Robin was going to be released…any minute now. What was taking so long? He was as fit as a fiddle with a hole in it. The longer they kept him here, the bigger the hole was going to get.

All of a sudden, a thought clicked in his brain. That's why the punchline of Will's joke he never understood was, "Let me-ow!"

Robin curled up on the hospital bed and laughed so hard his sides split, yet he still couldn't stop.

The door inched open. Robin reined himself in. Emma had already been released. Whoever was coming in wasn't her.

He sat forward on the bed, tense and hunched, straining to go out. Being cooped up within four walls was stifling for more than two hours, as he was nearly always outside. Even when he went to pubs, he lingered for no more than thirty minutes, oftentimes carrying his selected beverage out into the open air, starry sky, and crickets' concert.

There was a part of him that wanted to slip silently out the window and steal the doctor's gelding, but his moral compass wouldn't allow him to. These people had been nothing but kind to him. The least he could do was wait for the proper dismissal.

When the door finished swinging open, Robin glimpsed the most seductive shade of red hair mingled with the loveliest green eyes and sweetest smile. His heartbeat quickened as he watched the way the princess entered the room. Bathed in a golden white gown that sparkled under the hospital light.

Robin had never witnessed anything closer to an angel.

The way she strode to his bed was proud and unhurried. He was hotly enamored. Something about her gave him the feeling he wanted her in his life for the rest of it. Now that he'd been exposed to her, a thirst the man had never known took him by the horns.

He had never been in love or cared to be. For the first time in his life, he was snared.

Though the princess was certainly beautiful, it was not her face that did him in but her expression, the way she moved, and her demeanor. It was not a generic thing "she was nice" or hope for an easy malleable woman. It was neither faux friendliness nor an overdose of attention that made him pool all his bets into her.

It was her. A sudden instant connection deep and raw as the earth.

It looked like love had finally found the scoundrel. The most wanted man in the Enchanted Forest, also called Misthaven, because Snow White was the most fearsome of foes. The only person more wanted than he was Regina.

"Hi," the red-haired princess said.

He could tell she was no Mary Sue. Her tone was far from innocent. He wanted to love a real woman, not a woman obsessed with appearances, so this only convinced him further.

He had surmised he was a man who'd never be bit by the love bug. He'd been okay with that. Only now he realized he hadn't been meeting the right woman.

Even though she was a princess and he a street rat who stole from princesses, he felt neither insecure nor cocky. If their love was meant to be, she'd find him attractive as himself, not posing under the skin of a figment of his imagination. He wanted her to want the real him.

"Have you met this Snow Queen?" she quipped, sitting on the edge of his bed, making herself comfortable.

"She's my nemesis. Of course I haven't met her," Robin fibbed. "Why?"

The way she gazed at him made him feel like a tasty dog treat. Sausage with gravy. Sincerely, openly, she answered, "I'm debating about ditching my country and moving here." She inhaled deeply. "I don't want to be a princess anymore, and there are…loads of women who will seize the chance to fill my shoes." She snapped her fingers by her ears.

"Here's an idea," Robin suggested. "Why not join my band of thieves? We steal from the rich—mostly our Snow Queen—and give to the poor."

Picking at a loose thread on the hospital sheet, the princess mused, "Sounds interesting, but can someone as overly spoiled and overprotected and never taken seriously as I…be good at it?"

Robin's heart went out to her. Gripping her hands in his, he vouched, "I'm sure you'll do fine. We won't judge you. We'll train you. And you have something here you lacked in your palace."

The princess was blushing. "What?"

"People who believe in you." Releasing her hands, he added, "But keep an eye out for Will Scarlet. He's an entitled prat. Don't allow his presence to make you think ill of my band." Settling his shoulders uneasily against the pillows behind him, Robin enlightened, "I only let him join because he wouldn't go away. He was slightly less obnoxious when I gave him the green light, but since then, he's gotten on my last nerve in such a way that I've dreamed of stabbing him to death and tried to ditch him on numerous occasions. He's a magnet following metal. I can't get rid of that bloke, and it takes a lot to aggravate me."

"What if you used a Waygate?" proposed the princess.

"A what?"

Leaning close, she whispered, "Have you heard about the Ways?"

Robin's heart thudded heavily. "I thought they were dangerous."

"Maybe," she shrugged, "but if you successfully enter and exit another location, you'll have removed any magical trace this Will might have on you."

Robin took a split second to think before lurching out of bed. "Let's do it!"

They would scribe a plan for a week in the future (burning it each night), but for now, he had a very pressing question.

"What's your name?"

She fluffed her fire-red locks. "Zelena."

"Beautiful name. I'm Robin Hood."

"Studly," she blurted. Giggling, she murmured, "See how dastardly of a queen I'd be? I have no discipline; I say a word before it reaches my brain."

Robin found this trait endearing. He stared at her with fascination.

A nurse poked her nose in the room. "The paperwork has been signed. You're free to go. Do you have a horse?"

Still staring at Zelena, Robin murmured, "No, but I can steal one."

"What?" the nurse gasped. "What?" Robin repeated.

Clicking a pen, she gestured at him. "Whatever you steal, leave the doctor's horse alone."

Bowing, Robin Hood gave her his utmost consent. Satisfied, she thrust a series of papers under his nose. "Sgn here…and here…"

"Hooray for free healthcare!" Robin uttered in a jolly sort of way as he hunched over to sign.