Author's Note: Hi, guys! I've been rereading this story of mine and thought that it needed a few tweaks with the grammar and flow. :) This is one of my favorite stories, so I thought it needed a little attention. Thank you for reading, and I hope you guys enjoy it.


Snow White has always been described as the girl with hair black as night, lips red as blood, and skin white as snow. She was the fairest in all the realms and the beloved princess of their kingdom. Snow was the epitome of perfection in most people's eyes. She was beautiful, intelligent, and most of all loved.

But when she lost her parents and became the most wanted criminal in the Enchanted Forest, her life completely turned around. Her dresses became rags, her castle became a log, and her crown became a cloak. She was always on the run, always on the edge. To survive became her everyday goal.

Survival consumed her entirely that she forgot to live. That was when she realized the walls she had built around herself indeed shielded her from the dangers of the world, but they also kept out love. She then met Red, Granny, and the dwarfs. They were the family that she never thought she would need after she had lost her parents. No matter what the circumstance, she knows that she can always count on them to have her back. In turn, she knew that she too would be there for each of them.

Charming, however, was an entirely different story.

He was her true love. The thought of him consumed her. She felt incomplete whenever he was not around and breathless every time he was near. He was brave, gentle, and good. Although she knew her surrogate family loved her, Charming loved her with an intensity that scared her, and she him. It scared her because she knew how broken, utterly broken she would be if he ever walked away.

Just the thought of losing Charming makes her want to give herself up to the Evil Queen's wishes. A love like that was dangerous, still is. That is the reason why she listened to King George's wishes to break his heart instead of losing him forever, and why she willingly took that apple from Regina despite it condemning her to eternal sleep. She would risk everything for him.

And Charming, in more than one occasion, proved to her that his love for her was just as fierce. He took the golden arrow that was meant for Regina, called off his wedding in spite of his father's threats, and most of all proved that true love's kiss is the most powerful of all magic, capable of breaking any curse that was thrown to keep them apart.

That was why when he got down on one knee; Snow White did not even hesitate.

However, happy ever after was not exactly reachable, as it seemed at that time. King George's curse made her barren. The thought of not having a child broke her. After abandoning her in their empty campsite, he then sent his soldiers to ambush Charming and his mother. He was a broken man who felt the need to spread his misery upon the people who, he thought, did him wrong. He was the kind of man who would never be truly happy.

The water of Lake Nostos healed her, but it did not change the fact that she ruined any chances of Ruth surviving that fatal arrow wound. It did not change the fact that every single day after her death she thought of nothing but of her mother-in-law. She knew what it felt like to lose a mother. The thought of her taking the life of the family Charming had left…

She needed some air.

Throwing the covers back, she quickly got herself ready for a midnight shooting practice deep in the forest. Knowing at the back of her mind that it was still too dangerous for her to be out in the open with Regina's guards patrolling, she did not find the will to care. She needed a distraction from her own thoughts.

Her secret target range was in a secluded part of the forest. It was encircled by dense forest trees and branches that scratched if one doesn't know where to pass. She positioned herself with her bow and arrow in hand, let go, and felt some relief when she heard the satisfying thump of the arrow buried into the tree's bark.

Arrow after arrow felt across the range, making her forest her troubles for a brief moment. This is good, she thought to herself. She had been restless for the past nights that she looked like an ogre when she emerged from her tent in the morning. She remembered when she said the exact same words to her father when she was younger, making him bellow in laughter.

"Snow, it is impossible for you to look ugly," King Leopold had said with mirth in his eyes at the sight of his daughter sulking. "My dear, you're beautiful no matter what you do, even if you haven't gotten much sleep. You're beautiful just like your mother." Every night after that, her father would make sure she was all right before heading to his own bedchambers. He would wish her a good night after telling her a story. She knew he was tired, but he always put his daughter first before himself.

Parents put their children's happiness first, someday you will understand. Ruth's voice in her head made her gasp and miss her target.

Tears pooled in her eyes as she watched the arrow fly past the tree, making her sit down helplessly on the forest floor. It wasn't fair. Why do people have to die for her? Don't they know how awful it felt to have the burden of having taken someone's life? Their loved ones mourning for their loss was too much for Snow to bear on her own. And one of them was Charming.

"Snow!" Charming's loud voice made her freeze in place. "Snow, where are you?" He shouldn't be here. He shouldn't be creating so much noise he's endangering himself. She cursed before gathering her things and silently navigating her way towards his voice. "Snow!" Her heart thudded against her chest as his voice wavered slightly. He was worried.

Shut up, Charming. Please shut up. This is dangerous!

She found him with his back turned to her and quickly ran towards him, placing her hand over his mouth and pulling him towards the dense shrubbery. Too caught up in getting him into safety, she didn't notice him snap back to reality. Charming, without knowing who his captor was, struck her on the side with his elbow.

She cried out before staggering backwards, his powerful strike made her side throb with pain. After he freed himself from her arms, he pulled out his sword before realizing it was her. "Snow?" his voice sounded incredulous. "Snow!" His sword was back in its sheath before he dropped down beside her.

She was holding her side as she muttered, "Yes, it's me."

"What were you thinking?" Charming croaked out, afraid to touch her. "I could've harmed you much worse!"

"Well, I'm certainly not going to let you continue shouting in the dark forest in the middle of the night," she snapped back, eyes blazing. "What were you thinking?"

He had the decency to look sheepish. "I was worried. I found your bed empty." She gave him a questioning look before noticing the deep bags under his eyes. "I thought – I thought they captured you," he breathed out, placing a careful hand on her cheek.

She frowned, seeing the haunted look in his eyes. "Regina doesn't have me," she said softly, placing her hand on his on her cheek. "I'm right here with you, and I'm not going anywhere."

"I can't lose you, too," Charming whispered before leaning in to place a light kiss on her forehead. "You're all I have left." His words brought tears in her eyes as she leaned forward and placed her head on his shoulder. "Are you hurt? Do you want me to carry you back to camp?"

The pain had dulled a bit so she shook her head before saying, "Charming, I have to tell you something."

His brow furrowed when she looked back up at him. Before she could say anything, he lifted her up into his arms, causing her to let out a surprised yelp. "You can tell me where it's safer. I don't want any of Regina's guards ambushing us here."

Snow bit her lower lip and nodded; a bit shy because of the fact that it was the first time he carried her like that. It was the first time a man carried her like that. She directed him towards a clearing she knew that wasn't far from her shooting range. It was a calm lake that looked beautiful with the moon shining on the water. He carefully placed her down on the log that faced the water before saying, "This is beautiful."

"I used to come here all the time when I was a bandit," she answered him quietly, eyes trained in front of her as he settled down beside her. "Just to take my mind off of things."

"Besides the cliff?" he asked, a smirk in his voice. She blushed as she thought about their encounter on the cliff, but that was a story for another day. They were both quiet for a few moments before he realized what was bothering her. "Snow. I know you think that my mother's death was your doing." She inwardly winced at that. "But it's not. It was King George, not you."

She felt another round of tears coming as she breathed out, "Yes, everything was his doing."

Charming grabbed her hand to make her look at him. "Snow, you have to tell me what's wrong."

Her lower lip trembled as she looked at his worried expression. What she was about to say was going to crush his heart, but she knew she had no other choice. He had the right to know. "I –," she sighed, closing her eyes as she did not want to see his reaction. "Lancelot captured me after I left the camp. He brought me to King George, and the king cursed me by poisoning me." Her watery eyes opened to see his darkened expression, silent rage bubbling to the surface. "He made me barren, Charming," her voice caught as she said his name.

"Ruth knew," she continued, looking down at their intertwined hands. Charming was gripping hers so tightly, but she couldn't feel a thing. "And she made sure that the water from Lake Nostos was going to heal me. She gave it up for me. Lancelot placed the water in the wedding chalice so that I would drink it."

Her love wasn't saying anything but had a pained expression on his face. His jaw was set as he stared out on the calm waters. "Charming," she whispered brokenly as tears rolled down her cheeks. She pulled at his hand gently. "Charming, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry."

"You should've told me," he said, voice raw with emotion. "You should've told me about the curse. We're engaged. We can't keep secrets from each other, not like this."

"I want to tell you," Snow insisted, scooting closer to him and placing their intertwined hands on her lap. "I would have told you after making sure Ruth was going to be okay. I didn't want to trouble you even more. But when she –," she stopped, making Charming close his eyes painfully. "I couldn't bear to tell you that we were never going to have a child right after you just lost the person you loved the most."

His eyes opened, flashing almost angrily. "She's my mother. I loved her dearly, I always will. But the person who holds my heart in her hands, the only person capable of breaking me entirely if she died is you, Snow White. But do you really think this is only about my mother dying? George poisoned you, Snow, and you didn't think that I had the right to know?"

"I know I should've told you," she said immediately. "I know, and I'm sorry but –."

"I love you, Snow," Charming interrupted, cupping her face with his hands. "The thought of someone even looking at you the wrong way makes me want to…" He closed his eyes to calm himself down. She placed her hands on his forearms in comfort, as if silently telling him that she was here. She was his. "King George will pay. Not just because of what he did to my mother, but because of what he did to you."

Snow felt more tears escape her eyes at the fierceness in his eyes. Nobody has ever loved anyone as much as Prince Charming loved Snow White, and it was startling prominent at that moment. "It will take time for me to move on from my mother's death," he continued, wiping away the tears from her cheeks. "But I know this is what she wanted. She wanted me to have a family, even if it meant that…that she wouldn't be here to see it."

"But I took her life, Charming," she sputtered, fresh tears welling up in her eyes. "I took her life, and –."

"You didn't," he interrupted, firmly but still loving. "You didn't. She gave it up willingly for our future, for our family."

It took a white for Snow to calm down with the help of a warm embrace and a couple of kisses from Charming. After which, she looked for any sign of hate in Charming's eyes and found none, but she had to make sure. "You don't hate me, do you?" she asked quietly.

Charming looked surprised before chuckling softly. He stroked her hair lovingly as he said, "I can never ever hate you, Snow. That's a fact. I love you too much." A touched smile appeared on her face before she leaned up and placed a kiss on his lips.

He pulled her back in his arms after, and she rested her chin on his shoulder, suddenly feeling tired because of the late hour and all the crying. "We have to honor her," she said quietly. He kissed the side of her head, and she felt his smile as he did.

"I would love that," he said.

That was why their princess, their daughter born out of true love, was named after her grandmother. The couple wanted this not just for Ruth's memory but also with the wish that their daughter will grow up as selfless, as loving, and as good as her grandmother once was.

"Hello, Emma Ruth," Charming cooed at his daughter in his arms as Snow watched them with a loving smile on her face. "I'm your daddy."