Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

He was broken.

A broken man, lost, without hope of ever finding light again. Buried in darkness.

Marian, his darling Marian – the love of his life – was gone for good, and he had no one to blame but himself. Pain, guilt and anger dominated his world, the feelings ran through his veins like poison, until they managed to tear his very soul apart, leaving nothing of the man he used to be.

Gone was the noble Robin Hood.

He could not even bear to face his men anymore; the mere thought of the word 'merry' made him sick to his stomach. He would never be merry again. How could he? When all the reason for any kind of happiness in his life was buried with Marian, six feet under. Along with their unborn child.

He had been so happy when they had found out Marian was with child, he did not think it was possible for someone to feel so much bliss in one lifetime. Back then everything had been perfect; he had had his wife – his best friend and one true love – and they were going to have a baby. 

But duty called, and someone had to steal from the rich so the poor could survive the heavy winter. So he had left Marian in the care of Friar Tuck, safe in their secret hideaway at Sherwood Forest, and set out to King Midas' kingdom. The task was simple enough; ‘steal enough gold for everyone to survive’. And since the King had the ‘golden touch’ it was not fairly difficult to come by it. During the week in which Robin and his Merry Men spent in the kingdom, doing what they best, they were able to assemble more gold than ever before. The amount collected was more than enough to feed the villages on the outskirts of Sherwood and more. The prospect of helping more than they had ever before put silly smiles on their faces, for a long while.

Robin could easily see that there were still several more nobleman estates that held an uncountable amount of gold. He allowed his mind to wonder in daydreams of what that gold could bring him, his wife and their unborn child. A secluded house, hidden from all – even his Merry Men – just for him, his Marian and their boy –yes, a boy, he knew it was silly to predict but something in his gut told him Marian was carrying a boy. That gold could ensure they had enough food to live happily and comfortably. Just a little safe heaven where he could be alone with his family, watching his child grow up and grow old alongside his wife.

It did not seem like a grand wish at the time. After all, that gold was to provide for families such as his own. How could Robin guess that that gold was to be the cause of his misery? 

Little did he know of the price he would have to pay for this blasted metal.

The decision to stay a couple more days in the gold infested kingdom was not a difficult one to make. Robin was certain it could not hurt to linger a little more and since he was the leader, his word was law. The noble people from this kingdom had more gold than they could ever count, they would not even realize that they had had some stolen. So Robin decreed that he and his Merry Men would stay for five more days, to steal from a few more houses before they made their victorious way back to Sherwood forest.

Robin would never forgive himself for having made that decision; had he gone back to camp, back to Marian, instead of staying those five extra days, she might have lived. He would have found a way to save her. He was sure of it. He would have faced the devil himself in order to cure her, steal from whomever it was necessary in order to help her pull through her illness.

But how could he have known that while he was laughing at nobleman's stupidly, laughing at how easy it was breaking into their lavish homes, that his wife had fallen ill and was at death’s door? 

He would never forget the day he had gotten back to camp after what the Merry Men and Robin himself referred to as ‘their most profitable adventure ever’. They had arrived making the biggest ruckus in history, banging pans together and shouting to announce their victorious arrival. He had entered Marian's tent so eager to hold her, kiss her and tell her he had secured enough for their future, that everything was going to be alright for them, he nearly tripped on his way in.

But the sight that had met his eye had almost made his heart stop beating altogether. Robin felt his blood go cold when he saw his darling wife laying on her coot, her pale beige dress ruined with blood. She was unconscious and Friar Tuck was at her side holding her hand and muttering prayers.

She was pale, so very pale. She looked too thin and too small, not like his Marian at all. Nothing like the feisty, headstrong maiden who had confronted him about stealing from her. Not a resemblance to the passionate and determined young woman he had saved from an arranged marriage and married himself only two years prior. Nothing like his beautiful, beaming, pregnant wife whom he had left behind in camp just twelve days ago.

His world started to fade away, the vibrancy of life fading, as the red that stained Marian’s dress, the green of the forest floor, and the yellow on the coins that fell from his pockets started to loose their colour. Suddenly everything was black and white, all colour drained away from his reality. Now all he saw were shades of grey.

He could only make out Friar Tuck’s distant words as he rose from beside Marian to meet Robin and tried to explain what had happened during his absence;

Marian had contracted an odd illness…

Maybe due to a sudden change in weather…

We were not worried; it was just a fever, she seemed all right, she said she was not feeling so bad…

But five days ago she took a turn for the worse, started getting delirious and hallucinating…

An unforgiving fever, which would not break, cries and wails of pain erupted constantly from her lips…

He did everything he could but-

Robin stopped listening, he did not want to know the details of what had happened; his only concern was how to fix this.

But then Robin’s hearing focussed again at the mention of his child. He noticed then that the fat healthy 6-month bump Marian had carried was no more and Robin gave into the tears that had been pooling in his eyes. The Friar explained of how Marian had gone into premature labour, as he finally took enough courage and strength to approach his wife with almost undead steps. Friar Tuck had tried everything he could to save them both, but his child simply had not been ready for this world just yet, too small, and too fragile to leave his mother’s womb.

Marian’s life had been hanging by a thread and her child had had no hope.

And she had known; Marian had known she had lost her child. A mother always knows, for the first day she would weep and weep, calling out to Roland in between her cries of pain, her condition only worsening by the loss of her child. She had fallen asleep then – out of exhaustion, her efforts gaining her nothing but sorrow and agony - and ever since that day, her only words had been to call out for Robin, her husband, her heart.

Robin fell to his knees beside his dying wife, once filled with life and joy, now pale and fragile. He was unable to utter a single word, quite certain he was barely breathing as the tears streamed freely from his eyes. Her own dark set opened slowly then, she looked so tired with sweat mingled with dried blood prickling her forehead.

Robin tried to say her name, managed to open his mouth but no sound would resonate, he was unable to speak, incapable of moving. Her now bony hand rose to cup his right cheek, it was humid and hot but Robin did not care, for she was the love of his life and he was getting to look at her beautiful eyes once again. For a moment, a glimpse of a moment in time, he felt hope that with his return would somehow help her get better, she would pull through it, she was going to survive, even if the reality before his eyes told him otherwise. She had the softest of smiles on her lips as she whispered her last word; 'Robin'.

For a second the weak sound of his name leaving her lips had cracked up a tiny smile on Robin’s, his chest swelling with love and devotion. But it quickly faded in concert with her hand, when it lost contact with his skin, dropping lifeless on the floor. Her breath left her, the little colour that had remained in his world faded when he looked upon her once striking eyes, that had remained opened, staring at him, now devoid of life.  

For a while, he could not move, he could not cry, and he was fairly certain he could not even breathe. He just stared right back at her, watching the track a tear that had fallen from her eye wet her skin for the last time.

His beautiful wife was gone, lost to him forever.  

His child was dead, he would never see him grow.

Both the lights of his life faded away, everything was dark and cold and yet Robin’s soul burned.

When he felt Friar Tuck's hand on his shoulder, he snapped and broke down as if awoken from a trance. He clutched Marian’s lifeless body to his chest, never wanting to let her go, not quite believing that she was truly gone.

He had lost everything; his wife, his child and for what?

For his people? His men? The gold?

Robin vowed that he would never touch gold again, he would never steal again, and if this was the price to pay for being an honourable man, for helping others without ever asking for anything in return, then he did not want to be that anymore.

As something inside him snapped forever, Robin could not bear to face his men anymore, or any of the people who inhabited their small camp. Gone was the carefree, boyish, fierce leader. He felt hollow and alone. Even as the men he deemed as brothers tried to help him, tried to comfort him through his mourning when they had lost a loved one too. But he could not look them in the eye.

It had all been his fault, his orders had doomed his love, had ripped away his happiness. If he had returned five days ago, when her fever had taken a worst turn, then he would have been able to find a cure. He would have walked through hell to save her and their unborn child.Would have done anything-

Anything

But now. there was nothing he could do. They were both dead now, covered in earth and dirt, and it was all his fault. Robin had no one to blame but himself, his greed, his pathetic enthusiasm, his reckless attitude. What kind of leader was he that took decisions so lightly? He did not feel himself worthy of having a stray dog follow him, let alone a band of men that had not been touched by the sin his soul was now infested with.

And so he had left. He had taken his bow and arrows and simply vanished after burying his wife, vowing never to return to Sherwood Forest, its memories and its ghosts. He simply walked away with no destination in mind; his only objectives were to put as much distance between himself and this forest and to wipe away the image of his dead wife looking back at him from his memory, forever.

Whatever it took.

…

The following six months had been a blur. Robin managed to distance himself as much as he could from the place he used to call home. But no physical distance seemed to wipe away the images of that fateful day, they haunted his every conscious and unconscious moments. Every step he look was filled with regret and in every dream he had he relived his wife’s last moments.

The day he had lost his soul, ever since then he had felt hollow and with no reason to live, so Robin merely existed. He still wondered why was it that he had not taken his own life in order to end his misery. He nearly did it a few times, when the pain was too much, when the regret was just too much to bear. But every time he was about to do it something stopped him, an even darker voice inside his head told him he was not allowed to end his life. He was not worthy of a reunion with his family, for he had slathered them and he deserved to agonize for it. Death was too swift, too good for him. Therefore, he would suffer for the sake of his wife and child, whose blood he had on his hands.

He had wondered from forest to forest, from kingdom to kingdom, always staying clear of roads and cities; the busiest places were the worst for him, for in every woman he looked at, he saw Marian, in every man, he saw his good merry brothers and every child-

People he had lost forever. 

…

A further six months passed just as quickly. In every glimpse of his reflection, Robin could barely recognize the man who looked back at him. His soul felt heavy, as if he had aged years, the harsh lines on his face which his unkempt beard did not conceal spoke of the same truth. Robin was so changed he was certain he would not be recognized as the man he was a year ago by anyone who might have known him then. Sometimes he even wondered if his eyes had changed to a darker shade of blue, the light having faded away day by day.

It was not every night that Robin would cry himself to sleep anymore, he seemed to have run out of moist in his body to accomplish it, having shed so many tears he wondered how he had not fallen ill. If he had, he would have probably succumbed to the disease, having no strength nor reason to fight back, but death was still too good for him, so it did not dare touch him.

Remorse and pain were still his daily companions, his world was still colourless, black and white being all he saw. However, something different started stirring in him when he had travelled to King Leopold’s kingdom. He had faint memories of having visited this kingdom a few times in the past to do his job, but this inexplicable something clutching in his chest had never been there before. For some mysterious reason he could not bring himself to leave quite yet, even after having been there for a full month. He had never lingered in a single kingdom for that long, not even back in his days leading the Merry Men.

Robin had ceased in believing in any of higher force after what had happened to Marian but it seemed as if a strong pull kept him there. Kept him near the King’s castle of all places, sometimes in it’s woodsy outskirts, somethings in nearby villages.

This kingdom was different; he was able to bring himself to walk through the streets of little villages and he could even manage to enter taverns and be in the presence of others (although he would never buy anything; he had vowed to never touch gold again and such things as drinks and bread were paid for with gold only). 

 It was inside a tavern when news reached his ears that King Leopold had been murdered in his own bed. Apparently, one of his most trusted servants – some say he was a close friend even - had a vicious, poisonous, two-headed snake bite him whilst he slept.

A horrid ending for a man who was said to be such a benevolent and kind king.

Kind and yet foolish to keep such friends at arm’s length.

…

He would never know how she was able to track him down, but she had.

He did not know how she worked out who he was – he had not uttered his real name in a little over a year – but she knew.

It was precisely two days after the King's passing when black knights had come for him. All clad in black and metal, they outnumbered Robin in a ridiculous scale, he was hardly able to reach out for his bow before he felt cold metal make contact with the skin of his neck. They unceremoniously grabbed him, dragging him away from his secret hideaway in the woods towards the castle. The only remark close to an explanation was "the Queen's orders".

"The Queen?" He had wondered in confusion at first.

He remembered how he had heard King Leopold's wife was long gone, had been dead for more than a decade now, struck suddenly by a rare disease. Much like his Marian. He was sure for a moment he was to be taken to Leopold’s daughter, Snow White, his only heir.

But then, his mind was drawn back to a conversation he overheard in a tavern only a week ago. Two pageboys had been commenting on the King's birthday celebration, about how the festivities had not been grand, but it had been cheerful and moving. The king's speech concerning his late wife and appraising his daughter’s striking similarity to her beauty had brought guests and staff alike to tears.

Back then, Robin had envied the King for having had only beautiful memories of his wife and a daughter who resembled her so. A living piece of memory of his lost love who could bring sunlight into his life with her mother’s smile.

Robin had been left with nothing.

When the pageboys had discussed the very much alive second Queen, Robin had only just caught a few words, having been wrapped up in thoughts of the family he never had and poison-like jealousy. Searching deep in his mind Robin was able to recollect how the young men chatted about the Queen. They both agreed that even though the first Queen had been fair, the second one was most certainly the fairest of them all, her striking beauty being like nothing either had ever seen before. Even if that contradicted the King’s own opinion, the pageboys were quite adamant that the second Queen's beauty was unrivalled. 

A sudden curiosity struck him, as he was being dragged against his own will. And curiosity was not something he had felt in the longest time. So many questions started to form in his head, a thrilling rush of adrenaline pumped through his veins. What could the Queen possibly want with someone like him? The grieving Queen nonetheless, one who had only lost her husband two days ago. Had he been found out? Was he to finally pay for his crimes? Was he to be executed?

As they approached the castle his curiosity had only increased, his mind wondering back to the pageboy’s words; ‘The Queen's beauty was unrivalled’.

What does the fairest of all women look like? Robin wondered.

He felt a sudden thrill at the knowledge that he was just about to find out.

When Robin first laid his eyes upon the figure reclining in that chaise longue, his black and white world gained a new colour. The colour of the velvet covering her curvaceous body and painting her supple lips...

Red

Chapter Text

There was absolutely no lie in the pageboy’s remarks; the Queen was indeed the most beautiful woman Robin had ever laid eyes upon. His pupils dilated as he tried to take in as much as he could of the luring figure in red lounging like a feline before him.

But a few seconds of wonderment was all he was granted for, as soon as he was brought to stand a few feet away from where she sat, he was forced to his knees by one of the guards who uttered rashly; "Show some respect scum! Kneel before the Queen and keep that head down!"

His eyes were ripped away from the ruby red sight in front of him and were then staring at the polished cold, grey floor. Robin wondered if it had been a mere hallucination, for it was a swift moment, too quick, maybe a few seconds, in which his world had been bathed in red. He pondered with a frown if his reality had gone back to black and white.

"Leave us," he heard a female voice, he assumed belonged to the Queen, command firmly, in a harsh, indifferent tone.

Robin’s senses picked up the footsteps of the black guards as they left the room in military precision and could feel he had been left alone with the monarch. And yet his gaze remained glued to the grey floor, for some strange reason Robin did not want to press his luck in disobeying orders so early on. He had never been an abider to any rules in the first place, but right now, even in the solitary presence of the Queen, he knew he was at disadvantage.   

His eyes were still fixed on the ground. Rightly so, knowing this was the smartest thing to do if he was planning on leaving the stone fortress with his head still attached to his body - having an impressive amount of crimes to respond for will give you quite the heavy conscious, even if you tell yourself your intentions were the noblest. However, there was a niggling portion of Robin’s will which wanted to do nothing more than look up and bask in the mesmerizing red vision. His common sense thankfully won the battle and his eyes remained firmly fixed on the polished stone underneath him. 

The Queen hummed, and he could hear her moving on her chaise longue, and could not help but imagine the red fabric sliding over her skin as she shifted. Feeling the heat in her gaze from where he knelt, Robin wondered if her eyes would also bear the same shade of red she seemed to be shrouded in.

"Robin Hood,” she finally spoke, slowly letting his name roll off her tongue before she ordered him to ‘look up’.

Robin's head shot up so quickly it might have been comic hadn’t he looked like he was going to eat her alive with his mystification. The color red had indeed returned to his reality, and it hit him like a hurricane. 

When their eyes locked together for the first time, Robin felt as if something had, for a split second, gotten a hold of his heart and squeezed hard. The feeling momentarily stole the air out of his lungs and he had to control himself in order not to gasp to take his next breath. The sensation passed just as quickly as it came, but it left Robin's heart pounding loudly in his chest and his throat dry.

The Queen’s eyes had widened as the momentary sensation had hit him, her mouth opening for a moment in a surprised ‘O’ shape and Robin had to wonder if she had felt that inexplicable something too. 

After the slight start, Robin was finally able to drink in the image of the creature said to be the fairest of all women.

What he saw was of no assistance whatsoever to his attempts of keeping his heartbeat under control.

Her long, dark, pitch-black hair cascaded over her shoulders, the soft curls reaching her chest and a little beyond. She had a section pinned up in a fancy updo but most of it rested upon her chest. Her eyes were fierce, vibrant and dark, and even the heavy black paint she used in them could not hide their effervescence. She had a perfect angular nose, and her skin was of the lightest tone of olive, it appeared to never have been touched by the sun.

But Robin’s eyes seemed to be fixated on her mouth, the indentation on her upper lip might have showcased some vulnerability if her red lips, which had been slightly parted, were not curled into a malicious smirk. Her mouth was hypnotizing him, enticing him, the only bit of living color in his reality. But when she spoke again, the spell was broken, and Robin's eyes returned to hers.

"Aren't you a difficult one to find?" The rhetorical question hung in the air as she paused for a moment and hummed, not paying much attention to the thief but seemingly enjoying the way he could not tear his eyes away from her. 

"Although,-” she began with a hint of amusement “-now that I am in charge, things are done much more efficiently in this castle."  

Robin’s frown grew as she chuckled to herself, as if sharing some inside joke. She took a breath and studied him for a beat before delivering, "I hear you have given up prancing around from kingdom to kingdom doing charity with other people's possessions." She taunted, looking at him with an expecting expression and an arched eyebrow.

All of a sudden, Robin's blood began to boil, his face felt hot and the abrupt heat had nothing to do with the Queen's shapely figure or her taunting lips. 

He was not foolish; Robin knew that the Queen could order his execution in a heartbeat, but the angry words at her disdain towards him and his long lost cause tumbled out of his mouth before he could even think about stopping them.

"What is it you want from me?" He asked looking her right in the eye and slowly adding "your majesty," hoping to draw a reaction from her.

The Queen let out an amused laugh, "I'm not sure if you are actually as bold as people say or just plain stupid," she said with a tilt of her head, a curious gleam now filled her eyes. 

She stood from her chaise, still studying him with a newfound interest. As soon as she rose, all the anger evaporated from Robin's mind, making way for desires he though had been long lost. The Queen's skin seemed to have an alluring gleam from what little was shown by her garments; there was no low cut neckline, no bare arms or shoulders, no slit in side of her dress. The lack of visible skin was typical for a grieving widow. But the dress this widow wore was nothing like what Robin would have imagined a mourning Queen would present herself in.

The dark red velvet hugged the Queen's every curve, Robin felt his mouth water as he was now able to attest that her body had been made for sin. He could not help but feel slightly envious of the tight, black corset around her waist that molded to her body and firmly held her supple flesh in its confines. A sudden desire to alleviate her of all that fabric hit Robin by surprise. Her frame was petit but she stood so tall and with so much poise, she looked like a titan.

She was stunning, breath taking, and from the way her lips curved into a wicked smirk and the sway of her hips as she took a few steps forward, Robin knew she was fully aware of her allure.

"Regardless of your stupidity,” she continued, “I'm in need of your legendary aim."

The Queen took the necessary steps to almost close the distance between them, stopping a foot away and resting a hand on her hip as she ran her other through her hair. His head was now aligned and dangerously close to something of the Queen’s he never would have thought he would come to desire so fervently. He traced the outline of her hips with his eyes and swallowed, subconsciously biting his lower lip in the process. 

When she ordered him to his feet, he stood swiftly in one move, which half startled the Queen who took a wee step back. The gleam in her eyes was intense and slightly amused - the tiniest of grins tugging at her red lips - as they travelled slowly from his head to his toes, cataloguing his physique with interest. After a moment of studying him, she rolled her shoulders back, straightening up her posture as she gave a pleased sigh.

"I have a job for you." She stated.

"Why would I ever do anything for you?" Robin retorted before he could stop himself.

She met his gaze with those sparkling, devious eyes, they were dark, Robin could not make out the color but knew they were dark. She moistened her lower lip with her tongue and curved her mouth into a smirk, as she got closer to him. Her index finger came into his line of vision and touched lightly at his chin, the small skin contact sent shivers throughout his entire body. Robin could see the Queen’s eyes widen at the spark that lingered where their flesh met and was glad he was not alone in feeling such a powerful sensation from so little contact.

She produced a soft puff of air from her mouth before leaning forward until their faces were perilously close, she then whispered, "Because I have so much to offer," and Robin could feel the warm air that left her mouth come in contact with his and it sent his head spiraling with lust and confusion. She smiled when she saw him swallow before inhaling.

Robin found the Queen’s suggestive words and forward approach quite enticing, and his breathing quickened as he started to feel his below-the-belt reaction to her closeness. He could not help but let out a groan when that single finger trailed its way torturously slowly down his neck, past his Adam's apple, reaching the top button of his shirt.

The Queen broke the contact with a content sigh, bringing his attention back to her supple mouth before she started to prowl round him, ensuring she brushed against his growing erection as she did so.

What was this woman planning of doing to him?

He could sense her coming to a halt right behind him, not as close as she had been before but close enough for him to feel the heat radiating from her body.

"I need to dispose of an enemy,” she continued out of the blue, her voice was now business like sounding nothing like the words she had just slurred to him, “-but that's proven to be more difficult than I had originally expected."

Robin did not know why he was suddenly feeling so daring, he knew how dangerous it was to be bold and let his emotions rule over his head. This woman had power, great power over an entire army, plus he was almost certain she knew of his history in crime. But the words kept tumbling from his mouth, almost as if he had no control over them, her presence made him feel, different. Perhaps it was due to him having next to nothing to live for, Robin was not truly living, he was barely surviving.

Or perhaps it was because, logic showed him that the Queen would not kill him right away; she had sought him out personally to do this job for her. She needed her enemy gone and she wanted Robin of all people to do the job.

And so, not quite sure which instinct he was then following, Robin turned around to face her and retorted; "Well why don't you have one of your 'efficient' knights to your dirty work for you?"

The Queen gave a dangerous chuckle at his words, "I'd be careful if I were you outlaw." Darting her eyes to his lips, she added; "That smart mouth of yours might cost you your head someday."

Her eyes returned to his and she drew her bottom lip into her mouth, teeth worrying the soft flesh before she went back to smirking at him.

Robin was fairly certain that this woman had a lot more on her mind than only assassination and business like deals. He wondered if she was testing him, playing some sort of rouse to provoke him and then leave him high and dry for her own royal entertainment. There was something odd about her, her aura seemed to want to draw him in, his nether parts could not help but react to her provoking double meaning remarks.

He had never felt this much need for a woman, especially when the woman in question had given away so little and was so… vicious and cold hearted. It was much like she had laid a spell on him, he felt incapable of resisting his urges. And Robin was far from being a shy lover having had his fair share of romantic escapades. Those were all before Marian, she had made him a better man and he had felt he as if no other would could ever tempt him. The better man lay six feet under along with the woman he loved.

And this was not romantic at all.

This was raw, primal and dark. Her red lips were like a magnet, drawing him in with the urge to kiss, bite, suck and ravage them until red was the only color they possessed and-

Robin snapped himself out of his fantasies. 

What was happening to him?

Had he really changed so much that someone he had just met could reduce him to a lust-crazed animal? Was he under some sort of spell? Or was this an effect of his own actions? He had not been around many people in a long time, choosing to live in the woods for months. He had only come back into civilization a couple of months back and he had most certainly never been around anyone quite like this Queen standing before him.

"My target is much loved in this kingdom." She spoke suddenly, drawing his attention back to her lips. "I need someone who won't be blinded by that."

Pivoting on her heels, the Queen turned her back on Robin and headed towards a mirror which hung on the wall facing her. She stood a little to the left of the reflective surface so she could met his gaze through the reflection, she continued; “My prey has a protector, who has not left her side since my dear husband's passing." The way in which she uttered 'dear husband' made it very clear that the King had been anything to her but ‘dear’.

Robin wondered just how much involvement she actually had in his demise; having met the ‘grieving widow’, he would not have been surprised to find out she had orchestrated the whole affair.

She turned away from the mirror to face him once more and for a moment, Robin could have sworn he saw the face of a man behind her, but he quickly brushed aside the notion; mirrors did not have their own faces.

"First you will rid me of her protector,” the Queen declared, bringing his attention fully back to her making him forget quickly about mirrors with faces, "My prey has taken to the habit of taking the forest route to the King's grave which she visits every day. She's escorted by her protector and no one else."

The indifferent look in the Queen's eyes faded away, leaving them sparkling with bloodlust and darkness. Two things Robin could fully identify with.

"You are to covertly dispose of her protector with one single, fatal shot," she took a step towards him, inhaling deeply, "I want my prey to see her precious friend die right in front of her… and know that she’s next." The words came out of the Queen’s mouth as if she was describing a delicious feast she was about to devour. This woman was thirsty for blood and Robin, even though he knew nothing about her motivations, could not help but understand.

The Queen approached him once again, still wearing that fierce, dark look in her eyes, her voice had grown a little thick, as she moved to what seemed to be her favorite part, "Once that is done, you may reveal yourself. Then I want you to hunt her down like you do your preys. I want her to feel the agony of being pursued by death itself. I want you to shoot stray arrows that almost hit her to terrify her even more.” She took a deep breath then, her hands were in tight fists and her eyes had started to fill with moist over the excitement of her demands and orders, “And then you will kill her, I will give you a weapon with which to do that. But-" She raised her index finger in front her face in warning; "Once she’s dead, I want you to carve out her heart, and bring it back for my collection."

Robin swallowed.

"Do you understand?" She asked firmly.

"Yes" he breathed out, gaze fixed firmly on hers. He could not help but wonder what this person could have possibly done to warrant such treatment.

An evil smirk made its way onto the Queen’s ruby lips, "Good."

She started walking towards him again, but passed straight by to stand in front of her chaise. With her back turned to him – giving him a good view of that picture perfect behind she possessed - she twisted her upper body slightly towards him, so she could look back at him with an arched brow.

"So-" she scanned him from head to toe once more, before lowering her voice to ask; "What do you want?"

What did he want? He did not even know if he wanted to aid her at all with her twisted plan. True, he had killed many men before; even in his days leading the Merry Men, many had found their lives ending by his hands. Normally men who did not deserve to be alive, who had brought on misery or death upon many, mostly rapes and killers. Back then, he had felt he was doing the right thing by the wrong means, but it had been the only way to ensure those villains were never to commit their crimes ever again.

After he had left his merry band, he really could not have cared less if death was brought on by his hands. He had fought constantly in the beginning. He had sought arguments with lesser men, attempting to find an outlet for his anger and despair over what he had done to his wife and unborn child. Oddly enough, it had worked, it had been one of the only things that made him forget for a while, when rage invaded his senses, he was free. It had made him feel numb, and hollow.

And that had been perfect.

Taking a life drained his emotions in a way that all feelings had started to mingle together, becoming the same and yet nothing at all.

And that was how he knew he could do it.

He could do exactly what the Queen had asked him to, he could even feel a little grateful for the offering, for he was to feel that blissful numbness again.

But at that precise moment, being faced by this entrancing woman, he most certainly did not feel numb. Quite the contrary; this malicious and yet truly stunning Queen had awakened something in him he was not quite sure he had ever felt before.

True, he had loved Marian with all his heart, vowed to stay true to her and had desired her immensely.

But this Queen, this vision of what the fairest a woman could be, stirred something extremely primal in him, something downright animalistic.

What did he want? He wanted to rip off that teasing dress from her body with his teeth; he wanted to take her against that ridiculous chaise longue until she screamed his name.

What did he want? He wanted to grab, lick, bite, and mark her entire body as if it belonged to him. He wanted to shut her smart mouth with his cock and have her milk him dry and then swallow every last drop when he came.

What did he want? He wanted her on top of him, he wanted to take her from behind, he wanted her on all fours, he wanted her in every position possible, and even upside down. He craved to be inside her warm cunt, wanted to pump himself into her until she passed out.

She waited for his response, but Robin knew better than to voice his true wishes; they were no doubt far too forward.

"There must be something you desire," she drawled after a moment, turning to fully face him, "Name it and it shall be yours."

Robin’s eyes had slowly gotten used to the new color pallet in his vision and was only now able to appreciate more details of the ‘mourning’ dress the Queen was wearing. His pupils dilated as he noticed that the black lace that covered the area between her breasts was translucent, and he could make out the curve of her breasts through the fabric.

The Queen, noticing his reaction, - she was a perceptive sort or maybe he was being a little too obvious - smirked and gestured for him to come hither with her finger. For a split second, Robin truly did not know if he should, for all he knew this could be a trap and she could shove a blade through the tissue of his stomach as soon as he got too close. After all, she was all too enthusiastic about having him do just that to another.

And yet, Robin’s feet were taking steps on their own accord, stupidly approaching the vision in red. When he was just about half a foot away, she put a finger on his chest, making him halt in front of her. She could no doubt feel the erratic beating of his heart through the small contact her finger made with his chest and that had to fell slightly humiliating.

She then leaned closer, as if to kiss him, and humiliation was suddenly the last thing on his mind. However, just as their lips where ghosting over each other, the pull almost irresistible, she changed her route until she had her mouth almost pressing against his ear.

"I'm sure we can come up with something that could be-" she inhaled before pressing her cheek against his and brushing her lips against the shell of his ear,"-quite enjoyable for the two of us, don’t you think?"

"Yes." Robin answered, his voice dropping an entire octave. He was fairly certain he lost the ability to speak and his entire vocabulary the moment her tongue came in contact with the skin behind his earlobe in a swift lick.

Robin groaned as she bit the flesh of his earlobe and pulled slightly before releasing it with a sigh. He could feel her breath ghost over the skin of his neck, almost touching, a tantalizing and torturous journey her red lips made until she then withdrew so their mouths were mere centimeters apart and her breath ghosted over his lips instead. She sank her teeth into her bottom lip as she stared at the outlaw’s mouth, she then released it, and Robin was enraptured with the way the deep red color returned.

"What is it outlaw?" She asked sultrily, her eyes never leaving his lips. "You want to sink your teeth into my lips the way I just did?"

She blinked and her gaze returned to his, a malicious smirk appearing on her lips as she saw his Adam’s apple bob with a loud swallow. It took all there was left of Robin’s self-control to not ravage her lips then, not to crash his own hungry and desperate lips onto her lush ones.

He managed to grunt a responsive, “Yes”

She hummed and gave him a small grin. "Well then… isn't this your lucky day?"

The Queen slid her finger down his chest, scratching at the worn fabric of his shirt until she reached its end. She promptly hooked her teasing finger into the waistband of his pants and pulled him towards her, finally closing the distance between their bodies. 

The contact was exquisite, an electrifying vibration ran about every inch of skin he possessed that somehow came in contact with the Queen’s; Robin’s self-control slipped, if this was indeed a trap, he found himself not caring anymore. He released a low groan and both his hands acted on their own accord and immediately shot to grab onto her sinful arse, pulling her even closer. He did not bother to look at her expression when he heard her gasp at his actions, his face lowered to the crook of her neck and he inhaled her scent deeply, grinding his hips against her.

The Queen let out a small moan at the contact, teasingly asking; "Eager, are we?"

He could feel her raise her free hand and all of a sudden, the noise of the heavy doors being violently closed sounded just from behind him. He raised his head to look at the Queen with confusion, a small voice inside his head told him he was a fool to put himself in a situation such as this, for it could only be a trap. But she only granted him with a mere half shrug and tugged harder on his waistband.

The contact between them was exhilarating, it made his head light and his cock harder, as she grinded herself on him, urging him to make the next move, challenging him with her fire filled eyes. His hands flexed at her hips as the urge to bunch the material up in his fingers swept through him.

But then her patience seemed to run thin and she pounced, capturing his lower lip between her teeth and he could do nothing but tighten his grip on her. He could feel her trace her tongue over his lip, softly and slowly the tip of her tongue covered his lip and Robin found himself unable to react but only bask at the small and yet maddening contact. 

As if knowing he was enjoying this only too much, she broke the contact too soon, leaning back with an evil gleam in her eye.

"Hmm, tasty. I like that." She purred.

Robin had to take a large intake of breath in between gritted teeth as the hand she had used to pull them together found its way underneath his shirt and slowly trailed up his torso. Her hand was small and cold, the interaction sent shivers down Robin’s spine.

"And I like this very much indeed" she added.

When her fingers reached just underneath the center of his ribs, she dug her nails into his flesh and dragged them down his torso. The action on itself stung and was sure to leave an angry red marking and yet, Robin found it odd how the pain turned out to feel absolutely erotic and enticing, he could not hold back a groan.  

"If you are lucky, I might even keep you outlaw."

She trailed her other hand past his waistband – whilst the other found its way to his behind, taking a rest there - and palmed his hard member shamelessly through the fabric of his pants. Robin grumbled loudly as his head fell back when she squeezed him hard, humming in delight at her actions.

Taking the Queen’s incredibly forward actions as an open invitation to make himself familiar with her body, he ground himself against her alluring figure as his mouth found the pulse point on her neck and sucked hard.

Now it was the Queen's turn to moan, and the high-pitched sound she released was music to Robin’s ears.

Damn her; even when uncontrolled, everything about her was striking. 

And damn him; his absolute lack of self-control made it very difficult to focus on anything other than this mesmerizing woman in front of him, and the delicious flesh on her neck that was currently attached to his lips.

Damn his past and his wrong doings

Damn whoever it was that he was bound to kill for this woman

Right here, right now, for the first time in the longest time, something felt right.

Robin bit, nipped and sucked over every inch of exposed flesh until the Queen was moaning, gasping and trembling. He was reluctant to confess the flesh-to-flesh contact drew out something he had never felt before, ever. The sparks were raw and almost overwhelming, but he worked his way up her neck, resolute on painting it red with his mouth.

Both of the Queen’s hands suddenly came to grab the back of his neck, her nails clawing so deep they could have easily drawn blood. Robin was surprised to discover he did not mind the pain, could even perhaps admit he rather enjoyed it. The firmer his advances became, the louder she moaned and the harder her nails dug into his flesh. Robin could not help but get a bit carried away, biting down hard – drawing a gasp from the Queen – and then tracing the indentations his teeth made with his tongue.

They were suddenly interrupted by a male voice "Your majesty, if I may..."

Robin was startled at the interruption for he was sure the doors were closed and that they had been alone inside that room. He might not have been paying a great amount of attention to his surroundings but he knew, could feel, that they had been alone.

Not anymore

He looked up to find the Queen’s eyes wide and rage-filled.

She had not moved; her nails were still digging into the back of his neck, but her eyes looked right through him. Robin noted something else in her gaze, there was anger, yes, but he could also see frustration, and exhaustion.

He looked about the room, searching for the source of their interruption so he could rip their tongue out – he was very much so enjoying his ‘negotiation’ with the Queen -  but he found it to be empty except for the pair of them.

The Queen dropped her fierce grip from his neck and spun around quickly to face the wall behind her. 

More accurately, she turned to face the mirror, which hung on the wall.

Robin was taken aback at his earlier notion of seeing a face in this same mirror being proven correct; there was a man's face inside the reflective surface on the wall, hovering like a ghost.

Robin had seen many a strange thing in his lifetime, but he had had very little contact with this kind of witchcraft. Or any kind of magic whatsoever, he had despised the usage of it. The hovering head made him slightly uneasy, and the dark expression worn on its face did not help matters.

"How dare you?" The Queen roared towards the mirror, her seductive expression replaced with one of fury.

"Forgive me your majesty,” The mirror stuttered in a manner of sudden complete submission, when he continued speaking his tone changed to something Robin would usually associate with those of a jealous disposition; “I merely thought that it wouldn't be wise for the thief to claim his reward before-"

"You have no say in how I tend to my deals!" She spat at the mirror, cutting off whatever reasoning the disembodied face was planning to give.

Robin could clearly see that the Queen was enraged; her nostrils flared, her hands clenched into fists and the corner of her ruby mouth turned up in a snarl. "I will do as I please!"

Robin found himself gasping when she made the mirror disappear in a cloud of smoke with a mere wave of her hand. 

The Queen was a witch.

Well, that explained a lot, did it not? Such as the doors conveniently closing when he had first grabbed her, despite there clearly being no one else there. Perhaps she had put him under some sort of spell; it would explain this seemingly inexplicable attraction to her. He had never been this reckless in such dangerous situations, even when kidnapping Marian from her own wedding; he had planned it most carefully before storming the ceremony and stealing her away.

Magic

But wouldn’t he have felt it if it was used on him? He did not feel any different, aside from the fact that he was hard as a rock with good reason and that had not been a regular feeling lately.

Somehow, he knew that just was not true; she may have seduced him with her charms and body, but there was no magic involved. She did not need to use magic to lure him to her bed, only a word from her would suffice. Of that, he was certain of.

So he watched as she waved her hand and another cloud of smoke appeared, the mirror reappearing high above in the ceiling. The man's face was still in there, trapped inside, although he was now decidedly more terrified.

"And if you ever interrupt me again-” she sneered at him, “-I will make sure to have every single mirror in this castle crushed to pieces!"

With a flick of her wrist, the smoke was gone and the mirror fell, crashing loudly on the floor as it met its shattering demise. Shreds flew everywhere, and Robin instinctively turned away from the shattering object in order to protect himself from the shards. But the Queen did not move a muscle, even when Robin was sure the sharp pieces of glass must have reached her face, she did not move a hair.

The Queen had her back to Robin, her breathing was slow and heavy, as if to try to compose herself before she returned her attentions to her ‘guest’.

Robin was at a loss of words at what had just transpired.

What was that thing?

Was there an actual person trapped inside a mirror?

And the Queen's magic, it was wondrous at the very least, it turned Robin's thoughts into a knotted mess.

Of course, he knew of magic, knew of its presence in this world, he would have to be a complete fool to deny its existence. He was fully aware that some people had the innate ability to wield it, and that most of them used it for selfish purposes, the vast majority of those, evil. But the few witches he had come across had been old, not entirely sane and had resorted to more potions than actual spells.

Shortly after he had left his Merry Men, Robin had entertained thoughts of how magic could have helped save his wife.

He had made his first stop at the fairies, one of the only beings known to use magic for good, the well-being of others rather than themselves. He was met with the answer that their magic could not bring back those who had been taken by death. A response that did not fully surprise him for those irritating little bugs were known to play by the rules, and if there was a way to bring back Marian, that path would most certainly implode the rules.

He had then decided to visit magic wielders with looser morals. He visited all the witches he could track down, but had been met with the exact same answer. He figured they had not been powerful enough, refused to give up. He even considered the Dark One, as ridiculous a notion as it was, but he could never quite bring himself to formulate a plan to break into his castle.

But something that had been worse than the pain of her loss, had been the devastating sensation he would get when he was met with the same negative response. The small joy of hope made everything worse than it had already been.

But this Queen was not like any other he had met before. He had never seen this kind of magic. And if she could so easily summon consciousness into a mirror with a wave of her hand, then maybe she was powerful enough to-

"You have magic..." He breathed out.

The Queen stilled but remained with her back turned to him. She waved her hand once again and the mess the broken mirror had left on the floor disappeared. The dark frame shaped like the flaming sun reappeared on its initial spot on the wall, but there was no reflective surface on the inside.

She then turned to face him, her eyes devoid of any warmth, a small track of red marked the flesh of her right cheek as a drop of blood ran down. It matched the ruby vibrancy of her once painted in red lips, and when that drop reached said flesh; her tongue came out of its confines in order to taste it. Robin was hypnotized once more.

“How very observant of you” she stated humorless before her fingers came close to her cheek and healed the marred skin completely.

Regardless of her uninviting words, Robin felt the burning poison of hope spread itself throughout his heart.

Maybe the Queen finding him was no coincidence. Maybe this was meant to happen. 

Maybe he was meant to find her.

Those thoughts ran riot through his mind, repeatedly.

He would kill for her, twice; he would tear her enemy and her protector to shreds. Then, this powerful sorceress would owe him a favor. And now, Robin knew exactly what he wanted his favor to be.

With newfound confidence he declared; "I know what I want in exchange for my services."

She still remained expressionless and asked; "Oh? You do? I thought we had already settled that." she raised one eyebrow.

Robin ignored her last statement and continued, "I want you to use your powers-” her head tilted to the side with mild interest, “-to bring my wife back from the dead." His voice broke a little at the end of the sentence, and tears he did not even realize were pooling in his eyes threatened to break free.

The Queen's eyes widened at his words and her mouth opened a little. She stared at him without blinking, as if she had seen a ghost, her face a myriad of emotions.

From all he had seen from her, from the seduction to the blood lust, from the passion to the fury, the woman standing before him was a completely different person to the one he had been attacking with his lips not two moments ago.

Through the blurry haze – caused by the tears he refused to shed – they held each other’s gaze. There was a horrid, weighted silence between them for a moment, before the Queen shook her head slightly and confessed in a small voice; "I cannot do that."

She took a large intake of breath and ran a hand over her cheek. "All magic has rules, and one of the cruelest is that you cannot bring back the dead."

Robin felt his heart sink inside his chest, shrinking and shrinking until there was nothing left. He screwed his eyes shut and let the tears he had tried so valiantly to keep at bay run down his face.

Pain

The pain was back. And the guilt. And every single helpless feeling he had ever experienced. They all returned and set about crushing him under the weight of his regret. For a short while he had been able to shut them away and feel like he was worthy of taking a breath again. 

But now they were back, all his ghosts, stronger than ever. He had been a selfish, horrid person, and now he was paying the price. His world was no longer black and white but black alone – the last traces of light having faded along with his last hope. Darkness consumed him, there was only dark-

The Queen cleared her throat and he opened his eyes.

She was still a vision in red.

"Do not kid yourself outlaw." She said, there was a small trace of empathy in her voice, almost unnoticeable but he could detect it, "I was taught long ago that dead is dead. There is no amount of magic that can change that." She swallowed and darted her gaze from his, "If there was a way to do such a thing-” she took in a deep breath, “Well-” she looked at him almost sympathetically, "We wouldn't even be having this conversation."

She looked back at him and blinked. For a heartbeat, she looked like someone else, not the bold and audacious Queen he had met and had an utterly escalated intimate moment with, but someone shattered, someone broken, completely devoid of happiness. Someone hollow and alone. For a moment, he saw everything he had felt in the past year inside her dark eyes. He saw himself.

And then it was gone, if he had not dared to blink he could have thought he had imagined it all. Her trace of vulnerability a distant memory, and her eyes cold and distant.

"I shan't be rewarding you with anything until your task is done." She said icily.

She walked past him and came to rest on her chaise longue once more. Robin looked at her and knew that whatever glimpse he had seen of a broken woman was gone, and so he went back to thinking about the task in hand.

"So-” Robin started, squaring his shoulders and tilting his chin up, “who do you want me to kill?"

Chapter Text

After the Queen had unceremoniously informed Robin that he was to dispose of none other than her own stepdaughter, the Princess Snow White, she had gone into further detail about her assassination plan; she wanted to make sure her dark orders were not traced back to her.   

Her main concern lay with the tricky fact that even though his first kill was to be done quickly and whilst he was concealed, the second one was much more elaborated. She insisted upon having him chase the sodding girl and when the job was done, carve out her heart and bring it back to her. 

In order to accomplish such a feat, he was to disguise himself as one who the crown had taken pity on after a great fire had burned his farm to the ground, along with his family. Robin had to laugh at how much that made up story rang true to him – if he did not laugh he would have cried – but the Queen could not have known that. She had fabricated the story and arranged for him to join the forest patrol, which was the only part of the royal guard that posed as any threat to her plan.  

The forest guards of the patrol were part of the royal guard who watched over the small forest about the castle. Since the kingdom had been peaceful for many years, the castle having not been under attack for decades, these guards were very few, and either too old or too young to do the actual work the Royal Guard required. They guarded the forest as sentinels, barely really armed, but if anything were to happen, it was their duty to sound an alarm. 

And that very fact posed as the Queen’s main problem; were the alarm to be sound, their cause was certain to be doomed, Robin would be hanged and the Queen, as she had told him dismissively would have the burden of finding yet another assassin and formulating an alternative plan.

She insisted upon having the brat’s heart for her collection, something which Robin still could not understand why, for the organ would wither and smell, so why would she want to keep it? But the Queen was burning to have her grip on the girl’s heart, and there was no talking her out of it – not that he tried; Robin was not suicidal. 

If he were to dispose of the princess the same way as her companion, their troubles would be few and he could sooner, rather than later, claim his reward. A reward must unorthodox but Robin was way over any kind of beliefs on what was right or wrong. His reward was something the Queen had promised not with words but actions and now that Robin thought it over, he kicked himself internally for not having drawn a contract of some sort. That woman, after all, was a vicious one, and even her alluring figure was not able to mask that trait. Robin just hoped that when all the killing was over with, she would hold her end of the bargain, an end which involved both of them naked and sweaty. 

That was how Robin had found himself in the Patrol’s headquarters, the place looked ready to collapse and had a sinister aura about it, even in broad day light. 

The clothes he had been given were not new; the last young guard who had been moved to the royal guard when he came of age had worn them. The uniform was simple and quite similar to the clothes Robin had worn previously; very light and rather comfortable, easy to manoeuvre in. The only painful difference was that he now had the royal crest glued to his chest, just above his heart, a sight that would have made his Merry Men laugh for an entire week. 

Thinking about his once merry brothers made Robin’s chest ache with anguish and loss and he had to fight to keep those memories at bay, in order not to blow his cover so early on. That part of his past had been locked away; he was not that person anymore. He could not be, not after everything he had done, he was not worthy of any of his brothers or their compassion. 

Robin’s attention was drawn away from reminiscing as he was forced to listen to the chief of the patrol, Captain Mormant, who kept on talking regardless if Robin was listening or not. 

“Ah, I’m glad to see young Arthur’s uniform fits ye!” the man said as Robin re-entered his office. The captain was well beyond his prime years, but still a big man nonetheless, he held himself with great pride. His hair was almost all white but Robin could see a few remaining grey strands. His skin was quite weathered and the wrinkles of his face tripled as he gave Robin a sincere yet tight smile. 

“Yes, thank you sir.” Robin replied, attempting to act as normally as possible.  

The story the Queen had set for him was not difficult to make believable; the role of the grieving widower came quite naturally to him. The same could not be said of a certain Queen- 

Why were his thoughts trailing in her direction yet again? He was supposed to concentrate on the mission at hand and draw as little suspicion as possible. But as soon as the memory of her daring hand on his cock hit him, he was helpless to resist. Robin had to only let his mind wonder for a few moments and the image of her all clad in red – and sometimes not clad in anything at all – would rush into his head.  

“Good,” the chief responded, “Ye have come just at the right time lad, we have been in need of another man-” the chief looked at him, then narrowed his eyes a little and gave a hearty chuckle, “How foolish of me, I seem to have forgotten to ask for yer name!” 

Robin had to laugh, “It’s Ro-” he stopped his sentence midway and closed his mouth as he almost blew his cover. His adventures with the Merry Men had not allowed for anonymity; he had once changed his name to Robin Hood but that man no longer was. Given that he was undercover, Robin deemed that using even his birth name was risky. And if he was recognized because of any name he once used for himself, it was doubtful the Queen would be pleased. 

Ah! That damned woman ! Once again, she manages to snake her way into my thoughts 

Robin cleared his throat, “Roland, my name is Roland.” He gave the captain a small smile, and prayed to whatever high force above that he sounded sincere enough.   

Thankfully, the man did not need much convincing, he accepted the name and extended his hand so Robin could shake it, “Very well, Roland.” 

“Since this forest is quiet and not very grand, we only need three guards to do the patrol during the day and two other during the night.” The old man continued, “Ye will be responsible for the east patrol during the day, when ye’re not on patrol yer time is yers to do as ye please.” 

“Very well, sir.” Robin was feeling rather foolish, pretending he gave a damn about the instructions the old man was giving him. 

Honor 

Robin had almost scoffed as the old man told him how grateful he should be to have the honor to serve the crown. Honor had only brought him misery, seeking to do the honorable thing for his people had mangled his life. Robin had ruined his life and the lives of the ones he loved the most. 

The man standing before him held himself with pride as if this pathetic job of watching over a couple hundred trees was relevant. 

Robin pushed down his real feelings around the subject of honor and paid closer attention to the man’s words. 

“Billy does the south patrol and Dominic the west. They will be here any minute,” The old captain continued, “The day shift ends at sundown, and the boys come to report to me before they head home.” 

“I have no home to go back to sir; I was told I am to take my rest here.” Robin said; it had been the last thing the Queen instructed him to say before she had ordered him away.  

It was probably her way of keeping an eye on him, making sure he would not escape or betray her. 

The old captain frowned and dropped his gaze. “I’m sorry about that lad,” he looked up again, “But yes, ye are to stay here then.” after a grave moment of heavy silence, he continued, “Come,” he strode past Robin, “I’ll show you the rest of the headquarters.” 

The old man pushed open the timeworn, wooden door that led to a common room. The space was not grand, but managed to accommodate a round table with several mismatched chairs around it. The bookcases contained more trinkets than actual books, and there were several wooden chairs, carved in different patterns dotted around the room, several of them in front of the lit fireplace, an obvious source of warmth in the cool weather. 

“There was a time when this house was full of noise and filled to the brim.” He muttered whilst looking around at the empty room, his expression haunted. “Those were the good fighting years, now… it’s too quiet.” He shook his head and looked at Robin, “I should not have said that, I am grateful that the late King managed to keep our kingdom in peace for so long. But one cannot help but miss more thrilling times of his life.” 

“Indeed” Robin responded grimly, feeling that last remark hit him as the cold harsh truth of his reality. 

Robin was then led up the old, worn stairs, each step resulting in a sharp creak when weight of any kind was put on it. There was a long corridor upstairs with several wooden doors on either side, the hallway was barren except for a rotting carpet covering the surface of the floor. Even during the day the place looked haunted, Robin could only imagine it was going to be even worst once the sun was down. To his surprise, the carpet bore the color red, not as vibrant as the Queen’s dress or lips, but faded as if it was just a trace of her having been here. 

The old man led him to a door at the end of the corridor, as it was pushed open the hinges squeaked. He gestured for Robin to enter. The room was empty but for a bed, a small rectangular wooden table that looked like it was about to crumble and a petty mirror that hung just above it. 

“Ye will be taking yer rest here.” He said, “It’s been a long time since anyone has spent the night,” 

Robin knew that the man he as pretending to be was supposed to feel frightened about the prospect of lingering in such a place for an entire night. But he could not bring himself to feel threatened or afraid in any way. 

What could possibly happen to him? He was technically the person everyone else should be afraid of; he was the monster who was going to assassinate the royal princess come sunrise. 

“Thank you, sir.” Robin replied with a nod, trying to push in some uneasiness into his voice for good measure. 

Just as the captain nodded his way and made it to leave the room an idea formulated itself in Robin’s head and before he could stop himself he inquired; “Captain, if you do not mind my intrusion, for how long have you served this order?” 

The old man gave a hearty laugh as Robin had expected him to. “Ah, for longer than ye have been alive, lad.” 

“So I imagine you have been in the presence of the King and Queen on many an occasion.” Robin said, calculating his every word. 

“Oh, yes!” the old man’s ego was starting to swell as Robin’s words hit bull’s eye. “I was even present at the royal wedding.” The man said proudly.   

“Even the second one, sir?” Robin asked, pretending to be fascinated. Old fool. 

“But of course!” the old man beamed, “That girl was lucky indeed to have won the wee princess’ affections so quickly.” 

Robin was confused, “Girl?” 

“Oh yes. When our present Queen first came to the castle, already engaged to the King, she was merely a lass. Seventeen years of age if I’m not mistaken.” The old man stated. 

“Seventeen?” Robin could not help but let it slip, “How many years was the King the senior to her, sir?” he was slightly horrified and feared to count the years separating the young woman from her royal husband himself. 

The captain gave him a quizzical look at his inquiry but replied all the same, “I cannot say for sure lad,” his brow creased as he counted the years, “Something along 30 years of difference I reckon-” he stopped and looked at Robin, “Why do you ask?” there was suspicion in his words. 

“Just curiosity, I guess,” Robin tried to shrug the man’s question as best as he could, “She was the one who gave me a new life after what happened with my farm-” playing the farm card always seemed to have an immediate effect on the old bear, who smiled sadly at him. 

I do not need your pity you pathetic sack of bones- 

There was a small moment of silence and the man spoke again, “She was a quiet, timid thing when she first came here, rarely smiled, and when she did it would never really reach her eyes.” The old man continued looking out the small window, “At that time my rounds would take me near the stables, I was able to spot her there caring for a mare she had brought from her parent’s estate on more than one occasion.” His brow creased as he recollected, “It was there where she seemed most at ease. Don’t you find that odd?” he asked without drawing his gaze from the outside view. 

“Yes.” Robin responded automatically in nothing more than a whisper. 

His plan had worked perfectly; he knew these old castle coots took great pride in boasting how much they knew about their lords. Robin was fortunate enough that the old man chose just the royal wanted to hear about. 

The Queen  

Although, it seemed as if he was talking about a completely different person than the one Robin had met only hours ago.  

Timid? Quiet?  

Robin had been witness to several sides of the Queen that day, ranging from promiscuous to determined to heartless, but he was yet to experience the side Mormant had seen. 

“Have ye ever seen her lad?” the old man finally turned to him whilst he inquired. 

“No, I have not.” Robin lied, his mind filling with images of translucent lace, red velvet and crimson lips and searing hands on his- 

“Well, ye will sooner or later. The East path leads to the King’s resting place. She’s bound to make her way through it any day now to pay her respects, as his daughter does every day.” The captain informed him and Robin was reminded once more of why he had been brought to this shabby house in the first place. 

“I have only heard rumors,” Robin tried, this was a risky question but he could help but ask it nonetheless, “but they say she is the fairest of all women, is that true?” 

Robin found the old man’s reaction comical as his face turned red, before speaking in a hushed, serious tone; “I bear the utmost respect for my King, boy. As should ye.” He was looking at Robin right in the eye, but then the his gaze dropped and went out of focus as a small smile appeared on his face when he continued, “God forgive me for saying this, but she is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen-” 

Robin wondered what else he could have gotten out of the old bear if a noise downstairs had not drawn his attention away. 

“Come boy, the others are here.” 

… 

Robin was introduced to his day patrol companions, Billy and Dominic, who were far too young and foolish to be handling any kind of weaponry. They were both a foot shorter than Robin, not a day older than 18 and far too merry for his taste. 

“It is a rather tedious job if I can be completely honest with you, my friend.” Billy had said after the old captain had taken his leave and the three of them were sitting alone in the common room “People hardly ever use the forest route anymore.” 

Robin knew he had to gather as much information as he could of the possible whereabouts of his ‘patrol companions’ for his plan to succeed, so he swallowed up his complete detestation to their merry air and engaged in conversation. 

“So you basically spend all day walking about a road that no one even uses?” Robin tried to sound as the pair did. 

“Not all day, no,” Billy explained with a small smile, he looked back as if to check if the chief was indeed gone and continued, “We do walk, from one resting stop to another, and cannot help if we happen to lose track of time whilst, resting-” 

Both young men burst into laughter and Robin gave them a tight smile he hoped they would not notice was completely fabricated and not at all sincere. But the information they had yielded was quite helpful indeed, if the two other moronic sentinels to this forest were sitting around doing God knows what instead of their duty, the chances of them sounding the alarms was much smaller. 

When their laughter ceased Dominic took a big intake of air and pointed out, “Although, Roland will be taking the East watch.” 

“That’s true! Lucky sod!” Billy patted Robin on the shoulder and he felt like relieving the young lad of that limb, “You will be able to steal a glance or two at the lovely little princess.” 

Robin nodded at that and wondered if the Queen would not mind if he got rid of two additional people. They laughed too much and far too easily which irritated Robin to no end. They reminded him too much of the youngest of his merry man. Lads who had made blood oaths with him. Blood oaths that Robin had broken. Every single one of them. 

He wondered if the Merry Man still existed even in his absence or if they had broken apart since they had no leader. But there was slight comfort in the knowledge that Little John would never let that happen- 

“-patrolling under those skirts!” he caught Dominic saying, drawing his attention back to the present conversation. The boys were both laughing and sending mock kisses off into the air. 

Robin rolled his eyes. 

“Have you caught sight of her yet?” Billy asked Robin. 

“Sorry, of whom?” Robin did not care who 

“Of the princess Snow White, that’s who!” the boy responded, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

“No, I have not.” Robin said not really trying to conceal his irritation anymore since he had gotten the information he needed. He rose from his seat abruptly in order to prevent himself from strangling one of the little imps. “Lads.” He said as he nodded to each of the boys. 

The boy’s smiles froze on their faces for half a second and Robin turned on his heel and crossed the door that led to the staircase. When he was out of the young men’s eye reach, he could hear them resuming their conversation, their loud voices still reaching Robin even when he had lifted his foot onto the first step.  

“Enough about the princess Dom. You know whose royal sorrows I would love to soothe away.” Robin stopped dead, for some reason he had a very good idea of the bearer of these sorrows. His blood began to stir a little hotter inside his veins at the suggestive manner Billy uttered the word ‘soothe’ that had nothing to do with comfort and everything to do with several sexual acts. 

“She looks so different now.” Dominic said, “You should have seen her today Bill!” 

The rest of his statement was too quiet for Robin to hear, so he took a few steps back towards the common room and pressed his ear against the oaken door. 

“…could have sworn I saw her lips curl in a smile at the ceremony.” Robin caught Billy saying. 

“Don’t be daft Bill, why would she smile at her husband’s funeral?” Dominic asked. 

“I don’t know, maybe he was bad in the sack.” Robin could hear both lads gasp at Billy’s words, which was followed by a heavy silence. Both lads suddenly burst into laughter in unison. 

“I would most certainly like to help her majesty with that!” Billy said as he tried to catch his breath. 

“Bill, you are crazy, if anyone hears you-” Robin could hear the sound of chairs dragging on the floor and heavy footsteps making their way towards the spot he was standing. He quickly rushed up the wooden stairs before the boys could catch him eavesdropping. Robin’s years as an outlaw making it easy for him to make it to the top of the stairs swiftly and soundlessly, regardless of the fact that the staircase was almost crumbling to pieces. 

… 

Robin had been finally left alone in the old batty house Mormant insisted on calling Head Quarters. When he was sure the house as well as its whereabouts were deserted, he went out to retrieve his bow and quiver that he had hidden inside a tree. He found a little extra precaution to be necessary since not twenty-four hours from then, two bodies would be found dead somewhere around the woods, and these very same arrows would be sticking out of them. Therefore, it was best if Robin concealed the fact that he was armed at all, the dagger the Queen had given him to carve out the heart tied tightly around his leg near his ankle. 

As he sat on the edge of the squeaky bed, feeling like he finally had a moment to himself, Robin started to reflect on the events of this insane day. 

If anyone had told him that in one cycle of the sun he would be hired to murder a princess, join the royal guard, which was sworn to protect said princess, and have the Queen herself bite his earlobe and squeeze his hard member, he would have laughed until he passed out. 

The Queen’s plan was quite elaborate, as if she had taken her time to think over every last detail of it. 

She wanted that girl gone for good. 

The reason? Robin had no idea. 

Probably so the brat could not have the opportunity to rouse up her own set of allies and take over the crown herself – royals had the disgusting habit of stabbing their own in the back. 

Robin did not preoccupy his mind too much with the reasoning behind the Queen’s orders but rather at the Queen’s generous offer of payment. 

His thoughts easily darted back to when spoken word was not at use between them. How absolutely electrifying it had felt when their bare skin came in contact, how the sound of her moans had made him momentarily delirious, how the taste of her skin still lingered on his lips. 

He wanted her, he wanted far more than what he had gotten that afternoon. Robin found himself looking forward to completing his mission so he could bask in his reward. He vowed to fuck that woman so hard she would feel the ache his cock had caused her for days. 

As Robin’s thoughts lingered on the seductive Queen, he could not help but think of the young, shy, seventeen-year-old bride who loved horses he had heard about- 

Suddenly a cloud of smoke appeared before his eyes and Robin shot to his feet and reached for his bow instinctively, drawing an arrow and pointing it to right to the center of the smoky storm.  

Robin’s heart was racing in his chest but his hold on the bow and arrow was still firm. As the smoke cleared he could make out a figure that could only belong to one female, one he had become quite familiar with that very afternoon, one that he wouldn’t mind becoming even more familiar with in the future. 

The Queen was staring back at him with an unimpressed scowl and a raised eyebrow. 

“Put that silly thing away outlaw.” She commanded. 

Robin was surprised to see her again so soon after their earlier meeting. He was aiming his arrow right between her enchanting but impatient eyes; he quickly drew his aim away from her and loosened his grip on his weapon. 

“Forgive me. I thought-” Robin started but she promptly interrupted him 

“Your thoughts do not interest me in the least, thief.” She snapped. “I only came here to deliver something to you.” 

She was still wearing the same dark red velvet dress, but the intricate hairdo she had worn had been undone. All of her long black tresses were cascading down her back, it looked as if she had just carelessly removed the pins and had tossed her hair to the side, but the silky, black locks framed her gorgeous face perfectly, as if she were some matter of a Goddess. 

Unfortunately for Robin, that face was not wearing the same seductive expression from a couple of hours ago, but rather a somewhat annoyed one. 

“You honor me, your majesty. Coming to see me, in person, to make the delivery.” The daring words were out before Robin could stop them along with a knowing smirk. 

Had he gone completely insane? This woman was downright mercurial; any step out of line and his fate could be far worse than what she had in store for the princess. 

She let out a disgusted huff and rolled her eyes, before turning her displeased gaze onto him. “Do not flatter yourself thief; I only came myself because no one can know about our arrangement.” 

“Well that thing inside your mirror most certainly knows about this arrangement right to the very last detail.” Robin taunted, meeting her eyes – which widened at the mention of the mirror. 

“That is irrelevant. He is irrelevant.” Her words were cold and harsh. Did she detest everyone? 

“Speaking of which-” she waved her hand and the small mirror that had been hanging above the table disappeared in a cloud of smoke. She hummed looking at the now empty wall. 

Her eyes went back to his as she extended her hand in his direction. “Take this.”  

Seeing that she did not intend to move, Robin took a few steps towards her and inspected the contents of her extended palm. A small broche, it was but a wee thing, the size of a button, shaped like a four-ended star of a compass. It bore the vivid color of red that had been returned to his repertoire that day. He felt that odd zapping sensation when their skin came into contact again. When the Queen quickly withdrew her hand, Robin came to the conclusion that it could not be one-sided; she must have felt it too.  

“Pin it on that disgraceful jacket of yours.” She spat with disdain. 

Robin did as he was told, pinning it on the left side of his jacket, just above his heart, “If your intention was to better my garments, I’m afraid the broche is of little assistance.” 

Robin was fairly certain the Queen had not come to play, but he felt an odd kind of satisfaction in delivering those words to her and watching her eyes grow wide with touchiness. 

“Don’t be ridiculous, outlaw,” she dismissed, but Robin could sense that her words held less poison than before. “That broche is enchanted.” 

Both of Robin’s eyebrows shot up at this new information. 

How could he have been so stupid? 

Robin turned his eyes to the broche that was now pinned on his jacket, wondering if it would come off if he tried to remove it, “So you can control me?” 

“No, you buffoon!” She retorted as she narrowed her eyes. “It’s so I can see everything you see through my looking glass. I want to watch.” 

“Watch what?” 

“What do you think, you idiot?” She responded, her dark eyes igniting with wild fire, “I want to see you rid the world of that insufferable, spoiled brat with my own eyes.” 

Robin took an unconscious step back. 

“But isn’t your looking glass currently housing that ‘irrelevant’ friend of yours?” Robin said with a smirk, trying to bring back a more pleasantly passionate version of the Queen. 

She rolled her eyes yet again, “I have managed to enchant one looking glass so he-” she stopped halfway through her tirade – which she said with a tone so fed up it was as if she had been talking to him for hours. It probably felt like it. 

“I do not owe you an explanation of any kind, thief.” She snapped, the furious fire back in her eyes as she stalked over to where he stood and promptly pushed him back with a single hand on his chest.

Robin tripped slightly, losing his footing for a moment and almost stumbling into the small, battered table. She gave a pleased huff through her nose and smirked at his loss of balance. Robin found it odd that she would resort to physically pushing him; he was well aware of her being quite capable of doing much more damaging things with her magic. 

With yet a new shade of red dancing through her amused, fiery eyes she closed the distance between them as one of her hands rose to grab one of the lapels of his jacket to tug him closer to her. 

Their lips were almost touching and Robin could scrutinize the intense, red color that adorned her lips. The vibrancy of the ruby red shade was as if she had just colored them, which was a ridiculous notion; why would she- 

Robin’s train of thought was interrupted as the Queen said through clenched teeth, “You would do well to remember that I’m in charge; I’m the Queen.” 

Their lips were a mere hair’s breadth away and Robin longed to take her plump lips into his and ravage that devious mouth. He could feel the Queen’s heart beating fast against his chest and he knew that anger was not the only thing surging through her. 

“Now show me some respect-” she spat at him, “-and kneel.” she finished her command with a raised eyebrow, the hand clutching his lapel shoving him downwards. 

Robin had to kneel whether he wanted to or not, his knees hitting the wooden boards of the floor. He looked ahead only to find he could not bring himself to complain of his current position, since now his head was aligned with her-

“That’s better,” Robin heard her say but kept his gaze forward.  

So close  

His face was so close to the red fabric he could almost feel the velvety feel on it on the tip of his nose. 

Only a breath and a layer of fabric away from something the Queen possessed that could work some magic of its own on him, no enchantments required. Robin licked his lips. His mind racing with ideas of what he could do if that damned ruby red velvet was not there. 

To his utter disappointment, she took a step back. Robin looked up. She was grinning as she studied him from above, Gods above… that woman was stunning. 

With a wave of her hand, Robin watched mesmerized as a tear started making its way up from the hem of her dress to just above her knee, her bare leg now visible to him. Robin’s jaw dropped at the sight and he had to swallow and blink a couple of times, afraid this had all been a hallucination. But as his gaze fixated on the newly exposed skin, he knew it was all too real. What he could see of her leg was downright flawless, perfectly toned and silky smooth. 

Suddenly, she brought the foot belonging to the exposed leg to rest on his neck. The toe of her shoe slightly lifting his chin – forcing Robin to look up at her - as her heel dug dangerously into his Adam’s Apple. The sensation was both erotic and chilling, for now Robin was exposed to a little bit of leg skin, but were she to lean just enough weight on that shoe and her pointy heel would surely meet the insides of his throat. 

She inclined her body forward with alarming precision, leaning just enough weight to make him fear for his dear life but looking so predatory, he wanted to fuck her even if she killed him during the act. She outstretched her arm so her elbow was on her raised knee, her hand coming to her chin. Her index finger traveled along her red lips, Robin’s eyes followed the movement as she parted them and took the tip into her mouth for a second, biting it flirtatiously as she studied him, still heel digging treacherously on his neck. 

“Now, let’s see if you are really worth keeping.” She purred her eyes sparkling with anticipation, Robin had to swallow again, to which she gave a little grin. 

She leaned back and trailed her foot in a tortuously slow speed down his neck before it came to rest on Robin’s shoulder. Her high pointy heel was now digging into the flesh of his shoulder with a little bit more force than before, the scratch the sharp point had left on his neck stung, but all pain simply dissipated at her next words. 

“Now, let’s put that smart mouth of yours to good use.”  

Her foot left his shoulder as she kicked off the high-heeled weapon she had had on his throat moments ago as well as its twin. Her now bare foot returned to his chest, trailing further to hook just behind his shoulder and before he could blink, she yanked him to her with it. 

Robin, feeling his member respond accordingly, was absolutely delighted at what had just transpired; this woman was truly a puzzle, quite unique, he was certain he had never met another like her. 

After all the bashing and the pushing around, if Robin had heard correctly, she wanted his mouth on her. He had never met anybody who could awaken so many different emotions in him all at once. The emotion he favored on focusing on now had a lot to do with the delicious leg that was hooked over his shoulder. 

Robin took notice that she had lost a few inches in removing her shoes, which was just fine by him since now his face was perfectly aligned with the apex of her thighs. He licked his lips in anticipation and heard her say, “Don’t make me regret this, thief” she ran her hand about his hair, her nails scrapping his scalp with an odd gentleness that could only mean one thing. As if he had predicted it, she grabbed a fistful of his hair and pulled so his eyes met hers and slurred, “Pleasure me.” She then let go of his hair with very little regard to care but Robin himself was not caring much either. 

He could hardly believe this was all actually real as his hand went to the Queen’s ankle, the one which was not over his shoulder, and worked his way up her silky smooth leg, his palm heating up with the warmth and sparks from the bare contact. His touch was light, something that surprised him immensely, but this whole affair was all too good to be true and might very well be a dream, so Robin decided he was going to take his time and make it last. 

His searing hand reached the Queen’s thigh, the feel of her meaty limb in his hands was electrifying, her skin was so smooth he was afraid the merest scrap of his nails would mark it permanently. But then, the idea of giving the Queen something to remember him by was far too enjoyable, so he dragged his nails back down – drawing a soft moan from the monarch as her left hand came to rest on his shoulder.  

He continued to tease that other leg as his attentions were brought to the one that was curved over his shoulder. Robin did not give space to logical thought, placed his lips upon the flesh of the side of her knee, and nibbled on the skin. The Queen shivered at that first contact and then proceeded to hum quietly when Robin began trailing open-mouthed kisses, hot and wet, on the flesh exposed to him.   

Robin made a vow to taste every single inch of the strong but so very soft legs. As he gently bit into the little skin of her thigh that was available, and was amused at the Queen’s gasp as her muscles quivered under his lips. 

But the outlaw’s greatest delight came when his wondering hand reached the soft curve of the Queen’s arse and found nothing covering it. He had to smirk at her nerve, he ran his nails over her ass and around her hip until he reached a small amount of hair in between her thighs, which only confirmed his theory, the Queen had foregone undergarments for this particular visit. 

As Robin’s thumb found the Queen’s core she let out a small moan when he brushed it past her clit, he groaned when he discovered that, indeed, the only thing covering her sex was slick arousal. He slid a tentative finger into her and she gave a small whine of appreciation. 

The vision of this goddess like woman, bucking her hips against his finger, stormy eyes shut, plump red lips hanging open and head slightly tilted back, was simply heavenly. The notion that the Queen had come to him in this bleak, shabby house with the lame excuse of delivering that pathetic broche without any undergarments and already wet with desire, sent a fire through Robin’s body.  

Robin felt a wave of lust wash over him when he mused that it was as if the Queen was confessing to him that she ached for him to take her and ravage her until they both passed out with exhaustion. Even if that had not been the Queen’s precise intention, at that moment, having that delicious woman wrapped about him, Robin felt quite bold.   

With this newfound revelation, Robin slid his finger out of the Queen’s wet folds just as she bucked her hips forward which would have resulted in her falling over had she not been wrapped about Robin. 

“What the hell do you think-” She halted her sentence midway when Robin paid no attention whatsoever to what she was saying, grabbed the ends of the tear she had created in her dress and pulled until the slit reached her navel. 

The Queen let out a big gasp and Robin looked up and grinned, expecting to have riled her enough to see that fire in her eyes again, but to his utter and complete surprise she let out a hearty laugh, not mocking but almost adolescent – as if she’d been caught misbehaving.    

“Nice handy work, outlaw,” she said, a little out of breath. She bit her lower lip as she looked at him. She cupped his right cheek and drew her thumb along his lower lip and he immediately took that thumb into his mouth and sucked hard, twirling his tongue around it and earning a hiss from the Queen when he bit down. When he released it she continued, in a much more sultry voice; “Now fuck me with that tongue.” 

“With pleasure, your majesty” he breathed. 

Robin let out a low groan as he turned his gaze ahead and was met with the sight of the Queen’s bare, glistening folds. The sight, combined with her enticing and direct orders, suddenly made him hungry, famished. Luckily for him, the feast was laid right in front of him. 

He quite literally pounced on her inner thigh, biting and licking and working his way up to her center. But just as he was about to reach them, he traced a teasing lick on one of her outer lips, he turned his mouth to her other inner thigh and gave it the same treatment. 

With every new contact, he felt an electric connection; the odd overwhelming sensation of their flesh coming together was indescribable and absolutely addictive. It tingled every inch of Robin’s flesh that brushed against hers and made his heart race. 

The Queen sprang her hips forward and gave a small whine in between her soft moans, urging him to attend to more flaming areas of her anatomy than her inner thigh. Robin then turned his attention to her heated center and gave her a generous lick that drew a throaty moan from between the Queen’s parted lips. He licked her once again, but this time his tongue remained in her folds and quickly found her bundle of nerves, which he started to play with, teasing with his tongue. The Queen’s hands came to grab onto his hair as she let out a soft yelp. 

Robin licked, nipped, and sucked the Queen’s sensitive knot thoroughly until she was panting and digging her nails into his scalp. His hands had found their way underneath the ripped dress and started kneading her phenomenal arse. Robin’s grip was sure to leave crimson angry nail bites on her rear, but that only encouraged him to clutch her with more fervor. He wanted her to think of him every time she sat that glorious arse on that pompous throne of hers.  

He held her firmly as his mouth went down to explore her wet folds. The Queen tasted like the most exquisite thing in the world, and the combination of her arousal and her bittersweet perfume was something Robin could easily get addicted to. If he was not addicted already. He could not seem to get enough of her musical whines of pleasure, and her cunt was just delicious, he could stay down there for days. 

When he finally did as he had been told and promptly fucked her with his tongue, letting it slide inside her as much as he could and then withdrawing, the Queen threw her head back and let out a strangled moan. After a few thrusts, Robin found particular spot just a little beyond her entrance that made her open her mouth in an “O” and for a few moments, she seemed unable to breathe. So Robin pressed to it, licking furiously until she was again able to fill her lungs and let out a scream that would have no doubt woken the entire castle had they been there.   

Robin grinned against her folds and he felt her hand come to slap him upside the head when his tongue stopped. Her voice was positively throaty and raspy when she said; “If you value your life do not dare and stop now you-” 

But she was unable to finish her insult as Robin’s mouth shot to her clit once again and her sentence ended on a strangled moan.   

He sucked fiercely and brought one of his hands to her soaking folds, plunging two fingers inside her and pumping them in and out to match the vigorousness of his tongue. When her hands left his head, Robin stole a glance up and the vision nearly made him stand and fuck her right on that spot. She had her eyes closed, her bottom lip caught in between her teeth and her back slightly arched as each of her hands squeezed her breasts hard. Since she was not wearing anything but the dress Robin could see her erect nipples through the black lace as she pinched them and hissed. 

Robin fought his urges, which were not few, and continued to work her up, stealing glances at her coming undone above him. Soon she was thrusting her hips with force onto his face and he met her eagerness, sucking her clit even harder. He added a third finger and bit her nub softly to which she ordered; “Harder.” 

And he bit harder, three fingers bucking furiously into her eager opening and his other hand squeezing her rear. The Queen was letting out high pitched yelps of “yes!”, “faster!” and “harder!”. These were orders Robin was willing to follow, especially when he was rewarded with louder moans and the feeling of her walls tightening around his fingers. 

The Queen’s legs began to tremble as her hands returned to their fierce grip on his shoulders, forcing him even deeper into her. Robin held on tight to her arse with one hand, the other frantically plunging in and out of her. 

The Queen came with a glorious moan and an unroyal “fuck yes!” 

She held onto his head until her high faded, then her grip on his hair loosened. That was definitely going to ache for a while, but what did Robin care? He had just made the Queen come with his mouth and one hand, and ignoring the fact that his hard member was desperate for release, he could not have been more satisfied. He had made the Queen pine for him, just like he was pining for her, and that brought him immense pleasure. 

Robin removed his fingers from her and but did not move from his position, only resting his forehead on the Queen’s lower belly as they both tried to catch their breaths. As the Queen’s breathing finally evened out, she cleared her throat and his head shot up so he could meet her eyes. They were still heated, and her facial expression betrayed her satisfaction as a soft, unconscious smile danced around her crimson lips and a soft, red blush had taken residence upon her cheeks. She took a deep breath and addressed him, her royal arrogance returned. 

“You can remove your person from me now.” She raised an eyebrow and Robin lifted her leg from his shoulder and placed it back on the cold, stone floor. As soon as the skin contact was gone, the Queen was engulfed into a cloud of smoke and when it cleared, he could see that her dress had been mended and she was a few inches taller. 

Robin stood, quite uncertain of which personality the Queen would throw his way now. She looked at him, her face emotionless, her eyebrow still arched. Her gaze drifted down to his erection – which was almost bursting out of his pants. She hummed and closed the distance between them, letting her hand rest on his abdomen. 

“I see you have a little situation here, thief,” she teased in a whisper. She brushed her hand lightly over his member and Robin could not believe his luck as he groaned at the contact. 

“Yes, it seems I do, your majesty.” He replied, his voice a little hoarse as her hand lingered and pressed against him harder. “Would you care to help remedy it?” he asked with a smirk. 

She gave a mocking laugh, “Now,” she got impossibly close, her hand pressed onto him and her lips were a whisper away from his. There was an almost desperate pull which told Robin to close the almost nonexistent distance between them but before he could act upon his wishes she drew away abruptly, “-why would I ever do that?” She moved away from him to stand by the door, and Robin missed the heat of her skin immediately, “Your task was to bring me pleasure, thief, not the order way round.” She gave another hearty laugh. 

Deep inside Robin knew that she would not be so willing to go down on her knees and return the favor. Therefore, her harsh words did not even scrape the surface in order to wound him. And so, he merely inquired, “And was it pleasurable enough for you, your majesty?” 

She huffed, hiding her amusement with an indifferent; “You served your purpose.” 

Robin saw the smoke appearing about her feet and ordered; “Wait!” 

The smoke dissipated and the Queen looked confused and slightly irritated, “What?” 

“Could I just ask you something, your majesty?” 

She groaned and rolled her eyes. “Make it quick.” 

"What was that thing, in your mirror?" Robin asked. 

She had to cover her mouth to suppress her chuckle. "That-" She started, "-was the last man I seduced into killing someone for me." 

Robin's eyes went wide and wild. What was this? He could not be jealous of a disembodied face. 

No 

Could he? 

Had that man in the mirror feasted on her as he had just done? Robin felt his chest tighten and his blood rush faster as a ringing sound played in his ear. Why was he feeling jealous? She was not his. And it was doubtful she would ever be. 

"Unfortunately for him, he grew far too attached, which led to his current position." She said lightly as if it was a trivial matter that a person was trapped inside a mirror because of her. 

“So, you trapped him in a mirror because he got too attached to you?” Robin asked, still slightly shocked. 

“He trapped himself in a mirror.” She corrected, rather rashly. "I'd learn from his mistakes if I were you." 

She winked and smirked as she disappeared into a cloud of smoke, leaving him high and dry, utterly confused and fairly wary. Was it really worth getting in this deep with someone so volatile? 

Robin sat down on his creaky bed with a huff, looking down at his erection and sighing with a grin. 

It was; it was very much worth it.

Chapter Text

Regina reappeared inside her bedchambers soundlessly - the remains of her magical purple smoke dissipating into nothing - as she took a deep breath, a large grin working its way about her features. She knew the color red still flushed her cheeks as she felt a pleasurable tingle down below, as if the thief’s tongue had burned into the skin of her intimacy. She released a satisfied sigh, her whole body still vibrated from the high she had just come down from, she twisted her neck to the side until it gave a pleasant click. 

"Who knew negotiating with assassin thieves could be so entertaining?" 

Regina could not even remember when it was that she had started planning how she was going to rid herself of Snow. When the brat had sought solace in her, Regina had held her – making empty promises of how she would now be mother and father – but she had wanted nothing more than to use a small amount of magic and as much physical force as she could to snap the girl’s neck on the spot. Nevertheless, she knew better than to give into those wishes, she longed to bathe in the young woman’s blood but, after doing so, she wished to keep her head on her shoulders. 

A plan was needed, so a plan she fabricated. It was of great assistance to Regina that Snow insisted upon having no other escort but the sweet and old Johanna accompanying her to Leopold’s last resting place. But Regina always knew that killing the brat herself was not an option, the kingdom was still very much loyal to her and she knew they would turn on her if she so much as touched a single stand of her hair. She needed someone to get their hands dirty for her, but none of her men would do quite simply because they weren’t hers, they served the crown, had sworn an oath to protect the royal family, they would never turn on Snow, let alone do all the atrocities she had planned. 

No, Regina needed someone from the outside, someone with no compassion, who would show no mercy, with no morals, no scruples to hold him back even when faced with Snow’s innocent green eyes and annoying pleas. Someone with no code, no honor and with incredible skill, quick and clean, and yet cold blooded enough to cut out a heart for her from Snow’s helpless lifeless body. 

She had been lucky he had been causing trouble just in the neighboring kingdom, making enough uproar to reach Leopold’s ears one fateful afternoon whilst he had been pretending to be a decent human being and hearing – but not really listening – to his people’s requests at the throne room. 

Regina’s heart had almost skipped a beat whilst she heard about how the once fair and just Robin Hood had killed fourteen men alone in one night. How he had stung them with his fatal arrows, not poisoned but aimed in ways that made men as tall as doors drop lifeless to the ground immediately. Regina’s cheeks had burned with enthusiasm when hearing he had slashed and killed any men who would stand in his way, and when the innkeeper’s wife had come into the fight screaming words no one could recall, he had slid her throat with one single motion of his dagger. 

Perfect 

He would do just fine 

Regina chose to procure his service only after Leopold was stone dead and although her connections were extensive, there was a small amount of difficulty in locating him, since he had not been seen causing uproar for a little more than a month. 

But fate and luck were on her side when word reached her that he had been spotted in a village within the borders of her kingdom. She had sent her men to fetch him knowing he would never answer to a royal request and already readied herself in making arrangements to summon a good sum in gold as payment for his services. 

All thought of gold and formal negotiations evaporated from her mind when she set her eyes on Snow’s future killer. He was striking, although a bit of washing was required, he was attractive enough that even when dirty he looked good enough to eat. Ideas of how she could save the crown some gold and get her bed heated up with this feral looking man – whilst still having Snow’s head on a platter - invaded her head.

She had to admit the biting words did amuse her, he was bold, and apparently there was very little of which he feared, which made his prospects even better. The burning looks they sent each other flared Regina up and before she knew it, her teeth were sinking into the soft flesh of his earlobe whilst she could feel his body heat buzzing only a few inches away from her own. 

When she had first touched him, there was spark, an odd electricity she could not recall having ever felt before. Regina brushed it off and tried to focus on retelling her plan, but when his body was flush against hers, his lips attached to the skin of her neck, she could feel the odd twinge yell at her. 

And to hell with self-control, he had already agreed to do her bidding anyway. 

She felt good 

No, more than good, she felt incredible. As he bit down on her flesh, she could not help but moan and soften in his touch. His erection hot and stiff against her as he rubbed himself on her shamelessly, uncaring of consequences were he to cross a line. 

Even after he had left, she could still feel his presence; an odd buzzing shiver ran up and down her spine when she recalled their brief but intense moment together. 

Regina gathered she had to be going raving mad, he was, - she had to admit – quite attractive and rough around the edges, just the way she liked it, but this whole affair was ridiculous. She looked back in all the much longer and much more intimate exchanges she had had throughout her life. She had tried to convince herself they had felt just as good, pure physical pleasure, which was all they had been and that was what she had just had had with the outlaw. 

Regina did not know the reason why she had gone to see him again in the first place after such little time apart, only a mere set of hours. She had told herself it was to prove herself wrong, that his touch was not all that good and that their skin to skin contact did not make her dizzy and at times, weak at the knees. 

She had been wrong 

She did not want to admit it but the thief’s performance that evening was probably one of the best times a man had had his lips on her intimacy; surely Jefferson had been less prickly and gentler, had known her inside and out, therefore known exactly how she liked it and what made her scream. And yet, Regina had experienced such a powerful sensation when the archer’s mouth was on her, making magic of his own when his set of teeth nibbled at her clit, extracting ferocious sounds from her mouth whilst he pumped his fingers into her. It was a brand of pleasure she could not trace back to ever feeling before. 

It was electric, spreading itself throughout Regina’s entire body, pulsating from every single spot he had touched her. 

Regina had never been so wrong about something. 

And now she found herself craving her next encounter with the outlaw already; meticulously planning what she would have him do, and wondering what, exactly, she was going to give him as a reward. 

She headed to her dresser with her head still in the clouds, a pleased smile played on her recently colored lips. For even though her original plan was to pay a visit to certify herself he was not all that, Regina made sure to add a new coat of red to her smile as well as letting down her hair from the half updo he had half ruined with his searing hands on their first encounter. But Regina would rather die before letting anyone know of her concern as to her appearance when the bandit saw her. 

Her smile, however, dropped immediately to give way to a scowl, followed by a small growl of discontentment when she eyed the contents lying on the top of the mahogany piece of furniture in front of her. 

She had set aside all of the jewels Leopold had given her throughout their ten long and torturous years of marriage. Regina planned to get rid of all those pretty chunks of jewelry for the mere sight of those bright pink and sky blue rocks made her sick to her stomach. 

The man clearly had never truly pondered upon what she might like or what might actually go well with her complexion. No; he had simply given her things he knew his first wife would favor and sometimes even some of Eva’s old things. Because crying out the woman’s name whilst he took Regina clearly had not been enough, Regina was almost sure he was trying to recreate the image of his late wife in her, the very thought of it made her want to empty the contents of her stomach unto his ridiculous bald head. 

As well as making Regina’s life a living hell by making her play babysitter to the girl responsible for the death of the love of Regina’s life, Leopold always made her aware of the fact that he found Eva to be so much of a better fitting Queen, especially when Regina would not show sufficient amount of enthusiasm when he had presented her with such gifts. 

Old git! 

Regina took one turquoise ring in between her fingers as she sat down on the stool by the dresser. A vile laugh suddenly burst from her lips, her heart beating steady and nicely on her chest, as if she had been injected with some sort of addictive toxin. 

If everything goes according to plan, I am having that thief fuck me in Leopold's bed.  

Regina broadly smiled at the idea of the Prince of Thieves himself having his wicked way with her on the King's bed. 

Revenge was sweet indeed 

"Where were you?" 

Regina’s delicious and easy heartbeat almost stopped altogether when the hollow voice reached her senses; upon reflex a loud gasp left her lips and Regina jumped up from her chair and looked around with wild eyes, searching for the source of the odd question. 

She did not have to look a long time for the source could not move, the hovering head on the mirror of her dresser looked upon her attentively. 

"What do you mean, ‘entertaining’? Where were you? I have to know!" He demanded. 

Regina’s rage built with every one of the former genie’s questions. How dare he? 

She was so enraged and shocked that she could only stare at him, her eyes almost popping out of her head and her hands clutching the ends of the dresser with so much force her knuckles turned white and her nails created crescent shaped indents in the wood. 

"I looked for you everywhere and couldn't see you. I had to see you-" 

When the man’s words took on a sweeter tone, his eyes became pleading and desperate, Regina managed to grasp her wits about herself again as reality came back into focus. 

Before she could think about what she was doing, Regina let out a rage-filled scream as she drove her fist towards the reflective surface that housed the haunting head, with as much force as she had behind her, not a drop of magic in the mix, just pure physical strength made even stronger by rage. Her fist made contact with the cold glass, which shattered where her force had struck it, creating crooked lines of deformity about the rest of the reflective surface. Pieces of broken glass mingled with the unwanted jewels, as she shook off a few shards that had attached themselves to her hand. She felt a small sting on her working hand, knowing that she must have hurt herself in her hate-filled act but the pleading voice faded away. 

Regina was tired, worn out, the events of the past week having drained her almost completely. Had she known the price she would have to pay for playing with the affections of that genie, she would have thought of another way – any other way - to get rid of Leopold. Now she was haunted by his image day and night he was there inside every single reflective surface she would look upon and it was driving her to the brick of insanity with apprehension and hate. 

He was possessive, jealous, as if she was his to have only because he had made a sacrifice for her, as if she owed him something. Regina knew it too well it was not the case but still he would demand to know where she was and what she was doing, which, combined with his overly saccharine and meek way of addressing her – as if he still was a slave to her bidding -  resulted in Regina shattering more mirrors than she could ever count. 

He was still there; there were still chunks of glass big enough to house his infuriating head. He was looking at her, his face in every reflective piece of the trashed mirror that now mingled amongst the jewelry she loathed with all her being. Those little pieces of fortune had served more as shackles than adornments; they symbolized her slavery to the dead monarch, and displayed the way her life had been completely deprived of liberty. 

But that was no more  

The King is dead 

Simmering purple rage mixed with a dark manner of joy filled Regina’s heart as she lifted her hand, palm up. Thoughts of all the pain and all the hate she felt towards the people that had led her to this life; the King, her mother, Snow. 

As the joy and hatred consumed her, darkness tinging her already blackening heart, pumping erratically with vile happiness, a mighty fireball lit up her palm, the orange flames lighting up her eyes and reflecting off the tears she refused to let fall. 

Regina threw the fireball at the dresser. The ball hit the very center of the piece, where the shards and jewels rested, and from that fiery sphere, serpent like strands of fire were born and quickly enraptured the whole dresser, setting it completely ablaze in seconds. The raw magical heat destroying every last inch of it as well as the precious gems and shards of mirror alike. 

This was to be her new symbol of freedom. 

Fire  

Destruction 

Regina was finally free through it 

As she watched the dresser burn down, along with the shattered mirror and the jewelry, Regina realized for the first time that being the Queen finally meant being in charge. She was finally in control of her life, now she could go wherever she liked, whenever she liked and do whatever she liked. No one was ever going to lock her up, and no one was going to use her ever again. No longer was she a prisoner, bound by the shackles of marriage, no more was she the beautiful trophy wife. The sweet and quiet Queen was gone, the woman the King used as pretty decoration he could show off was dead. 

Now, she was in charge; no one would ever question her authority or follow her steps. Regina was never going to sneak around, puff from one place to the other in order to miss the guards ever again. Now she would march to the stables in whichever garb she chose and take whatever horse she wanted, and she would ride until she ached. She would round all the borders of this pathetic kingdom and cross them all, for now, she was her own master and she would go wherever she wanted. 

From then on, Regina vowed to mark the castle as her own, she was going to have sex in every single room without a single trace of worry – and if the guards happened to see or hear, she could not care less. She was going to scream her lungs out when she orgasmed, no longer afraid of getting caught, the thought of it happening now sent a thrilling chill up her spine as opposed to the dread filled feeling she would normally get. 

And most importantly, now she would come out to the world as her true self, a powerful sorceress with drive and strength who will stop at nothing to get what she wanted. 

This realization brought angry tears to Regina's eyes, and she let out a choked sob that had been waiting almost ten years to be freed as she clutched her middle. They were hot tears of joy, a venomous darkened beautiful joy she had learned with the years to bask in. 

"DAMN!" 

Regina was yet again startled and brought back to the here and now by a bodiless voice. 

"No!" She cried, her voice broke at her cry. She turned to the full-length mirror that faced her bed, she was so tired, her voice came out almost pleading, "-please just leave me-" 

But her words were cut short, giving way to a short gasp when her eyes met the image on the mirror. 

Instead of the hovering head Regina was expecting, she was met with the sight of the dingy half lit room that she had just poofed herself from. 

The pin! 

She had completely forgotten about the pin and her enchanted mirror, which was linked to the small red four-end star. 

Ever since that haunting figure had started invading her privacy, Regina searched for any and all spells to keep it at bay. She had finally found one, a banishing spell that would eliminate every attempt the genie made to use the mirror to spy on her. 

Unfortunately, all magic has many rules, and the main rule for this banishing spell was that the castor could only use the spell once for it entwined blood magic. If it was not so, Regina would have spent as long as it took to enchant every single reflective surface in the castle. But unfortunately was not an option, so she had picked out her bedroom mirror, knowing that even when the genie didn’t make his presence known, the creep probably watched her there anyway. The mere thought of his eyes on her in her private moments made her shiver in disgust. 

Earlier, when the outlaw’s lips had not let her concentrate on anything other than the contrast between soft skin and scratchy stubble and she finally gave into her desires to go see him again, she had created an excuse to go to him. Regina quickly enchanted a pin she had found scattered about her room and had used her powers to link it to her protected full-length mirror so it would display every image the pin faced. 

The image currently being shown in the mirror was an old battered small table, which was tedious at most. The mood quickly changed when the addition of a foot – along with a leg – made their way into her field of vision. 

Said foot kicked the table hard, making it crumble to the floor, the wood almost disintegrating. 

The owner let out a loud "SHIT!", and her vision bounced a little and Regina had to chuckle at the idea of the outlaw hoping on one foot in pain over what he had just done. 

When the movement ceased she heard him take in a big intake of breath – which made the image rise softly up and down once – followed by a sigh. 

His voice was slightly raspy and much quieter when he spoke again, “Damn,” he huffed out a breath and groaned, “Damn her, that fucking tease.” 

A mischievous grin spread across Regina’s face as the thief’s words reached her ears. The warmth in the pit of her stomach he had ignited twice that day already started to bloom again. 

Regina had to admit she was not that surprised, she had left him high and dry, hard as a rock in a small dingy room after having him bring her the most insane of orgasms 

Well, what was I supposed to do? Go down on my knees and suck his cock?  

Regina chuckled at the idea, it was completely out of the question. Regina did not get on her knees, ever. And if she ever did, she would have so much control over the situation that the act of kneeling would not be seen as demeaning at all. Although there was a part of her who quite fancied the idea of showing the thief that he was not the only one with an incredibly talented mouth, her ego and pride were far too strong to let her give into such desires. 

So Regina chose to watch the image on her mirror, she could tell he was pacing with some fervor about the room, his huffs mixing in with the creaks of aged wood from the floorboards beneath his feet. 

Suddenly he stormed towards the door and swung it open violently, racing down the stairs at a speed so fast the image in the mirror was blurred. He barely stopped to yank the front door opened so hard Regina was amazed it was still on its hinges, the momentum making the door close right behind him with a loud bang. 

Well, someone is a bit frustrated today. Wonder why- 

Regina’s thoughts, however, turned from amused to confused when she saw the outlaw had made his way into the woods, his pace still quickened, his breathing still heavy and most probably with his cock still stiff inside his pants. 

What the hell is he doing? Where does he think he is going? 

Regina considered just poofing herself in front of him to exchange a few heated words about leaving the headquarters she had ordered him to stay in. But as she observed his tracking about the thin trees of the small wood, she could see he had not opted for the path that led a smart quick escape but rather his course took him to a small lake. She heard him exhale heavily whilst contemplating the not very extensive watery surface. He took a few leisurely steps towards the water and halted at very edge of the lake. 

The moon was full that night and clouds were practically nonexistent about the sky, hence the view was quite well lightened. 

And the illuminated view was truly, very beautiful, quiet and peaceful. The outlaw’s feet were only a foot away from the lake’s edge and Regina could see there was very little agitation in the water; it was almost mirror like in its stillness, which reflected almost perfectly the full moon above. The trees spread out far into the distance, and only the highest towers of her castle could be seen above the dense foliage. 

The outlaw sighed, bringing Regina back to the situation in hand, “What the fuck am I getting into?” 

Regina could see his arm come into her field of vision and assumed he was rubbing his eyes with his hands. A sudden agitation in the image followed by a couple of small rocks slumping into the surface of the lake showed Regina she had made the outlaw madder than she had expected. 

After another huffed exhale, she heard his voice once more as he muttered to himself, “Well, this isn’t going to take care of itself-” 

Regina was confused for a heartbeat, but when she heard the unfastening of what could only his belt and the rustling of fabric against his skin, she knew only too well what the outlaw was up to. The anticipation to somehow be witness to something of his so private, that she herself had caused, brought back the color red to her cheeks. 

There was a soft moan and Regina imagined that rough uneducated thief taking himself in one of his calloused hands. He gave a couple more low grunts of pleasure before Regina could hear the actual deed, the slapping sound of his hand pumping his hard member up and down. Regina felt a surge of heat wash through her, ignited only by his raspy voice and the sounds his lower body action made. 

Regina could not help but feel disappointed that the outlaw was still wearing the jacket; whilst she could hear his soft moans and groans, but was unable to see any of the proper action. Her mirror simply showed the unchanging image of the full moon that was not quite so captivating or interesting anymore. 

Regina felt a strange urge to pleasure her sight sense with whatever was happening on the side of that lake. She wanted to see that man touch himself right after she had worked him up rubbing her slick sex to his face. 

The feeling was so intense Regina should have been slightly alarmed by it but when the thief moaned, “ah – your majesty”, Regina threw caution to the wind, not caring if the sounds the man produced were making her weak at the knees. Desire burned as her title slipped through his lips a second time, Regina’s stomach clenched, her gaze fixed on the unimportant scenery in her mirror. 

“Fuck,” his voice sounded again, this time a little louder, “I’m going to fuck that teasing royal so hard tomorrow,-” Regina had a devious smile on her lips, he groaned and continued, “-she won’t be able to walk for days.” 

She automatically gasped at his words, a strong jolt of heat flaring between her legs as she felt the color red on her cheeks deepen, her grin turning into a smirk. 

At this point, the thought of poofing herself there was starting to sound more and more appealing. Maybe she could hide amongst the trees and watch from afar, the thrill she might get caught only made her feel more inclined to execute her plan. She could also use a cloaking spell on herself and get near enough to smell his arousal, maybe even touch him if she was fast enough. Both ideas sounded like a recipe for disaster but at that moment Regina did not care- 

She was pulled away from her musings when she heard his voice curse once more, this time in a different light, “Fucking hot piece of crap.” 

Regina blinked a few times confused. She could see a pair of slightly shaky hands rise from down below and the images on the mirror became shaky for a few seconds as the sound of ruffling fabric reigned instead of the delicious groans the thief had been fabricating. 

The thief had unceremoniously rid himself of the jacket he had been wearing, tossing it on a rock nearby the shore, close to his feet, the pin that been had placed there faced up. 

Regina’s eyes widened and she drew a long, uneven breath, fisting both her hands on the fabric of her dress for a moment, then bringing one hand to move a few strands of hair hindering the view - which had just improved. 

Immensely

Regina’s perspective had changed from looking straight ahead to looking straight up, but the she was not complaining about the change. Quite the opposite in fact. 

For now, Regina was granted with the view of the thief’s rumpled trousers that had been lowered to his knees, his thick, muscly thighs and his mouth-watering erection. His hand had gone back to work on his hardness and Regina was quite delighted to note that his manhood was rather thick. Regina had reached a point in which she did not feel an ounce of guilt in fantasizing about what it would feel like inside her. 

The thief returned to his previous task, grabbing his cock with one of his hands and sliding it up and down in a steady rhythm. He looked good enough to eat, pleasuring himself with his eyes shut and bottom lip trapped in between his teeth. The working hand suddenly rose so he could spit on it and Regina groaned at the sight of his now lubricated hand sliding with much more ease and speed about his manhood. 

With his lips freed from his teeth, he managed to fabricate a couple of sentences that only enticed Regina’s desire further. 

“Ah, your majesty”, “Just you wait your majesty” and “Fuck you, your majesty” made Regina’s urge to slide her own hand down to her now wet folds and join the thief in pleasuring herself almost overwhelming. 

However, that would require her attention to be shared, and Regina did not want to flicker her gaze from the image of him coming apart with her title on his lips. She attentively watched as the outlaw bit his lower lip as he worked his impressive manhood up and down fiercely, adding a slight twist to the end of every stroke. 

Regina’s insides were on fire and she did not know when she had come to stand so close to the mirror, having grabbed both sides of its frame, and watched him grunt and moan with intense eyes. His breathing started to get more erratic, the sounds he made a little louder than it was safe to make, his moving hand sliding at a fast, fast pace as Regina bit her bottom lip so hard she drew a little blood. 

She felt a pang of disappointment when he finally came, for her little show was over far too soon. But the sight of his seed sliding down his still working hand as he let out a half moan half sob that sounded a little bit too much like ‘majesty’ for anyone to deny it, took Regina’s head to even wilder places than before. 

He squeezed himself dry and it took him a few moments to catch his breath, sighing in relief blissfully unaware that he was being so intensely watched. 

Regina was somewhat breathless herself with what had just transpired. She removed her deathly grip from the frame of her mirror and took one step back in order to calm herself. This had been quite the day, she had known she was going to be exhilarated for she was finally putting her plan to eliminate Snow into action but Regina had not been counting in thrills such as these. 

When her heart rate started to even again and the outlaw seemed to have cooled down as well; he managed to flare up her senses for what seemed to be the thousandth time that day. 

He reached for his trousers, grabbing both sides with his hands but instead of pulling them up, he lowered them down even further. She saw him shift for a few seconds and kick off both his boots as well as his pants. He then removed his time worn shirt and in a heartbeat, he was in his full naked glory right there in her mirror. 

Regina’s mouth fell open. 

The man looked to be sculptured to perfection; from head to toe, he was beautifully defined. Of course Regina should have guessed he was strong, since the man did live in the woods and had to fare all by himself ever since he had left his little gang, but all expectations of how he would look like underneath his rags did not live up to the image in front of her. 

He was toned and burly, every muscle defined but not overly so, his now bare legs were thick and strong. His arms were strong and big, but never out of proportion, just the delicious right size. His biceps flexed when, after he lowered his torso slightly to wash his sticky hands with the water from the lake, he brought one up and ran it through his hair, splashing some droplets about his face. 

Every movement that damned man made showcased another yet perfectly toned muscle on his delicious body and Regina felt the urge to lick every inch of his skin. He took a deep breath and Regina watched as the muscles in his stomach expanded and contracted with his every breath. 

His breathing was easy by then, he closed his eyes and exhaled once more as Regina felt she was going to glue her nose to the surface of the mirror once more. 

Well, at least one of them had the ability to breathe properly; and Regina would be damned if she ever confessed it aloud but he took her breath away. 

I could get used to having this kind of imagery around. 

Suddenly he was out of her field of vision again and Regina was able to hear the distinct sound of water splashing. He must have dived into the river for a midnight swim. 

How very primitive... How very arousing. 

Regina fought the urge of ridding herself of all her clothing as well, poofing herself to his presence and joining him; she had never done it in that particular lake so- 

No! 

That was absurd; she would be giving him all the wrong ideas of how this was going to work if she sought him out for the third time that day stark naked and all ready to be fucked thoroughly. 

Regina had dreamed for so long of how her life would be once she had gotten rid of the King, once she gained back her freedom and ruled the kingdom. 

And although she had had several lovers right under her dear husband’s nose, Regina now longed to have someone she could use anytime she wanted, without fear of making too much noise and getting caught, without wild plans of how to meet up. Someone she could trust to some extent in order to be able to reach a blissful unpreoccupied peak. Someone willing to pleasure her to exhaustion, who could bring her the release her body begged for over and over. 

The last time a man she deemed worthy of her had taken her, had been almost a month ago and Regina’s body ached for that friction and release now. 

That damn thief was not helping. 

When her eyes had first met his earlier that day, Regina had felt such a strange pang on her chest it seemed as if someone was actually trying to pull her heart out. It was one of the strangest things she had ever experienced, it did awaken a slight apprehension in her but her curiosity, as always, won over. For she felt the strangest pull towards him, the odd need to be near him, to touch him, for something deep inside her told her that there was something different about this man she had to feel with the tips of her fingers. 

So touch him she did, and every time her fingertips met his skin it sent an indescribable current through her body. Regina could only translate this buzz to one thing; chemistry, raw, true chemistry like she had never experienced before. 

Regina had been startled at her own words when she had heard herself offer her body as a reward. But the closer they got to one another, the more eager Regina became, and when his lips met her neck, something inside her saw him as the perfect candidate for the post she would have a trying time filling. 

She had gone to him that night to prove herself wrong. To prove that it was only a momentary thing; it could never be as good as the promise had tasted, and she would not feel anything extraordinary. 

Bloody fool. 

He had been both gentle and intense, and the sparks from his touch had nearly driven her insane. And the way he looked at her, as if she was a feast to be devoured and he could never have enough- 

Regina was brought back to reality when the thief came into her line of vision inside her mirror. Her attentions were immediately shifted and focused on his striking body, now soaked wet from head to toe, dripping, his hair moist pulled back from his face. Regina could not help but imagine her tongue tracing the path of several droplets of water down the hard planes of his torso. 

The thief turned, obscuring  his glorious front from Regina’s view – although her gaze was free to roam his broad shoulders, his muscled back and the perfect curvature of his arse, before he – much to Regina’s dismay – started putting his clothes back on. 

Yes, he was going to do just fine. 

More than ‘fine’ actually, this choice could not have been better. He was far too handsome for his own good but his features were not delicate, he had a strong jaw and a lined face. Plus a rough and worshiping touch her body seemed to melt into. He had brought her to a wondrous peak of pleasure, and it was undeniable that they had very powerful chemistry between them.

Perfect. 

Apart from the fact that he was no commoner, no peasant, no farmer, he was Robin Hood and his reputation preceded him. Regina knew for a fact that he was the best archer in the land and having one of such right beside her was a wise decision. It just so happened that the thief could give her intensely satisfying orgasms, as well as protecting her back, and in Regina’s eyes, this could only be seen as a win win situation. 

When the outlaw was fully dressed, he turned around and pulled on the coat, giving Regina the dull view of the faraway house in the woods with only a single window lit, his small room, no doubt. 

He headed back to the headquarters, then up the stairs with much more leisurely steps than those he had stormed down with. He opened the creaky door to his room and she could hear him sigh heavily. 

He moved and sat on the bed and started to take off his boots. Once those were gone he shrugged off the coat and made it to throw it on the small table before realizing that he had smashed it in his previous frustration. 

The thief held onto his coat, looking for some place to put it as his gaze flickered from the coat to his room and then to the coat again. His impossibly blue eyes widened as they fixed deadly on the pin and he tapped it with his finger, blurring the image on the mirror with every tap. He then brought the pin closer to his face his eyes seemed to grow an icy color or blue. 

Then suddenly, the images blurred once more and went black, as Regina assumed he had thrown the jacket away from him. Though most of the sounds were muffled she could hear his distinctively accented voice yell; “shit!” 

Regina smiled and conjured a small piece of parchment in the palm of her hand, her head tilted to the side as she thought up a suitable message to rile the thief up further. When she had one, the Queen watched as her chosen words appeared in cursive writing. She read the message through and gave a small laugh as the paper disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke.

…

Regina awoke the next day feeling utterly relaxed and it took her a few moments to remember just why. Recalling the extended acquaintance she had made with the man she hired to murder her stepdaughter brought a feeling of absolute satisfaction as well as great expectation to her. 

Today was the day that brat was going to pay for ruining Regina’s life  

She felt her heart beating fast with expectation, already looking forward to hold Snow’s meaty heart in her clutches, not enchanted at all, but dead and rotting. She pushed herself to the sitting position and swung her legs to the side so the bare soles of her feet touched the dark bear fur rug beside her bed, her toes nestling comfortably on the soft surface. 

The smell of burned wood in the air brought Regina back to the here and then. She had almost forgotten she had set fire to her dresser the night before. 

The piece of furniture was no more; the only thing remaining in its place was a large pile of ash, Regina’s magical fire made sure to erase every last bit of glass, stone and wood. With a wave of her hand, the messy ashes dissipated into thin air and in its place, a beautiful cheery wood dresser appeared. Her real jewelry, some of what she had brought from home and others she had taken for herself from the royal collection, as well as some useful magical objects appeared in its surface after a second wave of Regina’s hand. There were three wooden mirror frames but no mirror in any of them; Regina planned on having this whole genie business dealt with as soon as she held Snow’s heart in her grasp, but for now, she would content herself in living in a world without them. 

An overwhelming shiver washed through Regina’s entire body as she realized today was the day her vengeance would finally be complete and Daniel’s death finally avenged. 

“Oh Daniel,” she whispered, her eyes fluttering closed for a short moment as memories of calloused hands, blue eyes and a kind smile flashed before her. 

Then if I am to marry you, we must do this properly, Regina could still hear Daniel’s gentle voice caress her features. An unconscious tear slipped from her eye as she remembered how Daniel had kissed her that night, how he had held her and how delicious it had been to lay in a mountain of fresh hay cuddled up with him making plans for their future together. 

Regina opened her eyes and was faced with her harsh reality, cold and alone, Daniel had died so she could play baby sitter to that bratty girl and whore to her disgusting father. Another tear slid down her cheek as she thought of how life could have been had Snow not betrayed her secret to her mother, she reached out for her engagement ring that she kept hidden in a box on her nightstand and put it on her finger. 

Taking a deep breath in order to pull herself together, Regina’s position did not allow her to be fragile, ever; she spun the ring on her finger and rose from the bed to start preparing for the day ahead. 

After she had bathed, she pulled on the dark dress she had worn in Leopold’s service to play the grieving widow for one last time. With her hair perfectly pinned above her head, Regina exited her chambers to the dining hall to share one last meal with the girl who had ruined her life. 

Upon her arrival, Snow – who was already sat at the table – rose to greet her. She was wearing – to Regina’s utter surprise – white. A pretty, white frock; innocent ivory, Regina felt venom fill her heart as she thought of this girl who had always presented herself as that, innocent. But Regina knew deep inside that Snow’s actions ten years ago had spurred from her spoiled and selfish disposition, she had wanted a pretty stepmother to play with, to dress and to pet, and had been resolute that Regina was to be it, no matter the consequences it might have. 

But at the end, Regina had to hold back a laugh, for pretty soon that dress would gain a whole new set of colors. The thief would paint her death on that white, white canvas of a dress and Regina could not wait to see the whole scene unfold right before her eyes. 

“Good morning, Regina,” Snow said sadly. 

“Good morning, my dear,” Regina forced out for the last time. These were the last warm smiles she would have to fake for this girl. Regina could not resist but add; “no black today Snow?” 

The girl looked up at her as Regina came to rest her hands on her stepdaughter’s shoulders for a brief moment, holding back every urge to snap her neck, before she seated herself a few chairs away. 

“My father wouldn’t have wanted for me to wear such a color for so long.” Snow looked down at her plate, her expression and posture similar to that of a tiny, tiny bird. She knew how the play the innocent card only too well, but Regina knew better. “I find white suits me best, and so I’ve decided to mourn in it.” 

How sickening 

“Very well, my dear. You do what you feel is best.” Regina said as she forced out a sincere smile. 

“Thank you, Regina.” Snow stood, brushing down the creases in her pretty, white dress as she added, “I have just finished breaking my fast, I’m sorry I did not wait for you; I wanted to visit father’s grave early today.” 

“Oh, why is that?” Regina asked. 

“I wanted to ride Chestnut before lunch, ever since father died I haven’t-” 

But Regina did not let the girl finish her statement; it was as if some force from high above was mocking her for having made this girl as in enamored by horses as Regina had once been. 

“I understand. There is no trouble Snow.” Regina cut her. 

Before Snow could reply, Johanna, Snow’s insufferable sidekick, entered the hall, shifting Snow’s attention to her round frame. The woman was a good deal older than Regina, probably Snow’s real mother’s age. The short round servant made it her life’s purpose to attend to Snow’s every need. 

“Shall we go, your highness?” she asked in her ridiculously cheerful and motherly way, looking at Snow with affection. 

“Yes, Johanna.” Snow headed towards other woman, and when the pair reached the doors Snow turned around and added; “I won’t be long. I will be back in time to eat lunch with you.” 

Wanna bet?  

“Oh, thank you dear. But don’t rush yourself on my account, spend as much time by your father’s grave as you desire.” Regina’s voice was sweet and calm, she wondered how on earth she had gotten so good at pretending she cared. 

You will be joining him soon enough, she wanted to add, but instead just smiled one last fabricated show of teeth to the girl who had ripped her happiness from her. 

The pair left and Regina managed to control herself for almost a full minute before she released a dark laugh that had been bubbling up inside her. It was freeing to simply let go of her voice and let it come out in an evil delicious laughter that filled the enormous dining hall. The servants could certainly pick up her outburst, but Regina did not care, this was her castle now, and she would finally do as she pleased.

She took a few calming breaths in order to be able to stomach a little food, but she only nibbled on some sweet bread and drank a little tea, the anticipation was eating her alive. Her stomach protested at the small amount of food she had given it but Regina disregarded it and quickly went back to her bedchambers to see her plan unfold. 

After ensuring her door was locked – both by magic and with the customary lock - she turned to the full-length mirror seeing herself at the reflection. The perfect image of a grieving widow, all in black, modest make up as well as attire. All of it would change, Regina would not have to pretend to be something she was not anymore. Although she noted that the black did flatter her, it went perfectly well with the coloring of her heart and soul. 

Dismissing her trivial thoughts, Regina waved her hand and watched as her reflection faded away and the sight of the green forest came into her view. She was surprised to see that the perspective she was given was not of one who had his feet on the ground but of one who was several feet above it. She could only imagine him high up on a tree, resting against the trunk, looking as if he had done this about a million times already, that smug smirk on his most kissable lips. She was yet to taste them and could not- 

What the hell was all that about? 

Regina had much more important things to worry about than the thief's kissing abilities, why on earth did she care anyway? 

Brushing the thought of the man's mouth in hers aside as best as she could, Regina studied her front row seat to Snow's murder. She had a very clear view of the forest track, and from his even breaths and the stillness of the image in her mirror, it was likely the thief was as still as it was humanly possible. 

Suddenly, there was a change, the sound of faint voices reached her senses, and both Regina and the outlaw’s breathing quickened. The image rotated ever so slowly until Regina could see two small frames heading towards the man hidden from their eyes, one round and short whilst the other was taller and slim. 

Regina could see that the outlaw was moving but his movements did not fabricate a single sound as he got to a better location still high above in his tree of choice. As the voices grew louder and Regina could discern the short fat servant from the ‘innocent’ princess more clearly, she saw his arms reach out for his bow. 

The pair was walking hand in hand conversing, blissfully unaware of the events about to unfold. 

They were closer now, close enough for Regina to be able to pick out some of their words. An arrow was placed soundlessly in the bow that occupied her line of vision. The outlaw pulled the string taut – it made a wee noise Regina was hardly able to register, her heart hammered on her chest - and waited for a moment that felt like hours. 

Then he released. 

Regina could have sworn she saw the journey the arrow made in slow motion, from the outlaw’s bow, flying through the thick forest air until it landed in the elder lady’s chest, hitting her precisely where her heart rested. The momentum of the arrow knocked her backwards and Johanna overbalanced. 

“Johanna!” Snow screamed, falling to her knees beside her lifelong friend. 

The outlaw watched, unmoving, as Snow’s hands flailed, unsure as to where to put them in her blind panic as a deep red spread from the arrow embedded in her friend’s chest. The girl was clearly crying and uttering incoherent words in between her sobs. She eventually got ahold of herself, managed to hug Joanna’s body to her, and cradled her head on her, rocking backwards and forwards with choppy breaths. 

“Johanna! Please don’t close your eyes-” Snow sobbed, “Please don’t leave me-” Snow then screamed as loudly as her condition allowed her to, “HELP, SOMEBODY HELP ME!” 

But no help came for the man who was to be standing guard at that particular area remained unmoving atop of a tree. The young girl cried and cried as the old woman drew her last breaths, pleading with her to ‘just stay alive’, ‘help is coming’, ‘you will be alright’. 

Regina watched as Johanna placed a shaky hand on Snow’s cheek in a sickening motherly gesture, the woman was still able to carry that ridiculous maternal glint in her eyes even with death hovering over her. Johanna’s lips moved but Regina could not make out the words, nor read Johanna’s lips, she was already too weak to enunciate properly. 

Snow took that hand into her own and squeezed, letting hot tears trail down her cheeks and muttering something, which also went by unregistered by Regina’s ears, back to the round bleeding lady. 

The outlaw had still not moved. 

When the older woman’s eyes went dull and her hand slipped from Snow’s grasp – who wailed out a cry of desperation, crying out her friend’s name one last time - Regina knew that the first part of her problem was already solved. 

As if on cue, the images on her mirror became blurry for a few seconds and then abnormally steady when the outlaw hopped impossibly fast from the tree, landing expertly right in front of the distressed girl. 

Now Regina could see up-close what her little intervention had caused the brat, the white dress was already tinted with a little red from Johanna’s wound as well as her eyes, which were blood shot with tears, her cheeks were also red but upon looking up at the man before her, Snow’s complexion became even whiter than usual. 

Snow let out a loud gasp as her gaze flickered from the thief’s face to his bow, the girl was not that stupid. 

“Why have you done this?” she asked, her voice raised and uneven as tears still streamed down her cheeks. “She was a good and loyal friend. Never harmed anyone.” 

“If you were to live another day, girl, I would advise you that goodness and loyalty are customs utilized only by fools.” The outlaw’s heavily accented voice coldly warned her. 

Snow’s eyes widened at his words as she gasped clutching the dead woman’s body closer to hers. 

“You are going to kill me.” She stated in a small voice, presumably trying to draw some pity out of the man.

Foolish girl.

“Yes I am,” he confirmed, drawing the freshly sharpened knife Regina had given him from his belt and taking cautious yet certain steps towards her.

Snow looked at him, eyes wide, terror spread over her lovely features.

“ She sent you, didn’t she?” Snow asked, and the way she uttered the word ‘she’ was as if Regina was some manner of venomous snake.

That statement made the man stop on his heels and regard her, his voice came out a moment later, “Who else?”

Snow was clearly very much desperate to stay alive so she tried to persuade him, trying to throw in a little of that innocent ‘I have done nothing wrong’ charm, “You don’t have to do this,”

He gave a low chuckle and took another step towards her, “You’re right, I don’t have to-” another small step, his voice grew a little sinister, “-but I want to.”

Terrified tears streamed from Snow’s eyes and Regina made a mental note to give him something extra when the time for rewarding came, after all, she had not asked that he terrify Snow, but the sight of her like this pleased Regina immensely.

“What did she promise you?” Snow tried, she was clearly very desperate, “Whatever it was I’ll give you double-” her face was searching for something, approval, maybe a small stir but the outlaw seemed to have given nothing away, “Triple?”

He only gave her a dark chuckle and replied, “I’m certain you would not be able to deliver half of what the Queen has offered, even if you tried your hardest-” he was closing in on her like an animal surrounding its prey. “Don’t waste your breath trying to convince me, the Queen has a proposition, I believe no one is able to match-” Regina felt heat flow down below as she remembered of her inappropriate proposition. He took a deep breath, seemingly too calm for this situation and flipped the dagger in his hand adding, “-any last words?”

Just as he was about to pounce, the brat grabbed a rock that sat nearby her and blindly threw it in his direction, hitting him on the chest on the exact spot were the pin rested.

The images on the mirror disappeared, now Regina could only hear the outlaw’s raged filled shout and the scuffling of dirt, no doubt the girl trying to escape. A loud groan that could only belong to the outlaw reached Regina’s ears, and the sound of something being dragged along the floor and Snow’s panic filled screams assured Regina the girl had not been able to escape, regardless of her pathetic attempt.

Regina was almost overwhelmed when she heard Snow’s pleading screams of “no!” and “leave me alone!” and enjoyed the scene far too much to say that she could not even watch it unfold.

Another plea of “Please don’t do this!” it was downright desperate, she had reached a tone of desperation Regina had never heard the likes of before coming from Snow’s insufferable self. Her voice had turned airy and then modified again into a shrill mixture of crying and screaming.

“Shut up, you annoying, brat!” she heard the outlaw roar before there was a muffled scream.

Then Regina heard it. The soft undeniable sound of the knife’s blade digging into flesh, going deep, as the muffed cry continued. It was followed by a grunt fabricated by the outlaw’s male voice and the highest pitched scream she had ever heard. The last thing she was able to hear was a heavy breath being drawn by the outlaw.

Then silence.

Having been damaged, the pin’s magic must have worn off completely, the mirror was dark and silent. However, Regina smiled as she waved her hand over the mirror once more, looking at her own reflection.

She had done it.  

She had won.

Chapter Text

Robin sighed somewhat contently as he re-entered his new ‘room’. 

His body was still quite wet from the dive, his clothes having assisted him only a little in drying off. His hair was still moist, and uncomfortably cold droplets still fell from the ends, mostly into his collar, he shook his head once inside so more dews of water would leave his dirty blonde mane. 

He had to admit that it had been at least mildly satisfying; the very idea of going to sleep without taking care of the painful bulge on his pants was quite simply inconceivable. Although he would much rather that his coming resulted from another’s hand as opposed to his own. 

That damned woman, Robin still did not know just how he felt about her, all he could account for was that the feeling was strong, her manner rather demanded intensity. She had looked at him in such a way that he had actually believed, for a split second, that she would give him a hand in his situation. But then she had simply left, leaving behind only smoke and his hard, unsucked cock. 

Of course, he had taken no reservations in imagining the Queen deprived of any clothing whilst he pumped said hard cock. Images of her on her knees - yes that had been a wonderful position for her – whilst he fucked her mouth with vigour and absolutely no reserves, made his hand move faster and faster until her title was slipping out of his mouth before he could think of what he was uttering. 

He was going to enjoy killing that pair the next day, of that Robin was absolutely sure. Not only because of the dark thrill murder gave him, but also because he was more than looking forward to claiming his reward for his services. Robin took another deep inhale of air and thought of how he had imagined the Queen, her picture perfect beauty absolutely deprived of cloth, on her hands and knees, whining and moaning as he took a fist full of black mane and rode her from behind and spanked her sorry arse for good measure, when he came to his own touch back in the small forest. 

Oh yes, he was very much looking forward to collecting. 

Robin sighed one last time before moving to sit on his bed – better get as much rest as possible, Gods knew he was going to need a great amount of energy the next day – in order to remove his boots. He shrugged that unbelievably hot and uncomfortable jacket off and made it to throw it on the small table in front of him but then noticed he had kicked it to pieces. He regarded the stupid piece of cloth for a beat and looked about the room in search of a place in order to discard of it, he looked back at the ugly grey jacket and Robin’s eyes grew impossibly large when they caught a hint of red in it. 

The pin! 

Robin stared at the small, red, four ended star horrified. He could not actually believe he had forgotten about the wee artefact, since it had been the ‘reason’ behind the Queen’s nightly visit in the first place. Still unsure if she was even on the other side, looking at him through her mirror, Robin tapped his finger to the pin a couple of times bringing it closer to his face. He felt it grow hot under his touch and quickly tossed it in reflex to the side, uttering “Shit!” in a raspy unused voice whilst making sure the pin was facing down. 

Fuck, fuck, Robin’s head thumped as he brought both his palms up to his face and rested his elbows on his thighs. 

Had the Queen just been witness to what he had done by that blasted river? 

It was not a question of decency or modesty; Robin was not ashamed of his body, nor had he any reservations as to baring it. Not at all. Quite the opposite; he knew that his looks and charm combined had gotten his bed sheets warm for many a night. 

There was actually, a very large part of him – one that involved a member which might get stiff for the third time that day just at the thought of this – that found the idea of the Queen watching him most enticing. 

Had she indeed seen it? He remembered faintly that he did discard of the jacket midway through his ministrations, he could not remember – why should he? – the angle the pin faced.   

Had she liked it? It was quite clear that their attraction was mutual; otherwise, she would not have offered such a prize for the wee Princess’ head or given him a preview of what that prize looked like not an hour ago. 

Had she slid her nimble hand down her body and touched herself whilst watching him? The very idea of her out there in her cold castle, getting off to the image of him brought an indescribable chill of pleasure about his body. Robin liked that idea a lot. 

His dread and hesitation resulted from the words he remembered only too well uttering whilst he performed the act, words that had not been most flattering, especially when he had been referring to the Queen. 

As if on cue, a small cloud of smoke appeared on his pillow, startling Robin from his musings. When the smoke dissipated, he could see a small piece of parchment resting against the soft surface of the pillow. 

Robin was rather reluctant to even moving at all after the small manifestation of magic happened. But curiosity won over and he hesitantly reached out for the small paper as if it were on fire - there was a part of Robin that was pretty sure it was going to set itself on fire as soon as he touched it. 

But when his fingers came in contact with the paper it did not combust. Robin’s throat was still quite constricted whilst he handled the paper carefully and brought it close enough so he could read it, but far enough so he could toss it as far as possible if it did something unexpected. 

The message had been written in a beautiful cursive handwriting. 

Thank you for the show 

If there had been any lingering doubt if the Queen had been witness to Robin masturbating in the moonlight whilst he cried out her title and cursed her, it now dissipated into nothing. Of course she had seen it. 

Robin had to wonder what she had done, from the looks of the non-flaming message, she did seem to enjoy it, and Robin got a little smug over the fact that the view had been pleasing. 

He stared at the piece of paper once more, re reading it twice again until he noticed there was something scribbled on the other side. The same handwriting, but there were only two words. Two words that had even more of an effect on him than the last message. 

Nice ass  

Robin’s eyes widened slightly and a grin started playing on the corner of his lips. That woman was truly unique; any other woman in her position would have taken great offence at what he had uttered. But not her. No, she had found it amusing. She had enjoyed the show and complimented the assets. 

Bloody minx.

Robin closed his eyes and let a small laugh escape his lips as he stored the piece of parchment in his trousers’ back pocket. 

He went to bed that day feeling lighter than he had felt in a very long time. Which struck him as odd, since had been having heart palpitations throughout the day thanks to indecent thoughts and actions of the Queen, add in the fact that he was about to commit murder the very next day and it had all the makings of a full blown heart attack. Nevertheless, when sleep finally came to him, the final thing he saw were red lips, and he felt his own twitch into a smirk. 

… 

The next day, Robin arose with the sun, and for a few brief seconds he wondered if the whole business of the seductive Queen and his order to kill had been nothing but a dream. But as he became aware of the softness of where he lay and of the absence of the earthy smell of the woods, he knew it had all been true. 

He was to assassinate two people. And bed the Queen as a reward. 

How had he come to this? 

He had once been a man of honor, someone who was willing to be an outlaw, with a fat prize on his head, for the sake of strangers in need. Had his old self ever encountered the likes of him now, they would have most probably fought to the death, and Robin cringed knowing only too well who would rise victorious. For there was no space for mercy or understanding in his blackened heart, light and color had been taken out of his life as a punishment for having wronged the one who mattered the most, the one he had never wanted to part with. 

After having committed such a crime, Robin could understand how easy it was to lose oneself in the midst of darkness, since it was all that he deserved. He could see how easy it was to drown regret with whatever filled that gaping chasm where one’s light should reside. Since lightness had left him, darkness was all he had been left with.   

Robin had come too far to go back to the person he had once been, he could not find even a hint of reason to even try. He had done things in the past year, awful, monstrous actions, there was absolutely no coming back from them. He had taken lives from people whose names he did not even bother register for no good reason. He murdered to let out his anger and frustration, and for the mere selfish reason of feeling alive. 

Before Marian had died, he had killed when there was no other way out and in order to ensure other’s safety, Robin had committed murder. He had never felt good about it though, he had always secluded himself after the deed and prayed that at least his victim’s soul would be redeemed. 

Now, it gave him an addictive rush of pleasure but drained him of all emotions as well, making him feel hollow and numb, but alive all the same. It was quite a unique sensation; it felt like everything and nothing. Having someone’s fate, someone’s life in your bare hands was power. 

Robin had not been able to prevent his wife and child from dying, innocent people from being ripped away from him. But those who were lesser and stupid enough to try and fight him- they had been fair game. It had been the perfect antidote for his sorrow. But the price for that medicine had been his heart, for it grew darker and darker with each passing day. 

He could do it. He knew that with utmost certainty. He could cold bloodedly kill the princess and whoever was unfortunate enough to accompany her. He looked forward to feeling that rush of the kill. It had been a while since he had last taken a life, and now he knew the inevitable murder of two targets was looming, he was craving the hit that accompanied the knowledge that, because of him, there was one less person in the world – or in this case, two. 

Only now, he had one other sensation that rivalled his blood lust, his craving for that mysterious rush when he took another’s life. That being the shot of desire and hunger whenever his skin came in contact with the Queen’s, Robin was most certain he had never felt anything like it before. What an inexplicable rush and such an intense pull, it could only be explained as raw perfect chemistry. Something that was very dangerous to take large dosages of but that Robin saw himself become extremely addicted to. 

Robin came to the conclusion that this was to be a very good day. 

He went downstairs to break his fast in high spirits, but to his utter annoyance, Billy and Dominic sat at the table in the common room. They had brought some bread from the nearby village they lived in as a welcome gift for him. And although Robin still felt the urge to simultaneously snap their necks, he could not help but feel a little grateful.  

As he sat there eating - trying as hard as he could to mute the lively chitchat the pair of youngsters was producing - he pondered upon just how he was going to make his kill today, choosing to set aside all his feelings regarding his job – and the reward -, in order to keep his head cool so he could come up with the best possible plan. 

The possibilities were endless, even with the Queen’s demands. One swift one shot for the companion, and a painful and bloody mess of an end for the princess. All of which resulted in Robin having to carve up a non-beating heart from the princess’ chest so it could embellish the Queen’s collection. Robin had never held an actually heart on his grasp, he wondered how it would feel like and if the sensation of power was somehow heightened by it. 

He would find that out in just a couple of hours. 

After saying his much awaited goodbyes to his ‘patrol brothers’ - that’s how the boys insisted on addressing each other, and unfortunately, he had now been included in yet another ‘band of brothers’ and it was the last thing he needed - Robin made his way to the East side of the small forest. 

The smell of pinewood and earth invaded his senses and Robin found he rather missed sleeping outdoors, he had gotten used to it a long time ago and chuckled inwardly thinking of how last night had been the first night in years that he had slept on an actual bed. The forest suited him, there he found solace, no judgement and quietness and most importantly, he found solitude. 

On his way, he picked up his bow and arrows, which he had concealed in the hollow of a tree after having taken care of his situation the prior evening. The memory of which – and the note – drawing a small smirk onto his lips. 

He tracked the whole East road trying to create a mental map of the path the princess was to take. One could barely fit a carriage on that road, as it was surrounded by tall thin trees, the branches being so long that sometimes they crossed the road, turning themselves into wee traps for the distracted passer-by. The road came to an end at the King’s final resting place. 

The place spoke of grandeur and wealth, everything had been apparently made out of white marble, even the floor on the surroundings had been covered with the light coloured expensive stone. The grand mausoleum was the size of a large house, all that extravagant structure to house but one dead meaningless body that was to rot like every single corpse did. 

This had been one of the main reasons why Robin had turned against nobility when he was younger. Why he had chosen to steal from them and give to the ones who really had need of it. Kings would raise taxes and rob good, honest people out of their hard-earned gold in order to build extravagant buildings such as this. 

And what for? So it could house one dead person, a single rotting body who had absolutely no use of it, when the gold used to build the whole damn thing could have been much better used in providing for the people who paid for it.

Robin took a deep breath and set his prejudice aside. He had not felt that much resentment towards the wrong doings of nobles in a really long time, hadn’t bothered to think about how they wasted gold and now, of all times – when he was doing the bidding of one – was not the best time to relieve those feelings. 

Clearing up his mind and taking another deep breath, Robin scanned his surroundings, to make sure there was no one else there paying their respects to the late monarch. He rounded the entire mausoleum and looked around, careful not to leave a trail that was easy to track whilst he inspected the carved stone and tress about. 

As Robin made his way back, he analysed the trees and the twists and turns of the road so he could find the perfect vantage point that gave him a clear view of the path and kept him hidden from prying eyes. Unfortunately, the tress were pretty thin and incapable of withstanding his weight, it was thanks to a strike of luck that Robin was able to encounter an old, grand tree, with long thick branches filled with leaves to the brim. 

He smirked when he reached the foot of the tree, took a deep breath and climbed it with ease and soundlessly. He came to rest on a concealed branch about 20 feet from the ground, he carefully stored his bow right beside him as he positioned himself on the sturdy bough so he could be as motionless as he could manage. 

He could see the path clearly from above, and a fairly good portion of it, if he looked at the opposite direction, Robin was able to see the top to the marble mausoleum. 

The bratty princess would not catch him by surprise; he would be able to see her come a good deal of time before she approached his tree. Robin took a deep breath, becoming aware of everything around him, the little noises the animals down below made, the humming of songbirds, the gush of the wind that hit his ears and made the leaves on the tree move. 

Now all he had to do was wait, and wait he did, remaining almost immobile, only the rise and fall of his chest in motion. 

It did not take long for him to start hearing high-pitched voices that could only belong to the set of women he was to dispose of. Robin rotated about ninety degrees ever so slowly so he could face where the sounds were coming from, he squinted and was able to make out two figures walking his way, hand in hand, in the distance. His heart started beating faster in his chest as the adrenaline and thrill of the whole affair took over. 

Regardless of his blood pressure, Robin remained stationary; he was not one to let his feelings take a hold of his actions, not in this kind of situation, plus it was not as if he had not done this before. Even though it felt as if his heart was pounding venom through his veins, he was able to remain invisible. 

They came closer and Robin was able to inspect the two females. One was short, old and fat, and was wearing servant’s clothes, a chaperone perhaps. Robin wondered why the princess was not in the company of a knight, but then he reminded himself, he was the one who was supposed to protect the little royal. 

Tough luck, little princess  

But the girl was not little at all, she was, to Robin’s surprise, all grown up. Because of the way the Queen had referred to her, he had imagined she would be but a girl, maybe pesky teenager at most, but his eyes met a young woman, not a day older than his annoying ‘patrol brothers’. She wore a white frock that somehow felt all wrong for the occasion, not regal enough, nor mournful at all. 

Both talked amicably, blessedly ignorant of the fate that awaited them. 

Robin did not feel a drop of pity for the pair, his heart had shrivelled and darkened too much for him to care for the fate of people he did not even know. Even if their fate was terrible. Which Robin knew it was going to be; he was there to ensure that. 

As the pair approached, Robin reached ever so slowly for his bow, never taking his trained eyes away from them. His fingers came into contact with the wood and he brought the bow to position gently, making sure not to snap a twig. 

They were close now, Robin second naturedly grabbed an arrow from his quiver and placed it to the bow. He pulled the string masterfully, watching the pair with hunter’s eyes as he aimed effortlessly to the pulsating organ in the old woman’s chest and inhaled. Upon a fast exhale, the arrow flew from his grasp and hit the elder lady square in the chest where her heart lay. 

The arrow hit the woman with such force that she lost her balance and fell back. And when the young woman realized that her friend was no longer strolling by her side but bleeding on the ground, she screamed. 

“Johanna!” 

The girl was at first in shock, staring at her companion with wide eyes and crying out words Robin could not and did not care to catch. As the red started to stain her friend’s chest, the girl sank to her knees next to where the other woman had fallen, and sobbed. She looked utterly helpless as she fumbled with her hands, reaching out for the elder woman, unsure of what to do. She eventually took her by the shoulders and brought her head to rest on her legs as she cradled her dying friend. 

“Johanna! Please don’t close your eyes-” the girl managed in between sobs, “Please don’t leave me-” she then screamed as loudly as she could, much to Robin’s annoyance, “HELP, SOMEBODY HELP ME!” 

Robin did not move. The Queen had instructed that the girl should watch her friend perish before he was to show himself. So Robin waited ever so patiently for the old bag to draw her last breath. The elder woman made unintelligible noises as the young one pleaded for her to ‘just stay alive’, in between assurances of; ‘help will come soon, you will be fine’. He observed as the older lady shook her head knowing she was bound to die. She then brought her hand to her chest before cupping the girl’s cheek, whispering words Robin could not make out from that distance. 

The tears that rolled down the girl’s face came to rest on the dying woman as she took the hand that cupped her cheek into her own, squeezing it. The elder woman’s lips moved once again but Robin could just make out that she would never be able to finish her sentence. Life drained from her eyes and the hand that held onto the girl’s hand turned limp, slipping from its grasp as the name Johanna slid from the girl’s lips one last time. 

Robin jumped out of the branch and into the girl’s view in a heartbeat. 

One down. One to go.  

The girl looked up at him, utter fear shining in her big, expressive eyes, her cheeks had been crimson due to her crying but as she laid her eyes on Robin, they became dead pale. 

She gasped when she saw the bow, and added two and two together. 

“Why have you done this?” she asked him with a shaky voice, still clutching the dead woman’s body. “She was a good and loyal friend. Never harmed anyone.” 

“If you were to live another day girl, I would advise you that goodness and loyalty are customs utilized only by fools.” He uttered, his tone flat and void of anything. 

As the girl realized she was to be re-joining the friend she held onto tightly quite soon, her eyes grew wide as the little color that had been left in her face drained away. 

“You are going to kill me.” she stated in half a whisper twisting her features into a pitiful look.

Robin had to hold back a laugh at the girl’s pitiful attempt to move him. She clearly did not know with whom she was dealing with. 

“Yes, I am.” Robin responded and pulled the dagger the Queen had insisted he used in this particular assassination from his belt. 

The weapon was a fine thing, simple, not something that Robin would imagine belonged to a royal, but it was light and swift and it fit his grip perfectly. The Queen made it very clear in their first encounter that he was to use it to kill the princess and then return it to her. It had once belonged someone the princess had wronged, she had told him. 

Robin took expert steps towards the girl, who quite rightly looked as if she was going to shit herself in fear. 

“She sent you, didn’t she?” the young woman seemed to gather enough courage to ask, the way she had articulated ‘she’ made it quite clear to whom she was referring to. 

Her words made Robin stop on his heels to regard her for a beat and promptly reply, “Who else?” 

The brat seemed to think that somehow she was going to be able to convince him not to kill her with her puppy, tear shot eyes and sweet words, “You don’t have to do this.” She spoke as if she was willing to give him a second chance, as if she was going to overlook everything he had done so far as long as he let her live. 

The mere idea of it was pathetic and Robin chuckled at her naivetés whilst he took another step towards her, “You’re right, I don’t have to-” the realization that he could have said ‘no’ to the Queen struck him for a moment, but looking back at everything that she offered, she had made her offer irresistible, death and that maddening spark her naked body would ignite in his, “-but I want to.” 

His words had quite clearly terrified her, the tears streamed from her eyes and yet, she was still able to come up with words to yet again try to convince him to spare her. 

“What did she promise you?” she asked and Robin almost let out an uneducated laugh at her question, her next inquiries only managed to make him want to burst out laughing more, “Whatever it was I’ll give you double.” The girl was seriously convinced she could somehow buy his loyalties, spoiled brat, Robin was pretty sure she was one of those sorts that got everything they desired and more. 

“Triple?” she tried when he gave her no response and this time Robin could not hold back the low, dark chuckle. 

“I’m certain you would not be able to deliver half of what the Queen has offered, even if you tried your hardest.” Robin told her, choosing to start closing in on her so he could pounce when she least expected, he continued to speak, “Don’t waste your breath trying to convince me, the Queen has a proposition, I believe no one is able to match.” Robin felt his untamable cock stir at the thought of the proposition, took a deep breath in order to clear his head, and finished, flipping the sharp dagger about his fingers, “Any last words?” 

Conversation was over and he had a job to finish, so taking measured steps, Robin approached the young woman with blade in hand and hard glint in his eyes. The Princess could do nothing but stare back at him, shock and terror clear on her face. 

Robin halted and shifted his weight to his back leg, preparing to pounce at the girl. But that manoeuvre was all it took for the damned girl to grab a rock that had been resting near her and throw it in Robin’s direction. The sodding thing hit him square in the chest, right where the pin rested, making its sharp end dig into Robin’s skin. As he looked down to inspect the place he had been hit, the girl started to try to make her escape. 

Not today, little one.  

Robin pounced so violently he managed to draw some blood curdling screams from the petite royal. She tried to protect herself using the dead body of her old friend as a shield, hiding behind the woman’s frame in an attempt to buy herself some time. 

So much respect for the loyal and good friend.  

Robin was now on his knees on the forest floor, grabbing the dead, heavy body that had been thrown his way, and shoving it to the side as if it weighed next to nothing. The girl started to hastily crawl on all fours away from him, but he was far too quick to let her escape. With a loud groan, Robin grabbed the girl by both her ankles and pulled her in his direction in one swift move, scrapping her snow-white dress against the earthy ground as she sobbed, begging for mercy. 

She tried to kick him but his grasp was too strong for her to succeed in moving her lower limbs, the only things she actually did succeed in doing were riling the man currently trying to kill her, and making her ankles sore from the tightening grip. 

As he dragged her along the dirt she screamed, thrashing and digging her nails into the ground, leaving long striations behind her. 

He pulled her until her legs were between his, and he drew his knees together so he could trap her beneath him. 

“Leave me alone!” he heard her scream, as he ensured she could not move her legs. 

Ignoring her pathetic pleas, he turned her torso half way around on her left side so he could get a nice shot on her heart. 

“No!” she screamed, still crying, “Please don’t do this!” 

She fumbled with her hands trying to hit him, but even at her full strength, her blows could do nothing. It would have had more of an effect if she had tickled him. 

“Shut up, you annoying brat!” he bellowed as he clasped his free hand onto her mouth, muffling her screams, whilst her eyes grew impossibly large, probably already seeing the looming figure of death about herself. 

He lifted his right hand, in which held the sharpened knife, and was ready to seal the deal. He’s heart pounded fiercely inside his chest as thrill of having this small yet somehow powerful brat’s life on his grasp. The venomous joy of killing ran freely about his veins as Robin looked straight into his target’s terrified eyes and lunged, aiming for the heart wanting to impossibly rip it off her chest after he had hit her with one strike. 

Robin cursed as the slippery shit not only bit his hand but also was somehow able to move at the very last second and his mortal strike did not hit its mark. The knife was plunged into her flesh alright, but since she had managed to move, it had landed on her shoulder and it did not go very deeply, having met the barrier of her shoulder bone. 

The metallic scent of blood and the most horrid scream he had ever heard hit Robin’s senses. 

Red dripped from the princess’ shoulder, blood staining the once pristine dress. He had removed his hand from her mouth thanks to the blasted bite she had given his palm, but Robin reached out again and grabbed the base of her throat tightly, reaching out with his other hand to grab the handle, and used his grip on her throat to pull the blade from her shoulder, making her screech once again. 

He was infuriated, and the darkest piece of his soul took control. At the sight of her eyes widening, presumably to try to sway him from his task by playing the naïve, pretty princess, he scraped the iron on her cheek in order to defect her innocent beauty. Her hands immediately shot to her face as she let out a whiny cry of horror. The strike had not been very deep, but Robin made sure it was profound enough for it to scar. 

Not that it was ever going to scar, since she was to die. 

At that moment, Robin’s vision and reason were fogged with rage. 

It was a matter of seconds, but if Robin were asked to recollect this moment, he would be able to see the whole scene play out slowly in front of him. He saw her hand, bloody, with traces of glass and a fine powder over her palm. He saw her opening her palm near his face, and realizing her plan to get away, he lunged at her with the knife once again. 

That had been his mistake, Robin had gotten close enough and the princess blew the contents of her hand into his face. 

Robin’s connection with reality grew cloudy and distant. He could see the blade still travelling through the air, but his gaze was unfocused and he was unsure as to where the knife landed. 

His last coherent thoughts being damned poppies and the Queen is going to kill me! 

And then- 

Black 

… 

Robin took a deep breath as he awoke from his haze, inhaling a good amount of dirt as he did so. He was sleeping on the forest floor again. 

Had it all really been a dream after all? 

He coughed as the powder invaded his body and his eyes shot open. He quickly realized that it was all too real. He was lying on the forest floor on his stomach, hand sticky with blood and still clutching the knife the Queen had given him, arm numb and back aching. The blade was dug into the floor and he could see a torn piece of white fabric trapped where the blade met the ground. 

He looked up at the sky, the sun still rested west which made him believe he might have been out for an hour at most. 

Not too long then. 

Robin brought his tongue to wet his lips and tasted the unique flavour of poppies, promptly spitting the contaminated saliva thereafter. Poppies would knock a normal person out for hours, but since he had a rather resistant body, it had only knocked him unconscious for an hour, even less. 

As he dropped his gaze, he was able to see the body of the woman he had killed. Stout, round, timeworn and not royal at all. He quickly got to his knees and desperately looked around the road, but there was no sign of another body. 

The damned girl had ran away 

Robin felt fury work its way through his whole body as he withdrew the blade from the ground. He was livid; the venom that rushed about his veins was now painful and evil. How much of an idiot had he been to have been knocked out by a feather weight brat for an entire hour? He could not believe he had been knocked unconscious by something as trivial as poppies. Robin kicked himself inwardly thinking that he should have seen the manoeuvre coming. 

But how could he possibly? For all he knew, royals like her did not even know that such a plant existed; the powder was usually utilized by witches and healers, it was not something one such as a princess would simply carry around-

Robin’s gaze shifted to the dead woman lying beside him, her calloused hands showcasing years of hard work, her simple garb which told him she had very little and most importantly, the string about her neck that had probably been yanked at until it broke. 

Realization hit him, the moments before and after his kill-shot playing in his mind. She had clutched her chest, she had taken the girl’s hand in hers, and she had murmured things his ears could not pick out. 

Her

The old woman. Was she a chambermaid? A guardian? She had been gentle to the girl, far too gentle, almost a motherly touch, probably knew her since she was a babe. She had walked hand in hand with the girl. She had not left the girl’s sight from the moment the king had been announced dead. 

Robin did not know how but he was sure that she had seen this attack coming. 

She must have handed the damned girl the poppies as she lay dying. Robin could hazily recall her hand clutching the princess’ before it became limp. It was her fault. It was her fault that he had lost his prey. It was her fault that he had lost his consciousness. It was her fault that he had lost his reward. 

Robin let out an anger-filled scream, and before he could give any second thought, he pounced at the dead body, stabbing it like a mad man. The feel of the blade that already felt like a second skin to him entering the old woman’s flesh did very little to help satiate his rage. 

Red… red. Red was all he saw as he pierced the limp helpless body. Red that been a new addition to his sight as he came to rest his eyes on the Queen for the first time. The Queen who had offered herself as a reward for him to make this kill. The Queen who was going to have his head for letting her prey escape. 

Thinking about how he was never going to feel the Queen’s soft and electrifying skin on his ever again infuriated Robin even more. He plunged manically with the knife until he felt his arms stiffen due to the force with which he was stabbing her. Fatigue finally taking over. 

He pulled the blade out for the very last time and for a moment examined what he had done. He had stabbed the lifeless body about her whole torso and now there was blood everywhere, his vision a pool of crimson.

The old woman’s blood covered his hands, the fresh, sticky substance coating the dried layer left behind by the stupid, little princess. 

Robin blinked several times, his vision becoming a haze of red as he managed to calm himself down so he was capable of coherent thought. At least coherent enough for him to strategize an escape plan, because the Queen would most certainly chop off his cock - instead of sucking it - because of this failure. 

Taking a deep breath, Robin twisted the blade so he could clean it on the little that had been left unpainted with red from his shirt when something else hit him; 

He had injured the princess. 

He had dug the blade fiercely into her shoulder. And soon after she had blown powdered poppies into his face, and the last thing he remembered was trying to have another go at stabbing her. His aim had been clearly damaged by the dust, as the only thing that remained was a piece of her dress, and not her lifeless body. 

But alas, she had left something far more precious than a strip of cotton behind- 

A trail 

As Robin meticulously examined the ground, he could see just where the girl had dragged herself from. The dirt on the ground was moved in the shape of her body, her hands, her heels and there was a clear blood trail to be followed. 

Robin was up in milliseconds, forgetting all about the now mangled body lying at his feet and focusing on finding the girl. He had to kill her. That was what he was supposed to do, that was what he had woken up for, and Robin also knew in the back of his mind that, if he did not succeed in his mission, there was a very slim chance of him making it out of his kingdom alive. His mission and sense of self-preservation, however horrid and selfish they might have been, blinded all his other sentiments. 

The bloody trail would lead him to her, of that he was certain. 

He would find her, he would take her down and make her suffer for this humiliation, the Queen, after all, had mentioned something about anguish in her instructions of how she wanted him to end the girl, and then, only when he was satisfied, he would be merciful and end her misery by killing her. 

Robin was only granted a few steps in the trail’s direction before numerous quick footsteps reached his ears. The traces of poppy dust still in his system hindered his ability to think quick enough to conceal himself before being seen, and the various shouts of “Oi!” and “Halt!” could be heard from the palace guards behind him. 

So he ran. 

He swiftly grabbed his bow and the knife, and he ran. 

He had never run so quickly in his entire life, but Robin was far too aware of what the scene he found himself in looked like to try to ponder upon a reasonable explanation. 

As he made his hasty way through the trees he could spot arrows being shot his way and he could not help but think how utterly humiliating it would be if he was actually hit by one; ‘a skilled marksman being taken down by an arrow’, the thought was ridiculous and the irony was not lost on him. Robin’s legs ached, a mixture of the dizzying rage and the damned poppies. 

When he reached the King’s mausoleum, he knew he was done for; there were several knights standing around the building, looking perplexed and wary. Behind them, Robin could see a trace of blood on one of the white walls of the house. His trail, the damned girl’s blood which would ultimately lead him to her. He needed to follow it, he wanted to follow it but he was quickly seized by the black clad soldiers who screamed various insults his way. 

There were three men restraining his movements, but all of his attempts to free himself came to a halt when he felt a cold, sharp blade on his neck. 

“You will pay for this, scum.” The man who held the iron to his flesh spat. 

Robin kept his mouth shut and his expression unreadable, even as the man’s fist came in contact with his stomach with untamed force. Although the Queen had not given him instructions as to what to do in this situation, Robin figured it was best not to reveal to her soldiers that he had been acting on her orders. 

As the guards conversed with one another, Robin was able to discern that the man who held the blade to his neck had been captain of the King’s guard. He, along with several other soldiers, had taken the western route of the forest to pay their respects to the King. When they came across the bloody marks on the mausoleum walls, they had become alarmed and had sent out a couple of men to inspect the east path, knowing that the Princess favoured that particular road. 

Men that were now reporting back to the castle with what they had found; the body of one of the most beloved servants in such a state it brought tears to one young soldier’s eyes. 

If this is how the royal guard reacts to violence, Robin mused, it is no wonder the King is dead. 

Robin was relieved to overhear they had not yet found the princess. 

He found himself being dragged to the castle by royal knights for the second time in less than twenty-four hours. He wondered if they would try to question him, or if they would just throw him in a cell, or worst of all, torture him. And most importantly, he wondered to whom they were taking him. 

Robin’s silent ponderings were answered as the guards ushered him through a pair of familiar doors. They came into a halt near the door, a man on each side restraining his arms and the captain of the guard stood slightly ahead of them. 

The sight that met his eyes was completely alien; it was the very same room he had been in before, with the very same chaise longue and the mirror frame that lacked a reflective surface, and yet everything was dark. Even the walls seemed to have taken a completely different colour, a darker and gloomier one. 

And she was there. Even with her back turned to him clad all in black looking at the crackling fire, he could sense her strong presence and just knew that the black garbed figure could only belong to her. 

Her hair was pinned up, her hands were on her hips, her corseted back expanded with each deep breath she took. 

“Your majesty-” the captain of the guard started with such a timid voice Robin had to wonder if it was the same man that had punched and threatened him numerous times on the way back. 

The Queen did not reply, did not even move; she simply huffed for the man to continue. 

“We found this man fleeing from the sight were the princess’ maid’s body was found.” He could hear the Queen click her tongue as the captain took a shaky breath and continued; “He tried to escape but my men seized him by the King’s tomb.” 

She huffed again. 

“If I, if I may your majesty-” he stuttered, “It is clear he is responsible, he is drenched in blood and we apprehended a knife and a bow from him, which were clearly used in-” 

“Enough!” the Queen finally bellowed and all men tensed, the captain’s mouth snapped shut. 

“Leave us.” She ordered harshly, with her back still turned to the men. 

“Your majesty, surely it is not wise of you to remain alone with such a man without proper-” the captain tried but stopped speaking altogether when her head snapped to the side and she looked ferociously over her shoulder, sending a poisonous glare that had all men unconsciously stepping back a pace. 

“If you want to maintain that head attached to the rest of your body, captain, I would advise you to keep your opinions to yourself,” her words were pure poison, “I said ‘leave us’! Now!” she screamed and all the man, clearly unaccustomed to her behaving like that, gave a small jump in reaction.   

Her glare eased as she raised an eyebrow and her voice lowered, “and leave behind his weapons; I know just what to do with them.” 

The guards quickly let go of Robin’s arms, and he saw the captain lay his bow, quiver and the knife on a small table near her chaise longue. After hastily bowing to the Queen, all three men hurriedly exited without another word. Probably thanking their lucky stars that they were not in the outlaw’s skin. 

Robin was fucked. He knew that much. She was probably going to kill him in the most painful and merciless way imaginable. Not only had he failed his mission, but he had let the princess escape. 

When the doors of the room closed behind him with a loud bang, Robin swallowed as she turned around. 

Gods she had murder in her eyes, murder and malice and hate and yet, she was perfect. Even with furious, mad eyes, the black paint outlining them slightly smeared, some sweat droplets resting on her forehead and lips still red but not all due to paint. A couple of locks of her long hair had escaped her up do and framed her livid face. 

Robin could not resist but scan her body as her front came into view, if he was going to die, at least the last thing he saw was to his liking. Her chest was heaving, and Robin’s eyes feasted on the way her full breasts almost spilled out of her corset, the black material tightly hugging her waist. Her hands gripped her sides with vigour. 

She was not wearing a dress as he had previously thought but rather a cape that had a big opening starting just below her navel to reveal she was wearing, oh Gods above, leather pants. Tight, clingy, black leather pants and leather high-heeled boots. 

If he had not been sure that her next move was murdering him, he would have been extremely aroused. Robin found it alarming when it hit him that his lower body was being rather responsive to the view, regardless of the circumstances. Or was it because of the circumstances? Robin could not say. He was snapped out of his momentary haze by her wrathful words; 

“Well, well... What do we have here?”

Chapter Text

“Well, well. What do we have here?” 

He looked awful. Downright disgusting. He had blood stains smeared on most of the cloth of his donated attire, his hands were vibrant red and there were several droplets of blood mixed with dirt on his face. He looked out of breath and somewhat angry, those things infuriated Regina more than anything else. 

“So, you were trying to run away, huh?” she said, her eyes widening dangerously. 

“When your guards started making pathetic attempts to shoot me, I had very little choice, your majesty,” he gave her. He was looking at her gravely, knowing that that was not the main problem at hand. 

She huffed and looked at him from head to toe. Though this time was quite different from the last; instead of admiring his physique and observing places she could sink her teeth into, Regina was merely searching for where he could have hidden the girl’s heart. 

Because Snow White had to be dead. She had seen the thief’s determination in killing the girl regardless of what the brat had offered. Regina had heard everything, Snow’s screaming, her body falling on the forest floor, the blade plunging into her flesh, there was no way she could be alive- 

Are you sure about that dearie? A small voice mocked at the back of her mind. 

“My guards report to me they have found the maid’s body.” She said coldly, looking back in his eyes. 

When the guards had banged loudly on her door not an hour prior, Regina felt excitement pooling in the pit of her stomach. She had been drinking from her third glass of celebratory wine, fully intending on going onto the fourth. 

She had also changed into a more fitting pair of black, leather corset and pants, and knee-high boots. Garments she always had favored but could never wear openly as Queen; she had been told black was a color fitted for mourning and sadness and with a life such as hers, Regina should never feel those things. How ridiculed she had felt when the royal advisers had corrected her mannerisms, reprimanding her manners, stating they were not worthy of the King, and how lucky she was that the benevolent man had taken a liking to her. 

They would be lucky if she didn’t hunt them down for sport. 

For now Regina was the Queen indeed, everything was finally under her rule and she would wear nothing at all if she damn pleased.  

When she had swung the door open, trying her best not to look too animated, but feeling a small smile tug on the corner of her lips, she was met with the vision of two guards who looked exceedingly distressed. They had told her they came bearing ‘awful news’, to which she had tried to pretend to be concerned about; these were still her late husband’s men after all. 

She had led them into her chambers to give her a full report, sipping from her wine chalice to hide her smirk when they started describing what they had seen. 

She had put her hand over her heart upon hearing that they had found Johanna dead, Regina’s face twisting in an expression of false care. Her expression, however, became of real shock when the guards explained that not only had she an arrow struck through her heart, but she had also been stabbed almost 30 times in her torso. 

She had asked them – faked, motherly concern flowing from her lips – of Snow’s whereabouts.

But when the response that reached her ears was that the princess was nowhere to be found, and that she had ‘thankfully escaped from the maniac that had killed her friend’, Regina’s mask fell. The crystal chalice she held broke between her fingers as her rage spread throughout her entire being, she could barely feel the small cuts and the wee pieces of glass that bruised her hand. Her jaw clenched, the vein in her forehead throbbed and she could not help herself releasing an enraged yell of “What?” 

The guards had looked confused and alarmed and they inquired if she was feeling well. She did not even bother to respond, forgetting about all reason to pretend, she was sick and tired of playing a role and most importantly, Regina was furious. Both her hands shot up and lifted the bodies of both guards from the ground with her ire-filled magic. She tightened the grip on them as she strangled both. 

After a little less than a minute of watching their struggling, both of them clawing at their necks to try and remove the invisible force constricting their airflow, she grew annoyed with their helpless grunts of ‘have mercy’ and ‘please your majesty’ and let them go. They scampered like rats out of her room and she bellowed after them; “Find me Snow White, dead or alive, and bring her to me… or you will rue the day you were born!” 

Now, standing with the person she had procured to kill the insipid girl in front of her, Regina felt like she was ready to burst. But she had to hear the exact outcome from the outlaw’s lips, and she would not act until she knew exactly what happened. She had heard the screeching and screaming. A deadly scream that could only have belonged to Snow. Regina cursed the girl for having damaged her pin. 

When the thief did not reply to her questioning, something in Regina snapped, and almost immediately she knew something had gone wrong. 

If that brat was still alive… 

As she narrowed her eyes she stalked in his direction quickly and in a heartbeat her hand was gripping his neck hard, letting her nails sink deep. He hissed through clenched teeth, but Regina found she could not care less, even if she still felt the strange buzz on her hand where she touched him. 

“Think very carefully about how you respond to this question, thief” she roared. Because of the high heels she was almost his height, which helped her hiss her next words into his ear without having to lean against his frame; “Did you kill her?” 

She could hear his strangled response as she stared intently at the damage her nails were making to his neck. “No.” 

Regina’s head felt like it had imploded and exploded at the same time upon hearing the outlaw’s response. As rage took over her body, she met the outlaw’s gaze, let out a livid scream, and squeezed his neck even harder, drawing blood with her nails. The outlaw let out a pained groan but did not budge or try to free himself from her grasp. 

Looks like that little girl still got the best out of you, again, that small voice sang. 

Regina saw red. 

She could feel her very soul ignite as she used her magic to throw him back violently into her chaise longue. The impact was so strong that it broke when the outlaw landed on it. Rage took over, she magically lifted a vase that had housed mourning roses only one day ago, and threw it in the outlaw’s direction. The object did not hit its target, but rather came to its crashing demise on the wall dangerously close to the thief’s head by the fireplace. 

Regina saw the fire and instantly summoned flames to her hands stalking towards the outlaw, madness dancing in her eyes. But when she was about five feet from her target, and she paused to look at him, expecting to see despair and fear fueled by the knowledge that he was going to die.  

Something was off. 

Any other person would have been begging for forgiveness and groveling for mercy at this point, or at least wincing in pain. But the outlaw gave nothing away, his expression betrayed that he was in pain, but nothing whatsoever that resembled fear. Regina stood there in front of him, flame still burning on the palm of her hand, and they locked gazes. After a few moments of silence, he got up from the shambled remnants of her chaise, brushing pieces of wood and velvet from his person, before his blue eyes met hers. There was a little blood dripping from the injuries she had caused on his neck, and a wound on the left side of his forehead that had no doubt been caused on the account of her outburst with her vase. 

And yet, even though his face displayed discomfort due to his wounds, he did not wince or flinch at the sight of his imminent demise that lay in her hands. 

That man was ready to die. She could see it in his eyes. Regina could remember very clearly when she had the same emptiness inside her own eyes. After Daniel had been taken away from her, Regina had wanted to die. That night, after her mother had crushed her true love’s heart right in front of her, she had tried with all her might to rip out her own so she could crush it and join Daniel. But she had failed, not yet possessing the ability to channel her rage in order to make magic, she had resigned herself to a life without love. Back then – a whole decade had passed since, but it felt like a lifetime ago– she had no darkness in her heart. 

Regina had felt love and hope, but both had been drained away from her that night through her endless tears, making way for a void that she felt could never be filled. A void she would never let anybody even try to fill. 

She would never love again.  

And this thief in front of her probably had the same void she had, had nothing to live for, so why would he recoil from death? Maybe it had been has plan all along, to fail and have her kill him so he could rejoin his dead wife. Although this theory was quickly brought down by the simple fact that all she had witnessed through her mirror had shown he was more than eager to kill Snow.  

Regardless of his agenda, Regina could clearly see he was not going to back down, he was not going to beg for mercy. He knew he had failed her, and was ready to face the consequences. 

Finally   

Finally she had come across someone who owned their mistakes regardless of the consequences, no whining, no excuses. Regina’s heart started beating faster inside her chest as she regarded him, but now she could not possibly bring herself to get rid of him, he was different. 

She was more than certain she wanted him to be hers, after the prior night’s demonstration and a peek at what laid beneath those dirty clothes, Regina quite simply wanted more. She had far too many ideas of how to use him for her own enjoyment. She held his fate in her grasp. She would not kill him for failing, but he would belong to her. 

The flame died. 

But she could not forget that he had failed her. He had yet to show her that she could trust him. 

She could trust no one  

There was only one way to ensure he would never turn on her and stab her in the back. 

With her head still abuzz, Regina quickly stalked to where the outlaw stood. They were almost nose-to-nose when she came to a halt, her face still twisted with anger. 

“I wanted a heart, outlaw!” she said, her voice rasp due to her screaming. She looked rashly at his vibrant blue eyes, and for a millisecond she saw another who had had the same coloring in his orbs, she gasped, and the moment was gone, the man standing before her not Daniel, just the thief. She recomposed herself rather quickly and diverted her gaze to his chest and continued; “And a heart I shall have.” 

And with that, Regina thrusted her hand deep inside the man’s chest cavity, to which he gave a muffed cry, his eyes widening with shock. She had done this her fair share of times so she was able to locate his heart quickly, but what she did not expect was what she felt as soon as her palm came in contact with it; the same electric sensation she felt when they touched, but magnified a thousand times stronger. 

Regina let out a cry as the outlaw groaned. He had probably felt it as well. Almost as a reflex, she hastily pulled her hand out, his heart clutched tightly in her palm. 

A loud, relieved gasp escaped the outlaw’s lips as he placed his hand where his heart had just been, he blinked a couple of times and Regina could see tears trailing down at the side of his face. His gaze then fixed on his beating heart, which Regina held in her hand. 

The heart was dark. Very dark. Probably just as dark as her own – Regina could only guess since she had never seen her own heart. It had small, almost unnoticeable traces of vivid red but was mainly dominated by a dark tone of red. His gaze was glued to the heart, and so was hers, both hypnotized by its obscure color and drugged by the overpowering, buzzing sensation flowing through them. 

Suddenly the sensation changed and Regina felt as if the heart was melting itself into her palm, not coming apart but rather mingling with her own skin, as if they were becoming one. She was alarmed, horrified and terrified as the feeling took over her, this had never happened before and the Dark One had most certainly never told her about this kind of side effect. Even though she could see that the heart remained perfectly intact in her hand, it organ burned in order to blend with her own skin. 

“What the hell do you think you are doing?” she asked, slightly desperate, “Is this some sort of protective spell?” 

“I don’t know what’s happening.” He confessed, looking just as shaken as she felt. 

In fear, Regina instinctively shoved the hand that gripped his heart back in his chest and quickly withdrew, leaving the heart back with its owner, ceasing the strange burning on her own palm. To her utter surprise, he let out a pained cry, as if he every breath he took as somewhat hurting. 

“No” he said clutching his chest again. He hissed before saying, “Take it away.” 

“What?” Regina asked, beyond confused. 

“I do not want it.” He said rather breathlessly. 

Regina’s eyes widened at the words the man was saying. Was he actually asking her to take his heart away? He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before continuing. 

“I-” he started but grunted in pain again his hand was still on his chest and his eyes aimed somewhere about her middle, “I find it is only fitting that you take it,-” his eyes went back to hers when he finished, “-your majesty.” his tone was dead serious. 

“And why is that?” Regina inquired. 

He looked her right in the eye – very few did and lived to tell the story - and responded; “Because I have failed my task and you demanded a heart. It is the least I can do, since she ran away under my watch.” 

“Hmm, you do have a point.” Regina remarked, pensive. “Although I can clearly see this is not the true reason you are giving your heart so willingly to me.” 

“My motives are mine alone, your majesty. I do not owe you any manner of explanation.” She could note that he had added a tone of despise in his words. 

Maybe it was best to take his heart; he may be wild and very intriguing, but he was also unpredictable – Regina would have never guessed that he would actually offer his heart out. Plus if she was to be completely honest, she did not want to part with this man; there was something inexplicable that drew her to him. And even though the electric sensation burned and stung at times, it was as delicious as ambrosia and as addictive as any drug. 

She would take his heart for her own, would take it even if it burned her palms when she held it. He would not run away, nor would he harm her, that way, she could be tranquil to have him anyway she wanted. 

“Very well.” She finally said and without a word of warning had her hand searching for his heart again. The zap came, as if on cue, the second her fingers touched it, but she fought against the sensation and pulled it out. 

Regina quickly turned around and walked to the double doors that led to where she kept her collection. She could hear the outlaw’s steps as he walked right behind her. With a swift movement of her free hand, the doors flung open to reveal the walls covered with a multitude of boxes, her collection now mingled with the hearts her mother had left behind. She had taken so many she could not tell them apart anymore. 

But this heart, that felt as if it was burning a hole through her palm, this heart she did not want to lose track of. She took the box that was meant to house Snow’s heart, resting on a table in the middle of the room, and quickly placed the heart inside, sighing in relief as the zapping ceased. 

When she turned to face him, she saw he was staring at her intensely, close to the double doors, seemingly impassive to the fact that she now owned him. 

“I’m not sure if you are aware, outlaw, but when you pull someone’s heart out it becomes enchanted.” She teased at his ignorance as he tilted his head clearly unaware of the facts she was presenting to him. “And when you hold said enchanted heart-” she opened the lid of the box and slid her finger through the heart using a little bit of force, knowing that he would feel  little pain due to it. Her actions also made her feel a burn, but she was far too engrossed in her taunting to truly care, her gaze met his, ensuring that she held his complete attention, a small thrill running through her at the fear in his eyes as he awaited her next words, “-you control it.” 

“What are you going to do to me?” he asked, trepidation entering his voice. 

Regina smirked. 

“You are now mine,” she stated as she closed the lid again and walked to one of the walls. As she held the box in front of the wall a compartment opened and she placed the box in it closing it immediately after. With her hand still pressed to it, she continued, “From now on you will do everything I say.” She lifted her perfect eyebrow and completed; “Serve me in every way I see fit.”  

Regina got the reaction she was aiming for; the outlaw looked stunned and swallowed hard. 

She could not help but grin. Regina’s thoughts travelled back to the night before, and her grin turned into a smirk. She could see the outlaw clench his fists and the little movement his fingers made brought her back to when he had them inside her, bucking and twisting. She unconsciously bit her lower lip and the pain of her actions snapped her from her memories. 

Her rage had diminished but was not truly gone. It was still being fueled by the ever present voices inside her head. 

A mocking, impish voice in the very back of her head that still sang in a childish tone that ‘the little princess had escaped the loveless Queen’. 

The towering heartless Queen in red still told her to simply incinerate the thief on the spot, He’s not worthy to even be in your presence after this failure, get the box back and crush his life into dust. 

And yet, she could not give into any of those powerful desires. Desires that had always driven her to do her worst to others before they could do their worst to her. She always found that it had been a great self-preservation system before, but now she could clearly see that the voices that told her to do all these things without thinking did not belong there, they were not her. 

For another voice bloomed inside her now, one that told her to follow her own instincts, not the ones she had learned from her mother or the Dark one. What did her own instincts tell her? 

They told her that that man could be of more use to her than anybody else could, and that no one’s touch would ever match his. At the mere thought of his touch, her desire grew. Images of him pumping his hard member with his hand, biting his lower lip, groaning her title until he came, invaded her mind. 

This whole business was not over; she still had a large number of questions. But they would have to wait; more than ever, the percentage that simply wanted to have her wicked way with him, here and now, took over anything else. 

Regina took a deep breath, rolled back her shoulders to straighten her posture and gave him her best attempt at a cold stare. She moved towards the door that he was standing by. He still looked slightly dumbfounded and Regina could not resist but brush lightly against him as she passed by. 

Hard, she noted. Good boy.  

She re-entered her recently darkened room and waved her hand at the mess she had caused to her chaise longue. Her purple magic did the rest, and the chaise and the vase she had destroyed were back in place as if nothing had ever happened. She faced the fireplace as she addressed him. 

“Now tell me, what happened?” she asked. 

She could hear the outlaw re-enter the room in firm steps. He cleared his throat before responding. 

“She managed to duck my first advance and the blade embedded in her shoulder. As I pulled out the knife to strike her once more she blew powdered poppies on my face.” 

“Poppies? How the hell did she get a hold of that?” Regina said confused turning around to face him. 

“My guess is that her servant gave it to her.” The outlaw pointed out. There was a very odd tension hanging in the air and Regina knew the thief was carefully measuring his every word. 

“That does sound possible-” Regina said, more to herself than anyone else. She was not looking at the outlaw anymore, but rather at the empty mirror frame behind him. There was a beat and her eyes snapped back at his, she narrowed them as she questioned sharply, her voice rising in tone, “Why on earth were there almost thirty stab wounds in that woman anyway? I thought I had made myself perfectly clear that I wanted her demise to be quick and swift.” 

“I-” he trailed, Regina was confused, “-when I stabbed her she was already dead.” 

“Then why on earth did you stab her?” Regina was beyond confused.  

Why on earth would he stab a dead body? 

“Because I got mad.” He said simply, his accent more grave and poignant than ever before. 

Oh 

“I had just wakened to realize the princess had escaped, and it was quite obvious that if the woman hadn’t given the princess that powder-” he cleared his throat, “Failure is not something I am accustomed with, I had to take out my rage on something,” he explained simply. 

Regina opened her mouth to reply but could not quite put into words how she felt about this. She knew only too well that there were several pieces of her mind reacting to what he had just said in very different ways. Some scorned at his lack of self-control, a small portion was taken aback by his openness to such violence, but the winning portion found it enticing and somewhat arousing. 

“Right-” She finally said as she took another long breath, trying put herself together, “And then?” 

“And then I noticed the girl had left a trail, I was about to follow it when your guards started pursuing me.” He stated looking her in the eye, Regina noted that a good deal of warmth had left his gaze after she had ripped his heart out. “I was able to follow the trail to the King’s mausoleum. There were bloody handprints on the tomb but that was as far as I was able to go. Your guards made sure of that.” 

“Oh?” 

“I had started the job, your majesty. And I intended to finish it.” He said, gravely. Regina almost believed the coldness of his tone until his gaze flicked to her deep cleavage for a moment and he wet his lips, clearly, his anger at not completing the job was not just his pride taking a knock. 

His swift but noticeable actions took her, yet again, to the previous night when that same tongue had pleasured her to the edge of insanity. How he had fucked her with that tongue with so much fervor and passion, and how she felt she was about to lose her mind when he sucked the bundle between her thighs.  

Regina was clearly shaken by her thoughts and took an unnecessarily deep breath, which made her breasts almost pop out of her corset. His eyes were immediately drawn back to her chest and she smirked at her small victory. She was getting rather tired of chit chatting with the outlaw anyway. 

“Yes, a job half done-” She tilted her head to the side, looking at him thoroughly, eyes raking from his head to toe, before she slowly continued, “-which would reward you with half your prize.” 

She saw him bite his lower lip at her final words, his eyes roaming about her body. 

This ought to be fun. 

“But how are we going to manage that?” she teased, bringing her finger to tap the side of her chin while walking slowly towards him. 

As she approached him, she could see a smirk start to tug at the corners of his lips before he said with a flirty tone; “I’m sure your majesty will think of something befitting my services.” 

Let us see if you still keep that smug smirk when I am through with you, outlaw. 

When she was a mere foot away from him, she stopped and inspected him once more. She could see that he was hard and ready through the fabric of his trousers. But she could also see that he was covered in blood and dirt, and Regina drew a line at personal hygiene. Mingling sweat was acceptable, and at times quite welcome, but Regina could not tolerate this.  

“I’m only going to say this once, outlaw.” She started, her eyes piercing his, “I will expect you to be clean at all times; you no longer live in the woods, nor bathe in the river.” 

She said those last words with a raised eyebrow and a smirk, knowing he knew full well what she was talking about. 

She regarded him for a heartbeat as he nodded. He opened his mouth to reply but she cut him off before he could utter a single word; “But since I’m a rather impatient woman and like to settle my business as quickly as I can, I will save you the trouble this one time.” 

The outlaw’s expression was torn between confusion and eagerness as she waved her hand, a cloud of purple smoke engulfing his whole figure. When it dissipated, his clothes were clean, as well as his skin. She had even taken extra care to trim his beard slightly, but she could not bring herself to get rid of all his stubble; she remembered it had felt oddly arousing on her flesh. 

She approached and prowled in a circle around him, inspecting the outlaw from head to toe. He stood frozen to the spot, probably rather shaken from having had magic used on him without warning. 

He would just have to get used to that. 

Inspecting his body now brought memories of his naked image back into her mind, and Regina could not help but feel pleased that he had at least done half his job. If he had failed completely she would have been forced to either murder him or punish him harshly and throw him in a dingy cell. 

Such a waste. 

Half the job, half the prize, she thought mischievously with a smirk playing on her lips as she walked away from him to face the fireplace. 

Although it was still day, barely past noon, the room was dark due to the remodeling she had done earlier that day. She found that darker tones pleased her more, and as she thought of ways to punish the outlaw, keep her promise and please herself, she diminished the intensity of the fire. The room became even darker, but she made sure it was still possible for the outlaw to see her. 

Regina's anger started to dissipate as desire pooled into her. She was still furious that the girl had managed to run away, but one could not feed only out of hate. There were several other sins she could feed herself from, and lust was one she was already well acquainted with.  

With a solid plan to torture the outlaw to pieces in mind, and a malicious smirk playing on her lips, Regina waved her hand to the air. A thin plume of bright purple smoke left her palm and went to her back where the laces of her corset lay. She heard the outlaw let out a small gasp in realization of what was unfolding before his eyes. She could feel the magic work its way ever so slowly on the tightly fastened laces. Regina started to relax under the touch of her own magic and turned her neck to the side. It gave a noisy click and she sighed in pleasure as the tension faded away. 

She could feel his eyes burn into her back as the laces became undone. The smoke dissipated when all the laces were loose and hanging about her back. She reached out for the small pins of her cape that started a little bellow her belly button, on the spot where the waistband of her tight leather pants rested.  She undid the pins that secured the corseted cape to her front with anticipation building up on the pit of her stomach. Once all the pins were undone she let the heavy cape slid gently down her shoulders, wanting to torture the outlaw as much as she could before her real fun began. The weighty item fell from her body and pooled at her feet. 

The noise that reached Regina’s ears as soon as the cape fell on the floor made her want to drop all her plans, forget all punishments and teasing, and just let him fuck her hard against the wall. It was a low, brutal, half-moan half-groan, something so erotic and yet completely unexpected. He had his reasons though; for now he was faced with the sight of her bare back, every inch of her olive skin now on display. 

Regina had not been preoccupying herself with wearing many undergarments ever since Leopold’s passing. She had not worn any to his funeral, nor to any of the ceremonies, and nor to the burial. She had felt absolutely rebellious and satisfied, the grieving widow on the outside but the rebel who had just been freed under her expensive and long skirts on the inside. 

Maybe I’ll even make a habit out of this, she thought, it will facilitate the activities I have in mind for the thief. 

With the resolute intention of driving him insane, Regina reached out for the pins that secured her elaborate up do. She removed them and her long, long dark hair came tumbling down her back as she carelessly tossed the pins on the floor. She waved her head so her hair would be completely freed, and then reached out and moved all the thick strands to her front, covering her breasts with her long raven locks and baring her back to his hungry stare. 

She could hear the thief’s breathing quicken, and he was making low noises as Regina felt his eyes almost burn holes into her back. 

Regina turned her head ever so slightly, her gaze not quite reaching him as she seductively uttered; “Are you waiting for a written invitation, outlaw?”  

It took a second for the thief’s feet to catch up with his brain, but soon Regina counted his three, quick strides and the electrifying touch of his calloused hands encountering her ribcage from behind shot through her. He wasn’t gentle, – Regina was expecting nothing of the sort from the likes of him – his calloused hands slid down her side, his grip fierce as if he was trying to map all of her at once. The friction between his callouses and her soft skin did ache, but Regina could do nothing but moan, for his touch was sizzling, delicious regardless of the discomfort. His hands came to rest on her leather-clad hips and he squeezed hard. He closed the little distance between them, grinding his member against her arse, a groan escaping his lips. 

The buzzing feel of him against her dizzied Regina’s mind for a moment and she let out a soft, half-moan, half-sob and the thief took that as invitation to explore everything Regina had to offer. As he continued grinding against her, his head went to her shoulder and he started to unceremoniously bite and suck at the tender flesh there. 

His hands slid their way to her front and up, his palms tracing a fiery path on her torso until they came to rest on her breasts. She felt him moan against the skin of her shoulder as he grabbed and squeezed them with force, his fingers tangling with the dark hair that still covered them so she could feel a pull on the strands with every kneading motion. It should have been painful, it actually was, but Regina liked it; she had always liked this kind of pain, had never been a fan of tender and sweet. 

Regina was trying very hard to hang onto to the little bit of self-control she possessed, but as his rough archer’s fingers started pinching one of her nipples, the deed harsh and uncaring, it sent jolts of pleasure mixed with pain about her body, she felt as if control had slipped far, far away. She closed her eyes and basked in the intense sensation his touch was providing her. She could not help but grind her behind against his length, letting go at the sensation of being free, being satisfied, being whole- 

The noise that left her mouth – an unfamiliar, out of control, strident mewl – snapped her out of her hazy state. 

This was not what she had planned; she would not let this common thief take control over her. No one would ever control her, not again. 

Her eyes shot open and Regina quickly turned around to meet his gaze. She was grateful she was in heels still so they were almost the same height, although he was still that little bit taller than her even then. 

The outlaw misread her actions completely, and with fiery eyes glued to her mouth leaned in to kiss her. Regina was quick and promptly put her finger on his lips, making him stop immediately. His sensual gaze turned into that of confusion. 

She gave him a huffed smile, her finger leisurely tracing his lips from corner to corner. She looked deep inside his lust filled eyes, the dark blue she had seen the day before almost hypnotizing in its depth. She clicked her tongue and the hand that was lightly teasing his lips suddenly grabbed his face with force as she asked - in a husky voice that betrayed her incredibly aroused state - “Ah outlaw, aren’t you forgetting something?” 

She brought his face to a hair’s breadth away from hers and continued; “You only get half your prize.” 

Regina sounded as turned on as the outlaw looked. She licked her bitten bottom lip for a moment, looking at his slightly parted ones. 

The outlaw looked puzzled, and Regina could not help but let out a small throaty laugh as she released his face from her grip, pushing his head back. 

She watched as the outlaw took that moment to drink her in. The look he had on his face at that moment told her he was very close to eating her alive, his eyes shining brighter with the light of the fireplace. His dangerous eyes travelled through her body, spotting a hint of her nipple underneath her sea of hair - which still covered all her breasts, to her belly and her still clothed legs. His eyes went back to her chest and there they lingered as his tongue came to wet his lips and a groan escaped his throat. He was snapped out of his trance by her next words. 

“It’s rather simple.” He looked up at her and she was wearing her triumphant smirk, “You can look all you want, thief… But you can’t touch.” 

His eyes widened and he raised a quizzical eyebrow. His mouth shot open but then closed again, before he raised a tentative hand and tried to reach out to pull her to him. 

Wrong move, thief. 

She froze him on the spot, his body now completely stiff – and not just his lower parts. 

“Another word of advice to you thief.” She said poisonously, she felt the anger start bubbling inside her; “I never jest; what I say, I mean. Do not ever disobey me again, or it will be the last thing you do.” 

She unfroze him, and the thief looked comically stunned. If Regina had not been so irate, she would have found his expression rather funny. 

In truth, Regina was tired. So damn tired of men not taking her orders seriously. None of them ever did; all her orders had to go through the approval of the King. The Dark one had always openly stated he found her ideas foolish. Even her own sweet father still saw her as a little girl. 

“Forgive me your majesty, I did not mean to disrespect you.” 

His words took her by surprise. She could see they even took him by surprise. She opened her mouth to retort but could not think of anything sharp and hurtful to say to such an apology. It was now her time to look puzzled, but it only lasted a moment before she made a conscious decision to ignore it and to finish what she had started and finally ease the throbbing ache on her wet, nether parts. 

She huffed and shrugged one shoulder, appearing indifferent to his response. 

Her eyes came to rest on that God forsaken jacket that still housed her – now ruined – pin. It was useless now. The jacket had her late husband’s crest stamped right over the outlaw’s chest, where his heart used to lie. But this soldier was hers, not her Leopold’s. She snapped at it, removing the item swiftly from the outlaw’s frame and holding it grasped in her hand. 

She threw the offending piece of cloth in the fireplace without a second thought and watched it burn with satisfaction. The outlaw just stared, wide-eyed.  

She looked back at the outlaw, who had a look of slight unease, but she could see she had not been able to scare away his erection; the outline was plain and clear to see through the fabric of his trousers. 

“All better now.” She said, a devious smile on her lips as her bright eyes took him in, clad in a simple white shirt and his trousers and boots. 

This is all yours Regina, she thought to herself; play with it as you please. 

This was a real first for Regina; there was no fear of getting caught, no pathetic royal husband she had to keep fake faithfulness to, no more muffed moans of pleasure, no more sneaking around, no more hiding… she was finally free. 

Free to do what she pleased, when she pleased. 

And what pleased Regina in this moment was the unnerving outlaw standing in front of her. 

She approached him, the feel of excitement and curiosity of a child faced with an unknown toy taking up residence in the pit of her stomach. Her long hair still rested above her breasts as she stood right in front of him, a mere inch away. Every deep breath she took made her the tips of her nipples graze against his shirt. He was looking down at her mouth with eagerness, his bottom lip trapped in between his teeth, but Regina paid his attempts of restraint very little mind. She closed her eyes she breathed in his scent; a musky, wooden kind of smell, mixed with a hint of sweat, very manly and very fitting for a man living in the outdoors. Regina would never confess the smell did things to her, it was masculine and wild and it inspired outrageous ideas in her head. 

She slowly opened her eyes and caught his fiery gaze staring back at her. Although his chest rose with his heavy breathing, the outlaw did not move otherwise, he had liberated his bottom lip, which hung in a wee, almost undectable pout. Regina felt like kissing those lips of his so much that it almost overwhelmed her when her gaze diverged for a moment to his mouth. 

He looked as if he was ready to burst but waited for her to make her move. 

Her hands left her hips and quickly travelled to his bruised neck, red marks from her clawed nails under her fingers. He winced at the contact, but her touch, although still firm, was not intent on hurting him anymore. Regina could not help but stare at his tempting mouth with hunger, she leaned so their lips almost met. 

Then waited 

The thief did not move, but Regina could feel his pulse rate accelerate under her palms and his breathing quickened, clear signs that he was greatly affected by her actions. She parted her lips slightly, letting out the softest of moans and dragged her palms downwards, slowly, her eyes accompanying them, feeling his every curve, his every toned muscle through the thin, white shirt. 

As Regina’s hands came to rest on the waistband of his trousers, she tugged at them, bringing his body to finally come into full contact with hers. Regina could feel his hard erection against her leather clad core and could not help but grind herself against him, to which the outlaw let out a low groan. Regina lowered her head to his neck and slowly traced her tongue from the base until his chin. He let out another shuddering moan and Regina looked up. She wanted to see this. 

Without drawing her eyes from his, Regina’s touch became a light caress and she used her fingers to trace his erection through his trousers. He let out a soft moan and closed his eyes, his features twisting as she drew ghost patterns along his hard length. His arms were resting at his sides and Regina could see that he was fisting both his hands as her examination continued. She could feel him impossibly hard against her fingers, throbbing with desire, and she traced the tip with a single finger, watching his face, fascinated at his controlled reactions. 

Regina felt her mouth water with anticipation, without warning Regina palmed him with vigor, enjoying the choked moan the thief couldn’t help but release. His eyes shot open and she maliciously smiled at him. Suddenly something came over Regina, an overwhelming need for friction as she became tired of teasing the outlaw. 

Her elegant fingers found his belt and quickly unfastened it, her gaze not leaving his face as she noted his every reaction. He looked down at her hands as she unceremoniously pushed his trousers down to free his aching erection. She looked down but the shirt covered everything she wanted to see, so without second thought Regina hooked one finger onto the collar and dragged it down, using a little magic to tear it apart. 

When the shirt was finally opened to reveal his body, Regina took a step back in order to take him in. He was everything she remembered from the images from her mirror the night before; all toned and muscled. But now Regina could also faintly see there were several scars decorating his torso, scars and scratches of all shapes and sizes, some new and bright red, others faint white and barely noticeable. But as her eyes came to rest on his erection they grew wide with desire and she subconsciously licked her lips. It did not disappoint, it was all she had seen the night before through her mirror and more, thick and ready and looking absolutely delicious. 

With a smirk plastered on her features, an evil look in her eyes and impatience flowing through her veins, Regina grabbed the thief’s torn shirt and pushed him onto her chaise. He landed awkwardly; his neck resting on the back of the chair, his hips far enough forward that he was reclined enough to be half sitting and half lying down. He was in a rather uncomfortable position since his movements had been restricted by his trousers, but he could not keep his intense gaze from watching the Queen as she prowled towards him. 

Regina let out a small laugh as she let her instincts guide her. She promptly straddled the thief, each of her leather-clad legs coming to each side of his body. She leaned her body towards him predatorily, resting her hands next to his head to support her weight. Their lips were again a breath away from meeting, but she could not bring herself to kiss him. Instead, she looked deeply into his eyes and ground her sex against his in one slow and hard movement, letting out a moan of pleasure practically inside his parted mouth. His eyes were a pool of dark blue desire, and his brows knitted as he fisted the seat of the chaise in his hands, squeezing it tightly. 

Regina continued her torturously slow and intense movements until the thief had his eyes closed and was moaning in both desperation and pleasure. Regina knew it took a great deal of self-restraint for him to not give into his instincts and just grab her. Her mouth was still hovering above his, the pull almost begging her to close the distance between them, but Regina refused to give into the need she did not even know she had before now. 

She wanted to kiss him, really wanted to kiss him. But she could not; there was something dangerous waiting in his lips, she could feel it. She knew the moment their lips met something overwhelming would happen, something Regina was not ready for. She could feel in her gut that it was bound to be something truly unique, just like the electrifying sensation their touch gave her. But the small voice in her head told her it was weak to give into such things. 

Better stick with what you know dearie; rage, lust and hate will never take you by surprise, she heard in the back of her mind. 

Regina pulled her head back and used the back of the chaise to leaver herself up. She still straddled him and continued with her sensual movements, feeling her clit rub against the leather of her pants, the sting making her even wetter. But it was just not enough to quell the growing ache between her legs. 

With a wave of her hand Regina’s pants were gone, the only garment she still wore being her knee high, black boots. His eyes shot open as soon as he felt her bare core brushing against him. Regina gave a small moan and continued to grind herself against him, wetting his aching erection with her arousal. Her hands came to rest on his stomach, the feeling of energetic current between them more powerful than ever. 

This was so different, like nothing she had ever experienced, the feel of his hard length brushing against her slick folds was almost driving her insane. And it appeared the outlaw was fairing quite similarly; he was biting his lower lip hard, his brows knitted together and his knuckles white from grabbing onto her chaise instead of the woman on top of him. He released his bottom lip with a strangled groan as he felt her hand reach down for his length. 

Regina was so tired of waiting; she wanted more, she wanted everything. 

And that was what she going to get. 

She pushed herself straight on his lap and took him in her hand, warm, hard and more than ready to pleasure her. She lifted her weight and placed her slick core on the tip of his burning erection. Their intense gazes locked, and all the lust and desire Regina felt was reflected back at her in the outlaw’s blue eyes, his mouth hanging half open on a gasp. She lowered herself onto his cock as slowly as she could manage, basking in the unique and overwhelming feeling of being filled completely. 

During her torturously slow descent, Regina did her best not to moan too eagerly. The outlaw did the same. Their eyes were locked with each other, Regina narrowed her eyes and the outlaw bit his lower lip, as if to try and show the other that they were not feeling as affected by this insane unison as they actually were. But when he was balls-deep inside her and Regina released her weight, fully resting against him, they both finally let their pleasure filled moans escape. 

He had a rather thick cock, and so Regina took her time in adjusting to it, moving her hips in small circles and trying to impale him even deeper inside her. She clenched her walls around him, making the thief’s eyes roll back. She started to move above him ever so slowly, her movements small in order for her to rub her clit as much as she could against his skin. 

But her impatience grew and soon she was moving faster, yearning for more, and more and more. She rose and fell, riding him with vigor, her breasts bouncing with her movements. He met her every move with one of his own. 

She arched her back, moving him in and out of herself, her hands coming to grab onto the hair at her scalp, pulling hard. That movement made the strands that covered her breasts move, exposing more of herself to the thief. 

The man, who had been looking at her with fire blaze eyes, widened his eyes at the sight of her bare front. 

Regina was riding him in earnest and heard him mutter, “By the Gods-” and turn his head slightly to the side, closing his eyes, something Regina found rather offensive.  

“Ah, fuck” he whispered, his head tilting back to rest against the edge of the chaise.  

Regina stopped moving, stilling with his length buried deep inside her. The many years of sneaking around and almost getting caught had given her an exceptional control over her body. A control she always felt slip through her fingers when she was with this man. And yet, here she was, fucking him into her chaise longue. 

The thief whimpered at the great loss. 

“I find it rather ungrateful of your part, thief.” She was extremely breathless, but still held command in her tone; “I have, after all, been kind enough to let you watch.” 

His eyes opened slowly, looked back at her, a mixture of hate and desire mingling in his dark blue eyes as her words hit him. 

“So you shall watch.” 

Regina moved again, but more slowly than ever, she moved her hips, releasing soft moans at the feeling of him filling her up. With every thrust, she neared her torso in his direction, her gaze burning into his equally heated one. She once again leaned her weight on the chaise as their torsos met and Regina felt as if her skin was burning at the contact. 

His hands went to grip the sides of the chaise again as she started to pick up the pace. He met her with every thrust, trying to pump himself as deeply as he could inside her. The pace was now frantic and both were muttering incoherently, a few gasps of ‘fuck’ and ‘yes’ mixing with several loud moans. Regina’s lips were by the side of his head, her mouth hissing noises of utter pleasure into his ear as she occasionally bit and licked his earlobe. Suddenly, when the sensation was far too over whelming, she started to suck on his pulse point beneath his ear, drunk on the feeling of being thoroughly fucked.  

It had truly been too long 

Regina neared her high and she sucked harder, knowing she’d probably leave a mark but finding herself not caring in the slightest. She felt her walls clench around his erection and bit down on his already harmed neck. She came with a loud cry of pleasure, a very loud cry of pleasure, right into the thief’s ear. 

Regina had never come like this; every wave of pleasure that washed through her made her feel as if she was flying. For a heartbeat she could not breathe, the entire world faded away until all that she felt was the pleasure running through her veins. Her head was light, and if she died at that moment, she would go down with a smile on her face, for that was the most incredible sensation she had ever felt. 

Her grip on the chaise gave way, her legs becoming limp, her weight crushing the thief against the back which he was leaning on. Her head rested in the hollow of his neck and her breath washed across his skin. She felt light headed and amazing. 

As soon as her body became loose above him, the thief reached out with one arm to wrap around her back in order to stop her from falling off his frame, as he forced himself to stop pumping into her. 

She could feel him regard her intensively. 

Regina could have just poofed herself from his presence and left him there to clean up his mess himself as she had the night before. Regina had actually planned in doing just so, once she had reached her peak, once she had found her own release to simply, disappear, to puff herself directly to her bed, where she’d lie, sated and spent. But now, when it came down to it, she could not bring herself to be so cruel. 

Going soft are we? The impish voice mocked 

She ignored the voice, raised her head to meet his eyes and said, with a hoarse edge to her voice, “You may finish, thief” 

He gave a relieved sigh and actually smiled at her, a full, sincere smile. Regina would later blame her high for smiling back at him, and with the same earnest energy. But at that moment she felt so light, so young, that she could not help her lips from twitching and smiling back at him. 

With his length still buried inside her, he gave her side a slight questioning tug with the hand that steadied them both together, silently asking if he could touch her now. She gave a brief nod and rested her head yet again on the nape of his neck examining closely the deep red mark she had created during her orgasm, waiting for his to resume pumping himself inside her – not really finding the idea of continuing to be in contact with the man a while longer so bad after all. 

Regina, however, did not expect what came next. With swift and quick moves – which showcased his ability to get out of this sort of ‘twisted’ situation that he had no doubt been in before – the thief was able to turn them both around. He put both his hands on her middle, and he hoisted Regina up, flipping her on her back on the soft surface of the chaise in one quick manoeuver. He stepped back, disconnected their sexes for a moment, in order to quickly kick off his boots and the remainders of his trousers. Regina was a little taken aback and her mouth was hanging slightly agape whilst she regarded him kick off the last bit of cloth that constrained movement in his nether limbs. 

Shamelessly, the man quickly situated himself back in between Regina’s legs, supporting all his weight on the hands that came to rest on each side of her head. Even though his actions made a surprised gasp escape her lips, Regina immediately wrapped her legs about his middle in order to bring his heat closer to her once more, - his short absence having made her feel uncommonly cold. Her high heels dug into the flesh at the small of his back but the pain did not discourage the man at the very least, he groaned, his lips finding her neck, as he entered her again. 

Regina had not exactly permitted him to pull such a stunt, – or any stunt for that manner - but at that moment, she did not have the strength in herself to protest. Nor did she really want to.     

Regina could not help but moan when the friction resumed, her hands flying to his neck. Even after reaching her high, that man still made her yearn for more. He was thrusting with vigor and it quickly became rapid and desperate, and Regina felt herself whimper against her own will with the new sensation of having him touch her, of having him lead this completely selfish dance on top of her. Their torsos were touching, bumping with every thrust that she had unconsciously started to meet every time. 

This cannot be possible, Regina thought desperately as she felt yet another high start to take over her. She felt tears prick at the back of her eyes, but she refused to let them fall.   

This is ridiculous! The outraged, Evil Queen screamed inside her mind, you’re so overwhelmed you feel like crying? 

But it feels too fucking marvelous to let go, argued the part of her that was resolute in only wearing leather pants and fucking the outlaw in every single room of her late husband’s castle. 

This had never happened before. Not like this, not the very first time she was intimate with someone. She had just come undone, it was not possible that after a few moments her body was ready to burst with pleasure again because of a man that was literally a total stranger to her. There was no sentimental connection nor any body familiarity for Regina to have multiple orgasms due to this stranger fucking her oh so thoroughly. No one could be that good. Could he? 

And yet, it was all very true. The outlaw fucked her at a desperate pace, their hips met with fervor, his face buried into her neck, his breath burned her wherever it ghosted over her skin- 

They came, together 

With one final and particularly hard thrust, he buried his cock as deeply as he could inside her at the very precise moment she felt her walls tighten as they both came with strangled moans. Regina was once again flying and, if it was possible, this orgasm felt even better than the last. Regina ignored with all her strength the small, wee, little voice that told her the feeling had been heightened because they had come together; this was not some sappy love story. 

The thief took a deep breath and tried to steady himself so he would not crush her body. His elbows came to rest where his hands had lain and his mouth found its way to her neck. 

Regina’s legs gave way and loosened their strong hold on his middle, falling ungracefully to the sides, one of her high heeled feet touched the floor whilst her other leg laid against the back of the chaise. 

They remained there for about a minute, his softening length still inside her, their breaths shaky and uneven. 

With a small groan, the thief lifted his head to meet her eyes, his still dilated pupils met her hazy brown orbs. The thief hovered above her, supporting his weight on his arms, confusion adorning his features. 

She stared back at him equally as puzzled. As she felt him try to put more distance between them she felt a pang of something she could not name and one of her hands shot involuntarily to hold his torn shirt to keep him close. 

Why am I so reluctant to let him go?   

He frowned, still wearing a look of confusion. His gaze diverted to her lips and she knew she could not hold back the burning urge to kiss him anymore. 

But before she could think or do anything about these urges, his lips came crashing down on hers, and she prayed to whatever high above force that she would not lose her mind. 

This whole affair was probably the worst idea Regina had ever come up with. 

But also the very best. 

Their lips met and the electric sensation she was starting to get used to, the one that tingled her torso and legs, came at full force on their lips. It burned her soul, and electrified her heart. 

The kiss remained closed mouthed as her hands came to hold his cheeks in an almost tender gesture, far different from any way she had treated the thief before. 

But Regina had absolutely no control over the situation, and far too soon he broke the kiss to stare at her, his tall frame on top of her as confusion and desire still pooled in his eyes. Regina could do nothing but stare back with the same look of bewilderment. That kiss had felt like a taste of ambrosia, but she knew this sweet sensation meant that she was being weak; she felt the need to kiss him again, and Regina Mills did not need anything from anyone. 

He drew back slightly and Regina took the opportunity to sit up and try to pull herself together. As she sat up rather abruptly, the thief drew a little farther away from her and sat on the chaise facing her. One of his legs in between hers, his bare flesh brushing against hers. 

The contact sent that tingling sensation up her spine again. 

Their eyes met, and Regina wanted to repeat everything they had just done. 

She never wanted her skin to stop tingling. 

But this was too much. 

She straightened her spine, drawing a deep breath in order to keep her emotions at bay, and sat up straighter than ever. She untangled her legs from his, turned to the side and stood from the chaise in all her naked glory, nothing covering her flesh but her knee high boots. 

She had her back to him, her voice still husky as she finally uttered; “I imagine our business is done here, thief. You may leave.” 

She heard him shift from her chaise and stand, he did not, however, take another step. Neither towards her, nor towards the door. 

“Go back to that tree house in the woods you slept in last night,” she continued, feeling proud that she had managed to put her feelings at bay and wear her royal mask. 

“I think my ‘patrol brothers’ are not going to welcome me with opened arms given recent events, your majesty.” She heard his deeply accented voice state, and she noted with a smirk it was rather rasp. 

The thief had a point. 

Regina had honestly forgotten about the fact that he had been brought to her as the most likely assassin of the maid. 

A story unraveled itself inside Regina’s head, a twisted and cruel tale that would not only get the King’s army to fight for her, but would also rid the thief of any accusations. 

With an evil grin on her face, Regina waved her hand and a long, black, silk robe met her skin and the high-heeled boots disappeared, leaving her aching feet bare on the stone floor. The fabric was cool against her flesh and, to the thief’s pleasure, translucent. She turned around to meet his eyes, he was standing beside the chaise in nothing but a torn white shirt. 

Regina noted there was still some cum on the tip of his cock and her grin turned malicious. She stalked in his direction and used her forefinger to collect his seed. Without breaking eye contact, Regina promptly sucked the digit, drawing a moan from herself in the process, tasting the salty substance with pleasure.  

The thief’s jaw dropped as he glued his gaze to the Queen’s mouth, his brain short-circuiting.Removing her finger from her mouth with a pop, Regina continued as if she hadn’t just driven the thief to the brink of insanity, “That will be taken care of. Tomorrow you will assume your new post.” 

The man took a good few seconds to take in the new information and, still staring at her lips, replied; “And what post might that be, your majesty?” 

Regina dared to approach her lips with his again, pausing when they breathed the same air and the thief’s eyes closed. 

“I’m not one to ruin the surprise” she chuckled, and suddenly her face became serious as she stepped back. 

“Now leave!”  

Chapter Text

Robin felt empty. 

He still felt the blood pumping in his veins as if the pulsating organ still lay inside his chest. 

But it didn’t. And he felt nothing. 

He did not feel a drop of guilt over what he had done. Not for yesterday, nor for a year ago, nor for ever. 

The memory of Marian’s last moments was still very much alive in his mind, it played over and over again, and still he felt nothing. There was a small trace of what the feeling had once been, but that had hardly tickled Robin. He felt no guilt, nor pain, nor love. That was to be the ultimate price for the numbness he had craved so much for. 

He could not feel. 

The moment he had been parted with his heart had been painful, one of the most excruciating agonies he had ever experienced. But after the sudden pain had disappeared, so had all the guilt and pain that had weighted his soul over the past year and even before. He felt relief, and yet he felt nothing. 

Then he had gotten the opportunity to look at what he had done to his heart, something he had never thought possible. It looked smaller than he had imagined a heart to be and much darker he would have ever deemed possible. He knew he should have felt disgusted, that small, dark, red heart was the physical proof of what his twisted and tortured actions had done to him. And yet, he had been spellbound by the dark red glow. Still numb, still light, even though the organ had been separated from his body, the darkness it displayed still ran about his veins. 

All of a sudden, he had felt it again, he somehow felt her, more specifically her hand. It surely sounded like the craziest thing in the world, but somehow he could feel his heart in her palm. He felt as if his very soul was melting away through it into her, mingling with her flesh, becoming one. She had most certainly felt something too, for she had screamed at him, hissed through clenched teeth, looking at his blackened heart before shoving it back into his chest. 

Everything came back. 

Worse than ever before if it was even possible for Robin to feel worse. The guilt, the pain, the remorse, the ache, the desperation, everything. He had found it hard to breathe due to the overwhelming amount of sentiment his heart held. All of it hit him with full force and for a moment, he was not quite sure if he was going to be able to withstand it. 

He did not want any of that, he wanted to feel numb, he wanted to feel nothing. All this was far too much for him to take, and now that he had had a taste of what it was like to truly feel no remorse, he did not want to go back into experiencing those haunting feelings ever again. They ached too much, hurt too much. So he had begged her, had pleaded like a pathetic, helpless, little peasant for her to take it away. 

I do not want it. 

She had looked startled, not quite understanding, and yet she took it, even though his heart had clearly harmed her, and as soon as his heart left his chest, once again he was washed over with the blissful sensation of nothingness. 

Though far too quickly he felt the organ start to burn again, it was her touch that did that. He could not quite fathom if it was a harmful sensation or not; it was too strange for him to track back to ever feeling before. She thankfully deposited his heart inside a box quickly, and the blissful numbness took over once more. 

Her words then hit deep. 

“I control it”, “You are mine”, “-everything I say”, “-serve me in every way” 

Robin was sure if he had his heart still pounding in his chest, he would have been drowned by all sorts of emotions. 

Dread, that this half-crazed woman had now complete control over him. Anticipation, for the way her tongue had caressed the words ‘every way’. Desperation, since his freedom – one of the few things he had left – was now gone. And relief, that he had managed somehow to find a place to settle down that did not in any way remind him of the life he used to lead. 

Robin had recognized all those feelings, but he just could not bring himself to feel them fully. They were mere faint traces of emotion, just there, looming. 

When their conversation took a more interesting tone, Robin could have sworn he could feel his heart pounding faster in his chest, making his blood pressure rise, whilst he stared holes through the Queen’s clothing. Her mere manner enticed him, she was mysterious and gorgeous and apparently, rather open to new experiences. When she had let down that silly updo and taken her clothes off, the only thing covering her fair skin had been her raven hair, he had almost come in his pants. Her body was a wonder, his fingers had ached to trace their way along all that bare, exposed, flawless skin. 

When she had spoken, Robin had hardly registered the words before he had his body against hers. It was almost unbelievable that the moment he had touched her, his senses had come back to life once again. The sensation was tantalizing, he felt lust and desire in an intensity he did not think he should feel given he was then heartless. He felt it, he felt her, the electricity between them more powerful than ever. Two seconds ago, even though he had been aroused, the feeling of numbness still ruled over his body. The moment he touched her he could feel, everything. 

Well, not everything exactly; he still could not feel regret over his past, nor anger towards the runaway princess, nor love to the people he had left behind. 

But he could feel her. Everything about her, he could feel it, running through his veins. He could feel the desire he had for her burning up his very soul, coalescing with the hate he felt towards her for treating him like a pawn and leaving him to his own devices. He could even feel the sympathy that had bloomed momentarily in his heart for her the day when she had shown him her broken side, for just a moment. 

And it burned his very soul to touch her, to be overrun by this amount of emotion. But touch her he did, as much as he could. Like a man dying of thirst he had groped her body, had felt every inch of exposed skin and had her moaning and sighing for him. 

But it was all over too quickly. 

Evil. This woman had to be the most evil human being he had ever encountered; she had promptly deprived him of the only thing that made him feel alive. 

Insane. This woman had to be insane. Robin could see all the emotions playing out in her expressions; anger, lust, tiredness, eagerness, curiosity. 

What the hell had he gotten himself into? 

Then she was touching him again and all thought and reason became a blurry haze. He felt wanton, desire burning in the pit of his stomach. It travelled its torturous way down to the very tip of his cock, which the Queen caressed with her finger, taunting him. 

That bloody minx. 

Through the light touch of her fingers, he could feel lust and anger mingling inside him, and he was not sure which one was stronger. 

Then all of a sudden her hands were hasty and his pants were gone, his body being  unceremoniously pushed to the chaise. It was then when he definitely knew which emotion had won out. 

She was impatient and yet she taunted him still, grinding herself against him with force, releasing sounds of pleasure that were certain to make him go crazy. It took all the will power Robin owned to not just grab her and fuck her and his sanity away. But he knew this Queen was not to be toyed with, she had powerful magic and a strange grasp on her own self-control. And so Robin bit his lower lip, and calculated his every move, fighting against all his urges to touch her. 

Her face mesmerized him; she looked glorious, her red lips inches away from his mouth as her hips ground down against him. Suddenly Robin felt a slick substance graze his cock and he looked down to discover nothing else covered the Queen’s modesty as she continued to grind herself against him. 

And when he was finally buried deep inside her… the feeling was in no way describable. 

God, he had wanted to touch her, he had wanted to ravage her as soon as their sexes became one. Even without his heart, Robin could say with absolute certainty that he had never felt such overwhelming power with anybody else. It seemed as if they fit each other perfectly, which was so wrong and yet so very right at the same time. 

Robin had been in a haze of emotions. His mind flitting through as he watched the Queen riding him, first at a torturously slow pace but then picking up, impatient. She was a glorious vision to behold, all that pale flesh exposed, clad only in her black boots, hair still resting on top of those delicious breasts, fiery eyes locked on his. From the way she looked at him it seemed as if she could read deep inside his very soul.

By some cruel trick of fate her breasts had somehow been exposed to him and he felt he would rather claw out his eyes than see them, knowing he could not touch them. 

As soon as his vision was black due to him clamping his hands over his eyes, she stopped. And Robin felt his blood boil with emotions. 

Fucking wench. 

He opened his eyes and she was there, looking at him, and telling him to look at her. 

She resumed her frantic movements and his emotions changed again. She was most definitely driving him crazy. She had done something, she must have, some manner of silent spell to make him feel so bloody- He did not even have a word for what he was feeling. 

Soon, when her walls started clenching around him, the urge to touch her became impossible to hold back, he held onto the chaise with a grip that might have snapped an ogre’s neck. He was ever so thankful that she leaned her torso towards his, the amount of his skin touching hers increasing tenfold, the almost explosive electric flowing through his veins partially satiating a little his urge to reach out and touch her. 

When she came, she let out a deafening scream right beside her ear. Her body became limp instantly and, although Robin was uncertain, his reflexes won over and he brought one of his arms to wrap around her, holding her to him. 

He was still hard as rock inside her, desperately needing more to send him over the edge. He met her eyes in a silent request and was dumbfounded to find such a serene and content expression upon her face. 

From what he had experienced and seen over the past day Robin was almost certain she would not let him come at all, rather just disentangle herself from him, and send him on his way to the river. But when her words hit him, you may finish, her voice hoarse and weak, Robin could not help but smile at her, a genuine smile. Something he could not remember doing for such a very long time. Robin figured he must have been hallucinating when he could have sworn she smiled back at him, the same gentle smile with a little light in her eyes. 

With a silent gesture she had allowed him to touch her and Robin felt a primitive force come over him in that very second. He had to bask in this opportunity as much as he could. Acting on his primal impulses, he quickly turned the tables so it was her turn to have her back against the chaise. Then he fucked her, good and proper. 

He pounded into her as if his life depended on it. And to his ego’s delight, she moaned and cried out for more. His thrusts became more fierce by the second, the harder he fucked her the more she seemed to enjoy herself. And so did he; when his release came, he almost felt disappointed it was over. 

He dreaded to think back to that moment, he had felt something strange, something he had not felt in a long time, complete. With the Queen gasping underneath him, her skin warm and flushed against his as he tried to calm his breathing from his high… he felt so very complete, like this was right, this was where he was meant to be. Which was ridiculous. He did not even have his heart on him, how could he possibly be complete just because this homicidal maniac and he had orgasmed with each other? 

They had remained connected for a few minutes, their breaths trying to even out, his face having found its way to her neck as his whole body had relaxed. When he pulled back to regard her, he noticed he had left an angry red mark on her neck. 

But as his eyes met hers she looked hazed, confused and not quite herself. His expression mirrored hers as he started to pull away. To his utter surprise, she grabbed his shirt as if she was unwilling to let him go just yet. He could see her actions puzzled her, but Robin’s gaze fell on her red lips, still untouched by his, and he was lost. He did not know if he would ever have the chance to do this again, and if this was his last day on earth he was not going down before tasting her lips. 

He kissed her. 

He kissed her on those full, red lips and had instantly been almost overcome by sensations. It pierced his soul and clawed at where his heart should have been. 

Her hands came in contact with his cheeks and she kissed him back, willing and eager. 

This was meant to be, a small voice whispered in his ear. 

No, it was not, this was insanity. 

He pulled back and instantly missed her mouth against his. 

The Queen retracted herself from him and quickly put a safe distance between their naked bodies. 

She was once again regal, harsh and bitchy, and Robin had known that whatever had transpired between them in that moment was gone. She sent him away so quickly Robin had barely had enough time to put his trousers back on. 

After that far from warm farewell, he had made his way back to the Forest Head Quarters as the Queen had instructed. On his way, Robin found it odd that none of the knights had met his eye. Upon arriving at his destination, the boys had scattered more quickly than kitchen rats, and the old captain Mormant had met his eye with an almost startled expression, but grave and dense too. He nodded and left.

Robin had found himself once more looking out at the sunset from some dingy window in those headquarters. The place looked exactly the same, but he felt as if he had not been there in months. So much had happened in the course of this single day, he felt almost like a different man. 

Only when he reached his room was he able to inspect the damage the Queen had left behind on him thanks to the small mirror that had been returned to the wall facing the bed. Deep marks of her sharp nails from the way she had grasped his neck and almost crushed his windpipe in her fit of rage. But he also had a very vivid memory of her hot tongue tracing the very same patch of skin when she had ridden his cock like there was no tomorrow. 

Those nails of hers had cut deep, had even drawn blood from his neck. There was also another mark on his neck that Robin did not mind in the least. He grinned when he remembered how the Queen had sucked that exact spot fiercely just before she came, wonderfully wet walls tightening around him. She had left that red behind as if she was marking him. 

Robin’s smirk only widened when he remembered that he had also left his mark on her neck that day. 

As he continued his inspection, the nasty gash on his forehead did worry him a bit; it was fairly bloody and if left alone it was likely it would get infected. He retrieved some clean cloth and flesh water from the deserted kitchen. He noted there was a loaf of bread hidden behind a jar and took it without even thinking. Only then he realized he was in fact starving, had not eaten all day, and given this day’s activities, he should have passed out by now without food and water. The bread assisted a little in quieting the monster inside his growling stomach, and so, after eating everything he could find inside that kitchen, Robin returned to his room and cleaned up his wounds, bandaging them as best as he could manage on a full stomach. 

Robin was disappointed – but not really surprised – that the Queen had not paid him a visit that evening. He would have been a sorry sight to see if she had, for he had collapsed into the cranky bed  as soon as all the banding was done. He was utterly exhausted and found that quite funny, for he had had worse days with his Merry Men. 

But never with her, were his very last thoughts to himself before he slept for what felt like days. 

… 

In the early morning, he was surprised to see yet another piece of paper appear upon his pillow as soon as he got up. She did not have to sign it for Robin to know who it was from. Her note was brief and to the point, he should present himself in the throne room at noon. As soon as he finished reading the note, the paper burst into flame. Why was that woman was so dramatic? 

Robin found it best to simple wear his own clothes given that the garment he had been wearing the day before was soaked in blood and dirt, not to mention the Queen had torn the shirt with her flaming magical fingers. 

Even though Robin did not wear the army’s uniform, no man blocked his way in his entire journey towards the castle. As he got there, he became quite uncertain as to where the throne room actually was and took a leap of faith by following a group of guards that seemed to be heading that direction. 

The throne room was large and imposing, grey stone covered the floors as well as the walls, but those were also ornamented with huge tapestries that succeeded in concealing most of the cold, dull, stone. 

It was filled with men, a few dozen easily, they were all clad in some sort of military garb. Some wore that ridiculous helmet Robin was resolute he would not be caught dead wearing. Most of the young men wore the heavy dark armor, while the older ones sported only military jackets filled with pins and decorations, years of service repaid with adornments of tin. 

To say Robin felt extremely out of place would be an understatement. While some of the younger men did not dare and meet his eye, several others eyed him suspiciously, and Robin was truly curious to know the reason behind such a stare. If they had recognized him, were those reprimanding looks thanks to his years as an outlaw, stealing from kings and Queens, or were they caused by Robin’s behavior in the last year. That, he would unfortunately never know.

He was able to overhear that the Queen had all the captains and generals from her army assembled in her throne room to make some announcement of some kind. Of what exactly, not Robin nor anybody else seemed to know. Although he might have an idea… 

He was able to spot the captain of the patrol, the one who had punched him like a coward whilst two other men had restrained him. He felt his blood boil and his hands clench in fists, he waited for the anger to come, but it never did; only a faint memory of the feeling had remained. Robin was glad. Last thing he needed was make a spectacle. 

He stayed behind, close to the doors, leaning against the cold stonewall, the furthest spot from the throne he could find. This was easiest way out of the room were the Queen to stab him in the back and confess everything, or turn the story around to pin all blame on him. Given her mercurial behavior, he would not be surprised if she did something of the kind. He crossed his arms and waited, uncertainty and anticipation looming over him. 

Suddenly, without any external help whatsoever, the heavy double doors beside him swung closed with a loud ‘bang’. All the men in the room looked towards them, and inevitably his way, some even drawing their swords. Robin’s eyes were on the doors for only a few seconds, for he knew only too well who was able to pull that kind of trick. He was one of the first ones to look at the throne altar where he was met with the image of the Queen he had been so very intimate with not 24 hours ago. He heard a voice loudly announce; ‘the Queen!’ All the others heads in the room snapped to look at her. 

Robin came to the conclusion that with every passing day that woman managed to look more and more stunning. She had her long, black tresses tied high on her head, cascading over her right shoulder. Even though this was the least revealing dress he had seen her wear so far, she still looked exquisitely alluring and he still wanted to rip her clothes off and fuck her. 

The dark, blue velvet clung to her upper body, and a tightly fastened corset adorned her torso. Unfortunately, there was no daring cleavage, nor was there any translucent fabric around her chest area. The garment was long sleeved and had a straight and rather disappointingly high cut that revealed nothing of the supple flesh Robin knew laid there. The velvet shaped her hips, and undoubtedly her ass – which was not in his field of vision, such a pity – perfectly and flowed down elegantly about her legs, legs he wanted to spread and- 

For fuck sakes, get a bloody grip! 

The mere sight of her was making him bloody half-hard already. 

She stood there, all male eyes on her, drinking in her presence and Robin could not help but sense it was jealousy that tingled in his empty chest. 

“My loyal subjects, my fearless knights. I have called upon you today bearing saddening news.” she addressed the crowd in front of her in her regal manner “As you all are aware, your king, my dearest husband, was assassinated in his own bed by a man he deemed a friend. A man he had helped find freedom and had been repaid with death. The whereabouts of this man is currently unknown, but he is still being thoroughly searched for by your companions as we speak.” Regina was poised and her expressive voice poignant; all attention was focused on her. 

“I have, sadly, come across new information regarding the King’s death.” There was a slight curious murmur amongst the men, the murmur died down as soon as the Queen started speaking again. “And I say sadly because I never thought this devastating information could prove itself to be so true. In my concern for the well-being of my step daughter, who refused to be escorted by knights but only by her maid, I procured the services of a man to watch over her whilst she made her mournful way to her father’s tomb every day.” 

What? Robin thought, his brows knitting together. What the hell was she talking about? 

Was that even him? Could she manage to twist the information that much? 

The men were uneasy again but all it took was for the Queen to clear her throat for the room to be quiet again. 

She continued, “And so, for the security of the child I deemed as my own, I procured only the best. I had none other than Robin Hood watching over her ever since the King’s passing.” 

There was a general gasp amongst the men, Robin could feel the Queen’s eyes burn into him, as she smirked his way. All eyes were on him now as he tried to not look uneasy, the wall he was leaning against assisted him in looking mildly disinterested. But Robin’s mind burned with anger and uncertainty. 

What was she doing? 

Was she going to give him away so all these knights could have a go in killing him? 

“Hood served his purpose right and silently watched over my step daughter these past few days.” The attention was brought back to the Queen. “But nothing in my power could have ever protected her from her most deadly enemy…” she paused, everyone hanging on her every word in suspense “…herself.” 

Another gasp burst from the Queen’s audience and Robin could see through her mask of lies that she was enjoying this far too much. He was afraid of where this was leading and hoping he would be able to exit the throne room with his head still in place. 

“I had noticed yesterday that Snow’s maid seemed at unease with something when she came to retrieve her for their morning walk.” The Queen mocked her audience by pretending she cared and, surprisingly so, most of the men seemed to believe every word she said. “And as Hood reported to me later that day, the maid had found out about the princess’ plans and urged her to not go through with them.” She looked down at her shoes for a moment, a tear falling perfectly from her left eye, “a plan that resulted in my eminent demise.” 

What an artist that woman was. 

The men were murmuring again but in sympathetic tones. How was she able to do this? 

“I learned yesterday that Snow was the one behind my husband’s passing, and that she had helped the murderous genie escape. And that she was now planning my own passing, so she could take over the kingdom and rule as Queen.” The Queen continued bringing her hand to rest on her heart, or where it should be, because from what Robin had gathered the woman clearly did do make much use of it, maybe it was also out there in that vault near his. 

“And so, upon learning her secret had been discovered, my twisted step daughter murdered her maid, right there, in the middle of the forest. Hood had tried to help her but she had been stabbed too many times and sadly passed away in his arms.” 

What? 

“And so, as a reward for services to protect the crown, I award Robin Hood the post of captain of my personal guard.” 

WHAT? Robin’s mind screamed, and that seemed to be the general consensus amongst the men too; all eyes went back to Robin with clear confusion and skepticism.  He could see the Queen grin at him lightly for a second through the sea of faces before him.

“Things around here will change drastically from this day on; I cannot let rest the attempt on my life and the murder of the King now that I know who is responsible.” She took a more firm tone now, letting only a bit of that masterfully faked, heartfelt expression linger. “I am fortunate enough to know in whom I can trust; you, my loyal knights. And the time has come to repay you for your loyalty, and also to give those who truly deserve, and take from those who don’t.” 

What was she on about? 

“And so, I issue from this day forward, that all people of noble birth be removed from my castle immediately. They have done nothing to deserve their luxurious accommodations, and to live under my roof and use my expenses other than simply being born with that right.” 

She spat those last words and Robin could feel the men around him get excited with what was unfolding before their eyes. “Furthermore, I have assembled only my finest, most deserving men here today. You, along with your families, may take the lodgings that will now be vacated.” 

Great shouts of joy burst throughout the room, men screamed, “Long live the Queen!” and roared with happiness. The man cheered and embraced each other in absolute glee as the Queen simply stood there, that fake smile plastered on her lips. They had bought it, she had won. 

This woman was as cunning as a fox; she had been able to manipulate all those men who had been completely loyal to her husband to eat out of her hand with just a simple speech. She had also managed to clear his name with her army and give him a post he was not entirely sure he actually wanted. 

‘Captain of her personal guard’? 

Robin did not know the first thing about being a pawn, a soldier, and nor did he have any desire to. This would prove to be very trying both for him and for her. 

He continued leaning against the wall, now dumbfounded due to the events that were unfolding in front of him. He was thankful, however, that for once, soldiers were not gathering up to hunt him down. It made a refreshing change. 

The Queen kept smiling as all her men boasted and cheered, her fingers entwined about her middle. She cleared her throat and silence invaded the room, the air had now a newfound, excited electricity. 

"Now," she started clear as the day, giving orders, he regarded a middle aged captain with blonde hair and severe dark blue eyes, “Rickon, I want you to take your men and start a search of the east side of the kingdom for Snow White and her accomplice the Genie. I want every last grain of sand turned in those kingdoms by the sea.” The man nodded and she turned to a dark skinned man in his thirties and continued, “Mulok you and your men will take the west side in search of her.” There was a grave ‘Yes, your majesty’ reply from the man and the Queen turned her attentions to a copper haired tall man in his forties, he had deep brown eyes, “Fowler, I want you to take your men and search for her in the Southern areas, near the boundary with king George's lands.” She finally turned to a shorter black haired man with a mean face and finished, “And Dulok, take yours and search the north, the highlands belonging to the clans, I am positively sure they will aid us in finding the girl and bringing justice to our King.” She took a deep breath before continuing; “We will find Snow White… and make her pay the price of treason.” 

There was a great loud cheer from the Queen's audience. 

“Williams, I will give you the task of ridding my castle of nobility. Your men are to remove my unwanted subjects.” Her voice was certain, she arched one of her eyebrows and completed; “by whatever means necessary. I want them gone today.” 

Excitement crackled in the air but the room was silent, all waiting for the Queen's next words. 

“You may leave.” She waved a dismissive hand towards the crowd. 

Abnormally, in unison, all the men bowed to the Queen. Robin was the only one left facing her, the awe in his features betraying his feelings. 

The heads lifted in turns, all giving the Queen one last nod of the head before exiting the room. She returned most of the gazes, nodding about half of the time. 

Soon enough the room was almost empty. One of the eldest men bowed before the Queen, speaking something to her in a hushed tone, to which she replied with a small smile. That smile, much to Robin’s astonishment, reached her eyes and seemed genuine. Her eyes sparkled. 

The man in question turned around, he was half-bald, the only hair remaining on his scalp was white, and had gentle eyes. He was a little heavy and had a distinctive way of walking. Not military but noble. Noble and yet kind. Not the type Robin would think the Queen would have residing in her castle, and yet the man walked without fear towards the double doors. He stopped just outside the room to regard the Queen once more, who, in her turn, gave him a nod and another one of those rare smiles. He reciprocated the gesture, took both rings that adorned the doors and gently closed them behind him. 

Robin noticed now he had been left alone with the Queen. He still had not budged from his spot against the cold wall, watching her gaze reside on the double doors after the old man. 

“That was some speech, huh?” Robin said in a conversational tone, his arms crossing in front of him, “I almost believed you myself, and I know the truth.” 

The Queen’s gaze snapped his and she narrowed her eyes at his words. After a second, she widened them in her impressive impersonation of innocent, doe eyes and faked a smile that almost reached her eyes. This woman could apparently fake her way into anything, could easily convince anybody of anything she wanted to. But somehow he could see through the façade all the other men seemed to buy. He saw the real thing. Right now, for instance, he could see that despite her victory she was bitter, lonely and mean. Robin wondered if this new perception was due to his lack of having a heart beating in his chest. 

"I do not know what you mean, Hood." she said simply. 

"Your majesty, if I could ask you something." 

She huffed at his request, "If you must." 

"I would ask of you to not call me Hood. I much rather prefer your insulting nicknames than that," he said bitterly. "Hood has been gone for a while. None of that man remains." 

She looked at him gravely for a moment, a frown adorning her forehead. 

"Very well." she said finally "But I cannot go about calling the captain of my personal guard 'outlaw' in public." 

She started making her way down the cold stone steps in his direction, her velvet-clad hips swayed, making it very difficult for Robin to concentrate on the conversation in hand. "I will have to content myself in insulting you when we are in more...private settings." 

She got nearer and nearer, and yet Robin did not budge. "My birth name is Locksley, Robin of Locksley." 

The Queen’s footsteps halted at his words. 

"A noble name?" He nodded once in confirmation. "Who would have known?" 

She chuckled slightly as her eyebrows rose in amusement, resuming her journey towards him with a smug grin. 

The closer she got, the angrier he became, as if she was the only person who was able to ignite any kind of feeling in his cold, hollow chest. Maybe the person who took away your heart was the only person able to make you feel. It seemed plausible; Robin could not fathom why she, of all people, made him feel so alive. 

She was four, three, two feet away and she did not stop. When she was one foot away she placed her hands on the wall either side of his head and leaned her weight onto them. The Queen bent her arms, getting closer. She was almost his height, and Robin couldn’t help but marvel at how high those heels she was wearing must have been. His blood was starting to boil hot, his eyes widened as her gaze took on an even more seductive edge. 

Her mouth was mere inches from him when she uttered, "Robin of Locksley it is." It rolled off the tip of her tongue as she spoke his name slowly, looking him in the eye. Robin could not believe his name could sound so sensual on anyone’s lips. 

Those lips which were then curved in a malicious smile, her eyes communicating a desire his soul mirrored. Since she was getting forward once again, Robin took it as an opportunity to take a chance. 

“So tell me your majesty," he said casually. He brought the hand on his free side up, brushing his fingers lightly and steadily against the Queens's private parts through her dress. She let out a small surprised gasp and her mouth remained slightly opened, her grip on the wall almost faltering. Now it was Robin's turn to smirk, the courageous hand retreating and finding its way to run through his hair, as his voice turned suggestive “What would my duties be?” 

“Why do you ask?” her voice was low. 

“Just wondered if-” his hand was suddenly back feeling the soft velvet of the Queen’s dress. This time she did not gasp when his fingers found her most intimate part through the fabric and pressured, “-they would include anything similar to yesterday’s-” she bucked her hips ever so gently against his hand and Robin felt victorious. 

The hand fell to his side again as the Queen's gaze burned into his, a mix of anger, amusement and oh yes, sexual heat playing around her dark orbs. 

“That will depend entirely on how you behave, thief,-" she said, her voice a little darker, their faces were still mere inches away. She leaned in further, “-there are just so many rooms in this enormous castle.” She whispered in a tone that suggested they were going to do it in every single room that place had. 

Their breaths mingled in the small space between them and Robin could taste her bittersweet lips already- 

But the witch pulled back at the last second, pushing her weight from the wall and turning her back to him. 

Fucking tease. 

Before Robin could think up of a proper come back she managed to make him speechless. 

Her back. 

The back of the fucking dress. 

Or the lack of a back to the fucking dress. It made up for the frustrating, depressingly chaste front, that was most certain; a deep ‘V’ cut was the biggest feature, exposing nearly all of her naked back. That same back he had pressed himself against the day before, the skin that he knew felt like silk against his rough-skinned fingers- 

“You will accompany me on all my journeys, those will mostly be hunts.” The Queen said suddenly, Robin took a few moments to register she was actually addressing his earlier question in a rather normal tone. 

“You hunt, your majesty?” he inquire, honestly curious. 

"Of course I do." she said turning to face him again "My favorite prey is young women who former bandits let get away." 

She lifted one perfect eyebrow and Robin fisted his hands, pulling his weight from the stone wall for the first time. She huffed in his direction and continued; "You will assist me in planning those journeys. I assume you have enough knowledge of this land to manage that. And you will be on duty any time I call you." 

But those last words Robin were hardly registered for when she uttered them she threw her high ponytail from one shoulder to the other exposing to his sight a red mark on her neck. The mark he had made the day before. It stood out on her milky skin, red, calling him. His eyes were glued in the newly exposed skin and he unconsciously drew his lower lip into his mouth, biting down. 

"I see you got yourself injured on your way back to the tree house yesterday," she continued, breaking the spell, she motioned to the bandage on his forehead and he had to bite down a laugh; she knew very well that she was the one who was responsible for that injury, and several others along his body. 

"I cannot have the man who protects me be light headed because of his stupidity and lack of care, can I?" 

She waved her hand and Robin felt the injured skin on his forehead come together, healing abnormally fast. Even though he was being healed it was not soothing, nor pleasant; it stung and burned and gave him a mighty headache. The bandage fell from his head and Robin brought one hand up to inspect her work. All he found was unharmed skin, as if the abrasion had never even been there. 

He could see her smirk at his bewilderment as she approached him once more. She took quicker steps this time and immediately brought her hands to the top buttons of his shirt and undid them. 

"Look at that," she said while inspecting the work her own nails had done on his neck, "were you attacked by some sort of animal? I gathered you'd be a match for any beast…" she brought one hand to his neck and traced his injuries, her touch light and enticing. "I will have to start to rethink your post." She continued with a malicious smirk. "Although I do think you rather enjoyed your time with that beast." 

"Of that you can have no doubt your majesty." Robin retorted, daring to loosen up and keep up with her suddenly flirtatious tone. Her eyes left his injuries and met his, sparkling with amusement. "The beast was quite alluring." 

She lifted an eyebrow and smirked, “I’m sure she was.” She was again suddenly so close, her fingers still drew patterns on his neck. The bitter and painful sensation he had felt on his forehead spread through his neck where her fingers had touched. 

She could not be… Was she healing him there as well? 

She was. 

When the contact ceased, she examined his neck and drawing a breath she told him; “I’ll leave this red one.” 

Much to Robin’s enjoyment, she brought her mouth close to his neck and licked the red mark she had created in her ecstasy. She withdrew her mouth from him and licked her dark red lips, “I like this one.” 

That did it for Robin; for the past two days this woman had taunted and teased him as if he was some sort of pet she could play around with. 

Well, no more; Robin was no such thing. 

Something inside Robin snapped and the tingling trail her tongue had left on his now-healed neck encouraged Robin to take control over this seemingly impossible situation. 

He quickly took her by the wrist of the hand that had been tracing his flesh. The Queen only had time to gasp at his swift actions before he moved behind her, pressing her body against the cold wall and pinning her there with his own weight. Still gripping her wrist and taking a hold of the other with his free hand, he secured both against the wall to her side, his knuckles brushing against the hard wall. She quickly turned her face to the side, the side that carried his red mark, her eyes burning on him. 

“What the hell do you think you…” she started but he cut her off when he pushed his hips forward so she could feel what she was doing to him. With his erection already painfully tight inside his trousers, he ground once against her velvet-clad arse. He groaned and could make out a small moan escape her lips despite her best efforts to keep a straight face. His lips brushed the shell of her ear as he spoke, his voice low, “I may work for you now, your majesty. But do not think for a single moment that you will get to play with fire and not get burned.” 

Her breathing grew heavier at his words, before he continued; “I’m not like your pathetic little knights who cower around your skirts.” 

Her mouth was hanging slightly open, somewhat shocked at his boldness. Robin knew that this was madness and it could most certainly get his sorry ass killed, but he could not take any more of her teasing without having her have a taste of her own medicine.

“I’m that one man who is more than willing to get under those skirts and make you beg to be fucked into oblivion.” He groaned against her ear and the Queen shivered. There was a pause and she turned to look him dead in the eye. 

“Promises, promises,” she provoked with a smirk. 

Robin then saw red. That color, so new and yet so fitting for when he was in the company of this maddening woman. She drove him insane with anger, and crazy with lust, both feelings so strong. They were only a trace when he was alone, but when he had his body pressed against hers they were almost too much to bear. 

Robin groaned and put a small distance between his body and the Queen’s, but still held her wrists firm against the wall. Her immediate reaction was to whimper but Robin could not care less about her reactions this time; his mission crystal was clear in his mind. 

The thief took one good look at the exposed flesh of her back and smirked. He lowered his head to the base of the deep V shaped cut that adorned the back of the dress, it rested very nice and low, exposing a lot of skin. He then drew his tongue up her spine ever so slowly, basking in the taste of her milky and smooth flesh. 

The Queen let out a shaky breath, followed by a small moan when he reached her neck. He made his way down again but this time kissing and biting a hot trail on her skin down the center of her spine. The Queen whimpered again and Robin grew more confident with each reaction. 

When his hot mouth reached the end of the V he remained there, sucking and biting the tender flesh. The Queen gave out small moans, her hands far from resisting his grip, eyes shut and mouth still hanging slightly open. 

Robin wanted nothing more than to tear that dress apart and fuck her from behind, his desire for her only growing stronger and stronger with each passing second. But this was his opportunity to make her wait for change, it was his turn to torture her, his turn to have her moan helplessly for his flesh against hers. 

Robin had always liked living on the edge. The thrill that she might summon her magic at any moment and cut the encounter short – which would be most unwelcome – drove him to do everything his instincts told him to. There was no holding back, he would taste her, try her and tease her as much as he could. 

He trailed his way back up with his tongue tracing the edges of the deep ‘V’. He made his way to her shoulder blades, taking small bites that made the Queen hiss in between her clenched teeth. When he got back to her neck he bit down on the red mark he had created there the day prior. 

"Oh look at that, your majesty" he hissed in her ear, his voice low, "You got yourself one of those too." 

He bit down again and she hissed, her arse bucking in the direction of his hard member, "But I must say yours looks very faint. Allow me to assist you with that, your majesty." 

With that he brought his mouth on her pulse point and sucked hard.

The Queen released a strangled moan, her eyes still shut as he sucked with all his might. He wanted to leave that mark well taken care of so she would not forget he was not to be toyed with. He was not some sort of servant she could order around. And if she wanted to play, he was not going down without a fight. As he sucked, he felt his mind whirl and his head go dizzy, the zapping sensation had been moderate until now. But now that he liberated as much anger and wanton towards her as he could manage, it became almost unbearable to withstand. 

He drew away after a few minutes inspecting the much deeper color the mark now possessed. He smirked at his handy work and the Queen opened her eyes slowly, completely focused on his firm grip on her hands; the only contact that connected them. Her breathing had become heavy and her cheeks bore a distinct crimson color. 

Good girl. 

"You..." her voice was low and dangerous, she had that hate mingled with desire look he felt mirrored in his soul. 

"Yes, your majesty; me." he said, interrupting her. 

He suddenly loosened his grip on both her hands, but before she could react to her newfound freedom, one of his strong hands found her shoulder and turned her around to face him. The Queen tried to gasp but it was muffled by his mouth as it came crashing down hers. 

Her mouth felt so soft against his rash one, his kiss was not slow or tentative like it had been the day before, rather demanding and hungry. She responded with the same eagerness, her mouth attacking his own, much like the fictional beast she had just teased him with. Her hands were quick to find their way to his arse and pull him flat against her body, she squeezed, digging her nails deep into the fabric of his pants. 

Their tongues met and the connection burned. It singed Robin's tongue, set alight to his desire and ignited his lust. It made its devastating way down his spine and hardened even more his length. His own hands held on tight to the back of the Queen's head and neck, pulling her impossibly close to him. 

It did not seem enough, though. The contact, though maddeningly intense, was not enough. He needed to touch more skin, needed to have his mouth trace every inch of her, to be buried balls deep inside her to feel satisfied. 

Their tongues danced quickly, making a quick game of their kiss, both testing each other, trying to take as much from the other as they could, not a drop of compassion in the mix. The kiss was desperate; they were clinging so much to each other it seemed as if this was to be their very last moment. 

The Queen broke the desperate kiss only to immediately start to nibble his lower lip, nipping the flesh with the very tip of her teeth, making him feel a stinging bite that drew a hiss. She used her tongue to trace his bottom lip, her eyes were open, as she looked down at his lips hungrily. 

She drew slightly back and Robin opened his eyes to see her mouth all smeared with red, matching the color on her cheeks. Her breathing was erratic and her eyes were filled with lust, dark and demanding. 

Her hands left his backside only to find their way to the lapels of his shirt, pulling him to her for another hot kiss. This one, however, was more languid and Robin found they were both more able to enjoy each other. Taking it more slowly than before, their tongues brushed with one another, tasting… testing… savoring. 

The hand that held onto the back of the Queen’s head started making its way south. It travelled down until it reached her hip and squeezed hard, their mouths still attached to each other. Her hands travelled up and grabbed the back of his neck, forcefully bringing him even closer to her. 

The Queen tilted her head in such a way that Robin was able to explore her lush, delicious mouth more deeply. The crackling energy they both shared was intense and Robin could feel the Queen shiver under his touch. 

The hand that rested on the nape of her neck trailed down and cupped one of her breasts through the fabric of her dress. Robin smirked against her mouth when he felt the material was the only thing covering her chest, but he still cursed the damned garment for having no neckline whatsoever. He had to content himself with feeling her through the fabric, unless he undressed her completely, which did not sound like a bad idea at all- 

Suddenly a high-pitched scream invaded his senses and they immediately drew away from each other. Robin’s eyes followed the same path as the Queen’s as she glanced at the closed doors. They heard hurried footsteps, several. There were several people running in the corridor just outside the throne room, and it seemed as if they were heading towards it. 

Robin regarded the Queen who had remained static with her back resting against the wall, her eyes glued to the door and her expression unreadable. 

As if on cue, the doors burst open and several regally clad people ran inside and headed towards the throne altar. Some of the Queen’s guards quickly followed them. They all stopped on their tracks, however, when they realized their ruler was not there. 

Robin counted seven nobles; they had probably been chosen to represent their disgusting class. Five men and two women, they all had to be older than himself, he could guess that the youngest in the group, a round fellow with an uneven beard, had to be in his mid-forties at least. They were all clad from head to toe in luxury. All adorned with expensive jewelry and fine fabrics, the vision of their arrogant faces combined with their riches made Robin sick to his stomach. These were the kind of people he hated the most. 

Robin could see the ghost of a smirk in the Queen’s swollen lips as she lifted her back from the wall and stepped to stand in front of the open doors. 

“What seems to be the problem here?” the Queen asked in her usual loud and commanding tone. She stood there, arms crossed and, to Robin’s utter shock, lips perfectly painted with crimson. 

He brought one hand to his lips and was astounded to find that the red that had been there only a moment ago was all gone. The Queen, apparently, did think of everything. 

His attention was brought back to the issue in place by one of the noble people that had barged into the room. A woman, who had to be past her fifties, with a snobby attitude, her nose was so high up and the expression on her face so twisted with arrogance she looked as if she had horse shit under her nose.

“Your majesty!” The woman was breathless, probably due to the exercise of running that she was clearly not used to. “Your knights gave gone completely insane!” her voice rose up higher into a screech, “They have the audacity to say that they are acting on your commands.” She let out a disgusted laugh, “That you yourself just commanded them to remove all of us from the castle!” 

There was silence. Silence in which every single person in the room regarded the Queen intensively. The guards had an excited glee in their eyes, confusion and pride played in the noble people’s features and as for Robin; he just wondered if he was going to be left high and dry once more.

The Queen’s face was the spitting image of indifference as she regarded the woman. 

“They were.” She said, her voice low, her eyes going wide as a small mad glimmer played there. 

“I beg your pardon your majesty?” the woman asked, affronted. 

“They were following my orders.” The Queen’s voice was dangerous and her expression quite evil. She seemed to be enjoying herself a lot more than one should when banishing guests from their castle. 

Robin had to wonder why she had such an attitude towards the kind of people that she had seemingly grown up alongside. Despite having also been of noble birth, Robin had lived his life despising the kind himself. He suppressed the small voice in the back of his head that told him that he and the Queen were not so different after all. 

The noble woman gasped, her eyes going wide. The Queen smiled a wicked smile. 

“You see, you are of no use to me my dears,” she said simply “You never really earned anything you were given, you just took.” She started walking towards the now terrified looking woman, “And quite frankly, I find court rather a bore, you lot make it even worse” the woman seemed to shrink as the Queen advanced, “Well, that is not going to happen anymore, not under my roof.” 

She halted about five feet from the woman tilting her head to the side, “So I would advise you to leave now before I make you.” 

One of the men of the group, the youngest, round one, dared to step forward. 

“You?” he spat “You will make us?”

Wrong move, mate. 

Robin could see the Queen’s satisfied expression twist into rage and almost felt sorry for the poor man. 

“Yes,” she said, her head high and her eyes bore a hint of that madness Robin had experienced firsthand the day before. 

One of her hands rose and the man was lifted from the ground by her invisible magic. The people around him backed off gasping and his body flew in the air until he roughly collided face-first with the wall Robin had been trapping the Queen against only moments ago. 

Under everybody’s dumbfounded gaze, the Queen walked to where the man still hovered, feet off the ground by centimeters. When she reached him, she turned him around with a flick of her hand. The impact had done quite a nasty job on the man’s arrogant face, his nose was definitely broken, brood streamed from his nostrils and as he opened his mouth to say something, all that left his parted lips was even more blood. He looked at the Queen with fear and dread, barely able to make out a word as she came closer and grabbed his throat. 

She held him there for a while, choking the man as his blood ran down his nose and mouth staining the Queen’s pale and soft hands. She did not seem to mind the blood, neither did Robin, the coopery smell actually enticed him to have a go at killing a noble person himself. The other spectators, mainly the nobility, for the guards stood like statues watching, seemed in distress, the woman with the horse face was nearly sobbing. 

“Yes.” she broke the silence, looking him dead in the eye and setting free an evil laugh “Me.” 

And with that she spun her wrist and with a strength Robin imagined was ignited by magic, the noise was singular and precise, she had snapped the man’s neck with her bare hands. 

The fat man’s limp, dead body fell at her feet when her blood stained hand left his neck. 

Dead silence dominated the room. 

The Queen kept her gaze fixed on the stone wall in front of her and lowered her voice; “I will not give any more warnings.” 

She turned to face the terrified group, “As you can see-” she lifted her bloody hand, “His blood was red, and not blue. You lot are not special at all and can bleed red blood just as any soldier of mine can.” She had a wicked smile on her lips as she looked at the faces of the terror induced nobles, “You can either leave through the door or through the window.” Her red hand pointed to each exit in turn, before she placed it on her hip and plastered a fake smile on her face. “Whichever suits you best. Although I find that the sport of tossing people of high birth into hard surfaces is most thrilling. So I would suggest you make up your minds quickly.” 

There was a beat, and then the snobbish nobles were out of the door so quickly Robin was impressed. They all did bow when they passed the Queen by, who was still standing in front of the double doors. Hurried gestures of absolute fright as opposed to the respect the gesture usually required. The guards remained, all looking at the Queen and expecting her next orders. 

She remained where she was, not moving a hair and uttered “Clean up this mess” before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

Chapter Text

That had been the last time Robin saw the Queen over the next five days. Times had been quite busy, with these so called ‘new arrangements’ the Queen had come up with. Although the promise of having their necks snapped did frighten most of the nobles away, a few of them did not believe the tale spreading throughout the castle. They were most fortunate that the Queen had not appeared after her little murderous show, and so they were not met with the same fate as the man who dared to question her. They were, however, forced out of the castle anyway and the methods had been far from gallant. 

Robin had been given accommodations inside the castle, a spacious room with a large four-poster bed and scarce furniture. The room was mostly bare, but it fitted Robin's needs well enough, him being used to sleeping on the forest ground for so long. 

When he had first walked into his new room, he was met with the sight of a young woman laying down a pile of clothing on the bed. She had looked up startled when he walked in, and quickly made her curtsies and scampered out of the room. Robin could not help but linger his gaze on her behind as she walked away. He was, after all, a hot-blooded male still. And the young maid was a fine little thing, although her behind was no match for the Queen’s. 

Robin's duties so far had been unpleasant and downright irritating. Although no man had dared ordered him around, which he found was a blessing since he would have probably killed any man who tried to look down on him or command him to do anything. 

In the past five days he had been showered with reports from all of the scouts the Queen had sent in search of the 'murderous' Snow White, but Robin was never able to deliver the news the royal desired.

Every day he would approach the room he knew she locked herself in and everyday he knocked. Every day, the old man to whom the Queen had honestly smiled to would come out of the room. Every day he would ask if any of the searches had been successful and everyday Robin gave a negative response. The man would then tell him that the Queen did not want to hear any report if it was not positive and would just send him away. 

This whole process of being bombarded by scouts and then rejected by the Queen was starting to get to Robin's last nerve. He was bored. Without his heart, he had not pondered on the events that had haunted his dreams for the past year, and now he did not dream at all. 

He felt trapped by the chilly stone walls of the castle and would – more regularly than he should – escape to the openness of the small forest that surrounded it. He would venture to the woods, mostly at night, when the scouts and soldiers bearing news and requests stopped tormenting him. There he sat his nights away, thinking, pondering and reveling on the numbness that had invaded his chest. 

He made it a habit of always bathing in the river, the same river where she had seen him take care of something he thought she should have finished, just to spite her. 

Damn her. 

Even with his hollow chest, every inch of Robin's skin ached for her. 

When the fifth day went by and still he had not even seen the shadow of the Queen, Robin started considering his options for tending to his needs. He had fared well enough for the past year without the warmth of human touch, he would normally stroke himself from time to time and that seemed to be satisfactory. Back then, he could not bear the thought of laying with another woman after what had happened to Marian. 

But ever since he first laid his eyes on the Queen something inside him snapped. That electric current caused by her touch ignited his desires, making red lust run through his veins, dominating his entire being. Moreover, ever since he had had the Queen gasping and writhing underneath him as they both came, it was as if she had started a fire that had to be continuously tended to, otherwise it would burn down the entire castle and everything in it. And taking care of business himself, although relieving, never really sated his soul. 

He had thought long and hard about just breaking into her chambers and getting what he wanted, he knew she was very willing to give it to him, given her breathy responses to his lips on her skin, but in the end he decided against it. Robin had left behind most of his scruples, but one thing that remained from his earnest days was his absolute repulse for men who forced themselves upon women. Who took a simple heated glance or smile as an opened invitation to the confines of their skirts. Plus, the Queen was indeed mercurial, absolutely unpredictable, and such a move could result in his demise, something he had once craved for, but now did not seem like the best of ideas. 

Therefore, he actually considered making a move on the petite chambermaid that always came knocking on his door every morning. She would walk in, shy and meek with a fresh change of clothes for him, and she would parade her petite little ass through his room, making his bed under his watchful eye. Maybe he could have a female hand on his cock that did not belong to a selfish bitch for a change. 

But come the next day, Robin having made a solid plan to get the girl bending over the bed, not to do her usual job but so he could just fuck his tensions away, she had not shown. He was already half-hard at the thought of his plan coming to pass and, once again, he had to take things into his own frustrated, calloused hands. 

All he wanted was smooth flesh enveloping his cock, was that too much to ask for? 

Apparently so.

There had only been dismal, cloudy days ever since Robin took residence in the castle, this day was not any different. As he made his way from the dining hall after he broke his fast, men would now nod his way but never engage in conversation, and Robin wondered if living here was all worth it. 

Hurried footsteps attracted his attention to the corridor ahead and the heads of other people walking around also turned in the direction the noise came from. Soon enough Robin found that the noise originated from a breathless young man heading in his direction. He must have been a pageboy, not a day over twenty. The young man stopped on his tracks right in front of Robin, blocking his way. Robin frowned. 

“Sir.” The youth said, he was rather breathless and was trying to catch his breath. In these few moments, Robin recognized him. He had been one of those boys who had talked about the Queen in the tavern. His words still rang in Robin’s mind ‘the new Queen’s beauty was unrivalled’. Back then, Robin would have never guessed he would be able to attest to that statement due to experience.

“Sir, the Queen demands your presence in the council chamber at once.” The boy said before looking down. 

The Queen demands, now, does she? 

This should be interesting. 

The boy led him to this so-called ‘council chamber’. There were two guards standing by the grand oak double doors, with the boy left behind, Robin approached them. Both nodded his way and drew their lances away from the door. 

Robin opened the doors and walked in. The room was very grand and well lit by torches that covered half of the walls. The ceiling was high and great stone pillars supported it from many places in the room. There was a great fireplace that faced a round table, the table – despite being very large – had only one chair, beautifully carved, and cushions of a deep red velvet. 

Wonder whose arse sits there- 

The owner of said arse – along with everything else that had been haunting his thoughts for the last week – was suddenly there, standing in front of the table looking at him. Her usual expression of disdain and boredom was on today, and Robin’s hopes of a good fuck began to fade. Especially since today she was clad head to toe in black, the material covered her entire figure. True, the black in particular was leather, so the tight long skirt did accentuate the Queen’s hips and thighs. But this time not even her neck was exposed, it was trapped by a choker necklace. The dress was tight as ever, but all her supple flesh was covered in many different types of black material. She had a funny, reddened stripe of hair in her fancy up do that Robin found rather unnecessary. 

“You have a visitor, Locksley.” She told him, her arrogant tone masking a trace of amusement. 

A visitor? Who could possibly-? 

But his trail of thought was interrupted when his eyes came to rest on this so called ‘visitor’. Standing there, only ten paces away from him, was the man who had sworn to have his head. The man who he had saved Marian from all those years ago. The man who had made his life a living hell and forced him and his merry man to live on the run, always looking over their shoulder. 

The Sheriff. Nottingham himself. 

He looked as smug as ever as he regarded Robin with his nose stuck up, his lopsided smirk of someone who had had ale for breakfast and a posture that only confirmed it. The man had always been taller than Robin, but then again, also so disgustingly small and pathetic when it came to a fair confrontation between the two of them. 

Robin was glad that all the feelings he held towards that man had been diminished by his lack of heart. For if he still had the thing beating in his chest, he was pretty sure he would have gone for the man’s throat as soon as he saw him. 

“Robin Hood, we meet again.” He greeted, with a broad, false smile, opening up his arms as if to embrace an old friend. “I must say you look more beaten than the last time I saw you.” He mocked, “Don’t tell me you are still upset about that girl you stole from me!” 

Anger hovered where Robin’s heart used to lay. That man dared to talk about Marian. 

“I must say though, that I have you to thank for taking her away.” He continued and Robin fought against his every urge to attack him, but if he went in the direction Robin feared he was delving into, he could not be held responsible for his actions. 

“You must know I beat you to it when it came to… having her.” Robin had to close his eyes to block out the murderous thoughts entering his head. “And I must say I found her most lacking.” 

Robin was ready to pounce at his throat and turn his neck around. He swallowed and finally replied. 

“It’s probably because she did not give you her consent to have her.” He roared. 

“That might be it. Although I’m pretty sure she simply lacked that kind of spice.” 

Both Robin’s hands were in tight fists at this point, he then looked at the Queen, his eyes burning, asking her silently to finish this insect off. Her face remained unmoving but pale. 

“Ah, so it is true.” The sheriff said noticing his actions, “You are really a servant of the Queen now.” He clicked his tongue and laughed a little. “Who would have thought?” 

“What do you want?” Robin spat. 

“Isn’t it obvious?” the sheriff stated raising both his eyebrows; “You.” 

There was a pause before he continued; “You see, I’m here to hold you accountable for every crime you’ve ever committed, every penny you stole, every loaf of bread that you distributed, Prince of Thieves.” The sheriff spat his former title, “And I, as the sheriff, have good authority to take you away and let justice be served now that the Queen has been so kind as to locate you.” 

He then looked at the Queen and gave her a fake, cheery smile, which she returned whole-heartedly, the amusement in her eyes making Robin feel what lack of sentiment he had evaporate to give place to a feeling red as blood. His head was thumping, throbbing, it ached due to the amount of hate and anger he felt for that woman. 

Was she really going to let this pathetic man take him? After all they had been… 

No. Robin could not have fooled himself to believe that because of mere glimpses of something different between hot kisses and unearthly fucking that she had developed any kind of sentiment towards him; she was a heartless bitch, and this was what heartless bitches did. They fucked you up. Quite literally. 

She looked at Robin long and hard, her expression doing nothing to betray her thoughts. 

“So Locksley,” she started “-as this man points out, you two have unfinished business to attend to.” She turned to face Nottingham and took exactly three steps in his direction, the Sheriff smirked and so did she. 

But his gleeful expression turned into a terrified one once the Queen raised her hand and a cloud of smoke swallowed his entire body. 

Robin’s mouth was hanging wide opened when the smoke disappeared and in the place that once stood his deadly enemy rested a slimy slug. 

The Queen huffed and smirked beholding her work, she looked up to face Robin, an eyebrow raised; “So finish it.” 

She turned her back on the sheriff-turned-into-slug and walked towards the round table. 

Robin watched her in awe as she turned, leaning backwards on the wooden surface, her hands either side of her hips before she sat on it, staring at him with dark amusement lighting up her features. 

“Well, I haven’t got all day thief.” She said once she had settled on the oak table. 

Robin regarded her, long and hard. He then looked down at the slug that had raped his wife. He looked back at the Queen, her eyes wide with excitement that seemed oddly contagious, for he felt it hit him right in the middle of the chest.

Without a second thought, Robin brought the sole of his boot to meet the pathetic slug with thunderous strength. He leaned all the weight his body possessed on that one foot and twisted it, enjoying the wet squelch as he squashed the existence of that foul creature into oblivion. His gaze burning holes into his boot. 

When he looked back at the Queen, his foot still crushing the sheriff, he could not help but give her a wide, truthful and yet malicious smile. Surprisingly so, she returned the gesture offering him a smile that could have belonged to a naughty, young woman who had just been caught being up to no good. 

The first laugh that erupted in that huge chamber, however, belonged to her. Due to the high ceiling, the sound travelled and reverberated loudly on Robin’s ears, but he did not care; soon he joined her and their noisy laughs filled the room completely. 

She threw her head back, eyes shut, laughing her heart out. Robin could not help but think she looked her best like this; careless, eyes shut, feet dangling from the table- 

She looked stunning. 

When their laughter ceased, Robin’s eyes were filled with tears and he pinched the bridge of his nose, using his thumb and forefinger to wipe away the moisture in the corners of his eyes. 

He approached her and stopped to her right side at a respectable distance, simply saying; “Thank you.” 

She regarded him for a while, her cheeks red from her outburst. She inhaled and exhaled before replying; “Remember that I have told you; you are mine.” Her tongue caressed the word ‘mine’ the same way Robin had been daydreaming about it caressing his cock for the last five days. “I was not going to have a ridiculous, little sheriff parade inside my castle, give that spectacle and not face the consequences. He brought it on himself. Wouldn’t you agree?” she finished, tilting her head to the side. 

“Of course, your majesty” he answered, stretching her title, “I was only doing your bidding, we cannot have scum like that addressing a Queen the way he did.” She smirked at his words and Robin took his chance. “Can I be of any more service to you, your majesty?” 

“Yes. Yes you can.” She responded, sitting back more on the table, the back of her knees coming in contact with the wooden edge. She looked him right in the eye, flames igniting passion behind her eyes, and said two words that made Robin’s head explode. 

“Fuck me.” 

Robin’s whole world went red all over again, but this time it was due to a far better sensation than the empty rage he had felt at the sight of the sheriff. His eyes widened at her words and she smiled at him, parting her legs, her feet lifting from the ground. He situated himself in between them in seconds, gripping both sides of her thighs and pulling her closer to him. 

Before he could think what he was doing, his mouth crashed onto hers and Robin felt fireworks on the pit of his stomach. Kissing this woman was like nothing he had ever experienced before; it burned and it soothed, it killed him and then made him feel so very alive, going through the motions a million times every second. 

The Queen’s arms rapidly snaked their way around his torso, bringing him closer to her as she released small moans against his mouth. Her thighs had a death grip around his waist as she returned his fervent, open-mouthed kisses with eagerness. 

Robin’s hands began to travel the expanse of her back, searching for laces or anything of the sort that retained that wretched dress to her body. He was frustrated to find nothing, since the leather was thick and he could hardly even feel her through it, much less try and tear it apart with his bare hands. 

Aware of his attempts to undress her, the Queen smirked against his mouth, but instead of helping him, she simply chuckled. Her mouth trailed its fiery, blazing way down his throat, and she masterfully unfastened the first buttons of his shirt with only the assistance of her teeth and tongue. She placed bites over his exposed chest, licking them ever so lightly, driving Robin insane and hardening his cock to the full. 

She licked her way up to his neck, her hands squeezing his sides with enough pressure to make his skin blanch, Robin was sure she was going to leave nail bites in the region. 

Robin’s hands were still erratically in search of a clasp, a hook, a lace… anything in order to rid himself of that unnecessary armor she wore. 

The Queen reached the spot on his neck where she had left her mark. It had started to fade but Robin was certain she was going to make sure that did not get the chance to happen. Sure enough, she bit down hard and the proceeded to suck, drawing a long groan from somewhere deep in his throat. 

After a few minutes ravaging his neck, she drew away, all the red paint of her lips left on his neck and chest but a red still adorned her cheeks. She had a smug, dirty smile plastered on her lips and Robin could do nothing but just stare and run his desperate hands along her sides. 

She chuckled and brought her own hands to the collar of that monstrosity of a dress. Robin was then able to see a thin line that started at where her hands rested that went down to the hem of the dress. Her hands started working the tiny hooks that had been concealed from his view until now. 

Robin could see she was unfastening her dress as slowly as she could, with her lower lip trapped between her teeth, teasing him. As the heavy fabric began to loosen around her body Robin, could see that, to his pleasure yet again, she was not wearing anything whatsoever underneath. 

He pounced as soon as his eyes met one of her breasts, he pushed the offending garb away and caught her nipple with his mouth. The moan the Queen gave was full and loud, it reverberated throughout the chamber, hitting Robin’s ears several times, and enticing him even more in his activities.

As he placed sucking kisses on her breasts, the Queen managed to somehow continue her task of unhooking her pins. He could feel her hands were shaky, one stayed at her clothing, the other shot to his hair, grabbing a fistful as her cries continued. 

When the working hand stopped, Robin drew away from her succulent breasts in order to take a look at her. He had not had the opportunity yet to bask his eyes on her naked figure very much, but what had been uncovered made him mouth water. Her breasts were perfectly round, with soft maroon nipples, not too big, not too small, just perfect. She had managed to open the garb down until her stomach, and Robin’s hands were quick to end her handy work. 

He got to his knees as he reached her lower hooks and when he was finally done, the Queen awarded him by spreading her legs wide, giving him a front row seat to her slick core.    

Robin licked his lips, hungry for the feast that was before him and after a second of admiring the Queen’s sex, he brought his mouth to it. The Queen jumped and threw her head back with a loud cry of pleasure, trying to brace her weight on her elbows as best as she could manage. She was quick to bring both legs to his shoulders to urge him even closer to her heat, grinding herself against his mouth, and pretty soon, Robin’s hands had a death grip in her meaty thighs, moving his tongue in concert with her own movements. 

From this angle, Robin was able to watch her twist and shout rather comfortably as he ate the senses out of her. He sucked her bud with might and she arched her back, her nipples still glistening from the saliva trail he had left behind. 

When his tongue found its way inside her entrance, she released a high-pitched squeal of frenzy that drove Robin half-insane. 

Robin worked on his belt whilst still nipping at the Queen’s bud. His hands were not as sure as they usually were, but he still managed to free his erection and lower his pants and undergarments to his knees in a fairly short amount of time.   

She loosened the weight from her arms and laid down on the table, panting raggedly whilst Robin was still using his mouth skillfully enough to drag intermittent screams from her. He drew his mouth away and pinched her clit, whilst rising slowly with her legs still hooked over both his shoulders. 

Robin raised his hands and removed her legs from his shoulders, then he spread them further so he could see her watching him with a lustful haze playing in her dark orbs from between her thighs. 

He placed her right leg on his right shoulder, took his throbbing member and guided it to her wet entrance, teasing her as she tried to buck herself to him. He rubbed the already slick tip of his cock to her clit, which made her hiss, her eyes scrunching shut. 

“What do you want, your majesty?” he provoked her, thoroughly loving the death glare she gave him when he spoke with a smirk; “Remember to use your words.” 

She moaned and whined; “Fuck me already.” 

Maybe this was not the day she was going to beg him to fuck her with the words he wanted to hear. Had this been another day, another time, and on an occasion where he hadn’t been without the addictive feeling of being buried inside the Queen for nearly a whole week, he would have tortured the words out of her. He would have made her moan and plead for him to fill her. But as it was, he was desperate to feel her around him, he was hardly able to contain his own urges and he realized he was not capable of holding back anymore. 

Nevertheless, he made a vow to have her beg, someday, soon. 

And so, Robin placed the tip of his cock of her wet slick entrance and caught the leg from his right shoulder. He lifted both legs making a ‘V’, and buried his length as hard and as deep as he could. 

The Queen’s response was a loud scream mingled with a moan. The sound travelled through the room and was quickly met by the slapping sounds their joined flesh made every time he pounded into her. 

Electricity ran about his body as he fucked that insane woman, his grip on her ankles forcing her knees to bend. He watched her come apart, in awe of how stunning she looked, her eyes closed, her mouth hanging open and her fingers pinching her nipples. 

He released one of her legs and let it fall, dangling off the table as he brought his now free hand to massage her bud. The Queen let out a strangled moan when he rubbed her with his calloused archer’s fingers. At least someone seemed to appreciate them. 

Her hands left her breasts and went to the wooden surface of table so she could lift herself up. Robin released her leg and snaked his arm around her waist to assist her, and before he could register it, she tangled her legs about his middle and her hands flew to his neck, bringing her mouth up to meet his in a kiss. 

Their kisses were sloppy and wet as he pounded her, his hands seemed to want to touch everywhere at once. 

She was still wearing that choker necklace, and Robin was able to find in the back of his mind the idea that her red mark might also be fading away. He drew away from the kiss, still pumping into her, wrapped his fingers about the choker, and ripped it apart. 

The Queen gasped at his actions, her eyes wide in shock, but Robin did not give a flying fuck. The mark was still there, although it was starting to fade away, and he could not have that. 

His mouth was fierce on her neck and she gasped, swallowing whatever poisonous words she had planned for him. He sucked the spot good for a few minutes, drawing away to nip and occasionally kiss it. 

With his head buried in her neck, he could not only hear all her moans and groans, but felt them against his lips as they mingled with his own as his cock feasted on her core. 

When he was satisfied with the amount of red he had left behind on her neck, his mouth returned to hers. They were both clinging so tightly to each other that his strokes became faster and shorter. 

Her whole body was pulsating, singing along with his. Their connection was undeniable. Their mouths danced as one as they both found their release, again, at the very same time. 

Coming inside that woman had to be one of the best things Robin had ever experienced, and that was saying something; Robin had gained his fair share of experience. But there was something abnormally pleasuring about having his seed invade her, he could not explain it, but his chest felt as if it was opening up with pleasure. 

They remained connected for a while, her head coming to rest on his shoulder as he felt her stuttered breaths on his skin. 

Robin looked at the crackling fire and wondered how the hell had he gotten in such a position? Not that he was complaining, on the contrary; this was quite a pleasing position to be in. A position in which he could actually touch the damned woman. 

She looked so small pressed against him, her dress opened, part of her bare skin exposed to him. Robin guessed that the commanding image was very much attached to the height of the heels she wore and her imposing posture.  

She raised her head from his shoulder and met his eyes. 

“Very well Locksley,” her voice was rather raspy as she brought her index finger to trace his lips. “Your services were more than satisfactory.” Her voice was low, her eyes on his mouth. 

“Is your majesty in need of a second round?” Robin tried, he noticed his voice was rather hoarse as well, a smirk playing on his lips. 

The Queen bit her lip and replied “A second, and then a third, and a fourth… As many numbers as you can give me Locksley.” 

But before Robin could make good on his promise, an infuriatingly familiar voice reached his ears. 

“Your majesty!” 

The Queen sighed in annoyance and rolled her eyes. 

“I’m coming.” She said looking at the fireplace. 

Robin frowned at her actions. 

“Is that…?” he started.

“Yes, it is.” She cut him off, Robin’s frown became deeper, “I’ve found a way to keep him… manageable.” She told him, her hands pushed at his chest and Robin drew back from the Queen, his body instantly feeling the loss of the vibrant buzz her skin provided. 

She quickly fastened all the hooks on her horrid dress as Robin got his pants back up and secured his belt. When she was all done and decent she headed to the fireplace, over to the barely noticeable shelf above it. She reached out for a hand mirror on the shelf that had been covered with a piece of cloth. 

She looked at the mirror and bellowed “What?” all her purring and sassiness having left her. 

“Your majesty, she’s out. She’s finally left the castle.” 

The Queen actually cracked one of her crazy smiles, “Wonderful.” 

She looked up at Robin; “Locksley, I want my carriage ready to leave at once.” 

“You’ve found her then? Snow White?” he asked. 

“No, unfortunately some people have been completely useless to me in that department” she regarded the mirror with disdain and then looked back at him with that half-crazed glint playing in her eyes, “But there is another dark haired, young woman that interests me greatly.”

Chapter Text

Snow was alive. 

That damned girl was alive. 

Regina could not believe that after all the trouble she had been through, that damned doey-eyed brat managed to get away. 

Things would not end like this. Regina would find her, she would find her even if it was the very last thing she did. She would get her, grab her by the throat and kill her with her own bare hands. She longed to feel the warmth of the girl's blood dripping through her fingers, she craved for the sight of those bright green eyes as they went wide with despair and then dull. She wanted to be there to see the color extinguish from her cheeks, and for her lips to turn chalky and white just like her foolish complexion. 

Regina only had to find the damned girl first. 

The day after the failed attempt on Snow’s life, Regina planned her words and actions with care. She had to manage to paint Snow as a monster, as a disturbed and murderous little girl to her late husband's men. She had needed to provide a reasonable explanation for the outlaw’s presence, the Princess’ disappearance and the sudden desire to have her killed, in addition to encouraging the knights to be willing to serve her without question. Her twisted, fictional tale, combined with her skills of persuasion seemed to do the trick, and Regina had the fools eating out of the palm of her hand. 

Regina managed to, not only get rid of the unnerving amount of nobility that pestered her castle, but to also appease the men she would need to use to complete her plan. 

Although, in addition to the list of Regina’s issues, there was also the whole problem about that thief that she could not seem to keep out of her head. 

And that particular issue, she hadn’t quite resolved yet. 

He had grabbed her and whispered words into her ear that both infuriated and enticed her. He had been sure and confident when he had told her that he’d 'make her beg to be fucked into oblivion'. Regina could not possibly let an opportunity to provoke him get away after his insinuations; she had been both terrified and delighted that he met fire with fire. 

When he had first pushed her into the wall, instantly, Regina had felt like that helpless, 18-year-old bride who knew next to nothing about anything and was absolutely terrified of the notion of a man touching her. Memories of Leopold had flashed before her eyes and Regina felt like crying. 

But the thief's touch was not abusive, nothing like the King’s had been; it was intense, and instead of hurting her, it warmed her, set a fire alight inside her. It did not demand, but cherished. Regina let her fears slip away when his mouth came in contact with her back. His sucking kisses and bites adored, worshiped her body. They also burned; the electric sensation grew stronger with every new touch. 

Regina felt her blood boil when the commotion drew the outlaw's smooth and demanding lips from her warm flesh. But her blood almost evaporated due to the heat of her anger when that noble man had looked down on her and doubted that she was in any way imposing or a threat. 

She was having no more of that; never again would anybody doubt what she was capable of.

When she felt the life leave the man’s body with a mere gesture of her hand, Regina felt an odd jolt of numbness invade her body. It was the usual sensation she felt when taking a life, but she had never had such an audience before. It had been particularly thrilling seeing the fear in the noble people's faces, and the awe mixed with admiration in the outlaw's eyes. 

Regina had spent the rest of her day trying every single tracking spell in the book in order to find Snow. But the damned girl seemed to be sheltered from her somehow, and no amount of magic Regina had at her disposal had been successful. 

In the next few days, the reports of the search parties she had sent out had come. Regina had little interest in learning details; she only wanted to know the answer to one question.

“Have you found Snow White?” 

The endless negative responses made her head nearly burst. 

…

 It was on the fifth day of her exhausting and frustrating search that the unnerving genie had found a way to reach out to her. 

She had been in her personal library, a place concealed from everyone in the castle, one she had built herself through the years and years of magical training. The room had once been a maid's quarters, attached to her own chamber, but had never been used for that purpose. 

Regina had found the door that had been concealed by a hideous piece of tapestry leading to it in her first married year. She had found the hidden room – basked in the idea of having a secret place for herself – and set to work in making it her sanctuary. It was the only place in the castle where she truly felt at ease. 

There she had hidden the mirror the genie had given to her, and it was through it that she heard his pleading voice. 

“Your majesty, your majesty!” he called out, “Please.” 

Regina had been engrossed in a book about tracking people by personal items, chunks of hair and pieces of flesh. The voice startled her, her gaze shot immediately to where she remembered the mirror had been hidden. She was not on the least interested in speaking to that foul man ever again, so she brought her eyes back to the yellowed page.

 “Please your majesty,” he continued. “Regina.” 

That was it. 

Regina practically flew from her seat and in no time, she had the mirror in her grasp. She looked the looming head inside with rage. 

“Do not-“ she started, her anger cutting her off before she recovered and spat; “Never call me by my given name you-“ 

“I'm sorry, I-” he pleaded and Regina was disgusted; he was pathetic. 

“What do you want from me?” she said in a harsh tone, narrowing her eyes. 

“Only to serve you my Queen.” he replied, in that meek, pleading tone that made Regina want to hurl. 

“You are of no use to me.” She spat. 

Regina started to lower the mirror to place it back where it had been, but the genie’s pleading voice called out, a little desperate, “No wait!” she brought it back up, “But I am, my Queen, I am.” 

“Fine.” Regina huffed “Humor me. How?” 

“Due to my curse, I am able to travel to any reflective surface in this realm.” He gave her simply. 

“Oh?” that had caught Regina’s attention alright. 

“I can locate Snow White for you.” He lifted an eyebrow, speaking in a victorious tone. 

Finally! Something this damned, disembodied head said was worth hearing. 

“And why have you not done that yet?” Regina asked, tone still poisonous. She could not help it; that man, that thing, was revolting.

“Because I want to make a deal with you,” he explained. “I want you to give me something back for my services.” 

Regina held back a laugh, “Did you not just say all you wanted to do was serve me?” 

“I did – And, and I do my Queen.” He stuttered about his words, “All I want is look upon your face.” he had that sweet, pleading tone again that made Regina’s upper lip curl in disgust. “But I beg you, please, take the spell away from the mirror inside your chambers.” 

Oh. 

Regina's stomach was flipping upside down. He wanted to see her. Of course, he had been enthralled by her, he said it was love despite Regina knowing it was no such thing; it was lust, a lust that was most certainly not reciprocated. 

Regina could not bear the mere idea of having his hovering face looking at her as she went about her chambers, as she changed, as she slept, as she... 

“Absolutely out of the question,” she said, her head high looking down at the mirror. “I value my privacy more than anything and I am not willing to sell it for Snow's mere location.” 

“Please your majesty,” he begged. “Your face haunts my every thought, I'm completely and helplessly in lov-” 

“Do not dare say that!” Regina cut him off fast before he used that word to describe his pathetic, little feelings. “Do you not understand me? I feel nothing but abhorrence for you! Besides, how am I to know that your words are even true? What proof have you of this?” 

“I have been looking into the mirrors of the Dark One's castle,” he said eagerly. “And have found something quite peculiar.” 

“What?” she snapped. 

The face in the mirror smirked and his image faded away to show her the image of Rumple's castle, more specifically his dining hall. There was, however, something indeed off about the scene, for there was a young woman sitting on the dining table whilst Rumple had his face buried in a book. 

The girl tried; “Do you want to talk about it?” 

She had a funny accent and was rather pretty, with piercing blue eyes and wavy brown hair that reached a little over her shoulders, Regina noted. 

“There is nothing to talk about; I missed the damn knave, end of story.” Rumple replied, not moving his gaze from the book. 

“You do not fool me.” The girl said, looking sympathetically towards him. 

This was indeed peculiar, Regina pondered. 

Rumple did not reply but simply hummed. 

The girl hopped out of the table, still regarding Rumple and went to stand beside his chair. 

“You are not the man I thought you were.” She said, and – to Regina's utter astonishment – leaned down and kissed the Dark One on the cheek, ending with a heartfelt; “I'm glad.” 

She gave him one last smile before she left. 

Rumple’s gaze did not falter from the book. But his hand came to rest where the girl had placed the kiss, and for a moment Regina could see his skin change to a rosier, more human tone. But all too soon, the sparkly greenish scales returned. 

The image died and the face of the genie reappeared on the mirror, Regina was dumbfounded. 

“That was indeed peculiar.” Regina said coolly, careful not to demonstrate her excitement, “Who is she?” 

“Her name is Belle. She is a princess who has sacrificed her freedom in order to rid her father's kingdom of the ogres pestering it,” the genie informed her, “She's bound to serve the Dark One forever by contract.”

 “Very well, you have given me something of mild value.” Regina said, carefully measuring her words, “But nothing could ever buy what you seek.” 

“Then, your majesty, let me see you once,” he begged.

 “What are you talking about? You are 'seeing' me as we speak you fool.” Regina snapped, becoming irritated at his words. 

“No. I wish… I yearn to see all of you, my Queen,” he stuttered. “I long to see you in your full glory. I want to see everything.” 

His voice had grown darker and Regina understood then what he meant by ‘everything’, but nothing could have ever have prepared her for the next words he uttered. 

“I have seen you angry, mad enough to hurt yourself in your fury attacks. I have seen the hurt the King had caused you, enough for you to do what you did. I've seen many things from you my Queen, but I'm yet to see you pleasured.” He spoke slowly and Regina was praying to whichever Gods who lived the skies above that she was hallucinating. 

“What?” she hissed feeling her eyes widen. 

His response was now quick and desperate “Please, your majesty, just once, let me see you pleasure yourself, I won't ask again... Just once.” 

Regina felt bile rise in her throat, her breathing become quicker as her heartbeat raced, she was sure she was going to vomit. 

She was so shocked that, for a moment, she thought she had forgotten how to move. She was no blushing virgin – far from it – but this request repulsed her. She hated this man, he had known her for a little over a week, and yet he had claimed to know her, know of her afflictions, and worst of all, he claimed himself to be in love with her. She knew it was not possible for anyone to love her, she had made sure of it, locking herself up in the icy façade of the Queen she never wanted to be. 

I will never love again, and no one will ever love me, she remembered the promise she had made ten years ago to her father. 

She knew the former genie was only interested in her physical beauty. She knew it because she had used it to manipulate him, like she had so many others. 

There had been something about his reaction, about the way he had looked at her when she had exposed her true colors and confessed that she had been using him all along. It was as if he was not even listening to a word she said. She was sure she could have used far harsher words and he would still have had the same reactions. 

But it was the moment when he had made his wish that Regina knew for certain he did not love her. He was just obsessed, crazy about her, but not in love. Regina knew what love looked like, and what played in the genie’s eyes was most definitely not it. It had been so long since she had seen love shine in Daniel’s eyes, but she could remember it as if it were yesterday. 

And although Regina was no expert in the matter, she knew that if you love something, you should want to see the object of your affections content. Never trapped. 

He had chosen to chain himself to her. And she had been terrified when the smoke engulfed his figure. Terrified of what that wish would do to her life. She had just broken the shackles that chained her to the King, only to have another man try to trap her. 

But he had been the one who ended up imprisoned and Regina had felt like laughing as relief washed over her. 

And now he wanted to watch her pleasure herself? 

Regina could not say she was surprised that the man, thing, had wanted to see that, but all the same, it shocked her that he had voiced his desires. 

Her mind wondered to the image he had shown her of the Dark One and the pretty little brunette. That would be very useful to Regina. That girl was clearly a weak point for Rumple; Regina could see he liked her. And if the genie was able to reach into the mirrors of the Dark Castle, surely he would be able to locate Snow. And furthermore, act as a spy for Regina, be her eyes- 

But the price was far too costly. To bare herself in front of him felt demeaning to Regina, as if she was letting him win over her and she did not like that feeling in the slightest. Unless- 

Unless she was able to turn the tables in her favor. 

Unless she was able to get what she wanted, and ensure the genie would never ask for something like this ever again. 

The wheels turned inside Regina’s head and the answer was simple. So simple a laugh escaped her lips, and the hovering head looked puzzled back at her. She met his eyes, her own sparkling with malice. He would regret having ever asked to watch her. 

“Fine.” The genie let out a relieved breath Regina noticed he had been holding ever since he had stopped speaking. “I will allow you watch while I pleasure myself once. Only one time, is that clear?” 

“Yes.” His voice was raspy. 

“But we will do this my way, mirror.” Regina said quickly. 

“Of course, my Queen.” His sweet voice was back, and Regina wondered if she was indeed going to be able to go through with her plan without hurling in the process. 

“First of all, the deal,” Regina started “Since your price is rather… personal, I will only agree to it if we seal it magically. There is a spell, an ancient spell, in which the involved parties make a vow. And if that vow is not fulfilled… the failing party suffers dearly.” 

“What is the price to be paid for not fulfilling this vow?” 

“Life” she said slowly and the mirror’s eyes widened. “I would think such a spell is befitting to our situation, don’t you?” 

“Yes,” he breathed. 

There. That thing did not love her. Regina hated him even more now. 

“Good.” Regina faked a smile she knew he would buy, “So on your end of the bargain, you must vow to assist me in anything and everything I require you to. You are to vow to never disrupt me unless you have news that are of importance to me. And also, to never turn against me.” She smirked, “Do you agree with my terms?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“Yes, yes I do.” The genie said, almost choking on his own words. 

“As for me, I will vow to allow you to watch me pleasure myself once. I am to call upon you when I am ready and only then you may appear upon the surface of my mirror.” She explained, swallowing the bile rising in her throat. “Remember you have to watch the whole thing. Are you sure you can handle that?” She raised one of her eyebrows in challenge, drawing him into her dastardly plan. 

“Yes.” 

Regina smirked and felt truly evil. But in all fairness; he deserved it. 

“We make the vow now. But this little show you are making me put on will not happen today, nor tomorrow-” Regina thought through her plan before she continued; “It will happen when you are able to provide me with useful information. Information that will help me take action against my enemies. Do you agree to that?” 

“Yes, my Queen.” 

“Good.” 

Regina left the mirror on the table and headed for one of the many bookshelves she had in her secret library. She ran her fingers along the spines of her precious magical books, looking for the material on Dark Arts Rumple had given to her. This particular spell had been created by a sorcerer from another realm. The some people in said realm could wield magic, but they had to make use of a wand, only the very powerful ones had no need to use one. 

Her fingers met dark green leather with gold embossing and Regina knew she had found the one. 

She placed the book on the table and grabbed the mirror once more. 

“What is the name of this spell, my Queen?” he asked. 

Regina’s voice was grave when she answered; “The unbreakable vow.” 

“And it is called so because…” 

“If you fail your vow, you pay the price of its magic with your own life.” Regina said, her voice low and dangerous, before she sardonically added; “hence the ‘unbreakable’ part.” 

Regina looked away from the mirror and back at the book, starting to chant the magic words of the spell. Since this spell usually just required a wand, she had come up with a verbal incantation to substitute it. Regina always found that those wooden sticks were pathetic; words carried the most powerful magic of all. 

Wands were for weak, little fairies. Wands trapped magic and Regina had all the magic she needed flowing through her veins. She had no use for a sparkly stick; her magic was overwhelming enough on its own. 

She said her words carefully, making her vow very clear, and so did the hovering head inside the mirror she held on her hand. When he was done speaking, she felt a jolt of magic crackle between the two of them. A thin thread of white magic enwrapped the hand and wrist that held onto the mirror, snaking its way around the handle of the object, binding them in their contract. 

The thread faded away and Regina looked at the image in the mirror before declaring; “It is done.” 

She took a long breath; the spell had drained her somewhat. “Now, I want you to keep an eye on that girl, Belle. Rumple will set her free, I can feel it. He knows she makes him weak.” 

Regina’s eyes travelled far off, then snapped back to the mirror. “And when he does I want to be informed immediately. Now leave my sight at once, search for Snow White and only return when you have valuable information. Then will I fulfil my end of the bargain.”  

“But-” The head was gone before he could even complete his sentence. 

Well, this was just perfect, Regina wryly thought as she slammed the mirror on the desk …

  Skin on skin, his touch burned her, his hands made a hot trail on her bare flesh. Her nails dug into his back, he pushed in harder and harder and Regina felt alive like never before. The connection was almost unbearably good when his lips crashed upon hers, hot, wet and savage.  

Her dark orbs meet his blue ones, his dark blonde stubble prickled her neck, that smell of forest, so revolting and yet so enticing, invading her senses. She wanted to feel this whole always, her skin prickled and she never wanted it to stop... 

Regina awoke with a start and a very undeniable wetness between her legs. Ever since she had sealed the deal with the outlaw, memories of their one time together haunted her dreams. 

Well not haunted; they weren’t unpleasant memories after all... 

How long had it been since she had last seen him? Five, six days? She had been so engrossed in finding a way to locate Snow she had had no time to enjoy the services the outlaw was willing to perform. 

This dream in particular had been quite vivid. Regina could still feel the heated trail blazing on her skin, a sensation she had only ever felt with him. 

Regina decided even before she had gotten out of bed that she would be having the outlaw between her legs that day. She had barely finished her intricate up do – Regina found that the hot pink stripe in her hair served as yet another way of protest against her old way of life – when there was a timid knock on her door. 

She flung the door open so fast she thought that the young pageboy who stood on the other side was going to pass out. He was looking down at his shoes as informed her in a timid voice that there was someone at the gates demanding to have an audience with her. 'Who?' Regina had asked; the boy replied that it was the Sheriff of Nottingham, who had come on the account of Robin Hood. She informed the boy to lead the Sheriff to the council chamber and then retrieve Locksley, the boy flew from her sight. 

From what she had heard about the Sheriff, Regina was not expecting much. And what she had heard had proven to be very true; he was an ordinary looking man, who clearly thought he was something extraordinary. He spoke as if he were a noble man – which Regina knew he was not – and dared to kiss her hand assuming he’d appear cordial. Regina had wanted to snap his neck for that, but she was far too curious to see how events would unfold to finish him off. For the moment anyway. 

She played her part, pretended to sympathize with the Sheriff's ideals. But it was after the thief’s brief exchange of words with the Sheriff that Regina felt her blood simmer with murderous impulses towards that disgusting man. 

He had raped the thief's wife? 

Regina knew she was no saint, her heart blackened to the point of no return. But the way men thought they had a right to claim ownership and force themselves on women was something she had always found appalling, her abhorrence had only grown throughout her marriage to the King. She remembered how it had been her who had been a victim of such an abusive man. Back then, when she had no way to defend herself, no one could have helped her; her attacker was the King and her husband, and to all outsiders’ eyes she was merely doing her wifely duties. 

She saw the anger and hate grow inside the outlaw's eyes and figured he was only able to contain himself due to the fact that his heart lay beating inside her vault. 

Regina was sick and angry; she wanted to make that man pay, but she figured the outlaw should be the one to finish the job. 

Regina would never admit aloud that she turned the man into an insect just so the thief could have his revenge on him, so he could avenge the violence inflicted upon his late wife. Even though she knew that he knew that had been her intention, for when he thanked her, the voice that reached her ears did not carry a single drop of the contempt he had been glaring her way just moments before. 

As she studied him while they talked she was reminded of how long it had been since she had felt the buzz of his touch, almost a week, and that had proven to be far too long. 

When he had asked her if he could assist her any other way, that small grin tugging on his lips, Regina could not resist but command him to fuck her. Then his hands were everywhere and she regretted wearing such a heavy and impossible dress. Regina eventually managed to free herself from it while provoking the thief, a sport that had become a favorite of hers. 

The thief was on fire between her legs and Regina could not have been more pleased, his intense touch leaving reddened marks on her skin Regina would later trace with her own fingers and shiver at the memory. 

It was good, it was far too good. It was the best sex she had ever had; in every encounter they had, the electric spark between them seemed to grow mightier and mightier. 

And Regina was flying, she noted that they reached their peaks in unison again, and once again she was momentarily deprived of air due to the overwhelming sensation. She tightened, and he released and it felt perfect. 

The mirror's interruptions were starting to get to Regina's last nerve, but she knew that now his interruption was not prominent of a jealous disposition, but of an informative visit which was bound to be important. 

The girl was out. This was Regina's opportunity to try to talk to her, and manipulate her into ridding that imp of his power and making her life a hell of a lot easier. Aside from the fact that, if Rumple had no powers, killing him would be like child’s play. 

She had the thief come with her, not inside her carriage, obviously, but ahead with the other knights. She knew the road that led out of the dark castle well, having made that journey – regrettably – far too many times. Her carriage flew its way up the path, until the driver informed her that there was a peasant in the road, and she ordered him to stop immediately. 

She looked at the girl, who seemed very pretty, before opening the door to her carriage with a friendly smile that contrasted with her choice of attire. 

“Did my carriage splash you?” Regina asked faking concern. 

“Oh no, I'm fine, thank you.” the girl, responded with a pretty, tight smile. 

“I'm tired of riding,” Regina said taking a small breath looking at her driver, she looked back at the girl, Belle, her name was Belle, and said; “I'm going to stretch my legs and walk with you for a spell.” 

The conversation with the young girl went just as Regina planned; she was very naive and quite eager to believe anything Regina told her about being able to ‘cure’ her master/lover. 

Regina laughed internally when she told the girl that 'true love's kiss can break any curse'.   

Break curses it most certainly did, but it could not solve all problems. Something Regina had learned with painful clarity. 

Regina had heard a muffed laugh from behind her that originated from none other than that damned thief she insisted in keeping about when she told the girl; ‘I would never suggest a woman to kiss a man who held her captive. What kind of message is that?' 

She did not think twice before sending a small enchantment down to his nether parts, squeezing to the point of pain. Then it was her time to hide a laugh when she heard him wince and let out a low groan behind her. 

But the girl was gullible enough to believe that if she kissed Rumple, he would turn into an ordinary man and they’d have a chance at love and happiness. Well, part of that was true; Regina could see that indeed it was true love that zapped between the pair. And true love would most certainly strip Rumpelstiltskin from his curse, turning him into an ordinary man. 

She could not help but feel a touch of jealousy for the creature; he had found someone who loved him truly, just as he was, darkened soul, rotten heart and everything in between. He had been corrupted by magic and power and yet this girl still found it in her heart to truly love him. 

He had poisoned Regina’s life and tarnished her heart, tricked and manipulated her. She had resigned herself to the idea that she would never love again, and nobody would ever love her, and yet this girl had apparently fallen for the imp, of all people! 

He does not deserve to be loved; the jealous voice rang in her. 

But I do, a young woman with braided hair tried timidly. 

All voices were muffed by the cackling that came from the elder Queen who wore a crown adorned with a heart shaped ruby. She insisted on telling Regina; love is weakness, and this was the prime example of it; Regina was going to use love against her former mentor, to make him even weaker, to strip him of all his powers. 

Regina did not need love; she could never be weak. What she needed was Snow White's blood dripping through her fingers as she slit the girl's throat. 

If everything went according to plan, this ‘Belle’ would kiss Rumple and all her pretty dreams would come true; he would be man again, an ordinary man, capable of love but not magic. 

Upon further consideration, Regina stopped entertaining thoughts of killing him. Oh no, she would much rather watch him suffer whilst being stripped of his powers. That would generate much more enjoyment for Regina. 

There was still one last problem that she was bound to now take care of. Regina decided that sooner was better than later to take care of an issue as delicate as that. …

 That evening Regina sat on the bench facing her new dresser, there were three frames deprived of mirrors. She looked beyond the furniture set and smirked, bringing one of her feet to rest upon the seat and opening her legs wider. 

She had let all her hair down, it cascaded down her back and the loose curls tickled her bare skin. Regina had shed all her clothes, and was sat naked as the day she was born. She ran her hand about her figure, brushing by her breasts, past by her stomach, down her navel until she found her core. 

Regina closed her eyes. She massaged her bud once, twice, then lifted her free hand, summoning her magic to work for her. A mirror appeared on each of the once empty frames and she whispered once. 

“Mirror.” 

Regina had her eyes closed for the sole purpose of not having to look at that man's face whilst she did this. She had been very careful in her vow not to specify if she herself was to watch the act as well. She knew he was there, she could hear his heavy breathing as she continued to massage herself. 

“Oh your majesty.” 

Regina swallowed hard in order to keep her face straight and to quell any thoughts of how sick the person in the mirror made her. 

She hated doing this. 

This is humiliating. 

But soon it would not be. She kept that thought in mind. Soon it would be him wishing this had never even happened. 

She brought her index finger to pinch her bud and hissed, the little pain shooting spikes of pleasure through her. She resumed in rubbing her clit, now a little bit harder and let a small moan escape her lips. 

“My Queen-“ he stuttered “-you are a vision.” 

We will see about that.  

We will see if you can indeed handle seeing me, disgusting creature. 

With every intention to make him suffer in mind, Regina brought her other hand to assist her. It travelled its lazy way up her thigh and found her core, which was starting to get slick due to the activities the other hand had been performing. She inserted one finger and threw her head back moaning. 

Footsteps reached her ears. 

Regina smirked. 

She continued to pump her finger inside her cunt whilst the other hand rubbed her bud lazily. 

Step, step, step. 

“Who is that?” the confused voice of the mirror asked in a whisper. 

Regina did not answer but continued to rub herself, releasing another breathy moan. She still had her eyes closed but her lips had twitched into a grin. 

Step, step, step.

“Your majesty-“ the mirror stuttered, “Is that-?” 

Step, step, step. 

She could feel a figure approach her naked form and excitement flew about her whole body making her shiver; she released another moan for good measure. 

“Is that the thief?” 

Her eyes snapped open. 

Step, step, step. 

He was standing right behind her, only a breath away from touching her skin. Regina could see him through the side mirror, he was looking at the hovering head dead in the eye, his expression unreadable. Regina could feel their electric connection tingle between them already due to his closeness. 

“My Queen, what-“ the mirror looked at her puzzled and Regina simply continued rubbing as if nothing out of the ordinary was coming to pass. Regina tilted her head a little bit more, making contact with the outlaw’s broad, shirt-covered chest behind her. 

The thief's gaze shifted down to her figure and he brought one hand to retrieve her mass of wavy hair and throw it over one of her shoulders. 

“What-?” it was a mere whisper from the mirror.

Regina turned her neck to the side so the exposed side of her neck was more accessible, her gaze not really focusing anywhere. 

When she felt the outlaw's fingers rest on the recently exposed skin, she could hear the mirror's distinctive voice whispering “No...” in disbelief. 

The outlaw's fingers traveled down her neck and his hand cupped one of her breasts, she could feel his gaze burning her. His touch was extraordinary. 

“No” the mirror said again, a little louder. 

The thief brought one of his knees to rest upon the chair she sat on, beside the leg that was down, bringing his body to finally touch hers. She could feel his erection pressed against her back and leaned onto it drawing a low groan from him. 

“Your majesty...” the mirror said in a pitiful tone 

But she ignored his pleas and basked in the sensation of having the outlaw's hot body against hers. She continued to pinch and rub her clit and pump the other finger inside of her, her lower lip drawn between her teeth. 

Locksley brought his head down to her exposed neck and started placing suckling kisses that made Regina's head go dizzy. She let out a content moan, releasing her lip and momentarily closing her eyes as he took care of her neck and pinched a hard nipple. 

“No, no-“ the mirror begged. 

Regina was starting to feel light headed with the treatment the thief gave her, but her rubbing hand was still resolute on her clit. 

“Oh, Locksley,” her voice was low and a tad hoarse, the thief rose his head from the crook of her neck to meet her eyes. “Would you be a dear and lend me a hand down here?”  

“Your wish is my command, your majesty.” He grinned and kissed her neck once more. 

The hand that had been ravaging her breast moved down and met her own, covering the hand that had been pumping a finger in and out of her. 

“Allow me, your majesty.” 

He took her hand in his own removing her index finger from inside her, her other hand still moving in fluid circles. The thief then brought the hand up near his face and took the coated finger in his mouth, drawing a gasp from Regina. 

“No, no…” the hovering head pleaded, and through her pleasured haze, Regina found a smirk growing on her lips. 

The outlaw let go of the hand so his own hand could travel back down her body and easily find her entrance. Two long calloused fingers were inside her and Regina threw back her head with a yelp, starting to thrust her hips to meet his pumping movements. 

Regina’s eyes were wide open now, one of her hands persisted in rubbing her bud while the other had found the thief’s head and she sensually scraped her nails over his scalp. The thief’s free hand ran lazy lines about her side, making Regina shiver and contract her walls around his strong fingers inside her. 

“Please your majesty-” the genie tried, “Don’t-” 

Regina snapped her head up and regarded him for the first time. She had a repulsed look on her face, her eyes were narrowed, her lips pressed firmly together, and although her cheeks were flushed and her breathing was uneven, she was still able to address him in all her regal hate. 

“Didn’t you want to see me touch myself?” she asked jeeringly. “Well-” she yelped as the outlaw – who was still going nice and good with his fingers down below – twisted his fingers and touched a particularly sensitive spot. 

She caught her breath and continued; “Well, there you have it. As you can see-” her gaze darted to the hand that had not left her clit ever since the beginning “-I am still touching myself.” 

She smiled an evil, perverse smile. 

The dumbfounded expression in the mirror made Regina cackle. 

The outlaw’s free hand had found its way to Regina’s thigh and he traced the supple flesh torturously slowly. His touch was light but still electrifying. Suddenly he grabbed her inner thigh and tugged it. 

Regina got the message and without drawing her hand from her bud lowered the leg so both her feet were now on the ground. The outlaw removed his hand from between her legs and lifted his weight from the stool, his hands encircling Regina’s waist when she stood. 

In a quick move, the outlaw kicked the bench to the side hard, the object screeching across the floor before crashing into the wall. Regina could see him clear as the day in the mirror to her side, and she chose to drink in his image to distract herself from the doey eyes that still watched her, still pleading. 

He was clad in only a white shirt and his dark green trousers. His feet were already bare; he had removed his boots right after he had recuperated from walking into her room to see her already bare, looking at herself in her full length and completely protected mirror. 

With his hands still on his waist, still standing behind her, he lowered his body until he was resting on his haunches. He then quickly ran his tongue through her slick opening, passing by her asshole – making Regina shiver – up her entire back, trailing along her spine, shoulders and neck. He drew his head from her flesh, his body pressed fully against hers as he stood upright. Regina looked at him and he captured her lips in his. 

The kiss only lasted for a moment; when the genie’s voice rang in their ears, both heads shot to regard him.  

“I’m sorry your majesty.” He stuttered, clearly trying to look away from the vision. “I should not have asked this of you. I know now; I was wrong.” He paused to look at her, pitiful and pleading, “Please make him stop.” 

“No,” she snarled. “You see, my end of the bargain has been fulfilled-” she grinned “- I have let you watch whilst I pleasure myself. But I’m afraid yours has not.” She made a face of faked innocence and hissed when the thief started sucking the red mark on her neck. “As long as I have my little hand down here-” she motioned down with her head “- I’m still touching myself, and so you are still bound to watch. If you so much as close your eyes, you’ll die.” 

She felt the outlaw let out a laugh that was muffed by the flesh of her neck, and she couldn’t help but let out a chuckle of her own. 

“So sit back and enjoy the show, mirror.” She drew away from the outlaw’s grasp and, with one hand still between her thighs, approached the dresser. She rested her free hand on the piece of furniture and leaned her weight onto it, looking him dead in the eye, “You asked for it.” 

With that, Regina twisted her fingers on her clit releasing a moan, her back arched and her bare arse rose up. She continued to play with herself whilst she watched the outlaw behind her through the free mirror. He was burning holes at her with his eyes, the way he looked at her made her feel like the most powerful woman in the world. 

He started working on his belt still staring at her, his eyes hungry and bottom lip trapped between his teeth. 

“NO!” the mirror screamed and Regina laughed. 

The outlaw smirked freeing himself from his pants and undergarments, shoving them down and taking them off, eyes still fixed on Regina. 

The mirror’s repeated begging for them to stop continued. 

Regina had a smile plastered on her face and watched as the outlaw now approached her, clad only in his white shirt. He grabbed Regina’s hips with might and hissed placing his oh so hard member at her entrance. 

The outlaw drove himself inside her all at once, burying his cock ball deep inside her wet sex. It felt like heaven, it felt like everything in the word was right, regardless of the fact that she was a maniac chasing after her seemingly helpless stepdaughter, and he was a bandit without a heart and yet could still possess an alarming amount of bloodlust. 

They were right, this was right… 

Regina’s hearing had been muffed by the overwhelming sensation of being so thoroughly fucked. But after several thrust, it started coming back and she could hear that irritating voice still begging. 

“Your majesty, no, please-” she was so sick of him, “You’ve punished me enough.” 

The pair ignored his pleas and the outlaw drew his member almost all the way out before burying himself deep inside her again. This time they started slow, slow but deep thrusts until Regina was mewling and almost begging for more. 

But the begging and whining coming from the genie were starting to thoroughly irritate her. She figured, even though she had planned for the mirror to watch the whole thing, she was not enjoying herself so much with his suffering anymore; it had become tiring. So finally drawing away her hand from herself she placed it on the dresser and looked at him again

“I guess the show is over for you mirror.” 

The outlaw stilled, with his cock still inside her he regarded her through his reflection on the mirror. “It’s over for you- ” she lifted her weight from the dresser and brought her working hand to cup the thief’s cheek “-but it’s never over for Locksley.” 

She chuckled as the thief started licking her juices from her fingers. 

“Just remember this next time you ask me for a favor, mirror. Goodbye.” 

With her free hand, Regina set her magic on all three mirrors and shattered them into thousands of pieces so small they turned to dust and disappeared. Regina laughed again. 

For a moment, the pair just stood there, the thief’s length still very much buried inside her, his hands started to run lazy patterns about her sides. The electric current playing about her skin made it so very easy to forget that this was just a ploy to get back at the mirror. But soon enough, she forgot all about the whole business and just allowed herself to feel. 

Regina closed her eyes and let her head tilt behind when the outlaw started moving inside her again. He groaned as he pumped in a rhythm Regina was most eager to meet, his arms circling her frame, holding her against him. 

Suddenly he drew completely from her and Regina voiced a noise of protest as her eyes snapped opened in confusion. His hands still had a firm grip on her waist and turned her around to face him. He had the smuggest grin on his lips, and Regina met it with a raised brow. 

“What?” Regina asked, only now did she realize her voice had gone hoarse again. 

“You are really evil, you know that?” he said, his voice low. There was no judgment in his tone, but rather the implications of the facts Regina knew only too well. 

“I am aware of that.” She responded, “Maybe people should start calling me The Evil Queen for good measure.” They both laughed. 

“Now shut up-” she closed the distance between their bodies by grabbing the white fabric of his shirt and pulling him into a quick but fierce kiss “- and fuck me into oblivion, otherwise you’ll be at the other end of my evil ways.” 

Still wearing his smug grin, the outlaw started leading them both to the dresser until her butt touched the wooden surface. With his grip still on her waist, the thief lifted Regina to sit on the dresser as if she weighed nothing. 

“Oh your majesty, I very much look forward to being at the other end of your evil ways if they look anything like this.” He mocked and did not give her a fair opportunity – as if either of them played fair – to retort before he buried his cock back inside her. 

The outlaw quickly picked up the pace. Long gone were the languid, slow thrusts he was giving her only moments ago. However, Regina could not complain; the friction was driving her near to insanity. 

He hooked his arms under her knees and pulled her even closer to him, almost lifting her from the dresser while still pumping hard and fast inside her, reaching even deeper. Regina was on the verge, holding onto his shoulders and digging her nails hard into the flesh where his shirt had slightly tumbled from, wanting to mark him in more ways than one. 

This was insane; this moment right here was the best she could ever remember feeling. It should not have been possible, and yet, there she was, her body practically singing in pleasure as this savage, uneducated animal pumped into her, growling in her ear and digging his fingertips into her ass to bring her hips more forcefully to meet his. 

She came, long and hard. Regina’s head nearly exploded and she could barely register that he still pumped into her a few times before he found his own peak. 

The outlaw was panting heavily with his head resting against one of her shoulders, his strong arms still holding her legs. 

This had been most fulfilling, the look of utter desperation in the genie’s eyes, how much she hated the way that thing looked at her. It served him right. First, he had made that outrageous wish, putting not only his life in jeopardy but hers too. What if he had worded it another way? Regina would have ended up yet again a slave to the pleasures of a man she did not love, a man she actually despised. 

Only the thought of what might have been brought shivers of terror to Regina. She was nobody’s plaything, and if he thought that she would ever play fair after his request, then he must have been even more of an imbecile than she originally took him for, with a level of insanity to match.  

Then again, it was most probable that he was even more insane than she and the outlaw were put together. 

Right now Regina felt like she had the world on a leash; she had managed to trick the nauseating genie into a deal which would only really benefit her, in addition to punishing him for pestering her every moment since he had entrapped himself by her side with his own naïve stupidity. She also had a new tool to not only track down Snow but to spy on her enemies, Rumple especially; that girl could be the key to stripping him of all his powers. 

And of course, this was to add to the delicious man that was currently occupying the space between her thighs, the one who made her skin burn and her head go light and dizzy. 

Pretty soon, when she was finally able to annihilate Snow White’s very existence, Regina would be able to sit back on her much-earned throne and relax. But for now, there was always work to be done if that fantasy was to be realized sooner rather than later. 

Taking a long breath, Regina straightened her spine and disentangled her legs from the outlaw’s grip. Her movements made him draw his head from her skin as he brought his eyes to meet hers and relaxed his arms, their bodies still connected elsewhere.   

Regina brought one of her feet to rest in the middle of the outlaw’s chest and pushed him away from her. He stepped back, his now softening member slipping out of her, Regina felt the loss instantly and, for a wild moment, she pondered the possibility of having him stay.  

But no, there was far too much work to be done, plus she would not give the outlaw the impression that he was anything special to her. 

Because he was not. 

He was the best sex she had ever had. Nothing more. 

Is that so? Humored one of the many voices inside her head, but she shut it up before it could say anything else. 

“You may leave now thief.” She said coldly, her foot still on his torso, his eyes looked from the foot to her and then back to her foot. 

He did not look happy. 

He moved from his spot so fast Regina almost fell from the dresser, having not had the chance to redistribute her weight off his chest. He moved swiftly about her room, collecting his pants, putting them on and finding his boots. 

Regina got down from her seat on the table to watch him as he walked about her room, he was a fine specimen indeed. Very handsome, and seemingly obedient – at times. 

He had just fastened his boots and was already heading for the door when suddenly he stopped in his tracks. He turned around slowly and met her eyes, Regina was clad in nothing and she could feel his eyes devour her image inch by inch. 

Before she could register what was happening he was standing right in front of her and his lips were crashing down onto hers. 

Regina knew that she should not have responded; she should have pushed him away and set clear boundaries. He was there to please her, not to steal kisses whenever he pleased. Nevertheless, when the tingling – which she had found was particularly strong whenever their lips touched – invaded her senses, Regina’s head always became dizzy, and all her thoughts and plans melted away. 

Regina felt one of his hands between her thighs again and her gasp was swallowed by their kiss. He drew two fingers inside her and twisted them in the way it touched a delicate spot. He drew both fingers and mouth away from her just in time for her to voice her embarrassing moan. 

He was smirking now. 

Bastard. 

“I just thought I could have something to remember this by.” He said raising the wet fingers, a combination of her arousal and his seed dripping from his fingers, and promptly sucking them dry. 

Regina’s eyes were glued his fingers, she felt her teeth clench; she was so mad that she was so extremely turned on by this man. And he knew it; somehow she could see that he knew exactly what was going on in her head. 

“Who would have known that outlaw and Queen made such a tasty mix?” He said turning around and heading for the door. Regina felt her blood boil. He opened the door and if he was not out of that room in less than 10 seconds, Regina would incinerate him. 

He left and the ball of fire hit the door with an explosion. 

Regina took a deep breath. 

Why am I so mad?  

Control dearie; you have no control of that animal, that mocking voice was back. 

If you did not like the joke you can always gag him the next time, reasoned the still naked Queen drinking a glass of wine, plus you cannot deny it that you did enjoy his…performance. 

Better get rid of him dearie, no good has ever come from loss of control, the mocking voice insisted. 

Regina went to sleep that night with the many voices in her head arguing with each other, trying to reason her to act as they saw fit. This whole affair was bound to drive her insane. But the dull ache between her legs and the fiery spots the outlaw had created distracted her from the unwelcome words.     

… 

The next day, a shy knock on her door drew Regina from her slumber. 

She was just about to drift back into deep sleep when the timid knock returned. And persisted.Regina got up from the bed and with a wave of her hand was all dressed and ready to severely punish the person who dared to wake her. 

Regina’s fuse was short as it was, and it was already burning when she called out to the door.“Yes?” 

A freshly broken, clearly adolescent voice replied “Your majesty? I have urgent news.” 

Regina huffed and went to the door and opened it. Standing on the other side was a young man clad in a silver colored vest coat and white pants, a symbol in the middle of his chest that did not belong to her flag. 

“Your majesty-” he bowed, “Forgive me for coming at this early hour but the news is urgent and you yourself did instruct me to come-” 

“Out with it boy!” Regina said in a firm and loud voice. “Tell me what happened.” 

“It’s Prince James your majesty-” the boy stated, “-he’s dead.”

Chapter Text

6 months ago

"But my lord-" Regina tried to reason, "Is it wise to leave Snow all by herself?"

"Nonsense Regina,” the King stated, “Snow is old enough to take care of things herself."

"Allow me to stay with her then-" Regina tried, "-to help her. Please my lord, I worry."

"Ah wife," Leopold said with that sickening smile. He brought his fingers to graze about her chin and Regina had to hold back not to finch at his touch, "-you are too good for my Snow. You spoil her too much, my dear Regina."

Regina gave him one of her manufactured smiles and responded with the words she knew he wanted to hear; "Of course my lord, as if she were my own."

The King was pensive for a moment, Regina internally rejoiced thinking she would get to escape going on this journey to King George's kingdom. Leopold had rarely taken her on any of his trips, the man clearly preferred the company of his infuriating daughter much more than he did his own wife’s. But Regina did not mind in the least; she despised her husband, just as she loathed his daughter. The further away both of them were from her, the better.

But this time Leopold wanted to test Snow, see if she was able to manage the kingdom on her own, if she was ready to rule. The whole notion could not interest Regina in the slightest but when the King had informed her that Regina herself was to accompany him on his trip to the Southern Kingdom, Regina's mood sank to her feet.

She detested the man, managed to find every way possible to avoid being in his company. Precisely one year after Regina had started to learn magic, after being married to the King for the same amount of time, she had managed to teach herself how to wield an illusion spell, which proved to be one of the most useful incantations she had ever learned. It would last for a couple of hours and that was more than enough for her purpose. When Leopold would request her presence in his chambers, she would cast the spell and go about her merry way back into her chambers, letting the magic fulfil her wifely duties.

But now, the prospect of this trip meant that Regina was probably to share sleeping chambers with Leopold, something she had not done in years and was not willing to do at any time in the future. The very idea of having him touch her made Regina want to vomit and cry; she still remembered quite well how he had forced his way into her on their wedding night, despite her drawing back from him and trying to voice her fears.

She hated him more with every time he took her, every time she would close her eyes and wish she were dead, wondering how in the world such an act that had felt so unearthly amazing in Daniel's arms could feel so repulsive now.

"Nonsense Regina,” Leopold said, drawing her out from her thoughts. “Snow will be fine. I know you care for her-" he took her hand "- but we have got to help her fly on her own, otherwise she will never learn"

I will help that girl fly all right, Regina mused; fly out of the window.

…

There was no talking the King out of his resolution.

Regina sat in the luxurious carriage facing her much-hated spouse and forced a tight smile his way whenever he regarded her.

Suddenly it hit her. It was so simple, she wanted to kick herself for not doing it whilst she was still in the castle so she could have avoided this trip altogether.

The smallest of grins found its way to Regina expression as the King looked out of the window. She touched, ever so lightly, with the tips of her fingers, the back of her other hand summoning her magic to work in her favor. An almost untraceable green mist appeared on the back of Regina’s hand for a moment, and then worked its way through her skin. She watched, pleased, as her hand – along with the rest of her body – grew a shade lighter.

Regina did not feel any different, but found that some of her usual theatrics was in order.

When the spell was done, Regina let out a ragged breath and clenched her middle screwing her eyes closed.

That immediately drew the King's attention.

"Is something the matter Regina?" he asked with concern

"Oh, it's nothing my lord." Regina said, making her voice a light murmur, "I just feel a little light headed."

"But Regina, you've grown too pale!" the King exclaimed, his eyes were wide

"Do not worry, husband," Regina faked. "I'm sure it's but a dizzy spell from the carriage."

"Your face is as white as Snow's, wife! You are not well."

Seriously? Is he really going to compare my complexion to his daughter's?

If Regina had not felt sick before, she most certainly was feeling sick now.

Regina felt like that was her cue and looking at the King with her best show of desperate eyes, she said; "My lord, I would urge you to ask them to stop the carriage."

The King, seemly understanding where this was going, ordered the halt of the carriage and before he could utter another word, Regina was out of the vehicle.

Then she ran, weaving her way through the trees for a good minute before she halted, resting her back on a time worn tree trunk. The entourage was barely visible through the very small gaps between the trees and Regina was glad, she knew nobody would come for her; the whole staff at the castle knew by now that the Queen was not keen on helping hands doing her bidding or lacing her corsets.

And she knew from experience that the King would not follow.

As Regina ran she could not help but feel like that young woman desperately riding her horse. An 18 year old who had just pushed her mother into the unknown and was trying to gain control over her life.

She regretted the decision of marrying the King every day, and regretted having believed Rumpelstiltskin. She had been so naïve back then; she believed that since magic had taken Daniel away from her it could also bring him back, and the power she would have with both a mentor like Rumple and her status as Queen would enable her to do just that.

Fool.

She had been such a fool

Now as she ran, wind touched her cheeks like it had when she rode Rocinante, all she wanted to do was to never stop running and disappear. She could, if she wanted to; she could simply poof herself from this place and never come back. She almost did, but then she remembered why she could not.

Her blood lust rose to her cheeks, warming them and probably bringing back all the color she had vanquished from her face with her magic back in the carriage. She wanted that horrid man, the King, to suffer, she wanted to watch him die as she told him she loathed him and that she was going to kill his precious little girl. She would render in gory detail how she would do it as slowly as she could manage, so that his precious little flake of Snow could feel just a little of the pain Regina had endured through being married to her father. Being abused by him, being used by him, being regarded as nothing but a pretty accessory he could show off to other rulers. She longed to laugh in his face, to watch his eyes grow wide with terror when the King realizes he is finally powerless against the Queen. At that moment, she vowed she would.

So there Regina remained, catching her breath, back against the wood, she closing her eyes. She was wearing a dress that was definitely not fit for her surroundings, nor the weather. As they had made their way south, the heavy, ice-white dress became more and more unfitting, she had abandoned her muff and hat inside the carriage, but still, the tight and thick fabric suffocated Regina to no end.

Releasing a final breath and resolving in going back Regina opened her eyes, but her attention was suddenly drawn to a noise she heard not far away.

Reluctantly – and with much caution – Regina followed the sound; it was dry and poignant, as if something was being flung into a wooden surface in one firm shot.

Regina moved through the narrowly spaced trees and carefully hid herself behind one of the thick oaken trunks. When she looked around the tree, curiosity winning over judgment, the sight did not disappoint.

She was met with the sight of a man; clad only with dark brown trousers and boots, the rest of his body was exposed to Regina. He had his back to her, a back that twitched and turned with perfectly toned muscles as he pulled the string of his bow taut. The muscles of his back popped out and sweat adorned the pale skin which bared a slightly red hue due to Sun exposure. Regina could only stare at in awe as she felt a new feeling invade the pit of her stomach.

He released and the arrow hit the tree trunk with a muffed stinging sound which drew a small gasp from Regina who had been distracted mapping this man's attractive torso.

How long had it been since she had had a young and strong man such as this wrapped in her bed sheets?

Far too long, Regina concluded.

Something suddenly took over Regina's reasoning and if the yelp of 'Your majesty?' had not drawn her from the sight of this mysterious man, she would have stepped into his line of vision and done what she did best.

But the voice yanked her attention back to the road and her head snapped in its direction. She scowled at whoever had interrupted her plans, and murderous thoughts invaded her mind when she turned back to find the clearing was now empty. 

She went back to the carriage, careful to repeat the spell on her skin to remove the blush of anger and… other things, as well as reddening her nose a little, walking carefully and slowly.

She was met with a concerned look from the King whilst she closed the carriage door behind her.

"Regina, how are you feeling?"

The Queen shook her head. "Not my best my lord, I must confess"

"Do not worry my dear, we are but a few hours away from George's castle," he assured, placing a hand on Regina's knee. She almost kicked his shin – almost; holding herself back at the last minute. "I will arrange for you to have the most comfortable chambers in the castle so you can rest."

"Thank you my lord." Regina said weakly, measuring her words with precaution, "Although I do not wish for you to catch whatever it is that plagues me, husband."

"Ah Regina, you are but too good hearted," he said with a small smile, squeezing his hand on her knee. Regina felt her stomach twist.

Take your disgusting hands off of me.

"I will let you rest alone wife, if I have any need of you I shall send for you."

Regina let out what felt like her first breath ever since she had discovered she was to come on this wretched trip.

Victory

...

A few hours later, they had arrived at their destination. The castle was a far cry from the one she inhabited; the walls were constructed of a light wash stone, and tower after tower rose above, the symbol of King George's crest painted on each of the flags that stood above each of the tall towers.

Regina was in absolute no mood for any royal curtsies and false compliments that she was sure was expected once they met with this King.

She had met King George at her wedding, but then again she had met half of the whole realm's royalty on the day of her wedding, she could hardly remember any of them, nor did she really care. He was a widower, like Leopold, and Regina had to wonder if she would meet a version of herself on the arm of the King. Another young pretty thing of royal birth, miserable and with absolutely no say in the matter.

But no such thing happened; they were greeted at the doors of their carriage by the royal steward that was trying far too hard to make them feel welcome. He led them to the throne room where King George sat on his heightened seat.

They approached the King but sounds of running footsteps drew their attention back to the doors of the throne room.

Regina heard the King utter – with a not very pleased – tone, "James."

Regina turned around to look at the tardy Prince with annoyance already hovering about her mind, but the sight of the Prince himself had her taking a deep breath through her nose.

He was extremely handsome, the kind of handsome you would expect from a Prince but never truly got. As he walked in their direction, he had a dashing smile on his face, showcasing all his perfectly white teeth, eyes blue but intense, and blond, tousled hair.

The prince could not be a day over thirty years old, but he wore no beard which made him appear even younger. He was tall and strong, taller than his father, and most definitely taller than Leopold.

He was dressed as one would expect a Prince to be dressed, but was out of breath for having had rushed for this royal appointment. Nevertheless, he wore a smirk in his lips as he regarded his father bowing his head.

"Father." He had a baritone voice, just a little dark and strong, Regina could grasp that he had been raised to be King only by the tone of voice he used. "Forgive me, the hunt took more time than I expected."

He strode to where the King stood.

"James, this is King Leopold and Queen Regina from the North," the King said sternly, gesturing to the pair. "I trust you know your manners."

"Yes, of course," he said not having time to really look at the pair before bowing his head to Leopold, he lifted his head and met his eye. "King Leopold," he turned his gaze to Regina and she could see his expression change almost completely upon looking at her, he bowed his head after another moment, "Queen Regina."

He lifted his head and looked Regina deep in the eye for a beat longer than necessary, she could sense awe and curiosity in his blue depths.

Hmm…

Interesting

This could be fun

Regina smiled warmly back at him which earned her a grin from his part, his eyes still not leaving hers.

"This is my son James." King George suddenly interrupted their small exchange as both turned to regard the King. "He was out in the hunting party that was bound to fill our feats' table tonight."

"Oh, and be sure that it will," the Prince said a little smugness in his tone; he looked at Leopold "We even managed to get a wild boar."

"Ah, that is indeed fortunate." Leopold commented in his diplomatic tone; he had never been a great fan of hunting himself. "Although I'm afraid my wife will have to excuse herself from dinner, she's not feeling her best."

"Oh?" Prince James regarded Regina with a puzzled expression, he looked almost disappointed.

"I'm afraid my health has proven to be a little too fragile for long carriage journeys," Regina explained in her usual pleasant tone "I'm not really used to them."

It wasn’t a lie; Regina was much more used to riding horseback, preferred it to the tedious monotony of the royal carriage. Although Regina was sure that if she had indeed gotten sick in the carriage, it was due to the company and not the shaking.

Regina gave the Prince a weak smile which he returned; she could see he fisted one of his hands on his side.

"James," King George said, "Why don't you show Queen Regina to her chambers? She must be weary and in need of rest." He then looked to Leopold; "I need to discuss some issues with King Leopold."

"Of course father-" James said as he turned to his father, it escaped Leopold's eye – but not Regina's – when the Prince grinned for a split second back at his father, who gave the young man a roll of eyes. The Prince approached Regina and offered his arm; "Queen Regina?"

She hooked a hand into the crook of his elbow and they both exited the chamber quietly.

They walked, arms entwined, in silence for a few minutes. He was indeed strong; she could feel his heavy, toned biceps through the fabric of his shirt.

The pace he had chosen was far too slow for a lively young person such as himself.

Their hips would occasionally knock together, or their legs would brush against each other’s, but neither of them seemed to find it necessary to apologize or comment on it. A fact that made Regina wonder how this charming prince looked underneath his regal clothes and started filling her head with all kinds of ideas in an alarming number of positions.

She blamed her disposition on having seen a half-naked mystery man at the woods earlier; it had awakened something in her that was quite wild. The fact that the Prince kept looking at her with far too much interest, and looked good enough to eat also cooperated in Regina’s fantasies.

The Prince broke the silence first.

"So, Queen Regina-" he started, "-how do you like the kingdom?"

"Well, it's quite early for me to have formed a valid opinion yet," Regina said in her gentle tone she knew worked wonders with nobles and gave him a small smile.

"That is true," he chuckled 

“But-” Regina turned to look at him, the sunlight beating on his light hair made him look even more handsome, and God, he knew it “-from what I have seen so far I find it quite charming.”

“I am glad we’ve made a good impression so far, your majesty.” He smirked at her.

…

Regina popped another blueberry inside her mouth, tasting the bittersweet sting of the fruit and sighing contently after swallowing.

She had shed all her heavy and unconformable clothing as soon as the door had shut behind her. Regina was careful to lock the door behind her, grateful for some privacy at last. If she had been forced to share a room with Leopold, she might have set fire to her expensive light velvety grown. The King adored it, therefore Regina abhorred every inch of it.

She had drawn herself a bath with the assistance of her magic, summoning the water and bringing it to a pleasant temperature – not too hot, not too cold. She basked inside the spacious tub for as long as she wanted, the warm water easing the muscles on her back, easing her foul mood into an almost calm disposition.

The trunks containing Regina's many possessions had been brought to the chambers before her arrival, but she was not at the leisure of even bending down to retrieve her clothing. After stepping out of the tub, shivering at the feel of the cold stone against the soles of her feet, Regina simply waved her hand, and the cool slippery feel of silk hugged her still wet figure.

The fabric clung to her erect nipples and became see through due to the mixture of wet flesh and the light colored silk. She did not care.

Regina thought of this as her own little protest against the customs and laws of royalty, which she had always despised, ever since she could remember, and now was bound to obey more than anybody else. She let her dark curls fall from the knot she had created in order to bathe and sighed.

This was to be her new, little prison for the time being.

Though Regina was accustomed to being trapped, and she rather enjoyed the change in the scenery; anything was better than having to accompany the King.

Regina planned to spend her evening inside that very room, a beautiful, spacious chamber, very clearly decorated to please a young lady. The four-poster bed was made out of a creamy colored wood, the fabrics which adorned it in pastel toned blues and greens fell gracefully. Not much to Regina's liking, but the bed did house several comfortable cushions and pillows which pleased her immensely. Regina was also thankful for the balcony, it was not as large as her own but it would do quite nicely. The double doors that led to them were of the same wood as the bed but shared space with light blue glass, making Regina sigh at the idea of light coming inside her room early in the morning.

Regina watched the sunset, leaning against the secure fence of the balcony, letting the last rays of warmth caress her exposed skin.

Her mind wondered as to the reasoning for her being here, and with whom, and even the peaceful landscape could not stop the tears from pooling in her dark brown orbs.

She thought of Daniel, her sweet stable boy, lost to her forever. She still loved him, so very much, and she hung on to that feeling with a death grip. It was the only good and pure thing in her life, the memories of Daniel, the stolen kisses in the barn, the 'riding lessons' in which they would ride as far and as fast as they could muster, crush their bodies against each other and kiss like it was the last day of the world...

"Oh Daniel…" she closed her eyes and let the tears fall down her cheeks.

Taking a deep breath, Regina reopened her eyes and pushed back the happy but hurtful memories.

When the sun was a bare bright string of light against the horizon, Regina reentered her pastel prison with a sigh.

She would try to get some sleep and then keep her eyes closed for as long as she could manage, hoping slumber would bring her pleasant dreams of a time when a blue-eyed, young man held her tight and whispered he loved her.

A knock on the door snapped Regina out of her daydreams, and remembering her place and station, Regina slipped on her pleasant Queen mask and went to the door unlocking it. A middle-aged maid stood at her door, holding a tray containing various types of fruit and a jar along with a chalice.

"Good evening your majesty," she said, pleasantly smiling at Regina after bowing her head, "I have brought you your dinner."

"Oh, thank you." Regina said in a voice she could hardly recognize herself as she made way for the woman to enter the room.

"Don't you worry your majesty-" the maid said as she walked in and placed the tray on a small circular table "-all these are quite soothing for the stomach, nothing to make you ill."

"Well, thank you-" Regina stated "-then I don't suppose you have brought me any wine?" Regina asked with a laugh, appearing in jest, but truly, right now, wine was sounding like the best idea she had had all day.

"God forbid, no your majesty" the servant replied amused, "I have brought you a special mix of berries made into a juice that treats the uneasy stomach." The woman explained as she made her way back to the door, for which Regina was quite thankful, about a minute of curtsies was all Regina was seeming to be able to manage at the moment.

"How wonderful, I do hope to feel much like myself tomorrow," Regina said as the woman walked out of the door and turned to face her.

"You will your majesty, do not worry." the servant assured, "I bid you goodnight" she bowed again.

"Goodnight" Regina said with a small smile and closed the door, leaning against it instantly after with a huff of irritation.

No wine

Damn

She could fix that.

Regina walked towards the table, placing the tray there, and inspected the content inside the metal jar. The smell was quite pleasant, so Regina poured it into her chalice. She brought it to her lips and tasted the medical miracle of berries and found she rather liked it, there was only one thing missing; alcohol

She placed the goblet upon the table and waved her hand about it. The liquid contents bubbled for a second before easing inside the cup as if nothing had happened. Regina tasted it and sighed happily.

This will do just fine .

Regina laughed at the thought that she herself might have been quite an accomplished cook, had she ever been given the chance.

And so Regina popped blueberry after blueberry inside her mouth lazily, she had brought the plate to the bed and laid there, only thought in her head was the wonder if the next berry was to be bitter or sweet.

Regina was almost dozing off at the tedious act, the wine having made her a tad sleepy when a sharp knock to her wooden door woke her from her small haze.

Her head shot up from the pillows in alert; this knock did not belong to any servant. This knock was firm and incisive. It was not the knock that asked but demanded.

Dread filled Regina's heart.

Leopold.

No .

With her eyes glued to the door, Regina started to summon her magic to cast her illusion spell. She rose from the bed reluctantly and headed for the door in the slowest pace known to men. She took a deep breath as her hand met the handle in order to try to calm her nerves.

Her mask, she had to put on the mask.

Concentrating hard, Regina was able to hide her true colors and plaster a tired but sweet look upon her face. Since she knew her dear husband was not going anywhere, especially when he was in need of what he came to claim from her at night, she opened the door, spell ready to be cast.

The spell, however, laid forgotten, vanishing from the tips of Regina's fingers as soon as she saw to whom exactly the firm knock belonged.

Prince James.

Prince oh-so-handsome, please-ravage-me-now James was at her door, smiling in his best attempt to look earnest. Regina was very good at reading people and knew that if that man had come to see her at night there was only one goal in his mind.

Regina even entertained thoughts for letting him have what he was seeking, but of course, he would have to work for it.

He stood there and to Regina's utter surprise, holding a couple of folded blankets on one of his arms.

"Prince James!" Regina let escape in a startled higher tone that she had not intended on using.

"Queen Regina-" he started, that baritone voice pleasing her ear, "-please forgive my intrusion"

"Oh no,-" Regina started in her sweet pleasant Queen façade "- it's no trouble my lord, please" she stepped aside and gestured for the prince to enter her chambers, which was not the most lady like of attitudes, especially when she was clad in such thin fabric, which had, thankfully, long been dry.

"You were dearly missed at dinner tonight," he said as he strolled inside, Regina closed the door behind him, turning around to meet his eye in a pleasant toothless smile.

What am I doing?

Why did I close the door?

Am I really going to do this?

Excitement bubbled in the pit of Regina's stomach. At last, a fun distraction after such dull months had dragged on.

"Oh, I am sorry about missing dinner." Regina started clutching her robe to her, crossing her arms about her torso, "But I'm afraid I would have been such dull company. I have not yet mustered all my strength back."

"I am sure you could never be anything even resembling dull, your majesty" he said, a small grin on his lips.

He inspected her body from head to toe, the light silk covered most of it, all of her legs, the extension of her arms, but it was tight and hugged her figure, showcasing her curves.

"Well thank you your majesty, you are much too kind-" Regina said, bringing a little crimson to her cheeks.

"I only speak the truth, Queen Regina" Gods she hated when people called her 'Queen' Regina; it was as if she were not herself, not a real person, but a mere title, an institution.

He smiled at her and she reciprocated with the same intensity but brought her eyes quickly to the floor to give the illusion of bashful sincerity.

What was happening?

Regina’s eyes darted to every location in the room but the spot where the Prince stood in silence. She could feel his intense gaze on her.

He cleared his throat before confessing; "I have brought you some extra blankets-"

Oh, no he did not...

"-in case you get chilly during the night."

That had to be the most ridiculous excuse she had ever heard.

"This room in particular could get quite cold during the night."

Oh, and let me guess ; you want to assist me in keeping warm?

"Thank you Prince James-" Regina said meekly, pretending to buy his lame excuse to come and see her alone, "-but there was no need, you really needn't have worried-"

"I can assure you it was no trouble at all." his gaze lingered a beat more on her breasts before they returned to her face and Regina had to wonder if he could see her hard nipples through the dry fabric.

"Could I interest you in a glass of wine?" she tried.

This could prove to be a much more enjoyable night than she had previously anticipated.

"Yes!" he practically beamed opening up a smile, and what a killer smile. If Regina had been younger and more naïve, her knees would have definitely have felt weak at this particular show of teeth.

But Regina was no naïve maiden, no gullible young woman, and she knew what that smile was seeking. But the prince did not need to know that, Regina rather liked the idea that he would think she was just a kindhearted, young ruler with a fragile health. So, smiling her kindest smile, Regina gestured to the table where her magically prepared wine rested.

They both approached the table and the Prince set the blankets on the back of the chair before sitting down, his eyes never leaving Regina.

Upon seeing this, Regina smirked inwardly at the possibilities. Her robe might have been long sleeved and ankle length, but she could most certainly work some magic in her favor.

Her empty goblet rested upon the table and she realized they only had one cup. Biting the inside of her cheek Regina bent down to retrieve the jar, Regina lingered and performed the process of filling the cup leisurely, being certain that in her bending down, the V created by the wrap of her robe about her breasts dipped and gave the prince an ample view of her chest.

Needless to say it worked out wonderfully; as soon as Regina was bending down the Prince's smirk dropped along with his gaze that ravaged her newly exposed skin. Regina observed out of the corner of her eye how his light blue eyes grew darker and how he fisted one of his hands hard.

Good, good .

After pouring, Regina took the goblet and looked at him with a kind, bemused expression as she offered it to him.

"Prince James?"

He was snapped out of his haze and offered her a smirk in exchange for the goblet.

"Aren't you drinking?" he asked

"Yes, yes I am" Regina replied with a kind smile, "I just left my goblet by the bed"

She walked towards the bed and bent down just beside it in a spot where the prince could easily see her behind rise with the movement, but he could not see that her hands were working magic in order to manufacture another cup. She looked back at him, still bent over and he had his lower lip trapped between his teeth. He released it as soon as eyes her met his.

Regina stalked back, pretending to be blissfully unaware of the sexual tension in this whole situation and poured herself some wine. Regina took a seat across from him and they toasted to her good health.

"Were you in bed when I knocked?" The prince inquired after he had moved the cup away from his lips.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I was." Regina replied with a small smile.

His half-assed apology was not sincere in the slightest; "I'm terribly sorry to have disturbed you then,"

"Do not be sorry, I'm wide awake now." Her eyes grew just a little and ever so lightly Regina rubbed her bare foot on the Prince's leg once. He grinned.

“I wonder-” he started placing his goblet on the table “-why is it that you have never visited us before?”

“Oh-” Regina looked down at the table taking a small sip from her wine and said in a defeated tone; “- the King has always preferred the company of his daughter on such journeys.”

“I cannot fathom why, you are such lovely company,” the Prince flirted, but Regina could see that he had a puzzled look on his face, as if he could not quite believe what Regina was saying.

“Thank you, your highness” Regina said with a small smile and placed her goblet on the table, folding her hands about her lap. “But the King only seeks to show Snow everything he can about ruling the kingdom. After all, she'll be in charge one day.”

“I take it she's not yours then?” Prince James inquired; this conversation was taking an unexpected turn.

“No, she's not.” Regina stated and for a moment let her mask slip whilst she stated. “We are only 8 years apart in age, your highness.”

This new information took the Prince by surprise; it always would when she revealed it. Not many people remembered just how young Regina had been when she had been forced into a marriage with a man old enough to be her grandfather.

There was a pause in which they regarded each other, and Regina let slip some of that real pain she felt for being in this miserable marriage. The prince regarded her with a frown adorning his forehead and brought his chalice back to his lips.

“My father wanted me to court her,” he confessed, Regina's eyebrows rose in surprise at the new information. “But after spotting her at a ball about a year ago I decided against it.”

“Oh?” Regina said truly surprised for a change, “Why?”

“She was-” the Prince started, he gestured with his hand trying to find words to describe Snow, Regina could have fueled him with a few of her own, but they would have hardly been considered polite, “-too vanilla for my taste.”

Regina had to let a chuckle slip, the prince spoke truly; the girl was indeed insufferably vanilla. She let herself get slightly more loose and inquired.

“And I pray you tell me Prince James, just for my curiosity sake, what kind of woman would please you then?” Her leg brushed against his again under the table, goblets long forgotten.

He widened his eyes at her question.

“Well-” he started “- I guess someone a little bolder, a little spicier and a little older than her. Definitely somebody more interesting and -” he eyes were on hers now, a grin played on his lips “- much, much more beautiful.”

Regina raised one eyebrow. “Oh?” she said slightly amused, their eyes still locked, “Aren't you picky, Prince Charming?”

A strong wind stormed inside the room through the open balcony doors, Regina shot from her seat to shut them, hearing his hearty laugh at her statement.

“Prince Charming? That's new,” she heard him reply as she closed the balcony doors. She turned around to face him with a small smile playing on her lips. “I merely know what I want; I see no reason to hide it.”

 “And have you found anybody who suits your criteria?” she asked walking back to the table. She did not, however, sit, but chose to stand behind her chair leaning her weight on the back of the piece of furniture, a move she knew showcased her breasts nicely.

“I might have, yes,” he said, taking his time drinking in the curve of what could be seen of her breasts against the chair, he returned his gaze to her face as he spoke. “But I'm afraid she's already been taken.”

Regina smiled back at him pushing her weight from the chair taking a few steps back so her whole figure was in his line of sight.

“Define 'taken'.” Regina purred and if the Prince intended to reply to her question, he was muted by her actions. 

Regina loosened the strap of silk that secured the robe to her body and let the light garment slide from her shoulders. It slipped over her bare skin and Regina could not help but shiver. She looked the now-dumbstruck Prince square in the eye; he looked at her in awe, his mouth having dropped. His eyes ravaged her body, seeming to catalogue every inch of skin.

"Oh my, I seem to have dropped my robe-" she said in her still friendly tone, his eyes were on hers as soon as she started speaking, complete bewilderment decorated his dark blue pools, "-would you be a dear and pick it up for me?"

The Prince did not move for a beat, his eyes raked her body and Regina felt like a truly powerful Queen. She could see that she had managed to shock the Prince to no end which amused her immensely and gave her a boost of confidence; her make believe ‘kind Queen’ façade was rather believable after all.

When he did move, he took quick steps in her direction, certain and strong. They were a mere foot apart when the Prince surprised Regina by dropping to his knees, letting a huff escape his parted lips.

Regina did not have much time to register his actions; in no time he was placing open-mouthed kisses her to her stomach and on the top of her thighs nearing her nether parts, hands coming to grab on the back for the thighs holding her close. Regina hummed at the contact and observed as he licked her skin slowly, groaning in between, probably still not quite believing this was really happening.

Regina encouraged him by opening her legs slightly. With a hungry groan he ran his tongue all the way from her right hipbone to her aching clit, which drew a small ragged moan from Regina. He gave it one stingy and nice nip before he removed his mouth from it to trace the other hip bone, one of his hands coming to grab her arse while the other got a hold of the robe she had discarded on the floor.

His mouth made its way up her body along her side, stealing shivers from Regina as the Prince hummed satisfied. His mouth then found its way to one of Regina's nipples which he took fiercely in his mouth, making Regina shoot her hands to grab onto his head and pull him closer, his one free hand sliding sensually along her back. His kisses then traced their way up her neck until he was biting her earlobe.

His voice was dark, much more than usual, when he whispered in her ear; "Your robe."

He drew back from her a little bit so they could make eye contact and lifted the hand that had retrieved her robe from the floor.

Regina regarded the cloth, looking back at him and replying; "I have no need of it anymore."

She brought one of her hands to slither under his shirt, feeling his strong torso against her soft palms "-it's grown rather hot in this room, don't you agree?"

She let her hand drop from beneath his shirt but not before brushing it against his erection. The Prince hissed at the contact.

"I would have to agree with you, your majesty. Plus-” he said, eyes on her lips “-you look much better without it.”

He discarded the robe, tossing it away.

"I think it's high time for us to drop the titles, don't you?" Regina started, she took one step forward, almost closing the whole distance between their bodies; "Call me Regina."

With that, Regina’s hands found their way to his belt and quickly unfastened it. Prince James grinned and used his own pair of hands to push his trousers down along with his undergarments. He kicked them off quickly, never breaking eye contact with Regina.

“I’m James-” he said snaking his arms about her middle, bringing her body flush against his, the heat of his hard erection hot against her thigh, “-it’s nice to meet you Regina.”

And with that he claimed her mouth with a hungry open-mouthed kiss.

Regina was only too eager to respond; snaking her own arms around his neck.

She drew back from the kiss and uttered; “Ah James-” she drew a finger about his lips “-the pleasure is all mine.”

He gave her a malicious smirk and attacked her neck with his mouth, tracing her heated skin with his tongue, kissing and sucking until Regina was moaning.

Regina felt jittery nerves in her belly when his mouth found her nipple once again, but this time lingering, sucking with fervor.

In the back of Regina’s head, however, something warned her there was something wrong. She quickly racked through her thoughts to find out what was amiss and then she remembered.

The door

She had not locked it.

Regina broke the delicious contact and said out of breath, drawing away from him; “The door-”

He claimed her mouth once more, capturing her lower lip with his teeth and Regina moaned.

“James-” his fingers, his hands were everywhere, it was getting harder and harder to concentrate, she broke free with one last string of self-control left. “I have forgotten to lock the door” she said whilst she quickly went to the door and locked it.

He was quickly behind her, pressing his hardened length against her and pushing her body to the door.

“Why worry so, Regina?” he asked between the kisses he was placing along her shoulders.

“Somebody might come in,” she responded. “I don’t think my lord husband would be too eager to do commerce with your father if he catches you-” she sighed when he bit a spot on her shoulder “-negotiating with me”

“Nonsense” James said firmly as he turned Regina around. She quickly went to work on the buttons of his shirt, removing the useless garb from his shoulders. “My castle, my rules.” He grinned at her. “And my rules say I’ll make you will scream my name until you-” Regina shut him up with a kiss.

This charming Prince was nice, more than nice, handsome and with an apparent delightful disregard for court rules, but he was also turning rather cocky about all this. Regina would just have to show him that the Queen was the most powerful piece in the chessboard and that the Prince was not even included.

Her mouth started making its way down his front, she never broke eye contact with him; daring him to look at what was she was doing. Her lips kissed past his impressive torso, licked his abs, they were firm and strong against her curious tongue. Finally when she reached her destination, Regina merely gave the very tip a lick, causing the Prince to hiss between clenched teeth.  

She took one look at his hard length and smirked.

Big boy.

She drew her tongue from the base of his impressive cock until the very end in a long, smooth stroke. When Regina got to the tip again she could not resist the urge and took everything she could manage into her mouth, sucking with fervor, the Prince moaned quite loudly.

Regina drew back and stood up looking at the Prince with lustful eyes, a small grin on the edge of her lips.

“Now-” Regina started, her hands snaking their way up his torso to tangle behind his neck “-show me what a dragon slaying Prince is capable of doing to a Queen.”

His hands found their way to the back of her thighs but not before getting a good squeeze from her arse. His mouth returned to hers in a fiery kiss, teeth clattered and bites stung more than they should have but Regina was not complaining.

Regina was in that state of temporary happiness Jefferson had taught her how to reach long ago. A state where she felt pleasured and beautiful, cherished and wanted. Where she could take as much as she wanted and was willing to give all her body could offer. These were moments when she would rid her head of everything that plagued her, all the things that haunted her. This was a time for Regina to let her most hidden desires rush out of her. The Prince should count himself lucky they were going to rush out all over him.

When James tugged at her legs, she quickly wrapped both of them around his middle, as he lifted her with ease. James did not waste much time and started making his way towards the bed, their mouths still locked with each other in frenzy of kisses and laughter.

Regina had expected him to lay her on the bed, but instead he sat on the edge with Regina’s legs still quite tangled about him. Regina broke the kiss and reached out for his erection that rested between their heated bodies.

She stroked his length unhurriedly, looking him deep in the eye and basking in his loud reactions to her touch. His grinning was almost constant, except when she would stroke him a little harder; then he would groan and bite her shoulder. His hands groped her naked arse as she continued the movement, occasionally grinding herself against him.

Regina was burning to feel that sweet friction herself, so she guided his tip to her welcoming and very wet opening. She lowered herself onto him slowly, he was quite big and even though Regina was as wet as she could get, his size made her walls sting in that good but painful sensation of being utterly and completely filled. When she managed to lower herself completely Regina had her eyes closed and a ragged moan escaped her lips.

She opened her eyes to look at the Prince who had a smug smirk on his lips, but the flush on his cheeks betrayed he was also very much affected by the whole exchange.

"I rather like this definition of taken," he said, his voice even lower than before.

Regina moved a little bit, adjusting herself to his size, and he released a small groan at her movements.

"I gather this is the best one there is," she spoke moving her hips a little bit more. This time her movements more certain even though she found herself being a little breathless, she had never taken someone this big before. The size of the Prince made her sting below, but Regina found, not to her utter surprise, that she actually enjoyed it.

Regina started rocking slowly and small whines of pleasure escaped her lips as the stinging became less intense and pleasure filled her core. Regina held onto the Prince's shoulders while his own arms held her middle steadying her as she moved building up a rhythm. The Prince was meeting her every move and had his eyes roaming her body, lingering down below where they were one as they moved according to her rocking.

The Prince brought the attention of his mouth to one of her breasts. His tongue flicked her nipple making Regina tighten her walls even more around his length. She started to arch her back at the sensation, her moments never ceasing as the intensity of his mouth on her increased.

Regina started lean back, her hands on his knees, the Prince’s strong arms held her middle firmly as her body made a parallel line with the floor, his mouth tracing downwards in open-mouthed kisses. He tugged her back and she shot back up just in time for him to capture her lips in his once more.

His hands went down to grope Regina’s ass as she picked up the pace. There was a memory of that sting she had felt earlier but Regina was far too engrossed in the feeling of their hot bodies against each other to truly care about it.

She was close, so close she could feel it, her nails dug into his shoulder blades as Regina let out a loud scream of ecstasy as she reached her peak. The Prince easily lifted her up rising from his seat at the bed, Regina’s wobbly legs touched the ground for a minute before the Prince moved behind her. Regina’s legs gave out and she found herself lying on her belly, her hips at the edge of the bed and her legs desperately trying to support her weight.

The Prince was quick to assist her; he took her hips in his hands and lifted her behind so it would meet his hungry sex. He entered her again and Regina’s toes strained to reach the floor, she decided to wrap them around his torso, his hands moving to her thighs to keep them at his hips whilst he fucked her from behind.

His pace grew quicker and Regina drew her bottom lip between her teeth at the pleasurable sensation. It gave away to a smile at the thought of this wicked position that made him hit a pleasurable spot again and again.

The Prince was groaning and muttering ‘Fuck Regina’ and ‘You’re fucking gorgeous’ and Regina could not help but moan, louder and louder. There were three extra hard thrusts before the Prince came, pulling out and emptying his contents on her back. Regina felt the warm seed pour on her skin and sighed contentedly.

Why was I objecting to this trip, again?   

He still had his firm grip on her hips, Regina could hear his ragged breathing as well as she see from the corner of her eye that his eyes were still shut. She twitched her hips and the Prince caught the message and released her. Regina crawled up the bed in all fours, her limbs felt like jelly and her sex felt sore but satisfied. She could hear him groan at the sight of her as she made her lazy way towards the head of the bed.

She dropped her weight on her back on one side of the bed, soiled sheets being the last thing on her mind and looked at him. He had hungry eyes for her and quickly climbed into bed, lying down next to her. They remained a few minutes in silence, both of them evening out their heart beats, until the Prince spoke.

"And the King?" he asked

"What about the King?"

"Don't you two-?"

"God no!" Regina scoffed. "I am much grateful that his old age has taken over some of his physical abilities." They shared a hearty laugh, "Plus, I much prefer young, strong specimens such as yourself."

"Is that so?" he prompted, propping his head on his hand and looking at her long and hard.

He brought his free hand to study her body. His touch soft as it followed his gaze, it sent shivers through Regina's body and she was glad - oh so glad - that she had come on this trip after all.

His curious hand found her core and Regina opened her legs a little bit so he could explore her sex further.

He had a strong hand but his skin was rather smooth, which felt rather pleasant against her equally unspoiled flesh. Regina sighed as his fingers found their way inside her opening; it was still slick from her arousal. He twisted two fingers, hooking them, hitting an especially pleasurable spot and Regina arched her back at the delicious sensation that washed through her body. He withdrew his fingers only too quickly and before Regina could register what was happening he was in between her legs. 

This is going to be a long night…

…

A long night indeed it had been, and for the remaining days of the trip to the Southern kingdom, Regina's indisposed health seemed to never leave her. It had kept her from attending to most of the royal appointments, she had to restrain herself to be locked inside her room for the majority of the time she spent in King George’s kingdom.

Regina was lucky the Prince seemed to take a great interest in taking her extra blankets with skillfully hidden bottles of wine beneath them. They would spend the nights awake drinking and laughing, making fun of the customs and laws of etiquette they were both so annoyed by and yet had to follow to the letter.

Regina would occasionally let her mask slip; show her true colors as they discussed being forced into doing almost everything. She felt light, having somebody who understood a little of what she had been through; the Prince had told her he was not too eager in his prospects of wife his father had selected for him. He had stated they had all been either too stuck up or too sweet, none of them had an edge.

Most of their time, however, was spent not talking, but panting and moaning against the other's skin. The Prince was an exquisite lover; he had a big tool to play with and he sure knew how to use it. He had brought Regina many a screaming orgasm while her body was pressed to the various surfaces, from the comfort of his bed to the biting cold of the stone floor of her washroom. Even though his big length would leave her sore and sensitive she always yearned for more.

So Regina was rather sorry when the week came to an end and her and Leopold had to return to their kingdom, and thus a cold, empty bed every night.

Regina was well advanced in her magic training by now, and could - if she wanted - poof herself to James’ rooms anytime she wanted. However, that involved actually telling the Prince of her magical powers which was something Regina was not willing to share with anybody, let alone a Prince.

Sure he had been pleasant and they had had a good laugh at the account of her husband and the meek ladies who went to his court, but she did not trust him with this information. She had trusted very few with it and she preferred to keep it that way. Especially since she knew that King George was going through difficult times and the last thing Regina needed was for him to start asking for favors that did not involve her mouth on his cock.

He had been the one to show, two weeks after their parting, claiming he was on his way north hunting and had injured his horse.

The blind, pathetic King had offered him shelter whilst his horse - which the Prince said he could not possibly hunt without - regained his full strength.

That night Leopold had requested her presence in his chambers and Regina groaned inwardly at her luck. She performed her spell letting her magical clone waltz it's way to the King's chambers whilst she made her own to the Prince's.

The Prince ended up staying for five long days in the castle. When his horse was more than healed - the stable hands had claimed the horse was fit to ride again on the second day but the Prince would not hear of it - he departed.

Six months passed and the Prince continued to make unexpected appearances, sometimes he would announce himself and take up a room at the castle and other times he would simply skip all of the royal pleasantries and sneak inside her rooms in the middle of the night. Regina found it amusing and delicious to wake up to the sound of him undressing at the foot of her bed, leaving his boots and weapons behind to tangle himself in her sheets. On those occasions, they never talked much at the beginning, he would slip underneath the covers and eat her sex with hunger or kiss her senseless pressing the biggest cock she had ever had against her belly.

Those were the best nights.  

It had never been anything serious. Regina was unfortunately never in a position of liberty to simply go to him so his visits were most welcome but after the aching in her sex finally ceased she could not say she truly missed him. He was a rather good source of that temporary happiness she had gotten so skilled at getting.

...

Present day

"What?" Regina hissed narrowing her eyes.

"Prince James was killed your majesty," the young man told her, "he had just won a battle against the giant of Numb and was celebrating, when the beast, in its final breath, drew his spear through the Prince's middle," he detailed, "I was there."

Regina's eyes had gone wide with the man's tale.

This cannot not be.

Chapter Text

Present day

"What?" Regina hissed narrowing her eyes.

"Prince James was killed your majesty," the young man told her, "he had just won a battle against the giant of Numb and was celebrating, when the beast, in its final breath, drew his spear through the Prince's middle," he detailed, "I was there."

Regina's eyes had gone wide with the man's tale.

This cannot not be.

"I have been kept from coming sooner by my duties," he stated, "But as soon as I was able to get away I rode here to inform you, your majesty."

"And why haven't I been formally informed of this?" Regina's head was abuzz, James could not be dead, she would have known, his kingdom would have been in mourning; she would have been invited to a service of some kind, as it was customary.

"The King has locked himself inside his castle in his grief; he won't have anybody in, your majesty."

"Well, we will just see about that." Regina spat. "Leave."

She waved her hand, some gold coins appeared out of the think air and hit the man who crouched to pick them up, Regina sneered and banged the door in his face.

One more thing to add to her never-ending list of problems.

There was something sneaky about this business, about the King closing his doors on the event of the loss of his son; a King that Regina knew was bent on following at tradition. Something was off.

When she reopened the door to her chamber, her southern scout had long gone. She commanded the soldier who guarded the corridor to find Locksley and tell him to come to her at once.

She would go to the southern kingdom and see what was behind all this. After all, she was in charge right now and as a ruler she could come and go as she pleased. Everything had changed so much; not ten days ago, she was a prisoner in her own room, confined because of a mere statement she had made in a private diary.

She wanted to clear this odd story. The reason? Maybe because she was quite high on power and thought she had the right to do so, therefore she would. Maybe it was because during these past six months she had started nurturing feelings for the cocky prince. Started to think of him a friend. She had shown him probably the lightest part about her, the little that was left of it, her irony and her humor, her acid tongue which produced remarks that would steal roars of laughter from the Prince, his humor always keeping up.

She had not thought about the whole affair as anything romantic; true, they were lovers, but it had always been much more about the physical pleasure. The release each one was giving the other, anything other than sentimental. Regina could not bring herself to feel romantic inclinations towards any man, let alone 'Prince Charming'. The mere thought of it made her laugh.

Plus he did not know her, not really; he knew a part of her, the less terrifying one. Regina doubted anybody could ever accept all of her and come to love her as she was; hot headed, murderous, mercurial, impulsive and half-insane with several voices haunting her head.

The Prince would have ran to the hills if he had ever caught a glimpse of the true Regina.

There was a firm knock on the door and Regina knew only too well to whom that knock belonged, having had that hand work wonders on her body. She crossed the bedroom and swung open the door to find the thief on the other side, a smirk on his lips.

So infuriating.

"Good morning, your majesty" he said, hands in his pockets, Regina huffed, turned on her heel and walked inside the room without so much as a word to him. He followed her inside, closing the door behind him.

"I do not see why it is a good morning," Regina groaned, not really looking at him as she went to retrieve a pair of earrings from her dresser.

"Well-" he replied, Regina could see through the mirror that he was leaning against one of the posts of her bed, arms crossed, smug smile still gracing those lips, "-if you have called me up here at this hour, I can safely say it will be a good morning for you once I've finished my job."

Regina had to laugh, such a cocky man he was. Although being fucked by the outlaw had become one of Regina's favorite activities, he was also to have other uses for her.

"I wouldn't get too excited if I were you," Regina quipped, whilst she secured the large emerald earing, she looked back at him and noticed the outline of his erection was visible through the fabric of his trousers. "Although such a request in the face of the savage kind of person I'm dealing with is clearly useless."

He frowned at her statement, uncrossing his arms. "What do you want me to do then?"

"I'm going to the southern kingdom of King George's, I want you to oversee the arrangements for the journey, select a few man fit for the ride-"

But Regina's orders were interrupted by the voice she had grown to loathe more and more with each passing day.

"Your majesty!" His face appeared again on the central mirror of her dresser.

"What is it?" Regina hissed turning to face the mirror, she could see the outlaw draw his back from the bedpost, frowning.

"I think you should see this-" the mirror said and his image faded away to show the view from one of the mirrors in the dark one's castle, more specifically one that faced his spinning wheel.

Rumple was there spinning his useless straw into gold, more gold than he could ever spend, more gold than he ever needed, Regina wondered – not for  the first time – why he did it.

The girl, Belle, walked into the room and Rumple looked up startled to see her.

"Back so soon?" He said, trying to not sound surprised.

“Admit it; you’re happy that I’m back.” She beamed. She looked gleeful, hopeful.

Just perfect

The girl sat on a stool near the spinning wheel as Rumple replied; “I’m not unhappy.” in a tone Regina had never heard; light and playful, devout of any malice.

The girl looked down at her hands, then looked at Rumple, gathering her courage as she told him, "I did not intend to come back," she said, her voice was low and timid.

"Then why have you?" Rumple scrunched his features.

The girl looked right inside Rumple's twisted eyes and slowly her face approached his. He seemed to be too shocked to move. When her mouth was mere inches from his he leaned closer and the gap between them was closed.

They kissed. It was a tender, tentative, close-mouthed kiss. Much to Regina's delight, his complexion started to change color, get even rosier. The girl drew back and smiled at him, a beautiful, truthful love filled smile, Rumple looked confused and dizzy, his skin changing color, Regina was about to burst.

"It's working!" the girl beamed, she held his face with her hands.

"What?" Rumple moaned, his hand making its way to his temple, "What's going on?"

"Every curse can be broken," she quoted, happily. “Kiss me again.”

She leaned to give him another kiss, the human tone of flesh having almost completely returned to his features.

"What?" Rumple was regaining his green color and conscious.

"Who told you that?" His voice had grown angry.

"She said that if it was true love's kiss you'd be free from your curse!" the girl smiled at him, love, so much love filling her eyes.

"She?" Rumple was even angrier now "Who is ‘she’?"

He rose from his stool and looked straight at the mirror the genie was using to reflect the images, he stalked to it and pointed his finger towards the reflective surface.

“You!” he roared “This was you! You turned her against me!”

“What’s going on?” the girl had risen from her seat and walked in his direction.

Rumple still had his glare fixed on Regina, she felt her cheeks burn, and her heart beat fast and hard in her chest. “You think you can make me weak?”

“Who are you talking to?” the girl insisted. 

 "The Queen-" he lifted his finger in that unnerving movement he always did "- your little friend, the Queen!"

"Yes!" Belle looked confused but still had a small smile playing on her lips, "She said, true love's kiss can break any curse and it worked." She started to walk towards him

Rumple quickly drew away from her as fast as he could.

"You have been working for her all along haven’t you?" he roared back at her. “You never cared for me.”

"No!" she insisted "It worked, it means it’s true love, it means I lov-"

"It means nothing!" he screamed at her. "It means you were working for the Queen in order to defeat me! Of course."

"No, of course not! I just want to help you-" the girl begged, Regina could almost feel bad for her "-because I love-"

"DON'T SAY THAT!" he roared, his colorful power sparkling from his fingers as his fist hit the wooden table hard making a thunderous noise. "It's a lie," he said through clenched teeth.

The girl was brave and insisted closing the distance between them. “Why won’t you believe me?”

He grabbed her by the biceps and shook her as he roared; “BECAUSE NO ONE COULD EVER LOVE ME!”

He pushed her back and the girl nearly fell, tripping over her own feet.

Tears started streaming from the girl's eyes "That’s not true, you know it's not, otherwise the kiss would not have worked."

She cleared the tears from her cheeks; she dared to approach Rumple and stand in his personal space, facing him.

"Get out," he said through clenched teeth.

"You know I speak the truth," she replied her eyes narrowing.

"I never want to see your face again." Rumple looked at her with cold eyes, his voice gone low.

The girl was hurt by his words but stood her ground and said in a confident voice that surprised Regina. "You are just too scared to lose your powers."

She neared her face to his, their noses nearly touching.

"Coward."

She turned on her heels and ran out of the doors.

Rumple remained static, frozen on the spot as he watched the girl run away.

Regina had been holding her breath as she watched the scene play out, now everything was still and it looked like Rumple was not moving from that spot anytime soon. Only she was wrong; suddenly, he turned around and grabbed a golden candlestick, throwing it out the window, making an awful noise and a mess at the carpet. He faced the mirror once more - he knew Regina was watching - and slammed his foot on the reflective surface, breaking the glass and making the image of his distressed self disappear from Regina’s mirror.

As the image died  out, the hovering head reappeared on her mirror.

"Be gone!" Regina said instantly as she saw he was about to say something and his image disappeared.

Well… that did not go according to plan.

However, that kiss confirmed something to Regina, something she had been secretly hoping was not true; the girl loved him, all of him, just as he was. A jealousy she did not want to feel invaded her chest.

"That was the Dark One, wasn’t it?" the outlaw - who had come to stand a few feet away from her to watch the scene – inquired.

"Yes," Regina replied in a breath.

"Well, the girl does have some balls to kiss him like that," the outlaw pointed out, trying to ease the heavy atmosphere.

"That she does" Regina said still looking at her reflection in the mirror, "I will probably have to do something about that," she said quietly to herself.

There was a silence that was broken by the outlaw cleaning his throat.

"So, do you want me to-?"

"No." Regina cut him off. "I have changed my mind."

She turned to face him, "I will journey my own way."

Without so much as another word Regina poofed herself from her chambers and found herself in the warm, familiar chambers of Prince James, a journey that would have taken her at least a whole day, over in a second.

She took in her surroundings; the room looked exactly the same except the lack of one charming Prince. It was dimly lit but for a few rays of sun that managed to pass through the windows.

Regina walked around grabbing her long skirts.

She had opted for a seemly less regal outfit in her rushed spell to get dressed. The pitch-black sleeveless corset had served as a top, held her middle tight and covered her breasts nicely, giving them a good lift. It was embroidered with many kinds of precious stones starting with brilliant black at the brim, changing to greys in the middle and finishing at the top with stones which were lighter, transparent white. Her skirts, for once, were not tight but rather quite flowing and did not restrain her movements as the majority of her clothes did. Her hair was down and tossed to the side; Regina had not had the time to think about it.

Regina inspected the unmade bed and could not help but smile, James' crumpled nightshirt mixed between the sheets. Regina reached out for it. It was still warm!

That bed had been slept in during the night.

He was alive.

Of course he was. The idea of him being dead was ridiculous, that boy must have been sent to her as a prank of some kind. Maybe James himself, it had been a month after all, maybe that was his way of telling her he was dying to see her.

Regina tossed the shirt back on his bed and started heading for the door, resolute in finding him and giving him a piece of her mind for playing pranks on her.

She stopped midway on her path towards the door, eyes wide.

And then what?

What would happen after they barked teasing words at each other?

Regina knew the answer, but a strange, cold sensation filled her stomach at the thought of it. It was not anticipation, it was not good, it was…

The door leading to the hallway swung open snapping Regina out of her musings, Regina’s head shot in its direction and her eyes found the man she had been looking for, his expression startled.

Regina smirked at his choice of garments – a towel, wrapped low about his hips.

He opened his mouth and closed it twice whilst Regina started at him, an eyebrow lifted, her head slightly tilted to the side.

Tired of his silence, Regina broke it. “So you think it’s funny?”

“I - ” was all the Prince was able to utter, his hair still wet, he looked good. But-

“Was it you or that unnerving father of yours who sent that boy to my castle?” Regina snapped, she was very rarely a patient woman and today was not one of those days.

The Prince blinked twice, still speechless, one hand firmly holding onto his towel, the other dangling about his side. His mouth was hanging slightly open and his eyes started to travel about her figure, marveling at the tight curves her corset enhanced.

Regina was not in the mood for games so with a wave for her hand she used her magic to bang the door shut. The Prince gave a small startled jump and looked back at the closed door.

“Oh-” Regina said in a light voice “-I think I forgot to mention about my magic.” She laughed when his face turned back to hers, his eyes wide.

“Oops” she teased.

He continued to stare, getting on Regina’s last nerve.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” she shook her head “Never mind that. Tell me why you sent that scout with that ridiculous message to my castle.”

She took several paces in his direction. “Did you want me confess to you that I was worried? That I cared?” Her expression was tight but her tone was light, she did care, she was worried, but she would be damned if she would ever confess to it.

“Were you?” he finally spoke, his voice was odd.

“Oh, it speaks!” She mused. “Did I care?” She pretended to think, “Well I never really believed it; your little prank did not work.”

The Prince looked truly embarrassed and out of sorts when he murmured, “I’m sorry?”

“Ah James-” she huffed getting closer to him, she noticed he took two steps back “- if you wanted to see me, certainly you could have come up with a better message. Things are a far cry from what they once were dear, now that Leopold is gone.”

“King Leopold?” he questioned.

“Yes! My dear late husband, who else?” Regina frowned, what was he trying to achieve with this?

“You’re the Queen?” His eyes were wide.

“Has somebody knocked you over the head with a heavy instrument James?”

“I am-” he tried, he looked so out of sorts, so confused, it was endearing and irritating, and hot since his eyes raked her breasts, which were almost bursting from her corset with her every heavy breath. Again, it enticed her.

Regina stopped three mere feet from him and inspected his form. His skin was a little bit wet, a single hand still holding onto the towel whilst the other made its way to his hair, showcasing that strong bicep he had.

I had forgotten how attractive he was, but something is not right.

Regina pushed the thought away.

“Never mind that.” She sighed, “I’m here now, that’s what you wanted, right?” she looked him dead in the eye and without a second to lose grabbed the towel and tore it from his body.

His reaction was the very last thing she expected him to do; he let out a surprised yelp and immediately covered his member with his hands, which drew a hearty laugh from Regina.

“What on earth is wrong with you, James?” she said with the smile from her laughs still on her lips. “It’s nothing I have not seen before dear.”

“You have?” he looked puzzled.

“What game is it that you are playing, James?” Regina started growing irritated once more “I would think you would remember you had that up my ass on more than one occasion.”

“What?” he whispered, Regina could see his cheeks grow a shade of red and closed the space between their bodies and looked deep inside his eyes.

They were the same tone of light blue she remembered and yet were a completely different set altogether. Those eyes told her a different story, a story she had not seen reflected upon them all the numerous times she had looked upon them. They held kindness and fear and something else Regina had not seen in a very long time; innocence.

She jerked her body back a little bit at the revelation his eyes told her.

This was not James.

Although he looked just like him, it was not James, not by a long shot.

Regina’s free hand – the other one still held his towel – went instinctively to the impostor’s throat, choking him as she demanded through clenched teeth; “Who are you?”

His hands had decided to stop hiding his modesty to try and extract her hands from his throat. She quickly dropped one whilst the other clutched his cheeks, her eyes were wide.

“I know you are not the Prince.” She whispered, dangerously low. “No need in pretending that you are. Tell me what this is about! Where is he?” Her voice had risen.

“Dead,” he managed to say through her firm grip, she let go of his face immediately at the revelation and took two steps back.

“How?” it was a mere whisper.

“He was killed by an adversary he thought already dead while he celebrated the victory.” The man who bore James’ face explained in earnest.

“So the messenger was telling the truth -” Regina said more to herself. “Who are you then? Is that some sort of glamour spell?” her eyes snapped back at his.

“No.” he said simply “I’m the Prince’s twin brother.”

Regina’s eyes went wide, “Oh! That would explain a lot.” she eyed him suspiciously, “If-” she lifted a single finger and took a dangerous step towards him, “-James had a twin brother.” her hand was ready to find home in his neck once more for trying to deceive her but he spoke before had the chance to act.

“He never knew.” The man spoke, his tone was so sincere that it made Regina hesitate. She opened her mouth but no reply came out, this situation was rather unsettling, he carried on, “I myself only learned the truth but a couple of days ago.” He spoke most earnestly but stood there awkwardly, not a stitch of clothing covering his modesty, Regina could only guess he was not accustomed to the opposite sex seeing him in such a way.

“The truth?” she finally found her voice, but this time it was a bit lighter, she found herself believing him and wanting to know what had come to pass.

“Yes well-” he rotated his shoulders back one time and looked down at the towel, which was still being held on Regina’s mighty grip.

She gave him back the towel upon instinct feeling odd about this whole exchange, somehow it did not seem right to look at him like that anymore, even though she had seen James naked time and time again. But this was not James, not by a long shot and he - whoever he was - did not want her to look at him. Regina was brought back for a moment to her first year of being married, of how she had felt on her wedding night, of how she had felt every night after that. No one deserved to feel that way.

 “James was adopted by the King.” he explained, “I remained with my family in our farm.”

“If you were twins-” she tilted her head a little to the side, “Why didn’t the King take you in as well?”

“That was not part of the deal.” he said simply and Regina was intrigued by this young man.

“Deal? What deal?” she inquired.

“I probably should not have mentioned that.” he grew a little pink and took a deep breath through his nose.

Regina knew this was none of her business but she was far too curious to let the subject go. Plus, she despised King George, anything that she could learn that could be used against him would be more than welcome.

“You can tell me,” Regina tried and convince him, “Your brother trusted me completely.” she lied.

“Were you close to my brother then?” he asked, his eyes gleamed with something different.

“I would say that was pretty obvious since I tore out your towel.” Regina gave him, and added a small smirk.

Let us see if this brother is easy to fool as well.

He gave her a nervous laugh, unlike anything James had ever produced, “My parents-” he started, “-had to make a deal with a foul creature.”

Deal, foul creature - he must be talking about Rumpelstiltskin.

“They had nothing else to offer him when he came to collect.” his brow creased as he told the tale, “The creature said that the debt would be erased if my mother gave one child away.”

“And so she chose your brother? James?” Regina found herself asking, intrigued by this unlikely story.

He sighed and closed his eyes, “Yes,”

There was a moment of silence in which Regina regarded the young man with interest, she still found it rather impossible that someone who was the spitting image of James was so very little like him. Sure, he had the handsome jaw and the piercing blue eyes, but he did not navigate them as James once had, always in his favor, his lips always curling in a wicked grin.

When the silence grew awkward Regina cleaned her throat, thinking to herself what on earth was she still doing there, “So, do you like your new life as a royal?” she found herself asking.

“Meaning no offence your majesty,” he replied, “But no.”

Regina huffed and gave him, “Well, we have that in common.”

When his eyes widened a little, Regina immediately regretted having said that. What was she thinking?

“What?” he half whispered, looking as if he had heard her wrong.

“What I meant to say-” she started, hoping to heavens she did not blush and thanking her lucky stars the room was dimly lit, “Your brother wasn’t very keen in the formalities of court either.”

“Oh,” he looked down for a moment, then back at her and added with a sincerity that shocked her, “I wish I had known him.”

It was at that moment that Regina’s penny finally dropped; she breathed in a large gulp of breath and sighed.

James was indeed dead.

And although they had not shared a large amount of tender sentiment, Regina could not help but feel saddened by the loss. Her face settled in a grave expression as she looked down at the floor.

To Regina’s utter surprise, the young man broke the silence, “I’m sorry then -” he said simply and she looked up at his words, confused, he added,“- for your loss.”

Those simple words had rended her completely speechless, the way he treated her was so different she felt dizzy. It was quite clear that he did not know of what had come to pass in her Kingdom over the last couple of weeks, he did not know what Queen Regina was willing to do, what the Evil Queen was capable of.

She found herself asking him in a rather cold manner, “What’s your name?”

“David.”

“Well David,” she tossed his name, trying to sound indifferent, she had to get out of that place, “I trust you won’t breathe a word of what just happened to anybody, is that clear?” her voice was low and dangerous.

“Yes, of cour-” but Regina had entangled herself far too much in this situation, so she commanded her magic to take her back to her bedchambers. She had to admit it was quite entertaining seeing him stop mid-sentence and gape as a cloud of purple smoke enveloped her frame and made her disappear.

Regina felt her head was going to explode.

A twin brother?

Dead?

A cold dread took residence on the pit of her stomach as she sat on the edge of her made bed, clutching her middle subconsciously, a frown wrinkling her forehead.

She had to laugh at the memory of the stunned twin brother when she pulled his towel. She should have known then that that was not James. But laughing made her head ache even more. Thinking of this twin, David, made her confused.

Regina needed a drink. Or maybe twenty…

…

He was there in bed with her, doing what they did best together. He was on top of her thrusting his member inside her with force, making her feel that nice sting, that smug smirk on the corner of his lips as she cried out for more.

He was alive.

Of course, he was alive.

Regina was glad he was alive.

But out of the blue his face started to change, his eyes remained blue but the depths were not the same, they held something dark, evil. His hair grew a few shades darker and Regina watched in awe how his chin, his cheeks, his whole face morphed. The sting was gone, but it gave place to a zapping sensation she was sure was so much better than the previous feeling.

That man, his touch was unmatched, it made her feel whole with very passing thrust driving her insane with desire. It felt so good, it felt too good.

She felt whole-

Regina woke up in the same clothes as she was wearing the day before, or partially so. She had managed to loosen her bindings on her tight corset during the night, after the sweet wine had made its way to her head, making her dizzy and sleepy.

She looked out of the window and noticed the sun shining bright outside.

Had she slept the whole morning?

When Regina moved from her spot on the bed she instantly felt a shiver at the memory of the previous night's dream.

The thief.

The image of James was somehow morphed into the outlaw’s and Regina did not feel like rationalizing much about it – she was actually afraid to do so – so she quickly rose from her bed and went for the door, grabbing the first robe she could find.

She did not want to think about the implications of dreaming so much about that man but she sure could have him make her dreams come true right now.

Regina poked her head outside her chambers and the guard almost fainted when she yelled; “You! Get Locksley in here immediately.”

He turned to face her, bowing his head and replied.

“But your majesty-” he said gravely, “-Locksley left the Castle yesterday.”

Chapter Text

As that infuriating smoke dissipated, she was gone. 

Damn her 

When the messenger had come to inform Robin that the Queen wanted to see him in her chambers, he had to admit he had felt rather excited. He had woken up with his member painfully stiff, even though he had taken care of it the solo way, the idea of having another round with the Queen after such little time had him half hard by the time he got to her door. He had only been inside her sleeping chambers once - the night before, as a matter of fact - and on that occasion, he did remember having a very good time. 

But there was no such luck for Robin this time around. Apart from getting the ice treatment, he also had to bear witness to a scene he did not quite understand. He was met with the image of the girl from yesterday; Robin flinched at the thought that the Queen had encouraged her to kiss that, thing. Rumpelstiltskin, one of the foulest creates he had ever had the displeasure of meeting. Robin had to admit that the girl did have some balls. 

Robin had thought it odd that, after chatting with that peasant girl the day before, the Queen had ordered him to ride inside the carriage with her. Especially after she had set some sort of spell on his balls that made them sting just moments before. 

Damn that crazy woman 

Crazy indeed, for inside the carriage she revealed quite the tale to him. A tale of how that demonic head that pestered her mirrors had in fact been a real life person once. Not a person but a genie, Robin had been quite surprised to discover. A genie who her late husband had apparently set free – what an idiotic thing to do – and after that, also wished to give his last wish to the sordid genie himself. Robin had made up his mind then that the King had been a complete idiot. 

But as the Queen retailed to him of how the genie had an inexplicable devotion to her, a lovesick obsession that she encouraged in order to get the genie to do her bidding, Robin felt his blood pump faster and hotter. He knew that thing had feelings for the Queen, he was able to sense his clear jealousy when he had first interrupted their ‘negotiations’. 

He did not want to admit it, but he was pretty sure he was jealous of her. The very idea of the Queen with any other man brought a red-hot feeling to his hollow chest. He could not hold back, would not hold back, until he knew the extent of her 'encouragement' towards said genie. 

"So your majesty had a little 'talk' with him like you did with me?" trying his very best to sound casual and uninterested.

Her face twisted in a disgusted expression "Not that it is any of your business but no, I have no such talks with individuals that abhor me."

"Ah your majesty-" Robin had said leaning back into his seat, relief invaded his chest "-I think I heard a compliment in there somewhere." 

She gave a hearty laugh and kicked his knee hard with her high heeled boot, one he had had hooked on his back only hours ago, "Then I am pretty sure your ears are in need of cleaning thief." 

She kicked him again when he did not show any reaction to neither her words nor her kicks "-and sit up straight you animal, this is not some dingy tent in the middle of the forest." 

He did not move which made the Queen huff, there was a silence and Robin could see the Queen slump only an unnoticeable inch on her seat in front of him. 

She sighed, looked tired and said in a different tone of voice, very small almost as if she was saying it to herself "After being married to the benevolent King and having to lay with him, I have made it a rule that I will only let those who I want to touch me do so." She was looking down at her lap, staring at her opened palms that rested on the fabric of her skirts. 

Robin had been stunned by her revelation; 

Who was she? 

This woman was a mystery to unravel. One minute a storm of violence and lust and another a creature that managed to steal… 

What was it?  

No, it could not be… Compassion from him?  

She was only 18 years of age when she first came here, already engaged to the King, the distant voice of the old bear whispered in his ear. 

She cleaned her throat and brought his attention back to her, Robin had not noticed but he had been staring at her palms, he brought his gaze back to hers. 

"After he managed to do make himself useful-," she continued in her business like tone, all signs of vulnerability gone. 

She then told him about the genie's desperate actions in wanting to be with her no matter what she felt towards him. Robin flinched inwardly when he heard the words of the wish, that man was truly crazy. But he ended up on the losing side of the wish and got himself trapped inside the mirror world, so he look upon her alright, but never truly have her. That had been the cruel twist of his own words. 

"I had managed to keep him at bay from my bedroom mirror, but he found a way to converse with me yesterday and offered me a deal." Robin listened attentively, "He offered to assist looking for Snow White in exchange for a moment." her face was unreadable. 

"A moment?" Robin inquired, "What kind of moment?" 

Her face did not shift, only her right eyebrow raised whilst she spoke "He wants to watch me touch myself." 

Red 

The windows, the seats, the landscape outside, even the Queen's features took a shade of crimson as the words left her mouth. Robin’s skin tingled and the empty space in his chest cringed. Robin felt his eyes widen and his teeth clench, his hands turning into fists with so much force he was sure his nails would leave angry red bites on his palms. He could not hold back his reaction and stood up abruptly in the carriage causing it to rock dangerously from side to side due to his sudden movement. 

"Are you completely out of your mind?" the Queen roared, "Are you trying to get us both killed, you imbecile?" 

Her loud words snapped him from his rage fit and he sat back down brusquely. His ears still buzzing from the overwhelming amount of feeling he had just experienced. 

"Would it be so hard for you not to act like an animal all the time?" she asked annoyed at his behavior.  

Robin could feel his whole body heated, from the tip of his toe to the last strand of his hair, he was furious. 

She could not possibly be considering actually going through with this deal, could she?  

Would her loathing for Snow White make her slump so low? 

Why did he care so much what she did or did not do anyway? He lacked a heart he was not supposed to feel anything at all and yet with a mere set of words the Queen managed to make his head spin round. 

"I have sealed a magical deal with him," she continued and Robin clenched his fists even harder if it was humanly possible, his mouth a thin line as he tried his very best not to show how infuriated this whole situation was making him feel. 

"But-" she lifted a finger, a smirk adorned her lush red lips "- I have managed to make his words work in my favor once more." Robin took a deep breath and leaned forward to listen to her words, a headache had already worked its way on him as he tried very hard to understand why the Queen was smirking. 

Hadn’t she just told him she despised the mirror, person, genie thing? 

"And I pray you tell me your majesty-" Robin started, rubbing his eyes with one hand "-why are you telling me all this?" 

"Because the deal was for him to watch me-" she leaned closer to him "-but there were no restrictions whatsoever in regards to having another party involved." 

For the first time in the whole carriage ride Robin managed to take a calmed breath, he finally understood what she was getting at. 

She leaned back on her seat, crossed her legs, and finished with a raised eyebrow and an expression that spoke of pure malice "Care to help?" 

That night he had gone to her room, he had knocked once as she had instructed him and from inside came her unparalleled voice that uttered ‘You may come in’. He had entered her chamber and quickly secured the door closed. His gaze found her to the left where she was standing in front of a full-length mirror, inspecting her body, which was deprived of any kind of cloth. 

The vision astounded him, hypnotized him, and made him utterly speechless. He stood by the door with his mouth hanging slightly opened and his eyes ravaging the sight of her. She acknowledged his presence but seemed very little disrupted by it as she continued to run her hands about her body, looking at herself in the reflective surface. 

For a moment, Robin had thought she had already began the whole thing without him. But then reminded himself that she had protected that mirror in her bedroom against the intrusions of the genie. 

She was pale, but unlike her stepdaughter, had a spice to her coloring. Her skin looked utterly smooth and absolutely untouched, as if she were some heavenly sight or a marble statue of a Goddess, too good to be true. She was still wearing her heavy make-up but her hair was completely down, he had noticed this before, it was rather long the heavy dark curls almost reached her hips. 

She had taunted him obviously, asking him if he was just going to ogle her the entire course of the evening, a playful smile settled on her lips. She really seemed to be looking forward to making that man in the mirror suffer. Robin could see reason behind it since that very man had tried to forcibly tie himself to her regardless of how she felt about him. 

She had told him to stand behind the dresser and wait for her signal – that being when she tossed her head back - to make his presence known. He watched her with hungry eyes as she sat down at the stool in front of the piece of furniture and only after sending a teasing grin at him started to play with herself.

That night when he had touched her, he had tasted her and he had taken her like no other time they had been together. Robin felt strangely at ease to actually caress her instead of grope, to kiss instead of bite, to give her slow passion filled thrusts instead of quick desperate pounds. She was incredibly responsive to his new approach - and although he tried to tell himself he was only doing it that way because of the whole farce and she, on her part, was only being so agreeable with this so the mirror would be truly driven over the edge - he had truly wanted to touch her differently.   

Her sendoff felt like she had thrown a bucket of ice water down his pants – had he been wearing any that was. It infuriated Robin that she would treat him as if he was a disposable sex toy she could send off when she was done. He had promised himself he would never be such a thing and although the woman held his heart hostage, he would rather die than be treated as a mere object. 

And so he taunted her, which he knew made her nerves red hot and that to some extent also aroused her. He kissed her, he had to, those lips continued to possess a magnetic energy that drew him in. They called to him. When her moist soft red lips met his the world exploded in a billion sensations. 

But now, here he was, standing on the same spot where he had ravaged her mouth and tasted her cum mixed with his seed before she had tried to roast him for his insolence. 

Robin felt divided, for one he did appreciate his time in this castle, the comfortable quarters, the easy food and obviously the gorgeous Queen he got to bang regularly. However, at the same time he felt trapped, being bossed around was not something he was used to and also definitely not something he liked. The idea of being at someone's disposal - even if that somebody drove him over the edge with ecstasy and was the best sex he had ever had - was not something Robin was willing to do. 

But how was he going to exteriorize this without having the Queen either roast him alive or crush his heart? 

At some level, Robin did have some desire to assist this Queen; she was, different from the other women he had encountered before. She was like no woman in the world, actually. The feelings she inspired in him, the way she looked, the way she acted and talked. She could be explosive and deranged at one moment and then playful and sassy in the very next second. Her feistiness might even sometimes remind him of… 

No 

Robin pushed away the beautiful memories of Marian smiling back at him; she had also been feisty and a bit temperamental always keeping him on his toes, just like the Queen. However, his Marian had also been loving, kind and so very generous, he had loved her so much his heart had felt like it was going to burst. And yet now, without it, he felt nothing whilst remembering their time together, not a single drop of regret for being responsible for her death but also not a single trace of the love he used to possess. 

The same could not be said for the person who now claimed ownership on his damaged and darkened heart. Even when she was far, Robin could still feel the unique sensation only she had the power to ignite in him, a maddening mix of lust, frustration and anger. It was not one of the best feelings in the world, it did, however, diminish when she was away, but was never truly gone. 

Robin refused to stay put in this cold stone prison. He did not want to be on call whenever the Queen decided she wanted to lash at him or have him fuck her - although he did not mind in the very least performing the latest. 

He had been inside for the last week or so and had a need for the freshness of the wood, the thrill of a hunt that made him feel alive and free, if not only for a brief period of time. 

He looked out of the huge balcony the Queen's bedchamber possessed. The Sun was shining bright outside, this the first day ever since he had gotten there that the yellow Star decided to make an appearance. The strong early afternoon rays hit the mirror of the Queen's dresser and the light reflected back on Robin's eyes that made him flinch and close them instantly. 

Rubbing them and cursing in the process Robin took a few steps back into the shadows of the bedchamber before reopening his eyes and staring at the mirror. 

A memory hit him. 

He knew just the thing to do. 

... 

Robin was back in the forest, breathing the earthy air of the woods, listening to the musical sounds of the wild. His sight had been changed ever since he had last been so deep inside the woods of the Enchanted Forest. Ever since Marian had died, color had been drained from his reality, leaving him only with grey, black and white, unfeeling colors that only inspired pain and despair. Now Robin was granted to look upon the vibrant red tones of wild flowers, berries and birds. The canvas of his life had been changed by the Queen, he was pretty sure she had been the cause for the return of red to his sight, and more than that, he felt more alive now than he had felt in that entire year living alone, and that was something to say since he did not have his heart on him at the moment. 

Stride after stride, pathetic uniform gone, royal crest abandoned in his vast cold chambers, with his old bow and quiver as his only companions Robin tracked the woods he knew like the back of his hand. 

This was the road they had taken the day before, the road Robin knew led to the Dark One's castle. The road in which he knew that sooner or later he would happen upon an exasperated young lady running away from said Dark One. A young lady Robin remembered distinctly that the Queen wanted to 'take care of'. A young lady Robin had set his mind upon hunting down and capturing for the Queen. 

The reason? 

Robin was not quite sure of it himself. 

A strong part of his mind told him that he needed the physical outlet of the hunt, he had done this his entire life, his body ached for the forest, ached for the thrill of the pursuit. 

Another section thought of this as leverage. The Queen wanted this girl, if he captured her, she'd owe him a favor. Robin had quite a large number of creative ideas for the Queen to pay him back the favor. 

Robin could also not ignore the fact that he owed it to the Queen for giving him the chance to have his revenge on the Sherriff of Nottingham. He had never hated somebody more than he did that man - perhaps in his early moments of despair he had hated himself more than he did the damned man - and come to think of it, his demise had been rather swift and merciful, the man deserved to suffer so much more than he had. 

Regardless of the reason - Robin did not wish to ponder upon it too much, for there was the tiniest percentage of him that was doing this so he might see the Queen smile and laugh, like she did when he had crushed the Sheriff - Robin was out and breathing the free air of the forest. 

He kept himself off the road, deciding to track amongst the trees nearest to the cleared space in order to catch the young woman by surprise. 

It was in the second hour of his tracking that he heard an alien movement. Robin kept going as if he was not aware that there was something trailing behind him. When the distinct sound of a bow's rope being pulled back hit his ears Robin acted quickly throwing his body to the ground, just as the arrow flew in the air zapping past the space his head had occupied only a second ago. 

The paces were not careful now and Robin could make out the sound of boots coming in contact with the dried leaves. He swiftly rolled to the right to hide behind a tree, bow on his grip, arrow in his fingers and ready to be shot as he aimed to the spot where the other arrow had originated from. 

There stood a man, he was holding his bow but it was not readied, Robin had the obvious upper hand in the situation. He was a wee bit taller than Robin, his features might have been handsome if he was not so grim looking, his light brown hair was messed up and Robin could register a few leaves here and there inside the curly mess. He was wearing some manner of animal skin and rough leather as clothing. 

"Give me one good reason not to shoot you in between the eyes" Robin grunted, thrilling electricity spread through his body. He was going to kill this man. 

"Because if you do my friend will mangle you to death" the man said simply, he did not look scared or surprised at Robin's clear advantage and threat. 

"I detect no friend whatsoever." Robin retorted, his eyes quickly scanned his surroundings and he saw no other man but the one he was pointing his arrow at, he pulled the string of his bow even more, ready to shoot, aim in place. 

"You might want to lower your gaze, then you will understand I speak the truth." the man said calmly and as if on cue an animal growl sounded from his left. 

Robin turned his face down to look upon the grey wolf that bared his sharp teeth to him. It was a sneaky creature, it stood only 10 paces from where he was and Robin’s ears had not even registered the beast’s movements. 

"You think your pet scares me?" Robin said uncaring, because even though he was feeling rather intimidated by the beast there was no chance on earth that he would ever let it show. 

"It should." the man responded, "You are either foolish or abnormally talented with that bow to think you can best the pair of us." 

"I think we both know which option suits me best," Robin said, his lack of heart assisting him tremendously in keeping a straight face 

"I have already harmed the one whom I intended to, so you can lower you bow for I serve as no threat to you." The man continued in his calm tone of voice, Robin was confused, had he not just shot an arrow that was meant for Robin's head? 

"You can say that to the arrow you tried to put through my head." Robin was not letting go of his bow. 

"That arrow was not meant for you. That arrow has already served its purpose." The man reasoned. 

The man approached Robin with very slow but certain strides, his bow still in his hand. Robin was not one to easily trust strangers so he allowed the man to move but his arrow never left its target in between his eyes. He walked past Robin who turned around and was met was the image of a dead deer with one arrow sticking out of its neck, a perfect kill shot, not 20 paces from where he stood. 

He must have dropped to the floor in the exact same moment as the deer and not heard the sound of the falling animal.   

Robin lowered his bow. 

"That arrow was meant for dinner, not you." 

Robin was rather impressed at the man's skill, his aim was quite spot on, although he was pretty sure his own was still superior.    

The man headed towards the deer, his pet wolf on his trail, and kneeled in front of the dead beast, bowed his head and started muttering something Robin could not really make out. 

When he finished speaking, the wolf nuzzled his nose on the man's cheek and he spotted that he was crying. Robin could not resist but taunt this strange man. 

"Just found out you killed a friend of your pet's for dinner?" Robin huffed. 

"I uphold respect for the creatures that I kill." The man said in a serious tone, "They have sacrificed their lives so that me and my brother-" he gestured towards the wolf "-may live." 

"Right-" Robin started, this man clearly did not uphold much sanity in his head, "So the wolf is your brother?" 

"Blood of my blood." The man said resting the palm of his hand on the back of the animal. 

"I'm guessing your parents have not broken up the news that one of you is clearly adopted." 

What a deranged situation Robin found himself in, was it his fate to only come across crazy people? First, a murderous Queen, then a young maiden crazy enough to kiss the Dark One and now this, wolf boy? 

"The wolves are my family." The man stood looking dead inside Robin's eyes, his own were a set of dark grey. 

"I'm sure they are, I would not dare and contradict you, but-" Robin said as he stored his arrow back in his quiver "-as interesting as this conversation is, I must be on my way. Enjoy your-" Robin gestured to the dead animal laying on the ground with several circular movements of his hand, trying to come up with a better word but unable "-dinner." 

... 

After his encounter with wolf boy, Robin tracked the forest just beside the road for a few more hours and still there was no sign of the young woman. According to Robin's calculations, she should have passed this part of the woods by now even if she were on foot. Unless... 

Unless she had stopped at the first town she could find in order to shelter herself for the night. It did make sense, and Robin cursed himself for not thinking of the possibility before. He turned his route towards the east, where he knew there was a small village, the nearest to the Dark one's castle. 

The village was rather famous for being the only one that had been built by the unison of men and dwarfs. The town was the nearest civilized place close enough to the mines those little man worked in, one that provided them with ale after a long day's work dinging those precious stones Robin had once ached to have for himself. 

He had never, however, neared that particular village before, his code of honor had prevented him from stealing from the fairies and dwarfs for he knew that the precious stones they turned into fairy dust were aimed to do good and help others, just like he had once done. But that man was long gone, buried six feet under along with Marian's lovely eyes and the helpless small body of his son, so he strode with purpose towards the village. 

When the rooftops of the modest houses started to come into Robin's line of sight, he brought his hood to his head, hiding his face from any curious eyes - the very last thing he needed was to be recognized. The Sun was already starting to set when Robin reached the little town, the place was the spitting image of a peaceful trouble free haven. There were no black knights here, or any kind of knight or soldier for that matter, for this place was protected by fairy magic that secured its inhabitants and provided them with safety. That was common knowledge about the kingdoms, but what was not, was the extent of this magic and how it worked. Robin was actually quite surprised that no alarm had sounded upon him crossing the border that divided the village from the forest, thinking the thick fairy magic would be able to track the darkness in his heart. 

Ah  

Then again  

That wasn't on him now, was it? 

Robin strode about the village keeping his figure to the shadows, wanting to pass unnoticed as he searched for the familiar face of the doey-eyed young woman he was after. He counted himself lucky she had such a striking appearance, very difficult to miss her sparkly blue eyes or her odd accent, and if Robin was being completely sincere, she was quite a pretty little piece of arse. 

The Sun had become a thin sheen line on the horizon when Robin was finally able to spot that damned girl, she still wore the same blue dress she had on in the mirror vision and the heavy light green cape she had worn the day before hung about her back. He was only able to catch a glimpse of the woman before she entered a tavern. 

Damn 

Robin followed her inside rather reluctantly. Taverns reminded him too much of the life he used to live, of the merry times he had with his oath brothers, of endless romantic escapades and of nights of ale and laughter. None of those things belonged in Robin's reality anymore, the sound of laughter irritated him to no end, when the knights back in the castle would roar with laughter over some idiotic thing Robin felt like snapping their necks. The only laughter he seemed to tolerate and even like belonged to the- 

He shook his head and swung the door open. Slipping inside and choosing to sit in a solitary table in a dark corner of the tavern so he could watch the girl and make up a plan to abduct her. 

He knew that the strong light magic of the fairies was able to detect troublemakers and thieves easily, and as soon as they put their plans into action that magic would alert the dwarfs who defended the town.   

Robin gathered that abducting somebody against their will would qualify as trouble making indeed, and even thievery as well. 

So how was he to take her if the second he laid his hands on her he would sure have seven dwarfs breathing down his neck? 

A middle-aged woman approached his table and asked what it was that he would like to drink. She had tired eyes but a sincere smile, Robin dismissed her quickly without a second glance in her direction. 

The young woman he was observing had ended her conversation with whom it seemed to be the innkeeper and sat alone on a table. Robin pondered upon simply approaching her, maybe befriending her and luring her away from the town line. But he couldn't. She would recognize him for certain, for when the Queen was kind enough to squeeze his balls tight with her magic the girl had turned back because of his wincing. She looked him right in the eye for a sufficient amount of time back then, and Robin was certain she would recognize him. 

As if things could not get any more complicated, she was now conversing with a dwarf nonetheless. 

Damn 

It was really sounding like a hopeless plan when the doors to the inn swung open and a new patron appeared accompanied by.. ah - his little pet friend brother or whatever it was. The patrons immediately recoiled and reacted to the presence of the wild animal inside the tavern.

The owner, the one who had been talking to the girl, came forward and rather reluctantly addressed wolf boy in what seemed was his best shot of a valiant tone. 

"I don't know where you come from boy-" the man was past his prime, maybe 50 or 60 years old, he could not tell, he was bald on the top of his head but some wisps of hair remained in the base, he had a large stomach which showcased his obvious love for ale. "-But we don't have wild beasts inside this tavern." his face had gone a soft tone of red. 

Wolf boy replied in the same serious tone as before "We mean no harm to anybody, we simply seek shelter and-" 

The round man interrupted him "You can stay boy, but the animal has to go. I can't even have him stay in the barn; he might slaughter every living thing there." 

"I'm afraid we cannot be parted, I-" the weird man started again but by then Robin had a rather solid plan in mind and interrupted him once more. 

"My friend!" Robin said coming from behind the man he had met earlier that day and putting his hand on his shoulder. "It's been long since I last saw you!" the man looked surprised but not at all startled by Robin's actions. Robin turned his attentions to the inn owner, "Do not worry, his pet is harmless, it was raised by humans, would not hurt a fly." he squeezed the man's shoulder. 

The innkeeper still looked uncertain and asked "Are you certain?" 

Robin was clearly learning the art of acting from the Queen and assured the man "On my honor my friend, no harm will come to anybody tonight in this inn." 

The man looked a lot more relieved and gave Robin a tight smile "Alright then, but keep him near you at all times please, I do not want him scaring off my costumers." 

"Never fret my friend, my old friend-" crap, Robin had no idea of how that man was called he had to think quickly, "-Graham will sit with me tonight at that corner." 

The man gave Robin another thankful toothless smile, turned on his heel and returned to his original place near the bar. Robin's hand still gripped wolf boy's shoulder and he said in a hushed tone "Well then, come sit with me friend." 

Robin led the man to his table and there they shared no ale nor warm words, as soon as the other man was sitting, he asked, "What do you want from me?" 

"How very perceptive you are wolf boy-" Robin replied "-although now you have a proper name now, Graham, wasn't it?" 

The man huffed and spit on the floor next to his feet. 

"I did not ask for a name, nor for your help." he retorted. 

"And yet, I just laid down my very treasured honor for the sake of your pet brother." Robin reasoned. 

"What do you want?" the man growled. 

"I want you to cause a diversion, a little trouble so these thick skulled dwarves will be occupied." Robin explained in a conversational tone. 

"I'm guessing you want me to cause trouble so you can steal from them." the wolf boy inquired, his eyes narrowed with suspicion. 

"Not that it is any of your business but no, nothing of that kind actually" Robin put out "I'm stealing a young lady." 

The man's eyes widened and Robin could really see how his grey pupils grew a shade darker.

"To what purpose would you do that?" the man asked, "Certainly you do not mean to-?"

But he never got to finish his question for Robin interrupted him with his reply. 

"I would never force myself on a woman." Robin felt his blood boil, he might be a cold-blooded murderer who cared for no one but himself but having a woman against her will was something he would never do. 

"You might say that now but I know your kind. When a man's urges come forth, he can do the unspeakable to satiate them" the wolfy huntsman replied in a grave tone. 

"Rest assured that my urges are well taken care of-" he completed between clenched teeth, "-wolf boy." 

"You also manage to take care of your urges yourself then?" the man inquired, seeming truly curious. 

"What kind of question is that?" Robin was a bit taken aback, "Do you mean to tell me you've never-?" 

The man did not let Robin complete, "No, I have never." he said in a serious tone. 

"You cannot be serious" Robin chuckled, this is not the direction he wanted this conversation to tread. 

"But I am, I do not find humans appealing." he said in all truth, not a bit ashamed of his confession. 

Robin's jaw dropped for a second and then he grinned and replied, "That's because you have not seen my-" Robin could not find the words to describe his relationship with the Queen, he could not say she was his master or boss, no way on earth for that, she was not 'his' anything. Lover perhaps, but not really if you truly pondered upon it, "-the woman I've been fucking." that was so poorly put Robin almost winced, "One look upon her and you would change your mind about 'humans' I assure you that." 

"I sincerely doubt that." the man replied.    

"Right." Robin breathed, this man was the weirdest thing he had ever come across so far, "Will you help me or not?" 

... 

Robin made sure that the young woman did not see whilst he followed her to her room. She was on the first floor of the inn, door nearest to the cranky and noisy wooden staircase, but Robin could work with that. She retired rather early, before 10 in the evening, and the tavern downstairs was still boasting with laughter, cheers and shouts. Man and dwarves alike were getting drunker by the minute and Robin smirked inwardly at his luck. 

Wolf boy was still waiting downstairs by the same table in the company of his deadly pet, just waiting for Robin’s signal. What a pathetic man. He had agreed to help Robin since - according to him - it was the honorable thing to do. After all Robin had indeed helped him with the innkeeper and he was now in his debt. 

Honor  

What a pathetic waste of time 

But Robin rejoiced on the fact that the man kept his honor close to his heart since he got the assistance he needed, no golden coins or pointy daggers involved. 

He went back to the table - which was still empty, devoid of ale cups or bottles - and met his new accomplice. They did not bother to keep appearances and pretend to be friends but instead fell into an uncomfortable silence until Robin spoke a good hour after having tracked the girl to her room. 

"Go now," he did not turn to face him, choosing to stare ahead at the staircase, "Do it outside, there are plenty of filthy drunks for you to choose from." 

"Aye." the man replied also not meeting Robin's eye, he stood and left the tavern discreetly, trying not to attract any attention to himself which was very hard to do since he did have a wolf on his trail. 

Not a minute had passed and a sharp scream filled Robin's ears and he knew that that was his cue to act. With long strides that went about unnoticed by the crowd inside the tavern - their attention now focused on the on goings outside - Robin climbed the stairs and quickly found himself standing in front of the door to the girl's room. 

Ever so carefully, Robin tried the knob to see if the girl had been stupid enough to leave the door unlocked. No such luck, not so stupid after all. But that was no matter for Robin, picking locks was on the long list of the many things he had learned to do as an outlaw. Getting down to his knees he extracted a hair pin - one that belonged to that hot mess of a Queen - from his pocket and went to work. 

Soon the door swung open and Robin entered. The room was small and dingy, the girl was apparently sleeping on the bed, her back turned to him, covers concealing her body. 

But Robin was no fool to be deceived by appearances. 

He could see the rise and fall created by her breathing was not even nor slow, which showcased she was not asleep at all. She had probably been awakened by the ruckus downstairs and seen his attempt at opening the door. Robin imagined she thought she had the upper hand in this. 

Foolish girl 

He took two steps in her direction and grabbed a pebble he had stored in his pocket. The girl did not stir and Robin stepped on the floor three more times manufacturing the noise his steps sounded like, as if he was moving but he was doing no such thing. He then threw the pebble to the foot of the bed and watched unimpressed as the girl leaped from her lying position to try and through a big heavy book she had apparently been clutching underneath her covers all along. 

Robin took this moment to grab her from behind; with one hand, he secured both her hands on her back as the other grabbed her throat. He yanked her from the bed so she stood with him; her back pressed to his torso, his voice was dangerous at her ear; 

"Scream and you'll regret it girl." 

"What do you want from me?" she asked in a small yet defiant voice 

"Nothing really. The real question is, what I can get for you." 

"You seek gold then?" she asked trying to free her hands, foolish attempts for his grip was mighty on her wrists. 

"Gold," Robin repeated with disdain, "I have no desire for gold-" his hold on her throat got stronger and the girl whimpered. 

"Please, don't hurt me." she begged. 

Robin was growing impatient with the girl's attitude and with one rash move; he pushed her onto the bed. She fell ungracefully on her stomach, her feet still touching the floor, his own had liberated her hands whilst he pushed her, she tried to straighten up so she could face him. 

"Please don't do this-" she had actual tears in her eyes, "-kidnap me to sell me back to my father, but please don't touch-" 

She was not able to finish her sentence for then Robin had already banged that heavy book she tried to defend herself with to the back of her head. Her presumption had made him quite angry. Why on the earth was everybody under the impression he was to rape this sodding girl? 

True, she had her charms, was quite pretty. But nothing, could ever excuse forcing himself on a woman, if something of the old Robin had remained, it was the abhorrence towards that act. Plus, even if he had the urge, this young woman could never compare to the stormy, gorgeous and mouthwatering Queen Robin had back home. 

Wait-  

Home?

No, not home. In the castle. His mind was playing tricks in his head. Robin did not have a home. Home had been Sherwood Forest, but that was no more, Robin Hood was dead, what only remained were the shreds of his despair. Home had been Marian's belly growing and growing as Robin felt his heart clench in his chest with happiness. 

Now he had no heart at all and no Marian.  

Home was where the heart lies and his heart-  

No, that was just a damned castle and nothing else. 

Robin shook his head trying to clear off his mind from all those confusing contemplations. He looked down at the helpless girl who now laid knocked out on the bed and sighed. Turning her to face him, he hoisted her up and threw her limp body about his shoulder. She was not too heavy, which Robin was thankful for, a whole day of tracking around the forest had worn him off a bit. 

Down the stairs he went and the pub was nearly empty by now - safe for one drunken man who had passed out and was sleeping soundly with his cheek resting upon the wooden surface of a table. Robin could hear the shouts coming from outside as the diversion he had ordered the wolf person to perform was coming to pass. He chose to exit through the back door though, just in case, for however impressive the mangling that wolf had managed to do; having a young woman passed out hanging around your shoulder was bound to draw a few eyes. 

The back door thankfully led towards a path straight into the woods and Robin was soon out of the reach of the enchanted town and its unnerving small defenders. He pondered upon his options. It was late, he could either track the path back to the castle now and arrive there by sunrise, or he could rest for some hours and start making his way once the sun was up. 

His legs protested and his vision was starting to get blurry and Robin knew which option he was going for. But before settling down, he searched for a handful of poppies - which were not very hard to find. He chose a spot by a large tree and set the girl down on the grass, he could not take his chances in falling asleep with the possibility of her waking up. 

So with that thought in mind he tore a small piece of cloth from her dress and proceeded to rub the pollen from the poppy flower on in. He laid the fabric about the girl's nose and mouth and let her breathe in the drowsing substance. That would guarantee she did not wake before him, for the poppies had only had about an hour’s effect on him, they would last for much longer on her fragile body. 

Robin fell asleep soon after his back came in contact with the grass, his last thoughts being of the Queen.

Chapter Text

The first rays of morning were sufficient to awaken Robin from his slumber. He could smell the unique scent of the forest and felt home, even though his back hurt from sleeping on the floor, and a few insects had feasted on his exposed flesh while he was dead to the world. He felt free. 

I have got to do this more often. 

He turned to his side and was met with the sight of a still very much-passed out young woman with a piece of cloth on her face. 

Fantastic 

As Robin got to his feet, his stomach protested and he was reminded he had not had anything to eat in almost an entire day, his mission having completely distracted him from his basic needs. 

After eating a single apple from a nearby tree – rather reluctantly for it reminded him too much of the one which stood in the gardens of the castle – Robin hoisted the girl back over his shoulder and made his way to the castle. 

Although his journey was untroubled, Robin could not help but feel uneasy; after all carrying the girl limited his movements and made him rather vulnerable to attack. Had that arrow - shot by wolf boy - been shot this day he would be a dead body with a passed out woman laying on top of him. 

Robin sighed in relief when he saw the castle, upon his arrival at the gates – which immediately opened to him – he handed the girl to the first guard he saw and told him to lock her up in one of the tower cells. 

“Has the Queen returned yet from her journeys?” he asked the man who now had Belle over his shoulder. 

“Journeys?” the man looked at him puzzled “For all I know the Queen has not left her chambers ever since she came back from the carriage trip the day before yesterday.” He replied to Robin, all these men feared and respected him, so he could trust none of them would be crazy enough to lie. 

Why, of course, she went away by magic, and Robin was pretty certain she was not giving reports of her whereabouts to anybody. 

Out of the blue, a loud scream sounded from inside the castle followed by a blinding flash of light. Robin and the man covered their eyes to shield them from the bright but terrible light.

He did not need to think twice to know to whom that scream belonged to. The Queen, of course. It was always the Queen, who was screaming her head off like some mad person over one thing or another. Robin found this was the perfect moment to gloat about his conquests to her. She might try to incinerate him, but he sure could dodge pretty well. 

Without giving the burdened guard a second glance, Robin made his hasty way to the Queen’s chambers. Her screams had not ceased and the closer he got to his destination the more clearly he could make out her words. 

When he had reached the corridor that led to the door to her chambers, her voice was clear as day whilst she screamed, “FIND HIM YOU IMBECILE!” her voice rang, she sounded as if she was choking on her own rage. 

“I’m trying my best your majesty, but the forests do not hold much mirrors, I-” Robin could hear the voice that belonged to the mirror say. That man annoyed him to no end. 

But who was the Queen looking for now? ‘Him’? Who was ‘him’? 

“Find a way! I do not CARE if you have to look into every single filthy pond in this entire forest!” she spat at the mirror, Robin’s steps had become somewhat slower and more cautious, the Queen’s rage having him rethink his original plan. 

“Yes my Queen! But I-” 

“BEGONE!” she shouted so loud Robin jumped a little bit in surprise; he was now a few feet away from her door which was ajar. 

The Queen huffed and Robin could hear her pacing across the room, her heels clicking and clicking and her skirts flowing with her every step. 

“When I find him-” Robin was by the door at this point, listening attentively to what she was complaining about “- Oooh, when I find him!” Robin heard the sound of something being shattered inside the room, probably another glass victim of the Queen “I shall, tie him up upside down and castrate him with my own bare hands!” 

Poor chap 

More pacing, more huffing and Robin had to wonder who the Queen was after so ardently. Surely he would know of such a hated enemy by now, he thought her most vicious rage was stored for Snow White but apparently not. This man, whoever he was, was indeed misfortunate. 

“How dare he?” she continued, the sound of a fist making contact with a hard wooden surface reached his ears, “How dare he run away from me?” 

Oh crap 

She actually made a roaring sound before whispering “Oooh, when I find him… I’ll crush his heart right before his eyes!” 

Shit  

Fucking shit 

She was talking about him. She thought he had run away. She wanted to castrate him. 

I’m so fucked 

Robin knew that the more time he took to reveal himself, the worst the blow would be and he refused to believe he was afraid of her – although, he was, very much so, she had magic and an army and those were quite fear infusive. So taking a deep breath he pushed the door open and the sight of the Queen almost made him shit his pants. 

She was standing about 10 paces from the door; she was facing it – more specifically facing him - her back to the balcony, her stare could only be described as a death glare. Her eyes were impossibly dark, the dark paint in them smeared, giving him the impression that they were even bigger and much darker than they truly were. Her hair was up in one of her updos but she had clearly messed it up somehow for loose strands of black locks hung about her rage-filled face. She was wearing one of her usual tight black corseted tops and twisting the fabric of her long black skirt in both her hands. 

For a few moments, the room was filled with dead silence, their gaze was locked and it felt as if neither of them was breathing.  

“I was just talking about you.” she said, her voice raspy and low, her eyes bore an evil glimmer that had never been sent his way by her, not even when he failed to kill the brat Snow White. 

“You were?” Robin replied, trying to ease up the conversation, maybe calm her down so she would not skin him alive. 

“Don’t play coy with me outlaw.” Her voice rose as she spoke again, “Do you have some sort of death wish?” She tilted her head to the side “Was that why you offered your heart to me and lingered?” 

Robin did not respond, he did not know which way would be less harmful for him to respond so he opted for the silent option. 

“ANSWER ME!” she roared, “Did you want me to kill you? Was that it?” She started walking up to him, “You wanted me to crush your heart so you could join your precious little wi-” 

“DON’T,” Robin instinctively screamed at the mere mention of his late wife, “Do not talk about my wife.” Anger was now simmering on Robin’s skin. 

The Queen was slightly taken aback by his response but held her ground, she was now a few paces away from him, her fists still clenched on the fabric of her skirts, she whispered; 

“Where the hell were you?” her eyes narrowed as she brought her head a bit closer to his, “Claude there-” she motioned to the left and Robin spotted for the first time a dead body lying on the ground. Indeed it was Claude, one of the man who stood guard of the Queen’s chambers during the day “-was so kind to inform me that you left the castle right after leaving my chambers yesterday.” Her tone was light which made it rather frightening, especially when she was talking about a dead body. 

“I take it that you didn’t take the news quite well.” Robin tried, “I’m flattered you missed me all that-” he motioned to the body, “-much.” Robin knew this was a dangerous path he was choosing, but if she was going to kill him he refused to go down groveling or beneath her. 

Her upper lip curled in a snarl as she replied, “You are insufferable, I do not know why I have not killed you yet.” 

“Because I have actually brought back with me something of your interest.” Robin threw in his last hopes in this statement. 

It worked; the Queen looked puzzled and obviously interested. 

“What do you speak of?” she finally invaded his personal space, the maniacal shine in her eyes was back. 

“Follow me to the tower cell and you will find out, your majesty.” Robin replied. 

She did not want to be led anywhere, so the Queen stalked in front of him as they made their way to her high towered prisons. 

Robin took this opportunity to gaze at her tightly corseted hips from behind and her arse which swayed from side to side with each of her irritated strikes. But her rage did not go well with the imagery in front of him, he was quite certain that the same way she could drive him insane with lust with her meaty thighs, she could also most probably strangle him with them. 

He had changed, he had not been like this before, surely, the sins of the flesh had always been wonderful to revel in, he had always been an ardent lover, but this was something else entirely. The sensation he felt when he was with her was beyond words, but if there was one word to describe it, it was addictive, he could not stop wanting her, wanting that buzz between them that only grew stronger with time. So even now, as his life hung on her reaction to her new prisoner, he could not help but watch her ass swing. She drove him nuts. He longed to get her in all fours and... 

"Well?" She snapped. Robin was drawn from his daytime fantasy by her poisonous tone. They were in front of the cell in which he had commanded the guard toss the young woman in. The Queen regarded him with an arched eyebrow. 

He gave her a tight smirk, sometimes he had to wonder if he really wasn’t afraid of her snapping his neck, before he passed her by and opened the door to the cell,  he did not, however, give her the satisfaction of entering first and slipped inside the cell  before her. He caught sight of  the girl he had abducted, who was sitting on the bed, her head shot up as soon as he came in. 

She quickly said, looking at him accusingly, "You!" 

The Queen walked in, all her regal pompousness and arrogance on display, just as the girl had spoken. When her eyes registered the girl, a small smirk substituted the scold she had had on her lips. 

"Well, well, what have we here?" she said. 

"Your majesty!" The girl said seemingly relieved rising from the bed, "There has been an awful mistake; I have not done anything wrong. Why have I been brought here?" 

"That's true." the Queen said, tapping her lips with her index finger, she seemed amused at the girl's distress, Robin couldn't have expected any different, "You have done something right and that's why you are here." 

"I don't understand." she looked out of sorts. 

"You see, you have done me a great favor." The Queen explained approaching the girl, "You have showed me that the dark one has a weakness." Her smile was malevolent and eager. 

"No." The girl merely whispered, bringing her hand to rest upon her lips, face turned into a pool of incredulity. 

The Queen let out a grave laugh, "Yes! You, silly girl!" 

The girl gasped and Robin could see tears start to form inside her eyes, but the girl seemed resolute in not shedding them, she kept her head high. 

"And now I'm going to keep you here under lock and key until the moment I can use you against him." The Queen continued in a malicious and excited tone. 

"You tricked me!" 

"I did no such thing!" the Queen pretended to be hurt by the girl's accusations placing a hand against her chest, "True love's kiss can break any curse. It's not my fault you fell in love with a coward who is too scared to let go of his powers." The Queen’s voice was teasing the girl, "Or maybe he just doesn't love you all that much." 

"So you're just going to keep me here forever?" The girl inquired in disbelief. 

"Yes! I'm so glad you understand." The Queen said turning on her heel and heading towards the door, "Locksley." she said when she was already outside, Robin gave the girl one last look and followed the Queen outside locking the large wooden door of her cell when he was out. 

The Queen had halted just outside the door and regarded him with a lifted eyebrow and an unreadable expression. 

"Although this was not as pleasing as Snow's head on a platter, I must admit it was quite a useful capture." She said without a hint of emotion in her tone 

"I think a thank you is in order your majesty," Robin said with a smirk 

"Oh please, don't make me laugh!" She opened up a devious smile "Never, in a million years would I do such a thing." 

"We will just see about that." He said, teasing her, he loved to do that, he loved to draw that very same reaction he was getting at this moment. Her eyes narrowed, the smile gone from her lips and she approached him taking two dangerous and certain steps in his direction. 

"Why?" She said in a low whisper that would have had any other man shit his pants. 

"Why what?" He met her words in a challenge. 

"Why have you gone out of your way, all alone, into the woods to capture her?" she questioned him, her eyes narrow with suspicion, "I had not commanded to do anything of the sort." 

"That's the thing, your majesty; I'm not really the ‘commanded’ sort." Robin replied not really answering her question, truth be told Robin was still not quite sure himself why he had done all this in the first place. 

"Well you should start getting used to taking orders because that is what you will be doing for as long as I live and hold onto your heart." her eyes grew wide, her face nearing his even more. 

"Then I guess I'll just have to kill you." he joked in a challenge nearing his face to hers, noses nearly bumping. 

She laughed, and in doing so drew her head away "You couldn’t even if you wanted to." 

"What makes you think that I don't want to?" he said in a serious daring tone. 

But he did not, he did not want to kill her. 

Maybe fuck her until she passed out, yes.  

But not kill her, not her- 

"What do you want Locksley?" she snapped back at him, her approach had changed again; it was quite tiring for Robin to keep up with her multiple personalities. Irritation now - and Robin could sense a bit of frustration beneath the facade - pouring out of her every pore, "There must be a reason why you captured that girl for me. What is it that you want from me?" 

"I want so many things from you, your majesty, but I find it that voicing them would not be the gentlemanly thing to do. It might hurt your ladylike disposition." 

She huffed "You're not funny." 

Robin caught his lower lip between his teeth. This woman was infuriating and yet he took great pleasure in pushing all her buttons, trying her to very end of her patience, irritating her to the fullest. 

It made him feel alive. It made him feel something. It seemed as if, when she was near and felt strong emotions towards him he was able to feel them too. It was an exquisite and odd feeling. 

Her anger fuelled him. 

Her body vibrated with hate and anger for him and he could feel the sentiment hit him square in the chest. 

He had apparently succeeded in liquidating the little that was left of her tolerance because in the event of his lack of response she closed the distance between them - not in the good way - one of her hands grabbed onto his throat and squeezed. Robin found it funny how she would always opt to harming him with her own hands instead of simply using her magic and not getting her hands dirty. She was always so close, and the proximity was like fireworks on his skin. 

"I'm going to ask you one last time-," she said through clenched teeth, her eyes burning into his "What do you want?" 

There was a pause and Robin thought with care as he finally gave voice to his wishes. 

"I want that infuriating mouth of yours sucking my cock and then I want you to swallow every last bit of my seed." He said loud and clear and could hear something fall and shatter inside the cell. 

I guess I did hurt somebody’s ladylike disposition after all. 

Her eyes grew wide. There was a deadly silence - that felt like a whole day to Robin - as he fished for her reaction but her face remained static. 

She drew her hand swiftly away from his throat hissed, "Fine." 

She was mad, staring daggers back at his eyes but the hand, which had just released his throat, was now on his belt along with the other one, undoing it. She pushed his trousers down freeing his member, he was already half hard, she pushed him so his back hit the door hard. Robin nearly stumbled on his own feet, his trousers limiting his movements, as he gawked at her with his mouth hanging slightly opened. 

He was a little surprised by her choice of location, the top of the stairs that lead to a cell that was currently being occupied. Daring but enticing. 

"Here?" he questioned, "You want to do this here?" 

She smirked, "Why do you ask? You have a problem with that?" 

"Well, there is somebody on the other side of the door for one." 

"And what makes you think I don't want her to hear it?” she lifted both her eyebrows, “You were never considerate enough to ask me what I want, but you men are all like that." She took his member in her hand and started to stroke him ever so slowly, her grip was firm and heavenly zaps of cracking energy were being sent to his now very hard erection with every thump. 

"I want to make you scream," her mouth was a breath away from his, she squeezed him harder drawing a moan from Robin, "And I want her to hear it. That's her punishment for not kissing that imp right." 

Robin had to laugh, "And isn't being locked in a tower for the rest of her life enough punishment?" 

She smirked at his comment and stroked him twisting the end of his cock; he hissed and she replied in an innocent tone, "I've told you people should start calling me the Evil Queen." 

"For once I'm glad to be on the receiving end of your evil ways," Robin teased his mouth looming over hers, their breaths mingling, her hand steady on his erection. 

"We will see about that," she whispered and caught his lower lip quickly in between her teeth and released, “Let’s see what you are made of thief.” She teased rising both her eyebrows. Her mouth nipped quickly at his throat and left a wet trail on his shirt, but not before she bit down quickly on his nipple through his shirt. 

He hissed, that felt… Remarkably and surprisingly good. 

When the Queen finally knelt in front of him, Robin could not help but feel like the King of the world. A sensation that was quickly stolen from him when her wet hot mouth came in contact with the tip of his cock in an open-mouthed kiss that lasted a little more than a second. She might have been the one on her knees but she most definitely had him on the palm of her hand, or, as it was more fitting for the situation, on the tip of her tongue. 

She did not, however, use her mouth on his hard member as he had hoped she would but instead started placing suckling kisses on the insides of his thighs, making her way up. She reached his groin and there she lingered watching for his every response, Robin felt like exploding. She sucked hard at a particular spot that made Robin’s head dizzy and, before he could think, had his hand reaching for her hair, grabbing a fist full and urging her onto him more. 

He could feel her smirk on his skin and damn her, at this moment she could command him to fucking tap dance in a floor full of needles and he would, happily. 

She continued to lick her way around his nether parts, driving him absolutely crazy, her hands held onto his hips steadying him. Her mouth was suddenly on the base of his cock, her tongue a mere light touch on the sensitive skin and again, she took him by surprise. Instead of going up, her mouth made its way downwards and she took one ball into her mouth and sucked humming in pleasure. 

Robin threw his head back - banging it at the door with force in the process, but he didn't care - at the overwhelming sensation of that fucking Queen fucking sucking his fucking balls, was this even real? On very rare occasions a woman had ever- 

Fuck, fuck! 

One of her hands had come into the mix and wrapped around his cock. She stroked him lazily as she sucked down below, releasing on ball and capturing the other, her dainty fingers only touching lightly at the very tip, moistening them with his precum. 

She released his ball with one pop of her mouth and chuckled at the strangled moan he freed. The Queen's hand left his erection so both her palms rested against the flesh of his hips whilst her tongue made it's torturously unhurried and light way from the base to the very tip of his cock. 

He watched her fiercely, every contact her amazing mouth made with his heated flesh burned and soothed. Robin's mouth was releasing involuntary noises of absolute pleasure while the Queen started placing very light kisses along his length. 

She looked thoroughly concentrated while pleasuring him but Robin could also sense she took great pleasure herself in doing what she was doing. She would give small hums, light moans of desire while tasting him, licking, and kissing all over his cock not a single inch of flesh was left untouched by her fervent mouth. 

She then brought her attention to the tip, first nipping it very lightly making little zaps of electricity run through Robin's entire body. When she started to - FINALLY - suck his head Robin had to screw his eyes shut. He banged his head - again - against the wooden door when the tender suckling became more intense, the Queen having restrained herself to sucking only his head. 

Fucking tease 

A brutal and loud groan escaped his lips when she took his whole length inside her mouth, slowly and torturously as she did most of the things when it came to physical pleasure. Even though Robin's eyes were painfully closed, he was absolutely sure that that damned Queen was watching him like a hawk, reveling in the reactions she was drawing from him. She took him as much as she could muster and sucked with fervor once before releasing him altogether drawing a moan that was created out of ecstasy but that ended in frustration. 

She hummed, "How are you copping outlaw?" drawing a long nail of her fingertip from dangerously close to his asshole, running it past his balls, up his length and placing a  soft kiss on the tip, Robin hissed at the contact, his eyes now opened. "I can go softer if you can't handle everything I’ve got." she purred and rage mingled with uncontrollable lust simmered about his body but Robin was momentarily unable to respond. 

She lifted one of those infuriatingly perfect eyebrows and started licking his length leisurely, taking her time and although her tongue could never feel anything but fantastic against his skin, he needed more. Plus he was most certainly not going to give her the satisfaction of thinking he could not 'handle' everything she could bring into the table. 

Taking a deep breath he grabbed a fist full of her hair and pulled her face roughly away from his sex, she looked up at him with an expression of lust, hunger and amusement. He pulled her hair and she hissed in delight digging her long nails on his sides and closing her eyes for a second a small smile tugging her lips. He pulled a second time and a small whimper escaped her parted lips, her hands traveled to knead his bare arse, her grip as fierce as his. 

She liked it  

The Regal, supernova Queen liked to have her fucking hair pulled.  

This was too good to be true 

Robin said in an audible tone, and although his voice was husky he was sure his words reached her ears as well as the ears of the meek young woman inside the cell, "Suck my fucking cock." 

He looked her dead in the eye and she smirked, his grip did not loosen on her hair though, but instead he guided her head back to his length and the Queen FINALLY complied to his request. 

She started to suck him with enthusiasm, she pumped him into her mouth in a steady and hot rhythm he started to meet with his own hips. Robin's groans mingled with her own moans as she began to suck him harder, pumping faster, hands glued to his backside and Robin was going to come apart at any second. Robin’s fist met the wooden surface of the door behind him in a punch when she drew away for a second and softly bit the tip of his cock. It was only a moment for the next thing he could register her mouth enveloped his whole length once again and Robin saw stars. 

"I'm gonna-" he tried but his orgasm prevented him from uttering any other word other than the loud scream of FUCK he gave when he emptied himself inside her mouth.

He had his eyes screwed shut and could feel her mouth leave his length. He quickly opened his eyes to feast upon the sight of the Queen swallowing his seed. She had her gaze locked in his the whole time and after swallowing, gave him a malicious little grin. Then the evil bitch took his whole member inside her mouth again, sucking it. Since he had just come his cock was much more sensitive. The suckling sensation on his flesh was almost unbearable and Robin released a small whimper at the pressure. She freed him from the wonderful confines of her wet mouth as Robin tried to catch his breath when he realized he still had a death grip on her hair. 

Without thinking, he pulled her up by her hair to which the Queen complied. Once on her feet she drew her thumb to the corner of her mouth to catch a bit of his seed that had escaped her heavenly swallow. She took that thumb inside her mouth and consumed the last bit of cum he had produced looking at him with heated and intense eyes. She leaned into the hand on her scalp and hummed. 

"You never cease to amaze me Locksley." he pulled her hair again and she hissed her eyes growing wide with desire. 

"You haven’t seen nothing yet." and with that he spun her around banging her back against the door with a thud. 

He pulled her hair again and she tilted her head as he ravaged her neck. He could not believe when he felt his member growing stiff again, so quickly after having had his release. It was now Robin's turn to suck, nip and tease her, his mouth was quick to make its way to the swell of her breasts. The corseted top pushed them up in a devilish manner and Robin wanted nothing more than to suck them until they were both covered with the red marks of his desire. 

Whilst feasting upon her breasts - or what his mouth could reach of her breasts - Robin kicked off his pants and undergarments that had been restraining his movements. His hand left her hair to travel down and start pressuring her sex through the thick layer of her skirt’s fabric. The Queen's nails were drawing frenzied patterns about his back - which sent shivers all through his body - her head was tilted back, eyes closed, hips meeting the movements of his hand. 

Her hands became impatient and she brought them to his arse bringing his sex to meet the dense coat of fabric of her skirt and moaned whilst she grinded herself against him. Robin moaned against the flesh of her breasts and drew away - his member thoroughly hard by now - and grabbed the hem of her dress lifting the cloth up so his hands could feast on those succulent thighs. His searching hands reached their ultimate destination and Robin had to crack open a grin as he felt her bare flesh against his palm. She apparently did not own a single set of undergarments. 

"I for one, I had no idea royals did not bother to wear undergarments." He ran his fingers about her slick folds - fucking hell she was so wet - and fiddled with her clit drawing a small moan from her lips, "And you dare and call me savage?" He hissed whilst he twisted his thumb about her buddle making her twitch herself onto his hand, their mouths a breath away, she looked enraged and aroused. 

Perfect 

"You have no idea of what I'm capable of." She growled, eyes squinted, she bucked her hips towards his hand again and completed, "Now I want you to fuck me so hard that the prisoners in the dungeons will hear my screams and the girl on the other side of that door will be marred for life." Her mouth hovered about his and Robin felt the red color invade his reality once more due to the amount of desire he felt. That woman was driving him up a wall with wanton and her words... They never disappointed. 

"Careful what you wish for your majesty." he said quickly and lifted her skirts fully and in no time buried his stiff cock inside her cunt. She gave a strangled yelp at the haste and force of his actions but quickly grabbed his shoulders banging her head against the door. 

He started to move inside her bringing both his hands to the back of her thighs and lifting her weight from the floor, pinning her against the door with force. Both her legs instantly wrapped around his middle as he continued to thrust inside her. Each pounding movement resulting in a harsh bang on the door he was trapping her against, with each push it became louder and tougher. 

For all the fucks in the world, Robin had never had a woman like this - in this position, yes, several times actually - but he had never felt such overwhelming desire for a woman before.

The expectation of fucking or taking someone new had always brought a unique feeling in Robin, but that would subside as he got used to the woman in question. However, that was most definitely not the case with this one. It seemed that the more he took her the more he wanted her, his hunger for her was insatiable. The buzz between them burned and burned, and even hurt at times but Robin did not care. This woman, pinned against the fucking door moaning whilst the fucked her, was the peak of ecstasy. 

He moved faster and the Queen started moaning louder and louder making good in her promise to let the whole castle aware of their activities. Robin groaned, bringing his head to her neck huffing his uneven breaths on her skin, unable to manage to do anything else but thrust rapidly and with vigor. Her grip on his shoulders grew even fiercer as he felt her walls clutch is cock and she released another one of those musical screams of pleasure, Robin quickly followed her, coming again with a FUCK uttered against her flesh. 

Robin kept his firm grip on her meaty arse while they both tried to catch their breaths. He still had himself buried inside her and found that he was always quite reluctant to pull from her, knowing that the electric connection would be broken and he would go back to feeling numb again. He had his forehead resting on her shoulder when she gave a small cough and he looked up. 

She was looking at him with the most quizzical look upon her face, no longer angry, no longer horny, just plain confused. Her voice came out croaky because of all that screaming she had performed 

"Don't ever do that again" 

“Do what?’ he asked, his voice a little croaky as well. 

“Disappear.” she said simply in a breath. 

Her words hit him like an arrow in his nonexistent heart and he replied instinctively without even thinking about the weight of his words. 

"I wouldn't dream of it."

Chapter Text

Delirious.

Regina was absolutely delirious with pleasure.

She shut her eyes, tilting her head back as the incredible sensations ran across her entire body. 

He licked her softly, gently and teased, never really reaching her aching points. Regina ground her sex against his face, demanding he give her more, zaps of electricity flying from the tip of his tongue. 

He answered by placing small bites around her entrance and then suddenly thrusting his tongue deep inside her. Regina gasped in surprise and pleasure as she started rocking herself against him, back and forth, riding his tongue, urging him to fuck her with it. 

He quickly drew his tongue away from her and Regina felt his lips twist into a smirk. 

She groaned and lifted her sex from his face, supporting her weight on her knees and looking down on him with flaming eyes. 

That man was so insufferable; it drove Regina up a wall. He acted as if he was no servant of hers at all and it made Regina feel uneasy, powerless. Of course, she knew she had the upper hand in the situation; after all, his heart was in her possession. But still he taunted her, still he defied her authority.

The thief managed to both anger and arouse Regina with his cocky grins and daring words. She could not deny she felt strongly for the man; she felt enraged by his attitudes, but they also enticed her, made her want to step up her game and get back at him. 

Situations such as this, where he had come to her chambers to give her reports from the Eastern searching parties. He had barely managed to deliver one sentence regarding the searches before he stopped speaking all together, preferring to run his gaze about her body. 

She had chosen to wear one of her favorite dresses, one she rarely used and, on the occasion that she did, was always paired with a bejeweled cape. Since Regina had been alone in her room she felt no need to wear the heavy piece of cloth. The dress was a rather revealing, red with its sleeveless tight corseted top, the cups that covered only half of her breasts were round and ornamented with precious stones and the skin in between her breasts was sinfully uncovered. It also had a very low cut back, which exposed a lot of skin. The dress’ hem reached her feet but there was a rather long slit on the right side that ended in her mid-thigh. 

Regina had grinned at his speechlessness and teased him about having seen something he liked. But to her surprise, he answered in his normal tone of voice sounding curious.

“That is the very first dress I do not want to tear from your body the second I lay eyes on it.” He said in a conversational tone.

Regina huffed “What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means that as infuriatingly gorgeous as it already looks, it would look even better on the floor.” He said openly, closing the door with a kick of his foot not even bothering to turn around to do so, his eyes ravaging her.

She had not been able to hide her surprise at his bold, bold words. How dare he? And yet, this was exactly what she wanted to hear coming from him, teasing words of challenge that had a compliment hidden somewhere.  

“Isn’t that a bit presumptuous of you outlaw?” he had approached her but still remained a good five feet away.

“I don’t care if it’s presumptuous, I know what I want, that’s all.” 

Ridiculous, ridiculous man, so cocky, Regina wanted to strangle him and yet-

“I have a better idea.” Regina said closing the distance between them and his smirk turned into a smile that quickly faded once Regina pushed him back forcibly. 

The outlaw lost his footing and started to fall but Regina’s magic was yet to fail her, she magically created a large chaise lounge and the meaty man Regina longed to devour fell on his back on the pillowed piece of furniture. 

It was now his turn to look startled as Regina stared at him helpless sprawled on the chaise, lying on his back. 

“The sight of you like that does bring me back satisfying memories you know.” She commented looking at him, she leaned her body closer to the chaise and ran both her hands up his thighs “Let’s play a game, shall we?” she reached his sex and squeezed him through the fabric of his trousers; he was already starting to harden.

The outlaw gave out a low moan and replied, “If the game involves that-” he gestured to her hand that had remained pressing against his member with a nod of his head “-I’m in!”

Regina moved her hands to the sides of his hips and crawled sensually on top of the man, straddling him at the waist.

“I was thinking more of a guessing game.” She ground herself against him and his hands came to grab onto her hips, his grip was biting strong but Regina loved it like that.

“What am I to guess?” he lifted one eyebrow, he groaned as she put more pressure on his sex, hoping to dry hump him into insanity, he continued “What orifice of yours I haven’t taken yet? Because we can take care of that right-” she managed to shut his dirty mouth up with another mighty grind.

“No” she lowered her torso to his, nearing their mouths whilst saying, “I want you to guess which artefact of clothing I forgot to put on today,”- She widened her eyes and smiled completing “-with your mouth.”

She was so close to him she could see the dimples on his face appear as he grinned, "I already have a wild guess-" he said while one of his hands travelled about her arse and he tried to sneak them inside the slit of her dress.

She laughed and slapped has hand away, "No, no-'' she brought the slapping hand to his face tracing one dimple with her thumb, "-I said you can only use your mouth thief." her thumb found it's way to his lips and he immediately took it into his mouth, sucking it, which made Regina hiss and grind her sex more forcibly against his.

"I was never really good at playing by the rules, your majesty," he said after releasing her thumb "As you remind me of ever so often, I am a thief." he closed the distance between them, capturing her lips in a wild kiss. Regina was only too eager to respond, opening her mouth to him and letting him slip his fire blazing tongue inside her mouth.

Kissing that man felt like fireworks, the more they kissed, the more intense the electricity between them was. It took Regina's breath away, although she would never give him the satisfaction of knowing that. And even though she knew she should not let him indulge in this kind of control over her, Regina never had the strength to fight his passionate kisses off, nor did she really want to.

"Thief indeed-" she purred after breaking the passionate exchange "-stealing kisses from the Queen" she took his lower lip in between her teeth; she released it and completed "Careful one day I'll have your head for your crimes."

"Ah your majesty, you'll only have my head if it's still attached to my body and in between your thighs" he retorted instantly, Regina could not help but laugh, he had some nerve, and she hated and loved that about him.

"Speaking of which-" Regina ground herself against him one last time before she brought her hands to the sides of his face and crawled herself up, stopping just as her knees were next to his neck, she gathered her skirts in both hands, "Let’s play!" and with that she hid his head under her skirts. 

She was on her knees but was not sitting on him, she felt him shift beneath her.

Two seconds later she felt one large, sturdy, calloused hand on her derriere as the elbow of the other arm supported his weight so he was able to raise his mouth up and slip his very smart tongue inside her folds, which managed to draw small whines of pleasure from Regina.

So there they were, he had been sucking her bud and making Regina see colorful spots in front of her with the thrill of his tongue. But now even though she could not see, she most certainly felt that insufferable smile on her. She lifted her skirts to meet his gaze and was found with the very image of the intolerable grin.

"Did you have a stroke while you were grinning?" she gathered as much control as she could manage to sound superior.

"No, nothing of the sort-" his voice was a bit hoarse, that thick accent turned Regina on more than she liked to admit "I just seemed to have found out what is missing from the royal garb."

"Oh, you have?" she mussed 

"Yes-" he started, still grinning "- although I find myself reluctant to inform you which garb you seem to be missing not only today but every day I put my hands up your-"

"Your majesty!"

Both their heads snapped at the direction of the mirror with an equal amount of fury. The hovering head seemed at least to look uncomfortable with the sight that met his eyes, having been bound by magic to inform Regina of her enemies’ whereabouts he could no longer control when or where his image would appear to her.

Regina sat on the thief's chest with a huff for the first time, her juices along with his saliva spreading themselves on his shirt. The man beneath her groaned muttering "Fucking hell..."

"Ah mirror, this better be good." she hissed through closed teeth.

"I can assume it is, since I have found the location of Snow White." he said with a smug look on his ghostly face.

"WHAT?" An overwhelming feeling invaded Regina's chest and before she knew it she was getting up in the most unladylike manner and in the process knocking the thief off the chaise. She did not give him a second glance as she headed to face the mirror fixing her dress. "Show me!" she demanded, the mirror had a victorious look on his face as if he was winning her attention from the thief, it was sickening and Regina could not have that. But, at that very moment, she had other more important things to think about, as in the many ways she could kill Snow White.

The image in the mirror shifted and Regina's eyes met the image of a ball, a royal ball nonetheless and there she was, Snow White. She was chatting to another young woman enthusiastically about something. Regina's eyes narrowed at the sight, rage bubbled from her very core. Regina hunted her down and she was in a ball chit chatting about boys with a red head!?

"I don't know Snow, he-" the red haired young woman started "-he wants to take me with him. But-" the girl looked down at her palms "-you know I can't.."

"Nonsense" Snow grabbed the girl's hands in her own "Talk to him. Tell him the truth; if he truly loves you he won't care Ariel!"

"I can't tell him that I'm really a mermaid Snow! Ursula's gift will only last for so long-'' the girl reasoned "-how can we be together when there's a fin between us?"

"You'll find a way Ariel, you both will." Snow smiled that excruciatingly annoying smile of hers "But you have to be honest with him, you cannot build anything with him based on a lie."

Regina noticed the dresses they wore were a far cry from what she was used to seeing in her kingdom and the ones that surrounded it. Snow had travelled far, she was by the sea, if Regina was not mistaken that had to be the kingdom farthest east in the Enchanted Forest. How had she even gotten that far?

Regina also noticed with satisfaction that Snow's dress exposed an ugly pink scar on her left shoulder.

That must have been the Outlaw's handy work.

Speaking of which.

She turned around to face him and he was no longer on the ground where she had left him but standing 3 feet right behind her. He looked back at her with a rather irritated look on his face.

"Go get me Rickon and his second, I want them here at once." she snapped at him.

The outlaw huffed but didn't say anything, he bowed to her in a very unnecessarily exaggerated way and headed for the door, Regina could have sworn she heard him mutter, "That woman is going to be the death of me" when he reached the corridor but she could not be sure.

Grinning nonetheless, she turned her attention back to the mirror where the two young women conversed.

So, Snow had befriended a mermaid. Maybe Regina could use her newfound friend to get to Snow, show her that no matter how many friends she tried to collect, Regina would always make them suffer because of their association with her. In no time nobody would want to help her, nobody would want to shelter her from Regina's wrath and, sooner or later, Regina would have her long awaited revenge.

Looking at Snow's pale complexion again Regina could also spot there was a thin but long line on her face, another scar that adorned her right cheek. She was glad the girl did not emerge from the fight with the outlaw unharmed. Although it had been only two weeks since the encounter, how had she healed so fast?

This smelled like fairy work to her and Regina did not like it in the least. She would turn that unnerving Blue purple if she could.

The hot headed bandit reentered her chamber, still with a distasteful look on his face, accompanied by Rickon and his second in command, Ivan; they both looked uneasy. 

As they should.

After all, they were in charge of the eastern parties to search for Snow White and there the girl was, treating herself to going to royal balls.

The outlaw stayed behind them as they approached Regina with uncertainty and bowed respectfully keeping their heads down.

"Care to explain to me how Snow White is treating herself to parties in the eastern kingdom while your man should be looking for her there?" she raised a perfect eyebrow, her cheeks had been flushed but a few minutes prior but now her face was a white mask of distaste.

"Your majesty, we did pursue her there, me and Ralph." Rickon explained, "It's all in the report." He looked back at Locksley who did not even bother to meet the man's eye; his gaze was fixed on the image in the mirror that still played of Snow and her mermaid friend.

"I could not give a damn about a pile of report papers Rickon!" Regina bellowed, "If you did pursue her, why isn't she in shackles kneeling before me?"

"Yes, we did pursue her to a hill top; she ended up running into a dead end. There was nowhere for her to escape, she was to either come with us or jump from the high cliff into the treacherous sea waters."

"And let me guess-" Regina started, she was way too nervous to be playing guessing games "-she jumped?"

"She did." Rickon said, "We saw her sink deep and it took a great number of minutes for her to emerge again, that-" he pointed at Ariel's image on the mirror "that woman brought the body to the surface, the red haired one." Mulok gestured with his hands trying to explain "But she looked dead your majesty, the girl's body looked dead."

"So you did not even bother to follow the mermaid?" Regina hissed dangerously, so much anger now, that idiot had had Snow so close to his reach; Regina felt her head burst with a pounding headache.

"But she looked dead, your majesty." Mulok tried to defend himself.

"No-" Regina said making up her mind as to how to show her man failure was not an option, her hands simmered with magic and a bow and arrow appeared on the outlaw's grasp, he looked confused "Dead looks more like this-" she could see the outlaw got her message and readied the arrow in the bow "Locksley?"

The arrow flew so fast it startled her, in less than a second Rickon had an arrow buried on his neck, it hit the man in the jugular killing him instantly. His limp body dropped helplessly to the floor as the other guard looked upon Regina with utmost fear. Regina regarded the dead body with disdain and looked up to meet Ivan’s fear filled eyes.

"Congratulations Ivan, you are now the captain of the east party. I trust your men won't fail me again."

"No your majesty, never" the man stuttered, "Should I send more man after Snow White then?" he asked in a tentative tone, trying to please Regina.

Fool

"No" Regina responded, "It looks like I'm going to have to be the one to go after her after all."

... 

The mermaid was as gullible as her eyes and smile had betrayed her to be when Regina first saw her through the mirror. The plan was rather simple, to deceive the mermaid, make her think Regina was Ursula and have her seal her dear friend's doom imprisoning Snow in her fin; Snow would be helpless to escape Regina then.

Regina had delighted herself in disguising herself as the sea witch that had not been spotted for thousands of years, she was most certainly a myth, but tonight Regina would make her real. As she changed her hair color to white and her skin grew a few shades next to a light lilac, the outlaw had entered her room and tried to hold back a laugh at her camouflage. 

"Something funny?" she had asked, annoyed already by his presence.

"Oh no." he replied, having the nerve to sit on her bed. "It's just I think you might be coming down with something your majesty" his cheeks were turning a soft shade of red showing he was holding back the laughter meant for her cover.

"UH! You are intolerable!" she gestured her hand towards him and his body fell back on the bed, ropes appeared out of thin air and bind the outlaw's wrists to both the posts on her bed, she continued, turning around to face him, "You are so lucky you are a good fuck thief-" she took several more steps in his direction, she stood in between his legs that dangled from the edge of the bed and continued, "-otherwise I would have killed you long ago."

He did not look surprised or offended on the very least, quite in the contrary, his expression was self-satisfied as he replied, "Well then, it's a good thing I'm fucking you right then."

She made the ropes tighten on his wrists, made them pull on his arms stretching them, his expression changed into a pained one but he refused to let out one sound of agony "Don't push your luck, thief ."

Regina watched gladly as he clenched his teeth, it took him a bit but he retorted her comment "The only thing I will be pushing is my cock up your-"

Before he could finish his dirty comment, she waved her hands and he was engulfed in purple smoke. A beat after he disappeared Regina could hear the distinctive sound of a body being dropped in water coming out her window. She knew he still took nightly baths in that sordid river, so she figured he could use a daytime washing as well. 

A satisfied smile filled Regina's lips at the thought of him being dropped inside the cool water fully clothed. 

Insolent animal

It would serve him right

But then her smile turned a tad malicious at the thought of him taking her once more. 

…

It was almost laughable how easy it was to fool the little mermaid. It seemed that all you had to do to win these young women's trust these days was to promise them a happy ending, a chance at true love. 

Gullible pathetic lot. 

Never thought of consequences. The girl was quite willing to condemn Snow to a life under the sea, not thinking that maybe, this would not be the best option for her dear, dear friend . 

But Regina could not care less.

The sun was rising on the horizon, darkness giving into daylight little by little. The weak rays of the rising Sun played in the surface of the water painting a multi colored canvas in it. The view was beautiful and breathtaking but Regina only had eyes for one single thing.

The dark haired young woman who stood at the deck wearing the most atrocious set of clothing Regina had ever laid eyes on. The mere sight of Snow made Regina's blood boil, she looked very different, and not only her clothing but also her manner had changed completely. 

No longer was she the delicate flower Regina had practically been forced to raise but she stood tall, head held high, face devoid of any make up, tangled long black hair. She also now sported an unattractive scar on her cheek to match her new garments, but that infuriating spirit of hope and positivity never seemed to leave her.

But not for long.

The red haired girl came into view, she was clutching the bracelet on her right hand and now Regina watched from afar as she placed the accessory on Snow's wrist.

Regina's cheeks hurt from smiling as she watched Snow lose her balance due to her new set of.. well, her fin, green and filled with scales. Regina had to admit she had not in her craziest fantasies about killing the girl, pictured it coming to pass like this.

Snow looked horrified and Regina found there her cue to make her presence known to the two naive young women. She decided to make a grand entrance via purple smoke and with a flicker of her wrist; she appeared right in front of her helpless now half fish stepdaughter.

"My, my! Look at the catch of the day!" Regina beamed, joy was almost bursting through her chest, she vowed to enjoy this as much as she could.

Snow looked up at her with her annoyingly big green eyes, her fin moved a little and she mouthed “Regina” in defeat.

"Ursula!" Ariel called her attention; she turned to face the red hair "Oh Ursula thank you so much! Your bracelet worked, now I can go on and meet Eric and-"

"Oh Ariel" Snow interrupted the once mermaid "This is not Ursula" she looked back at Regina "This is the Evil Queen, Regina, the one I told you was out for my blood."

"What?" Ariel looked perplexed and confused looking from Snow to Regina "But she helped me. I have my legs now." The look on her face was quite funny, she was genuinely trying to hold on to the belief that Regina had been Ursula. 

Poor unfortunate soul

"Yes I did give you your legs." Regina addressed the young woman, "So show some gratitude and get the hell out of my sight!" 

Regina waved her hands dismissively "Go meet your prince, be happy or whatever it is that you young women seem to crave so much for nowadays." she turned her gaze back to Snow, "Me and my lovely step daughter here have some unfinished business to attend to." 

Without any warning Regina used her magic to lift Snow's heavy fin burdened body from the ground.

"I can't let you do this to her!" Ariel defied Regina who was starting to get rather annoyed by her presence.

"I'm not going to tell you a second time, mermaid. " Regina made sure to deliver 'mermaid' in between her clenched teeth "I gave you those legs and I can very well take them away from you!" Regina did not spare the girl a single glance, her eyes fixed on Snow, helpless and without hope.

"But she's my friend, I can't walk away from her now, especially since I know you're going to kill her!" the girl stood her ground.

"Oh really?" Regina looked back at her "And what are you going to do about it, hun? Sing me a song and try to persuade me I should let her live?" Regina laughed, "Spare me your heroism fish. Go now and meet your prince, live your dream but most importantly, leave me ALONE." 

The girl looked down at her own hands; she was fidgeting with her fingers and biting her lower lip. She looked at Regina with pleading eyes - and Regina was more than ready to make smoked salmon out of this girl if she uttered another word - but then she looked apologetically at Snow and finally said in a tearful tone, "I'm so sorry Snow"

Snow had the nerve to reply, "It's alright Ariel. You get a chance at happiness and true love and that's something the Queen-" Snow turned her gaze to Regina "-will never have."

Snow's words filled Regina with rage, she could make out the once mermaid walking away from them towards the island, but all her concentration was now in the spell she was using to strangle the life out of that brat. 

HOW DARE SHE?

How dare she say those words? She knew fully well it was her fault alone and no one else's that Regina's life had turned out this way. SHE had crushed Regina's chance at happiness and true love to pieces and now Regina was going to squeeze the life out of her body if it was the very last thing she did. 

Regina's vision became red, rage, fulfillment as she saw the color leave Snow's already pale complexion. A wide smile spread itself on Regina's lips; her heart was fluttering with excitement, beating erratically on her chest. 

Finally

Finally the brat was going to pay

Just a little bit more and the life would leave the girl's body and Regina's need for revenge would be sated, Daniel's death avenged. She had waited far too long for this moment; her eyes grew impossibly large with fulfillment.

Regina's senses were numbed, so it was too late when she noticed that the red haired young woman had come up from behind her and drew her attention for a moment, startling her.

The whole thing must have lasted seconds, but Regina could see the scene playing out in front of her in slow motion. How Ariel had come back and was clutching what looked like a fork on her right hand, aiming it in Regina's direction. How a second later the girl's expression changed from determination to pain to desperation as the sound of a stinging shot hitting its target reached Regina's ears. How the girl halted her moves and released a pained noise, dropping her fork. How simultaneously Regina and Ariel looked down at the girl's middle to find a single arrow sticking out of her belly, it's point crimson with blood. And how in between all those things Regina's attention had diverged from Snow making her spell that held her in the air come to an end. And how Regina only realized this after hearing the noise of something quite heavy being dropped into the water.

NO!

Regina looked back at where Snow had been hoisted by her magic but now there was only white foam on the surface of the water, where she fell, only a faint glimpse of a green tail in sight now, going under and under.

"NO!" Regina screamed, she turned back to the deadly harmed red hair "YOU! You did this, you foolish girl!" the girl had dropped to her knees and had her hands about the arrow sticking out of her flesh.

"She didn't deserve to die," she said weakly. 

"That is NOT up to you to decide!" Regina roared, not touched in the very least by the gravity of the situation the girl found herself in. She could have walked away, been happy with her Prince, but instead she chose to intervene; Regina had given her a change, she had just been too foolish not to take it.

And there were no second chances when it came to Regina. Since she was not given one, no one else should.

Regina could hear some noise coming from the waters and realized three mermaids had surfaced from the salty waters and were staring at her accusingly.

"What?" Regina spat at them "I did nothing to harm your sister. Here-" Regina used her magic to push the girl's body to the water towards her mermaid sisters "-take her out of my sight. I’ve had quite enough of you lot for a lifetime!"

"We know you did not harm our sister" one of the mermaids told her, she had long blonde hair and was wearing a seashell crown on her head.

"But your lover did-" a dark skinned mermaid told her.

"What?" Regina was confused, lover? It could not be-?

"-he did it to defend you" another mermaid informed her as she motioned with her head none other than that damned thief, Robin of fucking Locksley, walking up to her on the deck bow in his hand.

"But however noble his intentions were or not to defend you-" the first mermaid to speak told her.

"-you will now have to face the wrath of Ursula for harming a sea creature in her own land" the dark skinned one completed her sister's sentence.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Regina said infuriated "Are you threatening me? Do you have any idea with whom you are dealing with? How do you even know that he's my-?"

But Regina stopped mid sentence as the black in all the mermaid's eyes turned white and the sky began to darken at an unnatural speed. The thief reached her side just as the three mermaids said in unison

"The skies will close and the Gods will weep for this affront. The water that falls strips you of all power, the animals run wild, as a life is lost."

"What the hell are they on about?" the thief asked her slightly out of breath due to his run, he did not seem to really be much affected by their words.

The three mermaids along with the bleeding body of Ariel sank inside the water, as they did not utter another word or blink, their eyes still white.

Regina turned to finally face the outlaw.

"You complete IDIOT!" she roared at him, the skies were dark but not as dark as her penetrating and enraged gaze was.

"A simple 'thank you' would suffice" the outlaw retorted.

"What should I thank you for?" Regina was not thinking straight, she was going to place the blame on anybody if it meant she could lash out at somebody for having had Snow escape on her AGAIN.

"Oh, I don't know-" he raised his voice "-maybe saving your ass from that petty red hair?"

"Oh, so I'm supposed to be thankful to you because she did not stab me lethally WITH A FORK!" Regina was screaming now.

"Gods, you are the most infuriating person I have ever met!" Robin met her screams.

“Because of your bloody attack I got distracted and Snow swam away!”

“Because of my bloody attack you did not get stabbed in the neck!”

“WITH A FORK YOU FUCKING IDIOT!”

“I DID NOT FUCKING KNOW IT WAS A BLOODY FORK YOU LUNATIC!” he screamed back at her pushing her back “From the distance I could only see a silvery pointy object making its way to your bloody neck, damn it.”

Regina huffed, he was right, she knew he was right, but she would be damned if she ever gave into that man “What are you even doing here? Are you following me now? Hoping to get a quick fuck in between my evil plans?”

The thief seemed to grow angrier at her words and let out a rage-filled scream as he kicked mightily a stray wooden bucket that ended up landing on the now moving sea waters. The sky had turned very dark, as the mermaids had warned them but in the midst of their heated discussion, the change went by unnoticed until the pair noticed how the sea waters had started to move more quickly when only moments ago it was peaceful and almost unmoving. Their gaze accompanied the motion of the bucket that suddenly got sucked into the dark waters, their eyes met at the sight.

“I swear that sometimes I wish I could push you into a vortex like that.” the outlaw said looking at her, obviously still pained by her previous words.

She huffed, unimpressed – as always – by his half threat “Was that supposed to be a threat? Am I supposed to be frightened that you’ll push me into the water?” 

They exchanged a long angered gaze, each holding the other’s eye in challenge, not moving muscle. Suddenly big droplets of rain started falling from the sky slowly, but their exchange did not break.

Heat and anger were practically bursting out of Regina’s chest and she could sense that the feeling was most certainly reciprocated by the hotheaded outlaw. After a few moments the outlaw finally broke the silence saying in a defeated yet annoyed tone.

“Fuck all this-” he turned his back on her and started to walk away. The heavy droplets were succeeding in getting the pair wet but neither of them seemed to care or notice.

“Don’t you dare walk away from me!” Regina roared and lifted her hand in order to use her magic to bring him back to face her. But although Regina could feel her power running through her veins she was not able to use it, hence the outlaw continued to walk away.

Regina felt terrified, she tried to summon her fireballs - that were a second nature spell for her already - and nothing happened. She looked horrified at the palms of her hands and took off the black leather gloves she had been wearing and tried again.

Nothing happened.

She had been indeed stripped of the capacity to use her powers.

She looked ahead at the outlaw who was almost reaching the island, walking blissfully unaware of her situation, walking away from her. As so many had before him. And now, even her magic had left her.

Regina felt a strong pang on her chest, so strong she instinctively clutched the spot of her heart with her hand. She screwed her eyes shut as the pain continued and Regina felt hopeless and so very alone. It had been the longest time since she had felt so strongly because of her loneliness. 

What was happening?

You are being weak dearie. That thief is making you weak.

No! The thief is making me nothing! The thief might make me horny but that is IT! Regina retorted to the impish voice

And right you are at being horny! You deserve to be satisfied! The Queen sporting only black thigh high stockings still lounging on a chaise told her.

Regina shook her head to try to get rid of all those irritating voices in her head. She was now soaked to the bone and for the first time actually acknowledged that it was raining and it did not look like it was going to be a passing thing.

She looked ahead and spotted the outlaw's frame, he had now reached the island and was making his way towards the forest. He walked with his head down, his paces were not hasty - as one would expect another to take in such a weather. 

Regina had very little choice but to follow him. She cursed her choice of attire, her tight leather skirt was doing nothing to assist her reaching the outlaw, plus Regina knew that the whole outfit had now been ruined thanks to the exposure to all this water. 

Just my luck

Huffing and still very much infuriated by this whole situation Regina put one foot in front of the other and marched towards the outlaw. Despite of Regina's best attempts to reach him she did not succeed and had to resort to something she deemed quite beneath her

"OI!" she screamed feeling her cheeks burn hot.

The outlaw's head snapped back in her direction almost instantly as he stopped walking, Regina made her way towards him trying to maintain the little poise and composure of a Queen she was able to muster. He sported a surprised expression on his face which was a relieving change from smug smirking he seemed so fond of doing.

"Do my eyes deceive me-" he started, he had to half shout since the rain was pouring quite heavily at this point "- or are you really here soaked to the bone?"

Regina glared at him but said nothing, the droplets of rain falling from her lashes made her eyes itch and her humor drop a thousand more points.

"I would have assumed you had already done your puffy thing and gone back to the castle, your majesty." he continued, his eyes squinting a bit due to the rain "I would have never judged you for being one who enjoys the benefits of a good rain shower-"

"SHUT UP!" Regina ordered closing her eyes whilst speaking, she reopened them and he was looking at her, smug smirk back on his face.

"You will escort me to my castle thief-" Regina started pointing her now gloveless finger at him "-and God help you should anything happen to me during the journey."

His mouth opened to retort but then closed it, he crossed his arms and regarded her for a beat, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, before responding.

"Alright-" he looked rather puzzled at her request but Regina would be damned before she would give him any sort of explanation. 

Without another word the thief led Regina into the woods that surrounded Prince Eric's castle, she was thankful for the silence but still silently cursed her choice of foot wear. This was going to be a long day...

Chapter Text

They had entered the forest and Regina cursed every five steps she took for either her kneel would get stuck in the mud, then her skirt would prevent her from removing it from the ground or a new strand of wet hair would plaster itself on her face. She gathered she must have looked ridiculous and she hated the fact that of all the people in the world, that particular outlaw was the audience to her humiliation.

But the man himself kept in front, guiding her through the woods and rarely looked back at her or helped her when her clothing would get caught in some matter of foresty trap. Regina had had just about enough of her hot leather jacket - which she knew was ruined - she stopped on her tracks.

"Damn this!" and without another word, she tore the jacket from her body with a strength she herself did not know she possessed. 

On that day - for the very first time in a very long time - Regina had actually chosen to wear some sort of undergarments, for which she was now very much thankful for, for instead of an exposed chest she had a thin dark layer of fabric covering her skin. It was very little fabric, only a pair of black straps supporting the cup shaped top that covered her breasts, and as for her stomach, it was covered by a thin black fabric that now clung to her skin. 

The outlaw turned on his heel as soon as he heard her exclamation. Regina's gaze turned to him as soon as she was able to rid herself completely of the leathery prison, the look on his face was worth getting a million high-heeled boots stuck in the mud.

His mouth was hanging slightly open; his eyes seemed to be stuck on her breasts and he actually dropped his bow. Having the best archer in the realm drop his BOW to the mere sight of her did things to Regina. It was now her turn to look smug and let an insufferable smirk adorn her lips.

"Fuck me" he managed to whisper.

Regina groaned trying to sound annoyed but actually loving the extra attention "Fuck you!" she sneered back at him "Get ahold of your primal instincts thief. That cannot be all you think about."

Regina felt like such a ridiculous hypocrite, for when it came to him, sex was high up on the list of things she thought about, it was, after all, the best sex she had ever had. But this was yet another thing he did not need to know, ever .

"Very difficult not to think about it when you start taking your clothes off" he stated shamelessly ogling her breasts.

They no longer had to half scream in order to be heard for - although the rain kept pouring down on them - the protection of the forest trees muffled the loud noise of the rain. They were still soaked, so Regina was still angry, but with that very special brand of anger he brought to her heart also came an irritating amount of desire.

Regina raised one eyebrow at his comment and for the first time in that entire day, or maybe even ever since they had met, decided to actually agree with him. However, she would be agreeing in her own special way.

She did not say anything, but continued to look at him square in the eye, perfect brow still lifted, she smirked. Ever so slowly, she brought one hand to the right strap on her bodice. She hooked her index finger on the thin material and -  watching his every reaction like a hawk - started pulling it down.

The dumbfounded expression returned to the thief's features and Regina felt victorious. She might have been wet, angry and temperamental but she was glad she could still twist that man in the tip of her finger.

Regina's majesty was not long lived, though, for when her finger's task was done a spine-chilling howl reached both their ears. All sensual games forgotten in a split second, their eyes met in another light.

"Wolves" he said, his gaze now scanning their surroundings. He picked up his bow from the floor and motioned for Regina to get closer to him "Come, we have to move."

And so the outlaw led Regina hastily through the woods, her boots were not helping, they were slowing her down, she had almost twisted her ankle seven times already. She had had enough of it, so she grabbed his hand in order for them to stop and started to remove her boots.

"Why won't you just magic yourself out of here?" he asked her just as she had removed the first boot.

"If I could, do you think I'd be here with you right now?" she retorted not looking at him, discarding the other boot.

"Did you lose your powers then?" he asked.

"Not that is any of your business but no, I did not lose my powers, they are still inside me. I just can't use them."

"My, isn't this your lucky day then?" He had the nerve to comment.

"No thanks to you!" Regina spat back. 

"Thanks to me you are not dinner." and with no other words he grabbed her hand and they continued tracking along the forest, trying to keep out of the wolves way.

Their attempt to escape failed, Regina was able to spot several pairs of yellow eyes amongst the trees. The rain had not ceased and nor had the hold the thief had on her hand. They ran past the trees as fast as they could, but all their efforts seemed effortless in the face of their feral enemies. With no magic Regina had no hope in confronting them, had she had her power on her fingertips she would have been able to set fire to them all with a flicker of her wrist. 

Now she felt helpless and scared. Two things she had not felt in the longest time, two things she had vowed she would never feel again. Ever since she started taking her magic lessons, she had dedicated all her efforts in her magic, and through that dedication, her magic grew stronger and stronger. It would always protect her, it would help her harm others before they ever had the chance to harm her. 

But she was stripped of her magic, running away from a pack of wolves with a thief that made her see red with anger but also with lust. She most definitely did not have the upper hand in this situation, soaked to the bone and half naked, Regina did not like to feel like that at all. 

If only mother could see me now!

Suddenly he stopped, Regina regarded him confused.

"There is no way we are going to get to the edge of this forest before the pack catches us-" he took a dagger from his belt and continued "-we'll have to climb."

Regina's eyes widened "Climb? Climb what?"

"Climb this tree, it's the tallest and greatest one I could spot." he told her.

"I'm not climbing a tree. Do I look like a monkey to you?" Regina replied

"Your majesty, you can either be a monkey with me or dinner with the wolves-" he said looking up at the tree "-suit yourself." and with that he started to climb the tree, not a single look back was given to Regina.

Desperation hit her like an arrow.

That damned man was doing this on purpose; he wanted her to ask for his help. 

DAMN, DAMN, DAMN him if she ever lived through this day.

"Wait!" Regina shouted after him, he stopped climbing "Please-" Her voice came out small, she could not believe she had just said that. Apparently neither could he for when he turned his head to face her his face bore a stunned expression. He immediately jumped off the tree and stood in front of her.

"Come again?" he whispered.

"You are really enjoying this aren't you?" she narrowed her eyes.

"Immensely," he replied.

"Help me up." Regina said.

"Help you up what?" the outlaw asked with a tiny smile on his lips.

"Help me up NOW!" Regina’s blood was boiling.

"You know that's not the right way to go" he bit his lower lip.

"Help me up right now or we will both be turned into wolf lunch."

"You are forgetting you manners your majesty."

Regina knew he was not going to budge so she finally gave in "Please help me up!"

"There we are, that wasn't so bad now, was it?" he said smirking, his dagger danced about his fingers.

"Don't push it outlaw" Regina retorted between clenched teeth.

"I believe I've already told you what I plan on pushing-" he said kneeling down in front of her. 

Regina was confused, why did he kneel? Weren’t they supposed to be going up?

Without any warning, the outlaw brought his dagger to the hem of her heavy leather skirt and cut it manufacturing his own personal slit.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" Regina bellowed trying to move away from him while he brought the dangerously sharp knife up.

"I'm making sure you are able to actually climb the tree!" he responded, continuing his handy work, cutting the fabric until he reached the top of her thigh.

When he was finished Regina looked down at her now ruined skirt and commented, "This cut goes unnecessarily high.”

“Easier access your majesty,” he said, rising from his knees and having the guts to wink at her, Regina rolled her eyes.

His humor was short lived for the howling of the wolves was getting dangerously near.

“Right-” he regarded her for a heartbeat “-up we go.”

Without any fair warning lowered his body so he could grab her about her knees and lift her. Regina let out a surprised yelp and instinctively tried to kick him away.

“Stop kicking me damn it” she could hear his voice ringing against her thigh “Trying to get us both killed?” he managed to hoist her up a little higher “Can you grab that branch?”

Regina had been in a state of absolute shock, from all that had happened that day; she did not in a million years picture herself in this position, in place and time. She snapped back to reality and looked up to see a thick branch an arm’s reach away from her.

“A bit more to the left” she said, not believing the absurdity of the situation.

He thankfully obliged and Regina was moved enough to be able to grab a hold of the thick branch. When her hands came in contact with the tree she could feel the slimy substances that grazed its surface, reluctantly but with very little choice left, Regina used both her hands to hoist herself up on the branch. Her arms stung with pain as she climbed the branch but the rush of adrenaline cause by the howling helped her in the end. 

Cutting a generous slit in her dress had in fact helped her tremendously when she came to put one knee to the branch – but not before promptly using the outlaw’s head as a step rest her feet on – and finally getting herself out of the thief’s grasp and onto the terrifyingly uneven surface of the branch. Her torso was pressed to the wood, and she managed to stand just as the outlaw screamed from below.

“Keep going, I’m right behind you.” 

Regina looked down at him for a moment, all wet and dirty and helping her.

He could have left her to die long ago, he was used to this, she wasn’t, she was slowing them down. He should have just left her there, he was heartless after all. But he did no such thing. He hoisted her up before himself even. He-

Best, not think too much about this, it is an extreme situation in which people tend to act in strange ways. Regina reasoned with herself

Besides dearie, you took his heart! Do you even think he is able to nurture any kind of feeling for you?

She took a deep breath and pushed all her feelings down so she could focus on the task at hand, climb. 

And climb she did, not that it was easy, the outlaw's assistance was much needed. But in the end they were both able to reach a large branch, it was rather large in width, not very long but rather robust, it could take their added weight. It was up about twenty feet from the ground and Regina watched alongside the thief as the pack of wolves passed the tree by. They took care not to make any noise, some of the wolves stopped to sniff at the tree trunk, some howled but after a few minutes they left and an uncomfortable silence, only broken by the sound of rainfall, descended upon them.

They both stood looking down for a few minutes but Regina was downright exhausted and did not know what time of day it was, - since it was still pouring down and the skies were dark – she gave a defeated sigh and broke the silence.

"Can we climb down now?" She did not even bother to try to maintain station over him; she was just too damn tired for that exhausting game of power they usually played.

"We cannot." He said, his voice also bland, no biting, no sarcasm, for which Regina was thankful.

"Why not?" Regina asked.

"Because even though the pack moved, they are still about these woods. And thanks to the trail you left-" 

"I left no such thing" Regina interrupted him out of instinct.

"Yes you did. You left half your clothes on our way here." He explained in a plain voice, not bothered by the rise in her tone.

"Oh" was all she could muster to reply.

They fell silent for a few more minutes until it was the outlaw's turn to break the silence.

"Do you know why you can't use your powers?"

"I-" Regina started "During our early tracking I tried to think of an explanation but this has never happened to me before" she admitted slightly defeated.

"Oh" he gave her.

"But then I remembered that something different had happened today." She neared the truck and leaned her back against it thankful for the little comfort it offered. "The mermaids!"

"The mermaids?" He looked puzzled and took two steps in her direction standing in a close but respectful distance

"Yes! When you shot that mermaid-"

"I did not shoot a mermaid! I'm not retarded, you can't harm a sea creature next to the sea, any idiot knows that-"

"Ough, how thick is that skull of yours?" She asked, annoyed, crossing her arms "that red hair you shot in the gut was a mermaid, I gave her legs temporarily but she was in essence a mermaid."

"Shit!" He exclaimed, bringing both his hands to run through his hair.

"Shit indeed. You shot her and I pushed her back into the ocean, the ultimate offense, her blood stained the sea waters." Regina explained, "The mermaids did give a warning, something about skies closing, water pouring and powers being taken..."

"I do remember that faintly since you started howling at me almost immediately after my arrival."

"Do stop complaining for a second, will you?" Regina narrowed her eyes whilst looking at him "This is why I'm powerless, the rainwater is blocking my powers."

"So I guess we will have to wait for the rain to stop, for it would be suicide to climb down from this tree when the wolves know your smell so well." The outlaw concluded.

Her smell, not his. She reminded herself.

He could climb down that damned tree and go on his merry way, he was a forest man, and had lived in these conditions for years. And yet, there he was, with her, on top of a tree. He-

"How wonderful!" Regina commented, moving her weight from one feet to the other.

That movement proved to be rather painful and Regina winced when she felt a horrid sting on her right foot. The outlaw's gaze turned to her foot.

"Let me look at it" he stated simply.

"No." She replied, moving her foot away making it sting even more, she could not hold back a small cry of pain.

"Let me fucking look at it, stop being so difficult." He was dead serious and sounded rather annoyed.

"Fine" Regina lifted her foot.

"No, sit down" he gestured for her "rest your back on the trunk."

Glaring at him Regina did as he asked and sat on the wooden surface resting her aching back on the trunk and sighing in relief for the first time the whole day.

He crutched in front of her going on his knees and sitting on his feet as he reached for her harmed foot. He took it with a careful touch that Regina had thought him unable to possess, he inspected the foot and sighed.

"You have a pretty nasty shard of glass here, no idea how that got there." Regina looked at him biting her lower lip "I can take it off though. It will hurt but the pain will be dismissed once it's out."

Regina took a deep breath and replied.

"Do it."

Regina did not want to be weak, but had to give in and close her eyes when the stinging pain started building up. The outlaw was amazingly quick and in the next moment, the pain indeed diminished. Regina sighed against her will and felt the outlaw move in front of her. 

Her legs ached; her feet were filled with cuts and bruises, her clothes beyond hope, her hair tangled on the once meticulous updo she had manufactured a few hours prior. Regina’s hands went up to her hair to free it from the pins that persisted in holding about half of it up, the sight must have been horrid.

She opened her eyes to find he was now sitting on the trunk right in front of her, one leg stretched out and another bent so his foot touched the surface of the branch. Her foot rested in the middle of his legs. He took her harmed foot with care and laid it on the outstretched thigh, took a small bottle from inside his stachel and took the cork off with his teeth.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

“The glass left a nasty cut, I’ll have to disinfect it.” he stated simply. “It’s going to sting a lot, but it will cut the chances of it getting infected.”

“What do you have in that bottle anyway?” she could not help it but ask, although she knew he was right.

He huffed and decided not to reply with words but with actions, pouring some of the amber liquid on her foot. It burned and Regina could not hold back the cry.  

He reached for his shirt, and tore a piece of cloth from it without hesitation and proceeded to clean the wound with it. Regina watched him, as he pulled a bit more cloth and wrapped it about her foot, tightening it a bit. When he was done he placed her foot back on his thigh.

"I gather you never ran barefoot in the forest before" he asked.

"I think we both know the answer to that" Regina responded.

"Well-" he said in a slightly humored tone "-here's to first times," he started running his fingers absently on the skin near the ankle of her harmed foot. The touch was light but incredibly soothing, a bit of electricity ran about them.

"First and only time!" Regina replied, widening her eyes, "Remind me to never again push a bloodied mermaid inside sea waters," she snorted and quickly covered her mouth reprimanding herself for letting out such a noise. His amused eyes met hers and she snapped his way "That never happened."

"Oh, never!" His right hand was now drawing slow patterns on her leg.

His touch was gentle, his opened palm travelled up and down the back of her leg a few times. A warm feeling started bubbling on the pit of her stomach as both his hands caressed her outstretched leg, he had come closer to her somehow. They ran up and down the length of it and Regina had to close her eyes and rest her head on the trunk because the sensation was the best she had felt all day. After a few minutes, she decided to question him on something that had been nagging her.

"You like fucking me, hun outlaw?" She had uttered those words with her eyes still closed; she opened them to continue "Why?" she met his blue eyes with her own questioning set.

Regina had asked this very same question to all the man whom she had taken to her bed, all the man who had taken her with her consent, safe for Daniel – she had known why he had touched her intimately that fateful night they got engaged, he loved her. As for the other men, they could not have been more different from one another, but every single one of them had given her very similar responses. They had praised her appearance and told her how she was the fairest of all women. In empty but pretty words, they had told her that no one could ever match her beauty and that they had long longed to see all of her beauty bared. So Regina was very surprised to hear what the outlaw had to say on the subject.

"Because every time I touch you-" he ran one hand up her leg, reaching her knee and going a little further before continuing "-I'm hit by a sensation I have never felt before." His hand ran down her leg again, delicious zaps spreading from the areas his hand caressed, "Something I can hardly explain or describe."

He was looking down at her leg; his eyes accompanied the movement of his hand. Regina was quite stunned at his words, but before she could pounder on the words or respond, he continued

"And-" his hand slithered up her skin again but this time went further up and reached her private parts - the slit he had created assisting him immensely - he grazed his fingers about the fabric of her undergarments and Regina bit her bottom lip "-also because this feels as if it's been tailor made for my cock."

Regina's eyes widened with his last remark and a red-hot wave of lust took over her reason and state. No longer caring if she was bruised or tired or on the top of a tree, she grabbed a fist full of the thief's shirt and uttered a "Good answer" before she brought his mouth down to hers, kissing him hungrily.

He was very quick to respond, biting her lower lip before his tongue invaded her mouth, tasting like pure bliss and blood red lust. Regina opened her legs and pulled at his shirt more making him jump a little in order to get closer to her. He quickly situated himself in between her dirt grazed legs, sitting on his knees and started running both his hands along the length of her bent legs.

Regina slumped a little, bringing him down to her slightly, their mouths never disconnecting in a battle for power, for control over each other. An odd surge of strength invaded Regina’s chest as she kissed her thief thoroughly. Her hands found their way to the back of his neck pulling him even closer, wanting to drink in as much of him as she could with her hungry mouth. 

One of his hands travelled up her thigh and met her aching sex making a half electrifying contact – only half for she was wearing undergarments for a change. A soft moan escaped her lips and broke their long kiss when his experienced archer fingers played around with the fabric that separated them from her bud of nerves. Regina bit his lower lip – wanting to wipe away the smirk he had on them - when he continued to pressure that same spot which drew involuntary noises from the back of her throat. 

But getting back at the thief for his smugness disappeared from Regina’s mind when his fingers finally pushed the fabrics aside and she felt the skin on skin sensation. That zap, that absolute mystery and ridiculously pleasurable sensation she felt every single time their bare skin met.    

Now it was his time to nibble on her lips and tease with his mouth, he hovered above her – by this point, she had slumped all the way down so her back was pressed to the large branch they shared – his lips close, but only teasing. Regina’s only reactions were the bucking of her hips and the opening of her lips to release pleasure-filled moans as he worked her up with his fingers. 

Regina’s hands gripped the hard wood on the branch, her knuckles probably going white with the force she was using, the thief’s touch was driving her insane. He had started gentle but intense, his thumb rubbing her bud all the right ways, his head just above her as she tried unsuccessfully to reach for his lips as he stared down at her drinking in every single reaction he drew from her. 

He was enjoying it.

Enjoying it oh so very much , Regina could notice with the little that had been left of her perception by that point. 

Regina wanted to take control, wanted to wipe that smug grin from his face, make him squeal and twitch under her touch. But when two rather experienced fingers found her entrance and he hooked them just the right way, Regina’s ambitions in turning the tables became hazy and unimportant compared to the shrill of pleasure that dominated her body. 

The moan that left Regina’s mouth was loud, loud enough to apparently inflate the thief’s ego even more which was transparent through his expression, an exasperated surprised moan leaving his lips. His fingers moved in and out of her and Regina closed her eyes and surrendered to his touch, hearing him whisper “So fucking wet” and “Fuck your majesty” whilst he drove her over the edge with his fingers. 

Her back arched and Regina thrust her hips forward to meet his movements, which were steady and hard. But she wanted deeper, harder, faster, so she opened her eyes to look at his dark blue pools whispering “Deeper” in a slurry low tone. He bit his lower lip and stopped movements for a moment and Regina promptly raised one of her legs so the back of her knee was hooked to his shoulder and her entrance much more accessible.   

She gave him a half smile as he stared down at her with a half amused half sexy smirk on his lips. He surprised her by turning his head to the side and placing a kiss to her knee, which she had just noticed was slightly scraped, before reaching for her entrance again with his two magical fingers and thrusting, hard . His other hand supported the weight of his body as he pumped into her again, fast, perfectly fast, and hard, grunting and moaning alongside her, apparently also being filled with pleasure due to the action between her legs. 

His movements were very quick as Regina felt her orgasm reaching her, her hands had gone to grip to the actual tree trunk above her head, she scraped her nails almost painfully at the harsh surface as she reached her peak, releasing a scream as it washed over her body. At the next moment her legs were jelly and her heart felt as if it was going to come off her mouth, thumping strongly against her chest.

She heard him huff above her, removing his fingers from her aching core, and Regina opened her eyes just in time to catch him lowering his head to meet her sex and give her a generous provocative lick starting in her opening and ending on her bud, giving her a nice nip for good measure.

“Damn you” she said in between her clenched teeth in an unsuccessful attempt to sound under control. But the sensation had tripled in effect after her orgasm. And Regina knew he knew, that smug son of a bitch.

“Forgive me your majesty-,” he said looking at her as she brought her hands to lift her back from the bark and sat.

He went to his knees only to sit back on the branch once again, one leg stretched out and the other bend, one of his arms coming to rest on the bent knee as he continued, “-but there’s an extraordinary taste to submissive Queen and I could not resist but have a little bite .”

Regina felt her cheeks burn and an animalistic growl sounded on the back at her throat when his words hit her. They were not mocking her for having surrendered for a few minutes but rather gloating on the fact that at those moments she had let him have control over her.   

I told you the thief was making you weak , the impish voice mocked.

I am not weak , she uttered back at it.

It felt like heaven, did it not darling? Her sex drive told her, today she was a mess, looked exactly like Regina did at that moment, dirty and half naked, So who cares if you were weak or not?

He mocks you Regina, he thinks he has got control over you , the heartless Queen provoked her.

Maybe this is a good thing ; this one was small and timid, in the back of Regina’s mind, Regina - she felt as if the voice was whispering quietly in her ear, -you know this is different.

KILL HIM! The imp and the heartless Queen screamed muffling the timid voice.

NO! Do not kill him! He is the best sex you have ever had! The half-naked Queen whined.

“Your majesty?” The thief snapped her out of her internal hell waving one hand in front of her, trying to catch her attention. She blinked several times feeling her eyes had been wide open all this time and they were in desperate need of moisture.

“Are you quite alright?” he asked, her eyes focused back on him, the thief who made her feel weak.

Regina knew what she had to do. Knew to which voice she should listen to.

She pounced.

Her sight was red, she could barely see anything clearly now, only red, only fury.

She was abnormally quick for she was able to grab ahold of his neck and there was very little that the man could do to stop her. She felt anger, so much anger, at him, at herself, at those voices that tormented her as she squeezed his neck with brute force. His hands had come to reach for hers that were tightening around his neck, Regina had gotten to her knees to attack him and was now leaning forward. 

I AM NOT WEAK , she roared to herself.

She held an almost maniacal stare with her working hands and it was only when she heard his strangled voice utter “Why-” did she look up to meet his gaze.

His eyes were blue and her grip loosened. His eyes were blue and through them the red color started to vanish. She stared at his blue eyes as everything went back to normal, the colors all back in place, Regina went back to herself letting out a puff of breath before crashing onto the outlaw’s frame. He had brought his hands to her sides in order to steady her above him. 

Her voice was small, she thought she was saying it only inside her head but the words came out of her mouth “I’m not weak” her forehead was resting on his chest, she took in his scent that was not the most agreeable thing about him at the moment.

“I never said that” she heard him respond and had to look up at him, his expression was bland, as if she had not just tried to strangle him at all.

She looked at him long and hard and studied his expression. 

He really did not give a damn, did he?

“I don’t agree with the word ‘submissive’ being paired up with my name” she finally spoke.

“I figured that out on my own, thank you very much” he responded.

Regina only huffed in reply to his snappy words.

“Look-” he said, “- I don’t know what’s cooking up in that crazy head of yours but I can tell you this-” he grabbed both her shoulders to stare down at her, “You’re not weak. Weak is the very last word I would choose to use to describe you.”

Regina could not believe her ears as his words reached them, she tilted her head a bit to the side and a small grin tugged her lips, after a moment she spoke.

“I’m glad.”

“Glad for what?” he asked her, looking confused.

“Glad that you are as crazy as I am, normal people are just so easy to break” the grin turned into a full smirk.

He huffed a smile and brought one hand to his mouth for a second then ran it through his hair looking at her whilst he replied.

“Fucking hell, you’re probably right-”

And with that she brought both her hands to his chest and pushed him down so now his back bit the harsh bark of the tree. He gave a small surprised yelp but still had a grin on his lips as she stranded his waist and leaned her head to near his and spoke in a low voice.

“I’m going to ride you until you lose your mind thief.”

“What can I say?” he replied, “Being out of my mind does have its perks then” she noticed that his voice was a little croaky, no doubt thanks to her murderous tendencies. 

Regina laughed at his comment, a real laugh. She pressed herself against him, he hissed in response bringing one of his hands to the slit on her skirt. Regina slapped it away before he could touch her bare skin again.

“You’re paying for your tongue thief.” she slurred.

“Ah, there’s the evil Queen all people know and fear,” he retorted immediately.

Regina was slightly taken aback by his choice of words but decided to take the comment lightly. She pressed the palm of her hand to his mouth and saying:

“I think you’ve done enough talking for now.”

She rose to her knees, still with his sex between her legs and released his erection from his trousers in a matter of seconds; he was still hard, even though she had just tried to kill him.

“My, oh my! No blow can get you down apparently.” She observed and he immediately opened his mouth to retort when her index finger shot to his lips and she continued, “Do shut up for a minute, will you? That was rhetorical.”

The thief closed his mouth and put his hands up in the air in surrender and Regina smirked. The finger on his mouth started making its way down his body, passing by his throat and his still clad chest – why was Regina always the one to get naked first? – and finally reaching her destination, she took him in her hand. 

He moaned long and hard as she stroked him lazily, but Regina was in no mood to give him anything without also being on the receiving end. She guided his head to her entrance and lowered herself into him, a sigh of pleasure leaving her lips. Regina rested her hands on his chest and could feel him groaning as she adjusted to his member. 

It did not take long, he had been quite right when he said his cock seemed to be tailor made for her. As soon as Regina started moving the zaps became stronger, the more intense her movements, the more she could feel, that feeling that she could die right then, right at that spot and all would have been well. Which was ridiculous, but at that moment, this felt so true, so right.

She made good at her promise, moving hard and steady, riding him good, making his cock hit all the right points inside her. His hands gripped her hips, and although she remembered hazily about making him pay that did not seem to matter at the moment. It was not long before her ears captured the outlaw’s groans and moans and felt his hands running about her arse and lower back.

They did not hear it. 

How could they have possibly heard the wood finally giving away when they were both screaming their heads off in ecstasy? When the pair registered they were not flying due to the mind blowing sex they were having but due to the fact that they were indeed falling, there was little any of them could do but close their eyes and hold onto each other. 

Regina waited for the pain, waited for eminent death at a very compromising position.

But it never came, suddenly the wind created by the fall stopped rushing through her ears and Regina felt the ground, the texture of dried leaves and dirt on her knees. She opened her eyes and she was alive. Alive and still straddling the thief who also happened to be alive beneath her, he groaned opening his eyes in a start.

“What the fuck happened?” he groaned.

What the fuck indeed! 

“I think my powers are back,” she said, trying to understand what had just happened. 

She looked down at him and he regarded her for a beat before a snort left his mouth and they both surrendered to laughter. Pouring their guts out laughing at the ridiculousness of this situation. Regina let her body fall onto his whilst she chuckled against his chest, she could feel the vibrations of his laughter, they buzzed, even through the fabric of his shirt.  

He managed to say in between chuckles, “I have a say at it,-” he brought one hand to her back and she rested her chin on his chest in order to look at him as he continued “- I don’t think there would be a better way for me to go than fucking you.” 

Regina fisted her hands on his shirt and promptly laughed at his face loud and good. He also laughed, his eyes closed, small tears pooling at the side of his eyes. 

As their laughter diminished and he reopened his eyes, his facial expressions shifted to one of complete surprise. He gasped looking around as if he was seeing something completely new. He turned his head to the side and fixated his stare at a small yellow flower next to his head. He picked up the flower gently, as if it was going to turn to dust.

“Is that for me?” Regina asked with a raised eyebrow. “Yellow is not really my color.”

Her voice seemed to have snapped him out of the spell, he shook his head to look back at her, the flower tumbled from his grasp. 

He snorted and gave her a dashing smile she could not help but reciprocate. 

At that moment Regina felt something pull at her heart, something different, something new-

Unfortunately the moment was shortly lived for their noisy laughs had reached the ears of the enemies they tried so very hard to keep away from. 

The howls started again and Regina wanted to fight but her body protested, she had drained most of her energy orgasming, climbing, attempt in murdering and fucking. She was so tired the thought of rising to her feet made her want to weep, her very last strings of energy having been disposed of at her laughter fit.

“I don’t think I can transport us both to the inside of the castle. It’s protected by heavy magic and I’m weary.” She stated.

“I’ll just track back by foot.” He said simply, as if still under some sort of spell.

However tempting his offer sounded, Regina could not take it, not after all he had done for her, she would never admit it aloud but he had most probably saved her life that day quite a number of times. She huffed and rolled her eyes as both their bodies were surrounded by purple smoke.

When the smoke cleared away they were standing in the woods just outside her gates, Regina’s legs ached, her feet still bare but she had never been so happy to look upon her once stone prison. After giving her castle a long look, she darted her gaze to the side to look upon the outlaw who had the most confused look on his face. 

“Why did you do that?” he asked, puzzled, frowning his forehead.

“Because I wanted to thief .” Regina bit back, she was willing to help but she would be damned if she were ever to confess that she did that out of sympathy “I’m the Queen and I can do as I please.” She finished with a lifted eyebrow.

The frown had not left his features as he simply replied “Right.”

“Now I have an urge for water and soap-“ Regina stated, starting to walk towards the gates which opened for her “-feel free to be on your merry way to the river.” She mussed, he gave her a sharp look, “Just, do try not to catch anything while you are at it, disease does not become me.”

“Why you-” he started but then apparently decided against it, “Fine” and they made the rest of the way inside the castle in silence.

There were a few guards on duty but none of them even dared to move as Regina walked past them looking like she had just been to a party inside a twister. She had not bothered to set her appearance straight, for one she feared she did not possess the energy to do so, – the last enchantment she had used to bring them both back had drained her more than she wanted to admit- and second because she truly did not care of how her servants saw her. 

They eventually reached a certain point where their paths towards slumber took them in different ways. The outlaw had halted just outside the corridor which Regina knew housed his chambers and she stopped to regard him one last time.

  “Thank you” she said with a curt nod.

“Never happened” he reassured her, winking before they parted their ways.

Chapter Text

He did not know what possessed him to follow her - especially after she had dumped him inside the cold river. He felt uneasy about her going out all by herself, even though he knew that she was more than capable to fare for herself. He did not even pretend that he was honoring his post as captain of her personal guard, that title and a pile of horse manure had the very same importance to him. 

Riding the whole night, he was able to reach the seaside kingdom just before sunrise and started inquiring about the whereabouts of the castle. It was not that difficult to spot, nor was the Queen, for she was hoisting up a mermaid on the deck situated directly in front of the castle. He chose to hide away amongst the trees just outside the castle. She never needed to know he had been there, he just wanted to make sure nothing-

When he spotted the red haired girl making her way towards the Queen, she held a silvery pointy object in her hand and her aim was quite clear, the Queen's neck, Robin did not think twice. He shot her right in the gut, he did not go for the mercy shot in the neck choosing to make her suffer for trying to harm her, possibly even kill his-

But of course the Queen had acted like an ungrateful bitch the moment she spotted him, their banter was most of the time entertaining, but she clearly was not thinking straight. He had had just about enough of her retorts, screams and insults so he simply walked away, left her alone, he was certain she was more than capable of fairing for herself.   

Apparently, she was not, she chased after him; he was confused she did not use magic when she called out for him the first time. She looked different then, uneasy, as if she did not have all the answers in the book and also quite resolute in trying her best not to show that very fact. However, her feelings were always bared to him for some inexplicable reason. 

He had seen so many sides of her it made him dizzy and excessively uneasy. He did not know what to make of all the stormy feelings he had seen in her eyes, he had caught a small glimpse of her being vulnerable, stripped of her magic. 

He could have run, left her there, retrieved his heart from the castle and simply left forever, never having to listen to her insult him. He could have bargained for his heart in exchange for assisting and protecting her. He could have killed her himself - it would have been ridiculously easy - it would have only taken a snap or one single arrow. 

But the mere idea of killing her brought a chilling feeling down his spine, he could never do it, he could never harm her. He did not understand why, but he simply did not have the strength to do it. Nor did he feel he was capable of leaving her to fend for herself, he would never forgive himself if something were to happen to her. Leaving her forever was completely out of the question, he knew he would never be the same after her, he could not imagine himself being parted from her. 

He was left with the option of simply helping her. But of course, she was not making it any easier for him, it seemed she grew more and more irritable by the second in their tracking. Their banter seemed to go on forever, her mood shifting so much Robin felt ready to simply knock her over the head and carry her unconscious self back to the castle. 

He did not, however, complain to her shedding half her clothes. When they reached the tree’s sturdy branch he was resolute that she had never looked more wild and exquisite than she did then. She had let down her hair, it was damp and clung to her skin in a way Robin did not know could be attractive, her brassiere was sin itself and barely left anything to the imagination, plus - after he had taken care of her skirt - quite a nice quantity of leg was at his eyes' disposal. 

He could hardly even believe he had confessed to her about the electric feeling he experienced when they touched. He had been thankful she had not laughed at his face or taunted him but had to salvage himself somehow so he made that ridiculous comment about her being tailor made for his cock. He never thought it would have the effect it did upon her; she was on him a second later, all fiery, forgetting about her injured foot and her ruined clothes.

It was a laughable affair that - for once - she had been wearing underwear, but that did not keep him from pumping his eager fingers inside her and seeing her come apart with his touch. Her release over his curved fingers did something to Robin; it flared him up with an indescribable amount of pride and smugness. 

It had been a fatal mistake to actually voice his feelings the way he did. When her eyes acquired a new shimmer, they had been wide and almost unblinking, she was more looking through him, his words snapped her out but only for her to get her claws on his neck yet again, not in a good way.

Her clutch was mighty and even though he knew she was not using any magic she was managing to strangle him. However, Robin found himself unable to harm her, he did not have the strength to pull her hands away, the electricity still running where she touched him. Instead he just regarded her with questioning eyes.

Why?

Why would she try to kill him?

When their eyes met it was as if a spell on her own set had been broken. Her clutch became nonexistent and her body fell on his. This was the most unusual part of this whole exchange, the fact that after trying to openly kill him, she would quite simply throw her weight on him and sigh. 

Weak

I am not weak

She most definitely was not weak, how could she even think something like that? For all Robin knew, he could guarantee that she was one of the most resilient people he had ever met, strong and incisive. He had told her so, she was not weak, her response, again, was not what he expected. 

This woman was indeed one of a kind, for two minutes after she had tried to strangle him, there she was, on top of him, riding his senses away. Their sexes became one and the sensation sent shivers up and down his spine. To have that woman sunk in him was indescribable, it felt like he was whole, like the whole world did not matter as long as they were like this. The zaps had become more and more intense with every sway of her hips and Robin saw black, white and red spots in front of him at the sensation. 

All too soon they were falling, it was almost laughable that she had managed to break down such a mighty and sturdy branch but the truth of the matter was that they were probably going to die. 

But they did not die, instead Robin found himself lying on the forest floor on his back, not a single trace of impact could be felt. Her magic had come back just in time to save both of their sorry asses.

Then he saw it again, that smile, that laugh, the one he had only heard once before when he had squashed the Sherriff into oblivion. She looked perfect then, on top of him, barely clad, and trying to gulp down her laughter at this ridiculous situation.

Robin did not know what was happening to him, he should not feel anything and yet he felt so strongly he was very tempted to simply ask her if she had set some sort of enchantment on him. An enchantment that enabled him to feel, but it was only for her , only when she was around and he was in her , with her . 

One moment they were laughing their heads off, the very next it was as if a strong force had hit him and his surroundings were partially colored with several different tones of yellow. He had witnessed that before, when he had first laid eyes on the Queen he was gifted with the color red back in his life. And now, having her on top of him, laughing and smiling, yellow came back. 

He turned his head to the side and saw a small yellow flower, which enchanted him with its loveliness, he picked it up. Her voice broke the flower’s spell as he looked up at the true beauty of that garden. He could not help but smile a sincere smile, she smiled back, she had never looked more stunning.

She could not transport them both inside the castle, but before he could have any say in the matter they were being engulfed by purple smoke and were transported just outside the castle.

Why?

Well, he had helped her quite a lot that day, but since when did she think about the comfort of anybody but herself? It was just as odd as the feelings swirling in his chest so Robin chose to ignore it.

Robin had thought things would go back to normal after this episode but apparently not, she was nowhere to be found, but Robin refused to worry or go after her. Maybe she was on some official royal business, maybe she really just wanted to be left alone. Maybe he should not care at all about that.

It had taken her three whole days.

For three whole days, Robin did not see even a glimpse of her shadow. Although the day after the mermaid incident he had woken in the middle of the afternoon – still with his limbs aching from the straining and most senseless adventure he had ever had – he had gone to her chambers as soon as he had put something in his stomach. But she had not been there; she was nowhere to be found in the castle. He had asked around, every guard, every soldier in sight but nobody seemed to know where she was.

He did not know how to feel about this. That day - the day she had almost killed Snow White and they had gotten trapped on that damned tree - had been one of the most insane days of his life. 

On the fourth day whilst coming back from her chambers - he had made it a habit of going there to see if she had come back every morning - he came upon the only other person in the whole castle who did not seem to be in the armed forces nor staff beside the Queen. The tired looking bald man he had seen the Queen smile at when she made her "Kill Snow White" speech, Robin halted to regard him. 

The man had his head down and a funny walk, small steps and yet weirdly taken. He had just passed him by, just disappeared around the corner of the corridor, passing Robin by without giving him a single glance when he decided to call after him.

"Oi!"  he could hear the man's steps stop abruptly; he went in his direction, finding him just around the corner of the corridor. He looked rather petrified thanks to Robin's harshness, but he was far from caring about the man's heart condition. Robin examined him, he still had his gaze fixed on the floor, and finally asked, "Who are you?"

The man finally looked up, he had very expressive eyes, there was something oddly familiar about this man's eyes, they were dark but tired, Robin could see he was very intimidated by him, "I'm-" he started, "-Prince Henry"

Prince?

"Prince?" the man looked more like a butler than a Prince, he must have been jesting Robin, "If you are a Prince then what the hell are you doing here?"

"I'm here to serve the Queen, just like you." he said simply, no trace of royalty in his manner.

"But the Queen banished all the nobility from the castle." Robin told him, looking at the old man suspiciously, "How come she kept you? A Prince nonetheless."

The man opened his mouth to respond but no sound came out as another voice reached both their ears, her voice.

"Daddy!" he heard her distinguished voice call out. 

Robin's eyes felt like they were going to pop out of his skull, when the meaning of her words hit him.

Daddy?

He heard her footsteps, the clinking of her excessively high heels against the polished stone, she was getting near and the man turned to face her as Robin felt his body tense at her presence, an uneasy feeling pooling on the pit of his stomach. This was not what he had planned for today.

"Daddy, I'm-" she came into his line of vision - as he was just around the corner and could not be seen by anyone coming up that corridor until they reached said corner - and stopped speaking abruptly, her eyes also widening, a faint blush could be traced on her cheeks.

She sneered when spotting him, " You "

'Daddy', lowered his head ever so slightly and said facing the floor again "Your majesty"

Robin knew he should have followed suit and greeted her as her own father did, but he was too busy sending back the death glare she was giving him. Their eyes locked, for a moment none of them seemed to be breathing. She cut the silence.

"What are you doing here?" she narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"I live here" he retorted, not in the mood for her little games - although most of those games.

He felt like pressing another matter, "This is your father?" he questioned, his voice going a tad higher than he had hoped as he motioned to the old man.

Her gaze became more intense whilst she responded, "I cannot see how it is any of your business."

"I-" but Robin honestly did not know how to get back at that. 

How was it any of his business anyway?

And yet-?

She groaned and rolled her eyes at his failed attempt to retort, she waved her hand whilst dismissively saying "Out of my sight" and Robin was transported via her irritating magical smoke out to the forest just outside the castle.

He felt his blood pumping hot in his veins.

Damn her

...

A week went by and things seemingly went back to normal. If anybody could call this absurd arrangement normal. The frantic searches for Snow White continued as the Queen became more and more impatient with the fruitless attempts to find the damned girl. 

Only in this past week, she herself had killed three more captains. That accursed mirror had revealed to the Queen that the girl had been hiding in a village they had ridden by without inspecting, afraid of the werewolf that terrorized it. She had also ordered him to kill five more who had had a drunken night near King Midas’ kingdom, where she had been spotted by a twitch who sold his information to her. The twitch had sworn he saw the girl in the same village as her men, but they were too drunk to pursue her.

But no, things had definitely not gone back to normal, because ever since their almost death experience, the Queen had not let him near her. She had basked in her right to order him around in front of her men, push him around and insult him as much as she always did when they were alone. And yet she would not let him even think of getting near her. She had contracted an annoying habit of puffing him as further away from her as possible when he so much as gave her a heated glance or made any sort of comment regarding their intimate time together.

And it was getting to Robin’s last nerve.

It felt as if they had gone back to square zero. Not even square zero for when he met her she had been rather inviting when it came to physical contact. Now this inexplicable coldness was driving him up a wall and not just because he was deprived of the sex but-

No

It was because of the sex and only because of that, he did not feel anything else toward that woman other than lust and hate. He refused to acknowledge he felt anything other than those two feelings towards that woman. It did not make sense, he did not possess a heart, felt so little about everything, every memory, every action, every regret. How in the world was she able to make a storm of feelings burst inside of him?

But what had pushed his very last button was the engagement ball. Not that Robin really gave a flying fuck about his post and obligations. But he gathered she had failed to inform him of such an event just to spite him.

He had found out about the whole affair whilst he overheard a conversation two soldiers were having. Apparently, she had assembled quite a number of soldiers and knights to escort her to this event in King Midas’ kingdom. 

Robin was not on the list.  

Robin was fucking furious.

He caught her just as she was entering her carriage, he stormed through the men that encircled her trail - they had opened up the space for him to get through upon sight, knowing too well not to anger him, he had, after all, become the Queen's executor. She was just about to fully close the door of the dark carriage when Robin placed his foot in between the door and the frame and grabbed the handle quickly to reopen it. 

When he yanked the door open Robin was met with the sight of her, still clutching the handle on her side, body brought slightly out and a face that spoke of pure irritation.

Robin could not help but smirk and quickly slithered himself inside the carriage closing the door behind him. He took a seat right in front of her, she was all clad in black - which Robin found odd given that she was going to an engagement party, but then again, she could have been wearing any other color, he wouldn’t be able to tell. 

She placed her hands neatly upon her lap, a scorn painted on her red lips, she regarded him with cold dangerous eyes.

"Sorry I'm late your majesty-" he said in the smuggest tone he could manage making himself comfortable, slumping his body a little down the seat, - trying to draw any reaction from her cold eyes, "-but I think my invitation must have gotten lost in between messengers" he completed, disappointed that she had remained immobile and unresponsive to his actions.

He knocked on the window separating the inside of the carriage to the seat of the driver and the vehicle started to move.

After a few more minutes of silence, she inhaled slowly moving as little muscles as she could muster and said in a grave tone "What the hell do you think you are doing?"

Robin tried to look surprised. "Why, my job of course!" he gave her as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "As captain of your personal guard I must make sure you are safe ." he spat the word 'safe'.

"I do not remember summoning you for this particular journey." her tone was still serious and her face gave nothing away.

"And I don't remember telling you I would answer to your every summons." he spat back, eager to draw something from her.

She narrowed her eyes and snapped, "I do not want you here."

He gave her a half grin and brought his torso closer to her static one, her posture was absurdly straight, she inhaled at his closeness "Now, now, we both know that's just, not true."

"Don't try my patience outlaw, or else-" she threatened but he cut her off before she got a chance to complete her sentence.

"Or else what?" his voice came out louder than he had meant to but it did yield some effect upon her for she gave a small jump on her seat, widening her eyes.

"I am done with this conversation-" she said in a final tone and raised her hand in a movement he knew only too well. That movement meant that she was about to transport him as far away from her as possible. 

But Robin was not having any of that today. In a purely impulsive move - for he knew nothing he did could actually stop her magic - he grabbed the wrist of her raised hand into one of his own strong ones and said with all the anger and frustration that had he bottled up inside for the past ten days, "But I'm not done your majesty."

She looked absolutely out of sorts, his grip tight on her wrist as nothing whatsoever happened, no cloud of smoke, no sparks of magic, just the zapping sensation rushing through where their fleshes met. For a long moment they regarded each other without so much as a word, his intense stare burned into her widened and surprised dark eyes, her mouth opened and closed twice but she did not manage to utter a single word. 

Robin realized after a while that he had come to sit much closer to her due to his abrupt actions. He let go of her hand letting it fall on her lap but did not leave her personal space, their knees now brushed against each other.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" he asked in a questioning half whisper.

She inhaled, closing her eyes and responding in a quiet yet distant tone, "I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Oh, I think you do-" he responded.

She snapped her eyes open and retorted, "Well, not everybody is like you and can hardly keep their desires at bay" her words meant to cut but hollow.

"That is not what I meant-" he tried but she beat him to it.

"Of course it is, what else could it possibly be? You're petty and grumpy because I haven't let you touch me ever since-" but now it was Robin's turn to interrupt her

"Do you think that I-" he raised his voice to cut her but she was already overlapping his remarks herself.

"I do not think of you, outlaw . At all!" her words pure poison, she was almost screaming at him at this point, their faces so near, their noses almost brushed against each other.

"Liar!" he threw her way before even thinking. Deep down he wanted to believe his words were true, that she did think of him, even though she drove him to the breaking point most of the time.

Her reaction was as quick as his remark had been as her right palm came in contact with his left cheek in a stinging and forceful slap. It was a potent hit that created a little distance in between their bodies as Robin's face turned to the other side and the Queen retreated herself to rest her back on the back of her seat promptly after. The sound of her action seemed to reverberate through the carriage and the sensation - pain mixed with electricity - sent piercing needles through his veins. 

He looked up at her to find her wide eyed, looking at the hand she had slapped him with, her mouth slightly agape. If the driver had chosen a bumpy round to travel through that day, neither of the occupants of the carriage seemed to notice.

Robin could feel his cheek sting because of the Queen's outburst but all he could do was stare at the hand, it had reddened a little, that he could tell. Their gaze did not shift from the hand as it moved ever so slowly, fingers slightly apart, she brought it closer to her face, examining it, her expression was pure puzzlement.

Robin's features were hard and stern as he continued to regard her. He could hardly contain his own astonishment when she suddenly sat further to the edge of her seat placing both her legs in between his. She brought her hand to rest upon his offended cheek and as soon as the interaction was made Robin was able to feel the tingling sensation, it felt oddly different, soothing somehow but intense at the same time.

Upon the contact, the Queen gasped but did not retreat her hand, and Robin had to wonder if she too felt that inexplicable sensation, she must have. 

"But, how-?" she gave a mere whisper, touching his cheek ever so lightly using only the pads of her fingers.

The urge to close his eyes was stronger than his reason and he gave into it even though he could expect the very worst from her at this moment. But the light touch made him drowsy, clouded his judgment, he could feel she had brought both her palms to feel his cheeks, her touch tentative almost as if she was afraid of something.

"How is this possible?" he heard her whisper, he could feel her breath so very close to his face and licked his lips subconsciously.

Robin was honestly expecting everything from her but this, and yet it was the most logical thing for normal people who were in some sort of relationship to do. But she was not ordinary, not by a long shot, and neither was he. 

So when her soft lips brushed against his slightly parted ones, Robin - for the very first time - had no reaction to her actions whatsoever. He rather basked in the few moments when her lips closed about his bottom lip, tentatively so, as if kissing him for the very first time, as if they were not familiar with each other's flesh at all. She then proceeded to lay a small kiss on the corner of his mouth, sighing, drawing an involuntary moan from him, her lips lingering close to his own after doing so, her nose brushing lightly against his cheek.

He opened his eyes, she was even closer than he imagined, her knees touched the edge of his seat in between his parted legs, her face a breath away from his, her eyes sparkled.

Their exchange was interrupted by one of the valets who knocked on the door - Robin felt like cutting the man's hand off - to announce they had arrived at King Midas' summer palace. The Queen - as if on cue - retreated from him and dropped her hands from his features, his skin immediately missing the warmth of her own.

She straightened her posture and adjusted the - ridiculous - headpiece she was wearing, taking one deep breath before shooting him one of her glacial looks.

"Do not dare and follow me."

Robin was still a little taken by the odd exchange that had just happened and did not manage to react in time for she quickly opened the door to the carriage and stepped out banging it closed as she did. The vehicle started to move right after her departure and Robin did not think twice - after getting his wits about him again - before he opened the door, and jumped out of it, even though it was still on the move.

He found himself just around the corner of the main entrance to the castle, but Robin was not stupid enough to even attempt to enter the party through that path. Instead, he decided to take his time and have a look around the outsides of the half-golden castle from the outside. 

He hated this kingdom; it brought him memories of the very worst times of his life. The gold that seemed to be everywhere felt like a reminder to him how utterly selfish he had been over a year ago, and how much it had cost him. Robin did not think he would ever return to this kingdom again, and truth be told he did not even connect the dots when hearing about the Queen's journey to this particular patch of land, having been too enraged at her childish behavior. 

Robin cursed the fact that the night looked so utterly perfect, the moon - almost full - shone brightly upon the garden's golden statues, Robin could also spot there were several golden flowers as well as entire trees. The soft waltz that played in the ballroom could be heard from the garden as well as the laughter of the young couples who twirled to it. The night air was pleasant, a cold pleasant breeze would rush by from time to time, not a cloud in the sky that was filled to the brim with stars.

The whole scene made Robin sick to his stomach.  

His head was so filled with thoughts of his latest argument with the Queen and a vast set of bad memories that Robin did not even notice he had come upon a man sitting on one of the golden benches until the man himself spoke

"Enjoying the party?" the man did not sound like he himself was doing so.

He halted as soon as the voice reached his ears to inspect the man. He had blonde hair and light colored eyes, he could not tell which, they were light and sad. He was sitting leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees; he was big, a little bigger than Robin but looked absolutely miserable.

"I'm sure I would be-" Robin replied, "-if I had been invited." Robin did not wear a knight's uniform but rather his own clothes but he was sure the man must have noticed the bow on his back signaled he was no guest in this party.

"Are you crashing then?" the man asked, seeming curious, this man was most definitely a guest, his rich garments betrayed him completely, and yet he looked very out of place.

"No, just doing my job" Robin said simply, nearing the man who looked at him with interest, "I came in with the Queen" there was a hint of irony in the way he uttered 'the' and the man chuckled.

"You mean king Leopold's widow?" he inquired. 

"The very same," Robin breathed out; only thinking about her was making him tired, "You know her then?"

The man let out a puff of air widening his eyes a little before answering, "Yes I do" his eyes trailed off as if remembering, "She is quite unforgettable."

"You can say that again," Robin commented, leaning against a golden tree, feeling at ease conversing with this man, for some odd reason he felt he could trust, "Try working for her, you'll never be the same."

The man raised his posture for the first time and gave Robin a soft smile; he brought both his hands to his face and inhaled deeply scrubbing them about his features. He exhaled and hung his head in defeat and asked after a beat.

"Are you married?"

"I was once" Robin replied, missing the pang on his chest at the mention of his married life.

"Did you-" the man's head rose up to look Robin in the eye, "-did you love her?"

This was definitely the very last thing he would expect a noble to ask of him but Robin replied in truth, "More than anything in the world."

"Were you matched?" the man asked, Robin frowned and he tried again, "Was it arranged? Your marriage."

"No, no it was not." Robin replied, "I actually stole her from her arranged marriage."

"Oh, I see-" the man trailed off.

The wheels inside Robin's mind turned as he asked, "Is this your engagement party?"

"Mine alright, to a woman I have known for three whole days and cringes every time I take her arm." he replied, looking out in the direction of the big windows through which the ball could be seen. 

“That does not sound very promising.” Robin commented, able to draw a small chuckle from the man "Are you afraid of marrying a stranger or is there someone else?" he asked not really knowing why he should ask or care but feeling pity for the man.

"I-" he started but closed his mouth, "There is somebody else but-" he stopped again, "I hardly know her as well, but she is-"

"She's what?" Robin inquired.

"Like no woman I've ever met, she's bold and fearless, add to that her history, it's quite amazing that she-" but the man stopped speaking suddenly as if the air had been stolen from his lungs.

"I take it she's not on the short list of your wedding candidates then?" Robin tried to humor.

"Definitely not" he told Robin with a nervous chuckle, "but I just felt-"

"You felt what?"

"Electricity, an odd electric feeling when we touched, it was not a bad sensation, it was just different . Like nothing I had ever experienced before." the man explained.

To say Robin was gap face shocked was very little for he knew only too well what that 'electricity' felt like. And knowing now that other people had also experienced it set his mind running with a million questions.

But before he could voice any of them the man rose from his seat.

"But I should not bother you with my troubles, it's impossible for me to be with her-" he was already passing Robin by, heading back to his engagement party, back to his sour-faced fiancé and a promise of a loveless life. 

Robin placed his hand on the groom- to-be's shoulder before he could take another step.

"Find her-" the man turned back to face him with a puzzled look in his eyes, "Find the woman that makes you feel that way, and when you do, never let go. Believe me, you will regret it for the rest of your life if you don’t."

The man frowned at him but said “Thank you, you are the first person I’ve told about her-” he breathed easy for the very first time ever since their conversation had started “-I will find her.”

Robin nodded, released his shoulder and watched as he disappeared about the golden trees. 

Robin himself just stood there for a few minutes not quite sure of what had possessed him to say such a thing. He was sure of one thing, even against his better judgment and logic that every single word rang true to him.

He could not let her go, would not let her go, he-

Her dark laugh invaded Robin's senses and for a moment he chose to bask in the rich womanly sound of her laugh. It was not the same as the one she had shown him back in the forest a week ago, this one was more controlled, more calculated. 

He realized with a start that the laughter was not only in his head but all around him, it was not a product of his imagination but the pestering woman herself. Robin was grateful for having had a lifetime of experience as a thief and being able to conceal himself quickly in order to spy on her conversation. 

Because, quite frankly, Robin was rather curious to know who had been able to draw such a sound from this cold-blooded woman.

"...gina, you look quite fetching tonight." Robin heard a strongly accented male voice say, "I must say black does become you."

Robin heard the Queen hum before responding, "Aren't you full of flattery tonight?"

"I cannot help but speak my mind when I come upon the most beautiful woman in all the realms." Robin listened as their footsteps neared him.

Who the hell was this guy?

Robin had managed to climb one of the golden trees; it was not mighty but had heavy foliage, which assisted in concealing his presence and allowed him to see the pair. 

The Queen came into his line of vision followed by a man Robin disliked at first sight. She had that regal annoying way of walking she always did; she had taken off her cape. The dress underneath it did her justice, a long tight black thing, sleeveless and tightly corseted about her waist; she was now wearing a pair black gloves that reached her elbows she did not have on before at the carriage. As for the man on her heels, he was rather tall and broad shouldered, but had a rather young face, Robin could guess he was in his mid-twenties. 

The man wore a smirk on his face Robin did not like in the slightest. His last remark about the Queen's beauty had made his blood run faster and hotter in his veins and the way he was eying the Queen was not helping his case.

"Ever the charmer," the Queen chuckled, there was a small smile playing on her red lips, "Don't forget it was me who taught you all those nasty tricks, boy."

Robin was glad to see the man's - boy's - face go sour upon the Queen's words "You know I don't like it when you call me that" Robin could trace the accent as one used by the highlanders, the boy was far from home.

"And since when have I cared about your feelings Jamie?" she lifted one of her perfect eyebrows, "Plus, that's how I will always see you dear."

"I'm not a lad anymore" the man was quite affected by the Queen's words, clearly, still a lad regardless of his words against it.

"Oh really?" she moved from her spot facing him to walk towards a golden pillar. Robin accompanied the sway of her hips with both delight and dread, he knew that walk only too well. 

She turned back to face the man – who had his profile turned to Robin – and leaned her back against one large golden pillar, both her palms resting against its surface.

Robin could see the man's gaze ravage the Queen and contemplated upon cutting this little conversation short, - or maybe the lad’s ears off - not liking where it might lead. The man kept his hands clenched together on his back though - which came to some relief for Robin - as he approached the Queen.

"A lot has happened since you last saw me." Robin felt uneasy since he could not see the man's face anymore, but only the Queen's smirking at his words.

"Indeed" she purred, "But I bet none of your wee lassies have been able to do justice to your prior experiences in my castle," she was smiling, broadly with that evil malicious glimmer in her eyes.

The man's journey toward her had not halted whilst she spoke, if anything became hastier with her words. When she stopped speaking, he was suddenly half pressed against her frame, one of his hands placed at her hip bone. He brought his lips to the shell of her ear and whispered something Robin was not quite sure he wanted to hear.

When the lad finished speaking, the Queen's smile had somehow broadened, but Robin lost his reason when the sneaky boy bit lightly on the Queen's earlobe, to which she gave a small wince and replied with a slurry voice, "Are you trying to seduce me with my own tricks boy?"

"Is it working?" Jamie, his name was Jamie, Robin was sure to memorize it for he vowed to write it down in this boy's chest with several deadly arrows for touching her like that.

"It will take a lot more than that to seduce me dear," her voice was low and sensual. 

Robin's blood had gone from boiling hot to freezing cold seeing that she was encouraging this. 

This pathetic excuse of a noble highlander trying to seduce her, she couldn’t possibly be considering-? 

Could she?

Was that why she had turned the cold shoulder on him? 

Was she-?

Did she-?

Robin was unable to finish any of those thoughts; enraging jealousy ran through his veins like venom, making all the hairs in his body stand and his face burn. 

These feelings and questions were utterly ridiculous and Robin knew it, he should not care, and yet he did, to the point of madness he cared if that damned woman who had turned his world upside down were to lie with another man.

Robin felt light headed and could hardly make out the boy's response "You know I'm always up for the challenge."

He subconsciously reached for his bow, his vision, however, was blurry, simmering rage prickled his every pore. Robin knew he was heartless, that it was impossible for him to have these feelings but he also knew rather well how it was to feel maddening jealousy. 

“Oh that I know dear” she replied turning her head to the side to face the boy , he was significantly taller than her so she tilted her head slightly to meet his eye and brought her teeth to her bottom lip. 

Robin’s vision was painted in black spots, red and yellow had been torn from his reality, all that had remained were dark tones, his pulse was strong and so quick he could feel it pump through his ears. He found it odd the couple did not discover him.   

He did not know when, but suddenly Robin had an arrow on his grip, his fingers stroking the feathers at the end of the deadly weapon. His eyes were unblinking at the couple, wide and wild.

He watched as the boy brought his other hand to her chin and stroked it, running his thumb on the lip she had just bit, the Queen looked eager and Robin could kill her for that.

“Was that a yes?” the boy asked, the bastard sounded eager, he took in a deep inhale of air as Robin observed his other hand squeeze the Queen’s hip bone.

The sensation of hate and frustration that had invaded him when he found he had been knocked out by a young princess which had resulted in the mangling of her dead maid’s body hit Robin again. Only now it was about a hundred times stronger, Robin felt like there was something fierce clawing at his chest.    

“Give me your best shot” she replied with a raised eyebrow.

Shot

Shoot

Shoot Robin!

The arrow made contact with the wood of his bow before his brain could register what his body was doing.

He aimed.

The boy moved his hand - which had been resting on her hip bone - up, feeling up the side of her stomach, her ribcage – Robin could not breathe, how was he breathing? – and finally palmed her breast through the fabric of her dress, she gave a questioning hum in response as he squeezed her sensitive breast. 

Robin could hardly see straight at this point, sweat pricked his forehead, his aim indecisive, a battle of wills coming to pass inside his head.

Shoot Robin!

He saw through his clouded eyes the man’s hand moved from her breast to rest on the column she was leaning her body against; it rested just beside her head. His other hand, however, was pulling her chin up, bringing her head to his in an act Robin vowed at that moment was only reserved for his lips alone.

Mine or no one else’s

The phrase rang in his ears, guided his hands, made his mind up, and decided on his aim. 

Shoot Robin!

He groaned in an animalistic voice “ Mine ” and the Queen’s eyes snapped in his direction, wide and filled with surprise, he could see the red on her lips as she gasped.

Shoot Robin!

Robin released the arrow looking her dead in the eye with unshed tears pooling inside his own. 

Chapter Text

4 years ago 

"Oh Regina! Isn’t this exciting?" Snow beamed. 

"Yes dear, oh so very" Regina was not even trying. 

"And to think that by this time tomorrow I will have already met the man who’s to be my husband!" The 15 year old girl swirled around her room and Regina rolled her eyes when her back was turned to her. 

They were in Snow’s bedroom, she had requested that her stepmother help her choose a gown for the evening’s ball and Regina had very little choice but to comply. So there she sat, on the girl’s bed entertaining seven different fantasies of how she could kill said girl with the various objects scattered around the room, the usual false smile pasted on her face.

"Would you think red was too daring Regina?" she asked, turning on her heel holding up a satin vivid red gown in front of her frame. 

You could not handle wearing red even if you were born again, brat.

"I’m sure it would look lovely on you Snow, but I do think your lord father would not appreciate such a bold color. Don’t you agree?" This act had become second nature to Regina, as if she were acting in a play for 24 hours. 

"You’re right." she said, dropping the gown unceremoniously on the bed next to Regina, who ran her fingers through the soft fabric "What about the green? Father says it brings out the color of my eyes." 

Green, how fitting, just the color I turn whenever you speak.

"I don’t know Snow. Haven’t you worn that one to your last ball?"  

How did Regina even remember such a thing? 

"I think-" she rose from the bed wanting to cut this little friendly moment short, she went for the wardrobe "-you should wear the pearly white one." She picked up the dress from Snow’s wardrobe, it was champagne colored, embroidered with all types and shapes of pearls that created an unique design. It was a masterpiece, one of the most beautiful dresses Regina had ever seen. "If you want to impress your future husband, you have to wear your best dress." 

The girl took the dress from Regina’s hold and inspected it, “That is true.” 

She smiled at the dress and then back at Regina, she threw the garb on the bed and hugged Regina tightly around the waist “Thank you Regina.” she said against her shoulders, she drew back putting her hands on her biceps and Regina had to fight to not flinch away “What would I do without you?” 

"Indeed." Regina managed, she felt sick, she needed to be alone, "Now, dear, if you will excuse me." She pushed the girl away gently. "I must also get ready for the ball, and you know it takes time." 

"Of course," Snow said, finally stepping away from Regina’s personal space.

Regina headed quickly for the door before the brat asked her to do her hair as well “I will see you later, dear.” Regina said as she walked through the door and out of that Snow White filled atmosphere.

Calm down, calm down. Just breathe.

Regina concentrated on each step she took, trying to rail in all the bubbling hate she was feeling. Her magic - which she kept as a secret from all - was simmering from the tips of her fingers; she could feel the crackling energy of her emotions making purple smoke appear and disappear on her palms. 

Normally the further she got from the girl the better she would feel, the more in control of her magic she would be but this was no ordinary day. Today was the day Snow was to be introduced to her husband to be, a union arranged from the moment the girl had been born. Her fiancé was a highborn lord, second son to a Duke from the Kingdoms farthest to the North, where the winters were fierce and so were the people. 

Regina sent a silent prayer every night that Snow’s groom to be was an old awful man, who stunk of alcohol and treated her as a toy, an adornment he could play with. Just like her Leopold treated Regina, a trinket, pretty little thing he could abuse. 

Regina then learned he was only a few years the senior to Snow. Regina’s prayers changed, imagining a weak, thin, pale and ill faced adolescent with spots of red covering most of the flesh on his cheeks. In Regina’s mind, he had a runny nose and could hardly climb a flight of stairs without having to catch his breath. 

She would amuse herself with such fantasies of awful suitors, of men with smelly breaths who had infrequent bathing habits. If Regina had to marry into a nightmare, so should Snow. After all she had been responsible for the demise of Regina’s fiancé, her true love, the only man who could have made her happy. 

Although it did not come as a surprise to her when the entourage from the Highland kingdom arrived that the suitor had none of the many flaws she had wished upon him. As Regina stood in her high seat at the throne room beside the King whilst the young man knelled before them - Snow just a step below her, next to her father, she was smiling so hard Regina wished the girl’s teeth would crack - she studied the suitor.

  He was handsome, too handsome; he had an intense green coloring to his eyes, lined cheekbones, auburn hair tied back and a strong jaw. He had a young face, had to be in his early twenties, only a few years older than Snow indeed, which made him a couple of years younger than Regina herself. But although his face was young his body definitely was not, he was very tall, taller than Leopold - but then again, who wasn't taller than Leopold? - He had broad shoulders, a strong torso and Regina could spot rather big arms beneath the thick layer of his cloth. 

  To make things worse he did not sport the noble manner of looking or speaking, he was not arrogant nor did he talk down his nose, but had a friendly smile on his face and eager eyes for the brat Snow White. Of course, she was young and mildly pretty, Regina gathered any young man would be eager to get under those skirts-

  Oh

  Something malicious and incredibly mean slithered its way inside Regina's mind and she could not help but smile back at the young man in front of her.

  She would have her revenge on Snow White, one way or another, she would make that girl suffer.

  ...

  The Northern party left two days after the ball, but the young man, Jamie, was to stay for a while longer. The extended invitation was given by Leopold himself who insisted the boy stay so he could get to know Snow better since they were to be married in the future. 

  When those news reached Regina's ears she felt like exploding, how could life be more unfair on her? Apart from the fact that the young man was perfectly agreeable and excessively handsome, the brat would get a chance to get to know him before the marriage. The very same girl who had been the cause of Daniel’s death was now given a chance to actually fall for her arranged spouse? Regina had not even had the chance to learn the King's middle name before they had arranged a date of their wedding.

  But Regina was confident in her plan, although she chose to take things slowly, she vowed that regardless of the fact that Snow would marry the lad, he would never be hers. This wedding would be as loveless as her own.

Regina was going to make sure of that. 

  She would start small, her first little intervention being in the third dinner they shared together.

The young man's servants had prepared a special meal for the royal family, only the very best of his homeland’s cuisine. The feast looked marvelous and succulent, even Regina was eager to try some of the new treats. She could spot the young man took great pride in everything about his culture and their traditions as he explained to the princess how every dish was made and why. 

  As they sat, Regina smirked inwardly and let her magic do the rest. With her hands beneath the table, she was able to send a spell Snow's way, it was a simple enchantment that altered one's palate. Regina had to hold back a laugh when Snow took a bite of the boy's favorite dish and immediately spat it back into her plate wincing with hot tears pooling on the side of her eyes. 

  Jamie looked disappointed and apologetic and Regina decided to continue in the food sabotage trail, which seemed to catch a hurtful spot for him. For the following number of nights the girl had assisted Regina's plans as she insisted on trying every dish and promptly trying to school her face into something more agreeable. It was delightful for Regina to watch how clearly the young man could see through Snow's attempts and how disappointed he grew with each meal.

  "Princess Snow, do not worry, you do not need to-" Jamie tried.

  "Oh no, I insist, I want to," Snow replied with conviction, as if today's plate could not take her down. 

  The young man looked uneasy - knowing the outcome of this - and Regina gave him a sympathetic smile as she chewed her food. The lamb his servants had made was absolutely divine, but of course Snow would never know that.

  As soon as the girl swallowed the meat - already with much difficulty - she looked slightly green.

  "Snow? Dear? Are you feeling well?" Regina faked concern.

  "I'm fi-" she started but stopped taking a deep inhale of air, she rose from her seat "Excuse me," and with that she shot to the doors as fast as those twigs of legs could carry her. 

Leopold - ever the concerned father - rose immediately after his daughter's departure, - Regina and Jamie also rose, since it was the custom - and only nodded to the young man before following his daughter's path. There was a beat of silence as the two remaining guests at the feast stood side by side, Regina eventually broke the silence.

"The lamb was delicious," she said with a truthful expression, "Snow is just a very sensitive girl, please forgive her."

Jamie looked grateful for her words and gave her a half smile, he looked slightly defeated.

"It's my fault, I thought-" he started.

Regina saw the window and practically jumped at it, placing her hand on his shoulder and squeezing it a little bit.

"It's not your fault dear," she said, he turned his whole body to face her, they were close, closer than it was appropriate but Regina couldn't care less, "You two just don’t-" she ran her hand down his deliciously muscular arm until she reached his hand and took it, "You just need to get to know each other better." 

She gave him a tight smile which he reciprocated with a wide relieved one.

...

But of course, things did not go so smoothly for the couple on the next day or any other day after that. Snow's continued negative responses to the food her fiancé had to offer made them halt any attempts of having her try any different kind of cuisine. The girl was thoroughly upset and Regina - as a dutiful stepmother - was always there to listen to her.

"Oh Regina, I feel so awful" Snow whined.

"I know dear," Regina was braiding her hair, wishing she could pull off thread by thread.

"I don't understand, why does it-" she started, but Regina cut her short.

"Dearest, why don't you take him out for a horseback ride?"

But of course the trip was an absolute disaster. Regina, however, was not as cruel as her mother had been and did not enchant the horse to bolt. If she had, the young man would have probably done the heroic thing and rescued Snow’s sorry ass and Regina did not want Snow playing the damsel in distress. Rather than doing that, she had used her magic to make the horse stubborn and disobedient which made Snow’s attempts to impress her husband to be fruitless. All she earned from him were pitiful smiles and empty kind words.

What Regina had not accounted for was the fact that Snow had grown quite frustrated with the situation and more precisely with her horse. She complained about the animal’s stubbornness to her father and the awful man – who did everything in his power to please the infuriatingly spoiled girl – became resolute in sacrificing the beast, stating that they could not have such unbendable animals at their disposal.

Regina’s heart went frigid, true, she had by this point in her life killed a handful of actual human beings, but the thought of an innocent animal, let alone a horse – thoughts of her stable boy burned in her heart - , to die because of something that had not even been its fault, was unbearable. She was not able to school her features to hide her horror when the King announced that the beast was to be put to eternal sleep.

“No,” she rose from her throne as quickly as a bolt of lightning and the whole court’s eyes fell on her. Regina regained a little of her composure, smoothing her hands about her skirt and continued, “My lord husband, I am sure killing the beast is not necessary.”

Leopold regarded her and replied in his smooth yet completely unfeeling tone, “If the beast does not behave as my daughter wishes, it is of no use to her, therefore of no use to anybody.”

His words cut deep and for a moment Regina had to wonder if she was seen just like the poor horse the king was about to slaughter. That if she did not behave as expected, she would be discarded, just like a broken toy. 

It was at that moment that Regina realized that in order to get what she wanted she would have to stain her hands in Leopold’s blue blood. In order to get back her freedom and to have Snow White to be utterly miserable she would have to get rid of the King permanently, just like he was planning on doing with the innocent horse. 

Regina felt her dark magic awaken inside her and it took most of her will power to hold it inside and not finish the King’s pitiful existence right then. But she could not, if she murdered the King in plain sight the people would turn on her, would never follow her, she needed a plan and a large dosage of patience. 

But at this moment, she also needed a way to save the poor animal from death’s clutches.

“My lord,” Regina tried again, “I am sure that was only a bad day for the horse,” she moistened her lips before continuing, “If you will allow me, I myself offer to test out the animal’s willingness to obey.”

The King studied her for a beat and Regina could feel the whole court’s eyes burning on her, she could sense particularly the gaze of young Jamie, whose eyes were wide with what looked like surprise and awe.

“I am not sure wife, I-” the King started. 

Regina knew he was going to say ‘no’, so she threw in a disgusting card that made her want to vomit for days but that was bound to have a positive effect on her cause.

“Remember, my lord, that it was because of a stubborn horse that I was fortunate to make your acquaintance.” 

Regina tried her best to sound sincere but she was dying inside. Was all this suffering worth it for the sake of a horse? Regina knew the answer to that in a heartbeat, horses had become her personal symbol, they reminded her of Daniel, she even felt she could sense his soothing presence whenever she would sneak out to the stables. Plus it was her fault that the animal was put in this position in the first place.

Leopold’s eyebrows shot up and for a moment Regina thought she had put her foot in it, “You are quite right wife,” he turned to some guard who stood nearest to the entrance doors of throne room and said, “Call the horse master, the Queen would like to see to Snow’s horse.”

And see to Snow’s horse she did. Regina went to the stables accompanied by an unnecessary entourage of nobles and servants as well as the Princess – who looked petty and badly humored –, the King and the young man who had been the reason behind this whole mess. 

Regina was fortunate to get a moment with the horse alone; already all dressed up to ride it.

She approached the animal who was blissfully unaware of the mortal danger it found itself in. She caressed its muzzle with an ungloved tender hand whilst she spoke, her tone soft, only meant for the animal she tried to soothe.

“I’m sorry,” the animal acknowledged her with accepting and innocent eyes and allowed her to pet him, “I have put you in this mess but I won’t let them harm you,” she starched it’s forehead and continued, “I need you to be a good boy and do everything I ask, ok?”

Regina brought her free hand to her coat’s pocket where she had hidden a couple of sugar lumps, just in case the little talk did not work she could always bribe the animal with sugar. She took one treat and brought it up to the animal’s mouth, who quickly devoured all the sugar on her hand.

She closed her eyes and touched her forehead with the horse’s, one of her hands still caressing the side of its face and repeated, “Be good,” she inhaled deeply and felt the presence of Daniel so very strong just behind her, a small smile crept about her lips, and she knew she was doing the right thing for him. His presence soothed her soul and calmed her heart – which Regina had not realized was beating erratically inside her chest. 

With that, she led the beast from the stables into the plain sight of all those worthless people to whom she had to prove this innocent animal was still worth the air it breathed.

Thankfully, the horse, Toby, the stable hand informed her its name was Toby, performed perfectly, obeying to Regina’s every order, jumping every single fence, stopping when it was told, and remaining docile throughout the whole trial.

When Regina dismounted the horse, she could see Snow scolding. For now it was painfully obvious that the problem was not the horse but the rider. All eyes, however, were on the King, who had very little choice but to spare the animal, much to his daughter’s annoyance. 

“I do not want that horse anymore,” she said in a tone of dismissal, “Regina, you can keep it if you are so fond of him.” She looked at Regina with arrogance and she felt like snapping her neck at the spot just for that look, “Father,” she turned to her father with those set of mild doey eyes, “I want a new horse.”

…

The rest of the day had been rather uneventful, she made sure that since Toby was to be hers that the horse was well taken care of by the stable hands and was now kept in the stall next to Rocinante. Maybe the company would do her horse some good. Heavens knew how much she herself craved company but ever since that disastrous episode with Jefferson, Regina found it was best not to risk her heart getting involved with-

“Your majesty?” a strongly accented voice called out to her whilst she made her way to her chambers after casting the illusion spell and sending her clone to Leopold’s chambers. She felt sorry for her magical self, for Leopold was bound to be mad, for at the end of the day, his little girl had been contradicted and became sour after the whole horse affair.

Regina stopped and turned on her heel to find the source of the voice to be Jamie. He was still wearing the garbs he wore at dinner, and still as attractive as ever, for someone his age that was, which was something near Regina’s age, which explained why she felt like tying him up and having her wicked way with him until he-

“Sir Jamie?” She greeted him, bowing her head slightly and he took a couple more decisive steps, getting as near to her as he could without the loss of respect.

His boost of confidence in actually getting to her seemed to falter when her eyes met his. He looked slightly out of shorts, maybe a little bit nervous, “Milady, I mean, your majesty, I -”

“Yes?” Regina raised a questioning eyebrow.

“I just wanted to say that-” he swallowed before he continued, “-with all due respect to-"

“Just say it Sir Jamie,” Regina urged him giving him a small sympathetic smile to which he huffed a nervous one. 

“I thought it was very decent of you to do that for Princess Snow’s horse.” he told her looking down at his feet and then meeting her eyes. 

Regina was momentarily out of words. Not in a million years would she expect a noble person to make such a comment, to side with  her  nonetheless, especially when the person in question was engaged to the opposing party.

She, however did not have to respond for he continued, “I feel somehow responsible.”

"Responsible?" Regina was confused, "How so?"

"I do not think the Princess would have made such a fuss if I hadn't been witness to her-" 

"Incapability?" Regina tried.

He gave her a small laugh, "Well, I wouldn't have put it that way but yes-" he moistened his lips before continuing, his tone slightly hushed, "You see, the Princess was quite upset about me seeing her-"

"Out of control?" This game was rather fun for Regina.

"Well yes,-" he started fumbling with his hands which were grasped behind his back, "She kept on trying to convince me that the matter lay with the horse, it was stubborn, that it was not even hers."

"How very mature of her." Regina commented dryly before she could hold back the biting remark.

It did not go by unnoticed by the young man in front of her who cleared his throat, "My point is, I'm glad you did something about it your majesty. Believe me when I say I wanted to have done the same thing but my position and station do not allow such liberties."

"Well, I did what I thought was right, for I know how  capable-"  there was an extra kick of sarcasm in the word 'capable', "-the princess is in her equestrian abilities." She winked at him and grinned.

He gave her a close mouthed tight but sincere smile, which Regina could sense was to hide a laugh he was holding back. 

"Would you like me to escort you to-" he prolonged the last word before asking, "Pardon mila, I mean your majesty, would you like some company on your way to wherever it is that you are going?" He gave her a nervous laugh.

This young man was quite intriguing, very raw in more than one sense of the word, young and bold, seemingly untouched by malice or greediness - poisons which ran through the veins of noble people like a trademark. He seemed to be kind hearted and just. He was clearly not accustomed to the ways of her husband's court. Regina had to wonder if that had been the reason behind his agreement to stay behind whilst his whole family left. So he could learn etiquette and be the perfect little husband Snow craved so much for. 

He had no choice; his fate had been sealed as soon as baby Snow came into this world.

That thought spun Regina's head round and round, it had been so absurdly in her face and yet only now did she connect the dots. Jamie's situation was alarmingly similar to what hers had once been before she got married to the King.

Did he even want this marriage?

Was there someone else back home weeping for their separation?

Regina was suddenly very interested in the young man, true, he had been quite central in her plan in ruining Snow's happiness but now... Now she saw him in another light, one that shone so clearly in his vibrant green eyes, she wanted to-

No, she couldn't,

Remember what happened with Jefferson, Regina. 

That had been nearly a year ago and yet still stung on her chest. That day she had felt truly evil, crying infant inside the crib, Jefferson's eyes widening as Regina held his wife’s heart and he begged for her not to do it. But he was a filthy liar, had lied to her all along, he had no right to tell her what to do.

She crushed the heart into dust and remained in the house to watch the after match until she was satisfied. The man she had trusted with so much for nearly two years, who had been lying to her for the same amount of time, cradled his wife’s lifeless body and wept. 

Love is weakness Regina, look at him, he’s pathetic! Her mother’s voice rang inside her head.

That day her vengeance had been sated, that day darkness had feasted on her.

"Milady?" He snapped her out of her trance and kicked the floor swearing something in his mother tongue, "I'm sorry, I mean, your majesty"

She blinked her eyes a couple of times, her sight adjusting, "Regina, please, call me Regina-" his eyebrows shot up so high it was almost comical, "-in private in mean, sir Jamie. You may call me Regina." He huffed a small laugh and she gave him a tight smile, "I do not care for titles at all." She completed, although Regina did not know why it was that she had said that last bit aloud.

"Just Jamie then-" his smile grew, eager, as if he did not have a friend in the world, "-in private also, but please, just Jamie." He stuttered, but then with remarkable clarity delivered, "I abhor titles, they are of very little meaning where I come from."

She leaned into his personal space and said, "We have something in common then,"

"I guess we do." He replied in earnest.

"Well then-" she said as she took his arm and resumed her journey to her chambers, he followed suit, straightening up his back at the contact, "- tell me why are you not on a first name basis with my step daughter then."

He gave a nervous laugh looking away from her and replied, “I don’t know-” he then looked back at Regina, seeming to have never actually considered the subject and continued, “-I guess we haven’t gotten to that stage yet.”

Regina hummed and took a few moments to reply, “I’m sure you will-” she paused and clicked her tongue, “-eventually.”

Jamie huffed at her comment and Regina was literally laughing inwardly at the brat already; it would be a long shot for the little flake of Snow to win this man's heart. He clearly looked upon her behavior with something Regina could hope was utter disapproval, as if she were too childish – which she was – and maybe – if Regina was really lucky – unfitting to be his bride.

There was a moment in which neither spoke. The couple simply walked side by side, turning each corner, Regina guiding them towards her chambers, her arm still in his.

“But-“ Jamie finally broke the silence, he was frowning now, squinting his eyes a little whilst questioning, “His majesty doesn’t address you as Re-“ he stops mid word and stumbles on his words, ”I mean he-” he looked back at her, a sincere confused expression on his face, “Is he not supposed to?”

Regina gulped, feeling a small lump forming on her throat, this conversation was heading the wrong way, “Yes, he is, if he wishes to. He’s the king.” she replied simply.

By this point they had reached the doors to her sleeping chambers, a ward in the castle the King had forbidden the entrance of just about anybody without his knowledge. Leopold might have been uncaring of Regina as a person but he was most certainly possessive of his trophy wife. The only ones allowed in this corridor were himself, Snow, her maids and a handful of loyal guards who patrolled and protected it. 

Regina’s very own personal prison, embellished with beautiful furniture, the most costly dresses and astounding jewelry. But none of that could blind Regina to what her reality was. She was a prisoner, bound by the shackles of marriage, no amount of comfort or riches could ever give her what she really wanted-

“Then why does he call you ‘wife’?” he asked, his tone was now softer, which made Regina’s chest clench.

They stopped at her door and Regina turned to face him and bid him goodnight wanting to finish this whole business. This was getting in too deep, too personal, stinging too close to her heart. Regina opened her mouth to utter her farewell but her eyes went wide when she heard the sound of metallic armor.

Guards, the guards are coming! 

How could she have been so careless? She knew Jamie was not supposed to be here but she had completely forgotten that the guards’ rounds would take them to her door in this hour. Had been too distracted to remember they checked every single evening to ensure she was alone and miserable. 

Regina’s blood went ice cold, not knowing what would happen to either of them if they were discovered this close to her sleeping chambers alone. For a second she was frozen on her spot and Jamie frowned and looked back towards where the click clacking sound originated from. 

The guards were so close and Regina was terrified, what would happen to this young man who clearly means no harm, who might even care- 

She finally managed to unfreeze and grabbed his wrist with so much strength he turned startled to look at her. Her nails digging into his flesh, his mouth opened to protest, she could feel him try to draw back from her but it was too late. 

When the pair of guards reached her door there was nothing there to be seen but the faint remains of purple smoke that went by unnoticed by their tired eyes. They opened the doors to the Queen’s chambers without knocking – as they did every evening – to find it empty as it should be. 

To Regina’s mortification, the guards were told of when she were to perform her wifely duties. They would do their rounds around her room nevertheless, always searching for an intruder; the King’s obsession with keeping Regina only to himself once frightened her to death. As the years went by and Regina got more and more schooled in not only the art of dark magic but also in the art of deceit, she found the King’s attempts to isolate her humorous. For even though he would do everything in his power to isolate her, Jefferson had slipped in and out of the castle with ease and so would Regina herself on occasion. The guards would look for the Queen’s lovers but she knew they would never find him, for Regina had always been much smarter and cunning than her husband and his stupid men.

She had never, however, used her magic with a stranger, especially a stranger who apparently had no experience with magic whatsoever. His lack of involvement with magic was quite obvious through his shocked expression, his complexion having gotten several shades paler. 

She had managed to transport them to her hidden study and quite miraculously, none of them landed on the table that rested in the very middle of the small room. It was packed with books and scrolls containing the most varied types of spells and potions.

The man, however, seemed not to care less about the books or the stuffy environment as he continued to stare at Regina wide eyed and unmoving. She swallowed, taking a deep breath before addressing him.

“Jamie-” she started, at some point, her hand had released his wrist but she could see the half-moon marks her nails had left behind. 

“What just happened?” he interrupted her, his face barely moved whilst he spoke.

“I-” Regina tried, she moistened her lips and said, “I had to get us out of there,”

“And how exactly did you accomplish that Regina?” he asked in a hushed voice, she felt a small amount of relief for he had used her given name and maybe, just maybe , he would understand. Maybe she would not have to immobilize him and give him a forgetting potion. 

Regina opened her mouth to reply but the words were not cooperating, got stuck on her throat. Jamie finally broke eye contact with her to look around the room. They had landed just beside the book-filled table and he ran his fingers about the yellowed pages of one of her opened spell books.

Still examining the page he continued, “You can do magic then?”

“Yes” Regina breathed out, closing her eyes, waiting for the worst.

He hummed in acknowledgement of her confirmation but said nothing else; she opened her eyes to see him turning a page on the book he had been studying.

“I did not know women of this part of the land could also do magic,” he stated, his voice was quiet.

“You mean,-?” Regina tried, shaking her head, not believing she had heard him correctly, a little taken aback by his words.

“Yes,-” his head finally lifted so his eyes met hers again, his own carried much less shock and much more understanding now. “All our healers back home are witches,” he took one step towards her and continued, “Back there they do not have to hide their powers and abilities, they are just as much a part of our community as anybody else.” He gave her a small smile out of the corner of his lips before finishing, “It was a witch who gave birth to me, as well as to all my brothers and sisters”

Regina did not realize her heart was hammering on her chest before he stopped speaking. She was silent for a few moments, looking back at him, she could not help but narrow her eyes a little in suspicion, this was clearly too good to be true. But Jamie’s soft expression never changed, the fright of being teleported without warning had clearly worn out to give away to a look Regina rarely saw in anybody-

“I’m guessing the king does not know,” he broke the silence yet again, and Regina could not help but gasp at the prospect of her husband finding out about her magic, it would result in her imminent demise, of that she was sure. 

Jamie could clearly read her concerns and assured her, “I’m not going to tell Regina, he’ll never know by me.” He promised her.

Regina blinked and a single tear fell from her eye, she did not even notice her eyes had been teary. How foolish she must have looked. Regina brought one hand to clean up the tear that was tracking down her cheeks. Her palm touched hot skin and she figured she must also be flushing.

Wonderful

“Thank you Jamie” she muttered, turning away from him, trying to hide her fragility.

She could hear his voice respond from behind her, “It is not my secret to tell,”

Regina looked out of the tall but thin window that illuminated the small room – the only place Regina seemed to be able to call home – trying to clean up the remains of her foolish tears whilst silence fell upon them. It was not an uncomfortable silence though; Regina crossed her arms about her chest feeling more relieved in that moment than she had in the longest time, she took the liberty to take a long and deep breath. She could register Jamie moving behind her, could hear the sound the paper made when he turned the pages, and could sense that she could trust this young man, that he meant no harm. 

After a few minutes she heard Jamie question, “But why did we transport us here?” she turned around to face him, he was leaning against the table regarding her, much closer than she had expected.

“Because of the guards,” she explained simply.

The man frowned, as she knew he would, at her unclear response, “What about them?”

He really did not know

“Jamie,-” Regina started giving him a sad smile at his naivetés, “-the corridor that leads to my sleeping chambers is off limits to anybody but the King, his daughter, my maids and a handful of guards. Surely you know that, right?” She tilted her head to the side slightly when she was finished.

He clearly had no idea, for he took in a surprised breath, his head coming backward a little bit at this new information, “I had no idea.”

“Well, now you do,” she said with finality, deciding on the spot to send him away to his chambers and end this odd exchange that had been going on.

The young man apparently was way more accustomed to magic than he had first let on and upon seeing her raised hand said quickly, “No! Wait!”

Surprised, Regina dropped her hand to regard him with curious eyes, “What is it?”

“Why?” he asked, squinting his eyes.

“Why what?” Regina was confused, where did he want to get with this?

“Why does he treat you like-” he gestured with his hands, unable to complete his question.

“A Prisoner?” she completed, and it seemed rather comical that she had been completing his sentences a lot lately.

“Well, yes!” he said in a stronger tone of voice, he took another step in her direction; his demeanor had turned determined and slightly angered.

“Because I’m merely a possession to him, and men do not like having their trinkets spoiled.” She spat, there was much more venom in her words than Jamie’s ears deserved to hear, but he had asked after all.

Jamie shook his head at her words, “Surely that cannot be-”

“It is what it is Jamie, I have belonged to the King for 7 years now, been his luxurious prisoner ever since the day we got married, I-” Regina tried to explain, but the man did not seem to want to understand.

“This cannot be right. Is this the kind of marriage I am getting myself into? Am I to be a caged husband?” he was suddenly irritated, closing the distance between them, coming to stand only a foot away from her. 

“I do not know, maybe it will be different in your case-” Regina tried, then it dawned on her, “Surely you can call off the engagement, you are a man after all, you have much more power of-”

“I cannot,” he told her sadly, “I might be a man but the Princess is still of higher birth, she, and her father are the only ones in power to call off the union.”

Jamie bit down his lower lip as Regina released a disappointed sigh, which drew his eyes from her own down to her lips. A small frown adorned his forehead whilst his eyes inspected her mouth; as if he had only noticed then she was so close. As if in reflex Regina’s brown set also diverged to the man’s mouth and then quickly back to his eyes.

“Jamie-” she whispered so quietly it sounded like a prayer as she leaned forward, closing the distance between their lips.

With his eyes still on her lips, Jamie met her halfway and their mouths met in a tentative kiss. Regina did not know what on earth had possessed her to act in such a way, but there she was, kissing the young man promised to her loathed stepdaughter, something she had told herself again and again not to do. But still his lips moved against her own in a closed mouth but intense exchange, she could feel a groan vibrate from the back of his throat. His lips felt excessively different from the other sets Regina had pressed her own against, meaty and so soft she could not help but bite down his lower lip herself when she finally drew back.

She felt light headed when she finally was able to draw her lips from his. She did not, however, extinguish the proximity the kiss had created. She placed one hand above the spot in his chest where she knew the man’s heart lay; it pounded furiously against her palm. She fixed her gaze there, fiddling with the fabric, suddenly a little embarrassed by what she had just done. 

“Regina-” he brought one hand to her hair to stroke it tenderly, “Regina we can’t do this-” he took a loose lock away from her face and placed it behind her ear.

Regina’s head snapped at his actions and with a defying tone she asked, “Why can’t we?”

“Because-” his hand moved to her chin, his eyes wandering to her lips for a beat before focusing in her eyes again, “-the King, he would-”

Regina did not let him finish, saying in between clenched teeth, “Fuck the King” her hand, which had rested until this point on his chest, now fisted his shirt, bringing him closer.

He groaned and the hand that had rested on her chin went quickly to the nape of her neck and he pulled her swiftly into another kiss. This one was edging on desperate, as if both were letting out all of their frustration with the act. Their tongues met in between moans and groans, it was messy and wet but neither of them seemed to mind, it felt divine and freeing. Both Regina’s hands fisted on his shirt and while Jamie buried his fingers in her hair, messing up her meticulous updo.

After a few minutes of heated kisses they pulled apart and Regina regarded him with a smirk and did not resist letting out, “I bet you don’t get to kiss that little flake of Snow like that” she bit her lower lip after her bitchy remark.

“Try not at all,” he said in an amused tone, lifting both his eyebrows.

His words had an immediate effect on Regina, who released a laugh she felt was being held back for the longest time. She buried her face on his chest and laughed and laughed. 

Stupid, foolish Snow, if only she could see what her fiancé was up to, where his hands were wondering, that her dear stepmother had tasted his lips before she even had the chance. She felt like crackling, a strange kind of pleasure filled Regina’s chest with those thoughts. For even though Snow was clearly not head over heels in love with this man, she still saw him as hers – like her father saw Regina as his possession. But Jamie was no such thing. Would never be. Like Regina had never been truly Leopold’s. 

She would make sure of it, not only for her revenge’s sake but also for him , he deserved better than being that spoiled brat’s boy toy. 

As Regina lifted her face from his chest, she could see him smile down at her, she placed both her hands on his cheeks and brought his soft lips back to hers. Jamie responded quickly to the kiss and managed to spin them around bringing his hands to her waist. He started moving forward, each step he took she would mirror with one blind step back, never breaking the kiss, until her behind touched the edge of the wooden table. 

When that happened Regina moaned against his lips and brought her hands down to his neck, his own clenched at the covered flesh of her hips. His tendons pressed roughly into her corset and Regina suddenly felt there was too much fabric in between their skins.

His hands gripped tighter and suddenly Regina’s feet lost their contact with the floor and her arse found the surface of the table. She opened her legs instantly in order for Jamie to situate himself in between them; she then noticed she was half sitting on an opened book. She broke the kiss then, smirking at him as she lifted her hand and let her magic do the rest. 

Jamie’s eyes went wide when all the books that were on the table started moving on their own. Just like birds, they beat their pages, flying to their correct places in the numerous shelves that covered the small room. 

Regina looked back to admire her small handy work with pride and then turned back to face him, his lips were reddened, sore because of her kisses and lipstick. Her chest swelled with pride, she could not help but place one teasing kiss on the very corner of his mouth. She traced her mouth sensually about his cheek until she reached his earlobe and gave it a small nibble, which drew a wince from him. 

She slurred quietly then, “You know what I think?” she lifted one of her knees teasingly seeing shivers run across his body. She did not give him time to respond though, “I think-” she continued, “-we have far too much clothes on.”

…

From that day forward a strange bond was created between Regina and Jamie. They became lovers, fervent ones. That night Regina found out a lot about Jamie. That he was very easy on the eye, but without his clothes on, he looked even better, with toned muscles, strong arms and  an impressive manhood. But also that he lacked experience. 

However Regina was more than happy to assist him in that department. Having been involved with a man outside her marriage once before – which turned out to be a disastrous experience – it was fairly easy for Regina to maneuver her affair about her husband’s well-guarded castle. She taught Jamie every secret passageway – the ancient ones she had discovered on her lonely late night explorations and also the ones she had created herself – every hidden dead end corridor – from which she could simply puff them both from – and every escape route she knew of. 

Not only that, but Regina made sure to teach the young lad how to please not only her but also himself. She took great pride in helping him discover his body, his needs, and his preferences. Other than that, Regina showed him how to tease the senses, how to arouse with only minimal contact, and how to bring one’s partner to the edge. 

It had been something she had learned from that bastard Jefferson; at least the idiotic sod had been useful in that department. Although sometimes Regina thought about her past with him and could not help but feel he stole the little that had been left of her innocence with his wandering hands and heated kisses. But he had also opened Regina up to herself, and for that, at least, she was thankful for – it was probably the only reason why he was still alive after what he had done.

And although their nights together and sexual escapes were heated and sometimes addictive, the nature of their relationship could not be described with the word ‘romantic’. Regina had loved Daniel with all her pure heart, did not think it possible to love anybody else in that sense ever again. She had loathed Leopold from the moment they had tied the knot and he had pressed those disgusting lips to hers. Her relationship with Jefferson had been a turmoil; far too long with mixed feelings, from both parties and most of them unmatching, plus far too much deceit.

She liked Jamie, the more time they spent together the more Regina would like him. He was a bit rough, a far cry from sophisticated, completely different from her, but somehow they understood each other. It was odd that Regina never felt the wild flower of love blossom in her heart for him. She felt protective of him, almost like a little brother, if ever you fucked your sibling, a feeling that had always brought tormenting thoughts to her head, thinking what exactly she was doing with this young man. For some time, she believed herself incapable of loving, that her heart had built an invisible barrier around itself in order for it not to be broken anymore.

It took Regina a while to realize Jamie was just a friend she happened to fuck. They most certainly had similar interests when it came to each other’s naked bodies, understood they were both in very similar situations so the best way to pull through it was to stick together. But they both knew that love was not meant for them and that prospect suited the pair just fine. 

Before they knew it, a year had passed and Jamie was still to return to his homeland – he was to marry Snow on her 16 th birthday, which was to happen in the next year. Regina had decided to stop her pranks and mischiefs in order to separate the couple, for now she was certain he disliked the princess, had heard the very words out of the horse’s mouth three months after that fateful night inside her study.

It had been a good year for Regina, she had felt like a misbehaving teenager for most of it, something she could only recall feeling before when she had been with Daniel.  She would sneak around with the young man every chance they got, brush his legs with her silk covered foot under the dining table, daring even to tease him with her hand when they were placed sitting side by side.

To the outside viewer his relationship with Snow improved, but it was all an act. Regina would supply him with enough information so he knew exactly what to say and do to please the sodding brat. But in reality he despised the girl, even more, he started to hate her father for now he saw the true face of the benevolent King and what he did to his ‘beloved’ Queen. 

Chapter Text

3 years ago

It had been a mistake, a huge mistake, Regina had known it. She was a fool to believe there would be no consequences. She had been so careless, so happy to finally be left alone that she did not think of what might happen.

The King had decided to make a last minute journey to a neighboring kingdom in need, ever the benevolent , Regina thought sarcastically. But she could not have been more satisfied with his departure for he also chose to take Snow along with him, leaving both Regina and Jamie behind.

Regina was watching the entourage leave in one of the many lounging chambers of the castle. She stood at the balcony, the afternoon Sun was shining so bright it stung Regina’s pupils but she did not care. As she watched her wretched husband leave with his insufferable daughter, she could not help but release a relieved breath.

That week had been particularly trying for Regina. Snow seemed to be breathing down her neck every second of the day asking her about this or that, which ribbon did she think sir Jamie would favor and it was driving Regina up a wall. Leopold had requested her presence in his chambers almost every evening and the cloning spell made Regina grow weary every time she used it. 

As a result, she had been doing poorly in her magic lessons, being too tired to perform to the imp’s standards. That week he decided to go a step ahead in memory spells with her. He had only taught her about memory potions, which Regina had already brewed successfully. Now he wanted her to master the memory spell, but because of her drained condition, Regina had not been able to perform it.

But then, fate had finally smiled on her, she had had a breath of fresh air. The king had heard his late wife’s kingdom was in need and decided to go there himself and take the brat. Plus, he had not asked for her company in the evening prior to his journey, and Regina had been finally able to rest. 

She felt a surge of new energy rush through her veins as a chilly wind coming from the east made contact with her delicate skin. As she brought her eyes lazily to the gardens down below her, she was startled to see two figures climbing the walls of the castle. One was clearly heading towards the very balcony she now occupied and the other climbed an even higher tower, one of the east towers of the castle, the one which housed her bedroom. 

Curious, she looked at the figure climbing further from her, the one that was a few feet away from reaching one of the windows of her bedchambers. She could not see his face, a dark green hood concealed it, but she was almost certain it was a man. A strange pang hammered in her heart as she watched the man with keenness, it was alarming and something Regina could not trace to ever feeling before. A strange pull towards him. But still, she observed as he reached her opened window and slipped inside her chambers with ease. 

She then brought her attention back to the man who was making his way towards her and was startled to discover he was almost reaching her balcony. 

Regina drew away from the fence at the terrace and pondered upon what she should do. She could use her magic and make both meet their crashing demise in the grounds of the castle. But she could not bring herself to be so heartless, she did not even know who they were, plus her curiosity always got the best of her. She had to know why they were there. 

She could call the guards, but apart from that being the most boring of options, it would quite certainly end up in both their decapitations, unless they had a very good and official excuse for climbing the walls of the castle and entering her royal chambers. Regina had a niggling feeling that they did not.

So Regina ended up choosing to hide and see what it was that these men sought in her husband’s castle. Her heart raced and not only with that odd pounding but out of anticipation, she had been sneaking around for the good part of that past year but this was another kind of excitement altogether.

She watched eagerly as the man swiftly climbed her balcony and his feet landed on the stone floor of the room. He pulled his hood from his face to reveal young features, maybe a couple of years younger than Regina. She was thin and tall, had big ears that stood out even more because of his short hair, thick eyebrows and eyes filled with youth and enthusiasm, as dark as her own. He was seemingly very agile because he quickly scanned the room and went to work.

A thief

Of course, he was a thief, who else would climb the walls of a castle if not a thief? The man feasted his hands on the silver on display that had rested on one of the many small tables that were scattered around the room. He stuffed the objects unceremoniously inside what appeared to be a flour sack he had produced from his small bag. He had his back turned to her and Regina could see he was wearing a very dark leather jacket. The man muttered as he worked but Regina could not make out his words until he gave a small cry upon finding something on the floor.

“Oh, this one is for my Ana” he said, he had a painfully thick accent that told Regina he was not from Leopold’s kingdom. 

He got down to one knee in order to pick up something from the floor. As he got to his feet, Regina could see as he held up an object that looked a lot like one of the earrings she had put on that morning. She quickly brought both her hands to her ears and confirmed that he was holding the missing twin from the one which was still firmly attached to her ear.

“Wonder where the other one went-” he said to himself as he started to inspect the floor once more.

It was then that Regina decided to make her presence known, even though she was a little unsure of how to proceed. She came out from behind the wide column; he still had his back turned to her and Regina schooled her face to keep her expression as neutral as possible.

“Looking for this?” she asked loudly enough to call his attention and startle him as she held out the other earring.

“Bloody hell!” The man jumped so fast and so high that she was afraid he was going to fall off the balcony.

“Well?” She lifted one perfect eyebrow.

“Hum, yes milady-” he tried, “-as a matter of fact yes.” he inspected her from head to toe and Regina was glad she had not been wearing any ridiculous Queenly attire but rather a white dress she had favored ever since she first came to the castle.

“It’s yours then?” she asked testily.

“Yes?” he tried again; twisting his face into what he imagined was a convincing expression, Regina found it rather humorous. She found she rather liked this thief, he did not seem dangerous or violent but simply disconcerted and inventive.

“We both know it’s not yours-” Regina started taking a few steps in his direction, his big eyes went wide, making him look more like a rather funny character in a drawing than a thief. She inspected him from top to bottom once again and landed her dark eyes in his equally dark pools, “-but you can have it.” She threw the other earring his way, which earned her a shocked expression from him, but his quick hands grabbed the accessory with ease in the air.

“Why?” he asked, confused as he inspected the rich trinket in his hands.

“I have no use for them.” Regina shrugged her shoulders, “Everything that really matters to me-” she reached out and touched the ring Daniel had given her for their engagement which hung on her neck by a simple chain, “-is safe.” She let go of the ring, “You can take the rest.” She waved her hand dismissively as the young man’s mouth hung slightly agape at her words, “I could not care less for them.”

“Thank you milady, that is most generous of you” he managed to stutter as he pocketed her earrings.

“Give them to your Ana ,” she said with a tad of venom, a small sneer upon pronouncing the girl’s name. 

Jealous , she was jealous of this girl. Jealous, she had a courageous – even though a little daft - lover who dared to invade a castle to rob from heavily armed royals and still found time to think of her, to bring something back for her.

“I’m sure the diamonds will make her eyes sparkle.” Regina continued trying to be less resentful.

“Oh, my Ana’s eyes have always shone-” he told her with a completely new color in his voice, it was fuller and stronger, he bore a silly smirk on the corner of his lips, “-no rocks necessary.”

Regina’s face became glacial as she felt her heart sting inside her chest. From the way he spoke, it was painfully clear he was head over heels for this Ana girl and Regina could not help but allow jealousy to burn through her veins. 

Jealous of his ease to walk in and out of her prison when she had tried for so long and so hard to break free, her need for revenge on the King and Snow kept her from simply puffing herself away and never going back. 

Jealousy for his ability to love, unashamed of it, and letting it show even to a stranger he was robbing. Jealous of Ana for having him and mad at the whole wide world for having taken the only person who once spoke about her that way away from her. Oh, how she loathed that little flake of Snow, how she craved to-

She turned her back on him and headed for the door, wanting to evaporate from that place, sick of his love-filled eyes. She stopped on her tracks just as she touched the handle and turned back to face him once more and said, “Do not climb down the walls on your way out, the guards will be patrolling the grounds by now.” She wet her lips and continued, “Use the servants passageway, it’s a door hidden behind those curtains.” she motioned to the thick dark curtains that hung majestically on one of the walls, “No one will give you or your friend a second glance there.”

“Thank you again milady, truly-” he said, his accent was heavy but his words were earnest and true.

She pivoted back towards the door in order to leave when his voice reached her ears once again, “I just find it funny.”

She turned around with a frown upon her face, confused at his words and asked, “What is?”

“Well, you see, me and my boss-” he started

“The one who is ransacking my bedroom?” Regina asked with an amused grin.

“That very same,” he points a finger at her in confirmation following her humor.

He then grew a little serious as he continued, “Well, we overheard from the King’s personal valet – who, for the king’s misfortune and our good luck, cannot get enough of his pint until he’s passed out – tell of the King’s unexpected journey. He went on and on about how he was to take soldiers and knights and all the kind of rubbish that makes me life as a thief so difficult. You see this is why we chose this most delightful day to steal his riches.”

Regina could not help but give the thief a small smile in return, enjoying the fact that her husband was finally going to pay for his stupid vanity, “And?”

“Well, he also said that everyone of importance would be journeying with the King.” He delivered.

Regina’s face went bland once again, “And your point is?”

“Well, that statement was clearly untrue if you did not journey with him,” he said truthfully and for a moment Regina’s heart was swollen with flattery.

She took a deep breath and spun back to the door saying in a small voice, “Thank you-” she opened the door and completed whilst she left the room, “-but I’m nobody.”

  She shut the door behind her before she could hear his reply. He was kind but was making Regina feel bad and unloved, which she knew she was, but that did not mean she had to acknowledge it all the time. 

She knew what she needed to make her feel better, her objective became clear; Jamie. 

The young man always helped her satisfy her carnal need and not feel so lonely for a while. Their agreement was very simple, no heavy sentiments involved, just heavy breathing upon naked flesh, which was what Regina craved for at this moment. 

This was the very first time he left along with his annoying daughter and Regina had promised herself she would revel in every single second of this newfound freedom as much as she could.

She came to find him in the corridor of her bedchambers; he walked about without fear – and rather stupidly - the so well guarded ward of her room, but it was now remarkably deserted. He was about to open the door when she called out to him.

“Jamie!” she shouted quietly, his head shot towards her voice and his hand dropped from the door handle.

“Regina I thought-” but he was not able to finish his sentence for she closed the distance between them swiftly and brought her lips to his in a hungry kiss he reciprocated promptly.

He hummed against her mouth and Regina opened up to him, letting his hot tongue invade her hungry mouth. Regina let out all of her frustrated jealousy and sadness in the kiss, she tried to keep in mind that she had this , and this was something , it was better than nothing.

Although she felt a strange pull at her heart while she kissed him, as if her heart was telling her she was supposed to be kissing someone else. She had felt that same pull watching the other thief climb that tower. The thief she had not spoken to, the ‘boss’, the big eared outlaw had called him the boss. Was he still inside her room? She had watched him slip into her room. Was he on the other side of that door? 

Regina shrugged those alien thoughts away and grabbed the lapels of Jamie’s shirt, managed to pivot him around, making his back hit the wooden door with force before breaking the wet passionate kiss. A crashing sound came from inside her bedroom and Jamie’s heated eyes instantly grew wide with alarm. He turned his frame in order to reach for the handle again but Regina stopped him.

“No, it's fine-” she tried to explain in a whisper.

“Regina, there is clearly someone in there-” he said, trying to snake his hands from hers so he could open the door.

“I know!” she told him holding on tighter to his hands.

“What?” he whispered, squinting his eyes, not being able to understand.

Before she could respond, a voice Regina picked out as the one belonging to the outlaw she had just met rang from  inside her room, “Bloody hell, mate! Did you have to break it?”

“I think there is someone outside” another voice replies, Regina was almost sure he was wearing cloth of some sort about his mouth for his words were a bit muffled, “I think it’s a woman-” the strange pull at her heart had subsided but was still there, as if it wanted to tell her something.

Regina could hear some more click clacking that probably belonged to the decorations of her boudoir being stuffed into flour sacks, “-I think she’s trying to keep a guard from coming in.” she heard him continue in a confused tone, “But that cannot be-”

“Oh, yes it can.” The voice of the young man rang out smugly, “This is her bedroom.”

“Her bedroom?” the other voice asked, “How would you even know that?”

“Yes, her bedroom-” the clear voice of the thief resonated, “- and she has allowed us to help ourselves to anything we like.”

“WHAT?” Regina could hear his stifled yet irritated tone, “You talked to someone in the castle, Will?” she heard steps and then he continued, “How many times have I told you to be invisible? To never talk to anybody?”

Jamie looked at Regina questionably and she mouthed a simple, “It's fine.”

“But she was different, Rob. She wasn’t like the stuck up ones from before.” the other tried to explain, “She even showed me this secret passageway we can use to escape!”

There was more pacing and then, “How do you know you can trust this woman?” the subdued voice asked, “Do you even know in how many ways you could have walked into a trap, Will?”

“It’s not a trap mate. She gave me these, so I could give them to Ana,” he was probably showing his ‘boss’ the expensive pair of earrings she had presented him with.

“Let me see those!” the quiet voice ordered and by the sound of it probably snatched the pair of earrings from the other’s grasp.

“Oi!” Will protested, “That’s mine Rob.”

“I don’t know mate-” the other had clearly taken off whatever it was that was covering his mouth revealing also a thick but different accent, “-I think they would look much better on Marian-”

“You just met her last week, Robin!” Will argued, clearly annoyed at his boss’s attitude, “How many times have you seen her?”

“Twice,” the other replied quietly.

“Yes, twice! One in which you stole from her and another in which you stole for her.” The young man argued, “You haven’t even kissed her yet, you don’t even know if she wants anything to do with you. But as for me and Anastasia-”

“Yes, yes-” the other man cut him off, “I know what you and Anastasia do, the whole camp knows Will-”

“Oi, watch what you are saying lover boy,” the known thief, Will, that was his name, protested a little too loud.

“Oh, so now, I am ‘lover boy’?” his boss asked amused, there was a pause, “Well, I’m pretty sure I don't need these to woo Marian. My irresistible charm alone is more than capable of warming my-”

Regina had had enough of the thieves quarrel, it had been almost unbearable to hear that Will figure talk about his beloved but add yet another lovesick outlaw and Regina’s patience wore thin. Plus the pull at her heart was giving her strange ideas, like opening the door to see the face of the other thief.

So she decided to take matters into her own hands, quite literally. She and Jamie had been rather immobile in their position as they listened into the thieves' conversation, bodies still pressed to each other, Jamie still wearing a confused look. She brought one hand up and knocked on the door with as much force as she could muster before the other outlaw could finish his most certainly sexually inclined sentence. 

It did the trick and instantly the man’s voice halted and nothing could be heard coming from her chambers. Suddenly the click clacking sound of the stolen goods was mighty as they were probably gathering as much as they could carry. She heard the sound of the door of the secret passageway bang and then there was dead silence. 

Regina felt the pull at her heart diminish little by little until it was gone.

Jamie regarded her gravely and spoke after a moment, “Did you just give a couple of thieves permission to steal from the castle and an escape route?”

Regina stifled a grin and replied, “I might have.”

“Gods, you are crazy-” he was half grinning himself by this point.

“And you adore it, don’t you lad ?” she replied sensually letting one manicured fingertip trace down his cheek as her tongue massaged the endearment ‘lad’.

“Oh fuck yes!” he said quickly grabbing her by her arse and lifting Regina slightly from the floor, she wrapped her legs around his middle and laughed. 

He made it to open the door, for what seemed like the billionth time, but Regina was able to halt all his movements only by placing her fingertip to his lips.

“No, no,” she traced his meaty lower lip, “Today you are taking me somewhere different,”

He smirked beneath her finger, “And where might that be?”

She disentangled her legs from around his lower torso and even though she was several inches shorter than him she faced him as an equal and in challenge she uttered, “Follow me and you’ll find out,”

And with that, Regina distanced herself from his warmth and made her way down the stairs that led from that awfully well guarded corridor. She gathered her skirts in her hands in order to run down the stairs faster, hearing Jamie’s heavy footsteps trailing behind her. 

The pair was lucky they could tread about the castle unpreoccupied. Leopold always wanted to make a spectacle of himself in these journeys; hence, he took his most trustworthy and strong knights and soldiers. He was a vain man, a few people knew that for his ‘generosity’ seemed to cloud every other aspect, and Regina figured one day it would be his damnation. For he had left the castle very poorly guarded, which explained why they already had thieves climbing up their walls. Regina just hoped she would not be there when greater and more powerful forces than a couple of pickpockets decided to have a slice of Leopold’s treasures. 

After several twists and turns in the almost empty corridors, Regina finally arrived at her desired destination, she turned around to face her ardent lover just outside a light colored wooden door. The young man had caught up with her to give her a look of shook as he eyed the door behind her. It had been beautifully carved with shapes of flowers and birds; it was unlike any other door in the entire castle, for its light pastel color stood out from the entire décor of the dark grey corridor.

Jamie looked back at her and tried to stifle a laugh, “Are you certain?”

“Absolutely,” she slurred, letting the word roll slowly and sensually from her tongue.

Regina had her back to the door and Jamie’s torso dangerously close to her own, as he closed the distance between them, Regina turned around rapidly and was able to feel his hard erection press against her behind.

Delicious

She hummed and rotated her hips creating a wonderful friction between their bodies and could hear Jamie groan behind her, his hands trailing up and down her sides. Regina threw her head back inhaling sharply as she blindly tried the door. 

It was locked, but that was no problem. She set her eyes on the handle as Jamie’s mouth found the tender flesh on her neck. Concentrating was a hard task when his teeth nibbled and sucked just in the right places but Regina was able to pull herself together enough to cast a spell to open the door. Her purple smoke invaded the keyhole and did the rest, opening the door whilst Jamie ground himself on her backside.

She felt in a rather playful mood that day so she pushed the door open and quickly entered the room making her partner almost fall on his face at the entrance of his fiancé’s bedroom.

The ghastly place looked just as it had always looked; a universe of pastels and pearly white, it stunk of sweet vanilla fragrances, which momentarily made Regina sick. But this had nothing to do with the girl’s pathetic taste and everything to do with the fact that she was about to be fucked by said girl’s fiancé on her bed. 

  Jamie caught her around the waist and spun her around quickly to resume his activities on her neck. Regina wound her fingers in his hair pulling at it when his mouth would brush against her sensitive points. His nimble fingers were also at work, hiking her dress up so his hands could feast upon the naked flesh of her thighs.

  Regina’s nails came scraping down the man’s ears and neck – leaving red marks on their tracks – and she started to fumble with the bindings that secured his shirt closed. She pulled string after string whilst his hands groped her backside liberating hisses against the already reddened and heated region of her neck. Regina was able to liberate his delicious body from the offending garb just as one of his hands snaked its way inside her undergarments. 

  His thumb brushed against her clit just the right way, it made her knees go weak, and Regina liberated a whine of pleasure spotting a smug smirk on Jamie’s lips. His fingers went lower to her entrance and it was his turn to exhale in delighted surprise upon feeling her already ridiculously wet.

  “Fuck Regina, you’re so-” He sighed but was not able to complete, he hardly ever was, in that department Regina had already made it very clear she was the dominant party.

  “Yes I am,” she took the wrist to the exploring hand in her own hand with vigor, “And what are you going to do about that boy?” She made his hand press harder against her core and the man bit his lower lip in anticipation. 

  “Whatever you want Regina,” he replied, curving his fingers to reach her clit, managing to send jolts of pleasure about Regina’s body. She closed her eyes to revel in the sensation of his fingers working on her, he worked on the very specific points she had taught him that made her go crazy.

  After a moment and a deep sigh, Regina reopened her eyes to meet his darkened green and said, “Good boy,” 

  She still had her grip on his hand and used it to pull it from her, she held up his hand aligned with her head and smirked, it was dripping with her desire. Regina guided the hand to his chest painting his toned muscles with her juices. After she was done, she completely forgot about the hand, tossing it to the side and focused on the masterpiece she had just created.

  Jamie sucked in a deep breath when her mouth made contact with his chest, licking and biting so fiercely he took a step back when she pounced at him. Regina half laughed, half moaned against his perfectly defined chest, as she feasted on his flesh she held back nothing, none of the passion nor the frustration nor the anger.  

  When she was satisfied, she traced up her tongue from his abdomen, about his chest, stopping at his right nipple, she gave it a nice unashamed nip and could feel Jamie’s groan against her mouth. Her tongue continued its journey north until she reached his ear, she closed her teeth sensually about his earlobe and pulled only a little bit before releasing it.

  She slurred with her cheek pressed to his, “Take them off”  

  Regina drew away from him completely so she could watch the young man divest himself. He did so with gusto, - he knew she liked to watch, he knew a lot of things about what Regina liked and did not like in bed - not too quickly nor too slowly but in a speed so perfect Regina could see his every picture-perfect muscles tense and relax at his actions. 

  “How come I’m the one who’s always naked first?” he asked after he had shed his last bit of clothing while Regina herself was fully clothed in her virginal white dress but wickedly twisted undergarments.

  “Because my dear boy, I’m the one in charge.” She inspected him from head to toe, desire pooled on the pit of her stomach. He had such a nice body and after some guidance and a good deal of patience, she was able to use it to her utmost pleasure.

  She neared him once more with leisurely but sensual steps, her eyes burning in his frame, his lower lip trapped in between his teeth – a habit that Regina learned with time that showcased he was very much holding on to dear life to not simply pounce at her. 

  Regina brought one hand up to run about his chest softly but the tender contact lasted mere seconds for in the next moment she was pushing him back taking steps forward to which he took the same amount backwards until the back of his knees hit the edge of Snow White’s bed. Without a second to think both of Regina’s hands met his chest and pushed him to the sleeping place of her hated stepdaughter.

  Jamie had a smile on his face and Regina had to smirk back, he enjoyed this little tat to tat just as much as she did. He did not mind giving her all the power and Regina most certainly was more than happy to have it.

  Regina caught her skirts in her hands and brought them up, placing one knee in between Jamie’s naked opened legs on the soft surface of the bed. He was watching her like a hawk, he brought his torso up a little bit supporting his weight on his elbows, looking attentively but unmoving.

  She brought her dress over her head in one movement she had performed many, many times before to reveal her undergarments,  all white satin and no corset. A chill ran through her entire body, making gooseflesh rise in her arms and Regina figured it was because of her sudden nakedness, only small underpants and knee-high pearly white stockings covered her body. 

  Jamie’s eyes were hungry on her exposed frame, she thought at that moment he might reach out and touch her without her permission given the intensity of his gaze. But he did not, knew better than to do that, she tossed the dress aside, brought her other knee to the bed and rested it beside his leg. 

She decided to tease the poor lad a little bit. 

Regina felt a little bit too excited about being able to taunt him in Snow’s bed. Her hands started to make their seductive way up, caressing the whole extension of her own torso before they stopped at her breasts and she started to play with her nipples.

  His mouth hung open and his hands closed in tight fists, Regina took pity on him after a short while and said, “You want to play too, my dear boy?”

  “Yes,” he was all he was able to manufacture.

  She moved her knees up and slowly lowered her body until one of her nipples caressed the skin on his chest, she moved in circular motions until it became erect and Jamie had shut his eyes and was almost drawing blood from his lower lip. When both nipples were hard and Regina satisfied with his groans of tortured pleasure, she brought her mouth near his tortured one.

  “Be my guest then,” she told him and his lower lip was quickly released, one his hands found her hip whilst the other took as much left breast as his enthusiasm allowed it to.

  Regina moaned and closed the distance between their mouths giving him a searing kiss. Their kiss had never really clicked, but it was mildly satisfactory, other parts and aspects of the young man made up for their lack of lip chemistry. His hands delighted themselves in feeling her entire body as if this was the very first time they were together, he had always been very keen on her body, one could call it even worship. It was probably one of the reasons why Regina enjoyed torturing him so much with not letting him touch her until she gave permission and if that made her a little bit evil-

  She ground her sex on his leg, searching for some release down below as his hands had busied themselves with other parts of her body. With every rock she gave his limb, her desire grew, she had attached her mouth to his neck and was making good in marking it down red. It was not before long that the grinding was not enough to satisfy her needs and Regina brought the knee which had rested in between his legs to the other side of his legs, promptly sitting on him without shame or reserve. 

  She took his thick member in her hand and stroked him with gusto a couple of times, twisting him at the end with every new stroke and said, “Now, I shall ride you in the brat’s bed until it breaks!”

  The young man laughed throwing one arm above his head as his heated gaze took her in, scantily clad on top of him and responded, “We will be doing the bed a favor, I bet it has not seen any action whatsoever-”

  She grinned at his remark, he had truly learned the art of insulting Snow White, and Regina was the one to take credit for it. Feeling the fire in her core beg for friction and release, Regina quickly undid the hooks that supported her undergarments and took the petite piece of cloth off, uncovering her intimacy. 

  Regina did not take long to sink herself onto him; the man’s tendons pressed into the skin of her hips as she made her torturously slow descent. She sighed when he was balls deep inside her clenching her inner walls about his cock. Regina was not in the mood of slow burn, she wanted action and friction and sweat, and so that was what she was going to get.

  She started moving up and down, taking only him half way out before having him back inside her to the hilt. Putting her hands on his abdomen for support, Regina led the whole dance feeling delightful tremors of pleasure coursing all the way down to her toes. He met her every enthusiastic – and a little too harsh at times – movement, making sure to shove as much as he could inside her. He was a little too loud for Regina’s taste but if she said his screams of pleasure did not inflate her ego she would be lying.

  Regina herself began to grow more and more vocal as she rode him harder and harder, until the point it almost hurt. But it was a strangely satisfying kind of pain, Regina made sure she brushed her clit against his skin with her movements, twisting above him. 

  His hands were in her backside and he would give her an occasional slap there. Which was something she wished Jamie did more often, something that made her feel downright animalistic but the lad had much difficulty in performing such acts. Could not even bring himself to pull her hair when taking her from behind, but maybe this one just needed more time, maybe if she started to-

  “REGINA!” The scream was so loud it overpowered both Regina’s and Jamie’s shouts of ecstasy. 

  The voice was barely recognizable, it reminded her of – no, it could not be  him , it was far too thunderous, far too commanding to be-

  Leopold

  When Regina laid eyes on her husband, standing by the now opened door of Snow’s boudoir, it seemed as if time stood still. She felt all the flushness abandon her face to give away to a downright bitter sensation making her lightheaded, absolutely desperate and completely terrified. 

He had been there, in Snow’s room, witnessing Regina being thoroughly fucked by his daughter’s husband to be. He was there and not where he was supposed to be, inside a carriage heading west, far, far away from this castle, this room and this moment.

But he was really there, staring daggers down at her, wearing that stupid crown in that pathetic bald head of his. He was there and Regina wished again and again that this was a nightmare and she was to wake up at any moment, alone, but safe in her room.

  At that moment she felt as helpless as she had the night her mother took Daniel away from her; desperation and terror invaded her whole being and paralyzed her limbs. Only now, not only would her lover face death but she was probably going to die as well. Die for her treason, for her disloyalty to the King, who was merely a little man with a crown, who deserved to be betrayed, but alas, the world was an unfair place. She had learned that when she saw her true love’s heart being crushed into dust. Regina had been foolish to think she could feel a little bliss in her prison, now she was doomed and there was nothing she could do about it.

  But, no. That was not exactly true-

A strong realization hit her like a bolt of lightening, something so seemly stupid and obvious it almost stole a laugh from her. She may bear the same face as the innocent young woman who had lost the love of her life in the stables, but she was not that girl anymore. 

  That girl was gone. 

  Regina’s chest was filled with confidence when she remembered she now had power, great power-

  You are building up to becoming one of my best pupils , the Dark One’s voice rang inside her head, boosting her confidence, building up her courage.

Her magic, her magic would save her. 

Today her magic would give her so much more than salvation.

Regina was still very much on top of Jamie, his now softening length still inside her, only seconds had passed since Leopold had bellowed her name and interrupted her coitus. Her frozen expression changed from surprised to amused, an evil grin was painted on her lips and Regina's eyes grew darker looking at her sorry excuse of a husband.

"Husband, you are back too soon-" her words were pure poison, her tone had gone down, her voice completely different from the one she used whilst with him, "-why, I was not able to finish not even once!" She pretended to whine, her smile widening when she finished.

She had never seen Leopold look so livid in her whole life, after her words hit him the color red started spreading about his features, his eyes were as wide as they could be. It looked as if he was going to explode with anger and Regina felt like crackling.

"Regina, what is the meaning of this?" He sounded as if he was choking on his own anger, he did not move from the door, or do anything else but speak.

"How refreshing, I thought you had forgotten my name-" she lifted herself humming as Jamie's  cock slithered out of her moist core. 

Jamie was already very much softened and white as a sheet, he looked as if he had seen a ghost and differently from Regina, was not able to unfreeze from the shock.  Poor thing.

Sighing deeply, as if nothing of great importance was happening, Regina placed both her hands on Jamie's abdomen and used it as a leverage to support her weight and disentangle herself from his body. She sat on the edge of the bed, leaned back slightly placing the palms of her hands to the soft mattress and crossed her legs in nothing but her thin silky pearly white stockings looking at Leopold in challenge, daring him to go on. 

He met her gaze with eyes that promised revenge and suffering but Regina was not afraid of this insignificant small man in a crown.

"This is unforgivable  wife,"  he emphasized the word wife probably in order to anger Regina but nothing could get her down now,  " you will-" he continued gravely but Regina cut him.

"And who told you I want your forgiveness, you pathetic old bag?" She retorted, feeling her chest fill with satisfaction.

Leopold gasped and Regina could not hold back the crackle anymore, she liberated the laugh and threw her head back, mocking him with gusto. 

"Wife" he half screamed warning her.

Upon hearing her 'title', Regina rose from the bed looking positively enraged and screamed back at his face overpowering his voice, "MY NAME IS REGINA!"

Her eyes were almost popping out of her head with the intensity of her stare. She could have pulverized him right there if she wanted to, ended his miserable existence right then. But no , she wanted him to suffer , she wanted him to beg for death before the end. If she killed him now it would have been merciful if his crimes against her were being taken into consideration.

"Regina-" she heard Jamie's weak voice behind her.

Both Regina and Leopold turned to face the young man who had freed himself from his state of shock. He now sat on the edge of the bed, still completely naked, - and my, my did he look  good  naked - looking at Regina with eyes searching for the answers to a million questions. 

"And you-" Leopold pointed his aged finger at Jamie, "-I believe you know you will be paying for this with your life."

"He will be doing no such thing." Regina said with her newly found commanding grave voice overpowering Leopold's once more, she then turned to face Jamie and assured him in her normal tone, "Do not worry dear, I will take care of it."

"Oh you will?" Leopold's voice mocked, she pivoted back to face him, unafraid of his words and threats, "And how are you going to do that  wife ?" The title bit her every time, "By seducing me into forgetting?" He gestured to her uncovered body with disgust.

Regina bit back a laugh and retorted, "You have not touched this body in over six years." She mocked, "What makes you think I would allow you to touch me-" she approached him and stood about a foot away from him and continued, "-when I can do so much better?" She raised one perfect eyebrow and smirked looking quickly at Jamie's direction before bringing her wicked glare towards her husband. 

"Are you mad woman?" Leopold looked at her startled and confused, "I can recall rather vividly that two fortnights past you-" 

She did not allow him to complete, "You should not believe everything you see  husband ." She moved her head like a snake, it stopped dangerously close to his, "How can you be so sure that the one who warms your bed is me?"

He drew his head back instinctively and narrowed his eyes, his startled expression started giving way to a completely puzzled one, "Who are you?" He whispered.

"I'm your wife, who else,  my lord ?" she mocked.

"I do not know you," he half whispered, still in a state of utter confusion.

"That is true-” she pointed a confirming finger at him in a mocking conversational tone, “-you do not know the first thing about me." she now hissed at him, pouring as much of her frustration and repressed anger as she could.

Regina then turned her back to him, unashamed of her naked situation - she wore her exposed skin with pride, like an armor for she knew it was a powerful weapon - and walked to Snow's dresser. The thing was messy, with hair pins and ribbons scattered everywhere. Regina placed one delicate hand to the wooden surface and pivoted back to face the old man, "Allow me to enlighten you," she completed.

It was comical to see Leopold's expression morph from confused, to perplexed and then freeze in terrified when purple smoke started appearing from Regina's hand. It danced about the trinkets the princess had mindlessly tossed about her dresser like trash. The smoke sought one particular type of object, it spread quickly about the room in search of it, under the bed, behind the curtains, there was not an inch of the room it did not touch in it’s search. Soon every single last one of the ribbons it could find scattered around was possessed by Regina’s magic. 

Her husband watched in horror as the pretty ribbons his daughter used to adorn her hair started to come to life, twist around and slither on the floor like snakes. They all had one thing in common, they were heading towards him.

“What-?” was all Leopold was able to produce as the ribbons closed in on him. 

Regina watched amused as he took a couple of useless steps back, his eyes so wide they were almost popping out of his head. The colorful ribbons came to a halt when they all formed a perfect circle around Leopold blocking his way completely, they all had one side – the one that faced him – lifted from the ground and curved slightly, like vipers, ready to pounce.

The door banged loudly behind him, he looked at the closed door then to the threatening ribbons and brought his eyes slowly towards Regina. She was still very much in the same position, watching him squirm with fear

Finally he was able to stutter, “Tell them to stand back,” in what was most certainly his best attempt in sounding courageous.

Regina pretended to think before she clicked her tongue and responded, “No-” she took two steps away from the dresser heading towards him, “I have a far more entertaining idea.” 

She smiled one beautiful yet evil smile and straightened her fingers in a fast movement. In response all the ribbons leapt from their static positions, all of them had a single target, Leopold.

They snaked their way up his legs swiftly, spreading about his body, tightening themselves about him. That was the moment when Leopold finally started screaming in horror and fear, asking for help, and Regina thought her chest might explode with the amount of satisfaction that she was feeling. She remembered being a young bride and screaming, crying for help because of him, because of what he was doing to her, it hurt, and made her feel like rubbish. He had told her “Be quiet, wife, this is your duty!” putting his hand over her mouth and continuing his attack on her.

Regina smirked as she commanded the ribbons to close about his mouth, muffling the volume of his screams. “Be quiet, husband.” she spoke in the same manner he had once said those very words to her.  

She was careful enough to color coordinate the ribbon dance, so when their job was done - his wrists were secured together by the white ones, the middle section of his arms bonded tightly to his sides by the blue ones, his knees glued together by the orange ribbons, his feet tied up tight by the greens and finally his sordid mouth gagged by every single red ribbon that could be found in the room – he looked nothing like a king and a lot more like a court jester.

When the ribbons fastened tightly about Leopold’s knees and feet his balance was lost and he fell. Since his movements were constricted he could do nothing to help his nose from hitting the stone floor, his protests being muffed by the red ribbon on his mouth. Regina moved toward where he lay, helpless and pathetic, and simply contemplated the sorry sight of him for a few moments.

When her eyes and spirit were satisfied, she used her magic to lift him up from the floor to his feet, they did not touch the ground but floated a little bit above it. His golden crown had not fallen from his head but the impact it took from the fall made a nasty gash on his forehead. His eyes were bloodshot and watery, his nose had clearly taken the worst blow, maybe even broke, - but Regina did not care – there was some blood coming out of it. He was trying to say something through the cloth that covered his mouth, but Regina felt he had said his fill for the time being.

“Regina-” she heard Jamie’s voice call out to her, she turned to face him and saw worry and fear still plastered on his features, “Regina, I know that your magic can do great wonders but-” he swallowed lifting his fine derrière from the bed and approaching her, “-how does tying the King up save us from execution?”

Before she could reply, Regina heard Leopold’s muffed laugh from behind her. She turned around to see he faced her with defiance and arrogance even though he was clearly not in advantageable position. 

That look alone made Regina’s blood boil and before she could think she bellowed, “SILENCE!” whilst a hash movement of her hand triggered dark magic which sent him flying fast to land sitting in a rocking chair – which faced the bed - she herself had used it many times before whilst trying to make brat Snow sleep.

He hit the chair hard but not hard enough to break it, Regina lifted one eyebrow at her now silent husband and told him widening her eyes at the end of the phrase, “I suggest you never laugh at me again if you value your life,” without taking her eyes away from him she continued, addressing to Jamie’s question, “Well my dear, what if he does not recall any of this?” she smirked at the end seeing how Leopold’s eyes widened again.

With a gentler wave of her hand Regina produced a small vial containing a blue colored liquid on the table just beside the rocking chair stunned terrified Leopold had been tossed into. 

“That potion is our salvation-” she told him, now eying the vial, “- I have perfected a simple forgetting potion Rumple taught me so it would have the same effects as a powerful forgetting spell.” She then pivoted around to look at her lover and completed, “He will have no reason to execute us if he does not remember why he should in the first place.” She finished off with a wink.

For the first time in what seemed to be a millennia, a smile cracked on Jamie’s lips and Regina felt like she was ready to move on with the torture of Leopold. She reciprocated the smile and started taking leisurely almost feline steps towards him, morphing her look from half crazed witch to irresistible temptress.

Jamie’s smile instantly fell when he saw just what hers sought and told her a little stunned, “Regina, you can’t possibly-?”

“Why ever not?” she asked in faked innocence, “I have never done it with a non participating audience before. Plus-” she pivoted to face Leopold who sat facing the foot of the bed, “I want him to see another man take me. In fact-” she lifted one finger and continued, “The law states that the Queen must only be taken by the King and the King can take whomever he desires.” She delivered matter-of-factly, “And being a dutiful Queen, I do not want to break the laws of my kingdom,” she strolled to where Leopold sat and completed, “So I think I have found a solution to my little problem.”

With that Regina snatched the crown from Leopold’s head with no care as to the fact his forehead was injured because of it. It was heavier than she had expected given that Leopold was already old, but she guessed that it symbolized the weight of ruling, for her crowns were also rather heavy and uncomfortable.

Leopold’s muffed protests grew more agitated with the loss of his crown and he managed to make the chair rock back and forth with his constricted movements, he looked rather pathetic.

“I would not do that if I were you,” Regina warned him, “You do not want to fall on your face again now, do you?” She tilted her head to the side and bashed her eyelids at him, faking concern.

He stopped moving altogether to regard her with much, much hate in his eyes and Regina simply huffed at him, then he did something that woke something slightly darker inside her.

Even through the many layers of ribbon, Regina could make out the word he uttered to her.

Whore

For the first time in her life Regina saw the color red invade her reality and not only the ribbons tied about his mouth bore the color but everything her eyes could reach. She felt her cheeks burn up like never before and Leopold had to count himself lucky that the raggious effect made Regina drop the crown for it was with the very same hand that she struck him in the face so hard her palm ached with stinging pain.

But she did not care about that pain.

“I WAS WITHOUT SIN!” she screamed at him, tears pooling inside her eyes, she could not hold back her rage any more, “You took everything I valued away from me. My life, my freedom, Dani-” she choked on Daniel’s name, finding it too sacred to speak of it at this moment. 

“You caged me in that tower so I could play mother to your daughter and you could whisper your dead wife’s name while you took me.” Regina felt like her chest was going to explode, she had been burning to say all those things to the man for years.

“If I turned into a monster, it was your doing!” she spat at him, “I HATE YOU!” and with that indulged her aching palm in yet another powerful hit upon the King’s cheek.  

More blood poured out of his nose due to her strikes, but that track of red made her feel even more empowered, even more avenged. She found it amusing how she could see with her own eyes he could bleed like anybody else, in his time worn veins ran the same kind of blood as hers and not blue as her mother once wished her to believe. 

His head had turned to the side with her blow and Regina caught both his cheeks with one hand squeezing them and made him turn to face her as she delivered in between clenched teeth, “And now, you will watch.” 

She tossed his head back making the chair rock a little bit and grabbed the crown from the floor. At this very moment she thought of the thieves that had raided the castle with her permission and how this heavy object would have made them squeal like young maidens. She quickly tossed the thought away shaking her head and walked away from him turning her derriere in his direction as she marched back to the bed, her hand clutching the heavy crown. 

Jamie was standing there, on the right side of the bed facing her, with a stunned look on his face and his eyes glued to the crown in her hands. Regina unceremoniously pushed him toward the bed and he fell willingly, supporting his weight on his elbows, still looking at her mesmerized at what she was doing. 

Regina felt like exploding out of satisfaction, never in her entire life, had she felt so accomplished, so avenged, so powerful and in control, and so amazingly fulfilled. She was the one who was dealing the cards now, even if it was just for this day, she was to decide what the King was going to go through, she was to say when it was enough and she could wipe his memories.

She unceremoniously kicked at one of his knees; he parted it further so she could get in between his legs. Regina smirked, holding up the crown and depositing it on Jamie’s head mocking the ceremony a coronation required. She licked her lips and smirked whilst she bent her torso nearing her mouth to his.

“Long live the King,” she slurred and did not give Jamie a chance to respond before she crushed her mouth in his to the sound of the muffed protests of the actual and very much tied up King.

During the hot and bothered kiss Regina climbed on Jamie miming the position they had been caught in the act. Her head was rushing with a million sensations - lust, pride, fulfillment, anger, hate - it made Regina dizzy. Her chest was on fire and her heart raced, for the rush of having Leopold watch and know what she really felt about him was overwhelming at the very least. 

Jamie’s hands were quick to scan her naked body, leaving no patch of uncovered skin without his burning touch. Soon, as Regina grinded herself on him, she could feel he was hard and ready beneath her and she found she could not wait another minute to have Leopold see him take her.

His lips were on her breasts when Regina grabbed a handful of his curly, dirty blonde hair and pulled his face from her chest. His lips were sore due to her bruising kisses and bites, but the lad rather liked her hot and bothered kiss, had never complained but rather encouraged them. 

She licked the corner of his mouth and slurred, her voice having grown slightly hoarse after all the shouting and moaning she had been doing, “Take me.”

With that she let his hair go and climbed off of him to come to rest on the very edge of the bed. She sat with her back turned to Leopold and turned her head to the side.

“I want to see your pathetic little old face when he takes me,” she addressed her husband.

Regina then lay down on her back on the bed, so the top of her head was aligned with the edge. She brought her knees up and slithered up until her head, neck, shoulders and a little bit of her torso were out of the comfort of the bed, so she could see Leopold - upside down - but still see him. She opened her legs invitingly but did not bother to look and see if her partner was going to make a move or not, she only had eyes for the half ribbon clown King, who was looking as if he was going to pass out at any minute.

When she felt Jamie’s perfectly sized cock enter her, Regina could not help but let out a delicious moan. She did not need adjusting by this point, and Jamie was very much aware of that fact, so he started to move slowly inside her whilst running his ever so eager hands up and down her legs. 

Regina burned and it was not only due to the incredibly hot sex she was engaging in but also because of her heart that ached with what seemed to be unending joy. After everything that man had put her through, from putting guards to watch her almost every move to slipping into her bedroom uninvited so she would ‘perform her wifely duties’. From literally cutting her freedom to nearly zero by allowing her to only ride within the castle grounds and only whilst escorted. This truly felt like a leap of freedom for Regina, this was her chance to show him she was not his pet, she belonged to nobody but herself.

Jamie picked up the pace and Regina lifted up her legs high so he could go deeper, he caught her thighs and held on to them, his fingers leaving small red bruises on her skin. He banged in and out of her and even though Regina’s features had been screwed by pleasure and her mouth produced loud erotic noises, her eyes still had not left the very much distressed and wounded King. She found it positively dark that the King’s suffering was actually making her wetter, making her want to scream even louder and have Jamie take her even harder.

Soon watching Leopold groan in discomfort and anger upside down was not satisfying Regina enough anymore. She only had to rasp the word ‘behind’ and Jamie was already pulling out of her and placing her feet back on the mattress. She took one last upside down look at Leopold and felt sturdy hands wrap around her ankles and pull. Regina’s body slid about the rich covers of Snow’s bed breathing in a huge breath and releasing it with a sigh. When her body was again all resting on the bed, Jamie tugged at her knees and with his help, she quickly got on all fours, her derriere to him and her eyes back on the King. 

Jamie did not take his time to slam back inside her as Regina leaned forward like a wild cat, she felt completely out of control and yet for the first time in her life like the mistress of her own fate. He was going at it with force and might, holding onto her hips tightly and moving in and out of her in a friction that was surely going to drive her insane. Regina was starting to feel overwhelmed by her emotions, she was feeling too much and her vision started to blur. 

Regardless of all the overwhelming sensations, she still could see him. Her head was in constant movement due to the wicked deed she was performing, her whole body vibrated with heat but her stare was still focused on him . She heard noises coming from his direction and she could only hope it was due to tears. She hoped he would weep, weep like she had night after night after being trapped in this horrendous loveless and careless marriage. 

Now he would suffer, not Regina. Now it was Regina’s turn to laugh and come and his to weep.

Regina’s ears could pick Jamie’s groans intensifying and could only imagine he was close but she was not nearly done with this pleasure torture session. That must have been pretty obvious to Leopold’s eyes for he started to move in his rocking chair again. He succeeded in making the chair move and seemed to want to rock it even faster as he moved awkwardly. Regina let out a hearty laugh at what she thought were pathetic attempts of trying to make them stop or maybe call their attention. 

It only made Regina want more, “ Harder ” she commanded.

  Stinging actual pain hit Regina when he complied and thrust himself in her even harder. The ache distracted her for a few moments and Regina was almost not able to register when Leopold finally managed to swing his way out of the chair and onto the floor, again. 

But this time whilst falling he had managed to hit the small table beside him which housed a few unimportant trinkets and the very important forgetting potion. Regina’s eyes went wide and as she took in a huge breath that formed a noisy gasp when she saw the vial tumble from the table in slow motion and hit the cold stone floor, crashing into a thousand pieces.

Regina screamed but no sound came out of her mouth. The blood in her veins, which had been running hot and fast, froze on the spot; she was so stunned she could not react. It took Jamie a few more seconds to process what had just happened but as soon as reality hit him, he drew from her instantly and she felt the warmth of his body leave her completely. She lifted her weight from her hands and slumped to rest on her bended legs. Her body became numb after that.

The blue of the potion, that took Regina days perfect, stained the light colored floor and Regina was hypnotized by the slow journey the dense liquid made along the plain surface. Tears filled her eyes and ran down her cheeks in a matter of seconds against her will. Her body had blocked her senses, she could hear faintly by this point, and could not manage to form any words. 

Desperation hit her like an arrow. What was she going to do? The potion was her salvation and now it was lost, it had taken her a month to make the simple memory potion and several other days and several failed attempts to strengthen it. 

She could register Leopold was on the floor, on his side, laughing through his ribbon bondage, mocking her again. She saw her executioner, that small awful man was bound to put her through so much pain before the end. 

A quick look to the window made wild thoughts of ending her misery in a more definite way rush through her head. Her world went black as she felt every single hair in her body go up. Everything around her was blackened but the window, which offered light, was her only salvation, her only chance at never being hurt anymore. Maybe it would not hurt so bad, maybe it was all for the best, maybe she would get to see Daniel again, maybe this was in fact her fate-

“Regina!” Jamie’s voice brought her back to reality and she had to blink several times for the darkness about her to disappear and to register he was standing right in front of her, a deep frown of worry painted his features, both his hands on her shoulders.

He had his trousers back on and Regina turned her head slightly at that. His hands were still resting on both shoulders and he shook her. She took several breaths before she was finally able to wake up completely from her suicidal daze. 

“Regina,” he called out to her again and Regina simply nodded. He had a small blanket in his possession which he threw on her back in order to shelter her body from the chill that soon invaded the room.

She looked him straight in the eye, getting her fingers around the edges of the blanket, and saw something she had never seen before, fierce determination .

Regina frowned and felt like something was missing. And indeed the muffled sounds Leopold had been making had ceased and Regina looked down to find he was not on the floor but back occupying the rocking chair he had swung himself from. Even though he was still bound by the colorful ribbons he was not conscious anymore, his head rested on the back rest of the chair, his eyes closed. 

She looked back at Jamie, confused, and asked in a weak voice, “What happened?” she brought the covers tighter around her frame, suddenly feeling exposed and naked. 

“Well, after the vial fell you started to look odd . Your eyes were almost all black Regina-” he started to explain, sitting next to her, knowing better than to try to comfort her in any physical way so he kept his hands to himself. 

“You were staring at that window like you-” he was not able to finish, sensitive lad, he swallowed and tried again, “The King was still on the floor laughing and the bondage started to lose.” Regina’s eyes went wide with that. Had she gone so far in the delusional moment that even her magic was wearing out?

“I did not even think about it and just knocked him in the back of his head hard enough for him to pass out.” He completed.

That surprised Regina a lot, surely she knew the boy hated her husband but she never thought he would have the courage to actually knock him down, especially now since they were both basically doomed. 

He did not give her a chance to respond as he continued, “Regina-” he turned on the bed to face her, “I think there is only one way out of this but I wanted to run it by you before I did something drastic.”

“What?” she was able to half whisper, her throat was dry.

“I’m going to kill him, Regina.” He said gravely and Regina had to lean in with her head in order to take in his words for she could not believe they were coming out of his mouth, “It’s the only way out.”

Kill the King

It had been over a year ago that she had realized that killing the King was necessary, that she could never get her revenge or freedom if the King still lived. The idea of killing him now sounded tempting, their only salvation, the only way both of them could escape alive-

However, there was a part of Regina that protested, knowing this was not the time. Over this past year, when she was not enjoying the pleasures of having a meaty man at her disposal, Regina tried to come up with many different ways of killing the King. But not even one of them pleased her, she felt as if the guilt would be quickly pointed at her as soon as the body was discovered. She knew she needed to find somebody to frame with the murder or even to kill the King himself if she wanted to live through the process. The King’s men were cunning and painfully loyal, so she needed to be smarter, stronger and more powerful. 

Jamie was right there, offering to do the deed for her, end Leopold’s existence right before her eyes. She knew that only a twist in the old man’s neck delivered by Jamie’s strong arms would do the trick and yet-

She could not bring herself to let the boy die for this, as pleasing as the thought of her lover killing Leopold right after he took her, she could not help but think of the consequences of their actions.

Plus, Leopold did not deserve to die in such peace, die in his sleep, a brief moment of pain and then it would all be over.

No

The man deserved pain and suffering, he deserved to hear everything Regina had bottled up inside her for the past seven years. She wanted to tell him in vivid detail what she had done on his back over the years of their marriage and how she planned to make his daughter suffer until she begged for death. 

Jamie was offering mercy for all, for their sakes and for Leopold’s and Regina just could not have that, could not live with that. After everything that man had put her through, she could not have him die so mercifully.

Her loathing was so overwhelming Regina had to close her eyes. There was no way out and she was trembling. He could not die so quickly, she wanted to feel his warm blood in her hands as she finished him off as slowly as it was humanly possible. She wanted to end him, her judge, jailer and executioner. Regina’s face was red hot with anger; the feeling was so overpowering she felt her bile rise-

“Regina, your hands!” Jamie’s voice exclaimed and Regina opened her eyes to find deep purple smoke engulfing her hands.

She was stunned, normally her magic had a lighter tone of purple and this one had the addition of small thunderbolts that crackled about the mist. She felt her arms stiffen and her magic take over her, she felt powerful, more powerful than ever, the magic in her grasp almost out of her own control. Her head started to spin; it felt light and dizzy as the cloud of purple smoke grew before her eyes. 

“I-” she stuttered but was afraid to say anymore, since she did not know what a mere movement would do to this potent amount of magic in her grasp.

She knew what she had to do. She had never felt so much magical power before and somehow Regina knew it would be enough to do what she was unable to a week ago in her lessons. Concentrating and not moving a muscle, Regina’s mind went to work in the incantations of the complex memory spell she had learned. Regardless of her attempts to keep still, her hands still trembled over the amount of magic she was producing. Nevertheless, she concentrated on Leopold, on what had just come to pass, on his mind, on his memories. She reached out to them from the moment he entered Snow’s room until the moment Jamie had knocked him over the head and cleared it all away, leaving a big blank space where once the memories had been.

The spell was draining and Regina was grateful that she sat on Snow’s bed whilst casting it. She felt sweat prickle on her forehead and the blanket which covered her body slid down, but she could not move, but only concentrate, focus on the incantation. Her magic swept through Leopold’s memories, engulfing them and then promptly erasing them, one by one, until the last one he had in mind was coming up the staircases which led to Snow’s bedchambers. 

She was tired but knew she had to continue in order to save herself. Regina was thankful that the illusion spell was much less draining than the previous one. She quickly conjured new memories for Leopold, memories in which he missed a step on the staircase and twisted his left ankle. In his new recollections, he would remember tumbling down the cold stone spiral staircase until he reached the bottom, knocking his head on the pavement and remembering nothing else after that. 

When it was done, Regina opened her eyes to see Jamie looking at her as if she had just pulled a dinner tray out of her nose. She huffed at him, a tired yet accomplished huff and told him, “It is done.” She could not help but crack a small smile, “All he will remember now is how he fell from the stairs which awarded him with all those bruises.”

Jamie looked absolutely stunned and did not say anything but reciprocate her show of teeth.

“Only one thing left,” she waved her weary hand and all the ribbons became alive again and unfastened themselves from the King’s body. They slithered back to the places they had originally been tossed at and if some of them bore a little blood, well, Regina was just counting that as a bonus when Snow came upon them. 

Once his body was freed from the trinkets, with another wave of her hand Regina surrounded his whole body with her magical smoke. When it cleared out, the rocking chair was empty.

“Where did he go?” Jamie asked

“Bottom of the stairs my dear, now-” she stood from the bed and looked at her half naked body. With a wave of her hands she was back wearing her virginal white dress and Jamie all clothed, she looked about the room and saw the King’s crown lying on the floor by the bed. “We cannot forget that,” and with a simple flicker of her wrist the crown was gone.

“What now?” Jamie inquired

“Now we go see to the King, for he has been gravely injured,” she said in her mocking innocent voice, they both shared a hearty laugh before leaving the room to attend to the King.

…

Regina had been nervous her spell had not worked, but as fate would have it, it did. The King had no recollection of what had really happened that day, only remembered what Regina wanted him to. 

Things, however, changed significantly after that encounter, now gone from the King’s recollections. Regina could not complain about these changes for one of them was the considerable diminishing in the number of times Leopold asked Regina to join him in his bedchambers. The way he looked at her changed as well, before it was a bored look, almost as if she was not there, yet now it was alert and a little bit untrusting.

But Regina chose to ignore it, until his odd behavior extended to Jamie. He would snap at the lad for no reason, eye him with utmost suspicion during dinners and that started building up a very uneasy feeling in Regina’s heart.

Maybe her spell was wearing out. Maybe he would remember everything at any minute. Maybe-

“I see you managed to cast the memory spell after all” the impish voice of Rumpelstiltskin snapped her out of her musings.

  She looked up to find him sitting on her dresser, one foot on her stool whilst the other leg was crossed. Her teacher and mentor, the one who taught her everything she knew about magic, and even so, even if she felt gratitude for the knowledge, she could never bring herself to like him.

“Yes, I have,” she told him triumphantly. 

“But you are doubting yourself-” he continued pointing one of his twisted fingers at her, “You think that the spell is going to wear off!” That annoying giggle left his lips and Regina felt anger surge on the pit of her stomach.

“Nonsense!” She spat back at him, not really having any more arguments to help herself with, since his words rang painfully true.

“Oh, no need to lie to me dearie. I can see the wheels turning inside your head,” he got up from the dresser and stood on the small bench. He then started imitating her voice, “Will the King remember? Will he kill me? Will he kill him ?” he giggled again.

“Stop!” she exclaimed in fury.

“Do not worry, your majesty-” the imp told her jumping out of her stool “The King will only remember if you so desire.” Regina could not help but breathe a relieved breath, “However-” he lifted his finger up, “Your spells modified and erased the memories inside his head.”

“And?” Regina inquired with disdain.

“And-” he took a couple of steps closer to her, “His mind might not remember but his heart knows .” And with a giggle, he was gone in a cloud of black smoke.

…

Indeed, the King’s heart did not forget and it only took a couple of weeks for him to call off the engagement between his daughter and the man he himself said ‘felt he did not know anymore’. Jamie could not have been more pleased with the news for he knew he was also going to be caged were he to marry the Princess. Regina was glad for him as well, would not wish her fate upon any other, much less somebody like Jamie, who she liked. They had said their warm goodbyes in the privacy of her chambers and Regina had felt a pang in her heart. 

When Jamie truly left, all she could do was nod his way as he reciprocated, turned his horse and rode away from the castle.

Lucky him

“I knew all you needed was a push!” it was Rumpelstiltskin again, but this time she was surrounded by guards, knights, nobles and her husband nonetheless. For a brief moment she was terrified until she noticed that they were all unmoving, the imp must have used a strong freezing spell.

“What?” she half whispered, afraid they would unfreeze at any moment.

“All you needed to be able to perform that spell was a little push my dear!” He repeated with a cruel smile on his voice.

“What on earth do you mean by that?” She frowned at him, confused, but then- “Wait, did you -?” She was not able to finish her sentence for hatred started to take over her, “ You !” she pointed an accusing finger at the imp standing before her, “You sent the King to Snow’s room that day?” she asked, not actually believing that was true.

He faked being shocked, opening his mouth and placing a theatrical hand on his chest, “ Me ?”

“Yes, you!” her eyes grew big as she took one dangerous step towards him.

His infuriating laugh invaded her senses and before he could completely disappear in his dark smoke he uttered in a singing voice, “Guilty!”

Chapter Text

Time seemed to stand still when their eyes locked.  

Regina felt a clenching sensation at the empty spot on the left side of her chest when brown met blue.

It was impossible 

This whole thing was utterly impossible.

She had been feeling an uneasy sensation ever since Jamie had decided to take them to this part of the gardens whilst they talked. She had had a niggling feeling she was being watched, intensively so. She had dismissed the thought, even though she had felt eyes burning on her back. They were in a royal ball after all; every last person was watching the other, praying they would fall on their faces.

But this was no royal at all.

Him

It had to be him.  

It seemed as if Regina was not to be given a moment of peace from that man.

She told herself this had been the reason why she had not summoned him to escort her to this pathetic façade of a party. His meddling, his following her to the seaside kingdom, his sharp comebacks and his complete lack of respect towards her authority. Those were the logic explanations for wanting to have that infuriating – and yet so very delicious – man at arm’s length, instead of with his length up her-

But deep inside Regina’s reason lashed out at her for her utter stupidity that wild day his meddling had saved her life. It had been the first time in a really long time in which she had been completely powerless, defenseless and vulnerable. And yet, Regina still did not know for sure what had possessed her to call after him and expose her helplessness. There must have been something quite queer in that rain water to make Regina act the way she did. And if that had not been enough, she had allowed herself multiple orgasms and near death experiences even though she had no means of defending herself.  

 She had gone to bed that night fuming, her head a tangle of contradictory voices, but sleep had claimed her as soon as her head hit the pillow for the exhaustion was overwhelming. But it had not been a peaceful night’s sleep, for she had to eventually give up counting the number of times she had woken up drenched in sweat and with her sex moist. That infernal man insisted on pestering her dreams with his warm tongue on her neck, his sturdy hands on her breasts and his perfectly sized manhood inside her. 

But Regina’s real wakeup call took place when she had finally had it with the wet dreams and gulped down a dreamless sleep potion and closed her eyes. 

Regina found herself standing in the middle of a narrow road in the woods in broad daylight. She knew something was terribly wrong, she looked down and was perplexed at what she saw, her feet were bare, her soles touched the earthy floor. Plus she was wearing a white virginal dress, much like the ones she used to wear when she had first married the King, very much like the one Snow had been wearing that fateful day when- 

Her attention was drawn from her bizarre choice of attire by a grunt that sounded just behind her. She turned on her heel only to be witness to something most would not be able to stomach, finding it brutal and gruesome. She just arched an eyebrow and brought one hand to rest at her hip as she watched her pet outlaw sink Daniel’s blade over and over again onto the middle of poor defenseless and very much already dead Johanna. 

Regina was not at all surprised by the way he stabbed the round woman with gusto, her blood prickling on his face, painting the blade as well as his hand completely. 

All of sudden his intense gaze turned to her, but Regina was not one to be shaken by a mere set of eyes, especially not his deep blue pools.

She questioned in all her royal manner, “Are you quite done?”

He stood, blade dripping with blood still clutched in his right hand and looked at her with a hungry odd expression and responded, “Not quite.”

Regina had had no time to react, no time to scream, no time to use her magic to defend herself. A split second passed and he had covered the distance between them and shoved Daniel’s blade right up her gut. The whole blade remained inside Regina, only the handle was visible, his clutch on it mighty, making her unable to even try to remove it. Regina could feel the copper taste of blood reach her senses as it started gathering inside her mouth. All she managed to do was raise her hand to touch the one which held on tightly to the bladeless side of the dagger.

When the contact was made another voice sounded from her attacker’s mouth and told her, “Now I’ve been avenged.”

Regina’s heart felt like it had frozen and cracked into a million pieces when the voice reached her ears. She immediately raised her head to find it was no longer the outlaw who impaled the blade inside her but Daniel, her sweet stable boy who held on to his own knife and kept it shoved inside her. 

He had betrayed her. 

Her true love had betrayed her. 

He had killed her. 

Her stable boy, her sweet, caring Daniel, her fiancé she never got to wed was gone. 

The thief had stabbed her. He had betrayed her. 

But all she saw were Daniel’s blue eyes. Or were they Robin’s? 

The blue was so similar and yet so different, Regina’s lifeline was hanging by a thread, she was drowning in a sea of blue-

Regina woke up with a start and immediately brought her hands to her middle, where the knife had been plunged by the outlaw, or had it been Daniel? Both? 

Her breathing was erratic as she took in her surroundings, her chambers, her new sleeping chambers, because she would be damned if she ever slept in the room Leopold had picked out for his pet wife. As consciousness came back to her Regina felt sweat prickle on her forehead where a pounding headache throbbed with nauseating intensity.

What the fuck had that been all about?

Regina could still taste the faint taste of copper in her mouth, tears tracks ran about the sides of her eyes and she felt the area that had been stabbed tingle as if she had somehow been marked there.

Dreamless my arse

She had given up sleep after that particular horrifying dream and tried to figure out what exactly it was that her psychic was trying to tell her through it. 

Had it been about her search for revenge? Was she going about the right means to avenge Daniel’s death? She knew deep inside her that had Snow not interfered, she would be laying in a very different bed and in the company of one long gone. So Snow had to pay.

Or was it about the man who seemed to be everywhere she went? Even right now, even after taking a potion NOT to dream about him, he managed to snake his way into her unconscious mind and perturb her sleep.

That man - He was not to be trusted. Regina could not believe she let herself be so utterly vulnerable in his presence. To call out for his help when it was clear that she was defenseless. 

He could have killed you so easily then.

But he didn’t , a young woman whispered in the back of her mind.

But he might have , came the impish voice followed by a giggle that made Regina’s head throb even more.

How could she have trusted him for a second? He was her prisoner, her boy toy, her-

Regina could not deny she had sympathized with the little she knew of his story. What she could not believe was that she had thought was like her, he had lost his true love and drowned himself in darkness and misery, just like her.

That thief is nothing like you! The heartless queen told her, He is a thief, a commoner!  

He knows nothing of your pain! The half-naked Queen spat at her.

Nobody has gone through what you had to endure, the young woman agreed with the other two females for the very first time.

Regina could trust nobody, for nobody truly cared. 

All Regina had been left with was her revenge, and she would get it, even if it resulted in her own destruction. She would drag Snow White by the hairs to the pits of hell. 

The wee hours of the morning made themselves known to her through thin strips of orange which invaded her bedchambers shyly. After some time pacing about, her headache having only worsened by this point, Regina finally decided that what she needed was space.

 And although her night had been restless, the little sleep she got gave her at least enough energy to transport herself with dignity to the summer palace, where she remained for the next three days secluded.

 After Leopold’s death, not only did the main castle undergo renovations, but all of the estates owned by the crown. The summer palace had been the first place those infernal nobles she shooed away from her castle had run to. But Regina made sure to cast a powerful spell upon the place, it was a new curse she had been recently learning which kept unwanted visitors away. 

The ghosts that now haunted the place did not bother Regina; after all, she had been the one to put them there. It was an ancient and dangerous curse to cast but as Regina saw it, the souls needed a place to stay and Regina wanted the castle clear of living things. One hand washes the other.

 As it turned out, a haunted castle was much more protected than a heavily guarded one, so Regina chose to store most of her darkest artifacts and spell books in its confinements.

 The ghosts knew better than to stand in her way, they were quite aware of the fact Regina had been the one to give them shelter and could just as easily take it away. So she hardly came by any of them, they had a whole castle to haunt.

But it was quite frequent that the oblivious spirits of children would cross her way, hardly taking notice of her, playing innocently. But she did not mind seeing the children, they did not know who she was – unlike the older spirits – which meant that they did not fear her and did not pretend to be something they were not to please her. The other spirits knew, her servants knew, her knights and guards knew, they all put up a show for her; no one was true but the children. The eternal ghost children and Ro-

  No!

 The reason why she had secluded herself in this haunted place was that she could get that infernal man out of her head. 

True, he had always been honest with her, in his way, never sucked up to her, actually, he did not bother to be anything but his rude, unkept self whenever in her presence but that was simply because he was an animal. He did not care -

  He did save your life from the wolves , a young voice spoke.

  He did it out of duty, it is his job to protect you, there is no merit in it , the heartless Queen told her.

  That man has no sense of honor, he probably did it so he could ask for another favor , the half-dressed Queen’s voice rang.

 Three days went by fast, Regina managed to occupy her time in her restless search of a way to find Snow White. 

She was, at the end of the day, grateful she had not managed to end the girl’s pathetic existence when she had been in half-fish form. Regina had let her emotions get the best of her that day, had been letting them rule her head, her thirst for the girl’s blood had been clouding her reason for some time now. It would not happen again. 

Regina did not want to kill Snow White. No, she wanted to make her suffer . She had forgotten that along the way after killing the brat’s father, the rush of having Leopold’s blood dripping from her fingers had ignited something nearly irrational in her. Having sent the thief –ugh, there he was again – to kill her had been an impulsive move, her longing to drench her hands in royal blood once more had made her forget about her original objective.

 It was only when she came upon a book on a special brand of objects that could carry the most powerful of curses that she was painfully reminded of her original plan.

  Make her agonize, ache and writhe

  Death was too good for Snow White.

 Regina needed to trap her in a never-ending wheel of torture. Fortunately for her, she knew exactly what she could use to imprison Snow in said eternal agony, all she needed was a vessel and Maleficent’s powerful sleeping curse.

 Regina did not know which one was going to be the trickiest to acquire. The old dusty book told her there were several artifacts she could use in order to house the curse she had in mind for Snow.

 But most of them could only be found in other realms and the very idea of reaching out to Jefferson for anything made Regina sick to her stomach. 

There was quite the selection of objects she could use that only existed in Wonderland. Regina laughed at the idea altogether, there was no way on earth that she was setting foot on the land to which she had banished her awful mother to.

 There was also another segment, which spoke of strange creatures who inhabited the Land of Oz, they were able to carry curses without being affected by them. It was said they were mammals with wings, who could, with a single bite or a scratch of their paws, transmit the curse to another. These creatures intrigued Regina, but then she would have to have control over them, plus getting to Oz would require a certain hat whose owner Regina happened to despise.

 When it came to the Enchanted Forest, there were no objects nor animals she could use. 

Of course, she could always get Mal’s needle as well as her curse, but getting that blasted object she seemed to adore was far more complicated than creating a curse of her own. She had been using it on herself ever since King Stephan had woken his wife from her sleeping curse and had also used it to poison the sweet Aurora with the same damnation. It was far too precious to Maleficent, she would never part with it, of that, Regina was absolutely sure.

 When Regina had been ready to throw the damned book inside the fireplace, frustrated that the world seemed to be conspiring against her revenge, she noticed something in the back inside page of the book’s cover. There was a picture-like drawing of a tree, but the branches were all blackened, twisted and dry, there was not a leaf in sight, no green whatsoever on the drawing. The tree looked unhealthy and desiccated but the fruits were all plump and colorful, the contrast between the bright color of red used to paint them with the rest of the picture was astounding.

 The inscriptions around the picture told her the seed of this tree had been thoroughly corrupted with dark magic whilst creating a special brand of fruits. The tree was a tempting one, for even if it did not lure with its looks, it seduced with its fruits, which, if consumed, killed the poor hungry soul instantly.

 Regina then remembered that Blue witch’s garden, which was said to be the most prosperous and extensive in all the land, had been the only place in the Enchanted Forest to house that type of tree. All that ventured to climb it’s high enchanted walls never lived to tell the tale. But the witch was long gone, along with her garden, it had taken a lady giant and some unfortunate mother laid curses, but eventually the witch had met her demise.

 She felt as if she was hitting dead end after dead end, flames almost erupting from her fingers as she ran them about the drawing. As if to save the book from destruction, Regina’s attention was drawn from incinerating it by a tapping noise on a nearby window.

Effortlessly opening said window with her magic, Regina observed a crow as it flew about the dimly lit room and landed right beside her, resting it's paws upon the arm of her chair. She knew this creature, had enchanted it herself, she knew there was only one person who would be able to have access to it. A small piece of rolled parchment was tied to the animal's leg and she read its contents twice. Regina then decided it was time to step out of the shadows and go back to her castle and to her duty. Even if it meant being in the tempting presence of that thief. After three days, Regina had forgotten why she found it so awful to share oxygen with him.

…

The feeling of relief, however, was short-lived for only five minutes after she had transported herself back to her castle and there he was. Robin of fucking Locksley full of questions and squinty eyes and Regina felt like screaming her face off at him. Mainly because she could feel that damned pull, that inexplicable desire to be touched everywhere by him, even if her reason told her to incinerate him. She felt her heart clench on her chest, something she had very little memory of feeling towards any other and that terrified the life out of her. 

She then, did what she did best, dressed her true colors with a mask of disdain and mistreated him. As she puffed him out of her sight and to the farthest room from where she had stood at the time, her father sighed heavily beside her. Bringing her full attention back to him once the spell was cast.

“Regina-” he started in a small voice, he only called her by her given name when they were alone. 

“Father,” 

“Regina,” he spoke again and this time Regina simply took a deep breath and waited for him to continue, “What is the purpose of that man being here?” his voice sounded tired, it always did.

“He’s the captain of my personal guard, father-” Regina explained, feeling that her cheeks had betrayed her by heating up, “We have been through this already father.”

“Regina, my dear-” he took her right hand in his and Regina found it odd how the small gesture of affection made her heart feel so much lighter. “I’m certain you can find a better man for the job. He clearly does not have any military training and knows near to nothing about the ways-” he stuttered a little to make his point, Regina noted that even though she was still his only daughter, he was quite intimidated by her, “I can see how uneasy he makes you my dear, is it really worth-?”

“Daddy,” she placed her other hand on his, squeezing it with care, “He-” but Regina could not find her words; she did not even know where she stood on the subject.

Her father was right. The thief did make her uneasy. Uneasy and infuriated, horny and so utterly perplexed.

She should get rid of him.

And yet-

Then do it already , the imp spoke out.

NO! The young woman and the half-naked Queen shrieked in unison.

“Father-” Regina was able to recollect herself from all the shouting inside her head, “He is the best man for the job because he has no military training. Father, he has no scruples, no code, no honor and will kill instantly at my command, that is the kind of man I need as my protective shadow. And trust me when I say I won't be getting any more distressed over him.”

“My dear, I simply worry that-” he started again but Regina cut him off before he could continue.

“End of discussion father,” she said in a final commanding tone. She took a deep breath and wondered when it was that she had started treating her father the same way her mother had.

“Are you attending Prince James’ engagement celebration my dear?” her father’s timid voice snapped her out of her musings.

Regina had to laugh at his question, “Prince James? As in King George’s son?”

“Yes,” her father wore a confused frown.

“Would not miss it for the world” she smirked, her spirits all of a sudden lifting in an astonishing speed.

…

It was the most ridiculous affair Regina had ever heard of and she had been married to the King of ridicule himself. Prince ‘James’ – who Regina knew far too well was nowhere near being the actual – was to be wed to none other than Princess Abigail, daughter of King Midas. Looked like George made good on his promise to sell off his son to the highest bidder after all.

 James had never been very preoccupied with whom he was to wed, having never really lingered on tender feelings, he had been much more worried about when it was that he was to become King. Regina knew James would not have been displeased at the prospect of taking a young, pretty bride like Princess Abigail. 

But the man who used his name and wore his face was not James, and Regina had to wonder if his righteous and shy brother had objected to marrying someone he hardly knew. Especially when that somebody was known for being the frost Princess herself, managing to be more irritable than anybody Regina had ever met in court. She could not help but feel a streak of pity for him; she had been in a similar situation and knew it was not pleasant at all.

 But Regina could do nothing to aid the young man, and even if she could, she was not going to. She had far more important issues to worry about and could care less for anybody’s happiness but her own. And her happiness depended solemnly in the misery of one particular individual she could not seem to get her hands on.

 She had kept her distance from the outlaw, scorning at him and bellowing orders as much as she could but always keeping the man at arm’s length. Any kind of forward advance he would make resulted in him being transported as far away from her as she could muster; sometimes, for her amusement and his misfortune, she would purposefully send him splashing into the river she had watched him bathe in a few months ago.

 She could not have somebody who made her feel so odd perform any kind of control over her, even if it was only sex – and deep inside she knew there was more than just sex between the pair of them, but refused to acknowledge it - even if he had been the best she had ever had.

  No!

  He was supposed to be an entertaining distraction; she had always preferred a rough calloused touch driving her to ecstasy, a firmer sturdy hand as opposed to those soft fingers nobility possessed. Yet now, it had turned into something else, it made Regina's chest feel as if it was housing a fully-grown dragon. 

And that she would not withstand.

…

 On her third day back at the castle, Regina’s spirits had risen when word that Snow White had been spotted near the northern Kingdoms reached her. The approximate location was a good five days ride from her castle, but even so that information surprised Regina for it showed Snow was much bolder – or stupid, she was probably just stupid – to be so near after what had happened on their last encounter. 

Foolish girl  

She had been particularly delighted with the prospect of Snow being in that particular region. For Regina’s alliances with the Lords of the Kingdoms further to the north were tight, one in particular stood out from the crowd, for she had nurtured her ‘ties’ with him for a little more than a year.

 Regina had smirked at the prospect of seeing one of her former lovers again in a certain royal engagement ball that was to happen in a few days. A certain someone who also despised Snow, always thought her foolish, spoiled and childish, and most importantly, that was certain to aid in Regina’s pursuit. A man that ruled over his late father’s estate and whom Regina knew just how to persuade to do her bidding.

 She was surprised to feel yet another alien sensation on the left side of her chest as she pondered on which advance she would make use of in order to convince Jamie to hunt down Snow for her. She would most certainly have to-

 It ached, pinched at her heart, making her chest heavy with sentiment, something she had almost no memory of feeling at all. It took Regina a while to identify the feeling, but as she tried to come up with a plan to talk Jamie into siding with her, guilt crept up her spine like venom.

This was ridiculous! Impossible!

 She had slept with men to get what she wanted all of the time. Why should this be any different? She might even enjoy the exchange since she remembers Jamie was a thoroughly dedicated student when it came to the art of pleasing her.

 And yet, that niggling irritating feeling would not leave her be, it plagued her thoughts and clouded her judgement.

 It came as an utter shock to Regina that imagining herself with another made her feel remorse because of undefined feelings for none other than that irritatingly handsome thief, who had apparently a bigger grip on her heart than she-

  No

That was it . Her heart, that was the problem, it had been the problem all along. It had been tricking her into making the stupidest decisions she had ever made. Her heart clouded her judgement, her skin deceived her, her senses betrayed her every time that DAMNED man was around. That irresistible chemistry she shared with the outlaw was standing in the way of her revenge.

 But luckily for Regina, she had just the remedy for it.

…

When the day of the engagement party had finally arrived, after much consideration, Regina was ready to make a sacrifice – if only for one night – for the sake of her revenge. 

She looked back at her naked reflection on the full-length mirror, the only reflective surface which had remained inside her sleeping chambers. As she studied her bare body with lips hanging slightly parted, face devoid of any paint, and limbs still dotted with droplets of scented water, long raven hair cascading down her back, Regina reassured herself she was more than capable of carrying out her plan.

A shiver brought goosebumps to her moist skin when a soft wind invaded her rooms through the opened windows of her balcony, snapping her out of her thoughts. Ever so slowly, Regina flexed the fingers of her right hand as if testing them out, not trusting them to do their duty correctly.

Could she really do this?

She must, if she is ever to see the end of her revenge, she must. 

She had done this countless times before, had been anything but gentle and had found even pleasure in the deed, drinking in the characteristic glow of the organ drugging herself on the fact she had total control.

But she had never removed her own.

She could do this. She had to do this.

The hand found its rest in the middle of her sternum, fingers spread, just waiting for her command.

She would do this, but only for this one night alone. She would rip out her own heart in order to carry on with her plans, in order to not be distracted by him and the storm of feelings he brought to her chest, in order not to go insane with guilt once she-

Pain

Her hand was inside her chest, her fingers closing about her heart, she could feel the thumping as it pulsated hot blood about her body. The heart that made her feel guilt, regret, doubt and fear over everything she was about to do. If the heart were not there anymore to cloud her head with these weak feelings, then she would be free. Free to let hatred fill her soul and do what needed to be done.

The pain was almost overwhelming. Regina had thought the owners of the hearts she had ripped out in the past had been pathetic for they screeched in agonizing pain when she had performed the deed. And yet now Regina was fighting with her very last string of will power not to bellow in ache.

She did not know when her eyes had closed, but as she pulled the pulsating organ out of her chest, they were screwed shut; tears tracks moistened the patch of skin beside both her eyes. Regina took a huge intake of breath and released, her heart still securely clenched in her hand.

Nothing

She opened her eyes and a sense of absolute numbness reigned about her whole being. Regina took another tentative breath, relieved and yet not quite so, but only empty, she looked down at the fisted palm that held her heart tightly.

Regina turned her hand and ever so slowly moved her fingers in order to get a better look at her life force. It was dark, there was no surprise there, blackened in a way that seemed beyond repair. There were several streaks of vivid red all around it, but they were nothing but mere decorations in the face of the true color of her soul, black, withered, rotten to the core.

A small smile crept about her face as she was no longer met with shaking amounts of sentiment over every single thing she pondered upon, it was peaceful, almost comforting, maybe it was best if she-

No, absolutely not.

For as long as Regina could remember, she had always felt her mother’s heart had never been kept where it had truly belonged. A few years back, Rumple had revealed how Cora had ripped it off herself in order to marry Regina's father, never to put it back inside her chest again. Regina had lived the consequences of having a heartless mother who sought for nothing but excellence from her, never showing a hint of sentiment.

Now Regina knew painfully well why. Because she could not feel a thing, not anger at everything her mother had done to her, nor disgust at all the ten torturous years of her marriage, she could feel a trace of her simmering anger towards Snow White but it was not nearly as intense as it always was. And most importantly, her chest felt free and unbothered whilst she pondered upon the several positions she would bend herself into in order to get Jamie’s help.

Regina closed her fingers about her heart again and took a few strides until she reached her dresser and opened an empty box which rested upon it. She placed her still beating heart inside the wooden confinements and closed the lid, making sure to cast every protective spell known to her over the small object that now housed her lifeline.

She took a pointy hairpin from the dresser and proceeded to prickle one of her fingers in order to draw a droplet of blood. She placed the reddened finger upon the box and focused on her blood magic, sealing the box with that last powerful spell. Rumpelstiltskin, after all, had a nasty habit of trespassing in her castle and Regina had to make sure he was not able to get his filthy claws on her heart. Blood magic would ensure that. 

She cured her finger with a simple air blow from her enchanted lips turning around to face the mirror once more, her body still devoid of my cloth. Regina smirked, this was going to be too easy, with a swift movement of her hand, she was dressed from head to toe in black – she was a widow after all – her usual darkened paint adorned her eyes and a vivid red color dominated her lips, her hair pinned high as a long ponytail feel to the empty side of her chest.

…

Regina was the spoken image of grace and poise herself; her head was clear and her objective even more so. When she walked past the entourage of knights she had assembled to escort her to the ball, they parted like the red sea. Regina smirked and strode with conviction to her carriage, not having anybody open the door for her but doing it herself and slipping inside with grace whilst shutting the door with-

Her body was drawn back outside by a strange force, which pulled the door open. 

Who would dare ?

The question was answered right away when her eyes landed on the source of the eerie pull. 

Robin of fucking Locksley

Regina had no time to react – only managing to send him a glare that could kill - as a smirk worked its way on his dimpled face and he entered the carriage quickly, closing the door behind him.  

He sat in front of her wearing a smug expression upon his face Regina wanted to punch away. The peace and numbness that had reigned upon her head until now, disappeared altogether. She was angry, angry at him and Regina found it odd how she could actually feel it simmering on the pit of her stomach, something she had not felt ever since she had pulled out her heart.

She could not let it show, so she placed her hands neatly upon her lap and straightened up her posture as much as it was humanly possible, giving him the best scorn she could muster.

Just breathe

"Forgive me your majesty, I'm late-" he said with a conceited air as he slumped, like the savage he was, on his seat, "-but I think my invitation must have gotten lost in between messengers" he completed. 

Regina gave him no answer whatsoever hoping that the silence might make him go away. She was so engrossed in keeping a straight cold façade; Regina only came to realize he had given the command for their departure when their vehicle started to move. 

As if awoken by the movement Regina set her eyes back on the smug looking man and fought back as the emotions towards him seemed to simmer from all her pores. No longer making her heart ache – for it was not there – but still made her react .

Pulling herself together, she asked gravely, trying not to move a muscle "What the hell do you think you are doing?"

The outlaw was pulling up an act that had Regina furious, acting in a fake innocent matter that made her want to scratch his eyes out, "Why, my job of course! As captain of your personal guard I must make sure you are safe ." He brought his hand over the hollow space that once contained his heart for more dramatic effect and Regina felt like screaming.

"I do not remember summoning you for this particular journey." She retorted, not really looking at him.

"And I don't remember telling you I would answer to your every summons." he fought back; he was trying to make her snap, to draw something from her. 

But Regina was resolute that she would not be giving into her emotions this time. Even though they were not supposed to be there at all, and yet, with every passing moment, they would inch closer to the surface.

She narrowed her eyes and bit back, "I do not want you here"

He got closer, too close, with every nearing inch Regina could feel more clearly the fire and desire she felt for the man. What on earth was happening? She should not have been feeling any of this! 

All she could do was take in a deep breath in order to calm her nerves.

Fuck, he was so close.

"Now, now, we both know that's just, not true." His voice rang and Regina could feel the temperature on her cheeks rise.

"Don't try my patience outlaw, or else-" she started fuelled with her Queen bravado but the outlaw cut her.

"Or else what?" his small shout startled her and she gave an involuntary jump at his sudden outburst. This was all wrong, all wrong, she should be numb, not enraged!

"I am done with this conversation-"

Why had she not thought of this before? This had been the way she had found to rid herself of his presence for more than a week now. Just send him away, probably splashing into the river and far, far away from her.

Regina brought her right hand from her lap and raised it, the enchantment already ready to be cast. She could feel the magic slip through her fingers and for a couple of seconds already felt at peace that she was to be left alone once again. 

She felt a firm grip pressing her wrist only a second after, "But I'm not done your majesty" he said in a warning tone in between gritted teeth. 

Regina could not believe her eyes, the outlaw had grabbed her wrist in a fruitless attempt to stop her.

But it was not fruitless at all. The whole exchange shocked her to no end, Regina felt her magic subside inside her as the waves of electricity that usually came with their skin to skin contact took over. 

It was all wrong! Everything about this was absurdly wrong, completely out of place. He still had a hold of her wrist and all Regina could do was stare back at him with puzzled eyes, her mask of indifference slipping as shock and slight despair took over. What had he done to her magic? Why wasn’t she able to use it? 

His gaze burned, it scorched her soul and even though Regina opened her mouth twice to try to snap at him, she was unable to speak, the words got caught on her throat.

He was suddenly so close, so much closer than before, the waves of energy his intense glare was sending her made shivers run down her spine. He let go of her hand, and the action made it drop unceremoniously on her lap, she had not realized this whole exchange had made her arm limp. 

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" he asked in a different way, half-whispering, as if he was indeed troubled by the way she had been acting.

She took in a generous amount of air through her nose and closed her eyes in order to get herself together and respond with dignity, "I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Oh, I think you do-" he retorted, seeming to know better.

Gods, what if he knew?

He did not, he could not know of his true effect upon her. 

She had been so careful after all, "Well, not everybody is like you and can hardly keep their desires at bay." because that was the most plausible explanation, he was a man and she had not let him touch her in more than a week.

"That is not what I meant-" he tried but she beat him to it, the idea already formulated inside her head, it was a good justification and she would talk herself into believing it if she had to.

"Of course it is, what else could it possibly be? You're petty and grumpy because I haven't let you touch me ever since-" but she was unable to finish, the man’s words overlapping her own.

"Do you think that I-" he raised his voice to cut her but she was already overlapping his remarks herself.

"I do not think of you, outlaw. At all!" Regina threw as much venom as she could muster into her words. In doing so her voice was raised and she was near to screaming at his face, which was so close, so drowsily close to her own. 

"Liar!" he shouted right at her face, so much sentiment filled his widened blue orbs Regina felt her chest tighten.

That had been the last straw. Regina did not even register the motion of her hand – everything seemed so unreal by this point, she could swear there was an alarming amount of frustration and anger cooking up on the pit of her stomach - until a stinging hot feeling dominated her palm when it met his left cheek.

The contact was brief and yet Regina felt as if a lightning bolt had struck her when her flesh met his. Her palm burned, her pulse had quickened to a speed almost unnatural, and an intense feeling washed over her like a gigantic wave, swallowing Regina completely, dominating her will. 

She quickly withdrew back to sit straight on her bench, trying to put some distance between them, hoping that it might ease the overwhelming emotions that took over. Her hand had fallen to her lap once more and Regina could not seem to take her eyes off it, regarding it with puzzlement, silently questioning it for its actions.

Regina did not know which feeling dominated the most; – since she should not have been able to feel any – the rage and anger she felt towards him for being so disobedient and making her heart – which was not even present at the moment – stutter with wanton; the fury she felt towards herself for letting it come to this point. The absurd curiosity to understand why it was only in his presence that she was able to feel at all when deprived of her heart, or the complete dread that made every single hair on her body stand straight because she was fully aware she was not meant to feel at all . 

As her breathing eased, Regina’s eyes darted from her reddened palm to the man in question to discover he was not staring back at her anymore but looking intently at her palm. She became aware of a flush on her skin and as if studying an unknown creature, raised her hand ever so slowly – his gaze dutifully following its journey – completely entranced by her actions alone.

Their eyes met when the hand reached a certain height and she was on the receiving end of a very annoyed outlaw, his expression severe and firm. Regardless of his stare, Regina’s actions were being guided by a strong force inside her, a force drew her to him. So any face he could pull did not frighten away Regina’s will as she moved on her seat again, but this time to get closer to him and placed her still warm hand upon the cheek she had just struck violently, using so much delicacy even Regina herself was surprised.

The buzz was back instantly and it drew a small gasp from her lips before she could stop herself. She knew that she was to expect their odd connection, that pleasurable and yet mystic sensation she felt when they touched, and yet with this new exchange everything seemed to slow down, her senses being treated by some mysterious balm came from the contact. This time it did not burn but appease, the cutting sensation the slap had left on her palm being miraculously taken away by the contact. 

"But, how-?" the words were out without her permission so soft she hardly recognized it.

Regina inspected the man’s cheek as if she had never seen the likes of him ever before in her life, only with the pads of her fingers she could sense how every string of her skin pulsated alongside with his.

Regina was surprised to see the outlaw closed his eyes under her soft touch, which encouraged her to bring her other hand to tentatively touch at his other cheek. The sensation was buzzing and wonderful , it felt so good it seemed as if it was some manner of drug, she could feel him relax under her touch and tears started prickling on her eyes – Regina had no idea why.

 "How is this possible?" she whispered again to herself but the words came to life from between her lips.

She had unconsciously gotten even closer to him during this tender exchange. She could feel the hot breath from his breathing as he exhaled through his mouth licking his lips when he was done. That deed alone awoke something inside her she had not touched in a long while, he was so vulnerable, so trusting letting her touch him with so much liberty after everything she had done to push him away. 

She went for his lips with so much fear it was almost tangible, the voices in her head for once were quiet but this particular distress came from somewhere deep within her. Regardless of her hesitations, Regina’s lips closed about the man’s bottom lip and she closed her eyes at the warm, comforting sensation they gave her. 

It felt right , even if his lips were non responding, the contact felt true, as if it was meant to be. Regina’s blood started running a tad faster in her veins when she placed a soft kiss on the corner of his mouth, it felt so familiar and yet completely different. He had quite noticeably relaxed under her touch and Regina sighed at the sensations that washed over her. For that moment, there was nothing else in the world but them and their joined lips and Regina sighed at the peace she felt. She was about to nuzzle her nose of his cheek as he moaned at her contact when a loud knock on the door snapped them back into reality. 

Going back to complete consciousness, the weight of what she had just done overwhelmed Regina, who drew back from him completely, praying he did not notice her cheeks burned with awkwardness. 

When the contact was broken, she missed his warmth immediately and that feeling terrified her. This could not stand. So Regina straightened up her dress and gave him a cold unfeeling look and commanded, "Do not dare and follow me."

…

Creating as much distance as she could from the outlaw assisted Regina immensely in getting her head back in place for the evening. She managed to make an entrance fit to impress and terrify the nobles that infested the party – Regina was pleased to notice that none of the ones which she had shooed away from her castle had attended, probably still running for their dear lives.

Spotting the man she so eagerly sought was not at all difficult, for Dukes, Counts, Princesses, Queens and Kings alike would take a couple of steps back and bow as Regina passed them by, opening up more than necessary space for her to parade on. She had made a reputation.

He had been the only one who had not retreated from her – and had Regina had her heart where it belonged, getting to experience firsthand as people of so much power cowered back in fear of her, would have sent a thrilling shiver of pleasure about her body – as she approached him with her usual royal stride. 

Jamie bowed his head respectfully towards her but did not move otherwise, not back nor forward. When he lifted it back to face her, Regina took the opportunity to study the lad from head to toe and did very little to hide that very fact. He had grown, a couple of years had passed since their last encounter and it seemed the young man had only changed for the better. His once clean face now carried just the right amount of stubble, his eyes still a vibrant green, his jaw seemed to be more defined, more masculine and he had a smirk on his lips to match his physical evolution.

From what was visible through his traditional Northern garments his body was just as well kept as it had been when they had first met. When Regina was satisfied with eating the young man’s appearance up with her eyes, she simply uttered, “ Come ” and walked past him not looking behind to see if he had followed, she knew he would, she had trained him well.

She led him away from the ruckus of the celebration, toward one of the many rooms in the ground floor of the castle which were emptied of guests. There was very little illumination in the room she had randomly chosen, but it suited Regina just fine. There were big French windows that led to a grand garden, which was decorated with living plants as well as golden ones. 

Regina gathered the view was quite spectacular, the garden being so well kept and planned, illuminated by a few solitary torches and the moonlight. But she did not feel anything about it whatsoever, the hole on her chest had started to feel heavy. She felt like she was missing out on so much by removing it, the notion hit her for a split second but then she brushed it away, slapping herself internally and thinking of how weak that train of thought was.    

The lad had indeed followed her, but no longer was he in her shadow, as he chose to lean against one of the only bare walls the room possessed, both his arms and legs crossed, he looked back at her with a grin tugged on the corner of his lips. She returned the gesture by giving him a small malicious show of teeth before breaking the silence, “Long time, no see.”

“Indeed” he responded without moving.

There was a moment of silence in which Regina chose to study him once more, he was different . She could see it more clearly now, that they were alone. His posture was much less relaxed, his shoulders were held with pride but she could see that now he carried a great weight in them.

“I am sorry about your father Jamie,” Regina broke the silence once more with as much sympathy in her voice as she could muster in her current condition.

He nodded and replied, “Thank you Regina, I appreciate your sentiment,” he gave her a tight smile and Regina knew that it was still a raw wound in his heart. 

She understood, were she to lose her father she would probably lose her mind completely. 

After a beat, he continued in a completely different air, “I am not sorry for your husband.”

At that, Regina cracked up a small smile and gave him, “Neither am I dear.”

“I gather that you were able to do as you had planned then?” he asked her.

“Yes,” she licked her lips, the smallest amount of excitement bubbling on the pit of her stomach at the memory of her husband’s passing, “Yes I did.”

“I’m glad to hear it then,” he said, pushing himself off the wall and striding close to a small table close to where he had been, it contained a golden tray with several golden goblets filled with wine – Regina knew Midas had the touch of gold but all that metallic yellow was starting to give her a headache, the man had no taste – and took one goblet in each hand, offering one to her. He lifted the golden chalice, and his and Regina’s clicked together as he said, “May he rot in hell.”

“Yes,” Regina nearly hissed, clicking her chalice in his, she quickly sniffed the contents of her goblet and being satisfied in not finding any trace of poison, took a large gulp from it. 

There were several minutes of silence, in which both took sips of their drinks and studied each other – there was a familiarity between the pair, they had been intimate for far too long for such a thing not to exist. He was probably cataloguing all the changes she had gone through, which were, not few.

Feeling this was the right moment, Regina bit her lower lip looking down at his own, he drew his gaze toward her mouth then, doing this dance they knew so well. 

She was relieved to register her mind felt at ease and her soul did not tremble with a single feeling – let alone guilt – over the fact that they were close now malice pooled inside her eyes. 

She finished her wine and turned the chalice to dust with her magic, Jamie’s eyes looking at her display of magic with wonderment and lust. She grinned and started undoing the buttons that held the black cape she was wearing together. Jamie looked at her inventively, eating her with his eyes but did not make any moves as to touch her, he remembered her rules, she was glad.

She had picked out a dress she knew would drive him crazy, tightly corseted, sleeveless, revealing black velvet. As each button became undone, she could hear Jamie’s breathing get a little more agitated, his grip tight around his own chalice. Regina did her handy work blindly, more concerned about catching his every reaction, looking at him with hunger and desire, playing her part perfectly. 

This would be worth it. 

When all the bindings that kept the coat strapped tightly to her body had been undone, Regina pushed the heavy black garment off herself with grace and speed. The effect of what lay underneath was almost instant as Jamie dropped his own goblet on the floor, wine spilled on the ground, as he had been too busy watching her instead of drinking it’s contents.

“Regina-” his voice was lower.

“Hum?” she hummed, lifting an eyebrow. 

“I-” he was having a hard time voicing his request.

It amused Regina but she decided to make things a little bit easier for him, she took one step closer to him and her lips ghosted the shell of his ear and whispered, “You may.”

His hands went to her hips and Regina inhaled as he closed the distance between them, pressing hard against her, letting her feel his manhood was already quite aware of her beauty.

They were lucky Regina’s mind was so completely empty of emotion, so completely blanked from all the good sexual tension she should have been feeling, that she was able to register voices that once were distant become more and more loud and clear. 

Regina placed her hands on his burly chest and pushed him away, the look he gave her was one of complete puzzlement, until she placed one finger to her mouth gesturing for him to keep quiet, then the man was able to understand this place was not to be as private as they desired in a few seconds. 

He took two steps back taking a deep inhale of air whilst his eyes looked to the ground. His head snapped just as the voices were outside the door, extending his hand to her, he asked, “Care for a stroll about the gardens, your majesty?” 

…

The scene outside was truly spectacular, the sky was dark, not a star in sight but the moon was nearly full and it’s light mixed with warm tones of gold and orange in the garden painted quite the picture. 

Jamie took her to a more secluded part of the garden, the trees there towered over some of the pillars, making a perfect cover for what she had in mind.

Perfect scenery for a perfect seduction scene. Because Regina was again reminded by an annoying voice inside her head that this was an act, this was necessary, this might be pleasurable but it was not true. The only source of true pleasure for her was that insufferable thief-

“This is much better.” Jamie’s voice snapped her out of her irritating thoughts. 

“Indeed.” she gave him.

“Did you get a look at the groom?” his tone had changed.

“Prince James?” she questioned, smiling inwardly at her little private joke, Prince James my arse.

“Yes, he looked miserable.”

“Well, he is marrying princess frost. No wonder-”

“Yes-” he frowned and continued, “The sight of him reminded me of her . Strangely enough.” he took a breath, looking up at the tree tops “How I almost ended up like him, caged by a loveless marriage.” his eyes found hers again, “If it wasn’t for you Regina, I-”

“Don’t go there Jamie-” Regina warned, not knowing how to feel about his words. Her lack of heart did not aid in this situation. 

“No, I mean it-” he took one step towards her, “I don’t think I ever got the chance to thank you for-” he shook his head. “ Everything. ”

She managed to give him a tight sincere smile, “No need, we helped each other-”

“And yet you were still trapped there,” he told her.

“Out of my own will Jamie, don’t forget that. I was very capable of simply disappearing if I wanted to-” she reminded him, “-but I needed to end him.” She could tell she was supposed to be feeling flaming anger, it burned a little inside her chest “-and I did.” she smirked, remembering Leopold’s last moments. 

“But how?” he asked, he seemed truly curious and Regina had to remind herself that he had also despised the King. “How did you manage to have him killed and get his whole army on your side?”

“Through my unparalleled powers of persuasion, of course.” She smiled a truly evil smile remembering how she had fooled the Genie, how she had the army at the palm of her hand.

"Well, you have never looked better,” his eyes raked her figure for a beat, “Regina, you look quite fetching tonight. I must say black does become you."

She hummed, preferring the direction the conversation had taken before responding, "Aren't you full of flattery tonight?"

"I cannot help but speak my mind when I come upon the most beautiful woman in all the realms." Jamie said simply.

"Ever the charmer," she chuckled, as she fabricated a small smile, "Don't forget it was me who taught you all those nasty tricks, boy."

"You know I don't like it when you call me that" he was irritated, how cute .

"And since when have I cared about your feelings Jamie?" Regina lifted one of her perfect eyebrows, because she had cared, but now she could not afford to care about anyone, and still - "Plus, that's how I will always see you dear."

"I'm not a lad anymore" he reasoned.

"Oh really?" she moved from her spot facing him to walk towards a golden pillar. 

She leaned her back against a large cold golden pillar, both her palms resting against its surface.

Jamie’s gaze ravaged her, his hands clenched on his sides. "A lot has happened since you last saw me," he said, trying to prove a point that was really irrelevant to Regina.

"Indeed" she purred, "But I bet none of your wee lassies have been able to do justice to your prior experiences in my castle," she was smiling, broadly, this little game was rather fun.

The man walked toward her as she spoke. When she stopped speaking, he was suddenly half pressed against her frame, one of his hands placed at her hip bone. He brought his lips to the shell of her ear and whispered “It was such a long time ago, I may need a reminder.” He bit softly on her earlobe just the way she liked it.

Regina could not hold back a wince and replied with a slurry voice, "Are you trying to seduce me with my own tricks boy?"

"Is it working?"

"It will take a lot more than that to seduce me dear," her voice was low and sensual. 

"You know I'm always up for the challenge."

“Oh that I know dear” she bit her lower lip.

This is going very well, this is what is supposed to happen, no heavy heart, just heavy breathing- Regina told herself repeatedly, and yet, there was something off, a burning feeling, strange...

 Jamie brought his other hand to her chin and stroked it, running his thumb on the lip. “Was that a yes?” He asked gripping her waist a little bit harder. 

“Give me your best shot.” She replied with a raised eyebrow, but there was something wrong. The nasty green feeling was spreading, pulsating from where her heart was supposed to be. 

Her feelings had not been betrayed by her features as she felt Jamie’s hand felt up the side of her stomach, her ribcage and finally palmed her breast through the fabric of her dress. She managed to give him a questioning hum in response as he squeezed her sensitive breast. 

Jamie brought that hand to the column just beside her head, the other hand on her chin guiding her face, leaning forward for a kiss, but Regina felt eyes burn on her, the odd feeling spreading with every second. 

The next moment was played in slow motion as his voice reached her ears. “Mine!” It was more like an animalistic growl but she knew who it was. Her head snapped to the side to catch the sight of him up on a tree, bow and arrow ready to shoot, aiming straight at her head.

She gasped when he released the arrow, dread filling her, their eyes locked. 

The arrow met it’s destination and Regina blinked twice as she looked at it, impaled right in the middle of Jamie’s hand, the one that had been resting on the golden column just beside her head. 

Her senses were filled with a loud grunt coming from Jamie, “Fucking hell-” he bellowed, the arrow had gone through his hand and trapped it to the column. 

Maleficent was the dragon in this realm, but Regina felt her insides burn upon looking at the scene.

How dare he?

There was a beat when their eye contact was intense and then she was moving, using her magic to remove the arrow from Jamie’s hand, he winced, but she only had eyes for one man at that moment. Her hand rose again, commanding her magic to grab him by the throat pulling the thief towards her from the tree top until he was hoisted up in front of her.

Her rage was such that she could not voice anything, only use her magic to squeeze his neck, squeeze like she wanted to squeeze his heart, turn him into dust. Her lack of heart was almost laughable at the moment for the feelings that ran through her veins were very clear, rage, anger, dread, exhaustion. 

Their connection buzzed, mocking her.

Had he meant to kill her?  

Traitor! The half naked Queen screamed.

That should teach you not to get involved with the help again Regina. The heartless Queen’s voice rang.

He never misses his target , came that timid young voice.

He had turned pale when Regina loosened her deathgrip on his throat, freeing him from her magic, making him fall on his face in front of her, the bloody arrow still held tightly in her hand.

“What the hell do you think you are doing?” her voice came out low, it felt as if she had screamed her lungs out, her throat burned.

He was coughing, on his knees, trying to catch his breath.

“Who is he?” a voice from behind her asked and she remembered Jamie was there. Jamie who had been touching her just as the thief-

Was it jealousy?

Was it the reason behind his imbecile behavior?

She turned a little to look at Jamie, trying to mask how much the outlaw got to her.

“Captain of my personal guard.” Her voice was emotionless.

Both his eyebrows shot up, “Very adamant in honoring your mourning period.”

“Hardly,” she got back at him, noticing he was clutching his wounded hand. She waved her hand and his pierced flesh was cured as if nothing had happened, her magic did not even leave behind a scar, his skin was as it had been before the attack.

“And who the fuck is that?” The thief’s strong accent made her turn her gaze back to him.

For a moment Regina looked at him, grip on the arrow intensifying.

“None of your fucking bussiness.” she bit back. Her chest was bursting, “What’s this supposed to be? Were you trying to kill me, thief?”

He was on his feet by this point, his brow knitted, his breathing still a little ragged.

“Kill you?” he asked as if it was the most absurd thing she had ever said.

“Or were you looking to mark me?” she turned her head to the side, studying him, a maniac feeling building up inside her chest. She remembered when her mother had slapped her, drawn blood from her upper lip, it had marked her, the scar had never disappeared. That night when she and Daniel-

“Mark you?” his voice snapped her out.

“Do you think that I’m yours?” She took two steps towards him. 

She was nobody’s. She belonged to nobody. She was her own master.

The last person who had trapped her, called her his own, got what he deserved. 

She looked at the tip of the arrow, Jamie’s blood still painted red, as an idea dawned on her, something that would put that thief back where he belonged.

She brought the blood soaked arrow near her lips and licked it slowly, not breaking their eye contact. Her slow movement distracted the outlaw and before he could react properly she closed the distance between them plunging the arrow on his chest using her magic to sink it deep, where his heart had once beaten.

And there it was, clear as the day, that strange connection they shared throbbing through the hand that was tightly closed around the arrow. It started to spread along her body, seeming to drain it’s force from the thief and transfer it to her. 

His strangled scream brought her eyes back to him, and to the resolute task at hand. He would pay for being- For thinking that- How dare he? He was nothing to her and she was nobody’s.  

Their connection mocked her with it’s intensity but still, Regina gripped the arrow harder and  spoke in between gritted teeth, “I am not your cattle.” She twisted the arrow making him grunt in pain again. “You, on the other hand, are mine!”

There was a beat when their eyes locked, his filled with unshed tears looking at her and then looking around as if something else had happened. When his eyes went back to hers they were different, they held so much- She could not handle it, could not face those blue pools full of - 

She engulfed him in a cloud of purple smoke, praying to high forces that the distance would bring back the feeling of numbness to her chest. 

For even without her heart she felt, she felt him, deeply, as if he had indeed marked her.

Chapter Text

She wanted him gone, out of her sight before the idea of simply snapping his neck overtook the little that was left of her reason.  

But his eyes-

She was immediately brought back to the dream she had about him a week ago when his blue pools transformed into Daniel’s gentle eyes. A million thoughts raced through her mind as his gaze pierced through her soul, their connection buzzing through the arrow she had shoved where his heart had once been. She had to make it stop, she wanted the numbness of being heartless not these uninvited feelings, so Regina summoned her magic so she could send him as far away from her as possible. 

She decided to send him to solid ground instead of the usual watery one, after all he would be making his arrival with an arrow shoved in his chest, back to his chambers so he could lick his wounds and think twice before he acted in such a ridiculous manner ever again.  

A cloud of purple smoke swallowed the outlaw’s body and the next moment, he was gone. 

Regina felt as if she was taking her first breath since just before he shot the arrow. She simply stood there, eyes fixed ahead but not looking at anything in particular as all the emotions ignited by his presence faded away reminding her of the absence of her heart. She felt oddly dizzy and slightly drained; maybe due to the excessive amount of loathing she had just felt, which only made her even more uneasy, because she should not have felt anything at all. 

Jamie cleared his throat and she looked in his direction meeting his eyes, he had been holding his once wounded hand as he uttered a sincere, “Thank ye Regina” the ‘R’ of her name rolled more than necessary because of his accent.  

She huffed in response and looked at the burly, young man, examining him from head to toe, remembering her original plan. Even though Jamie had never looked better, and the idea of negotiating in the midst of golden linen bed sheets with him was quite enticing, - her heart being too far away for her to hear it screaming that she should not do it - Regina felt tired and too lazy to go through with it.  

He moistened his lips with the tip of his tongue and let out an exhale of air before asking, “That captain of yer personal guard. Quite devoted to protecting yer honor,” he joked waving his now healed hand.  

“Quite devoted to annoying the shit out of me,” Regina confessed, rather tired of wearing her royal mask.  

Jamie liberated a small laugh and looked at his feet before adding, “If my memory does not fail me,” he pressed his lips together trying to subside a smile and continued, “Ye had always managed to come up with mysterious disappearances for those who ‘annoyed’ ye.”  

Regardless of her prior enraged disposition, Regina could not help but crack a malicious grin at the memory. 

For having a heated affair, right under her husband’s nose, inside his very castle, with his daughter’s fiancé, had been rather trying when it came to keeping the whole thing a secret. They had gotten caught several times, and in those times – since she had not yet yielded the memory spell that had saved both their sorry asses when Leopold caught them – she had killed whoever had been unfortunate enough to catch them during the act. Snapped their necks, thrown them out of the window and sometimes even practiced her heart crushing abilities. They had been mainly guards and the occasional chambermaid, nobody she cared about, for Regina did not care about anyone-

“Hun?” Jamie was looking at her expectantly, and Regina realized she had not heard a word of what he had just said, too lost in the memory of different times when a chance at freedom seemed to be a distant dream.  

“What?” she asked, frowning a little.  

“Why don’t ye get rid of him then?” he asked simply, Regina remembered how most conversation had always flown easily between the two of them.  

“I just did,” Regina replied, feeling a strange pang inside her chest, knowing that that had not been what he had asked, her definition of ‘getting rid of’ not being as final as his.  

Jamie squinted and looked right at her for a moment, “Ye didn’t kill that man just now,” he arched a brow and continued, “Ye always got a crazy shine to yer eyes after ye killed someone,”  

“What?” Regina asked, she was rather incredulous at his boldness.  

“Yer eyes,” he repeated himself, “They would get that hint of madness, they grew large and dark, I remember it quite well.” He looked away from her a little and up at the sky whilst he paused and then continued, bringing his gaze back to her, “I would try not to speak to ye during the rest of the day fearing ye’d just snap me neck for upsetting ye further.” He recollected as if the thought of the marring memory affected him as much as a picnic in the woods.  

Regina huffed and felt slightly bared. She did not enjoy the feeling at all, she had forgotten how she had let Jamie into her life all those years ago and was genuinely surprised to find he could read her so well. She did not like having people see her true self, she felt vulnerable and young and utterly incapable of doing anything.  

She needed to get out of this situation and leave his presence at once, lock herself in the solitude of her bedchambers and shut out all those stormy feelings she was being bombarded with and find a damn way to catch Snow-  

Oh  

She needed his help. The last turn of events had made her completely forget why it was that she was letting this young man palm her breasts in the first place. That ship had sailed, she was not sleeping with him, the mood was completely broken and the very idea of shedding her clothes to a man who could already read her so well whilst fully clothed was downright terrifying.  

Don’t be weak Regina , the heartless Queen reprimanded her.

You know you can trust him , the young woman with braided hair told her.

Just leave him there and go find the thief Regina, it's been WEEKS ! that depraved half-dressed Queen whined.

He will help you dearie , the impish voice whispered in her ear,  for a price

"What will it take?" She asked bluntly as if the man was aware of the mental battle going on inside her head.

"Pardon?" He asked, crooking his head slightly to the side.

"What do you want in exchange for aiding in finding Snow?" She asked impatiently.

"Oh," his eyebrows shot up, "I was actually wondering if ye were going to ask that-"

"Why?" Regina's eyes squinted in suspicion.

"Because she went to my uncle's estate and asked for shelter." Jamie explained matter-of-factly and Regina knew she was supposed to feel agitated because of the information being disclosed, and yet, she felt nearly nothing, "He offered his help to her but sent word to me that she was hiding there.” Regina inhaled, feeling a small victory on the pit of her stomach, “In the letter, he also advised me to keep me distance from ye, to break our dealings.”

“Oh?” Regina had to ask, “And why was that?” although she already knew the answer.

“Well,” he started again looking at his boots before meeting her gaze once more, “-the princess revealed to him how the Queen had sent an assassin archer to kill her-” he lowered his chin a little, still looking at her, "-and how the Queen had spread malicious lies about her, calling her a traitor, murderer and criminal, forcing her to run away from her own kingdom.”

Regina felt a strange lump on her throat and asked with an air of defiance even though her voice came out a tad croaky, "Did you believe her?" 

Jamie responded right away, "Yes, of course I did, it surely does sound like something ye would do, at least to her."

Regina felt a hint of rage try to surface, "And I assume your uncle is sheltering her still?" She uttered with contempt, not believing for a second that she had ever let that worm touch her, the betrayal cutting in deeper than she had expected.

To Regina's utter surprise, he cracked a smile and replied, "No, actually, when his letter reached me I sent word to him immediately, instructing that he should keep her there until I arrived. I explained that I knew Snow White was a treacherous thing, and that he should not believe a word she said, for she was the one who had killed the King, in order to take over his throne." 

Jamie winked at her and Regina could not hold back a tiny grin that tugged in the corner of her mouth. He drew in a big breath before continuing, his smug expression falling a little, “Unfortunately secrecy is not my uncle's strongest suit, and word got out that I was on me way, and since it is no secret that I have a strong  business  association with ye, she fled."

Regina listened to his tale and while she thanked her lucky stars that someone of political power had chosen to side with her, she cursed at the girl's luck. For such a spoiled brat, she was managing to slip like seaweed.

Upon Regina's lack of response he continued, "I've set the warning to all me family's land to seize her and bring her to me alone if anyone ever came upon her," he inhaled deeply, "but I guess that brat does have more tricks up her sleeve than I had expected, she managed to cross the border that very day, so I was told."

"Little shit!" Regina's rage was beginning to surface, thinking of how Snow must have charmed her way out of the highlands with her innocent eyes and sad story. But there was nothing sad or innocent about that girl, she was selfish and spoiled, she had ruined Regina's life, condemned her to rot in darkness, making Regina play the role of mother and living doll for her own egoistic amusement. Regina felt her face grow red, her head start to ache and her hands to tighten in fists, making her long, sharp nails dig into her flesh, and the pain of it woke her from her rage-filled haze just as Jamie began to speak again.

"So the man who attacked me hand was the archer ye sent after her?" He asked conversationally, their deal, although it had not been discussed thoroughly, had been apparently settled.

"Yes," Regina hissed a response not liking the fact that their topic was once more that damned man.

Jamie huffed, wiggling his eyebrows once apparently unimpressed but commented, “If he was truly aiming for me hand, he was indeed quite good,” he took a few paces away from Regina and leaned back on the pillar where his hand had been most uncomfortably attached to only moments ago, “But I have a niggling feeling he was going for yer head,”

“He was doing no such thing,” Regina replied almost protectively, in a small, out of character defense of the man who had just openly shot an arrow in her direction.

Jamie frowned a little at her response, “How can ye be so sure? He’s an assassin, no?”

“Yes!” Regina replied a little too exasperated, “But I-” she tried but the words got caught on her throat for she actually had no plausible explanation to back her previous statements with.

It was ridiculous that the only justification she could come up with was that she could feel it. She could feel it in her gut that he would never harm her, even though everything that had been happening lately spoke against it – the dream of him plunging Daniel’s dagger up her gut, this pathetic demonstration of jealousy…

Regina felt her breathing quicken and her cheeks grow hot as she fumbled over her head to try to come up with an excuse, a fact, anything to shut Jamie up and end this conversation. 

Unfortunately, Jamie beat her to it, grinning like that infuriating cat she had once come across in Wonderland as if he knew all the answers in the world, “Ye have feelings for him.” It was not a question, it was a statement, and Regina cursed her cheeks for turning even redder. 

“Don’t be absurd,” Regina replied with speed, even though her blushing face betrayed the truth, “I have feelings for nobody, let alone a filthy, common outlaw.” She defended herself, because no , there was no way on earth she had any feelings towards that ridiculous outlaw that were not sex or murder related.

“Then why keep him?” Jamie looked at her expectantly even though he was leaning against the pillar, as if daring her to give him a convincing answer.

“He owes me a debt for failing to kill Snow,” Regina replied, trying to keep her head cold. 

That was actually the truth, he was paying a debt, he had offered his services (more like his heart) in exchange for… Now that Regina thought of it, he never asked to be pardoned, he had just offered the heart with some excuse but Regina knew he had an agenda that most certainly involved that dead wife he had and-

“Yes?” Jamie asked, startling Regina back into reality. This was getting downright ridiculous; Regina could only blame her lack of heart for her mind drifting off with so much ease, “A debt? And?”

  “ And, ” Regina started impatient, Gods, she wanted to disappear , “-now he’s paying it,” 

“With what exactly?” he squinted only a little and Regina knew he was having way too much fun tormenting her with his silly questions, thinking that their history together gave him some immunity to her fireballs.

Her expression changed . Regina took a deep breath, managed to drain most of the flushed coloring from her cheeks, crossed her arms, raised a perfect brow and told him, “If you ask me one more question James, I swear to every high force there is above, that I will burn down your entire reproductive system.” 

She took one step towards him and saw his slight smirk dropped completely with the dead serious tone she was using, and he somewhat recoiled a little against the pillar, “Do not think for a minute that I’ve grown soft over the years, pet .” She spat the title she had given him oh so long ago with venom. 

Regina took yet another set of steps and came to stand right in front of him, “If anything, my fuse is shorter than ever.” She widened her eyes a bit for dramatic effect. It worked, Jamie looked like he was doing his best to conceal the fact that he was terrified, “You were just witness to what happens to those who irritate me.” She took a few final set of steps and closed the distance between them, her lips mere inches from his, but Regina looked him straight in the eye, “Now be a smart lad and shut up.”

Regina was out of his personal space the second he dropped his gaze to his feet and cleared his throat. She had her back to him, not interested in looking in those green orbs. For even though she had managed to scare him, Jamie knew , he could somehow tell there was something more happening between her and that filthy man, and she cursed herself for talking in the first place. Regina was not ready to acknowledge what it was exactly that she felt towards the outlaw that prevented her from harming him fatally, but it was there ; Jamie had seen it, and who was to say that someone else hadn’t noticed as well?

He was the one to break the silence, his voice was deeper, all business, which Regina appreciated a lot, “I-” he cleared his throat one more time and continued, “I’m going to keep my man looking for her in the highlands.”

Regina turned her head to the side and gave him a simple, “Good” before she quickly disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke that sent her directly back to her bedchambers, where she collapsed in bed after another wave of her hand that rid her entire body of everything she wore.

…

Turned out that falling asleep stark naked over soft, silky covers without her heart back in place, was not the smartest move Regina could have made. She had a restless night even though her eyes remained closed and her body unmoving upon her luxurious bed. 

She was wondering about her castle, although everything looked dreamlike, her vision a little blurry, color and light drained a little whilst she crossed hall after hall, went down corridor after corridor, all of them looking so confusingly alike that Regina had no idea where she was headed. Night still reigned, that she could tell, the castle was mostly empty and oddly quiet, one or another guard stood at their post – some half asleep – but none of them paid her any mind, it was almost as if they could not see her. 

Regina preferred it that way since upon a quick inspection she noticed she was stark naked, just as she had gone to bed earlier. She was quite aware that this was a mere dream, so Regina did not bother to put on anything to cover her bare body. It actually felt rather freeing to be able to roam about the castle that was rightfully hers in the nude, something she was sure she could never do in real life.

After some time, Regina noticed that she was not walking, her feet did not touch the ground, but rather, she was floating, like a ghost. She moved faster than usual, making her way to some place inside the confines of her castle, she turned left twice, and after following another corridor, turned right. It was only when she went through a dark wooden door - like the ghost that she was - that Regina realized where her gliding feet had taken her.

He was out, sound asleep over the covers of his bed, slumbering on his stomach, and Regina noted with a slight chuckle that he snored a little. She approached the bed that housed his sleeping figure with unnecessary caution - if the guards could not see or hear her, it was most probable that the outlaw would not as well.

There was a single candle burning on the bedside table, which assisted her in seeing his discarded trousers and boots near the bed along with an arrow, which Regina was almost sure was the very same that she had plunged into his chest. 

She frowned, remembering the happenings of less than a few hours ago and looking at the man sprawled on the bed. He looked as if he had simply rid himself of the arrow on his chest as easily as he had discarded his trousers and boots, and carelessly thrown himself in bed. 

She had plunged the arrow where his heart had lain knowing that it would not kill him for his heart, his life line, as was safe and sound in her vault. But even só, there should have been blood, on the arrow, on the clothes or the floor. She could spot no red as she scanned the room looking for a stained cloth or a water basin or maybe a-

Do not be daft Regina , this is a dream! It is not reality! That man is not the actual outlaw but simply a product of your twisted, ridiculous imagination, you silly girl , a severe voice told her, it sounded like very much her own but only graver, maybe mother’s, but different somehow, unlike any of the others which insisted in tormenting her.

Regina blinked several times until the harsh voice disappeared from inside her head.

Yes

This was a dream, a silly dream. Just a dream, once she woke up it would be over, as if it had never happened, no one would ever know what she did or did not do because it was quite simply not real, Regina herself might not even remember it once she woke.

With that reassurance in mind, Regina approached his bed; she found it odd her mind could come up with such a detailed version of his bedchambers, for she had never stepped inside them before, but she remembered vaguely that she had set aside a good room for him. He had pleased her a lot even if he had failed in his mission, so she felt strangely generous and gave him one of the bedchambers that belonged to one of those disgusting nobles. 

Dark, heavy velvet curtains concealed the moonlight, there were fine pieces of furniture about the room, but it was almost bare of any other objects save for a few clothes and boots scattered around, his bow resting against the dresser along with his quiver. 

When Regina was finally hovering just beside the bed, her eye was caught by the drawer of the bedside table that was slightly ajar, and inside she could see a folded piece of parchment. Mindlessly, she made it to take the paper but her hand went right through it, a ghost she was indeed. 

Bubbling curiosity suddenly invaded her, and she quite simply had to know what was written in that sodding piece of paper. Concentrating as much as she could, she tried to use her magic to at least unfold the parchment. It took a little bit off her, but eventually the bending of the paper gave in and opened up to reveal Regina’s own handwriting and two words that brought a smirk to her lips.

Nice Ass

Regina could not help but laugh a little at her boldness at the occasion and sensed a little fire build up on the pit of her stomach as she thought of how magical it felt to have his warm body against hers. She inhaled deeply through her nose and finally turned to the man in question, who was still dead to the world, snoring blissfully, unaware of her ghostly presence.

Even though he was only illuminated by a single candle, Regina could see his covered up back rise and fall quite clearly, his head faced away from the side of the bed she was standing at, and both his hands had found their way underneath the pillow, making it a little higher than it normally was. 

Regina did not remember when she had gone to the other side of the bed and managed to ghostly sit herself on the bed, her spiritual form leaning over him to find that he was actually frowning. It felt foolish to try to touch him, she was quite aware that her fingers would simply traverse his form. He shifted a little and Regina could see that even though he was wearing a shirt, it was open, revealing just a little bit of skin to her. 

Regina could not help but try to trace a particularly eye popping scar on his left shoulder. It had been clearly created a good while ago, for it had no trace of redness about it, but still Regina could almost see how a sharp blade must have carved that mark on the man, one swift swipe that created a long line.

Against her better judgement, Regina’s hand ghosted over the scar from the base to his shoulder, she could feel sizzling energy emanating from his skin and felt a cold shiver up her spine. When she reached the end of the scar, Regina gasped when her fingers actually came in contact with his skin, sending a shock of electricity so strong about her that she immediately withdrew her hand and stood. He shifted a little bit more to lay on his side to reveal his bare chest, Regina could just stare hauntingly at what was imprinted on the skin where his heart had once been. 

  A scar, a thick pink line marked the exact same spot she had impaled an arrow that very evening. Regina’s eyes grew impossibly large at the sight, she felt so confused and panicked, her head started getting light, as if she was going to pass out. She blinked several times and noted that the frown had left his forehead and a wee grin tugged on his lips. That sight brought a new wave of panic throughout Regina’s body, making her remember his sickening smile in a dream past where he had shoved Daniel’s blade up her gut.

Regina took a few gliding steps back before everything went black.

…

When Regina’s eyes shot open, she gasped for air – even though she had been breathing normally whilst asleep – and every last hair on her body stood as a great shiver went through her. Her body was buzzing and so were her ears as she realized she was on her stomach instead of on her back – position she normally slept in – and also that she was still very much naked. 

Her body protested when she rose from the bed too soon, her back giving a nice crack but her head becoming light, the buzzing in her ears worsening. 

Too quickly, too quickly , she thought whilst she closed her eyes. Her feet were already touching the fur rug beside her bed, whilst she took a deep breath and tried to quiet whatever alien thing that was coarsening about her body, her heart-

HER HEART

How could she have forgotten about her heart of all things?

Ignoring the protests from her recently awakened body, Regina hastily made her way to her dresser. She saw little black spots in front of her eyes while trying to locate the box, once she found it, she quickly ran her hand over it twice and concentrated on her blood magic. The box opened to reveal her blackened heart, intact, or at least looking like it had when she had ripped it out the night before.

It was only when she took her beating organ in hand that Regina noticed a thin golden line on one side, it was a little long and slightly curved. Regina traced it with her pinkie, the contact giving her goosebumps. A gush of wind invaded her bedroom through the window and diverted her attention. 

Her eyes went to the half-closed curtains and she could see a little of the Sun from where she stood, little enough for her to know that it was way beyond the early hours of the day, as it shone brightly right in the middle of the sky. 

She huffed and closed her fingers about her heart, took a deep breath and pushed the heart back inside her chest upon the exhale.

Regina had endured pain before, during her magical training, during her first year of being married to Leopold, during all those torturous years of being raised by her mother. This brand of pain, however, was something different, it was as if she was given a shock’s worth of all the feelings she had been deprived of since she had been parted from her heart.

Pain, regret, self-consciousness, affection, hate, all rushed through her veins like venom; Regina was hardly capable of registering everything. The next moment, she could feel her body embrace the lost organ as they all became one once more and it started beating at a normal pace.  

Regina had not realized she had closed her eyes in the process, but when she reopened them, a single tear fell onto the surface of the dresser. Another gush of air from the windows made Regina aware of the sweat drops along her naked body and she waved her hand, letting her magic wash away the sweat, remains of dirt and dried blood that still rested on her skin.

With a new movement of her hand, her bare feet stopped touching the ground and met the soles of ridiculously high-heeled shoes, and her torso and legs were covered by a random Queenly gown from her endless collection. Hair pinned up, face painted, as if she had spent hours making herself ready.

Mindlessly, Regina went to her full-length mirror in order to inspect her magic’s work when a memory hit her, almost like a tornado, the images of a hazy, odd dream Regina was sure she’d had the night before flashed before her eyes. 

The untouched arrow on the floor, the note on the nightstand, the frown that had turned into a haunting smirk on his features, the pink scar on his chest where there should have been bandaging and blood. 

The whole thing seemed hazy and yet so painfully concrete, even though it had been anything but solid in the dream. Her hands had gone thru everything she tried to touch, except-

Regina did not let her mind wonder a second more about it before she was out of the door and making her way down her tower. She knew where she was going, she was following the hazy path she had made the night before in her dream, half-wishing she was wrong and half-wondering what she would find if she were right.

When Regina finally came to stand before the door she had walked through the previous night, she took a deep breath before trying to open it. It was locked, but a little bit of magic was all it took for it to swing open. 

Her heart started racing when her eyes accounted that this had been the room she had visited the prior night in her dream. She quickly scanned the place, finding the sheets ruffled but still in place, as if someone had slept on top of them, and an arrow – the arrow from the night before – was now on the nightstand. Regina approached the piece of furniture and took the item in order to get a closer look, but her gaze was quickly drawn by something that confirmed her worst theory. 

The drawer of the nightstand was still ajar and inside she could still see her handwriting on a piece of paper now mocking her. As if seeing a ghost she walked backwards, feeling her face grow cold and pale, her fear becoming true, the illusion of the dream breaking apart.

For it had not been a dream. Far from it, it had been only too real.

Chapter Text

Robin’s head was abuzz, his forehead covered with sweat but his face cold, he felt slightly feverish, he almost lost aim of his target. 

Almost

In a heartbeat, his arrow was gone; it hit its target precisely, right in the middle of that ridiculous boy’s lumbering hand, the hand that had been touching her, caressing her side, squeezing her breast. The sight had nearly driven Robin to set his aim right in between the lad’s eyes. Robin was actually quite surprised he did not opt for the kill shot when the sight before his eyes was killing him .

She had not been so overjoyed about seeing him again, and made it painfully clear by using her dark magic to manipulate his body and almost squeeze the life out of him. As Robin fought to take a single breath, body hoisted from the ground he had to ask himself what had possessed him to act in such a fashion. 

The answer did not come in time as he was starting to drift from consciousness whilst she was very much strangling him to death – Robin saw spots of black before his eyes whilst he fought for air. She dropped him onto the hard, cold, stone floor as if he was a sack of rubbish just before he could travel to the land of the dead. 

He had record of this woman being very mad, raving mad at him, livid to the point of almost killing him when he had delivered the news of his failure in ending that brat Snow White. But this new flame in her eyes was truly insane, it was all consuming fury, as if he had tampered with a sleeping dragon inside her. 

Their undeniable connection was there, always there buzzing and mocking Robin as he had been helpless to move under the Queen’s powerful magic. That electricity was a vice he was not able to give up on, and she had also become a vice herself, even when she mistreated him, spat at him and treated him poorly, dropped his hot-and-ready-to-fuck-her-body into the cold waters of the river beside her castle, he just could not stay away. 

So he braved her questions, he wanted to know who the auburn haired young man was and most importantly why she was behaving in the most inconsistent manner ever known to man?  What was she doing with this lad? Why had she drawn away from Robin so suddenly? Why had she kissed him in that manner inside that bloody carriage only to let this boy’s hands feast upon her body?

Robin’s head was thumping with an alarming amount of questions, but as the Queen brought his blood soaked arrow near her lips and licked it in the most erotic manner Robin had ever seen, all the questions mingled together in a blur, his below the belt reaction never failing him. 

The sexual bliss was very shortly lived for her next words were harsh and cold. The engines in his brain finally seemed to connect the dots of what the hell he was doing when she had asked him if the arrow was meant to mark her as his own. 

But the arrow was never meant for her, it was meant for that boy’s hand.

Although coming to think of it, along the way into their perturbed, inconstant, damaging, undefined, scorching hot and feral relationship, a part of him had started thinking of her as his own, his mate. Probably the most primal bit of Robin that could not understand that she was completely out of her mind as well as out of his reach. 

Still, there had been times when she had been his.

It was foolish of him to deny he did not feel anything for her, he did, he felt it most intensely, most erratically, but Robin was not able to ponder upon what the feelings were exactly because all of a sudden a sharp pain invaded his senses. A throaty scream erupted from his mouth before Robin could stop it because the tip of the arrow he had sharpened so long ago in camp whilst in the company of the best of men was now housed inside his chest.

In that short amount of time so many things came to pass that Robin hardly knew what to focus on. As the Queen plunged the arrow on his chest, sinking it deep with her magic, Robin panicked knowing that blow would kill him, she had sunk the arrow right through his heart-

But his heart was not there, and somehow Robin knew that he would not die because of this, he could see it was not her intention as he looked deep inside her eyes and say anger but also frustration, exhaustion and-

And then it hit him, their buzzing connection vibrated through the arrow stronger than ever. The next moment his sight was washed by a new color. The color orange appeared filling in spots that had been light grey, now he could see the color of the flames in the torches, how they colored the golden statues, trees and columns of the garden. The sight was bewildering, it made him forget for a second he had an arrow on his chest.

His eyes shot back to hers and they held their gaze for a few seconds that felt like an eternity, he could see deep down her eyes, she was scared . But what was she afraid of?

Before he could read her better, Robin felt his whole body being engulfed by chilly smoke, a far too familiar fume that normally transported him to freezing cold water, and the pain suddenly ceased. 

Had she finally done it? Had she killed him?

Robin decided to be taken by the magic and not fight it anymore, if he was indeed dead, what else could he possibly do? With the pain in his injured chest soothed, Robin closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. 

When Robin exhaled, he was back at the castle, not dead, not at all dead but very much alive. He was back at the castle, her castle, his bedchambers. The first thing that hit his senses was the clattering sound of something dropping to the floor, his eyes searched for the source and found his arrow intact and no longer attached to his chest.

His chest was- healed? 

Astoundingly so, yes, it was. He quickly opened his shirt to inspect the wound, he touched the skin where the arrow had just been and felt no pain whatsoever, no stickiness of blood, his body could register none of that agonizing pain anymore, the arrow lay clean on the floor; however, there was something else on his chest, something Robin had no recollection of ever being there before. 

He walked towards a mirror, inspected his chest and found an abnormally straight lined scar, pink and closed up, all healed. No markings of stitches of any kind, quite simply a light red, slightly thick line looked back at him in his reflection on the left side of his chest.

What on earth was that supposed to mean? Why would she attack him so violently only to heal him the next moment? Was this some type of trick? And the scar-

The truth hit him like a wagon. 

I am not your cattle , she had said, you are mine

She had marked him as her own; and Robin was utterly unsure of how he felt about that.

Surely he had known he was to do her bidding since she held his heart hostage, but this- It was something else entirely. Robin could not help but think back at his own sense of mad ownership over her when he had seen her with another. The flaring flame of madness touching his sanity and urging him to eliminate his rival. 

Had she been touched by the same manner of mad possession? 

Robin was utterly perplexed, fearing for not knowing the extent of this ownership she had over him, scar to mark him or not.

…

Robin had gone to sleep that night not knowing if he ever wanted to meet that infuriating woman’s gaze ever again. Her manner was completely inconsistent and when at first he had found her ways rather amusing and very arousing, her constant mood shifts were starting to make him question his own sanity. 

Robin could not help but think back about simpler times in his life, when it consisted of the bare necessities. It was solitary and utterly filled with darkness, the only thing consistent was the absolute certainty that when he closed his eyes at night he would be haunted by nightmares about Marian. 

Ever since he had been separated from his heart, the nightmares had ceased but completely, and his thoughts would seldom travel about the path of regret and hatred he had been so immersed into the past year, before he met her . The sorrow was one of the only visitors he got these past weeks, a hint of regret and grief about what had happened to his wife would surprise him from time to time.

Robin would have welcomed back the soul ripping heartache and remorse with open arms if they managed to erase all of the agonizing feelings the Queen managed to imprint on him. 

Even though the scar she had given him was completely healed, Robin would at times feel it burn. This odd mark she had left where his heart used to be seemed to be somehow filled with magic of its own, for at times, Robin could swear it was as if he could feel the most varied amount of emotions sipping through it.

If Robin thought the treatment she had started giving him prior to the whole engagement ball fiasco was icy and distant, the coolness of her utter indifference now cut even deeper. She summoned him scarcely, mainly to order him to organize search parties to look for that blasted girl she seemed obsessed with. However, she would never allow him to actually take part in any of the meticulously planned hunts he strategized himself, that infuriated him to no end. Robin was pretty sure she knew that the hunt was something pleasurable to him, and she was making sure he got no joy out of it whatsoever. 

A whole month went by and Robin saw very little of the Queen. He knew she kept to the solitude of her chambers, but in his wretched paranoia, Robin made inquiries with her chambermaids in order to make sure there was no auburn haired male paying unexpected visits.

The young women were shy and scared at first but gave him all the information he needed about who had been inside her chambers. As they stuttered what they knew – that the Queen was always alone in the confines of her chambers and that her father would seldom be there as well but no one else - , Robin pondered on why it was that he felt no inclination to bed any of those delicate creatures who worked in the castle. Some of them were pretty enough to make several men turn their heads, but Robin found himself utterly uninterested in their lot, even though it had been weeks since he had been with the Queen.  

Deep inside, Robin was quite aware that none of those women would ever live up to what he felt when he was with the Queen, there was no match for that headstrong, insane woman. 

So Robin was basically fucked, left to his own devices in order to not go insane.

He did not expect this day to turn out unlike any of the others even though it was an unusually warm day for the season. The Queen had chosen to give him the orders for the week whilst she made her way to the stables. She did not bother to halt her steps whilst she spat her commands, would not even give him the decency of looking him in the eye. 

Robin was past the point of taking any of her irritating attitudes seriously, after so many grey days, the Sun had finally chosen to make an appearance and even in his state, something as simple as that could still brighten up his mood. So Robin chose to simply trail beside her and listen to whatever she had to say. 

He was not doing too much listening right at that moment, for even though her lips moved, he could not bring himself to register her words. There were far more enjoyable things he could do for she looked as alluring as she always did that day, and even if Robin was not allowed to touch her anymore, he could still admire her beauty. She was the fairest of all women after all, and Robin was only human.

Even with the warmth of the sun, she wore black leather boots as well as tight pants of the same material, he could see she wore a black vest but a blood red velvet coat that reached her ankles covered most of it. Her hair was neat on one of those intricate and completely unnecessary updos and her face was heavily painted, she looked dangerous and deadly and Robin could not help but feel the urge to grab a fist full of her hair and kiss her until she came back to her senses-

“Are you even listening to me?” he heard her irritated voice ring and was brought back to the here and now.

“Of course, your majesty” he was not; he had no idea what she had just said.

“Do you think me a fool?” She stopped walking then and turned to finally face him, her eyes sparkled with annoyance.

Robin clicked his tongue, pretending to ponder upon her question before responding, “No, I do not think you a fool at all your majesty,-” she narrowed her eyes at him, seemly knowing there was more to his statement, Robin did not disappoint, “-but downright insane? Yes, absolutely .”

The Queen inhaled and he could actually physically feel her anger towards him build up as her beautiful eyes widened and locked on his blue ones intensively.

“Are you completely out of your mind?” she asked this time in an incredulous high-pitched tone.

“I might be getting there for certain, thanks to the exposure-” he gestured his hand towards her and he was pretty sure she groaned like an animal at that, “- but I do like to believe my sanity is not completely lost just yet-” he crossed his arms in defiance at the look she was giving him, “I’m afraid I cannot say the same regarding your own, your majesty.”

“How dare you speak to me in that manner?” She took two steps towards him, never taking her eyes from his. 

“Well, I’m a very daring man-” he took one small step towards her, nearly closing the space between them. Robin knew that what he was doing was completely insane, but he had not felt this alive in weeks . Her hatred, her anger, her frustration, her arousal, emanated from her person and the waves of sentiment hit him hard, igniting his already sharp tongue to continue, “And I’m not afraid of you, oh almighty Queen.”

Her response was low and controlled, “You should be-” her right hand rose from her side and Robin was pretty sure he was about to get hit by some pretty damaging magic but he would be damned if he moved a muscle in recoil from her. 

So he stood his ground and waited for the blow, it had already been worth it, she had been furious and Robin was happy to draw anything from her that was not the usual indifference she had been freely giving him.

“YOUR MAJESTY!”

Both their heads snapped on the direction the sound had originated from so quickly that their noses bumped with one another. There was a wee amount of pain on his nose at the harsh contact, but it was erased from Robin’s senses the moment he saw the Queen quickly bring her hand up to her sore one, groaning for a moment in pain. 

Robin tried to suppress a smirk at the fact that she might have all the power in the world, but she was still human, much like him, she too felt pain. She gave him a look that plainly stated she was going to fry him alive were his smirk to widen an inch further, but their exchange was cut off by a young man on horseback – the one who had interrupted their friendly exchange – when he dismounted and came to kneel at the Queen’s feet.

“Pardon me your majesty,” his voice was much weaker now, he was clearly out of breath, looked as if he had been riding for some time without any rest.

“Rise!” She commanded and the man was quickly on his feet, “What is it?” She inquired not seeming to have a drop of patience in her. 

“Your majesty, I came as soon as I could,” he started, he placed his right hand over his chest, “Being that your highness was so generous last time, I felt it my duty to inform-”

“ Last time ?” Robin interrupted a flare of that irrational jealousy skimming the surface, the Queen was only able to glare at him and open her mouth before the young man continued.

“Aye, her majesty has been far too generous,-” the man had a sincere smile on his face as he spoke, “-gave me enough to buy a house in the village for my family and-”

“That does not interest me, much less you outlaw-” she eyed Robin with disgust then turned back to the young soldier, “Please tell me you are not here to thank me, I have very little time for cordial empty words-”

“No, your majesty-” the young man bowed his head again, the colors of his attire were white, grey and silver, colors he recalled seeing on many knights and guards at the royal engagement, “I thought it fit to inform your highness that King George has imprisoned Snow White.” 

Time seemed to stand still as the words were delivered, the Queen’s eyes grew impossibly large and Robin could swear he could feel her heart start to race from where he was standing.

“What?” she hissed, sounding very much like a famished snake if the animal was ever given the gift of speech.

“We caught her sneaking into the castle, I do not know why, your majesty, but she was there-” the man explained, “We took her down to the dungeons and locked her inside a cell under the King’s orders but she managed to escape and-”

“So she escaped the castle?” The Queen was growing very impatient and Robin could see that a couple more words from her would result in the young man wetting his pants.

“No, we managed to catch her in the courtyard-” the man continued stuttering a little as he went on, “We took her back inside the castle and after a little while the whole guard received orders not to follow or harm her, that she had been pardoned by the King and was to walk away free.” The man delivered that last piece of information with tangible fear in his voice.

“He did what ?” the Queen finally advanced towards the young guard grabbing his throat with one hand, that manic look back in her eyes.

“I-” she was choking him but he managed to say, “-thought y-” she squeezed his throat harder and the man brought both his hands to her death, gripping one and trying to remove it, his eyes were impossibly large and Robin was pretty sure the young informant was going to die for trying to help. 

He then did something out of the ordinary; Robin did not know why, if it had been pity towards the young man – who had a family awaiting his return for supper – or for her, for ending her informant was completely unnecessary if not downright stupid. 

So he reached out his hand and touched her left shoulder, squeezing it only a little bit. Even though there were barriers of velvet and leather, he could still feel a faint pang of electricity between them. He heard her release a small gasp but could not see her face – as he was right behind her. She freed the man’s throat from her magical death grip immediately after, the young spy dropping to his knees whilst fighting to get air back into his system. 

She did not move for a few moments as Robin’s hand remained on her shoulder, she took a deep breath and exhaled slowly through her mouth, their tingling connection growing stronger by the second.

Suddenly she snapped, she turned around to face him so quickly, he thought she had used magic, his hand flying from her shoulder. Her face betrayed rage and blood thirst, her eyes were a little reddened with a small trace of unshed tears inside.

“I did not give you permission to touch me,” her tone was different; it was way beyond what he had witnessed just moments ago whilst he defied her. Then he had been pushing her buttons and knew that even though she had gotten mad, other parts of her anatomy thoroughly enjoyed his sharp tongue. But now, her tone was very much like the one she used right before she shoved an arrow in his chest, so Robin chose not to use a smart retort to her statement.

He stayed silent and kept his hands to himself as she studied him with her half-crazed orbs. Robin noted she clenched and unclenched her fists several times, probably creating half-moon marks on the insides of her hands, marks which Robin had once been rather content to carry on his back. She smirked at him, stretching her fingers out and tilted her head to the side.

“You will get the unparalleled opportunity to see what happens to people who betray me, thief -” she took a few steps in his direction and came to be nose to nose with him once more, “-see if it serves you as a bit of a lesson.”

At her last words, they were engulfed by a cloud of cold smoke and Robin felt the familiar sensation of having his feet levitating from the grassy ground for a few seconds before they hit hard cold stone. 

When the smoke cleared, Robin found himself in the interior of a castle he could only guess belonged to King George. The atmosphere felt a lot warmer than the Queen’s castle, but then again, she was acting like a frigid bitch so Robin’s impressions might have had something to do with that. 

The room they had landed in could only be the throne room for the obvious flamboyant piece of furniture had its place of glory above a few steps against the wall which Robin had landed facing. 

Their arrival had been sudden and most probably completely unexpected judging by the soldiers who stood guard about the room. They took one quick look at the Queen and quickly scattered off like kitchen mice, leaving the pair alone for a moment. 

The Queen, however, was far too busy inspecting the room, taking leisurely steps whilst looking at the tall windows, ignoring Robin completely. To that, he had somehow gotten used to – even though her ignoring him disturbed Robin more than he liked to admit - so he took this opportunity to study her. She looked to be a little bit less crazy now that she wasn’t trying to squeeze the life out of people who delivered ill news, or at least was making a wonderful impression of being somewhat sane and civilized. 

The morning Sun had also made an appearance in these parts of the Enchanted Forest. The rays that shone through the windows illuminated her in a new light, making her skin look even paler and her hair shine with a reddish glimmer Robin had never seen. Robin noted that it was rare the occasion in which he would see her in the Sunlight.

She was a vision, she always was, but every day that passed, she seemed to acquire yet another alluring quality that sucked Robin into her world more and more regardless of how many cold, involuntary, lake showers he got because of it.  

His musings were interrupted by the heavy steps of an older man Robin could assume was the King given the pathetic way he walked as if he was taller than everyone else inside that room. He was indeed tall, looked to be about 60 years of age, head almost completely deprived of hair on the top, some strands of silvery white still resisted on the sides. His face was false, Robin could see it right away, that look noble people had when they regarded each other as if they gave two shits about the other, but deep down they would happily sip wine whilst watching the other’s execution.

People like that made Robin sick.

He was surprised to realize that the Queen standing beside him did not act in that way; instead, she was the executioner herself. Robin did not feel a drop of compassion for this King George; even though Robin was quite aware of the extent of the damage that woman could create with a flicker of her hand, he was pretty sure the man deserved it.

“What an unexpected surprise, your majesty” he said in a cordial but plainly false tone as he approached her and placed a hand above his heart, bowing his head just a little.

“Is it really unexpected?” she teased, she did like playing with her prey before she destroyed them.

“Why, yes-” the King chuckled a little, “Did you want to discuss the trading deals that-”

“I hope you do not take me for a fool George because those who have made that mistake regret it dearly” her voice was loud and commanding, a true monarch.

The King’s eyes betrayed that he was nervous about the Queen’s visit, for he knew damn well what she was there for, “Leave” he commanded the guards who had followed behind him to reassume their posts. 

They did not need to be told twice and left. The King’s serious gaze turned to Robin who had come to stand a few feet away from the pair, leaning against one of the walls, arms crossed as he watched the pair, “I said leave ” he repeated and Robin felt his blood rush faster through his veins.

He was unable to deliver the colorful selection of words he had in mind for the Queen’s voice rang annoyed and commanding, “You do not get to order my own around, George. ”

Robin had to suppress his laugh for the King tightened his jaw and gave him one distasteful look before he turned his gaze back towards the Queen.

“So, what is it you want?” He asked plain and simple, all manner of gallantry seemed to have been dropped.

“I think you know exactly what I want,” she took a few feline steps towards the King but the space between them remained respectful, “Even further, I think you had what I want right here -” she pointed down at the floor, “-in this very room.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about.”

“Do not play coy with me George;” her voice rose a little, and Robin could only guess she was a few more remarks away from setting something of the King’s on fire, “-you know I can kill you in a blink of an eye and that I have very little regard for consequences.” This was delivered in a softer tone, but the softness only meant that she was getting more and more resolute in taking this conversation to a level this King could not match, “Do not think for a minute that I won’t kill you if I leave unhappy.” The Queen’s voice was low and dangerous, she prowled around the King – who remained unmoving throughout her threat – and after a few moments continued, “What was Snow White doing here? Why did she sneak into your castle of all places? Were you striking an alliance with her behind my back?”

There was a moment of dead silence and Robin had to wonder if the King was going to break and tell the truth. The air was thick with anticipation and the silence almost intolerable, when the King finally chose to speak, Robin realized he had been holding his breath, “Because she’s in love.”

A hard pang of anguish and hate struck Robin’s chest like an arrow, he had no idea of where it had come from, he had been quite amused watching the King break under the psychological torture the Queen was putting him through – Robin always did like to see royals suffer. The feelings were strong and mingled with his own in a strange way, he looked ahead to see the Queen standing directly in front of King George, she was staring daggers at him.

“What?” It was a mere whisper but a dangerous one.

“What can I say?” the King started with a proud air about him, probably pleased with himself for having been able to make the Queen unsteady, “My James can be quite the charmer-” he smiled then a yellow, yellow smile, “Of course you know that from experience-”

Wait- what? Experience? Was that sack of bones implying that-?

“ Your James?” the Queen laughed it off, “You know as well as I that the young man you sold out to Midas is not James.”

This new piece of information seemed to throw the man out of his game again, but he had apparently given up on trying to deceive the Queen, “You know ? How?” he whispered in disbelief. 

“I think we both know how I know, George,” she scrunched her face a little and continued, “That twin you procured can hardly seduce a duck-”

Twin? Did she mean the man whose engagement party she had attended just a week prior? As the wheels turned inside of Robin’s head, he came to the infuriating conclusion that the list of former lovers the Queen possessed only grew by the day. His jealousy was starting to build up again at the thought of her with another-

“Well, your former step daughter is not as sharp as you-” King George continued, “She fell for Ja-” he stopped midway through and corrected himself, “-for him .” There was a moment of silence and he continued, “I know for a fact she’s quite taken with him, but he is not interested in runway princesses.” George took a couple more steps towards the Queen, “He did disclose to me he had amused himself with her during a lonely night in one of his journeys. But just like his brother, he is quite adamant in doing what is best for his kingdom, and that is marrying Princess Abigail.” 

He then turned his back towards the Queen taking a few steps away from her whilst continuing to tell his tale, “He attended to Snow White himself yesterday, as I was away, and sent her away after he was done-” he pivoted around to face the Queen again who simply stood her ground, her face did not betray a single emotion, “If it is of any solace to you, he tells me she was heartbroken.”

Before she could reply, Robin found his lips were moving and his voice sounding out clear for the very first time since they had arrived, “You’re lying.”

Now all the pieces were coming together, the young husband to be he had met at the ball, to whom he had given words of advice, was this Prince, twin, Snow White had apparently fallen for – according to the King. And from what Robin could recall from that fateful day at the golden palace, the Prince had been quite taken with her as well-

“How dare you defy me in my own castle?” King George’s voice was loud and irritated as he addressed Robin.

“Well, I am certainly not afraid of you ,-” he shrugged his shoulders dismissively, “-so why not call out at your ridiculous lies?” he crossed his arms.

King George was clearly not pleased with Robin’s remarks and managed to take one step in his direction before the Queen’s voice halted his next step, “ What was he lying about?” at her last word her head snapped to Robin’s direction, she had an expectant look on and an arched brow.

“The Prince-” Robin started, enjoying thoroughly the way the King’s face scrunched in distaste, “He is crazy about her, about Snow White, even considered abandoning his precious royal engagement in order to be with her,” 

“And you know this how-?” the Queen inquired, her voice a little too sweet for his taste.

“He told me,” he shrugged the question off but at the sound of the Queen sharp intake of breath, he continued, “We crossed paths in the gardens of King Midas’ palace before-”

She cut him off almost immediately, “You do not need to get into that ,” her eyes were dangerous, “What did he tell you?”

Robin could not suppress a small smirk but obliged, “He told me there was a mysterious young woman he had met he could not get out of his mind. He questioned whether he should or not pursue her,” Robin started to walk towards the pair and finished his statement looking the King right in the eye, he leaned closer and they were almost nose to nose, “-and I advised him to drop everything and find her.” 

“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?” King George threw himself onto Robin, grabbing him by the lapels of his jacket in fury. The older man’s eyes were wide with hate, “I WILL KILL YOU!” he shook Robin by his grip on the artifact of clothing but his mistreating only tickled Robin, who found the King’s outburst quite hilarious.

“I would very much like to see you try,” Robin chuckled back, not fighting the man’s grip on him, it was clearly not worth it and much more amusing to watch as the old monarch tried to harm him.

“And they call me hot headed,” Robin heard the Queen mutter.

An abnormal force got ahold of the gripping hands on Robin’s jacket and they were removed in the most unnatural of movements. The back of the Queen’s hand hit Robin across the chest so he would make way for her to advance towards the old King, she had a bright mad sparkle in her eye whilst she spoke, “If anybody is going to kill him, that person is going to be me-”

Given their history, that statement sounded almost like she cared for him.

“Do not think for a second that you won’t suffer the consequences for letting that brat go as well as having the nerve to lie to my face,” she spat at the King, her boots had no heels which made her a little shorter than the other monarch, but nevertheless she looked like a titan.

“You’re going to kill me like you do your disobeying servants?” the King mocked her, but Robin could sense a trace of fear in his voice.

“Oh no, death is too easy,” she smiled, “I want to see your kingdom crumble down and I want you to be witness to it. Little by little it will fall apart," her words were like poison, "Your downfall has already started for you are far too desperate to marry off-” she stopped for a beat, "what's his name?" she tapped her manicured finger on her chin twice, "David, to marry your little puppet son David off to that frigid blonde."

The King's jaw was stiff and his fists were clenched, "I'm going to start small," she continued, "By cutting off all of our tradings-" his eyes widened in horror at her statement, "-let's see who still stands after that." she spat at him, seemingly enjoying the way she was making the man shrink. 

She gave the King a dazzling smile that Robin had learned to fear and before the other monarch was able to retort, Robin found himself surrounded by cool smoke once more.

Instead of landing far away from her - as Robin expected he would - when the smoke cleared out, she was standing toe to toe with him, their bodies had not been this close for the longest time, her eyes were vibrant, dark and almost hypnotizing whilst they drank him in.

For a long moment none of them spoke but simply stood their ground in a silent battle Robin was not quite sure how he gotten himself into this time.

She finally broke the silence, “How crazy is he about Snow?” her voice was slightly raspy.

Robin took a beat to reply, “Raving mad,” his voice was a little low, for some odd reason this moment felt strangely intimate, “-he apparently shares some sort of connection with her” for a moment Robin had to wonder if he spoke of the Prince’s feelings or his own.

“What kind of connection?” She tilted her head to the side, curious, there she showcased yet another brand of expressions, it was not the usual murderous curiosity but almost as if she was hurt by what he was saying. It was most certainly an indignant feeling; he could sense it practically radiate from her.

Very much like the one I share with you, something inside told him, but he could never voice that, he had no idea of how she would react if he were to voice an ounce of his complicated feelings towards her. 

  “He did not go into detail about it-” Robin lied, and the Queen frowned a little, she somewhat seemed to pick up he was leaving something unsaid, “I can only image it’s something quite overwhelming for him to consider dropping everything for-”

Robin was not able to finish his sentence because the Queen grabbed his jaw with one hand and without a hint of care or gracefulness crashed her lips against his in a marring kiss. For half a second, Robin was taken aback by her actions, it had been a good while since he had last kissed her like that, but Robin’s muscle memory was intact and when that half second was done, he responded to the kiss with just as much eagerness. 

He grunted against her mouth and that undeniable electricity took over his senses, it ignited him to respond to her nearing desperate kisses with just as much force, teeth clattering, tongues everywhere, sloppiness reigned and it was perfection . 

He bit her lower lip whilst his hands worked on their own, sliding down her back until they reached her divine behind – which was unfortunately covered with far too much fabric. Nevertheless, he pulled her with force to him whilst their tongues still danced – more like fought - together, making their bodies crash and knocking the air out of her. 

The Queen broke the kiss with a slight gasp – her hand still very much holding on to his jaw with a death grip – her eyes were vibrant and hungry, by the Gods, he would be damned if he ever admitted it, but Robin had missed that look. 

Her nails dug into his flesh and she dragged them down his neck until she reached the base, she did not squeeze though, but rather dug her nails there harder, taking in a sharp breath between gritted teeth whilst her eyes travelled from where her hand rested up to meet his eyes once more.

Robin looked down and her carefully applied lip coloring was smeared about her lips and most probably his as well. She made an animalistic sound that sounded from the inside of her throat and Robin only noticed he still had two handfuls of arse in his grip when she ground herself against him, drawing an involuntary groan from him.

Upon feeling his excitement down below over their heated exchange, she arched a perfect brow and asked, “Already?”

Robin did not truly know if he was capable of speech at that exact moment, so he chose to smirk back at her in reply, he did feel smug about being able to knock the air out of her.

He did not know if her response was bad or not for she gave him a killer smile that could either mean that she would devour him in the best of ways or just kill him. She then quite simply pushed him back with the hand gripping his jaw, away from the warmth of her curves. Robin was quite unwilling to let that delicious behind go, but he much more appreciated his head still attached to his body, plus he would never force her, no matter how frustrated he was, he could never do that, not after what had happened to Ma-

“I must say, you impressed me today thief,” she told him, her voice slightly hoarse, “One could mistake what you did for loyalty,” she took a few more steps back until her behind – which his hands missed thoroughly – met the surface of a wooden polished table. 

It was only then that Robin took notice of where they were exactly, shelves filled the walls almost completely, and books occupied said shelves almost entirely. This was one of her castle’s libraries, the West wing one if he was not mistaken, not the greatest in size but one he knew she had always favored. The heavy velvet curtains blocked most of the sunlight from penetrating the room, but still thin strands of sunlight did manage to illuminate it enough so Robin could see her. 

As she had her back to the only ceiling high window, the sunlight coming from behind her gave her yet another shine, and damn it, Robin was fucked when it came to this woman. 

Upon his lack of response, the Queen narrowed her eyes at him – even with a shadow about her, he could see her dark orbs eye him with suspicion.

Robin took a leap of faith and threw, “A simple thank you would suffice” for all the fucks in the world if she did not kill him now-

Instead the Queen threw her head back – bracing her weight in both palms on the wooden surface of the table – and laughed her delicious laugh and even in the danger of all this situation – she was laughing far too much for his liking, her amusement normally came at the cost of decapitated heads – Robin could not help but grin himself. 

When her laughter subsided, she regarded him amused and a grin tugging on her lips, she hummed and stated, “Since I’m in a terribly good mood today-”

Robin made a face that spoke of pure confusion, ‘good mood’ was not what could be used to describe the last couple of hours, he then grinned and could not resist but tease her, “You flatter me your majesty, it’s an honor to know I can rouse your spirits with only my mouth-”

Another one of her laughs interrupted his speech whilst she replied, “Spare me of your cockiness-”

Now it was Robin's turn to interrupt her whilst he walked towards her with leisurely steps, “I can recall many an occasion when you did not mind my cock -” Robin paused and grinned when her mouth opened slightly, “-iness.” 

He was then standing precisely in front of her, their knees almost brushing against each other. She was half sitting on the table and darted her eyes down to the bulge in his pants still with her mouth slightly agape. 

One of her hands moved and Robin felt one delicate finger tracing its way up his thigh, she closed her mouth in order to hum whilst Robin stood in front of her quite unsure of what was to happen next.

When her finger neared his crotch she slurred, “You mean-” she stood quickly from her half sitting position whilst palming him with all the hand she had and squeezing for good measure, Robin’s grunt was inevitable, “-this cock?” she massaged him – fucking minx – making it literally impossible for Robin to reply.

She sighed and cracked a smile at his helplessness, “I don’t really mind your cock outlaw-” her mouth was now close to his, “-I rather enjoy it.” She gave him one extra hard squeeze and Robin succumbed to groaning again, “It’s what comes out of your mouth that annoys me.” 

To his utter disappointment, the Queen removed her hand from his aching erection and sat back at the table, regarding him, probably wondering when it was that he was going to crack under her ministrations. 

Robin was capable of coherent thought enough to remember what they had been talking about in the first place, he smirked once more and said, “You really can’t say thank you-”

She arched her brow and regarded him for a beat before uttering, “I’ll say ‘thank you’ to you if you are ever able to capture Snow White for me.”

“Fine-” Robin met her challenge head first, “-it’s a deal then?”

“What?” Her face scrunched a little whilst she asked, slightly confused. 

“Do we have a deal?” he explained himself, suddenly rather excited about the prospect of winning this bet, “If I capture Snow White for you, you will say thank you, with all words and letters?”

She squinted her eyes a little, but this time not in suspicion but in slight amusement and disbelief, she huffed a breath and finally replied, “Deal-” her hand rose again, but instead of grabbing his aching cock through his trousers, she took his hand and they actually shook on it as if they were normal human beings. 

“Now-” she continued to speak and pulled hard on his hand, strongly enough to make him half fall on her, their bodies again pressed deliciously to one another, “Shut the fuck up and do something useful with that mouth of yours-”

His lips drowned her last words. But the Queen did not seem to mind the interruption in the least, quite the contrary, her fingers entwined in his hair and pulled him closer to her, deepening their nearing to feral kiss. 

To Robin’s utter delight, she opened her legs so he could fit in between them, all too soon, he made himself at home placing his hands on her hips and moved his aching erection against her leather-clad privates. Although the feel of her back in his arms was exquisite, all of the layers separating them were beginning to get on Robin’s last nerve.  

Robin wore his usual garb of pants, shirt and a leather vest, but the Queen always insisted upon putting on the most complicated and frustrating artifacts of clothing he had ever come across. As their kiss continued on the heated path, Robin’s hands started to travel north to undo the buttons of her heavy, velvet cloak.

She beat him to it, she pulled at his hair and broke the kiss with a loud almost comical pop. His hands had reached the sides of her middle and he watched perplexed as she blew what could only be magic in his direction. Robin did not move whilst he felt the magic hit him, and yet, to his utter surprise, the spell did not harm him. He could not say the same for the laces that held his leather vest together as a strange fire burned them down into nothing. Robin looked down at her handy work and then quickly up at her to find her smirking, after a beat her hands were on his vest, relieving him of the garb with as much lack of care as she could muster.   

No sooner had his vest hit the floor, her hands were on the fastenings on his trousers, her fingers brushing against his solid erection in the most tantalizing way. Seeing that apparently the magic she was using at the moment was to only benefit them both, Robin attacked her neck, having missed the softness of her skin against his lips. He sucked on her pulse point and could sense that she was a little breathless but nevertheless absolutely focused on her task of unfastening his trousers.

When Robin felt her pull down his trousers and underthings, the feeling was quickly followed by a cold sensation Robin found most odd. Most reluctantly, he pulled from her neck to inspect his nether parts and found she had also burned down his pants and everything that went with them. As he stood there naked from the waist down, his shirt still covered the evidence of his eagerness to be inside her.

He looked back up to meet her eyes and they were dark, darker than usual, it almost nearly hypnotized him, he could not look away nor could he move. When the nails from both her hands made contact with the patch of skin of his thighs, Robin forgot how to breathe. She drew them up slowly, her lips red and a little swollen hung faintly parted, as she scraped her nails up until they were painfully close to his balls. She stopped there, in that torturous spot, and ever so delicately brought one set of nails to scrape at his balls most lightly. 

That alone drew an uneven breath from Robin and he then noticed he had been biting his lower lip for some time now. He released his lip and another shuddered breath when both her full palms started making their way up his torso. The journey her hands took under his shirt was slow, as if she was feeling his body for the very first time, the electric current between them was utterly overwhelming and yet, Robin could not bring himself to shut his eyes in order to bask in the sensation, her own held him captive and he was her willing prisoner.

When her hands reached his collarbone her nails dug in his flesh again but this time all the lightness of her touch had been dropped and there was a strange, frigid feel about it now. Robin soon discovered she had a magical solution for the removal of every single artifact of clothing he wore. As her nails scraped down his torso, she drew in a breath in between gritted teeth whilst he groaned, Robin was in complete shock to notice that tearing marks imitating her scrapping nails started to appear on his shirt. When she reached the very end of his shirt, it was in shreds – but still hanging on his shoulders – and his entire body covered with gooseflesh.

Her hands shot to the battered remains of his shirt and Robin’s mouth seemed to want to tease her until she snapped and killed him – that was the only logical explanation for his next remark.

“Missed me all that much?”

Her hands dropped from his shirt immediately as her heated, dark eyes squinted to regard him.

Fucking hell his ‘smart’ tongue was going to lead him to an early grave instead of leading him in between her thighs. 

Right then, from the way she was looking at him, he was going to, at best, get a very cold, involuntary shower in the river.

"You  must  have some sort of sick death wish," her voice sounded indignant instead of the anger he was expecting.

"Or maybe-" fuck, she was going to fry him alive, "-I just enjoy pushing your buttons," he arched his eyebrow giving her a confident look.

The Queen huffed out a breath and clicked her tongue whilst looking down at his almost nakedness, being covered only by a ripped shirt. She was standing and there was a wee distance between their bodies. When her eyes returned to his, her hand shot for his crotch again but this time, her fingers closed around his bare erection and the feel of it was like heaven and hell mixed together. She pumped him twice looking him square in the eye in defiance, and Robin could not help but groan in response, she then closed the distance between them and brought her lips to the shell of his ear.

"And look who's pushing  your  buttons now," she slurred and pumped him again. 

Robin took in a sharp intake of breath but managed enough coherent thought to place his hands back on her waist and take a few steps in order to trap her once more between the table and himself. She had a devious smile on her face and her hand was still very much at work south.

“When the buttons are exposed, it’s rather easy to-” she squeezed him hard and Robin had to stop to take a breath before he continued, “- push them ” he managed in between gritted teeth.

“What can I say?” She shrugged, faking innocence he knew too well she did not possess, “Maybe I like pushing your buttons too,” and with that she quickly let go of his erection, sitting on the table and lifting both her legs to cage him in between them. She leaned slightly back but her legs pulled him towards her, Robin placed one hand on a leather-clad thigh, resenting the fabric.

“You’re not really playing fair” he pointed out squeezing her meaty thigh as best as leather allowed him to.

“I never play fair,” she was leaning back and moving her face more and more distant from his and Robin found himself leaning forward in order not lose that maddening closeness that felt better than any drug.

He spotted a silvery shine out of the corner of his eye and his plan was made up, she was going to get as good or bad as she gave.

“Well-” he was half hovering over her and reached out for the pointy silvery object to his right, locking his gaze on hers in order for her not to see what his other hand was reaching out to, “- we will see about that”

With his last statement, Robin maneuvered so swiftly the Queen only had time to gasp. 

With the far-too-sharp letter opener in his grasp, Robin leaned back a little and slashed the sharp end in one swift move from her navel to her breast. 

He felt a sharp, strong pang in his chest and an alien dread invaded his senses, mingling with his actual feelings. It was gone after a beat and Robin spun the knife in his hand when the job was done, and threw it carelessly behind his shoulder, not really caring where it landed.  

When Robin’s eyes focused back on the Queen, he found her face to be dead pale, her eyes impossibly large, her mouth hanging open, and her legs that had been around him completely limp.

She had become somehow paralyzed, she did not move and Robin had a feeling she was not breathing. So it was rather comical when her velvet riding coat fell apart due to a precise, straight and clean cut that had been created by the now discarded letter opener.

He had cut precisely what he wanted, that ridiculous riding cloak that had been hiding the fact that she only wore a small black leather vest beneath it and nothing else. Her delicious breasts were almost popping out of the ‘v’ neck cleavage but at that moment they did not look very attractive for they did not rise or fall due to breathing, which meant the Queen was doing nothing of that kind.

His expression morphed from smug to confused but before he could ponder upon the subject – only a few seconds had passed and yet it felt like hours since he was staring at her haunted expression – one of her hands rose, she was pointing a finger at him.

“You-” her voice was completely off, her eyes had been unblinking until this point for now she blinked several times looking at him as if he had grown a second head, “You could have-” her pointing hand dropped but her penetrating gaze didn’t as she stared him down in disbelief.

It was then that it hit him, he had been so excited about the prospect of ruining her clothes just as she had his that he did not think for a minute that slashing a pointy object in front of her might give her the impression that he was actually going to stab her.

“You didn’t-” her voice sounded again, half whispered, still in disbelief and Robin could not help being overtaken by an odd sentiment for the woman before him, who, even in a moment as intimate as this, still had to have her guard up.

The color had returned to her features and she was breathing again, the darkness in her eyes had a new shimmer, it looked strange, he had never seen the likes of it reflected in her brown orbs. 

“I-” Robin tried, but what could he possibly say?

Before he got the chance to utter another word, she was on her feet and grabbing two fistfuls of what had remained of his shirt. Robin was then pivoted by her grip so his sorry backside hit the table and she unceremoniously pushed at his chest with both her palms, silently commanding him to sit his naked arse on the table. 

Robin was beyond confused but complied, her eyes now sparkled with lust and something else, “What on-” he started to ask but was interrupted by her loud command.

“Oh shut up-” he could trace that usual, horny annoyance in her tone, “-before I regret this,”

And with that last statement, the Queen did one of the most unroyal things he had ever seen her do. With as much grace as she could muster, which was a lot but still, she managed to climb on the table and place each of her knees on his side, straddling his waist.

He had to give it to her; she was one resilient bitch when it came to getting what she wanted, even if he had apparently scared her half to death with his letter opener juggling, she still seemed to be pretty much game for, well, anything. 

Luckily for her, so was he .

He took no time after she had settled on his lap to yank her torn coat off her shoulders, she slid the garb off her arms with exasperated and irritated movements, it was too heavy, too tight, like everything she wore. 

She was such a vision, she knocked the air out his chest, without thinking straight his hand went for her still pinned up hair and pulled, making her yelp in surprise but give a throaty moan when his lips attacked her collarbone, covering every single patch of uncovered skin in his reach with sucking kisses, love bites and actual bites. 

The very tip of Robin’s tongue traced in between the valley of her breasts and when he could finally taste leather instead of salty, smooth skin, Robin let go of her hair and closed his mouth upon the first button securing her vest to her. Instead of undoing it, Robin was way past the point of undressing the conventional way, he pulled at it and the small leather covered artifact popped out of its seams and ended up inside his mouth. Robin quickly turned his head to the side and spat it out. He looked up to find a rather pleased looking Queen, her hair was a little unraveled – his doing - and she had the most devious expression on her face. She tangled her fingers about his hair, pulling it a little, her eyes shone.

“Go on” her voice was throaty but carried a smile.

Smirking back at her, Robin went to work, yanking off button by button with his eyes fixed on her as her nails scraped his head and she moved her hips teasingly against his. When all of the buttons had found their way to the library’s floor, she let go of his hair, shrugged the damned thing off and no soon had it joined its torn fastenings, Robin’s mouth was closing about something far more delectable than a button.

He sucked her nipple as if his life depended on it, whilst his other hand feasted upon the other breast, the other arm encircled her waist in order to pull her closer, her hands were back fisting in his hair, guiding him along. She felt soft and the buzz that emanated from her was quite simply heavenly, plus the noises she was fabricating at the moment were quite enticing. Robin swirled his tongue about her well sucked nipple before he moved to the other and used his other hand to pinch the abandoned one, making her give a small cry of pleasure and start to rock her concealed sex against him in a more even rhythm. 

But as soon as he started the same pattern of ministrations he had given the first nipple to the second one, the Queen whined out a cry and pulled at his hair with enough force to make his lips leave her nipple with one pop.

She pulled harder in order to make him look up at her, her eyes were on fire, she slurred, “Enough teasing-”

She started leaning forward to which Robin could only reply by leaning backwards until his entire back rested upon the wooden surface of the table – would the old artifact be in one piece when they were done? -  whilst she hovered over him, both hands beside his head, knees still trapping both his legs in between them.

She did not lower her body to his straight away, instead she tossed the remains of his shirt to the side so his chest was exposed to her and raked her eyes over him. She licked his nipple once, which brought an insane shiver up his spine, and continued to trail her tongue up, past his collarbone and resting on his neck, she sucked on a particular spot he faintly remembered she had favored in leaving marks on. Robin groaned under her teasing, soft mouth, which was the only part of her entire body which was on him at the moment, his erection being all too ignored by her.

“I thought you said enough teasing,” he managed to find his voice to protest.

Her face lifted from his neck and her lips were practically on his when she slurred, “Enough teasing me ,”

Robin could not help it, he captured her lips with his as soon as the words left her mouth. She moaned against his lips and her knees finally gave way making her body meet his, she chose to stop bracing her weight on her hands whilst it was all on him, but Robin was not complaining. His hands shot to her arse and he squeezed her leather clad behind and pulled her closer to him, trying to relieve the ache of his erection. 

She moaned something that sounded far too much like ‘Robin’ for anybody to deny and having his name slip from her lips like that ignited something inside him. Before he knew it, one of Robin’s hands left her behind but came back in contact with it in the form of a slap he then realized he had been waiting to give her ever since they met. 

She released a surprised but delighted moan. The Queen broke the kiss to look at him as if she could eat him alive, she bit her lower lip and Robin could not resist.

“Like that your majesty?”

She freed her lower lip and licked it whilst saying, “Yes” prolonging the ‘s’ at the end.

Suddenly his hand was finally on bare skin, he could feel the wetness in between her thighs moistening his nether parts and Robin could not resist but give her another slap. This time the sound of flesh meeting flesh reverberated about the book cluttered room along with the sharp intake of breath she took in between her gritted teeth. 

His hand stung a little, maybe he had been carried away, but the Queen did not seem to mind his exceeded enthusiasm as one of her hands snaked down and found his erection, her face having found rest on his neck once more, where she licked teasingly. When she had him in her grasp, she started to lead his aching head inside her moist, welcoming cunt when a female voice sounded from behind them making her freeze on the spot.

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything important,” 

Chapter Text

Regina could not wrap her head around what had occurred that night, the only thing she knew was that she had been somehow spiritually drawn to him that day. She could not have that, she had to keep her distance from that man. He was affecting her too much, now that she had her heart back she felt too much and was still terrified of the idea that anybody – worst of all him – had managed to notice her feeling . 

Regina herself did not understand completely what she felt for him, for at times she would loathe him with all the strength she had, other times she would desire him fiercely. Most of the time he managed to annoy her to no end and at rare moments, she would feel a shy affection towards him whenever she thought back at the few brief tender moments they had had together.  

It was distracting, it was enraging and yet Regina could not bring herself to simply tell him to leave . 

She had to find the underlying cause of her temporary spiritual detachment, the fact that her spiritual self had chosen to pay him of all people a nightly visit – as opposed to someone useful like Snow White so she could learn where the damned girl was hiding – was but one of the things that worried her. Regina had never experienced such a thing before in her life, she was quite aware that it was possible, having read about it once or twice during her long years of magical study, but she did not know that it could simply happen out of the blue, without warning, and turn her head upside down.

There was also the matter of his chest. Regina was quite aware that the magic that she had used on him that night had had the only and simple purpose of transporting him back to the castle and not healing him. And yet, upon looking at him sleeping that day, Regina was able to confirm that there was indeed no wound on the man's chest.

One day she had been far too irritated and used her fingers in order to make pressure on the presumably wounded area but he had shown no discomfort then. The only reaction she got was his questioning gaze and a hint of a smirk, but Regina knew too well she was to keep away from those lips before they ended up attached to the most intimate parts of her anatomy.

So she chose to seclude herself again and research, and found that the spiritual wondering could be quite a useful tool in finding Snow if only she was able to control it, but alas, the next night, Regina’s spirit remained attached to her body the entire time. 

It was on the third day that she discovered, rummaging through a book that focused on magical hearts alone, that one’s heart, at times, could act like a shield, a barrier if one’s soul was too powerful or too filled with magic or in the presence of its twin. 

Regina kicked herself for not realizing how foolish she had been about the whole thing, she could not stop thinking about him, of how much he angered her and how much she wanted him regardless, that must have been the reason why her spirit was drawn to him.

She told herself she hated him, and yet, she could not see him gone. Even while ignoring him, she watched him when she knew he was not looking, observed him from afar whilst he gave instructions to the patrols that went out in search of Snow. She never let him leave, evil parts of her told her she did that because she knew he loved to hunt, but other, more selfish parts of her, said that she did not want to part with him, that she was afraid that he might leave for good, even without his heart.

That thought haunted Regina more than she cared to admit, and yet, with each passing day she was more distant to him. Denying the infuriating pull they had was downright idiotic but she was resolute in ignoring it – and him - as much as she could. 

And even though she had managed to find a plausible explanation for her spirit wandering that night, his healed chest still remained very much a mystery, and Regina would be damned if she were ever to ask him how he had managed to heal so fast. Using magic no doubt, but whose magic? Certainly not hers, although the idea that her magic had been slightly rebellious and acted on its own accord did seem possible. But at the end of the day, she was in the dark.

…

Almost an entire month passed before the Sun chose to make another appearance in Regina’s part of the land. She planned to take Rocinante out and simply ride with absolutely no destination in mind, just to feel the wind hit her face and the adrenaline of riding – and of her hard-earned freedom - course through her veins. 

But of course, Regina could not overlook her obligations and it seemed as if it was some sick twist of fate that she had to speak to him of all people about this matter . She had important orders to deliver and they had to be to him, she had made him the sodding captain after all, there was no one above him except her – not exactly the way she wanted to be above him at the moment, but that was beside the point. 

But it was obvious that he was going to act like the smug bastard that he was, he was not even listening to what she was saying, too busy trying to pop the first button of her coat with his piercing gaze. The banter came in almost naturally, as if they had been talking back at each other for hours already, each tongue sharper than the other, the closeness of his body doing things to her own she did not care to feel right now.

And yet she felt more alive then than she had in weeks. His words were taking a more daring tone than usual and Regina could not help but start to feel weak at his remarks.

Did he think she was merciful? Did he really think he could get away with saying anything he wanted without fatal consequences? The more dreadful of all of the questions was a soft whisper that asked; Could he indeed?

Something dark inside Regina - some might call it self-preservation, others define it plainly as fear – ignited her magic, and she could feel the warmth of a familiar fireball start to build up on the palm of her hand, her eyes getting slightly glassy with blinding rage. She was going to fry him and-

“YOUR MAJESTY!” 

Regina did not know if it was the sharp scream calling out to her or the ridiculous pain she felt on her nose when it bumped forcibly with the outlaw’s that broke the spell, but the fire she was creating died and her attention completely diverged. 

At first, the only thing the young man she’d paid handsomely to keep an eye on George managed to ignite in her was more annoyance as his statements brought on that irritating jealous disposition the thief seemed to be keen on displaying lately. 

But as soon as Snow’s name was mentioned, everything else simply went up in smoke. Regina’s heart pumped fast on her chest imagining just how she was going to march into George’s castle, grab Snow by the throat and drag her back to her own castle, so she could give her the ‘royal’ treatment she deserved.

The glorious sensation was short-lived, however, because upon hearing that George himself had set the sodding girl free – when he knew Regina looked for her day and night – her vision had been dominated by red once more. She did not care who she harmed, she had to release her anger somehow, and it was due to the informant’s lack of good fortune that his throat happened to be in her field of vision.

She was adamant in killing the man for the mere fact that she was discontented with the news he’d just delivered. It made no sense even in her twisted mind to go through with this, but regardless, her hands still squeezed hard, death was the objective.

When the outlaw’s hand came in contact with her shoulder lightly, it seemed as if she was being jolted back to reason. An odd sensation flowed about her body and Regina felt easy, not as haunted, not as mad, and as a result, her hand released the man’s neck, his death sentence being put to a stop. 

The man gasped for air but Regina could barely register him, all she felt was that hand on her shoulder sending the most appeasing sensations about her body. She did not know when she closed her eyes, but then all she saw was black, she took one deep breath and could swear that in the dark canvas she could see thin light stripes that danced before her and relaxed her even more. They were green but then would shift to blue, then green again. Regina was dizzy, his touch was good, it made her calm, it made her-

Weak , the impish voice whispered in her ear

Her eyes shot open and she was surprised to discover they were moist with tears. Regina quickly tried to brush them away, and turned around to bark at him with wrongly directed loathing for touching her.

To her utter shock, he did not seem to have a witty comeback to her unpleasant words, but rather stood his ground looking at her.

There were more important issues at hand, and so with a dash of magic, Regina and her ever so annoying outlaw, disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke, leaving behind a dumbfounded and yet extremely grateful spy, for still being alive and for the gold pieces that appeared out of thin air.

Regina had never warmed up to any royal, - except for the ones she had taken to her bed, but that was a completely different matter – but she had always particularly disliked George. She had only kept business with his kingdom for the sake of his son, but now James was gone, substituted with a perfect forgery. 

Regina tried to pay as little mind as possible to the thief she had brought along – she still did not know why she had done so – looking out of the tall windows, trying to clear her head, thinking of the best kind of strategy in order to deal with George. Even though Regina had been Queen for ten years, she had very little experience in imposing herself in royal dealings; the best way for her to negotiate was still in the making. While she could frighten most into submission with her magic, royals – mostly Kings— were another breed of people, they all had dipped their toes into magical waters for some reason or another. All of them had magical connections of their own – Regina was almost sure there was some sort of alliance between George and the Dark One, or at least someone with magical properties, maybe that disgusting Blue bug . 

When the king finally ‘graced’ Regina with his presence, his false, welcoming tone –that reminded her painfully of how Leopold spoke to others of the same class– made it quite easy for her to make up a strategy. She would show him she was not to be toyed with, that she was not Leopold and she did not forgive, diplomacy would be saved for the monarchs who deserved it. 

It was fairly easy for him to drop his courteous mask after a few of her responses. Regina felt a strong pang of anger towards him when the man tried to order her outlaw around. But of course, the man in question did not even finch, as she expected, but then a strange sense of possession took over her and the words, you do not get to order my own around, George slipped from her mouth and Regina paused for a moment thinking about the depth of that statement. Something George would never dream of knowing but deep inside, Regina knew only too well what truly meant.

They got to business, she wanted answers and Snow White, and she would be damned if she did not leave that castle with at least one of the two. And even though Regina’s threat was masterfully delivered, nothing could have prepared her for the response George would give her.

Snow was in love