The Ring
"True Love follows this ring wherever it goes, my son. I had it with your father. I've had it as your mother. Now you will have it. Take it. Take it and I'll know, even if I never see you again, I'll know you'll find love. I'll know you'll be happy." Ruth just failed to mention exactly how the ring achieved this.
Disclaimers
Once Upon a Time belongs to Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz, ABC, Disney, and possibly others, but not me
Everland, Seaborn, and Seaside were the names of kingdoms used in Once Upon a Time and Again by KayleeThePete
Phrygia is the kingdom ruled by the King Midas in Greek legends
Currently rated T. Please advise if you think I am writing beyond the acceptable levels of T and should consider rating my work M
Chapter 4
David was awoken the next morning by the tickling of Snow's hair against his nose. He automatically opened his eyes as his hand came up to brush the offending curls away, and as soon as he focussed on the ceiling of his chambers, the ticklish sensation vanished, as did the weight of Snow's body that his barely awake mind hadn't had time to register had been cuddled up beside him until it was gone.
In the midst of Phrygia, Snow was abruptly thrown into full wakefulness by the sudden eruption of thousands of pinpricks over a large portion of her body. She jumped up to find that she had been cuddling up to a large sack of pineapples all night. «Yeouch!»
«Are you okay?»
«I'm fine.» Snow's reply was so short and irritated that David couldn't help feeling hurt by it. «I'm sorry, it's just… Next time we do this in person so you don't turn into a sack of pineapples in the morning.»
«Yeouch.» David agreed.
«And how.» Snow reached up to tenderly brush her fingers over her cheeks, mouth, chin and neck. «I feel like I have rope burns all over my face.»
David grimaced. «You must have been kissing the sack.»
Snow groaned. «I can't even imagine what Margaret must be thinking of me right now.»
«Who?»
«She who let me have a lift to Toriel in the back of her wagon with her pineapples.»
«Ahh. But the wagon's covered, right?»
«Oh, it's covered at the back. Thank the Gods. But Margaret sat at the front of the wagon all night, and there was nothing to stop her from turning around and looking straight at me.» Snow blushed. «I can't remember exactly what kind of noises I was making last night, but she had to have heard me.»
«Is she still there?»
«Why wouldn't she…?» Snow looked around and realised for the first time that the wagon had stopped moving. Not only was Margaret gone, but the horse had been unhitched. «Oh. I guess she got a bed at the local inn.»
«And she didn't wake you?»
«After last night, I'm sure she was too embarrassed to try to interrupt me, and if she had dragged me from your arms, I would have gone kicking and screaming anyway.»
David preened. «Glad to be of service. Though I'm sorry the pineapples ruined it for you.» He pressed his lips together with determination. «So, it's time we formed a plan on how to actually be together without Seaborn and Phrygia going to war over it.»
«And Everland.»
«Of course. Can't forget Everland.»
«Never.» The sea of dead bodies that Regina had left as the remains of the village of Lidice rose up in Snow's mind. Men. Women. Children. Babies. None were spared. She had sent messages off to the neighbouring villages advising them of the tragedy and her desire to give each and every one of her people a proper burial. The villagers had arrived in droves. Snow had tried taking up a shovel, but hadn't managed to dig more than a few shovel-loads before one of the men had gently taken it away and suggested she help the other women instead. Crippled as she was with the agonising guilt that these people had died simply because they had cared about her, she couldn't muster the energy to argue, especially when the man took the shovel and lifted more soil in one try than she had done in three.
"Oh, Mary." Suddenly Margaret was there next to her, dabbing at the tears she hadn't even noticed were streaming down her already raw cheeks with a surprisingly soft handkerchief.
«I'm here for you, Snow.» David sent out the strongest waves of love and support he could.
Snow broke down completely, clutching Margaret as a child would her mother, yet at the same time wishing she were Charming. Her thoughts became disjointed.
David could only make out three words clearly. «Lidice. Father. Regina.» To his astonishment, he had witnessed her memories whilst she dwelt on them, as though he had been beside her all the way. And though he would very much like to know exactly how he had managed to actually see Snow herself in her own memory of events, he knew now was not the time.
She was still grieving. Grieving the loss of those villagers, three months ago. But most of all, grieving the loss of her father. It had been almost a year, but it still felt as fresh as though it were only yesterday that Johanna had woken her in the middle of the night with tears streaming down her face to deliver the dreadful news.
The depth of her despair made him feel guilty that he had not taken a moment in the last few weeks to reflect on the fact that his own brother had died. Admittedly, he had never met James, but they were family. Shouldn't he at least feel something? He remembered when his father had died, many years ago now, the grief of his loss had almost overwhelmed him, and now, years later, he could still feel the pain of it.
Somehow, her pain fed into his own, and he found himself crying for the brother he never knew, for the things they could have done together, of which would remain undone forever.
They cried on each other's shoulders for what seemed like hours, taking comfort in each other's presence until the storm gradually blew itself out.
"James." King George's voice came through the chamber door seconds before he opened it and crossed the threshold. He looked around the room before his eyes landed on the bed. "Still abed at this hour? The sun is already up."
David found himself looking at the King anew. This man had just lost his only son, mere weeks ago. And now he was forced to see an exact replica walking around alive and well, forced to call an imposter by his beloved son's name, forced to withhold his grief from the world lest the ruse be discovered and his kingdom plunged into war. He found himself isolating a certain phrase from a past conversation and seeing it in a new light.
If you say anything but yes, you will be responsible for the destruction of everyone and everything in our kingdom.
King George had gone on to personally threaten David, his mother and his farm if David didn't agree to marry Abigail, but it was out of fear that King Midas would withhold the gold, leaving the kingdom bankrupt, and seemingly under threat from an unnamed third party.
«What's the bet it was Regina?»
«No bet.» After what he had just seen, he knew Regina was capable of anything she put her mind to, and her mind would go places that his would flee from.
"My apologies, father, but after the last few days, I needed the rest." David pulled back the covers and stretched as he got to his feet.
"As did I, but perhaps tonight you will remember that you are no longer a shepherd and own more than one set of clothes. There are such things as nightclothes available here."
David had a retort ready on his lips, but he checked himself. There were more important things to talk about right now than a prejudice than seemed to be so ingrained into the noble classes that even Snow was guilty of it on a subconscious level.
«What? When?»
«I believe it went 'I must have more experience holding court than a farm boy'…»
«I didn't mean it class wise. I meant it profession wise.»
«I know. I'm sorry. I know you didn't…»
"Are you just going to stand there, gaping at me, or are you going to get changed?"
David blinked and King George's face suddenly loomed in front of him. Apparently, conversations with Snow whilst around other people distorted time. «Can we continue this later? King George is looking at me funny.»
«Fine, but don't think I won't be listening in.»
«Be my guest.»
"Why don't you take a seat while I dress? We need to talk. Privately. You might want to close the door."
King George gave him a considering look, before he nodded. "Yes, that might be wise. Your actions yesterday need to be addressed."
David took out a random set of clothes from the closet and quickly stripped off whilst the King was occupied with the door. He waited until he heard the door close before he responded. "Let me guess. I did something that James would never do. Again. Correct?"
"Yes. If you continue to do so, King Midas will discover our deception, take back his gold, and Seaborn will be levelled into the sea."
"By whom?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"Who is planning on destroying everyone and everything in Seaborn if you don't get to keep King Midas' gold?"
"I think the more pressing issue is the fact that you held court in my absence." The stern countenance of the King brooked no argument.
David shook his head in frustration. "Is that not something your son, Prince James, would have done?"
King George's eyes narrowed slightly. "Yes, but he would have taken the gold from that peasant…"
"Eustace's family has lived on that plot of land for generations."
"…he never would have just given gold away to a lowly lute picker…"
"Janice is as good if not better than any court bard."
"…the statue would have been considered…"
"I've never seen even the beginnings of construction on a statue in the town square."
"…and above all, he never would have shouted 'Love conquers all!' in front of all and sundry like a lovesick schoolboy!"
«You did?»
«You heard that?»
«I told you I was going to listen in.»
«To my thoughts, not my surroundings.»
«It took a bit of concentration, but after Margaret let me use her room at the inn for the day, I had no distractions.»
«How much have you heard?»
«'He would never have shouted "Love conquers all!" like a lovesick schoolboy!' James?»
«Yup, I'm not meeting expectations again.»
"Pay attention to me, boy!" David suddenly felt his left cheek stinging. He really needed to learn how to talk to Snow and pay attention to his immediate surroundings at the same time. If King George could get right in his face and slap it without him noticing, what else could happen?
«Why do think I waited until I was alone and sitting down to do this? Don't try it walking on uneven ground. Trust me.»
"Look, I know you don't want me, David the Shepherd, here. You want your son, Prince James, the boy you raised, the one who already knew the state of the kingdom and all the whys and wherefores. Trust me, I would rather not be here either."
King George's face turned thunderous and opened his mouth, but David held up a hand to forestall him.
"But that doesn't mean I am any less willing to stop whoever it is from destroying Seaborn. I may not rule the kingdom, but I do live in it, and I would rather not see the deaths of my mother or the people I grew up with. Believe it or not, I actually had friends in that village you saved me from."
Some of the thunder left the King's face, but he still didn't look convinced.
"Maybe you need someone with a fresh perspective to take a look at the problem. Maybe I can help you find another solution that lets you keep Seaborn independent instead of being overtaken by Phrygia. In the meantime, you can find someone you deem worthy to succeed you to the throne, and then you can publicly acknowledge James' death and mourn him as both he and you deserve. It can't be easy having to grin and bear it, having to treat a total stranger as your own flesh and blood. Please. Just let me try."
"Whilst I would dearly love to be rid of you, why should I listen to a commoner who, by his own admission, has no idea how to rule a kingdom? Once you have married Abigail, you will live in Phrygia, and I will be rid of you anyway."
"Yes, but upon your death, I will be crowned King of Seaborn. Do you really want that to happen?"
King George pursed his lips. "You make a good point. I will hear what you have to say, but I get the final say on any course of action."
"Of course, Your Majesty. You are the King. I will merely seek to offer suggestions and advice. The final decision in all things related to the welfare of the kingdom is, of course, yours."
King George nodded with satisfaction. "Alright, we are under threat from Everland."
«Regina.»
"Regina." David nodded grimly. "Why am I not surprised?"
"Just because I am giving you privileged information, it does not give you the right to address a member of royalty so informally."
"She had her husband, King Leopold, murdered in cold blood and Snow has been on the run ever since because Regina would like nothing more than to kill her, too. Regina does not deserve the title of Queen. That title rightfully belongs to Snow. Regina is nothing more than an evil witch."
«Charming, calm down. I love that you would defend me like that, but you're giving us away to King George.»
«I don't care. You are the one true ruler of Everland, Your Majesty, and I'd make a royal proclamation to that effect if I could.»
Snow was so overwhelmed with the love and conviction in his voice that before he knew it she had him prone on the bed and smothering him with the fiercest kisses he had experienced yet.
«Snow… Not… Alone.»
Her presence suddenly vanished, but still very much in attendance was her overpowering sense of embarrassment. Or was that his own? David slowly raised his eyes, bracing himself for another reprimand.