This originally was going to be part of my first OUAT multi-chapter flic which I am working on as a flashback but my dear fanfic buddy and beta convinced me that what I originally wrote was much better suited and this should be a one shot (that and I hated trying to cut this down to fit it to be a flashback)
So a huge thank you to Jenna for beta'ing and convincing me that this fitted best on its own! And I hope you all enjoy it!
Remember Me
James sighed as he opened the door to the seven dwarves' house, breathing in the fresh air and letting it clear his head slightly; take the pain slightly from his still beating broken heart.
He smirked slightly at that, like that could ever happen. He looked back at the house and felt like crying. All that hope, all that travelling to find her.
And she couldn't even remember him.
She forgot him because she thought she couldn't have him and the pain of what they had or could have had was too much so she just drank that damn potion and by the time he found her, she didn't even know who he was.
The bump on his head confirmed that, he thought with a grimace as he touched the top of his head. He finally found his true love and all he wanted to was hug her and hold her for the rest of time and what did he get?
Snow throwing the pail of water she was filling on his head so not only did he get a face full of water, he also got a very prominent bump in the morning!
He could help but let out a chuckle though, even if she couldn't remember him.
That was very Snow.
He walked over to a shade of trees and slide down the bark of one, just hearing the sound of the forest around him. The dwarves thankfully knew of him so they let him stay until they could figure out how to get Snow's memories back.
It warmed his insides slightly that Snow must have talked to her friends about him before she took the potion – Grumpy was even very apologetic when he came across the two of them after he heard the commotion outside and sent Snow into the house reassuring her that it was okay.
It was then he told him what had happened, how he tried to stop her but she took it before he could even tell her the news of the royal marriage breaking up.
James closed his eyes as he tried to think how to fix this. True love's kiss kept flashing in his head but he knew that just by how she reacted when he tried to hug her that wouldn't go down too well.
Maybe he would have to make her fall in love with him again. What he did know was that he wasn't about to give up. He just found her – like he said he always would and soon he would make sure she remembered that promise.
A snapping of a twig made him open his eyes again, searching wildly for the source. Both he and Snow were in hiding now and he did not want either King George or the queen to find where they were.
He relaxed though when he saw it was Snow, smiling sheepishly at him as he gazed at her.
"Mind if I?" She gestured to the tree bark opposite him.
"Not at all." James suspected that even if he did he wouldn't be able to deny her. He doubted he would ever be able to deny her anything.
He watched his entire reason for breathing sit in front of him and wished more than anything he could hold her, kiss her just... have her call him Charming.
"I'm sorry for the way I greeted you." Snow apologized. "That's some bump you have." She gestured to his head.
"Does not matter, I'm sorry for scaring you – as I said you just looked a lot like someone I once knew, who I'm searching for," James smiled "She gave me this." He pointed to the scar on his chin. "The first time we ever met."
Snow laughed. "So do women hit you a lot when you first meet them?"
"Only the real special ones." He flirted not being able to help himself.
Snow rolled her eyes shaking her head before looking out at the peacefulness around her.
"It's strange..." She commented as she looked around. "This was what I was looking for, peace, feeling safe and I can't help but think something is missing – I'm sad without even knowing why."
"Maybe you lost someone?" James asked.
"It feels like it." Snow admitted. "It feels like I lost my father all over again – I just don't know what."
"I'm sorry." James sympathised not liking the image of his beloved upset.
Snow shook her head. "No, I'm sorry – I don't even know you and I'm spilling everything out to you." She laughed as ice filled James' veins at the reminder of the very painful truth. "So how do you know the dwarves?"
"Oh..." James blinked. "I don't really they have just been very kind to let me stay while I figure out what my next move is."
"Oh?" Snow asked and if he didn't know any better it was almost as if she was upset that he'd be leaving.
"Yeah – I'm trying to find someone but it's hard when there are people out to get you."
"Tell me about it." Snow sighed. "I know what it's like to be on the run."
"The queen?" James nodded as Snow's head snapped up to look at him.
"How did you know that?"
'Because you told me...' James thought but decided better not tell her that. "I've seen the posters."
"They are lies." Snow replied calmly obviously trusting his word.
"I know."
"How do you though?" Snow was suspicious again. "The first time we met I hit you on the head with a water pail."
"Well you didn't know who I was and I obviously scared you."
"I do not get scared." Snow replied back quite defiantly as James raised an eyebrow.
"Well maybe once or twice." Snow corrected. "You did freak me out, I mean who tries to hug someone they just saw?"
"I thought you were someone else..." James hesitated. "The person I'm looking for... you look an awful lot like her."
"But I'm not." Snow confirmed.
Bile rose in James' throat at the lie he was about to tell. "No... No you're not." He looked away then closing his eyes and inhaling and exhaling to give him strength.
"Are you in love with her?" Snow's voice came entered his mind causing him to snap out of his stupor and look at her.
"What makes you say that?"
"Well... I haven't met many men who are on the run from their kingdom but are still looking for someone they lost. You're the first so I just thought..." She shrugged.
"Yes..." He nodded. "I'm very much in love with her."
"You're Prince James right?" Snow asked. "Does your father forbid the match or something?"
"You could say that." He nodded. "He's just angry at me because he blames me for the failure of the alliance between his and King Midas' kingdoms."
"Did you cause it?" Snow asked.
"Yes." James smirked. "I was to marry Princess Abigail but I did not love her, I swore I would never marry unless for love and so I ran away and then Abigail found me."
Snow gasped. "Did your jilted fiancée try to bring you back?"
"No." James smiled shaking his head. "She did not love me either so was actually helping me escape and in doing this I learned that she could love me because she already found her true love, was actually engaged to him but her father's curse kept them apart."
"King Midas' curse?" Snow asked.
"He turns anything he touches to gold." James explained. "Apparently they were ambushed one day in their carriage and Fredrick – who was Abigail's fiancé pushed Midas out of the way but in doing so, Midas touched him and Fredrick was turned into gold."
"How cruel a fate." Snow murmured looking over into the woods.
"Well yes, until I found out – you see I already lost my love at that point so I decided that if someone should be happy it should be Abigail so after retrieving some water from a lake which dwelled a siren, I defeated the siren, returned to Abigail with the water and that broke the curse." He shrugged.
Snow blinked before laughing. "Wow, just like that."
James shrugged. "King George didn't appreciate that – it meant I actually helped to void the engagement."
Snow laughed. "And all this because you lost the one you love?"
James shrugged looking down. "I know I'll never be happy unless with her."
"Well aren't you a Prince Charming." Snow smiled as James snapped her head up to her as Snow's eyes widened.
"I have a name." James whispered.
"I don't care." Snow laughed. "Charming suits you."
"Snow..." He whispered just about to whisper to her 'you remember' when Snow smiled at him.
"If you defeat a siren just so the fiancée you don't love can be with the one she does love – I think that definitely makes you a Prince Charming."
"Right". James nodded. "Thanks... I guess."
"Tell me about her..." Snow asked after a while.
"Abigail?" James asked confused as Snow laughed.
"No, the one you love – who you lost."
"Oh..." James blinked. "I don't think you'd want to hear about that."
"I'm curious; because every time you look at me when you think I'm not looking or sometimes when you know I am... you just look..." She sighed scrunching her face. "Almost as if I'm her – must be hard for me to look so much like her."
"It's unbelievably hard." James admitted. "I... I was stupid. I let her go, I..." He sighed before smiling. "I first met her when she robbed me."
"What?" Snow asked.
"She thought I was someone else." James thought carefully. "And I took a scenic route because it was the first time I was with Abigail after we were told we'd be getting married so I was trying to get to know her when the carriage came across a fallen tree, I got out to help the men move it when I discovered it was chopped down not fallen and a scream from Abigail and saw her robbing the carriage and taking my pouch and stealing a horse as well. So I leapt upon another horse and chased after her. Knocked her off the horse and she hit me with a rock to get away."
Snow's eyes were wide.
"I vowed to find her because in that pouch was my mother's ring which was the last thing she had given to me. So I found her, trap her and then discovered that she had sold the ring to some trolls. She agreed to get the ring back for me and we then just went on this incredible journey together and when it finished I was walking away from her and it felt like I couldn't breathe. It didn't take me two days after this journey until I realised that I had fallen in love with her."
"What happened?" Snow whispered.
"I couldn't stop thinking about her so it was two days before the wedding when I wrote to her I told her to come to me before the wedding if she felt the same way and we'd be together. And she did and told me she did not love me and that we could never be together."
"And you still went after her?" Snow asked her heart beating wildly.
"She lied." James responded.
"You seem very adamant on that."
"She did." James repeated. "I found out from one her friends; I figured out that King George must have threatened her or something which caused her to lie to me."
"It's quite a story." Snow admitted quietly looking out into the distance.
"One I hope will have a happy ending." James responded looking intently at her hoping against all hope that she would remember how this was their story.
"Why did she steal from you?" Snow asked suddenly whipping her head back to gaze upon him.
"Because she's on the run too."
Snow nodded slowly. "I used to sell things to trolls – they aren't the friendliest of creatures."
"Neither were the ones she sold them to."
"Did you get the ring back?"
"Yeah we did." James nodded.
"Did Abigail give it back to you?"
"I never gave it to Abigail."
"Why?"
"It belonged to her." James replied simply.
"Why do you never say her name?" Snow asked tears forming in her eyes.
"Because..." James stalled. "It hurts to."
"Oh." Snow nodded slowly. "I'm sorry if I caused you pain."
"I didn't have to tell you the story."
"Why did you then?" Snow asked.
"I don't know." James shrugged looking to the sky. "It's getting dark."
"Hmm..." Snow replied still looking at him, a calculating gaze on her face. "Do you have the ring with you?"
"Yes." James nodded looking at her. "Do you want to see it?"
Snow blinked. "Y-yes." She stuttered.
He withdrew it carefully from his breast pocket before holding it up in-between them hoping that a flash of recognition would flash behind her eyes.
"It's beautiful." Snow smiled. "She'll be very lucky when you find her."
"Thanks." James smiled still watching her gaze at the ring. "Well since you look so much like her, you're her size could you try it on? See if it fits." He expanded when she looked at him weirdly.
"I..."
"Please." James begged holding it out to her , shuffling closer to her as she did the same and watching with great attention just like he did the first time as she took it from his hand and slide it onto her ring finger both gazing down on it, both feeling how right it felt to be there on her finger.
"It fits." Snow whispered looking up to look him in his eyes, her breath whooshing out of her lungs as she lost herself in them.
"Yeah..." He replied moving just that bit forward not even able to control himself if he wanted to as his lips were just inches away from hers. "It does." He whispered as he watched her close her eyes and oh so gently he pressed his lips on hers.
She stiffened slightly causing James to freeze but leave his lips on hers as he cupped her face with his hand deciding if this was going to be the only time he was allowed to kiss her, he was going to make it count. He heard her moan as he deepened the kiss, her hand coming to clutch onto his shirt. He couldn't help but moan back as he felt her hand coming up to cup his cheek, the cool metal of her ring burning into his cheek.
Before long he was kissing her as he always wished, as he dreamed their moans and groans being carried through the air as the sky continued to darken. She pulled apart first, suddenly, her eyes sparkling in the starlight as she breathed heavily to catch her breath.
He watched her dumbly as she smiled.
"What Charming?" She whispered, smiling. "You didn't tell me about how you so heroically save me from the queen's men?"
James laughed, his care-free laughter bouncing off the wind. "You remember?"
Snow nodded. "I remember – Oh James, I'm sorry... I... he told me that if I did not let you think that I didn't love you he would kill you James , if he said it was me I wouldn't care but... you James... I couldn't."
"Shhhh..." James pulled her back in his arms, kissing the crown of her head. "You have nothing to be sorry about Snow, even if you did feel that way I still be coming for you, to make you see how we belong together."
Snow giggled, looking you at him. "You don't need to do that James – I love you." She smiled at the smile which spread on his face as he breathed steadily letting those words wrap around him.
"I love you too." He smiled just before leaning down to kiss her on the lips again.
"Oi!"
They broke apart to see Grumpy standing in the light cast from the doorway of the hut.
"While it's great that Snow now has her memories back it doesn't mean we want to see it!"
James was about to apologized when Snow just looked defiantly at her friend.
"If you don't want to see it Grumpy you don't have to look!" She exclaimed before pulling James back to her, kissing him passionately on the lips dimly hearing a reluctant chuckle from Grumpy's direction before they blocked out everything but each other.
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