Day one of Inspired by OQ. One shot based on a manip from CarolinaMR9. Sorry about the angst. Hope you enjoy it!

Regina sat quietly as she stared at her bound hands in contemplation, she could hear her captors talking in another language around the fire pit. She knew full well that they were only doing it so that she couldn't tell what they were saying, they wanted her to be in the dark about what was going on. She was their prisoner after all.

Darkness was descending over the plain and nothingness spanned for miles to the left of her whilst a huge lake and mountains were situated to the right. For her it was unfamiliar terrain, even with all her military training she wouldn't have the first clue about how to escape from this situation. The rope on her wrists was tied so tight that she could barely move them, but she still concentrated on trying to wriggle free, maybe if she could untie her hands she might be able to do something instead of just sitting there and waiting to meet whatever fate her enemies had planned for her.

It wasn't looking good and she doubted that her life would be spared, they would most likely do away with her just to prove a point, kill her because they could. If they didn't kill her straight away, there was always the chance that they would torture her and cut off her body parts one by one, all the while sending them back to her army headquarters asking for a ransom. The Governing Chief, in turn, would do jack shit because he didn't care enough. They were in the middle of a war, what was one more casualty? Even if she were a Captain, they would just say she died honourably fighting for her country.

Regina sighed and leant back on the tree she'd been shoved against when they'd brought her to the camp, her captor had just flung her down haphazardly before going to eat with the rest of the men, leaving one of their troops to watch her, a tall and sturdy man with dark hair. He sat on a tree stump, gun in hand as he stared down at her menacingly. He didn't look too fierce, but one couldn't be too cautious, she wasn't armed and she stood little chance against that heavy-duty rifle.

The last of the sun was beginning to disappear over the horizon, threatening to leave only the light that came from the fire a few meters away. She looked up and caught the gaze of the man guarding over her, he was still staring at her, his expression had changed a little in the limited light, Regina would rather have the one he'd been sporting a few hours ago, she felt less vulnerable when he only looked like he wanted to kill her.

Glancing down at her attire she noticed that a couple of buttons on her shirt had popped undone whilst she'd struggled against the man who had captured her, her black bra was just about peeking through. She'd lost her hat and one of the men stole her jacket as well as the rows of honorary badges that lined its left side. She could see that same man from where she was siting, he was standing around the fire telling a story which earned a round of boisterous laughter from the other solders.

She sighed again earning a huff from the man sitting opposite her, "what?" she scoffed, talking to him for the first time in the three hours she'd been kept there. "Am I not allowed to be a little annoyed about this situation?"

"Stop talking," the man spat, his glare intensifying, forcing her to roll her eyes at him. How was he supposed to understand? He wasn't the one who had been taken hostage by an enemy camp. They had been through how to handle a situation like this during army training, but she had come to realise that it was hardly realistic and the people who played the captors didn't actually want to kill you, so the training they'd received was of very little use when it came to being in the situation.

"Anyone would think that you were threatened by my ability to talk," Regina replied smartly. She knew that she should be doing as he said, but the sarcastic side of her wouldn't allow for it, she just had too much to say and couldn't keep her mouth shut. "God forbid a woman speak her mind, everyone might just self-combust."

"I told you to shut up," he growled, pointing his gun at her face.

"Do us all a favour and put the gun down before you hurt yourself," she tutted, recognising the look of sheer annoyance she received in return as he paced closer to her.

"Anything else you want to add, bitch?" he asked, pressing the cold metal barrel of the gun directly against her temple.

"Not at the present no."

She went silent, simply watching the man and waiting for him to move away from her, once he's settled back onto his seat she glanced down at her feet. They felt as though someone had set them on fire, the soles were red raw, rubbed by the rough terrain against her bare skin. She'd just taken her boots off by the river when they'd jumped her and taken her hostage, not leaving her any time to put them back on before dragging her virtually kicking and screaming to their camp miles away.

The man must have noticed the direction of her gaze because he too stared at her feet, he didn't say anything though and she knew that he didn't care. He couldn't give a shit what happened to her. No one in that camp did, she was surprised that they hadn't hung drawn and quartered her already.

A couple of hours later, the sun had finished setting and darkness was fully fledged, she'd blocked out the pain from her feet and was now trying to do the same with the pulling at her bladder which begged her to relieve it. The last thing she wanted to do was go to the bathroom in this place, not that they even had a bathroom. She didn't want anyone to witness that, so kept her legs tightly crossed, hoping that it would just go away on its own.

She tapped one of her feet, trying to relieve the pressure by jiggling a little, but it seemed to be making the situation worse, because the new guard who had replaced the one she'd had previously, was now staring at her instead of looking longingly towards his friends around the campsite, as he had been doing for the entire half an hour he had been guarding her.

This man was smaller than the one she'd previously had the displeasure of sitting opposite, he looked a lot less muscly and she liked her chances much better against this guy than the last. Maybe she could trick him into releasing her but she doubted it, although he seemed weak, she could tell that there was no way he was going to let her just walk out of the camp. None of the men residing there would do that.

"How much longer am I going to have to sit here?" she complained, her arse was beginning to go numb and she could swear that her back was itching from where it was pressed against the tree. For a fleeting moment, she wondered if the tree maybe had some kind of insects on it and that was what was crawling up her back, but she didn't want to think about that because it was entirely too disturbing.

"You'll sit there as long as we want you to sit there," the man huffed grumpily, "don't even think about standing up."

"What if I need the bathroom? Are you really going to force me to relieve myself whilst sitting here opposite you? Because that is grotesque and just plain disgusting."

"Do you need the bathroom?"

She mulled over her options, yes, she was absolutely bloody busting, but then again, she didn't like the idea of being alone somewhere with him. At least where she was at the moment the rest of the camp was within hearing distance. If any funny business went on they would hear and probably be able to do something about it. "Not at the moment no," she shook head.

This particular man seemed to be more intent on watching her and eying her up like a piece of meat, she could tell by the look in his eyes that he wanted her, most men tended to, but they were usually much most subtle in the way they paid attention to her.

In the time she had been sat there, she'd been looking around for a potential way to escape, but if she were being honest it looked as though there was no possible way out of this situation that didn't end with either her being tortured or killed. There were too many people, too many eyes on her. If she tried to run, she would be caught almost immediately, there was no way out. No escape.

Just when she felt like giving up, she heard a bird call from just behind where she was sitting. It was an extremely familiar call, one that she recognised immediately and it had her hopes all of a sudden soaring again. It wasn't an actual bird, it was just someone's, usually annoying, impression of one, but at that moment, she couldn't be happier to be hearing that noise again.

Trying to be subtle and not to draw the attention of the guard watching her, she turned her head a little, trying to catch a glimpse of who she was almost certain was hiding in the bushes. She couldn't see them, but deep down she was sure they were there, that they had come to save her ass. Maybe she could make that a little easier for them.

"I need to go to the bathroom," she stated, clearing her throat which was dry from the lack of water.

The man guarding her looked at her and rolled his eyes before standing from the stump he had been perched on. He grabbed her arm and roughly dragged her to her feet before pulling her behind him away from the camp. She knew that they wouldn't have any kind of facilities and if the man took her far enough away from the rest of the men, it might make it easier for her rescuers.

They stopped by the large lake and he simply stared at her, making her narrow her eyes at him, "look away then, I can't go with you watching." When he didn't comply with her request and took a step towards her, she took two steps backwards. The look in his eyes was scary and she didn't get scared easily. He dropped his gun down before reaching out and ripping the buttons on her shirt, prizing it open to fully reveal her black bra before grabbing her by the waist of her pants, "don't fucking touch me!" she spat, trying to fight him off with her still bound hands, managing to hit him.

In response the back of his hand collided with her face, causing her breath to leave her as she winced at the sudden pain radiating from her left cheek. She looked back up at the man and took another step back, it was in that moment that someone flew from behind her and tackled her captor to the ground, the two of them fought for control and she moved even further away from them watching the scene unfold.

Both men were hitting one another, exchanging punches as they rolled around on the ground. She looked on in horror as her aggressor managed to flip them and collide his fist against the man who'd risked his life to save her. Then everything happened in a blur, the guard took out a knife and her rescuer scrambled for his gun before smacking the other man around the head with it, knocking him out cold.

She took a shuddery breath and ran her shaky hands over her face, she felt her hands being pulled and looked up at him, meeting his blue eyes in the little light that was visible from the camp. "You okay?" he asked, taking his own knife from his belt and cutting through the rope that bound her hands, freeing them for her, "Regina, are you okay?"

"Yes, yes, I'm fine," Regina nodded, reaching out and clinging to his forearms, trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to spill following her near miss.

His hand went to her face and he caressed her cheek gently, releasing a loud sigh as his thumb caressed the soft skin below her eye that was rapidly bruising. "Come on, we need to go," he stated, pulling her towards the water.

She furrowed her eyebrows, not knowing why they would be going in the water and not making their way back to camp via the shore. "Why are we…" she was cut off by a loud explosion from behind them and turned to see fire and smoke billowing from where the enemy camp had been situated.

"Come on."

She did as she was told and they both trekked through the water until it was too deep for them to stand any longer, meaning they would have to swim the rest of the way. The water felt so good against her skin, washing away all the blood, dirt and grime from her clothes and body. She was free.

When she awoke she felt the cool wind whip against her body and realised that she was dressed only in her bra and panties, she sat up in alarm. "Robin?" she called out, spotting him stood in only his pants as he looked down across the valley from where he was stood on the cliff's edge, "Robin."

He turned to her and came over, his hand taking hers as he sat down beside her, "I'm here," he reassured, lifting her hand to his face and nuzzling her palm gently, "you're safe now," he reassured.

Regina nodded, not saying much more as she watched him, there had always been an underlying tension between them, something she had always tried to ignore, but now, sat there partially dressed, there was no denying the way she was feeling towards him. "Thank you, for saving my life," she whispered, earning a soft smile from him in response.

"It was no trouble mam," Robin winked before picking up a piece of slate which held some honeycomb and berries, "I found some food for you, figured you might be hungry. Once you've eaten, we'll set off towards camp and get there at some point tonight," he stated, handing her the food before lifting one of her feet up onto his lap and picking up a cloth covered in water, brushing it over the cuts that marred her skin.

"I don't think I can walk," she mumbled under her breath, wincing as he wiped away some if the blood which had now dried on her foot.

"Don't worry, I'll carry you," he reassured, moving onto her other foot and letting out a loud sigh as his jaw tensed, "did they hurt you?"

She looked at him for a moment and realised that he wasn't talking about the injuries he could see, "no," she breathed, "they didn't hurt me, not in that way."

Regina saw him physically relax at her words and glanced down at the berries and honeycomb on the piece of slate he'd handed her. Her stomach rumbled and she popped one of the berries in her mouth, savouring the taste before running her fingers through the sticky honeycomb, allowing the sweet amber liquid to coat her fingers, running down them and nearly dripping off her. She brought them to her mouth, licking the sticky substance from her skin and humming at the taste as her eyes closed.

When she opened them again, she noticed that Robin was staring at her and swiped another finger through the honey, running her tongue over it and feeling herself begin to get emotional again. She thought that she'd never be able to eat or do anything ever again.

Robin moved towards her, his hand cupping her cheek gently as they both closed the gap, their lips pressing together in a soft kiss. Her, now honey free, fingers grasped his upper arm as she deepened their exchange, opening herself up to him in such a way that she was sure he would be able to taste the honey on her tongue. When they parted she looked up and him and bit down on her trembling bottom lip, "hold me," she whispered, never having felt quite as vulnerable as she did in that moment.

He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her onto his lap and holding her close as she buried her head against his chest, allowing a single tear to roll down her cheek. She never opened up to anyone, but Robin was different from the rest, she felt as though she didn't have to hide when she was with him. She didn't have to pretend to be strong, he wouldn't judge her or think she was weak for showing emotion.

"Everything is going to be just fine, I'm sure of it," he stated, kissing to the top of her head and he slowly rocked them back and forth. She found herself pressing her lips to his bare chest and just holding him even tighter. Here in his arms she was safe.