Clawstorm never fathomed that breathing could get this difficult, not even when she had been in labor with her firstborn (which up till now had been the single-most physically excruciating experience of her life) had she this much difficulties. It had nothing to do with the ache around her heart either, it was just that when her lungs deflated they just… wouldn't unlock to inflate, not easily at any rate. The healers that were with them were taking care of that bit, thankfully, though for a long moment she couldn't inhale nearly as deeply as she'd like, or what her body was accustomed to.

Which sucked doubly because her back had been sliced open not even twenty or so minutes ago, and all the places where her skin had cracked and seared open in little tiny fissures from that damned-… she itched in some places, ached in others, and the parts of her that they'd drugged up to be numb weren't making her feel better at all.

At least the healers and the young demigoddess (since when did her old pompous fairytale elite school let in spawn of gods of love? Royalty didn't believe in actual love! …Not really at any rate…) had re-setup that spell to keep Snowball from leaching off of her too much, which was nice and everything except for the fact that it didn't seem to be cutting the bitch off completely right at the moment and… well…

…She could still feel Snowball, faintly, somewhere in the ether of her core, just enough to make breathing so damn difficult, trying to reach through, trying to pull at this… this aweful bond that was still stretched between hem and-…

It was actually pretty terrifying, okay? She was actually scared of a maiden! She may have started spilling tears out of her eyes, maybe she had even managed to gasp a few pathetic phrases or words out, she honestly didn't know for sure really. The roaring in her ears and the pushing blackness threatening to overcome her vision were really, kind of disorienting, and distracting, it was that too.

Her hands felt a bit cold and there wasn't much feeling to them right now, but there was a pressure cradled firmly around her fingers, and she could feel long dry fingers worrying the hair away from her face, that was Giles, she could tell that much. He always used to do that, even in the hallways with hundreds of witnesses, but especially when there was no one around except his brother, always careful, always kind… her mother never squandered in her physical affections towards her, she tried her best, even when physical touch was just too much most of the time, but at school being Evil could be trying at times. No one wanted to touch her without a good reason (even Snowball, and her reasons were always so obvious the second she could get the two of them alone), affection just… wasn't a thing for future villains, well not openly at any rate.

That was where Giles used to come in, making the world feel a little less… bleak, a bit more grounded, even when it embarrassed her she never threw him off, he was her mentor after all, she respected him, cared about him just as much as she did his brother, and if him gathering her up into a hug that she didn't flinch or flair up from made her feel like she had just overcome a great feat, and won the prize, then no one need know.

There was also a pressure on her opposite shoulder, with a barely felt staccato rhythm of nervous, thick fingers tapping and grasping over the joint, just like how Milton Grimm (he used to insist that she call him by his given name back in school, when it was just her and the two brothers, her mentors…) used to do whenever he went over her report card, or after she had participated in some villain competition and was waiting for the results (the only competitions she could win, since Snowball would've had her raked over the coals if she had actually, tried to win at anything the other was competing in, without her princess's express permission first at least)…

Or when she sometimes became so ill, from either some viral bug or, very occasionally, when her… condition had acted up (often leaving her in a huddled mass on the floor, as though she had just gone through a seizure) and she had to be sent to the healer's offices. He'd be there, sitting beside her bed when she woke up, telling her about what excuse he'd made up to cover for her "outbursts" (always some brilliant bit about attempting some advanced magical trick-gone-awry), or clinically telling her about what bug she'd caught this time around, reminding her of her strong genes and her duty to pull through unscathed by some mere illness.

She'd sought out his approval more than she had Giles, simply because Giles always seemed to be proud of her, but Milton Grimm was always a tough cookie when it came to receiving praise that wasn't followed by a: I'm confident that you can outdo yourself next time. But it was never so rare that she'd ever really worried about disappointing him, he had promised her to teach the skills she'd need to be the best there ever was, and she had wanted so badly to overcome her limitations that she had gone after the opportunity like a baby dragon to its first bit of acquired treasure. Her determination and refusal to ever give up, to do anything that was not a hundred and ten percent at least, always seemed to please him for some reason.

It was… odd, at least that's what Simone, her roommate, used to say. Since Clawstorm was just a student and not a blood relative, her old (secret) friend had actually been pretty worried about two old guys taking such an interest in a little girl like her, a worry that had confused Clawstorm for a long time (with all the talk about abuse of power, using her for some nefarious gain, and so forth), not even the kind of worry that could've been misunderstood as jealousy (which had been Clawstorm's first guess, if it weren't for the fact that Simone was pretty insistent that she carry around pepper spray, secretly record all of her sessions, and learn how to use a battle ax) until Simone had finally caved in and told her.

Which had ended up with Clawstorm feeling deeply disturbed, and vowing for a way to safely bleach her brain, and also telling her overly concerned roommate off for even suggesting that she wouldn't skin the hide off of anybody who dared bloody tried!

It didn't keep Simone's mother-henning off for a minute though it did seem to calm her friend down a skootch.

There were a lot of secrets that she'd ended up keeping from everybody else now that she thought about it…

But none kept from Raphael, none save for her relationship with Snowball, and he had loved her enough to forgive her for that one secret once he found out, had told her that he would never bow away from their marriage just because fate said that she was intended for someone else. If she didn't want Snowball anymore then he was going to hold on for as long as he lived. And Raven, her little baby, had only shrugged and said that there was nothing about royalty that surprised her, and that a family of choice meant far more to her than a family that fate had tried to force on them all.

The Hatter fellow and Raven's adopted sister, they were alright as well, didn't even breath one word about One True Love, or any of that type of thing. The Hatter especially seemed to think the whole mess as bloody stupid actually, just as much as she did actually, which they'd both figured was a part of their cultures allowing for harems and multiple marriages, having just one person destined to make you happy would sound idiotic to anyone with that kind of background.

And little Apple… maybe she should take a page from Snowball's scheme and steal the girl away from blasted Ever After, never to be returned. The kid was too bright, too clever to be a Snow White, she was the sort who was better suited more for inquiring about the mechanics of the worlds, little academic fiddly bits that explain how the planets go round, or how magic actually works. Not at all suited to be a maidenly princess, despite her best efforts it is not something that could ever, actually make her happy. There were very big differences between acting it out and living to the fullest.

There would be more opportunities for the girl practically anywhere else than Ever After, it didn't have to be under the Queen-King family protection either; not as long as the child had better access to a rounded education, a safe place to call home, and a strong support network. She'd be more than fine if given that much, if she were given options instead of thoughtless orders.

And she had Raven. Apple had always had Raven from the beginning it would seem. Her daughter may have tried to cut all ties as best she was able, and at one point Apple may have attempted to bring herself to hate her daughter with equal determination, but it obviously hadn't worked. Too much caring, she suspected, too much love as well.

A far better bond than their predecessors. Now the only matter was stepping back and seeing what they'd do with it. How they'd shape it. Grow it. It was there to do with as they wanted.

It was… nice knowing that she had a family that she was able to come back to now…

There was an audible snap in the back of her mind, and then everything immediately loosened and settled back into place inside, almost as though someone had let go of a rope-

Or it had snapped on its own…

Suddenly she found the ability to breathe again. The ache in her chest subsiding down into nothing. Mind clearing like a cold stream of clean water cutting through the muck.

Her skin still itched here and there though, in the places where the surface broke, and where the local anesthetics didn't reach, which was… oddly a relief? Like… it was irritating as hell, but at the moment she was so happy to be breathing again that she temporarily welcomed the feeling reminding her that, yes, she was still alive and kicking.

Though she still couldn't help but imagine the broken nerves screeching: ow, ow, ow! In itty bitty voices. Which also boded well if she could think clearly enough to wonder about just how irritating healing all of those little suckers was going to be in the long run.

She breathed in greedily, once, twice, and several times again for good measure, before bothering to pay attention to what her other senses were telling her.

"Good girl, good girl child. That's it's dear, keep breathing, keep breathing little one."

Bloodshot eyes crack open to see Giles's tearful smile… the man looks… relieved. For some reason. She's too tired to think too much about it though.

"Keep breathing dear. You're safe now. Hush little one, welcome back."

XXX

"Oy gods… that's not pretty." Alice winced half-covering her face with her- one bandaged, one gloved- hands.

"The lady speakith with utmost clarity." The Hatter mumbled looking a tad peaky himself.

Lady Cheshire stared dubiously down at the still-recording device in her hands, contemplating between the worse of the two evils: dying without documentation, reminding future idiots with ideas of what becomes of those who might be tempted to follow Snow White's bloody footsteps…

Or… turning the camera away, because she didn't know who was watching this and while her personal morals were forever sketchy on purpose… she couldn't help but wonder if some kid was watching this. There was some messed up crap going on here that was certain to leave an adult with nightmares, a child would be completely…

Well anybody would be scarred for life by seeing this, there was no distinction between age when it came to seeing horrific dark rituals and body mutilation… and stuff. Young or old, it would still be bad to see.

But far worse to experience in person.

With that thought in mind she continued to film, to broadcast, to anybody willing to listen in on what may be their last stand.

That and she figured that it'd serve those Ever After bastards right seeing just exactly what they had been so blindly supporting. The stupid, stupid idiots who fell for all the pageantry and glitter while refusing to think for themselves, and for the unruly children of Wonderland, to look upon this horror, to cheer with reluctant hope at the enemy princess's valiant attempt to put a stop to it, to remember that war and battle was all about terrible, unspeakable, never-to-be-healed-from wounds and not in the least about honor or big talk.

It'd be good at the very least to frighten some sense into the fools.

That and this was also like a massive collision of two trains on one track and an elephant in the middle, even she couldn't look away-

Hey was that teeny tiny Madeline?

XXX

There was a gaping hole in Snow White's chest Maddie noted with a disgusted grimace, and that, right there, standing up ahead of them- in all her supernatural, nearly naked glory- was one big Nope in a frilly ripped white dress and sequins.

Eugh. That was one mental image diamond, which wasn't going to be sandpapered out of her brain, at all easily. Or anytime soon. It was a good thing that being part of the court came with hazard benefits and that becoming an almost official princess (the ceremony to make her Raven's official sister, head matriarch of house while Raven was off being the King of Hearts, and emergency successor to the Queen throne only, had been scheduled to be performed after their story. A sort of exchange: Wonderland adopted Raven, Witch Kings would adopt Maddie). Meant that she was allowed to be disturbed by the memories in public.

She could act all twitchy and shuddery to her little heart's content after getting an eyeful of the woman's bared (and gaping wide open) chest oozing a river of blackened blood, tainted by the burn of the hex, with little skeletal husks in greasy beards twirling in circles around Snow White's feet.

Not that she was going to be sticking around long enough to personally witness how this all plays out, she amended to herself as she met Apple half-way, really she was getting the minimum most exposure here, despite the fantastically gory sight. And Apple was too busy focusing on staring strictly straight ahead, keeping her head down as she army crawled it double time into Maddie's firm, albeit slightly shaking, hug. The Hatter-girl having enough sense to keep Apple from looking back at the monstrosity that used to be the blonde princess's mother, with hope she hadn't seen the whole chest explosion bit.

Oh dear gods Maddie hoped that she hadn't seen that.

Though… Ironically enough the woman did resemble the literal definition of a Snow White, Maddie mused rather deliriously to herself just as the rest of the rescue team descended upon them and the battlefield was blocked by a wave of sparkly purple clouds, swirling all around them, taking them to safety at last.

XXX

Clawstorm?

It was very dark here, dull too, everything cast in shadows and shades of grey, as if all the color and love in the world had been sucked dry, leaving nothing but… shapes. Thick clouds of shadowy fog swirling around her bare feet and the hem of her nightgown.

Where are you?

She felt… small. And not the type of small that one feels after finding out that a fairytale happily ever after is far from being nearly as great or grand as she had been promised. Though there was quite a bit of that feeling as well… she most felt… as though she were a child again. Literally small instead of metaphorically. Like… like…

Like the age she had been when she had first spotted Clawstorm. So many years ago. The trip the Evil Queen at the time had taken to check up on her mother, the parties and fanfare that had followed immediately after in the Queen family's honor…

Clawstorm had seemed so amazing, so regal and soft in a mischievous childlike sort of way.

Why won't you come when I call?

She loved her, always had. Clawstorm forever bigger than life and she always striving to become just as big, just as timeless as she had always seem Clawstorm.

They had met in the garden orchard that day, with the apple trees in full, heavy bloom, Clawstorm had hidden in protest to being forced to socialize. But Snowball had found her, hidden between branches and petals, where the sun cast dancing shadows on the warm, perfumed earth.

And she had chased, and laughed, and had fallen in love.

Where did I last see you?

A mirror she thinks, the mirror, Clawstorm's mirror, the place where Clawstorm would forever parallel Snow White. A poetic beauty that was theirs alone to share.

I love you. Let's stay together forever and ever.

She walked on ground that felt so uneven. There were distant noises, like a hundred people shouting, but that soon dimmed in comparison to her determined mission. She walked forward, heedless to occasionally stumbling and tripping over things unseen in the dark mist. Fireflies set alight with burning green hues dancing, always and forever dancing around her. Helping her search. Her minions. Her companions till the end of her time in this world.

I'll search high and low forever until I find you.

A jolt and the feeling of smooth terrain under her feet indicated that she might be in a… more suitable place. A place full of mirrors looking out at everyone and everything.

A place where Clawstorm was kept. The perfect parallel to where Snowball had been kept. A world of wilderness, and mirrors, and darkness, and freedoms… in contrast to a world of walls, and reflections, and too much light to hide anything, and… duties.

Perfect contrasts, forever looking out at each other…

Perfect. Because they were perfect.

I love you. Let's find each other in the garden where we first met. I love you. I've always loved you. Be mine. Forever.

Forever and ever after.