I started this fic a few months ago but decide to reformat it. There are so many moments in the show where someone would speak and I wanted to know the rest of the story: what they're thinking, what influenced that statement. So I decided to imagine it myself. I've been writing drabbles, each inspired by a line from the movie, and each about the relationship, romantic or otherwise, between two characters.

And to keep this from being a hundred chapters long, each chapter covers a 20-minute chunk of the movie and includes all the drabbles inspired in that time period. This first chapter is the first 20 minutes of the show.

. . . . . .

"Just give me some time."

She was a job. Every smile, every kiss, every touch—it was for his people, for a kingdom torn apart by his mother. It was pleasant—she was a beautiful girl—but it was an act. A means to an end. A job.

Or so he thought, until she stood before him in that dress, saying she couldn't go with him, that she needed time. And it was like a physical blow, like a cloud covering the sun, like the end of something beautiful. And he wondered when she'd become so much more than a job.

. . . . . .

"Just because Daddy left doesn't mean they all will."

You've told her this before; she didn't believe it then either, and you worry she'll never trust a man again.

It wasn't easy for you when he left, but you coped; you worried, you got angry, then you moved on. It's been harder for her. She feels he betrayed a sacred bond, and it's tough for her to believe others won't do the same. His leaving left you both abandoned and broken, and you're afraid she won't ever be whole again.

. . . . . .

"Where have you taken Jack?"

It doesn't occur to her, as she's yelling at the strange, white-haired man, that it's a bit odd to be ready to draw blood in order to find someone that five minutes ago she was quite certain she never wanted to see again. No, it makes perfect sense to her. She doesn't believe in love but she wants to, and that desire to fall deeply in love with someone—with Jack, who seems so thoroughly lovable . . . well, it's not a perfect motivation, but right now it's good enough for her.

. . . . . .