Once Upon A Time ~ Book 1

Chapter 16 - The Thief

A white carriage rode through the Enchanted Forest. Two, beautiful, white horses pulled it and in front and the back of the carraige where guards, also riding horses.
Inside the carraige sat Charming and a princess, blue eyes, blond hair, and fancy pale blue dress. Charming looked out into the forest.
"What do you think of the view, my dear?" asked Charming looking at the princess.
"I've seen better." she said, fanning herself. "This is taking forever. I told you the Troll Road would've been quicker."
The carraige hit a rock in the rode and shuddered.
"And far less bumpy." she continued.
Charming looked a the little, brown shachel in his hands.
"Are you even listening to me?" she asked.
Charming looked up at her. "Yes, of course I am."
Suddenly the carraige stopped and the gaurds healed the horses.
"Now what?" said the princess.
Charming stepped out of the carraige, leaving the shachel behind him.
Charming sighed and walked over to the guards . "Worry not, it's but a fallen tree." he called back to the princess, still in the carraige. "Fellows, shall we?" he said to the guards.
The guards got ready to lift the fallen tree, while Charming examined it.
Suddenly, while the guards and Charming were occupied, a person jumped from the trees and onto the roof of the carraige. The princess looked up in alarm.
Charming continued examining the trunk of the tree.
"My Lord, what is it?" asked a guard.
"Look at these markings....... This tree didn't fall. It's been cut." he looked around. "It's an ambush." he turned around to the carraige.
The person who had jumped from the trees, reached their hand into the carraige and grabbed the shachel, left on the seat. The princess screamed.
Charming and the guards ran to the carraige.
The thief jumped up on one of the guards horseback and rode quickly down the road.
"Please, help me!" cryed the princess.
Charming jumped on another horseback and raced after the thief, through the forest. He raced for down the path, until he finally caught up with the thief and he jumped from his horse to theirs and pushed the thief to the ground.
Charming jumped on top of the hooded thief. "Show your face, you coward." he shouted.
The person wriggled, then finally, came out from under the hood. Charming clenched his fist, ready to punch.
"You're a......girl." he said in amazement, when he saw a the face of a girl with hair as white as soot, lips red as the rose and skin white as snow.
"Woman." she corrected him. Then she grabbed a rock next to her and hit him in the face with it.
She got up quickly and jumped back on her horse and rode down the path.
Charming got up. "Yoy can't hide from me! Wherever you are, I will find you!"
The girl looked back, smiling and dissapeared into the distance.

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Mary Margaret sat in Granny's, a man sitting opposite her.
"Where were we? Something about you wanting 15 kids?" said the man, surprised.
Mary Margaret looked at him, shocked. "Oh, goood Lord, no." she reassured him. "I meant in my class. Where I teach. You'll meet them tomorrow. They're coming to the hospital as part of the volunteer outreach programme."
"Yeah, that is a great programme." his eyes followed the waitress as she walked accross the diner.
"I mean, obviously I don't want 15 kids of my own." she continued.
The man's eyes kept darting towards the waiter behind Mary Margaret.
"I mean, not that I don't want kids, I do." she went on. "I want kids, marriage, true love. I want it all. But that of course is......" she looked up and saw the man staring behind her. She turned her head to see where his eyes where focused and turned back to him. ".....wildly inappropriate for me to discuss on a first date."
The man finally drew his attention to Mary Margaret. "Hum?"
"Ruby." said Mary Margaret as the waitress walked past.
"Yes, Mary Margaret?" she said.
"Cheque, please."

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Mary Margaret walked from Granny's alone. Her face down. Then she saw Emma's yellow car, parked at the side of the street.
She walked over to it, to see Emma sitting inside, reading the paper with a torch.
"Hey." she said, as the window was down. "You okay?"
"In the world of tight spots I've been in, crashing in my car doesn't even rank in the top 10." said Emma.
"Your sleeping here?"
"Till I find a place."
"You decided to stay. For Henry."
"Yeah, I guess." Emma opened the door and got out of the car. "This town doesn't seem to have many vacancies. None, actually. Is that normal?"
"Must be the curse."
Emma chuckled a little. "Why are you out so late?"
"Well, I'm a teacher, not a nun...... I had a date."
"From the looks of things, it went well."
"As well as they ever do."
"Tell me he at least payed."
Mary Margaret shook her head. "Well, I guess if true love was easy, we'd all have it....... You know, if things get cramped, I do have a spare room."
"Thanks. I'm not really the roommate type."
Mary Margaret nodded.
"It's just not my thing...... I do better on my own."
"Well, good night...... Good luck with Henry."
"Yeah."
Mary Margaret walked away.

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The children gathered their art creations and flowers, brightening up the hospital and putting a smile on the sick peoples face.
Mary Margaret supervised the children. She noticed Henry in staring at the John Doe in the private room and walked in.
"Henry, we could really use your help with the decorations." Mary Margaret said.
"Is Mr. Doe going to be okay, Miss. Blanchard?" asked Henry.
"His name is not John Doe, honey. That's just what they call people when they don't know who they are."
"Do you know who he is?"
"No." she stepped closer to the man.
"I just bring him flowers on my rounds."
"What's wrong with him?"
"I don't know..... He's been like this as long as I've been volunteering."
"Does he have any family or friends?"
Mary Margaret shook her head. "No one's claimed him."
"So, he's all alone?"
"Yeah..... It's quite sad."
"You sure you don't know him?"
"Of course I'm sure. Come on. You shouldn't be in here."
Henry walked to the door and Mary Margaret followed.