Chasing Happiness

3- The Tattoo

"Regina, watch out!" Robin calls, watching the flying monkey swoop down towards the queen. He draws an arrow from the quiver, pulling it back in the bow once he realized it was too late for her to duck down and avoid it.

She looks up, meeting eyes with the winged beast and immediately puts her hand up to use magic, but it's too late. The monkey grabs her by the arm, and begins dragging her upwards as she stumbled along the forest floor. Suddenly, she hears the creature let out a high pitched and agonized screech, attempting to fly away but it's nails catch in the fabric of her dress, tearing it up as well as the skin of her forearm beneath it. She grits her teeth at the pain and falls to the ground, looking back at the creature once and noticing it now had an arrow in it's eye.

"Regina!" Robin is at her side in an instant, crouching down and taking her in. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, it just stings." She insists, looking down at the wound as the crimson blood begins seeping onto the fabric of her tattered dress. She feels one of Robin's hands rubbing up and down her back while he helps her up with his other. "What was that thing?"

"I believe it was a flying monkey. Although, I've never encountered the likes of it before, the arrow seemed to scare it away rather quickly." He says, shooting her a proud smile.

"Thank you for that." She suddenly feels an urge to kiss him right here and now, to thank him for everything he's done for her, the talking, the horse back riding, and the fact that he just saved her life. It makes her heart swell with a blooming love and happiness that she hasn't felt in what feels like forever.

"You're welcome." She hears him mutter then suddenly she's being lifted off her feet and she gasps. "We should get you home, if you'd like to do the honours, Milady."

She shakes her head at him and let's out a laugh as she twirls her wrist, surrounding them in a purple smoke. They arrive back at the castle, in Regina's room to be specific, and Robin begins walking her over to her bed.

"You know it's my arm that's hurting and not my legs right?" She questions, referring to the fact that he had decided to carry her. It was sweet that he'd done so, and she wasn't complaining but, he had been treating her differently ever since that day at the stables and she wasn't sure why.

"Oh I'm aware, but you're injured. It was the least I could do to help." He lays her down on her bed gently, telling her "I'll be right back, I'm just going to check on Roland then I'll tend to your wound."

"Oh, Robin you don't have to-"

"I know." He cuts in to say, "I want to."

Regina gives him a warm smile, she must be looking at him with heart eyes, she just knows it. He leans over, kissing her forehead softly then smiling right back at her and exiting her room.

What is wrong with her? How come she is letting him so close to her all of a sudden? She knows why and it sounds like she's some school girl to say she has a crush on him, but she does. She likes him, can't help but to, and it makes her so damn angry that he may not feel the same. But he has to feel something right? She knows too well that he is a genuinely good-hearted person, she learned that the night he agreed to help her find happiness again, so what if he's just being nice to her? She can settle for this kind-hearted friendship they've built, she'd rather have him in her life as a friend than take a chance at a relationship and be shut down.

"What? Gina's hurt?" She hears Roland's voice from down the hall, followed by several tiny footsteps and her door swing open. "Gina!"

"I'm fine, Roland." Regina tells him softly, before he jumps onto her bed and wraps his arms around her in a tight hug that nearly knocks the wind out of her. "I'm ok, not to worry." None the less, she wraps her arms around him and allows him to hug her for as long as he needs to before he pulls back, "can I see your boo-boo?"