OH MY GOD. I can't believe I kept you all waiting for almost two months for this chapter. I am so sorry. Especially when I left you right before the reunion. I was struggling with the muse and dealing with a lot of work at school. But now that it's summer and I kind of figured out what I wanted from the story, I should update once a week or so. I love you all, and thanks for sticking with this one.
Also, I've cast Daniel's father as Anthony Hopkins a la Mask of Zorro. Because I'm currently watching it and that's all I can picture.
Tears had already begun to form in her eyes before he turned around, and when blue eyes fell upon brown, she found she could barely breathe. An ecstatic smile crossed her face as a happy laugh escaped her lips. "David?" She choked out through tears.
The shepherd looked at her before quickly saying, "I shouldn't have come."
He started to walk away quickly, but she stopped him. "David!" He turned back to her, his eyes cold. "What's the matter? You came all this way and now you're leaving?"
"You're married, Regina." The truth hung in the air between them, stale and uncomfortable. "I clearly have no place in your life."
She ran and stopped in front of him. "Then why did you tell me you loved me? Why did you show up that day and tell me that you still love me?"
He watched her eyes begin to tear. The innocent girl he'd known his whole life was emerging in front of her again. He didn't see the Queen that everyone else saw in her, but the little girl he'd become friends with, the one he ran around the fields with. The young lady who'd taught him to ride a horse. The woman he'd fallen madly in love with. And he desperately wanted to take her in his arms and kiss her.
But she'd hurt him. She'd scoffed at his love, refuted him. Why did she care that he told her he loved her? "Because that night just never sat well with me," he explained. "That you would come running to me, begging me to run away with you, and then you show up completely different."
Regina furrowed her brow. "What are you talking about?"
"You know what I'm talking about! Love is weakness, remember?"
The brunette couldn't choke back the sob from her throat as her hand flew to her mouth. "Why would you say that to me, David? What kind of cruel joke is this?"
"It's not a joke, Regina!" He retorted. "I'm angry!" He said, raising his voice and causing the queen to step back. "I'm angry that you said yes when he proposed to you. I'm angry that you told me love is weakness when I know that you don't believe it for a second! I'm angry that you let your mother manipulate you into changing your mind. I'm angry that you told me love is weakness when I know that you don't believe it for a second!"
Regina's mind clicked at the last phrase. "David!" She said, taking his face in her hands to get his attention. "That wasn't me," she whispered.
"Don't lie to me!" He backed away from her. "Don't stand here and try to make me think I'm crazy—"
"I'm not trying to do that, David. I'm trying to explain."
"Why you broke my heart? Why you took everything we had and threw it away like it was nothing?" David was tearing up now. "And now you're married and off kissing other—"
"David, that's not what it looked like," she responded, pressing her fingers to her temples in frustration. "That's not even what this is about!"
"Then what is it about, Regina? Was I an idiot to think that you still want to be with me? That day I saw you at the cavalcade for the coronation, was I crazy to think that you looked at me like you still loved me?"
"Of course not!" Regina cried, finally getting David to stop talking. "David, I neverstopped loving you." She looked around and grabbed his hand, pulling him through the closest door into a sitting room. As soon as the door was closed behind them, she wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in the crook of his neck. He immediately reciprocated, forgetting his anger as he remembered the feeling of holding her in his arms. They stayed like that for a moment before Regina finally pulled away, taking his face in her hands and pulling him into a slow, tender kiss. His hands fell to the small of her back, bringing her closer to him. He felt no need to deepen the kiss. It was slow, soft, and perfect.
Finally they pulled away, still holding each other. It was she who finally stepped away, standing behind a chaise to put a physical barrier between them while they talked. "David, that night in the stables… it wasn't me." David folded his arms over his chest. "David, you know I don't believe love is weakness. Quite the opposite, in fact."
"Well then how do you explain my talking to you that night?"
"Cora," she said. "She must have cast some sort of spell."
David took in the information. It made sense now. Why Regina had been so cold that night. The emptiness in her eyes, the way she pulled away from the kiss, the utter disregard for his feelings. "Thank god," he finally said, nearly sprinting to the other side of the couch and pulling her into a passionate kiss.
Regina heard footsteps approaching. "Behind the curtain! Now!" She half whispered, pushing David behind a curtain by the window. The door opened, and Regina spun to see her husband standing there. "Are you alright?" He asked, making his way across the room to the Queen.
"I'm fine, dear," she told him, unable to slow her nervous heart. Daniel leaned in to give her a small kiss.
"Darling, your heart is racing. Are you sure you're okay? I could send for a doctor."
"Oh, no, that won't be necessary," she said. "I just needed to escape the crowd for a moment. I'll be out soon."
"Alright," he replied, giving her a kiss on the forehead.
When he was gone, Regina exhaled the breath she'd been holding and moved the curtain to let David out. "Good thing you heard him," David said.
"Indeed," she said. There was a moment of silence during which the two looked at each other, never breaking eye contact before rushing to each other and crashing their lips together. Her hands ran through his short hair, pulling him deeper into the kiss as his arms wrapped around her waist, bringing her body closer to his.
Her breath hitched as their bodies came closer together. "David," she breathed as his mouth moved to her neck. "I've missed you so much."
He brought his mouth up to her ear and whispered, "I've missed you, too." He lightly sucked on her earlobe, causing her to moan quietly. She didn't even bother to hold it back. After all this time, it felt so good to be with the man she loved instead of pretending. All those nights she would lie there, nakedly pretending to enjoy it, the guilt of both betraying her love and hurting the kind man she'd married consuming her.
He pressed her against the wall, his mouth hungrily claiming hers once more. She could feel the arousal pooling between her legs, the feeling she'd only have late at night when her husband was traveling and she could lie in bed pretending it was David as her fingers slid inside of her, bringing her to a climax, his name on her lips.
But now he was real and he was there. She didn't have to pretend he was moaning her name in his ear because she could feel his breath, his touch, his very being all around her.
She so wanted to continue. Regina wanted to feel him inside of her after a long year of wishing. But she knew that soon Daniel would be back to check on her. She pulled away from the kiss. "David," she whispered as she looked into his eyes. "We can't do this here. Someone might catch us. Meet me tomorrow in the town square."
He smiled at her despite the discomfort in his pants that would surely not be remedied tonight. They were together again, and that was all that mattered. He pulled her in for one more hard kiss before saying, "I love you, Regina."
She smiled, tears stinging her eyes again. "I love you, too, David," she replied. She kissed him once more before moving to the mirror. She fixed her smudged lipstick before moving to the door. She took one last look at the man she loved before opening it and peeking through, checking to be sure the halls were empty. She then motioned for him to follow, and the two shared a secret smile before heading in different directions: he toward the exit and she toward the ball.
She approached the ballroom and joined the party as if she'd been gone for two minutes rather than half an hour. Immediately she was greeted by her father-in-law. "Regina," he greeted with a smile and an extended hand. "May I have this dance?"
She gave him a small smile and a nod before moving to the floor with him. They began moving about the floor together before he finally spoke again. "Regina, you were absent from the party for quite some time. Need I be concerned for our fair Queen?"
"Of course not," she responded. "I simply became a bit warm and needed some fresh air."
"Hm." The former King tilted his head up a bit, looking down from hooded lids. "Then I assume I should also not be worried about this," he said, moving one hand to thumb a spot on her neck before pulling her hair to cover the bruise.
Her face flushed in a combination of embarrassment and terror. "Sir—"
He chuckled a bit, interrupting her excuse. "Do not be mistaken," he said, his deep voice quietly speaking close to her ear, "I had my fair share of…indiscretions during my time as King. I should assume you will both have yours." A sneer crossed his face. "But if you, in any way, embarrass this family, if you shame the kingdom I worked so hard to build, you will be sorry."
She bit her lip nervously as she listened to his final words: "Adultery is a crime in this kingdom. It would be a shame to see the Queen beheaded because she wasn't more careful." The music ended and they parted, the younger of the two so flustered that she almost forgot to curtsy afterward. The former King Anthony then left the floor and Regina turned and left in the other direction, now terribly nervous from their conversation.
Please review and feel free to yell at me for making you wait. But I hope it was worth the delay. :)