Hey guys, so sorry for the delay I had a bad case of writers block for this, it was just one part I couldn't figure out! Ah, but it's done now and I hope you enjoy and I hear from you soon. Thank you all so much

JJ X x

It's strange really, the way things turn out. I never expected my life to become what it did, I never expected to grow up into a war, I never expected to ever really like Champaign, and I most certainly didn't expect a silly trip into town to become one of my fondest memories … but it did.

Life does that I guess, turns the world on its axes when you least expect it.

Mother had been more than tentative about allowing me and Odile into town, but she was in high spirits after capturing an enemy ally, a girl she had claimed would one day be leverage on a man who could cause us harm. So with that in mind and an armed guard she had given her permission

I smiled to the blonde as she eyed a passing handsome stranger and rolled my emerald gems "Odile"

She laughed with a roll of her diamond cut orbs "Oh do relax Callie, father has had me trapped in that fortress for over a month. I'm in much need of some fun"

"Well if you hadn't have snuck out to go to that ludicrous little engagement party then there would be no need for him to lock you up, would there?" I say with a knowing look to my friend, our arms entwined as we search the stalls, thankful for the peace of having slipped the guards for a short while

"Says the girl whose mother would keep her under lock and key if endorsed, we'd have to start calling you Rapunzel. Remember her? Terrible dress sense" she smiles as we stroll, my friend basking in her renewed freedom

Odile wasn't usually one to disobey but having heard word of her sister had snuck out one night to sneak a glance of her estranged twin, Odette, at the ball for a girl named Abbacy or Adel or something like that and Prince James, I met him once at a peace treaty between our two kingdoms… mother said he was cute, I was seven at the time and was convicted if he looked at me to long I'd get prince cooties.

The blonde beauty pouts lightly before pulling away to admire some silks "Oh Callie look at this!"

Without thought I turn and smash into a shadowing form who mutters "Oh, I'm so sorry!"

"No, no it was my fault. I'm…" I look up and my heart all but stops.

Standing before me was a boy; he held at least a foot above me and was adorned in dusky, worn garments, but that wasn't what caught my eye. He was all angles and leanness, his black honey glazed hair swept every which way, his eyes were a jumbled wash of sky blue and sea green and then there was that smile. Dazzling

"Are you ok?" I realize I'm staring and flinch back in embarrassment, moving a strawberry lock back as I regain my composure

With a timid smile I nod "perfectly fine, thank you. Are you alright, I did run into you pretty hard"

He looks at me, smiling a smile I'm sure would still the seas and sooth the wrath of god "I'm alright, I don't think you could hurt me if you tried"

"Is that a challenge?" I jest with ease; he raises an amused brow with a low chuckle

"Oh, they be fighting words. I'm Cornelius by the way" he offers his hand with a tender smile

Looking at his hand I realize he doesn't know who I am, hasn't once bowed his head in respect or averted his gaze in fear. It was refreshing, so as I take his hand with a smile and his lips graze my knuckle I give the name no present would know "Callie"

He smiles that smile and butterflies are throwing fireballs in my stomach, his long coarse fingers gripping my frail little hand tenderly "well, hello Callie"

"Yes, Hello Callie" we turn to find my friend who had obviously watched the entire scene from the sly smirk on her angelic face

I kick her lightly as she takes my arms and I smile "Cornelius this is Odile, Odile this is Cornelius"

They shake hands, it's quick and firm as she nudges me "well it was really nice meeting you but we have to go…"

She gestures to the palace guard rounding the corner and I panic looking from the handsome man to my friend "Um, we do… I'm sorry"

"Wait! Can I see you again?" he ask with a shine in his eyes that quivers my lip and freezes my brain

"Meet her tomorrow at the old ruins before dusk, she'll be waiting" before I have a chance to confirm she whisks me away from the sight of the stranger and guards… wait, what just happened?

Once we are out of sight of the knights I glare to the giggling flaxen beauty "what on earth did you tell him that for?"

"Because he was dashing and you for the first time in your short life were speechless… I was hardly about to let him slip away from you, what kind of friend would that make me?" I think for a moment, biting my lip as I smile. I'd never been courted before, many dark princes and lords had tried but I found them fruitless and pompous. Fifteen years old and I've never been on a date… how tragic is that?

That night I return to the palace with a spring in my step and a strange flutter in my chest "there you are"

I smile as an arm rounds my shoulder "Hello grandpa, did you have a nice day?"

"The more important question my dear is did you and was it worth your mothers wrath?" Looking up he offers a tight lipped smile

I sigh with while chewing on my crimson lower lip "is she really that mad?"

"Oh, princess, your mother sends those guards out to protect you, these are dangerous times and we have enemies at every turn. She worries" I lean in to him, savoring the odor of worn oak and powdered colon. It was comforting

"Callina!" that wasn't

"Yep, she's mad" I turn from him to find my mother, her usual graceful authority dashed by the overflow of rage echoed marching and ferocious glaring black orbs

"Just what do you think you were doing young lady? And don't tell me that you lost a personalized guard by accident, It didn't work when you were twelve it sure as hell isn't going to work now!" she glares down at me with steel lined eyes and I bow my head

Swallowing hard I breathe quickly "we just wanted some peace without extra shadows. Mother Odile and I spend our whole lives under restraint; we just wanted to fly without fear for a while"

Her shoulders fall and I see her seething stare soften "Oh, Callie sweetie I understand. I know it's hard to never have much privacy but you have to understand that while Snow White and her little dwarf legion are out there that I have no choice. You are my weakness…"

I smile up at her, my devoted protective mother "… and as of ten seconds ago said weakness is forbidden from leaving the grounds until further notice"

"But mother!" She smirks before cupping my cheeks and placing a kiss on the crown of my head

"Maybe true confinement will teach you to value the freedom you had" she gives nothing but a stern expression before walking off

I storm into my room, slamming doors before a knock comes through the door and I groan "go away!"

"You shouldn't have disappeared, you know what she's like" a lecturing voice beams through and I bounce back on the pool size bed

"Oh do shut up Huntsman" I snap and throw the nearest thing I could get my hands on, a fluffy stuffed rabbit

He catches the toy and comes to sit beside me on the teddy littered silk lined sheets. I've known Huntsman my whole life; he wasn't like the other guard who treated me like fractured porcelain, ready to break at any moment. He treated me like a person, he was nice to me not because I was Princess Callina, but because he wanted to be… that actually gives me an idea "Huntsman?"

"No, whatever trouble you and your little friend are trying to get me into this time the answer is no!" he groans with a stand, Huntsman liked to disobey the glorious queen but wasn't a fan of the consequences

Taking his hand I flutter my eyelids innocently and pout "Please Huntsman… it's just one little favor, I am a princess after all"

Everything about me screamed incorruptibility and he was very much the butter wouldn't melt sap under all that killer instinct, so with a bitter chuckle and a shake of his head he sighs "fine!"

With a beaming triumphant smile I jump up to embrace my friend "thank you, thank you thank you… now go away so I can prepare"

I hear him chuckle and the door close as I race to my dresser, whatever would I wear?

That night at supper I sit across from my mother at the large ebony table. She sits stern with grandpa beside her as the new moon begins to rise, looking over at me whist I play with my food she groans in a firm voice held for matters of authority "Callie, sweetheart, don't play with your food"

"Why, because royalty is supposed to be above such things?" I snide without looking at her, still outraged for the overly harsh punishment

I hear her silverware collide with the fine china "Callina, what has gotten into you?"

My chair scraps against the stone floor as my hands slam flat against the table "Maybe I'm tired of being a prisoner in my own home; maybe I'm sick of being your dainty little princess! Did you ever think of that 'you're Highness'?"

"Callina!" Grandpa calls as I storm out of the room, not looking back to see my mother's broken expression.

The morning after the night before I wake in my glorious room attired with jewels and gifts, feeling excited for tonight and at the same time angered for my imprisonment. I had picked out a silk midnight blue gown; it would glitter beautifully against the water colored clouds.

I had chosen to take breakfast in my room instead of joining the family, if my plan was to go smoothly I was to distance myself, besides I had no wish to speak to my mother. The day passes by in a tauntingly slow pace, my eye constantly on the clock. I had been ready for over an hour and was winding my sun kissed curls around the twirl of my finger as I wait. Huntsman had assured me that the far gate to the palace would be unguarded at sunset and again at midnight for an hour only.

When I saw the rainbow of color start to spear across the sky I make quick work in my temporary escape, he had tethered Duchess, my treasured unicorn, to a nearby tree. Without hesitation I ride off to the old ruins towards the resting sun. It was a beautiful place, just a mile from the palace and the city below.

Grandpa had taken me there many times, he'd told me of a great war that had rained throughout each passing kingdom, consuming all, whether they trembled or fought was of no matter. Ogres are vicious monsters. The kingdom was made of ivory washed stone and glittered in the moonlight though the land as a beacon to the wondering travelers and lost souls, a place that welcomed the forgotten and forsaken with a kind smile and warm bed. It was called the Genesis Kingdom

By the time I reached the ruins darkness had swarmed the sky above and I dismount in fear of the unknown "Cornelius?"

My call echoes from the surrounding stone until a hand touches my arm forcing me to jump back in terror only to be chuckled at "Callie, calm down, it's just me"

I smack him hard on the arm without thought, it wasn't funny "you terrified me, don't do that again"

"I'm sorry, forgive me?" he looks down at me with a lingering laugh and that bright smile that would put the stars to shame and I can't help the smile on my face or the blush that creeps up my cheeks

With a roll of my eyes I shrug "maybe one day"

He laughs and moves his arm out for us to walk "so Callie, what's your favorite color?"

"Um…pink, why?" I look to him with a raise of my brow as we stroll through the moonlit vestiges

"Badgering people question's is usually a key ingredient into getting to know them. Pink, it suits you. Mine's green by the way. So your turn?" he laughs at me, he's all playfulness and smiles, it's new, refreshing

With a bite of my lip I smile thoughtfully "alright, what is your talent?"

He looks at me in obvious confusion before I smile "my friend Odile has a talent for instruments; she has this uncanny ability to sit down and simply play. It's quite extraordinary, what's your talent?"

Nodding he holds up a finger for me to wait and then steps up onto a tarnished stone "Now, for you my lady I demonstrate 'my talent'" I watch in amazement as he glides effortlessly around the large rumble rocks and climbs to the callused roof of a lone standing wall only to jump down and land before me with a perfectly statured bow

Clapping porously I laugh "my, you're like a monkey man"

He chuckles and comes to my side "I prefer handsomely stealthy but I'll take it. So what's your talent?"

My head falls and nibble fingers moving to push back my hair as I blush "it's not very ladylike"

His warm coarse hand tenderly takes my fragile fingers, my head snapping up to meet his enchanting gaze "I promise not to tell"

"Alright, it's not very good but…" hesitantly I pull out my tongue to touch the tip of my button nose and cross my bottle green orbs to make a face

He laughs and my face returns to its former glory. It's almost a phenomenon with how much he laughs, how easy and light he seems, almost weightless… it's so different from the regal responsibilities of a princess.

Cornelius laces our fingers together with that smile, his color mixed gems sparling as he smiles "So, Callie, tell me more about you"

Butterflies attack every corner of stomach as I breathe with a tug of my lips "what do you want to know, Cornelius?"

He looks to me, the hand that isn't clutching mine rises to push a strawberry blonde tress back as he glances over my face, smiling that smile that could bring Olympus crumbling down "everything"

I missed the midnight pass; in fact the sun was up high by the time I danced back into the fortress I called home, shoes in hand as I glide along the black diamond halls, carful to mind the guards. I tiptoed into the fault and over to the still form I had made my confessor, along with Odile of cause "Morning Daddy, well I had an amazing night with an amazing boy. I think you'd like him, but I'm sure you would be furious about the sneaking out portion of the story"

I kneel down to look at his seemingly resting face "I wish you were here to talk to mother, calm her down… she'd listen to you. God knows she doesn't listen to me or grandpa, but you she would. Oh, daddy, I sometimes wonder what if you had gotten away that night, things would be so very different. You and mother would be married, own your own stable and a small cottage by the river… if that had happened I'd never be born, I mean, bloomed, but I'd be ok with that… you'd have other children, but you'd be here. Happy" I wipe a the tear from my eye quickly because princesses don't cry in the presents of anyone, even if they don't know your crying

Kissing my flattened palm I rest it on the crystal cage "sweet dreams Daddy"

Once safely in the confines of my room I fall onto the cloud like bed with tired eyes and a smile on my lips.

We had spent the whole night talking and fell into slumber as the sky turned rose blush pink, Cornelius was born in the golden time of fall, he had a diagonal scar behind his left ear from a hunting accident when he was thirteen and he had a hatred for insects and a love for strawberries. Cornelius is unlike anyone I have ever known… and I was going to keep him, at all costs.

The day had passed quickly and without interruption, apparently Huntsman was true to his word about keeping my darling mother at bay. However as I comb out my crimson locks a knock comes to the door and without permission it opens, the formidable queen waltzing in scattered in fine jewels and dead night black "Callina, I think you and I should talk"

Sighing I lay down the brush, not bothering to turn and face her "should we? Or would you rather lock me in the dungeons?"

"Your being unreasonable and completely bizarre, where's my little princess, hum?" at that I stand, fury racing through my veins

My feet find my way before her and scream "I'm not some child! I'm fifteen and I have no freedom, the only actual friend I have is because you're in cahoots with her father and the only male attention I get is from power hungry dark lords or the palace guards stalking me at your command. I have no life!"

She looks at me wide eyes, her chocolate orbs shined with an emotional glaze before regaining her composure and taking my hands in her grip "Callie, do you not realize how lucky you are? You have what other girls could only dream of"

"At what price Mother?" I scowl, gently pulling my hands from hers before taking a step back "what is the point of all this, when nothing changes… I'm never going to be anything more than The Evil Queens daughter" I watch her shatter before me and would give almost anything to reach into the air and vanquish those words. She had heard those words many a time, but never from me

I don't know what to say, except to apologize but before I can utter a word she swallow's hard and glares down at me, rendering me to a shameful taciturn "you think being my daughter is that awful, you have no idea… you're not to leave this room, not even for meals, you are to have no contact with Odile and are to have all your pleasantries removed. Maybe one day you will understand that this, this is for your own good Callina"

The regret is drowned out by the anger that bubbled with each of her words. With her head held high she walks out of the room and I grab the nearest thing from my dresser and launch it to the pink ivory door, my musical caracal scattered in pieces on the ground.

Without hesitation I walk to my dresser and call in rage "mirror!"

"Hello Princess, what can I do for you?" he says gently, almost sympathetically

With my head held high I command "Show me to Odile"

He looks skittish as the blue shimmering head stammers "Um, Princess, I'm afraid that the Queen…"

"I don't care what she's said you are to link our mirrors this instant, as Princess I command it!" the azure smoke swirls to reveal my blonde beauty

"Callie, are you alright?" she asks wide eyed and panicked, stupid mirror

Nodding I smile "perfectly, my mother has finally lost her mind and is determined to destroy my barely audible life. However that's not why I summoned you, I met with Cornelius."

We share a giggle and small jumps on opposite sides as she begs "tell me everything, was he a good kisser?"

"Nothing happened, nothing that like that at least; he was the perfect gentleman. Oh Od, he's funny and charming and deliciously normal" I smile while playing with my locket, my father still close to my heart

She tilts her head with a smile "I'm so happy for you Callie, he sounds like a knight in shining armor and you have me to thank"

I laugh and nod "Yes I do, thank you and he's no knight, I have more than enough of them… he's just…Cornelius"

Just then my best friend's image vanishes with the creek of my door "Princess?"

"Huntsman, thank you again for last night, I know it mustn't have been the easiest task" I smile to the unwilling knight

He smiles weakly to me, seeming solemn "perfectly fine, are you actually going to tell me what you were up to?"

"Nope, but you are going to tell me about the bee in your bonnet" he leads me out to the terrace and we look down to the spectacular gardens below

He rests against the midnight rail as he tells me his troubles "Regina has set off for King George's palace, something secretive apparently. However that's not the worst of it, she wanted to keep this from you but I think it's safer for you to know…we've had complaints of villagers disappearing, and then turning up well… I suppose eaten is the proper term"

I gasp in horror, this was happening here? Impossible "when did this begin? How is she responding?"

"Nearly a month ago and we have search party's out there, wondering around for whatever this thing may be, but it's impossible to know what is actually doing this." At his words realization sets in, that was why she had become so much more protective, so much more invasive and me? Her own daughter had punished her for this? For protecting me… to say I hate myself is by far the smallest token of my self-loathing

"Oh goodness… I'm the worst daughter" I gasp, griping the rail and my locket for support

I look over to the huntsman, offering me a tightlipped indulgent smile "Come on, I'll sneak you into the kitchens and you can raid the cakes"

I fall under his outstretched arm with a pout. It would take more than cake to make me feel better; I had a lot of groveling to do, but I'm still mad… I am…

What I didn't know was just outside the palace gates we were being watched, bloodstained lips sneering up to my balcony as they speak over their shoulder to another dark figure lingering in the shadows "don't worry, I'll get her"