Regina stood in the shadows against a building along the edge of the castle. She and Robin had never stated a place to meet, but she was certain since this was where they had last parted, then this was where he would look for her.

Getting dressed for the occasion had taken over half the day. It took her forever to find something she didn't think looked rich but that also seemed nice for a second meeting with a handsome man. First she'd gone through all of her dresses and then had given up because they were all obviously made for someone with money. Since she'd told Robin she was governess to the princess, she next went through Johanna's things. But the woman was a completely different shape and size than Regina, and she fretted over how plain everything appeared.

But eventually she selected a simple green tunic, underskirt, and belt from Johanna's closet. She spent hours working on modifying the clothing so it fit her properly. Her lessons with Rumple had involved next to nothing that would work for clothing modification, so she was hesitant to try any spells. Her mother had tried to teach her sewing as a young girl, though Regina never held much interest in it expect for when her riding clothes needed repair. With her experience so limited, things took time, and she was trying to be as careful as possible so she could return the clothes to their original state once she was done using them.

Eventually, she had gotten everything to look passable. Now, as she stood in the shadows, waiting for Robin to appear, she wondered why she had fretted so much. With such poor lighting, he was sure not to notice if anything was amiss.

"There you are."

Regina jumped at his voice as he came up behind her. She had been watching for him, but she hadn't seen any sign of him nor heard him approach.

"How do you do that?" she asked, her heart fluttering at the sight of him. She rather liked his look in half shadow, the darkness highlighting the sharper angles of his face that somehow still managed to exhibit gentleness.

"Perhaps one day I'll teach you," he said, leaning forward to plant a brief kiss on her lips. "Come on." He grabbed her hand and began leading her away from the castle as well as the town.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"You'll see." The smile was apparent in his voice even though she couldn't see his face.

She planted her feet, making him come to a jerking stop, when she finally realized where they were headed.

"That's Sherwood Forrest," she said when he turned to look at her. "There are bandits in there."

He clasped both her hands in both of his. "I've frequented these woods since I was a child. We'll be perfectly safe, I promise."

Regina was unconvinced.

He let go of her hand and withdrew a rapier from its sheath at his side, which he handed to her. "Perhaps it's time for a lesson." He walked a few paces and picked up a long stick he found lying on the ground.

"I've never used a sword before," she admitted. She had always wanted to try, but her mother had forbidden it and as Queen it was seen as improper for her to learn.

He walked back to her, placed the stick on the ground, and moved to stand behind her. His body felt warm and comforting against her as he stepped close, reaching around her to take her hands in his.

"Now this type of sword," he said, securing his fingers around hers. "Isn't used for slashing, so you won't swing with it. Instead," he drew her hands back, "you want to thrust at your opponent." He gently pushed her arms forward. "For proper form, you want to tilt your wrists slightly - yes - just like that." He repeated the motion, drawing her hands back and then forward so she could get the feel of it.

Regina's head felt a little dizzy with his body so close and his voice soft in her ear, his hands guiding hers. Did he honestly expect her to be able to concentrate?

But then he let go of her, stepping to the side so he could see how she handled the sword on her own. "Yes, good. Now, put your feet like this." He demonstrated the proper stance, which Regina imitated. "Good, now lean forward - that's it. Now," he picked up the stick he had discarded and stood just as he had shown her. "Come at me."

Regina hesitated, uncertain. But then she moved forward. He had told her not to swing, but she did so anyway. She made contact with the stick, but he was easily able to side step her.

"Don't swing," he reminded her. "Try again."

She took a breath and closed her eyes, trying to concentrate. She took the proper stance, and this time when she stepped she lunged right at him, her full force behind it. For one horrible moment she was certain the sword would stab him, but then the stick came under the sword, pushing it upward.

Robin did a little spin as the sword did a partial flip in the air. As he turned back around, he caught the sword in his hand by the hilt. "Haha! You see?"

Regina stared. He was quite good.

He dropped the stick, sheathed the sword, and stepped to take his place beside her. "As I said, my dear, we'll be quite safe."

She might have protested, but the exhilaration of the event had clouded her thought processes. And he was so charming that she was eager to see where he wanted to take her.

They continued into the forest. Regina realized Robin hadn't been lying when he'd said he frequented the forest as she saw him pick up a lantern he had stored behind a fallen tree. Even with the light and his assurance of her safety, she clung to him as they walked. She was quite happy for the arm he placed around her, both for comfort and because she simply liked having his arm around her waist.

Eventually, Regina started to notice a lifting of the darkness ahead of them. As they approached, Regina could see a small clearing in which was lit a modest campfire. A log was positioned next to the fire and two torches were tethered to poles on either side of the log to provide more light. As they entered the clearing, Regina could smell the two roasting rabbits she hadn't noticed skewered on a spit over the flames.

She turned toward Robin. "You did all this?"

He smiled modestly. "I did. Do you like it?"

"I love it," she said moving forward to take a seat on the log.

Robin blew out the lantern and set it amongst the trees along the path they had been walking. "I have to apologize for the accommodations," he said as he approached the fire to check on their meal. "I'm sure this is quite different for a lady who is accustomed to castle banquets."

"Oh, no," she told him. "It's fine. To be honest I had originally planned on living a simpler life."

"Really?" he said, not looking up as he turned the rabbits over.

As he did so, she noticed again the lion tattoo on his forearm. "What does it mean?" she asked.

It took him a moment to realize what she was talking about. "It's a family tattoo," he said, adjusting his sleeves so they hung shorter. "All the men in my family have it." He returned his attention to the rabbits. "It means 'lion hearted.' It symbolizes the strength to do what is needed, the agility to perform, and the courage to do what is right."

"That's a beautiful sentiment," she told him, thinking the words summarized what she had seen of his personality perfectly.

He smiled in response but didn't say anything. Then he removed the rabbits from the fire. "Just as I'd hoped," he said, stepping over to the log and handing her a skewer. "Perfectly done."

He took an immediate bite of his rabbit as he sat down next to her, but the meat was still a bit too hot for her, so she waited.

"How did you learn to do so much out here?" she asked him.

He swallowed the bite he'd been chewing and leaned back on the log. "I was born a nobleman's son," he said. "And I was a spoiled brat for it." That charming smile of his lit up his face as he laughed. "My father realized the kind of boy I was becoming and brought us out here every summer to live off the land." He leaned forward. "It taught me that good things come from hard work, and that you can't just ask for things and expect them to be handed to you because you feel entitled."

"Your father sounds like a great man," she said smiling.

"He was," he said turning to her, a sad smile on his face as he nodded his head. "He was." He turned back to his rabbit and took another bite.

Regina poked hers with her finger to test if it had cooled enough. She took a tentative bite. "When did he pass away?" she asked Robin after she had swallowed.

"This past summer," he said.

"I'm sorry."

He turned to look at her. "What about your love? When did he-?"

Regina leaned subconsciously away from him. Daniel was not a topic she wished to discuss.

"I'm sorry," said Robin, noticing her discomfort. "You - you said you had wanted to live a simpler life?"

Regina sighed. She appreciated him trying to change the subject, but his question still involved Daniel. She took a large bite of rabbit to busy herself. She didn't want to discuss Daniel, but she didn't want to shut Robin out of her life either. In her heart, she felt it would do her some good to let someone in. It took her a moment to decide how to start.

"I didn't get along with my mother," she said, not looking at him. "She always wanted what she thought was best for me."

"That doesn't sound too horrible," he said.

In spite of herself, Regina smiled. "Yes, well. What I thought was best and what she thought was best never really matched."

"Ah."

"She wanted me to improve my station," she told Robin. "All I ever wanted was to . . . ride horses." She took another bite of rabbit as she laughed.

"I fell in love with the stable boy," she continued. "We were going to run away together, live off the land. But-" She stopped herself, unable to continue. She gripped the skewer tightly in both hands. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes as she remembered that horrible, horrible night.

She nearly jumped when she felt Robin's hand on her arm. "It's okay," he said when she turned to him. "It's all right." He moved his hand up and down her arm, rubbing it. "You don't have to explain."

New tears threatened to overcome her as she realized this was someone who seemed to truly care for her, who understood her, and who had her best interests at heart. "Thank you," she whispered.

He smiled at her encouragingly. Then he took his hand from her arm and ripped off one of the legs of his rabbit and chewed on it.

"Tell me about your life at the castle."

Regina nearly laughed out loud. For being so wonderful, he was horrible at picking non-depressing conversation topics. Although, as she thought about it, what could she tell him about her life that wasn't depressing?

Regina munched on her rabbit before answering. This certainly was different fare than she was used to receiving at the castle. There was hardly any seasoning on the meat, being primarily flavored by the smoke from the flames, and she didn't have any utensils. All in all, she thought she preferred this method of dining. "There isn't much to tell. I hate it there."

"Is it so bad?" he asked.

"I'm not allowed to go anywhere or do anything," she told him. "I'm confined to the castle grounds, so I can be available if the Princess or the King - whenever he's here - needs me. I hardly receive any news outside the castle, and I don't even-" She didn't even get to do queenly duties like running the kingdom. The King took care of all it. "Sometimes I feel like an object to be passed from person to person, and then when I'm not needed I'm just expected to amuse myself. Except I can't even do that because nothing I want to do is considered proper for a lady to learn." It was part of why she was so conflicted about her magic lessons. At least they offered some simulation to her boring life.

"Like using a sword," said Robin, giving an example of something else she might want to learn.

"Or horseback riding," she supplied.

Robin studied her for a while, then he placed a hand on her arm. "Regina, the King is not reputable for being an unkind man. Have you tried telling him of your unhappiness?"

Regina shook her head. "It would be pointless."

"Why?"

Regina looked down at her half-eaten rabbit. Other than their wedding night, the King hadn't so much as acknowledged her existence other than to inquire of the welfare of his daughter. He had no interest in her whatsoever. Still in love with his dead wife and totally preoccupied with a child he was often too busy with running a kingdom to raise himself, Regina fell low on the list of priorities. "He's too engrossed with his daughter," Regina explained sadly. "He spends every free moment thinking of her well-being, and as long as she's happy and I'm doing my part to make her happy, then he doesn't think about me."

"Then maybe you should make him think about you," said Robin. "If he's as busy as you say, then maybe it's never crossed his mind. If you would just tell him-"

Regina shook her head.

"Would it be so hard-?"

"Yes!" Regina shouted at him. "It would be!"

Robin stared at her, concern and confusion etched across his face.

"You know the problem with hope, Robin?" she said. "It's not uplifting, and it's not helpful. All it does is bring you crashing down when that thing you were hoping for is crushed into dust right in front of you. And before you even have the chance to dry your eyes, you're forced right back into that life you were trying so hard to escape."

He stared at her, uncertain. She knew he didn't understand because how could he? How could he know what she'd been through?

"Regina-" he tried but she pushed away from him. "If you'd just tell me-"

She turned away from him. She didn't want to tell him. It hurt too much.

How could she explain about Daniel? About her mother? About Rumplestiltskin? How many times had she pushed back against everything and had had everything push back against her even harder? How many times had she tried to change things, and how many times had life shown that she didn't get to choose what she wanted?

Her hand bumped against the potion bottle she had placed in her pocket just in case she had the chance to use it. But what was the point? What she had wanted for herself had never been a part of her life's equation. She already knew the potion would show her nothing but complete disaster and heartache. She was better off saving herself the trouble.

"I'm sorry, Robin," she said. "I don't know why I even try."

She stood and started walking away from him, back the way they had come. But Robin wasn't going to let her leave that easily.

"Regina, wait," he said, following after her. "I want to help."

"You can't," she told him, continuing her walk.

"Regain-" He put a hand on her arm, but she shrugged him off. He tried to catch her, to hold her in an embrace, to offer some comfort. "Just let me-"

But she would have none it. She pushed, she pulled, she kicked, did everything she could to get him away from her, and when nothing she did deterred him, she raised her hands. "Leave me alone!"

A blast of air shot Robin backward, landing on his back five feet from her. "Magic?" he said, looking just as shocked as Regina felt as he pulled himself into a sitting position. She hadn't meant to use magic, she'd just been angry and it had happened.

At that moment, a group of men came running out of the woods, armed with bows and arrows. Robin extended his hands in a gesture for them to stand down.

Regina glared at him. "The forest is safe?" she said. "These are your men?"

"Regina-" he started.

She nearly stumbled in her realization. "You're the bandits!" she said. "It's you!"

"It's not what it looks like!" said Robin.

But Regina shook her head. She took a step backward, testing to see if the men would move after her. They didn't. She looked straight at Robin and said, "I don't want to see you ever again." And then, certain her determination would carry her home without the aid of the lantern, she ran back up the path toward the castle.