OQ One Shots (#OQPromptParty)

Day 2 - Missing Year Happy Ending

Robin

The Mother's Day Ball was minutes from commencing and the whole royal family was present and partaking in dancing and dinner, but the one person I was looking for seemed to be missing from the group, making my heart drop with disappointment.

I sighed and wandered into the grand ballroom where the dukes and earls announced various noblemen and women, along with their children among various ages making me sigh and recall my young son who had thrown a fit over being left with Granny for the night after the Charmings had convinced me to take a night for myself, and hopefully someone special.

I approached the young rulers of this new realm, tapping Snow on the shoulder to get the young princess to turn and smile warmly. "Robin! I am so glad you made it." She instantly greeted while holding her tiny curvature in her stomach, her face instantly dropping after a minute of contemplation.

"Regina." She sighed sadly, looking over at David who dropped his eyes discreetly. "I was wondering if you knew where she was at, if not I can continue my pursuit on my own." I asked, but the princess shook her head at me and held her hands out.

"It's her first Mother's Day without Henry, and I told her that we'd celebrate together and to dance with you- I mean dance with the family. She said she'd think about it, but I know how hard it is for her." She replied sadly, making me huff and think about all the places in her castle that she seemed to love the most, sparking an idea.

"Thank you, Snow, I think I can take it from here." I grinned sadly, excitement bubbling in my chest as I raced off.

...

I dug mercilessly through my trunk of belongings that I had brought to the castle when Regina had offered us lodging as repayment for saving her life. Piles of Roland's tunics and night outfits cluttered my items, but I managed to pull a box out of the trunk, slipping it into my cloak before the sound of my son's eager footsteps filtered into the room.

My boy had begun to call this castle home in the past six months that we had lived there, and it showed as he ran and leapt onto the canopy bed that provided more lumbar support than I have ever experienced in my entire life.

I stood and lifted my giggling son to face me before ruffling his unruly curls, tousled from his hours of play.

"Alright m'boy, now Papa has a special mission for you and I, and I think it's going to be one that you like." I smirked, making my son grin widely and nod in my direction before leaning in for me to whisper the plan in his ear.

...

I slowly strolled through the dark, moonlit halls of the castle with my son's hand securely clutched in mine, his chatter about his day filling the silence of the corridors. I nodded politely and passed by the wooden door to the chambers that had become very familiar to me in the past six months.

"Are we going to Gina's room again?" Roland asked innocently, his inability to pronounce her title, let alone her name making me cringe, knowing how much she hated the ideas of nicknames, but she somehow always let it slide with my son.

He had become accustomed to her chambers as well during the times she had offered to look after my son when danger beckoned, or she seemed to be lonely and missing her son. "Not here, but somewhere else m'boy." I grinned, stopping at the archway near the entrance of the main courtyard that held her large, lush apple tree, the Queen perched beside it in her large blush gown. Her hair was swept to the side of her face, and from the looks of her purple eyeshadow, I could tell that she had been crying.