Chapter Thirty-eight
FREDERICK
After Florian ran off into the night like the cowardly dog, Frederick did his final duty as a good knight and warned the Francan servants to pack up and leave. They were all very confused at first, but after learning that the prince had left, they all just huffed and puffed and gathered their things so that they too could get out on the road again. Apparently, Prince Florian had had a terrible habit of just up and leaving whenever he so chose to do; he even did so against his father's wishes. Much to his surprise Florian hadn't taken the carriage and therefore it provided the best form of transportation for them to leave unnoticed and in peace. He only hoped that they would actually make it to their destination in one piece and that they could properly explain things to the king if they could. He hoped they would be punished for not being with him when he first left, but if this was a common reoccurrence perhaps they would get lucky and not be punished.
Heaving a sigh he left the servants' quarters and returned to his own room at the edge of the West wing. He had no idea what to make of things. Allegedly Adam had gotten to Snow White and managed to actually take her away, but now the Queen was in the peak of her fury and there was nothing that Frederick could do. He hoped and prayed that Adam had gotten to her and that Florian hadn't made it up just to get off easy; but he wouldn't have run from the Queen in such a haste had he actually given the Queen the heart. What was that about anyways? It took a lot to make the Queen mad, he'd seen it firsthand one too many times to the poor pitiful souls that had to suffer her wrath that day. As the Queen's First Knight he could do nothing to help them then, and now that the title had been revoked from him, he couldn't do anything now. He literally could do nothing since she had completely dismissed him from his position as the Queen's First Knight; her only knight, really. It was the strangest thing; he was set free yet again, but he did not want to leave; this time he did not want to leave to ensure the safety of Adam and Snow White and not for the Queen.
There had been multiple times that she had sent him out on gruesome missions in failed attempts to get him away from her, but she had completely fired him from his position. She had kept her back to him the entire time, as though it was the only way she could actually fire him. His Grimhilde always looked him in the eye when she spoke to him. She only ever avoided his gaze when she had something hidden or she was trying to take too much onto herself. As much as he knew he needed to stay to ensure Adam's plans would fall through, he for once did not want to be in the castle any longer. He still couldn't shake the image of her forcing herself to stand tall, shaking while doing so, and practically forcing the words to come from her mouth. Though she said the blood bond between them was broken, she was very wrong. Maybe it weakened, but it definitely wasn't broken.
It would take an act of true betrayal for it to actually break. He could feel her heart pounding, could hear the wobble in her voice, and could see she was truly only saying that to get rid of him because she would now be doing things her way without the interference of a conscious. It would have been a much more devastating feeling had the bond actually been broken, he would have been in pain instead of angry. Oh, he was angry at her for firing him from his job, but he was mostly angry with her for the person she chose to become. He knew better than to harp on it or to seriously try to change her at this point, but she was much better than she was making herself out to be. She chose to be the way she was now and there was nothing he could do about it despite his best efforts.
He came to the small door that led to his room and felt exhausted upon entering. Now that he was in the safety of his room all he wanted to do was sleep. He huffed as he flopped onto his bed and ran his hands through his hair, "Women are so infuriatingly stubborn."
He was still furious with her for sending Florian out to kill Snow White, but he just couldn't bring himself to truly hate her; not for his lack of trying. He could not help but feel as though it was the Mirror's hold over her that was causing her to do this; but how much of that was wishful thinking as of this point? The more he thought about it the more he thought about going around the castle breaking all of the mirrors.
He had to stop thinking. Yes, he needed to stop thinking and get to packing. He had been banished from the only place he had left in the world. His homeland was barren, the heart of his deepest love was barren, and now he should live a barren life with nowhere to go to, no one to turn to, and not even an identity to be known as. How ironic and painful the fall of greatness to the barren ground of nothing. He came to this kingdom with her, nothing to his name and nothing but the shirt on his back, he trained like he was supposed to and climbed the ranks to properly be by her side; and in the end it was all for naught.
Leaving his bed he went to his half barren dresser and pulled his three linen shirts, his green flannel shirt, two pairs of socks, and two pairs of pants and stuffed them into his brown leather travel sack. Though he was the Queen's First Knight, he had little to his name other than his clothes and pay. He didn't mind that, though, made it easier to travel; and he would be doing a lot of traveling now. He pulled open the top drawer and pulled the organized bags of money by metal value and tucked them in between the different layers of clothes.
Once all of his things were packed, he stepped back and looked at his back. He was seriously packed up to leave, possibly for the last time. His heart squeezed at the thought, but his anger stomped out the lingering feelings and affections towards the Queen; at least he wanted them too, oh how he really wanted them too. It would make this so much easier; But why was it so hard? It should have been easy; should have been. This was his one opportunity of freedom, but it felt as though he had been locked out of paradise, so to speak. Why was this so hard? He could be free, go anywhere he wanted, be who he wanted to be, buy a plot of land, start a farm, live a happy life.
Why did that make him feel empty? Why did he want to stay here?
No, he had to stop thinking. He needed to get out of here. Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, he bent and picked up his bag, and threw it over his shoulder. He went to the door and walked out without looking back and exited into the hall. The door clicked quietly behind him, but it sounded so loud in his ears, as though he had shut the door on a part of his life.
This castle that he knew like the back of his hand – all the secret passageways, shortcuts, hallways – was more home to him than it should have been. He wasn't even from Apfel, he shouldn't have gotten attached. Then again his true attachment lay with the one who held the power over his heart. His heart squeezed again, but he shook his head and did not allow himself to think about it. He didn't need to think, he just needed to go through with the motions and just leave.
Quietly walking down the hall he returned to the servants' quarters and went to Adam's momentary room. He peeked inside and saw that blue pillow that Snow White had made him. Frederick knew Adam would want that. Leaving the door open as he entered, he picked the patchwork pillow up and stuffed it into his travel sack.
He exited the room as quietly as he entered and closed that door behind him too before he went next door to Snow White's room. He hesitated outside of it for a moment, he half debated on knocking, just in case she was to magically appear; but he didn't knock. Ever so quietly he opened up the door and was not surprised by its emptiness. This gray room had been filled with so much light when Snow White had been here, it was ghostly quiet now without her there. He saw that she had packed her bags the previous night in waiting for Adam's retrieval of her.
His heart ached at that since things had not gone according to plan, but he was so relieved that she was with him in the end. Maybe, just maybe, they would be granted a little happiness and live a life outside of this kingdom; that was something he himself had longed for far too many years.
Entering her room with delicate care, he went to her bed and scooped up her own travel sacks before leaving the room. Her bags felt as light as his own. It should have been the complete opposite since she was a princess, but she took the life she had been given with care in every stride. She was perhaps one of the strongest people he had ever known. For someone to have been burdened with that kind of terrible life and still managed to find happiness was truly rare, he couldn't even make himself do that. Perhaps that was why Adam had been so drawn to her.
With her bags in tow along with his own, Frederick adjusted them on his shoulders to where they would sit comfortably before walking down the hall. His footsteps echoed off the walls as he left out the servants' entrance and exit. He stood on the porch and just looked at the swirling dark and terrible weather around him. Outside of the castle the rain poured, the wind howled, and it was as if nature tried to tell him to go back inside. He couldn't of course because he had to be out by morning. He would stay in Adam's little house in the village and would leave from there to the mountains to somehow meet with Adam.
Staring out to the dark path he would have to take in the pouring rain, his feet felt heavy as though he were chained to this place and though he was banished from the land he would stay here even if he wasn't supposed to. Standing there on the small porch he just stood and watched the rain.
He could go back inside. . .
He could go back inside and sleep for a few hours. . .
He could go back inside and sleep for a few hours and be gone by sunrise. . .
He could go back inside and go see her. . .
Not directly, but from one of his secret passages. He could go see her, just to see her one last time before he left. . .
But she wasn't her anymore. . . was she?
No, she wasn't his anymore. . .
His Love went away, didn't she?
When had she gotten so far away from him?
What had she gotten so far out of his reach when he was always by her side?
He never let her out of his sight. . . but things change in an instant, in a moment, in the quickest of blinks, so fast you can never see it coming, going, or happening. . .
Why hadn't he stopped her, when all of this began, why hadn't he stopped her when he had the chance?
He could have saved her from her stepfather, the king would have found someone else anyways, he had several mistresses already. He would have; but she just wouldn't let him.
She wanted to protect him when it should have been him protecting her. . .
When did her light die?
When did she become so cruel, so cold?
Cold.
It was cold. . .
He pulled his coat closer and shuffled the bags on his shoulder. The rain simply poured and poured and poured. It would not be letting up this evening. Another sigh escaped him and he forced his legs in motion. He started his trench through the rain. The rain stung his cheeks and made him feel alive again and reminded him how much he hated the cold. The day had been such a whirlwind of emotions and things that he almost forgot who he was and why he was living. Many regrets had weighed on his heart and mind, both dealing with the Queen and Snow White, and his body had gone numb with the stress of it all. As much as he hated to be wet and cold the rain was a welcomed surprise; until it poured harder and the wind was pushing back. His back bent as he pushed himself through the rain and he held his hand up to see past all the rain. Perhaps he should have just left in the morning. But he had already made it this far, he would have to go on with it now. One step after the other he pushed himself through the raging storm and finally made it to the bridge that would lead into the village.
Lightning lit up the sky and thunder urged him to move faster. As he crossed the bridge, he noticed a figure in all black walking towards him. He squinted through the rain and could barely make out the man's face.
"Adam?" He called over the rain. "Adam, is that you?"
The man stopped and glared at Frederick. He was only a few yards away from him and Frederick could see that the man was dressed in all black and that he was injured, his hand was bleeding. Something wasn't right. He was too quiet; it was rather unnerving. Something was definitely not right.
"Adam?" He shouted in alarm and ran towards him. "Adam, are you all right?"
He approached the man but stopped just as lightning shot through the sky and the thunder rumbled. Something was not right. In the quickest of light Frederick saw the man's eyes, they were green not black. Green eyes similar to his own. This wasn't Adam.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Frederick shouted over the rain, trying to remain calm. "You looked like someone I knew."
The man said nothing and just walked past Frederick and continued to the other side. It was while the man's back was to him that Frederick saw that his hand wasn't injured, but that there was a heart in his hand. The rain was no longer welcome as his body had gone entirely cold. He stood there watching the man in black walk away until he could no longer see him before returning to his own task of getting out of the rain. But he couldn't shake the feeling that something was not right, despite his best efforts to ignore it.
What was that?
Who was that?
Did Adam have a brother?
Frederick looked over his shoulder, just to make sure he hadn't been followed; he hadn't but he felt as though he had. Whoever or whatever that man was there was something dark following him. He was just as intimidatingly dark as Adam was. Frederick did his best to ignore his thoughts and the feelings that screamed to do something and trudged on to Adam's house. He was so relieved to get inside and out of the rain. No one in their right mind would have walked out in that like he had.
Then why did that man walk in the rain?
He set down the sacks in the doorway and went to the living room where the small fireplace sat. There was wood placed in it, but he could see the thin layer of dust there which showed that Adam hadn't used this house at all since it was given to him. He frowned but pulled out his flint and stone and ticked the two together until the sparks took to the dust and paper in the wood and started smoking. The wood was dry which meant the fire would start cooking soon, but it would be a little while before it got hot.
Frederick sat down on the floor with a groan and threw in bits of kindling and paper that waited to be burned in a basket off to the side of the fireplace. Once the smoke finally escaped the wood, tiny flames began to nibble at the dry wood to start a little stream of flames. He kept feeding the fire and soon the fire began to feast on the wood and provide him with the warmth he needed. He sat back on his hands and just enjoyed the fire as best he could, but he could not push out the thoughts of that man.
Why was he in the rain?
What was he even doing?
How did he get that heart?
Who's heart was it?
"Easy, Freddy." He sighed to himself and shook out of his coat. "That's not your jurisdiction anymore."
What if he got a hold of Florian?
What if he got a hold of Snow White?
What if he got a hold of Adam?
In agitation he stood to his feet and went into the kitchen in search of food. He had to stop thinking about it.
What if it was someone in the village?
Who was he working for?
Who was he?
He slammed his hand on the counter to silence his thoughts. It was a failed attempt at best. He had been doing this crap for far too long to just not think about it. He groaned and ran a hand through his hair. Every fiber in his being screamed at him to leave and go after him. He had the bad suspicion that he was working with the Queen. If he was then serious problems were going to arise from this. There was something really off about the guy, as though he weren't all there, or as though he wasn't entirely human somehow.
He had no idea who this man was or what his purpose was, but he had the terrible feeling that things were only going to get that more dangerous for Adam and Snow White. He would tell Adam about his findings once he found Adam, but the best he could do now was to get a good night's sleep before hiking up the mountain to tell him about everything.
ADAM
"Oi!" A crotchety angry voice snapped loudly. "Oi, boy, wake up!"
Adam's eyes flew open and the vision of the Grumpy Dwarf loomed over him.
"I said get up!" Grump snapped and crossed his arms.
"What are you howling about?" Adam groaned as he pushed himself up off the floor. His headache pulsed in his skull and he put his hand to his head. "God you're loud. . ."
"Had to make sure you were still alive." Grumpy harrumphed as he handed him a tankard of ale.
"I'm alive. . ." He really wished he wasn't though. His body was outrageously heavy and aches all over.
"Drink this." Grumpy pointed to the ale. "It'll warm your soul up some."
With little argument Adam merely drank the ale. It really did warm his soul quickly. His body still felt heavy and aches all over, but it made him feel more awake. His mind was still slow to start as he tried to remember why he was here.
"Snow White!" He jumped and looked all about the room for her.
"Easy, boy." Grumpy eased himself into his chair. "She's upstairs sleepin'. Did you not tell her we were comin'?"
"What do you mean?" Adam's brow furrowed. "I told her that you all lived here and she would be staying here."
"Well, she was practically terrified when we came home." Grumpy's foot bounced on the ground. "She looked as though she had been roughed up too. She was standing protectively over you while you were sleepin'."
Adam blinked, "She what?"
Grumpy growled, "What'd you do to her?"
"I didn't do anything to her." Adam said flatly. "I saved her before something terrible really could happen to her."
"Well, she was battered and bruised and had a few cracked ribs." Grumpy spat in a spittoon next to him. "You're lucky we're Dwarves and Doc is actually a Doc. He was able to use some green magic on her to heal her up and make her all kinds of pretty again."
Relief filled him and he fell back against the wall.
"You, on the other hand." He snorted with a smirk. "You look like shit. Smell like it too."
"That would be thanks to the Dark Forest and the swamps." Adam groaned. "Quite the security defense system you have there."
"Keeps unwanted kinds out." Grumpy shrugged. "We're far enough out where those unwelcome can't get here; though a few do . . ."
"What time is it?" Adam looked to the window and saw nothing but darkness outside.
"Ten past one." Grumpy yawned. "You've been out a while. We practically had to tear her away from you so we could fix her up and get her to sleep too . . . She didn't want to leave your side."
"It's been one hell of a day." Adam pulled his knees up to his chest and rested his arms on them. "She almost died today, by her fiancé."
"That ain't you?" Grumpy scoffed.
"No, it was the Prince of Franca." Adam glared at his shoes. "He chased her all the way into the depths of the forest with a dagger trying to carve her heart out."
"Yeah, that would make for a bad day." Grumpy agreed with a glare. "It's a good thing you got to her when you did; though you really should have been there sooner."
"I know." His hands clenched into fists. "I know. . ."
"She's strong, though." Grumpy commented. "Stronger than I think you might realize."
"Of course she's strong." Adam looked at the Dwarf as though he were a fool. "She had gone through so much and has endured through it for so long. No one weak could have put up with or done the things she's done!"
"I don't know what' you're going on about, boy." Grumpy snapped. "She's strong because she was in immense pain and kept tellin' Doc to heal you first before her!"
"What?"
"Once we introduced ourselves and told her we were the ones taking care of her, Doc immediately insisted on healing her wounds. She insisted that Doc heal you first." Grumpy groused. "I wouldn't let him though. You had a high fever, but she had much more pressin' injuries."
"How is she?"
"Like I said, she's upstairs sleeping." Grumpy rolled his eyes. "She's fine, probably as exhausted as you, but she's fine. Doc's magic healed her up just fine and now she just needs rest. Just like you."
"I'll be fine." Adam pushed himself up on wobbly knees and propped himself up on the wall. "I need to go and check the perimeter anyways."
"Check the perimeter?" Grumpy snorted. "You're an idiot if you think we don't have some sort of protective barrier around here. Besides, you sayin' you were 'fine' last time is what almost made you late in saving her!"
"And you didn't wake me like you promised!"
"I did." Grumpy growled. "You were just too damn tired to move -!"
The door from upstairs creaked and Snow White's head poked through the door. She wore one of Dopey's oversized shirts and Adam found the green very alluring on her. The shirt went all the way to her knees and he almost flushed with heat from seeing her exposed skin.
"Adam?" She whispered as she stood hunched over at the top of the stairs.
"I'm here." He went to the bottom of the stairs. "What's wrong?" He had to stoop as he climbed the stairs. "Are you all right?"
"Oh, I'm fine." She blushed deeply and tried to stretch the shirt's length out lower. "I-I j-just heard your voice and wanted to see if you were awake . . . And I can see that you are awake. . ."
"And I can see that you are too." He chuckled and caressed her cheek. "You look much better."
"Mr. Doc is the one that helped me." She smiled gently and pressed her hand to his on her cheek. "Are you feeling better? You still look unwell."
"I'm fine." He reassured her.
"Ahem!" Grumpy cleared his throat behind them. They looked at the foot of the stairs where Grump stood with his arms crossed and his foot tapping.
"Yes, Mr. Grumpy?" Snow White asked.
"I know you both have been worried about the other, but it's nearly two in the morning." He put his hands on his hips. "You need to get back to bed, princess. Adam and I have a few things to discuss."
"Oh." Her cheeks burned a soft red and she turned away from Adam. Adam very much did not like the Grumpy Dwarf's interruption, but he disliked Snow White's turning away from him that much more.
"I'll see you in the morning." Adam assured her and tucked a curl behind her ear.
"Promise?" Those doe brown eyes were pleading with her. He smiled gently at her and felt terribly guilty after the other day.
"I promise." He nodded his head and took a step down the stairs. She hesitated a moment before slipping back inside the room and closing the door quietly behind her. Adam lingered until he heard the creaking of the bed before he descended down the stairs and rejoined the Dwarf on the first floor.
"Are you two goin' ta do that every time you see each other?" Grumpy crossed his arms again.
"Do what?" Adam glared down at the little interrupter.
"Like you're two love birds seein' each other for the last time." His eyes glanced towards the door upstairs.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Adam said flatly, his hands balling into fists.
"Right. . ." Grumpy rolled his eyes and gave him a bored look.
"You said we had things to discuss?"
"Yes." Grumpy nodded his head before gesturing back to their corner. They returned to their corner, Adam to the wall and Grumpy to his chair. "Right, so you can't stay here."
"What!" Adam hit his head as he stood up. "Ow!"
"Pipe down your over dramatic boy." Grumpy hissed. "I'm not sayin' we're kickin' ya out. I'm just sayin' you two can't stay here."
"But we agreed - !"
"I know what we agreed on, princey boy, and if ya pipe down and listen for a minute I'll explain things." He growled. "You two can't stay here in this house, but we can make the two of you one where ya can stay."
"You're going to build us a house?" Adam blinked. "I don't know if that's very appropriate. . ."
"What the hell you mean 'appropriate'?" Grumpy looked offended. "You tryin' ta say you don't want it?"
"That's not what I mean." He hissed. "She is a princess, and I'm – well – I'm just here to protect her. . . We're not married. It would not be appropriate for the two of us to live together –"
"Is that what you're really worried about?" Grumpy raised an eyebrow at him. "You are here to protect her, aren't you?"
"Yes, I just said – "
"Then you'll be sharing a house with her." Grumpy said flatly. "It'll be a two-room house, but you can't expect to protect her if you don't keep her close. Besides, she's almost too tall to be here, and you're way too damn tall to be here. Plus, us givin' up our room does not need to be a regular thing, I'm supposed to be the only grumpy Dwarf."
"I see your point." He heaved a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. "How much will this cost?"
"Not a penny." Grumpy spat in his spittoon. "It's a benefit to get ya'll out of this house and into your own. Besides, she hasn't done anything except show us kindness, I wouldn't charge her anything. Not very many people like her live in this world often. When they do show up you have to show them nothing but the utmost respect."
"What do you mean by that?"
"You tell me how many princesses, or just ladies in general, who are willing to show kindness to outcasts like me and my brothers." Grumpy glared, his voice quick and sharp. "Any who are willing to give up the comforts of their environment to live in a squalor like this."
"I would hold my tongue, if I were you." Adam warned gently. "You know nothing of what she had to go through in the castle. Her being here away from that world will be a comfort to her."
.
"Oh, I can imagine." Grumpy yawned. "Doc told us about some of these scars she had. She definitely didn't get them from reading books and sewing all day."
Adam bit his tongue and just stared at the Grumpy Dwarf. "How did he see these scars?"
"Don't go getting' your head stuck up your butt, boy." Grumpy warned. "Doc didn't do nothin' inappropriate. He only examined her to heal her. If this world would ever have allowed it he more than likely would have been an excellent doctor. So, don't go getting no stupid thoughts in your head."
"I'm sorry." He was sincere in that. "If you knew anything about what's happened to her. . ."
"Just watch the attitude, boy." Grumpy yawned. "It's not a good thing to have towards the people who are hiding you from the Queen."
"You're right."
"I know." He pushed himself up from his chair and stretched. "Now, get some sleep. You still look like shit and the sun will be up sooner than it should."
With that Grumpy got up and wandered over to the kitchen where Adam saw the other Dwarves were snuggled up in a pile sleeping together. Guilt did sink in as he saw that they all had truly given up their bedroom for Snow White, but he was also terribly grateful for it as well. He wasn't sure what he would have done had they not been here or allowed them to be here. If he had never found them, or if they would not have allowed them to be here, they would more than likely be wandering through the woods helpless and having to deal with the ailments of the weather and whatever else nature wanted to throw at them. Adam was very aware that he owed a great debt of gratitude to these Dwarves. He had nothing that he could honestly give them in return. He only hoped that he could properly repay them one day.
With nothing else to do but sleep, Adam crossed his arms and his legs and leaned his head on the wall and tried to go back to sleep. He hadn't realized that it had been raining again and where it normally would relax him and help lull him back to sleep, it was blaring and loud and just kept him awake. Would he ever truly sleep again? Or would it continue to elude him? A sigh escaped him and his mind whirled and tried to plan for the future. What was going to happen next?
How long could they really be here? He would be here with her as long as it was necessary, but just how long would that be? Would it ever be safe for her to go back? Would she even want to go back? How long would the Dwarves allow them to be here? They were building them a house, which meant there was the expectation that they would be here for a long time, would that be too intruding? Snow White would be able to adapt to anything around her, she's proven herself of that, though he couldn't help but worry for her as well. She was very good at masking her true feelings behind those pretty little smiles, he was just glad that he could tell the real ones from the fake ones.
A yawn escaped him, but his mind just would not be quiet. Other questions about the future, mostly involving himself now floated in his head. He had saved Snow White from the Evil Queen's clutches instead of killing her as the Evil Queen wanted, what was he going to do now? He hadn't even thought of really going back in all of this until now. Would he even be allowed to go back? Would he be in trouble for being gone for so long? He had been gone for what, a week here in Apfel? He knew of the time zone differences, and he had been coming here everyday for a month, but he had been in this realm almost permanently for a whole week. In this entire week he hadn't even thought of going back. In all honesty he did not want to go back, not while Snow White was here. He was an outcast to this Realm, but he felt as though he would be more of an outcast in the Anti-realm than he would here. In an odd sense he felt as though he were home here; that was a very odd thought indeed.
He wondered how much of his choices affected things in the Anti-Realm, he didn't anticipate them truly affecting them too much, but was Frederik all right? He could care less about the Queen, but was Frederick all right? He hoped that he was all right and that nothing terrible happened to him, but he couldn't feel certain of that.
"I'm sorry if I've abandoned you, Frederick. I do hope that you will forgive me." Adam spoke in a hushed whisper and closed his eyes. "I promise it wasn't on purpose, but if I'm making the right choices, hopefully you won't be stuck in the life of servitude any longer and I think that we'll all be able to have our Happy Ending."
Author's Note:
Thank you for reading! I hope you've been enjoying the story so far!
I am not entirely in love with this chapter and there may be an update or an editing of it in the future, but for now with how the story is going this will be its selected chapter. I know this was rather boring after the previous chapter, but I wanted to try to show Frederick's feelings as he is no longer the Queen's Knight.
Please leave me a review and tell me what you think.
Thanks for coming along the journey with me, stay tuned for more!
Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter
