Regina woke the next morning with renewed hope in her heart, helped along by the first birdsong of the year. She'd spent so much time in the library in varying shades of dusk that she hadn't noticed the seasons changing. It was still quite chilly outside, as she found when she went to swing the window open and a gust of cold air swept through the room, causing her to close it again at lightening speed, but the sun was shining and large patches of grass were beginning to overtake the snow.
Her good mood was improved even further by John managing to get up for an hour, limping across the room with her arm supporting him, and the doctor pronouncing his leg fully healed if a little weak from lack of use.
Roland came back at lunchtime from a mid-morning's ramble with a bunch of late daffodils, that Regina initially thought he'd picked from the beds; however, Robin swore they'd gone a little way into the forest. She'd stayed behind in order to spend some time with John - the poor boy had had almost no company in his feverish weeks aside from the doctor's visits and a grudging servant tasked with keeping an eye on him. By gentle coaxing she managed to get his parents' names and the town they lived in: as luck would have it he was from this kingdom and she encouraged him with this.
"We'll find them. I promise."
"I really hope so. I miss them; I don't know if they were told we were hijacked by pirates."
Only a few days later, Celia poked her head round Regina's door.
"Mrs Mills, there's someone here. I think you might know them?"
"I'll be right down, Celia. Thank you." Regina was scared, worried as to who it might be, but she straightened her dress and made her way downstairs anyway. A young woman in her twenties stood on the step, a baby on her hip. She had a pleasant, ruddy face, and a healthy figure smothered by the thick cloak.
"Good morning," Regina greeted them with a smile.
"Hello, are you Mrs Mills?"
"Yes, I am."
"Margaret Smith. And this is Bobby. Is John here?"
"Come in, quickly." She glanced over her shoulder as she led her upstairs. "He's in here." Opening the door, she saw with gratification the looks of pure joy on her face as she saw her brother, and the mirror of that look in his. Regina suddenly found herself trying not to drop a one-year-old as Margaret smothered her brother in a firm hug.
"Maggie?!" he exclaimed as his sister squeezed the air out of him.
"What happened?"
"Pirates," he said simply.
"I knew going away to sea was a bad idea," she shook her head. "I'm just glad you're all right, John."
"You have Mrs Mills over there to thank for that. And the daughter of the house." Regina was impressed he'd remembered her cover.
"Really? You saved him?"
"Well, I..." Regina's words were effectively squeezed out of her by Maggie's arms. Bobby wriggled between them in discomfort.
"Thank you so much."
"It is my pleasure. If it weren't for John we would probably never have gotten off that pirate ship."
"We? Your husband?"
"My son was with me when they hijacked the ship."
"Where's your ring?" she asked, face not altering at all but her eyes changed slightly, now sympathetic even as they chastised. "Please don't tell me you made the same mistake I did."
"No, I didn't." She cringed at herself. "Oh, that came out wrong, I'm so sorry!"
"S'okay." Maggie shrugged indifferently, not seeming to notice that Regina was still holding her baby.
"My ring was stolen by the pirates," she told her, knowing it was unbelievable but relieved when Maggie relaxed at John's confirming nod.
"You're so brave! Isn't she brave, Bobby?" she cooed, finally taking the boy. Regina was saved the awkward response of someone who doesn't feel they deserve the compliment by Belle walking in.
"Belle! This is Margaret Smith, John's sister."
"It is so lovely to meet you!" she exclaimed as the visitor hastily bowed low. "Don't bother about formalities. I don't mind."
"How did you find me?" John suddenly asked.
"I heard someone talking in the marketplace yesterday about a John Smith being here. And of course I knew it was my idiot brother," Maggie affectionately stroked his hair back even as Regina's heart sank. "So I asked the girl and she directed us here."
"Who was the girl?"
"Celia, I think she said her name was? She works here, I believe."
Regina glanced over at Belle, the betrayal clear in both their eyes.
"She does. Would you like to take your brother home now?"
"If he's well enough to travel then yes. We have a cart he can sit in, I can get a message back to Mother and Father. We don't live far."
"I shall call the doctor and ask him to come. He can tell you if he thinks it's a good idea. We'll give you a bit of privacy now."
Belle and Regina backed out of the room and immediately held a whispered counsel in the corridor.
"I could have sworn she knew more than she was letting on. I'm sorry."
"It's all right. I suspected but I didn't want to find that she was a loyal servant therefore impossible to be a traitor. That's why I didn't mention it."
"I'd send her away but then she'd be free to go to King Leopold. I couldn't let her do that to anyone."
"Maybe it's best if we go now. Robin is healed, we've come to an agreement, John's found his family and we're just about there with the route?" Belle nodded to confirm it. "We'll leave tomorrow morning," she decided.
***
They were woken in the dead of night by Belle shaking them and whispering frantically.
"Regina. Robin, wake up!"
"What is it, Belle?"
"Leopold is coming. The gatekeeper just rang the bell to say the King's coach has turned into the drive!"
"They found us?" Regina asked, kicking Robin to wake him up. He fell out of his side onto the floor, but she didn't have time to worry about his bruised behind as she pulled her dress over her head.
"I don't know. But you have to go. Even if they haven't, you can't wait until morning. Here are two dark cloaks, and the map. The servants' entrance will be quicker. There are two horses saddled and waiting in the stable yard with some supplies. Go across the paddock, there's a small path leading into the forest. You'll find it on the map."
"Say goodbye to John for me?" Belle nodded, understanding the unspoken plea to explain. "Thank you so much for everything, Belle." She gave her a brief but intensely grateful hug before going through and shaking Roland awake, a hand over his mouth to muffle any sound.
"Roland, wake up. We're leaving now."
"Why?"
"Shh. Don't talk. Come on." She quickly hauled him into his clothes as Robin appeared, dressed and fully awake with the cloaks and maps in hand. She stuffed the map into her trusty bag before slinging it over her shoulder and lifting Roland into her arms.
"Here," Belle urged, leading them to the servants' staircase by the meagre light of a candelabra. "I have to go and greet the coach, make sure everything's ready. Good luck!" she whisper-shouted; Regina waved a hand in acknowledgement and farewell as they stole down the stairs and out the door. The moon was full so they could easily see their way down the path and into the stable block. Roland clung round Regina's neck, but reached for his father when they got to the horses.
Regina brought the back of her skirt between her legs to form makeshift breeches before swinging up, cursing long dresses and her lack of a seperate bodice into which to tuck the excess material. Robin was already mounted, Roland clinging onto the pommel and his father's arm tight around him. The hooves weren't muffled so they walked until they were on the grass, the sound incredibly loud in the stillness, then kicked into a gallop, leaping the fences and bending low over the horses' necks so they didn't get knocked off by low tree branches.
They galloped until the sun was rising and the horses were dropping with exhaustion. As one, Robin and Regina slowed the beasts to a canter, then a trot, then a walk as they looked for somewhere to sleep.
When they found a grassy clearing, she dismounted, her legs wobbling underneath her. It had been so long since she'd ridden, and while it had come back easily her muscles were protesting fiercely after being unused for so long. Robin lowered Roland, who was falling asleep, into her arms before dismounting himself and untacking.
"Belle has really outdone herself," he exclaimed as he opened the panniers to find horse food and salted meat enough to last a good week. There were also three gourds of water. "Now we won't have to worry about sticking by the stream all the time."
Regina cast her eyes heavenwards in a silent thank you to the girl who'd helped them so much.
"You know I've never been particularly fond of the rich but I have to say, she wasn't so bad. Seemed to be genuinely grateful for everything and willing to do everything in her power to help."
"Oh, she was. She was. Robin, I don't think food is our main concern right now. We'll let the horses onto the grass and just sleep."
Robin looked over at the sleeping boy.
"Are you sure we don't need a lookout?"
"It's not like we'll be staying in one place for long. Besides, we need the energy for riding."
"You're right." A windswept bush provided enough shelter for the three of them. They put Roland between them for warmth, and Regina found it easier now to push aside her fears of getting too close in order to hold onto Robin and keep the heat in for the boy.
A few hours later when the sun was right overhead, over a 'breakfast' of fresh kill and berries (Robin had argued that they should keep the salted meat for more desperate times) Regina studied the map. There had only been one path from the castle to the clearing they were in now and Belle had marked it on. She turned it so North was the right way, and found the little stream. It only went close to the path in places, but she still had trouble pinpointing where they were.
"All right there?" Robin leaned across to look over her shoulder, chin resting on her shoulder.
"I can't find where we are. Come on Roland, eat up."
"I'm not hungry."
"You need your energy. We won't stop again until lunch so you'll eat that or go hungry." Roland huffed but brought a chunk of meat to his mouth. She glanced over to Robin only to see him hiding a smile as he glanced between the map and the landscape.
"Well, I can see smoke rising just over there," he pointed to the gap in the trees just ahead. "And there's a town here. So if we can get there we'll know where we are."
"Really? Do we want to go into civilisation?"
"No. We're just using it as a landmark. We won't go in, but around. We'll be fine, Regina." He took her hand, somehow knowing that she needed it right now.
Half an hour later they were on their way, having fluffed up the grass to hide their presence, watered the horses and refilled their gourds. This time, Roland chose to ride with Regina, and she felt a stab of nostalgia for the days when she was first getting to know them and falling in love with the life they'd created together with the Merry Men.
"Robin, what happened to your men?" she asked as they trotted alongside each other.
"I honestly don't know. Either they got back to Sherwood, or they were caught, or they're still on the run. I suppose I'll never know."
"We could go to Sherwood instead. It's closer."
"No." He spoke with a finality that Regina didn't want to argue with. "I'll only put you in more danger. The sheriff's been after my head for years."
"I'm sorry." He reached across and squeezed her hand that held the reins in thanks. She was glad he didn't blame her, because the blame could very easily and logically be placed on her.
"It's all right."
"Come on. There's an opening not far ahead."
A/N: A gourd is an old-fashioned water bottle which was made out of animal skin. Like the one in Season 1 which Charming uses to collect the water from Lake Nostos for Frederick.