Love in a Ruined World

Love in a Ruined World

Snow and Charming

Snow White, who just moments ago, was simply Mary Margaret Blanchard, looked up at the man she loved more than anything. Who only moments ago was the man that had broken her heart. But none of that mattered any longer. They were Snow and Charming again and their love was stronger than any she knew. Whatever had happened during the curse was in the past. They would talk about it eventually, but then it would be left there, despite the bitter feelings she knew they both had about being forced to be with other people. No one had a choice during the curse, but now that time was over and it was a new day. She wasn't exactly sure what a non-cursed Storybrooke would look like, but she knew she could face anything with him by her side.

As it would turn out, the curse ending would mean the end of the world as well...literally.

If there was one thing Snow and Charming had learned throughout their lives; it was that life could change in the blink of an eye.

For Snow, her father dying turned her world upside down. As a girl, she loved her father and only saw the good side of him that adored her. But as she grew into a woman and looked back, she realized there was a darker side to him and that he was not the good man she once thought he was.

One day she was a Princess and the next she was a runaway living in the woods and fighting for her survival. Hope had nearly died inside her, until the moment she met a shepherd masquerading as a Prince, willing to fight for her and save her life from the Queen's soldiers and trolls.

For David, his life had also changed in the blink of an eye. One day, he was struggling to keep his mother's farm functioning and fighting to keep them fed. Poverty could create hopelessness, but he was always thankful he had his mother. When his mother suggested a marriage of financial benefit, he had refused. As good as it might have been for their farm, he insisted that true love was the one thing he could afford.

Then as a Prince, he learned that royals were brought up to marry for the good of their Kingdoms. True love was one luxury even they could not be allowed. But then he met a bandit, who didn't believe in love at all or even kindness supposedly. And yet she saved his life and tried on his mother's ring. And then he realized that the world was wrong about true love. That it was very rare and it was something that had to be fought for, even if it meant defying evil Kings and Queens and memory erasing potions and sleeping curses.

Yes, life could change in an instant, just as it had when the rainbow wave of magic swept over them. It was done; the curse was broken and with it, their real memories came flooding back. They found each other again and now they would find their daughter. They didn't know what an uncursed Storybrooke might look like, but they were anxious to know.

Unfortunately, that's when everything changed again and this Land Without Magic they had come to would change in the blink of an eye again. Whatever had been raging outside their town before the curse was broken had finally reached them. It was probably a saving grace that it had held off long enough for them to get their memories back. If it hadn't, they were both certain that there might have been more deaths in the beginning.

Reports of what had actually happened were slowly trickling in, as radio waves were the only form of any long distance communication left. Something had caused a worldwide blackout. No more electricity anywhere. Cell phones and cars went dead and the Internet was once again a pipe dream. The world had been blasted back centuries in a matter of days.

"Charming...what is that?" Snow had uttered that day, as they stood in the streets of Storybrooke, having just been reunited. He was seeing what she was seeing and could hardly believe his eyes. It was an airplane, falling through the sky, having probably taken off from upstate and now had no functioning power. He didn't say anything...he only grabbed her hand and they ran, as the plane crashed into the residential part of town. And jet fuel burned like a raging inferno.