I want the Knave & Regina to be friends so I wrote this:
It bloody hurts, Regina looks down, hand already pressed against the wound, she winces. Great, not only has she fallen through the earth, at least five miles underground into the tunnels that run beneath the town, she also has a sharp chunk of rock encrusted with fairy dust impaled in her side.
Damn it and damn that silly Ice Queen running around freezing everything, causing the ground to become unstable. The town was a mess, one giant headache of sinkholes and fallen power lines. Its not as if its even her battle, she'd made a point of staying out of it.
Let the saviour and Rumple sort out their own mess but in the end she had relented, when Henry asked, all puppy dog eyes and you're a hero now speeches and now here she is stuck in a hole, alone, no phone reception and no magic thanks to the fairy dust.
She grits her teeth, it has to come out, the quicker its out, the less dust is in her system, the quicker her magic returns, although there is the distinct possibility she will bleed out before the magic returns.
She hesitates, images of her body lying here for an eternity flash through her mind, so be it she shrugs, let them wonder where she is but Henry gives her pause, he would miss her, she will not let him down and god knows what other messes his idiot other mother would get into without her to stop it. She shrugs off her jacket, its slow painful work, her wrist hurts, jarred in the fall, her legs are raw, scraped on the rough ground and her back aches but its the jagged rock that gives her the most trouble and she hisses with pain, bites her lip to stop from crying out, she maybe alone but no need to show any more weakness.
Distracted, she doesn't hear the quiet shuffle of dirt and pebbles shifting positions or notice the hands reaching for her until they are upon her and then she does cry out. Its more of a squeal of shock as she twists away, the wound burns, she blinks away the sharp tears of pain.
"Steady"
For one moment, she thinks its him, that accent, the quiet low voice, strong hands on her.
She sighs his name automatically "Robin".
"The name's Will" and now he has shifted to her front, she can see him in the half light that falls from the hole above her.
He is clearly not Robin, younger, narrower frame. He has big expressive eyes though, doe eyes she thinks, close cut hair but he smells like Robin.
A merry man she thinks, all the forest men smell of, well forest but Robin's scent is richer, warmer less green more musk. This man, he smells the same, she does not recognise him.
"Allow me" he says and gently pushes the jacket back onto her shoulders, "its cold" and she is wearing her red silk blouse under her jacket, it is cold.
This Will, this stranger is pulling his corded jumper over his head, unbutton his shirt, ripping it in two, wrapped it round her wound. She brings her hands down to stop him
"No, it has to come out"
Will shakes his head "its probably best to leave it until we get above ground" he says.
"Has to come out" she gasps, the dust is working its way through her system, she can feel it pulling at her magic, the tips of her fingers are tingling blue, its not the cold but the dust trying to bind her. She wriggles her fingers at him.
"Ahh magic and " he leans into the wound, gently touches the edge of the rock, fingers coated with a fine shimmer "dust".
"Yes" its all she can manage.
"Ok, ready this will hurt like a bitch" he says.
She gives him a stare "we aim to please".
"Ahh, my apologies, it will hurt like a painful thing that is in no way gender related" Despite the pain, her lips curl up, he smiles widely, flashes his doe eyes, another bloody heartbreaker thinks.
Will places her hands on his shoulders, bracing her "one, two" and he pulls it out on three. She doesn't scream just gasps and digs her nails into his flesh, he doesn't complain, busy pressing his shirt to the gaping hole in her side, wadding the material there and securing it with more pieces of shirt. When is done, he shifts back, gives her time to breathe and be still. He stands, shifting rocks under his feet, pulls a flask from his jean pocket, takes a swig, wipes the mouth of it, offers it to her. She almost says no out of habit, sod it she thinks, takes the offered flask and swigs deeply.
"Thank you"
"You're welcome" he replies. His accent runs into itself, like Robins but it is different, broader, rounded less cultured but she likes it.
Everything reminds her of Robin and its not fair, this pain is sharper than the dust working its way to her heart.
Will gestures to their little resting place, she can just make out his movements in the half light.
"My phone"
"I doubt it will work down here milady".
"Don't call me that" its a sharp hiss and she didnt mean it to be so.
"Okay" he says.
"It has a torch" she mummers.
Will closes the gap between them "jacket pocket?"
She nods, he retrieves the phone without her feeling it. A thief she thinks.
"In a past life" he says calmly.
Damn she must of said that out loud, the dust is clouding her mind
"I don't know you, are you? do you live here?"
"Yes on and off" he replies,
"On and off?" Not possible, he cant leave Storybrooke, not without magic and if he has magic then why the hell isn't he using it.
"You have magic?"
"In a past life"
She snaps "I'm really not in the mood for guessing games"
"Hmmm" he replies, light shining from the phone running up and the walls, to the far corners and back.
"Wait here" he says.
"Yeah no problem" she replies honestly the man's a moron.
He's shaking her awake "madam mayor" ahh so he does know who she is.
"Regina" she mumbles.
"Hi Regina" he smiles widely at her, he reminds her of Roland with that wide grin, she pushes the thought away.
"I think we can punch through to the main track" he points back into the darkness. He is bare chested, his jumper spread over her legs.
"How long was I asleep".
"Not long, fifteen minutes maybe".
"Can you just" she needs the light to see her wound, he understands, shines the light on her as she gingerly lifts her blouse hem.
Will gives a sharp intake of breathe. Blue and silver lines are shooting up her side, its quite pretty she muses, pretty but deadly. A pure injection of fairy dust.
"Ive never seen that before" Will sats quietly, "what does it mean?"
"I think its confused, dust like magic is alive, sort of, it feeds on emotion, the dust doesn't know if its suppose to stop me or heal me. It recognises the light and dark, its fighting with itself"
"It will kill you?" Will asks.
"Yes"
"How much time?"
"Not enough for you to leave, get help and get back" no point sugar coating it.
She will die here but least she wont die alone but here with this stranger, who calls her milady and smells like forest and if she closes her eyes she can pretend its him.
TO BE CONTINUED.