Chapter Text
She was lying face down on her bed, her face muffled in a pillow with tears streaming down the sides of her cheeks. She didn't want this life. None of it. She couldn't stop the sobs that came out from her; one spilling out after the other.
Regina was doomed to a life of unhappiness. She knew it. She could feel it.
She shifted on the bed, turning her head to the side so that it's no longer smothered in the pillow. She couldn't stop herself from thinking what she had done to deserve this. She laid there a few more minutes until she decided to get up. So she slowly scooted over to the side of the bed and lifted herself; standing up on her feet. Wiping her tears away, Regina began to get changed into a different outfit, one she could wear outside the castle, that wasn't as elegant as the others. That she could wear riding. Her outfit was fitted with the only piece of jewelry she wore; a golden necklace pendant in the shape of a tree with a circle ring around it.
As Regina sat down in front of her mirror, she looked at her reflection, grimacing. She lifted her hand to the side of her face where a bruise was already forming, courtesy of her mother. As she brushed her hair she decided to leave it down, not wanting to fix it further and it flowed in waves down her back.
Making her way through the castle, and looking over her shoulder making sure she didn't run into anyone, she was relieved when she got outside the castle walls.
Wandering to the stables and getting Rosita - her horse - ready for a ride, she climbed on and rode out to further distance herself away from the castle. She rode for some time before she came upon a river in the forest and decided to have a rest. So looking around and seeing no one, she hopped off of her horse, tied Rosita's reigns to a tree, and made her way over to sit down on a big rock by the river. After a moment she ever so slightly dipped her fingers into the water, and began to think about everything. She didn't want to give into tears again, so she pulled them back and tried best to not burst into sobs.
"Pardon my intrusion." Regina heard an accented voice behind her, making her jump. "My apologies, I did not mean to frighten you."
Regina turned her head around slowly, keeping most of her face hidden by her hair, but enough to see the man standing before her. He was actually quite handsome. He had a bow in his hand and arrows in his quiver on his back, which looks as if he was about to go hunting since he didn't already have an animal upon him, not that she could tell anyway. He must have stumbled upon this river as he was out.
He began to walk slowly toward her. "Would it be alright if I got a drink of water?" He glanced at the river, then back at her.
"I don't own it. Go ahead." She turned away from him as she heard him walk to the water. Regina tried not to look over at him, so she was trying to occupy herself with looking down in the water, thinking as she swirled her fingers through it. Then she heard his voice again.
"Do you mind if I ask, what you are doing here alone in the forest?"
Regina doesn't know what made her answer him truthfully, but she did.
"I wanted to go out for a ride, to get away."
"From what?" Well he was bold, asking her a lot of questions.
She sighed. "Everything. My life."
He seemed to ponder things - and so did she to be honest - because the next few minutes were in silence.
"Would it be too forward to ask your name?"
She began thinking if she should lie to him and tell him a false name. But after considering everything, she really didn't care who all knew her identity.
"Regina." She spoke, and thinking it was now her time to ask him. "And your name?"
"Robin of Locksley. At your service."
She could feel him near her, so she turned her head a bit to look at him, and sure enough he was sitting a little distance from her. Probably as to not scare her off. But she wasn't frightened all that easily. She did grow up with a mother like Cora after all, so if she could take that surely a man such as this is not going to scare her. But she could still be skeptical about him.
Now it was her turn to be the one to speak first after a brief silence, and him just staring at her.
"Why are you still here?" She tried not to sound rude by any means, but she was generally wondering.
"Well, I had hoped to get to know you more." And after a beat he spoke again. "And I couldn't bring myself to leave you alone here."
After hearing that, Regina couldn't help but give a faint smile. This man she just met seemed so kind. The thought of him not wanting to leave her by herself and to be so curious about her to want to know more made her feel... overwhelmed. And kind of grateful to him.
He began to stand up, and a moment later, he was reaching his hand down to her. She looked at his hand, debating whether to take it or not. After considering it, she slowly reached up and took it, and he helped her up onto her feet. After he did so she swiftly retreated her hand from his grasp, thinking about all the pain she went through after she got close to people with her mother around, and she didn't want to go through that again. As she shifted her head, shaking the memory of her mother from her mind it resulted in her hair falling away from her face and revealing her bruised cheek. He looked at her in horror and she realized what had happened.
Her other hand suddenly came up to hide the bruise.
"What on earth happened?" A look of shock and worry spread across his face.
Regina turned away from him. "I really don't wanna talk about it."
She felt his hand come up to cup her chin and turn her face back to him. "You don't have to." His eyes were sincere, but she moved away from his touch and he dropped his hand.
She cleared her throat. "Well, I think I should get back home." He nodded. "Thank you, Robin." She walked over to where her horse stood and she untied the reigns, then hopped on the saddle.
"Regina." She heard him speak so she looked over in his direction. "If you ever need anyone to talk to, I'll be here."
She nodded and turned her horse to gallop in the direction of the castle.
A week had passed since she met Robin at the river.
She was thinking about what he said; that if she needed someone to talk to he would be there. But how would he know when or if she would go back? Was he waiting everyday there to see if she'd come? No he wouldn't be. He didn't even know her. She doubted he'd do that.
But as she contemplated going to the river or not, she had this feeling within her to go. So she did. She got ready to go out, but instead she decided to not bring her horse this time.
As Regina got to the spot of the river she had been at before, she looked around. She saw no one. Frowning, she looked down.
So much for hoping.
Regina turned around and was about to head back to the castle, but as she lifted her head up she saw him. Her breath caught in her throat. He was just coming into the clearing.
"You're here." She spoke.
"And so are you."
"Did you come here everyday?"
He shook his head.
"Then how did you know I'd be here?"
"I didn't. I just.. had this feeling that I should come here, now."
"I had the same feeling."
This had to be a coincidence. But the feeling deep inside her was telling her otherwise.
"So, you came. Did you want to talk?"
She nodded. So he sat down by her, as she sat down on the same rock as before. He gave her a bit of room between them, as to not invade her space she guessed.
"So how are you doing?" He asked.
"I'm.. as well as can be expected I suppose. And you?"
"I'm quite well."
Well at least one of us is, she thought.
"What's your favorite color?"
"What?"
"Your favorite color?"
"Oh, um, red. What's yours?"
"Green."
"What's your favorite thing to do?"
She smirked. "What is this? Twenty questions?"
"No. I can promise you it is not."
"My favorite thing to do?" He nodded. She began to think, and she smiled to herself. "Riding horses."
"Ah. I gathered that's why you had your horse the first day we met."
"Well, that and I didn't know how far I'd be going into the forest. What about you? What's your favorite thing to do? No, wait let me guess.. shoot arrows?"
"As it so happens, yes I do love to do that." He smiled at her. "I feel free and quite relaxed with archery."
"I feel the same way when I am riding Rosita, my horse." She smiles at the thought and looks over to the water flowing in the river.
They both fall into silence after that. Minutes pass and then she hears his voice again.
"What about your family?"
She goes rigid. Not moving. She had pain in her eyes, but she quickly gathered her composure and stood up. "I have to go."
"My apologies, did I say something wrong?" She didn't answer him. She just began running through the woods towards the direction of the castle, but she could hear his faint call of her name.
Another week passed by and Regina didn't go back to the river in that time, but she did want to wander about outside the castle walls. There were times she just wanted to walk around out there, anything to get some fresh air and be free away from her mother.
Right now that's what she was doing, walking through the forest, looking around at all the trees and the animals that crossed her path. She didn't know exactly where she was going, but she'd rather be out there anyway. Regina was deep in thought when she came upon a clearing through the trees, and as she walked out she recognized this place. She was back at the river.
Really?
She looked around and stopped in her tracks. There he was, sitting down on that rock that she had sat upon the previous times before and he was looking down at the ground. As he looked up and caught sight of her he went wide-eyed. Regina turned back around and was about to run back off, but she heard him run toward her. "Regina!" As he caught up to her he went to stand in front of her. "Regina, I'm so sorry for what I had asked last time. I did not mean to pry. If it is a sore subject for you, we don't have to talk about it."
"It is." Was all she could say.
He nodded. "Okay well duly noted. Can we please talk more? I rather enjoyed our last conversation, up until of course I crossed that line."
She was thinking for a few moments, and then she sighed. "Okay." And with that they made their way back to where they had sat the times before. Him not crossing her space in any way.
They met every week at the river. Talking about their likes and dislikes, their hopes, his past. He never asked her anything about her past, probably for fear of having her run away again. She told him where she lives, much to his surprise. But she didn't tell him about how it was growing up with her mother, she couldn't handle talking about that just yet, and he didn't push her into talking about it.
One day the unexpected happened...
Robin was standing at their usual spot, waiting for Regina to arrive there when he heard rustling in the forest. He turned around.
"Regina?" No answer. Robin was on guard. He didn't have his bow and arrows with him, thinking he did not need them as he was just going to be having a conversation with Regina as they have been doing for the past few weeks.
He then heard a voice from the bush nearby. "Well, well, if it isn't Robin Hood." He knew that voice anywhere.
Robin turned toward the man standing before him. "Nottingham." The man began to advance in steps toward him.
"Now what would a lowly thief be doing here?" And after a beat. "Perhaps, meeting a lady?"
How on earth did he know?
"This is quite a popular spot for any who want to get fresh water. But even so, it's none of your concern."
"Of course it is. Everything that has to do with you is my concern. Now how about you make this easy." He drew his sword.
"I don't think so."
"Very well." He was about to strike when he was suddenly struck across the back of his head. He fell down on the ground instantly.
Regina was standing from behind where Nottingham had stood. She had a big log in her hands and an expression on her face that resembles fear along with shock.
"Are you okay?" As he nodded she dropped the log. "Who's he?"
"I'll tell you later. We should probably get going before he wakes." She nodded this time.
They made their way away out of the clearing and then started running through the forest, hearing Nottingham yelling Robin's name as he apparently has woken. They were talking to each other as they traveled farther away from the river, and he told her who Nottingham had been and they didn't realize that they had come upon the outer layer of the forest close to Regina's castle. He informed her they should not meet up at the river for another two weeks, for it would be safer that way with Nottingham knowing now, and she just nodded and agreed with him. They then said their goodbye's to one another and parted ways.
Two weeks had passed since their run in with Nottingham.
She began making her way to where the river had been, but she then as she came to the spot for the clearing, she saw all the trees had been cut down. Everything was in ruin. Regina's mouth went agape and her eyes began to tear up. Why would anyone do this? She was about to lose hope all over again.
Just then she saw Robin come up by her, she glanced at him and then back at where the river once was beautiful.
"Robin. Who would do this?"
He frowned. "I don't know for certain, but I do suspect Nottingham had a hand in this."
She blinked back her tears and took a deep breath.
Regina took his hand, not afraid of the contact anymore. They walked through the forest talking about various things, some of which include how Robin's Merry Men back at the camp had joked about him sneaking away to meet a lady, them wanting to meet her, and about what it would be like to have a woman among them.
After awhile Robin spoke up. "Are you certain you don't want to find another spot for us to meet?"
"Yes, I'm sure. You know what?" She stopped walking and turned to him. "That spot may have meant something to me, but... it's okay. As long as I'm with you, I'm okay." She saw the hope in his eyes. "How about - how about I go back with you?"
He looked a bit surprised. "Hold on, what are you saying?"
"A spot is not as important to me as you are. Let's.. both go back to your camp." She began to smile at him.
He had a big grin on his face as they set off to the way of his camp. He led her by the hand.