Cinderella is the queen of a kingdom,
Cinderella got the dreams she was dreaming,
I want to know where is my happy end?
Cinderella got a prince and a kingdom,
Cinderella got the dreams she was dreaming,
I want to know where is my fairy-tale?
Cinderella are you really that happy?
Cinderella are you really that lucky?
I want to know is your life like you dreamed?
(Song is Cinderella are you really that happy?)
Regina had always known she was a bastard.
The servants all knew it about her. But they had loved little Regina, had loved her since she'd arrived at Mills Manor all those years ago. They knew she was a bastard, oh she looked like her mother Cora, but her she had a birth mark on her right wrist, which looked like a feather, marked her as someone else's.
If all this wasn't proof enough, but only seven months after Cora had married their new lord, Lord Henry Mills and his new wife Cora had welcomed their little girl to the world. The servants of the manor also had heard the arguments between their lord and their lady, with Cora yelling at Henry how Regina wasn't his. That, she, belonged to someone important.
They could tell how those arguments had hurt their lord, as Henry would often keep to himself or the nursery. Cora was always working on their investments on how to make more money for the household, or more importantly, her.
No matter who had real father was, Lord Henry loved his little girl with his whole heart. He showered her in love as Regina, unfortunately didn't receive it from her mother. The only time Cora spent time with her daughter, she was grooming her daughter to try to catch herself a husband one day.
Regina wasn't sure when she found out, but maybe she had always known the truth.
She knew her father loved her, always had and always would no matter the truth of the matter. Her mother on the other hand, didn't.
Regina had often begged her mother, to please love her. She often felt like more of a servant than a daughter to her mother. She often had to wait on her hand like a servant would. As Cora had literally done away with most of the servants to cut back on the cost of running the manor.
But the years didn't change much for Regina Mills, until one fateful day that her beloved father Henry passed away from problems with his heart. Regina was crushed and kept to herself from then on, she did as her mother commanded her to do. Attend her mother's every wish. Inside she was falling apart, her only outlet it seemed was on her beloved horse called Roccainte, that Henry had given to her. She often would sneak away from the manor in the morning hours for rides on her beloved horse.
And in part, it was how Lord Henry had set into motion, a moment that would send Regina into her fate one early morning on the edges of the manor lands. For as one important man left her life, another would follow in his footsteps.
A few days before that fateful day, in the society papers was an article about a very important upcoming event.
This year's most sought after invitation must surely be that of the Locksley masquerade ball, to be Monday next. Indeed, one cannot take two steps without being forced to listen to some society mama speculating on who will attend, and perhaps more importantly who will wear what.
Neither of the aforementioned topics, however, are nearly as interesting as that of the two unmarried 'Merry Men', Lord Robin Locksley and Lord Killian Jones. The other two members of the 'Merry Men', Lord David Nolan and Lord Will Scarlett had married earlier this year.
Although the 'Merry Men' are still considered two of the prime catches of the season. It is a well- known fact that both remaining bachelors are of respectable fortunes, and it does not require perfect sight to know that they also possess, good looks.
Will some fortunate young lady use the mystery of a masquerade night to snare one of the eligible bachelors?
This Author isn't even going to attempt to speculate….
"Regina! Regggggina!"
As screeches went, it was enough to shatter glass. Or at least an eardrum.
"Coming, Mother! I'm coming!" Regina hitched up the hem of her coarse woolen skirts and hurried up the stairs, slipping on the fourth step and only just barely managing to grab the bannister before landing on her bottom. She should have remembered that the stairs would be slick, she'd helped the downstairs maid wax them just that morning.
Skidding to a halt in the doorway to Cora's room and still catching her breath, Regina said, "Yes?"
"My tea is cold."
What Regina wanted to say was, "It was warm when I brought it an hour ago, you lazy fiend."
What she did say was,"I'll get you another pot then."
Cora sniffed, "See that you do."
Regina stretched her lips into what the nearly blind might call a smile and picked up the tea service,"Shall I leave the biscuits?"
Cora gave her pretty head a shake,"I want fresh ones."
Shoulders slightly stopped from the weight of the overloaded tea service, Regina exited the rom, careful not to start grumbling until she'd safely reached the hall. Cora was forever ordering tea, then not bothering to drink it until an hour passed. By then, of course, the tea was cold, so she had to order a fresh pot.
Which meant that Regina was forever running up and down the stairs, up and down, up and down. Sometimes it seemed that was all she did with her life.
Up and down. Up and down.
And of course the mending, the pressing, the hairdressing, the shoe polishing, the bedmaking….
As she stood there at the stove making the fresh tea, she saw the article about the upcoming Locksley ball. She'd been reading about the upcoming masquerade for weeks, and even though she was nothing but basically a maid now, she couldn't help but wish that she could attend the ball.
Just once she would like to be the one stepping into the coach and attending the ball.
Instead, she would be the one dressing her mother for the nights on the town. But she could not, or at least should not, complain. She might have to serve as a maid to her mother, but at least she had a home. Which was more than most people had.
When her father had died, he had in his will ensured that she could not be turned out until she was twenty-five. There was no way that Cora would forfeit four thousand pounds a year by giving Regina the boot. But she was almost twenty-three now.
But that four thousand pounds was Cora's not Regina's, and Regina hadn't seen a penny of it. Gone were the fine clothes she'd used to wear, replaced by coarse wool of the servants. And she ate what the rest ate, whatever Cora chose to leave behind.
If Cora was the devil she knew, then the rest of the world was the devil she didn't. And Regina had no idea which would be worse.
The next morning, Regina was up before the sun awakened. She made her way to the stables, where she went straight for Roccainte. "Hello, my love. How are you this morning?"
Regina stroked her horse as she continued to talk to it. Roccainte gave his pleasure of seeing her with his happy noises. She asked him,"Ready to go for a ride?" He eagerly nodded his head, she quickly saddled him up and was off for a morning ride. The household wouldn't be up for at least a good two hours. She had plenty of time. She rode briskly this morning, as it was still winter time, snow had fallen the night before and had blanketed the grounds. It was still gently coming down in a few flurries. She was so enjoying the ride, she didn't watch where she was going, and before she knew it she was on the edges of the neighbor's grounds. She pulled her cloak around her tighter as she turned Roccainte to head back to the house, the sky had a faint hint of light to it.
As they neared the edges of the Manor's grounds, suddenly a squirrel ran out in front of Roccainte, startling him and sending him running in the other direction. Regina struggled to gain control of her horse, but it was no use and before she could help it they were on a frozen pond.
"Oh no," Regina murmured and under the weight of the horse and her, heard the crackling of the ice beneath her. Instantly they were in the frigid waters, Regina quickly got off her horse and tried to lead him towards the bank.
"This way, Roccainte!" Regina tried to encourage him. The water was above her head, and it was a struggle to keep herself from drowning and trying to steer Roccainte towards safety. She was trying her hardest to keep her horse alive, but she could see it was a losing battle. He was going under. He was the last thing she had of the man she looked at as a father. And he was about to die!
"Roccainte, please! I can't lose you too!" Regina cried out in defeat.
What could only be described as a crash and splash sounded near her. She turned to see a man beside her, "Give me the reins, and go to safety!" He ordered sharply. Regina did as he said and let go of the reins, she made her way to the bank, her heavy clothes weighing her down, but her concern was for her horse. She was almost to the bank when she turned around to look to see how the stranger and Roccainte were, when she saw nothing behind her.
"No!" Fearing they both had gone under, she started to make her way back.
"You little fool!" she heard behind her, and as she turned her head she was being picked up in a pair of strong male arms and carried to safety.
"Roccainte, please tell me he's alright," she said, her teeth chattering in the process.
"If you mean your horse, he's already on the grass," he said as he carried her out of the water and up on the bank. He laid her under an apple tree while he went to see about starting a fire. Regina was freezing but at least her horse was alive. She started to crawl towards Roccainte, when she was brought to her feet.
"You're like a sheet of ice," the man said as he took off her cloak, and started to remove her clothes.
"Wait! You can't do this! I'll have you arrested for this!" Regina yelled.
"If I don't get you out of these wet clothes and warm soon, you won't have a chance to have me arrested," he informed her.
She didn't protest as once he had her down to her shift, he removed his own clothes and pressed their bodies together. His face was handsome, he had a pair of clear blue eyes that seemed to go to her soul. He had the most arrogant mouth she'd ever seen in her life. For a moment they both stood there and stared. Her chest rose and fell, threatening to stop breathing at any second. The color was high on her cheeks and there was something hectic in her gaze, making her eyes entirely too dark. She looked wild, untamed. Stunning in every way.
He brought his hands to her back and rubbed it trying to warm up her body along with his. Their body heat right now would keep each other alive. "The name is Robin."
"Regina," she muttered out between chattering teeth.
"Thank you for saving my horse," Regina said.
"And not for saving you?" Robin asked. "Where I come from a simple thank you for saving someone's life is the normal."
"Well I don't know where you come from," Regina said.
She looked like something straight out of any man's fantasy.
He was losing his grip.
The man looked down at her lips and linger there. Almost as if he was powerless to help himself or stop.
"Oh," she said softly, and the word was ripe with too many meanings. Revelation and understanding. Something like wonder. A touch of daring besides, and it poured through him, molten hot and impossible to resist. She put her palms flat against his chest even as his hands came up to grip her upper arms. Her skin was every bit as smooth to the touch as he'd imagined. The contact was like fire, surging through them both, making him insane enough to understand he was hot and hard and unwilling to do a damn thing to change it-
And then Regina surged up on her toes and pressed her lips to his.
Kissing Robin was a great deal like leaping from a ledge into a lake. A giddy rush and then the shock of the cold. The feel of his mouth against hers, his taut chest beneath her hands. For a moment, they stood there as if turned to stone. Regina's heart kicked at her, hard enough to knock her down, though she didn't let it.
Regina's whole life seemed to flash before her in an instant. Most of it revolving around the frustrating man whose large, hard hands gripped her upper arms, whose fresh, clean scent was mixed with something dark and spicy that she suspected was all him.
Regina seemed to finally snap out of the moment, she was standing here with her lips attached to some stranger, but a stranger that had saved her horse and herself. How was she ever going to live this down?
Her heart kicked at her again.
Regina tenses, ready to push to push herself away from him and, if there was a God, disappear into thin air like magic.
But Robin made a low, growling sort of noise. She'd never heard anything like it before, yet it seemed to move through her body, curling around her like smoke. Holding her as tight as he did. Then he angled his head, hauled her even closer and took control.
And everything exploded.
The world seemed to disappear in a searing flash of it, wild and hot and insane. There was nothing left. No scrap of her at all. There was only the masterful way Robin took her mouth, parting her lips to slip between them and setting her on fire.
He tasted her. He tempted her. He hauled her even closed until she was sprawled against his chest, her breasts flattened against the wall of his torso. And she hardly knew herself, because all she could do was meet him as he pillaged her mouth, winding her arms around his neck and trying to get even closer to him, if that was possible. There was too much. He was too much. She found her fingers tangling in his damp hair, and could feel even that like a bolt of lightning, searing into her and through her. And she didn't care if she burned alive as long as she could keep doing this. Forever.
Just then her horse and his nipped at one another causing the two humans to pull apart. Robin took a few seconds to look at her before he went to go check on their horses. Regina gathered her clothes up quickly, and once he had her horse settled and seeing about his own. She took the advantage and quickly got up on Roccainte, taking one long look at Robin, who looked up at her, before sending her horse running. She could hear his shouts to her.
"Stop! I don't even know who you are!" Robin yelled after her.
Regina couldn't, shouldn't stop and kept going. She had to get home before her mother woke up and realized she was gone. She would be wanting her breakfast before too long and she had to get back quickly. She pushed Roccainte as fast as she could. All along the way she thought of the handsome stranger she had met briefly and kissed.
Robin
A man she would never see again, but one who would forever leave an impression on her.
The day of the ball, Regina was on her knees, pins clamped between her teeth as she made last minute alterations on Cora's masquerade costume. Along with a friend of hers daughter Zelena. The Queen of Hearts gown had, of course, been delivered from the dressmaker as a perfect fit, but Cora insisted that it was now a quarter inch too long in the waist.
"How is that now?" Regina asked, speaking through her teeth so that the pins wouldn't fall.
"Too tight."
Regina adjusted a few pins. "What about now?"
"Too loose."
Regina pulled out a pin and stuck it back in precisely the same spot. "There. How does that feel?"
Cora twisted this way and that, then finally declared, "It'll do."
Regina smiled to herself as she stood to help Cora out of the gown.
"I'll need it done in an hour if we're to get to the ball on time," Cora said.
"Of course," Regina murmured. She'd found it easiest just to say 'of course' on a regular basis in conversations with Cora.
"This ball is very important," Cora said sharply. "Zelena must make an advantageous match this year."
Regina couldn't help but feel sadness, as Cora seemed to think more of Zelena than her own daughter. Zelena was the daughter of one of Cora's few friends, who Cora liked to lavish on. "Don't forget that Zelena will need her hair powdered."
Zelena was attending dressed as Marie Antoinette. Regina had asked if she was planning to put a ring of faux blood around her neck. Zelena had not been amused.
"Of course, I'll help her," Regina replied.
Cora narrowed her eyes as she tried to figure out if Regina was being insolent. "Just see that you do," she finally said, her syllables clipped. She stalked off to the washroom.
Regina saluted as the door closed behind her.
"Ah, there you are, Regina," Zelena said as she bustled into the room. "I need your help immediately."
"I'm afraid you'll have to wait until-"
"I said immediately!" Zelena snapped.
Regina squared her shoulders and gave Zelena a steely look,"Cora wants me to alter her gown."
"I don't care. There is a tear at the hem of my costume. I have no idea how it happened."
"Perhaps when you tried it on-"
Zelena slapped Regina on the side of her face,"Don't be impertinent!"
"I won't be late for this ball," Zelena warned. "If I am, I shall have your head on a platter."
"You won't be late," Regina promised.
Zelena gave a rather huffy sound, then hurried out the door to retrieve her costume.
An hour later, she had both Cora and Zelena ready for the ball and as they were loading into the carriage, Zelena turned and asked. "Well, how do we look?"
"You look wonderful. I'm sure you'll have a lovely time," Regina said. "I do wish I could go."
Regina's little sigh was met with absolute silence…..followed by the raucous laughter of both Cora and Zelena.
"Oh, that's rich," Zelena said, barely able to catch her breath. Little Regina at the Locksley ball. They don't allow bastards out in society, you know."
"I didn't say I expected to go," Regina said defensively, "just that I wish I could."
"Well, you shouldn't even bother doing that," Cora chimed in. "If you wish for things you can't possibly hope for, you're only going to be disappointed."
But Regina didn't hear what she had to say, because in that moment, the oddest thing happened. As she was turning to go back into the manor, she caught sight of the innkeeper standing in the doorway. It was Granny. And when Regina's eyes met hers, she winked.
Winked!
Regina didn't think she'd ever seen Granny wink.
A wink?
Why on earth would she wink?
"There's no time to loose!" Granny said as she grabbed her arm.
Regina looked at her as if she had lost her mind, "I beg your pardon?"
Granny tugged at her elbow,"Come with me."
Regina allowed herself to be led up the three flights of stairs to her room, a tiny little chamber tucked under the eaves. Granny was acting in a most peculiar manner, but Regina humored her and followed along. The innkeeper always treated her with exceptional kindness, even when it was clear that Cora disapproved.
"You'll need to get undressed," Granny said as she grasped the doorknob.
"What?"
"We really must rush,"
"Granny, you…" Regina's mouth fell open, and her words trailed off as she took in the scene in her bedroom. A steaming tub of water lay right in the center, and a housemaid was bustling about.
Regina cast bewildered eyes at them both,"What is going on?"
Granny turned to her and beamed,"You, Miss Regina Victoria Mills, are going to the masquerade!"