Chapter 4

A/N: Thanks to those of you reviewing and following, it means a lot. Tell everyone you know about this fanfic, it is so much more fun to write when you know people are reading what you're writing.

So I know it's probably getting annoying how depressing this story is, as Regina misses Robin Hood so much and everyone walks on eggshells around her because Regina in pain is the absolute worst, but fear not, I expect Regina and Robin Hood to be reunited by next chapter! So bear with me lovelies. This chapter definitely isn't going to be the best writing, I find that I'm not very good at all at writing plot driven things, I'm only good at writing emotional stuff, so try not to be too disgusted by my poor writing skills here:)

—

"I'm sorry, run that by me again… I need to pray to the shrine of Zeus? What, do I just fly to ancient Greece and ask his secretary if I can speak to him?" Regina scoffed, upon hearing Rumple's new information about contacting Zeus. Not that Regina wouldn't do anything and everything that was necessary to get Robin Hood back, but this just seemed absurd.

Rumple sighed irritably at her response.

"This is wonderfully reminiscent of when I was attempting to teach you magic. As usual, you're not listening to what I'm saying," Rumple sneered in response. Regina glared at him, but was secretly very glad she had misunderstood.

"Enlighten me then, please," Regina snapped back, growing frustrated, as she normally did when interacting with Rumplestiltskin.

"What's important, Regina, isn't where you speak to him. It's what you say, and the way in which you say it that will draw his attention," Rumple replied, sighing again. Regina nodded slowly, attempting to process this information.

"And what is it that I need to say, and in what way must I say it?" Regina asked, her tone laced with sarcasm, arching one perfect eyebrow.

"Essentially, I believe that in order to catch his eye… You need to plead your case," Rumpled said simply. Regina cocked her head to the side confusedly, not quite understanding.

"I'm basing that mostly on what happened with Hook. Zeus intervened on his behalf when he felt that Hook was being treated unjustly. Hook, like you, was once a villain, and made considerable reform in his life, and fell in love with a hero. Zeus clearly valued that and didn't see fit that he should die after the way he was working to do good. So, I believe that if you can convince Zeus that you also suffered injustice at the hand of Hades, despite all the good you've done, that he will appear to you, as he did to Hook," Rumple explained fully. Regina nodded again, considering his reply.

"That makes sense. But what doesn't make sense is where I'm supposed to 'plead my case'… How do I know that he's listening to me?" Regina asked. Rumple, who was standing behind his counter, turned his back to Regina and opened up the picture frame/compartment in the wall behind him. Regina waited as he unlocked the safe within it.

After retrieving what he needed, Rumple turned back around and placed a beautiful blue crystal necklace on the counter in front of her. The chain was an authentic, shimmery silver, while the pendant was a beautiful, periwinkle crystal. Despite it's beauty, however, Regina had no idea what the hell the necklace's relevance was.

"Pretty. Did Belle get that for you?" Regina couldn't resist snarking. Rumple raised an eyebrow, as if questioning her judgement. Regina knew now really wasn't the time to be engaging in a battle of sarcasm with Rumple, seeing as he was doing her a massive favor.

"Have I ever told you how hilarious you are? It makes up for your average, at best, magical abilities," Rumple snapped in response, clearly not amused. Regina ignored his dig.

"Sorry. So, what exactly am I supposed to do with this necklace?" Regina asked nicely. Rumple ran his fingers along the chain for a moment before responding.

"Fortunately for you, I don't believe you have to go all the way to Greece to be close to Zeus… There happens to be a very detailed museum, which happens to contain a small replica of a shrine of Zeus in the mythology exhibit, right here in Storybook. Lucky for you that you took such excellent care to instill ancient historical culture in our little town, Madame Mayor," Rumple said, smirking. Regina rolled her eyes and externally portrayed annoyance with Rumple's antics, but internally… She was singing his praises.

"And the necklace?" Regina asked curiously.

"Well, you didn't think you could just schedule a meeting with Zeus without having anything to offer, did you? I believe that in order to get his attention, in addition to explaining your predicament, that you have to present something of true value to his altar, as mortals did in greek mythology," Rumple explained. Regina took a brief moment to be interested in how little Rumple appeared to actually know for certain about this. She was used to the aggravating little imp to be a seemingly bottomless fountain of wisdom on all things concerning magic.

"What value does this necklace hold, might I ask? I can't imagine it's very high if you're handing it over to the likes of me without asking for a price," Regina asked pointedly. Rumple chuckled lightly.

"Believe me, this necklace is worth plenty, and if it weren't for my abundantly generous wife… You certainly would not be receiving it," Rumple responded rudely. Regina made a mental note to profusely thank Belle as soon as all of this was over. Who knew what a strong hold she actually did have over Rumple?

"I see. And how did it come into your possession?" Regina inquired. Rumple laughed again.

"You ask too many questions. You now know what you need to do, so I suggest that you do it," Rumple said elusively, placing the necklace in Regina's hand and glancing at his door. Regina was momentarily aggravated by the truth to that statement. She really didn't give a damn where the necklace came from or what it was worth or in what disgusting manner Rumple had obtained it… She had it, and if Belle had anything to say about it, it was enough.

—-

"So, Rumple believes that if you explain to Zeus what's happened, while at a slightly emasculated version of his altar, and offer this random necklace as some weird sacrificial ritual, about which we know nothing,… that he'll just magically appear to you and tell you what to do?" Emma questioned slowly, doing nothing to conceal her skepticism. Emma was still very unreceptive to the notion of asking Rumplestiltskin for help, and doubted that any of his advice could be trusted without involving a far too costly price.

Of course, Emma was asking this question in the middle of Regina's kitchen, which was also filled with (besides Regina, obviously) Snow, David, and Henry. This procession had scarcely moved from Regina's home in the past 24 hours, since Rumple had illuminated Regina's secret yet not so secret plans for them. With the exception of Henry being forced to attend school, Regina doubted they had moved substantially since she had departed earlier that morning to speak to Rumple again. But, not that she'd ever really admit it, their devotion to her cause was very moving. And their support made her optimistic. Not that optimism was actually a term in Regina's vocabulary, of course.

"That's what he said, yes, Ms. Swan," Regina responded, rolling her eyes.

"He really thinks that will work?" Emma asked doubtfully. This was certainly a question Regina had considered several times already. But she finally had to accept that she couldn't think of anything that Rumple stood to gain by misleading her, other than a very angry wife. And, as it had been pointed out… She really didn't have any another option.

"That's what he said," Regina repeated hardly, growing increasingly tired of the interrogation.

"And what do you think, Regina?" Snow piped in for the first time. Regina was silent for a long moment before she responded, actually pondering Snow's question.

"I think it's the only option that I have."

—

Regina had to admit… a sizable part of her felt extremely foolish doing this. She stood in front of the replicated shrine of Zeus, which was obviously considerably smaller than the authentic one, feeling extremely unsure of how to begin having a heart to heart with a lifeless statue. She stood with her hands in the pockets of her long, black trench coat, staring up at the structure before her. Her fingers instinctively curled around the chain of the necklace in her right pocket as she tried to concoct some perfectly melodramatic and cinematic way of beginning her literal prayer to the gods.

Naturally, Regina had possessed the foresight to call the museum ahead of time and order them to close down the mythology exhibit for the day, so that she could have the room to herself. The last thing she needed was for the members of Storybrook to think that she was so pathetically racked with grief and pitiably lonely that she had resorted to discussing her emotional issues with inanimate statues of gods.

"Well… If you're really a god and the psychotic imp's theory has any truth to it at all, you're watching me struggle here trying to find a way to start talking, which makes me feel slightly less awkward…" Regina began uncomfortably. However, much to her bewilderment, she found that once she started talking, the words actually began to flow from her.

"I'm sure you already know why I'm here, but I'm just going to tell you anyways. I'm here about Robin Hood… he died last week. Your brother, Hades, killed him. He sacrificed himself for me. He threw himself in front of the olympian crystal Hades was intending to use on me. I told him he could let me die, that it was okay, but he took it for me anyways. So that gives a pretty clear representation of the kind of man he was… Robin was… kind. He was unendingly generous. He was a wonderful friend. So good, in fact, that he had a whole band of devoted followers, who would have sacrificed their lives for him, like he did for me. He was an amazing friend, and an even better father. He was truly noble, he devoted his whole life to his mission of helping the poor and weak. He saw the good in everyone… Even me. He found a way to give me a second chance, to see the good in me, knowing all the horrible things that I did in the past. He loved me. And he died because of it," Regina found herself suddenly emptying the contents of her heart. To an inanimate object. She was crying, she'd started pretty much the second she'd admitted out loud that Robin was dead. She hadn't allowed herself to really cry since that first night… And, similar to her words, once she started, she couldn't seem to make herself stop.

"All I've ever wanted… is to be happy. I've spent my whole life looking for happiness, and trying to force it to come to me. But the one thing I was always afraid of was that if I let myself fall in love with someone again… that my happiness would be contingent on someone else. And, since Robin came into my life… I've never been able to admit that I did let myself become dependent on him. I always saw that as a weakness, as something to be ashamed of. So when he was with me, I sometimes pushed him away, or tried to keep our relationship in the same place forever, never moving forward, never talking about the future… because I was afraid of needing him. But now… Now I see that truly sharing your life with someone… is not a weakness. Letting myself lean on Robin Hood, and share myself with him… was what I was missing all along, it's what I needed most. I could have had it all. I have a son, who loves me. I have friends who see me for what I am, and somehow love me despite my horrible past. I had Robin Hood. I had everything I ever wanted, and I was never able to let myself have it. To really experience it. And I would give anything… to be able to change that," Regina continued on. She wasn't really sure where all of these words were coming from, and she was slightly embarrassed at her complete lack of eloquence in this moment. But she couldn't imagine anything else she could possibly say or do would be more convincing than this.

"But now that I've lost him… I can't deny that my happiness is contingent on him. How could my life ever be fulfilled again without him? It's not like he's just some random guy I fell for, he's my soul mate, the one that I'm 'destined to be with'… How am I supposed to come back from losing that? I don't think I can, and I just… I don't want to. I simply don't have the strength to get through any more darkness and tragedy in my life. I have done everything in my power to try and right my wrongs, and be a truly good person… A person worthy of happiness. And I'm my own biggest critic, and I'll never forgive myself for all of the horrible things I did, but… Everyone else in my life has. And I can't help but be angry that the universe is still taking things from me, even after I've worked so hard to do good, and change myself. I feel like I can't win, and it's… very depressing, quite frankly," Regina was saying, as she continued to cry. Her cries weren't really huge, dramatic, weeping sobs. More like silent, involuntary, purely melancholy, tears endlessly rolling down her face.

At that moment, she pulled the necklace out of her right pocket, and moved forward to place it at the foot of the altar, and knelt before it.

"I hope this is… 'valuable' enough. I'm trying not to think about why Rumplestiltskin chose this to give to me, I can't imagine I really want to know his reasoning," Regina said to the altar, briefly smiling. She felt that she had sufficiently emptied the contents of her soul. She hadn't at all planned on crying, but she was sure that her tears couldn't have hurt in trying to convince Zeus that she needed his help. Regina realized that her openness with her words had resulted from the fact that she really did want to expose her genuine emotional pain with someone. But she was far too prideful to let her guard down in front of a sentient person.

Knowing that she had said everything she could, shown every bit of emotion that she had, and simply done all that she could do… Regina closed her eyes, squeezing them tightly shut as she loosened her grip on the necklace's chain. Regina took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, attempting to make peace with what she had just done.

After another moment, she stood. Regina was unsure what she was supposed to do now… Did she just stand here and wait? Would he already have appeared to her if he was interested in helping her?

What felt like an eternity passed before she heard it.

"Hello, Regina," she heard a man's voice call gently from behind her. And somehow she knew she was about to be saved.

—-

"Snow?! Emma, Henry, David?!" Regina called frantically, as she burst through the front door of her home. Almost instantaneously, she heard four pairs of footsteps eagerly rushing from the kitchen to meet her in the atrium.

"Regina, what is it, did it work?" Snow asked excitedly. Snow took a moment to try and determine if they were about to hear good news or bad news. She examined Regina's features, and after a few seconds, was perplexed to see that there definitely was something different about Regina… The light had returned to her eyes. The fire, and the ambition and the confidence had reappeared. It had taken her a moment to notice it as a new change because she had previously been so used to seeing it, prior to Robin's death.

"Yes, yes, it worked," Regina responded, completely grinning. Snow didn't think she had seen Regina smile so widely in… well, ever.

"What did he say?!" Henry questioned enthusiastically, who was also now smiling widely at seeing his mother so happy again.

"He was… waiting for my… call? I don't know what to call it, but whatever, not important. He was waiting for me to contact him before saying anything, because he wanted to gauge whether or not my love for Robin was true, and if, as a result, I deserved to have it in my life, after my horrible past as the Evil Queen. Which, actually, is kind of the worst and if I wasn't so happy right now I would definitely have incinerated something-" Regina rapidly answered, the words just pouring out of her.

Snow cut her off. "Not the time, Regina, what did he say?"

"Robin isn't really dead! The crystal was a fake!" Regina finally exclaimed. Henry, David, Emma, and Snow exchanged glances of bewilderment.

"What do you mean it was fake?" Emma inquired confusedly. Regina sighed, preparing herself to explain the complexity of the situation.

"When Zeus exiled Hades from Mount Olympus and sent him to the Underworld, he also broke the real Olympian Crystal in half and physically prevented Hades from being able to reconcile it by stopping his heart, because he knew that Hades could never harness that kind of deadly weapon responsibly," Regina said slowly.

"Right, we know that already," David interrupted her, seemingly confused by the lack of new information. Good lord, these people were impatient…

"If you would let me get a sentence out, I would be delighted to add to the information we've already compiled," Regina snarked. Everyone was silent at that. "But what we didn't know is that after he broke the crystal, Zeus realized that even though the chances of Hades finding true love in order to restart his heart and fix the crystal were slim, he didn't want to risk it. He knew the kind of damage that Hades could inflict, and he didn't want to feel responsible if Hades ever managed to fuse the crystal back together. So before Hades went to the Underworld, Zeus replaced the real broken Olympian crystal with a fake one, also broken in half, just in case Hades ever found true love."

Snow, Emma, David, and Henry attempted to process the information that Regina had just revealed to them. Regina, meanwhile, was scintillating. She didn't think there were words in the english language that were extreme enough to express her sense of relief and ecstasy. She felt as though a literal burden had been lifted from her chest. She suddenly could breathe again. Time wasn't physically painful to her, she didn't dread the idea of the future. In fact… She couldn't stop thinking about the future. Robin Hood… She was going to see him again.

"Wait, Regina, I don't understand…" Emma began, her expression seemingly very encumbered by Regina's explanation. Regina felt a surge of irritation with the blonde.

"Yes, Ms. Swan?" she asked irritably, arching a dark eyebrow at her.

"If the crystal that Hades used didn't kill Robin… What did it do to him, and where the hell did he go?" Emma asked slowly, staring at Regina with genuine confusion. Regina was momentarily abashed to realize that she had indeed left out a large and crucial part of her explanation.

"Right. Sorry, I forgot. The fake crystal that Zeus replaced the real one with wasn't just an old piece of rock, it was magical as well. The fake crystal simply just transports someone to another realm," Regina clarified.

"But still, you said that when Robin was hit with the crystal that you saw his soul leave his body, and then you… laid with his dead body for over an hour afterwards…" David said softly, as not to offend Regina with the horrible memory. Regina shuddered at the mention of that awful hour of her life.

"Zeus said that the way this realm, or the fake crystal, or whatever, the way it worked was that the soul of the person struck by the crystal would leave their body and go to the new realm, and that eventually the body would follow. If we went and dug up Robin's grave right now… his body wouldn't be there," Regina answered Charming, still doing her best not to actually picture Robin's lifeless form, as the mere memory of it was enough to depress her all over again.

"Alright, enough with the small questions! None of this matters. Mom, how do we get to Robin Hood?" Henry finally cut in. Regina took a second to adore her son. She was also relieved to see that she clearly had managed to pass along at least some good traits through raising him, such as cutting to the chase, a quality that the Charming family most definitely did not possess.

"Zeus said that Rumple could open a portal, it's just like any other realm. It's relatively unexplored and uninhabited, but it's not any more difficult to get to," Regina answered Henry, smiling broadly.

"Regina… You're going to see Robin Hood again," Snow beamed.