Regina sat on the floor of the bathroom crying. Daniel had fallen asleep almost immediately after they consummated their marriage, and after she was certain he wouldn't wake, she stole away to the bathroom in her former bedchamber and collapsed in tears.

She held herself as she remembered the events that had transpired only an hour before. She and Daniel had arrived in their shared bedroom at the end of the night, and he pulled her into a kiss. While perfectly nice, it was nothing like the kisses she shared with David. He didn't have the same effect on her. She didn't become weak in the knees. No heart fluttering. No heat between her legs. It was chaste, but he wasn't of the same mindset. She could feel him growing against her.

She had done the wifely duty of sleeping with her husband in an attempt to produce an heir

"I'm so sorry," she whispered through the tears. But she wasn't really sure who she was apologizing to. She felt there were so many things to apologize for.

How could she let herself succumb to magic? The one thing she promised herself she'd never do.

And the thing that scared her most was how much she loved it. That power her mother always wanted her to have-the power that Regina had always rejected-felt amazing

But that was it. Now that Cora was gone, Regina wouldn't ever use magic again. Even if she could still feel it tingling in her bones.

David sat in the kitchen. It had been three weeks since Regina had married Daniel, and he was no more over it than the day she left. He was nursing his drink when Ruth came in the door, having returned from the market. "Hello, mother," he said.

"David!" She was startled by his presence. "What are you doing here?"

He looked at her confusedly. "I live here," he said flatly. "Is something wrong?"

Ruth protested, but after a bit of prodding, he finally got his answer. "The King has stepped down from the throne. Prince Daniel is to be crowned."

David's face paled. "So that means... She's going to be queen." Ruth nodded. David took another long drink. "When?"

"In two days' time."

Silence hung over the room until David abruptly rose from the table. "I'm going for a walk."

He didn't make it very far.

He stopped at the fence. The spot where he'd first realized his feelings for Regina. Where he'd kissed her for the first time. He gripped the fence until his knuckles turned white as hot tears fell from his eyes in a mix of anger and sadness. "Goddammit!"

Regina stood in her chambers, where she was being fitted for her coronation gown. The purple fabric looked beautiful on her olive skin, but the gown needed to be taken in so as to fit her properly. "Your highness?"

"Yes, Marta?" Regina looked to her chambermaid, a kind older woman who had been more of a mother to her than Cora had ever been.

"Your cousin, Abigail, is here to see you."

"Oh, send her in!" Regina said. The seamstresses finished pinning her gown and she moved behind the screen to change. The older women left the room, leaving Regina alone.

"Gina?"

Regina glanced over the screen. "Abby!" She rushed out once her dress was laced and hugged her cousin tightly. "You have no idea how happy I am that you are here," she said.

"Regina, what's wrong?" Abigail asked, noting the tears in her cousin's eyes. "This is supposed to be a happy event. Why are you crying?" She gently wiped a tear away, trying not to smear the brunette's makeup, but Regina's tears were too quick, and black makeup began to stream down her face.

"I never wanted to be queen," Regina said. "I was perfectly happy where I was. I had Rocinante and Daddy and David, and I was happy with all of it, and then just when I find love, it gets ripped away from me."

She was sobbing now, and Abigail led her to the sofa. She rubbed soothing circles on Regina's back. "What happened, exactly?"

The soon-to-be queen took a deep breath, composing herself. "I fell in love," she said, grinning nostalgically. "With David," she finished.

Abigail raised her eyebrows. "Really? Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. You two have been inseparable for years."

Regina smiled. "I love him. I miss him so much." She started playing with her fingers. "We were going to run away together so that I wouldn't have to get married…but mother found out."

"How?" Abigail was completely intrigued. Regina had always rebelled a bit, but the idea of her trying to run away was far beyond anything she had done before.

Regina blushed. "David and I…we…we made love. There was blood," Regina said. "And when I snuck back into the house, I didn't have enough time to wash my underwear, so I tossed them under the bed…"

"And Cora found them?" Abigail's eyes widened immensely.

Regina nodded. "We left the next day. I haven't seen him since," she said despondently.

Abigail wrapped her arms around the brunette, who had started sobbing again. "Shh," she coaxed, rocking the other woman back and forth. "It's going to be alright," she whispered soothingly.

"How do you know?" Regina asked, watering eyes looking into soft blue ones.

Abigail smiled. "Because True Love always finds a way," she said, squeezing Regina's trembling hands. When the brunette stopped shaking and sobbing, Abigail asked, "Where is your mother? I would have thought she'd be hovering."

Regina inhaled sharply. "Gone. She…I pushed her through a portal…"

Abigail furrowed her brows. "So…she's gone?" Regina nodded. "Why did you do that, Gina?"

"I was just so angry," she said, tears stinging the backs of her eyes again. "She just kept pushing and pushing…so I finally pushed back. She'd started using magic on me, and I had enough of it."

"You can use magic?"

Regina nodded. "That was the only time I used it. I'm never doing it again," she said. "But Rumplestiltskin—"

"You're learning magic from him?!" Abigail was petrified. "Regina, that's the darkest magic imaginable! Please, please promise me you'll never contact him again. Magic comes at a price, and I don't think you'll be willing to pay that price."

Regina nodded. "Okay," she said quietly.

Abigail hugged her cousin. "Alright," she said "let's get you cleaned up."

David stood on the edge of the road with the crowd that had congregated to see the royal parade. The people were abuzz with gossip about the new King and Queen. Most of the rumors about Regina were false, however, and David had to restrain himself from tackling a woman who referred to the new Queen as "that gold-digging harlot."

The sound of hooves excited the crowd, and everyone cheered as the cavalcade made their way down the path. Everyone was trying to get a peek at the new King and Queen. They were near the end of the procession, preceded and followed by armored guards. As they made their way down the road, David's breath caught in his throat.

This woman was not the lively, loving woman he fell in love with. She smiled at her subjects, but it never reached her eyes. She waved and smiled, pretending the entire way that she was fine. And had David not known her so well, he never would have known.

That was what made it so strange. The last time he'd seen her, she was cold and unfeeling. There was no attempt at niceties on her part. No sadness or pain on her part. He knew her as well as she knew herself and vice versa. And he couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right that night in the stables.

And then they made eye contact. Regina's eyes fell on him for a split second as she scanned the crowd, and then they flicked back to him, locking them in an intensely passionate gaze.

He saw her swallow hard as she looked at him, and he knew she was trying not to cry. He gazed into her eyes as her horse continued on its path and he knew that the only way to know if his gut was right was going to hurt her.

He mouthed the words, "I love you."

"Regina, is everything alright?" Daniel asked when they arrived back at the palace.

She blinked back the tears she'd been holding in for the last two hours. "I'm fine, dear. If it's alright with you, I'm going to go for a ride for a while," she said, forcing a smile to her face.

The new king nodded and stepped toward her, rubbing her shoulders. "Would you like a guard to accompany you?"

"No, dear, that's fine," she said. "I'm sure you have things to attend to. I'm just going to stay out of your hair for a bit and spend some time with Rocinante."

He smiled genuinely and kissed her on the forehead. "Alright," he said. "I love you."

Regina choked out a reciprocation like she always did. "Love you, too."

Daniel walked back to the palace with the guards, and as soon as they were gone, Regina was mounting Rocinante and speeding off into the distance. When the palace was finally out of sight, she allowed herself to cry. Sobs wracked her body as Rocinante flew through the forest.

Why did you have to do that, David? Why did you have to say those wonderful words?"

She stopped Rocinante and dismounted with absolutely no grace, collapsing to the ground next to the horse. She lay there, sobbing into her arm, not caring if she dirtied her clothes. Eventually her tear ducts dried, and she was reduced to the sound of sobbing without the relief of tears. It was then that Rocinante nudged her with his nose. She looked up at the steed. His eyes were comforting, and even though she still trembled, she stroked his face, silently thanking him for his comfort. "I miss him so much, Rocinante." He nudged her face softly. She stood and looked around. "I have no idea where we are," she said with a humorless laugh. She mounted the steed again, and they went on their way.

David scratched his head as he walked through the forest. Nothing made sense. How could she tell him that she didn't love him anymore when she clearly did? Her eyes had filled with tears at his words. And even though David thought it would comfort him to know if she still missed him, it only made him upset. Upset and angry. How could she put him through that pain if she didn't mean it.

"None of this is adding up," he said to himself. He stopped and sat on a log. Everything was so confusing. He rested his head in his hands. He wasn't sure what he had been hoping for when he saw her. Closure? Some sort of declaration of love? He couldn't figure it out, but one thing was for sure: Regina Mills still loved him.

This story is so difficult to write, so that's why it's been taking longer to put out chapters. I hope that it's worth the wait. Please review! It makes the writing process go so much quicker when I see that people are reading and enjoying the chapters. And if there's something you want, feel free to tell me! And if it doesn't fit into this story, maybe I'll write you a little one shot :)