Royal Blood

Chapter Seven: Welcome Home

The day's started out easy. Granny would tend to Regina's sunburn, the scrapes on her hands, knees and feet. Regina would eat meals with Granny, Roland and Granny's granddaughter Ruby before the tavern opened. Then Regina was whisked away upstairs to the living quarters.

On the first day she worked, Granny and Ruby had to alternate teaching Regina how to complete the tasks she was given. Granny would mutter to herself in frustration, calling regina a spoiled Royal Blood. Every time this two words left the woman's mouth, fear clenched Regina's stomach. Did Granny know? Would she turn her in to Leo's guard? But then Granny would continue to teach, or somewhat instruct, Regina how to clean bathrooms and windows. 

Then things became more demanding. Regina was moved down into the tavern after her morning cleansing upstairs. She sat behind the counter, washing dishes and utilities. The tavern frightened Regina. It was okay in the early afternoon and night. But later, when the town outside got quiet, the men inside drank more. Granny and Ruby handled the men well, but Regina had never seen men act like... This before. They degraded women in a way that was different from the palace. In the palace, women were property almost. They were thought to not have opinions. But there was still a sense of humanity. The men who stayed late in the tavern were crude and disgusting, grabbing and groping whomever they liked. The one time Regina did go out to serve drinks, after Roland was sent upstairs for bed, a man reached out and slapped her behind. Regina yelped and jumped, spilling the mugs of beer on another mans lap. A crowd of men surrounded her, teasing and taunting, yelling and yanking.

So, Regina stayed behind the bar.

And at night, Regina would bathe as best as she could in the murky water that was held in a little brass tub. Sometimes she'd cry, sometimes she'd sit in a frustrated silence.

Days went by the same way as Regina did the same thing. Her hands became soft from all the soap and her scratches and burns slowly healed. She was given some of the smaller clothes from Ruby's wardrobe to wear, things that didn't require corsets or undergarments. It was strange to Regina not to wear heavy clothing but it was just another thing she couldn't control. She never really spoke to either women, never spoke at all unless it was to pray at night or to speak to Roland.

But everything changed one day, about two weeks into her stay at the tavern. Everything changed on Regina's 21st birthday.

***

"Tell me another story?" Roland pleaded, perching on the bar as he always did. Regina looked up from the basin of water and dirty dishes.

"Have you dried the dishes I gave you?" She asked, looking down at the still wet pile of plates that were sitting beside the little boy. He frowned and shook his head slowly, reaching for the cloth that he used to dry. "I'll tell you another story as we work okay?" She knew this wouldn't work. The last story she told him, Roland had stopped drying dishes to pay attention to Regina.

"Alright let me think..." Regina murmured, scrubbing the inside of a pan. So far, Regina had told him about her horse, her garden and many other stories about her life. But she didn't tell him it was her. That was one thing she remembered from Graham. Never tell anyone where you're from. And so she didn't. "Alright I've got a good one. This one is about a ball." Regina whispered, looking up to see the little boy drying a ladle.

"A ball?" He asked, confused.

"Oh yes. It's a large dance party where everyone dresses up in their finest clothes. There's lots of yummy foods and drinks. Laughter. Music. People stay up until the sun rises the next morning." Regina watched the boy's eyes light up as she spoke of the first ball Regina had attended. She then moved into the story of one of her own birthday celebrations. It was only until Granny spoke to both of them that Regina noticed she had nothing more to wash.

"Royal Blood." The older woman barked, looking over the rim over her glasses. "Go outside and pump a bucket of water for tonight. Take Roland with you." Regina sighed and nodded, scooping the little boy into her arms. She wasn't a very strong woman and hated pumping the water for the nights bath.

Walking out the door, Regina squinted at the bright sunlight. Roland wriggled from her arms and ran for the bucket that sat by the pump. There were four buckets Regina had to fill. A smaller one, that she assumed was for Roland, two medium sized ones that Granny or Ruby probably could carry, and a very large one.

"That ones papas. He used to fetch the water." Roland explained, skipping around Regina as she pumped the water into the largest bucket.

"Is it really?" Regina muttered, rolling the sleeves of her red dress up to her elbows. Water splattered on her face, cooking off her warm body in the heat of the day.

"Yup!" Roland giggles, watching as Regina struggled to move the bucket back towards the tavern. "Granny says he'll be home by the next full moon. Do you think that's true?"

***

This trip had exhausted Robin. He and his men had traveled four days to their home village. The home of his men, so to say. Robin had lost his parents here. His wife. All he had left was his son, who was away from him for the first time, and his men. It was a painful journey but he didn't let it show. Robin was just a bit more quiet, respectful but quiet and drawn back. When it was his day to return to his own home, Robin suggested they head back to the tavern early. And they did.

Robin was too anxious to get back to his son. To leave behind the pain and start over somewhere fresh. Thats all Robin longed for.

Robin and his wife Marin had met when they were both children, building a relationship until he was 20 and she was 18. They married, simple and quick, before conceiving Roland only two months after the wedding. Looking back on it now, Robin saw they had rushed into the relationship. Marian grew distant as the pregnancy continued on but Robin was a man of honor. He would work to maintain the relationship with his wife and son until the day he died. But unfortunately, Marian was the first to pass, leaving Robin with a broken marriage and a newborn son.

"Robin." Little John's voice snapped Robin out of his thoughts.

"Sorry," he muttered, looking up to his partner. "What were you saying?" He asked, allowing Little John to go into detail about the arrival back to granny's. It was late and he was tired.

30 minutes later, the men had unpacked their things and we're headed for the tavern. Robin could see the sign and had to hold back from bursting through the door and searching for his son.

Walking into the tavern, robin was pulled away from his surroundings. People turned to see who had entered, shouts of greeting carried across the small room, but robins attention was on two people.

There at the bar was his son perched on the side, clutching a small blanket Robin had never seen before. Beside him was a breathtakingly gorgeous woman. Her long dark hair fell over her shoulders and down her chest, gently curling at the bottom. Her skin was smooth and pale, making her seem so youthful. Big dark eyes watched his son intently as Roland spoke to her about something. And then she was laughing, the soft jingle of noise carrying over to Robin's ears.

She looked up at the sound of Robin and his men entering the tavern, their eyes locking for a split second. Robin couldn't move. But then Roland's squeal of delight broke him free of his trance.

"Papa!"

Hey guys! Sorry the second half of this chapter kind of sucked, it's really late when I write this and I had to get it out in time for y'all. I hop you like it!