A/N: Thank you to everyone for the feedback! Sorry this has taken a while, I've been working extra shifts to cover for a co-worker's absence and it has severely cut into my writing time. Hope you enjoy this chapter! Oh, and I forgot to say last chapter that I'm taking the titles from the song 'At The Beginning' by Richard Marx…bonus points if you know what princess movie it comes from ;)
As always, feedback is much appreciated!
Disclaimer: OUAT and all of its characters belong to ABC…all I own is a brand new iPad case which is the cover of Henry's storybook!
Chapter 2: Love Is A River
Snow's heart clenched in her chest as she took in the wooden missile lodged into husband's chest, buried deep into his right shoulder.
"I'm fine," he breathed out with a grunt, clutching underneath the arrow, "I'm fine."
"You're not fine," she hissed, trying to inspect the wound but unable to due to the thick leather of his jerkin, "We need to get this off so I can see how bad it is."
"Snow," he said firmly, placing his hand over where hers rested on his chest, "Just pull the arrow out, we need to move and quickly."
More arrows whizzing past their head punctuated the urgency of their situation and Snow gave in with reluctant nod. Placing one hand against his chest for leverage, she grasped the tail end of the arrow in the other.
"This will hurt."
Charming just chuckled ruefully, "I know…not the first time I've been through this, remember?"
"I'm trying not to…you, dear husband, have a tendency to be shot or stabbed full of holes far more than I would like," Snow murmured.
Charming's reply was cut off by a pained groan as she pulled out the arrow, quickly ripping a strip of fabric off the hem of her riding tunic and pressing it against the now bleeding wound. Knowing they didn't have the time for either of them to keep pressure against it until the bleeding stopped, she ripped off another strip and tied the wadded fabric in place around his shoulder.
"That will do for now," she said softly before leaning forward to press a soothing kiss against his brow.
"Maybe Regina should have made you a nurse in Storybrooke," he responded with a small smirk before his expression became serious, "Any ideas of how to escape from our current predicament?"
She nodded.
"We can't get back to the horses, that way is too exposed but if we manage to follow that brook over there, it should join the main river which isn't far from here and we can lose them in the water."
He followed her line of sight, weighing up the chances of success. The rise they were sheltered behind ran towards the brook, which itself snaked into the tree line rather close to their position. Once they were amongst the trees, it would be far easier to evade any pursuers and dodge any incoming arrows.
"Sounds like a plan to me," he murmured, shifting his shoulder to test its movability and barely suppressing a wince at the sharp sting of pain which radiated outwards from the still bleeding wound.
Shaking it off, he grasped her hand as they crept amongst the grass until the brook flowed past them only a few feet away. The frequency of the arrows had slowed, their attackers obviously unsure of where exactly they now were.
"Ready to run?" Snow asked, a hint of excitement mixing with the worry in her eyes.
"With you? Always," Charming responded, leaning across to press a quick yet passionate kiss upon her lips.
Pulling back, they both readied themselves…and with a single nod, they leapt from their hiding place and sprinted along the brook's edge out of the meadow. It took a moment for their attackers to sport them and that was more than enough time for the two of them to race into the thick of the forest before the barrage of arrows began again in earnest. Weaving amongst the trunks, they ran towards the sound of rushing water, pushing themselves until they were breathless. Behind them, they could hear their pursuers crashing through the undergrowth. It wasn't the first time they had found themselves in a situation like this and despite the danger, the adrenalin coursing through their veins caused a spark of excitement inside their hearts.
Suddenly, the brook they were following veered off to the right and merged with the fast-flowing waters of the kingdom's main river. Without hesitation, they plunged into the murky water, Snow silently thankful she'd chosen one of her least complicated and therefore lighter riding outfits. The current was fierce, dragging them sideways for every few feet they managed to swim ahead and causing their muscles to ache with the effort required to keep moving. Nevertheless, they forged ahead, matching each other stroke for stroke though Charming lagged slightly behind, unable to fully rotate his right arm. Finally, their feet touched rock and they stumbled out of the water onto the riverbank, chests heaving breathlessly.
Snow tugged her husband behind a large boulder, both of them collapsing behind it just as a group of men emerged from the trees on the far side of the river.
They were roughly dressed, a mish-mash of rough tunics and worn breeches. Their faces were even rougher, bearded, rugged and hidden in shadow. Armed to the teeth, their drawn bows swiveled in every direction as they searched fruitlessly for Snow and Charming's trail.
"Do you recognize any of them?" Snow whispered into Charming's ear. He shook his head in the negative, though that did not discount their paths crossing before. Many mercenaries had joined King George and Regina's forces during the war for the kingdom and given their appearance, it was entirely possible these men had been some of them. Of course, they might have also passed in the street in Storybrooke…it was surprising how much people looked and carried themselves different depending which realm they were in.
After a few moments of gruff chatter, spoken too lowly for them to make any of it out, the men moved off along the direction of the river. It was exactly what they had hoped would happen, their attackers believing they had allowed themselves to be carried downstream. They waited a few minutes longer to ensure the men wouldn't double back before emerging from behind the boulder.
"That was interesting," Charming noted.
"Being shot at by unknown assailants for an unknown reason is interesting?"
"Well…yeah."
Snow just shook her head before she noticed her makeshift bandage on his shoulder had obviously come loose while they were crossing the river.
"Come on, I need to check your wound properly."
She eyed their surroundings, trying to place exactly where they were.
"I think there's a natural bower just a bit further along the river...it will give us some protection if they come back."
"We need to retrieve the horses if they're still there," Charming reminded her as she grasped his uninjured arm and started to walk along the stony bank.
"We can cross back towards the meadow even further up…there used to be a rudimentary bridge that hopefully hasn't collapsed in the past few decades."
"If it has, at least we're already soaked," he teased lightly, nudging her gently, "Why do I always seem to end up in rivers around you?"
"Maybe I just like the way you look when you're all…drenched," she shot back lightly, squeezing his arm.
"I knew you were only with me for my looks."
Snow just grinned.
A few minutes passed before they stumbled upon the bower, a fallen tree covered with hanging moss which created a hidden cave of sorts. Sweeping aside the moss, they settled themselves within on a small log.
Without prompting, Charming started to unlace his jerkin but the lack of movement available in his right arm made it difficult, the exertion of swimming not having helped with the pain.
"Let me," Snow murmured and together they managed to remove both his jerkin and his tunic to expose the inflamed wound underneath.
Snow inspected it closely, gently probing the edges with careful fingers as Charming bit his lip to stifle a small groan of pain as she passed over a particularly sore spot. After a while she let out a small sigh of relief.
"It's not too deep and the bleeding had mostly stopped. If I wrap it, it should be fine until we can get some of the healing paste from the castle."
"Use my tunic this time, you won't have any of yours left if you tear anymore off of the hem."
"Such a gentleman," she grinned, doing as her husband said and then beginning to wrap the makeshift bandage tightly around his shoulder and over the wound. After winding it around a few times and tying it off across his back, she pressed a small kiss on top of the bandage.
With his free arm, Charming pulled her closer against him and returned a kiss of his own, though this one was to her forehead.
"Thank you love."
They sat like that for a moment, foreheads touching and arms wrapped around each other. A short time to revel in each other's presence and the fact that they were alright for the most part…because no matter what, the strength of love they drew from each other would always overcome any obstacle.
"Any inklings as to why those men were after us?"
Snow's muffled question broke the silence.
"I doubt they were thieves, they could have easily raided our horses while we were pinned down but they were only focused on shooting at us," Charming mused, pulling back enough from their embrace so he could see Snow's face.
"Which means the reason is most likely personal."
"Someone unhappy with being back here?"
"Maybe," Snow conceded, "Though that wasn't truly our fault."
"The only way we'll know for sure is if we ask them."
A slow smile spread across Snow's face.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Set a trap?" Charming questioned with a grin.
"Set a trap," Snow confirmed, "It's better than retreating to the castle and wondering whether they'll be bold enough to attack us there and put other lives at risk."
"I won't be much good until my shoulder heals a little."
"After we get the horses, we'll continue to the summer palace…there should still be some medicinal supplies there for you and I know that place like the back of my hand…"
"So if they track us there, we'll have the advantage," Charming finished.
Snow nodded then found herself being tugged forward into a heated kiss, her husband's lips warm and hungry against her own. Losing herself in the kiss, she blinked to clear her head when he pulled back and brushed a more chaste kiss against her now reddened lips.
"What was that for?" she asked breathlessly.
Charming just shrugged nonchalantly, "Do I need a reason?"
She searched his eyes, a soft love-filled smile lighting up her features.
"No," she replied, "To the horses?"
"To the horses."