Royal Blood

Chapter Fourty-Six: Balancing Love

A shrill shriek erupted from the other side of the dining hall, bouncing off the high ceiling and walls. The hairs on Regina's arms and neck stood up as she whipped around to see Roland in tears, hurtling towards her. Her stern face softening, Regina quickly closed the distance between her and the boy before cradling him in her arms.

"Shhhhh." Regina consoled, kissing his brow. Roland wailed as he held his hand close to his chest, not seeming to be fazed by Regina's efforts.

"Shhhhh." She tried again, wiping his tears away with the back of her hand. "Shhhh, baby. Wipe away those tears. It's okay." Regina planted another kiss on the top of Roland's head as he began to quiet down. "Let me see here..." Regina knelt on the floor, her black dress fanning out in a circle around her. "What's gotten you upset?"

"There was a scary man in the corner." Roland whimpered, his face red and blotchy. He turned his head to glance over his shoulders, looking back at the farthest corner of the room.

"A scary man?" Regina inquired. Her brows furrowing as Roland burst into another fit of tears. The Queen silently rocked the boy, waiting for the initial fear to subside.

Once he had calmed back down, Roland laid against Regina's. "Now, tell me what happened." She whispered into his ear.

"I heard a- a noise and turned around and there was a scary man in the shadows." Roland hiccuped, his snot and tears running onto Regina's shoulder. "He was an lizard man!"

"Go on." She urged, feeling a new sense of strength as she attended to the boy.

"He- he held a finger to his lips and then he disappeared."

"Where was this lizard man?" Regina asked, receiving an enthusiastic gasp.

"Right there!" The young boy cried, pointing his finger in the direction from which he had run.

"Oh..." Regina whispered, concentration etched along her face as she held onto Roland. "Don't worry. You're safe here, I promise."

The two sat on the floor together for quite some time. Roland eventually fell asleep clasping a strand of Regina's hair while the woman herself looked around the room, her face betraying her age. Her skin was pale, her eyes dark with confusion until suddenly she kissed the boy on the head and began to stand with him in her arms.

The image swirled until Robins reflection filled the looking glass. It's cool handle slipped from his grasp, the soothing actions of Regina etched into his mind. Katherine, Regina's nurse, sat behind Robin as she stitched the last of his open wounds. Per Regina's request after a brief walk around the garden, they had returned to tend to the last few troubling wounds.

"Has she changed." Robin asked, his brow furrowed as he mulled over the thought of Regina.

"Pardon?" Katherine's hands stopped momentarily as if they would impair her hearing.

"I knew Regina as a timid you woman who didn't want to cause you much trouble. She had a kick in her and she knew her purpose. She was determined and stubborn and although she never wanted me to figure out who she was she always had the poise of someone of power. But now I see this strong independent woman who's experienced in the throne. She has such power over everyone. She's so demanding." Robin looked up to glance behind his shoulder.

Katherine sighed, going back to work on his shoulder as she spoke. "The crown places personality traits on your lap. You have to demand and rule with a stiff back so your kingdom will follow behind you. Especially when Regina's at the face of war. And so much has happened. Loosing your parents with the murder of her... fiancé as well as thinking you were dead changes a woman. She's an ambitious young woman with troubles haunting her every move." Warm hands ran down the center of Robin's back until they hesitated at a scar that ripped across his abdomen and slithered up his sides. "There are things you don't know that are dark. The history of this palace is not a story I should tell. Not one that most should know. The Royal are of a strange creature, servants to secrecy and slaves to deception. There have been but few successful leaders who walked amongst their people with the strength of a warrior and not of a ruler."