Chapter two: Underground We Go!

Three hours latter

Underground network tunnels

West tunnel

Where am I?

Snow slowly pried her eyes open, wincing as gunk crusted her eyelashes together. Harsh, golden, heavy light penetrated her sight. Where she lay was quite, the only sound was a hollow familiar sound of water dripping onto the floor. Reopening her eyes once more, she slowly moved her hands behind her and pushed herself up in a sitting position. She winced as a sharp pain coursed through her ribs. Clutching her side, she looked around.

The light was coming from a candle, not just one but several. They were resting in hollow inlets in the cavern wall. These shelves, Snow observed, were handmade. The lining of the shelves were chipped and ragged as if hit over and over with a pick-axe. The swings must have been clumsy and the users unused to such a tool for the strikes in the rock were widely placed in the wall. The luminous light washed the cavern enough for Snow to see the room she was in and a little hallway that led more into the cave.

She lay on a bed constructed from ferns that laid tie down in bundles on yellow hay which sat upon a stone slab. Removing the red quilt from her body, Snow swung her legs over the bed, her cold feet resting in dusty soil on the ground. She had been redressed in a lose fitting, white tunic and her hair pinned back with a pin. She bit her lip, "The question is….are they dressing me up out of kindness or for another reason?"

The last thing she remembered was fighting with Samuel, the captain of the guard, besting her and going to take her back to her stepmother. Then, falling down a hole and splashing in water…and drowning.

She stood, and stumbled as a dizzy spell overcame her. She reached out and held tightly onto an edge of a table and took in deep breaths and focused on the contents placed before her. A clay bowl lay with dripless of water on the bottom and a yellow, sodden rag lay over the lip and draped on the table top. Herbs: mint, Myrrh, rose, lavender, sage, and bay lay in bushels. Some were in pestles and motors were lay a strewn with remits of herbs on the tip. Sweet smelling bottles also sat upon the table. Snow put a green vile down and, finally overcoming her light head.

On a silver tinted plate lay a roasted slab of vision and fruit and bread. The smell was smoky and sweet and made Snow's mouth water. She realized just how hungry she was…hungry enough to eat what was on the plate. She picked up the little red fruit and bit into it and squeaked at the taste. Red juice dripped down her chin and the fruit emitted a sweet but tang flavor. A faint memory came back to her. These were strawberries. An outlandish fruit her father once let her sample when it came the castle in a trade shipment. It had been a long time since she had sampled the red berry…no, she thought as she pulled some of the firm meat sprinkled with pepper and other spices and stuck it in her mouth, it had been a long time she has had any real food. The only thing served to her in her cell had been moldy and poor cooked food.

"I see you are awake child and in good health."

The Princess picked up a pestle. She intended to use it as a weapon. "Hurt me and I'll hurt you."

She turned. Who she spoke her threat to was an old man. He had a chiseled face despite the years he had lived; his eyes a deep blue like the ocean. He held a cane and was stooped over his liver splotched hands hidden slightly by long robed tunic that was tied tightly with a cord around the man's waist. He smiled, walked over to the princess, and picked up a book that lay upon a stool on the far left wall. He snapped it closed, leaned forward, and said with a smile, "I'm not going to hurt you, my dear Princess Snow. You are among friends here."

Snow blinked and lowered her weapon but didn't put it down," How do you know my name?"

"All in due time my dear. You tumbled and took a nasty fall. We had to fish you out!"

"we?"

The old man went on as if Snow didn't question him, "since you are up and about it seems we should do what we have been all waiting a long time for. No use in keeping the fates waiting any longer."

He started to hobble back to the entrance and Snow shook her head. The only man was senile, she conducted, a poor man who lived all alone in these caves. While she loved all the people in the kingdom and was not one to judge one person or the other, she could not help but feel sorry for this old man. Yet, she was thankful, but that as it may be she was not about to go walking through caves with the man.

"Sir," she began, "I am thankful you found me and nursed me back to health, and one day I shall reward you for you kind deed. But I simply can't just follow you. I do not know where I am, who you are, and the guards are after me, the queens' guards."

"I am aware. You do not know me, but I do know you. You are Snow White, princess and daughter of the deceased king and beloved Queen. You tried to escape when you were about fourteen years old to your uncle's manor, and you did not travel alone. You were traveling to build an army to overthrow the queen, your step mother. You were caught and imprisoned, shown only to the people to keep them in line. You are learned in history, mathematics, matters of state, weaponry, and are kindhearted and the symbol of your people, their hope. Then, on your eighteenth birthday, you escaped by chance, through the catacombs and to the forest…and now you're here. We have been waiting a long time for you. You will soon see why, but for now, I ask you to trust me. "

Snow looked at the man in astonished fear and curiosity. "I-"

She had no time to answer as a sound much like muffled shouts and clip clops of falling dirt in water interrupted her. The old man turned quickly, his eyebrows drawn together in concern. "Stay here, Princess Snow. " He ordered, and then left through the door in a hurry hobble.

Snow begun to follow him out the door but was halted in the process. The old man came back, a frightened and almost angry expression on his face. He went around the room and quickly extinguishing the wax light and hovered his waxy hands over the last candle.

"The Queen's guards have found the West tunnel entrance. We must keep quiet and low and escape. We will use the network channels to get to the main, central cavern. We will collapse the entrance. They must not find you. I know you do not understand but there is not time to explain now. I ask that you trust in me, Mistress Snow. I will explain all soon." He held out his withered hand.

Snow didn't see any other choice in the matter. She did not favor going back to Regina's hold. She summoned the courage that had lay deep within her soul for the past five years and grasped the man's hand.

The light went out and Snow begun her descent into the warrens…..

Please review so I know if I should continue or not