Dearest Snow,
I write to you to tell you I am fine and that I love you. The battle is going extremely well so far. Few of us have fallen and many Red Knights litter the battlefield, dead.
We have yet to face the Jabberwocky. It is believed that the Red Queen is waiting to catch us off guard. But not to worry; we are never off our guard. We are the best of the best and nothing will defeat us.
The sun sets as I write this, and I see the red on the horizon. The blood of the fallen is what the red is. Never forget that whenever you look at that sun set. The red is the blood of those who have fallen, protecting their kingdom whether they fought against us, or with us.
Love you forever,
Rose Red
Dear Father,
I am reporting to you from the base to tell you that all is well. As I have already told Snow, few of us have fallen. All in all, things are going swimmingly.
The rest of this letter will not be about battle. I feel as if I speak too much with you about battle. Most of our conversations since the day I came home have been about the camp and how well I am able to fight.
This I will say: it feels good not to be in armor again. I don't feel held back, and if anything, I'm fighting better than I ever had before. Fear not, the kingdom will be safe and sound soon enough, I'm sure of it.
Now, moving on from the talk of fighting and battle; I miss home. Know that I do indeed miss home.
I'm afraid that I don't know how much else to say. I promise to report back with (hopefully good) news by the end of this week.
Love you forever,
Rose Red
Dear Regina,
I love you. That's all I can think of to tell you: I love you.
In a very short amount of time, you have become my mother, my best friend, and my lover. I know that it is impossible to remain faithful to me since it's my father you're supposed to be faithful to. But I ask this of you: remain faithful to me in heart.
Things are going very well. I remain unharmed, I assure you. I am beyond confident that I will come out of this battle without a single scratch. It is predicted that this battle will be over and won by the middle of next week.
If there's one thing I want you to know, it's this: no matter what you think, no matter what anyone tells you, I do love you.
Forever yours,
Rose
It was nighttime, a very peaceful night. Rose Red was lying in her tent. She was having a bit of trouble sleeping for her mind was too distracted. It seemed that ever since that fateful, extraordinary night spent with Regina, her mind could not be cleared because of the blissful memories.
Unable to help herself, Rose Red closed her eyes and imagined that Regina was touching her again, sending those wonderful sensations rippling through her body. Imagining it though was not the same of having it actually happening.
Rose refrained from touching herself though. It just didn't seem as it would be as special as when Regina touched her, tasted her, made her see fireworks and stars. No one would ever make her feel the way Regina made her feel.
Regina could not get to sleep. She was too distraught and concerned. She had received Rose Red's letter and was sure not to let anyone else see it for the content it contained. In fact, no matter how much she didn't want to, she burned the letter. It was the only sure way to make sure that no one would ever find it and read it.
King Leopold slept soundlessly beside Regina, as if he weren't really worried that anything bad would happen to Rose. And that was true: he wasn't worried. He was very confident that Rose Red would return home alive and well.
"Rose! Rose!" Jeremy exclaimed as he poked his head into Rose Red's tent. "We're under attack! The Red Queen went back on her word!"
Immediately, Rose Red shot out of makeshift bed, grabbing her sword. She was already dressed in clothes, almost as if she anticipated this.
It was not a pretty sight. Already, many of King Leopold's men had fallen, either dead or dying. The ground trembled as the Jabberwocky navigated through the camp, crushing tents and knights. Sounds of bones being crunched made Rose Red inwardly cringe.
The Jabberwocky was a terrifying sight. Dark purple, almost black scaly skin; its forked tongue flickered out, tasting the air that was filled with the scent of death and blood.
Out of the corner of her eye, Rose Red could see a thin line of red in the sky. It was almost sunrise and the Jubjub bird was attacking. Not only that, but the Red Knights were attacking as well. Rose heard the faint sound of Jeremy shouting to her, and she turned to face a Red Knight.
Their swords clashed, Rose Red doing her best not to get her unarmored body in the way of her opponent's sword. She ducked and dodged whilst her opponent dived and dipped. And then, the Red Knight collapsed to the ground, revealing Jeremy who had managed to knock out the Red Knight.
Rose Red smiled gratefully, but there was no time to exchange words of thanks and appreciation. There was a battle to be fought.
Without even looking out the window, Regina knew that it wouldn't be long until the sun rose. She hadn't slept all night. She had been far too worried to get any sleep. No, that was a lie. Regina slept for about three minutes if that.
She looked over to see that King Leopold was still sleeping soundly. Why should he be worried? Everything was in good hands. At least, that was what he believed. But King Leopold, though kind, was not the greatest of rulers. There was certainly more that he could do to better the kingdom, make the people happier.
"This could've been avoided," Regina muttered bitterly to herself as she sat up in bed. "This whole battle could've been avoided; Rose leaving could've been avoided." As she continued speaking quietly to herself, she traversed to the bureau that rested on the other side of the room.
The mirror seemed to laugh at her and mock her. "You could have saved her, Regina," the inanimate object said in her mind. "She could be here with you right now. She could be kissing you right now. She could be alive right now."
Regina's eyes widened. She was very well aware of the fact that the mirror hadn't actually been speaking, it had all been in her mind. But the thoughts flowed so easily, it was as if someone had whispered them in her ear. She could be alive right now…
Surely that couldn't mean something? Rose Red was still alive, Regina hoped. But the very thought that perhaps it was a premonition frightened Regina.
Her mind would not be put at ease though. So, Regina found a quill and some parchment. In neat penmanship, she told King Leopold that she had left to go for an early morning ride and would return by luncheon.
Having avoided coming into contact with any guards or servants, Regina made it out to the stables, dressed in proper riding clothing, and guided a horse out of the stall. Regina half expected Snow White to appear seeing as the insolent child had a habit of turning up when not wanted. This did not happen and without a saddle, Regina rode off to find Rose Red, praying that all was well.
A/N: I apologise for the slow update and for any mistakes! One more chapter after this! Thanks for the reviews XD
