Chapter 2: Being Conscious
A/N: Here's the second chapter.
Enjoy!
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Robin reaches his camp relatively quickly but it's not all that surprising considering that the unconscious woman in his arms is rather small in height and light in weight. He notices that the camp is empty of the small group of men he chose to accompany him on this heist as not all of his Merry Men were required for this task. Taking advantage of the lack of prying eyes Robin carries the woman over to his tent and lays her on the makeshift cot.
After making her as comfortable as possible an untying the rope from her wrists he then goes to find clean cloth and some alcohol to clean and dress the wound that she gained on her thigh, even though he'll need to apply a proper solution to it at a later point.
When he has the cloth and a bottle of ale in hand, Robin sits next to the woman seemingly asleep on the cot. He delicately pulls up her skirts to gain access to the injury to her thigh. Before cleaning the wound Robin properly assesses the damage, checking exactly how deep the sword had cut and how much skin had broken. Deciding that it wasn't anything to be too concerned about, he pours some of the ale onto the cloth and starts to dab the wound.
Robin tries to be as gentle as possible although he still hears the woman inhale sharply as she shifts in her unconsciousness. Once he is sure the wound is clean, he grabs some of the other cloths he gathered and wraps it around her injury, making sure to tie it comfortably but securely.
Satisfied with his work Robin leaves the still-unconscious woman to rest, and decides to gather some of the food around camp to make a suitable meal for him and his men.
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After Robin was able to scrounge some bread and leftover meat and potatoes. He then starts a small fire before using the heat to roast the meat and potatoes that he had found.
All of a sudden, a loud, booming voice breaks out across camp, "What's that delicious smell, Rob?" The outlaw looks up to see the scruffy, bear-like man known as Little John saunter into camp, shortly accompanied by the other men that have clearly finished their scouting.
Robin smiles as the men make their way over to the fire and replies "Well, I believe that is for me to cook and for you to taste."
John just laughs at him, patting him on the back good naturedly and saying "I just hope the taste is worth the wait, considering the last few times you've prepared a meal for us."
The rest of the men join in laughing making Robin feel outnumbered, especially with the lack of defenders on his behalf. Sure, his cooking wasn't exactly worthy enough for royalty but he did consider himself pretty decent. "To be fair, the last few times I haven't has lots of food to work with." Robin defends himself as he turns back to the food over the fire.
"Ah, so the lack of food is the reason why the meals are so easily burnt to a crisp." a relatively young man known as Much guffaws, making the other men laugh in what Robin assumes is agreement.
Another young man known as Alan-a-Dale joins in, "I thought it was the reason as to why the food is either too bland or too bitter." This then causes the rest of the men to burst into uncontrollable laughter as Robin scowls still facing the fire and tries to concentrate on the cooking rather than on the comments being made.
Once the laughter had died down somewhat, he hears another member of his band known as Arthur speak out to the men, "If that's the case men, I suppose Robin will need to concentrate, and us standing here and teasing him about it certainly won't help."
Finally, Robin thinks, someone has some common sense at least.
"Arthur's right," agrees David, one of the older members of the Merry Men and Robin smiles, grateful for the sudden change in support "if Robin uses some of that right mind of his we can hope for a relatively decent meal." This causes the men to yet again burst into fits of laughter.
Robin turns away from the fire and frowns at his men, growing annoyed with their teasing. "You know I'd like to see some of you try and cook a decent meal, as the only other person I know who can cook around here is Little John." the outlaw quips and his men now have the decency to back off.
"Alright, Rob," the eldest member of the Merry Men, Will Stutely concedes, "we'll leave you to it. No more mocking 'till later, right men?" The others voice their agreement before dispersing around the temporary camp.
However, Little John and the ale-loving friar known as Tuck stay behind, and Robin can't help but remark "And here I was thinking they'd be grateful to have supper earlier than usual."
The three of them chuckle before Tuck says "We all know the men aren't exactly the best at expressing gratitude." And Robin sighs as he nods in accord, his attention mainly still on the food.
"Find anything useful on your scout Rob?" Tuck asks after a brief silence.
"Just that due to the small number of black knights patrolling the village we should be able to formulate a successful exit plan." the outlaw replies, adding "And if I'm being honest, I've already started to form that part."
John nods before commenting, "So, we should be done with this job rather swiftly then."
Robin pauses before replying hesitantly, eyes still on the fire "I might've picked up someone who was in somewhat...desperate need of help."
"WHAT?" the bear-like man bellows. The outlaw just sees Tuck sigh and shake his head in exasperation from the corner of his eye. "We're about to pull of one of the largest heists we've ever done and you decide to help someone that was in need of help?" Little John enquirers exasperated.
"They were about to be beheaded!" Robin exclaims turning around and trying to appeal to the men.
"Beheaded?" John questions voice still gruff, "Are you sure they didn't deserve their fate?"
Robin can tell his friend is suspicious. Who wouldn't be suspicious of someone who was charged with that sentence? But he was certain of one thing, "No one deserves that fate John, even those who have done great evil."
There's a long silence that follows, the only sound that can be heard coming from the other men around the camp and the soft crackling of the fire. John then slowly nods his head and Robin knows he's decided to trust him when he murmurs, "Just be sure you know what you're doing."
"I am." Robin replies simply and with that Little John nods his head again and goes off to his tent.
The outlaw then hears Tuck sigh from next to him and he gives the friar his full attention. But before he says anything Robin tells him, "I just couldn't sit back when she needed help Tuck. I know it's a risk, especially with a job coming up but I had to save her."
"I know you did Robin, that's what makes you a good man." Tuck responds. The outlaw nods as he turns back to the fire to finish cooking the meal. "So, obviously it's a woman you've saved." he hears the friar comment causing Robin to glance over his shoulder and give a sheepish smile. Tuck chuckles as he continues, "Did she acquire any injuries whilst you were saving her?"
"Are you implying that I'm incapable of rescuing a damsel in distress unscathed?" Robin asks, offended and turning back to the man.
"Yes, that's exactly what I'm implying." the friar replies, giving Robin his I'm-not-buying-it look, further offending the outlaw before going silent and clearly waiting for an answer.
Robin scoffs at the silence of the friar before answering begrudgingly, "As far as I know, the only injury the woman acquired is a cut to her thigh. However, she has fallen unconscious." The outlaw then looks up at Tuck to see the amusement shining in his eyes. "Oh, shut up, Tuck!" Robin snaps, annoyed that his friend is right.
Tuck just chuckles before patting the outlaw on his back good-naturedly and asking, "So, where is this woman residing, so I can go and tend to her wound?"
Robin points over to the location and replies, "In my tent. I've already cleaned and bandaged the injury to the best of my abilities."
"I'll just check it over then." Tuck smiles, getting up. "Later I'll make a paste that can be used to bathe the wound and that will help to bring down her obvious fever." He adds before going to Robin's tent.
The outlaw watches him disappear into the tent and hopes that Tuck will be able to prevent infection for the woman's sake. Then remembering the meal he is supposed to be cooking, he turns back to the fire and catches the meal in time before it burns.
Maybe his men were partially right about his cooking abilities.
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The first thing that Regina notices is that everything hurts. And it's unbearable to say the least. The second is that she must've been asleep. Either that or she was unconscious. How does she know this? Well her eyes are closed as all she sees is black. Which leads her to the third, her eyes are refusing to open. So, naturally Regina tries to blink, flutter her eyelids or do something to open her eyes and after a great effort she manages to get them open.
At first, all Regina sees is fog with the odd black dot, but as she blinks her vision begins to clear only to leave her feeling disoriented and dizzy. So, she closes her eyes in an attempt to still the room around her.
When Regina opens her eyes again, she realises that she is no longer in the town square but rather some sort of shelter and upon closer inspection it seems to be a tent of some sort, as the smell of forest overwhelms her. She gazes around, taking in her surroundings, until her eyes fall onto a pair of blue orbs, suddenly noticing the man near the entrance to the tent.
Regina then becomes very aware that this stranger has been watching her, immediately becoming self-conscious and confused about the situation she's found herself in. She notices that he's wearing a white shirt, leather leggings and boots that hug a strong looking figure. However, in the darkness of the tent she is unable to make out the exact features of his face, but the one thing she does notice is how his orbs of blue seem to stare into the very depths of her being. She can't quite remember the exact events that have led her to wake up in a tent with a blue-eyed stranger staring at her so intensely, almost as if he's determined to figure out if she's awake or not.
And out of nowhere, he speaks, "You've had quite the accident." All she can do is stare blankly at him aware that he wouldn't recognise her for who she truly is, but still not quite catching on as everything still seems a little fuzzy. "The wound on your thigh." she hears him elaborate.
Confused as ever Regina murmurs, "What?" her voice sounding dry from its lack of use. But then she feels it, an almost dull albeit very present ache in her right thigh.
Suddenly it all comes back. The axe swinging wide, the hooded figure, trying to find a way off the stage, the slash to her right thigh, falling, calling for Rumpelstiltskin, gazing at a pair of blue eyes then...blackness.
Regina now has a good idea who this stranger is, as he has the very same blue eyes of her rescuer. Robin Hood. She couldn't believe she was rescued by a common thief, and if she was being honest with herself, she couldn't believe that she was rescued, seeing as she could take care of herself just fine. But Regina remembers why she wasn't able to rescue herself; she can't use her own magic. And she hates to admit it but she's grateful her head is still attached to the rest of her body.
However, that does not mean that she's ever going to express her gratitude to this outlaw – this thief! – and offer him more riches than he could imagine, or better yet, pardon him of all charges! No way!
Regina has to get out of there. She can't risk him finding out she's the queen even if she's disguised perfectly as an ordinary peasant. She just cannot take that chance. So, the brown-eyed woman moves to get up only to find that she physically can't move her legs. Confused Regina tries harder, using her arms to push herself up but is hit with another wave of dizziness, forcing her to stop and lie back down.
The brunette closes her eyes, wanting to prevent the room from spinning a second time. Regina faintly feels something damp being dabbed on her head, causing her to slowly open her brown eyes only to find two piercing blue ones watching her. She realises a cloth is now on her forehead and that he moved closer to her and rather quickly at that making her wonder how one person could care so much about a stranger they haven't even met. Yet, despite her being a total stranger, concern is clearly evident in his pools of blue and Regina turns her head away suddenly uncomfortable that this thief is within her personal space, especially when he doesn't know who she really is. If he knew he'd be staying as far away as possible.
"Are you alright milady?" she hears him ask, breaking her out of her reverie.
The smell of forest overwhelms her again and she notices it must be coming from him. So, turning her head to meet his eyes she responds gruffly, "Just dizzy."
He nods before informing her, "You gained a slight fever due to the dirty sword that gave you your injury."
"And apparently I have no movement in my legs." The brunette grumbles not bothering to hide her annoyance and making a mental note to have a word with her knights and how their weapons are kept. Again, attempting to move her legs she asks, "How long 'till I can get up?"
The blue-eyed man sighs and shrugs his shoulders removing the cloth from her head as he answers "Three days at most."
"Three days! At most?!" Regina exclaims. She can't stay in a tent for three days! She has to find Snow White for God's sake so she can finally end that girl's miserable existence with her bare hands. But panicking won't get her anywhere. So, Regina takes a deep breath to calm herself down, before addressing the outlaw, "You mean to tell me I will be stuck in a tent for three days without being able to move my legs?"
"Yes," he replies, "the slash on your right thigh is rather deep and on top of that you've had quite the fall." Regina sees him stand up and move away from the cot – if you can even call it that – over to a small table. He grabs a bowl that she assumes has some herbal solution or paste as well as another damp cloth before sitting down near her injured thigh. "Not to mention," she hears him continue, "you have a fever, so it will be some time before your health can regenerate fully."
Regina can say she's honestly surprised that a common thief knows so much about healing but she's also deeply annoyed, "You don't understand, I don't have time to sit here and wait for this injury to heal."
"Well it appears you have no choice milady." he quips.
She's shocked. No one has spoken to her like that. The shock must be evident on her face as he smirks, "And you also have no choice or say in whether this will sting or not because I can assure you, it will." And with that he starts to pull up her skirts.
"Excuse me!" Regina shrieks immediately moving her hands to prevent him from pulling up her skirts further. "How dare you-"
"Relax, I'm not taking advantage of you." the man retorts, effectively cutting her off. She hears him sigh before he explains further, "Look I need to pull up your skirts to tend to your wound and prevent additional infection." He then looks up at her and asks, "May I?"
Now feeling incredibly awkward, Regina begrudgingly nods her consent and allows him to pull up her skirts so that they sit just above the wound on her thigh. Currently, it's covered with some material which has done a good job in preventing more blood loss. She only hopes that blood won't flood out once the material is removed, even though she doubts that would actually happen.
Regina watches as the outlaw removes the material from her thigh with surprising tenderness. His fingers then come up to the cloth that was under the material but before he removes it, she hears him say, "I would advise against looking at the wound milady." She scoffs in response but as she opens her mouth to retort he continues, "The stinging won't be so bad if you don't focus directly on it."
"What else am I supposed to do?" Regina snaps, looking from the still-covered-wound to the thief.
She sees him smile as he replies, "Maybe I'll just have to distract you with my boring topics of conversation." Regina raises her eyebrows at this, hoping he will take it as a sign to continue, which he does "I don't believe I caught your name."
She feels him remove the cloth but takes his advice by starting to answer his question, "My name is Re-" she catches herself, recovering with, "Wilma." recalling the name of her parents' old housekeeper, and then adds for good measure, "My family works in the mills."
Thankfully the outlaw doesn't seem to notice her slip up as he continues with the conversation, "Well, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance Wilma." Then he smiles at her giving Regina no choice but to smile back and surprises herself when it feels genuine, and an odd sensation comes over her. But the moment is brief before she pushes the foreign feeling down, and the outlaw picks up the bowl he had placed near the cot, dipping the cloth into the substance.
"I don't believe I've had the honour of knowing the name of my rescuer." Regina teases, effectively breaking the silence. Of course she knows who he is! But she still wants to be sure that this man is the real Robin Hood as she doesn't want to make a false assumption.
The outlaw chuckles as he replies "You're certainly one of the few." He then seems to consider her for a moment and Regina wonders if he knows that she's not telling the truth, but her thoughts are interrupted when he stands up and says, "Robin Hood of Locksley, at your service." He finishes off with a bow, and Regina can't help the small smile that forms on her lips.
"The thief," she smirks and almost chuckles at his look of offense before continuing, "aren't you a bit far from Sherwood Forest?"
"That may be so," he answers as he stands up from his bow, "but I'm afraid my reasons are confidential at this point."
Regina raises an eyebrow, "Secret mission?"
"Wouldn't you like to know." The outlaw quips and Regina's taken back by his bluntness. He then sits back down and wrings the cloth of any excess solution which surprises the brunette. Robin then looks up at her almost as if waiting for her to say something in response, but when she continues to stay silent, he simply says "Alright, this will sting." before dabbing her wound with the cloth causing Regina to inhale a sharp take of breath. Curse this thief and his words!
His touch is surprisingly gentle considering his stature, causing her to remark, "Who knew a thief had such a soft touch and a knowledge of healing herbs?" and she hears him chuckle in response as he continues to tend to the injury.
"Who knew a miller could get into so much trouble." the thief sasses as she sees him wrap another clean cloth around the wound. A moment of silence passes between them in which Robin seems to be in full concentration. He then breaks the silence, stating "All done milady." Regina nods whilst she pulls down her skirts, the outlaw helping her to straighten them out. "Feel better?" he asks, yet again standing up.
"Yes, quite." she murmurs not really knowing what to say at this point and not meeting his intense blue eyes as another silence passes between them.
The brown-eyed woman then breaks the awkwardness, "You know I didn't exactly ask for your help." her eyes now coming up to meet his, a defiant expression gracing her features.
Robin scoffs, looking at her in disbelief but her expression doesn't waver, so he replies "Well you weren't and aren't exactly in a position for argument, now are you?" She opens her mouth to retort but before she can form any words his expression changes to one of minor exasperation as he adds in a slightly annoyed tone, "Where I come from a simply thank you would suffice." And with that he turns and heads towards the opening of the tent.
Regina is left speechless and watches as the outlaw stops once he reaches the exit, turning around to face her once again, his expression suddenly calmer. "You should get some rest," he says his voice now softer, "you'll need your strength if you want to break your fever." And she can only nod in response, her voice still choosing to fail her.
Robin again turns to leave but Regina finds her voice all of a sudden. "Robin." she says, effectively stopping him in his tracks and causing him to look over his shoulder. Brown orbs lock onto blue as she tells him sincerely, "Thank you."
"You're welcome, Wilma." he murmurs, a small smile tugging at his lips. Robin then exits the tent leaving Regina alone in silence.
It doesn't take long for the brown-eyed woman to fall into slumber but before she does her thoughts wander to the particular blue-eyed thief who had saved her, and she can't help but wonder how he was able to make her feel so comfortable in a tent, no less, and in only a matter of minutes when she rarely was in her own castle.
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A/N: Smooth sailing from here on out? A lot can happen in three days. If you think Regina is taking this very well you will be sorely mistaken.
Ok, so currently, I'm planning to post on Sunday every week. But, this may change to Sunday every fortnight later on.
Thanks for reading and please leave your thoughts! I would love to know what you think. :)