Yes I realize that I made a mistake in the last chapter but let's just pretend that that's the way it is ;D hahaha! That's what I get for staying up so late to write these things. To be fair Leopoldo and Regina did have a summer palace and that is the one I had stuck in my head for whatever reason :) I do love to see that my readers know their Once Upon a Time ;) now as for this chapter it is my favourite so far and it is for so many different reasons :) as for David's phone let's just pretend that he wasn't stuck in time for twenty eight years and let's give him an iPhone! It's just easier that way. Enjoy! And sorry for the mistake!
The night was warm and they were both tired from their trek from the castle. It seemed there were no amount of words to convince Regina to just stay the night there rather than find a spot in the forest. He didn't know what had settled in her mind or what memories may have left her in such a stubborn mindset but she would not stay and he could only follow her when she stopped arguing and walked away toward the front gates of the castle.
So now they laid on their backs in a small clearing a good ways from the castle. Regina was already asleep using her suit jacket as a blanket of sorts while he simply kept his black leather jacket on as he laid beside her. Neither of them had brought up the kiss they almost shared and for that he was grateful. He didn't know what had possessed him to do such a thing. He was married to Snow and his mind and eyes should not be wandering over Regina.
With a frustrated sigh he straightened his neck and looked up at the stars, a smile forming on his face when he saw the dragon. He hadn't ever shown it to Snow. He didn't know why but he never did.
He shouldn't want Regina, he should have agreed with her earlier statement of him not wanting her. But he didn't. Firstly he did not like the way she had said it; like no one could ever want her because she was broken and worthless. Secondly he found the longer he thought on the topic the less reasons he had for not wanting her. It was infuriating and he couldn't help but feel guilty. For both Snow and Regina. And it had only been three days, only one and a half with her beginning to settle down. He didn't even want to know what was going to happen if she continued at that pace.
He was a little startled when he was jerked from his thoughts by something warm moving against him. He looked down to find Regina had rolled over on to her side in her sleep and had nuzzled herself in against him, her face still burying deeper in to the side of his chest in her sleep. He knew he should push her away, slip out of her sleepy hold on him, wake her even but he couldn't bring himself to do it. She was asleep, she was tired, it was an innocent movement, and he missed having someone to hold.
So he let her stay.
...
Regina quite enjoyed waking up being held. She ended up staying in his arms wide awake for a long time just moving her fingers up and down the metal track of his jacket's zipper before she slipped out unnoticed. She couldn't remember the last time she had slept so well or awoken so happily. Or with such hunger. Neither of them had seemed to notice that they hadn't eaten at all the day before except for a small snack the previous morning with Mulan and Aurora so now she was hunting.
She had found a stag but what the pair of them would do with that she didn't know so she let it be. At the sound of a soft thump behind her she spun around silently and let the arrow slip through her fingertips and in to the eye of a brown rabbit. She lowered her bow with a proud smirk and approving hum and walked toward her kill. With a slow nod she whispered quietly to herself, "not too shabby for twenty eight years."
She removed the arrow and cleaned it before putting it away and picking up the rabbit and walking back to where she had left David. The sound of footsteps behind her had her turning back around though and what she found had her smiling brilliantly and placing her game and weapons on the forest floor.
...
"Regina?" He called as he wandered through the trees. She could be anywhere and she had taken his bow which was something he didn't see a reason for her taking. He didn't imagine she knew how to use it. But then again she was a woman filled with surprises.
"Regina where the hell did you go?" He called again but got no answer. With frustrated mumbling he pushed through a few branches to find the bow, her suit jacket, her black heeled boots, and a dead rabbit placed in a neat pile. With a curious expression he crouched down and looked over the rabbit and began shaking his head with a quiet laugh when he saw the path the arrow had taken, "well I'll be damned."
With a quick note to himself to never cross her when she was armed with a bow he snapped his head up at the sound of laughter. It sounded to belong to her but he could not be certain for he had never heard her truly laugh before. Chuckle, cackle, a soft laugh under her breath, but never one filled with so much easy joy.
Leaving the neat pile behind him he followed the origin of the laughter and before he made it to the edge of the tree line he saw the beautiful brunette fly past him bareback with her arms outstretched as far as they could reach and her head dropped back in a rich laugh as a black unicorn carried her at a gallop through the tall grass of the meadow. The sleeves of her white button up shirt had been rolled up just beneath her elbows and she had left her pinstriped navy blue vest on over top but her feet had been left bare to feel the soft black coat of the unicorn and the cool green grass that she galloped through
With a shake of his head and a smile on his face he walked out in to the meadow and gave a loud whistle with his thumb and finger in his mouth. Regina looked over her shoulder at the sound with a laugh and then leaned forward and gave what looked like to be a few quiet words to the creature she sat upon but he couldn't be sure.
The unicorn skidded to a halt and lifted its front hooves off the ground to pivot on its hind end and picked up a gallop again only this time it was straight toward him. A few seconds later the pair had stopped in front of him, the unicorn with a snort and flared nostrils as it caught its breath and Regina laughing and panting on its back as she too filled her lungs, "what are you doing?" He smiled up at her and walked up to their sides.
"Riding," she laughed quietly through her short breath. She hadn't had this much fun in years. Decades.
David shook his head and placed his hand on the smooth black shoulder of the unicorn, "alright smart ass," she laughed with her, "I have a question for you."
"Go ahead."
"Can you charge a cell phone with your magic?"
Regina rolled her eyes and laughed, "seriously?!"
"I had a thought so bear with me," he smiled and she laughed and lifted her bare feet so they rested on the unicorn's withers while her hands fell back to support her weight on its back. With a quiet nod to continue he laughed under his breath and stole one last lingering look over her and continued, "Henry would have loved to see this place so I figure why not do a video log of sorts and take some pictures here and there so he can see. Not to mention it would let him see you in a different light and that certainly wouldn't hurt either. Plus I think it would be fun," he grinned and she began nodding as she mulled it over.
It wasn't a bad idea. Not at all and she found no faults and no harm really so she removed one hand from behind her and pushed it toward him, "alright give it here," she couldn't help but laugh quietly with him as he pulled out his phone and gave it to her. Playing with a gentle electricity she directed it into the phone and slowly increased its strength until she found a sweet spot and she watched the little battery start to fill on the screen.
With a proud smirk and a subtle rock of her head she handed him back the phone and he took it to find it fully charged, "very nice! So let's get this thing started while we still have this wonderful guest."
Starting a video he flipped it around so the camera was on his face and Regina could see the screen, "yeah?"
"Little to the left," when he moved it she nodded and smiled but when he opened his mouth and took a breath to speak she cut him off, "oh wait!"
"What?"
"I am assuming you are wanting both of us in the frame?"
"Yes."
"Well then you should turn it sideways so there's room," she smiled and he rolled his eyes and turned the phone sideways. She laughed and shook her head, "no now you have to start a new video or the picture will be sideways."
"Alright smarty pants! You take the phone!"
Regina laughed and dropped her legs back down on either side of the unicorn and sat up straight so she could take the phone, "we are going to have quite a blooper reel if you keep this up dear."
"Shut up."
She laughed and shook her head as she ended the video and started a new one, "alright now let's do this properly."
"Henry your mother is trouble," he laughed with her and folded his arms over his chest, "okay kid so we have decided to give you a bit of a tour of the Enchanted Forest on our way back to you all. So welcome to the first of many instalments directed by the one and only Prince Charming," he bowed playfully and Regina scoffed which caused him to laugh.
"So humble," she quipped with a smirk and tossed him the phone when he held out his hands.
"And the not so evil Evil Queen Regina aka your mother," he laughed and then stepped back a few strides so he could get the entire unicorn in as well and not just Regina's head and torso, "and today's guest is Regina's newly found friend...a black unicorn. I woke up this morning and found her galloping around on its back without a care in the world."
"'Her' not 'it' Charming."
"Sorry. Why don't you show Henry that you can have some fun? I don't think he's going to believe it unless he sees it," he teased and she put her hands on her hips and with another quiet word the unicorn began walking toward him.
"That all depends on your definition of fun Charming," she lowered her voice playfully as her mount stepped closer and David remained still and laughing.
When the unicorn was only a few steps in front of him she lifted her front hooves and stomped them hard on the ground right in front of his feet as though she was going to run him down and it had him leaping backwards with a startled, "whoa jeez!" Instead of continuing forward however she turned and carried a laughing Regina off at a full gallop with a toss of her head and Regina's hands in her thick black mane.
He laughed to himself and kept the camera on Regina as she sat effortlessly upon the bare back of the unicorn as she pranced and galloped through the tall green grass, "I think this unexpected trip will be good for her kid."
...
Regina slid off the side of the unicorn with a joyous smile that quickly turned in to the happiest of laughter when a colt trotted fearlessly up to her, "hello," she greeted happily and reached forward to touch his small face. He was just new, hadn't even grown a proper horn yet only a small nub on his forehead. He was black and untouched by any magic beside his own and his mother's and Regina wanted to see if she could change his colour.
David caught up and pulled his phone out once more and silently took a video from his hidden place just inside the tree line. Regina was slightly bent at the waist and a soft white glow was forming in her hands and then that glow lifted and floated toward the baby unicorn like a firefly. The black mare stood next to Regina with her ears perked and the colt nickered quietly and touched his muzzle to the white glow and after a bit of a pause the black coat of the foal began turning white.
He watched with an open smile and a quiet laugh as the black turned a bright white starting at his muzzle and slowly going down to his tail. Regina looked absolutely thrilled. Her hands were clasped together and brought up so her thumbs hovered over her wide smile. When the colt had changed entirely and he began to prance around, Regina followed suit and skipped happily with the foal, her bare toes padding silently over the forest floor as she laughed.
When her eyes found David standing on the sidelines and bounced up to him, any previous associations with him absolutely forgotten in her excitement, "David! I turned him white! Not black, not bay, not chestnut, not grey, but white!"
David laughed and ended the video so he could address her properly, the pure joy on her face just contagious, "you did. Why is that so great?"
"Because white is good, white is pure. Do you know why there are so few white unicorns? Because there are so few who have a heart good enough to do so," she grinned and laughed through her teeth as she bent a little at the waist but lifted her chin so her eyes remained on his. She quieted her voice but her excitement and joy was no less obvious, "I turned a unicorn white."
"Well I suppose congratulations are in order," he grinned and she bounced gently, simply vibrating she was so happy. It was a wonderful thing to see and he was fighting the very strong urge to pull her in to a kiss. He settled for a hand on her arm just below her shoulder and squeezed it as he rubbed his thumb over her arm, "how about freshly killed rabbit?"
A laugh vibrated in her throat and the smile never left, "sounds delicious."
...
"So," he settled back down after rotating the rabbit over the fire, "what did you give him that made him turn white?"
"A memory."
"A memory?"
"Mhm."
"Which one?"
"...a special one..."
David smiled at her answer and she smiled as well but bowed her head to look at her hands in her lap. She was such a different person it was hard to see the link between her and her fearsome alter ego.
Regina picked at the dirt as she thought. It wouldn't hurt really and she knew he had already heard the story, "would you like to see it?" She asked quietly and made herself lift her head to look him in the eye and found him to be smiling back at her.
"I would," he nodded once and her smile grew a little more and it made his heart skip. He wanted to know what memory she titled 'special' and what was pure enough to have a unicorn turn white.
He watched her hands form an identical white glow to the one she had given the unicorn and he lifted his hands and caught it and was quite suddenly thrown in to another place.
Regina looked up at him with a smile, her heart warm and safe in the care of the man before her. When their eyes focused on the other's mouth and they started to lean in however they were interrupted.
"Help!"
"Shhh someone's here," she pushed him away and they both turned to the sound of galloping hoofbeats.
"Somebody help me!"
Without so much as a second thought Regina hurried to her horse and mounted her, urging her forward quickly after the young girl on her runaway steed. She trusted her mare so she had absolutely no fear for her own safety but she had more than enough for the girl hunched over hanging on for her life and screaming for help. "Come on Rocinante," she quietly urged her mare and she felt her push harder and gain more ground on the runaway bay the girl was on.
"Help!"
"Give me your hand!" She called when Rocinante fell in stride with the second horse. Immediately the girl let go of her horse and reached for her hand and Regina pulled her off and over Rocinante's withers as the mare slowed to a halt and the girl slid off. Regina dismounted quickly and hurried over to help the girl to her feet, "it's okay dear you're safe."
The girl looked at the woman as she fussed over her, "you saved my life."
Regina took no credit for there was none that was needed. Anyone else would have done the same, "are you alright?" She watched with concern, bent slightly at the waist so she was at the girl's eye level as she checked herself for any injury.
"Yes," she shook her head and glanced over behind the woman to her horse who stood close by, "but I'll never ride again."
Regina laughed under her breath and shook her head, "nonsense. The only way to over come fear is to face it. To get back on that horse as soon as possible," she smiled and the girl looked her straight in the eye.
"Thank you."
"Regina," she gave the girl her name cheerfully and with a bright smile.
"I'm Snow. Snow White."
Regina smiled and did not hesitate to welcome the girl in to her arms when she stepped forward and hugged her tight. When she pulled away Regina let her go, her smile still in place, "would you like to ride Rocinante? I assure you she will not run off," at the girl's hesitance to agree Regina stood tall once more and walked to her horse's side and began unbuckling the girth. "Come. I will ride with you this time and then next time you can ride alone once again."
"Without a saddle?"
"Well we can't very well both fit in my saddle now can we," she looked over her shoulder with a playful grin and Snow fidgeted nervously. Regina pulled the saddle off and placed it on the ground and offered the girl her hand, "do you trust me?"
Snow smiled a nervous smile and looked at the friendly mare behind Regina, "...yes."
"Come along then. I won't let you fall," she smiled and cocked her head and after another moment's pause Snow walked forward and took her hand, "good. Now Rocinante, dear, if you please," she smiled and bowed with one arm outstretched at her side. Regina laughed quietly when Snow started to laugh as Rocinante bowed down in return, "alright dear let's climb on."
"What about your saddle?"
"I'll come back for it later," Regina assured and climbed on behind Snow, "ready?"
"I suppose..."
Regina rubbed her hand over the girl's arm in an act of comfort and reassurance to ease her nervous tone, "you'll be perfectly alright dear. Trust Rocinante like you trust me and you will be twice as safe," she smiled and at the young girl's quiet and nervous laugh Regina clicked her tongue and Rocinante lifted herself back on to all four legs.
"Just relax and lean against me, don't lean forward," she instructed with a smile and asked for a few steps of walk before she asked for a steady canter. Regina could only smile when the girl went tense but after a few strides she felt her start to relax and after a few more she heard her start to laugh and soon enough there was very little fear in the girl.
Regina laughed quietly to herself and lowered her mouth so it was against Snow's ear, "let go dear," she encouraged quietly and she watched Snow's fingers slowly untangle from Rocinante's mane. With a laugh that started quiet and unsure but grew to be joyous and free, Snow lifted her hands from Rocinante's neck and slowly stretched them out on either side of her as far as she could reach.
Snow laughed happily and excitedly as Rocinante carried them both steadily and easily, "thank you Regina."
Regina smiled as the girl continued to laugh with her arms outstretched as they cantered bareback, the girl's confidence firm and strong, "you are very welcome Snow White."
What had felt like ten or fifteen minutes had proven to be merely seconds for Regina still sat before him and the rabbit remained uncooked and unchanged over the fire. He looked at Regina and she had her head down but her eyes had moved up and to the side to look up at him with that same smile.
It was an amazing experience to say the least and he could feel every emotion that Regina had felt at the time seeing as how it was her memory. He felt the carelessness for her own safety, the fear for Snow, the worry, and then the joy of the knowledge she was okay, the stubborn side of her that wouldn't take 'no' for an answer, the amusement, and finally the happiness. Happy with Daniel, happy with Rocinante, and happy with Snow. And now that same woman sat before him only she was miserable, hurt, and simply ruined. That young girl so full of joy and selflessness was ruined a long time ago. But he had started to see her light up those dark eyes once again and while they were just mere fragments of that young woman, they were there.
And what a good memory to have.
It was almost as though that young woman had given all of herself to Snow and left herself to rot. He knew that that wasn't the case but the two of them were very similar and only Regina suffered.
"I visit that memory quite often," she broke the silence with her soft but gently rasped voice. He was working through whatever was in his head after watching and feeling and while it started out joyous she could see he was following the path of her lifetime of destruction just as she always did after visiting that memory. His eyes flashed up to hers at the sound of her voice but she didn't hold his gaze for more than a few seconds before she dropped her eyes and continued, "I visit it for many reasons. Happiness, nostalgia, anger, sorrow," she paused and quirked her head ever so slightly and added a little more quietly, "regret..."
She remained quiet for a few moments and lifted her knees so her feet that had remained without her shoes laid flat on the forest floor and she played mindlessly with the hem of her navy blue trousers. She started talking again for she didn't want David to interrupt her train of thought, "I visited it today because I want to find that in myself again. I know I will never be that girl again but I would like to try," she smiled a small nervous smile and glanced up at him to find him smiling as well.
"I gave up on myself years ago and I never really knew how to...fix myself I suppose...so I sort of stopped trying. No one allowed me the chance anyway," she didn't see him move closer so when his hands rested on the sides of her bent knees her eyes snapped up and found his blue. He sat in front of her with one leg bent and laying across the ground creating a small barrier between them that her toes touched while his other leg laid straight and flat at her side. His eyes didn't falter and slowly he rested his chin on her knees and she gave him a small smile, a sad and defeated smile for she didn't truly believe she could find that young woman in her again, she believed she would fall again and that she would fall hard.
David smiled a small smile in return but his was filled with the hope and belief that she needed and he was willing to lend her, "I'd like to help you do that if you'd let me," her eyes had never had such focus. They were strong and hopeful, unable to truly trust his words but as he lifted his head from her knees and continued he watched those eyes begin to go glossy, "I know I tried to have you killed and all in the past but over the last couple days you've managed to change my mind. There is a good person under that evil queen, a good person that has perhaps just gotten hurt too many times. I am more than willing to stand at your side and help you be the person you want to be Regina because I have come to realize that you don't and never have wanted to be an evil queen," he finished gently and she shook her cocked head and whispered a barely audible 'no' as the first tear fell.
"Learn from one another?" He suggested quietly and moved his thumbs over the sides of her knees.
She smiled and nodded her head, allowing no more tears to fall despite them being pooled in her eyes, "yes," she had never had someone in her corner who was willing to help her be...her. They were always trying to mold her and push her and manipulate her, never did they let her. They didn't let her love, they didn't let her be free, they didn't let her let her live, they didn't let her die, they didn't let her be anything but what they wanted and what they wanted was nothing but dark. That is not to say she did not carry a lot of the blame on herself. She blamed herself for many things and letting herself slip and be pushed into dark magic was a blame she carried heavily.
Perhaps this time would be different. Perhaps this one she would survive.
David smiled just a little brighter, the corners of his mouth lifting a fraction higher and he whispered, "good," he leaned in closer and she watched him with a silent gentle warning but when his lips connected with her cheek in a friendly gesture he heard her laugh quietly as she bowed her head once more. He pulled away with a smile but he stayed close. Very close. His nose nearly touching her cheek as they both laughed under their breath.
The effort it took not to catch her smiling mouth in a kiss was more than strenuous and he almost broke. It seemed kissing her in her stables had carried unseen consequences. He could not tell if those consequences were good or bad but the ache in his heart and the burning need in his chest were nearly overwhelming and they were only amplified when he was so close to the beautiful and struggling creature that was her.
He should not be falling for the once so evil queen. But he was.