DESTINY

Chapter 2 - It's all about timing

Author’s Note: HI! This should have been a mini-fic, like this single-chapter story that I wrote just for the sake of keeping me from going crazy because of the season 3 finale of Once Upon a Time. It had upset me, my Evil Regal friends and a lot of Outlaw Queen shippers. And as days have passed, I’ve noticed that there are some of you who have added this story to their reading list. Hence, I’ve decided to write a few more. (And also, someone close to me is requesting for a next chapter.) SO HERE IT IS. Just a reminder though, this is a fanfiction. I don’t own any character and rights belong to ABC’s Once Upon a Time.

P.S. Feel free to leave comments and message me for anything. If you like the story, don't forget to vote for it. Enjoy reading! :)

       

                o-o

                It was a long day and a gloomy night. The evening of celebration turned into a darkness of mourning. There were people that got hurt from the attack of the woman with ice and there were lives that were lost in an instant. A moment that they could never bring back, at least, not without another curse. The night fell into a deafening silence, like all of them are present at the diner but everyone is lost in another spell.

Early next day, the merry men, the dwarves and the other volunteers repair the damages at Granny’s diner. They could have cleaned the entire place and make it look like nothing happened but they could never take away the fact that they will no longer see some people in the town anymore.

Meanwhile at the mayor’s office, a meeting was held to discuss last night’s incidence. Regina was in no mood to meddle with anyone but since she’s still the mayor, she has to.

“We just have to reinforce our security measures. Report anything that is unusual. Keep your eyes open. Where there is ice, it’s more likely that she is there.” Regina stated.

“Was that… Elsa?” Emma asked hesitatingly.

“If that’s Elsa we’d know that she’s good. But looking on what she did last night? That’s no Elsa, that is the Snow Queen.” Regina replied while she’s still browsing some papers on her table and not meeting anyone’s gaze.

“Why is she here? And how are we going to defeat her?” Emma asked.

“Well you’re the savior, you tell me.” Regina glared at her. With everything that happened, she still hasn’t talked to Robin and she’s in no way enjoying all the conversations with Emma, the Charmings and the rest. “Didn’t you bring someone from Enchanted Forest? Maybe you’ve attracted her attention and she followed you here.” Sensing that she’s being too personal, she quickly added “Or maybe she found her own way to Storybrooke. The thing is, she’s already here. Ask the bookworm, maybe she could help. Now if there are no more questions, can we finish this meeting now?”

Guessing Regina’s desire to get rid of everyone and be alone for a moment, David led everyone to the door. “Regina, if you need anything, call me.” Emma said and just when she’s about to leave, Regina called her.

“Emma, I think we should talk.” She pushed the papers on her desk and looked at Emma.

Still feeling a bit guilty on what sort of a betrayal she might have done bringing Marian from the past, Emma agreed. She shut the door behind her and sat on a seat opposite Regina. It was just the two of them. It was quiet but the situation felt so intense. Emma waited for Regina to scream at her, to be mad at her, to probably rip her heart opened, but Regina remained still. She hasn’t said anything but her face depicts confusion, she doesn’t seem enraged, she looks more conflicted.

“Regina, I’m sorry.” Emma started. “I just wanted to save her life, I didn’t know that she was…”

“Robin’s wife.” Regina completed. “I understand, you were just being you, a savior. And I hope you consider why I snapped at you, I was just being me…” She left Emma’s gaze and looked down on the corner of the room. She let herself be lost in her own words. I was just being me, the Evil Queen. That no matter how much I try to change, to be better and do something good, I will still end up miserable. Because I’m a villain, and villains don’t get happy endings.

Emma didn’t take her eyes off Regina, she was waiting for her next words although she knows exactly what Regina is trying to say. She was just being herself, the Evil Queen. But I couldn’t just leave Marian in that prison, I wouldn’t let her die just because she was helping my mom.

I’d never be happy. Or maybe Robin was right? Maybe it’s all about timing. She tried to shake the thoughts off her head and asked Emma “So tell me, where did you find Marian?”

“You don’t really know who she is?”

Regina closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. She looked at Emma the way she has looked Snow and Charming couple of times before. “Do you think I’d ask you if I recognized who she was?” She asked condescendingly while she’s holding her temples.

Not appreciating Regina’s sarcasm, Emma answered obliquely “She was your prisoner. I saved her from death, from your hands.” And the moment she spoke those words, she regret saying them. She knows more than anyone else in Storybrooke that Regina tried so hard to change, to be the person who she is and not go back to being evil again.

She saved her from MY prison. That means… Marian, Robin Hood’s wife, Roland’s mother… she died because of ME. I was the reason they lost her in the first place. He said that he would have walked through hell to see her again. I know he still meant that, I saw it in his eyes the moment he looked at Marian that night. He doesn’t know that she died through my orders, because she helped Snow and the anger that had eaten me back then was so strong I would kill anyone that delays my vengeance. I was everyone’s nightmare. I was a villain.

                o-o

                And while others are busy figuring out where to find the Snow Queen, some had arranged a little service for them to be able to say goodbye to the people they’ve lost. One after the other, they were buried. The least everyone knows, Marian, came last. Only the merry men and Robin knew her. And when all has left, Robin Hood stayed there. Alone in the forest he may be but the emptiness he felt was not out of longing for a company. The forest has been his home for so many years but for the first time, he is in the forest and he felt lost.

One moment I held her in my arms, and in a blink of an eye, she was gone. Again. My poor boy didn’t even have the chance to be with his mother. And Regina… I have upset her by running to Marian the instant I saw her. But I didn’t know what to do. She’s my wife and my son’s mother. Have I lost them both now?

He stared on the ground where his wife lies six feet below. He was holding a flower and before he laid it on the surface, he kissed it, thinking of his wife, bidding another goodbye. He wondered how far he’d come to still find his self losing her again. And maybe on some ways, losing Regina too. He hasn’t talked to her and he doesn’t even know how to start talking to her again. He sat on a log and closed his eyes. He cupped his hands and buried his face on them. He was lost and he let himself drown from confusion and dark abyss. For quite some time, he was just there, sitting still, gone astray from reality. The forest that was once his home, sheltered him again. It must have been his feelings clouding his reasons and sense of security. But the trees around, the leaves falling on the floor, the dampness of the soil, the smell of the forest calm his every nerve. He was exactly where he needed to be until he heard footsteps approaching towards him.