Hi guys! Okay, so I just want to start off by quickly thanking everyone for the sweet feedback. It means a lot to me and I'm super happy you guys are as excited about this story as I am. While I did get the idea from a little game I played, I'm changing things around to make it mine. That being said I feel like I need to remind everyone that this story is strictly fiction and I don't mean to bring any offence to anyone with anything. I would also like to point out that chapters will get longer as the story goes so I do apologize to anyone that hates short chapters. I'll try my best to update this story once a week. Work tends to take me away from stuff like this. But... enough of my rambling. Enjoy the update!
She stared at him. Gazes locked on each other's while a smirk tugged at the corner of her lips.
"Three? You sure you can handle all that?" she asked, leaning against the counter and handing the mystery man his three cups of espresso. "They are pretty strong."
"Oh, I… uh. No. I mean – " What did he mean? Here he thought he was going to walk up to this stand in full confidence and make a few ladies flustered just like he did back home. However it is he who has made the fool of himself just now. But can one blame him? He was too captivated by the beautiful vixen standing before him. The way her brown curls fell just below her shoulders. Lips parted in the most gorgeous smile he had ever seen. And those eyes – her beautiful brown eyes. He found himself drawn in.
What was wrong with him? He had just met the woman but something about her drew him closer, like he wanted to forget about everything else and keep conjuring up excuses to stay and talk to her.
Regina giggled, shaking her head. "Hey, I'm only teasing you. But they are pretty strong," her angelic voice broke him out of his trance.
He cleared his throat before responding, "Right. What I meant to say was, two of them are for my mates. They're uh… back in the hotel room. How much do I owe you?"
"Ah," she nodded in understanding, rubbing her lips together in thought. "Don't worry about the pay. It's on the house."
"No please, let me pay something. Or at least a tip?" he pleaded, knowing that the small coffee stand is her source of income. He pulled out thirty dollars and slid it over the counter towards where her hand was resting. "I insist."
Her gaze broke away from his, letting it fall towards the money on the counter top as she took it with sigh. "You're impossible, Mr. – " she paused realizing she didn't know his name.
"My apologizes M'lady. I'm Robin Locksley," he replied, holding out his hand waiting for her to take it. She took his hand in hers, shaking it gently before replying with a smile.
"Robin. I'm Regina Mills. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Believe me, the pleasure is all mine." She felt her cheeks heat into a shade of pink, the dimpled smile making her knees go weak again. "As much as I hate to leave right now, I'm afraid I must. If I bring back cold coffees to the guys, I won't hear the end of it."
"No of course!" she said, pulling her hand back and clearing her throat. "I'm sure I'll see you around?"
"I sure do hope so." He shot her a wink before waving a quick goodbye and walking back towards the direction he came from. Regina stared after him, capturing her bottom lip between her teeth and biting down on it softly to keep a grin from appearing on her face. Her gaze fell on her friend, who she had completely forgotten was standing there.
"What?" she said feeling a bit oblivious.
"You know what," Mal said with a smirk, head peaking out towards the man that had vanished into the crowd. "You looked like you were practically ready to jump him."
"I was not!" Regina stated matter of factly. "He was a costumer and I was just being polite."
"Mmhmm."
Regina rolled her eyes, mumbling a quick 'Whatever' before she let out a sigh. "We're out of milk. I'm going to run down the street and pick some up at the market. You'll be fine by yourself, yeah?"
"Yeah I got this!" Mal nodded, ushering her friend out of the stand. Regina shook off the weird feeling but ignored it as she left the stand and walked down towards the market.
On the walk back to the hotel Robin couldn't help but shake the feeling off from the woman he had just met. Regina. Regina Mills. He kept repeating her name over and over in his head. And what a beautiful name it was. Fit for such a beautiful woman. And her smile – the pearly white teeth. Her laugh was like music to his ears. God how he wanted to be able to make her laugh again.
But he shook himself from his thoughts knowing after tomorrow he would be long gone from New York and back in England. This was his last taste of freedom before he had to choose his bride and become he next ruler.
The whole process was a load of bollocks. He didn't understand why he constantly had to follow his father's demands. Personally he thought of a competition between women for a throne was dumb. He wanted to marry someone he wanted to be with. Someone his heart led him to, not someone who was chosen because of a competition.
Sighing, he slid his keycard into the knob, the green light indicating that it was a success, before he opened the room to the hotel and stepped inside letting the door slam shut behind him.
"'Bout time! Those coffees better not be cold," came a booming voice as his best mate Killian appeared from the bathroom. "You've been gone for nearly an hour."
"It's been just about thirty minutes. Don't be dramatic," Robin grumbled, handing him his espresso before setting the other cup aside.
"Thirty minutes too long mate," he took a sip, groaning a bit at the taste. "Seems like those locals were right. This is the best espresso I've had in ages!"
"Yeah it is," Robin responded, walking over towards the windows that overlooked the city, his mind clearly on someone in particular.
"What's with the sudden attitude change?" Killian asked, coming to stand beside his friend, glancing over his slump profile with an arched brow.
"Just… feeling a bit down about leaving this place is all," Robin mumbled, not breaking his gaze from the window.
"Since when? This entire trip you've been complaining about how crowded New York City is and how you can't wait to get back home."
"I've changed my mind I suppose," came his response.
"Or 'someone' changed your mind. Who's the lass?"
The question brought an instant smile to Robin's face. Head ducked down, he chuckled softly before his gaze drifting over to his friend. "Regina. Her name is Regina. And she's something else, Killian; she had this old school vibe to her. So down to earth and so… so breathtakingly beautiful."
"Judging by the blush on your face I can tell she's a looker. Does she know you're a prince?" he asked with an amused chuckle.
"No! And she's not going to."
"Whatever you say mate. No need to get testy. Try not to get too hung up on her, yeah? You'll be back home with four women just waiting to get their hands on you. You won't even be thinking of Regina for much longer."
"Doubt that," Robin muttered, glancing down at his half empty cup.
"Look I need to head down to the market to grab a few things. Need anything since I'm going?" Killian asked, throwing on his jacket before heading towards the hotel room door.
"No thanks!" Robin shouted back. "I'll be knocked out by the time you get back."
"Don't sweat it mate. She's just a girl." He stated before heading out and letting the door shut behind him.
'Yeah. Just a girl,' he repeated to himself, letting his head fall back against the pillows. He gazed up towards the ceiling, thoughts returning back to the dark haired beauty before sleep finally took over him.
Regina stepped inside the small convenient store, flashing a smile towards the worker as she made her way towards the refrigerator section and picked up a gallon of coconut milk. Humming softly to herself, she made her way back over to the front. Setting the milk down on the counter, she quickly dug through her bag for the four dollars she had thrown inside just before leaving the stand.
Handing the money over to the cashier, she took the milk back from her hands and just as she was about to leave she heard the cashier yell a quick, 'Have a nice day Regina!' Turning around slowly she responded with a quick 'Thank you.' She locked eyes with an unfamiliar dark haired stranger that, for some reason, was looking at her as if he had just seen a ghost.
"Can I help you?" she asked politely, smiling over in his direction.
"I'm sorry?"
'Hm. Weird,' she thought to herself.
"Can I help you?" she repeated again. "You were staring at me as if you needed something."
"Oh," he nodded, clearing his throat. "Yeah uh, your name is Regina right?"
"Yes?" her response came out questioning him, eyebrow arched in confusion. "I'm sorry, do we know each other?"
"No, no we don't but do you mind walking with me for a minute? We need to talk."
Now things felt a bit… strange. She had no idea who this man was nor did the man know her, yet there were things he needed to talk to her about? She hesitated for a moment before giving him a brief nod mumbling, 'Sure,' before stepping out of the store with him, walking a few steps away and more towards the curb just in case she had to make a run for it.
"So what is it you needed to tell me?"
"Allow me to introduce myself first. My name is Killian Jones. Judging by your stance and how far you're walking from me I just wanted to reassure you that you're fine with me and I'm not going to hurt you. I really do just wanna talk."
She nodded, making the decision to move away from the curb and walk a bit closer to him. Not because she trusted him but because she didn't exactly feel like getting hit by a car either.
"Have you ever been to England, Regina?"
"England? Uh… no, I don't suppose I have. I've always wanted to though."
"And you know how… the rulers go about, yes? Princes. Princesses. Kings. Queens?"
"They're… passed down. Basically it's in your blood to be the next person to take the throne and rule, no?"
"Correct," he shot her a smile that she greatly returned. "However if there's no woman to take the throne as queen, with the next king, the previous ruler holds a competition."
"Competition?" Regina asked eyebrows raised. "Like an actual competition… to be queen?"
"Seems a bit out there, hm? I agree. But it's true. There are five women that compete for it. Well, we only have four and – " he was interrupted by a sudden gasp from the brunette beside him, causing him to stop walking and turn towards her.
"And you're asking me to be the fifth woman to compete for someone's love? You're out of your damn mind!"
Killian sighed, reaching out a hand to calm her down, but she jerked back to avoid his touch. "Look, Regina, I know it's a lot to take in but – " And once again he was cut off. Damn was she a feisty one.
"A lot to take in?! You're seriously asking me to drop everything and fly to England with you to compete for a man's love? Is that it?"
"Well – " he started, rolling his eyes when she cut him off again.
"Look… Killian?" He nodded indicating she had his name right. She sighed before continuing in a much softer tone, "I'm sure… you and this prince mean well, but I have a life here. New York is my home. No offense, but I can't just fly off and compete to run a country I know nothing about and fight for a man I've never even met."
'Oh you've met him,' he thought but didn't dare say out loud.
"I'm sorry, but it's not happening." she made an attempt to brush past him but he grabbed ahold of her arm gently, making her stop and turning to face him.
"Regina… please just consider it? You're different than the women back home. You have this… vibe that I can't explain, but it's a vibe that could definitely get you to win. Just consider it?" He pulls out a card and handing it over to her. She examines it before sighing and taking it from his hand. "I'll be staying at the hotel just down the street until about noon tomorrow. The flight leaves at two. If you change your mind give me a call?"
She looked him over before shoving the card in her bag. "Goodbye Killian." Without giving him a chance to respond she turned on her heels and disappeared into the busy crowd.
After another ten-minute walk Regina returned back to her stand, setting her stuff down glancing over at Mal. "Hey is it busy?"
Mal looked her over before glancing out on the streets motioning towards the invisible line of no one. "Yeah! Check out this line; we might never get through it."
Rolling her eyes at the sarcastic response, Regina walked over taking a seat back in the corner looking over at the card Killian had given her.
"What's that?" her friend questioned, walking over and taking the card from her hands gently.
"Did you know that they compete for a queen to rule England?" Regina asked, avoiding Mal's gaze. "That was given to me by someone a part of the court. He… wants me to fly to England with him tomorrow and join the competition."
"WHAT?!" Mal asked, a smile appearing on her face. "Oh Regina, tell me you said yes?"
Regina shot her head up, glancing at her friend with a confused expression. "Yes? Mal I said no! I don't compete for love."
"So? It sounds fun! Don't be such a sourpuss."
"I'm not a sourpuss Mal. I just don't find this fun. I don't want a man to love me because I won a competition. I want him to love me for me. Is that too much to ask?"
"No… it makes sense, but Regina, it's the prince. They want you. They see something in you that they haven't seen in anyone. This is your opportunity to become a royal. To become a queen! You'd be an idiot to miss this opportunity."
Regina pursed her lips, shrugging her shoulder before responding in a whisper, "What if I don't want to be queen?"
"Regina, it's every girl's dream to be a queen! Plus you act like one all the time," her friend jokingly responded, nudging her friend gently with a laugh that earned her a scowl from the brunette.
"I do not!" she argued back. Shoving her friend before walking over towards the counter, she hoisted her body up so she could sit and get a good view of the city skyline.
"Look, as your best friend, I want what's best for you. If you really think that this is just something that's dumb and not interesting, then don't do it. But it's a once in a lifetime opportunity. You're beautiful. You're smart. You're classy, and you're down to earth. Any man would be lucky to have you, and England would be lucky to have someone like you as their queen. You have a shot at winning this thing. I want this to be an, 'At least I gave it a shot' opportunity versus an, 'I wonder what would have happened.' I know this is something you would regret if you didn't do it."
Regina sighed, her gaze still focused on the night falling sky as she took in every word her blonde friend stated. Mal was right. Deep down she knew she was right. The offer was tempting, but truth be told, she was scared. Scared of letting anyone near her. Scared of opening up her heart only to get it crushed again. Scared of falling for a man only to have him ripped away from her in just the blink of an eye. But most of all, she was scared of hurting Daniel. She didn't want him to feel like she was replacing him in some way or that she was moving on too fast. Her heart was conflicted.
"Regina… it has been three years. It's okay to move on. He wouldn't want you to be sad forever. Please understand that."
That did it. She finally let the tears fall. Mal instantly pulled her into a hug, holding her close as Regina buried her head in her friend's neck and clutching on tightly as she sobbed out loud. Oh how she missed him. Mal sighed, rubbing her back and whispering a few encouraging words.
"I know. But when you finally let that new person in, the pain will become less. He'll be able to bring you happiness again. Make you smile. To be honest, I miss my fun loving best friend, and I kinda need her back."
Regina sniffled, pulling back as she wiped her tears before smiling softly. "Believe me, I miss her too." Licking her lips she glanced over at the card again, shaking her head. "So you think I should do it?"
"If you don't, I sure as hell will."
Regina laughed, playfully rolling her eyes as she motioned for her friend to hand her the card while she reached for her phone in her pocket. She swiped the 'unlock' tab and then typed in the numbers that were written down on the card. On the third ring she heard his familiar voice on the other end. Clearing her throat gently she responded, "Killian? It's… Regina." She glances up at her friend who in return gives her a nod of encouragement. "How's the weather in England? I'm taking you up on that offer."