Hi, so here is the last update before Christmas and I hope you enjoy! I wish you and all of your family a very happy holiday season and I will be back in the New Year!

Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.

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See you soon!

Happy Christmas and a Happy 2024!

Storybook Love (Every Version Of You)

Chapter 4-Life Unexpected

Regina and Robin spend more time together in the Enchanted Forest, both of them learning more about the other's tragic past. Or a chapter that takes place entirely in the Enchanted Forest.

She missed Henry like an ache that never went away. It hurt her. Hurt to breathe, hurt to think. She wondered briefly if Snow was thinking the same way but Regina had her pride and she was not going to ask Snow that. Besides…it wasn't like she hadn't had a choice. A part of her fully acknowledged that she could have easily knocked everyone out, cast a spell to save herself and her son and then left and never looked back.

But you know…greater good and all that.

But God her kingdom for a chance to rip out Emma Swan's blonde hair right now. Somehow that woman always found a way to triumph at Regina's expense. Like mother like daughter really and neither one of them ever thought about the consequences of their actions.

She knew she was bitter and perhaps she was feeling it too because she was struggling.

Somehow though what made her feel better was watching that small boy.

Roland.

Granted she didn't have much time to do that. Despite what the Charming's thought, said and did neither one of them had ran a kingdom before and she had ran too. Whatever you said about her methods she had always had a good harvest and she had always had a good fiefdom. It was almost comical to see either one of them trying to do it when they were making so many mistakes. It was not as easy as making great speeches three or four times a day to the adoring masses. It was a long hard slog ands it would amuse her more if it was not the Kingdom that she had ruled. The one she had ruled with her husband at her side and then when she had…well…ruled alone.

Say what you want about Leopold and Regina could say a lot—he knew how to run a Kingdom. Pity his daughter had thought about nothing but herself when he had been alive and also when he had been dead in the ground next to his insipid wife.

And there she went being bitter again.

She sighed and wondered if her boredom was showing. Defeating the Wicked Witch was going to take time. She must have said it until she was blue in the face but she could not conjure up a vanquishing spell on command. Magic was temperamental and if her half sister was telling the truth then she was taught by the same man who had taught Regina which meant that a good deal of what Regina knew Zelena would probably know too.

And that was another thing weighing on her mind.

She had not told anyone of what Zelena had said about them being half sisters. She did not want to say such a thing out loud. It was like giving truth to the rumour and she did not want to do that.

In truth she did not know what to say about it.

The problem was it wasn't like it was out of the realm of possibility. Her mother had been her own woman and one for the modern times. Regina was under no illusions that Rumple had been one of many. Her father might not have looked at other woman the entire course of his marriage but she knew that her mother had looked at more than her fair share of men. So the idea of having a sister did not surprise her as such the problem was she was unsure. She was terribly unsure of everything and the people that she would have asked…

Well…her mother wouldn't have given her a straight answer anyway.

And Rumple…well…she was under no illusions there. There was a very good chance that he didn't know. She was not the first nor was she the last pupil he had taught magic too. Man was attracted to power the way Emma Swan was attracted to trouble.

She tapped her nails against her throne and stared into space thinking when she felt someone stare at her. She looked and saw it was that thief Robin Hood. His adorable son was not with him and he caught her eye jerked his chin in the direction of the Charming's and then rolled his eyes as if he too was board of this. She smothered her giggle with her glove and he winked at her.

Honestly he was too much of a rogue for his own good. And certainly too much of one for Regina. But she couldn't help but admit in the privacy of her own chambers, that she was rather gone for the man. There was just something about him that made her want to take him back to her chambers and…well…

Though she supposed that could be because it had been a long time.

She looked away and then looked back trying to gauge his interest but he was still staring at her. A lock of hair had fallen out of place and she felt the strangest urge to brush it back out of place. She wanted to grip it while his head was buried…well…you get the idea.

Oh this was useless!

"Are we done?" she interrupted rudely. "I don't wish to interrupt what I am sure is the fourth version of a riveting speech that has kept us all on our seats entranced but I have to get back to the books. I am nearly at a breakthrough and I do not want my opportunity squandered because you are too busy making a speech"

That was an abject lie but it broke the meeting up and allowed her to get out before her head exploded.

"You alright?"

God she had barely made it back to the corridor where her chamber was.

"Don't do that" she said seeing him there in the shadows. "Have you not learnt by now that I do not react well to being startled"

"I don't know" he said casually. "You look well enough to me" he looked her up and down with this statement and she tried to resist. She was not some milkmaid in the first flush of desire. She was a woman grown. Perfectly capable of control her own urges thank you very much.

"Where is your son?"

"School"

"School" she said completely thrown off guard. "Since when did we have as school?"

That being said it was the kind of thing that she would sleep through if it was brought up in one of these daily briefings.

"I have him in school. Friar Tuck teaches him."

"Oh" and then like an idiot she asked.

"Does he like it?"

"Have you ever known a child to like school"

"No not really"

Where was the poisoned apple when you needed it?

Robin Hood gave a slow smile.

"You okay?"

"What?"

"You don't look it. Missing your son?"

It wasn't said to be cruel, she knew him well enough to know that but the conversation between school and homework and Henry had caught her on the raw and suddenly she turned and walked into her chamber because she was going to start sobbing in front of him and she refused to do that.

She went into her chamber and tore at the pins in her hair letting the pain ground her.

Of course he had to follow her in.

"Sorry" he said shutting the door. "That was rather rude of me and callous. Please don't think that I do not consider your loss great. I nearly lost Roland once and it floored me"

She paused looking at him and then.

"What happened?"

He nodded at her bed and Regina sat on it before she realised that this was her bed.

"Baelfire" he said bitterly.

"Oh" she said not totally unsurprised.

"What happened?"

"He wanted to get back to his son at the expense of mine."

"I don't…"

"Someone had to lure the shadow"

For a second she had to think about it and then she got it.

"Holy Hell"

He smirked darkly.

"Quite"

"Did he…"

"Get him. No I got there in time but it was hard work."

"I'm surprised you didn't hit him when you saw him again"

"Oh believe me it was hard work"

"Oh I can get that. He's my son's father"

He turned to look at her.

"You and Baelfire?"

"Oh GOD NO!" she said shuddering. "Ugh no. Henry…my boy…he's adopted you see. I adopted him. Emma and Baelfire are his biological parents"

"Emma the Saviour and the son of Rumplestilskin"

"Ironic huh?"

She could see him try to figure it out and she would have laughed had it not been so unbelievably tragic.

"Don't try to think about it" she said finally. "Seriously it will make your head hurt."

"Okay"

"Suffice to say that when I had to bring everyone back here he could not come with me. So he stayed with Emma. And forgot all about me in the process. I don't know if I will ever see him again"

"So when you said you were putting yourself to sleep until your true love woke you—"

"Yes"

"Ah"

There was a pause and then.

"I suppose it's wrong of me to be glad it's your son and not another man"

"Oh?"

"Yes" he said quietly.

"I had someone once" she said before she could stop herself. "Just like you did"

"What happened?"

"I…" she paused for a second and then. "He was my stable boy. I was young…we were going to run away, I was promised in marriage to Snow's father and he was old and still in love with his dead wife and…and she saw us. She told my mother, my mother killed him. She still…she still cannot accept that she did something wrong. For all her comments she still cannot see the part that she played in this. I was the Queen, she added Evil to my name and she took everything…my future, my only chance at biological children…a good chunk of me in the process and I…and still she cannot accept that if she'd have kept her mouth shut so much pain could have been avoided."

He was silent for a long time and then.

"Fuck"

"Indeed"

"Marian" he said carefully. "Died on the job. She went in search of this mirror and I didn't…I didn't consider the consequences. She was trying to prove herself to me. I didn't…she got pregnant so fast that she never did anything before Roland you know. And then she was sick during the pregnancy, so sick I had to break into the Dark One's palace for his wand—"

Here Regina raised an eyebrow. She was betting Rumple loved that one.

"And then she died anyway. It was just so pointless at the end. I wasn't even angry about it. Just tired"

"Did you love her?"

"In our way. It was…I don't mean to demean her memory but it was sex that turned into a marriage into a relationship into love. I did love her I just…I wasn't in love with her anymore at the end of it. I don't know if that makes sense but—"

"Oh it does" she said quietly. "Be grateful Marian was of the same age as you. I had to put up with Leopold"

"He wasn't kind?"

"He was…he wasn't violent" she conceded because that was true. One could accuse Leopold of many things but violence was never one of them. "He was just…let me put it this way. My first night with him—which incidentally was the first night I had with anyone he climbed on top of me at half mast thrust twice and called me by his dead wife's name as he came."

Robin stared at her for a second.

"Oh no"

"And I wish that I could say it got better. But it didn't."

He bit his lip at that and then he giggled. "Sorry" he said. "It's not funny but seriously! Have a bit of fucking class when your—"

"Fucking"

He nodded and then she giggled too.

"I am sorry" he said finally. "It is a terrible curse loneliness and it often hits the ones least deserving of it"

"Why are you being so nice to me?"

"Because I like you"

"You're openly flirting with me"

"And?" he asked thoughally unrepentant.

"Hasn't anyone told you that's dangerous?"

He smiled at her and she noticed how close he was.

"I like a little danger. Haven't you heard? Thief and all"

And then his mouth was on hers his hand in her hair and she melted like sugar in the pot.

They fell back onto the bed their tongues tangling and using her magic she locked the door making it so anyone daring to disturb them would walk away before they dared.

He pulled away and looked down at her hand on her waist. He was warm, so wonderfully warm.

"I can stop" he said quietly. "You say the word and I can stop. But I'm on this ride now and I don't think I can not be on it with you"

She swallowed.

"Then don't get off it" she said and she let her legs fall open. He groaned.

"I'll be good" he said softly. "I promise you"

"Just as long as you remember it's me"

She meant it as a joke but he smiled at her softly gentle rather than amusing.

"Oh I don't think I'll be mistaken" he said softly. "I don't think I can forget about you"

And before she could say anything else his mouth was back on hers and she found herself awash with pleasure.

And here you go, I hope you enjoy. See you soon

Next Chapter-In Storybrooke Regina stumbles across a man with a crossbow and a charming smile. Pity she doesn't have her memory.