On horseback, the wind whistled the entire way down the dirt road, one she knew her love had ridden at a frenzied pace to rescue her. And now they were riding it together, Snow thought, taking a moment in spite of the galloping to glance over at Charming on his horse, the ride to the castle a mad dash for something they had already earned. Their friends followed, whooping and singing. Guards followed them, their relieved sighs of never listening to the orders of the Evil Queen or King George again. They were like a parade, and it was about time this place had something celebratory.
She reached the castle first. The last time she'd been at its front steps, she'd been nothing but a cloaked girl, waiting for a Huntsman to lead her to her death.
"I suppose castles don't come in a bungalow size, do they?" Charming asked as he dismounted, beaming at the doorway, the narrow arched windows, the freshly painted turrets.
"We'll make sure it's never empty," she said. "We'll always have guests. We'll give rooms to whoever we want." The memory of his mother still stung, her body stretched out on the wagon, her gown and bloodied gauze like shrouds. Ruth would have been given the largest room, her own mother's chambers, scarlet and gold with light always pouring in.
Red and the dwarves caught up, Jiminy fluttering right behind them. All were gazing back at the convoy of horses and coaches, leaving, for once, she and Charming out of focus. Slipping her arm through his, she laid her head on him.
"Are you ready for this, to be rulers?" she asked. Part of her wondered if they would both be happier tending a small farm where he could shepherd again, finding those who had been counted as lost.
"So long as you do the talking." A firm kiss on the top of her head elaborated.
"The kingdom will need something to be happy about after all this fighting."
"Definitely."
"And we need something to look forward to." There. He looked at her, a guarded grin spreading across his face. See, we have no secrets, David, she thought. Your own mother told me how much you want children... "Maybe if we filled this space up with children it wouldn't seem so big?"
"You're ready?" he asked, squeezing her tighter. "You're sure you want to start now?"
She kissed him. Yes. Snow hadn't given much thought to mothering growing up. Her thoughts prior to her mother's death had been flowers, kittens, epic histories, and poetry...her thoughts after her father's death survival, revenge, competence, all the while hoping she could be a good person, that what was in her heart would be transparent to all. But that pendant, swinging back and forth above her hand, his utter joy at just the prospect of having a child, having a child with her...she had fought even harder for just the chance. A daughter first, according to the pendant, one who would tromp around wild with her hair tangled, her facial expressions fascinating to observe, and then others. Other daughters and sons so she could be the big sister, so she'd never be alone.
If there was one task Snow actually enjoyed on this whole endeavor, one that took her mind off of Henry for just a little while, it was collecting fresh water from the Neverland islands' many springs. They steered clear of the lagoons, which bothered her not in the least, and stuck to thin creeks and brooks.
Charming accompanied her this time, the two of them following Hook, whom she was beginning to pity as he always had to be among the party that ventured out. For a ship to be the only thing close to home in so long, she wondered if it ever made him uneasy to leave it. Soft cold rain pitter-pattered down on them, no brimmed hats to keep it off their faces.
"It's right here," he called to them, a few paces ahead. "Same spot it was in last time."
"That's usually the nature of springs," Charming retorted, twisting the lid off to the bottle. He held it up to where the rocks created a tiny fountain, the air smelling crisp and grassy thanks to the rain.
"Why haven't we seen many of the native people?" she asked. Perhaps a stupid thing to ask in the middle of a rain, but it had already left her mouth. First bottle full.
"We're strangers to them. Most of the tribes prefer to keep to themselves."
"No chance in trying to recruit them to our cause then," Charming said, pausing between bottles to lean his head down and take a short drink.
"They have their own affairs, wouldn't you think?" Hook laughed. "Drop everything going on, risking life and limb to go after a boy they don't know at some stranger's behest? An idealistic notion, but people aren't like that, on Neverland or elsewhere."
"That's exactly what you did," she said, wishing the rain would stop. Raindrops spitting at her cheeks wouldn't give her the most authoritative presence. Charming folded his arms, smirking at the captain. Don't start that, she thought.
"Not quite, m'lady," he said, after a beat, after something flickered in his eyes that seemed close to stark realization, she'd noticed. "You see, I had nothing else going on."
"Let's get back to the ship and out of this weather, before the others start worrying," Charming suggested, picking up the bucket of bottles and starting back towards the brush, which would lead out to the beach, which would lead to the longboat—being a pirate was exhausting, she decided.
Hook held back, Snow choosing to ignore him. The man acted so strangely around her, alternating between wanting to tease and wanting to be as far from her as possible. One day she would confront him on it, make sure he knew that no matter his tendency to underestimate her, she'd ruled a kingdom, taken it back by force from the very people who had threatened her, had made it their life's work to ruin her. Their family had made mistakes in the past, had been separated and hurt one another, but they had plenty to keep their heads up in pride.
"Don't paint me as a hero," he warned, the brisk tone unsettling.
"Oh, don't worry about that. I remember full well you pulled a sword on my daughter."
"Technically, she pulled one on me. I was simply defending my keep."
"You've called yourself a gentleman."
"Gentleman, yes. A gentleman need not be sweet."
"And then you turned up in New York and put her in danger again," she added, knowing she was likely exaggerating the level of danger anyone but Rumpelstiltskin had been in at that time.
"It's not my fault I happen to always find her," he said. For a moment, Snow stopped in her tracks. No, no, that phrase doesn't mean the same thing as it does to me. Stop projecting, Mary Margaret, she scolded the weakest parts of her. It's not the same, anyway. Just the same, she adjusted her bucket of bottles, a glimpse at his actual heart could be worth a thousand self-assurances. A thought hit her.
"Have you ever had your heart pulled from you?"
Hook spun around, for the first time looking truly murderous. So, a yes. Better say something...besides calling out for Charming.
"So have I. It's not pleasant. Hurts. I, I always tried to do the right thing, even without the possibility of an award. I've lost people, lost some happiness, doing the right thing, but my own heart...my own heart has a dark spot on it after making some rash, tempting choices."
"Get to the point, m'lady, because we're fast approaching the boat and space will not force me to listen much longer."
"I just wonder if I were to look at yours, if maybe it would be the inverse of mine, dark, cruel, bitter...but maybe a spot of light in there somewhere. You may not have had anything going on, Captain, but you had hope, and that was why you decided to help find Henry."
They rowed back to the ship in silence.
A/N: Yes, a short chapter. That's why you get two!