"Cliff I have to leave for now, I promise you that I will be careful."
"I know that Angel, I just do not want to lose you. I am afraid that each time you leave it will be the last time that I could see you."
"I have to do my duty. I will not stop until the Ogres stop hurting people. I am able to protect myself more than anyone else."
His dark eyes show me a depth of his love and worry. I am afraid of getting lost in them.
"Many a man has waited for a sign from the Heavens. I never thought the day when I would have met an Angel. I want you to know that I will always wait for you. I do not care of your youth, I will wait for the rest of my life to see you again."
He gives me a hug and I feel his love. My eyes start to fill with watery tears, he takes out the handkerchief and wipes my eyes. Looking at my initials on it makes me cry even more. Even if I was not as young as I was, my identity as Sam still would be keeping us apart. But if I never ran away I could never have met Cliff. I would still be inside my father's castle with Belle.
After I am done crying Cliff keeps holding me in his hug. I do not want to leave his arms, I feel like I was born to fit into his arms. I am reminded of my trip when I see the first signs of dawn in the sky.
"Cliff I have to get going. I promised the general that I would leave at the first sign of light. Besides I do not want you to be in trouble at camp. You must get back."
"I know, Angel. I just want you to know that I will be waiting for you."
Before he leaves he gives me one last hug. I decide that I would surprise him and I give him a kiss on the cheek. I turn and start to run before he can even respond.
"I will be waiting for you," I hear him shout before I am too far away.
I run for some time trying to track some groups of Ogres. I send frequent reports back to the general. I make sure to write to Belle as well to assure her that I am safe.
I meet Rumpelstiltskin again one day when I am walking. He appears next to me when I stop at a stream to get a drink and fill my canteen.
"Hello Sam. Or shall I call you Angel? You are an interesting person dearie."
"You can call me whatever you please."
"I suppose Angel fits you well. After all it is a beautiful name."
"I know that there is more to this visit than talk."
"I just want to talk with you, I haven't had the chance to spend some time with you in ages."
I haven't seen him since I joined the army again. I have not had a spare moment alone even when I was on my solo trips, the only break I would take was to rest for the night. I was just focused on doing my duty to stop any Ogres that were unfortunate to come across me.
"I believe you only want to talk. I have not seen you for a long while either. What have you been up to?"
"I have been teaching another of magic. She is different from you. I was wondering why you are not wearing your armor. Do you not like my gift?"
"It was a bit too loose on me. I still have it in my pack but I did not want it to slow me down too much. I have not seen an Ogre for some time."
"Surprises are the best thing in the world. I have another meeting to attend to with a man about a stable boy."
He vanishes in a puff of smoke. I have always wanted to learn how to teleport but I never could seem to understand the magic in it. Instead I suppose that my speed is somewhat important, it is something that I have not even known Rumpelstiltskin to do.
I travel for the next few days without any signs of villages or Ogres. I hunt for food and drink from streams that I find. I think of reporting back to the general when I hear a ruckus.
I head towards the sound and I see a group of Ogres surrounding someone. I cannot tell who the person is but the second that I see the Ogre in front of her raise its club I know that I have to do something. I cannot attack the Ogre before he swings but I can do the next best thing. I use my magic to speed myself up and I run to place myself between the person and the Ogres.
With my back to the Ogres I start to use magic to create a barrier between the Ogres and the person in front of me. I feel something strike my back before I can finish creating the barrier. I feel an immense pain where the club struck but it does not feel deadly.
An immense power builds in me and I release it. I hear the Ogres run away but I feel myself slipping into unconsciousness. Before I hit the ground I feel strong arms catch me.
The next thing I know I am riding on top of a horse. I see the woman that was being attacked by the Ogres guiding the horse along. I realize that the path that she is taking will take me back to my father's castle. I know that I could never set foot in there without being recognized and if Belle saw me like this she would be distraught. My hair has grown some and I had forgotten to cut it, if my father saw me he would know me. I am afraid that I would be locked up in the castle again and this time I would not be able to escape. Even though I am barely conscious I use my magic to steer the horse in another direction.
"What are you doing? I am bringing you to some healers to help you."
I am weak but I still am able to talk.
"Please do not make me go that way. I cannot go that way."
"That is the fastest route to help. If we do not do that way then the closest will be my castle and that is a longer time away."
I have an idea but it would cost me what was left of my strength. I convince the woman to get on the horse. She climbs up on the horse in front of me.
"I want you to trust me. Take the route that will bring us to your castle. I want you to focus on that route and guide the horse."
She nods her head. I start to pour my magic into the horse and her and she starts to guide the horse. I feel myself slipping into unconsciousness again and I lean forward into her.
I hear voices talking all around me but I am too drowsy to move. I feel a pain in my back but it is too painful for me to move. I drift in and out of consciousness for some time. I hear the voice of the woman that I saved but I cannot focus on it for long enough before my weariness overcomes me again. I feel myself being moved and poked but I do not care. I have visions of the Ogres and the woman but only see them repeating. I feel the pain of the strike from the club and the power that arose inside of me. I was afraid of the strength in it and the toll that it took on me. I have never known my magic to weaken me so greatly even though it had scared away the Ogres.
When I finally am awake I notice that something is wrong. I am lying in a bed in a castle but I realize that I am in some kind of nightgown. I am afraid that I am back in my father's castle. I start to look around and I notice a woman looking outside.
Her hair is dark but I do not recall knowing anyone that had that kind of hair. She turns towards me and I notice that her skin is as white as her hair is black. I start to move to look for my weapons when I feel the pain in my back.
"Do not be afraid. I do not intend to do you harm. You do not want to injure yourself further."
I stop moving when I hear her voice. I start to look around again and I realize that this room is not a part of my father's castle. I do not see any sign of the family crest.
"Where am I?"
"You are in my father's castle. You were brought here by my step-mother Regina. She said that you saved her life. Is it true?"
I want to tell her but I start to have a coughing fit. My throat feels dry. She runs over to my side and hands me a cup of water from a bedside table. I drink it as she moves her chair to sit by my bed.
"Thank you. Who are you?"
"I asked you the question first but I suppose that we should get to know each other first. I am Snow White."
She appears to be a few years older than Belle. She has an air of innocence about her so I feel like I can trust her. Besides I have the feeling that I have already been found out by my true gender and the fact that I can do magic.
"I saw some Ogres about to attack her and I…"
"Snow White, Johanna has been looking for you."
I hear the voice of the woman that I have saved. She enters the room and sees me sitting up.
"I am sorry Regina, I was just spending some time here. She has woken up and was about to tell me the story of how she saved your life."
"As I said, Johanna was looking for you. Go and see her, I will spend some time with her here."
Snow White exits the room and Regina walks over and sits in the seat that she was just in.
"As you probably heard my name is Regina and I am married to King Leopold. But enough with my story tell me who you are."
I had heard of a marriage of a kingdom a distance away some years ago. The former wife of the king had died living him with a motherless daughter. The king had remarried.
"I am a soldier in Sir Maurice's army."
"I know that you are a liar. You are a female who carries false papers saying that you are a boy named Sam. I know that you can do magic. Who are you?"
I am afraid that she knows more than she is telling me. I do not see any of my things in sight so she could have taken Belle's book and read it. I guess that there is nothing else for me to lie about so I decide to tell the truth.
"I am Angel. I have taken the identity of Sam so that I can live a new life. I ran away from my father's kingdom so that I could fight the Ogres. I do not remember where I learnt to do magic, I believe that I have always been able to do it for as long as I can remember. Can I please have my things back?"
I do not care about the weapons or my armor I just want back my necklace, Belle's book and Cliff's bracelet.
"Why?"
"I need them. I want nothing more than the book without a title, the necklace and the gold bracelet."
She waves her hands in the three objects appear on the bed. I sense something different about her magic, dark like Rumpelstiltskin. She hands them to me and I take them. I carefully put the necklace on my neck and the bracelet back on my wrist. I feel warmth radiating from them even though there is no magic in them. I grab Belle's book and hold it tightly to my side.
I turn my attention back towards Regina.
"Why did you save my life?"
"I cannot let anyone be harmed by those beasts. I vowed to myself that I would do all within my power to make sure that they are defeated."
"I must get going I have some duties to attend to. I hope that you will rest you need some to heal."
She leaves and I start to read Belle's book again. I fall asleep after some time as I let my weariness overcome me again.
For the next few days I stay in the bed. Snow White visits me and I tell of her of my true identity but I do not tell her of my ability to do magic. I do not want her to be afraid of me. I tell her of the story of how I saved Regina but again I neglect to tell her about my magic, only that I was able to run in front of the Ogre before he could strike Regina with his club. She tells me of her life in the castle of how she lost her mother when she was young and her father remarried to Regina after Regina saved her life.
She and I form a small friendship through our time spent together. I told her of my mother and how I lost her when I was young. She usually asks me to tell her of some stories about my travels but I make sure to avoid anything involving magic. She laughs of the idea of me being able to pass as a knight.
Regina visits me also but less than Snow White. She tries to find out more about my past but I do not keep anything from her except my interactions with Rumpelstiltskin. I am afraid that she would turn against me if she knew. She tries to ask questions about him but I try to avoid the subject.
I send out a note out to the general assuring him that I have been wounded but I am under the care of Queen Regina. Regina issues the message to be sent immediately to the camp. I still use Sam to write the note even though I have not used the name in some time.
The healers come in and try to help me with my back. I am getting better but they tell me that the damage may not be completely healed. I might end up with some back pain and a hunch for the rest of my life. Eventually I am able to walk again according to the healers. I still have some pain in my back but it has lessened enough to let my walk.
The first day that I am able to walk Snow White helps me. She brings me about the castle but only stays on the floor with my room. I do not think that I would be able to handle stairs. I am lucky to be on the floor with the library so Snow brings me there and I spend most of the day walking around with her. At the end of the day I head back to my room.
I ready myself for bed and take the medicine that the healers have given me. As I am starting to fall asleep I hear someone enter my room. I know by the footsteps that it is Regina. I sense someone else in the room but that they used magic to appear.
"What are you doing here Rumpelstiltskin?"
I hear a tone of hatred in her voice.
"I just wanted to see what you are doing? I have missed our training sessions."
"I have been taking care of some business. What do you know of this one, Angel?"
I open my eyes to look at them. I see Regina with her back facing towards me gesturing at me. Rumpelstiltskin is facing me and I see him slip me a smile and a wink.
"I suppose that you and I are not the only ones in this conversation. I see that this one is more than she appears. I will let her explain but it is curious that she would save your life."
"Rumpelstiltskin, you are a sneaky one. So Regina is the one you have been training, I knew that there was something about her magic that reminded me of you."
"Ah, you are right dearie. Regina is my apprentice but do not let her fool you."
"Regina, let me explain, Rumpelstiltskin has not taught me how to do magic. I was not lying about knowing how to do magic on my own but he has helped me by teaching me some more magic. I only learned new spells from him but I refuse to do dark magic."
I see a look of shock on her face when I mention that I could do magic without learning it from Rumpelstiltskin.
"If she did not learn magic from you, then where did she learn it from?"
"Ah, your majesty I cannot say. I myself have been intrigued by her ability but I have not found the source of her magic. She is not lying I can assure you that."
I see some reluctance in her eyes but she appears to accept that I did not learn my ability from Rumpelstiltskin. I start to yawn without realizing it.
"I suppose your majesty that we shall let Angel get some relaxation. She has had a long day and she needs her rest. Goodbye."
He vanishes and Regina and I are left alone.
"Good night Angel. We will have a talk in the morning but now is a time to rest."
She leaves the room and I try to get to sleep. I am unable to doze off for some time until he appears again.
"Having some trouble sleeping dearie?"
"I could not stop thinking about what you and Regina have in common."
"As you guessed, she was the one I was training. But I wonder if you still would have saved her life if you knew who she was?"
"What are you talking about? I would never let anyone be hurt by those Ogres no matter who they are. I vowed that those beasts would be slain until they can no longer rip apart families again."
"Yes, you do have some reason to save her life I guess. But I wonder what will happen now that she owes you a life debt. That is the worst debt to owe another even worse than a deal made with me."
"What do you mean?"
"When one person saves another's life the one who was saved owes the rescuer a debt that is not easily repaid. I must be going again you need your beauty rest. But next time remember to wear your armor, I reminded you to but you did not heed my warning."
He snaps his fingers and I can sense magic again but this time it overcomes me and I fall asleep instantly.
The next morning Regina true to her word comes to talk with me. I am sitting up in the bed while she has the chair pulled up next to me. We do not say anything at first but Regina reaches over to touch me. She pats my shoulder and then uses magic to reach into my chest.
I feel like something is being pulled away from me, my heart. I feel my love for Belle and Cliff torn from me as she starts to rip out my heart. The pain is worse than when I hurt my back and the fear is greater than my fear of heights.
When she has my heart in her hand I feel a great emptiness in my chest. I feel like the love that I had is gone, like I am not whole. I want nothing more than to end my misery, I cannot feel emotion.
"I will ask you once again, who are you?"
"Why are you doing this?"
She squeezes my heart and the pain returns it feels like I have an iron branding the inside of my chest.
"PLEASE STOP!" I cry out.
She stops squeezing and I feel the pain disappear. I decide that the only thing I can do is tell her my story once again. This time I do not leave out any of my details of my magic or my time with Rumpelstiltskin. When I am done she is still looking at me with my heart in her hand.
"I know that you are not a liar Angel. I have your heart in my hands and I would have known the instant you were lying. But I suspect that you would be more trouble than help if I let you live."
She starts to squeeze my heart again. The pain returns but this time it is accompanied by a greater pain the idea of losing my sister Belle and my love Cliff.
"R-R-Regina please let Cli-f-f-ff and Belle know that I lo-v-v-ve them."
I manage to say through the pain. I feel the pain lessen and I open my eyes to see Regina relaxing her grip on my heart again.
"Why did you ask me to do that? Why not ask me to stop squeezing your heart in order to repay the life debt?"
"I do not want the debt to be paid. I just wanted to make sure that you were not killed by those foul beasts. I needed to make sure that they knew that I loved them. Please promise me that you will tell them after I am gone."
I see some tears start to form in her eyes and she does something that I would never expect her to do. She puts my heart back into my chest. I feel whole again and the love that was taken away when she took it out.
"If you knew of my past then you might not have let me live. But why did you want me to say goodbye to this boy named Cliff? I know that Belle is your sister."
"Cliff is the one that I truly love. Why did you spare my life?"
"I have known love as well but I have lost him. I suppose that I knew who Cliff was when I had your heart but I could not take your life. I have known the loss of love it is not a thing one does not forget. True love is a great weakness remember that. But I still owe you a life debt I guess I will have to pay it one day but today is not that day."
She walks away and I am left alone. Snow White visits me and asks how I am doing but I do not tell her of what happened with Regina. I only tell her that I am tired from yesterday still and that I wanted to rest some more. I spent the rest of the day thinking about my encounter with Regina that morning.
As time passes my back starts to heal. The healers were right that I would have a hunch. I do have a little back pain from time to time but the gaps between the pains lengthen. I am sad of the day that I am well enough to travel.
I am sad to say goodbye to Snow, she has become my friend even though she does not know everything about me. My time spent while I was healing she was the one who spent the long days when I could not leave my bed. As I was able to be more mobile I taught her how to fight even though I was limited by my back. She was a quick learner and I had the feeling that even if I was not injured she still would be a good match against me.
I had the feeling that although Snow White appeared to love Regina, Regina did not love her in return. Whenever Regina would talk with Snow she appeared to be lacking emotion or at least to me it seemed. Although I sense something evil about Regina I also believe that there is some good in her. If she was truly evil then she would have crushed my heart the day she ripped it out of my chest.