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Red was starving and sleep deprived by the time Snow drifted back into consciousness. The nurse convinced her- no, forced her to get something to eat, and when she came back with at least a little bit of food in her growling stomach, Snow was whispering to the nurse like nothing happened.
"Snow," Red choked out, before running into her waiting arms. "I was so worried."
"I'm okay now."
"I think we should tape pillows to your body, you can't seem to not get hurt," she joked as she inhaled Snow's scent, memorizing it for the next time she would be separated from her. Knowing Snow, it wouldn't be long now, but that wouldn't stop her from keeping her safe.
"Can we leave now," she asked the nurse. She laughed and bent over her, checking her temperature.
"I would normally keep patients here for a while after being unconscious for five days, but you're perfectly normal. I'll inform the doctor and he'll be able to tell me whether you're okay to leave or not." Snow nodded while trying to subtly wrap her arms around Red's shoulders.
"I missed talking to you," Red whispered.
"I heard. That nurse told me you didn't eat anything until she forced you out of the room before I woke up, or sleep in that cot once." Red blushed and nodded.
"I didn't want to lose you." Snow nodded and held onto Red, resting her head on her shoulder, nudging her nose into the crook of her neck.
"You won't. I promise. You can't get away from me that easy." She felt Red's shoulders shake in a silent laugh.
"Same goes for you," she managed between snickers. Snow nodded and sat in her arms until the nurse came back with the doctor.
"You seem fine to me and you're burns are healing nicely, but I don't want you overexerting yourself. Take it easy and rub this on your burns every day before bed. If you run out, you can return or find another doctor to give it to you, as long as you have the empty jar to prove you need it. Take care," the doctor said, getting up off his knees and leaving with the nurse trailing behind.
"Thank you," Snow called out to the nurse,"for taking care of her." The nurse nodded and smiled before shutting the door behind her. Red let out an uneasy sigh of relief.
"Let's get going then. Maybe we can get a horse while we're here," Red said. She helped Snow off the bed and down the stairs to the first floor. Before leaving, Snow snuck around behind unsuspecting men and plucked bags of money and jewels for their pockets.
"Just in case," Snow said, barely hiding a wicked smile that hit Red in the head, but instead of hurting, it felt so good. She grinned back and led her to the stalls around the town market. They walked past booths with toys for children, meat, necklaces and bracelets, and pelts.
Red stopped Snow when she ran her fingers over the silky soft fur of a cloak.
"How much," she asked the merchant.
"200 silver," she replied in a gravelly voice. She looked at Snow before pulling out a leather pouch full of silver and slid it across the table. The woman sifted through and slid the pelt back to her.
Before Snow could know what was going on, she had a brown cloak wrapped around her shoulders.
"Red, I-"
"Don't worry about it. It's a gift. You look very pretty in it." Snow blushed and flicked her gaze down to her feet, pulling it tighter around her shoulders. When she looked back up into Red's hazel eyes, she smiled sweetly.
"Thank you," she whispered. "It's wonderful." Red took her hand and skipped through the market, occasionally skittering to a stop to buy food and supplies for their unplanned and completely amazing journey; she knew it was going to be amazing as long as she had Snow by her side.
"So, where to next," Red asked befuddledly.
"I'm not sure. We'll camp out wherever and hope we find our cabin. Maybe have a few fun little heists on the way," she said, whispering as she said the last part.
"What kind of heists, Miss Snow?"
"Well, it's survival of the fittest, we'll do whatever we have to," she said mysteriously. Red laughed a little too loudly.
"I'm excited," she admitted half heartedly.
"Me too. We'll have so many adventures, Granny'll be so overwhelmed when we visit her." Snow laughed.
"I don't think she could be overwhelmed with anything if she tried."
"Yeah, you're right. She'll just scoff and say I'm being an idiot."
"Are you?"
"Hell no," she said confidently. "We should get going, we can't linger for too long, someone might be able to put the pieces together with your face on every surface the Enchanted Forest has room for."
"Here, there's a trail around here somewhere," Snow whispered, dragging her by the hand into the foliage, pulling her wrist down with her and crouching behind a bush.
"What're we-"
"Shh, someone's coming." The stomping of horse's feet came from a few feet ahead of them, and through the leaves, she could see two horses, one white with red speckles and a black one speckled with white.
"I call the black one," Snow whispered as the horses skidded to a stop near the bush they were hiding in. She didn't bother protesting when Snow suddenly jumped out with her arrow drawn, forcing the two men riding the horses to the ground and hopping on it swiftly.
"C'mon Red, we gotta get going before someone finds us."
"I…haven't ridden a horse. Ever."
"Ever?"
"Ever."
"Here, hop on with me," Snow said with patience. Red gravitated towards her unknowingly, and she was being helped onto the animal.
"Be calm. Horses scare easily," she instructed kindly, as she started the horse up and down the path. Not knowing what to do, Red wrapped her arms around Snow as tight as she could with her breath quickening against Snow's shoulder. She patted her arm with her left hand.
"This isn't so bad," she said, muffled against Snow's shoulder.
"You're doing great." She urged the horse on faster, and Red gripped onto her tighter now. Snow giggled and leant her head on top of Red's, before lifting her head back up.
After about a half hour, Snow was holding onto Red's limp arms as her sleeping head slumped against her. After finding a decent place to give their horse a break, she slowly shook Red awake.
"Red, you gotta wake up."
"Why," she whined.
"We need to give the horse a break. I'm sorry, but you can go back to sleep after." Red groaned and sat upright, nearly falling off the side of the horse.
"Careful, I'll help," she said, before climbing off the horse and grasping her curvaceous waist while she pulled an exhausted Red off the horse.
"Do you want something to eat?"
"No, I'm good," she muttered. Snow forced some bread and nuts into her anyway. After giving their horse an apple, they climbed back on and rode the horse off the trail. Just as Red was dozing off, she noticed their change in course.
"Why aren't we going on the trails," she wondered, slurring her words in near-sleep.
"It'll be too easy to find us."
"Why didn't we go off-trail before?"
"Because we weren't in the Queen's kingdom. We were right near the border." Red moaned somnolently in response and leant against Snow once more.
"You really didn't get any sleep when I was unconscious, did you?"
"No," she groaned once more, and then vowed to ignore Snow's questions in favour of sleep.
But that laugh, though. That sweet, melodic laugh that she would hear in favour of the kingdom's finest sweets, food, anything they threw at her, she would hear that voice for eternity if she had the option. Right now, she was planning on staying for eternity.
"Can you promise not to leave me," Red asked abruptly. Snow stopped the horse.
"Of course. I'd do anything for you, you know that, right?"
"Of course. And I you," she whispered, while listening to a folk song she'd heard Snow humming, but with Snow humming it, she was trying to fight sleep. She lost the fight and fell asleep with Snow's voice luring her into sleep.
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She didn't wake up right away, but she felt her body being hoisted off the horse by a pair of slender and muscular arms. A pair of lips landed on her forehead, starting an intense flutter of her heart and suddenly she felt full of rock bouncing around inside her.
"I love you," Snow whispered so quiet she thought she was dreaming.
"Mm, love you too," Red muttered. The arms holding her up almost dropped her.
"What did you say?"
"I said 'I love you.' Am I dreaming then?"
"No, you're not," Snow whispered. "I set up the tent and cooked some food." Red groaned.
"I'm not hungry," she whimpered.
"I know you are. I'm an excellent cook, I'm sure you'll be going for seconds."
"I'm sure I will," she muttered, before feeling her body being put down on the soft dirt, covered in something soft.
"Did you mean what you said," Snow asked absentmindedly.
"What did I say?"
"That you loved me. Do you?"
"Yes. How could I not?" Snow giggled and held her cheek in the palm of her hand. She nervously drew her face closer to Red's, and she pulled her down faster, pressing her lips against Snow's tentatively, yet so sure of herself. This is what she wanted, this is the thing she's yearned for since forever. Before she met Snow. Before she even knew what she wanted, and Snow easily gave that to her in a matter of months.
"I'm so lucky," Red murmured against Snow's lips, feeling the vibrations of her voice.
"Explain."
"I have an incredibly smart, sly, enchantingly beautiful girl say she loved me."
"That's funny, I was about to say the same thing about you," she laughed, before retracting herself from Red's arms to make their supper. She caught Red pouting slightly with her bottom lip stuck out, before she crawled over beside her and watched her.
