Five more minutes
One-shot
Author: ScarletBloodDoll
Editor: SwansandQueens
Dates written: March 07th, 2012
Status: Complete
Series: Once Upon a Time
Rating: PG
Relationships: Regina Mills | Emma Swan (Swan Queen)
Warnings: N/A
Distribution: Do not archive without author's permission.
Disclaimer: The characters and premise of Once Upon a Time belong to ABC Studios, Adam Horowitz, and Edward Kitsis. Any and all other copyrighted material mentioned belongs to their respective owners. This work is a non-profit effort and no infringement is intended.
Author's note: Reviews are greatly appreciated.
"The Princess of the White Kingdom has vanished; no one will rest until she is found. I want every inch of this kingdom searched high and low until she is found! Do you hear me? No one will rest, and no one will sleep until she is found!"
The people of the court began to talk in hushed whispers, eagerly conjuring up ideas of the Princess's whereabouts.
"Go." With a curt nod towards her Grandmother, she quickly stepped back into the shadows of the court and discreetly made her way out of the throne room and into the servant's hallways. Slipping into the missing Princess's private quarters, she found that the bed had not been slept in and virtually nothing was out of place. Inhaling, she quickly detected the strongest scent near the cloak closet. Following the scent's trail, she began to make her way out of the castle. As she reached a small door hidden within the perimeter of the castle walls, her brown eyes widened. Immediately she knew where the scent would take her, her mind calculating that it would not be until dusk when she would reach her destination by horse. With urgency she readied a steed, mounted him with practiced ease, and urged him onward along the forest trail. Upon entering the Evil Queen's kingdom, she dismounted and sent the horse on his way. As the moon and the sun met on equal planes, if only for a moment, the woman gently tugged at the ties that had held her red cloak closed.
The white wolf trotted towards her final destination as the sun disappeared beneath the horizon and the full moon rose in the sky. Past two massive willow trees and after leaping over a passively flowing river that guarded what she sought, there in an overgrown clearing of flowers came a sight that broke her heart, wolf or not.
It seemed as if this is where good met evil in more ways than one. Stopping for a moment, the wolf glanced around to find the clearing slowly brightening with the glow of a myriad host of fairies. Not just any fairies, but the dark fairies of the Enchanted Forest who were said to only offer allegiance to those they deemed worthy, and the white fairies of the White Kingdom who had vowed to keep their Princess safe at all costs sat together on open buds of flowers.
Padding closer to the coffin, her ears flicked as the wind carried quiet sobs of pain through the air. Lying heavily against the base of the glass coffin was the missing White Princess herself. Although a white cloak hid her face, the hint of a tiara upon her head and golden curls spilling out of the hood were all the proof the wolf needed to confirm the woman's identity.
Careful not to startle the distressed woman, the wolf issued a low whine and immediately bowed in submission when green, yet bloodshot eyes snapped open at the sound.
"Ruby." Accompanying her former name, crystal tears spilled onto the woman's checks. The wolf quickly moved forward and lowered herself onto the Princess's billowing white skirts, pushing her nose into her stomach.
"Ruby," her whispered name brought the Princess's fingers to her head, petting it softly. "I can't…" she trailed off, choking back a sob. Red whined and rose into a sitting position, gently nudging the crown that sat upon blonde hair, and turned to glance towards the path from which she came.
Green eyes widened as she understood the message. Shaking her head she rose from her position on weak legs and turned towards the coffin, a guttural sob erupting from her lips. A shaking hand traced the glass above where her beloved lay; forever in a deep sleep, saved from death's hand by mere seconds, unsaved from the blade of a sword by the hand of her true love's father.
"I can't…" the words were uttered once more. In turn the wolf gently nudged her head under her left arm, resting it on the coffin itself, yet exerting pressure once more into her stomach, a louder whine accompanying her actions.
The ring on her ring finger glistened in the moonlight; in a moment of clarity she had slipped it from her dying beloved's hand, and slipped it onto her marriage finger – a clear message to all those who dared to question her. Her hand slowly drifted from the wolf's head to her growing stomach, a sharp pain greeting the pressure of the wolf's nose and her own sadness.
"Five more minutes, Ruby." A shuddering breath accompanied the words as the Princess leaned heavily on the glass coffin. "Five more minutes." The futility of her efforts clenched in her gut, for her heart knew that five more minutes could never be enough. No, should the Princess find herself still there after the passing of centuries, her feet having grown roots into the forest floor, her limbs as one with the vines and branches which surely overtake even the most sacred of places in time, "Five more minutes," would remain the cry of her soul when all else lay in ruins. The wolf bowed, stepped back, and bowed once more before joining the ranks of the fairies which guarded the place where good and evil met.