The night sky was clear as the two figures ran through the trees of the dark forest. The march of knights and their horses was in rhythm with their racing hearts. The girl with the red hood pulled her friend's hand suddenly, pulling her behind a huge bark of a tree. They both held their breaths as the soldiers marched right past them. The only time they dared breathe was when they were drenched in darkness. The princess whispered, "I think we're safe."

Red peeked from their hiding place to make sure before nodding to Snow White. "All clear." They both quietly walked out of their hiding place. "Granny's cabin isn't far from here. We can't stay out here in the forest where it's teeming with King George's army. The last thing we need is to be captured."

"Charming," Snow tried to argue. She needed to see him and make sure he was okay. He was back in her palace, where they were currently residing after defeating the Evil Queen. The sudden midnight attack surprised her and Red, having gone out riding only a few hours before the fighting began. They were lucky they were about to outrun them, but the princess had to make sure her prince was safe.

Red grabbed her arm, looking into her eyes seriously. "Snow, David would be fine. Trust me. He has a whole army behind him. King George won't be able to lay a finger on him. We have to keep moving and find shelter."

Snow shook her head, adamant to push through with her plan. "I know, but I'm certain he'll come looking for me. I have to go back. I have to be with him."

"Are you serious?" her friend asked in disbelief. "You're going to risk your life out there? You know King George is still out for your blood."

"Not mine," Snow replied. "Charming's, and I can't just stay hidden somewhere without making sure that –."

"There you are."

Snow yelped as a sack covered her head, struggling to get it off of her. She also heard Red fighting back as she fought to get out of her dark prison, panicking when she realized it was getting harder to breathe in the confined space. She felt something hard hit the back of her head before she collapse onto the forest floor, unconscious.


"We have to start without them, my king," one of the knights told Charming. He looked at the empty seats of Snow and Red anxiously, ignoring the knight's statement. They went out riding before the chaos began, and frankly he had a terrible feeling that they were not okay. It was just after the midnight attack, and he had called his men in to hold an emergency meeting at the War Room after the fighting had ceased. Although he already sent some knight to go out looking for the two women, he still felt responsible to find his own fiancée. But his people needed his guidance more than ever at that moment so he couldn't abandon them now.

"King George has declared war by sending in his army. They might have retreated for the time being, but the reality is that he will not stop until we are defeated. Send the signal to alert everyone to keep their eyes open at the borders. We need to keep the causalities at a minimum."

The door opened with a bang, startling everyone in the room. Red, her hood soiled, had a haunted expression on her face as her eyes scanned the room for Charming. It was clear on her face and clothes that she had just come out of a struggle. Charming's heart dropped when he realized she was alone.

"Red, where's Snow?" he asked, not sure if he wanted to hear her answer.

"I'm sorry, James," Red answered, her lips trembling. "I tried to stop them. They got her. King George has Snow."


The sack was yanked away from her head, making her groan from the sudden light directed towards her eyes. The dull ache at the back of her head made her feel lightheaded, but the surge of fresh air was welcoming after a long time with the sack almost suffocating her. Snow looked around and found herself in a familiar War Room in another castle, the one where she was forced to betray Charming in the worst way possible.

Her hands were bound behind her, and her feet were tied to the legs of the chair. A menacing chuckle came from behind her, but she kept her expression unfazed. She needed to escape, and emotions tend to keep her from thinking carefully. "Escaping is futile, Snow White." King George revealed himself from the shadows as he came around to stand in front of her.

Narrowing her eyes at him, she growled. "What do you want?"

"I want a lot of things." George answered vaguely, walking around her like a vulture stalking its prey. "One of the those things is to get rid of you and your so-called prince. I've tried threatening your Charming's life. I've tried cursing you. None of them has worked in my favor. True love still prevailed," he sneered.

Snow shrugged. "You probably just suck being a villain."

King George stopped in his steps to glare at her. "Possibly," he said with a tight smile. "However, I did capture you for a reason."

The soldiers entered the door behind her, making her look up at him in curiosity, denying him the pleasure of seeing her in fear. "What is that?" she asked, trying to keep her voice from wavering. Her heart was racing as she thought of the things this man might possibly do to her to hurt Charming.

"To kill you," George answered simply. Her heart dropped at that. "As you said, I suck at being a villain, give me the chance to prove to you that it is quite the opposite actually."

Two knights yanked Snow up from her chair, making her wince at the vice grip they had on her arms. "But," the king added with a sly smirk. "Death is too easy." He shrugged tauntingly, "A little torture perhaps? I'd love to see your prince's face when I do kill you."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Payback," George replied. "Your prince ruined me. Now it's my time to ruin him. What better way to destroy him than to kill the love of his life?"


"We can't leave the castle unguarded. If we all leave now, King George might take the opportunity to come back and take over."

"We can't let you go in there alone, James. You can't just barge in there without backup. The king would have your head."

"Red's right, your highness. King George wants a fight? We'll give him a fight."

"I've spent quite some time in the king's palace, your majesty. I know my way around. We can take Red, Granny, the dwarfs, and a couple of knights with us."

"I think we'll need more than that, Lancelot. The king will be expecting us. We have to be prepared."

"We're wasting precious time! My fiancée's life is in his hands. Who knows what they're doing to her?"

"Then let's go. This isn't the first time we've broken into the king's castle, your majesty. We know what to do."

"All right, then. Let's split up. Lancelot, you take the north. Granny, you take the east side with the dwarfs. Knights, west. Red and I will take the south. If King George has Snow, she must be in the dungeons somewhere."

The group followed their orders without another word. Red caught up with Charming's long strides and said quietly, "I'm sorry, David."

"It's not your fault, Red."

"You and I both know what King George is capable of. Snow might be hurt –."

"That's why I need you to focus." The soon-to-be-crowned king stopped to face his fiancée's best friend. Red looked frightened, not just for what they were about to do but for her friend as well. Charming felt the same way. "If we work together, we can find her faster. We can do this, Red."

Red nodded. "Of course, we can."


Swords clanged against one another on the bloodied palace grounds of King George's castle. Arrows were flying everywhere, and fires were starting. Everything was in chaos. Red was right by saying they needed more men than they brought along, but it certain didn't prevent Charming from fighting harder for Snow. George's forces were getting weaker.

"James, we have to go!" Red called from her hiding place before yanking away her cloak. He quickly got hold of it just as Red transformed into a wolf. She howled and ran through the attacking soldiers, demolishing them within seconds. He followed her lead, knowing that her sense of smell could easily track Snow's location, all the while fighting his way through.

It wasn't long before they found themselves in the underground dungeons. With Red tracking Snow, it took only a minute or two to find her in that vast prison. What Charming saw would forever be ingrained in his mind for the rest of his life, his heart breaking into two at the sight.

"Snow." His voice caught as he let go of his sword and ran towards where Snow was. She was unconscious and bleeding. Her hands shackled above her head. Her dress was torn at different places with dried blood from the open cuts on her flesh. Charming quickly grabbed his sword and broke the chains, catching her as she fell. "Snow," he whispered, pushing her hair from her face. "Snow, wake up! Please."

A chuckle brought him back to reality. "She's dead." The voice of the king sparked a new kind of anger he never knew he had in him. He did this. He did this to Snow, his beautiful, wonderful Snow. A tear ran down his cheek as he narrowed his eyes at the king's figure, seeing red with rage. "You did this," Charming seethed.

"No, they did." George motioned to the two men who revealed themselves from the shadows. Charming and Red realized then that they were surrounded. Charming brought Snow closer to him in an attempt to safeguard her from them. "And they're more than ready to kill you both as well."

Suddenly an arrow flew past Red's head and sunk itself into the head of the knight behind Charming. Another one flew past and killed the other soldier instantly. King George turned around to face the newcomer and remarked unkindly, "Well, if it isn't the man who jumped ship. Quite surprised you had the audacity to show your face around here again."

Lancelot stepped forward, his arrow aimed towards George. They both knew that it was a perfect aim, and that the king was looking at the face of death at that instant. "Go ahead," George said, stretching his arms to his sides. "Shoot."

"After what you've done to Snow White, you deserve death," Lancelot said.

"No," Charming said, surprising everyone in the room. "He deserves much worse." He looked over at Red, who immediately got his message. It took a couple of seconds for Lancelot to realize what that meant, making him withdraw his arrow and placing it back on the sheath behind him. King George looked at a loss. "We'll leave you to it, Red."

Red's tongue wetted her lips before she showed off her sharp teeth, making the king realize what was happening. Charming gathered Snow securely in his arms and ran out of the dungeons with Lancelot trailing behind him. They needed to bring Snow home and have her checked out immediately. She was still breathing, but her pulse was slowing, scaring her fiancé even more. He cannot lose her.

King George watched them before closing his eyes and turning to the wolf in front of him. The last things he remembered were Red overpowering him and the inside of a wolf's mouth before everything turned into darkness.


Pain.

Snow remembered pain as the electric currents ripped through her body, pain as the whip descended on her once flawless skin, pain as the men dragged her across the floor when she refused to get up. She just remembered so much pain. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't speak, her voice hoarse from crying and screaming. Her lungs were about to burst, making her eyes open wide in fear.

Charming was immediately in her line of vision, as if an angel coming down from heaven to save her. He was saying something she couldn't hear. His hands were on her cheeks, making her reach up and grasp them tightly with her own. She dug her nails into his skin fearfully, not knowing that she was hurting him. "Calm down, Snow. Calm down." She felt like a fish out of water.

He helped her sit up to help her get her breathing under control. Her whole body was still in pain, but it had lessened significantly. The blue fairy and Doc were there behind him, watching her with wary eyes. She scanned the room, making sure no one else was there to suddenly take her away. Charming noticed what she was doing.

"Hey, look at me," he ordered gently, placing his hand on the back of her head to make her face him. "Look at me, Snow. I'm right here."

Suddenly, everything came rushing back to her in full force. Snow closed her eyes firmly, hoping to block out everything, but the memories of her time in the dungeons became more vivid. The menacing laughter of the men came back haunting her. A strangled cry escaped her lips, making Charming embrace her tightly. "You're safe. I won't let them hurt you."

Sobs bubbled out of her aching chest as she clutched his tunic tightly in her hand. She felt so tired, but she didn't want to sleep. She was aching, but she didn't want Charming to let go. All of her emotions came pouring out, and her fiancé just continued to stroke her hair as he whispered words of comfort in her ear.

"I'm here, Snow. I won't let them hurt you. I'm right here, and I love you so much."

The door softly closed, signaling the other two have left the room. Snow buried her face into the crook of his neck and breathed him in, making sure that this was reality and not just some dream. Charming was stroking her hair and back as he kissed her head. "I love you, Snow. You're safe now."

After a while, she had sagged in his arms, making him think that she had already fallen asleep. He was about to lay her back down when she whispered hoarsely in his ear, "You found me, Charming."

He stilled, caught off-guard by her words. His surprised chuckle made her heart flutter. "Did you ever doubt I would?"

When her head hit the pillow, she saw that there were tears running down his cheeks. He hastily wiped them away before offering her a glass of water. The cool water felt like heaven running down her burning throat. After she drank, Charming placed the glass back on the table and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Go to sleep."

Snow immediately caught his hand before he moved. "Charming. Stay with me?"

He gave her a gentle smile and nodded. She scooted carefully to the side to give him some space before he lied down beside her. She rested her head on his chest, their hands intertwining on top of his stomach, and his arm wrapped around her shoulders. They were both quiet for a while, his rhythmic breathing slowly lulling her to sleep.

Before dreamland completely overtook her, Snow heard Charming say, "I'm so sorry, Snow." His tone broke her heart. It was the last thing she heard before she succumbed to sleep.