A Chance To Mend

Chapter 16: Going North

Three days of resting, three days of preparation, three days of being alone, Regina, David and Snow woke early the morning of the forth day ready to set out on they're journey. They didn't ask anyone to accompany them, they were to do this alone. They set out on their journey within an hour of waking. They packed and loaded up their horses and were gone.

It was going to be an even longer journey now with the newly found snow on the ground. It was rather deep and difficult to trudge through. No one hardly spoke except to say which way to go. Regina had decided to not go with the heeled boot this time and she was thanking herself for it now. Trudge, trudge, trudge She thought stomping along behind the Charming's.

"Have the horses had a long enough break?" Regina asked already tired, she hadn't gotten much sleep in the last few days.

David looked back at her sympathetically but Regina only gave him the cold shoulder. "I suppose." Snow said and stopped so they could all get on their horses.

Regina hopped up on her steed, she gave him a gentle nudge with the heel of her boot and came behind Snow and David.

They all stayed in a steady silence for hours on end until it became to dark to see where they were going and they stopped to make camp. They tied their horses up and fed them before they ate some of the food they had packed for themselves. Regina wasn't really hungry, she hardly ever was and she snuck some of her portions to her horse.

They all got through their first night of their journey and woke early as soon as the sun shown upon them. Regina was packed before the not so Charmings and she approached her horse.

"You know," She said rubbing his neck. "We're gonna be stuck together for a while, the least we could do is know each others name." The horse let out a neigh and it seemed he understood her when he nodded his head.

Regina genuinely smiled. She missed horses. She'd only owned two horses in her life. One being her childhood horse Rosetta and her war horse when she was the Evil Queen, Magnum.

Regina looked for any indication the horse had a name but found none. All of the horses at the castle had a medal they'd wear around their neck but this horse didn't have one. "Hmm." She hummed. "No ones named you yet?" She asked getting a neigh in response.

"Well we'll just have to fix that." She studied her horse and brushed his brown coat. He had a long white patch down his nose and deep brown eyes.

"How about Duke?" She smiled and the horse neighed happily, nodding his head. "Alright," she chuckled. "Duke it is."

The moment came to an end when Snow announced it was time for them to move onwards once more.

The three followed in their pattern of early mornings riding their horses then giving them a break for a few hours as they walked and then riding them until it was dark again. This had gone on for a week now and Regina was beginning to miss the comforts of her castle. Like bathing.

Regina couldn't stand feeling the filth she could feel on herself that had built up from traveling. "Snow." She called and Snow pulled back the reigns of her horse to slow down so that she was now riding beside Regina and behind David.

"What?" Snow asked.

"I need a bath, I can't stand this." Regina said disgusted.

"In all honesty, I can't either. But we can't waste anymore time. You're just gonna have to get over it and tuff it out." She said and urged her horse to catch back up with David.

Regina rolled her eyes, but went on through the day until night came and they tied up their horses before David and Snow went to sleep. Regina stayed awake though and walked out of her tent once she was sure they were asleep.