Under the Apple Tree

"What's on the agenda for today, Mary?" Robin Locksley asked his secretary as he stepped into the small office of his landscaping business, Sherwood Forestry.

Mary flipped the page of her agenda book, looked down and nodded. "You've got a delivery for 8 am. A lady in Enchanted Estates ordered an apple tree to be planted on her front lawn."

"Enchanted Estates?" Robin asked, idly shuffling through a stack of bills on his desk. "I don't believe I've heard of the place."

"It's one of those big, ritzy subdivisions in Misthaven."

Robin sucked in a quick breath. "Beg pardon? What is the name of the city?"

"Misthaven, Washington" Mary answered. "Tiny little town way up north. It's a hop, skip and a jump to the Canadian border. I passed through there once on my way to…"

The woman talked on, but Robin didn't tuned out. Misthaven. The word dredged up memories that were never far from the surface.

Fifteen years.

It had been fifteen years since Hades had destroyed him with the Olympian Crystal. Robin remembered that night like it was yesterday. The god of the Underworld had been mad, obsessed with power, and everything had happened so quickly.

One moment Hades was soliloquizing about the horrors of the weapon in his hands and the next, he was pointing it at Regina. Robin hadn't thought, hadn't counted the cost, had simply acted. The thought of Regina being killed, obliterated, filled him with fear like he'd never in his life felt and he knew he must do whatever it took to keep the mortal blow from landing upon it's intended victim.

He'd stepped forward, taken the full power of the cursed crystal upon himself. For the barest moment he'd felt a terrible, ripping pain, as he watched his body crumple senseless to the ground.

And then the pain was gone. All he could feel, all he could see was the agonized face of his soulmate standing before him. He raised his hand, tried to cup her cheek, to comfort her, to let her know that he was at peace. What happened to him didn't matter as long as his sacrifice kept her safe.

The moment was far too short. Long before he was ready, he felt himself slipping as darkness settled all around him and the end—his end—finally came.

But the end, it turned out, wasn't truly the end at all.

He'd woken up to the persistent trill of a bird deep within the forest. For a moment, he thought he'd been sent home, home to the Enchanted Forest, home to Sherwood Forest, but as he got to his feet, brushed himself off and began walking, it soon became abundantly clear that wherever the crystal had landed him, it was most assuredly not his home.

He'd wandered, confused, for a quarter of an hour before he came to the edge of the forest and found a paved road…a paved road that looked distinctly like the kind that could be found in Regina's realm.

Robin followed the road until it took him to a huge, noisy, sprawling city, much like the one he and Roland and Marian…or Zelena, rather…had settled into after he'd been forced to leave Storybrooke the first time. New York? Had the Olympian Crystal taken him to New York?

"Hey, buddy, you okay?" a uniformed man with a badge asked, alerting Robin to the fact that he'd been standing stalk still in the middle of a crowded sidewalk.

"Have I arrived in New York?" Robin asked in bewilderment.

The man, if Robin wasn't mistaken, he was one of the lawmen Regina called 'police', gave him a strange look. "If you were trying to get to New York did you ever make a wrong turn," he said finally. He gestured toward his vehicle where the words "Seattle Police Department" were written boldly along the side.

"Seattle?" Robin asked, feeling the beginnings of a headache. "I've never heard of it. Is Seattle within the Land Without Magic as well?"

"The land without…" the officer began, eyes going wide, "Is there someone I can call to come get you, sir? Clearly you're not well."

Robin dropped his eyes, feeling the tears sting at the back of his throat. "No officer. There's no one. I have no one."

Over the course of the next year, Robin had done everything in his power to get back to Storybrooke, back to Regina, back to Roland. He'd traveled the full length of this land the natives called the United States, desperate to find his loved ones.

But when he'd finally reached the large rock that marked the Storybrooke town line, he found nothing, nothing but an empty stretch of road. Storybrooke was gone.

Robin had continued searching, continued researching, continued looking for anyone, anywhere who could help him, but eventually as he hit dead end after dead end, he came to realize that his search was hopeless.

Hades hadn't obliterated Robin; he'd obliterated his heart by ripping him forever from the ones he loved.

With his last hopes dashed, Robin had chosen to return to Seattle, believing perhaps a fresh start, far from the town he'd lost, would help him heal. Over the years, he'd discovered an enjoyment in the outdoors, of landscaping in particular. Finally, five years ago, he'd taken one of the biggest gambles of his life and founded Sherwood Forestry, his business and his livelihood.

Most days the long hours and the physically draining work kept Robin busy enough that he could almost forget about how very, very much he'd lost.

"Sir? Mr. Locksley?" Mary asked, shaking Robin abruptly from his thoughts.

"Pardon me," he murmured. "Woolgathering. So, Enchanted Estates, is it?"

"Yes, sir," she said, handing him a slip of paper. "Here's the address, and if you don't mind me saying, you should probably get going if you want to deliver the tree on time. You know what traffic is like this time of the morning."

Robin nodded, thanked his secretary, and made his way toward the nursery in search of the tree his newest customer had purchased. An hour and a half later, Robin pulled up into the circle drive of a large, stately mansion.

After ringing the doorbell, Robin stood back, mind still on those he'd loved and lost. After a moment, Robin heard the sharp staccato of high heels against marble, and then the front door opened.

Robin pulled in a long breath, feeling as though he'd just been punched in the gut.

"Regina?" He breathed.

Notes:

-Hi there! Because the muse literally won't shut up lately, this happened—the start of yet another multi chapter. This is my first foray into the land of Outlaw Queen fanfiction. I've liked this couple since season 3 when they started, but this is the first time I've tried to tell their story.

-Hopefully it came across here in the first chapter, but the premise is this: After getting zapped by the Olympian Crystal, Robin didn't in fact die, but got sent to another city in the Land Without Magic—with no possible way to get back to Storybrooke, the Enchanted Forest, or any land with magic. Now, 15 years later, at the start of season 7, Robin ends up delivering a tree to someone he thought he'd never see again.

-This story is dedicated to flslp87, who gave me the idea in the first place. She's the truest believer when it comes to OQ, keeping the faith even when it looks like all hope is lost.

-I'm not sure how long this story will be, nor do I know exactly where I'm going from here, but I do know one thing. In the next chapter we'll learn what is going on with Regina—and just what reaction she might have to seeing Robin Hood at her front door.