The Enchanted Forest (OutlawQueen)

Chapter 5

A/N: OK. I am officially the worst writer ever in terms of updates. I have no excuses apart from it's my last year in sixth form, I was still doing four subjects (the usual is three) because of various retakes and I just simply haven't had the time. Plus I've gotten into a couple other fandoms, and my muse for OutlawQueen died a slow and painful death (like, sword through the chest and kicked off a mountain, slow and painful) with the last few episodes, I'm afraid. I haven't caught up since 'Sympathy for De Ville', because Tumblr showed me how they ruined Robin's character and the whole Zelena fiasco, and I've just decided to take a break for a bit. Tumblr tells me all I need to know! Having said that, I really want to get back into writing now I'm only a month away from my last exam (I leave officially on Friday - help!!) and it's hiatus. I always seem to write better/more when it's hiatus because then what's happening on the show isn't affecting what I'm writing, especially in terms of backstory. And I'm not having ideas for ep-based oneshots all over the place :P And I've suddenly had a brainwave for something I want to happen in this story after a certain big shift in their relationship. So here's one I wrote earlier, about a year ago probably, so I've looked it through and I apologise profusely for keeping you all waiting! Thank you for continuing to read and review, finally coming back on here to see all the 'please update!'s has actually kicked my sorry ass into gear a bit. So it's short, but I swear to God, I'll try and get more up in the midst of driving lessons and job hunting. I guess this is less of a multi-chapter and more of a 'connected oneshot' story now I think about it but I still hope it's ok. Everyone else seems to write Regina all snarky in the missing year, but I'm not sure I'm very good at snark...constructive criticism is always welcomed, just in case anyone felt like they absolutely had to be positive! (Of course, positivity's nice too...and I've turned into a babbler.)
(Brownie points for anyone who gets the reference in this! Hint: it's not in any way OUAT related.)

Regina woke with a throbbing head and cheeks covered in dried salt and makeup. The pillow had a black smudge on it where her head had lain, a red line of lipstick trailing from it like blood. She let out a quiet laugh of derision as she noticed the shape: a small, deformed, black heart.

Swinging her legs out of bed she stood up, almost falling over as the blood rushed down. Too tired to be bothered to fix her appearance manually she flicked her hand towards the wardrobe, changing her dress, hairstyle and cleaning her face in a matter of seconds before waving her hand one more time, materialising in the chamber they used for meetings.

"Good morning, Regina," Snow's ever-gentle voice greeted her from the table, but there was a clear feeling of unease from the stiff postures of the men and even kind-hearted Belle couldn't look at her. She approached and sat down in the only chair left, which happened to be next to Robin.

"What's happened?"

"That village you suggested we make into a haven? It got attacked by Zelena's monkeys this morning and everyone was killed."

Regina felt hot, angry tears building behind her eyes once again. Was she unable to do anything right? Her hands twisted the material of her dress into a knot, resisting the urge to magic herself away as the power tingled at her fingertips. No one spoke for a good while, and she couldn't help but feel they were all waiting for her to justify herself. She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out, her throat was so choked up, and she could feel judgmental eyes boring into her. Glancing up, she saw Granny, the dwarves, Blue and Little John all staring at her with jaws set; Charming trying very hard not to; Snow's infuriating expression of pity; Belle and Tink were finding their laps incredibly interesting and Robin had a fist balled against his mouth, brow creased and eyes focussed on a knot in the wood of the table. She found herself wondering what he was thinking about before shoving the unbidden thought away,

"Look, I didn't mean for any of this to happen," she started, lifting her head.

"Of course you didn't," Grumpy snapped back, more trademark sarcasm than usual resonating in every syllable.

"That's enough, Grumpy," Charming tried to shut him up but the damage was done.

"Excuse me." She pushed back her chair and stormed from the room. Robin followed her without pausing for a second, not bothering to care what they thought. He saw her running down the corridor, past Roland who tried to grab her skirt. He missed, and turned to face his father.

"Roland, stay here."

"What's wrong with Gina, Papa?"

"I don't know. Promise me you'll stay here until I come back?"

"I promise." Robin quickly kissed him on top of his curls before running after the queen.

After a long sprint and many twists and turns he finally caught up with her. He grabbed her wrist to stop her running; the contact was more violent than he'd intended as they both skidded sharply to a halt but he wanted her to know he wouldn't give up.

"Regina..."

"Let go of me!" Her voice cracked and it broke his heart to hear it. "Get away, I'm not safe to be around." Purple sparks were emanating from the tips of her fingers but he didn't care. Stepping towards her, he took her face in his hands and forced her to look at him.

"Regina, listen to me. None of this was your fault."

"The others seem to think it is." She tried to look down but his hands gently tilted her head back up.

"The others are judgmental fools who can't see past a moniker. I know there is good in you. I have no clue what happened to get you the Evil name but I know that somewhere deep in here," he placed a hand over her heart, "is a kind, caring, lovely woman who just misses her son."

Her head dropped as helpless tears spilled over. Realising he'd hit a raw nerve he ventured to take her into his arms, tentative in case she pushed him away again. But she didn't; she buried her head in his clothing, slight body shaking with emotion.

Even when her sobs subsided he kept his arms around her until eventually she seemed to realise the intimacy of their embrace and stepped back, looking up at him with a strange expression in her beautiful eyes. She moved his hands off her waist and walked away without a backward glance. When he called her name she stopped, paused for a second then disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke.

As he stared at the spot where she'd vanished he didn't hear someone come up behind him, so when her stepdaughter spoke he jumped almost out of his skin.

"I'm sorry, Robin. I didn't mean to startle you. How is she?"

"How is who?" he asked, eyes immediately drawn back to where she'd last been.

"Regina. You ran off after her like the hounds of hell were on both your tails."

"She's...raw."

"I don't think she appreciates that some people do see the effort she's making to be good." Snow sighed, brow creasing into a worried frown. "Don't give up, Robin. You'll get there eventually. Offer friendship first."

"What?"

"Come on, Robin. You care for her, we can all see that."

Dammit. He always thought he'd been good at hiding his emotions, but the princess was more observant than he thought. Regina had been getting under his skin, he had to admit.

"Just be careful - she lost her true love because of me."

With that, she turned and walked back the way she'd come. Robin stared, dumbfounded, after her. He couldn't believe that the sweet, hopeful princess could be the cause of someone's demise.

Then again, if someone had told him a few months ago that the infamous Evil Queen was just a broken woman missing her son he'd have died laughing.