Snow had been in the court for ten days and Regina still hadn't killed her. Though she also hadn't promised not to kill her for anymore than a day at a stretch, which had its charms but was rather deeply creepy. Or ... something else. Regina looked at her now openly desirous, as what she'd done with her in that moment when Snow thought her life was over had changed the way the Queen thought of her. Still there were no demands. She had her old rooms back, and the servants were ordered to treat her with respect... though very few of the ones she remembered were still there... and even the Black Knights, who had spent years chasing her seemed under orders to be respectful. It looked hard for a lot of them, but she was rather sure most of them were simple thugs.

But the thing that confused her was the Queen.

Regina was hardly ignoring her. They took meals together. But she spent much of her day on the affairs of the kingdom and never called for her presence. It felt, and Snow wasn't sure she wanted to admit this, like she was small again. Chasing after the Regina desperate for her attention.

The fact that Regina didn't seem to consider her dangerous at all angered her a little. All her weapons had been left in her possession, and the Queen did nothing to stop her from carrying around the dagger in the folds of her dress.

It made something in her boil a bit.

She should feel something for her. Even the hate was better than this mild indifference.

It was that frustration that led her to the Queen's chambers late in an evening as Regina was sitting in a chair reading a jewel encrusted spell book.

"Hello Snow. Are you here to kill me again?" The smile and the sneer. The daring. It made her want to wrap her hands around Regina's throat. And something about that thought seemed to communicate on her face and Regina reached out with a casual hand and Snow was flung against one of the walls, the air leaving her longs temporarily from the impact. "I do believe we should establish some ground rules for when you come to my chambers at night."

Regina strolled confidently towards her, reaching her in seemingly to few strides for the distance covered. She reached up ran the back of her knuckles across Snow's jaw.

"Tell me Snow, do you think you can kill me?"

"Yes." She breathed quietly.

Regina smiled, "I think you could too. I think you have the taste of blood and darkness. Living like an you did, having to do what you had to survive."

Regina waved a hand and in a puff of purple smoke her dress was gone and the dagger fell to the ground.

"But the difference is, I don't think you want to kill me." Regina leaned in, so that she was speaking practically on top of her. "I think you want to own me. And that... that my princess will never be."

She kissed Snow on the neck, and Snow tilted her head to the side which made Regina laugh.

"But you see, the reverse is already true. My name is written on the darkness of your heart. The part of you that you were able to hide for so long." Regina's fingers moved over one of her breasts barely touching her, lingering and dancing. Light sparks of energy coming here and there. "The darkness Snow, the darkness longs for you if you ignore it, it only feasts more. The darkness takes what belongs to it. And you belong to the darkness."

She gave Snow's nipple a rough pinch and a pained gasp escaped.

A grin appeared across the Queen's face. "Tell me your heart's desire, Snow White."

Snow shook her head. "I'm... I'm not like you say. I'm not dark."

The laugh was cruel, possessive, mocking.

"You've always been dark. Selfish. Possessive. Living as a wild woman just stripped away the pretense." Regina's hand moved down between her legs. "And becoming a woman has stripped away other pretenses. Your desires are impossible to hide."

Regina ran a finger along her clit and Snow closed her eyes.

"Look at me, Snow White. I want you to know who makes you feel this way. I want you to know this feeling belongs to ME. Just as you belong to ME."

Snow forced herself to look into the Queen's dark, rage filled eyes. She should be afraid. She should be terrified. But she wasn't.

"Yes, my Queen."

Regina smiled. She pushed a finger into her, feeling around and watching Snow's body writhe at the stimulation. And then she pushed three in, just enough to make it uncomfortable, and that seemed to push the monster-queen even more. She pumped her hand until Snow was beyond caring who or how this was happening.

"Please..."

Regina smiled. "Such a little slut." With her free hand she grabbed her chin and made her look at her. "But my little slut, and you will always be mine."

And deep in Snow's darkening heart... she knew that was true.


The next morning Snow woke again in Regina's bed, alone, she shivered as she placed her feet on the cold stone and slipped into a dressing gown.

She thought about trying to slip back to her rooms, but the height of the sun in the sky told her there would be too many people around the castle halls to see her in that state. So with some hesitation she rang the servant's bell and the same mousy maid that had greeted her on her first morning appeared.

"What do you need, Your Highness."

"Where is the Queen?"

She was careful not to look in Snow's eyes as she answered. "Her Majesty likes to work early in the morning. She gets up not long after sunrise. She said... that you might be sore."

The girl clearly wasn't comfortable knowing that many secrets about the royal family. But she was Regina's maid so it was impossible that she didn't know how to keep her mouth shut, so Snow was less worried and only slightly ashamed.

"Please fetch me some clothes. Riding clothes."

"Do you need me to send word to the stables?"

Snow shook her head. "No, but what I intend to do requires more arm movement than dress and full corset allows."

She looked confused, but did as she was told. After dressing in a fine brown leather pair of riding breaches and a cream colored over blouse Snow found her way down to the courtyard by the guard hall. She walked among the men who had hunted her as if they were of no concern to her and selected a bow from the weapons racks. It wasn't of that high a quality but it would do, as well as quiver full of arrows.

What started as simple practice so that she could clear her mind turned into quite the show as expert shot after expert shot landed within the ten ring. She was aware that she was attracting a crowd and that many of the guardsman were beginning to exchange silver as bets were placed on the Princess' skills. Part of her was grimly satisfied as she even heard some of the men who had hunted her boast about the feats they had seen her do in the chase.

When she landed her last arrow though, the crowd was silent and there was only the sound of one person clapping.

The Queen, from a balcony above the courtyard.

And part of Snow, a part she wasn't even sure was real, could not help but be proud that she had pleased the Queen.