Ten years ago- this chapter is a continuation of 23, The Case that Started it All
Here is a quick review
Snow and David met for the first time in a ball in Catherine's honor. They did some investigative work together- Snow helped David find out that Frederick was framed. David helped Snow defend herself against an assassin. He suggested that Snow stay away from her stepmother's castle for a while. Snow decided to stay with Ella.)
Snow's just woken up in her large canopy bed. It's ten'o clock already. Ella must not have any plans for today, because she hasn't come to see if she is awake yet. Snow stretches and walks to the large window overseeing the valley. It's a wonderful sunny day. Snow misses the view from her own room, she misses her own bed, though she knows taking a vacation and staying with Ella is the right move. She's called it 'taking a vacation' because calling it 'staying away from Regina and her murderous ways' doesn't sound as good.
She's suspected for a while that Regina meant her harm, and her suspicions were proven true when an assassin followed her, and tried to stab her in Catherine's ball. And James was there to help her. James. At the mere thought of his name her heart skips a beat. Let's be honest, James saved her, and she can't help but think of him longingly no matter how many times she reminds herself that James is engaged, James is not free. He is engaged, her heart argues, but still trying to prove Frederick, the man his fiance is in love with innocent. And that has to mean something. It has to. If Ella wasn't showing up every morning with complicated plans about their day, Snow would for sure spend the first few hours of the day lost in revelry, thinking about James. It's silly of course, it is a waste of time. Just because they had a strong connection, just because they had an adventure, just because he saved her life, even though she might have permanently scarred his face, attacking him with a door stopper... just because... and just like that she is lost in memories of James again. James smiling, James looking lost after Catherine threw another one of her cutting remark his way, James standing alone while his fiance was glaring at him. How could she, Snow wonders. How did she not know that James was trying to save Fredrick? And really, who does that? What kind of man tries to save his fiance's lover after the way she was treating him? Then again what kind of man offers friendship after being smashed in the face with a door stopper? Apparently James does. James.
The truth is she loves him, even though it's silly to think that after a single meeting. The truth is she is in love with him. Just like that. After spending a few hours together, Snow already loves him. And that is a foolish thing on her part, it is foolish to even believe in love after witnessing that dramatic turns of Regina and her father's love story. And yet Snow is lost and in love. She scours the tabloids forever looking for news. Did James and Catherine attend a gala? A benefit? Did they have any royal engagements at all? Did they go out for coffee? Did they watch a movie? Where are they? How are they not in every cover of the tabloids doing what royals do, attending things, cutting ribbons, making toasts? It's as if the royals in Midas' kingdom are doing the best to hide the royal couple. Unless... unless Catherine and James are taking some time alone, sorting things out, giving their relationship a chance. And the thought of Catherine and James holding each other, trying to explore their feelings, and that thought is enough to make Snow both tear up and get incredibly angry with herself. Because she had no business falling in love with a prince after one single meeting.
Snow has spent time dissection every little thing that was said between them and she has so many regrets. She should have asked more questions, prodded for more information. But one regret stands out in her mind the most. Why, James was standing there, his fiance alternating between ignoring and glaring at him. And Snow didn't think to asked him to dance! Why didn't she? What held her back? The truth is she was so overwhelmed with their meeting, surprised but the flood of new emotions and then so shocked to see Catherine's behavior, Catherine snubbing James, Catherine ignoring him, Catherine annoyed that he didn't follow her... Snow should have asked him to dance. It wasn't that hard, that's exactly what balls are for, she should have asked him to dance.
"Care to dance?" that's all, three little words. She could have temporarily saved him from his sulking fiance. She should have, that's what a friend would do, right? Why didn't she?
Ella steps in Snow's room, and finds Snow leaning against the window ledge, staring absentmindedly outside.
"A penny for your thoughts," Ella says and Snow jumps.
"Ella," Snow smiles, quickly wiping her eyes. "I didn't hear you come in..."
"Here you go," Ella smiles handing her today's tabloids. "Page six," she adds, smiling playfully.
Snow would very much like to feign indifference, but that's really hard to do while she is opening the magazine so fast, she almost rip the pages. There he is, page six, in the corner of the page, James is holding a coffee cup, wearing sunglasses, completely unaware that his picture is being taken, no doubt by a photographer hiding behind a bush. There he is. And Snow wishes he wasn't wearing sunglasses, she wishes she could see his eyes, she wishes she could tell by this simple snapshot that he is well.
"Is he wearing his ring?" Snow blurts out, before she can stop herself.
Ella leans in. "Can't tell," she replies.
Snow nods, looking at the picture again. He is wearing a black doublet, leather pants, riding boots, sunglasses, argh...this picture tells her absolutely nothing other than he has a good taste in clothes, or maybe whoever dresses him does.
"I know," Ella smiles sympathetically. "No new information..."
"He likes coffee," Snow shrugs. "Didn't know that..."
"True," Ella smiles. And then Snow catches the glistening in Ella's wrist.
"Ella! Is that new?" Snow gasps. Because the bracelet around Ella's wrist is thin, and fragile, with drop like gems that look translucent in the sunlight. "It's so beautiful, Ella, it suits you perfectly..."
"Thomas gave it to me this morning," Ella beams.
"Aw, look at this," Snow replies.
"I know. I absolutely love it, and to think he was worried I wouldn't like it..."
"Oh... you guys are too adorable together! There should be laws against this much cuteness!"
Ella laughs. "Anyway, I came to see if you want to go riding with us. Thomas wants to ride to the lake, maybe have lunch there..."
"Go ahead," Snow is quick to reply. "I'm not even dressed yet. You guys have fun..."
"I can't leave you, not when you are like this!" Ella protests.
"Like what?" Snow frowns. "I just wish I had definite news, you know, like a wedding date. So I can put this whole silly crush behind me..."
Ella is not looking at all convinced. She thinks Snow's feelings amount to a whole lot more than just a silly crush. "Listen, maybe James is having his coffee this morning, browsing through tabloids looking for you..."
"Hardly," Snow replies dryly. "I'm supposed to be hiding, remember?"
Ella shrugs. "I bet he still looks just in case..." and when Snow gives her a doubtful smile Ella gives Snow a quick hug and exits the room.
Snow stares back at the picture of James.
"Say something!" she glares at him. "I need to know James...-" Then she is quick to touch his face with her finger, in her mind already apologizing for her tone. She is not going to be annoyed with him, he already gets plenty of that from Catherine. Snow throws the tabloids at the table and rushes to get dressed. She can't spend her whole morning staring at a picture of James.
James is sitting at his writing desk hesitating. He is staring at the parchment in front of him, he's already started and crumpled the note three times, starting over.
"Dearest Snow," he's already written. For the past three days, he's been mulling the words over in his head. He thought he knew what he was going to say, and it seemed clear and adequate. Except not that he's actually written it down, the words fall short, unable to convey all the emotions in his heart. He thinks of Snow's bright eyes, her formfitting dress, the fear when she described that someone was after her. There is no way to describe how much he misses her and how much he feels like he needs her. He could just say "I need you," but he cannot possibly start like that. They just met. He is feeling too much, too fast. "I need you," he wants to say, but he settles for what he's already written instead.
"I hope this letter finds you happy, but more importantly safe. As promised I am writing to update you on the results of our investigation. I thought I'd have to entrap the treasurer's assistant to get him to confess that he was the one who altered the records to show that Frederick embezzled the funds. I was wrong. He was all too happy to confess as soon as I hinted that I was aware of his transgression. He felt incredibly guilty about doing this. He will not however say who put him up to this, or how they convinced him to do it, since he clearly has nothing to gain from Frederick's imprisonment.
Catherine is overjoyed and very eager to go back to the way things were and I am quite hopeful that things will change soon.
I must confess that I think of you often... "
Catherine is overjoyed is quite an understatement. Catherine cried and kissed him, the very first kiss he received from her since the beginning of their ill conceived engagement. Then she hugged Frederick again and again and he wiped her tears away, looking so worried at the sight of her crying, as if she was the one stuck in the dungeon for the last two months. And watching true love unfold right in front of his eyes David felt more lonely then he ever felt before. Catherine was supposed to be his fiance after all. And even though Catherine is doing her best to be nice to him, to make up for her uncaring behavior from the months before, it is Snow he wishes for, Snow he is missing, Snow is the one who he is longing to talk to. David stares at the parchment in front of him, looking for the right words to express how much he misses her and how hopeful he is that he is going to be a free man soon. Very soon.
"hoping our paths will cross again. Stay safe Snow White! Sincerely, James"
Snow is brushing her hair, getting ready for bed when the red robin flies in through her window. She drops her brush on the ground and unties the letter from the red robin's claw. Her heart is beating so fast. Could this be a letter from James? She did ask him to keep her appraised of his progress with Frederick's embezzlement case.
"Dearest Snow" she reads and all of a sudden she feels like she needs to sit down. Her heart is filled with longing. As soon as she is done reading the letter she walks over to the desk in the sitting room and dips her quill in ink.
"Dear Charming," she starts and she can't help the playful smirk on her lips.
"I took your advice and I am staying at my friend's dwelling." She is keeping detains intentionally vague. If James remembers their conversation, hopefully he will deduce she is staying with Ella at Thomas' castle. She doesn't want to alert any potential attackers of her whereabouts even though if Regina is the one sending them, then there is no point in being vague. Regina knows exactly where she is staying.
"I was thinking that perhaps you could accompany me to my friends happy day, if your situation indeed changes.
While I realize that it is too soon to say something as wordy and impetuous as 'I miss you,' after all, we hardly know each other, I want to say that the brief time we spent looking for clues together meant a lot to me. So I'm going throw caution to the wind and say it. I miss you. Write to me again? Snow White"
David is clasping Snow's letter to his chest, breathing fast. He just walked away from a screaming match with King George, his father, or rather the man pretending to be his father, who in no uncertain terms threaten to dissolve any diplomatic alliance with Midas' kingdom if Catherine dares suggest a cancellation of their engagement. And he doesn't know where to go from here. Coming clean seems to be the only way out. Coming clean and telling the world he is not prince James. Thought he is not certain what fate awaits a royal impersonator when he is found out. Will they throw him in the dungeon or dismiss him through the back door, urging him to disappear?
But Snow just wrote she misses him, and those three words are enough to soothe his aching soul.
"Snow," he writes back.
"there are no words to describe how happy your letter made me. Not a day goes by that I haven't thought of you. I am afraid that things are not resolving here as swiftly as I had hoped. The King is insisting on going through with the wedding though Catherine has made her wishes abundantly clear and I cannot think of a way out that will afford me a future. I'm afraid that I'm feeling quite lost at the moment. I have to believe that there is a way out, a way where I can be free to be with the one my heart longs for. And I'm afraid that someone may be going through my mail, so, though I absolutely abhor saying this, I think for your own safety we should stop writing to each other. Yours ever, Charming."
Snow's eyes well up and she lets her body fall back on her bed. "The one my heart longs for," she whispers, looking at the line again, to make sure she read it right. "That's practically a confession," she whispers and then she reads the letter again. "Charming," she says barely believing her eyes. "He signed the letter 'Charming'..."
She dips her quill in ink and writes just four words. "Speak and the birds will know..."
David opens the tiny note, his heart skipping a beat. He is so grateful she wrote again, ignoring his warning.
"Speak and the birds will know," is all the note says. He frowns and turns the page over to see if there is anything written on the other side. He recognizes the handwriting, and he knows exactly what is is she is trying to say. Snow talks to birds. He doesn't need to write anything, he can just speak the words out loud.
He caresses the blue bird's head gently. It will make for a very one sided conversation but it is better than nothing. Especially what he needs to say is so important. "Listen carefully..." he whispers to Snow's feathered friend.
Ella is hesitating. Snow and Ella are having brunch in the gardens alone, since Thomas is having a boring day of official meetings ahead of him.
"Is something wrong?" Snow asks for the third time because Ella is certainly acting strange this morning.
"Umm, well actually two things," Ella replies, handing Snow a wedding invitation and the Royal, the official magazine of royal news.
Unsurprisingly, the royal invitation is written in golden letters.
"His Royal Majesty King Midas,
sovereign of the Eastern Kingdom,
lord of the Marshlands the lakes and the Eastern Woods,
and his Royal Majesty King George of the Southern Kingdom,
sovereing of...-
Snow's eyes skip ahead
'are honored to invite you to the wedding of their beloved children
Catherine and James...-"
Snow swallows hard putting the invitation down. She doesn't want to read anymore. This is it then, James was unable to get out of marrying Catherine. This is really happening. She doesn't mean to cry of course, so she takes a sip of tea and blinks hard, trying to hold back tears. Then she looks at the first page of The Royal.
Catherine and James look back a her. Catherine is in a golden gown, a feathered had on her head, ever so elegant. James is wearing a dark burgundy jacket and he has a ceremonial sword strapped on e rather elegant sword belt, and oh, they both look breathtaking, their expressions are perfectly matched, clearly anticipating their joined future. The royal photographer clearly outdid himself, Snow thinks bitterly. It's an incredible picture really, Catherine and James both at their best, except both of them look quite somber. Neither of them smiles, or have the fresh glow of love on their faces. And Snow is struck at how much James's picture is actually looking right at her.
'I have to believe that there is a way out, a way where I can be free to be with the one my heart longs for," the words form his last letter echo in her mind.
"They look really good together," Snow says out loud to Ella who looks at her stunned.
"Neither of them look really happy," Ella replies looking again at the official photograph.
"Oh, not every royal is as lucky in love as your Thomas," Snow replies smiling. "Sometimes being royal and being happy are mutually exclusive terms."
Ella is still looking doubtful but quite relieved. "Well that's sad. Are you alright? I know you really liked him..."
Snow shakes her head. "I'm fine," she tries to keep her voice from shaking. "Perfectly fine. I told you I just needed them to set a date, so I can move on. You know, now that I have closure..."
"Thomas is already planning to go to the wedding of course...and he doesn't know about any of this so he thinks you will be coming along. But Snow, if you don't want to, I can come up with an excuse and we can stay here, have a girls night..."
"Oh, you don't need to do that," Snow replies looking away. "You should go have fun..."
Alone in her room Snow stares at the official wedding announcement picture of Catherine and James when the blue bird flies through the window and perches on her hand.
"What is it?" she asks, both her hand and her voice trembling.
Snow gasps at the news the red robin just brought her, her eyes welling up. "James will die on a hunting accident three days before his wedding and I will be hiding in the town of Naught. While I am grateful for a solution that will let me get away, the thought of running away and never seeing you again is unbearable. Come to me if you feel the same, and we can be together forever..."
The blue bird has hardly finished chirping and Snow has already opened her traveling case and is throwing things inside, grateful that she's brought several plain clothes. She can't run away in a designer gown of course. Her hands are still shaking. This is it, she thinks, it is really happening. Funny, he is planning on waiting for her in the town of Naught. Naught is an abandoned gold mining town, that was shortly inhabited by dwarves who were superstitious enough to think that naming their town Naught would give them a better chance at finding gold. It didn't work of course, there was no gold in the town of Naught which is why hardly any people are left living in it. But Snow has been through the town before. She remembers certain landmarks. She can give James a meeting point. She just needs to make sure she remembers correctly.
Once she is done packing, Snow hides her suitcase in the back of her closet and walks to the castle library and heads to the cartography section. She opens several maps of different mining towns, just in case anyone is watching her. And when she is absolutely certain she is alone she finally opens the map to the town of Naught. She is looking for landmarks, any kind of reference. And then she finds what she is looking for. There is a tavern called "the holly vine," right by the river. A rather unusual name for a tavern, which is perfect, because if anyone intercepts her note they will be busy looking for her in actual shrubs and bushes.
Snow's suitcase has been packed and ready, hidden in the back of her closet for almost two weeks now. She did her best to calculate exactly how long it would take a bluebird to reach James, and the exact right time she should reply to his message. And now it's time. Her hand is out the window and the blue bird flies instantly towards her.
"Tonight," she wrote in the note. "At the holly shrub by the stream. I'll be waiting."
"This is the most important message I will ever send," she whispers to the small feathered friend. No matter what you hear, please make sure James gets this message!"
And then Ella walks inside her room and there are tears streaming down her face.
"Ella what's wrong?" Snow gasps.
"I'm afraid I have some terrible news," Ella continues, motioning or Snow to sit on the window seat.
"What happened?" Snow asks again. "Ella, you are scaring me!"
"There was a hunting accident," Ella says softly, her hand reaching for Snow's shoulder. "I'm afraid that it involves James. Snow, I'm really sorry, James got hurt and I... Snow he is gone..."
And even thought Snow knows this is all a ruse, in fact she's been expecting to hear this, she feels the room get darker, her eyes welling up. She places her hand on her heart. This isn't real, her mind tells her heart, even as she sobs in her friends arms.
"It's going to be alright," Ella says over and over, caressing Snow's back.
"I know," Snow is wiping her eyes. "I know. It's just that Ella, I think it's time for me to go!"
Ella is looking stunned. "Wait. What, now? Snow that's a terrible idea. Not when you are like this... Snow,won't you stay a few more days..."
And that's when Snow realizes she's made some terrible miscalculations. She really didn't expect to fall apart at the news of James' fake death. She also didn't expect the news of James' death to reach them first thing in the morning. She meant to be long gone before Ella found out that James was dead. What sort of friend Ella would be if she let Snow go after her emotional outburst?
She can't betray James' secret of course, even though she thinks Ella completely trustworthy. So she submits to her friends care, she drinks plenty of tea, and takes a bubble bath and watches two movies, all under Ella's watchful eyes, while Snow herself is staring at the clock. She should have left by now, she told James to expect her tonight. She should have left already. She is going to be so late.
David has been pacing up and forth inside the dark empty tavern. There are candles he could light, but he doesn't want to, just in case. He's stabled his horse at the small barn in the back and now there is nothing left for him to do but wait. Even though he was wearing his darkest cape with his hood on, he still caught several people staring at him as he was riding towards the town of Naught, no doubt wondering why he looks familiar. He traveled here as fast as he could, and it took him about four hours to walk around the abandoned town and decipher Snow's message. The town of Naught is truly empty. As far as he can tell there are only two souls left living here, an older blacksmith living in a cottage at the other edge of town and a talking frog that is singing in the middle of the town square, sunning himself at the edge of the water fountain. But he still doesn't want to take any chances. He opened the door to 'the Holly Vine' and he was disappointed. She said "I'll be waiting..." and he believed her. But she is not here yet. She is not here. Of course something might have messed up her plan, she might be a couple of hours late, there is no need to panic yet.
In the end, after pacing back and forth for hours, jumping and looking through the window shutters at every unusual sound, he sits on the ground his back against the wall. The inside of 'the Holly Vine' is rather gloomy. The mirror on the wall is broken, the lighting fixtures are shrouded in cobwebs, the floor is covered in three layers of dust, dust he disturbed by walking in circles so now there are footprints everywhere. If there was tables and chairs in this room in the past, there is no sign of them, just a forgotten stool tipped over in the middle of the room.
"She is not here," he whispers to himself over and over, and even though he is not prone to despair, the prospect of spending the night in this dark empty tavern alone is making him feel completely abandoned.
She is not here.
What if he deciphered her message wrong? What if she is waiting under an actual holly brush by a stream somewhere? What if...
She is not here and he is utterly alone, no longer a prince, no longer a boy from a farm, no longer a White Knight. He is no one. He is not even sure what his name should be anymore. "Charming," she said, "I like Charming better." As if she knew that the name James wasn't real, as if she saw right through him. As if she could tell...
David pulls out her letters, unfolds them one by one and reads them again.
"So I'm going throw caution to the wind and say it. I miss you. Write to me again?"
"She is coming," he boldly declares to the darkness, "of course she is coming..."
David wakes up on the cold tavern floor. He groans as he sits up, stretching, then he wraps his cape tighter around him. She is not here. She is not here, his heart aches with every beat. He shakes away his gloomy thoughts. He knows there is a well on the back of the tavern so he walks out back to wash his face and feed his horse.
"Where is she?" he asks his reflection on the bottom of the well, but he doesn't get a response.
When Snow walks inside the Holly Vine tavern everything is perfectly quiet. Someone was here recently, there are foot marks all over the ground, in fact someone might have spent the night here, but now the building is perfectly silent. Snow heart sinks as she leans her back against the door, the door shutting gently behind her. Did she miss him already? She said she'd be waiting for him. But in the end she had to spend the day with Ella and she had to pretend that she needed to sleep early and she sneaked out the window once she was certain Ella wouldn't check up on her again, losing precious time. And now Snow is finally here but she is too late.
Snow's eyes well up, her lips trembling. He didn't wait for her. How is she supposed to find him now, when he is supposed to be dead? How will she even begin to know where to look? She is just going to have to track him down, Snow thinks, wiping her eyes in a hurry. She'll find him.
There is the sound of the back door opening and Snow's heart is beating wildly. She places her hand on her dagger, just in case, and she moves forward.
He is half way through the kitchen, when she rushes to the kitchen door. Their eyes meet, and the world comes to a stand still. For a second she wonders if they are both going to be shy and hesitate. Snow's had so many things she wanted to tell him and now her mind is drawing a blank, her eyes are already tearing up, her hands reaching for him.
She is here! She is here. And he smiles because she looks so beautiful in her leather vest, her white tunic, the leather pants, her hair pulled back and braided. And he wants to laugh at himself for being surprised at her informal attire. Did he really think she'd show up in a ballgown? And it's such a relief to see her there, not looking like a princess, looking so beautiful yet so down to earth, like a woman who could be his, even now when he is not a prince, he is not a knight, he is just a guy with a sword and a horse. And he is so elated he could laugh. He could cry.
Her eyes open wide, she wonders at his hesitation, and the longing in her eyes is enough to make him forget all he went through to get to this point. He steps forward, sheer joy all over his face and in the next breath she is engulfed in his arms.
"You came," he says quietly, lifting her off the ground as he holds her tight, and Snow is feeling so relieved she almost bursts into tears.
She kisses his cheek one, two, three, four times, instead of replying, because she is both terrified and deliriously happy.
"You came," he says again, he can hardly believe it, and then he feels Snow's kisses on his cheek, and he is stunned at her unabashed affection. Snow's joy is the very antithesis of Catherine's cold and indifferent demeanor. He feels like he'd been out left in the cold for the past months, and Snow's just opened the door and pulled him inside next to a warm hearth.
"I thought I was too late..." she says softly, and she can't help it, she has tears streaming down her face again. "I thought you already left..."
"Where would I even go? I'm not going anywhere," he replies, "I would have waited a whole month for you if I had to..."
Snow beams at him through her tears. Of course he would have waited. All her previous fears seem unfounded now, dissolving in the warmth of his smile.
"Snow," he says, his voice half a whisper and she wonders what he's going to say next, when he leans in and kissed her instead.
Is he moving too fast, he wonders, as Snows body stiffens slightly, but then she cups his face and kisses him back.
"Hello, Charming," she smiles brushing her hand against the now small scar on his chin, and they both laugh.
And he thinks the nickname she gave him might be the sweetest sound in all of the realms. There is a lot he wants to get off his chest but Snow is already glancing around the room in a hurry.
"We shouldn't stay here," she says quietly. "People were looking at me funny as I was riding into town..."
"Yes," he agrees. "But does your horse need to rest?"
"No, I exchanged horses a couple of miles back," she explains. "Which is another reason why we need go go as far away as possible... I gave them a false name, but they might have recognized me. I don't want to be tracked..."
"Let's go," he agrees in a hurry. And it's like they were born to do this, they are moving together, their steps fast, perfectly in sync. He shaddles his horse, he waters Snow's, then they ride away together.
After riding into the forest for five hours, Snow can hardly keep her eyes open. She is completelynexhausted. She did ride throught the night to get to him. David stops by the stream and dismounts.
"You look like you could fall asleep sitting up," he says holding her horse by the reins while she steps down. He stretches and sits on a fallen log then he motions her to sit next to him. The horses are already dipping their heads in the water, drinking. There are tall evergreen trees all round them, concealing their presence. He pulls out two sandwiches and hands her his water flask.
"Well?" he asks quietly. "Are you sure about this? Because if you are not, there is still time to turn back..." He looks a little worried when she doesn't respond right away.
Snow threads her fingers through his. "I am not going back," she replies. "I understood the message you sent me perfectly. I knew you weren't actually going to die. And yet when I heard the news of your death, I felt so heartbroken, like I couldn't breathe..."
He shakes his head. "That's not how I wanted to do this at all," he explains. "I wanted to come clean, and tell the truth about who I am... but Catherine pointed out that the truth would have just strained all diplomatic relations between our kingdoms and landed me in the dungeon..."
"What is the truth exactly?" Snow frowns. "Who are you really?"
David hesitates.
"Just tell me," she shrugs. "I mean, I need to know who I mean to spend my life with, don't I?"
And there is something in the way she says those words, that is quite astonishing. He looks at her overwhelmed, as the truth of her words sinks in.
"This is what we are doing, isn't it?" Snow's face blanches, because he didn't reply right away. Maybe she is misreading things, rushing ahead.
"That is exactly what we are doing..." he replies quietly, squeezing her hand. "It's just that the truth is quite hard to believe. I'm not even sure I've made peace with it..."
David takes a deep breath. He might as well come out with it. "Prince James, the real prince James, died, six months ago. I was brought in to impersonate him, because he was in the process of forging a diplomatic alliance with Midas..."
"Hence the engagement," Snow nods.
"Yes," David nods. Yes, but there is more..." He looks away. "I could impersonate prince James, without anyone questioning me, because we are identical twins. We were separated at birth. The king sent the Dark One to my parents farm when we were newborns... and there was some kind of transaction.. The king adopted my brother..."
Snow's eyes open wide. She is stunned at his confession. He is right, the truth is quite astonishing.
"Catherine is right," she says quickly, grateful at the levelheadedness of the other princess. "If you told the truth while on George's soil, you'd never see the light of day again... they'd lock you up and throw away the key..." and the thought of how close she came to never seeing him again terrifies her.
He is not sure what to make of her reaction, she seems quite horrified, but then she wraps her arms around his shoulders.
"And your real name?" she asks, kissing his cheek.
"David," replies.
"David," she smiles. "I knew you were a mystery, but I would have never guessed anything this complicated..."
He feels so relieved. He's laid all the cards on the table and she is still here. She is here.
"What did you do before... before you were James?" she is choosing her words very carefully.
"I was a white knight," he replies. "Had no idea the prince was my brother..."
Snow nods, finally understanding the whole picture. "That is a lot to process," her eyes now searching his face. "You've been through so much! Are you alright?"
And David feels likes like waves of relief are crushing on him. She knows the truth and she is still here. Not only is she still here, but she is loving and caring, and his well being finally matters. He is no longer just a pawn to be used and discarded in king George's hands.
"I am now," he replies.
Snow leans her head on his shoulder.
"David...-" she starts then she hesitates. "Should I be calling you David or...-"
"David," he replies, "if I never hear the name James again it will be too soon..."
"Oh, in that case, I'm sorry," she mumbles pulling out two tickets from her purse.
James Charming, the first ticket reads. The second one is made out to Mary Margaret Blanchard. It's two boarding passes to the Nautilus.
"I was in a hurry, that was the first name that popped in my head," she explains.
"These must have cost a fortune," he exclaims.
"We can use them in six months time. I figured the black knights will be done looking for me by then, and it will be a good time to get away...we just need a place to lay low for a while..."
"That's perfect," he nods. "I know just the place. A friend of a friend has an aunt who is going blind. She is looking to sell her cabin. It's deep inside the forest, no neighbors in sight... we can buy it," he says pulling out a small leather pouch that has fifty gold coins in it.
Snow pulls out her wallet, and shows him how much money is in it. "Couldn't withdraw all the gold from my bank without arousing suspicions, so I only got half, but I did trade some jewels..."
Between the two of them they have enough money that they could live comfortably for a year, two years if they are really careful.
"Perfect..." she smiles. "We've only been together for half a day and we've already figured everything out..."
"Yes..." he grins and then he turns around and kneels in front of her, her hand still in his. "Except for one last thing..." he says quietly. "Snow White," he pauses long enough to note that she is holding her breath. "Snow White, will you marry me?"
"What do you think?" she replies, her eyes welling up and then they are holding each other tight, and the world has slowed down and it is a happy peaceful place.
"So, yes then?" he asks.
"Yes," she laughs, kissing him on the lips and she is surprised to feel that she is not the only one crying. "Yes, yes, yes" she whispers again.
Oof, I'm glad they found each other. Thank you for reading, thank you for reviewing. I appreciate all your comments.
Jennifer Baratta chapter 32 Awesome chapter
Thank you!
NaomiBlue chapter 32 I'm sorry that Rowan is losing his daughter but it does seem he is gaining something good in its place. A more honest relationship with a great deal of potential.
True, so true. Plus he still gets to be in Lia's life.
Alexa chapter 32 So glad they found out the truth before Thomas said/ did something he would regret. They were all used and manipulated by The Dark One. Now that they all know they can work together to help Lia adjust to changes and Noreen can help Rowan stop blaming himself.
Alexa chapter 32Loved David singing for Snow to distract her from the siren song. Nice surprise to find out that he sang to her when they were young!
Yes! And thank you!
Bella1296 chapter 32 Great chapter!
Thanks Bella!
Guest chapter 32 Great chapter! It was an interesting conclusion to the mystery of Ella's baby and their first case as private detectives. Poor Snow still has to deal with the side effects of the siren song, but at least it wasn't as bad as last time. Emma with the power to freeze her surrounding doesn't sounds like a good idea, I can just imagine the chaos it would bring. Poor Thomas having to realize that his long lost daughter loves another man has her father and not him. Rowan's lovestory with his wife is so heartbreaking and now he has lost his daughter as well. I'm so worried about Tink and her keeping that amulet, that can't be good with the paranoia and fears she has dealt with. The scene at the end was so cute! The unicorn collection does sound amazing. I'm glad that Snow is set free from her curse now and that it doesn't have to tear at her anymore. Anyways this was very cute and healing(?) chapter.
So true! What is Tink going to do with the amulet? Thank you!
