(This page is dedicated to the
stories of Snow in Waddington Willows written by Sherry Brandon)
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Chapter One Hundred Eleven- "And first there was Lily..."
Ben was preparing the elevator,
when suddenly they heard Thomas' voice yelling loudly, "Lily!" Now
realizing that he was no longer with them, they all rushed toward the chamber
with the mirror. They found Thomas sitting at the foot of the mirror. He looked
heartbroken. Mike rushed over to him with a reassuring hand on his shoulder,
"Thomas, what is it? Are you alright?" Thomas looked up at Mike
through watery eyes and shook his head gently. With an outstretched hand, he
produced Lily's scarf, "It's Lily's. She's got her Mike...that witch has
my Lily." "No!" The high pitched squeal from Snow startled
everyone as it reverberated through the mine, echoing off of every stone wall.
"No, not Lily!" Snow rushed to the mirror and placed her palms onto
the cold glass, "Lily!" Thomas squeezed the scarf in his hand,
"She was here. She grabbed me through the mirror...tried to pull me in.
Then she left this." Mike sputtered in surprise, "She tried to pull
you in?" As Thomas nodded, Mike quickly grabbed Snow and pulled her away
from the mirror. She sobbed onto his chest as he held her tightly to him.
Thomas' eyes were glazed over as he stared at the delicate scarf in his hand,
"I was going to give in...I wanted to go. I wanted to go after Lily...but
then she let go and the mirror wouldn't let me through." "It's a
bloody good thing ya didn't follow that witch inta that mirror. She'd probably
killed ya on the spot, Tom!" Dinger's warning didn't seem to reach Thomas
at all. He simply turned back to look at the mirror with longing. "Who is
Lily?" The queen's sudden but soft words made Snow snap up to look at her
in horror. Saying not a word, all looked to Snow for her to answer the
question. 'She didn't know', Snow thought. Ben had said that her mother never
knew she'd had twins. How could she tell her? How could she tell her mother
that the king would keep something like from her...would give their own
daughter to a deranged dwarf? As Snow stood speechless, Mike finally offered,
"Let's get back to the village. Everything can be explained over a cuppa,
eh?" He gently caressed Snow's hair and smiled where the queen looked
puzzled at the term 'cuppa'.
On the way back to the
village, the queen marveled as Snow told her all about Rumple's plan to put a
spell on her so he could use Margurite to infiltrate the castle, and then how
the magic mirrors allowed them to travel back and forth between their two time
periods. Her mother was amazed at all of it, however disgusted at the thought
of a deranged dwarf having a crush on her. Arriving back at the hut, Mike put
on the coffee, while the group filled in the others on what happened at the
mine. "I jus' can't believe it! You're really Snow's mum?"
"Yep," Liz smiled at Stevie as Snow kissed her cheek. Neville was
immediately smitten by the new queen. "Would you like some tea or coffee,
your Majesty?" "Yes, thank you. But please, call me Liz. I'm not
really a 'queen' here in your village." "Liz?" "Yes...short
for
"See, Mama! It's the painting that hung in the main hall!" Liz smiled, "Well, I'll be! How did it get here? You said this village is way in the future or something like that, right?" Snow nodded, "Somehow it ended up in the mine. I think when Margurite came, she wanted to get rid of it." The queen tutted as she recounted in her mind the story Snow told her on the way back from the mine, "Great! So your father remarried a witch! Figures!" Snow took her mother's hands and looked at her with all seriousness, "Mother, he thought you were dead. Please don't hold that against him. Margurite was with that awful dwarf Rumple. She deceived Father. He didn't realize." Again Liz tutted, "That's because men are stupid!" Then she quickly looked in Mike's direction, "Sorry, dear. No offense." Mike chuckled and waved her off. "Anyway, where are these little miniature paintings that you mentioned?" Mike brought out a leather bound album crafted by Ribold that held their Polaroid wedding pictures. All three sat down to flip through the album. Liz squealed with delight, "Oh my goodness! You're right...these look like little tiny paintings! Very good paintings at that. How in the world..." "There is this new contraption called a camera that does it automatically. You just push a button and the painting pops out before your eyes!" "No way! You're kidding me!" Mike laughed, "No, Snow's right. In fact, we'll show you how it works. I think Yvonne had borrowed it. We can get you two together for a picture tomorrow." Snow hid her sadness in her thoughts of Lily. How perfect it would have been for the three of them to be in a picture together. Her thoughts were thankfully uplifted when her mother cooed, "Oh! This...this is my dress!" Snow's face lit up quickly, "Yes! I forgot to tell you! I'll have to get it out later. Mike is so wonderful...he risked going into that mirror to find it and surprise me!" Mike blushed as Liz threw him a most admiring smile, "You picked a real winner there, dear. Hang onto him." Snow took Mike's hand and smiled, "I most definitely will." Liz began studying the pictures once more, "I don't see that one fellow in any of these pictures...the quite charming one who brought me the tea?" "That was Neville. No, he didn't come to the village until after Lily came..." Snow stopped. Liz could tell it was a difficult subject for Snow. "Did she just run away?" Snow looked at Mike thoughtfully, while he took the picture album and left the two of them alone. Again, Snow took her mother's hands in hers, "Mama, I have something to tell you. It's going to be very shocking to you. I just want you to be prepared. I also don't want you to hate my father because of it." Liz chuckled slightly as she reached down to pet little Maxwell gnawing at her boots, "Well, it couldn't be any worse than marrying a witch who's dead set on stealing his kingdom." Snow stayed serious, "You were very sick. He didn't know that it was Rumple poisoning you. He thought you were dying. Rumple offered him a potion to save your life. Father would have done anything to save you." Liz swallowed, "What are you saying Snow? You're scaring me." Slowly, Snow rose and approached the hearth. She lifted down a small box and brought it back to the sofa with her. Out of the box, she pulled the letter she found from her father, "I found this tucked inside the painting just after my wedding in January. Father wrote it to me, but Margurite must have hidden it." Slowly she handed the letter to her mother. After reading only a few lines, Liz gasped in disbelief. Quickly, the tears began to stream down her face. She cupped her hand to her mouth as she read on. Her tears turned to sobbing and she'd read enough. She threw the letter to the ground, "Oh my God, oh my God!" Liz tried to stand but quickly collapsed to the ground. Snow joined her on the floor and tried to comfort her. Liz pulled back slightly to look at Snow, "And this was Lily?" Snow nodded. "Our baby! He gave away our baby! And to that deranged mutation! How could he? How could..." Choking on her sobs, she could no longer talk. Snow held onto her tightly, "He wanted to save you, Mama. That's why he did it." Liz gave no reply, she simply cried into her daughter's arms.
Chapter One Hundred Twelve- "Discoveries"
Liz sat quietly holding her wedding gown in her lap as Snow tenderly braided her long reddish hair into two low braids on either side of her face. As she touched the pearls on the gown she sighed and broke the silence with a shocking statement, "I'm not going back to your father, Snow." Suddenly, Snow stopped, releasing her mother's hair allowing the perfect braid she'd just about finished to fall into disarray along her shoulder, "What?" "I'm not going to back to Richard...not after what he's done. How can I? How could I ever bear to face the man who gave away my baby without even my knowledge much less my permission?" Quietly, Snow picked up her task again, knowing nothing she could say was going to change her mother's mind. "Besides...didn't you say there was no way to go through that mirror right now, anyway?" Snow added quietly, "Yes." With a sigh of satisfaction, Liz turned to watch Stevie play with his new puppy Lucky. One would have thought it were his own child. "Snow darling...tell me more about Lily." Snow brushed her hand through her mother's long hair, "She was a beautiful dancer...IS a beautiful dancer." Snow corrected herself quickly. Liz turned her head to look at her daughter, "Do you still sing by the way?" "Oh yes. I tried to get Lily to join me...but she just wanted to play instruments and dance mostly." "So when you found the letter, you just went into the mirror and found her?" Snow giggled, "Yes, and Mike wasn't too happy with me either. But she was...IS my sister, and I plan to find her again." Just then, Liz spotted Thomas heading for the woodshop. He looked quite sullen and lonely with his head down and a distant stride in his walk...like his body was here, but his heart wasn't. "So, Thomas must have cared a great deal for Lily, then. He was very upset at the mine. Were they very close?" Snow hesitated. Once again, she didn't know how to answer her mother's questions. There was still so much she didn't know about Lily's life, and it seemed too soon to tell her everything right now. "She and Thomas was very close, yes. They were in love." Liz fumbled with the gown in her hands as the happy sounds of Stevie and Lucky echoed across the way, "Then I just don't understand why she left. Two people in love should want to be together." "There are a lot of things that you don't know." Snow stopped. Her voice was stiff and strained. Liz could sense her tension, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to push." "No, it's alright. You just want to know more about Lily. I know that." Snow took a deep breath and continued, "Thomas could tell you more, but they were very much in love. It was a complicated situation from the beginning though. Lily wasn't that fond of men. She grew up in a gypsy band learning to dance and then went on to teach dancing to others. She was never fond of the way the men treated the women sometimes. It was funny how she and Thomas got close. Lily learned how to be a midwife from Anna, who was of course YOUR midwife, too. When Lily first came here, Thomas accompanied her into the woods to help her fetch the herbs to curb her nightmares. And as luck would have it...they ran into a pregnant woman. Lily helped give birth to the baby. She and Thomas just grew closer after that. Thomas' wife had been a midwife too. He felt a special bond with Lily from the beginning." "Did you just say Lily had nightmares? What was that about?" Snow again stopped her braiding, silently cursing herself for letting that slip. "It isn't important," as she returned to combining her mother's silken locks. Liz turned and gently grasped Snow's arm with a look of concern, "No, I can tell it IS important. There's something you aren't telling me. What is it? Snow please?" Snow swallowed as she saw the pleading look in her mother's eyes. She came around and sat beside her mum. Not wanting to meet her mother's eyes, she too began to fumble with the wedding gown, "When Lily was fourteen, she...she was attacked." The queen's eyes popped up wide and she shrieked, "Attacked! Like how?" Snow took a deep breath, her gaze still intent on the pearls lining the gown's sleeve, "It was Rumple. He took the identity of a man named Phillipe. His band attacked the gypsy camp. Turns out it was all planned. Rumple made it look like he was killed in the attack and then went on to be appointed Captain of the Guards by Margurite." Liz's voice grew soft, as she barely had the courage to ask her next question, "What happened to Lily...in the attack? What was it that caused the nightmares?" Snow still kept her gaze on the dress. The tears began to well up in her mother's eyes. Her voice was barely audible as she whispered, "Snow?" Snow looked to her mother. Liz could read everything in her daughter's eyes. "No," she whispered softly as she lifted her hand to her mouth and the tears escaped her eyes. "My baby..." Snow began gently, "That's why she didn't like men. It was hard for Thomas to break that barrier...but he did. They really are meant for each other." In a shrill sob, Liz seethed, "God! If ever got my hands on that deranged dwarf...I'd kill him!" "He's already dead, Mama." "I don't care! I'd cut his heart out with a knife!" Snow shuddered as she remembered that very act being the order Margurite had given the huntsman when Snow fell into the Willows last October. "Lily killed him, Mama. Very fitting, wouldn't you say?" Liz stopped and looked to her little girl, at least a little girl in her eyes, "Yes, baby...very fitting." Gently, she pulled Snow in to lean against her, "Tell me more about your sister, Snow. Please tell me more."
Thomas was not in a mood to speak with anyone. He rather chose to sit under the shade of the woods...be one with nature as Lily used to prefer to do herself. He couldn't go after her without a shard of the mirror...yet all the shards had mysteriously disappeared from Snow's cabin. Was it Margurite? Natalie? When interrogated, Natalie did not buckle, so Thomas wasn't so sure anymore. But one thing he was sure of...he HAD to find a way into the mirror. Margurite had Lily, and there was no telling what that witch was capable of. Thomas had thought so long, his head hurt. He lowered his head into his hands in exhaustion. His stomach growled from hunger, but he did not care. He could only think of Lily. His insides were so torn up into knots, he couldn't think of eating anything. "It's all my fault. She ran away because of me. Now she's that witch's prisoner because of me." A final horrible thought made Thomas shudder. 'What will happen to Lily? Will the queen torture her? KILL her?' No! Thomas couldn't think about that. It would only make things worse. It was hopeless. What could he do otherwise? In his silence, a squirrel dared to sneak down a nearby tree for some supper. The rustling of the small creature captured Tom's attention and he watched the little squirrel forge for food. Then suddenly, he spotted Thomas and quickly scampered up the tree again. However, there was something else that caught Thomas' eye in the leaves where the squirrel had just stirred. With apprehension, Thomas crawled closer through the leaves on the woods floor. He held his breath as he reached out to it. Could it be? Glistening in the sun's rays like a shiny new diamond lay...Stevie's mirror.
Chapter One Hundred Thirteen- "Mikey and Snowy"
Liz watched Snow straighten
the painting of her parents on the wall and smirked. With a bit of hesitation,
she finally offered, "Did your father ever tell you who painted that,
dear?" Snow stepped back in thought, "Come to think of it, no. He
just said it was a famous artist from another land he'd asked to paint him a
portrait of the two of you." "Poppycock!" Liz laughed. "He
did nothing of the sort! While he was busy out of his mind worrying about tense
relations with the nearby
Neville himself had been
quite melancholy. Although, he'd taken quite a fancy to Liz since she'd come to
the village, she had spent practically every waking moment of her time here
with Snow. He couldn't blame her. They had a lot to catch up on. He did feel
sorry for Mike, however. It seemed to never fail with those two. Whether it had
been Lily, Liz, or otherwise, there was always something to get between them,
no mater how innocent it was. But Neville had to get away. Between the crying
twin babies, Jennifer's amnesia and now Mina's arrival, he just had to get a
moment to himself. On his way to what was once he and Lily's favorite spot, he
saw a flash of something coming towards him, and then was quickly bowled over
by a familiar presence. After feeling the 'thud' of hitting the ground then
raising up to see his assailant, his response was nothing less than annoyed,
"Thomas! What the bloody hell are you in such a rush over? My God, man,
you nearly killed me!" Thomas was quite distracted and didn't seem at all
regretful of the collision. Instead, as he picked himself up, he quickly
scanned the wood's floor for something. Once spotting it, he grabbed it and
thrust it into his pocket. His actions did not go unnoticed by Neville. His
eyes widened as he realized what the situation was, "Wait! That was the
mirror, wasn't it? The one you've been searching for. Is it Stevie's or did ya
find one of Natalie's?" Thomas tutted, "I don't know what you're
talking about
Snow was ecstatic as she shuffled through the paint tubes, "I knew there was a reason that we found this crate of painting supplies in the woods last week!" Liz gave a happy shrill, "This is marvelous! What a wonderful son-in-law I have!" She cheerfully shuffled over and kissed Mike on the cheek for gathering everything she would need to start her painting venture. Canvases, paints, an artist palette, brushes...everything was there. He even donated one of his large old shirts for Liz to wear over her clothes so as not to get them soiled. Mike shied his eyes to the floor, "I know Dinger will say I'm REALLY kissing up for this one." Liz smiled and tutted, "Ah, who cares what that old grouch thinks! WE think you're wonderful!" Snow giggled as Mike then remembered one last thing, "You'll need something to clean those brushes with. I'll just run back to the kitchen." As soon as he shut the cabin door behind him, Snow giggled again, "Goodness, he really likes you Mama! I guess he's really trying to get on your good side...I'm almost jealous!" Liz gave a short chuckle, "Nah...it's all for you, dear. Don't let him fool you. The only reason a man gets close to his mother-in-law is to stay on his wife's good side. But seriously, I really like him Snow. You picked a winner, dear." Snow smiled shyly, "Funny thing though...he kinda picked me first." "And who wouldn't! I have a gorgeous daughter! Besides you were what...one in five women surrounded by thirteen men? I can't believe that you didn't have more than one suitor!" Snow smiled and bit her lip. "Oh, well that's another story to be told another time!" Liz gave her a smirk, "Wait, you're right...I forgot all about what you told me about Edward! Poor thing! Still an amazing thing that you'd see your father where he could release you from that silly royal decree just before you married Eddy. I definitely think it was meant to be with you and Mike, my dear! I can tell you this...Mike may not be of royal blood, but he is still a Prince in my book!" Snow's eyes twinkled, "Yes he is." Liz's face suddenly shone a horrified realization, "Oh my goodness! I'm such a 'dizzy Lizzy' as your father used to say! It just occurred to me that you've had hardly any time with ol' Prince Mike here since I arrived. I mean, how do I expect to see my grandbabies, if I never leave you two alone!" She didn't let the blushing Snow answer, but simply grabbed up her painting supplies, "Well, I'm off to Yvonne's...sweet girl, she is anyway. It's a pretty comfortable bed, too. It's comforting to know that Lily slept there for a while." With paint brushes slipping from her hands, she leaned over and kissed Snow on the cheek, "Well, I'll leave you now before Prince Charming returns. Tomorrow I'll be starting on a portrait of the two of you...my two favorite people of course! 'Ta ta' my little Princess!" Snow smiled and wiped a tear from her cheek as she watched her mother hurry back to her cabin. 'Her little Princess'...it had just been so long since her mother had called her that. Her happiness was almost complete. Just two things were missing in Snow's life. She kept the hope that someday she could bring Lily back here to be reunited with her and their mother. But the other thing. Snow smiled to herself as she spotted the candles on the hearth, "Perhaps it's time again. Mama wants a grandbaby. Mama always did get what she wanted."
As Mike entered the cabin, he'd not noticed the absence of Liz right away, "Sorry it took me so long. I couldn't remember..." He stopped as the soft glow of the candles flickering off the cabin walls caught his eye. He turned to see two filled wine glasses on the nightstand and a single red rose on his pillow, where the bed had already been turned down. Quickly, he closed the cabin door and set the brush cleaner on the table as he scanned the room for his wife. Where was she? Suddenly, from behind him came two soft hands covering his eyes. "Guess who?" Snow had been awaiting her husband's return from behind the door. Mike smiled amidst the mystery and asked despite already knowing the answer, "Mother or daughter?" Snow whispered seductively in his ear, "Mama's gone to bed. Time for the daughter to play." Mike's breath quickened, "Is she a naughty little girl?" Snow lowered her hands to massage Mike's shoulders, "Only with handsome Princes...named Mikey." "Mikey!" Mike whirled around catching Snow tightly in his grasp, "Oh-ho! So what do naughty Princesses named 'Snowy' do to play when Mama isn't around?" Snow moved her hands down from his shoulders and over his chest giving his shirt a little tug to release it from it's tucked position in Mike's trousers. She then gave a little innocent smirk as she snaked her fingers up underneath his shirt and onto his chest, "Whatever a Prince and Princess have to play to make another Prince or Princess." His skin tingled under her touch as he slowly moved to untie the bathrobe Snow was wearing. Gently, the terrycloth garment sank to the floor revealing her 'fairy princess' negligee...the one she'd prepared for their honeymoon night. The vision of Snow would never cease to take Mike's breath away. Although Liz had only been in the Willows a few days, the time away from his lovely wife seemed like an eternity. His eyes savored the vision of the fair Princess even as Snow began unbuttoning his shirt. "So, my beautiful Princess...what is this game called tonight?" With a tender smile and gentle movement of her hand downward, Snow pressed her lips to his and sighed, "Babymaker."
Chapter One Hundred Fourteen- "My Mom, the Artist"
"What an especially lovely day for painting!" Liz hummed to herself cheerfully as she began on her portrait of her daughter and son-in-law. "Mornin' Liz!" came the chipper cry of Stevie followed by an energetic Lucky. "Morning, Stevie! How are you this lovely day?" "Bully good, thanks! An' yaself?" "Just taking in this fresh air." Stevie curiously peeked over her shoulder, "Whatcha workin' on?" With a proud smile Liz continued her painting, "This will be a portrait of Snow and Mike when I'm done." "Oi! Kinda like the one in their cabin, then?" Liz giggled, "Yes, just like that one, as a matter of fact." In a sincere attempt, Stevie gained an urgency in his voice, "So, I'll bet that painting would probably help ya out, eh? I'll go over to Snow's an' get it for ya." Liz almost dropped her palette trying to stop Stevie in his tracks. With a concerted effort, she sighed in relief as she caught him by the arm, "No, Stevie! Really, it's OK. I'm fine without it. Please don't bother them. They really need some time alone right now. But thank you for the thought. Actually, I don't need that painting, really. If I painted that one on my own, I think I can manage another one, too." Stevie's eyes widened, "Oi! Ya painted that portrait in Snow's cabin? The one of you and the King? Wow! A self-portrait! Did ya have ta look in the mirror ta do it?" Liz chuckled, "Somewhat, yes...as a matter of fact." "Oi, Liz...can I help ya? Would ya like some tea b'fore breakfast?" Liz threw Stevie a most appreciative smile, "Yes, thank you Stevie. Tea would be lovely." Immediately after Stevie and Lucky shuffled off to the hut, Neville stumbled out of the woods as he nursed a bloody nose. "Good heavens!" Liz grabbed a clean cloth from her supplies and rushed towards him, "Neville, what on earth happened?" Neville took the cloth thankfully and responded through a nasal sounding voice, "Thomas and I 'ad a fight. He found Stevie's piece of the mirror and he's plannin' ta go after Lily. I told him I was goin' with him, and he refused...so we fought 'bout it. He's probably already gone by now." Liz was speechless. She quickly found her tongue as she told Neville he should wash up and get something cold for his injury. As she watched Neville head towards the hut she swallowed hard and whispered to herself, "My baby...we're gonna find my baby." Liz's thoughts were broken when out of the corner of her eye, she saw Thomas heading for the woodshop. Immediately, she started towards the shop. Her pace quickened into a full sprint as she stopped herself grabbing the side of the wood building. Thomas was startled, "Liz, what is it? Are you alright?" Her speech was broken as she tried to catch her breath. Lying dormant for hundreds of years can leave a person terribly out of shape, she thought...not that a queen is in the best shape to begin with, "I just saw Neville." Thomas turned, as he cursed Neville silently under his breath for 'blabbing'. Tom gave no reply, but Liz was in no mood for hesitation, "Thomas, you found the mirror, yes?" Without looking at her, he nodded. "What will you do? Are you going alone?" He thoughtfully turned to look at the mother of his true love. He could see the pain in her eyes, the desperation to find the daughter she never knew. With sincerity, he added, "Do you want to go with me?" Liz merely sighed as no words could escape her lips. Of all the thoughts screaming through her head, which words should she choose? Just then, Liz spotted Snow and Mike emerging from their cabin...her lovely daughter and son-in-law. They looked so happy as she watched Snow smile sweetly and straighten Mike's collar as he peered down at her with that sincere look of adoration. How could she leave her daughter now? Snow was so happy to be with her mother again...where Lily would not even know who she is at first glance. They have to bring Lily back to the village. The only right thing to be done now is to reunite Lily with both her mother and her sister. Liz looked back to Thomas as he awaited an answer. Finally catching her breath, she inhaled deeply and approached him. Gently, she took his face in her hands and whispered, "Snow has told me how close you were to Lily. I'm trusting you, Thomas. Go get my baby." Thomas touched her hand and nodded. He then quickly grabbed a sword and dagger and a duffel bag that he'd apparently prepared for such an occasion and left as quickly as he'd come. She said a desperate prayer as she watched him vanish into the woods. Liz then made her way back over to her painting. She would remain silent until she knew Thomas was at a safe distance. From what Snow told her about their village, she did not want for Thomas to have to wade through endless committee meetings and shouting matches before being allowed to retrieve her daughter...something she knew would have happened had she stopped him. She was met by a cheerful Snow who skipped over to greet her mum, "Morning, Mama." "Good morning my Princess. I trust you had a good evening." Snow bit her lip, "Yes, thank you." Liz smiled as she tipped her brush to the canvas, "It was good for you and Mike to have some time alone. In fact, I'm surprised you're up this early." Snow plopped sown on the ground and began fumbling through her mother's paints like she were a little girl again, "Well, Mike has to make the breakfast." Liz tutted, "Shame. Had I known that, I'd have asked Yvonne to help me with the breakfast." Snow looked up at her mother earnestly, "You know how to cook?" Liz smiled and winked, "Of course not! That's why I would have asked Yvonne to help me." They both laughed. "Squeeze me a little of that black paint here on the palette, sweetheart...will you?" Snow uncapped the tube and squeezed the paint into a glob on her mother's palette, just like she would do when she was a little girl. "Just like old times, right Mama?" "That's right, baby! There was never a day I enjoyed more than to spend it with my little Princess." After a moment of silence, Snow's thoughts of her previous evening with Mike were interrupted as Liz interjected, "You know, it must be quite confusing with two Tom's around it, isn't it? There's Thomas and there's Tom. Yet, I've heard the men call both of them 'Tom'. That must get very confusing." Snow sighed, "Yes. Tom Howard is a detective and is fairly new to the village, so everyone is more used to calling Thomas 'Tom' instead." Snow then added as she placed her head in her hands in all seriousness, "I sometimes wish I could call the new Tom, 'Howard'...or 'Howie'. He looks like a 'Howie', anyway." Her mother cackled and a startled Snow looked at her in surprise. "Howie? Oh my goodness! That's a good one! I'll have to remember that one. I think we'll have to keep that one around!" Snow smiled but shook her head, "Oh, no. I don't think Mr. Howard would like that much." Still giggling, Liz didn't seem to heed Snow's words. The two then saw Neville approaching with the new Tom Howard, as Neville now seemed to be in better condition. Liz swirled her brush into her brush cleaner jar, "Well Neville, you're looking much better." "Thank you. Tom here helped me out. He said he's dealt with bloody noses before, himself." "Tom?" Liz gave a surprised look as she remembered that she just saw Tom go into the woods toward the mine after Lily. Then she thought, 'Short hair...oh!" She then sighed in revelation, "Oh, you're 'Howie'! OK." Tom looked at the queen with a most odd look, "Pardon?" Liz looked back to her canvas with a carefree sigh as Snow covered her mouth to stifle her giggling, "Never mind!" "Well, how is the village's newest 'royal' member adapting?" Neville wrinkled his nose in disapproval as Nigel approached with Raif in tow. Liz glanced at the rougher of the two in the brown hat, remembering a few of the 'choice' stories Snow had told her about Nigel, "Greetings...Niggel, wasn't it?" "That's NIGEL." Again Snow tried hard to stifle her laughter, as she knew her mother had mispronounced his name on purpose to sound more like 'giggle'. Raif was also finding difficulty curbing his amusement. Neville was determined to pull the focus away from the 'treasure hunting' scoundrel as he offered a warm smile to Liz, "Is there anything I...we can get you?" Liz returned the smile as she threw a knowing look to Snow, "No, but thank you very much Neville. I was just going to refresh this brush cleaner." Still annoyed at the mispronunciation of his name, Nigel gained an evil smirk and turned to Neville, "So, Neville. We see that you're wasting no time at all going after the mum since you were unsuccessful at keeping your hooks in Lily." Snow's eyes popped up wide as she gave him a 'shush' look, not unnoticed by Liz of course. Neville was enraged, "You'd better bloody well shut up Nigel, or..." "Or what? You're going to give me a bloody nose to match your own? Indeed, it definitely looks as if you gave Thomas what for, eh? What'd he end up with, a broken fingernail?" Tom Howard quickly stepped between them, "Alright, that's enough! Shit! Can't you two ever be civil anymore? C'mon 'Niggel'...let's go!" Snow had to laugh as Nigel protested to the severe mispronunciation of his name as the detective dragged him away snickering. Neville tore away his look of disgust at Nigel to glance back at the queen with a friendly smile, "Can I refresh that brush cleaner for you? That way you won't have to disrupt the flow of your painting." Again, Liz glanced at Snow with a smirk, "Sure Neville. That's very kind of you." Snow jumped up giggling, "Here, Neville. I'll show you where Mike keeps that stuff in the storeroom." As the energetic couple skipped off, Liz grinned and shook her head toward her remaining visitor, "Youth! What I wouldn't give to be that age again." Raif chuckled at her, "Liz, according to Ben, You're only 26! That's hardly an old woman!" "I know...but being asleep for centuries can take its toll on you!" The two laughed as Liz returned her brush to the palette then back to the canvas. She was wearing the oversized shirt Mike gave to her and had her hair swept up haphazardly in an updo. The sides of her hair drooped, hanging beside her cheeks. Her upright stance was magnified each time she'd stand back to take note of her portrait, "Pretty soon, I'll need Mike and Snow for their facial features." Raif was suddenly captivated by the woman painter. As she leaned back and cocked her head to one side for a different view of her canvas, Raif was stunned...not expecting to be hit with such a revelation as this. She reminded him so much of his ex-wife, Dora Carrington. He swallowed as the memories of her came flooding back to his mind. He could still see her so clearly, standing just as Liz was now, in her oversized shirt with her head cocked to one side. Her wide eyed expression, her care-free hair...this woman whom he'd loved so, that had never returned his love. Why? Why would she waste her life chasing a man whom would never return her affections? This was the one thing he never understood about Dora. The last straw was her affair with his best friend...something that should in all circumstances be unforgivable, yet Raif never stopped loving her. Now, he could see her in Liz...her spunk and her passion...all the things he missed in Carrington. His thoughts were abruptly interrupted as Natalie quickly reached around his waist and squeezed. Raif jumped slightly as he turned to see the tall figure of Natalie, "Dear God woman! You startled the hell out of me!" She pressed up close against his back as Liz glanced at them out of the corner of her eye, "Scared ya, huh?" Annoyed, Raif removed her hands from his waist. Natalie masked her slight disappointment by instead stepping between he and Liz and fumbling with his shirt buttons, "You know, breakfast will probably be a little while, at least 15 minutes or so. You know what that means?" She smiled coyly, as Raif backed away and walked to the other side of Liz, embarrassed at Natalie's insinuation, "I'm a little busy Natalie. And you're being very rude. I'm trying to have a polite conversation with our newest guest in the village to welcome her...something you haven't done, I noticed." Natalie looked to Liz with an aloof indifference, "Hmph...to welcome her, eh? Is that what you call it? Looked like something else to me." With a quick glare at Raif, she turned on her heel and headed back to the hut. Raif gave a nervous chuckle, "She's a little odd, that Natalie. Most of the time, I don't know what she's talking about. But don't worry about her, she's just jealous if she's not the center of attention is all." Liz side-glanced him with a smirk, "She looked jealous alright." He cleared his throat as he casually picked up one of the paint tubes to inspect it, "Oh, she'll just go and warm up to the first male that will say 'yes'. That's just her way." Liz raised an eyebrow as she pondered if Raif was one of Natalie's 'yes' men. Suddenly rushing back over to them was Snow, now out of breath, "Mama! Neville just told me that Thomas found Stevie's mirror piece and he was going into the mirror! What do we do?" "Shhhhhh." Liz quickly looked at Raif and then back to Snow, "I know, sweetheart. I told him to go myself." Snow's eyes widened, "You know? But why didn't you tell the others?" "Shhhhh." She hushed her again as she took Snow's hands in hers and looked around to be sure no one else could hear them except Raif, "Because sweetie, besides you and I, no one wants Lily to come back more than Thomas. I feel confident that if anyone can bring her back, it's him. If we'd have told the others, it could have been days, possibly weeks before a search was on for Lily, having to wade through meetings and arguing. You told me about it yourself...especially that Dinger!" Snow was taken aback, "Oh, yes. You're right. But Mama, Thomas will be in there all alone...with Margurite!" Liz took Snow's cheeks into her hands, "Baby, I saw something in Thomas' eyes this morning...something more powerful than any weapon or army. I saw true love...a determination like no other. If there is one thing I know...it's that true love can overcome any obstacle, no matter what it is. If anyone can bring our Lily back, it's Thomas." The two women were then startled yet comforted by Raif's confident interjection, "Love conquers all."
Chapter One Hundred Fifteen- "The Ring"
"Hold still, dear…I'm just about done." Liz put the final touches on Snow's portion of the painting. "There. All done. Now I'll just have to get your husband to sit still for as long." Snow giggled as she itched what seemed like a thousand itches that had formed on her body whilst she couldn't move, "I think you'll have to tie him down. He's never in one place very long." She then grinned slyly to herself, "Well, at least not very often." Liz sighed, as she was apprehensive to breech the question that had plagued her mind since yesterday, "Snow, I need to ask you something…well, at least see if you can clarify something." Snow let out a deep breath of relief as she seemed to be rid of her 'itchies', "Mhhm?" "Well, yesterday when Nigel and Neville were here arguing, Nigel said something that was quite disturbing. In fact, it seemed to bother both you and Neville as well." Snow began to feel uncomfortable, as the 'itchies' started to creep up on her again. "He said to Neville, that he was going after 'mum', or me that is, since he couldn't keep his hooks in Lily. What did Nigel mean by that, Snow?" Her mother's determined glare sent Snow's itchies fleeing for their lives as they were drowned out by a rush of cold chills, "Um…well." Liz kept her focus on her daughter, "It's alright Snow…you can tell me." After a quick shudder, Snow gave a sigh of surrender, "Actually, it's kind of a long story."
Eddy rested in his favorite fishing spot as he sat in the shade away from the heat of the day. More than on his fishing, Ed's attention was focused on the ring he admired in his hand. It was the morphing ring of Rumple's that he'd found while moving Thomas a few weeks ago. He intended to return it, yet he couldn't help but think that there must be some use for it…some way the village could use it to finally catch Margurite and rid her from their lives forever. But how? All of this business with Margurite still lurking about, along with poor Jennifer's ailment, and now also with Snow's mother in the village, had taken its toll on everyone. Not that these things were so bad, but this used to be such a quiet and uneventful village, Edward thought. And then there's Snow. Seeing her with Liz just reminded Eddy all the more of the time when Snow first arrived to the Willows in all of her young and innocent ways. Why couldn't he seem to get those memories out of his head? Snow was married now, and happily so. What was wrong with him? Agitated with himself, Edward put the ring back in his pocket and took another swig of his ale. Not as cool as he liked it, but still the stream's moving waters seemed to cool it off fairly well. This is what his heart should be content on…a peaceful time at his favorite fishing spot with a jug of ale and not a care in the world. So then why did that not seem to be enough anymore? Why did he still feel so empty?
Mike sighed with
restlessness as he sat as still as he could for Liz. She grinned and shook her
head, "I hate to tell you this, dear, but I'm going to need you for a
while. I thought it might be easier for you though, if we did this in multiple
sittings. That way, you won't have to sit for such a long time all at
once." Mike smiled patiently at his mother-in-law, "Thank you
Liz." A cheerful Neville approached them with his usual carefree smile,
"Afternoon! How is the painting going there, Liz?" She didn't look in
his direction but replied with a cool, "Fine." With a slight bit of
disappointment that he didn't get a glance or smile out of her, still he
offered, "Can I get ya anything, Liz? I know that your subject here can't
move. Oh wait, get it? 'Subject?' Ya know? You're a queen an' he's your
'subject'?" Mike chuckled while Liz simply rolled her eyes out of
Neville's vision, amusing Mike all the more. Neville stopped laughing quickly
and cleared his throat when he received a less than desired response from Liz,
"Well, anyway…can I get you anything?" Still not looking in his
direction, she sighed casually, "No, not really. Thank you. But it is much
easier to concentrate when it's quiet, I'll admit." Neville's smile faded
as he realized he was the one breaking her concentration, "Oi, right.
Well, I'll just leave ya to your work then." His departure seemed less
cheery than his arrival. Mike raised an eyebrow to his painter, "You were
rather chilly to him, don't you think?" Liz simply sighed, "No
matter. I'm sure he'll be back. Always is." Mike couldn’t hide his grin,
"Snow told me what Nigel, or rather 'Niggel', said yesterday." Mike's
mission was accomplished in making Liz laugh despite her staunch upright
posture and attitude, "So you'd rather not speak to
Dinner would have been much more enjoyable for all, if it had not been for the mishap. Right after dessert, Lucky began chasing Lasher around the dining room. Once Kahlua opened the kitchen door to begin clearing the dishes from the table, the disaster began. Mike was just about to put away the ingredients for the desserts he'd baked that day. Lasher jumped up onto the small end table near the counter to escape Stevie's rambunctious puppy. However, his momentum carried not only him, but also the table and its contents sailing onto the floor. Among these contents were three bowls of jellied fruit pie fillings. In an effort to salvage the produce, Mike lunged for the bowls. Unfortunately, so did Kahlua, ending up in a painful collision of heads followed by a messy shower of pie filling. To conclude the disaster, Lasher, in his attempt to locate the highest possible safe haven away from the 'unlucky' Lucky, chose to jump up onto the counter, of course knocking off the large tub of flour that sat there on the edge of the sink. As the white smoke cleared, Mike and Kahlua sat stunned, as they stare at one another's barely recognizable form covered in white powdered pie fillings.
"Oh darling, I'm so sorry! I wish I'd have asked Stevie to keep Lucky outside tonight." Snow tenderly wiped the blueberry and peach flour paste from her husband's face and neck. "It's alright. We have lots of fruit this year, thank heavens. I'll just have to stay here longer than I'd originally planned and get this cleaned up tonight. And I'm going to miss you so much." Mike took Snow's hand and kissed the peachy flour paste from her fingers, his eyes looked to her wantonly. She reached up and kissed his lips, bringing back blueberries and flour on her nose and chin. Giggling, she wiped it off, "It's alright. I'll be waiting. And you will be awfully 'sweet' tonight, now won't you?" Mike pulled her in close, no doubt soiling her dress with his fruit-covered apron, "So I can count on you to clean me right up then? Maybe followed by a rub-down?" Squealing, she pushed him away gently, "Ah, now you're getting it all over me, too! I hope you're prepared to wash me down as well!" Mike threw her a wink and a smirk, "It would be my pleasure." As Mike turned to go into the kitchen, Snow stopped at the front door of the hut, "Oh Mike?" He turned to see her grinning like mad, "Don’t be too long!"
Snow rocked serenely in their rocker in her dreamy thoughts of her soon-to-arrive Prince Charming. She didn't dare lie down, lest she fall asleep. And she knew Mike was just too much of a gentleman to wake her. Finally, as the lull of the candlelight was just about to welcome the Princess to dreamland, the cabin door opened slowly. Snow smiled and stretched, "Well, now. That wasn't too long, I suppose." She stood, wrapping the quilt around her shoulders, "But of course, any time away from my Prince is too long." He smiled and pulled her into his arms and kissed her long and deep. Snow giggled as she pulled back to catch her breath, "My goodness. So, does that mean that you missed me?" "Of course." He slowly backed Snow over to the bed and she sat on the edge of it. She frowned slightly as she noticed his clean appearance, "I thought you were going to wash up here? Or rather let ME wash you up." She pulled him down to sit next to her and he put his arms around her, "I washed up and changed at the hut. Thought it might save time." Snow smiled and traced his lips with her finger, "Are you in a hurry?" A devious smirk crept across his face, "Only to be with such a lovely Princess." He then slowly lowered her to the bed, kissing her passionately.
Liz sat on her bed and rubbed Yvonne's pup, 'Diablo', behind his soft ebony ears. Yvonne smirked as she brushed out her hair, dying to bring up her most curious question to Liz, "So…I'm thinking he quite fancies you, Liz." Pulling her distraction away from the pup, Liz finally rolled her eyes, "Yes. Is it that obvious?" Yvonne tilted her head as she pulled her brush through her locks, "I thought so. I'm not sure about anyone else." Liz tutted as she went back to petting the pup, "Well, I'm sure everyone else is aware also." Yvonne peered back to her mirror, "You act like it bothers you then?" "Well, I'm a married woman. And even if I wasn't married, I wouldn't…well, I mean Neville is a nice fellow and all, but…" Liz was interrupted by Yvonne's unexpected outburst of laughter, "No! I'm not talking about Neville! Of course HE has a crush on you…everyone knows that! I'm talking about Raif!" Liz stopped in surprise, "Raif?!" "Yes! I caught him watching you at dinner several times. Did you not notice?" "No." Yvonne set down her brush and came back into the bedroom, "No, you couldn't really. Every time you'd look his direction, he'd look away…quickly!" Liz eyed her skeptically, "Are you sure?" "Positive! Believe me Liz, I know that 'look' on a man when I see it…and he's definitely got the 'look'…and it's definitely for you!" Liz sighed and climbed under her covers, carefully allowing Diablo the room to move around her, "Well, like I said, I'm a married woman. I don’t wish to lead anyone on." Yvonne too climbed into her bed on the opposite side of the room as Diablo cheerfully changed beds and jumped in with her, "I just thought you might like to know." After a moment, the dark silence in the room was broken, "Yvonne, are you sure?"
Snow and her Prince lie in peaceful quiet as they listened to the crickets singing outside. On the warm summer night, the light quilt was enough of an adornment to keep the couple quite comfortable. "You're so beautiful, Snow." His hand softly wandered over her delicate peach tone skin across Snow's neck and shoulders. As Snow glided her hand across his fingers, she felt something that caught her attention, "What's this?" As she casually slipped the large ring from his finger to inspect it, he jumped up, "Snow, no!" Quickly, he sprung out of the bed and grabbed his pants. Confused, Snow sat up, "Mike, what's wrong? What is it?" But as he turned back around to Snow, her confused expression turned into that of a horrified discovery. She screamed, "Edward!" Immediately, she too sprang from the bed landing hard against the window on the opposite side of the room. She clutched tightly at the quilt still wrapped around her, "Oh God, no!" Ed stuttered, trying to think of any explanation he could, "Snow I'm sorry…I wasn’t thinking! I…" She didn't let him finish. Through her sobs, she managed in a shrieking voice, "How?!" But before he could even answer, she opened her hand to see it shining there in her palm, the morphing ring that Rumple had used. Snow didn't want to hear any more. She slowly slid down the wall of her cabin, crying. "Snow, please…I didn't mean to hurt you." Suddenly, the cabin door opened followed by a fruit and flour soiled Mike, "Sorry it took so long. Biggest mess I ever…" But before he could finish, he stopped first upon seeing Edward in his cabin shirtless and his trousers undone. He then turned to the painful sounds of his wife sobbing in the corner covered with nothing but a quilt. The sound of Snow crying was not a sound he enjoyed hearing, "What is going on? Ed, what are you doing here? Is everything alright?" Covering, Edward smiled warmly, "Yes, everything is fine. I heard a noise coming from this direction and came over to check on Snow, because I knew you were probably still at the hut." A wave of relief came over Mike until the shrill sound of his wife echoed from over in the corner, "You liar! Everything is NOT alright!" Mike rushed over to Snow and knelt down beside her, "What's wrong Princess?" With her lip trembling out of control, Snow reached up and touched her husband's cheek, taking note of the blueberry stains that still marked his face. Slowly, she opened her hand, revealing the gold and crystal ring. It rolled off of her palm and onto the floor. He picked it up and rolled it in his fingers, "What’s this? Isn't this the ring Rumple had? What's it doing here?" He looked to his wife's face contorted in horror, "I thought it was you. I…I thought it was you!" Mike frowned, not understanding her meaning. He could see the depth of sadness in her eyes, and suddenly he felt a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. Quickly, he scanned the room. The bed appeared to have been slept in by more than one person and the remainder of Edward's clothes were strewn all over the bedroom floor. He glared at Edward as he rose to his feet. Ed swallowed, "Mike, look…I can explain. I mean, I wasn't thinking...I was drunk! You have to believe me!" In a controlled voice, Mike seethed at Edward, "I suggest you just leave here now, before this village has its first murder!" Quickly, Eddy left the cabin without the remainder of his clothes. With hands on hips, Mike stood in silence staring at the tousled bed, as if searching for an answer. In a mixture of fear and sorrow, Snow was too weak to move. She simply watched in despair while her husband refuse to make eye contact with her. He lifted the ring up to the light to inspect it with a frown, then went to try it on, but changed his mind. Instead, he threw it across the room in a fury. Snow heard the object ping against the wall and fall somewhere behind the dresser with a faint clatter. Then in a quivering voice Snow managed her repeated phrase, "I thought it was you." Immediately Mike spouted, "So it wasn't at ALL different?" He then tried to bring more control to his tone, "HE wasn't…different?" Snow sniffed as her thoughts drifted back to the event in question. It WAS different, she thought. But at the time, she thought nothing of it…just part of the 'game', perhaps? The pitch in her voice rose again as her throat tightened under the stress, "Yes, but…" He turned to her now, hands on hips and eyes blazing with a combined pain and anger, "BUT?!" Snow's voice quieted. She'd never seen Mike look at her that way ever before, "I just thought you were being…different. I didn't know!" "You didn't know?" Tears began to well up in his eyes, and he turned away from her and started toward the door, "Well then, maybe you just don't know me at all, Snow." "Mike, please don't go!" But her plea went unheard as the cabin door slammed. Following its eerie echo throughout the cabin, were Snow's uncontrolled cries of despair.
Chapter One Hundred
Sixteen- "Mahogany Gold"
Snow was up the rest of the night waiting for her husband's return. When Mike didn't come home, Snow was devastated. Not wishing to have company of any sort, she went for a walk in her favorite surroundings…the woods. She couldn't go to hers and Mike's newfound spot at the spring…that would just upset her all the more. And she certainly did not want to go anywhere near Edward's fishing spot. In a teary, watery blur of green and brown objects, Snow stumbled clumsily through the woods. Though the forest gave room to open air, Snow's crying could be heard echoing about the trees for quite a ways. Her head was throbbing with the thoughts that rushed through it. Was Mike so upset that he wouldn't forgive her for what had happened? Would their relationship change because if this? She thought of Karen and Dinger's new baby girl…would she and Mike ever have one of their own now? So many questions berated her. There must have been some way she could have known it wasn’t Mike. But how? With Edward using the magic ring to morph into her husband, how could she know the truth of his identity? She tried to think back, but the memory was just too painful. It was too painful to think on the passions exchanged with someone other than the person whom you love. How could she know? She thought it was just a different piece of their ‘game’. To Snow it had been part of an ongoing game for she and Mike…a loving game that had brought them closer together. What she thought was part of that game last night, was in essence the very thing that could tear them apart. She hated the games now…and she hated Edward. Finally tired of walking, she collapsed near the foot of a large oak tree, sobbing. Startled by a faint touch to her shoulder, she glanced up with a start, "Oh!" Then with a look of relief and a most welcoming sigh, she cooed, "Tweety! Is it really you? Let me have a look at you!" She gently took the bird in her hands, "It's been so long since I've seen you. You have grown up into such a handsome blue jay! You must drive the females wild, don't you?" Tweety then gently pecked her cheek where a tear had been slowly making its way down her face, "You can see that I'm upset, can't you? Oh Tweety, everything is such a mess! You wouldn’t believe it…and just when things were looking better! Tweety, we found my mother Elizabeth asleep in the mine, and thankfully we were able to break the spell and wake her up. And Lily…Thomas found Stevie's mirror shard and followed Lily into the mirror. Mama is so thrilled at the thought of seeing Lily again. See, Lily ran away into the mirror when she was afraid Thomas would never forgive what she'd done. When she thought Thomas didn’t love her, she and Neville…" Sadly, Snow lowered her head in shame, "I feel like that now, myself. I don't know if Mike will ever forgive what I've done." Tweety chirped to get her attention and she looked to him again with new tears forming, "It's just awful, Tweety! There is this ring that deranged dwarf Rumple used to disguise himself as Phillipe for all those years. The ring creates the illusion that you are another person…whomever you choose to be. Well, last night…" Again Snow peered down at her dress, ashamed to look even a bird in the eye, "Edward posed as Mike and came to our cabin, and we…" Snow stopped as she began sobbing, "I didn't know, Tweety. I didn't know it was Edward…not until I took the ring off of him. I just wanted to look at it. I didn't even know what it was. Then he jumped up, and the next thing I knew…it was Edward! And then Mike came in right at that moment and…oh, Tweety, it was awful! He was so upset! He left and didn't come back all night long! I don’t know if he will ever forgive me. I tried to tell him, but he didn't seem to understand that I didn’t know it wasn’t him. But I didn't! I really didn't! Oh Tweety, what am I going to do?" Snow's lip quivered and she sniffed, wiping her nose with her sleeve, when suddenly her little bird began to act erratically. He began chirping wildly and fluttering about in the air. "Tweety, what is it?"
In his restless sleep that night, Raif rose early and entered the main hut. "This is truly a coffee morning! I hope I can find where Mike keeps the bloody coffee." A sleepy voice from the large armchair startled Raif on his way to the kitchen, "Mornin' Raif." Raif jumped and whirled around on his heel, "Dammit Mike! You scared the hell outta me! What are you doing here sitting in the dark?" "Just sleepin'. I can make you some coffee." As Mike got up and headed for the kitchen, Raif eyed him with curiosity noticing the remaining blueberry stains on his clothes, "Why are you here, Mike? Did you not go home after you cleaned up that mess in the kitchen last night?" Without turning, Mike answered as he entered the kitchen, "No, I went home." Following him into the kitchen, Raif chuckled, "Well, did you forget to get cleaned up? Or does Snow not know how to get stains out of clothes? Or maybe you two just got so wrapped up in…" In an annoyed tone, Mike cut him off, "Look Raif, I'm really not in the mood this morning. All right?" Taken aback, Raif backed off, "Sorry. You alright?" Mike quickly grabbed the can of coffee grounds, "Not really." "You want to talk about it?" "Not really." As Raif made a mental note of where Mike kept the coffee, Mike suddenly slammed the can on the counter with a force, "Did you ever think you knew someone, but then come to find out that you really didn't?" Raif blinked in surprise at Mike's angry tone, "OK, what is it, man? I can tell there is something that is really bothering you? It's not Snow, is it?" Without answering, Mike quickly turned toward the sink and proceeded to dip out the coffee in a very frustrated manner, spilling grounds here and there on the counter top. "What did she do?" "Edward." "OK, what did Edward do?" Mike sighed and stopped, "No, it's what they both did." "Which is?" Finally Mike turned to Raif, "It's this damn ring that Rumple had, where he was posing as Phillipe all those years. Somehow Ed got a hold of it and last night while I was here cleaning up this bloody mess, he decided to pose as me and sleep with my wife!" Feeling a bit of relief in getting it off of his chest, Mike went back to preparing the coffee. Once Raif had picked his jaw up off of the floor he continued, "Wait. Ed posed as you and had sex with Snow…YOUR wife?" "Yes, " Mike seethed through clenched teeth. Raif tutted in disbelief, "And you let him LIVE?" Again Mike slammed the scoop back into the coffee can, "Don't you get it? Snow should have realized it wasn’t me. How could she not know? She even admitted it was…'different'." As Mike turned back around, Raif paused for a second in bewilderment, "Then NO…I don't get it Mike. If she thought Edward was you because of some sorcerer's ring, then I'm not understanding how this can be Snow's fault. Why are you mad at her? Shouldn't you be mad at Edward?" "I AM mad at Edward! I'm mad at BOTH of them, I guess!" Raif shook his head, "Well, what all did Snow say? Was she not upset about it? Is that what's bothering you?" Mike sighed as he distractedly put double the correct amount of coffee into the mix, "No, of course she was upset. She said she thought it was me." Raif thrust his hands on his hips, "Then I don't see your point, Mike. If she's upset because she thought it was you, then why are you here being mad at Snow?" Mike let out a frustrated hiss, "You just don't understand, Raif." "You're right about that. I don't understand at all. At least when my wife Carrington slept with my best friend, my anger was justified in that she knew WHO it was she was in bed with! Are you saying you don't believe Snow when she said she thought Edward was you?" Mike shoved the coffee fixings away, unable to concentrate on even a simple daily task, "I don't know…maybe. I don't know." As the tears began to well up in his eyes, Raif lowered his tone, "Has Snow ever lied to you, Mike? Has she ever had a reason to?" Mike shook his head, fearful that a spoken word would escape in the form of a whimper. "Mike, I think you're just upset at the situation, rather than at your wife…don't you think? That and Edward of course." After a brief pause, Mike nodded and lowered his head into his hands, "You're right. I know it isn't Snow's fault…I just didn't want to face what happened, an impulse I guess. Why am I so bad about that? God! I did the same thing with Snow's miscarriage…just like I did last night. It's like I abandoned her in a sense. I do believe her, Raif…she didn't know it wasn't me. How could she know?" Raif put a sympathetic hand on Mike's shoulder. Mike quickly jumped away, agitated with himself, "God! What have I done? I've gone and made a REAL mess of things now! As if things weren't bad enough…I just left her there, crying! I have to go." Still blueberry stained to the bone, Mike took off out the back door and toward his cabin.
"Snow! Thank God! Where have you been? I've been searching everywhere." Mike found Snow back at their cabin, already having been there twice looking for her. He suddenly frowned as he noticed the large carpetbag on the bed filled with folded clothing. "Princess, what are you doing?" With no eye contact, Snow responded in a cold tone, "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm leaving." Mike stuttered, "Leaving? But Snow, I wanted to talk to you about last night. I was wrong! I…" "It doesn't matter." Snow cut him off as she closed her bag and flipped her hair, "None of that matters now. I think we both knew how this was going to go. You were angry, and I understand that. So why make things even harder. The best thing for both of us is to just have some time to ourselves…alone. Don't you think?" Mike approached her with great concern and touched her shoulder gently, "Wait. Snow what are you saying?" Pulling away from his touch, she grabbed her bag off of the bed, "Just what I said. I think we both need some time. Obviously, you were upset about this whole thing last night, and I don't blame you. I'm giving you the space you need." As Snow headed for the door, Mike quickly but gently grasped her arm, "Snow, please. I don't want you to leave…I don't want 'space'. I want you. I was in the wrong last night. I know it wasn’t your fault. Let's talk about this." Reaching for the door, she pulled from his grasp once again, "I've made my decision, Mike. Believe me, it’s for the best that we have some time apart right now." Mike was speechless as he watched his one true love walk out the door.
Liz and Yvonne were up and preparing to go to breakfast that morning, when suddenly there was an abrupt knock at the door, followed by the intrusion of their usual cook still covered in the remnants of the previous night's disaster. Liz was startled but then concerned at the look of worry on Mike's face, "Darling, what is it? What's wrong?" Unable to hold back any longer, Mike's despair exploded, "Oh Mum, something awful has happened. It's all my fault!" As Mike then began crying like a baby, Liz pulled him to her as he wept on her shoulder.
The room he walked into was mammoth. The ceilings were high and sculpted in a craftsmanship like he had never seen. The fixtures around the room were shining of gold and bronze. The carpets were of intricate detail and a variety of colors and designs covering a deep oak floor shining with a fresh coat of wax. Thomas turned back to the mirror he had just stepped out of whose housing was of precious jewels encased in a gold frame. In front of him was a large mahogany bed frame and matching furniture throughout the room. In essence, the bedroom was immaculate and its richness nearly took Thomas' breath away. Had it not been for the harsh seizure from behind, he might have taken better notice of the sickly occupant in the large bed. "Hold him!" Thomas heard a stern woman's voice as he turned to see two guards armed with swords at either side of him. The men were strong, as their grips on his arms tightened, "How did you let an intruder in the castle? Take him to the dungeon, then report to the main hall. I will not tolerate incompetence among my guards. It's obvious that you are in desperate need of a captain among you." Thomas turned to see Margurite scolding the guards who held him. As he gasped in disbelief, Margurite turned to him with an evil smirk, "So Thomas, isn't it? We meet again. Looks like this time you're in my territory. I suppose I don’t have to ask why you've come here." Thomas pulled at the grip the guards had on him, but they wouldn't budge, "What have you done with Lily?" Margurite folded her arms into her gaping black sleeves, her long thin fingers were adorned with matching long thin fingernails identical to the hand that tried to pull him into the mirror days ago. Amongst the bony appendages were a multitude of large gaudy rings, "Patience, my dear. I would hardly say you were in a position to demand anything." She then turned to her guards and raised her stern tone, "Take him away." Forcefully, the two guards dragged Thomas out of the large bedroom. As he caught a glimpse of the queen's evil smirk at him once again, out of the corner of his eye, he also caught a glimpse of the sickly inhabitant in the large mahogany bed. It was Snow and Lily's father, the King.
Chapter One
Hundred Seventeen- "Peachy Keen Day"
Raif approached Liz with
caution as he overheard her loudly grumbling over her piece of artwork. With
her usual subject Mike depressed over his and Snow’s separation, he chose not
to pose for his mother-in-law for a while, especially with the portrait being
of he and Snow. So instead, Liz found herself grunting in frustration over a
bowl of fruit. Glancing quickly back and forth between the bowl and the canvas,
with each stroke her displeasure became more vocal, "Why is it so bloody
hard to get the correct color pattern of a damn peach!" In frustration she
grabbed the paint tube to double check the color printed on the label,
"It’s a peach for heaven’s sake. The color ‘peach’ should look like a
peach!" She tutted as she threw the tube back into the basket.
"Having problems?" Raif smiled timidly as he slowly entered Liz’s
line of sight, so as not to become the subject of any of that peach pattern
paint. Liz sighed in surrender as she thrust her brush into the cleaning jar,
"Yes. I’m just not in the mood to paint I guess…something very unusual for
me. It’s this heat, I’m sure." She undid the comb in her hair and wrapped
her locks up tighter, repositioning the comb in the large pile of crimson hair
on top of her head. As two small gnats began flying around her head, she
swatted at them madly, "Oh, and these stupid fruit flies, gnats…whatever
you call them! They’ve been driving me mad all morning! Just figures the fruit
I choose to paint would be so bloody ripe, it attracts these hideous
creatures!" She then tried to calm her furious tone, "And of course
this heat doesn’t help that either." Raif had to chuckle as he listened to
Liz carry on and watch her futile attempts to knock the little gnats from their
flight pattern. As she wiped the sweat off her neck, she then gave Raif a quick
side glance remembering what Yvonne had told her the previous night. Amused at
the thought of Raif possibly having this ‘crush’ on her, she smirked briefly,
then became serious and sighed heavily as she went to sit on the bench. Raif
joined her. Liz stared at her canvas, "Funny, you’d think that after
painting portraits of human faces, I could get a bowl of fruit right in no time
at all. Wrong!" Raif wanted to laugh, but he merely smiled, knowing that
there was more to what was bothering Liz…much more. She then turned to Raif in
all seriousness. Realizing that he’d heard the whole story from Mike, she
frowned, "That Edward had better not even come near me if he knows what’s
good for him. I’ll kill him, I swear! How DARE he do that to my baby! He is the
cause of their separation!" Raif couldn’t help but focus on Liz’s lips as
she talked. They were much like those of her two daughters, quite full and rosy
in color. "Mike is inconsolable now, and this whole thing has Snow so
upset, she won’t even talk to me." Stunned, Raif took his focus from Liz’s
lips and gave a concerned frown, "Snow won’t talk to you? That doesn’t
sound like her." Liz pouted somewhat, causing her lips to curl up just
like Snow’s would, "I know. I’ve only been here a few weeks, but since
then she and I have been inseparable. This thing really has her messed up. I
could KILL Edward. I REALLY could!" Once again, Raif had to tear his focus
away from Liz’s pouty lips to try and address the issue, "Now I’m sure you
wouldn’t do something that drastic." Liz quickly stared outward and folded
her arms, "Well, he just better stay away from me…AND my baby. That’s
all." With a quick sigh of frustration, Liz jumped up and stepped back to
her canvas. She was too upset to simply sit…she had to do something. She
grabbed her brush and began fiddling with the peach paint once again, "And
Lily is still gone. I hope Thomas can find her. I’m really starting to get
worried. I don’t know what time is like between here and there. What might be
five minutes there, through that mirror might be five YEARS here…you never
know! And then it could be ages before I see her! And then of course there’s
Neville!" She thrust her brush in the cleaner jar in frustration, as she
switched her thoughts, "I think I’ll give the peach a rest and start on
the apple." Raif stood and approached Liz with curiosity, "What about
Neville?" She gave Raif a quick side-glance before dipping her brush into
her red paint blob on her palette. Then as she swirled it about, she tutted and
began in a sarcastic tone, "Oh, haven’t you heard? He’s quite the ladies’
man, that one. Just as he lost his play for Lily, MY daughter, what does he do?
He goes after ME, her MOTHER! And of course, when that doesn’t work, he heads
straight for the new girl, Mai! Seems to be a trend with Neville, doesn’t it?
Always after the ‘new girl’…Lily, me, Mai. So who’s next? Maybe we could dress
up Ben as a woman and see what happens!" Raif had to laugh at the idea as
he pictured that situation in his mind, "Well, you’re right about Neville,
now that you mention it. He has been pretty consistent about going after all
the ‘new blood’ in the village." Liz stopped at his term ‘new blood’ as
she turned to look at him, holding the blood red paintbrush in her hand. The
image caused a shudder to run down Raif’s spine as he realized how angry Liz
was about the whole situation holding the dripping red brush. "No offense
of course," he offered weakly. Smirking, Liz returned to her apple. Under
her breath she muttered, "Fickle son of a botch." Raif looked at her
puzzled, "What?" She stopped and looked back at him, "Neville…he’s
a fickle son of a botch! I hear the guys say it all the time." Raif
chuckled in realization, Oh! You mean ‘bitch’…son of a bitch, not
‘botch’!" Liz turned back to her canvas annoyed, "Whatever." She
sighed, "He’s a ‘rebound baby’. That’s what I call my husband’s quick
marriage to that witch Margurite so soon after my supposed death…a rebound!
Neville was just rebounding after his attempt at a relationship with Lily.
‘Rebound baby!’ I just feel sorry for Mai! I hope she doesn’t get hurt."
Raif raised an eyebrow, "From what I saw of she and Dinger training in the
yard a while ago, I don’t think you have to worry about her at all! She can
handle herself just fine." Again, Liz put her brush into the cleaning jar
and looked at Raif with concern, "And what about that? What can be done
about Nigel? Mike told me what happened with Karen a while back, and even with
Lily. And now Mai. I can’t see that any of us women are safe with him
around." Liz couldn’t help but think of what Snow had told her of Lily’s
horrible experience when she was a young girl. Raif watched Liz as she tried to
hide the fear in her eyes by turning back to her canvas. Her distracted
behavior gave her away. Raif could read it in her eyes, her breathing, her
motions. Liz was never trained to take care of herself as Mai apparently was.
And here in this village, she had no guards to count on to protect her as she
did back in her kingdom. She was just another ordinary woman as vulnerable as
any would be in a village where the men outnumbered the women. Raif took a step
towards her and put a gentle hand on her arm, "Liz, I would never let
anyone hurt you. And God help Nigel if he tries." Liz turned to find
Raif’s eyes waiting for hers. His eyes glowed gentle and warm. And although his
touch was caring and harmless, Liz was frightened…not of Raif, but of herself.
The look in Raif’s eyes though harmless, was not any less wanting. What’s
worse, Liz could almost feel a wanting of her own ebbing forward. She was a
married woman. And although she loved Richard, their relationship had not been
based on love, foremost. Theirs was an arranged marriage. For a husband and
companion, Richard was wonderful. But as the ‘lover of her soul’, he had lacked
much. Richard was proper, stuffy and traditional…whereas
"Oi, Snow! What’s in the bag?" A cheerful Stevie caught Snow on her way to Thomas’ cabin. Snow stopped, apparently annoyed, set down her bag and smiled weakly, "Hello Stevie." Stevie reached down as if to open the large carpetbag, "Whatcha got in there? Looks like a truckload, eh?" Snow quickly shoved the bag just out of Stevie’s reach with her foot, "It’s just my stuff, Stevie…nothing interesting. I’m moving into Thomas’ cabin while he’s gone." Stevie looked at her excitedly, "You an’ Mike are movin’! Oi! That’s news ta me! Do ya need some ‘elp? I’ll bet Mike does. He’s busy in the kitchen right now. I can go get his stuff for ‘im!" Just as Stevie was about to take off, Snow quickly grabbed his arm and replied gruffly, "No!" She then calmed her tone, "I mean, no but thank you Stevie. Mike isn’t moving…just me. We’re separating." Stevie’s cheerful disposition suddenly turned to that of horror, "Separatin’! You an’ Mike! No! Ya can’t do that! You two were made for each other…a match made in ‘eaven, oi?" "No ‘oi’, Stevie. It’s just not working. Circumstances have befallen that have led me to the conclusion that Mike and I may be better off apart…at least for now. But don’t worry your pretty little head there…I’m not going anywhere." She threw Stevie a flirtatious smirk and pinched his cheek before grabbing up her bag again and starting toward Thomas’ empty cabin, leaving Stevie in sincere bewilderment.
Chapter One Hundred Eighteen- " Dungeons
and Dragons"
Raif strolled over to get a refill of tea before lunch just as Liz was getting one too. As she saw Neville enter the hut and immediately make 'google eyes' at Mai, she leaned into Raif and whispered, "Rebound baby." Raif almost spit out his tea as he chuckled at her. Suddenly, Stevie came rushing into the hut, running past those in the dining area. Kahlua gasped as Stevie bounded through the kitchen door almost colliding with her and the place settings in her arms for lunch, "Good God, Stevie! Please watch where you're going and SLOW DOWN!" Stevie shied his eyes to the floor in guilt, "Oi, sorry Kahlua." Before she could pass through the door with the plates, Stevie had already regained his original momentum for bursting into the kitchen, "Mike, how come you an' Snow are separatin'? I jus' ran inta her and she says she's movin' out an' you're not 'cause your separatin'. Why? You two are perfect for each other!" Kahlua stopped in her tracks at Stevie's outburst and looked quickly to Mike. One glimpse of his sorrowful expression and she was on it, "Stevie, I could use some help setting the table. Could you please?" "Oi, jus' a minute. I was talkin' to Mike, 'ere." She raised her voice sternly, "NOW, Stevie!" Startled by her tone, Stevie quickly followed her into the dining area. She handed him a handful of plates, "Look, I didn't mean to raise my voice like that, but I just didn't want you upsetting Mike. He's upset enough. The separation wasn't his idea...it was Snow's. He didn't want it. He didn't have a choice really. Snow won't talk to anyone. I'm surprised she talked to you." Stevie was flabbergasted, "This doesn't sound like 'er at all. Is she sick?" "I don't think so. But there's more to it than you know, Stevie...personal stuff. I don't think Mike really wants it advertised right now." Practically the whole village knew the story now except Stevie. He would be a hard one to explain it to...to explain how Eddy posed as Mike to sleep with his wife, Snow. How do you tell something like that to Stevie, thought Kahlua? Very carefully, obviously. However, it would explain why Edward wasn't at breakfast that morning, nor had he showed up for lunch as of yet today. In fact, thought Kahlua, where was ol' Eddy?
Twenty fish could have bitten at his hook and he'd have never known it. Edward wasn't paying attention...he was in his own world. Grief stricken at his terrible drunken mistake, even the headache from his hangover didn't phase him. How could he do that to Mike and to Snow...his good friends? Ed had struggled with his feelings for Snow for a while. He didn't even understand why. For the last few months, he'd just felt drawn to her, like he had been late last year when Margurite was in the picture. Her innocence and kindness to everyone was something so uniquely Snow...he was mesmerized by her. But she did not belong to him. He knew that. And yet in his weak state, he succumbed to a temptation that he never thought he would. Damn that ring! He wished he'd never taken it from Thomas' possession. He had truly intended to devise some kind of plan to use the ring to capture that witch. For some reason, Margurite was obsessed with Edward. He thought perhaps he could use this to his advantage. But his plan backfired on him when he couldn't tame his own desires. He couldn't even face the village. He would cook his own catch for lunch instead of returning to the village for the noontime meal. That is, if he could concentrate on the task long enough to catch anything. "I thought I might find you here." Startled at the intrusion, Edward was more shocked at the presence of his visitor. He swallowed hard before uttering the words, "Snow! What are you doing here?"
Thomas landed hard up against a dark stone wall as
Margurite's guards threw him into a
dungeon cell. He hit his knee quite efficiently as he came down on the corner of the wooden cot
near the wall. "Argh! Bloody
hell!" Before he could get his wits about him and turn around, he
heard the click of the cell lock and the
guards were hurrying away to make their mends
with the angry queen. Rubbing his now throbbing knee, he sat wearily
upon the cot. Peering around the cell,
there was just the bed, covered latrine
pot, and a small rickety wood table that was apparently for eating meals
on, judging from the soup stains
throughout the slats in the wood. Thomas did
spot a few flies and perhaps a beetle, or whatever it was, but no infestation of pestilence. Overall, it was a
fairly clean dungeon...something Thomas
never knew existed in those days. All the stories he'd heard about medieval dungeons had been
too horrible for words. Still flinching
from his knee, Thomas hobbled over to the cell bars, "Hey! Anyone out there? Can anyone hear me? Hello?"
After a few seconds of silence, Thomas
turned in surrender until he suddenly heard someone coughing down the way. Then a gruff voice answered, "Yeah!
Hello! Whatdaya want?" Quickly,
Thomas pressed harder against the bars, "Yes, hello! Can you help
me? I need to get out of here
quickly!" The gruff voice coughed again, this time entangled with his own laughter, "Might
as well relax there, mate. Just set out
yer time...at's the only way ta get outta 'ere. Won't be too long. Better than it used ta be, ya know."
Disappointed at his answer, Thomas was
still curious as to the man's apparent knowledge of life in this
dungeon, "What do you mean, 'better
than it used to be'?" After another cough, the voice suddenly sounded closer, as if the man
had walked up to his cell bars to speak,
"Ya must not be from 'round 'ere, eh? This place used ta be an even worse 'ell'ole than it is now...rat and
bug infested, dirty water, not much
food. They used ta pray for the rats ta come so they could eat sometimes...or the bugs. I don't think that
'dragonlady' knew the meanin' of the
word 'humane'. From wha' I 'ear, she didn't even treat 'er guards very well. Then about six months ago, it all
changed. I 'ad a mate in 'ere back then.
He said one day they jus' came in 'ere an' let everybody go...jus' like 'at. No ques'ions asked. Lots
a folk say they was executed...all of
'em. But my mate...he knew the real story, cause 'e was there, see. They let 'em all go, cleaned up
the place, chased out the rats and what
'ave ya...almost a reg'lar paradise now compared ta wha' it used ta be. Almost worth doin' the crime if yer a
'omeless hungry vagrant, like. Got a
roof ovah yer 'ead, bed ta sleep on, food in ya belly...right paradise ta some out there. I ain't in no 'urry ta
leave, I'll admit. Where would I go?
Probably jus' steal another bag 'o gold off'n a traveler, jus' sos I could get back 'ere ta some 'omemade soup.
Pretty amazin'...I don't what caused 'em
ta make all the changes. Might've 'ad somethin' ta do wit that Princess comin' back." Thomas' ears
perked up, "The Princess came back?
Which one?" Bones gave a gruff snort, "Which one? There's only
been one. That Snow girl. But I 'adn't
'heard much pas' that. Besides, I 'ear that
dragonlady is still in charge...so beats me." Thomas sighed,
"Yes, she's still in charge all
right. That's why I need to get out of here. She has my friend captured somewhere." Thomas
heard some shuffling and then the voice
was a little fainter, as if the man had gone back and laid on his bed, "Ain't no one down 'ere but me...and now
you." Tom tutted, "Well, is there
anywhere else they might lock up someone besides down here?"
"Not tha' I know of. Must be some
kinda special prisoner ta not be put down 'ere." Thomas gently leaned his forehead against the
bars in thought of Lily and sighed
quietly, "She is." "Oi...it's a lady, eh? Well, then that
would probably explain why she ain't
down 'ere then. Name's 'Bones', by th' way.
They call me that 'cause I ain't never been nothin' but skin an' bones
all my life, sos the name kinda stuck wit
me, ya know?" Thomas smiled faintly
even though the man couldn't see him, "Thomas Killion. Nice to meet
you Bones...or at least hear you."
He heard the gruff voice chuckle a bit
followed by another few coughs. It reminded Thomas of Dinger's coughing caused by his stubborn refusal to quit
smoking, "You should get that looked
at, Bones. Sounds like pneumonia." The man's reply was loud and matter-of-fact, "Nah! Had this naggin'
cough for years! Ain't let it slow me
down yet." Thomas then heard a large door open at the top of the stairs. It was same door the guards had
brought him through. He heard shuffling
down near Bones' cell, "Hot damn! It's grub time! Come ta Papa!" Down the stairs came a petite girl carrying a
tray of food. She was a fairly young and
pretty girl with light brown hair cropped short just below her ears where it turned under at the ends.
She was apparently dressed as a servant.
She headed for Bones' cell first, passing by Thomas. As she passed, she glanced at him briefly, giving a
shy smile as she continued to walk
toward Bones' cell, "Good afternoon, Bones." "Hey there, you
sweet thang! What kinda goodies we got
today?" "Oh, you'll like this. It's
your favorite soup today...dragontail. And I asked them to put
extra seasoning on the bread this
time." The prisoner gave an obvious holler of approval, "Hooooweee! It mus' be my
lucky day! You're jus' too good to me,
Tara." Thomas made a mental note of her name, while wondering what
kind of ingredients were in 'dragontail'
soup. After a few more words with Bones,
Thomas heard her shut and lock the cell door. Her calm manner displayed that she did not feel that she was
in any danger of Bones either attacking
her, nor trying to escape his 'paradise'. She then approached Thomas' cell. She smiled briefly and looked
into his eyes. She did not appear to
fear him either. If he were smart, he would try and over take her and make his escape. But there was something
about this girl that just wouldn't allow
him to do it. Instead, he stepped back into the cell. She gently unlocked the cell door and then picked
up the tray. What surprised Thomas was
that rather than set the tray on the floor, she entered his cell and set it on the small table, overlapping
its edges. She then turned and again
looked Thomas in the eyes and smiled. With an outstretched hand, she greeted him, "I'm
Chapter One Hundred Nineteen- " Rebound
Baby "
Eddy couldn't believe his eyes. Why would Snow come anywhere NEAR him after what he'd done? Yet, there she was standing on the river's edge, as she twirled a strand of hair between her fingers...something she did quite often. "If you'd rather be alone, I can leave." Edward quickly recovered, "No...please, sit down." Snow smiled shyly and came to sit next to Edward on the large rock that jutted out over the river. Ed could remember the many times that they sat in this very same spot and fished. Well, he fished...she watched. But why was she here now? Staring out over the moving waters, Snow sighed, "Mike and I fought. We've separated...for now at least." Eddy's eyes widened yet Snow didn't seem to be showing any form of emotional response. Was she in shock, perhaps? "Oh Snow, I'm so sorry." Quickly, she turned to face him and replied in a rapid tone, "Are you? Are you really? Well then why did you come to my room last night and pretend to be my husband? For a joke? Just for the thrill of it, maybe? What?" Ed was speechless, yet managed to stammer something he barely remembered uttering once he finished, "No! I wouldn't do something like that for no reason. I-I was drunk, Snow. I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking." "So you wouldn't do it again?" "No! Of course not." "Why not?" "What?" "Why not? If you do something on impulse, it's because you WANTED to do it. You can't tell me that something you want to do once, isn't something you would want to do twice?" Edward stared at her blankly, his jaw slightly dropped. He was stunned...in fact his head was now spinning instead of aching as it had been prior to Snow's appearance. What was going on? Maybe he was hallucinating. 'Is this a trick?' That was it, thought Eddy. Snow was trying to trick him. Why...he didn't know. Maybe it was for Mike. Maybe she wanted a sober confession out of him so that Mike could pound on him all the more? Well, it wasn't going to happen. "No. It was a fluke occurrence, Snow. It would never happen again. I barely remember what happen." That was a lie, but he was satisfied in the sincere tone he used to pull it off. "I think you're lying!" OK...maybe he didn't pull it off. "I think you remember everything! Just like I do! Admit it, Edward!" "Admit what?" Snow smirked and leaned in closer to him, "That your desires were running rampant...that you wanted me...that you would have done anything to get me!" Edward stuttered, but no comprehensible word formations would come to his lips. Snow continued to press in closer as Edward started to lean back away from her, "You wanted me...just like you still want me now. You'd jump at the chance to take me again, wouldn't you? To take me in that water down there and strip me of my gown...wouldn't you?" Ed swallowed hard, "You're just on the rebound because you and Mike are separated. Isn't that what this is all about?" He tried to slide away from her on the rock where he sat, but then grabbed hold of it quickly as he realized he was already at its edge. One more inch, and he would fall off into the waters below. Taking advantage of his confused state, Snow quickly moved in, pinning him to the rock with her hands...her face barely centimeters from his, "So why don't you do it, Edward? Just take me...right here at the river. There's no one here but us. What are you afraid of? That ol' Mike will find out? That the village cook will come and beat you up? So why don't you go for it, then? Show me what a real king is made of!" Finally, Eddy found his wits and shoved her off of him. He then quickly stood and stepped over her to the riverbank. Snow sat up surprised, but still offered a devious smirk. "You've gone mad, woman! That's what it is! You're just plain mad!" With his heart beating rapidly, he stormed off. He could hear Snow laughing behind him as he headed back to the village without his fishing supplies.
After a refreshing lunch, Liz returned to her overly ripe fruit portrait with Raif in tow to offer her a tea refill. "Yes, thank you." Following not to far behind was Mai, as she headed for the woods for a leisurely afternoon stroll. She smiled a simple smile to them both, "Good afternoon." "Hey, Mai...wait up." Liz didn't even have to turn around to know where the hail originated. It was Neville. As per usual, he was following Mai like a puppy. "Hey mates!" He gave Liz and Raif a cheery greeting as he caught up to Mai. Just as he passed the two, a gutsy Liz was about to blurt out her famous 'rebound baby', when Raif's hand caught her mouth in mid-sentence, "R-". After a strange look from both Mai and Neville, Raif covered quickly by then rubbing at the corners of Liz's mouth, "Got something on you from lunch there, Liz." Once the couple had passed, Liz turned back to Raif with a smirk, "What's the matter? Afraid I'm going to embarrass you?" "That or yourself," came his retort. With a thrust of her head back, Liz laughed, "Ha! I speak my mind, Raif. That's something you'll quickly learn about me." Raif gave an amused smile and then looked to the ground with a cough, "Yes, you're quite right about that." With a sigh, Liz's demeanor suddenly became distracted, "I suppose it's just as well then that Snow isn't speaking with anyone. I'd be speaking my mind to her as well. I am her mother after all! This whole separation thing is just plain hogwash! Those two belong together! I know true love when I see it...believe me! I've seen my share of loveless arranged marriages...and theirs is NOT one of those." With a bold sense about him, Raif couldn't help but to ask, "Was yours?" Liz glanced at him briefly, then went back to her painting, "I was never in favor of Snow having an arranged marriage...decree or no decree. That was all Richard's doing." Taking Liz's avoidance to his question as a 'yes' to her having an arranged marriage, he continued to listen, "I wanted my Princess to be surrounded with love for all the days of her life. I didn't want her to be stuck marrying someone she didn't love out of some stupid royal duty! Which is what would have happened had fate not landed her here. However, it was also NOT my desire that she be chased by witches and sorcerers, either! That stupid sorcerer dwarf had to go and poison me! If he were alive, I'd kick him in the arse!" Raif snickered at the colorful talk Liz had no doubt picked up from the meals with the Willows men. Liz looked over at Raif snickering and smirked herself, "I remember when Snow was only five. We had a large tournament for her fifth birthday. Everyone was invited. Richard went to great lengths to invite all of the surrounding kingdoms as well. He set up the most wonderful 'Tournament of Champions' where the knights of the other kingdoms would come to joust and play the tournament games. Sir DeLad was the knight and champion of our kingdom at the time. As Captain of the Guards, he knew little Snow quite well. He was very protective of her in fact. She adored him. Richard had the whole thing set up perfectly. Sir DeLad was to be the winner from the beginning...but of course little Snow didn't know that. She thought that her knight captain was just plain better than the rest, naturally. And of course Richard spent a small fortune on the finest wine and ale in the land to keep the kingdoms' noblemen and royalty happy. Why else would they agree to 'throw' the tournament? But it was for a good cause...the happiness of a five-year-old little Princess. I'll never forget the end, as Sir DeLad was proclaimed champion. 'Twas tradition for the champion to proclaim a lady to be crowned 'queen of love and beauty'. My little Snow looked so sad. I asked her what was wrong. I was terribly worried...I couldn't imagine what could be wrong since her knight had just been proclaimed the winner of the tournament. She pouted those little rosy lips and said, 'He'd never pick me Mommy...I'm too little.' Just about that moment, Sir DeLad rides up to the royal platform on his horse and takes her tiny little hand and kisses it, as he hands her the golden scepter of 'love and beauty.' He picked her up to put her on his horse and her little face beamed with happiness and her bright blue eyes sparkled as she looked at me. She said 'Mommy, look I'm a queen!' I smiled and I cried at the same time. I couldn't help it. I knew that someday she would be a queen...and she wouldn't be my 'little Princess' anymore." Raif watched as Liz became lost in her memories. When she blinked, a tear rolled down her cheek. With annoyance she wiped it away and chuckled at herself, "Oh, would you look at me! I'm just a sentimental old fool!" Raif pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and approached Liz, "You aren't old at all. And I certainly don't think you're a fool." He blotted at her face and stopped to look into her eyes. Liz blinked her watery eyes as they met his. Already emotionally vulnerable, she had to fight to hold back her desperate desire to collapse into Raif's arms and cry from sincere confusion. Liz was confused about everything. The daughter she'd never met was missing, her other daughter was separating from her husband and wouldn't speak to her to boot, and above all she felt lost and alone in a village filled with strangers...one of whom she'd felt an immediate attraction to and did not wish to. But in her weakened state, she couldn't hide the desire behind her eyes. As Raif blotted her tears, he brushed his hand across her cheek. Slowly, he moved in closer to kiss her. Just before their lips touched, they heard quickened footsteps coming towards them from the woods. Fast approaching was Edward, out of breath, "There's something wrong with Snow! I swear, she's gone mad!" His uttering was directed at Liz, who pulled from Raif's embrace abruptly upon hearing Ed's voice, "You have a lot of nerve coming anywhere near me after what you pulled, mister!" Still out of breath, Eddy inhaled a few deep breaths, "I'm telling you, she's acting very odd! She practically attacked me just now!" Rage flamed in Liz's eyes, causing Raif to take a casual step back, "How dare you go anywhere NEAR my daughter! Don't you dare try and pin anything on her, you son of a bitch!" She paused to be sure of herself that she said it right this time. "If it were up to me, this village would have you flogged...at the LEAST!" She then turned to Raif, "Do you have any gallows here?" His eyes widened as he shook his head. "Very well," as Liz turned back to Ed, "then it would be flogging and time in the dungeon for you if we were in MY kingdom! I think you're getting off easy." Eddy shook his head, as he knew he'd never make anyone understand. He swallowed and backed off before turning and heading home. Why should they believe him, anyway? He was the one who'd been in the wrong. Perhaps he did indeed drive Snow insane. How could he live with that? No, it couldn't be, thought Eddy. It had to be some kind of trick of Mike and Snow's...a punishment perhaps. He'd be sure to watch them carefully. Surely he'd catch something between them that would give him a clue. Eddy got his wish sooner than he thought. As he rounded the corner of his cabin, he caught a glimpse of Snow as she had just come from the woods where Ed had been fishing. She was on her way back to Thomas' empty cabin where Mike had obviously been waiting for her on the front porch. Neither of them were aware that Eddy was watching. Mike was desperately trying to talk to Snow, and she was consistently pushing him away as she tried to enter the cabin. The sight itself was a strange one to Eddy, who had never seen these two behave in such a way. Finally, with a cold shove, Snow pushed her way past Mike and slammed the cabin door in his face. Sadly, Mike turned and left the porch. Once reaching the bottom step, he collapsed onto the Willows grass sobbing. Edward's breath became shallow as he watched. "What have I done?" he whispered as he quickly went into his cabin.