Reclaiming Red
Note: I do not own "Once Upon A Time" and I do not make a profit from writing this story. I'm just amusing myself.
Authors Note: Please read the warnings carefully. Also this follows "Choices and Thorns".
Setting: Enchanted Forest
Rating: T
Warnings: Language mostly. Minor spoilage to episode 1X08 (or my own theory of the episode summary)
Prompts: Abduction/Kidnapping (angst_bingo)
Genre: Angst
Word Count: 1,477
Cast: (in order of appearance/mention) "Prince" James (II), Snow White, Red Riding Hood, Rumpelstiltskin, Jiminy Cricket, Bashful, Grumpy, Granny
Summary: She was gone, that was all that mattered to him and he would make the person paid who took the Red Hooded Huntress from his War Table.
James paced the bedroom he shared with Snow White, she watched him closely. There had been no word from Red Riding Hood. Snow knew Red would be fine, she was a strong woman but as time passed quicker and it had almost been a week, now her stomach knotted. She knew that wasn't just the morning sickness that greeted her every morning and afternoon and sometimes evening…
She climbed from the bed, stepping in James's path, he side stepped her and continued to walk. Rolling her eyes she placed her hands on his chest and he stopped. She cradled his face, he nuzzled her hand and he gave into a kiss she placed on his lips.
"I've not seen you this upset in a long time," she told him; he sighed, then gently broke her grip and sat down on the foot of the bed.
He reached for her, pulling her close, placing his face on her chest, "She's one of my oldest friends, and I don't trust the Imp. I don't want to imagine what he might be doing to her if he got the drop on her. He's not any foe she has faced before; he is not a man or a wolf. He's magic and darkness, with a weakness for beautiful girls with innocence to prey on."
Snow nodded, she had heard stories, "And you worry Red is his newest victim? You care deeply for her," she observed.
James nodded, "I will not deny it, and she has been a friend for as long as I can remember. We grew up together, I love her." Snow snorted and giggled, her body shook, he looked up with a grin. "Not as I love you dear, and I will be honest at one point in my life I did have an attraction to her. That was quickly resolved."
"How so?" Snow asked slightly, seemingly amused.
James blushed as he looked up at his beloved, "I may have kissed her, she did not respond well."
Snow arched her brows, Red was known for many things and purity was one them, "And how does one do that? Especially with a reputation like hers?" she asked, eyeing her husband's guilty face.
His face was taking on a deeper shade of red as he muttered, "She headbutted me, she nearly broke my nose," he explained.
"And what a shame to damage this beautiful, charming face of yours," Snow said, smiling at his laughter, it brought her joy.
A knock sounded, their attention turned as the door parted and when no human entered, their attention turned to the floor. Jiminy was making his way across to them, they could hear chirping but not his actual words. He landed on the footboard, he was flailing as he chirped. Snow gathered him into her hands, concern lighting her features.
"Jiminy, Jiminy, easy, we cannot understand you," she pleaded to the Cricket.
The Royal couple leaned in as she cupped her hands; Jiminy cleared his throat and tried again. It was no use, James rushed to the War room for his megaphone and returned as fast as his feet could carry him. As James held it, all that was amplified was the chirping.
"Jiminy, your voice…what happened?" James asked, as they looked helpless down at the Advisor who served as a conscience. At the window, a blue bird chirped and Snow handed Jiminy to James. Rushing over it fluttered to her finger, James watched fascinated, she always had a way with the animals.
"She says that the Imp stole his voice after he was caught within Rumpelstiltskin's home and…oh…oh dear…" Snow said, as the bird departed, she sank into a nearby chair.
James rushed over, holding out Jiminy so they could both see him, "What happened?"
Snow swallowed hard, "It is as we feared. When she was found, she was chained to the bed, the Imp on top of her…" she looked to the Cricket, "Is this true?"
He nodded and hung his head, James growled, it was a dark vicious sound. "Damn him."
"That wasn't all," Snow said, finding her voice again, "He warned the birds after taking Jiminy's voice that if he so much as heard a chirp within a mile of his home, he would hunt them down and eat them. And he had one direct message for us." She inhaled, her heart sinking. "She's mine."
James stood, handing Jiminy to Snow as he stormed from the room. She winced as the sound of the door slamming shut. She looked down to the Cricket, who chirped, and she hardly made out one word, but she didn't have to hear it to know what it meant. "I know Jiminy, I'm sorry too."
The War Table had gathered and Snow was concerned at the rage James was displaying. Shoving down the thoughts of the fact James was probably jealous, she scolded herself. Red was a friend with no interested in James…she shuddered to think if the girl was more interested in an Imp than a man. It didn't stop the images of the bound girl enjoying the Imp…
"Snow, are you alright?" Bashful asked quietly, his face glowing pink, she nodded quickly.
Giving him a smile that made him blush a more furious shade of pink, she whispered back, "I'm fine, Bashful, just concerned." Her eyes shot to Granny who was frowning at all of this, the woman seemed to be a mess of emotions.
"Granny, what is your take on the situation? She is your Granddaughter," Snow asked suddenly and all eyes went from Snow then to Granny. Granny's brows raised, her hands never stopped weaving a delicate white blanket with her yarn.
Without missing a single stroke, she spoke for the first time in what seemed like ages, "I want to believe it is a kidnapping. It is the only thought I can tell myself that would allow me to rest at night."
"What do you mean by that?" James said, there was an edge to his tone; the old woman didn't seem to take offense.
She looked up at him over the frames of her glasses and gave a small smirk, "As much as I love her, my Granddaughter has never been the same since the wolf attack. You know that as well as I, Highness. Her attraction to the darkness has become a fueled obsession. She is good at her craft of hunting because she enjoys inflicting pain in the name of vengeance. I do not blame her for that, but it also allows other cravings to rise to the surface. If she can deny handsome, strong men at every turn, where do you think her interest in the opposite sex lies?"
"Please say dwarves," Grumpy muttered and Snow slapped his arm, he shrugged, "Would you prefer me say women?"
"Grumpy!" James growled and the dwarf merely shrugged.
"I would love to say either one of those suggestions but alas, no. I believe my Granddaughter would be drawn to the Imp easily. He could easily pull her under his spell because she is aware that he is like her. Someone who gives into their dark urges, those impulses we all deny, they do not. That is my fear and has always been, sometimes I think it would have been easier had we not survived that day," the woman said sternly, as the room felt absolutely silent, she turned her attention back to her knitting.
Snow looked to the woman, "How can you be so cold? She is your only family. To say such things-"
"It's the truth dear, I cannot deny it. I do not say any of this to bring shame upon her but for you all to understand. The world has not been kind to her; the only kindness it ever gave was a strong friendship with you both. Other than that, she has never had much and to have an ounce of kindness from a man who is like her, even an Imp, is dangerous."
Snow sighed, she was no Saint, despite popular belief, but nothing could make her attracted to such an untrustworthy thing. "I don't think she could be swayed so quickly. She is bound, she cannot escape, she is obviously being held there against her will."
"I hope so but I will not be surprised if anything else transpires," Granny said, her fingers moving quickly, the blanket seemed grow on its own.
James made a face, "The mere thought of what you implied disgusts me. How can you say such things?" he asked, the old woman's eyes looked at him.
"Never gotten creative behind closed doors, have you?" she asked.
"C-c-can we please change topics?" Blashful begged, face as red as it could be, Snow nodded, taking pity on him.
She patted his hand sympathetically, "Of course. So what should we do to reclaim our Red Hood?" she asked, looking to each one of the War Table one by one, waiting for the ideas to flow.
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To Be Continued: Road Home