Snow woke up in a soft bed, blankets pulled over her and the smell of healing incense candles wafting through the room. For a blissful moment she thought she had woken up from a nightmare. That there had been no life on the run, no huntsman, that she would go down to breakfast and her father would be there smiling like she was the sun and the moon and everything important in his life.

And then the pain hit, and she groaned and remembered the day before. The arrow in her and the smell of burning flesh...

"Don't try to sit up," Red said quietly, reaching for a damp cloth to wipe her brow. "The healer took the arrow out but it went in deep and you lost a lot of blood."

"How... how bad was it?"

"He doesn't want you to get out of bed for five days," three days past the Peace, she could see Red's concern.

"No... how ... how many people died?"

Red looked down so as not to meet Snow's eyes. "I don't know. The Queen used terrifying magic. I'm not sure I will ever forget that smell and there were pools of blood on the flagstone that will surely leave stains. I heard that five guardsman loyal to the Queen died but... but even when I was trying to cover you up I know more died. And there are dozens of people in the dungeons now."

"It's my fault..."

Red smiled sadly at her, "You were true to who you were, my friend. You didn't kill those men."

"I just... I couldn't watch them kill her."

"I know. And we're going to have to figure out how to get you out of here before the Peace is over because unfortunately the Evil Queen is not you, and I don't think she has any intention of letting you live."

Snow closed her eyes in exhaustion and sadness and feel back to sleep. She woke again in the middle of the night with a warm furry presence on the bed next to her. Red in her wolf form watching guard over her, and she was growling. Over her body Snow could see Regina, looking as regal as ever even in the middle of the night.

She waved her hand, "Heal mutt." Red's body slumped down onto the bed asleep and Snow became more alarmed, "What did you..."

"She's asleep. Though I'm sure the servants are going to enjoy getting the wolf hair out of the bedding." Regina said coldly.

"Are you going to kill me?" Snow asked, scared as the Queen loomed over her in bed.

"Yes. Eventually. Just not tonight my dear."

She pulled her dressing down away from her shoulder, and with no gentleness at all ripped away the healers bandages.

Snow yelped from the pain as the wound was exposed, "You knew."

"Of course I knew. Do you really think those fools could plot like that and I wouldn't know of it. Do you think I don't know everything that happens in my kingdom?" Snow sighed, all her hopes that this last few days had meant a chance to fix things crumbling as Regina poked at the wound causing her to wince in pain. "Having you here did exactly what I expected. The fools all came out of the woodwork and made it so much easier for me to round them up and clean my house of the last of your father's fifth."

Whatever Regina was doing with the poking, caused Snow's eyes to water, or perhaps those were tears of a different sort. Regina placed her hand just over the wound and a purplish glow came from her fingers. Snow screamed out in pain as the magic coursed into her.

"As soon as the Peace is over I shall have a festival of an entirely different sort. All thanks to you." Regina smiled and leaned down her crazy cold eyes looking right into Snow's. "And you can be my guest of honor."

She stroked her cheek in a mock loving gesture.

Regina stood back up and flexed her fingers before turning to leave.

"I saved your life... did you plan on that?"

Regina stopped at the door but didn't turn around. "No." Her voice was quiet now, gone was the mad woman from the minute before. "I expected you'd sit back and watch them try to kill me."

"I could never do that."

"Don't make promises you can't keep Snow. Haven't you ever learned that?" Regina said bitterly as she left the room. Snow looked down at the wound to see the skin pink and raw... but healed.

The next day Snow got out of bed even though the healers insisted she should stay, still not understanding how the wound had healed so fast. Snow did not whisper a word of the Queen's visit, and Red was more nervous than ever. The court yard was full of soldiers now, preparing what looked like hundreds of nooses and sharpening swords.

Snow ran from the sight back inside the castle only to walk into the audience hall expecting to plead for Regina's mercy only to find her standing with the bishop who would have crowned her queen. The old man was begging and Regina smiled at him, "Of course you are forgiven, Your Grace. You are far too useful to kill."

And then her hand was deep in his chest and to Snow's horror she pulled his heart out. The sick muffled groan of agony lost in the large room. She ran again and found an abandoned room in the castle that looked like it hadn't been used in ages. Covered in dust and cob webs. Looking down at her from a wall was a large framed portrait of her father, Regina, and Snow painted not long after the wedding. Her father's eyes were kind and benevolent, and Snow smiled as she always did at that age. But Regina ... even captured by a portrait painter, looked a woman in mourning.

And now Regina was smiling and it was Snow in mourning.