Chapter 5

Author's Note: Hi everybody! Thank you so much to my lovely readers who have been reading, reviewing, favouriting and following. Here is Chapter 5.

~..~..~..~..

Will heaved his sack onto his shoulder, sneaking a bite of a muffin as he did.

"Aahh!"

Bits of muffin went flying from his mouth as he turned to find Little John had slapped the back of his head.

"You gonna give a man a concussion over a muffin?" Will objected indignantly.

"This food is for the poor people of the Kingdom," Little John reminded the younger man in a hiss.

"I thought this was just a distraction," Will commented lightly as he made his way to the kitchen doors. "So that Robin could rescue his 'Lady fair' and get to Sherwood before he loses his head, literally."

However, the group found their path blocked by a palace guard, who pointed a steady sword blade in their direction.

"Bollocks," Will whispered under his breath.

"By Order of the King. I'm placing you under arrest for theft," he told them firmly.

"Really?" Little John asked lightly, noting that the man was on his own. "You and what army?"

The guard swallowed nervously. He had expected back up to arrive by now, though the guard felt all he could do was stall for time. For while he may be armed, he was outnumbered.

~..~..~..~..

Friar Tuck and Tinkerbell made their way cautiously around the castle walls until they came to the window near the kitchens.

The window opened smoothly for the former fairy, allowing her to climb inside with little effort. In the corridor, she found her new friends being held off by a single guard.

"You and what army?" Little John was saying.

"I think he means the rest of the guard currently being stampeded at the front gate," Tinkerbell spoke up on impulse, causing the guard to turn, distracting him enough to allow Little John to thump him hard on the head, causing the guard to fall in a heap.

"Couldn't you have just used your fairy dust to knock him out?" Will asked. "Much simpler."

"I'm all out," Tink told him flatly.

"Did Robin and Regina escape safely?" Little John asked.

"Yes," Tinkerbell assured the large man. "They escaped when the horses stampeded."

"Then I'd say it's time for us to head to Sherwood," Little John grinned.

"Great," Will headed for the window, "Let's get out of here."

Little John regarded the fairy with gratitude. She had held up her end this night. "You're welcome to join us, Tinkerbell." He invited, sure that Robin would agree.

"Thank you," the fairy said gratefully, "but I'll only go as far as Sherwood," she told him. "Once I'm sure Regina's on the path to happiness, I'll need to see a fairy about my wings."

~..~..~..~..

King Leopold paced his throne room in annoyance.

"You let the thief escape with the Queen?" He queried in shock.

"Sire, they escaped in the chaos when the horses escaped," one of the guards answered defensively.

"Obviously," Leopold said tersely. "Otherwise my Queen would be safe at home by now and the thief would be back in his prison cell."

As the guard lowered his eyes, the king sighed, realising there was only one way he'd get his Queen returned to him.

"Send every man we have after them," he commanded, holding out the map that the impish man had given him. "I've been informed that they will take the back trail through the forest to reach Robin's home of Sherwood. Once there, they'll be safe from the laws of this kingdom. We can't let them leave the borders of our realm.

"What about the thieves in the kitchens?" One guard asked.

"They are simply a distraction," the king said firmly. "The Queen is the priority. Now: Retrieve my Queen safely and let's bring her kidnapper to justice!"

~..~..~..~..

Regina and Robin raced to the edge of the kingdom's boarders, Robin urging his steed into a faster gallop.

"We're almost at the border, Regina!" Robin urged his horse even faster. "We're almost free!"

However, just as they reached the kingdom's edge, Regina felt herself yanked backwards as the nearby trees came to life, wrapping their branches around her arms and legs.

She had forgotten about this...

Regina's face crumbled into silent sobs as Robin turned his horse around to return to her.

"What is this?" He asked, taking his knife, he slashes at a branch, only to be knocked off his horse by a blast of magic in retaliation.

"It's a barrier spell," Regina mutter dully as the trees slowly lowered her to the ground. "My mother cast it so that I can only leave when I'm with the king."

Robin got to his feet quickly as he watched Regina be released, leading his horse forward. The despair in his love's eyes was heartbreaking.

"But you know magic, Regina," Robin reminded her. "Can't you break the enchantment?"

Regina slowly shook her head.

"I haven't learnt how," she admitted shakily as Robin helped her to her feet. "I thought that, after my mother left, her spell would be broken." She bowed her head in grief. "But I'm still trapped here."

"Then I'll stay with you," Robin vowed. "I'll stay until you find a way to break the enchantment."

"No!" Regina insisted. Looking back, Regina could just see flashes of the king's guards through the dense trees.

"They're coming Robin!" Regina warned. "You have to go, or they'll kill you!"

"It's not the first time I've been hunted," Robin gripped Regina's arms tighter even as she tried to push him away. "I've stayed outside the law many times, I can do it again here."

"I will not watch another man I care about die before my eyes!" Regina screamed.

Robin gripped her face with both hands, forcing her to look him in the eye.

"But if I leave you here, Regina, then you will die." He told her.

Regina fought back a smile. Still determined to protect her, even though she could mean his death.

"Please, Robin," she begged. "Run. This time: Run. At least then, I'll take comfort knowing that you're alive."

"No," Robin mounted his horse and instead moved back along the path, ready to confront the King's men. "You know I've never been one to take orders, Milady." He loaded his bow.

Regina came to stand beside him.

"Robin?"

Gaining his attention, she drew him down for a kiss, savouring the taste of him, trying to commit it to her memory.

"I will see you again," she told him as they parted.

Robin barely had time to register what Regina had said before she waved her hand and smoke engulfed him.

~..~..~..~..

As the smoke dispersed, Robin looked around to realise that he was now on the borders of Sherwood forest.

"No," he whispered fearfully. "Regina?"

Turning, he searched frantically, but his raven haired beauty was nowhere to be seen.

"Regina!"

~..~..~..~..

The king's guards found their queen alone just inside their kingdom's border.

"Majesty," the head guard greeted in relief as he dismounted. "Are you hurt?"

The Queen shook her head, and while she appeared shaken by her ordeal, she still drew herself up proudly.

"I'm alright," she told them.

"The thief?" He queried.

"He left me here when he realised you were getting too close," Regina reported. "He's gone, fled."

"Have no fear, Majesty," the head guard told her. "We will ensure that, should that thief ever show his face in our kingdom, he will be put to death for his crime of kidnapping you."

"That won't be necessary," Regina said quickly before regaining her sensibilities. "He knows not to come back here."

"You've been through a terrifying ordeal, Your Majesty" The head guard was quick, to offer the Queen his horse. "Come, let's get you home."

~..~..~..~..

Tinkerbell was practically skipping with anticipation as Little John led their team with relative ease through the Enchanted Forest. All the guards had been sent after Regina and Robin, so they had escaped the palace grounds with very little detection. Little John and the merry men had only to defend their group once from a mere three guards that remained behind at the palace. After that, they handed out the food to the poorer villagers as they passed through the Kingdom, then it was just a matter of time before they reached the borders' of King Leopold's realm and were able to breathe more easily.

"Robin and Regina should be at the edge of Sherwood by now," Little John told the group as they approached the boundary line. "We'll catch up with them soon."

The thundering sound of hooves heading towards them from up ahead caused John to give the signal to scatter and hide. However, as the rider came into view, John raced onto the track, causing the horse to rear up in fear and the rider to curse as he was nearly thrown from his stead.

"John!" Robin yelled angrily, "Let me pass!"

"I think you're running the wrong way, Robin," Will called out. "Sherwood's that way," he pointed in the direction Robin had come from.

"What is it Robin?" John asked in concern.

But Tinkerbell had realised someone was missing.

"Where's Regina?" She asked slowly.

"Taken," Robin's despair at his failure filled his voice. "The border was spelled to forbid Regina leaving without the King, so she couldn't leave. Rather than allow me to be taken by the guards, Regina transported me to Sherwood."

"So we did all that work for nothing?" Will asked.

"She can't leave?" Tinkerbell covered her mouth. What had she done?

"Now let me by!" Robin ordered his friends, for he'd already wasted too much time by explaining. "Regina would've been taken by the guards by now-"

"Which means that if you go back there right now, you're as good as dead," John said firmly, grabbing the reins of the horse to prevent Robin passing.

Robin's dark eyes met his friend's in warning.

"Let go, John," Robin's voice was low. "I must find a way to get Regina out."

"You will," John nodded "but not tonight. They're on high alert now, and if you go back now, that barrier spell preventing the Queen from leaving the realm will still be in place, and the same thing will happen again. Now," John continued, as he could see reason slowly returning to his friend's eyes, "until that barrier spell breaks, you can't save Regina, so I suggest we head back to Sherwood, where we're out of reach of Leopold's guards."

"I gave the Queen my word," Robin insisted stubbornly.

John sighed, turning to Tinkerbell.

"Can I use your bag of dust?" He asked her.

"But I'm out," the fairy answered automatically.

John pulled at the bag anyway, turning the cloth pouch inside out. In one swift movement, John covered Robin's nose and mouth with the cloth and pulled him from his horse. In moments, Robin was unconscious.

"How did you do that?" Tinkerbell asked as John returned the bag.

"I figured it was like any other powder you keep in a bag: there's always going to be some sticking to the inside of the material," John answered as he placed Robin's limp form back on the horse and tied him securely to the saddle so as he wouldn't fall.

"He's not going to be happy with you when he wakes up," Will commented with a raised eyebrow.

"Hopefully he'll at least wake with some sense in him," John answered as he worked. "I can handle my friend being mad at me, but I can't handle watching him get beheaded for going back on a fool's quest. For if Regina is truly being held in Leopold's Kingdom by magic, there is no way Robin can get her out of Leopold's realm until that spell is broken."

"But he will get her out," Tink whispered, nodding as if to assure herself. "Someday, Regina will get out."

John sighed.

"But what's going to happen to the both of them between now and then?" He put forward.

Gathering the reins of Robin's horse, John led the Merry Men towards Sherwood.

Tinkerbell hung back.

"Aren't you coming, Tinkerbell?"

Tink looked up to see Friar Tuck gazing at her with concern.

The former fairy shook her head slowly.

"No," she answered sadly. "I failed Regina."

"We all failed tonight," Friar Tuck said. "And I know Robin, he'll find another way to get her out."

"Can he do magic?" Tink asked. "Because that's the only way that barrier spell can be broken."

"We'll find a way," Tuck assured her.

Tink shook her head.

"No," she insisted. "All of this was my doing. I gave Regina the Pixie dust that led her to Robin." Tink swallowed. "I'll find a way."

Realising what she'd just said, an idea came to her.

Pixie Dust...

~..~..~..~..

Later that night, Regina sat numbly on her bed.

She had almost had happiness...

But at least now, Robin was still alive...

Closing her eyes Regina finally allowed her tears to flow.

"Told you so."

Regina shot to her feet to find Rumplestiltskin standing bold as brass in the middle of her room.

"Get out," she snarled.

"Are you happy now, Dearie?" The Dark One asked. "You got to find true love once again...but look where you've ended up: right back where you started. Actually," he corrected himself lightly, "worse than when you started. Because while you did find love, you also lost it again. And you have to live with that now...both of you."

"At least Robin is alive," Regina tried to take comfort in that.

"But you know as well as I do, Dearie, that as long as you are tied to this land, you will never see him again." Rumple reminded her. "You really do have nothing left now."

Regina swallowed.

"Yes, I do," she answered in a low voice as she lifted her head. "I have my kingdom."

"You mean the King's kingdom?" Rumple corrected.

"No," Regina strode forward to face him with fresh determination. "I am not going to let him and his weak minded daughter rule my life. I am going to rule. For once in my life, I will have something that is mine. Not my mother's, not my husbands. Mine. And no one will be able to take it away from me."

Rumple let her continue to speak, to let the floodgates open.

"I will continue my lessons with you, Dark One, until I learn to break my mother's barrier spell," she continued. "And then Robin can come back."

"I will get the love of the people," Regina continued. "I will have them bow to my glory."

Regina raised her chin.

"I will be known throughout all the realms," she finished grandly. "And my name will be remembered for generations to come."

Rumple tried to fight back a smile, but didn't quite succeed.

"Oh, you will be Dearie," he told her softly. "You most certainly will be."

'Just not in the way you currently hope,' he added to himself.

The Dark One allowed himself a small sigh of relief.

Regina was now on her proper path, once more.

~..~..~..~..

After some time searching, Tinkerbell finally found a clearing that allowed an unobstructed view of the night sky.

Searching the stars, she soon found the one she was looking for.

Tink took a breath. It was a long shot, but she still had to try.

Closing her eyes, Tinkerbell focused.

"Hello Tinkerbell."

Tink opened her eyes to see the Blue Fairy hovering before her.

"Blue," she smiled hopefully. "You came!"

"Not to grant your wish," Blue stated firmly. "I told you that woman was a lost cause. And now you've put that poor man on a road of torment. He'll be forever pining for her, rather than being on his path of helping others in need."

"He's a good man-" Tinkerbell began, but Blue spoke over her.

"I know," the Head Fairy stated. "Which is why I have decided to spare him the torment of longing for someone he cannot save."

"So," Tink began hopefully, "you'll lift the barrier spell holding Regina captive?"

"That spell was made with blood magic," Blue answered. "Only Cora or a blood relative can break it."

"So..." Tink was confused. "How will you help Robin, then?"

"By helping him to find a woman he can love," Blue answered with a smile. "In fact, I already used pixie dust to find her. Her name is Marion, and she lives near Robin's home of Sherwood."

"What?" Tink began to panic. "No! He's meant to be with Regina!"

"It's not for you to decide who he's with," Blue told her.

"You're deciding!" Tink gestured to Blue angrily. "You're going to make him and this Marion be together. This is my mistake, I need to fix this!"

"You've done enough, Tinkerbell," Blue told her firmly. "So I'm fixing it."

"But it would've worked," Tink pleaded. "If Regina had been free to leave King Leopold's realm, she and Robin would be free to be together, they could be happy with each other. Regina's not a lost cause and I can be a good fairy." Tink hung her head. "I just wanted to prove that to you," she whispered.

Blue watched as tears began to fall from Tinkerbell's eyes. She sighed.

"I can think of only one way in which you can prove that you can earn your wings back, Tinkerbell."

Tink's head shot up.

"Really?" She asked hopefully.

Blue nodded.

"You know the pixie dust you stole?"

Tink nodded guiltily.

"Do you want me to replace it?" She asked.

"That could be a start," Blue granted. "But as you know, Pixie dust is our most precious possession and as it doesn't come from our realm, it is very rare. It can sense the strength of belief in others and glows when in the presence of a strong believer. If you truly want your wings back," Blue continued, "you can regain them once you make Pixie Dust glow with your belief in yourself. For how can I, or others, believe in you, if you can't believe in yourself?"

Tink could feel hope building in her chest.

"I make pixie dust glow and I can get my wings back?" She prompted.

"That's right," the Blue Fairy nodded.

"Yes!" Tinkerbell exclaimed. "I'll do it. Where do you get Pixie Dust from, anyway?" She asked, for she had only ever carried fairy dust from the mines in her training.

"It comes from a very rare plant, that only grows in one other realm," Blue informed her. "Are you willing to go?"

"Yes," Tink answered quickly, eager to prove herself.

Blue smiled.

"I hear your wish," she answered before sprinkling pixie dust over Tinkerbell's head.

"Woah," Tink exclaimed as she lifted up into the air, unbidden. This was a bit different to flying with wings.

"Where am I going?" Tink called to Blue as the pixie dust carried her towards the stars.

"A place where powerful believers can dream," Blue answered. "You're going to Neverland, Tinkerbell."

~..~..~..~..

Author's note: Okay, okay, don't be mad, calm down! (Ducks a fireball) Let me explain, please!

1st: Rumple needed Regina to cast his curse to take everybody to Storybrooke. If Regina had been able to leave with Robin at that time, there is no way that Rumple would have let Regina just go and live 'Happily ever after'. He would do everything possible to ruin their chance at happiness to put her back on the path that will make her cast the curse for him.

2nd: I couldn't have Robin try to get Regina out again because, as Little John said, because the barrier spell was keeping Regina locked inside the kingdom (it's the same one Cora used to stop Regina running away), no matter how many times and ways he tried to get her out, it will only be able to be accomplished when the barrier spell is broken. And, knowing Cora, she would have cast the spell with Blood Magic, meaning that the only person who can break the barrier spell is Regina (Cora being stuck in Wonderland) and young Regina was nowhere near powerful enough yet to undo the spell.

3rd: If, by some miracle, Robin and Regina could find their happy ending and prevent Rumple's curse from being cast, I had to think what other repercussions there'd be if they were together at this point in time: Yes, the curse wouldn't be cast, but if Regina ran away with Robin at this point, Snow wouldn't be forced into becoming a bandit, so while she'd still be a princess, she'd never meet Charming, who would probably still be on his family farm as he only took his brother's place after James was killed while King George tried to make a deal with Midas to prevent his kingdom from becoming bankrupt due to Regina cutting all trade to his Kingdom as part of a deal she made with Rumple in order to kill Bandit Snow. (Did you follow that?) And Snow White never meeting Prince Charming would be a BIG repercussion.

4th: I had to have Robin find Marion at some point, as, if he didn't, he would've never met Belle while trying to save Marion from illness by breaking into the Dark Castle and revealing the goodness in Rumple as a consequence, forming the start of their love story. Also, if Robin never met Marion, we'd never have Roland, which would be a tragedy!

5th: I imagine that Regina would want to find Robin in the earlier years, but once she'd become powerful enough to drop the barrier spell herself, Rumple's influence would have had the affect of causing Regina to think as 'The Evil Queen' and that power was all she needed. Perhaps she would also think she could no longer have happiness with Robin after seeing what she had turned into.

6th: I had always wondered how Tinkerbell had got to Neverland in the first place, and I can just see her going to Neverland for Pixie dust as a means of redemption, only to have it backfire when she realises she can't get back due to Pan draining the place.

7th: I've included an epilogue to remind everybody that Robin and Regina have their second chance to be together now!

Have I explained my reasoning well enough? If you can see any flaws or loopholes in my reasoning, constructive criticism is always appreciated.

Please leave a (constructive) review!