Everything Has Changed

Chapter 17 - Safe and Sound

A month after the king had fallen from the Queen's balcony there was not a soul left in the kingdom that was still mourning the man. The Queen had not forbidden it, but she had gained the loyalty of her subjects and no one felt the loss of the king was anything to cry over. There were some that remembered the loving and kind soul that had once been a part of their lives, but many only saw the monster that Cora had created. The man that had beaten and raped his young wife, leaving behind hidden wounds that may never heal.

Regina stood on that same fateful balcony, overlooking the courtyard and staring out into the gardens. The moon shone bright overhead and the only sounds that could be heard were the rustling of leaves in the night breeze. The palace was quiet, and she had learned to appreciate the silence.

It was her dreams that were haunting her now. Troubling her as she slept, and letting her find no peace from the never-ending hardships that came from ruling this kingdom. She sighed as she looked out over the gardens; nothing was ever simple was it? She laughed lightly to herself.

"What's so funny my queen?" She jumped slightly at the voice, but when he came up beside her and wrapped an arm gently around her waist she relaxed. She hadn't heard him come in, but she was glad to have him there.

"Me." She turned to face him and placed both of her palms on his chest as she spoke. "I am funny. I didn't ask for this, any of this, and here I am. The Queen of a kingdom that I never wanted, a mother who has never given birth, and a witch with stronger powers that any have ever seen. And yet I cannot sleep because I am afraid of what I will see."

Concern filled the outlaw's eyes as he studied his soul mate. "What is it, what do you see?"

She shook her head, "Nothing, there is no need for you to worry about it. It is just a silly dream."

"It's not a silly dream, not if it is causing you all of these sleepless nights. Regina, what do you see?" When she finally met his eyes, he was shocked, there was hardly any purple left in them, the magic that burned so brightly in her during the day was washed out. Instead he saw the tears sitting in her chocolate eyes and he wrapped his arms around her. Pulling her in close and nuzzling her hair. "Oh my queen, what is it?"

"It's him. He's here, Robin. In this room, in my dreams, he is here." Her voice was muffled from where she had buried her face in his shirt, but he could still hear her. "He knows what I did, that I tricked him. I played him Robin, and in doing so I killed him. How do I live with myself? What if in some cosmic way this all comes back to haunt me one day?"

"Regina, you are safe here now. No one is going to hurt you; no one wants to hurt you. You and Snow are both free of that man forever. There is no reason for you to feel like you did anything wrong, he tripped Regina, and he fell over your balcony. You know that."

She pushed her hands into his chest and leaned away from him. Her eyes were still watery, but the magic was rising in them again, and she fixed him with a piercing stare. "You know as well as I do Robin that that is not was happened that night. I was toying with him, taunting him, letting him think that he was going to get away with it again. You were here Robin, you saw what I did, even if you will never admit it!"

She was upset, the fact that she had killed Leopold without so much as a second thought was eating her alive. She had thought it all out, planned the best way to do it, she had murdered her husband, and the people loved her for it. Even Snow wasn't angry with her; she just accepted that Regina was the only parent left in her life.

"Regina..."

"No Robin. Don't." She pulled away from him and moved back off of the balcony. He gave her a minute to herself before he followed her back inside. "I'm sorry."