Badly timed ogre attack

BoredBrad asked for a oneshot of…read and see.

"We can stop here for the time being." Mulan said in her typically cold way. "The sun is warm, the conditions are good. There is a small lake to the east. Aurora and I will stay here and keep watch. Snow, Emma, you can go wash up first. We will go when you return. Be quick, it won't be this warm for long." Mulan instructed them.

"Uh, ok." Emma said, unsure as to why Mulan was making such a big deal out of the temperature. Awkwardly, she followed behind Snow as she made her way, bow slung over her shoulder, towards the east. They walked in an awkward silence for a couple of minutes before reaching the lake. Snow took her bow and quiver off her shoulder and rested it against a rock. "Why did you even bring that?" She asked Snow. "We're just washing up."

"You should never leave yourself open to attack." Snow responded. She then began to take off her top.

"Woh there!" Emma complained, turning pink. "What are you doing?"

"Taking my clothes off so I can wash them and leave them to dry whilst I wash myself. Why else do you think we have to do this when it's warm?" Snow asked her. Emma didn't admit that she didn't have a clue why.

"So we're supposed to wash here starkers in company?" Emma asked. "Why couldn't we go alone?"

"Like Mulan said, it won't be warm for long." Snow answered her. "Besides, we're safer in pairs. Are you not going to wash then?"

"Not if I have to do it with company, no." Emma responded. Snow sighed.

"Well, that's your choice, Emma. You can walk around in this heat wearing the same clothes you've already been wearing for three days. I'll take a wash." Snow said, now slipping into the cool water. Emma took a subtle sniff at herself. She was getting a little ripe. Her relationship with Mulan and Aurora wasn't exactly good as it was. Forcing them to walk through the forest with her while she stank out the place probably wouldn't help matters. She sighed.

"Could you maybe turn around?" She asked. Snow shrugged.

"Suit yourself." She said, turning her back to give Emma some privacy. Emma then quickly slipped off her clothes, giving them a quick scrub, then slipped right under the water, crossing her arms and legs strategically.

"Even I wasn't this shy, and I had been raised in a palace. Although having a barrage of handmaidens probably helped me not be so shy." Snow commented from the other side of the lake.

"What do you mean?" Emma asked her.

"When I became a bandit. Red and I didn't always have the luxury of a bath. We often had to do this very thing." Snow explained. Emma didn't know how to respond to that. Luckily for her, she didn't have to. They were both aware of a slight rippling of the surface water before they heard the thudding. It came from the east itself, so there would have been no way for Mulan and Aurora to stop it. Another ogre. It appeared in the clearing, carefully smelling the air. It turned to face the lake and let out an almighty roar.

Emma froze in the water. She didn't even have her gun, she left it at the camp. She thought she was just going to clean her face! Luckily for Emma, Snow was much quicker to action. She leapt out the lake and quickly dried her hands on her shirt. Without doing anything else, she loaded her bow and aimed it at the ogre's eye.

"Clearly, you didn't learn from your friend!" She shouted, allowing her to get a better shot. "Back. Away. From my. Daughter!" Snow bellowed as she let the arrow loose. The arrow went right through the ogre's eye. He fell backwards, causing an tremendous thud, but otherwise, did no harm. Emma just stared at her. Had this all really just happened? Snow put her clothes back on before addressing Emma.

"You ok?" She asked. Emma nodded shakily. "Good. It was alone, most ogres are. Come on, we'd better let Aurora and Mulan get their turn." Snow said gently. Emma nodded, too shocked to be shy as she clambered out of the water, dried off, and got her clothes back on. Snow noticed on the walk back to the small clearing that Emma was practically breathing down her neck. She stopped, and turned to face her.

"It's alright." Snow told her. "It's ok to be scared. It's not every day you get attacked by an ogre, particularly whilst bathing." Snow said with a slight smile. Seeing that Emma wasn't even the tiniest bit amused, Snow carefully pulled her into a hug.

"I'm here." She promised her. "You're safe as long as I'm here." Snow said gently. Emma nodded against her shoulder. This whole trip was a giant learning curve for Emma. She was having to trust Snow more than she had allowed herself to trust anyone since…well, in a very long time.