A/N: Okay, so this isn't as long as the last chapter, but I like where I ended this. Anyway, thank you so much for all the kind reviews and enjoy! Mwah!

Robin steered Regina out of the large tent and towards another large tent just several feet up the path. This must have been his tent, she supposed as she walked inside. Several bows lay about, not to mention arrows leaning against a large chest. A large pallet was spread out, covered in furs of different animals, and she had to admit, looked rather comfortable.

"Take a seat." He said softly.

She looked up at him and then back to the pallet, then moved over to it and sat down.

"Roland's a sweetheart." Regina finally said.

"He is quite the heart breaker, though." Robin laughed.

"I wonder where he would get that from?" Regina smirked.

Robin laughed again and approached her with bandages and more of that paste. She made a face that reminded him of Roland when he didn't want to at his vegetables and it made him chuckle.

"I know this is nasty stuff, milady, but you'll be better off with it." He smiled.

She rolled her eyes.

"I know. Doesn't mean I have to like it." She said.

"I'm not asking you to." He laughed. "I hate the stuff, too. When I get hurt, Little John has to sit on me so Friar Tuck can put it on. Believe me, I know your pain."

Regina couldn't help but laugh, which made Robin laugh, but then soon, the laughter died off and Robin became quite serious.

"You'll uh, have to take off your shirt, milady." He said, a little nervously.

Regina raised a brow at him, but knew he was trying to be a gentleman about it.

"Do I?" She asked teasingly.

"Well, if you'd like to live, yes." He chuckled.

"Is that a threat?" She smirked.

"No, milady, just some advice I'd rather like you to take." He smirked back.

Flirting, they were most certainly flirting. And Regina couldn't deny liking it. He was handsome and funny, but most importantly, he respected her. She didn't feel lesser than him, but his equal. Which would probably explain the flutter in her stomach and the ache in her heart. Thoughts of Daniel soon flashed through her mind and she was suddenly stricken with sadness. If Daniel were still here, she wouldn't be in this situation. And she didn't know how she felt about that, which scared her.

She brought herself back from her thoughts and remembered what Robin had asked of her. She untied her cloak and pushed it aside with her good arm.

"Could you, um, help me pull this off?" She smiled.

Robin chuckled and nodded, moving behind her and carefully lifting her hurt arm while she pulled off the fabric. He tossed it to the side then looked onto her. Robin found he couldn't speak. Yes, he could only see her back, but in his defense, it was quite lovely. She moved her long waves out of the way and looked over her shoulder.

"Is that better?" She asked.

Robin simply nodded, reaching for her bandages and unwrapping them.

"Does it look bad?" She asked.

He smirked. Nothing looked bad on her from this angle, he thought, but then brushed it away.

"Uh, no. It looks much better than earlier. The paste must be doing it's job." Robin said.

"I still hate the stuff." Regina scoffed.

Robin smiled again and reached for the paste. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately, smiling. He didn't know completely why, but he was sure it had something to do with this woman before him. He stuck his fingers in and then smoothed the medicinal paste over her wound. She tensed under his touch at first, but then relaxed. Robin's eyes had swept over her skin about a thousand times now. It looked so soft and inviting, but Robin had to pull himself together. He could probably credit his recent attraction to her to the simple fact he had been without companionship for sometime now.

"So, where's Roland's mother?" Regina asked.

Robin then tensed, though she couldn't see it. He swallowed and reached for the clean bandages.

"She, um, passed. About a year ago." Robin said quietly.

Regina felt a pang of sadness in her heart. She knew all too well the feeling of loss.

"I'm sorry." She said softly.

"No, you didn't know. I've made peace with it, I think. It still sometimes hurts, I suppose, but not like it did before." Robin said.

Regina closed her eyes. If only she could make peace with her loss, but she simply couldn't. She felt that if she didn't remind herself of Daniel every moment, he'd really be gone. At first there'd be anger; at her mother, at Snow, at Leopold. But then only sorrow would be left and she hated the moments she truly felt Daniel's absence because then she would cry herself to sleep and wake exhausted and mentally tired, but then she would do it all over again the next night and the night after that. The only night she had yet to cry was when she first met Robin and his Merry Men. As if suddenly having people look out for you and care for you, worry over you after so long, it seemed to be a balm to her soul.

"You haven't been this quiet since almost dying on my cart." Robin teased.

A soft chuckled escaped her and she simply shook her head.

"Just thinking." She said.

"About?" He asked as he

"Loss." She said simply.

Robin furrowed his brows. So she had lost someone. At least, that's what he could gather from her tone. And obviously it was a touchy subject, so Robin didn't press further, just finished wrapping her bandage and giving her shoulder a little squeeze.

"Done." He said, handing over her shirt. "I'll just, uh, check on Roland."

Robin got up and didn't pass her a glance as he quickly exited the tent. Regina watched him leave while slipping her shirt back on, smirking.

Most of the camp had already had dinner and were off to bed by the time Robin, Regina and his men made it into camp. Once Regina was fully dressed, she planned to head out to the fire and join the men she knew were already out there (she could hear their hearty laughter), but then she looked around Robin's tent. Taking it in, looking over all his things, probably being a little nosy, but she was curious. Something, though, caught her eye. There was a little wooden table in one corner of the tent and on it, were just a bunch of dead leaves and flowers strung together by twigs and string. They were the structure of people.

She picked one up gently. There were many, but there was one that was smaller than the others. She picked that one up and looked at it. She looked at it puzzled.

"Roland made them."

Regina was shaken from her concentration of the cute, hand made trinkets.

"I'm sorry. They just...caught my eye." Regina said, putting the smallest one down.

"No don't be." Robin began walking towards her. "Roland would actually be over the moon if he knew you were interested in them."

"How old is he? These seem so.."

"Advanced?" He laughed.

Regina smiled.

"He's three. And a half, as he constantly reminds." Robin answers.

"Very impressive." Regina nodded.

"I'm sure he'd be glad to hear it." Robin smirked. "Feeling better? Are you hungry?"

Regina sat silent for a moment. looking down at Roland's leaf people, thinking about his little mind creating his own amusement. She had been like that once. Carefree and innocent. She connected with Roland on that aspect. Maybe he simply fascinated her because he was everything she used to be. And she missed it. She missed being able to look at people and to believe they were good people. She missed the things that used to make her so happy, which now only made her sorrowful.

"Regina?" Robin asked.

"Uh, yes." Regina answered quickly, pulling herself from that dark place in her mind.

"Well, which is it?" Robin laughed.

"Um, what...what did you ask again?" Regina smiled sheepishly.

"If you were feeling any better and if you were hungry." Robin smirked.

"Yes and yes." Regina said.

"C'mon then. I have a seat with your name on it." Robin smiled.

Regina and Robin moved out of the tent and walked back down the path to the fire where most of the men who had accompanied them here, were sitting. They were all laughing and eating, but once Robin and she approached the fire pit, they seemed to silence.

"Here, milady." Robin said softly, gesturing her a spot on a rather large log. "I'll grab you some stew."

Regina nodded her thanks, but otherwise sat silent and still. She still didn't technically know these men. She did enjoy their company, but that didn't mean they enjoyed her's. She had taken notice that she was the only woman in the camp besides the elderly woman taking care of Roland. She assumed none of the men took wives for various reasons. What those reasons were, she didn't know. But being bandits was probably a factor.

"So, Regina, is it?" Will piped up.

Regina lifted her gaze to meet his as he spoke.

"Besides almost killing Robin, what brings you to this part of the realm?" He asked.

Regina shrugged.

"I don't know. Nothing, I suppose. I go wherever the wind takes me, kind of thing." Regina said, then thanking Robin when he handed her a bowl and sat beside her.

"You're not some spy are you? For Prince John?" Will asked.

"Of course not. Why would I be?" Regina asked.

"You seemed too eager to join our little group. Right after you failed at slaughtering our leader." Will said with a brow raised.

Robin shot Will a warning glare, while poking the fire.

"I wasn't eager to join your little group, I was actually more than eager to leave. And I wasn't going to slaughter Robin. Just give him a pretty little scar to remember me by." Regina smirked.

Robin covered his smile, while several other men tried to stifle their own amusement at Will being bested by Regina. Will sat back a little, but shut up nonetheless.

"Robin's says you're from King Leopold's kingdom?" Little John asked.

"Yes, I am." Regina said softly.

"Have they any luck with finding his queen?" Little John asked.

"Not that I know of." Regina said, trying to sound convincing.

Little John nodded.

"I heard from one villager today that Leopold has announced an increase in reward for her return." Little John said to all of them.

"Really? How much now?" Will asked, suddenly eager to speak again.

"50,000 in gold coin. That's more than Robin's now." John laughed.

The other men began laughing, along with Robin, but Regina became suddenly very worried. With the increase in reward, more people will be after her. Surely they wouldn't mind turning her in for that amount of gold.

"Although, the only picture they have of the Queen is that of her on her wedding day. That was nearly eight years ago." John began. "Surely she does not look the same."

"Well when did she go missing?" One man asked.

"Oh, I don't know, what would it be now? Two, three years?" Little John asked.

"Three years." Robin said.

Regina looked over to him, not eating since her appetite was now fully gone.

"I remember Roland was just a little thing when we heard word of the Queen's disappearance." Robin explained.

"Is that about right, Regina?" Little John asked.

Regina looked up to meet Little John's face.

"Yes, I suppose." Regina said. "Would you excuse me?"

Regina stood quickly, leaving her bowl behind as she made her way up the path again. Robin looked up and watched her, then suddenly stood himself, following her.

She walked rather quickly, past the tents and well into the dark woods. I wanted to advise her against that, but she seemed determined to get away from something quickly and he didn't know what. So he followed.

She needed fresh air. Not the air in camp or by the fire, but real air. She thought the was going to be sick just listening to them speak. She began to think about the 'what ifs' of her situation. What if they find out who she is? What if they turn her in? What would Leopold do to her once her had her back? Certainly he would be furious with her. She knew he'd label this as betrayal of the worst kind. She couldn't bear to imagine what her punishment would be.

Tears pricked her eyes as she maneuvered through the thick forest. Thorn bushes and brush scratched at her skin, but she wouldn't stop. She needed space. She was walking too haphazardly to pay attention and lost her footing, slipping on the damp leaves on the forest floor, and tumbling down the slanted landscape. She felt her head hit the ground hard and then felt something snag at her throat, but then the pressure alleviated itself and she continued to slip down the edge of the hill. She finally stopped at the foot of the hill and moved slowly to push herself up. She groaned then heard more leaves rustling.

"Regina! Are you alright?"

She looked up to see Robin, somehow gliding down the side of the hill with ease.

Now why couldn't I have done that, she thought.

"I'm fine." Regina urged, pulling herself to her feet.

Robin finally reached her and held her steady, but forgetting her arm. She grimaced at the touch, to which he quickly withdrew his hand.

"Sorry, milady. Does anything else hurt?" He asked.

She shook her head.

"No, I'm fine really, just misstepped." She said.

Robin still looked terribly worried as he brushed her hair from her face. Out of instinct, Regina reached for her neck, and felt only her skin. Panic arose in her as she suddenly realized her necklace was missing. That must have been what snagged on the way down. She pushed away from Robin quickly and began frantically looking through the leaves.

Robin looked down at her puzzled.

"Regina, what's the matter?" He asked.

"My...my necklace. It must have snagged on something when I fell." Regina said panicked.

"I don't think you'll find it, milady." Robin said, trying to be reasonable.

"No, no I have to find it." Regina said.

"It's far too dark. Besides, it could be buried anywhere on this side of the hill now. We can get you a new one." He suggested.

"I don't want a new one. I want...I need my necklace." Regina said, fresh tears pricking her eyes as she crawled up the hill brushing away leaves, but seeing nothing, even where she knew it had snagged on something, there was nothing.

"I have to find it." She muttered under her shaking breath.

"Regina."Robin pleaded.

She turned to him quickly.

"I have to find it." She said, her eyes filled with tears, one slowly falling down her pink cheeks.

Robin looked upon her grief stricken face, because that's exactly how'd he explain it, and felt his heart break.

"It's all I have left." She sobbed and fell to the ground crying. "It's all I have left.

Robin bent down to her level and wrapped his arms around her. He tried to soothe her.

"It's all you have left of what?" He asked.

"Daniel." She mumbled into his shoulder, her body shuddering with each sob.

Daniel. She'd said that name before, he remembered. That would explain her loss, he thought. Who was he? A brother? A friend? More than a friend? Robin didn't know, but she was continuing to cry into his shoulder, bloody well soaking it, he would note, but he couldn't care. He felt like crying himself, this bringing back memories of missing Marian, but she obviously had not moved on.

"Who's Daniel?" Robin asked softly, stroking her hair.

She sat silent for a few moments as she was calming herself. She pulled away from him, sniffling, before she answered.

"He was my fiancé." She began. "He was killed the night we meant to run away and the ring he gave me was on that necklace."

Robin furrowed his brows. This necklace, he now knew, was more than that. He now felt bad for suggesting a new one.

"How was he killed? In the war?" Robin asked.

She shook her head.

"No. My mother killed him." Regina said. She almost immediately regretted it, too.

"Why on Earth would your mother do that to you?" Robin asked astounded.

She quickly began wiping her tears.

"Never mind. I shouldn't have said anything." She said, getting up.

Regina tried to move back up the hill, but Robin stopped her.

"No, Regina. This is obviously upsetting you. Just tell me. You can trust me." Robin said.

"A complete stranger?" Regina asked, brow raised.

"Well not complete, but I did save your life." Robin said.

Regina rolled her eyes.

"Are you going to hold that against me the rest of my life?" Regina asked annoyed.

"Certainly not, but don't you think that if you couldn't trust me, you wouldn't be here right now? You'd be cold and dead in some patch of forest?" Robin asked heatedly.

Regina just looked at him in his blue eyes. She could trust him, she knew that. But what she let slip, there maybe no coming back from.

"Robin, I trust you. More than anyone I know. And that's scary. I just met you." Regina said quickly.

"What kind of life have you lived that I'm the only one you can trust?" Robin asked almost sympathetically.

"Let's just say I've met more enemies than friends." Regina said softly.

"Tell me your burdens, please. I won't judge, I'll simply listen." Robin said reassuringly.

Regina looked at him for a moment before moving back towards him and sitting on a falling tree. He sat beside her.

"You want to know why a mother would do such a thing?" Regina asked him, looking out over the slightly moonlit trees. "Because she wanted more for me. She didn't want me to marry some stable boy."

"So Daniel was your stable boy?" Robin asked.

"Yes." Regina said, looking down at her neatly placed hands in her lap.

"And you loved him very much..." Robin concluded.

She simply nodded. Robin closed his eyes, knowing the feeling.

"But what else could possibly lay before you for her to do such a thing?" Robin asked.

Regina slowly raised her head and looked straight forward. If she could truly trust Robin, she would be able to tell him about the King and how she was the missing Queen. If she couldn't, she was prepared to run.

"Because she wanted me to be Queen." Regina said, then turned to gage his reaction.

Robin looked at her puzzled firstly, then realization struck him.

"You're...you're the missing Queen?" He asked. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because I didn't want you to turn me in." Regina said, tears brimming her eyes.

Robin saw horror flash in her eyes and the pain of whatever wait for her in that castle and just fell apart. He wrapped his arms around her tightly.

"I would never, milady." He said softly.

"Not even for all that gold?" Regina asked. "Imagine all the villages it could feed."

"Not even for all that gold. I've managed to feed dozens of villages without such money." Robin assured her.

She sat silent for a moment, before easing out of his embrace.

"So...you're not going to turn me in?" Regina asked.

Robin laughed.

"No, Regina, I'm not going to turn you in." He said.

A smile ran across her face, tears completely forgotten. And Robin didn't know if it was because he felt a whole spectrum of emotions in just several minutes or if it was because he was suddenly falling for this woman, but he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. She didn't flinch or move away, to his surprise, but instead moved closer to him. She wrapped an arm around his neck and moved her hand to his cheek, deepening the kiss.

His heart skipped a beat and he simply couldn't remember when he felt like this. Even with Marian. They gently pulled away and looked into each other's eyes.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't-"

"No. I'm glad you did." She said, looking him in the eyes.

He bit his bottom lip, trying to withhold a smile. But soon, her lips were back to his. This time, more passionate and languid. Once they parted again, both had to catch their breath. Robin licked his lips.

"Let's get back to camp, shall we?" He said.

She smiled softly and nodded. He helped her to her feet and together they walked back up the hill.

Leopold sat upon his throne, pure annoyance across his face. No one had seemed to be able to track down Regina. It had been eight years and nothing. They knew where she had been, but not where she was. He was terribly impatient, none of his White Knights yielding any results. So, he decided to call upon another.

"Your Majesty, he's here." A knight said.

"Let him in." Leopold said.

The knight ran back quickly to the heavy wooden doors and opened them, letting in a rather handsome, yet menacing looking man pass through.

"Your Majesty." He bowed. "What a lovely kingdom you have."

"Thank you, Sheriff. I'm sure Prince John is doing well?" Leopold asked.

"Yes, Your Majesty, very."

"Now, you must know this isn't a entirely friendly house call. I'm in need of you assistance." Leopold said.

"I am here to serve you." The Sheriff of Nottingham bowed once again.

"I need you to find my Queen. As you know, she has been missing for sometime now. I'd like her back. If you retrieve her for me, I'll double the reward." Leopold offered.

The greedy sheriff's brows lifted with such a statement.

"As you wish, Your Majesty." He said, a sly smile crossing his face.