The Enchanted Forest (OutlawQueen)

Chapter 8

Neither of them got much sleep that night. Regina was kept up by Roland's nightmares, her instincts quickly tuning in to his quiet cries and restless tossing. Only when she took him into her bed and cradled him in her arms did he fall asleep properly.

She woke before him at her normal time, and while she would usually jump straight out of bed Roland was still snuggled up to her, head resting on her chest, and she didn't want to wake him before it was necessary. So she just lay there, stroking his curls, revelling in the rare calm of her current position despite the old, familiar tiredness.

Roland murmured and snuggled closer to her chest, hand fisting in her nightgown as he started to wake. When he opened his eyes Regina made sure the first thing he saw was a smile.

"Good morning."

"Morning, 'Gina," he yawned and stubbornly held on to her as she tried to sit up. Regina groaned - the small boy had a dead weight in the morning.

"Ughhhhhhh come on Roland. You need to get dressed before breakfast."

"Nope. Warm here. Comfy."

"Roland..." An idea slipped into her mind, and she ran her hand down his back, so lightly he squirmed, as was exactly her intention. Her fingers danced round to his side and ran quickly up and down, tickling him mercilessly and making him laugh and try to push her hand off. When that failed he tickled her back, up her sides and under her chin, and it quickly turned into a full-on battle when Regina grabbed one of her pillows and gently whacked him with it.

Soon, the room was a mess of feathers and the two lay, panting and laughing, side by side across her bed.

"Right," Regina finally gasped when she'd found enough breath. "Getting up time!" Grabbing him before he could react she threw him gently over her shoulder and deposited him in front of the chest of drawers they'd put his stuff away in the previous night. He stumbled, still laughing as he squished her cheeks between his little hands.

"No breakfast if you're not dressed," she threatened lightly and he immediately tried to pull the drawer open to get to his clothes. Regina helped him open it, then when they were both dressed she held his hand as they walked to the great hall together.

It fell silent when they entered. Clearly the sight of the Evil Queen holding hands with the honourable thief's son wasn't one anybody expected; she felt Roland press closer into her leg and grip her hand tighter as they walked down the middle up to the high table. She'd arranged for a chair to be put next to hers, but as soon as she was seated Roland clambered into her lap. Knowing he wasn't used to all eyes being on him and remembering Henry's need to be constantly in her arms at that age, she let him stay there as she reached for the toast.

"Good morning, Roland," Snow greeted him with a kind smile.

"Morning, Highness," he replied timidly, snuggling into Regina's chest; he'd never actually met the princess properly.

"What do you want to eat, Roland?" Regina asked in his ear, focussing as much of her attention as she could onto him throughout the meal. He had porridge, nearly spilt it on her gown but thankfully she managed to right the bowl in time.

"Gina, why are they all looking at me?" he asked, eyeing the lower tables uncertainly.

"Because you're a very handsome young man and..." She just stopped herself from saying they're wondering why I'm the one looking after you.

"And what?"

"And, it's very unusual for boys like you to be sitting up here with the Queen. You're lucky."

"Lucky Papa chose you to be his friend instead of one of the maids," he whispered before plonking his bowl back on the table and wriggling around on her lap to get more comfortable as she finished. She had to swallow the slight lump of gratitude that rose in her throat at the reminder that someone had actually reached out to her; when she'd saved Roland from the monkey she hadn't expected anything more.