Disclaimer: Sadly, I own nothing associated with Once Upon a Time, Marvel, or Grimm's Fairy Tales. Only original characters and ideas are mine.

AN: Here's the next chapter. Please enjoy, and don't forget to review. Thanks!

Chapter 7: Quality Time Together:

"Drina, could you tell me again about flying horses?" Henry asked eagerly, his face turned up towards me as he waited for me to reply.

Smiling, I opened the book we were studying, and settled myself onto the bench. "Alright, but listen closely this time. And don't get any ideas on how to capture them!"

He gave me a slight pout as I began reading through the chapter, but stayed quiet as I spoke. It was so nice, having a student who thirsted for knowledge!

In the month that I had been here, Henry and I had managed to iron out a routine that both of us were comfortable in. I had him under my care from after breakfast until just before lunch, and in those few hours, I tried to answer all of his questions, and teach him everything he wanted to know.

The problem: Henry wanted to know everything there was about The Enchanted Forest.

Growing up in a land with no magic or happy endings, Henry longed to know all about a world that he had grown up believing he would never see. Now he was here with his family, and his curiosity had him going through book after book, his bright mind absorbing all kinds of information even as it ached for more.

Emma thought I was pushing him too hard, but in fact, I was trying to hold the poor boy back, so that he wouldn't burn out. But even as I tried to carefully pace everything in an effort to keep Henry from over-doing it, I couldn't stop him from sneaking into the library and reading whatever book he was interested in. I wanted to order the head librarian to deny him entry, but Henry's status far outranked mine, so any orders I issued could easily be overruled. I would just have to let him have his way, until Emma or Snow issued a command that he would listen to.

After I finished the chapter, we both got up from the bench and began heading for the stables. He would have his riding lesson, followed by a two-hour break, so that he could clean up, eat lunch, and have a short rest before going to his weapons lessons. Once those were done, he would spend an hour with his grandparents, who would tell him about their day listening to petitions from the citizens, and their judgments. It was Snow's hope that Henry would learn wisdom and understanding from those decisions, so that he would make wise decisions when he grew older.

"I want to make sure that he doesn't become a hot-headed warrior," Snow told me once when we were alone. "He can be rash, like me or David, but I want to make sure that he has lessons he can reflect on in the future."

I understood that entirely. For all that Henry was a sweet, kind, and rather patient young man, he was young, and impatience was a trait that all young people his age had. Snow might not have been able to be a mother to Emma, but she was going to do her best to be a good grandmother and example to her grandson.

When Henry was in his other lessons, I had most of the day to myself. I spent that time creating or going over lesson plans for Henry, keeping things organized for his sake and mine. I also spent a good amount of time reading through the assignments he finished –sometimes, he was a bit overenthusiastic, and tended to turn in five or six pages when I only asked for two or three. But he was a good writer who put a great deal of effort into his work, so I rather enjoyed reading anything he turned in.

During the rare times I had completely free, I lost myself in a book or wrote letters home to Mama and Papa, to let them know how I was doing, what I had been up to lately, and the latest news from the palace.

However, I usually went to oversee Henry's other lessons. I would secretly observe him from the shadowed doorways around the training arenas, my nerves on the verge of fraying as I watched my charge learn to ride a horse and swing a sword. Henry seemed to get along well with horses, and was a natural with weaponry, but that didn't stop me from worrying every time the horse started to get fidgety, or a practice blade got swung in Henry's direction.

Keeping close to Henry's side through all those lessons was Steve Rogers. The man was a constant feature everywhere Henry went, standing tall, silent and protective. Even though his face was kind whenever he looked our way, any stranger who tried to get too close to Henry received a glare that, if looks could kill, would have that person dead and cold on the floor in seconds.

When he wasn't being the protective guard of the Prince, Steve was slowly becoming a friendly acquaintance to me and to Henry. If there was a question I asked that Henry didn't know the answer to, or if he grew frustrated with an assignment, Steve was there to give hints. I found it rather reassuring and funny, having one official student, and an unofficial one listening in on the lectures I gave. I suspected Steve in helping Henry with some of his assignments, but given Henry's enthusiasm for learning, Steve was probably only giving hints and tricks in memorizing facts, rather than doing the assignments for him.

But Steve's helpfulness didn't end with helping Henry with bookwork and reports on magical animals. As a seasoned knight, Steve was skilled in fighting, riding, and maneuvering his body in order to win in a fight. So, he became Henry's unofficial fighting advisor. In between Henry's weapons training, Steve would offer advice on how to stand, hold a weapon, and even give a practice session if Henry was feeling unsure about what he had just learned.

"He'll be fine," Emma said once, when I'd mentioned what Steve was doing. "Steve seems to know what he's doing, and Henry's pretty good when it comes to swords. Have a little faith in both of them."

I tried, but I couldn't help but be anxious. I pictured all sorts of terrible accidents that could happen to him in the practice yards, and my stomach stayed a ball of tangled nervousness until his trainers ended the lesson. Almost against my will, the darker parts of my imagination would occasionally create scenarios inside my head, my mind painting images where hired assassins tried to attack the poor boy, and I was powerless to stop it. It was probably my father's fears rubbing off on me, combined with my long history of fearing for the safety of Snow, who I had left behind in someone else's care.

Eventually, I had to remind myself that Henry's situation was very different from Snow's, and that my fears were unfounded. While Snow had only had her father to look out for her when she was growing up, Henry had many more defenders standing between him and Evil. He had two magical mothers, one of which was The Savior, while the other happened to be the former Evil Queen, both of whom would tear the world apart to protect him. He also had Snow White for a grandmother; a skilled fighter as a grandfather; and many other friends who would gladly protect him at all costs.

Once my own fears had faded, I began to stop worrying as much, though I always winced whenever Henry lost his grip on his sword, or his horse nearly tossed him into the dirt. I considered Henry as part of my family, so I knew that part of me would always worry about him.

Today, however, both practices had gone well, so I wasn't as anxious as I normally was. And rather than go off on my own, I went to go meet Henry on the training grounds, beaming with approval at what he'd accomplished.

When he saw me, Henry's face lit up. "Drina! Did you see me? I didn't drop the sword at all, and even managed to score a hit a few times!"

I smiled and praised him as I fell into step beside him, the two of us heading for the main part of the castle. Following a few steps behind us, Steve assumed his guard position, carefully pacing himself so that he stayed close to his charge, but not be overbearing.

I didn't have to look at him to know that Steve's eyes and ears were open, and not just for danger. In recent weeks, Steve had developed a keenness for listening in on my conversations with Henry. However, he was careful not to enter into our conversations unless we invited him, which Henry usually did. The boy liked everyone, and even though Steve's primary concern was his welfare, Henry was beginning to think of his protector as a friend.

While most people tended to be uncomfortable with trusting their guards, I firmly believed that Steve would be a man to trust; not only with secrets, but with my life. Steve seemed the sort of man who could keep a secret, and would never betray Henry's confidence unless he believed it might cause him harm. So if Henry decided to make Steve a confidant, I wouldn't be surprised in the least.

Our walk to Henry's rooms was a bit of a long one, but he was eager to tell me all about his sessions today, even though I had seen them both first-hand. I didn't mind his chatter, though; I liked seeing him confident, excited and happy.

As soon as my charge was inside his room and the door was shut, Steve took a position outside the door. Though his stance seemed relaxed, it was deceptively so –through the crystal back in Foxglove, I'd seen him in battle, and watched him take down enemies faster than I could blink.

"So, where are you off to?" he asked, leaning against the wall as he gave me a smile.

His question caught me off-guard (pun intended). Even though he'd given me permission for me to call him by his first name, Steve's attitude towards me could, until this point, only be described as distant and polite, the way a person would treat a new acquaintance.

And so far, we'd never actually been alone together. I often went off on my own when Henry was in his rooms, leaving Steve to perform his job without me distracting him.

To answer his question, I merely shrugged. "I'm not sure today. I'll probably go to the library; there's a new book that came in, filled with pictures of wild birds that I would love to look at before someone else does."

I looked at him. "Why do you ask?"

He shifted a little on his feet. "Well, I wanted to see if you'd be willing to tell me about yourself. If I'm in charge of the Prince's safety, I should at least know more about you. Since we've been busy settling in and helping Henry, you and I haven't had a chance to talk with each other."

Most women would think he was flirting, but I knew better. Steve was merely an man who wanted to do his job the best that he could. Besides, he was right –he should know more about me, and we'd never really talked about ourselves to one another. He, like the rest of the castle, was curious about my past, and about my time in Foxglove.

The one thing I wouldn't tell him was that I was cursed, with True Love being the only way to break it. The last thing I wanted was for him to think that I was trying to lure him into a relationship; men tended not to like that one bit.

"Well, alright," I agreed. "Let me grab a chair. You might be used to standing for hours at a time, but I'm not."

I fetched a chair from down the hall, and set it up beside him. From there, I told him about my childhood in the palace, growing up under the care of King Leopold and Queen Eva, and helping to raise Snow for the first decade or so of her life.

By the time the bell in the clock tower signaled that it was time to get ready for dinner, I'd gotten up to the point in my life where we had fled to Foxglove and Grandmama had begun my education in becoming heiress to the estate.

"And now I have to go," I said cheerfully as I got to my feet.

"Will I see you in the dining hall?"

His question caught me by surprise. Inside the safety of the dining hall, Steve's presence wasn't really required. Mostly, it was just the royal family, some friends, a few key staff members (including myself), and a few guards scattered along the walls to provide security. Steve was able to either eat with the rest of us staff members, seated at the same long table, or go his own way until it came time to escort Henry back to his rooms before going off-duty for the night. In the time he had spent in Henry's service, Steve had spent only a little of his dinner time in his own quarters, eating quickly so that he could be outside the doors to the dining hall, waiting when Henry emerged.

Tonight would be the first time he would sit in the hall, which I took as a sign that he wanted to try and become more friends than acquaintances. I agreed to meet him there, and went off to tidy up and dress for dinner.

Part of me fleetingly thought that this was an attempt for him to show interest in me, but I pushed aside any romantic inclinations. It was merely two people sitting down to talk, that was all. There was no need to think it was anything more than that.


It was unusual for Steve to join the others for dinner, but after so many weeks in the palace, he felt it was time to start forming friendships and bonds with other people. And so, he'd decided to take a first step by inquiring after Drina's past, in the hopes of getting to know her better.

As a young boy, he'd had few friends, and during his time training to become a knight, he'd had none at all. Most of the others had been noble or well-born boys, while Steve had been the impoverished orphan brought up by a blacksmith. If it hadn't been for a chance encounter with a kind lord, Steve would still be making horseshoes and suffering through hard, hot, brutal work.

Even as a knight, he'd been afforded little time to create friendships, or bonds of any kind. He had often traveled around, helping those who needed it, but never staying more than was necessary. Peasants could not afford to feed a knight for long, so Steve had moved on as soon as he could.

Then he'd gone to meet his cousin, and ever since, a part of him that had once been closed off had begun to open up. Steve allowed himself to feel love for David and for Snow, both of whom he respected. Emma was slowly warming up to him, and Henry was willing to be friends with everyone who wasn't evil.

Thinking about his charge, Steve allowed a small smile. He really did love Henry –the boy had such a great amount of kindness, understanding, and energy that it was impossible not to like him. Henry had even asked if he could call him Cousin Steve; but since he was supposed to be his guard, Steve had decided against it, at least in public.

But even if he now had family and was growing very fond of them, Steve still had trouble forming friendships. Most of the other guards were too intimidated by him to be friends, and he knew better than to try and be friends with the nobility –he was, after all, the King's cousin; it would be too easy for a young lord to try and ask Steve for a 'favor,' or for a noblewoman to pretend that she was in love with him, just to gain favor with the royal family.

But Lady Andrina didn't the mold of a noblewoman. She was an aristocrat, and a dear friend to Snow White, but she asked that he call her by her nickname, 'Drina,' and didn't insist that she be treated with the respect and difference that most nobles expected.

To Steve, the woman was a puzzle. She had grown up in a palace as a favorite of Snow White's parents, King Leopold and Queen Eva, but Drina hadn't been spoiled to the point of being selfish, or cruel. Instead, she had gone down the rarely followed path of being kind to everyone.

Looking at the woman beside him, he listened with one ear as he tried focusing on his soup and his own thoughts. In the many hours he'd spent with Henry in Drina's presence, Steve had never seen her treat the servants poorly, or sent them scurrying to do a dozen impossible tasks at once. She treated them like people, and in return, the servants were more than happy to do anything she asked of them.

At first, Steve had thought that her nature was too good to be true. He had thought that, sooner or later, her real self would show through the façade she was showing the world, but it never happened. Oh, there had been times where he'd seen her lose her temper, but that was only if a palace worker had done something disastrous, like break a priceless heirloom of the royal family's.

A memory surfaced as he sipped the last of his soup course. One evening, he'd gone to the library to borrow a book, and found Drina supervising a novice scholar who was putting books back on the shelf. The lad was handling the books as though they were made of glass, and kept looking back at her as though he were terrified of offending her.

"That will teach you to discard these books like trash," he heard her say. "You may be training to be a scholar, and you may not like the profession just yet, but there's a lot you have to learn about books. Chief among your lessons is to treat them with respect; you're not to toss them about and leave them scattered around the library like dirty laundry."

The scowl she had on had been so fierce that the boy stuttered his apologies even as he continued shelving the books in his arms. Steve had barely managed to hold back his laughter until he left the library, his chosen book in his hands and a smile on his face.

No, he had never met a woman like Drina, and that was what had made him decide to try to become friends. Even though he already knew a great deal about her, he wanted to actually know her, straight from her own lips, rather than through gossip or things he guessed at when observing her.

And as long as he was being honest with himself, Steve was willing to admit that he felt guilty for never trying to make her acquaintance. The two of them had spent hours in each other's prescience, but he had done everything possible to keep things distant.

Now he berated himself for acting like that. Drina had always been kind to him, even when he tried to maintain a wall between them, and she most certainly deserved to be treated better. She was a good person, and Steve was going to make amends in any way he could.

Now she sat beside him, telling him stories about her years at her father's estate, with her parents and grandmother. As she began the part that he was more interested in, namely the magical protections that had protected her lands for so long, Steve felt a tap on his shoulder. Drina halted her story as the two of them turned their heads towards the interruption.

A serving lad stood there with a nervous look on his face. "Your pardon, sir knight," he stuttered, "But Prince Henry is feeling unwell, and will be returning to his room. The Queen requests that you and Lady Andrina accompany him back to his rooms, as the royal family members have important matters to attend to after the meal."

Drina wasted no time in setting her eating utensils aside. "Duty calls," she said cheerfully as she pushed her chair back. Looking over at the boy, she said, "Please bring some clear broth for the prince, as well as some cold water with lemon in it. And since we're unable to finish our meal here, please make up two meal trays; one for me, and one for Captain Rogers."

The lad nodded and made a hasty retreat to carry out her request. Steve, meanwhile, had gotten to his feet, and was offering a hand to the still-seated woman. "Shall we?" he said, his tone gently teasing.

She chuckled and placed her hand in his. "Indeed. And I'll continue my story, if you'd like, over food in Henry's rooms."

He accepted, and assisted her to her feet. The two of them then made for the door, where Henry stood waiting, his face a little pale and tired. Steve guessed that he had probably pushed the young man harder than he thought after the weaponry practice, and made a note to go easy on him until he'd developed more stamina.

"You poor thing," Drina said, going to wrap an arm around Henry's shoulders. "When we get to your room, let's get some soup and water into you. Then it's straight to bed, no arguing! If you're good, I'll read a chapter from one of your books, but I doubt you'll stay awake long enough for that."

Henry smiled and leaned against Drina's side as they walked down the halls. "I like it when you read to me," he said. Then he looked over at Steve. "You can come in and listen, too. Drina's got a really good reading voice."

Steve wasn't sure he wanted to interrupt such a quiet moment between them, but the pleading look on Henry's face decided him. "I'd like that. But that will have to wait until after we all eat our dinners."

Once they arrived at Henry's suite, Drina stayed outside as the boy changed and got into bed. Then the servant came to admit the two of them into the room, as well as three servants, each bearing a covered tray. It wasn't long before the three of them were alone, eating their dinner as Drina told more about her life in her father's lands before the Dark Curse. Steve knew that Henry had already gotten a first-hand telling of Drina's past, but he seemed to like hearing about it again.

When Drina decided to stop for the night, Henry asked whether his education would mirror hers. Drina admitted that she wasn't sure. "You're a Prince, so you've got much more to learn than I did at your age," she said. "I know that Snow was always busy with her tutors when she was a child. A kingdom is much larger than an estate, you know."

Then she chuckled. "And I never had the urge to learn weaponry or horseback riding, so you've got much more on your plate than I ever did!"

"True," Henry sighed as he soaked some bread in the last of his broth. "It's my own fault, for wanting to be like Grandpa."

Steve held back a laugh. It still amused him, hearing David referred to as 'grandpa.' "Well, you've come too far to quit either one now," he told his charge. "I'll try and hold back a little when it comes to fighting, but I still want you to do your best at it."

Henry nodded his agreement. "I don't think the word 'quit' is in the family vocabulary."

Drina laughed again. "No, it certainly isn't." She took a last bite from her plate. "Now, I know you have to be tired. Why don't you go to sleep, and I'll finish the marvelous tale of my life tomorrow?"

Reluctantly, Henry gave in, and fell back against his pillows. "Okay. Goodnight, Drina. Goodnight, Steve."

The sight of Drina pressing an affectionate kiss to Henry's forehead sent a small burst of warmth through Steve's chest. He vaguely remembered his mother doing that, when he'd been ill as a child.

"Sleep well, Henry," she whispered. "Sweet dreams."

Once they were out of the room and the door shut tight behind them, Steve couldn't help smiling at her. "You're good with children. I figured you had to be, given your profession, but it seems that you've been around them many times before this."

He thought she'd be offended at his remark, but instead, she laughed. "Oh, if you only knew," she exclaimed. "I have many younger cousins, so I have experience. Dealing with just Henry is much easier than with five or six youngsters!"

"You have six cousins?" Steve asked as he motioned for Henry's evening guards to take their positions. Once they were in place, he motioned Drina to walk with him down the hall, heading for her quarters.

"Actually, I have twelve," she said casually, as though the number meant nothing to her.

Steve, however, froze in his steps. "Twelve?" he asked in disbelief.

She shrugged. "Papa comes from a large family. And there's my room. Goodnight, Steve."

Then she was gone, leaving Steve in the hallway with a spinning head and a look of utter disbelief on his face. What other surprises did she have up her sleeve? Suddenly, he wanted to know all of them, but couldn't understand why.


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