Interlude VI
Just one of those things that keep me up at night. My Political Science side coming out.
Regina knew the agenda. She could tell by the way Robin suddenly avoided her on Council Meeting day.
She had a mug of ale waiting for him when he returned and sat on the couch with a sigh. She had her apple cider on the rocks for her.
"So what did they say about me this time?" Regina asked.
"They wanted to imprison you for your crimes," Robin replied.
Oh.
"And…?"
"And I said, 'go ahead,'" Robin replied easily.
Regina jumped up, "What the hell!"
He placed a soothing hand on her arm, drawing her back down beside him.
"Let me finish." He took a sip of his ale, "I said, 'go ahead, and then imprison me.'"
Regina sighed, "You didn't have to do that for me."
Robin chuckled ironically, "I love you, Regina, but I didn't do it for you."
"You didn't?"
He kissed her. "Alright, not just for you. But I was making a point. If they imprison you for your crimes, then they'd have to imprison me for mine."
"Yours?" Regina snorted.
"Yes. I'm a thief."
"You're Robin Hood."
"Why should that exempt me?"
Regina thought about it. "You're nice? A hero?"
"Does a hero steal? Break the law?"
"Robin, what's this about?"
He put his glass down and took her hands, "I fooled myself for quite some time into justifying my crimes. I was breaking the law for 'good'." Regina began to speak, he wouldn't let her, "but it was still breaking the law. I had no right to steal from anyone, no matter what I thought about them." He paused, "and it had the predictable consequences."
Regina shook her head, "What consequences? Helping those in need?"
"No. Don't you see? I broke one law for good, but soon I was breaking other laws. It happened slowly, but it happened. Sometimes assault would happen when we stole; sometimes the rich people were doing a great deal of good with their riches. I presumed to judge them. And then..."
"And then?" she asked.
"And then, one night, I startled a servant."
A servant.
Robin continued, "One of the poor who was earning her living as best she could. In service."
"What happened, Robin?" Regina asked softly.
"When I did, she fell down a staircase." He looked down, "She was pregnant…. she lost the baby, and then …. she bled to death."
Oh.
"You killed Regina," Robin said, "but so did I. Manslaughter. Two died that night, because I took it upon myself to decide my crime was acceptable. There's a saying, 'never tear down a wall until you know why it was put up.' I learned that the hard way. Theft is always wrong, and it leads to nothing but perdition."
After a moment Regina asked, "Why didn't you tell me this before?"
"Because…. I didn't."
Regina was starting to see, "You accepted my crimes remarkably easily."
"Because it could have been me," Robin finished for her. "A few years on, I might have even been you. It would have been so easy. After that night, I saw two paths: innocents killed for the 'greater good,' or stop because what I was doing was wrong."
"You stopped."
"Yes. The only difference between you and me is that I quit after my first kills. But killing in the act of committing another crime…"
"….Merits prison."
"Manslaughter," Robin nodded, "or second degree murder."
"Gods, Robin."
He stroked her hand now. "We have more in common than you give credit for, Regina. I've never liked you setting me on a pedestal, but … well; pride is a powerful emotion…and a dangerous one."
Regina took a full swallow of her drink. "What did the Council say?"
"Nothing, so I continued. I declared that after you and I were imprisoned, Snow White had to be imprisoned too. For first degree murder."
For her mother. Cora.
"Then Granny for manslaughter by keeping the true nature of Red from her. If Red had known, she would have worn the cloak and the massacres in her village would not have happened."
"Not to mention Rumplestiltskin," Regina added.
"And lastly," Robin concluded, "shorter jail sentences for David, stealing Prince James' identity. And also he, Emma, Belle, and goodness knows who else for illegally concealing and carrying firearms."
He finished the rest of his ale in one gulp. "All talk of imprisoning you ceased, and we moved to the rest of the agenda."
"So how do we solve it?" Regina finally asked.
"Easily. A general pardon for all those who agree to not repeat their crimes, and consenting to being barred from holding office and voting."
Regina thought about it. "So….who's left to rule?"
Robin shrugged, "I suppose Frederick and Abigail."
Regina'd forgotten about them. "They're still around?"
He nodded. "They've just sat by and watched the train-wreck for the past year."
"So…"
"So," Robin put down her empty glass, "we're all villains now."
And he kissed her.
Regina smiled, "Welcome to the club."
He kissed her back, "It's fun here."
But as he hugged her, they both sobered.
Actions, after all, have consequences.