As the kingdom buzzed in shock about the wedding between Prince Charming and Princess Abigail being called off one little girl viewed the scandal with mild indifference. Her father was missing, maybe even in danger and she would not sit back and do nothing until she knew what had happened to him.
The Queens' guards, now received with fear rather than respect, did not see her slip into the palace and if any servants spied her they did not give her a second glance. The palace was full of child workers and she could be no more than a scullery maid. But as her paisley hooded cloak peeked out from behind a plinth Graham sighed and crouched down beside her before she could run.
"What are you doing here?" the mere fact that she could sneak into the palace of a queen who had more enemies than faithful subjects filled him with a confusing mix of hope and fear. One day it could be Red creeping along the hallways but she was not as inconspicuous as one sad little girl.
"I – I want to speak to the Queen," Grace said in a trembling voice. She was scared but very brave. He felt a faint pulse of pitying affection for her.
"I'm afraid she's not receiving visitors today," he said gently but Grace lifted her chin in defiance.
"I came all this way and I'm not leaving until I speak to her."
"Huntsman?" the Queen's brittle voice, an affect he thinks she does to make herself sound older, issued out behind them and he turned. Graham tried to push the girl back behind the plinth but she struggled and ran into the Queen's path. Regina narrowed her eyes at the girl and then recognition entered them. Her gaze flickered with such a strange expression that he thought he was seeing things but for just a moment the Evil Queen's dark eyes flashed with pity.
"Where is my papa?" the blonde girl asked bluntly and Regina's lips curled in amusement. If anyone else had spoken to her in such a manner they would be dragged to the dungeons but it seemed the girl was different.
"Hello Grace, you were just a tiny baby the last time I saw you," Regina said and her voice lost that deep edge, sounding soft and younger. Grace blinked.
"You – you know me?"
"Of course. Your father and I are old friends…and I know that's why you're here," she said and swept forward, her gown swishing back and forth on the flagstones. Graham placed his hand on the girl's shoulder.
"Where is he? Is – is he okay?" she asked in a trembling voice and tears shone in her eyes. Regina leaned down and Graham blinked in shock yet again. He had caught glimmers of pity and genuine sadness before she would yank a sneering mask back over her face like it had never been but now she regarded the girl with compassion.
"He's in Wonderland. I asked him to help me, which I think you know. He helped me save someone very dear to me but he got stuck there. I'm sorry," she said and rose to her full height.
"He said that he would be back in time for tea and – and I waited and waited but he never came," tears spilled down her cheeks and Graham squeezed her shoulder and before he could react she turned and pressed her face against his chest. The Queen stared at the girl with unguarded sadness.
"He did it for you, remember that. He only wanted the best for you and I promised that if anything happened to him you would be taken care of. You'll want for nothing Grace," she said and then motioned for a guard to escort the crying girl away. Before she left Regina asked who she was living with.
"My neighbours."
"The weavers?"
"Y – yes," Grace sniffed and Regina smiled.
"I shall contact them shortly. I really do need some royal handloomers and the rustic touch can be…charming," she watched as Grace disappeared and Graham stared at the Queen with a look of wary admiration until she cocked an eyebrow. "What?"
"That's the first time I've seen you do a genuine thing for someone. Why can't you act like that with everyone?"
She rolled her eyes. "Because I don't make promises to just everyone," she snipped and walked into her chambers, Graham trailing behind. She sat on her fainting couch and plucked a grape from a dish and waved it through the air and he was on alert at once. Her eyes glimmered in a way that told him trouble was imminent.
"May I be excused?" he asked and her lips curled. There was no teasing smile, no spark of lust in her eyes and he felt his muscles easing, not realising how tense he had been. She would not order him to her bed but something else was in the cards.
"You may not. We have a pressing matter to discuss, do we not? A little matter of wolves," she stressed the word and Graham stopped breathing. His heart was in box in this very room and that proximity loaned him a depth of feeling he did not possess away from it; so when a spike of dread shot through him he actually felt it. However he kept his face impassive.
"What about them?"
Regina laughed. "Oh Huntsman! You might be half feral but I think the court is rubbing off on you, you dissemble admirably." She rose back up and walked to him, her hips swinging. "I have eyes and ears everywhere, you know that better than anyone and it hasn't failed to reach me about a certain meeting between wolf packs. I thought the death of Anita's successor would send them scurrying to their dens but it appears not."
"It hasn't got anything to do with me," he shrugged as she stopped before him, her hand on his chest over his real heart. She cocked her head with a small smile.
"No but I think we can guess who's behind it, can't we?" her dark eyes drilled into his and his gaze were like two stones, utterly devoid of feeling.
"I don't know," he said stiffly and she issued another laugh that ringed through his ears.
"Please! As if I don't know about your little ventures into the woods with that red girl. I hold your heart Huntsman, nothing is hidden from me," she grinned cruelly but for all her amusement that was a seed of anger in her, a jealousy and it was that more than anything that filled him with an icy dread. He didn't care what happened to him but he would not put Red in danger.
That's what you've been doing for months you selfish idiot. His self-reproach was awful and bitter. "She's of no concern."
"Oh but she is. She's utterly besotted with you, did you know that? Not that I care but it's pathetic really, she can't have you and you're just wasting your time," she waved her hand at her mirror and with a lurch Graham saw Red's reflection. She was looking into a pool of water, washing her face. A warmth spread through him that reached right down to his bones.
"I gave you my heart back willingly so that you would leave them alone."
"No, I said that I would leave her old pack alone, which I have. You know spending time with her has not been without results. I now know what she plans because of you. That girl needs to be taken down a notch."
"She's not a girl," he snapped before he could stop himself and Regina flashed a sharp smile and stared at Red in the mirror. The sight of her sent a throb of longing through him. He missed her and they had not even been parted that long. Along with that yearning came a sharp jittery panic for her safety.
"She's a beast and one that needs to be tamed. Even a single voice can spark revolution," she said grimly and walked back to him, the mirror going dark. "I want you to go to the meeting and tell them how foolish it is to cross me."
"They won't listen to me," he answered flatly and the Queen nodded.
"But they will listen to her. Once they see how weak she is in the face of you they'll scatter."
He went stone cold at her implication. So close to his entrapped heart a searing terror flooded through him and he gripped his sword convulsively. "I won't do it, I won't hurt her."
"You will because I'm telling you to, you have no choice," she sighed at the stricken look on his face and seemed to relent. "If it makes you feel any better I'll make you forget until the time is right. That way she won't have a clue and the mission won't be jeopardised."
As she moved for the box containing his heart and he raced her for it but she slammed him back against the wall. Terrified at what he might do Graham struggled as she moved up to him, the box in her hands.
"Please don't do this," he begged and Regina stopped in surprise.
"You really do care for her don't you? If that's the case then I'm saving you from an ugly breakup. You have no future together because you're mine," she reminded him harshly and forced him to look at her. He growled viciously in answer and she knocked him out with a laugh.
They travelled for days to the secret location where the packs were congregating. Having such an unprecedented number of werewolves in one place was a prime target for attack and so each pack sent out its members to different parts of the land and only a select few, alphas and betas, knew the true whereabouts of the meeting.
As the sun set on the outskirts of the Infinite Forest the small band came to a stop. Red could walk for hours without getting tired by Snow and the dwarves were a different matter. Red peered into the dark depths of the woods with her keen eyes and inhaled. Anyone who ventured into those trees were usually never seen again as they became increasingly lost. Red could probably find her way out using her senses but she had heard that the place was enchanted and even her wolfish abilities could be tricked. Even so for some time now she has felt a weight against her back and it was not abating. She was being watched.
"I'll be back with some firewood," she said as Snow and the dwarves rested. Since Charming had fled from his wedding he and Snow had been parted yet again. Together there was more chance of them being caught. Snow handled the separation with a brave smile. She was not as miserable as she had been now that she knew that her prince truly loved her but she was not happy. Red wished that she could do something to help but her friend's predicament was the same as hers: they could only be with the people they loved once the ruling monarchy was deposed.
Thoughts turning to Graham she paused, nostrils flaring. For a moment she could smell his scent faintly on the air but soon it was replaced by the smell of pine and earth. She rubbed her nose, scolding herself for missing him so much she was imagining his scent when it came again, this time stronger. Red straightened and whipped around when something snapped behind her.
"Snow!"
"You okay? You look spooked," she asked in concern, coming to her side and Red shook her head.
"It's nothing, just this weird forest playing tricks on me," she smiled faintly, not wanting to admit how much it had gotten to her when Snow's eyes widened and she grinned over Red's shoulder.
"Looks like we have a guest."
Red turned and tried not to squeal in happiness. Graham, dressed in his familiar green and brown skins rather than black leather, stopped at the edge of the glade and stared at her. Even though it had only been a week since the last time they had met they stared at each other like it had been years, their eyes soaking in each other's appearance. With a small laugh Snow pushed Red and that triggered her into finally moving. She rushed to him as he dropped his weapons and hugged her tightly as she threw her arms around his neck.
"I knew it was you!" Red breathed and pulled back but he would not let go of her. He ran his hands up and down her sides and then over her face, as if to make sure she was whole before speaking.
"I wanted to make sure you were okay. It's dangerous," he explained and Red smiled, titling her head.
"I can take care of myself."
"I know…" he stared deeply into her eyes and that restrained tension between them became so taut that it snapped like a wire when the dwarves noisily appeared. Red and Graham parted and Snow, who had been hugging herself with a happy smile, turned to her friends.
"This is Graham. He's Red's soulmate," she stated matter of fact and Grumpy stared at the face of the approaching werewolf and broke into a seldom seen grin.
"Now I know why they call you red and sister it ain't after that," he tugged on her crimson cloak as she passed, pulling up her hood to hide her burning face from Graham, who was not smiling. In fact he looked deeply troubled and Snow watched him walk after Red thoughtfully.