goodbye?!" his voice was filled with hurt and other emotions I could not properly decipher. Nonetheless they made my heart break, my gut twisted into a knot and I felt the familiar stinging of the incoming tears.

"I'm sorry baby. I have to go. I love you."

After that I hung up the phone. It took at least a hundred miles before I got another call, Emma this time, and I just knew what she would have to say so I let it go to voicemail. As it did the message I had recorded started playing. You have successfully joined the former Evil Queen, Regina Mills, I am fortunately unable to answer you lot of peasants thus you'll have to leave me a message and I might get back to you. Unless you're Snow, then forget about it. The disdain in my voice was clear, the beep of the recording echoed in the now silent car and then the unnerving voice of Miss Swan replaced it with her roaring. Where the hell are you? How can you just leave and drop a bomb like that on Henry!? Do you know he's been crying for like fifteen minutes now? She huffed loudly. God Regina, what were you thinking? Henry's all over the place now, he's been babbling about you not loving him anymore… A sob escaped my lips as I desperately tried not to grab the phone and answer. I can't believe you just left… How selfish are you? I just can't wrap my-

For my own sake, I shut out Emma's voice and stared blankly at the interminable asphalt paving the way in front of me. I made the right choice, was the only thing going through my mind as Swan's voice resonated in the background. This was for the best, he would get over it, he'd be happy with his mom and his grandparents, and I could live a life without having to dread to come out of my mansion and walk into the thief that had crushed my heart to shreds.

-/-

After a few minutes, Emma's voice was nothing but a ghost playing on repeat in my mind, making my eyes watery and my vision dangerously blurry. I was more and more exhausted, as crying my heart out wasn't helping my condition at all, but I could not stop. Never. Not until I was at least five to ten states away from Maine… I tried to blink away the tears, in vain, they ran from my lashes creating burning streaks down my cheeks and my body was wracked by violent shakes as loud sobs and weeps escaped my parted lips. After a short while, breathing became difficult and shallow as I cried silently, my shoulders shivering and my eyes barely looking at the road anymore.

The long straight road suddenly started to bare curves and dangerous ravines and as I was crying my heart out, I never noticed that first curve. I did nothing to turn and avoid my imminent doom… When I looked up at the road, half of my car was already flying in the air, the rest following very closely, I saw how deep the gully was and apprehended the shock. Would I have been in Storybrooke I would have magicked my way out of the car and onto safe grounds, but here I was defenseless.

The crash happened very quickly, the right side of the nose of my vintage Mercedes collided with the ground, forcing it into a frenzy of innumerable barrels, until it crashed against the trunk of a tree at the bottom of the pit. I was barely conscious at that point, my head had crashed against every surface it had found and I was sure I could feel the warmth of blood running down the gash the impact had created. I tried fighting against my best instincts, the one telling me to give in and lose all consciousness, but I miserably failed. The side of my face fell forward and crashed with my car's steering wheel, causing the honk to cry out as a final desperate attempt to get someone's attention. My ears were assaulted by the cries of my dying car and the now very distinct sound of my phone ringing. I opened my eyes as best I could, roaming my surroundings and looking for the source of the faint noise. It only took me a minute to lay eyes on the cracked screen of my cellphone a number glowing brightly on it. His number. After that my vision started to get blurry, I felt the darkness creep its way up and slowly stealing my view away from me. The last thing I heard as I lost consciousness was his desperate cries on my voicemail, for he had finally decided to leave me a message.

When the hood of my car was assaulted with flames, all of a sudden, I was long gone. Not dead, but numb and paralyzed. And as the fire overtook the Benz and burned everything that was flammable, making it burst and explode at some point, I felt nothing. No pain and no remorse, I was finally at peace with myself. The only thing going through my lethargic mind being the last words I had heard coming out of my phone. Regina, please come back. I know you left, Henry told me. If anything were to happen to you I would never forgive myself. Please, I'm begging you, my love come back to me. I made a mistake and I want to make amends for it...

-/-

A month later, the barrier on Storybrooke had fell with the arrival of the Queens of Darkness, Emma had left the town and tracked me down to the dangerous and unused road I had taken, only to find tire tracks leaving the road and the charred remains of what used to be my Mercedes. She didn't get close enough to see my burned down corpse, but she got close enough to know I was still inside, a stray tear rolling down her cheek. And as she cursed loudly she made her way back to her car, calling the cops and getting me out of there to finally have eternal peace.

"How am I going to explain that to our kid now, your Majesty?"

I'm sorry! Don't hate me! Please, to compensate I'll write fluff and cute things in IHTBY and another smutty prompt that I have in mind...Just so you peeps know I wrote this story listening to 'Sad' by Maroon 5, blame them for my mood then.

As always a review, a fave or a PM is always welcome and encouraged. I love to have your opinion on things. You can also follow my on Tumblr if you want under the username saskwatche. :P

-xxx-