Christmas was in the air. Okay, maybe that was a little clichéd. But there was definitely something buzzing around lighting up the atmosphere.
There was nothing Snow loved more than Christmas. It was the perfect holiday with all her favourite things. Family and food and music and dancing and singing and decorations and charity and did she mention family.
She found herself practically skipping home, tight hold on her basket as it swung from side to side. The tune in her head refused to disappear, no matter how often she hummed it under her breath.
The basket held a very precious cargo. It was her and Charming's first Christmas together on this side of the curse, and she was determined to make it special. With a significant amount of pleading and guile she'd managed to convince Gold to sell her a particularly special item. He hadn't been willing to part with it that easily, and she'd found herself agreeing to watch the shop in his absence as he and Belle enjoyed their honeymoon. The look on Charming's face should make a weeks hard graft more than worth it. At least she hadn't had to sell her soul or anything.
This was going to be the perfect Christmas. They'd already divided the various Christmas day dishes between themselves, and they even had a rota for all the Christmas day visiting. As much as she enjoyed seeing the joy on all her friends and family's faces, the thing she was looking forward to most was the coming evening. Nothing could beat a cosy Christmas Eve at the Charming household. Charming had already chopped more than enough firewood to keep them toasty and bathe the entire room in a flickering glow for the night. Not that they'd need it with the plethora of fluffy clothes they had at the ready. There was an unopened bottle of mulled wine, Snow's favourite, just waiting to have their laughing lips wrapped round it.
Her pace picked up as she skipped along, desperate to get back home. She shifted the basket as she retrieved her key, mind still lost amidst dreams of a cosy Christmas Eve and imagining the look on Charming's face when he finally received his present.
After wrestling with the door, Snow bounded upstairs, bouncing with excitement. Dying to lay as many kisses on Charming's cute little face as she possibly could. "Charming, are you in? I've got the best news. Grandma gave me some of her freshest mince pies and they smell gorgeous. And I saw grumpy earlier and he…"
No. She wasn't seeing what she thought she was seeing. It wasn't possible. Her mind went completely blank, the song which had been flitting around her brain just suddenly went dead silent. There was no room for anything but the sight before her eyes. In the middle of the baby pink silk sheets, their silk sheets, were two dirty sweaty horrible writhing bodies. And she knew one of those damnable bodies all too well. Knew every little crevice, every bump, every curve better than she could ever know even her own flesh. It was Charming. Charming naked. Charming naked, in their bed. Charming naked, in their bed with someone else. And with that the entire world came crashing down.
In the second it took her mind to process she felt her body move, hands clasped to her face, as she raced out of the room before she'd even identified the other person who had defied the sanctity of well…everything. Ignoring the shouts behind her she forced her way out, basket still clutched in her hand, as she ran off with crazy speed into the distance.
Lost in the pounding of her feet, her mind didn't even register the glowing darkness. The snow which had seemed so crunchy and festive earlier now just felt icy and wet. Ironic that her namesake could insight such misery and anger within her. It seemed like hours later when she found herself collapsing to the ground, cradling her arms about herself as the sobbing finally won over.
Eventually when she could feel her fingers turning blue and her tears turning to icicles, she turned back, stumbling through the glowing gloom until she came back to their…no not theirs any more…the house.
Careful not to make any noise, she slipped the present out of the basket, carefully fingering the ring's intricate design. Giving Charming back his father's ring should have been the most joyous and satisfying occasion. It just wasn't fair. How could he do this to her, to them? She just couldn't comprehend it.
She grasped hold of the ring, letting the basket and the rest of its pathetic contents drop into the snow with a heavy thud.
A roaring scream left her lungs as she threw the cold metal as hard as she could against the hard wood door. A hail of expletives tumbled from her lips so fast that she surprised herself.
Ignoring the warm tears dripping into the snow, melting the horrible stuff back to a watery mess, she turned tail and fled. Refusing to look back, even at the creak of the doorhinge, she sped out into the darkness, only her sniffs and the sound of her hand scrubbing her cheek to break the silence.