Chapter Fourteen

When Adam awoke the following morning, he was greeted by darkness, but not by a rainstorm, of which he was grateful for. His coat and laundry had been cleaned and neatly folded on the trunk at the end of his bed, and Adam held his head in confusion. He had not remembered going to bed last night, and though everything was relatively normal, he felt out of sorts; especially by the fact that he had no clothes on. He always wore many layers to prevent the poisons from his body from contaminating the sheets, but he only had his underwear on this morning. "What the -"

His bedroom door opened up and Frederick shuffled into the room. "Good morning, Master Adam." He shuffled towards the bed with the clinking tea tray filled with a few tarts, morning tea, and a few odd fruits that he had never seen before. "Did you sleep well?"

"I suppose I did?" He held his head and tried to think back to last night.

"I certainly hope so," Frederick chuckled. "I came back with your dinner and found that you had nearly drowned yourself in the bath last night."

"I, what?"

"I found you in the tub with the water filled to your eyes." Frederick went in detail. "It is a good thing that I found you and not one of the other Staff members. You were practically drowning in your own poison!"

"That is impossible," Adam stood with his brow furrowed. "I am immune to my own poison."

"Have you actually ingested your own poison?"

"Yes, several times." He nodded his head seriously. "I had to build up my own immunity to all kinds of poisons through the Evil Queen's lessons."

"She always did have a thing for chemistry. . ." He sighed. "Well, as I said, I found you asleep and half drowned, fished you out, clothed you and threw you in the bed. You need to make sure that you properly sleep, Master Adam. I do not need to be fishing you out of the tub every night."

"Right. . ." He cleared his throat, feeling slightly embarrassed. "I'll be sure to remember that from now on."

"Very good, Master Adam." He stood straight. "I also cleaned the blood from the clothes that you brought back with you from Apfel."

"Oh" Adam blinked and saw the neatly folded clothes on his trunk. "You did not have to. I had planned on -"

"At ease, Master Adam." Frederick held up his hand with a smirk. "You managed to get most of the blood out, I just bleached them."

"Bleach?" He took the clothes with him and went behind the changing screen. Although Adam was completely hidden behind the changing screen, Frederick still turned to give him more privacy.

"Ah, don't worry about it." He shook his head. "It is one of those fascinating items that is only here in the Anti-Realm and doesn't exist in Apfel. It is a luxury for the messes I have to clean."

"I see." He raised his eyebrow as he picked up the blood free and freshly whitened shirt that had belonged to Jack.

"I trust you find them to your liking?" He placed his hands behind his back.

"Yes, thank you, Frederick." He murmured as he buttoned his shirt and pulled on a vest.

"You know." Frederick looked him up and down. "You should have just asked me for some peasant clothes if you're trying to blend in in Apfel. It would have been much easier than killing people. . ."

"No, they deserved it." He shook his head as he pulled on a pair of brown leather gloves.

"Oh?" Frederick mused.

"From what they told me." He slid into the worn blackish navy pants. "As well as how Snow White had acted, they touched her and literally carved her."

"Carved?"

"Yes, one of them gloated about his carving abilities and how Snow White would not be able to bear children because of it."

"Ah," Frederick growled slightly. "You must be referring to Jack and Joe. Two mercenaries that Grimhildes had hired for protection along the way. She kept them around because she liked how they weren't afraid to get their hands dirty in whatever situation she told them to do. Rather upset that you would have beaten me to their deaths now."

"You mean to say that you killed them?"

"In my version of the story, yes." He chuckled darkly. "I could never forgive them for what they did to Snow White; I could hardly forgive Grimhilde that she was the one that commanded it."

"For being a man who has walked with the Evil Queen throughout her entire life, you are ridiculously loyal to her."

"I am a loyal fool, yes." Frederick sighed. "However I am a fool who knows what she once was, who she once was, and at the end of the day I just want the woman that I fell in love with to come back."

"Even though she is long gone?"

"Yes," He nodded his head. "Even though she is long gone."

They stood there for a moment in silence; Frederick lost in thought and Adam at a loss of words. He had never been in love, had never known love and had no idea what to say in this situation.

"How is she?" Frederick asked suddenly. "Snow White, I mean?"

"She seems to be fine," Adam blinked in confusion. "May I ask why?"

"Well, if you've met Jack and Joe, you're more than likely going to meet me relatively soon." He smirked with a twinkle in his eye. "Which means that things are going to be very difficult for her with the things to come. . ."

"Would you be able to share anything further on that?"

"And spoil the ending?" He asked indignantly. "Absolutely not!"

"Very well." Adam couldn't help but chuckle. "Well then, how do I look?"

In comparison to his royal navy blue coat trimmed in gold that he always wore, his current attire made him look very peasant-ish. A long sleeved shirt, brown leather vest, brown leather gloves that went up to his elbow, blackish navy pants, and dark oiled brown boots that went to his knees.

"You are the most distinguished farmer I have ever seen. "Frederick chuckled.

"I wasn't going to be distinguished." He grunted.

"Well, since you won't be able to do much of anything with your bare hand, you're fine, Master Adam." Frederick waved him off. "Now you need to eat your breakfast before you head out on your mission today."

Frederick shuffled his way out of the room and left Adam to his breakfast. Once the door closed Adam looked at himself in the mirror and could not help but frown. He really did look like a distinguished farmer, the only thing he was missing was the straw hat and pitch fork. He growled and looked away from the mirror and returned to his breakfast. Sunny Side up eggs on two slices of whole wheat toast, and English breakfast tea. A healthy breakfast to start his day. Without hesitation he snatched up the toast and eggs and ate them on his already empty stomach from his lack of dinner the night before. After inhaling the first one he inhaled the second one just as quickly and sacrilegiously drank his tea back in one full gulp.

Turning on his heel he slid his coat over his shoulders and headed to the library. Although he could not find anything that he wanted and needed to know about Snow White and the Evil Queen Grimhilde he was certain that he would find books that would help in teaching Snow White how to read. If the library had the variety of books that were made for dummies, then certainly there had to be educational books in the library.

It was still early in the morning and from what he had learned from his cohorts, they were not early risers like himself so he would be able to enjoy a quiet and relaxing morning before setting out to Apfel. His footsteps echoed throughout the castle and the irritating ghosts that followed him whispered obnoxiously windily. When he entered the library, he discovered very quickly that he was not as alone as he had hoped to be. He found Mr. V sitting at one of the round tables with books on "Faerrie Script for Dummies", "Fantasia Realm", "The Song of the Firebird," and other odd sorts of books. Mr. V looked ragged and as if he hadn't slept in days. Although Adam had hoped he would slip by unnoticed, he heard the slap of the book closing and Mr. V's cane skittering across the floor.

"Mr. Apple Poison," he chuckled and half yawned. "What are you doing up so early in the morning?"

"It is easier to start the day early than late to make sure I have all the hours that I need." He stood still and respectfully spoke to Mr. V.

"Very clever, Adam." He yawned and seemed to gain years in doing so. "I wish I would do that more often, but alas, the life of an insomniac and coffee addict do not allow such things to happen in my life. Leaves too much shouting going on inside my brain." He tapped the brim of his hat before casually resting his hands on his cane.

"I sometimes wish that I could remain awake longer in the evenings." Adam shrugged. "But the mornings are just too promising to not get up early for them."

"Alas that there just simply isn't enough hours in a day for either mornings and evenings." Mr. V sighed. "What brings you here to the library so soon, my boy? Though I know you're an early riser, it is a little odd for you to come here first."

"I need to borrow a few books." He cleared his throat and felt suddenly warm.

"What sort of books?" Mr. V leaned forward on his cane.

"Ones that help with basic and beginning education. . ." He pulled at the collar of his shirt as he felt even more warm.

"Ah, well we definitely have those." Mr. V smirked, almost as if he knew. "Do you want to write books as well?"

"Yes, I should go ahead and grab those . . ." Adam blinked thoughtfully. Although he had become determined to teach her how to read, he had no idea if she could write. Both were powerful tools to life. The ability to read was freedom for the mind and the ability to write was the freedom for the voice.

"Right then." He tapped his cane and began to walk. "Follow me." He twirled his cane at the end of his fingers as he led Adam down a series of aisles and columns.

"I'm pulling a phonics book, numbers book, writing booklet, and a few beginning reading books for you." He called over his shoulders and snapped his fingers. The books that he called out floated from the shelves over to Adams hands. "I'll send a leather folder of paper, quills, and ink as well for the reading and writing process; I'll even throw in a few candles for the late night studies."

The items that he called out, yet again, fluttered to life and organized themselves into a neat pile in the leather folder and rested itself in Adam's hands. He now had the leather folder full of clean papers, candles, ink, and quills with the five small books resting on top. Mr. V smirked as he leaned on his cane. "Is there anything else that you can think of?"

"A drawing book. . ." He said thoughtfully. He remembered how much she went by pictures, perhaps she would like to try her own hand at drawing her own pictures.

"For beginners?" Mr. V blinked in surprise, but nonetheless snapped his fingers and made it so. The drawing book for beginners floated to Adam's small pile and stacked itself neatly on top with the others.

"And a blank journal." He spoke quickly, "One that is preferably red."

"Why red?" Mr. V quipped and snapped his fingers.

"Because I like red." He snapped, and Mr. V merely chuckled at him. An apple red journal with gold lined pages that had about an inch thick binding plopped itself gently onto the pile.

"That all?" Mr. V twirled his finger as he propped himself up on his cane.

"Yes, this is everything that I need."

"Well, not everything," He snapped his fingers and a well oiled brown leather messenger bag appeared out of thin air. "Take this with you for the books and leather folder." The flap flipped over, ready to receive the books. "This is a magical messenger bag that will allow you to still borrow the books, but they will also have a connection to the library. Meaning, that if for some reason you, I don't know, accidentally leave a book there, you can at least leave the bag there and the books will never go missing from here."

"So this bag is a portal?" He blinked as he threw the messenger bag over his shoulder.

"Of sorts," he nodded and guided Adam back the way that they came. "But it is nothing that you need to worry about."

"Oh, but I do." He spoke quickly. "I need to create another portal in Apfel so that I can have easier traveling -"

"Let me just stop you right there, my friend." He threw his arm around Adam's shoulders and tapped his chest with his cane. "There shall be no new portals created in any of the Realms. I've already explained this to some of the others, and now I'll explain it to you. We're not giving the Original Villains an easy access, or in their case a wormhole, for them to crawl through to see this Anti-Realm. It would change the story too drastically, violate the contracts that they've signed in this present time for their past selves, as well as cause conflict with the Door Between Realms." Mr. V casually and gently pushed Adam back with his cane until they had almost exited the library. "There shall be no new portals in any of the Realms." Adam glared down at him for a moment and prepared an argument in his mind to reenact with Mr. V, but he just held his hand up. "However, you can use this messenger bag as your portkey of sorts."

"My what?"

"Portkey, a magical item that allows you to travel between Realms." He explained simply with a shrug.

"All you have to do is step inside of it, and you'll appear somewhere here in the library."

"Interesting." Adam marveled and looked down at the bag that rested at his hip. "How incredible."

"Should make it a little bit easier so you don't have to climb that mountain back everyday to get back here." Adam blinked at Mr. V's knowledge of Apfel and where the Door Between Realms lay. "Don't look so surprised, I'm the one that secured the Door Between Realms to that tree. I made sure it was high enough to keep unwanted people from snooping as well as to keep it out of the Queen's reach. She can't use her magic at the higher parts of the magic. I believe the atmosphere and air pressure of the mountain air affect the Mirror too much."

"You seem very knowledgeable about Apfel. . ." Adam tugged the messenger bag tighter over his shoulder.

"I've had plenty of meetings with the Evil Queen until I finally convinced her to allow you to be a Recruit." He groaned. "But that is a story for another day." He suddenly shoved Adam out of the library. "Now, get out of my library and start your mission. Your visit was the perfect distraction that I needed, but now it is time for you to leave and for me to get back to work."

"Thank you, Mr. V for this." He gestured to the bag and Mr. V shined a smile at him.

"Any time, friend." He grabbed the double doors and slowly closed them as Adam left the library.

Adam had gotten better at memorizing the layout of the Anti-Castle and knew the fastest route to the Wardrobe. Once he stepped through the dark world of glowing stained glass and took him to Apfel where the rising morning sun greeted him in a soft warm hug as the morning rays touched the earth.

He stood in the sun's rays and could not help but close his eyes to soak it in. It was a gentle warmth that he had never known before and he loved the way it felt on his skin. It was the only thing that could come in contact with his skin that would not be tainted or poisoned or die. After gaining sufficient enough vitamin D he opened his eyes, just in time, and heard the dwarves whistling on their way into work. He stood at the top of the hill and watched as all seven marched across the log close to the waterfall whistling and singing away. The last one, the one named Dopey looked over his shoulder and gave a small wave towards Adam. Though he had no reason to, he waved back to the dwarf right before Dopey kicked his heels and scampered away to join the other dwarves.

Adam shook his head and made his venture down the mountain. He adjusted the messenger bag full of books on his shoulder and set out towards the town. He passed all the farmers from the day before, the children, and even the same wagons. The same people offered him a ride into town, but he politely declined and continued on his way to his own house in the town. He had not realized how close the house was to the mountain, but he appreciated the fact he did not have to trek all the way to the castle.

It was a modest two story home with a simple brown door, four Dutch windows with shutters on the front of the house, and a small brick chimney on top of the brown roof. He entered the house and was surprised to see how well furnished it was. Although he did kill Jack and Joe in the back of the house and he did clean up the mess that he made, he had yet to explore the house. There was not much on the first floor. There were two rooms on the left and the staircase leading up to the second floor on the right.

In the first room on the left there was a small sofa, a bookshelf with a minuscule collection of books, and a small round red carpet. The second room was the kitchen with a wood burning stove, sink, cabinets around the room, a large fireplace with a cast iron Dutch oven, and a small two top table with two chairs on either side of the small table. He immediately looked at the floor and was very satisfied with himself for having properly cleaned all the blood and ashes up. He oftentimes just left his messes where they lied, however, if Snow White were to come and visit for her lessons, as well as nosey neighbors poking around, he did not need to leave the evidence of his villainy.

He skimmed through the cabinets and found only two plates, two cups, two bowls, a pot and a pan. A relatively well furnished kitchen for someone who just moved in. There was no food in the cabinets, so he would need to get groceries from the market at some point and time today. He turned on his heels and made his way up the stairs. He was surprised with how small the house was that his head did not touch the ceiling. Upstairs consisted of a full size bed, trunk at the foot of the bed, and a bathroom with a tub, washstand, and chamber pot. There was a desk and chair that sat in the window where he decided to drop off the messenger bag. He draped his coat on his bed and looked around the room.

There wasn't a single mirror in sight.

He popped his knuckles and double checked around the room. Under the bed, inside the trunk, in the bathroom, on the washstand - he even went down stairs and still did not find anything. Despite not seeing a mirror in sight, he knew that she planted it somewhere in the house. She always had her mirrors everywhere to keep an eye on him; even in the Anti-Realm. He went back upstairs and finally found one, it was a simple silver hand mirror that lay face up. He snatched it up and quickly wrapped it in a handkerchief and tossed it into the drawer of the nightstand beside his bed.

With a sigh of relief he plopped down on the bed and was surprised by its softness. Although he had expected an empty and barren house, he was pleasantly surprised that it had the simplest of furnishings. They were too simple and too properly furnished for the Evil Queen to have furnished them. She always had a more expensive taste in her selection of items and even if Adam made a small or simple request she always found a way of making it look expensive. Someone had to have lived in this house before he arrived; more than likely one of the poor souls that she had killed to get it. He eased himself off the bed and looked around the room. There were cobwebs in some of the corners of the room, and although everything was well furnished, it was obvious that someone used to live here and had left the house vacant for a while. He grimaced and dragged his hand down the back of his neck. He hated the feeling that rested in his chest as he stayed in this house, but since the person who once occupied this was no longer here, it was out of his control; besides it was only a temporary fix until he completed his mission.

Not wanting to be in the little house any longer he quickly left and escaped to the market. Along the way there were a few of the peasants who pointed at him and whispered, but nothing he had not already anticipated since Frederick already told him that he looked like a distinguished farmer. . . Not entirely liking the eyes and whispers echoing around him, he tried to escape to the shadows as he would find his way to the market square. He simply followed his nose to sniff out where the freshest bread was baked. Sure enough, just as yesterday, there was a massive body of people crowding to get into the bakery. There was a small figure in a dingy rose dust shawl and small basket of apples on her arm that bobbed and weaved her way through the crowd until she managed her way in. Adam could not hide the smile that creaked into the corners of his mouth. He found her odd little mousy habits rather amusing.

When she finally emerged from the crowd at the baker's shop she held the basket close to her chest and looked lost, or just very overwhelmed. He worried that the bustling people were overwhelming her, and overcome with this sense of urgency, he went to her. Those doe brown eyes still searched the crowd as if looking for an exit, when they suddenly spotted him. She almost seemed to glow as she scurried and struggled through the crowd to get to him. Adam was able to push past the crowd much easier than she, and he reached her before she could reach him. Her face was flushed and she somehow looked paler than normal.

"Are you all right?" He asked as soon as he reached her.

"Oh, yes, just fine." She panted. "I just woke up a tad late this morning. I wasn't able to beat the morning rush. . . Good morning." She beamed up at him and he only blinked down at her. She was so oddly perky and happy.

"Good morning - I," someone shoved into him, and though he was able to regain his balance quickly a small burst of blood lust ran through him rather quickly.

"Hey, watch it!" The peasant snapped as he went on his merry way.

Snow White peered up worriedly into his face. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine." He growled and placed his hand at the small of her back. "I do think we should get out of this crowd though."

"Yes, I agree." She latched onto his arm and in an odd sort of synchronization they walked through the crowd with ease. She was surprisingly quiet for her usual chatty self that he had grown accustomed to. He glanced down at her and saw that she was sweating and was still flushed.

He slowed his pace to make sure that he was not walking too fast for her. "Are you sure that you're all right?"

"Yes, yes." She beamed up at him. "I'm just a tad tired is all."

He raised an eyebrow down at her. "I thought you slept in late?"

"I did." She nodded her head. "After I returned to the castle for dinner last night, I was required to do a double set of chores on top of what I already had to do. I made sure to get all of them done, though, just so I could be on time for the reading lessons."

"Double chores?"

"Yes," she frowned and her brow wrinkled. "I suppose some of the staff have quit and left the country. We're awfully understaffed right now and everyone is having to work double time."

Adam did not like the sound of that. It would appear as though the Evil Queen's appetite was still growing day by day. "Well, after a bit of breakfast you can take a nap in my room if you like."

"Oh, I couldn't!" she almost yanked herself away from him. "That would be most rude of me."

"Not if I insist." He chuckled softly. "If you're too tired for the lessons and can't pay attention to them, there is no point in having them."

"Oh, no. Please, I promise that I'll pay attention!" Those doe brown eyes shined and pleaded with such innocence that it hurt Adam's chest a little.

"I did not say that I would not teach you." He had to look away from those pleading eyes. "Just that you need to be properly rested for the lessons. . ."

"I promise that I won't allow this to happen again." She spoke quickly as they continued their walk.

"At ease, Snow White," he sighed and squeezed her hand. "I will still teach you."

"Thank you. . ." She felt her grip relax a little on his arm.

"Can you read at all?" He asked softly.

"Only a little. . ." she admitted shyly and avoided his gaze.

"How much is a little?" He did not like how she avoided looking at him and spoke down in her ear.

"I know a few words, but I do not know how to spell or read more than one word at a time." Her ears burned a bright shade of red.

"Can you write any?" He asked still softly.

"Only my name." She sighed and tucked her hair behind her ears. "My father showed me how to write my name when I was little, but that is all that I can write."

"That is still impressive." He acknowledged that everyone has a learning curb and for her age and her lack of knowledge it was impressive that she could write her name. "And your numbers?"

"Oh, I know my numbers very well." She regained some of her confidence in her smile. "I have to know my numbers to get the groceries and count the coins."

"Well, that is good to know." He chuckled as they stood in front of his abode. She stopped and blinked, rather oddly. "Well, this is my little house in the town."

"It's lovely." She smiled quickly. "It's just. . . " Her voice trailed as she turned her gaze back to the house and gripped her basket tightly.

"It's just what?" he carefully urged for her to continue.

"It's just that this house is very familiar to me. . ." She pursed her lips. "I could have sworn that my friend Amelia lived here. . ."

Without his invitation she walked up to the house, entered and merely waited in the small foyer space. Adam followed closely behind her and could feel his anxiety replacing the blood lust very quickly. Her back was to him so he had no idea what face she was making, and he didn't like that. Her head turned from side to side until her arms slowly fell at either side of her.

"Did she move?" He asked carefully with a cough to clear his throat.

"I suppose she did." Her voice was very quiet, just above a whisper. "Why didn't she tell me?"

Snow White's right hand went to her left elbow and squeezed tightly. Her little shoulders sunk and Adam could not help but see a world of burdens sitting on her shoulders. He wanted to reach out and touch her shoulder, or poke her to move or something, but she was like a frightened deer at the moment that he dared not to move. They stood there for a few moments in silence before Snow White released her arm and turned to Adam with a smile.

"I'm sorry about that." She smiled too broadly and her eyes closed. "I suppose my friend Amelia moved."

The smile was forced and from what Adam could tell she was closing her eyes to force herself not to cry.

"Why are you doing that?" He frowned at her.

"I'm sorry?" She blinked and he could see the touches of pink that lines her eyes. Her face was already flushed, but there was a distinct watery pinkness in her eyes.

"Why are you smiling like that?" he stood closer and studied her face. "Why are you forcing this smile?"

Those doe brown eyes were wide as she looked up at him and Adam wanted those tears to stop. It bothered him to see her like this; it just wasn't natural. Her lower lip quivered and she tried to turn her face away, but impulsively Adam grabbed her wrist and pulled her to him.

"What are you doing?" she gasped and froze.

"I don't know." He hid her head in his chest so he did not have to look at her. "But I don't like that particular smile. A forced smile like that is not worth the mask you pretend to wear."

"Adam. . ." She tried to push away from him, he held her firm.

"Once you've sorted through your feelings." He cleared his throat and held her still. "Then we can enjoy breakfast and start your lessons."

"Yes. . ." she sniffled and before she could utter another word, she broke down into a fit of tears. She allowed herself to cry and she slowly lost strength in her knees and began to droop to the floor. For whatever reason, Adam dropped to the floor with her and merely held her as she cried. Her little hands held onto his shirt and her head rested on the leather vest as she cried. Whether it was because of how he hated it when women cried or the fact he was paranoid of her accidentally touching his skin, or her tears soaking through his shirt and allowing the poison to seep through and kill her early, his chest ached as she cried.

He was not sure how much time had passed, but she had eventually stilled and quieted her crying and was no longer moving. A small panic rose in Adam as he was aware of how wet his shirt was with her tears. He jerked her off of him to see if his toxins touched her, and discovered that she had cried herself to sleep. Seeing her at this angle he could see the small dark circles that rested under her eyes. With a sigh he scooped her up in his arms and almost threw himself off balance as he stood because of how light she was. He carefully stood and went upstairs and set her on the bed.

She did not move when he laid her on the bed and slept soundly even as he went downstairs. She was so light and he could feel the bones in her spine as he carried her upstairs. She had to have been starving on top of being exhausted.

"At this rate, that old hag will kill her by working her to death." He sighed as he went into the small living room area and sat on the couch. He crossed his arms and closed his eyes as he tried to sort through his own feelings. He was getting more emotionally involved, to his own surprise, than he ever anticipated and only complicated this entire mission. He was here to kill Snow White, yet here he was comforting her and prepared to teach her how to read. He leaned forward and held his head and ran his hands through his hair. "What is wrong with me?"


Author's Note:

Thank you for reading, I hope you're enjoying the story so far!

Leave me a review and let me know what you think of my story! Feedback is very much appreciated and needed.

Thanks for coming along the journey with me so far, stay tuned for more!

Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter