A Thief and a Queen

Pixie Dust Doesn't Lie

OQ Fix It Week Day 3

The Quest to Get Robin Back

After the Final Battle, the people of Storybrooke settled into their happy beginnings, looking forward to some peace and quiet now that the ultimate battle of good versus evil had been decided in favor of good. Regina's main concern at that point was to continue helping those from the Land of Untold Stories settle into their new lives and stories.

One person from there, Pecos Bill, met with Regina one day to discuss taking over the stables and creating a horse ranch. The current owner, an older man, was willing to sell and Regina saw no reason to turn down the proposal. As she signed the required paperwork, she noticed Bill pick up a picture on her desk and study it.

"Here you go," she said, holding out the paperwork as she tried not to glare at the picture frame in his hands.

He looked sheepish as he held it out to her. "Beggin' yer pardon, ma'am, I didn't mean to snoop. But I was wondering who this here fella is."

She glanced over, her heart skipping a beat when she noticed it was a picture of her and Robin taken at the Miner's Day ball she was convinced to hold the year before. Regina wore a sleek black dress with one strap and her hair was pulled into a tight bun on top of her head. She smiled as she danced with Robin, who was dressed in a finely made tuxedo with a dark green cummerbund. His blond hair had been brushed and gelled into place, though one piece refused to be pushed back and rested against his forehead. They had been so happy.

"His name was Robin," she whispered, caressing his image.

Bill frowned. "Was, ma'am?"

She felt a lump form in her throat as she replied: "He died, protecting me."

"Are you sure about that?" Bill asked.

Regina glared at him, ready to give him a tongue lashing. Of course she was sure he died. She saw his body crumple to the ground, saw his soul disappear before her eyes. Nothing then would bring Robin back and she had to bury another loved one. How dare this man suggest she was lying.

He held up his hands before she could give him the dressing down he deserved. "I'm sorry, ma'am, that came out wrong. I'm just confused as I'm pretty certain I met a fella who looked just like that back in the Land of Untold Stories."

"What?" she asked, her stomach twisting into knots as she found it hard to catch her breath.

"Course, he wasn't dressed all fancy like that," he continued, looking at the picture again. "He was dressed more like Robin Hood, complete with bow and arrows. He was trying to get out the Land of Untold Stories, saying he had a family to get back to. Almost like he didn't choose to go there but was sent there by some other force."

She grabbed her desk as her head began to spin. Was Robin really alive somewhere else? Had his soul not been obliterated but reincarnated in the Land of Untold Stories, since Robin's ended prematurely? Was that why the Robin from the Wish Realm was able to come into their realm? Because part of Robin still existed and the two Robins were connected somehow?

"Ma'am? You alright?" Bill asked, frowning.

"I'm not sure," she said. "But thank you for that information."

He nodded, thanking her for the paperwork and left her with a tip of his hat. Once he was gone, she leaned back in her chair and pondered if the impossible really was possible.

Was Robin alive and trying to get back to her?

Regina spent the next few days mulling it over, trying to talk herself out of believing Pecos Bill's words. She knew she didn't need the heartbreak of losing Robin for a fourth time should it be that he was mistaken but hope was traitorous thing. It burrowed deep into her heart, into her soul, and refused to leave. She realized the only way she was going to know for sure was to go to the Land of Untold Stories and try to find Robin herself.