Chapter Three
I'm on a roll! Haven't posted this quickly and so fast ever. Perhaps it's the great reviews. :D
Hurricane Jackson: And here is Regina's reaction!
: Happy OQ week to you too! I hope you are happy with this chapter.
murina: I think this chapter may be even more exciting!
JessicaBrennan: I hope you still like the story
lilieasandroses: What kind things to say. I hope this meets your expectations.
theEvilPandaa: This update is the very next day ! LOL.
Guest: I'm glad you think it's unpredictable. I wonder what you will think of this chapter. And I do worry about letting this story going to the backburner. (Hint, the more reviews I get, the faster I write!)
Along with the perks of being queen, and there were plenty of them, there were also drawbacks such as where she was at the moment. The ball she had attended was winding down and for that Regina was grateful. She had endured as much as she could. Her advisors, in a nervous stutter, had reminded her this duke was one of the richest in any realm and his taxes helped cover much of the cost of her army. Duke Norrington may be the richest man she knew, but he couldn't have been a bigger idiot.
When she became queen, she immediately went to work fortifying alliances to strengthen her reign. The more people looked to her as ruler instead of that simpering Snow White, the better everyone would be. However, she made the mistake of thinking Norrington could play a larger role. His riches were already known to her and upon meeting him she discovered that he was very good looking, so that helped. He supposedly had connections throughout many realms and Regina had foolishly believed his boasts.
Not only was he utterly wrong about his relationships to other kingdoms, after spending a good amount of time with him she found him lacking any intelligence or charm. Unfortunately he thought he was overflowing with both. Since then, every ball he put on, every gala he sponsored, he made sure to seek her out. To try to get back in her good graces as well as her bed. He was foolish to think she would let him have either ever again. If it wasn't for his lands having a rich source of mines, she'd have murdered him a long time ago.
She managed to step out of the main ballroom and found her way to a small balcony to get some much needed air. She glanced down at her exuberant outfit. The only thing she enjoyed about tonight was the stares, both lusting and hate filled, at what she was wearing. Unlike Norrington, Regina was not ignorant of the insults that were used to describe her true persona, she knew the only word of true praise about her was her beauty. And she made sure to hear it as often as possible. Wearing such a dress that teased men's eyes with what they hoped they could have gave her a richer sense of power than any title she held. Of course, it came along with the hateful stares of their women in the room but she could care less about that. Most of the time she saw jealousy in their eyes, and that was still better than outright hatred.
She glanced up to the sky to the half moon. She remembered how she and Daniel would sneak out and meet under a full one. They never stayed out too long, she was too afraid of her mother catching them, and for good reason. But they would sit under the moon and talk and dream. That seemed so far away now. And like it had happened to a different person.
Taking a breath, she decided it was time to head back inside. The castle was far enough away from her own that it was necessary to make arrangements to spend the night. And she knew the Duke thought he might get lucky even though it had been years since the only time she slept with him. It was rare for her to actually have to interact with someone she detested, but she wanted to bribe some territories outside her kingdom to look for the princess and she needed more gold.
As she was about to step inside, she noticed a shadow that flickered towards her feet. Looking up, she stared into the dark side of the castle turret, east of where she stood. Once her eyes became adjusted to the darkness, she realized with complete surprise a figure was climbing down. Immediately she cast an invisibility spell over herself. This spell came in handy to eavesdrop but now she could use it to step back out into the balcony and observe the person fully.
The figure was a man judging by his size. He zigzagged down the turret like it was a tree. His movement flowed easily, almost gracefully. Obviously he was up to no good, but Regina couldn't help but admire his skill at scaling down the treacherous stone face.
As he was nearing her own balcony, she stepped to the side out of his way, glad the invisibility meant he wouldn't know she was there. The last six feet, he dropped almost silently. Covering him was a cloak which masked his almost entire shape. He couldn't be more than ten feet from Regina.
He stepped to the railing and glanced down, checking to verify no one had spotted him. Regina smirked knowing he had no idea he was about to be caught. She was debating catching him herself or alerting the guards to do it for her. Then he turned around and she momentarily forgot everything.
Robin Hood! Right in front of her! It had been weeks, maybe months since that morning in the woods. When the captain had informed her the true identity of the "farmer", Regina almost didn't believe it. Then recalling the whole morning, her heart sank at the truth and she roared with anger. Sending the troops back into the woods, none of them could find Robin or his son. They had vanished without a trace!
She was furious. That whole time right under her nose he stood, even making her a horrible stew to eat! Up until then, Regina had heard tales of the outlaw with his band of merry men but she hadn't paid it too much mind. He usually left her realm alone and she issued a bounty mostly out of formality. All she had cared about was catching Snow White.
But after coming face to face with the outlaw she was seething with rage that he dared to be so cheeky as to come into such contact with her! Not just that, but he had been rude to her! She immediately doubled the reward to catch him and for awhile sent out specific bounty hunters after him. But such measures were as ineffective as they were in regards to her stepdaughter.
Eventually Regina renewed her obsession of finding her true nemesis but hadn't forgotten Robin. In fact, he frequently entered her dreams in ways she wasn't happy about at all. More troubling, while out and about if she saw a small boy, she would anxiously look to see if he was Roland. The fact that such an insufferable bandit could have a truly precious child had perplexed Regina most above everything else.
But now here he was! But her shock at seeing him had rooted her in place, he had walked away with a head start before Regina allowed herself to recover and chase after him. As she followed the hallway she knew he went down, her mind was reeling. What did he expect to do? He was now entering the castle directly and he'd certainly stand out among the nobles gathered in their finest attire.
Noises of conversations loomed and she knew she was about to enter the ballroom. Her eyes scanned the room for him. Walking around the Duke's guests, she was confused on where he could have gone. Then at the far side, she spotted him, or his head. Her vision had blocked anything below the neck and she pushed through the crowd. She wanted to use magic to push everyone out of the way but she knew he was just far enough away that he might escape.
As she got closer she could see his full form. His cloak was off and it revealed a servant's uniform. He was dressed as a server! He was actually taking empty wine glasses! His eyes scanned around the room and for a split second Regina thought he had spotted her until she remembered she still was invisible. After he gathered enough glasses, he headed towards the servants entrance and she followed. Just after him she went through the door and she realized that because of the ball, the Duke must bring in extra servants, thus making it easier for Robin to blend in unseen. In spite of everything, Regina couldn't deny the genius of his cover, not to mention he fit very well in the tailored uniform. Not that she was looking.
He expertly weaved himself through the kitchen, servants coming and going all around him but it was like they weren't there. Someone barked an order to him and he listened and shook his head like he had every intention of following through. As he started down one aisle, a split second of the cook turning his back on Robin and the outlaw dashed past him and the cook never noticed. Regina almost wished she didn't have to punish him, but nobody crossed her. Even fathers of adorable children.
She teleported herself out of the kitchen, being invisible the only evidence she had been there had been the remnants of the purple smoke. When she reappeared, she made sure the invisibility spell was gone, she wanted her audience to see her.
And see her he did. Robin jumped back a few feet at her emerging in front of him. The purple smoke framing her, she was glad she wore silver and black. She was sure the effect was breathtaking.
And taking his breathe she did. He was rendered speechless. She approached him and while there was certainly fear in his eyes, as they traveled down her body, she saw unmistakable lust. Delight spread through her knowing he wanted her, not because she returned such sentiment towards him, but because it would be fun to add another element of torture for him later.
"I see you're moonlighting as a waiter? Truly hard times for a farmer such as yourself."
"I know you know who I really am, your Highness," Robin answered, recovering some dignity in spite of his very dangerous predicament. "After seeing how much you raised the bounty on my head, I'm deeply flattered you think I'm worth so much."
"Of course you would see it that way," she approached him. He tried to move but found quickly his feet were not cooperating. "I suppose you had quite the laugh, regaling stories of how you tricked the evil queen and lived to tell."
His eyes narrowed at her, the lust had disappeared and obvious dislike took its place. "Honestly, your Majesty, I had no intention of letting anyone know about….our night together."
The way he said the last part pissed her off greatly. Placing the ugliest sneer on her face, she practically dared him to answer the next question. "Really? Why?"
"Because nobody would believe having the evil queen at my mercy, I chose to help her."
She snapped back like she was stung. His words were hardly an epiphany. People hated her, her own guards, her own people, her own servants. Why did it matter that an outlaw who smelled like forest would share the popular opinion? "Well, thief, that was your mistake."
She sashayed away, glad she kept her cool together but now not facing him she had steel herself. She took some steps, then called out, "Guards!"
She turned back to Robin, and seeing his fear reenergized her. This is what she wanted. This is what she lived for. "So…how should I punish you first?"
"Your Majesty! I'm so glad I found you!" Regina froze at the voice. Coming down the hallway was Duke Norrington. He was outfitted with a decorative sword which was too big for him and he walked almost crooked. The current hallway they were in, the sword kept scraping the side of the wall, marking up his own castle.
"Edward," she replied through gritted teeth. God, she loathed him. The duke came at a stop next to Robin and Regina couldn't help but compare the two men. Both were handsome and were of similar build, but the Duke stood like a pompous ass while Robin, even with his feet cemented to the floor and his life in danger, stood with serene composure.
"I didn't want you to forget about my earlier offer," he leered.
"Edward, let's not talk about that now, I want to bring to your attention that here in your castle-"
"Yes, been in the family for generations!" he boasted. "Every generation has added onto it, I myself have added this very wing."
"Well in this wing-"
He interrupted again, now walking past Robin who was unable to step aside to give the duke more room so the nobleman had to turn sideways to get closer. "This wing provides the latest in security detail. No expense was spared to prevent burglary."
"Really?" the queen questioned dryly. Her eyes went to Robin who was giving the Duke the most incredulous look. She honestly couldn't blame him.
"Oh yes, Your-Um, Regina," he attempted.
Regina instantly corrected. "Your Majesty."
Norrington jumped back a bit but was hardly deterred. "Um, yes, Your Majesty. Remember I told you of my Faberge collection?"
She was growing so tired of this. "That's not important right now, Edward."
"Oh but it is! Each of them could fetch a small fortune on the black market." Then he leaned in. "And the prize of them all, I still am proud of owning your former husband's StormFire Egg!"
Now she stopped. He had something of Leopold's? How did she not know this? "You-you have one of his eggs?"
Probably because of the edge of her voice, he laughed rather nervously. "Yes, it's the prize of my collection! Oh, I said that already. It's why I had this wing built. It's in an unbreakable vault!"
Regina looked past the Duke towards Robin who shook his head.
"The egg is incased of white gold, decorated with blue storm sapphires and fire red rubies." As he spoke, his back completely to Robin, the outlaw reached behind himself and held up the egg matching the Duke's description completely. If he was going down, at least he could make the Duke look foolish while doing so. He waited patiently for the Duke to turn around, no need to push his fate too quickly. He hated to think what the queen would do to him.
The queen chuckled which set the nobleman at ease. He was about to turn around and see for himself that Robin had outwitted him but at the last minute Regina lunged forward, stopping him. Taking his arm, she led him away from Robin, she knew the outlaw wasn't going anywhere so she guided the Duke down the other end. She told him to go back and say goodnight to his guests. She would see him later.
Immediately the Duke misunderstood what she meant, as she knew he would, and he joyfully waddled off with that ridiculous sword scraping along besides him. She turned back to Robin who seemed really confused.
"Are you really going to see him later?" The outlaw looked agitated at the idea. Surely he wasn't jealous.
"Of course not, thief," she said, her eyes on the egg. Was it really Leopold's? She didn't remember it but then he might have given it to Edward before their marriage. "Tell me, was his vault difficult to get in?"
She expected Robin to talk up his skills, to try to impress her. But instead he shrugged. "Not at all. I mean, there were traps that would have caught me had I not known about them, but as you heard, he's very proud of it. And told everyone he's ever met how it works. It's a wonder it's taken this long for someone to steal it."
She could very well believe it. In spite of everything, even though she was still angry at him, Robin's honesty was rather refreshing, and imaging the Duke's face when he realized his egg had been stolen delighted her. Truth be told, it actually made this unbearable evening worthwhile.
Reaching out, she took the egg from Robin and then in a puff of purple smoke it disappeared. Robin narrowed his gaze, "Where did it go?"
"To my own vault."
"Your Majesty," Robin said, "That egg could feed an entire village for a year. People's lives could be greatly improved."
Was he really serious? Did he expect her to believe the propaganda about him stealing from the rich to give to the poor was true? "Worry about your own life, thief."
He stood straight and looked her directly in the eye. "What is my fate, your Highness?"
She should put him stocks. Poof him away to her dungeons. But with his life in her hands, he stood there…bravely. "That night during the storm, when did you realize you had me-the queen?"
"After I brought you in and set your boots by the fire." He didn't even hesitate.
"Why did you nurse me?"
"Honestly? I don't know. I admit I wanted to run, especially with my boy there. But…" His eyes were so blue, much like the storm sapphires of the stupid egg, "maybe it was because I did have my boy there. I want him to want to help people who need it. And you did-you did need it."
She started to say something but found she lost her voice momentarily. She took a step back. "Let's call us even then."
She turned and practically marched away. She knew he would be able to walk in a few seconds and she also knew by the time the Duke noticed the theft, Robin would be long gone.
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