The Prince of Darkness

Questions

Chapter 4: Questions

The last wisps of her dream slipped away and Regina struggled to hold onto them. She wanted to keep the image of Robin sitting at her kitchen table, Roland on his knee, as he helped Henry with his homework. Regina stood at the island, cutting up a pie for them to share for dessert. It was perfect.

It was gone.

Regina opened her eyes, blinking to adjust to the sunlight streaming into her room. She rolled over to find Roland still asleep beside her. He had fallen asleep on her the night before as they watched movies after dinner. Regina had carried him to his room but he had tightened his grip when she tried to put him down. She had been a mother long enough to know she should put him to bed, to encourage him to stay there. But it had been so long since a child wanted to cuddle with her. She used her magic to change him into his pajamas and she tucked them in together.

He was still asleep, one hand balled up by his fist while his other arm was wrapped around his beloved stuffed monkey. His dark lashes fluttered as he dreamed, good ones she hoped.

She kissed his forehead before slipping into the bathroom for a quick shower. When she got out, Roland was sitting up and rubbing his eyes. Regina smiled. "Good morning, sweetie. Sleep well?"

"Uh huh." He held his monkey closer. "Can we have pancakes?"

"Of course we can. Just let me get changed, okay?"

Roland nodded, lying back down as he played with his monkey. She pulled out a quick outfit to change into, slipping into the bathroom to pull on her jeans and red cotton shirt. Regina towel dried her hair, choosing to pull it back into a bun rather than brush it.

"You ready?" She stepped out of the bathroom. Roland jumped up, holding out his hands to her. She picked him up, even though he was getting too heavy and tall for her to do it. But his father had often carried him and she was certain he missed that contact.

Regina carried him downstairs as Roland babbled on about the movies they had watched last night as if she hadn't been sitting next to him. "Can we watch more after breakfast, Mom?"

"I think we should go outside and do something." Regina set him down at one of the bar stools by the island. "It's a beautiful day."

He perked up. "Can we go swimming? So I can practice?"

"If that's what you want." Regina smiled as she handed him the cup of flour. "Dump that into the bowl."

Roland did as she instructed with each ingredient she handed him—milk, eggs, vanilla. She handed him the whisk. "You think you can stir this without getting it everywhere?"

He bit his lower lip in a motion that reminded her so much of his father it almost made her cry before nodded. "I think I can."

"Good. While you do that, I'm going to see if the paper came." She kissed his forehead as he began to whisk the ingredients together.

Regina opened her front door and squatted down to pick up the day's edition of the Storybrooke Mirror. She paused, though, spotting a black rose tied to it. Confused, she scanned her property for any sign of Robin. He only left the roses when he was near her, when they had seen each other. Never had he just left her a rose.

With no sign of Robin, she picked up the paper and closed the door. She dropped the paper onto a table as she pulled out the rose. A small note was attached to it. When she unrolled it, she saw Robin's familiar handwriting. There was just one sentence on it: