I Will Always Find You Chapter 4: With This Ring and One Way They Did, an once upon a time fanfic

I Will Always Find You

Summary: Four ways Snow White and Prince Charming did not meet...and one way they did.

A/N: Thanks once again to everyone who favourite/alerted/reviewed...this is the last chapter, so I hope you all enjoy it! It's a little bit different, but I won't give away what I mean, you'll just have to read (and if you need any clarification, don't hesitate to ask).

Also, if you need another Snowing fix, I've started posting a new story set in fairytale land exploring how Snow/Charming became the rulers of King George's kingdom, called 'A Kingdom Won'...please go check it out!

Disclaimer: OUAT and all of its characters are the property of ABC...all I own is a childhood dream to be a Disney princess...

IV. With This Ring...

The thief sat high up in the tree, camouflaged amongst the foliage. Below her, the tree trunk she'd spent a good hour cutting down blocked the road, setting the trap which would hopefully net her another lot of bounty from the Queen. She had been patiently waiting for any sign of travellers along the Troll Road, passing the time by imagining what she would do when she had finally amassed enough fortune to leave this realm behind.

Just as she was about to become lost in thought the sound of horse hooves echoed through the forest, signalling the arrival of her prey. Adjusting her position to see up the road more clearly, she waited until a white carriage came into view, accompanied by knights on horseback. It was unmistakably royal, and the thief grinned as she thought of the gold and jewels it must carry.

The carriage slowed to a halt directly under the tree in which she was hiding, exactly as she had planned. As she watched, the carriage door opened and a man, most likely a prince given his attire, stepped out to inspect what had brought them to a stop. The thief prepared to jump down onto the carriage roof, but found herself pausing as she noticed the knights' clothing for the first time. They did not carry the insignia of the Queen, but that of what she vaguely remembered to be a kingdom whose borders shared her own. This gave her pause...up til this point, she had only stolen from the Queen in an effort to maintain some sense of propriety in the life she had been forced into. To steal from others would make her too much of a criminal and went against all that her father had taught her before his untimely demise.

She debated internally for a moment, her sense of morality against her need to flee from this realm as soon as possible. A shout drew her attention, and she looked down to realise that the prince and his men had discovered that the tree had not fallen due to natural means. Realising that she had missed her chance, the thief slipped quietly away...she would just have to wait for a more suitable target.

It was a pity though, she thought vaguely...the prince was among the most handsome she had ever seen...

David pulled his jacket around himself tighter, trying to ward off the deep chill which marked a typical winter's day in Storybrooke. He nodded politely to those he passed as he walked down the street, offering a smile now and then when he recognised the passerby. With his hand tucked into his pocket, he gently fingered the reason for his decision to brave the elements on his day off.

He had been giving his apartment a long overdue cleaning when he'd stumbled across a jewellery box which he'd inherited when his mother had passed away some years earlier. Upon opening it, his attention had been drawn to the silver and peridot ring which had served as her engagement ring. It was the only piece of jewellery she had never once removed until she had lain on her death bed, when she had placed it in his palm and told him to keep it for his future fiancée, whoever she may be. 'True Love follows this ring,' she'd told him and though part of him had been sceptical, he'd been unable to help but to hope that she was right...but as the years passed with nothing to show for them apart from one failed relationship with an icy blonde named Kathryn, he'd relegated the ring to the jewellery box at the back of his closet.

Upon his rediscovery of it however, he'd felt compelled to examine it once more...and to his dismay, found it tarnished from the years of neglect it had suffered. Feeling somewhat ashamed that he had not taken better care of something which had been so precious to his mother, he'd immediately set out to take it to the town's only jewellery store in the hopes that they would be able to restore it to its former glory.

"Dr Nolan!"

David was drawn from his thoughts by the shout, his eyes lifting to see a young girl grinning up at him, her blonde hair peeking out from beneath a bright blue beanie.

"Henrietta," he greeted once he recognised her as the mayor's daughter, before his brow furrowed as he realised she was alone, "What are you doing out here by yourself?"

Henrietta just giggled in response before pointing down the street, "I'm not alone, I'm with my mom."

David squinted to where she pointed, but could not see the dark-haired figure of Mayor Mills anywhere. However, after a moment he recognised the blonde woman chatting to Dr Hopper on the sidewalk to be Alexandra Swan, the town's new deputy and Henrietta's biological mother. Her arrival in Storybrooke a few weeks before had been the talk of the town, given that visitors to their sleepy little corner of Maine were a rarity.

"Ah," he said in realisation, before he saw that Deputy Swan was now looking up and down the street, obviously searching for her wayward daughter, "I think she's looking for you."

Henrietta glanced back, waving at her mother before leaving David with a "See you later Dr Nolan!" thrown over her shoulder as she ran back up the street.

Shaking his head at her enthusiasm, David continued onwards until he reached his destination, pausing to take in the slightly peeling gold letters spelling out Small's Jewellers on the window pane. As he pushed open the door, his entrance was signalled by the tinkling of a tiny bell which caused the two figures standing at the front counter to look up in his direction. One of them was obviously the store owner, the other a female customer who only briefly glanced in David's direction before she quickly whirled back towards the counter.

"I'll be with you in a moment," said the short, rotund man behind the counter, wisps of wiry grey hair falling into his slightly squinted eyes.

David nodded in acknowledgement, letting his eyes roam over the nearby display cases as the man (the Mr Small of the store's name, no doubt) said something quietly to the young woman before disappearing through the beaded entryway at the back of the shop. A few minutes passed as David perused the array of jewellery in silence before a sudden thump made his head jerk towards the counter. The woman had apparently dropped her handbag, its contents spilling out over the carpeted floor. Always one to lend a hand, David quickly approached and knelt down to help the slightly frantic looking woman to gather her things.

"Here, let me help..." David looked up from the pile of items to find himself looking into the most vivid pair of green eyes he had ever seen, framed by a face which his first thought was to describe as angelic, "...you."

He realised he was staring as the woman blushed under his scrutiny, but he could not help himself. It was like she had stepped out of his dreams and he wondered how he could have never crossed paths with her before. He hadn't heard about any more visitors to Storybrooke so she must be a resident...he thought he had already met practically everyone in town, but apparently he had missed meeting the most important. His musings were interrupted the sound of her quiet voice, its tone belying her embarrassment.

"Oh...you don't need..." she started before she realised he had already gathered her things as she'd avoided his gaze and was holding them out to her in his hands, "Um, thank you."

She took them from him, her fingers accidently brushing against his hand which caused tiny sparks of electricity to arch from his skin directly to his heart.

"You're welcome...I'm D..."

"Dr Nolan, I know," she blurted, before a look of mortification crossed her face and she hastily went on to explain.

"I mean, I'm a teacher at Storybrooke Elementary and the kids talk about you all the time, especially after you helped save Timothy's dog and I've seen you getting coffee from Granny's and walking your dog along the path in front of my house and I'll just be quiet now."

David could only blink at the sudden onslaught of words, a warm feeling suffusing his chest at the knowledge that she knew who he was...that she'd taken notice of him even though he had never noticed her before now. But there was one thing he had to correct immediately.

"I was going to say I'm David," he started slowly, his amused grin growing larger as the blush upon her cheeks darkened to the point that she was almost completely scarlet, "And it's nice to meet you...?"

He let the question hang in the air, hoping that she didn't feel too embarrassed to give him her name. A beat passed where it looked like she was going to remain silent, before she let out a little sigh, a small smile lighting up her face in a way which made it all the more beautiful.

"Mary Margaret, my name is Mary Margaret."

V. And One Way They Did...

Snow waited until the attention of the knights and the prince was focused on the tree, before she jumped down from her hiding place, landing on top of the carriage with a thump. Swinging her body downwards, she took a brief moment to peer into the carriage, taking note of the rather annoyed looking princess who she'd heard complaining even from all the way up in the tree but more importantly, the pouch which the prince had left carelessly lying on the seat. With lightening quick moves, she reached in and grabbed the pouch, wincing a little at the princess' loud shriek of surprise.

With her bounty tucked securely into her belt, Snow threw herself into the saddle of the nearest abandoned horse, spurring it into action just as she heard the shouts of the knights growing louder behind her. Racing off down the path, she focused all her energy on pushing her stolen steed as fast as it could go, ever mindful of the sound of another horse being ridden hard behind her. The cries of encouragement from its rider reached her ears, and worry began to settle itself in her heart as she realised that the sounds were becoming ever louder. Just as she was about to twist her head to look, she felt strong arms grab her from the side, throwing her off balance enough to dismount her from the horse and cause her to crash to the ground in an ungainly heap.

Head throbbing, she thrashed around to try and untangle herself from her cloak which had wound its way around her form before she heard an angry voice cry out from above her.

"Show your face you coward!"

A weight settled over her, pinning her to the ground as rough hands pulled the cloak away from her face.

She blinked into the sudden influx of light to see the prince leaning over her, his right fist raised in preparation to strike. A small part of her, a part she had buried beneath a veneer of aloofness, immediately noticed that he was rather handsome, with bright blue eyes that sparkled even under the anger which was clear in his gaze. Anger though, which quickly turned to confusion as he noticed that she was clearly not a man as he had expected.

"You're a...girl."

That word caused her to instantly bristle, and she let a smug grin cross her features as she corrected him.

"Woman."

Snow took advantage of the confusion obviously still running rampant through her captor, her left hand feeling along the ground till she encountered a rock. With as much force as she could muster, she brought it up to strike the side of the prince's face, causing him to fall backwards in surprise and pain. Now free from his grasp, she leaped up and ran towards the horse stopped a few metres up the path, her most-likely bruised ribs protesting as she swung herself up in the saddle.

"You can't hide from me!"

Snow took off down the path once again, leaving the prince to shout after her helplessly.

"Wherever you are, I will find you!"

At his pronouncement, she couldn't help but look back, a teasing smile upon her lips. As she watched, he rubbed a finger across the cut she had given him and a perverse part of her was glad that she had marked him in some way...the same part which whispered within her soul that she hoped he managed to make his promise come true.

Fin