The one she thought was lost

Chapter 5: An unexpected meeting

*A/N: Here's the new chapter! I'm sorry for any mistakes and I hope you enjoy this one!!

Regina didn't know what to think. She watched as the girl threw herself at the thief, hugging him like she hadn't seen him for months. She could see that the outlaw cared a lot about her, because he hugged her back just as tightly while closing his eyes. Eventually they pulled back and the thief asked the girl something. The girl nodded and turned to look at the group Robin had brought with him. She looked at Snow and Charming for a moment before her eyes settled on Regina. The girl looked so familiar. She had long brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. She looked at Regina with a studying expression, like she was trying to figure out where she'd seen her before. And Regina was wondering the same thing. But before she could give it more thought, the outlaw started talking.
"We are going to pack everything up," Robin told Snow and Charming," your group can take as much weapons as you need." Charming nodded at him and gave the rest the order to do just that. Charming thanked him for his help and he walked of with Snow, leaving Regina alone with the outlaw and the girl. After some time of just staring at eachother, Robin introduced them.
"Danny, this is the queen. Your majesty, this is... my daughter Daniella." Regina felt as though the air had been knocked out of her. Daniella. As in the name of her daughter. The one that had died hours after she was born. Grief washed over her like a wave and Regina felt like she was going to drown. She vaguely heared Robin call her name, but she didn't care. All the memories she had been trying to forget, all came rushing back.

"Your majesty? Regina!" Daniella watched as the queen looked she might cry when she heard her name. She looked like she was in pain. A lot of pain. Daniella also started to worry.
"Your majesty?", Daniella asked carefully. That seemed to break the queen out of whatever she was in and she looked at Daniella, startled.
"Are you okay?" Daniella asked the queen rather carefully.
"Huh? Euh, yes of course. It was nice to meet you", the queen answered quickly.
"It was nice to meet you too", Daniella said back,"Robin, do you want me to tell Roland you've returned?"
"Yes, I've missed him." Daniella chuckled and answered: "He missed you too, he made that very clear." After that Daniella went to get Roland who was waiting patiently in Daniella's tent. On her way, Daniella started thinking. The Queen had reacted so strangely when she heard her name. It was like she'd seen a ghost. She got a haunted look in her eyes and her skin got really pale. "Stop thinking about it, it's none of your business", Daniella told herself. With that she hurried to her tent.

Regina didn't know what to do. She almost started crying in front of a stranger because she met a girl with the same name as her daughter. Something like that had never happened before and if she had a say in it, it would never happen again. She slipped her mask back on and straightened her back. Luckely the thief didn't ask about her moment of weakness. For that she was grateful.
"I'm going to have to tell my son and Daniella that we are leaving and help them pack their things, after that we can leave. Is that okay, your majesty?"
"Yes, that's fine", Regina said back. She didn't feel like talking to him anymore and bid him goodbye. She needed a moment before they left and she had to deal with Snow. She took a deep breath and walked away.

Robin walked into Daniella's tent and was immediatly knocked back by something or rather someone who grabbed his legs. He picked Roland up and held him tightly. Even though he had only been gone for a few hours, he had missed Roland and Daniella terribly and he was glad he was home.
"How are you my boy?" Roland grabbed Robin more tightly and said: "I missed you daddy."
"I missed you too, Roland", Robin said while also pulling Daniella closer,"I missed you both."
"I missed you too", Daniella said while burying her head in Robin's chest. She knew it was silly, he had only been gone for a few hours. But she had missed him and after that weird encounter with the Queen, she needed this for a second. She was still bothered by the way the Queen had reacted when she heard her name, but Daniella decided to leave it alone. It was clear the woman was in pain and she wouldn't bother her just because she was curious. She was still the Queen. The Evil Queen. Though Daniella couldn't find it in her to call her that, or be angry at the woman. Why? She didn't know. Daniella was snapped out of her thoughts when Robin pulled back from the hug and told her: "You might want to know why I brought that group back with us?" After Daniella nodded, Robin explained that the group had come back from the land where the Queen's curse had brought them.
"Somehow the curse was undone, I don't know the details, but they came back here. Now they want to get to the Queen's castle and live there. I asked them if we could come with because of the attacks that have been happening lately. It's safer for you and Roland to be there at least until we find out who is behind the attacks." Daniella wanted to protest, but honestly she also wanted to know who was behind the attacks and the thought that Roland lived in the castle, in a warm bed, made her agree.
"Okay, then let's start packing." Robin was suprised Daniella agreed so fast but didn't comment on that. He just put Roland down for a minute (the boy had fallen asleep during their conversation) and helped Daniella pack Roland's things. After that Daniella went to pack her own thing and Robin packed his things after telling Little John to look after Roland.

The Merry Men had packed up everything in just a few hours and were ready to go. Robin had woken Roland and the little boy was running after a imaginary dragon, yelling that he would save the princess (Daniella was playing the princess that needed saving).
"Don't worry, Danny! I will save you from the dragon!" Roland yelled. Daniella was lying on top of an old blanket while she yelled: "Please, be careful my brave knight!" Regina was looking at the scene with a sad smile. She remembered the days she used to play that game with Henry. He used to do the same things as Roland was doing now. Running after an imaginary dragon to save the queen. Regina smiled at the memory, genuinely this time, but it was gone quickly. She turned around and walked away.

After playing with Roland, she went to get Reina. She hadn't ridden in a few days and she begun to miss the horse. And she would bring Reina with her. It was easier because she could carry Daniella's stuff.
Daniella greeted Reina by petting her forehead and kissing her nose.
"Hey there", Daniella laughed as Reina pushed her head in Daniella's hands," I missed you too." Daniella and Reina had been inseparable ever since Robin had given Daniella the horse. Daniella had loved the mare from the moment she saw it and it appeared Reina had liked her too. Reina didn't like a lot of people. She could tolerate Robin, but she didn't like the rest of the Merry Men. She loved Roland. And she loved Daniella. There wasn't a day that went by where Daniella hadn't spent time with her. Only the last couple of days had been so busy that Daniella simply didn't have time and she had missed Reina a lot.
She gave the mare a hug and fed her an apple. For some reason Reina absolutely loved apples, it was her favorite treat. And honestly Daniella loved them too. She laughed as Reina ate the apple and asked for another one only seconds after she'd eaten the first one. Daniella gave her another one and started to get her ready for the trip.
"It's beautiful", a voice said from behind them. Daniella jumped and pressed a hand to her racing heart.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you", the Queen said.
"No, it's okay your majesty", Daniella replyed.
"Regina, please"
"Regina", Daniella said, "and thank you. Robin got her for me. Her name's Reina."
"Queen", Regina said and Daniella nodded.
"May I?", Regina asked while she nodded towards the box with the brushes.
"Of course", Daniella said. Regina started brushing the black mare with care. She's missed this, caring for a horse. She hadn't done it ever since Henry had brought Emma back with him to Storybrooke. She had been too busy with trying to get Emma out of town, that she hadn't had time to go to the stables. Daniella also seemed to love horses, it was obvious in the way she interacted with the animal. And the girl wasn't the worst company in the world.
"I love horses", Daniella said," I've loved them ever since I was little. I just hadn't had the chance to learn how to ride and how to take care of them." Regina decided it wouldn't be bad to share a little bit of her childhood, they were just talking about horses and that was a save topic.
"The first time I rode a horse, I was barely a few years old. I loved it, riding, it made me feel free. When I was riding, I didn't have a care in the world. My father got me my first horse when I was ten. I remember being overjoyed as he showed me the horse. The smile never left my face that day" Regina smiled softly at the memory, one of the good ones, of her childhood.
Something in the Queen's voice told Daniella that that wasn't the end of the story, but she decided to leave it at that. She started talking about her own childhood.
"When I was a child, I was an orfan", Daniella told Regina," I don't know who my biological parents are, all I know is that they gave me away. The only thing I have of them is a bracelet, but I stopped wearing it when I joined the Merry Men. I was pushed around from family to family. Some were nice, others... weren't." Daniella cleared her throat and continued: "Anyway, I ran away when I twelve." Daniella had absolutely no idea why she just told the Queen almost everything she went through as a child, but something inside her told her that she could trust Regina. Suddenly she felt a hand grabbing hers. Daniella stopped saddling Reina and looked at Regina.
"I'm sorry you had to go through that", Regina told her. Daniella smiled at Regina and told her: "Me too." She squeezed Regina's hand and let go.
After that they both returned to getting Reina ready for the trip.

Regina strangely felt a little better after her little talk with Daniella. Though she was suprised that the girl had shared so much about her childhood. She was after all, the Evil Queen. People feared her, or were supposed to fear her, she didn't expect the girl to be so open. Let alone about something as private as her childhood.  A childhood that, just as hers, wasn't one of the best ones. It was strange, but she felt connected to the girl.
She pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind, she had other things to worry about. Like who the hell was behind these attacks and when they were going to get to her castle. She longed for a good night of sleep, even if it was in a world without Henry.

*A/N: Okay, this chapter turned out to be longer than I thought it would be :) I hoped you enjoyed it though! Please say in the comments what you thought about this chapter!