Chapter 2
by Starsinger
Snow White meet Snow White! lol Still don't own it!
The forest bordered the farm where they lived. They had some goats out in the pasture where they grazed and played. Snow and Rose exited the farmhouse, being careful to make sure the Queen's carriage was well out of sight. Then they headed for the forest.
"Red?" came the call. Red looked up from the conversation with the girl in front of her. "Red, are you around?"
"I'm right here, Rose, is Snow with you?" the other girl's eyes nearly bugged as her jaw dropped.
"I'm here, Red, where are you?" another voice answered.
Red emerged from the forest as Snow White and Rose Red came out of the meadow to meet her. The other girl trailed behind her. "Princess, I have been wanting to say this since we met. Snow White, meet Snow White."
Snow goggled, Rose turned around to hide laughter, and the Princess proceeded to pick her jaw up off the forest floor. "We're so glad to have met you. We'd invite you back to the house, but we were visited by your stepmother today." The two girls looked at each other, "She wants to hire us."
Snow closed her eyes. Regina wanted these girls. She wanted to at least pretend to have Snow White under her thumb. Rose continued, "We really don't have much of a choice, we're struggling on the farm since Papa died."
The Princess' eyes snapped open, "And you can keep an eye on her. If she does something I need to know about…"
"We'll do what we can, Princess. We miss you and your Father. Nothing is the same since you left and the King died."
Snow watched as the two girls turned and walked back into the meadow. Flowers and butterflies seemed to follow in their trail. Their words echoed what she'd been hearing ever since she fled the castle. She turned back to see Red looking back at her, "They know what I am and they've never turned me away. Their mother and Granny are old friends."
Snow nodded, "Those two might be too sweet for this."
Red looked at her, "You were too, once upon a time." Snow grimaced.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
That night Rose, Snow and Margie sat around the fire. Snow was falling outside and the temperature had dropped significantly. They heard the howl of a wolf as a full moon crept across the snow. They had made extra sure that the animals were put up in the barn that night. Rose sat with an embroidery hoop in her hands as Margie mended clothing. Snow read aloud from a book she had acquired recently. Suddenly, a knock sounded at the door. Everyone jumped as Rose put her hoop down.
"It's probably a traveler, Rose. They don't need to be out tonight," no one mentioned the wolf.
Rose unlocked the door and gingerly opened it to find a bear there. He seemed to shake off his shaggy cloak as the full moon touched him and a man appeared, then collapsed in front of them. It took both of the girls to drag him inside and slam the door shut behind him. Shudders wracked his medium built frame, and he was unclothed. Margie snatched some blankets from her bed and wrapped them around him. They heard him mutter, "The wolves, warned me… need to find my brother…"
The women looked at each other with alarm. The local wolf pack found shelter on nights like this. If the wolves feared this night, a man stood no chance. Margie looked at them, "We need to stay inside. We can't help his brother if he's out tonight." Resigned looks crossed the girl's faces as they made the man as comfortable as possible. Margie rummaged through her closet to see if any of her late husband's clothing might fit their new housemate. Snow managed to get him to sit up while Rose spooned some of the stew they'd had for dinner into his mouth. His shudders soon stopped as he gripped the bowl and slowly swallowed its contents.
"Thank you," he finally mumbled. He looked up and caught Rose's blue eyes with his own blue eyes. He had short, shaggy brown hair, and, in spite of his initial appearance, had a light, brown fuzz all over his chest. Margie exited her room with some clothes. The ladies turned their backs as he struggled into clothes that were too big in some areas, and a little tight in others. "I'm Derek," he said.
Derek's light baritone told them of a harrowing adventure involving hunting and getting lost in the forest. "At the end I met this strange man with gold skin, I don't remember much after that."
"Rumplestiltskin," Margie said sharply. "He'll make deals with you, but if you make him angry…" she left the comment hanging.
They made a pallet for Derek in front of the fire as they went to bed. The next morning he was gone. A single gold had been left behind, and outside, they heard noises of a bear nearby.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Laurie emerged from the soup kitchen she ran only to find Renee and Charlotte about to enter, "I wondered when you two got here."
"Sorry, Mom, Regina was running late this morning. Apparently Henry's real Mom showed up last night," Renee replied.
Laurie nodded, her cane planted on the ground in front of her, "We're busy today, as always. Fortunately, Mary Margaret showed up early." They grinned at each other. They never saw the man who watched them from across the street.