*AN: Thanks for the reviews yall... sorry I haven't updated, I was busy! But here is the next chapter!
Enjoy!
Snow slowly opened her eyes to see two tiny eyes staring back at her. She sat up quickly and saw a young, dirty boy.
"Papa! Papa!" he screamed. "She is awake!"
Snow looked over at the man; he wore a cloth over his eyes. He sat in a rocking chair near to the window, a blanket around his shoulders even though it was warm.
Two more children walked into the room, one was a little girl and the other a younger boy. Both were filthy.
"Are you hurt?" the girl asked. She looked to be about ten years old, the oldest in the room other than Snow and the old man. Snow couldn't take her eyes from the blind man, he wasn't blind in the vision the Mirror showed! But Snow knew who it was, knew the house, the rocking chair, the window, the sun like skin. It was her papa!
Snow looked back over at the girl.
"No, I am not hurt," she whispered, but tears fell from her eyes.
"You are crying." the girl said handing the two year old boy to the dirty one that Snow saw when she woke. "What hurts? Papa, the girl is crying!"
The man stood and walked shakily, with the help of a wooden cane, towards Snow.
"What is your name, child?" he asked.
Snow gulped back a lump in her throat.
"I have no name, Sir." Snow said looking down at her pale skinned, cut, bruised and still bloodied hands. "But I was once called Snow White."
The man placed a rough, large hand on Snow's face.
"And what, Sir, shall I call you?" Tears fell from beneath the white cloth that was tied around Snoedan's eyes.
"Papa."
Snow nodded, knowing he didn't know who she was, but all the children that were abandoned, outcast, or lost called him 'Papa', she knew that he did not know her. And it hurt.
Snow looked over at the girl.
"And you, pretty lady, what is your name?" The girl smiled widely at being called not only pretty but also a lady.
"I am Winter!"
More tears fell from Snow's eyes. She nodded and looked around her.
"How many children live here with you?" She asked it to anyone who would answer her, be it Papa or Winter or the spider that climbed along the wall.
"There are six of us, and Papa makes seven!" Winter said as she sat down on the edge of the bed. "Papa found us one by one, or we found him, and he takes care of us! He even named me, because when he found me I was only two, my parents were killed."
The smile on Winter's face never left her, she looked up at her 'papa' with much admiration. It was impossible to make out the exact color of Winter's skin under the dirt and smut that was on her body, her clothes were too small for her and had been stitched in several places. Her hair was brown, as were her eyes. The little boy with her that looked two had the same brown hair and eyes. The dirty boy she had seen from the beginning had red hair and green eyes.
"Where are the other three children?" Snow asked. "And what are all of your names?"
"Well, like I said I am Winter," the girl said, eager to talk. "This,-" she held up the two year old- "is Brian, that-" the dirty boy- "is Tony."
"And how old are you Tony?"
"Five... I think."
"Yeah your five, Tony, and I am nine, and Brian is almost three. Then Mary is thirteen, she was found only two years ago, her little sister, Spring, is also five, and Jason, he is five too. They all came here together, but Jason isn't their brother, he was found by Mary and she took care of 'em, like Papa is doing for us. But she couldn't do it all on her own so now she helps Papa take care of all of us. They are down at the river getting water right now."
Snow nodded. She smiled and swung her feet off of the bed.
"What 'bout you, Snow White? How old are you and why are you here? You look old enough to take care of yourself."
'Papa' cleared his throat to show that that was a very impolite thing to say.
"No worries, Papa," Snow said with a smile, it felt good to call him papa. She looked back towards Winter. "I am almost 17 years old, and I suppose I simply got lost in the woods. I didn't mean to intrude on any of you, and I am so sorry for any trouble I caused."
"Do not worry about it, Snow White." Papa said sitting in his chair and beginning to rock. "You may stay here as long as you like."
"May I help you, Papa? Help you with these children?"
The old man smiled, it warmed Snow to the bone.
"I would love that, milady." Snow's smile faded a little.
"You can call me Snow, Sir, I am no lady."
The man only nodded.
***
It's been three days and still no sight of Adele, Angel or Snow. Charming laid in his bed. It was well past noon, he knew he should get up, but memories of Snow stayed in his mind.
"You really are beautiful, Snow." Charming said as he walked towards here in that secret place in the ancient garden. That was the way he greeted her.
"Thank you, Charming," she said, it was sweetly said, always meant it, always sounded as if it was the first time he had ever said it.
Adele and Tomas were not there, there had been no ball, he wasn't here because of that. He was here with his parents; they had plans to talk over about the Uniting of Kingdoms when the marriage took place.
"Beautiful day," Snow murmured as she let her fingers graze along the stone fountain. Charming bent and lifted a red rose, perfect in every way, red as ruby... or red as blood.
"Beautiful princess," he murmured into her ear as he walked up behind her. He wrapped one arm around her waist as he did when teaching her the blade, the other he held the rose up in front of her.
She smiled in response, he could hear her smile! She took the rose from his hand and turned around in his arms. A devious look that no princess should ever wear came across her face, it came across her face every time they were that close. Her voice changed as well. It changed from the sweetness of innocence to a comfortable voice, low and seducing.
"What will you teach me today?" she asked. Charming had thought perhaps she meant something different than him simply teaching her the blade, he hoped she meant something different often times.
Today he had planned to though; he was going to do something different, the urge was too great. Snow instead pulled his sword from his sheath, she was getting better by the day, learning quickly.
He put his hand on top of hers, putting the sword back. She looked up at him oddly. He placed his hands back onto her face, running his thumbs along the jaw bone, he leaned closer, he could feel her warm breath touching his lips, he wanted to taste her, know what she tasted like...
I should have kissed her. Charming thought, he sat up in the bed and wiped moisture from his eyes. He wasn't crying, no tears had been shed.
"Where are you?" she giggled as she turned feeling for him. "Charming?" she said it sweetly, questioningly. A blind fold was around her eyes and she stumbled through the garden looking for him.
"Here," he would whisper behind her ear but when she turned to reach he was no longer standing there.
He watched her as she stumbled slightly, searching for him she had turned in his direction nearly every time, she could feel him. If she turned in the wrong direction, towards something dangerous, he would whisper in her ear to make her change her course.
He whispered in her ear again, a hissed laugh found its way through his lips when she faced him and pulled off the blindfold, and then jumped at him. He would catch her and they would laugh. She was a good friend to him.
I cared for her. He thought to himself, an odd feeling in his stomach. But only as a friend, like the way I cared for Adele, only as a friend.
He swung his feet over the side of the bed, feeling the cold floor.
"It's freezing, Snow!" He exclaimed as Snow pulled him into the slow moving river. The river crossed over part of the garden, slightly with slippery stones on the bottom but when it reached the older part, the secret part, the ground became soft sand, and the water reached ankle deep near the shore but deeper near the center.
Snow said nothing, only giggled as she pulled him into the ankle deep part. They had taken off their shoes already. Snow held her dress up with one hand and was holding onto Charming's arm with the other. Charming stepped forward too quickly and lifted Snow into his arms. She gasped and giggled more, shaking her beautiful head, her waist length black hair shaking.
"Don't Charming! Put me down!" She screamed as he threw her into the deeper part of the smooth river.
She stood up, a large smile on her face; he ran forward and splashed her. The water came to his waist and higher on Snow.
"You're terrible, Charming." She whispered as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He smiled in response as he put his hands around her hips and they danced together in the water. It wasn't a practiced dance, they simply swayed back and forth, but it was beautiful.
Charming shook the memory from his mind and walked over to look in his mirror. He looked horrible, dark circles under his eyes from the lack of sleep, his hair was a tangled mess and dirty from not bathing in three days, he hadn't eaten in three days either.
In the mirror he saw the reflection of Snow. But she laid on the ground in an odd way, blood was everywhere, she faced up and her eyes were open, yet she saw nothing. She was... she was dead.
Charming punched the mirror with his fist.
"Oh, Charming, you're bleeding!" Snow said as she looked at the cut on his fist. He had scrapped it on a thorn bush as he tried to pluck her a rose. "Let me see."
He pulled up his hand and she looked at it, taking it gently into her own small hands. It was only a scratch, but large red drops of blood fell from it. She used the sleeve of her dress to wipe away the blood.
"Don't do that, silly; you'll never get it cleaned!" Snow smiled at him and kissed his cheek as she wiped the new blood.
She placed her sleeve firmly onto his hand until the blood stopped. She lifted his hand to her lips and kissed the cut.
"Your beautiful, Snow." He said quietly. If she had heard him, she hid it.
Charming stared at the blood on his fist. No one was there to clean it, to wipe it away, to kiss it. He just stared at it for a long time, watching the blood drip from his fist and onto the floor. He stood listening to the splattering of the drops against the cold marble floor.
Drip, drop, drip, drop...
That wasn't the sound of his blood; he glanced out the window to see rain coming down.
Drip, drop, drip, drop...
Drip, drop, drip, drop...
Snow turned; a beautiful smile touched her lips. He didn't smile back though. "Isn't the rain beautiful?" she asked
"Snow is prettier."
Snow turned around and looked at him. Her mouth was open, but no words came. She closed her mouth and smiled.
Charming came and sat next to her on the window sill and in silence they stared out at the rain.
"Where are you, Snow White?" Charming asked the silence. He fell to his knees, slamming his fist against the marble floor. "Where..."
I love torturing Charming *grins evilly* Stupid man needs to learn a few things I'd say!
heehee
Please
review!
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