Ok, this one is for butterflykisses0who sent me this lovely prompt: "How about one where Regina throws up in front of Robin and he takes care of her..."
I'm not sure if this is what you had in mind, but I hope you like it! Sorry for the delay! Again, comments and prompts are always welcome! Thank you all for the lovely messages you have left me already, here and on tumblr, they truly bring a smile to my face. Xx
"I never liked pets," she snarls as she hurls another fireball at the flying monstrosity quickly racing toward her head.
"There are too many of them!" He hears Snow cry from across the courtyard as she notches another arrow before releasing it, squarely hitting her target in the neck.
"Milady! Behind you!" He calls out across the courtyard as he desperately pulls an arrow from his quiver to fend off the beast that is swopping toward Regina's back. He watches as she swivels around and quickly launches anther orb of fire at the winged creature that is swiftly approaching. The speed of her turn throws off her aim and she grazes the left side of the monster's wings, barely slowing its progression, but that gives him enough time to loose the arrow he has pulled and he sighs in relief when the beast cries out and disappears before his eyes as the arrow hits its target. The queen looks over at him then and nods her thanks with the ghost of a smile gracing her lips.
Their tender moment is short-lived, however, as they are both forced back into the fray of the battle going on around them. Arrows are being fired from every direction across the courtyard from a mix of his Merry Men, Snow White, and the Widow Lucas's crossbow. The Prince stands near the queen in the center of the courtyard fending off as many as possible with his sword while the queen fires off round after fiery round at the masses of creatures swarming the skies above the palace. The courtyard is filled with the acrid stench of blood, smoke and magic and the sound of unearthly screeching, the clash of weaponry, and the desperate shouting of warning calls and frustration. This is the third time this week Zelena has sent a flock of her demented pets to the castle and fatigue is begging to overtake the group.
"Enough of this!" He hears her call from across the courtyard, and he watches in a mixture of horror and awe as she flexes both hands calling forth a flickering ball of flame within both palms. She thrusts her arms upward toward the sky and the flames erupt forth creating a blanket of fire across the sky leaving the smell of singed fur and panicked animalistic shrieks in its wake. The few remaining creatures not caught in the queens impressive net of fire quickly turn and streak away from the castle, disappearing into the darkness of the night sky.
He watches as Regina lowers her shaking hands and releases a sigh before turning to assess the damage left in the wake of this round of fighting. Looping his bow over his back he quickly examines the queen from his perch on the wall, taking note of how her chest still heaves as she catches her breath and the way the right shoulder of her dress has darkened with blood from a deep claw mark across her collarbone. He longs for nothing more than to rush across the courtyard and take her in his arms and reassure himself that she is safe, but he knows such an open display of affection would not be welcome in such a public space. He contents himself with moving closer, jumping down from his elevated space and striding across the courtyard until he is standing an arms-length away from her along with the prince and princess.
"We can't keep going like this for much longer. There has to be some way of preventing them from entering the castle grounds, or at least preparing for their attacks," the prince sighs, the exhaustion of the previous battle evident in his voice.
"What about a protection spell? Like the one Zelena had up when we arrived?" Snow questions, her face lighting up with hope.
"That could work," the queen answers, quirking one eyebrow up in thought, "but I would have to use a spell that can't be broken by blood magic in order to prevent her from disabling it."
"Well, can you do it or not?" The prince asks with an exasperated huff.
"Yes, I can," she bites back narrowing her eyes at the other royal. "It's a complicated spell, so it will take some time and quite a bit of energy."
"Milady, perhaps we should wait until your wounds have been tended to and you've had an opportunity to rest," he ventures while stepping toward the queen, concern clearly shining from his eyes.
"There isn't time! She could send another flock of those creatures to attack us at any moment and we can't keep fighting like this," Charming responds as he wipes the blood and grit from his sword before securing it in the sheath at his hip.
He is just about to voice another protest when the queen's voice interrupts, "The prince is right; we need to do this now." With a wave of her hand the chest of ingredients from her chambers appears in a puff of purple smoke on the dais in the center of the courtyard. The queen quickly marches over to it, expertly flicking open the lid and pulling various bottles full of powders and liquids from within. He watches as she drops careful measures of each necessary item into the cauldron in front of her before gently returning each vial to its rightful place inside the box. When she has finished with the ingredients she gingerly closes the lid and the box disappears once again just as quickly as it appeared.
She steps up to the lip of the cauldron, straightening her back and squaring her shoulders, raising her wrists over the bowl as if they are being draw up by invisible strings before her delicate fingers snap out and a faint light extends from their flexed tips. Something crackles in the air and raises the hair on the back of his neck and the courtyard suddenly feels charged and alive. The faint glow from her fingers has extended into the cauldron igniting the contents within and sudden flames burst forth from its depths.
Where the flames of Zelena's spell had been a sickly, disturbing green color, the fire that is conjured now is a bright electric purple interspersed with bits of violet and deep plum. A bright column of fire surges forth from the center of the flames and shoots straight up into the sky above the castle. There is a sudden crack heard in the air as the pillar of fire reaches its peak and thin tendrils of lilac extend in all directions like spiders' silk across the sky around the palace and grounds. The air suddenly seems to shimmer as the lace like tendrils extend toward the ground and Robin is certain he has never seen anything quite so beautiful or terrifying in all of his life. When the lilac colored magic has finally reached is resting place on the ground fully encasing the palace within its protective bubble, Regina's hands flex and fall to her side breaking the glowing connection she has created with the flames still dancing within the cauldron.
"There. It's finished." She says as she turns on shaky legs to face the group of shell-shocked bystanders. As she moves to descend the stairs from the dais her knees buckle, but before she hits the ground two strong arms have grasped her around the bend of her waist.
"Let me go thief," she rasps out through gritted teeth with as much venom as she can muster.
"I will, as soon as I'm certain you're capable of standing on your own," he cuts back with a smirk trying to cover how concerned he is.
"Robin, please. I feel like I'm going to be sick." As soon as those words have cleared her lips she lurches forward at the waist and empties the contents of her stomach. He quickly slides one arm securely around her middle holding her up as she spasms in his arms, while his other hand swoops up to scoop her hair away from her neck and face. She is coughing and sputtering, desperately trying to draw breath between the heaves wracking her body and the sound wrenches something in his heart.
"Regina!" The concerned voice of Snow sounds in his ear and he quickly smacks away the outstretched hand that is reaching toward the queen's shoulders.
"I think you've done enough for this evening," he snarls while fixing the princess with a firm glare. "It's your fault this happened. If you had just let her rest instead of constantly pushing her to fix everything for you at her own expense she would have been stronger when she cast this spell."
"Robin, please, she can't breathe. The lacing on her corset is too tight; just let me loosen it for her."
He notices then how her lungs are shuddering beneath the arm he still has wrapped around her waist, the way her lungs contract desperately against the harsh boning and tight laces bound around her. Without a second thought he gently lowers her to her knees on the courtyard and yanks the buck knife from his waist, slashing through the laces at the bottom of her corset, careful not to cut too high and compromise her decency. Immediately her lungs suck in a greedy breath of air and her desperate wheezing calms to a light pant. When he is certain her breathing has quieted and her stomach has finally settled he pulls his cloak off his shoulders and wraps her tightly in the soft green fabric before swooping her up in his arms, one arm notched beneath her knees while the other wrests along her back drawing her upper body to his chest.
Without another word, he turns and carries his queen into the palace with no intention of letting her go until he has looked after her wounds personally. If anyone left in the courtyard notices the way she snuggles her face into the crook of his neck and draws in the comforting smell of forest and sweat that is uniquely Robin while tightly clutching the neck of his shirt in her hand, they know better than to mention it.