So... in order to get my writing groove back I've finally figured out that there are no limitations and I don't just have to stick to writing one story at a time. Weird that I am just now figuring this out.

Chapter 1:

Every day she thinks about it. Just one long moment running together, the endless minutes running into endless hours; never changing, never stopping. Just the same day over, and over, and over again. Every waking moment of the day hurts, but she just can't work up the courage to do it.

But finally, after three days of no sleep and barely eating to survive for an entire year, Evangelina has finally forgone all impulse control and one night, at around three in the morning, she throws off the old ratty quilt she uses for warmth and climbs of the worn bed that had been used by many others in the crowded foster home, and quietly manages to sneak out the back door that leads into the woods.

The woods were her home; or what she would hope a home could feel like. As she traversed the cold night in nothing but a thin tank top and hand-me-down cotton shorts, barefoot and hair blowing in the wind, she finds the setting she's arrived at the only thing that's made Evangelina feel alive since she was twelve years old. Uncrossing her arms from her chest and looking down at the water far below the cliff, Evangelina's tired eyes close and breathe a sigh of relief. She was just so tired of the emptiness and the void that grew larger with every physical ache of her heart. Everything made her tired and all she wanted was to escape from the hell that was her mundane life. She could no longer endure the feeling of instant physical heartbreak after latching on so tightly to someone she had just met only for them to frown at her a moment later and let her down. She didn't want to listen to other people; she didn't care about their problems. For once, for once, she just wanted someone to listen to her. But that could never happen because she didn't want to tell anyone, and she never would.

Evangelina's cold, dead heart never beat inside her chest anymore. It just sat there like a useless organ, so she thought she'd let it retire early instead of suffering along with her for however long it was meant to last. She looked down at the water again and the only real smile she's ever given in her life spread across the young woman's face. She looked to the moon and then did the only thing she had ever dreamed of everyday of her life for as long as she could remember. She escaped. She jumped. She was free.

Weightless; that was how she felt. The freedom of the water surrounding her as she lapsed into a peaceful sleep in the dark. The cold seeps through her clothing and she can feel everything overtaking her at once and she smiles again. She's about to be free; but then there's the tiniest of feelings in the back of her mind that once her to stop. All at once it's like a tidal wave because Evangelina can't be normal and feel normally. Once the emotion enters her conscious brain, she cannot let it go and she feels it whole-heartedly. And she wants to swim.

Her eyes open wide, noticing that she doesn't have a breath left and her eyes are closing on their own accord. No matter how hard she tries she cannot swim upward. Evangelina knows she never would have jumped if she were well-rested and eating properly. If she were in the right mind, she would have told herself to suck it up because its better to suffer with the emptiness than commit an irreversible decision. She would take coward over killer any day. But alas, she did something stupid and now she was going to pay the consequences of that decision. She supposed she shouldn't be selfish, asking all the time for her life to end only to want it back when her wish is finally granted.

But oddly, to her relief, Evangelina feels an arm around her waste and somewhere in the back of her mind she realizes she can hear shouting and felt herself being laid on something soft. Rushed movements of air being blown into her lungs and someone lightly tapping on her face bringing her hazed mind back to the present and Evangelina feels a rush of water leave her lungs and appear in her mouth, so she rolls over on her side to spit it out into the dirt, taking in large gasps of air as she does. Someone sits her up and grasps her tightly in their arms, squeezing so hard Evangelina was afraid she might break.

When Evangelina finally manages to open her eyes, she can see a young man a little to her left, but right above her is a young woman looking as if she had just finished crying. She could feel her leftover tears on her forehead as the brunette above her rubs Evangelina's cheeks to somehow comfort herself. What the hell is going on?

"'Lina, 'Lina look at me," the young woman holding her exclaims frantically, and she can't help but comply, still not fully aware of wants going on. "'Lina? Can you hear me? 'Lina?!" The young woman's eyes begin to show worry, but the only thing Evangelina is wondering; 'who is this woman that exhibits such familiarity with her?'

The 'memories' she has of this woman and life she lives in whatever place she's landed herself in start playing out in her brain all at once, causing a mild headache as Evangelina squints in protest. "Ow," she mumbles under her breath. 'Lina sits up slowly under the guided care of the brunette above her and she opens her eyes again to take in her surroundings. A large wooded area and river rapid a few yards in front of her. The strange new memories in her head tell her that she fell in, but she knew that wasn't true. Whatever was true, whatever life was in her head a mere few moments ago has somehow vacated and has been replaced with something new.

The woods they were in were not that far from her childhood manor, yes, she lived in a manor, and the man to her left who is now sopping wet from rescuing her, was named Daniel.

'Lina looked to the frightened woman in front of her, memories in her head finally being able to put a name to her face; Regina, the woman's name was Regina.

"'Lina what were you doing?! You know you can't go near the river; you can't swim!" Evangelina took a moment to think about what had happened and her mind, now back to fully functioning, has informed her that she fell in due to a muddy patch by the flowers she was admiring.

"Sorry..." she blanked for a moment before without even thinking, stated, "'Gina, I just fell in. I wanted to look at the flowers." Regina exhaled a let out a whimper of relief at the simplicity of the young girl's thoughts and pulled the young girl to her again and running gloved fingers through 'Lina's curly, red hair in comfort. 'Lina returned the hug, relishing in the warmth that it brought before Daniel spoke up next to the pair.

"You know, you really worried your sister, 'Lina. I almost didn't get to you," Daniel spoke as he took off his cloak to give to her. Regina took it from him and placed it around Evangelina's shoulders as they all stood, the brunette refusing to let go of the young girl as she draped an arm around her shoulders.

"Mother will be furious at the state of your dress. We'll just have to try and sneak you in through the servants' quarters. I'm sure they won't mind. Daniel, will you please take the horses?"

"Or course." The walk back to the manor was silent. Evangelina was sure that her appearance would frighten anyone who saw her. Resembling a drowned rat, her simple blue dress now looked like the muddy rags of a commoner and her long hair now looked brown and wavy. Their mother will definitely be furious with her, despite her just surviving being killed in a river.

She and Regina did manage to successfully sneak through the servants' quarters, thankfully alone, and up to 'Lina's room without any interruption. After both changed for bed and Regina started combing through her hair, 'Lina's tiredness had begun to catch up with her and her eyes began to grow heavy.

"Sorry for scaring you today, 'Gina. It really was an accident." The red-head looked to her sister in the mirror and gave a reassuring smile to the brunette's reflection. The young girls continued in silence for a moment as Regina steadily combed through the many knots in 'Lina's curly hair.

"It's alright, I know. You just scared me is all," Regina whispered quietly as her eyes became glassy, "If I didn't have you and Daddy I don't know if I'd be able to deal with Mother alone."

"Well, you don't need to worry about that because I'd never leave you." Regina gave a smile to the girl in the mirror and they both got up to sleep in their respective beds.

The next morning, after both sisters had eaten and endured another boring lecture on being proper young women, Regina and Evangelina both readied themselves in appropriate attire for a ride in the fields with Daniel. 'Lina didn't mind tagging along behind the couple, in fact, she rather enjoyed it. Riding with her sister gave her the break that they both needed from their mother and she enjoyed getting to see her sister so happy. Yes, 'Lina was aware of Regina's hidden romance with Daniel and she was very determined to keep them a secret from Cora.

Cora was very strict and had the perfect idea in her head of whom she wanted her daughters to be. They had to be pristine and proper and, above all else, powerful. She had referred to Regina more than once as an 'old maid' claiming that a young woman at the age of nineteen should already have a husband and children. Regina, of course, wanted to marry for love, but according to their mother, love is weakness and power lasted forever. Their mother thought that 'Lina was the perfect age for marrying and had mentioned it many times at the evening table, though she ignored the few protests from Regina. Evangelina was too frightened to go against Cora and her magic, though once or twice when she managed, it was always met with restricted air flow to her lungs. All protesting aside, neither one of the young women knew of the plans Cora had for them.

As the pair of sisters met with the stable boy at the top of the hill, Regina hopped off her horse, Rocinante, and kissed her love while 'Lina led her horse a little further to give them some privacy.

"I thought we could take a ride to firefly hill. We can make it by sundown, have a picnic "

"She can't," Evangelina smiled sadly, "We have to be back in an hour." When given a questioning look, she simply stated, "Tea time." Oh, how she wished Mother would give them more freedom.

"A lady never misses her tea time," Regina mumbled.

"This is absurd. Stealing kisses between lunch and tea? When are you going to tell your parents about us," Daniel exclaimed frustrated.

"It's not our parents. It's her," Evangelina chimed in, trying to calm the situation. She hopped off her horse, Brego, and led him over to the couple to better hear the rest of the conversation.

"I don't understand. So, I work in the stables. She started out as the daughter of a miller. Wouldn't she, of all people, understand?"

"She does. But…" Regina hesitated to finish her statement, not wanting to upset her love any further than he already was. "But she thinks one's trajectory needs to keep moving up and…"

"And I'm down."

"She believes that, Daniel. I know better."

"We'll never be able to understand the reasoning behind the way our mother thinks," Evangelina butted in quietly.

"Regina, tell her. She'll get over it. What can she do," he states defensively.

"Have you not seen her magic? Th-The real question is, what can't she do?" Regina was clearly afraid, and when the stable boy looked to his left, that same look of fear was worn by his love's sister.

"Who cares about magic," he stated assertively to both women before looking to his love again. "True love is the most powerful magic of all. It can overcome anything!"

"Help," the threesome heard shouted in the distance.

Regina became a little skittish. "Shh. Someone's here." When the three looked over, they spotted a runaway horse sprinting across the plains, but more importantly, the petrified little girl stuck on top of it.

"Somebody, help me," they heard the young girl scream. Evangelina had started climbing onto Brego, preparing ride to the girl's rescue, but her sister was faster and far more skilled than she was; easily catching up to the runaway horse. "Come on, please, stop! Help me! Help! Help me! Please help me!" When Rocinante was finally parallel to the child's horse, both steeds racing in an unknown direction, Regina finally reached out to assist the terrified girl.

"Give me your hand," Regina shouted earnestly. Reaching out quickly, the young girl trusted Regina and in return, the older brunette grabbed it, pulling the frightened child onto Rocinante with her, while the spooked horse continued to sprint far away from whatever had scared it off.

Regina brought her horse to an abrupt stop, quickly getting off to assist the young girl after she had taken a light tumble to the ground.

"It's okay, dear. You're safe," Regina stated reassuringly as she assisted the child off the grass.

The child looked at her in awe, wide eyes staring amazed at her savior in front of her. "You saved my life."

"Are you alright?"

"Yes. But I'll never ride again." The girl sounded matter-of-fact, but Regina gave a small look of reassurance at the statement.

"Nonsense. The only way to overcome fear is to face it. To get back on that horse as soon as possible." Regina smiled at the girl in encouragement.

"Thank you..." she trailed off, waiting for a name.

"Regina."

"I'm Snow. Snow White." The girl smiled.

When Regina, Daniel, and Evangelina returned to the stables, 'Lina couldn't help but recount the day's events excitedly. "I mean, I just can't believe it! I've never seen anything that amazing in my life! That horse was rampant! I don't know how you got her off it!"

Regina smiled to her younger sister after kissing Daniel goodbye, watching her love smile at Evangelina like a wonderful older brother. "It wasn't as difficult as it looked, 'Lina." Regina grabbed her sister's hand as they walked back to the manor, but as the pair walked closer and closer to their home, their smiles went away, and the quieter Evangelina's rambling got. When they entered the manor, the pair changed out of their riding clothes and into dresses that their mother had deemed adequate for their status.

Arriving in the sitting room first, Regina spotted Cora sitting on one of the couches reading a letter with a royal seal. "Mother," Regina questioned as she gathered the skirt of her floor-length, long-sleeved, white dress and walked closer to the seated woman.

"Ah, Regina dear. How was your ride?" The woman was wearing a sickly-sweet smile, and that was never good; never mind the fact that she asked her about riding horses, which never happened, but Regina was too blinded by the fact that her mother had taken interest in her favorite hobby that she forgot to question it.

"It was wonderful," Regina stated hesitantly, choosing to omit the minute detail of Snow White and her runaway horse, assuming her mother would be furious with the way she had ridden. "'Lina and I had a lovely afternoon. May I ask...why a letter with a royal seal was sent to our home?"

At that moment, Evangelina appeared in a pale pink dress, with long peasant sleeves and a floor-length skirt; her hair half pulled back as the rest fell free, while Regina chose to keep hers braided. "Well, dear," Cora spoke as she beckoned her younger daughter closer and rose from the couch, "It's from a king," Cora smiled as she continued, "and it's about your sister."

Both girls went ram-rod straight, eyes widening in surprise as they looked to one another; Evangelina eventually coming to stand next to Regina in an effort to hear an explanation from their mother. "W-What do you mean it's about me? What king? I haven't done anything wrong!"

"Oh, no, no, no, my love," Cora smiled gently as she placed the letter down on an end table and grabbed her youngest's hands to pull her closer. "Do you remember that ball we went to?" At 'Lina's nod, she continued. "Well, it seems that you've managed to capture the attention of a very powerful man." The older woman smiled excitedly. "King Midas has asked for your hand in marriage! You're going to be queen!" Cora's smile was brighter than any star Evangelina had seen in the night sky.

'Lina couldn't see her, but Regina held the same position as her. Still as statues and faces covered in shock, both girls had no idea what to say, but the little niggling feeling in the back of Regina's mind made her wonder if her mother had planned this on purpose.