I Will Always Find You
Summary: Four ways Snow White and Prince Charming did not meet...and one way they did.
A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed/favourited/alerted! I'm glad you seem to be enjoying this so far and I hope this next installment does not disappoint.
As we do not yet know Charming's real name, for the purposes of this story I have decided that before he became James, his name was David. As other Storybrooke characters' names seem to be connected to their fairytale personas, I think this makes sense (if/when we discover his real name, I will most likely come back and edit this as I am a stickler for accuracy!)
Disclaimer: OUAT and all of its characters are the property of ABC...all I own is an unhealthy obsession with a certain blue-eyed actor...
II. Baby, It's Cold Outside
'Which way?'
The young woman stood staring between the two diverging paths, each disappearing into the blank whiteness of the steadily falling snow. Around her the wind howled, tearing at her clothes with such force that she feared they would become nothing more than tatters if she did not find shelter soon. Behind, the sound of her pursuers had faded into the cacophony of nature but she had no doubt they were still there, gaining ground as she wasted precious moments on her decision.
To her left led the path back towards Red's...somewhere she knew she would always be welcomed but carried the risk that she would lead the Queen's guards directly to her only friend. To her right led the path into a neighbouring kingdom...unknown territory, but the guards would be at as much of a disadvantage as she.
Closing her eyes, she breathed in deep. Left, right, left, right, left...right.
Eyes snapping open, she tugged her cloak closer and after making sure her latest bounty was tucked safely into her belt pouch, headed off into the unknown.
'I should have listened to Mother,' David thought, struggling futilely to see further than a few feet in front of him amidst the heavily falling snow. His mother had begged him not to go wandering into the woods, to wait until the worst of the storm had passed. But four of their flock had escaped when their pen had been damaged by the strong winds and David knew he and his mother could ill-afford to lose sheep at any time, let alone now when they were in serious danger of losing the farm.
Though with his boots sinking ankle deep into the snow with every step and the sun mere minutes away from disappearing completely below the horizon, David could admit to himself that his current quest was fool-hardy at best. Resigning himself to continuing the search in the morning after the storm had calmed, he scanned his immediate area hoping to find somewhere to shelter for the night but the poor visibility made it impossible to distinguish anywhere of value.
Forced to rely on his previous knowledge of his surroundings, he turned in what he believed to be a westerly direction and trudged forwards. If he remembered correctly, the woods gave way to hillsides dotted with caves somewhere ahead, his best chance of finding shelter before he was overcome by darkness. Muscles aching from the cold, he walked for what seemed like miles in the failing light, the storm worsening with every moment that passed until David was sure he would collapse from the strain of fighting the elements. Finally though, the dense canopy of trees thinned out and rocky slopes rose before his tired eyes. Relieved beyond measure, David pressed himself against the rocks for protection from the now howling wind as he felt with outstretched hands in front of him for any openings in the rock face. After a few moments his efforts were rewarded and with an exalted cry he flung his body into a darkened crevice.
Bending to rest his hands on knees, breath coming in exhausted pants he was about to sink to the ground when he was hit squarely from behind with such force that he toppled to the ground. A weight landed on his back in the shape of a person, hands scrabbling to pin him down. Instinctively David rolled to the side, dragging his attacker underneath him while his hands shot out to grab and pin the figure's arms securely above their head.
"Hey! I'm not going to hurt you," he started to explain but was cut off as his attacker brought up one of their knees directly into his stomach, forcing him backwards as he cried out more in surprise than pain. Catching his breath, he quickly rose to ensure he could fend off another attack but was surprised to find the person was now warily standing on the other side of the cave, features lit by the flickering light of a small fire...features which clearly marked her as female, and a beautiful one at that. She had tumbling dark curls, ruby lips and vivid green eyes and David found himself having to catch his breath for an entirely different reason.
"You're a girl!" he blurted in shock, unable to reconcile the thought that a girl had been able to attack him so ferociously.
"Woman," she immediately shot back, hands tensed by her sides. Clad in earth-toned leather and a long green cloak she made an imposing figure as she studied him narrowed eyes. David fought the urge to squirm under the intense stare and instead made sure to maintain contact with her suspicious emerald gaze.
"You're not one of the Queen's men," she stated brusquely after a moment, posture relaxing minutely, "Who are you? What do you want?"
"You attacked me; I should be asking you those questions," David fired back, crossing his arms against his broad chest.
For a moment they both fell silent, the sounds of the storm outside echoing between them before the woman's lips tilted into a small smirk and she nodded her head obligingly.
"Fair enough," she acknowledged, "You can call me...Mary and I don't want anything from you except your reason for being here."
The slight hesitation before she gave her name marked it as obviously false but he allowed it to pass without comment.
"David and all I want is a place to rest for the night, out of the storm's reach."
He paused, wondering whether he should elaborate but decided if 'Mary' was going to keep an air of mystery about her, so would he.
As the woman in question contemplated his answer, a flicker of firelight danced across her face, casting it into an even more stunning sight and David found himself hoping she would not simply refuse and kick him back out into the cold. Not simply because his energy had waned to the point he wasn't sure he'd be able to handle trekking through heavy snow to find another cave, but because from the first moment he'd truly seen her he'd felt an irrational urge to remain close. It was unsettling feeling, one he could not remember having felt before except for small flickers in his younger days when tempted by the charms of young maidens from the nearby village.
Shaking his head to ward off the confusing emotions, he refocused on Mary in time to see her sweep a hand in a mockingly wide gesture across the small expanse of the cave.
"In that case, welcome to my humble abode."