A Thief and a Queen

Forgotten

“Forgotten”

            “I don’t understand. How could she not remember me?” 

            Robin was distraught, confused and angry all at once. He had spent weeks believing he would never return to Storybrooke until he had followed Rumpelstiltskin into the town. He set out to find Regina but when he found her, she didn’t recognize him. All he got was a cool brush off as Regina continued about her day. 

            So he tracked down someone who would know what happened—Mary Margaret. He found her in Granny’s, rocking baby Neal. Her eyes grew wide as he approached the booth. But before she could greet him, he blurted out about Regina giving him the cold shoulder. 

            Mary Margaret sighed. “It’s a long story, Robin.” 

            “I don’t care. For Regina, I have all the time in the world.” Robin leaned forward. “Please, Mary Margaret.” 

            She nodded, sadness overtaking her. “She’s the Evil Queen again, Robin. Those other villains, the Queens of Darkness…they took away her memories and made her evil again like them.” 

            His blood ran cold as his heart skipped a beat. Breathing was difficult as he processed the information. “Did she…did she agree?” 

            Mary Margaret nodded and Robin’s heart stopped. “No,” he breathed. 

            “But she was under duress. They had Henry,” Mary Margaret explained. 

            Robin closed his eyes and swallowed down the disgust and fear that rose up inside him. Those monsters. “Of course. She’d do anything to keep him safe.” 

            Mary Margaret nodded, watching as Robin leaned back to take stock of his situation. She saw something light up his eyes and he smiled. “True love’s kiss,” he said. “Regina and I are soul mates. It’ll have to work, right?” 

            “Not necessarily.” Mary Margaret paused before continuing. “Back in the Enchanted Forest, David was betrothed to Princess Abigail. When I heard they were getting married, I went to the Dark One to get a potion that would let me forget about him. It worked. But then he ended up breaking the engagement to Abigail and came looking for me. He tried kissing me and it didn’t work because I had forgotten our love.” 

            “What happened?” 

            Mary Margaret smiled. “He fought for our love and I fell for him all over again.” 

            “So there’s hope?” Robin asked. 

            “Oh, Robin.” She took his hand. “There’s always hope.” 

***** 

            Robin set his mind to wooing Regina all over again. Or rather, wooing the Evil Queen again. He recalled how difficult their relationship was in the Enchanted Forest during the so-called missing year. Now, it was ten-fold that. When he first met her, she was already changed from loving Henry. But the spell had reverted her to how she was before becoming a mother, when she was only driven by revenge. 

            He didn’t care though. She was still Regina to him. And he just had to convince the Evil Queen of that. That he wasn’t going anywhere, no matter how many vile words she spat in his direction. 

            That was why he didn’t struggle against her magic as she held him aloft, even as it grew difficult to breathe. She glared at him, brown eyes darker than he ever saw them. “Why don’t you just take the hint, Outlaw, and leave me alone?”