A Diamond Among Men

Chapter 14: A Little Bit of Magic

The next day was nothing short of perfect. The air was light, the sun was streaming, the birds were singing, such a beautiful day that made Robin smile.

Last night after they told the others of their recent engagement, there were drinks all around. But even Robin knew their celebration cannot last forever, especially with the queen still at large.

Robin was walking down the grand stairwell when he heard voices cascading from the ballroom. When he looked inside, his jaw dropped.

There were about a hundred people in the room. All came from different walks of life, yet all had a determined face looking at Snow who stood in on a stool in the center of the room. She looked up to see him, her eyes shining.

"They all came to join the fight. " Snow explained when he came within an earshot.

"That's great." He said. "What is the plan for the Queen's Palace?"

"The goal is to draw her out. " Snow said. "Since the queen wants me dead, I will draw her out, then the rest of us will surround her." Robin frowned. He felt his heart harden into stone. He crossed his arms.

"We will capture her, but you are not going to be bait." Snow gave him an understanding look.

"I can easily defend my own, Robin."

"I don't think it is a good idea. What if she sends her soldiers in her place? She wants you dead." Robin argued. It was Snow's turn to frown.

"Exactly, thats why I am the bait. She would not care if anyone else were the bait, because she would want to see me suffer." Ears burning, he opened his mouth to protest but a gentle tap on the shoulder stopped him. He looked to his right to see William, sorrow expression.

"We don't like it any more than you do." He murmured. "But you gotta trust her, she can defend herself." William reminded him. Suddenly an image came to his head. He was back at the bloody lake, but instead of seeing Milan's corpse, he saw Snow's. Horror struck him to his core. He shook his head and walked out.

He needed fresh air. Strolling out to the stables he untied his horse from his stall and walked him out of the stables. Once out he hopped on and sent the horse running.

As he burst through the forest, more and more haunting images of Snow's death flew through his mind. As the horse ran faster and faster, the more his fear grew bigger and bigger. Until it was screaming at him. All he could see was Snow dead. Heart racing He pulled on the reins and slowed to a stop. He looked around to find himself facing the Enchantress' cottage.

Hoping off, he came up to the door and raised his fist to knock just as the door opened and the enchantress peered at him.

"Why are you here, Robin? He paused. Then let out a sigh.

"I am not sure."

"Then how do you feel?" He looked at his boots. The Enchantress gave him a look of pity.
"Come inside. Let's hear it."

Inside, Robin sat on a stool that was offered to him and took a cup of tea the enchantress gave him before she sat down across from him.

"Well?" Robin cleared his throat.
"Its Snow, she wants to be the bait for the Queen."

"And you don't like this."
"Of course not!" Robin exclaimed as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "She could get hurt, or worse." The old lady nodded with understanding.
"So what happened before? Burning the fort, taking over the castle?"

"Those times were diffrent. I didn't love her then as I do now." He said.

The enchantress rose to her feet and came to her shelf of potions.

"Love is a powerful thing. It can create new life, but if you are not careful, it can destroy it as well." Robin frowned.
"What do you mean?" The enchantress turned to face him, holding a jar of dust that had a label that read Obedience.
"Let me tell you a story. There was once a mother who loved her son dearly. She fed him, clothed him, taught him every thing she knew, and the boy was happy. As the little boy grew, so did her love. However, it became toxic when he tried to leave. He wanted to travel the world, become something for himself, but his mother could not bear the idea of loosing him. So she locked him in his room. She fed him, clothed him, taught him every thing she knew, but this time the boy who became man despised her. One day when the mother was fixing her son supper, she found his room empty." She looked at Robin with glimmer of sadness. "Her own son whom she gave birth to, ran away and she never heard from him again." The enchantress blinked couple times and put on a smile.
"Love is a magical thing, Robin, but it is also something you need to trust." She said.

Even though Robin knew he was just telling him a story, he could not ignore the sadness the emitted from her.

Later that evening, Robin returned to the castle to find the others planning for their attack on The Queen's Palace.
They were gathering weapons of all sizes. Some carried armor, others carried other materials like ropes and hooks.

As he walked around, shuffling past others, he spotted Snow speaking to Jon. The little kid had a concern look on his face. As he walked closer to them, he heard their conversation.

"When is he coming back?" Jon asked.
" I'm not sure, but will eventually." She said, hopefully.

Just then Snow caught his eye, instead of smiling, a frown was on her face.
"Speaking of, there he is." Jon turned around and relief flooded his face.

Robin walked over to them.
"Hey, Jon. He said as Jon gave him a quick hug. He ruffled the kid's ginger hair but kept his eyes on Snow who was crossing her arms. When Jon left, Snow spoke.
"Are you feeling better after your three hour break?"

"Snow, I-"
" No, Robin you can't just walk off. All of these people look up to us as leaders. We need to be a united front."
Robin scowled.
"I just don't want you hurt." Snow sighed and dropped her arms to her side.
"Neither do I you, but this is important okay?" She said cupping his face. Robin stood there as Snow let him go and went off somewhere.

He stood there, surrounded by people, their voices mingling in the air. Yet found himself to be alone before a fork in the road.

The enchantress's warning echoes in his head, so did his fear, blaring into his ears.

His heart was pulled in both directions.

He tried to suppress his emotions, but he could not ignore it.

That night, after wrestling with his emotions, he made up his mind.

He pulled on his hood, and sneaked out of the castle, to the Enchantress' cottage. He peered through the window to see that the old lady was not there. He slipped out a pin, and unlocked the door.
Slipping inside, he raised his lantern to the shelves where he scanned the various potions for the one he was looking for. He finally found the jar she was holding earlier and took it off the shelves. Before he put it in his satchel he paused.

Was he really going to do this? But a vision of Snow stabbed by the Queen, made him shiver. He placed in the satchel and rode back to the castle.

Inside, he wandered down the halls to Snow's room. Drawing a sharp breath, he opened the door, wincing when it creaked. He looked to the bed to see Snow had not moved yet. Sighing with relief, he opened the jar took a handful of dust and stared at it in wonder as the brown dust turned a rich, glittering purple. He moved over to Snow and sprinkled some of it on her head. For a moment, her body glowed a hue of purple.

Robin closed this jar and reached for a stray strand of her black hair and brushed it from her face.
"I'm sorry Snow, " He whispered. "I just can't loose you. You are not going to leave this castle." He ordered. Once he said that, the glow brightened before fading away.

He rose to his feet. He looked over his shoulder once before he closed the door behind him.