Once Upon A Time: The Savior

Too Late

His steed was faithful and raced him to a place he could not yet know. The wind was beating against his face but he did not care. Nothing mattered anymore; nothing but her. His love. His true love. Where was she? He needed to save her. What would life be without her?

Where are you?

He couldn't see anything, he couldn't hear anything but the thoughts screaming for her in his mind.

Where are you?

He raced; where could she be? His mind ran through the possibilities. Could she be in the her summer castle? Could she be back at the Queen's palace, where he was running from. He feared that, but how could he know? Should he return and fight off the guards to look for her in the Queen's dungeon? He would return in a heartbeat for her. He held her life over his own and wanted nothing but her happiness...happiness seemed to be lacking in the land. Only she brought in the laughter, the sunshine, to her subjects and to his own life. He wished to be happiness to her. To have a happy ending with her at his side.

But this all seemed impossible now, unless he found her.

He raced through the cool breeze, again, Where are you, Sn-.

The woods. The woods. The woods. She would run there for protection. Her friends would care for her. She must be there. The very assurance of her location gave him something he truly needed at that moment, hope. Hope that he would find her once more. But he remained terrified. What horrible things could she have faced without him during his imprisonment? Despite the fact that he wasn't running, his breaths were short, he could see the puffs of air escaping his mouth. His heart raced.

On and on until he came to the forest. He could not even concentrate enough to wisely guide his horse safely though the woods. It wasn't until after that he realized how thankful he was for Phillip's agility.

He stopped suddenly and caught his breath. He wished he had arrived sooner.

It had begun snowing but this was not the snow that surges a sense of joy in ones heart and gives them the warm feeling that the holidays are close at hand. No. He arrived at the clearing and saw seven men huddled together for warmth and comfort. And then he saw her. He immediatly dismounted his horse eager to hold her in his arms...but something was wrong.

Her friend, the one with the red cap and spectacles approached him.

"You're too late."

The little man, known as Doc, had to be wrong...surely he couldn't have been too late. But one more look at where she laid spoke louder of Doc's accuracy than whatever he himself thought. It couldn't be. No.

The faces of the remaining friends were tear stained, their eyes, frozen, their noses red. They gazed at her. Her beauty continued to radiate even past the glass case that enclosed her.

No.

"No."

This couldn't be possible. She...Her...

He did not feel hatred toward the Queen, for he knew this was her doing. But he did feel was heartbreak. Like if the Queen herself had wrenched out his heart and squeezed it until there was nothing but black powder. That would be more perferable.

All that mattered was her.

His Love. She was gone.

In the quiet, through the fog of his own tears, he looked at her. His best friend, is true love; taken from his life as simply as breaking a thread with a sharp knife. How could this have happened? She would never give up without a fight.

He didn't even get to say goodbye, that is what hurt him. If her death was inevtible he would have wanted to tell her, to show her, how much he loved her. To tell her that she meant everything to him, to hold her in his arms and never let go.

He had to say goodbye.

"Open it up."

Another dwarf, the one who was her closest friend replied defensivly,

"I'm sorry. She's gone."

He passed his hand over the glass coffin and brought his forhead to its cold hard surface.

This was too much to bear.

He looked up once more, "Please. At least let me say goodbye."

The men looked at one another, unsure, however they relented and removed the glass cover hovering over her body.

He looked down at her lifeless body. This could not be the end. It just couldn't. She was dressed in a clean, white dress. White. That was Snow. Pure, spotless, blameless. His eyes traveled to her face, the face of the woman he loved. How he wished she could just open those marvelous eyes. The ones full of life. Her lips which he had longed to kiss.

He had to kiss her just one more time.

Through the tears, he began to lean down. He shut his eyes until his lips met hers.

He kissed her gently.

As he pulled away and resolved to look one last time at her beautiful face - he did not know how life would continue with out her - she was the essence of it.

He was about to pull away from her when he heard her gasp.

He was too stunned to even be scared. She opened her brilliant blue eyes and smiled when her eyes laid on him.

"You," she said, "you found me."

To hear her voice was music to him.

He replied, "Did you ever doubt me?"

"Truthfully?" she sighed, "The glass coffin gave me a pause." She smiled.

Her smile. He couldn't help but just spit out the words, "You never have to worry again. I will always find you.

"Do you promise?"