Chapter Three
Kristoff rose from the chair and embraced Robin, patting him on the back.
The archer let out a roar of joy. "It's good to see you again, my friend."
"The same goes for me."
Robin looked over at the table with a wide grin on his face. However, when his eyes settled on Regina, his smile faded. "Milady, I'm glad to find you here," he spoke in a soft tone.
She barely nodded, her heart beating wildly in her chest, her throat so tight she feared she might choke on her words. She wasn't ready to see him, not now; her brain still needed to process everything.
"Robin, won't you sit?" Snow asked, pointing to a chair next to the wall. He took it and sat next to Kristoff, directly in front of Regina.
"So, what's happened?" he asked them.
"Before we start again, may I present you my wife, Anna?" Kristoff said.
Robin nodded. "Anna? You finally found her?"
The blond man smiled tenderly, looking at Anna lovingly. "I did."
Behind him, Anna leaned towards Robin to look at him. "So, you're Robin of Locksley. Kristoff spoke very highly of you; he said you helped him open a portal to get to me."
"That I did, milady," Robin confirmed. "I couldn't stand and watch as Kristoff lost his true love," he continued, while his eyes travelled over Regina, who was stubbornly avoiding his gaze.
"How long have you two known each other?" Snow said, asking what Regina had been dying to know the answer to.
"When I escaped from Hans' prison, I found myself in this place you call Enchanted Forest. I wandered many nights and days looking for Anna, before arriving at the Dark One's castle, in which I found Robin and his men."
The other man smiled fondly at the memory. "Kristoff told me his story and I decided to help him. We managed to get a crystal ball working and -"
"Hold on, you don't have magic as well, do you?" Hook asked.
Snow shook her head. "True love is the most powerful magic of all," she squeezed David's hand. "I suppose that's how you got the crystal ball working?"
Kristoff nodded and Regina clenched her teeth to prevent a shiver from running down her spine. "Pixie dust never lies," Tinkerbell's voice echoed in her head.
"Eventually I saw that Anna wasn't in the Enchanted Forest anymore, but in a city called New York."
"Yes, because the imp lied to me about your whereabouts!" Anna protested angrily. "It's all my fault if Elsa is lost to me forever."
"What happened to your sister?" Henry wondered.
"When we went through the portal we found ourselves in the Enchanted Forest and met Rumplestiltskin. He offered to help us find Kristoff, but he wanted to make a deal. He would tell me where my fiancé was if he got Elsa in exchange. My sister, despite my protests, sacrificed herself for me, so that the imp could perform a tracking spell on my engagement ring, which should transport me to the realm where Kristoff was. I expected to be back in Arendelle but it didn't work, I never found Kristoff, I never left the Enchanted Forest - so I kept wandering in your realm. Then, all of a sudden, I found myself in a town called Storybrooke. I didn't recall being Anna, my name there was Rosamund," she scrunched up her nose in disgust. Regina rolled her eyes.
"You were involved in the first curse? How come we never saw you in town?" Mary Margaret asked.
"And how come we never saw you back in the Enchanted Forest after Pan's curse and when we were brought back here by Zelena?" Regina asked.
"You see, I was the first one to leave Storybrooke. I had no one here: no family and no friends, I felt I had no roots. I felt the need to leave and I did, a few days after the Evil Queen's curse was enacted." Regina winced at her old nickname but was grateful that neither the girl nor the blond giant had realized she was the one they were talking about. She didn't know if she could handle their reaction right now.
"And by leaving town," Anna went on, "I lost my memories of being Rosamund. I have been a completely different person twice. When Kristoff finally managed to find me, I was already married to another, but our love won in the end."
Although she was looking everywhere but at him, Regina knew Robin was staring intently at her. It felt like a punch in the stomach. Anna's words seemed to burn in her heart, igniting a fickle, insignificant spark of hope that the rationality of her mind was quick to put out.
"I managed to make her remember by giving her true love's kiss -" Regina realized Kristoff had continued explaining -" because I had succeeded in making her fall in love with me. She then remembered being Anna and came with me to look for Elsa. We arrived in town yesterday and heard all about the stories of Snow White and the Evil Queen, of Peter Pan and Zelena. That Leroy is quite a talkative one, especially if one buys him drinks. Since he spoke so highly of you, Mary Margaret, we decided to ask you to help us."
Great, Regina thought. A drunk blabbering dwarf led them to us. How lucky we are.
"What about your husband?" Emma asked.
"I ended the relationship. We were both devastated about it but it wouldn't have worked anyway. Not when I have Kristoff."
"So you're not really married?" Hook pressed.
"Not yet, but it's as if we already are." Anna leaned in to place her head on Kristoff's shoulder.
"Have you found out what has happened to your sister?" Henry questioned eagerly.
"Unfortunately no, I haven't seen her since we escaped from Arendelle. That's why we are here, to ask you to help us find her."
"You should talk to Mr Gold then.
"
"Mr Gold?" Kristoff sounded confused. "Who is he?"
"Rumplestiltskin. He is called Mr Gold in Storybrooke," David explained.
"That imp is here? Where is he?!" Anna burst out, standing up.
"He's here, yes, but he might be somewhat busy," Mary Margaret hinted.
"I have no intention to go looking for him; God knows what I might find," Regina mumbled, horrified, while Hook chuckled quietly.
"What do you mean?" Kristoff asked in confusion.
"He's on his honeymoon".
The forest was dark, the hour late. A man was wandering among the trees, obviously upset.
He stumbled across a large trunk that had been cut down and he climbed over it, before hearing a voice. It belonged to a woman, hidden in the shadows. "Well then?"
"Oh, you're here. I thought you were still where I had left you. I looked for you everywhere."
"I wanted to remain where we had agreed to meet again," the woman replied, annoyance showing clearly on her face, "but someone came into the clearing and I had to hide before she discovered my presence."
"She? Since when does a simple woman scare you?"
"I'm not easily scared by men either," she pointed out icily. "But she has magic and I don't want to lose any of my strength."
"She has magic?"
"Dark magic. She conjured up a fireball without difficulty."
"At least she conjures fire instead of ice, you could learn from her," his tone was serious, although he was smirking. "Does this complicate things?"
"Not if we are careful."
"We will be."
"Have you found my niece?" she changed the subject abruptly.
"Not yet. But she must be here somewhere."
"That's the discovery of the year," the woman rolled her eyes. "Have you found something of interest in your patrol?"
"No, just trees and a camp."
"What camp?" the woman frowned.
"There was a bunch of men camping in the woods. A woman and a child too."
"How many?"
"About twenty I think. Excluding the child and the mother."
"That's not much but it's still something. Keep a close eye on them, learn who their leader is and we might make them our allies."
"You certainly think of good plans."
"Of course I do," she said advancing a few paces towards him, so that her face was no longer kept in the darkness. She was a tall, slender woman of around forty, with hair so fair it seemed almost white and eyes so blue they could freeze you on the spot. "Why do you think I'd be ruling Arendelle if I didn't make good plans?"
"Because I helped you taking over the kingdom," he answered truthfully.
She laughed, "You flatter yourself, Hans." She neared him, her face no longer smiling, her expression dangerous.
The man fought hard to keep himself from shivering. It was damn cold and being so close to her didn't help.
She leaned towards him. "Find Elsa, and soon," she hissed, her eyes glimmering ferociously. "Or you'll see firsthand how good I am at killing people."
After they had agreed on meeting the next day to discuss matters further, Anna and Kristoff left them to their own devices, returning at Granny's.
Emma and Hook had left a few minutes before and David had gone to put Henry to bed.
"Regina," Mary Margaret called, before she could leave.
She stopped in her tracks, turning slowly towards her step daughter. "What now?"
Snow cleared her throat. "I know that what happened tonight isn't easy, not for you and especially not for him..." Regina glared at her. "... but you'll come out of this together, you'll see. You just have to believe in yourselves and in your love."
Regina bit her tongue to avoid snapping at her. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Mary Margaret tilted her head to the side, giving her a pitiful, almost patronizing smile. "I think you do."
Regina feigned ignorance. "When and if I ever need your advice I will ask for it. Goodnight."
Snow sighed. "Goodnight."
Regina wrapped her scarf around her neck as the cold night air hit her. Really, how did it become so cold in a few hours? She hadn't yet made it past corner of the street when someone gently grasped her wrist from behind, knocking the breath out of her. She gasped in surprise, turning around to find herself face to face with Robin.
"You made me jump," she managed to say, breathless.
"I'm sorry milady, it wasn't my intention startling you," he confessed, staring deep into her eyes with a look that Regina knew all too well. He still hadn't loosened his grip on her. His touch set her skin on fire.
She sighed resignedly. "What is it?!"
"Regina, we need to talk."
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