#robin of

A/N: For Dark!OQ week Day 4 Free day, a mix of the previous days' prompts, inspired by a post on Twitter and Lana saying that the Queen would probably wear a black dress on her wedding day. I hope you enjoy, let me know if I should continue this. Also a late birthday present for my sister from another mister Carol!! Twitter link for the visual

New beginnings

As she stands in front of her full-length mirror, twirling in a slow circle to check on the final adjustments she has made to her dress, Regina feels at peace. It is a new, and quite unexpected, sensation for her, especially considering the whirlwind of the past few weeks, ever since Robin's proposal, ever since she found him in the Wish Realm to be quite honest.

Finding nothing out of place on her floor length, backless, lacy black dress, she adjusts the sleeves on her shoulders and faces the mirror once more. She can barely recognize herself, the easy, wide smile on her lips is such a strange, foreign sight, but she couldn't stop it if she wanted to. Who would have thought that following the other Regina's advice and starting over with Robin of Locksley, elusive thief, would lead her here?

The last time she was being prepped for her wedding, she had felt like a lamb sent for slaughter, unable to escape, her fate in the hands of others, manipulating the strings as if she had been little more than a puppet. This time, a crown of daisies painstakingly gathered and assembled by Roland would replace the heavy, bejeweled monstrosity once placed on her head by the King. This time, the crowd of unknown observers, whisperers and hypocrite well-wishers would be nowhere to be found, instead, merry, slightly drunk men and women from the camp right outside the Castle would cheer and celebrate well into the night. This time, she would walk to a man happy and proud to call her his wife, there would be no disgust, no apprehension for she loved her husband to be. This time, she would choose her new family, instead of being bought by one.

However, the road that led them here hasn't been an easy one. Barely an hour after she joined Robin in the tavern, soldiers from newly crowned King Henry's army barged in, forcing them to flee. When hiding had proven ineffective, they decided to go their separate way, hoping that the guards would be too busy looking for a couple to pay lonely travelers much attention, and that things would calm down in time.