Um... so... this isn't really a Snow White/Prince Charming thing but they're in the story. This is partly in protest of all the Disney being injected into the next season of Once Upon A Time - I like my fairytales and it should just stay about fairytales. So yes, this one-shot is based on a classic fairytale; bonus points if you can name it. Anyways, be prepared to...read...

I love reviews and also, you can follow me on twitter at vatrask for updates on this story and my other ones.

Enjoy 3

Erica, Heather

She picked the flowers every day; as a way of saying 'good morning' to the now Queen of all the kingdom and every morning the Queen thanked her lady-in-waiting with a gracious smile, and warm thank you with a smile that seemed to be only for her. She always admired the queen and heather was the perfect flower to present to her as it was strong and yet gracefully beautiful as the queen was. How she longed to have the gentle strength she saw her lady ruling with; but she was a simple hand-maiden and could do little else no matter how hard he tried.

Sometimes when Snow White was away, she would try on her clothes and pretend she was more than she ever dreamed she was. But she was always careful and returned the clothes to their rightful place before anyone found out; until one night when a soldier crept up upon her while she was unaware and frightened the girl so she ran back to her chamber still wearing one of Snow White's golden gowns. And she was so frightened that she never returned the dress either so it lay in her closet for nearly a month before she had the courage to take it out and admire it again. At night, when the moon was full, she removed the dress, danced with it in the moonlight just outside her window without a care in the world. And that was when she was suddenly swept up by a great beast that resembled so much a dog that she had no choice but to ride on its back with the dress billowing behind her like a bright, golden sail. The dog ran outside the palace walls and through the village until it stopped just outside a small inn with a single candle burning in a single window. Curious, she peered inside to see a soldier polishing his boots with tired fingers. He was handsome but rugged and worn which endeared her to him even more so she stepped inside the room, startling him fiercely. "I'm sorry good soldier," she whispered "I did not mean to frighten you but I fear I was brought here by a great Dane and have no way of getting home."

He looked up at her and smiled, placing his work down beside him as he rose to greet her "you, maiden are the prettiest I've yet seen; it was my dog that brought you here princess for I asked him to bring you to me."

"Princess?" She blinked, startled "what makes you say I am the princess you seek." He glanced down at the dress still in her hand, now tattered and torn from her journey.

"Only a princess would care so little for a dress so fine." She looked down at the dress in dismay; Snow White may not punish her for she was too kind but her employer may yet take a belt to her.

"How can you judge a princess so harshly; surely she can care for things as though they were worth her weight in gold even if they were not?"

"Aye, m'lady, I'm sure she can but I've yet to meet a princess so rare."

"Well, I tell you sir that the queen of this kingdom is such a lady and you will treat her with the respect she deserves."

He smirked, and bowed low, taking her hand and kissing it oh so gently "that which the lady demands, she will receive."

Of course, she blushed at his words despite the fact that they were not meant for her – though she meant every word she said about Snow White. "I thank you sir."

"Such coloured cheeks on a lady so fine is even rarer indeed. My dog was right to seek you out fair maiden for I fear I may never have lived to meet such beauty."

"You speak in riddles, sir, as though you have nothing to say."

"I have few words to say in the face of such splendid magnificence – I am barely left speechless."

"Your tongue has run away from you sir, I dare say you should catch it before it finds you in peril. The night grows nearer to dawn, good sir; I wish to be returned to my home."

He bowed once more and took her hand, leading her outside where he giant dog was once again waiting for her "I will release you if you promise me one thing; I wish to see you again tomorrow night."

She flushed but found her voice terribly vanished so she nodded, and kissed his cheek, returning home with thoughts of her glorious deception looming over her.

The dog returned for her night after night until she was fantastically in love and he with her, despite no names being exchanged. She found it better that way for if word were to spread of her deception, she would likely be hanged. But word did spread; of a soldier who had come to town under mysterious means and bewitched the heart of the queen in dead of night and was intent to carry her away. She overheard, one morning as she was preparing her lady's clothes, Snow White protesting her innocence in the plot and the King believed her, his doubt never wavering. And it tore her heart so much that she confessed to them her scandal and, as she suspected, they were not angry with her; but they urged her to set the record straight.

And she did; and she was charged by the courts without approval from the king, sentenced to hang for her deception. The soldier never came to her execution but she saw out of the corner of her eye, a great dog sitting and watching her. She cried of joy and pain at the sight of the golden engagement ring in the dog's mouth, waiting for her to take it and unable to reach out for it.

The day after the execution, Snow White spent the day in her chamber, in utter tears for her lost friend and sought out the soldier only to find him in the inn, died of a broken heart.

She went out to pick heather every morning after that, laying them on the tombstones at the top of the hill, away from the town that condemned them.