The snow came unexpectedly; about three days after the Huntsman said his farewells for the winter, while Snow was out gathering wood. She had gone beyond Regina's sight, and at first the flurries were light enough that it wasn't too concerning. Regina assumed that Snow would return as soon as the first snow fell, the Huntsman had warned them both to get to the cabin as soon as they suspected the snow was arriving. She watched from the window for the princess, having fastened the windows shut and put the chickens into their coop. The Huntsman had assured her that they could handle the weather, and that a little ventilation in the coop was necessary and wouldn't make them too cold. There was a covered area linking the cabin to the coop so they could provide water and fresh bedding for the chickens, Regina had made sure it was secure and checked for any eggs.

By the time the snow was laying on the ground she started to worry. What if something had happened? Snow could be injured and laying on the cold ground unable to return. She put on her warmest clothes and opened the front door. The cold air pushed against her face, the falling snow was already difficult to see through. She took one step, then another, wondering whether to call out to Snow. The princess had gone out in one direction, but could easily have wandered off.

"Regina!"

The voice was muffled, the word barely recognisable as her name, but Regina knew Snow was calling to her. She hurried towards the sound, calling out to her in return. They stumbled into each other eventually, Regina getting a tight grip on Snow's arm so she wouldn't lose her.

The Huntsman had warned them how the magic of the Infinite Forest could be unpredictable, how daylight hours changed as if to stop travellers from using the light to track the time they had spent there and how the storms could come crashing up all at once to discourage people from moving too far. As Regina looked around, she realised she couldn't see the cabin and wished Rumplestiltskin had taught her a spell to help.

She placed her head close to Snow's, feeling the princess' hair against her nose, "I don't know which way to go."

Snow started to move, stopping only when they reached a tree. Regina felt Snow raise her arm, placing her hands on the trunk and moving over the bark. Then they were off walking again. At the next tree Snow repeated her examination of the trunk and stood still for a moment while she worked out which way to go. There were two more trees before Regina found herself walking into the cabin behind the princess. They struggled to shut the door as snow began to gather where it had been open, and Regina's first thought was to add a little more wood to their fire. She stood shivering in her dampened clothes, ignoring the drops of water as it melted from her outer layers. Eventually Snow joined her, shedding her boots and laying her icy clothes on the back of a chair.

"You should take yours off too," Snow told her. "We need to get into dry clothes."

"What were you doing so far from the cabin?" Regina held her hands over the flames, knowing her fingers were too chilled to struggle with her boots just yet.

"I told you, I went to get some more wood, and as soon as it started snowing I made my way back."

"You were lost."

"I didn't expect you to come out in the snow, I thought you'd light a couple of candles in the window or call out from the cabin," Snow moved over to Regina, then knelt at her feet and began tackling her friends boots.

"I was really worried. The Huntsman said we should stay close because this would happen. I didn't even know which way you'd gone."

"Well we're both safe now, and… lift your foot," Snow told her, holding onto a boot, "… I wasn't that far, really I wasn't. Until the snow started I could almost see the cabin, but then when I started to run back I slipped and got a little disorientated. I left the wood out there trying to hurry back…"

"You fell? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine, I had so many layers on I could have been attacked by wolves and escaped unscathed." She tapped one of Regina's legs, "other foot."

Regina stepped onto the cabin floor and held out a hand to help Snow to stand, "thank you."

"Go and get changed, I'll make us something warm to drink."

Regina paused on her way to the bedroom and turned to look at Snow. The princess was already moving the boots to the side of the fireplace and hanging her damp clothes to dry. Perhaps she had been silly to worry about being stuck in the cabin with Snow for the winter, the younger girl had matured so much since they left the palace.

Snow caught her watching and made a shoo-ing motion with her hands to hurry Regina along.

The first week passed pleasantly. Regina was careful with their supplies, and Snow seemed to enjoy the little tasks she'd found for them to do. Each day had a new plan, from tidying the cabin to going over Snow's lessons - because Regina knew how important the studies were to Snow's father. The Huntsman had suggested a few games they could play with their limited supplies, to make the time pass quickly. They went to bed as it grew dark, trying to conserve their few candles, and waking when there was enough sunlight to see by. They played simple games and made up stories to tell each other, while Regina secretly marked the number of days as they passed. She knew Rumplestiltskin would return in the spring and it would be too easy to lose track of the days. His instruction to practice magic every day was easier said than done, Snow was always around - the only time she had to herself came when the princess was asleep or going to check on the chickens. She had managed to practice a warming spell when cooking, making the water boil a little faster, and warmed their room a little before they slept – not enough that Snow would question it. One night, when Snow was fast asleep, she crept out of their room and went to the window. The moonlight wasn't strong enough for her to see the snow very well so she created a small ball of light outside of the cabin and spent some time moving large areas of snow around. Another evening she practiced creating different colours of lights and moving them around. That was harder than moving the snow, requiring more concentration and little creativity with the spell.

"Do you think the Huntsman is alright?" Snow asked, interrupting Regina's reminiscences of her secret spell casting.

"I'm sure he's fine. He's gone through this many times before," Regina reminded her.

Snow was sitting by the fire, a small knife in her hand as she carved something from a piece of wood, carefully placing all of the shavings in the fire so the wood wasn't wasted. Regina had been setting the table for dinner, lost in her own thoughts. She looked over at Snow, wondering whether the princess was starting to fall in love with their friend.

"So you're not worried about him?"

Regina frowned, "he said he has contingency plans in case he couldn't make it to his cabin, and he has the wolf."

"I just thought, you seem to really like him…"

"Of course I like him, look at how much he has helped us. Without him we probably wouldn't have made it this far through the winter, but just because we're friends doesn't mean I'm going to panic when something happens which he is perfectly capable of handling – like this weather. You shouldn't worry either Snow, I know you care for him but he said his preparations would be complete days before the snow started and that he would be safely in his home with no intention of last-minute excursions outside."

"I just meant… I thought…. do you love him?" Snow blurted out the words, then looked away as if scared of Regina's answer.

Regina walked towards her, then knelt down so their faces were level and she could look into Snow's eyes if the other girl turned back around, "no I don't. I consider him a very good friend."

"Oh," Snow finally faced her.

"Do you love him?"

"No!" Snow's answer was swift and gave Regina no reason to doubt her.

"Then what made you ask? Did he say something?"

"Oh no, he likes you as a friend too."

Then Snow put her knife and wood on the floor and threw her arms around Regina's neck to hug her before she could ask any more questions.