Characters: Snow White, Prince Charming

Description: A/U set during and after 1x10. Snow White makes a deal with a different devil for a chance to salvage her happy ending.

Alternate Description: A fanfic writer re-watches 7:15am and throws a tantrum demanding her fairy tale happy ending NOW. So she writes one.

One for the Heart of it All

Chapter One

King George frowned as he lifted her chin to look at her. "So you're the one."

Snow took a shaky breath. The heat from the fireplace was overwhelming and the walls trapped her. "I don't know what you're talking –"

"Enough. I know everything," he said, cutting off her soft denials. "You poisoned his heart, now his marriage and with that the entire kingdom. All because of your feelings."

She had to fight the urge to squeeze her eyes shut. Of course he knew. He had the letter. "I wish feelings could be helped but they can't."

"Of course they can. Love is a disease. And like all diseases it can be vanquished in one of two ways: a cure, or death." He paused, looked at her. "Do you know where your beloved is right now? He's right down that hallway, packing for his new life."

"He'll never know I'm here..."

"Oh yes he will, because you are going to walk down that hallway Snow White. You're going to sneak in and tell him you received his letter. You're going to tell him why you're here: because you don't love him. It will break his heart and that will cure him."

It dawned on her finally. She didn't know why it had taken her so long to realize. "Or you'll kill me."

"Oh no, I'll kill him. Killing you would just make him love you more and the marriage and the kingdom would ultimately crumble. But if he were to die at an assassin's hand he would die a martyr. Midas would forgive, even laud the death and the merger would be complete."

"You would do that to your own son." It wasn't a question. This was not the same man she had known from her childhood. Or maybe it was, and she'd just been too sheltered and naive to see it.

"He is not my son."

She stared at him. "What do you mean he's not your son?"

"My son is dead. Buried like his mother. Your beloved," he sneered the word "is his twin. He is not my James."

To say she was stunned could not even begin to describe it. Snow had met Prince James only once. Her father had hosted a banquet for he and George in honour of the prince's first hunt. She didn't remember much about him, but their fathers had been close friends and allies and Snow had always thought well of King George and Queen Gertrude. Before she could catch herself Snow had reached out and gently touched the king's arm. "George, what happened?"

She honestly hadn't expected him to tell her, given the circumstances, so it took her by surprise when he sat down in a chair by the fire and buried his face in his hands. At first it seemed as if he didn't want to speak, but once he started he didn't seem able to stop. He explained that he and Gertrude had been unable to have a child of their own and so he had brokered a deal for an infant that they could raise as theirs; unaware until recently that there had ever even been a sibling. He told her how after her father's death the alliance between their kingdoms had crumbled, leaving their kingdom impoverished and facing a grain shortage. Gertrude's attempt to salvage a relationship with Regina had ultimately resulted in the queen's death at the hands of her step-mother's magic. Desperate for a way to feed their people, James had offered to slay a dragon for King Midas but had been killed by a brute after proving himself up to the task. They had hidden his death from Midas and the man who had brought them James conjured up his twin brother to play the part and slay the dragon, causing an impressed Midas to offer a marriage alliance. By the time he had finished the story, Snow thought he looked exhausted.

"It will save the kingdom."

Finally telling secrets kept hidden for so long seemed to have softened him, if only a little. Crouched down in front of him, Snow could almost recognize him again as the man who used to bring her candied flowers when he came to visit. "I'm so sorry. I can't imagine how hard it must be. To not be able to grieve for James..."

"He was my son. Mine!" His hand fisted on the armrest. "And he was a prince who deserved to be a prince. A good man – noble and honourable, not selfish like his shepherd of a brother."

Snow thought of Charming saving her from the Queen's knights after she had tried to get away from him. "He's a good man too," she whispered.

"What do you know of him? Your love blinds you."

"And your grief doesn't blind you?" She shook her head. "It is not his fault that James is dead yet you want me to break his heart so that he will continue to live a life you've forced him into and marry someone he doesn't love."

"Love is a luxury not afforded to royalty. You should know that better than any."

"But he doesn't. And I would have married for love, had my father lived."

"Well you are not the only one your step-mother stole such freedoms from."

She knew every detail of what her step-mother had taken from her in the name of vengeance but surely this had to be the worst. Love was supposed to be the strongest magic, but what had magic ever done for her? It hadn't even been able to heal her broken arm when she'd fallen from her horse as a child.

A thought unfurled itself, kindled a hope that she had buried long ago. For her whole life her fairy godmother's gift had seemed more like a curse than a blessing. But could it now render her powerful step-mother no more than any other man or woman? Did she dare to believe it might be possible to win back all she had lost... and all that she now wanted?

"Help me win them back," she whispered.

"What?"

"The freedoms. Help me win them back. Midas can give you gold to buy grain, but one day the gold will run out. Our kingdoms were allies once, and no matter what she has wreaked upon the land it is still the most fertile of all the realms in the Enchanted Forest."

"It is not your kingdom."

"It should be." Her words came out rushed, one on top of the other. She didn't trust herself to stop and think about them. "It can be. You were friends with my father once, help his daughter defeat the woman who killed him. The woman who killed your wife."

He shook his head. "The Queen is too powerful."

"I know a way. But I do not have an army to deal with her knights."

He leaned forward, fingertips pressed together. "You are sure?"

Was she? "As sure as my heart still beats in my chest." Drawing herself up, she held out her hand and took in a fortifying breath. "Do we have an arrangement?"

King George stood and regarded her for a moment. "You are a very hard woman to say no to Snow White. Much like your mother." He clasped her hand. "It's a deal."

Relief flooded her and she smiled. "If it's all right with you then, I'm going to go see him and not break his heart."

He looked her up and down. "We should get you cleaned up first. Besides, I have a wedding to cancel."

James abandoned his packing for the time being and went to stare out the window. In truth he wasn't sure how much point there was to it – he hadn't lived in the castle long enough to collect personal memories and the servants were taking care of everything else he would need. He took a deep breath and let the night air fill his lungs. Movement pulled his eyes down to the courtyard, and without realizing it he found himself searching for some sign of her.

Snow White. Again his thoughts had drifted to her. There had been no response to his letter, and he could only wish upon a star that it had even reached her. He shouldn't have waited so long to write it. The wedding was set for tomorrow and even if Snow had received his letter and wanted to come, there was a chance she was too far to make it in time and it would be too late before he knew she felt the same.

James scoffed at his desperate thoughts. The fact of the matter was that his wedding was tomorrow and she hadn't come to find him. He'd told her he knew what that meant. He turned back to the half-packed bag at the foot of his bed. Tucked inside a hidden pocket was his mother's ring. He'd been unable to give it to Abigail. When Snow had tried it on something inside him had clicked and he knew that the ring could never be worn by another. Whether she loved him or not, his heart was hers.

There was a noise at the door and James looked up, hoping against hope that it was her. That she had found him.

King George cleared his throat. "I need to speak with you."

He turned back to his packing. He should have known. "What is there left to say, father?" He didn't bother to keep the bitterness out of the word. "I'm perfectly aware of where we stand."

The king shifted his weight ever so slightly. If he hadn't known better he would have thought the older man were embarrassed.

"I'm sorry I threatened to kill your mother." James almost dropped the bag of personal belongings in surprise. "This situation has been… difficult for me. The kingdom should be grieving the death of their prince and instead they are preparing to celebrate his marriage. My son deserved to have the grandest of funerals yet he lies in an unmarked grave beside his mother."

The king paused but James was still too taken aback to respond.

"I would like for us to start again," he offered. "You will never be James to me, just as I will never be your father, but things do not have to stay as they are between us. Come with me. I need to meet with Abigail and Midas and discuss the wedding."

He shook his head. "When, now?"

King George nodded and held open the door. "It is a matter of some importance."

They walked side by side down to one of the royal council rooms. James couldn't shake the bad feeling sinking further into the pit of his stomach. He didn't know what had prompted the king's sudden change of heart but nothing about it sat well with him. George hadn't shared what last minute wedding details were so important that they merited breaking the traditional taboo of seeing one's bride the night before the wedding but James was sure of one thing: there was no way it was anything good.

Abigail and Midas were both waiting for them as they entered, seated at the far side of the circular oak table. Both rose as the guard announced them but George gestured for them to sit, taking a chair for himself opposite from them and signalling James to do the same.

"Princess Abigail, you look positively radiant this evening."

The princess inclined her head and murmured her thanks. James wasn't sure that radiant was the correct word but she did look lovely, dressed in a gown of red and gold with her hair pulled back in a simple braid.

"I trust that you have both found your accommodations pleasing?"

"Enough pleasantries George. This is highly unusual. Just tell us what is so urgent that it couldn't wait until after the wedding to discuss." Midas' gloved hand was clenched into a fist and for a brief moment James allowed himself to imagine what would happen if he accidentally pushed his adopted father onto it.

King George took a deep breath and pressed both palms onto the table. "I'm afraid I cannot allow this union to occur tomorrow."

His head whipped around and he stared at the king.

"Excuse me?" demanded an equally shocked Midas. His hand pounded on the table, shaking the candelabra in its center. Abigail only looked down at her hands in her lap.

"It has come to my attention that my son's heart belongs to another," he said, placing a firm grip on James' arm. "Under such circumstances I cannot in good conscience allow him to marry Abigail. Such a thing would not be fair to either of them and the alliance between our two kingdoms would ultimately fail."

A thousand thoughts ran through his head. What could he be hoping to gain by cancelling the wedding? A gnawing feeling in the back of his head made him wonder if this wasn't in some way connected to the letter he had written to Snow White. Had it been intercepted?

"And who is this woman who you have allowed to steal your son's heart?"

George grimaced. "Her father was a close friend of mine and we had always hoped for a match between our children. I hope that you and I can find a way to move past this for the good of both our kingdoms. It is no reflection on your lovely daughter or the high esteem that we hold your kingdom in."

"What is her name, George?" King Midas growled.

As if on cue three loud knocks sounded and everyone turned as the double doors swung open. James had to tell himself to pick his jaw up from off the floor. Standing in the doorway, dressed in a gown of purest white with a pile of ebony curls atop her head was none other than the bandit who had captured his heart.

"The princess Snow White," a guard announced.

She entered the room with all the grace of nobility and curtseyed deeply before the standing monarchs. "Your majesties."

James could only stare at her. Snow's eyes met his and she winked.

Notes: I told myself I wasn't going to write a multi-chapter fic, but apparently I lied. The whole thing, outlined out, is about ten chapters. This was originally going to be two separate chapters, but I wasn't happy with the length and decided to combine them.