Chapter 13

To Kill A Queen

(3rd Person POV)

Snow crouched amongst the trees in the dense woods and watched intently at the black knight that approached on the road. After taking several breaths, she held the last one and jumped out from her hiding spot; knocking him off his horse. As the knight groaned on the ground, Snow quickly used the blunt end of her pick axe and hit the knight's ankle.

She grinned as she shrugged and said, "It'll heal. Eventually."

The knight glared at Snow and seethed, "What do you want?"

"Information. Now, tell me. Where's the Queen?"

The knight stubbornly answered, "And why would I tell you?"

Snow crouched down beside the knight and said softly, "Do you know what a diamond is? It's the strongest substance known to man or beast. Nearly impervious to destruction. Nearly...but this, happens to be an axe from the dwarves' mines. It can, believe it, or not, cut a diamond. So, imagine what it can do to human flesh."

The knight began to crawl away but Snow raised the axe, threatening him. Finally, he gave in and grunted. "She's at the palace. But only for the night. In the morning, she leaves on horseback for the summer palace. Please! That's all I know."

Snow nodded and added, "And Daniella?"

"The princess will be travelling on horseback as well."

Snow glared at the knight and muttered, "that palace was built for my mother, not Regina..."

Then, with the quick swing of the axe, the knight was knocked out cold. Snow then began to strip the knight of his weapons and armour until a voice behind her suddenly asked, "What do you think you're doing?!"

Sighing with frustration, Snow answered the dwarf Grumpy, "I've already told you. I'm going to kill the Queen."

"But by stealing the armour of a knight?"

"Well, whatever I have to do to get into that castle. So, get out of my way as I have to get there before she leaves tomorrow."

Grumpy looked incredulously at Snow. "Have you lost your mind? You really think that this disguise is going to fool anybody?"

Snow narrowed her eye at Grumpy and answered with determination. "It will."

"Listen to yourself! All you care about is revenge, just like the Queen does. You can't even see reality anymore!"

"What I need is not to be lectured by a dwarf!"

"I didn't come to lecture you. I came to help you by taking you back to the Dark One. He made you like this. He gave you the potion that took away all your memories of your Prince. If anyone can give them back to you, it's him."

"Alright, so this Prince that you're talking about; there must have been a good reason as to why I took a potion to forget him. Then, it's clear isn't it? I don't want my memories back."

"But the potion changed you. Maybe the Dark one can at least bring you back to the person you used to be. He's the most powerful man. He can do anything!"

Snow paused for a moment as thought. Then, she whispered, "Anything? He really can do anything?"

(3rd person, in Rumpelstiltskin's castle)

Snow looked at the Dark One without flinching and stated, "I want your help, to kill the Queen."

Rumple smiled back devilishly as he whispered, "Now we're talking. Here, this arrow will help you kill her."

"But how will that help me get into her castle?"

"Oh no, no, no. That's impossible. You can't kill her when she's surrounded by her guards. You'll have to kill her when she's on the move."

"You mean I have to kill her when she's on the road?"

"Yes." Then, Rumple used his magic and a map appeared in his hand. He unrolled it and pointed along a road that wound through the forest. "Fire the arrow from this spot here, and you'll be hidden from sight. This location will allow you to crouch and have a good view of the procession from above."

"And this arrow? How will it help me kill her?"

Holding an arrow and a bow out towards Snow, Rumple giggled and said, "This arrow fired from this bow will get you exactly what you need. It always finds its target...that is, if you fire it without getting distracted."

"But isn't that how you have to fire an arrow in any situation?!"

"Yes...but this arrow will guarantee that you hit flesh."

Snow took the bow and the arrow and raised an eyebrow, saying, "So, what's the price?"

The Dark One giggled and replied, "You don't have to do anything, dearie."

Snow narrowed her eyes and said, "Everything comes with a price with you. Last time, you took a strand of my hair. What's the price this time?"

"Let's just say...I'm invested in your future."

There was a pause. Then, Snow turned and walked away. When she got to the doorway however, the Dark One called out, "oh and do be careful of the arrows dearie. They're laced with a very powerful poison."

*Later, in Rumpelstiltskin's castle

The Dark One sat at his spinning wheel, gently pushing the wood as it went round and round. Then, he used his finger to slow down the wheel's motion and grinned. "I know you're there, dearie. Show yourself!"

Prince Charming, whose name was David, emerged and stood in front of Rumple as the Dark One spoke again, "Still dressing like a prince I see...you did run from the title though, didn't you?"

Spitting plainly, the prince replied, "You gave me a prison sentence."

"Hmm, careful now Dearie. King George is a vengeful man and neither he nor King Midas is particularly happy with your actions. Afterall, they are both allies with the Queen."

"I'm not here to discuss myself. I'm here about Snow. Rumour has it that she's after the Queen. She came here to ask you for help am I correct?"

The Dark One giggled, "yes indeed."

Immediately, the prince drew out his sword but Rumple leapt out of the way and taunted, "Now what did I do to her? Oh, actually I mean...what did you do to her. You caused her pain. Without that pain she would have never drunk my potion to forget you. Ah, such a pity. That's what changed her."

Prince Charming growled and demanded, "Undo the potion. All magic can be broken."

"Ah yes. But magic can only be broken with true love. You know, it's going to be hard to kiss her when you don't even know where she is."

Unsheathing his sword, David stalked towards Rumple and answered, "Alright, Dark One. Name your price."

(Daniella's POV)

Ever since crushing the blind witch's heart, I haven't spoken much. My mother had asked me if I was alright but I didn't feel like replying truthfully. There were too many thoughts in my head that still needed to be untangled. I feared myself and what I could become. I hated to admit it but crushing the heart felt like an accomplishment but it also showed me what I was unfortunately capable of. Actually, is it unfortunate or fortunate to be capable of such...magic?

I put down the quill that I was holding in my hand as I couldn't concentrate on my studies anyway. Its probably been an hour or so after dinner so Grandpa would be in his chambers. I should talk to someone.

Instead of using magic, I walked to the doors of my grandfather's rooms and knocked. There was a couple moments of silence before footsteps pattered towards me. The door opened and I saw Grandpa's smiling face look at me. "Daniella, are you alright?"

I gave him a blank expression so he continued, "Come in, you've barely said anything at dinner."

I walked into Grandpa's arms as he lead me towards the fireplace at one end of the room. He sat down on the couch and I fell into his arms. He rubbed my back soothingly as I sobbed into his clothes. He said nothing but I finally mumbled into him, "take it away Grandpa. I don't want it. I mean, I do, but I don't."

Quietly, my grandfather whispered, "What don't you want?"

"My magic."

"Daniella, is this related to what happened today at the blind witch's house?"

"Maybe."

Grandfather sighed and then spoke gently, "Well, your mother never told me what happened inside there so you'll have to tell me the details if you want me to help you."

I bit my lip and hesitated before saying in a wavering tone, "we; Hansel, Gretel and I got trapped by the witch when we were inside her house. After mother interfered, I managed to rip out the witch's heart which set us free from that place. But before I left I, I..."

I parted from Grandpa's arms and looked down as I mumbled, "I crushed the heart."

I heard Grandpa gasp and when I looked at him, I he was looking at the flaring flames of the fireplace. "You killed the witch?"

Tears starting flowing down my face. When Grandfather saw me cry, he stood up and declared, "I'm going to speak with your mother. How can she let you kill? You're only a child! This isn't right. Even Cora didn't allow your mother to dabble with magic!"

As he strode towards the door, I quickly stood up and took his arm, tugging hard on it. He stopped and I pleaded, "No! Please don't. She might get angry."

"Why would she get angry? I should be the one who's upset, not her."

"But Grandpa, she was the one who encouraged me to kill the witch. No, wait. Please don't go to mother. That isn't the point. The point is that...I don't know how to feel about my powers and my magic."

Grandpa slowly sat back down on the couch beside me. Then, I continued speaking softly, "I just, I just don't want to turn into mother. I mean, I love her but I don't really want to hurt people; well maybe I want revenge on Snow but that's it. I don't want to be evil. I don't want to be called that and, and, what if I fall into the same trap as mother did? What if killing the witch has made me evil? What if I'm now a bad person? Everyone already hates me. I don't want to be known as the...'Evil Princess' or something. I just...I don't know if I should be happy that I've performed one of the darkest magic known to the realms or be guilty of it."

My voice dropped lower as I whispered, "I just don't know how to think because despite being afraid of what I'll become I think there a small part of me that enjoyed holding that heart in my hand. Grandpa, there was a strange feeling, one that I've never felt before when I was watching the dust fall from my fingertips. It made me feel so satisfied to be powerful and to be in control for once. You know, after crushing the heart I thought about the kids who had bullied me at the orphanage. I also thought about the seamstresses in Wonderland. If only I had been able to crush their hearts then...or at least control them!"

Nervously, I looked into Grandfather's frowning face to see that he was surveying my face. Then, without saying another word, he turned away and walked out of the room. The harsh slam of the door shook me to the core. I've never seen Grandfather so angry. Oh great, what have I done now?

After he left, I let out a breath that I had been holding. I guess I may as well avoid mother and grandfather for now. So, I pattered down to the gardens and just as I entered the courtyard, I saw a white bundle of fur strut past me. "Accalia!"

The Huntsman's wolf turned around and strode slowly towards me. Sniffing slightly, she walked to my legs and rubbed against them. I bent down and gave her a quick pat for I knew that she didn't like to feel too domestic. I wasn't sure if Accalia knew what I was saying but I spoke to her anyway, "I'm going for a walk around in the gardens but it's a little dark. Do you want to come with me?"

Accalia looked up at me so I took that as a yes. As I started walking through the hedges, I realised that it was still a little chilly. I didn't want to use my magic however so I gritted my teeth together and walked closer to the fur of Accalia. I spent maybe about twenty minutes roaming around the gardens but just as I was making my way back into the castle, I heard the familiar clink of my mother's footsteps come close towards me.

"Daniella, what are you doing out here in the cold?"

I shrugged and looked down. Then, Mother hugged me into the folds of her cloak as she whispered, "let's go inside and talk alright?"

I nodded and in the blink of my eye, I was standing in front of the fireplace in my mother's bedchambers. I immediately noticed that Accalia was not with me. "Mama, where's Accalia?"

With the wave of my mother's hand, Accalia appeared in purple smoke right next to me. Since she wasn't used to travelling around by magic, she gave a little grunt whilst looking at me. I mouthed a 'sorry' and she turned away to curl up in front of the fire.

Mother sat down on the couch and said plainly, "your grandfather spoke with me."

"Spoke?"

Mother chuckled and continued, "well, more like shouted at me. Daniella, I'm sorry that you feel uncomfortable after crushing the heart of that witch."

I sat down and buried myself in my mother's arms. "Mama, I don't know. I sorta liked it but it's wrong! I shouldn't be satisfied that I killed someone with my own hands!"

There was silence before my mother said softly, "I just wanted for you to learn how to defend yourself, to master one of the most complicated magic spells known. I guess I wasn't thinking of how it would affect you."

My mother began to stroke my hair as she whispered, "Daniella, I think I was a little too demanding of you. Your grandfather was right, even though you are technically sixteen years old, you're still a child. Even I didn't rip a heart out until I was twenty two years old..."

"Mama I'm scared."

"Of what?"

I didn't reply but my mother answered my silence anyway. "I'm sorry little firefly. I promise, this will be the last time I force you to do magic against your will."

"You promise?"

Mother narrowed her eyes at me and smiled, "I promise, and I won't ever break it. Afterall, broken promises is the worst betrayal that anyone can experience right?"

I knew what my mother meant by that. I nodded and whispered,"...love you."

"You're my precious little firefly, Daniella. I just want you to be happy so please don't think over this too much."

I sighed into my mother's chest before mumbling, "how did you feel when you crushed your first heart?"

There was a pause. Then, mother answered, "a little like you are feeling right now. Except, I don't think I regret it...it had relieved me of the pain of losing your father."

I frowned with curiosity. "Whose heart did you crush?"

"I'm not sure who she was actually...but she was a student of Rumple's, a replacement of me."

"Replacement?"

"Well, there was a time when I hesitated to crush a heart as well. However, after a failed attempt by a doctor in a distant realm to bring back your father from the dead, I was too overcome by grief and pain to think as I did before. I went to Rumple and saw that she was teaching another girl. Even now, I clearly remember seeing Rumple mentor that girl. She was holding a bright blue orb in her hand and when I saw her, I thought to myself how pathetic I was; for I couldn't even crush a heart. That's when I ripped out that girl's heart and squeezed it into dust."

"Oh," came my only reply. Then, I looked back into the fireplace and at Accalia's rising and falling furry body.

Changing the topic, my mother spoke after the silence, "Anyways, tomorrow we'll journey to the summer palace. It's closer to King George's kingdom and the day after tomorrow, I'll negotiate with George about the capture of Snow's prince."

I looked up in interest, "what are you going to do with the Prince?"

Smiling, mother answered, "you'll have to wait for that, little firefly. But I'm going to use him and the poison apple to destroy Snow White."

*The next day

The morning air was a little chilly but the blue skies told me that it would soon warm up to a nice spring day. For our ride to the summer palace, I decided to wear a red and black outfit that matched my mother's. Before leaving, grandfather told me that I looked like mother when she was a teenager. Instead of wearing my hair in a plait however, I left my hair flowing freely down my back.

The guards bowed to my mother and I as we passed them on our way to retrieve our horses. The stableboy brought them to us when we got down to the stables. Hwin nuzzled my hand and I gave her a quick stroke on her head. When Rochinante gave birth to her first foal several years ago, mother decided to name her Hwin after Rochinante's own mother. Apparently, Cora had ripped out the original Hwin's heart because she had thrown my mother off. In fact, the scar on my mother's lips was caused by this accident. It wasn't entirely Hwin's fault though...she just lost sight of young Rochinante when she was just a foal. This caused Hwin to panick and jerk, making my mother fall off horseback.

My Hwin has a pelt like Rochinante except she is darker in shade. It must have been because of her father for nearly all of the horses in our stables are pitch black.

Instead of taking Rochinante, mother decided to ride Equinox, her black mare. Yesterday, I realised that I would stick out of the procession like a sore thumb if I rode a brown coated horse but mother insisted that I ride Hwin. She said that since I haven't been riding for a long period of time, its a better idea to ride with Hwin as I was most comfortable with her.

As I climbed up onto Hwin, I asked my mother, "How long should it take to reach the summer palace?"

"By nightfall if we take our time."

"And if we don't take our time?"

"Then we'll get there faster." After saying this, my mother got onto Equinox's back and straightened out her blood red riding coat, draping it over the dark glistening back of her horse.

Then, mother rode off towards the line of guards who were waiting by the carriage. I followed her lead as she took her place at the front of the procession.

We've been riding for several hours now and my back started to get sore. However, we were approaching a village so we'll only get some rest after we have passed the peasants. The journey so far had mainly been composed of silence as the forest remained eerily quiet. Apart from the quiet twitter of birds and rustling of leaves, the only sound present was the clop of horse hooves and the soft crunch of the road under the carriage's wheels.

I looked beside me to speak to my mother but I was disrupted when the guard who rode in front of us turned around and said, "Your Majesty, I believe we're approaching a village right now. Would you like me to announce your arrival?"

Mother cleared her throat and answered with a grin. "Yes."

Then, the guard gave an indication with his head towards the pair of knights who rode in front of him. They nodded back and tugged at their horses, moving ahead. After a minute or so, I heard one of the knights' voice resonate through the forest. "Clear the road. Bow your head before the Queen and the Princess."

I held my breath as we approached the village. It was the first time that I came amongst people of my village in almost three months. I wonder if I'll see Teagan or any of the orphans. What will they think of me? Will they recognise me?

Despite the breezy air, my hands suddenly became clammy as I caught a glimpse of the first peasant. When we came closer, I realised that all the villagers were lined up along the sides of the road. As we rode past, I briefly glanced at my mother. I don't think I could ever forget her expression. From my angle, she possessed the perfect facade of royalty, regal, poised and beautiful; unlike me. I sighed and turned away, trying to subtly focus on the peasant's faces instead. I wanted to see if I could spot Teagan but it soon became difficult as the peasants started bowing before we even reached them.

I wanted to give up but at the corner of my eye, I suddenly caught a familiar female face that was wedged between a group of children. My heart pounded as the clop of horses' hooves brought us closer to Teagan. This time, I didn't even bother to subtle glance at the group. I locked eyes with Teagan and waited, wanting to see her reaction.

I ignored the quiet gasps of the orphans around her and narrowed my eyes slightly at Teagan until her expression changed to...anger?! Scared, I looked away but just as I did so, I saw something dark fly towards me at the corner of my eye. Before I realised what was happening, I felt my left arm go numb. Half a second later, the pain shot up my arm and I let out an animalistic cry.

"Daniella!"

I looked onto my left arm and saw that an arrow was embedded into the flesh. There were screams around me but all I could focus on, was the glistening flow of red blood that quickly seeped through and stained my teal riding jacket. Oh no, no, no, no, no...I tried to keep myself calm but my head was spinning. I couldn't feel my limbs anymore and then there was chaos.

I must have lost my balance because of the shock for I felt my body slide off Hwin's back. Before I could fall onto the ground however, I felt a hand drag me onto that rider's horse.

Then, I heard the voices of guards scream in the air,

"Get the Queen and the Princess into the carriage!"

"Stop the procession!"

"Help the Queen you idiot!"

"Search the woods, it came from above!"

In the blink of my eye, I was lying down on the carriage's plush seats with my mother hovering over me. "Ma.."

"Shh, hold still."

Frowning, my mother shakily waved her hand over the arrow that lay implanted into my flesh. Then, she hastily said, "hold on to me."

I clutched my mother's other arm and in a second, searing pain circulated my limb again as the arrow was pulled out. The pain was greater than I could imagine but I tried to suppress it. In a high pitched tone, I gasped whilst tears fell from my eyes. Hovering her hand over the wound again, my mother's purple magic slowly seeped into the bloody mess. The pain started to cease to a pounding throb but I still couldn't move my arm. Then, Mother surveyed the tip of the arrow and frowned. There was a moment of silence before my mother said under her breath, "what the hell..."

I wanted to ask her what she was thinking, but she had started shouting to the guard who stood outside of the carriage door, "take me to the Dark One's castle. Now!"

The guard gave a brief nod and in seconds, the carriage was going on its full speed along the highway.

(3rd Person POV, just before Daniella was struck by the arrow)

There was a shout that resonated through the trees of the forest. "Clear the road! Bow your head before the Queen and the Princess"

In the woods above the villagers and the Queen's procession, Snow White carefully snuck closer and crouched down to the spot Rumple indicated on the map. Grinning, she drawed out her arrow and bended the bow carefully. She squinted and then she stops breathing; her aim was perfect. The arrow was targeted right on the Evil Queen's back.

Just as Snow let go of the arrow, a figure bounded towards her and pushed her over, causing the arrow to sail off its original path. Shocked, Snow took one angry glance at Prince Charming before she scampered to peer at the situation below them. Seeing that it had hit Daniella instead of Regina, Snow turned around and seethed at the Prince. "What the hell do you think you're doing?! Why would you do this?" With one strong push, the Prince fell onto the damp soil.

Groaning, David answered, "Because you said that you appreciate action more than words. So now, you're gonna get both. I love you Snow."

Angrily, Snow replied, "But I don't love you. I don't even remember you...you sabotaged my plans!"

"The only reason why you don't know who I am is because of the Dark One. He tricked you into drinking that potion. Right now, the only think I care about is that you don't forget who you really are. Good."

As if it was out of her own will, Snow leaned closer to David in curiosity and lust. Immediately, he kissed her and after their lips parted, Snow's eyes widened as she exclaimed, "Charming!"

Smiling, he whispered, "Yes, it's me."

Then, they crashed into each other's arms again, holding on tight. However, their faces paled soon when the sound of horses approached them. It wasn't Regina's black knights however. Charming looked up and gasped, "it's King George's army."

Without any weapon of defence, King George's knights quickly seized both Snow and David. Grunting, David shouted, "No!" as he was dragged into a carriage. "Snow! Snow!"

A knight hit Snow with the hilt of his sword and as she fell onto the ground, she whispered only audible enough for David to hear, "James."

After David was shoved into the carriage, he said softly to himself, "it's David. Not James. No, he was my brother, not me."

After King George's men left with Charming, Snow uttered out to the open air, "I'll find you Charming, I'll always find you."