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I am going to kill her.
Nothing had ever been so clear in her head before. The bubbling feeling of rage coursed through her veins like a sweet venom as she moved through the woods.
She has taken everything from me.
She has taken what was meant to be mine.
She transformed my life completely, for the worst.
And now she was going to pay with her life.
Now that she had her mind set on her goal, the very idea of true love sounded ludicrous, ridiculous. A goal that once reached would truly make her happy, a goal which would bring justice to all she had wronged.
Everything was black and white, clear as the day, she knew what she wanted and how she was going to get it, nothing would stop her. Although everything was clear as it had never been before, the colors of her world had become just a little bit duller after she took the potion in order to forget him.
The man who she had once loved, the one who had brought so much agony to her heart she had decided to yank love from her entire existence in order to stop suffering. She did not recall anything about him, she painted his image in her head with information given by others. They said he was fierce, determined, had blonde hair, blue eyes, a dazzling smile and a scar on his face thanks to her.
Snow figured he must have been a sight for sore eyes, but not worth the heartache.
Now things were better, now she was going to kill Regina and get her kingdom back.
Persuading Grumpy to help her had been harder than she expected, the dwarf was adamant that she should be in search of a cure not the death of the person who had wronged her.
It took Snow some convincing, but at the end, when she played her last card, reminding him just how love had ruined his life and made him not Dreamy but Grumpy, he finally agreed that he would help her kill the Queen.
They were almost there. After trekking through the snow for hours, they were almost at the spot Rumpelstistskin had pointed out on the map. And although Grumpy had agreed to help, he made a point that they had to have a plan B in case she was spotted or the imp was tricking her - after all he had not asked for payment, had given her some excuse about "being invested in her future".
He must really hate Regina, then. The thought crossed her mind as she and Grumpy parted ways.
They had agreed that Snow was to stand on the spot Rumpelstistskin had shown them with the bow and arrow, ready to shoot when the Queen crossed the road. Grumpy would be at a distance, higher, where he would be able to see the road and where Snow stood, if anything went wrong, he would give her cover, for he had a bow and arrow of his own, not a magical one like Snow's, but good enough.
As Snow found her spot, she looked down at the empty road, her heart started beating fast, anticipation and excitement mingling with the loathing she felt towards Regina.
She stole her kingdom, killed her father, tried to kill her, hunted her down like some animal. Snow knew Regina had not been particularly happy during her married years, still she could not understand why she pursued her with such passion.
Snow felt a hint of hesitation when she realized that, once Regina was dead, once she killed her today with that magical arrow that never missed it's target, Snow would never know why the Queen wanted her dead, why she hated her so much.
That feeling was quickly substituted by anger when Snow thought of all the years she had known Regina, how now Snow knew Regina had lied to her this entire time.
She had magic!
Powerful, dark magic she had been learning for years and Snow had no idea. She didn't know anything about her once stepmother and they lived together, ate together, took strols in the garden together. Snow just couldn't wrap her head around the fact that it all had been a lie, an act.
The day when Regina had nearly caught her, when the fin Ariel had given her had saved her neck, Snow had been shocked when she saw Regina. It had been nearly a month since she had last seen her, that fateful day when Robin Hood had nearly killed her, the day her whole world fell apart. Regina had been wearing black, clothes fit to a widow, discreet makeup, her hair always up in an elegant updo.
But when Snow laid her eyes on Regina the day Ariel died in order to save her life, she had to hold back her need to gasp. Regina looked completely different, her clothes were still dark but were made of leather and tight, her face covered in heavy makeup, her hair rebellious and her eyes, Snow would never forget the mad glint in Regina's eyes.
She did not know that woman.
"Snow!" a male voice called out to her and Snow turned around puzzled since it was not Grumpy's voice.
When she laid her eyes on him, the man smiled broadly.
"Who the hell are you?" She asked him, but he did not reply, just kept walking towards her with certain strides.
Before she could register what was happening he was close, too close. One of his arms was around her waist as the other hand was lifted to her face, pulling her impossibly close to him.
"I'm helping you remember." he told her before crashing his lips against hers.
His lips were soft and very pink, too pink for a man, but now they were attached to her own and that was just unacceptable. Who the hell did he think he was?
When he parted the kiss and spoke, "I told you, I would always find you-" Snow saw her chance and hit him across the head with the hilt of the dagger she had been able to collect from her belt while he was too busy forcing his pink and soft lips against hers.
He fell down on the snow-covered ground but did not pass out as Snow assumed he would, his head was thicker than she had originally thought. His hand shot to where she had hit him as he turned on the ground, grunting in pain.
Snow huffed out a laugh at the sight of true love.
She assumed that that was the man Rumpelstiltskin had helped her forget, well, no wonder...
Her wandering took enough time for him to get to his feet without her noticing, "It's me, Charming." he spoke, dusting the snow from his trousers.
"Charming?" She could not help but chuckle, "That's your name?"
"No, of course not-" he brought his hand to his temple again, "It's James-" Snow felt as if there was something off about the way he said his own name, something strange, it must have showed in her face for he took a deep breath and corrected himself, "No, actually, my name is David."
"Right-" Snow clicked her tongue, intrigued by the name change, "Why didn't you give me your real name at first?"
His cheeks had been flushed but now were growing pale, "It's complicated-"
"Well, I'm intrigued-" Snow gave him, moving to stand by a nearby tree, looking at him with interest, "-and I'm early, so you can tell me this complicated story."
He swallowed and looked down at his feet before telling her, "James is my brother's name, my twin brother."
Snow's eyebrows both shot up in surprise, "You have a twin brother?"
"I had a brother, he died a few months ago." He told her.
"Oh, I'm sorry-" Snow was a little embarrassed at her questions but still it did not make sense that he had given her his brother's name.
"It's alright, I never knew him, never met him-" he looked down at his feet again, "We were separated when we were born, he was raised by King George and I was raised by our parents. I never knew that I had a brother, much less a twin." He looked up at her again, his eyes were a little bit glassy and Snow could trace fear and anticipation in his blue depths, "My brother was Prince James, the heir to King George's kingdom but he died while battling an enemy. King George needed an heir, he needed Prince James to be alive, so I stepped into his shoes."
"So, you are not really a prince?" Snow was getting more and more interested in this crazy story.
He cleared his throat before answering, "No, I am not." He took a deep breath before continuing, "What I am is a shepherd. My name is David."
He looked so uncertain at her that Snow was sure that he had not told her that story before, when they had been supposedly in love. But how could they have been in love if she thought he was someone else?
"That's a very complicated story indeed-" Snow gave him, "-and now, as the dwarves have told me, you have left it all behind, your kingdom, your fiance, for me." She looked at him from head to toe before completing, "Because you love me."
"Yes-" he breathed out, there was a hopeful smile on his lips then, "I don't understand why your memories have not returned. I gave you a true love's kiss!"
Snow had to laugh at that, "You mean when you forced your pink lips against mine without my consent? It's very simple really-" she took two steps towards him, "-I don't love you!"
"No, you do love me and I love you-" he tried to reason with her, "-you just don't remember."
"You're telling me that, but I don't feel it-" Snow told him, "All I can see here is a man who is lost and is giving me empty words of love." She did not know how to feel when she saw a pained look in his eyes after she delivered her words. She tried to reason with herself reassuring that she should always speak her mind and things were better off this way, no love involved, "I don't need love, which is why I took the potion. I don't regret it. What I need is to take action and take back what's mine."
"What are you going to do?" he asked her.
Snow let a smile creep on her lips as she spoke, "I am going to kill the Queen."
"No, Snow, you can't do that," he took an unconscious step towards her.
"Really?" she questioned him, "Why not?"
"Because that's not who you are, Snow. You are a good person, a kind soul-" he tried to reason with her.
"That's where you are wrong." she spat back, "She killed my father, took my kingdom and has been hunting me down for months like an animal. I have every single right to give back in the same coin."
He took a few more steps and they were once more standing toe to toe but before he could speak again she warned him, "If you try to kiss me again, you'll regret it."
"Don't worry, I won't-" he blushed while he spoke, "But Snow, even if we are not together, even if you don't want to be with me anymore," he swallowed, "and even though it breaks my heart to let you go, I won't force my presence on you, if that's your choice." Snow blinked a few times, surprised at his words, "But I urge you not to do this, don't kill the Queen, it will destroy your-"
Snow placed her gloved hand on his mouth and stopped his words dead, "Someone is coming."
Both their heads shot to the direction where now the sound of footsteps against the snow and leaves was quite clear. Snow's heart went to her throat when she saw to whom the strides belonged to. Even though there was quite a distance between them, she would never forget him.
Him.
That cold blooded murderer.
Once Snow was on the run, after escaping him, she learned about his story as a thief in Sherwood forest and found it hard to believe that he had once been a good man who stole from the rich to give to the poor.
And now he was there, mere feet away from her. She ran the pads of her fingers over the scar he had left on her face that day and before she could think things over, grabbed one of David's hands and moved her feet as fast and soundlessly as she could.
The man followed her but she could see there was a puzzled look on his face, but there was no time to explain, their options of escape were rather limited. The once thief was coming from the only trail out of that small hill, the only way to escape would be to walk past him and that was out of the question.
Snow quickly thought of Grumpy, how he could give her cover, shoot the blasted man if he came too close, but then she spotted that he was not wearing the Queen's army armor, Grumpy did not know who he was, and had no reason to shoot.
So she perused their whereabouts quickly, acting on instinct and finding a hiding spot where he would hopefully not find them. She dragged the charming not prince with her and crept inside a leafy brush.
Snow was bold and courageous and prided herself of that, but she was not stupid. She knew she could not match the once thief in combat, she had been lucky when he had first tried to kill her. She could not count on luck this time.
"Why are we hiding?" David asked her in a whisper.
"Because that man tried to kill me," she explained, rolling her eyes.
"That man?" He questioned her and Snow had to look at him, "That's impossible-"
"He was the man the Queen sent out to kill me when I first ran away."
David's blue eyes were huge upon hearing her words, "I know him," he paused a little, "Kind of..."
Snow's voice was a mere whisper, "How do you know him? He's a cold blooded murderer."
"He-" he started, but licked his lips before continuing, "He was the one who encouraged me to drop everything and come find you."His eyes shone with something Snow could not understand, could not trace back, "He told me that I should find you and never let you go." The information sank in and Snow could do nothing but stare at him wide eyed as his hand stroked hers, she then realised she had not let his hand go yet.
"How is that possi-" she started in a mere whisper but it was David's turn to place his gloved hand on her mouth.
"He's close," he mouthed.
He was right, Snow was so stunned by the information she had just gotten that she hadn't realised the once thief was getting closer. They both held their breath as they could see the man walk past the bush they were hiding in. Snow's heart was hammering fast against her chest, she did not know if it was out of fear or because David had not let go of her hand yet. Because even though she could not remember him and her heart was shielded from the love he had spoken of, she could feel they shared a connection, a special sort of connection.
After a few moments the noise the man's steps made against the snow became quieter. He was thankfully putting a distance between himself and the bush they were hiding in. Just as Snow was beginning to relax again and trying to get her mind back to her plan, she heard her voice.
"What on earth are you doing up here?" It was Regina's voice and she was very close, must have used her magic to get there.
"I think I saw something odd and wanted to check-" he answered her, his voice getting dangerously close to where they were.
Regina huffed before she gave him, "And 'something you thought you saw' was important enough for you to simply walk away in the middle of our conversation?"
"I trust my instincts, there's something here-"
"I also trust my instincts." Regina's voice sounded very annoyed which was still so strange to Snow, she had always sounded so calm and controlled. But then Snow remembered Regina had lied to her throughout the years, she didn't really know her. "My instincts tell me you are irritating the shit out of me and I should incinerate your trousers."
Snow heard him click his tongue, their steps were guiding them so they were bound to meet right in front of the brush she and David were hiding in, "Your majesty, you don't need to make excuses to take off my pants-" Snow was not sure if she had heard him right, she tilted her head to the side so that she could listen better, "All you have to do is ask-" he spoke with a smile on his voice, "Nicely."
Snow was baffled to register Regina's snort, "It may surprise you that I actually preoccupy myself with other things, not just with what's inside those tacky khaki trousers you insist on wearing."
"Ah," the once thief sounded satisfied, "So you do think about me and what's inside my tacky khaki trousers." He imitated her accent and Snow had to hold back a gasp.
Were they talking about his-?
"Don't flatter yourself thief-" Regina's voice responded and Snow could see that indeed they had met directly in front of the bush she and David were hiding.
Now she could see Regina was wearing black, but not the kind of clothes she had seen her that day by the sea. She was sporting riding boots and riding trousers, she also wore a heavy, raspberry red, velvet coat that hugged her figure and reached just above her feet. Her face, however, Snow could not see but if the tone she was using gave Snow any clues, she could guess that Regina was amused, she was smiling.
"We're back to 'thief' then?" Robin Hood asked and their feet stepped even closer together, too close for a mercenary like him and a royal like her.
"Yes," Regina replied, "You are a thief," their bodies were now pressed to one another, Robins's arms were around her waist while Regina's arms were not visible but must have been resting on the man's shoulders. Snow tried as hard as she could to listen to what Regina said to him next, she must have been whispering in his ear, but Snow could make out words that she never thought would leave Regina's lips, "My thief."
Snow blinked twice and looked at David as if to reassure herself that they were listening to the same conversation.
David looked back at her with surprise in his eyes as well.
She mouthed to him, ever so carefully, "Are they flirting?"
David's very discreet mouthing of, "I think so" only made Snow's head spin even more.
Who was this woman? Were they lovers? Were they in love?
The last question brought an ancient memory back to Snow's mind.
True love is magic, it creates happiness. A much younger Regina had once told her.
Snow felt strange, as if something was trying to come out but was being muffled. She then felt one of her hands start to buzz and she realized it was the hand that held David's.
"I do like the sound of that-" Robin Hood's reply brought Snow back to the here and now.
"You know what sound I like?" Regina slurred and Snow was beginning to feel like they really shouldn't be listening to this conversation.
"Tell me-" Robin replied.
"This one," Regina spoke and as fate would have it Snow and David were both witness to when Regina's ungloved hand came to their line of vision and went right to Robin's package and squeezed. The man let out a pleasure filled groan as Regina completed, "That's the one."
"Careful your majesty-" he found his voice, it was a tad lower, "-if you keep drawing those sounds from me I might just have to ravage you here and now." It was followed by a noise that sounded like his mouth started to bussy itself on Regina's exposed skin.
Regina hummed in satisfaction before replying, "That does not sound like a bad plan-"
Snow could see their bodies were impossibly close, Regina's leg was slightly lifted as she tried to hook her ankle behind Robin's. His hands travelled down until they reached her rear, taking two handfuls, he pulled her flush against him and then finished by squeezing with gusto.
"Have you ever done it in the snow?" Robin's voice sounded again.
Snow could feel her cheeks grow hot at the direction this interaction was taking and felt embarrassed and curious at the same time. She did not know if she wanted to continue looking at the pair ahead or if she should avert her gaze towards David. Although thinking about looking at David brought a burning question to her mind, had they ever done something like this?
"Not in the snow-" Regina replied, chuckling before she continued, "-but I have done it on Snow's bed."
What?
"Oh-" Robin's voice was different then, he didn't sound as amused as Regina, "Did you do that with Prince James?" He sounded jealous.
But wait, Prince James? As in David's brother? Or even, David himself?
After hearing that, Snow could not help but look at David, all manner of shy curiosity evaporated, her eyes burning holes into his figure. His eyes were huge as he looked ahead at the scene before them, mouth slightly open. She squeezed his hand so he would look at her. It worked and as their eyes met, his did not carry guilt, only utter astonishment.
He mouthed to her, "It wasn't me!" nearly desperately and she gave him a skeptical look.
"No, it wasn't with Prince James-" Regina replied as if she was talking about the weather, "He would always come to my chambers for that." Snow could register Robin let out a small groan, he didn't sound very happy, "I did it once on her bed with Jamie, her fiance."
At that moment Snow was very grateful that David was still holding her hand and squeezed it in reasurance because she nearly let her emotions get the better of her, just stood up and stabbed Regina in the face.
"Jamie? That red hair lad from the engagement party?" Robin asked her, "He was Snow's fiance?"
"Are you surprised I slept with her fiance?" Regina sounded again as if it was obvious she would do such a thing, "What's that I see?" her tone changed again, became lower but not in a sensual way, "Are you judging me with that look?"
Regina then took a step back from him as Snow was still trying to connect all the dots and digest everything she had just heard. Having a part of herself missing, having no love in her heart, made listening to these things less awful but no less shocking.
She heard Robin huff as their bodies were not glued to one another anymore, they stood a few feet apart. "Why would I judge you now? I never have before." His voice was very serious and Snow had to wonder how they could sustain such volatile interactions. "I just-" he paused for a moment, "I don't like to talk about-"
But his words were cut short as everything seemed to move in slow motion. Suddenly his words were not hesitant but a rather loud scream of, "REGINA!". His feet were moving fast, past Regina, to stand in front of her as he pushed her back, she nearly tripped over her feet in the process.
Snow could register the zooming sound of an arrow travelling across the air and finding it's home somewhere. It was clear that the arrow had hit Robin because of the chocked sound that came from his figure. And if Snow had any doubts as to that, when he fell on his back on the snow covered floor, arrow stuck to his chest, she was absolutely sure that he had taken the arrow that was meant for Regina.
Grumpy.
He must have spotted the Queen and was waiting for the once thief to let her go of his embrace so he could shoot her-
What had she done?
"ROBIN!" Regina shrieked in desperation as she fell down to her knees beside him. Snow could finally see her face and that expression, that woman Snow knew very well.
Snow, do you know what a secret is? I need you to keep all that you saw and everything I've told you a secret. You can never tell anyone about this,especially my mother. Can you do that for me? A much younger Regina had pleaded and she had done the exact opposite.
Regina's face was now heavily painted, her hair up in an intricate updo, her clothes were dark and imposing but her facial expression was exactly the same. And no wonder she wore such an expression, the arrow had hit him on the left side of his chest, where his heart was.
Regina's hands were frantic on the man, her eyes housing pools of unshed tears, as she spoke, her voice watery, "No, not again."
Robin groaned as she placed her hand on the arrow, "Are you alright?" Snow was shocked that he was still alive and even managed to speak.
Much to Snow's astonishment, Regina hit him in the arm as she spoke in pure indignation, "Are you out of your mind?"
"Well, that answers my question, you are perfectly fine." He replied with a simple yet sincere smile on his lips.
"What were you thinking?" Regina asked him and yes, she was furious that he had put himself in harm's way because of her, that could only mean -
"The arrow was going to hit you in the heart," he gave her simply and Snow felt her own eyes swell with tears, the man was going to die there, right in front of her, because he-
"But it hit you in the heart, you idiot!" She bit back at him.
Snow did not think that she could be more surprised than she already was, but his next words did the trick, "Good thing you're keeping it safe for me." Robin told Regina, smirking.
Regina gave him a watery smile, a hopeful one Snow did not quite understand. The man had an arrow stuck to his heart, how could he survive?
"You are lucky this arrow is not enchanted, so I can do this-" Regina waved her hand and the arrow was gone from his chest in a small cloud of purple smoke, "Now let me see it-" she made it to open his shirt but he tried to dodge her fingers, quite unsuccessfully since he was clearly still injured.
"It's fine-" he tried to reason.
"Don't be daft, there's no need for you to walk around with an open wound," she slapped his hands away and quite forcibly.
In a show of very little regard for his shirt, she tore it open to reveal a bloody mess on his chest. She winced at the sight and brought her hand to hover over the wound, close to it but not touching. She concentrated as she murmured something Snow could not understand, eyes closed. Suddenly a green light started emanating from her hand and Snow watched in utter astonishment as the wound closed up as if nothing had happened, not even leaving a scar behind to tell the story.
Snow found it funny how this reminded her how the Blue Fairy had cured the cut she had on her face with her light magic. But even the fairy's magic could not cure her completely, she still carried a scar on her face to remember that day.
Regina took a deep breath and opened her eyes, she gave him a broad smile, "All better now." She sighed, relieved.
He ran his hands about his chest as if to check and then looked down at where he had been hit, "Not a scratch! See?" he chuckled and ran a fingers by a red scar on his chest, "Only this one, but I rather like it-"
"You kind of deserved it," Regina told him as he raised himself to his elbows.
"There are two sides to that story," he managed to sit on the floor, "That lad Jaimie deserved it, he had no business touching your brea-"
But his words were muffled by Regina's lips as she crashed them into his in a searing kiss. David squeezed Snow's hand, they had not let go of one another, and Snow felt her cheeks and ears grow hot at the sight of her once step mother kissing a man who took an arrow in the heart for her.
He hummed against her mouth and the kiss started to deepen, grow more intense and Snow really wished she had magic like Regina's so she could puff herself and David out of that place. When Regina's hands went to Robin's face controlling the kiss and Robin's hands found her waist, trying to guide her atop of him, Snow averted her stare to look at David, who was looking at her with darkened blue eyes, his cheeks slightly flushed and his once ridiculously pink lips now looking so incredibly alluring-
"As much as I like to try new things-" Regina spoke, snapping them out of their haze, "I think we've had quite enough excitement for one day." When Snow looked back at the pair she saw that Robin had managed to guide Regina atop of him and she was straddling him, holding his face in her hands, running her thumbs along his stubbled jaw, while his hands were on her hips, a soft smile played on his face.
"Well, I think the fun has just begun-" Robin gave her drawing a smile from Regina's lips.
"You are insatiable, aren't you?" Regina spoke as their foreheads met.
"When it comes to you-" he bent his neck a bit to give her a kiss behind her ear and then slur, "Yes, I am quite insatiable."
Her hands were now on his shoulders as she replied, "I think I have enough magic in me to transport us straight to the summer palace-"
"Straight to your bed?" Robin suggested wiggling his eyebrows.
"I was thinking straight to the throne room-" she replied, upon seeing his quizzical expression, she continued, "I was thinking we could get creative today."
He bit his lower lip before asking, "Do elaborate."
She didn't reply at first but rather spun her hips against his, drawing a groan from him, with the help of her hands on his shoulders she moved again and Snow did not know if she felt mortified or enticed by what she saw until Regina finally spoke again, "I was thinking we could fuck on Leopold's throne and then set it on fire."
Definitely mortified.
Robin Hood gave Regina a naughty smile, "Sounds like a plan."
Regina's reply came in the form of a brief and sweet peck she gave the very tip of his nose, the gesture was so endearing one could have sworn they had just agreed to pick up flowers in the garden and not to fornicate on her father's legacy and then set it aflame.
"I think we've done enough talking already-" Regina replied and waved one of her hands in the air, making them both disappear in a cloud of purple smoke.
It took a few moments for Snow to breathe easily again, it felt as if she had been holding her breath throughout that entire exchange. When she finally exhaled with a loud puff, she could feel David's eyes on her, their hands still holding on to each other, and suddenly that bush became too small for the both of them.
She stood, getting away from the bush, from David, from everything she had seen and learned over the past ten minutes.
"Snow-" he had followed her out of their hiding place, "Are you alright?"
"I have no idea-" she confessed, her chest heavy, there was something inside her that was desperate to burst out, "I-" she tried to convey the million thoughts that raced through her head, "I don't know what I want anymore."
"Does that mean-?" David tried.
"I don't want to kill the Queen anymore," Snow felt a strong pang on her chest, "I know it sounds crazy because that man tried to kill me, and he killed Johanna-" she felt her eyes start to fill with tears, "But when he fell right in front of us with an arrow to his heart-" she swallowed, "I thought he was going to die there and she was-" Snow looked back at David then, "-she looked so different and desperate, and it was all my fault." She took a few certain steps towards David then, "I knew then that I could not live knowing I had been responsible for the death of somebody. Even his death, regardless of what he'd done, because-" she blinked putting all the pieces together, "-because of Regina. I have only seen her like that once before-"
"When was that?" David asked her softly.
"It was years ago-" Snow looked ahead remembering, "-she wasn't the Queen yet, and she was in love with a man. She told me that true love was magic-" she looked back at David, "-because it created happiness. And I saw her happiness, when she was with the man she loved all those years ago-" Snow shook her head then, "I never saw that glint in her eyes again after she married my father, not until today." She took another step towards him, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think they are in love."
"I should think so, after all, he took that arrow for her without a hint of hesitation." David pointed out and Snow took a moment to really look at him then.
He was handsome, she could not deny that, he had all physical attributes that could make a man smug and self centered. And yet he was no such thing, his eyes were humble and simple, his manner gentle and patient. All that added to the fact that his touch made her skin tingle in a way she had never felt before made Snow's head spin.
She knew that they had been in love and it had broken her heart, so much that she drank a potion in order to forget him.
But after everything she saw and everything she learned, things were not so clear to her anymore, vengeance did not taste as sweet as it did before.
And there he was, David, Charming he said she had called him, and Snow could not help but wonder if she and him had shared something similar to what she saw her once stepmother share with the once noble thief.
The intimacy in their touch, in their manner, the way he held her, the way she looked at him. The easy way in which they flirted, the unapologetic way their bodies melted into one another as if they had always meant to be together and even the surprisingly steamy chemistry. And even though the beginning of their conversation hid their true feelings quite well, as soon as the other was in harm's way, Snow could see the absolute devotion they had to one another.
For a moment Snow found herself wishing she had something like that.
Love
For what she saw dancing in Robin Hood's eyes as well as Regina's was love.
If Regina was giving true love a shot, who was she to deny herself the same thing?
"Snow?" David's voice was soft, he had gotten closer to her. "I wanted you to know that-"
Whatever David was going to say could wait, what could not wait was the kiss of true love Snow sought in his lips. Pink, but so soft, so tender, so right.
Snow felt as if she was being hit by a lightning bolt, all of a sudden it was as if the doors to her heart - that had been closed under lock and key - burst open and all the sentiment true love could bring burst out of her.
It was so intense she had to break the kiss in order to take a big breath though her mouth.
She opened her eyes to look back at his bright blue ones and everything seemed right again, "Charming!"
"You remember!" His voice sounded like music to her ears.
They kissed again, and Snow snaked her arms around his neck as he embraced her, holding her firmly against himself. They proceed to exchange a few breathless pecks that were only interrupted by sweet words of love to each other. Snow's heart felt as if it was going to burst, how could she have ever thought that not feeling this was good for her?
"David," Snow tried out his name for the first time after she got the missing part of herself back. The name tasted sweet on her lips and made her heart flutter, he smiled down at her, "So your real name is David,"
"Yes," he blushed just a little bit, "And I'm a shepherd, not a prince,"
Snow smiled sweetly at him, "I don't care what you are-" she placed a hand on his cheek and spoke from the bottom of her heart, "I love you."
"I love you too Snow," he hugged her with such intensity that it stole the air from her lungs.
She hugged him back feeling the once tingly sensation she had felt before when they touched had increased in intensity. Now it felt like pure electricity jumping from between their bodies.
After a few moments Snow drew back as to look at him, "Charming, I am so sorry-"
She felt the back of his fingers caress her cheek softly, "No Snow, you don't need to apologize-"
"But I hit you over the head!" She ran her fingers carefully over the reddened skin in his forehead where she had hit him.
"Well, you also did that when we met," he smiled back at her and Snow felt as if she could stare at his smiling face forever, "So I was half expecting you to hit me at some point."
She could not help but chuckle, and even laughing felt better now. Now that she was whole again and had love back in her life.
Strangely enough, thinking about love led Snow's thoughts back to Regina and what she and Charming had just seen. She looked down for a minute, thinking back and running everything through her head again-
"Snow?" David's voice was soft, they still held each other, "Are you okay?"
She looked up to meet his eyes, "Yes, I'm fine." She bit her lower lip for a moment before continuing, "I was just thinking of Regina and Robin Hood. Is it strange that I find them being together really odd but at the same time-" Snow could not believe she was saying this, "-I'm happy for her?"
Charming huffed out a laugh, "What I can tell you is that you really are back, Snow." he spoke with adoration and placed a loose strand of her hair behind her ear, "You always try to see the best in people."
Snow swallowed, "What I do know is that things are not as black and white as they appeared to be." She could not help but think back on everything she found out, the completely different person Regina turned out to be (definitely not the person Snow was expecting her to be), the tender side of a man she had thought was pure evil and especially the parts concerning her once fiance and the twin brother of the man Snow loved.
"Did you know?" Snow could not help but ask him, but David was no mind reader, so he just looked back at her, puzzled. She shook her head and completed, "About my stepmother and your brother, I mean."
He swallowed and there was a beat before he replied, "I did," Snow's eyes went wide at that, she had expected his answer to be negative, "She has spies everywhere. One told her that my brother had died so she decided to see for herself and magically transported herself to his room."
"How would you even know that?"
"Because I was there," he bit the inside of his cheek, "She thought I was James and proceeded to call me several names telling me that she was not to be toyed with. Even though she was rather-" he searched for a word, "-intense, I could see that she cared for him. She looked rather upset when I told her the truth, that he was dead."
Snow took a deep breath before replying, "Today I've learned many disconcerting things about her," Snow told him, "It's made everything so much harder-"
"Why?"
"Because it's easy for me to hate her for what she did to me, to just assume that she is a heartless bitch and excuse everything that I do against her on that." Snow explained, "But she isn't a heartless bitch, you saw the way she acted. She's a whole other person, she had a secret life all along, and I don't know what to make of that."
"I think we all have our secrets-" David told her, "- you have no idea how relieved I feel to finally be able to tell you my real name and my real story." His eyes were kind as he spoke, "I have to admit I was afraid to tell you the truth, after all you are a princess and I thought that you wanted to be with a prince, not a common shepherd-"
Snow tilted her head to the side, "All I ever wanted was to be with someone I loved," she told him truthfully, "I wanted to be with someone that would look at me the way my father looked at my mother."
She turned her gaze from him a little, looking beyond his shoulder, "Now that I think of it, my father never looked at Regina like that." Snow found it strange how she had never noticed these things before, had never stopped to think how Regina must have felt while married to her father, "She was so young, and father was much older. I guess-" her eyes went back to David, "-I could understand that she would look for companionship with another man."
"Like my brother?" David asked.
"And my fiance." Snow completed.
"I didn't know you had been engaged." David stated simply.
Snow sighed before replying, "I was. But it feels like a million years ago." She looked down at her feet remembering Jaimie, his boyish ways and easy smile, "He was nice, Jamie-"
"Did you love him?" David asked, she could sense insecurity in his voice.
"No, I didn't." She replied upon reflex since the question was quite an easy one to answer, "I didn't love him. He spent a whole year in the castle with us, but it just wasn't meant to be-" she looked at David once more, "And since we are sharing secrets, I was the one who called off the engagement."
"You did?"
"Yes, after a year of courting I could see that it was going nowhere, he was nice enough, polite enough but I could feel that his heart just wasn't in it. I guess I know why now-" she gave him a tight smile, "I asked my father to call off the engagement-" she felt a pang in her heart whilst remembering her sweet father, "-he only wanted for me to be happy, so he complied."
"King George was quite the opposite," Charming commented, "And speaking of which, we should talk about what we are going to do now. George is out for blood, he wants me dead for abandoning the engagement and the kingdom."
"Well, I think we should stick together." Snow stated simply.
"Now that we are here together and you remember me, there's nothing I would like to do more than to stay with you Snow." He brought his hand up to run fingers down the side of her face, the touch was light and it made her skin tingle. She didn't even realize she had closed her eyes but when he gave her a defeated sigh, she reopened them, "But I don't know if that's the wisest choice right now." He completed.
"How come?" Her voice was but a whisper.
He tucked another loose strand of hair behind her ear before responding, "Well, regardless of what we just saw, and believe me, it has messed up my mind as well, in more than one way. The truth is that the Evil Queen is still looking for you, she still wants your head."
"And now King George is looking for you," Snow completed.
"If we were to stick together we'd be a walking target." he sighed, regarding her with such love and care Snow felt like she could burst. He then took the fabric of her cape and brought the hood up to cover her head, hiding her face from the outside world, and completed, "There are just too many people after us at the moment."
Snow examined him for a moment, his words told her they should separate but his eyes told a completely different story. She could see the longing there, she felt it too, longed to kiss him, hold him and even do other things that had popped up in her head after she saw Regina and Robin together.
"You're right-" she finally spoke, "As much as it pains me to say this, I think we shouldn't journey together now, but we can-"
"Snow!" Grumpy's voice sounded from behind her. She turned to look at her friend as he reached the pair, coming from the top of the mountain where he had been hiding.
"Grumpy!"
"Snow, I tried-" he was a little out of breath, "I tried to shoot her-" he was still trying to catch his breath, "But that man pushed her away, took the arrow I shot towards her. After that something just froze me on the spot, I couldn't move."
"Oh?" Snow was curious about that, since she knew Regina was completely concentrated on curing Robin, and not catching whoever had shot him. Who could have cast a freezing spell on Grumpy?
"I just broke free of the spell that was keeping me immobile and rushed down here to meet you." Grumpy explained, "Snow, I'm so sorry-"
"No, Grumpy, please, don't apologize." Snow spoke to him with compassion and Grumpy tilted his head a little to the side, recognizing the change in her tone, "I am the one who should be apologizing" she brought her hand to her chest. "I never should have asked you to do something like this. The moment I saw that arrow on that man's chest I realized how wrong I had been."
"Wait-" Grumpy then turned his gaze towards David, "Prince James?"
"It's David, actually, but that is a long story-" David corrected him.
"Charming managed to give me a wake up call," Snow spoke as she reached for David's hand and laced their fingers together.
"You broke the curse?" Grumpy asked with a smile on his voice.
Unfortunately the moment of happiness was very shortly lived. One moment Grumpy was smiling at her and the next his face was twisted in both alarm and fear. This arrow had been much more silent than the one Grumpy himself had shot but nearly as lethal as it hit the dwarf's hat pinning it to the tree just behind them.
As they all turned towards the source of said arrow, Snow could spot a man in the distance holding a bow, walking directly towards them, a fire in his eyes she could recognize even being relatively far from him.
Robin Hood
David was quick this time, "Snow, go! The Queen isn't after me, maybe I can talk to him, stall him so you can get away-"
"Are you insane?" Snow protested, "He just shot at Grumpy-"
"Yes, which is why you two should leave, go!" David pleaded.
"But I just found you-" Snow replied, her voice watery. But she understood what he was doing, she knew she would do exactly the same for him, she would have given him his best chance. She squeezed David's hand one last time, "I love you David," she gave him, trying to convey all her emotion in words, "We will find each other again-"
"I love you Snow-" David gave her and with that she let go of his hand following behind Grumpy who was already a little bit ahead of her.
They were lucky Robin Hood was far away, and had probably shot a warning arrow in order for them to run so he could pursue them, just like he did all those months ago when he had tried to kill her. He had wanted for her to know she was in danger, had wanted for her to run in desperation so he could hunt her down like an animal.
But Snow was not that scared little girl anymore.
And Charming would make sure she got her best chance to escape.
Snow spun on her heels and looked back at him one last time, trying to remember his face, every trace, every single detail about him. The more she looked the more certain she was of her love for him, it was strong and unbreakable.
She did not know what would happen to him, when they would see each other again, but she vowed she would go to the ends of the earth to get him back.
…
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