It's been ten days since the wedding and the castle has returned to a state of relative peace. If Robin had not known about the new queen residing in the castle, he would hardly know she was there. He has seen her pass through the halls only a handful of times, always accompanied by either the king or the king's guardsmen. Robin cannot help eying her curiously whenever she walks by, observing the way she always seems to have a slightly skittish look in her beautiful brown eyes. He and his fellow ordinary guards have received strict instructions not to bother the queen in any way, but it has not stopped him from lingering a little whenever she walks by. He tells himself it's his duty as a spy – though sometimes he forgets his real task here- to know everything that happens inside the castle. Surely king George would want to know details on Leopold's new queen?
It is not that, however, that makes him halt is step when he walks the now familiar lines of his patrol past her bedroom. For all his curiosity, he has never once stopped here, understanding that the queen deserves what little privacy she can get.
Tonight, however, he does stop. Because there's something behind her door: a soft whimpering that he would not have caught, had it not been for him having his ears peaked for any sound. (It's a reflex he's picked up from being on the run for many years.)
He halts his step, silently and slowly moving towards her door. Before taking up the much easier job of robbing carriages, he'd been in the business of breaking into houses, so he opens her door without making a sound. The sight he's faced with when he peeks his head through the opening, breaks his heart a little.
She's lying in the bed that seems infinitely too big for her, seemingly drowning in the sheets she's both pulling towards her and kicking away. And she's whimpering, tossing and turning as she lets out those silent sobs and cries into the emptiness of her bedroom. Robin heart aches for the new queen and he quickly moves towards her bed to wake her from what is undoubtedly a horrible nightmare. A few steps into the room he halts, however, remembering the king's words. If the king were to find out he were in the queen's room, the consequences would be unforeseeable.
"Please, mother." She whimpers and Robin turns towards her so quickly it almost makes him lose his balance. "I do not want-" Her words morph into a soft scream as she turns and begins murmuring words that vaguely sound like 'I'm sorry'.
And that's that. While shaking his head at himself, he takes the final steps towards her bed and slowly puts one hand on her shoulder.
"No!" She shrieks and he jumps at her sudden cry, but persists, putting his other hand on her shoulder and slowly shaking her.
"Milady?" He asks softly. She does not wake, writing more as his touch is obviously upsetting her. He swallows thickly and shakes her more roughly, which makes her whimper and kick more. "Your majesty!" He asks, louder and he hopes that there is not a guard walking past now, because he will definitely be heard. "Your Ma- Regina!"
That does it. The queen's beautiful, fearful eyes fly open and for a second stare into his eyes. Then she shrieks and crawls back onto the bed, hitting her head against the headboard before sitting up against his. "Who are- what are you doing here?" Her voice is shaking as she stumbles over her words. "If you touch me again I will-"
Robin backs away from the bed, lifting his hands as if he were surrendering. "Milady, I do not mean you harm. It's just… you were having a nightmare and…"
"Why are you in my room?" Her voice is still shaking and he sees her eyes taking in his uniform. It does not seem to tamper her fears in any way. "Are you coming to fetch me?"
Robin frowns. "Fetch you? No. As I said, you were having a nightmare and I…"
"Decided to enter my room?" She does not sound angry, not even really fearful anymore. Mostly it's a tone of disbelief in her voice, an innocence and naivety in her voice that reminds him of how young this queen is. (Only five years younger than him, but he's grown up fast and it's easy to forget). He gives her a sad smile.
"From what I gather, it is my job to protect you from your enemies, even the ones that may only be there inside your head." He explains, not entirely sure how much trouble he has gotten himself into. She does not seem inclined to call the guards, but it also still backed up against the headboard, eying him in mistrust. "Did I upset you, milady?"
"It's your majesty." She answers softly, shaking her head at herself. Then she's pushing herself up on the bed. "I'm your queen." She whispers as if she's reminding herself of it. She lifts her head and her eyes meet his again, her eyes somehow a little harder, darker. "You need to leave." She orders him, her voice shaky but her gaze determined, trained.
"Did I upset you? Milady." He asks again, stepping towards her bed. It's a mistake and something in her eyes flares as she pushes herself into a standing position.
"Leave." Her voice is sharp now, her eyes suddenly hardened in a way he had not expected those soft brown eyes to be able to change. "If you do not, the king will hear of this and he will not be pleased." It's a threat, but her voice is shaking as she utters it, tears still brimming beneath the surface of those cuttings eyes. He sees the sadness still, but there is a profound anger in his eyes that he has not seen there before. It scares him, saddens him.
So with a nod and a soft apology he leaves. When he softly closes the door behind him, he can't help lingering a little longer on her doorstep. It's only minutes before he can hear her sobbing again and his heart cracks a little. Again.
It's true that he does not care much for the impending war between George and Leopold. Robin is therefore not terribly concerned his mission of spying on Leopold. He does, however, depend on king George's good graces for his life and the lives of those he cares about and therefore does have to so some actual spying. King Leopold, however, lives up to his paranoid reputation and rarely allows anyone but his daughter close to him. The guards that do get close enough to the king and the possible information he could bring with him, are the guards that have proven themselves tenfold over to the king. Not the guards sleeping in the barracks with him and certainly not Robin himself.
He ponders breaking into the king's bedroom or the war room in the centre of the castle. He knows, however, of the guards posted there at all times to keep people like him out. Besides, if breaking into the castle were an option, king George wouldn't have gone through the trouble of making him go undercover in the first place. No, Robin needs to earn the king's trust.
With that in mind, Robin puts his pen to paper.
Getting out of the castle is like a breath of fresh air after his stay in the castle. He is accompanying the king and his young queen on a trip towards the town. Robin has managed to convince the king that he –as an archer- has an eye like no other for assassins hired to take them out. Paranoid as the king is for such things, he had quickly latched onto his help and had allowed Robin to accompany him.
He watches Regina as she walks in front of him. It's been over a week since the incident in her room and she has not paid any attention to him since. She walks with her head up high, but still flinches away from the king every time his hand seems to stray in her direction. Robin knows he should be watching the villagers for anyone attempting to take out the good king, but would probably not even try to stop it.
"King Leopold, that is one beautiful lady you have there." A voice booms from the sky, drawing Robin's gaze away from the young queen. He reaches for his bow, his fingers touching the wood a comforting, familiar feeling.
"Men. Find him." It's the only thing the king says, and even though his voice is soft, Robin hears the anger, the jealously in his voice. The king's hands reaches out towards Regina's and grip them tightly, pulling her towards him.
The guards rush off towards the where the voice is coming from, but Robin knows before they even set off that they will go the wrong way. It's the oldest robbery trick in the book, one he –as a thief- knows well. He turns his back towards where the voice sounded from and, surely, from the crowd emerges a hooded figure, running towards the king. Robin carefully awaits him and then gives the man a kick in the leg, watching the hooded figure falling down into the sand. He grips the man his tunic and turns to face him.
"How can you serve such a cruel king?!" The man spits at him and Robin snarls at him.
"You should think before you speak, you fool. Of all the kings I've seen, Leopold is the kindest one. If you think that taking Leopold's life will make things better, you are sorely mistaken." He brings the man's face up to his, raising his voice for all to hear. "And I do not simply serve my king, I would die for my king and queen. So if you or any of those who belong to you, ever, presume to be able to kill Leopold again, I recommend you reconsider. Now scurry off, tell your friends." Robin barks at him, before letting the man go. The man immediately lifts his hands in the sky and nearly trips over his own feet running away.
"Why did you let him go?" Robin turns to face the king at his question and bows before him.
"Your majesty, capturing him would only have bolstered the confidence of those who would try the same. This way he lives to tell his friends not to do so."
The king eyes him sharply. "You should not have presumed that I would have let him go." He king declares. Then he shakes his head. "You were, however, the only one of my guards who was standing between me and that assassin. You have proven yourself to be a capable and loyal soldier. I wish to reward you for that."
Robin bows his head. "The only reward I wish is serving you, my king. A place on your kings guard would be the greatest honour I could ask for."
"I already have an adequate kings guard." The king answers. "I do, however, have another position of great honour for you." He turns towards Regina and smiles. "I want you to guard my wife, the queen."
Robin smiles, bows and makes a mental note to send a thank you note to Will Scarlett.