Title: Blood on Blood
Rating: T for alluded violence, situation, and angst
Disclaimer: I have no rights to any persons real or imagined, no television shows, no books, no video games, no songs, basically nothing. You want to sue me the best thing I have is a bed, but try to take that and I'll cut a bitch, it's super comfy.
Summary: Snow White and Red Riding Hood after the end of the episode Red Handed.
Word Count: Total: 706
Fear and panic propelled Red and Snow further than either young woman could have traveled normally. The faint light of false dawn was beginning to paint the skyline when the two collapsed into a small gully, largely clear of snow. With trees on one face and a steep wall of rocky earth at their backs it was a safe place to rest.
A small stream running through the sheltered area, and it reminded Snow of her thirst. Breaking the crust of ice, Snow sipped the frigged water from her cupped hands. Looking over one shoulder Snow made to beckon for her friend but the red wrapped girl sat where she had dropped.
"Red," she whispered, almost afraid to talk too loud, "Red, come have a drink. Or at least wash off. You're all over –" She stopped when her throat bobbed convulsively.
The once pristine clothes of a princess were streaked with mud and dirt. But under the cloak, mixed with the same signs of their flight, were streaks of a dried red-brown that looked like -
"Blood." Snow's head shot up from her shaking hands when her troubled companion seemed to finish the thought for her. But the same red-brown streaks crossed Red's palms and gathered in the grooves of her fingernails.
The sight was a gruesome one; but some few months ago Snow had faced the possibility of her death with courage, she could certainly reassure and care for the other girl. "Why don't you come over here and wash up," suggested the white-cloaked figure to her brighter clad counterpart. But after the panicked revelation, Red sunk back into silence.
Taking charge, Snow led the traumatized Red to the edge of the stream. The taller girl submitted and was alarmingly docile as Snow cleaned her hands. But the moment Snow reached for the clasp of the cloak, Red leapt away from the caring hands.
"No!" she shrieked and clutched the crimson cloak tighter about herself. The stupor seemed to have broken and returned some of the fire Snow had come to expect in her short acquaintance with Red. "Why are you still here? I'm dangerous, Mary."
The unfamiliar name threw Snow off for a moment, but her tired mind prompted that it was her own pseudonym. "No you aren't. You aren't dangerous." Her kind heart overcame both her better judgment and residual fear. "It is almost sunrise and Wolf Moon is over. You aren't dangerous Red."
The harsh bark of laughter that came from Red's throat sent a shiver down Snow's spine. "I am, Mary. And you're afraid of me. Like you should be."
The once pampered princess had disappeared in the last few months of Snow running from the long-reaching arms of her step-mother. She'd learned to stand on her own two feet and not indulge in self-pity. Nor would she accept it in the other girl.
"And you should be just as afraid of traveling with me. I am dangerous to the both of us."
But Red quickly interrupted. "Do you understand? I killed Pe –" she faltered but soldiered on "I killed a man, Mary."
"So did I," Snow interrupted. "And my name isn't Mary." Snow knew the dangers of their budding friendship, it was only fair that Red knew what she was in for.
"I destroyed a happy ending, and because of it people died." Having never admitted that out loud the fact of her 'crimes' hit Snow like a blow to the stomach. "My name is Snow White."
A flash of comprehension appeared in Red's eyes. "You're the one the Queen is looking for?" The Queen didn't rule over this land, but her black-garbed soldiers had ridden through in search. In search of her new friend, Mary – no, Snow.
"Neither of us are ideal companions, but we will be safer together," the conviction in her tone did not echo Snow's own creeping doubts, but it reassured Red. "Now, will you let me help you tidy up?"
Red simply nodded and submitted to Snow's assistance. But mollified though she was, Red still flinched when her cloak was removed.
With an understanding smile, Snow pressed a reassuring kiss to the other girl's forehead. "It will be alright Red, it has to."