{TWAU} The Daughter of The Big Bad

Chapter 6 ~ A Princess & Wonderland

What a strange world we live in.
- Said Alice to the Queen of Hearts.

~~~~~~~

Y/n didn't say anything when Bigby entered the office once again. This wasn't suspicious to the sheriff at all since she's usually a quiet kid. Sitting adjacent to his desk, legs crossed, and re-reading Little Red Riding Hood for the 10th time this week. Seriously, can someone give this poor child more reading material? Y/n was trying to find enough courage to tell her adoptive father about the unwelcome visitor from several minutes ago.

She stared at the story illustrations on her lap. Her drawing was gone. Sure she'd misplaced her stuff before, whether it be crayons or toys, but she KNEW that she had left her wolf drawing on top of Bigby's desk. Y/n tried telling herself that maybe, in her haste to hide from the stranger, her drawing had somehow fallen down. But once the man left, she searched the whole office for that drawing. It was meant as a gift for Bigby and sadly she was empty-handed once he returned.

It just didn't make sense. 'Maybe it went through the floor,' she'd theorized, 'like how Alice fell into the rabbit hole.' Her imagination ran rampant as she pondered this. But how silly, almost as silly as Alice believing 6 impossible things before breakfast, for if it did happen, where was the rabbit hole?

Not in this office, that's for damn sure. Y/n liked to think maybe that that happened. Maybe the drawing was in Wonderland right now, floating through the wind. Perhaps it was late for tea.

Y/n giggled to herself about this silly thought. It put her mind at ease a tad bit. Hell, it's way better than believing that an overgrown man with scary boots and a powerful voice came in and took it.

"What's got you giggling over there, munchkin?" Bigby's question broke her from her imaginative reverie. He looked fucking exhausted with the paperwork and Ichabod bullshit. Seriously, fuck that prick. Bigby was mostly seen as stoic in his expression by many, but Y/n can see the soft, friendly look he expressed. Though, he rarely shows this side to anyone.

"Nothing...uh, Bigby?" He hummed in response, closing one of the files that sat before him. "Colin made a house of straws," she said it more of a statement than a question, and he nodded in confirmation, "so... he's really one of the three little pigs?"

Bigby slowly leaned back in his office chair, rubbing his stubbled jaw while considering her question. Well, to him, it sounded something hopeful. He can tell the truth, or, he can lie but that would be gaslighting and the last thing Bigby wanted to do, was to invalidate her suspicions. Plus, how can you tell someone that the talking pig that smokes and drinks isn't real when it's clearly happening in front of both of you?

"Yes," he finally answered, "he's the real deal." At that, Y/n nodded slowly, already knowing this but she wanted someone to confirm it for her. "Okay, Uhm, does that mean that Ms. Snow is a princess? L-like Princess Snow White?"

At this point, her feet were dangling off the chair, swinging with anticipation. Bigby smiled at this. How could he not? She was curious about all this, about the world she was secretly welcomed into. A world she'd love to learn more about.

Curiouser, curiouser

Bigby stood up from his seat, a folder in one hand as he rounded his desk. "Well, I kinda have to go see her right now and drop this off. There's not gonna be anyone else so, I dunno, you could ask her yourself. Are you up for that?" Immediately, she stood up. Need she say more?

They both were walking side by side through the silent hall when Y/n suddenly remembered. "You're a liar by the way." This caught Bigby off guard at the sudden accusatory tone from the little one. "A what?" "Excuse me, you're actually a liar, liar, pants on fire." She clarified, chin up with indifference.

"Oh yeah? How so?" His eyebrow raised in amusement at this. "You said 5 minutes! You pinky promised that you'd come back in 5 minutes!" She tried her best to look intimidating but, ah bless her naive soul.

"How did you know I was gone for long?" "I counted the clock!" Y/n suddenly felt like the little white rabbit with a pocket watch. She wanted to laugh but, not right now. She has to show Bigby that she means business. No fucking around. Stay focused.

Oh, dear! Oh, dear! So very, very late!

God damnit.

It took a moment for Bigby to process what she just said. "You...counted the clock?" "Yes! I counted it! The little lines around it? I counted that." She huffed, feeling confident that's how clocks work apparently.

Well, she's not wrong, but, ah that's neither here nor there. "Sweetheart, the clock I have in my office is broken."

"Huh?" "The clock? Yeah, it runs faster than it's supposed to. I never had the time to fix it because I'm always busy." He chuckled at the confusion on her face. "Oh...okay, I guess I can forgive you."

***

Y/n wasn't expecting the business office to look so...interesting. It was a huge open space with two mahogany desks in the center, massive bookshelves with unorganized stacks of books, a massive mirror located at the far left, and a dark tree that stood from the back. The tree looked pretty ominous..hey, what's that hanging from it-? "Oh! Is that who I think that is?"

The melodic voice coming from behind a bookshelf caught Y/n's attention. The voice came from no one other than Snow. "H-hi Ms. Snow." She greeted, rather shyly. At least she wasn't hiding behind Bigby's leg like before.

Speaking of the wolf, he went over and placed the file he'd gone through onto Snow's desk. "She wanted to see you," at this, the woman smiled at the child a few feet away, "and has something to ask." Raising both brows, she went over to Y/n, fixing her blazer, as she always did. "What would you like to ask me?"

At first, the young girl took a moment to think over her question. Would it sound dumb? Is it a dumb question? She pondered this, then sighed. Only one way to find out. "Are-..are you a real princess? Like Princess Snow White?" Welp, there it is.

Snow smiled softly, but there was something about her smile that hid another emotion underneath and Y/n took notice. Snow White was, and still is, very elegant with how she presents herself. How she seems to handle herself with grace and authority. She...doesn't like talking about her past, shit, no one in Fabletown does.

Some, more than others, had faced a great deal of trauma before being exiled, although being exiled was traumatic in of it's self. Being essentially kicked out of your home? And live in a different world with all these odd rules and roles? How couldn't anyone be scared and confused?

"Yes- yes I was a princess...but not anymore." Her soft smile failed to reach her sad eyes as she said this. That part of Snow White died a long time ago. Being chained and dehumanized, her (ex) husband's infidelity with her sister. Being the damsel in distress.

When Bigby freed her from her shackles one day, that was the day she made a promise to herself. A promise that she'll no longer be the sad princess awaiting to be saved or protected. She can do it fine herself.

Once upon a time, there was a princess that lived a past life that was unfair to her. She was the fairest of them all, taking everyone's breath away with her grace and assertiveness. Snow White was a princess that took no shit from anybody.