A/N: Sorry we're late...

Regina loves the feeling of the wind in her hair when she rides, loves the feeling of freedom, the serenity of her surroundings as the grass swishes beneath the horse's hooves and the flowers bow to her as she passes.

Their meeting point is a few meadows south of her estate, her and Robin's. It's beneath an apple tree and atop of a hill that has the most beautiful of views—displaying field upon field. In the summer the colours never fail to take her breath away. As Regina approaches the tree she sees him there, waiting for her. Immediately she is smiling widely and lifting a hand from her reins to wave at him.

"Good afternoon!" he calls out with a dimpled smile as she grows closer. The sun is bouncing off of his skin and reflecting in his eyes, making him all the more handsome as bright blue orbs sparkle beneath dark lashes.

"Hi," she greets with a smile as she jumps from her horse and runs to him with a skip in her step. "I missed you," she confesses with a sigh as she wraps her arms around his neck, inhaling his welcome scent of the outdoors.

"And I, you," the prince replies, bowing his head down to press a soft and lingering kiss to his lover's lips which Regina gladly returns, pushing herself up onto her tiptoes. Robin isn't a tall man particularly but Regina has certainly inherited her father's shortness, meaning she is the perfect height to be able to nestle her head into the crook of her lover's neck without stooping or crouching.

"So, I have a few hours before my mother gets home," Regina begins as she pulls away from the embrace. "Shall we go for a ride?" she questions, eyeing Robin's pristinely white steed, whose coat shimmers in the daylight.

The prince shakes his head at her request. "Actually I thought we'd go to the tavern for a drink."

Regina raises her eyebrow at him, allowing a small smirk to curve her lips as she asks, "A drink or a drink?"

Robin laughs aloud at that, reaching for her hand and taking it between the two of his. "A drink," he confirms, knocking all of the inappropriate thoughts from Regina's head as she smiles softly.

"Are you courting me?" she asks shyly, looking up at him through her eyelashes.

Robin grins. "Yes, Regina, I would like to court you."

A matching grin spreads across the brunette's plump lips as she nods her acceptance, but her grin soon forms into a teasing smirk as she counters, "You know we are kind of doing this the wrong way around."

She watches as Robin's brow knits in his confusion. "How do you mean?" he asks.

"Well I believe you're meant to court the woman before bedding her," she teases, turning her body so that she can elbow him playfully in the ribs.

"I tried to be a gentleman. Really, I did," he insists, reminding Regina of their first time—and in his defence he had given her the option to back out on more than one occasion but she was adamant that she wanted to go all the way with the handsome prince stood before her. And boy, is she glad that she did.

Regina laughs, kindly shaking her head and giving his face a loving stroke. "I know, I'm only teasing," she assures, pressing another chaste kiss to his lips. "Let's go before we run out of time."

And with that the pair of them mount their horses and head towards the tavern side by side. There's one thing Regina loves more than riding her horse and that's riding her horse with Robin.

...

"Regina, Robin! Would you like the usual room?" a blonde asks them as they enter the tavern red faced from riding in the chill of the breeze. The young woman is the tavern owner's daughter and has become rather acquainted with Regina and Robin since their visits to the pub have become more and more frequent.

Regina smirks and shakes her head. "No thank you, Tink. Not today," she declines and she watches in amusement as the elf-like beauty's expression falters for a second before her smile is back.

"A table please," Robin chips in, wrapping his arm around the brunette's waist.

Tinkerbell nods, picking out the specials list from behind the desk. "In case you get peckish," she explains as she hands Robin the parchment, who nods in thanks, before the pair follows the blonde into the bustle of the tavern. It's busy today, full of laughter and cheers. Regina prefers it this way; the atmosphere is something she welcomes, coming from a silent estate with just herself for company a good percentage of her time there.

It's as Regina and Robin are standing at their table, about to take a seat, that Robin suddenly stiffens before muttering, "Oh bullocks."

"What is it?" Regina asks as she glances around the tavern, still hanging from his arm. She worries for a moment that her mother has found out about their affair and has followed them here, but after a quick scan of the room she does not see the older woman around. Besides, how would Robin know what she looks like? She's obviously never introduced the pair to one another. However, she doesn't have to wait long for an answer to her question when there is a loud screech from a chair that is being pushed back against the stone flooring from across the way.

"Look who it is lads: Robbie of Locksley!" a dark haired, burly man shouts from the other side of the tavern as he stands from his seat, causing the entirety of his table to turn in their direction and cheer when they see the couple.

"Who are they?" Regina whispers, suddenly feeling a little self-conscious as she takes a step closer to the prince. She worries they may be unwelcome companions.

Robin shakes his head. "My mates from Sherwood Forest," he explains before forcing a smile and offering them a small wave.

The same friend rolls his eyes and waves in the direction of his table. "Well don't be shy, come on over and introduce us to that lass of yours!" he bellows, his surrounding company chiming in with simultaneous grunts of agreement.

The prince throws Regina an apologetic look but she simply smiles kindly and nods. "It's okay," she says, feeling reassured that they are simply friends of his as she squeezes his hand. "I don't mind joining them if you don't?"

Robin smiles softly, and the relief from her reply is written across his features. "Mind? Regina I would show you off to the entire land if I could," he replies honestly before looking back to his friends. "Well, I guess this is a start," he adds with a shrug before turning back to look at her, "I'll just warn you that their vocabulary isn't the cleanest."

Regina chuckles softly at his statement as pride blossoms in her chest. No one has ever wanted to show her off in a way that didn't feel like a cattle auction. Her mother is constantly treating her like a possession to be won. With Robin she can just feel... human. She brings her spare hand up to his forearm as she follows him to his friends' table.

A bout of whistles sounds from where the men sit as they approach and Robin rolls his eyes while Regina blushes. The gang is comically mismatched, some tall, some short, some thick and some thin. However they, all have pleasantly kind faces, with their cheeks and noses flushed from alcohol.

"Someone's punching above their weight!" A smaller blonde man grins playfully towards the prince before offering Regina his hand to shake as he turns to her. "I'm William, William Scarlet, but you can call me Will."

"Regina," she replies politely, shaking his hand firmly and not focusing on how his fingers are slightly sticky from (what she hopes is) alcohol.

"She has a good handshake, I like her," Will declares with a nod towards Robin who simply smiles genuinely, telling him that he likes her too. Regina tries to repress a smitten smile and she thinks she succeeds. Just.

There's a small silence before Robin takes to introducing the rest of the table. "Regina this is John," he says gesturing to the man who first recognised him and Regina nods politely in acknowledgment, "Then we have Friar Tuck and Much."

The men nod as their names are introduced which Regina returns with a smile or a nod of her own. "It's lovely to meet you all." And her statement is completely honest. It's nice to meet Robin's friends; it feels like a step in the right direction. She just wishes she could do the same.

"Take a seat," the Friar encourages kindly as John moves to grab another stool and sits it beside the spare.

"Well actually-" Robin begins, but Regina cuts in.

"Thank you," she says, tugging lightly on the prince's hand to encourage him and to silently tell him that she's okay with the idea of joining them as she moves to take her seat. Robin seems to get the message as he follows her to the two vacant stools.

"So, how'd the two of you meet?" John pipes up as he raises his hand to summon the wench to the table.

Regina looks to Robin who shares a small smile before he replies, "Here, actually."

"I hope you bought her a drink," Much retorts, raising an accusing brow at his friend.

Regina chuckles lightly. "He did," she assures, placing a hand on Robin's knee beneath the table, "He was quite the gentleman."

"Ah, he always has been," Tuck replies with a smile that could warm even the coolest of winters. He's older than the rest of the men but she can tell that it only makes him even more liked by the gang. She can imagine he's the father of the group.

Will nods, catching Regina's attention and she turns to look at him. "Yes he's the nicest out of the lot of us. Though we are not to be feared, sweetheart," he adds with a wink. So, he must be the flirtatious one of the group. Regina has to refrain from rolling her eyes at the gesture.

Robin scoffs from beside her, his arm coming up to drape around the back of her stool. She leans into his side. "Robin told me that you trained with him at Sherwood?"

"Aye," John replies. "You wouldn't believe how crap the man was at archery before he joined the school. He almost took Will's head off on multiple occasions!"

Regina snickers, "Oh dear." What a pity...

"I wasn't that bad!" Robin defends loudly to be audible over his friends' coherent laughter, shaking his head. "Besides, now I never miss my target, while you still can't shoot to save your own life! And watch your language, would you?"

The burly man just rolls his eyes and takes a swig of his beer before the wench brings two more to the table. "Beer good with you?" he asks Regina.

Truthfully, she has never tried it save a few sips of Robin's pint from time to time and she can't admit that she particularly loves the taste. However, out of politeness, she nods and offers a small feminine shrug. "Sure, why not?"

"Are you sure, my love?" Robin asks from beside her, his voice quiet as to not embarrass her, "Would you not prefer something else? A glass of wine?"

Regina shakes her head softly, giving his knee a squeeze. "It's okay," she reassures with a loving smile before reaching forward to grab her delegated tankard.

"Well in that case, cheers to the handsome twosome," the Friar speaks up, raising his half empty jug of beer in unison with the rest of the table.

"Cheers!"

…

There is nothing that can ruin her good mood; not even returning to her secluded home with only her mother as company while her father is still away on business. Spending time with Robin and his dimpled smiles, his kind eyes, loving words and soft touches will do that to her, but today, as she skips from the stables—where she dropped off Rocinante—to the large estate that is her home, she feels particularly giddy. That too has everything to do with her prince. Finally, after sneaking around for months, their relationship is no longer hidden. His friends know about her, his friends like her, and she feels that it is definitely a step in the right direction; it makes her relationship feel more adult, even though she knows her mother can never know about it.

Walking into the house, she has to supress the big, sappy smile that is still gracing her lips as to not make her mother suspicious. Though her mother knows how much she loves riding—she even awarded Regina with some extra riding time today—she never returns this happily after simply spending some time with Rocinante. So she slips on a mask and faces her mother who is waiting for her near the entrance of the house, and approaches her with the idea that nothing can harm her today.

"Go upstairs and put on your very best dress. We have an important guest today, and we don't want to disappoint him," Cora greets her.

"Okay, Mother," she replies walking past her, before turning around and asking the question she asks every day when returning home, "Is Daddy back yet?"

Cora lets out a deep sigh. Regina can see her mother struggling to reign in her temper and to not lash out at her for asking her about her father again. Regina braces herself for another argument with her mother, but to her surprise, Cora succeeds and answers her with what is supposed to be a sweet smile but doesn't nearly reach that level. Henry is still away, and without another word Cora points in the general direction of the stairs that is supposed to take her to her room, silently commanding Regina to just do as she is told.

When she walks into her room, she's surprised to find the maid standing by her bed, an expensive-looking, new, light-blue corseted dress lying on top of it, the strings partly undone; ready to be put on her body.

She has learned not to get too attached to their maids, however nice they are, because her mother likes to hire and fire quite regularly after she got too close to her nanny as a small child, calling her 'Mommy'. So, she doesn't say much to them. She just lets them do their job and shares the occasional pleasantries, and the women will do the same, since they're threateningly informed by her mother before they're hired that they're paid to work, not to entertain a bored princess.

The stern-looking maid immediately starts undoing Regina's long braid, taking the few pins out, and working her hands through her hair to get the strands to stop sticking together, but to flow naturally around her shoulders.

Noticing the maid's rush, Regina starts unbuttoning her riding jacket and lets it fall to the floor while the maid works on getting her dirty riding boots off. After they've shed her to her underclothes, the maid grabs a bottle of flowery perfume and spritzes a generous amount over Regina's body without warning.

"This'll 'ave ter do. No time fer a bath," she says disapprovingly in her strong accent.

"Do you know who is coming to visit us?" Regina wants to know as the maid tightens the strings of her corset so tight she can barely breathe—her mother's command, no doubt, to keep her back and shoulders straight, because posture is self-respect.

"Sorry, me lady, can't say." She lifts the rest of the heavy dress over Regina's head, pulls it down over her body, and fastens it in the back. Regina steps into the sparkling, light blue heels that are positioned next to the bed, before the maid pushes her towards the mirror. "See 'ow yer like it, yeah?"

She takes a few steps and stares at herself in the full-length mirror. The dress is absolutely stunning. It has an elegant amount of pearly beads running down the subtle V-neck of her corset in a beautiful flowery pattern. Puffy sleeves cover her upper-arms, leaving her long neck and shoulders bare, and a flow-y skirt reaches all the way to the floor to finish off the look, making her slim waist look even smaller and her hips broader in a subtle way. Her riding braid has turned her hair into beautiful controlled curls that run down her back and over her shoulders. She wonders what Robin would think if he saw her like this, if he would like this girly look on her? After all, he has only seen her in trousers and riding jacket—and out of them; seen her riding like a man, as Cora would say, and witnessed her drinking wine and beer. He doesn't know the princess-y persona, the lady-like mask she wears in her own home. She likes to think that this person is not really her, that she's only the persona that Robin knows, but truth is, she's both: the lovesick young girl who likes to have fun and the proper lady, the adult, ready to move on to the next phase of her life, to marry, to have a family, with Robin.

She doesn't get too much time to ponder it though. The maid is pushing her away from the mirror towards the stairs. "'Urry up, me lady. He'll be 'ere soon."

As she walks slowly down the stairs, she receives an approving nod from her mother. Is that a smile on her face? Regina's mask slips and she smiles back.

Cora takes both of Regina's hands in her own and inspects her up close. She removes a small piece of lint from her bodice and rearranges her hair, before she places both hands on Regina's cheeks. "Remember to stand straight and smile. We don't want to disappoint him."

"Disappoint who?"

Cora waits a few seconds for dramatic effect, before she answers proudly, "The King."

"The King?!" Regina asks incredulously, "Why is the King coming?"

Cora chuckles and moves her hand towards Regina's back, pushing her slightly towards the main hall of the manor. "You'll see," she answers secretively, as she stops by the dining table and turns towards the entrance, waiting for their royal visitor.

It doesn't take long for the doors to open and their valet to lead the King, a few of his soldiers and his own valet into the room. He's wearing a coral red robe with golden embroidering from collar to feet, a large belt down his middle that holds his sword and a crown on his head. If Regina didn't know any better, she would say his robe looks a bit faded, but that's surely dust from the travel and not from wear.

He looks older from up close. His bold head is visible over his crown; the little hair he has left on the side of his head has turned a solid grey and so has his beard and moustache; his beer belly is slightly halted by the fancy belt, but it is clearly there; and he has worry lines all around his eyes and forehead.

"Is that her?" is the first thing he asks when he enters, looking at Regina.

Cora bows as she confirms, but Regina is too gobsmacked. She is staring openly and open-mouthed at the King, before Cora quietly reprimands her and she holds her skirt and bows as gracefully as she can, but the King stops her and takes a few steps closer to her.

King Leopold invitingly holds out his right hand and Regina places her left hand in his palm. He holds her fingers and wipes his thumb soothingly over her knuckles, as he tells her, "It's an honour to meet you," before letting go of her hand again.

To say she is confused is an understatement. She doesn't understand why the King is visiting their estate, let alone why he would want to meet her. She is honoured nonetheless, and she chuckles lightly.

"Regina, dear, the King is honoured to meet you. Say something," Cora reprimands once again, as kindly as she can manage.

"Oh, the honour is mine," she tells him with a big smile and another slight bow.

King Leopold inspects her shortly; his gaze moving from head to toe and back up rather quickly, and he swallows hard before focusing on her eyes again and giving her a polite smile. "Surely you must be wondering why I am here."

Regina lets out a nervous giggle. "Yes, your Majesty."

"You see, your mother and I are old acquaintances," he informs her, and Regina's eyes go wide as she turns to face her mother, who simply smiles at the King. "Ah, it seems that this is news to you."

"Yes, your Majesty," Regina replies again.

"Your mother has helped me greatly these last few days. When she told me about you, all my problems seemed to come to an end."

"Me?" Regina asks confusedly, looking between the royal in front of her and her mother. "Of course I'll help you. What can I do?"

King Leopold turns around and his valet offers him the golden ring that is placed in a box on a pillow; it's then that realisation sets in and Regina's heart jumps to her throat, her eyes growing wide as she watches him hold it up to her with two hands. He gets down on one knee and the words that fall from his lips were the last she had expected but the ones she is now dreading as he asks, "Will you marry me, Regina?"

Anything, but this…