Thank you all: Rumbellelover, Mira SeverusSirius Black-Snape, rhiannal (FB! really? Wow), StoryArtistNamedS, dragonrose21, Queen of Light 17, thedoctorsgirl42, maizeblue7, AshReadDragon, Edenforeveroncer, Grace5231973, MajorJasperFan and Paladin of Farore for starting reading
I do not own Once Upon a Time
Chapter 54 – Days 48 to 51: True North
Hansel and Gretel had been lost in a strange and mysterious forest for almost a week now. They wandered together, for miles and miles, between the tall, dark and silent trees, never leaving the sight of each other. The twins survived by eating some berries and nuts they would come across, but it never satisfied their hunger, which was constant now. The place felt lonely and they realized during their incessant wanderings, they never encountered any animal forest, not even a bird. They were scared, lonely and tired, yet, they would not give up. Hansel and Gretel were determined to find their father in the immensity of this gloomy place. Gretel had been very much saddened at first, when her father's compass broke. But Hansel told her later on, maybe it was only a bit cracked. And maybe it still worked the same. Her brother's words gave her the hope and courage to continue to trust the cracked compass. Holding each other's hands, Hansel and Gretel followed the arrow pointing north.
Bram and James had been traveling together already for three days. Their meeting had been one of bitterness, both hoping the other could help only to realize they both found themselves in the same and exact situation. Both had been caught by the evil web of disturbing plans woven by Queen Regina. Both were sent to this cursed forest by the same woman. Both were looking for their loved ones, whose fates they knew not. But their encounter had brought them some hope too. They weren't alone anymore and put their minds together to search for a way out of the forest. Not really knowing how, they managed to come out of the great circle Prince James had been crossing for two exhausting days and were now wandering in new landscapes of tall and silent trees. They were frustrated they could not find any animal, so hunting was impossible. Their diet was restricted to small berries, nuts and roots they would come across. Both men were starting to despair. They were starving, tired and clearly lost. To escape from the Queen's curse was highly improbable. To find their love ones back, probably impossible. But neither of them dared to speak up their worries and fears. And so they continued walking without a clear indication of which direction they were heading to.
Hansel and Gretel walked silently between the tall trees and suddenly halted. Something in their surroundings seemed to have changed. It was like the silence became even heavier. A strange feeling of grief seemed to settle in this still world. It was like if the soft breeze between the leaves brought news of a sad mourning. Everything was quiet, tranquil and peaceful, but is a very sad manner. It felt like if nature was crying softly. None of the children dared to utter a word, afraid the smallest sound would break this sanctuary stillness. Then their eyes widened when small pretty snowflakes danced their way down, gently touching their skin. They looked up, to the skies and furrowed their brows in the same manner. The skies were clear and blue. Yet, the snowflakes came pouring down with their constant intensity. Hansel and Gretel didn't really know what to make out of this. Perhaps it was magic. A beautiful but very sad magic. And so the twins remained still for a long while, enchanted but this strange marvel.
It was Hansel who broke the silence. His eyes found by change the compass on his sister's hand and his eyes widened.
"Gretel!" He whispered excited pointing at the compass. The girl stared first at her brother and then at the object she was holding. Gretel gasped in a happy surprise when she saw the arrow was turning from one side to the other, like if it was searching for something.
"Papa!" She said with the same excitement as her brother. "Quickly, this way!"
The children happily ran, following the arrow that moved crazily, in a constant search for the true north. All their tiredness and weakness from earlier was forgotten by the prospect of finally finding their father. They ran fast and lean with a renewed energy and soon discerned some shapes far away, between the tree trunks.
"Papa! Papa!"
Bram turned around at the familiar sound. A genuine smile grew on his face as he recognized his two children running at some distance between the trees. Prince James watched with surprise as the woodcutter suddenly started running into the woods. But then he heard the voices, the calling, and realized Bram's children had found them.
"Hansel! Gretel!"
Father and children collided in a strong and warm hug, kissing and embracing between laughter and tears. The relieve and happiness was indescribable and they could not remember any moment in their lives when they experienced such joy.
"I knew you would find me with my old compass." Bram happily stated, kissing each of his children on their heads. He was proud for their bravery, persistence and loyalty that led them to him. Little did he know it was the love they felt for each other that broke the enchantment of the Infinite Forest through the power of the cracked compass.
"We were so worried!" Gretel moaned between her tears of joy.
"As I was for you. Now we are together again and nothing, nothing can separate us again." Bram said confident and determined.
The family relished the happy moment, but were alerted of the presence of a fourth person, as Prince James, awkwardly made a sound like cleaning his throat. Hansel and Gretel stared surprised and flinched, afraid of a new threat, but Bram quickly brought them at ease.
"Children, this is Prince James from Leostille. We came across each other accidently a few days ago in the forest. James, these are my children: Hansel and Gretel." Greetings were exchanged and the twins looked at the handsome and gallant man with awe, this being the first time they saw a knight and a prince.
"So, I guess the Queen failed in separating everybody." Prince James stated contented. He truly felt happy for father and children have found each other, himself knowing the importance and value of family. "Now I just have to find Snow." He said concerned. Bram and the children stared at him with some sorrow and suddenly the woodcutter realized Prince James could find his true love.
"You love Snow White, right?" Bram asked, an excited glint in his eyes.
"More than anything." He answered, already intrigued. He could see by the look on the other man's face, he had something in mind. He watched Bram take the compass from Gretel's hand and placed on the prince's.
"This magical compass always points to the ones we love." The woodcutter explained and suddenly Prince James understood how the children found them and knew what the woodcutter's idea was.
"You think it will lead me to Snow?" He asked with great hope and three heads nodded confidently at him.
Prince James looked at the compass and took a few steps. At first nothing happened. The arrow wouldn't move from its place. Prince James paced in different directions, his mind concentrating in the beautiful image of Snow White. When he was starting to lose hope and think the compass didn't work on him, the arrow started moving frantically.
"The compass is picking up something!" Bram announced. All four stared at the object on the prince's hand with great expectancy. Suddenly the arrow seemed to make its decision and turned to a clear true north. "That's the way! The way to your true love."
Prince James only glanced a second to meet the woodcutter's eyes and quickly paced in the direction the compass pointed. At first he walked, hurriedly, never daring to take his eyes away from the arrow, but soon he found himself running, feeling both hopeful and desperate to find the outcast princess. Bram and the twins followed him suit and soon they were in the silent and mournful world Hansel and Gretel had wandered first in. They ran for miles and miles between the tall trees and the soft snowflakes. Everybody lost track of time. They could be already running for hours, maybe days, even years, they wouldn't know. All they knew was suddenly the mysterious world of tall silent trees slowly vanished into a strange blur, giving place to more familiar surroundings. The group stopped surprised when they reached a road and looked around.
"I think we came out of the Infinite Forest!" Prince James said.
"Yes, we did. I recognize this road. It's the main road that connects Armithil with Snowland." Bram gladly announced and the twins jumped and cheered of happiness.
But soon they would find themselves running after the prince again, who followed incessantly the arrow from the magical compass. Here too, the snow was falling in the same mysterious manner as in the Infinite Forest. The compass soon brought them back into the woods, where the snow became thicker, the surroundings more beautiful, white and magical. Nobody ever dared to slow down, until finally they reached a clearing and saw some short men. Prince James quickly realized the men were dwarves but what his eyes saw next made his heart stop. He saw a beautifully carved glass coffin with a dark haired woman lying inside of it.
"Is she dead, papa?" Hansel asked but his father didn't have the heart to speak up.
The world watched mournfully as Prince James nearly collapsed from his exhausting travel, all hopes and fears taking hold of his body. He reached for the glass coffin and tried to open it.
"You're too late." Doc, one of the dwarves said.
"No. No! Open it." Prince James could already feel the tears prick his eyes.
"I'm sorry, she's gone." A second dwarf spoke this time.
"At least let me say goodbye." He sadly begged.
The dwarf that had sounded ill-tempered first, looked at him with compassion and nodded in acceptance. All the dwarves looked mournfully down and cried silently as the prince opened the coffin, revealing the soft creamy skin contrasted by the raven hair. Princess Snow White, too young and pure to die, looked peaceful, in such tranquility, that Prince James for a moment believed she was merely sleeping. He bent over her, closed his eyes, releasing the regretful tears and his lips touched his true love's ones in a gentle caress. A strange warm and colored wind brushed their bodies and the world. Before anybody had time to question what that was, a deep gasp came from Snow White. Prince James smiled of great relieve and joyfulness, as he witnessed his true love open her eyes and return to the world of the living.
"You… You found me." She lovingly said.
"Did you ever doubt I would?" He told her back, smilingly and placed a kiss of tenderness and indescribably happiness on her lips.
The dwarves, Bram and the twins applauded and cheered happily. They noticed it stopped snowing and rejoiced the breaking of the curse. While the dwarves and the small family celebrated happily, Prince James and Princess Snow walked a bit away, seeking some privacy and quietness. They reached the edge of the forest and saw the shore with King Leopold's former castle.
"How did you do it?" Snow asked, realizing it could never be simple for Charming to find her and break Regina's curse.
"With a magical compass Bram had. It led me back to you…" He paused for a moment, Bram's words about the magical object's capacity in finding true love ringing in his ears. This realization made him take the decision in that exact moment. He took out a small object from his pocket and suddenly got down on one knee to propose. Snow held her breath for a moment, realizing what was about to happen.
"Will you marry me?"
"What do you think?" Snow said almost breathless. Charming put the ring on her finger and the couple kissed lovingly. But soon, Snow broke their blissful moment.
"What is it?" Prince James asked worried she had somehow changed her mind.
"There's the little matter of your father and my stepmother." Princess Snow White explained.
"Ah. That." He said, sighing from relieve. "I'm open to suggestions."
"Here's one…let's take back the kingdom." She said determinately.
"How?"
"Like we shall do everything… Together." Prince James smiled.
He leaned and was about to kiss when Doc, the oldest-looking of the seven dwarves, came running and called the couple to return to the clearing. They rushed following the short man and noticed there was a great commotion going on around Bram. He was reclined over his hand, staring wide-eyed at his compass. The arrow was again turning around crazily, picking up the location of another dear one.
"You have more family around?" Prince James asked when he saw the compass fix itself in a new direction.
"Yes! Well, not by blood, but yes. It has to be him!"
"Him?" Prince James asked a bit intrigued. "You love a him?"
"Not like that! He's my brother! Well, actually not my brother but still my brother. "Prince James, Snow White and the dwarves stared more and more confused by the woodcutter's words. "Oh, the hell. Follow me!"
Hansel and Gretel ran behind their father as excited as him to find the only person the compass could be indicating. The rest of the group, too curious and intrigued now, decided to follow the family. They reached the main road again and the compass kept indicating true north was southwards.
"He's returning to Armithil. Why is he returning to Armithil?" Bram asked worriedly.
He knew his best mate would never choose the path of danger unless he was absolutely desperate. And so he followed the compass's arrow with a heavy heart, followed by his children, the recently engaged couple and the dwarves. They must have travelled hours. The skies were becoming darker, when the fatigued group heard the sound of many voices. Soon they saw in the woods surrounding the main road, groups of soldiers and horses spread out and preparing for camp. Fires were already burning and the smell of food was in the air. Bram halted and turned around looking quite surprised.
"Is this a military column?" Bram asked astonished.
"Yes, and it looks like there are heading to Avonlea." Prince James said. "There must have been quite some interesting developments while we were away."
"Didn't you hear?" The ill-tempered dwarf said, as he overheard them talking. "Maleficent was killed, about a week ago. And Armithil has now the largest army it ever had thanks to King Midas. They are going to take their castle back."
The woodcutter and the former shepherd stared in amazement at each other and then looked back at the compass. It was pointing into the woods.
It's all converging to a point that even I didn't figure out yet where it's going to. I'm frigthened, sensing a major writter's block. And I'm really close to the end, but don't know how to finish it. :(
But I'll do my best to force out some ideas.
(Oh dearie)
Anyway, please review. Let me know what you think about this chapter.