A Vengeful Heart

Summary: A much needed trip to the Summer Palace becomes treacherous for Snow and Charming as someone seeks vengeance for an old grudge. A mini-adventure set in the first few months of their return to the Enchanted Forest during the missing year.

A/N: New fic, yay! This one was inspired by a dream I had and a desire to write Snow and Charming in a more action-orientated setting since I usually focus on the emotional and communicative aspects of their relationship. I'm not sure how long this is going to be since I only have it roughly plotted out, but hopefully you'll join me for the ride.

As always, feedback is much appreciated!

Disclaimer: OUAT and all of its characters belong to ABC…all I own is a giant cup of coffee to keep me awake until 1:30am so I can see Australia take on Netherlands in the World Cup.

Prologue

"Your highnesses, I must protest! That land has belonged to my family for ten generations and even in times of hardship my ancestors never sold off even a tiny parcel of it, let alone given away a third of it for free. I do not understand why I must suffer…"

"Enough."

Charming's words were firm yet calm, bringing the farmer's loud diatribe to a halt much to Snow's relief. Her head was pounding and she did not know how much longer she would've been able to hold a civil tongue.

"I understand your position, truly I do. But the areas of habitable land have been drastically reduced due to the combined effects of the curse, the ogres and years of neglect. Everyone is working their hardest to rehabilitate as much of it as we can, but it will take time. In the interim, sacrifices must be made. Your farmland is rather vast and mostly preserved and therefore a prime candidate to be shared until more becomes viable once again. Therefore, I am sorry but the decree stands."

The farmer looked for a moment as if he might protest further, before he sighed and nodded his acknowledgment of her husband's words. He was not the first to be unhappy with the measures they'd started to implement to rebuild the kingdom and she was sure he would not be the last. She'd forgotten the stresses of ruling…stresses multiplied tenfold by the state of the Enchanted Forest upon their return and the emotional trauma of the circumstances surrounding it. Part of her simply wanted to curl up in bed with Charming for a week and forget all responsibility. She'd lived without the full burden of pressure for so long it was hard to shoulder it again.

Lost in thought as she was, she did not realize Charming had called for an end to the public session until his warm hand curled gently around her shoulder.

"Snow?"

She lifted her head to give him a tired smile.

"Come on," he said quietly, "We're finished for the day."

She rose from her chair and let him guide her out of the throne room and towards their chambers.

"You did well in there," she commented as they started to ascend the stairs, "I'm sorry I didn't contribute more."

"It's alright," he assured her, "We do this together remember? Which means when one of us isn't feeling well, the other steps up."

He glanced down at her with a concerned gaze.

"A headache again?"

She nodded, wincing slightly before a wry grin crossed her lips.

"Maybe my head isn't used to being weighed down again by all of this hair."

She twirled a lock of it in her free hand. She'd gotten so used to her short hair that realizing it had magically regrown to its previous length upon her return had been somewhat startling.

"If it is that much of a bother, you can cut it. I don't think the kingdom would collapse if Snow White had short hair," Charming teased, pressing a soft kiss to her temple.

She just shook her head. In some way, she needed it long…needed to remind herself she was once more part of a fairytale.

"I don't think so…besides, I know you missed it."

"I love you anyway you look."

She merely raised her eyebrow at him.

"Alright, maybe I missed it a little," he admitted sheepishly.

They reached the door to their chambers, escaping into the relative privacy afforded by the space no-one else entered unless they asked first.

"Well, if you do not wish to cut it, may I offer my services to ease your headache milady?"

"You may kind sir."

Stripping down to his trousers and tunic, Charming sat up against their headboard. Losing her shoes and her slightly uncomfortable outer dress, she lay down between his legs. Head resting low on his broad chest, she let her eyes flutter closed as he brought his strong fingers up to rub soothing circles against her temples.

They lay for a while in silence, Snow relaxing into her husband's embrace and letting his hands work away the lingering aches and tension which were far too common for her these days.

"What's really wrong?"

Charming's quiet question seemed sudden, but Snow knew it was coming. She could never truly hide anything from him and didn't want to in most cases. She sighed, gently pushing up off his chest so she could roll over and rest her chin against his chest.

"I'm just…readjusting to being back here and everything that entails. The rebuilding, the threat of Regina's sister, the responsibility of showing a strong front to everyone and…"

She trailed off, but she knew Charming could see what she couldn't voice written in the sadness of her eyes.

"Missing Emma and Henry," he finished, wrapping his arms around her in a gesture of comfort, "Me too."

"Sometimes I wish we could escape everything for a while," she whispered, shifting upwards so she could bury her head in her favourite place, the curve of his neck which seemed to be made just for her.

"Maybe we can."

"What?"

He looked down at her, a thoughtful look on his handsome features.

"We know the Summer Palace is still intact and it's not far from here. How about we take a small vacation, a few days for ourselves."

"Really?"

"Really. Between Regina, Red, the dwarves, even Robin Hood, they should be able to keep the kingdom from imploding for a little while," he said with a small grin, before cupping her cheek in his palm, "We haven't had much time to ourselves since we've been here, to come to terms with everything."

She nodded, an expression of gratitude starting to spread across her face.

"Besides, I've missed our adventures," he finished, echoing her words from months before.

"Me too," she breathed out, "Alright, let's do it…tomorrow."

"Tomorrow," he affirmed, lifting a hand to smooth back an unruly curl from her face as she pressed her lips to his in a loving kiss. Both of them became lost in each other as they often did, the promise of tomorrow's journey warming their hearts.

A forest away though, voices in the fading light were plotting.

"But how are we to reach them? The castle…"

"Is well defended yes, but they won't stay within its confines forever."

"And when they venture out, I will have my revenge."