So there's a curve ball for you all ;) enjoy! Please leave a review :) I'll be posting this one on tumblr as soon as I get to a computer. The lack of computer is also the reason I haven't been able to post the Day 6 story for the week but I will try my best to get it up tonight!
He had had no intention of accepting the invitation to this party until Regina said she would be attending. He doubted she was there for any other reason than to aid in robbing the castle but he had come to accept that he enjoyed watching her do such things. She never kept it for herself, she clearly had no need for it. He kept his mouth shut for it didn't affect him and he enjoyed seeing her smile when she caught him watching and staying quiet.
She was good for him, he decided. She was that perfect balance between good and bad. She lived in the grey area of right and wrong while everyone else seemed so black and white. He felt lighter every time he saw her and he imagined tonight would be no different.
All eyes fell on him the moment he walked in the door. They didn't linger long but they had all glanced and decided it best that they try to avoid catching his eye in the future. His steps were slow as he walked down the stairs with a small scowl that he couldn't help. It was where his face had grown to rest over time. He had been unhappy for so long that his face portrayed annoyance and disinterest constantly. The only person who seemed to be able to change that was Regina.
He hadn't seen her yet though. He barely responded to those who greeted him with nods and quiet 'your majesty's for his focus was on finding Regina. She was, after all, the only reason he had come.
"Your majesty," he greeted with a wide grin and a laugh as he danced past him with his wife. The king's scowl merely intensified with his confused gaze. That only made him laugh more as he skipped away.
David had never been greeted like that before. It threw him off and made him stare as the couple danced away in to the crowd. He recognized him...Robin. What the hell were they up to.
"He cleans up surprisingly well don't you think."
He didn't see her step up beside him but the sound of her voice warmed him rather than startled him and slowly his seemingly permanent scowl curved in to a slight smile as he looked to his left.
"For a forest rat anyway," she smirked and blinked her eyes away from Robin to look at the man beside her. The fact that he was smiling at her made her heart skip just a little.
"Barely recognized him," he agreed and she breathed a single laugh before she straightened her neck and looked back out at the sea of dancing couples. His gaze, however, stayed on her. She was beautiful. But she was always beautiful. Even in rags. Tonight she was absolutely exquisite.
Her gown was blood red, so dark and deep it was nearly burgundy. It's skirt had volume but not too much that it would get in the way of anything or anyone and it's smooth matte fabric cut off well before her shoulders. It had no sleeves and the straight neckline plummeted down in a sharp and narrow V that stopped just below her sternum. Teasing. Her hair had been pulled up and pinned in elegant and tidy swirls to elongate her neck and show off that pretty collarbone with a single diamond hanging above it on the most delicate silver chain. Diamonds and emeralds hung from her ears, her eyes were inked and smudged just so with black and touches of deep red, and her tempting lips were painted a dark red that matched her gown. She was truly without flaw.
"You are absolutely stunning this evening, my dear," he stated and the corners of her mouth curled higher as the corners of her eyes creased.
"Thank you," she smiled and then turned her head to look him up and down. The only black on him was his boots. The rest was light grey with silver stitching and silver buttons. It made her smile, "you look pretty good yourself," she smirked and she earned herself a smile that showed all of his teeth.
Breathing out the quietest of laughs, he looked back at the dance and after a moment or two, he offered her his hand, "dance with me."
He was absolutely delighted when she placed her hand in his and let him lead her down the last steps to the level dance floor. Unlike the last time he danced with her, he pulled her in gently and only when she had settled against him with a smile did he start leading her around the floor.
"Such a gentleman," she mocked with a playful smirk.
"I feel I owe it to you to give you a proper dance after our previous one," he replied with a smile that seemed to come easier and easier.
"And if I should stomp on your toes once again?" She teased as he twirled her out and then back in.
"I shall try not to lose my temper," he smirked and she smirked with a dip of her chin.
"How kind of you."
"I do what suits me. I am by no means kind."
"Of course. And what is it that suits you tonight?" She inquired with an amused smile and pretended to ignore the way his thumb moved over the side of hers as they danced through the crowd.
"Keeping you in my company for as long as possible," he told her simply and she smiled while the increasingly familiar smile played on his face once again.
"And why is that?" She questioned a little quieter as a hopeless grin started to pull on her mouth as she let herself sink a little deeper in to him.
"Because I enjoy it," he confessed and she gave him a delightful little laugh in return before he spun them around and twirled her beneath his arm once more.
"The king has found it in him to enjoy something? I don't believe that for a second," she teased with a grin that was all teeth and low laughter.
"I must admit I am not certain what I am to do with myself," he smiled and felt an odd sensation of warmth grow in his chest and belly when she hummed through a closed smile and intertwined their fingers by their shoulders. It took him a few more steps in their dance to recognize the gentle ache and burn in his heart but eventually he did figure it out. He wanted to kiss her.
What a terrifying thing to desire.
When she stepped away from him he panicked for a moment, fearing he had said something or done something to offend her. But the song had merely ended and her dark eyes held no annoyance as she smirked and curtsied and he followed suit with a slight bow. Their fingers remained intertwined and he found he rather loved it.
But what happened next took mere seconds.
He watched Regina glance to her left and he watched her and Robin share a happy smirk. And then he saw her gaze flick to something over Marian's shoulder and her grin slowly faded. So his did as well as he twisted to see what she was looking at. But he didn't find it before his focus was snapped back to their hands when she slipped hers free and pushed Robin to the floor.
Then there was a zip through the air and a sickening thwack of an arrow as Regina's left shoulder flung backward and Marian's startled scream silenced the entire hall. Voices went dead, laughter was gone, the instruments gracelessly stopped playing, and all eyes snapped to the woman in red with an arrow dangerously close to the centre of her heart.
His entire body went ice cold.
He was frozen in place as he stared with wide eyes at his precious brunette who looked just as shocked and confused as he did. And then she swayed and collapsed in to Robin's arms when he leapt to his feet to catch her with a terrified cry of her name.
"Regina," Robin breathed in a panic as he gently laid her down on the cool marble floor and watched the panic and fear settle in her eyes, "Regina what the hell were you thinking?!"
"You were going to get shot, you idiot," she replied breathlessly, her words quick and threaded together as her heart rate soared and the pain flooded her body.
"That doesn't mean you get yourself killed in the process!"
"Call my mother."
"What?!"
"Robin, call Cora," she cried out as tears pooled in her eyes.
"Regina, she's not here," he shook his head as his own sobs threatened to settle in his chest. She simply let out a pained and terrified cry and slipped a pin from her hair and put it in his hand and held it closed. He proceeded to shake his head in confusion at the pearl bobble.
"Call her," she pleaded in a whisper and felt her body start to quiver and whether it was out of fear, pain, or cold, she couldn't say. She felt all of them. Then Robin's face was replaced with David's and he looked absolutely terrified and frantic, "D-avid," she cried and tried to breathe but her chest felt heavy.
"Regina," he shook his head and took her shaking hands in his and held on tight, "Regina, I-"
"I'm sorry."
"No," he shook his head and felt his tears sting his eyes as hers fell in to her hair, "no, Regina, you are going to be fine."
"No I'm not," she whimpered and sucked in as good a breath as she could get and tried to ignore the faint taste of blood in her mouth.
He was crying now but he didn't care as he frantically examined the arrow's shaft protruding from her chest as her blood and his tears stained her flawless skin. "No. I-, no, Regina, you can't," he sobbed and squeezed her hands tighter and she did the same, "you cannot leave me without you," he argued miserably with a shake of his head and she pushed hers back in to the cold floor with a cry through her teeth.
"Cora!" Robin shouted again but nothing happened as he frustratedly examined the pin with a pearl on its end.
"I'm so cold," she whispered through her tears and felt him lower down on top of her and press a kiss to her white knuckles as he cried. It broke her heart. "There is only one thing I regret about you," she pushed out on a hard and shaky breath as she forced herself to stay lucid and he moved his head so he could look at her. She hated seeing him so miserable. It hurt almost as much as the arrow did with every beat of her heart, "and it's that I didn't kiss you after our dinner," she cried out softly and closed her eyes as she squeezed his hands tighter to try and keep herself grounded.
A single miserable breath pushed from his lungs as his tears fell freely, "you can kiss me later, my dear," he promised and she closed her eyes and gave a laugh that quickly turned in to a miserable series of quiet sobs. He didn't know what to do.
"Can you kiss me now?" She pleaded quietly and her next sob was muffled by his firm kiss. It only made her cry harder when she tasted his tears on his lips. It was the most precious kiss she had ever received. She knew how hard it was for him to give something up so vulnerable as a kiss.
Her lips were colder than they were supposed to be and his brow creased in utter misery at the knowledge that this was going to be the first and last time he would kiss her. It absolutely ruined him. He broke it with a sob that shook his whole body as he pressed his forehead against hers.
"I am sorry," she cried with her eyes still closed and lifted a hand to cradle the side of his face. His cold hand had never felt so warm against her skin as it did when it covered hers on his face.
"Please don't go," he whispered.
"Stay strong, my love. And stay good," she cried out softly and tried to suck in one more breath as the red of her closed eyelids started to fade in to black.
"Regina," he breathed in a desperate plea for her to stay. But her grip disappeared around his tight hand and the other went limp against his face as her shaky breaths faded to nothing against his lips. "No," he sobbed and pressed his head harder in to hers. Nothing changed. He only cried harder.
With an enraged and truly devastated scream, Robin threw the pretty trinket on the ground and shattered it. Then he fell to his knees and started to cry with the tears already rolling down his cheeks. The rest of the guests remained silent and shocked at the whole event.
Mere seconds after the pearl had shattered, an incredibly furious Cora had smoked herself in to the hall. That fury quickly disappeared and was replaced with terror when she laid eyes on her daughter and the king crying over her still body.
David was livid when he was pushed aside but when he shouted at the woman she simply swung an arm at him and her magic sent him flying back. That only angered him further but he reined it back when he recognized the woman as Regina's mother. She was panicking and mumbling and frantic and his rage was quickly reignited when she plunged her hand in to her daughter's chest and tore out her heart, "what the hell are you doing?!" He roared but she ignored him as he pushed himself to his feet. Before he could get back to them she quickly cast a series of spells over Regina's body and he could see the glow of them linger over her before the mother and daughter disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke.
She was gone.
Hardly a minute ago they were smiling and he was holding her hand and now he was standing over a pool of her blood he hadn't even noticed left her body. The only light in his life was gone. He didn't think he could hurt this much. His tears were still falling down his face as he turned and all but ran from the castle grounds.
...
He hadn't left his castle since he arrived back there after the party. That was four days ago. There had been no news from the Mills Manor and Regina had been assumed dead. He had watched her die. He had felt the life leave her body as death selfishly took her under his wing. He hadn't eaten since that night. He was starving but every time he tried to eat he felt sick.
The castle was silent. Everyone tiptoed around him and it was for good reason. He had nearly killed several of his guards and servants, only stopping when Regina's last request of him echoed softly in his mind and threatened to make him cry.
Stay strong. Stay good.
It was hard when he felt so completely ruined and miserable. And angry. Oh he was so angry it hurt. He wanted to kill, he wanted others to feel his pain but he knew it would do him no good and it would disgrace that darling woman.
She had shown him the light at the end of a seemingly endless tunnel. She had made him feel again, had given him a taste of what it was like to be happy. She had given him a taste of what it was like to be free. He hated her for it. He had once been content in this cold dark castle. But now he was miserable after sampling such a bright and feisty soul as the one that had once resided in Regina.
He missed her so much.
He barely made the effort to look up as the doors to his throne room opened. It had become habit to sit in his throne and wait for her to come back to him. He knew she wouldn't. But he waited anyway.
Robin had never seen a more broken man. His eyes were sullen and bloodshot, his face looked sharper and more hollow as though he hadn't eaten in too long, his posture was slumped and defeated, his face unshaven...Robin himself was not coping well either but he certainly wasn't in as poor shape as this silent and lonely king. He watched him through cold dead eyes that rarely blinked and Robin's heart ached for the man. He had lost more than the rest of them had when Regina died. Despite only knowing her a fraction of the time he and his Merry Men had, this king had lost more.
"She spoke of you often you know," he started and the king watched him like a ghost. Or a stone statue, "we always teased her and promised her you were a lost cause. But she stood up for you and assured us you weren't all that bad," he tried a smile but it didn't sit well in his chest so his face fell again in to misery and silence hung between him and the motionless king as Robin looked at his feet.
"Regina was a woman unlike any other I have ever met. As I am sure you know. She saw the best in the worst of us and I will never understand how she did it. But she was always right. I do have faith that you will do right by her. And should you ever need anything, the Merry Men and I will be there. Regina thought very highly of you and we owe it to her to trust her judgement. There will always be a place for you among us. Whether it be for the odd conversation, or a permanent place in our ranks," he promised and the king still didn't move. Robin didn't blame him. He hadn't exactly been expecting an answer anyway.
"And should you wish to attend, we have organized a small ceremony for Regina tomorrow morning at sunrise," he offered and then felt a twinge of sorrow and added a little quieter, "it was her favourite time of day. She always said a good sunrise brought hope to your day."
David didn't know that about her. He was befuddled by this man's presence and too tired and distraught to make sense of why he had come. Or how he had gotten in for that matter. Perhaps Regina had been right. His guards were oblivious. Regardless of that, this thief shouldn't care what happened to him. He hardly even knew the man and had only seen him in passing. "It is not worth my time," he stated quietly and didn't even try to hide the exhaustion in his empty voice. Robin simply nodded but didn't leave.
"If you should happen to change your mind, we will be holding it at her favourite viewpoint for such times of day."
...
It was a ridiculous idea. Pointless. But like all previous nights, he hadn't been able to sleep so he reasoned he may as well saddle his horse and ride to waste the time. If he so happened to follow Robin Hood's directions then that was mere coincidence. It hadn't taken too long to get there and the black sky was just starting to break in to a pale blue at the horizon over the lake.
He was greeted by small smiles at his arrival and it was Marian that silently offered to take his stallion from him and put him with the rest of the horses. With a subtle nod, he let go of the reins and continued his walk up the hill to the ridge overlooking the lake. He didn't say a word, he hadn't felt much like talking now that Regina was no longer there to talk to. He hadn't quite realized how strong a hold on him she had until she left him.
"Glad you could make it," Robin smiled kindly but knew quite well that the sorrow still lingered in his expression. The king didn't say a word. Only offered him a glance before looking back at the lake.
David watched silently. He wasn't patient nor was he impatient. He had simply just lost all sense of time these past few days. However, the very moment the sun burst its rays over the horizon he was hit square in the chest with the reality of it all. Regina was gone. He was never going to see her again. He loved her. And all he had left of her was this place and this sunrise. There were tears in his eyes in an instant and with every new height the creeping sun reached, his strength grew weaker and weaker until he had fallen to his knees to watch the bright colours reflect off the water's surface.
He was alone again unless Robin's words were true and he could find company in this band of thieves. But did he really want that when all he saw in this group was what was missing from it? It was absolute agony to watch the sun rise. His chest and throat ached with heartbreak and it wasn't too long before he crumbled in to nothing again and tipped forward and started crying. He was too tired and in too much pain to care what the others around him thought of such a display.
Robin's heart broke all over again for the man and he slowly crouched down beside him and rubbed a hand over his shaking shoulder as his own tears fell at the sight of the sun rise. "Let it out," he encouraged and truly didn't believe the suffering man could stop if he wanted to.