Author's Note: I can't get over how great "Snow Falls" was. This time though I tried to focus on Snow White even though I feel like I don't know her character as well. Also I tried to experiment with the writing style so hopefully it came out okay. I wrote this today so unfortunately it is not as well edited. In other news, I am thrilled with the positive reaction to my other fic The Course so thank you guys so much! I'll try to update it soon.

Summary: The Queen wants her heart. But Snow White has already given it away.

A Piece Of Her Heart

The Queen wants her heart. It is the first thing Snow White thinks of in the morning and the last thing she reflects on before going to sleep. The Queen wants her heart and if her people ever find her they will rip it out of her chest. The first year Snow White spent eluding her pursuers was mostly in hiding. She cowered in damp caves and waded through icy rivers to throw the Queen's men off her trail. For one miserable year, Snow White did nothing but run from one hiding spot to the next like a frightened little mouse.

But then Snow White realized if she wanted to defeat the Evil Queen she would have to fight back. So she began to plot and scheme and train. And when she was ready, she began to raid the Queen's own carriages to pay for things she needs. She vowed to amass a fortune and pay back the Queen for her treachery. And nothing was going to stop her.

Then one day a white carriage appears and things begin to shift once more.

Snow White robs it like she always does but realizes just a fraction too late her mistake. This carriage does not belong to the Queen. In fact, she doesn't know who the carriage does belong to. But it's too late for regret. The purse is her hands and someone has already noticed its disappearance. So she steals a horse and decides to run.

But someone follows. Around the corners of the woods, he chases after her. He is gaining foot by foot, stride by stride, and she has no way to slow him down. In instant, her world shifts from looking down at a woodland path to the looking up at a man towering over her with eyes so blue that it reminds her of the sea. Her mind slows and all she can see is the blue in his eyes and the feel of air exiting her lungs.

"You're a girl," he says.

"Woman," she corrects automatically. Suddenly, her mind resumes again. The man might be handsome but that was no reason to be caught. She has a plan. She has to stop the Evil Queen and she can't do that locked up in some dank dungeon. She finds her salvation in a rock and swings with all her might.

She doesn't stop when he grunts in pain.

She doesn't falter when he rises back to his feet to give chase.

But she cannot stop herself from turning to look at him one last time when he vows to find her because she cannot help but think she would like to see him again as irrational as it sounds.

Later that night, she realizes he is the Prince. And worse, she hears the Prince is looking to hunt her down. She heads to her hideaway. She grabs her bags to flee. All of her belongings fit into one small sack and the irony that she used to have rooms filled with toys is not lost on her.

She leaves behind her home and begins walking to another set of woods where she can hide from the watchful eyes of the Evil Queen but she doesn't make it far. A few steps later and she is rising– flying into the sky. A large net suspending her in the air and she cannot find a way back down.

A trap.

She screams, fearing the Queen has managed to fulfill her vow to hunt her down and take out her heart. But then she hears laughter. There is no malice in the tone only genuine amusement and she cranes her neck looking for the source. The Prince emerges from his hiding place. He has kept his promise to find her again and Snow White is not sure whether to be annoyed or flattered.

She settles for annoyed because it is a familiar feeling. She spits out caustic remarks. She taunts and teases him. And when he banters back, it thrills her. A battle of wits can only be enjoyed when both people are armed and he is clever indeed. She fights with him using words as volleys and waits to hear his counterattack.

When Prince Charming slips and mentions his fiancée she does not show any hurt or sadness, she sneers. The fact he is chained to whiny brat in the carriage does not surprise her. True love is a myth and happily ever after was a lie only someone desperate and stupid would believe. Snow White is no longer a dainty little princess sheltered in the safe walls of the castle. She has been reborn in the woods and emerged a stronger woman.

Then he grins and pulls out that damn drawing. Her likeness linked with words about murder and treason and other crimes she did not commit. He threatens her with turning her in to the Queen and she cannot help but cave. But even as he cuts her loose, Snow White plans for an escape. Clever or not, the Prince would not defeat her.

At the river, she seizes her chance. She feels no guilt when she pushes him into the icy cold water. She tells herself that he would have turned her into the Evil Queen for the reward anyway. And once more Snow White runs because that's all she knows these days. But her luck has turned from bad to worse.

The Queen's men find her. Unlike the huntsman who took pity upon her, these men know what the Queen wants and will fulfill her request. They shove her against the tree to hold her still. Her heart beats so loud she fears it will jump out of her chest into the man's palm all by itself. She closes her eyes trying to forget the image of the knife getting closer and closer to her heart.

But then nothing happens. She opens her eyes. He is not moving and instead falls to the ground.

And she is free.

The Prince is fighting for her. Two of the Queen's men fall and she is nearly safe until a rider scoops her unto his horse and speeds away. Her world is disjointed as she is kept slung over the horse like a saddlebag. So she kicks and screams and fights but her attacks cannot stop what is happening. He is taking her to the Queen. Snow White has failed.

But the Prince comes through once more and suddenly the rider is gone and she is free.

"You saved me," she says as though she cannot believe it. Because she can't. People in her life don't help others without a reason. The only reason the huntsman spared her life was because he owed a debt to her father.

"It seemed like the honorable thing to do," he says. At his smile, she feels like her world is tilting again. Like something inside of her has shifted out of place and she doesn't know how to put it back it or if she should. And it scares her.

Then he reminds her of the ring.

And she remembers this quest together has always been about the ring.

The world makes sense again. He is only helping her for a reason. He needs her to get his ring back and once that is done, things will be back to normal again. She will rob carriages and he will go back to being a Prince with his beautiful fiancée. Snow White prays for things to go back to normal soon.

She needs him to get back his ring and leave. The longer he stays by her side the more she wants him to remain. And he can't stay. He won't. He is a prince and she is nothing but a fallen princess. And it would never work between them anyways. He has a kingdom to rule; she needs to defeat the Evil Queen and he can't do that if she is spending all her time thinking about handsome princes. The last two days with the prince have confused her head and bewitched her heart.

And the fact he already has a beautiful fiancée only makes things worse.

They head to the Troll Bridge. Snow White tries to focus on what needs to happen next but all she can think about is how close he is as they share a horse. She thinks about the strength of his arms and the warmth of his grin and all the other things about him that she needs to forget.

She realizes then that she is already half in love with him and she knows that doesn't mean he is going to stay.

At the Troll Bridge, her bad luck continues. The trolls find the damn paper and they threaten to send her to the Evil Queen. She is scared and fearful but thinks as long as the prince lives, everything will be okay.

But instead of fleeing, once more her Prince Charming emerges as her champion. He fights off the trolls so she can escape. And she does. She runs through the woods free and happy and laughing for the first time in years before she notices that the prince is not behind her. Her heart sinks like a heavy weight in her chest.

She looks around and sees him still on the bridge. He is trapped and helpless. Snow White looks back at the woods. She is free and can run and no one will find her ever again.

But her heart won't allow her feet to move unless it is to go to his side.

So she does.

Snow White races back into danger for a man she has only known for a matter of days. She uses the fairy dust to defeat the monsters and once it is over, she is bare and powerless before him. He has everything he needs now. He has gotten the ring he came for and she has no potion or spell that can make him stay.

But instead of bidding her farewell, he lingers. He asks if she is okay. He smiles and teases her and feels so right that she wants to scream. A part of her wishes he would just leave so she could get her head back on straight and remember that has a mission and a plan and he is not part of it. So when he offers to walk her back, she tells herself to refuse but winds up saying yes. During their walk, they chat about everything and she is reminded just how perfect and wonderful and charming he truly is. He is all she could have hoped for in a man and everything she will never have. And it hurts.

And when he walks away back to his castle and awaiting fiancée, he accomplishes what the Queen never could.

He takes a piece of her heart with him.