One dark night,
….I went out unseen,
….my house being now all stilled ….
Regina was sitting by the fire rather enjoying the impression she must be giving to the muttering men, sitting in a glowing red given off by the nearby healthy flames of the fire. Quite the Macbeth ambiance and she would milk it if needed. Especially needed after the undignified first impression she had given. She happily met anyone's eyes when looked at, the small smirk playing … upright posture … regal… The Evil Queen.
They would get it soon.
The leader was now staring at her, studying.
Ok. Sooner.
She called out, "You haven't restrained me."
"To what end, Your Majesty?" he called back.
She laughed, clasped her hands together, "Well done! Well done indeed! Have I had the pleasure of meeting you in happier days?"
"Not officially," he took some confident, yet measured steps towards her. "You may recall a falling out you had with some of your subjects shortly after the rightful heir, Snow White, disappeared."
Her smile grew, "Ah, something about, 'I'm the Queen, and you're not?'"
"Yes."
"And, you said something like, 'No?'"
He bowed in affirmation.
She gestured like shooing a fly, "I remember you Robin of Locksely. You would always give tedious speeches whenever you stole from me."
He looked up as though thinking, then spoke, "'That which is unjustly taken cannot be stolen back. It is given to the rightful owners.'"
"That's right. The very one … yes," Regina rolled her eyes. " I remember. Sherwood Forest was always rather medieval. Looking at your garb I see that this has not changed." She stood. Turning slowly in a circle, meeting all their eyes.
"I thank you for the compliment," Robin Hood responded.
Regina laughed moving nearer the flames, giving her a red shadow now, with he beside her. "So, Robin Hood, you must now have justice. Will you try to carry it out now?"
"No," Robin answered.
That did stop her, "No?"
"No," he repeated. "There is a higher justice, and it is not mine to dispense."
Regina groaned, "You really miss your little university, don't you? I feel like I am in the lecture hall."
"It was rather petty of you to put an end to it," he commented. "So much energy for such a small part of the world."
"Not a lot of energy," Regina shrugged.
Robin shook his head, "If you really weren't worried about what we were doing, you would have just ignored us."
"Old news," Regina dismissed. "Let's get back to where we are now." She smiled. "You know that anything you do is at my pleasure. Whenever I wish, I could put an end to you and your little men in a matter of seconds."
"So why don't you?" he asked.
"I have my reasons."
He grinned now, "As do I."
"We're back then, aren't we? Back to the way it was. If I put an end to you…"
"…I win," he finished.
Regina laughed, "Yes, they'll write songs about you, make stained glass windows, the Prince of Thieves who died standing for what was right rather than betray who he was."
"I can think of worse fates," he held her gaze.
She pursed her lips, "Such as becoming a drawing of a cuddly fox?"
"Majesty?"
"Don't worry," Regina assured him. "What you won't see can't ever hurt you." She leaned in towards him, "Let's stop pretending we don't both know that there are at least ten arrows pointed at my head in that," she gestured to the dark beyond the fire, "and also that you're prepared too." Her eyes pointedly shifted to his bow and arrow.
"I wasn't pretending," Robin replied. "I thought it was fairly obvious." Then he studied her again. "So what do we do with you, Queen?"
Her face lit up, "Let me go?"
"No," he laughed.
"So we negotiate," Regina nodded her head. "How can we both get what we want?"
"What is it you want?" he asked.
"Something from Rumplestiltskin's castle." She looked up to him, "And you, thief?"
"I want you gone from this world."
Regina shrugged. "Easy enough to arrange, since I have no intention of ever returning here." She looked to him again, "I like it when things are kept simple." She stood, "Take me to Rumplestiltskin's castle, and I swear you'll never see me again."
"I can live with that." Robin rose with her and held out his hand, "Shake on it like a gentleman?"
She clapped her hand in his, matching his strength, shaking it firmly. Then all stopped.
"You can let go now," the low voice seemed to come from far away.
"What?" Regina's head snapped up to look at him. Robin was looking a little askance at her now.
"My hand?" He nodded his head towards it.
"Of course," Regina muttered.
"You've never seen a tattoo before?" Eyebrows raised.
"Not often one like that," she recovered quickly. "You still look for the lion to return?"
Robin glanced at his wrist, "Always." He bowed and walked away.
Regina then spent the next hour debating with herself whether she should just forget what she saw.