Snow White grit her teeth, strands of her black hair falling into her eyes. "You have got to be joking," she sighed wearily, raising her sword unconsciously. There was a rumbling laugh from the great wolf standing before her, the five foot tall and silver-gray furred beast studying her with an faintly amused expression. One wouldn't have thought that the wolf's snout, ears and golden eyes could convey such a range of emotion, but somehow it all seemed to work. "I rarely joke," the Wolf calmly replied, "the one you call Charming was here only a day ago, but has moved on since." "At least I'm catching up," Snow sighed. The Wolf regarded her with a faintly predatory expression. "Of course, there is always the question if I'll let you continue on your little trip," he added, moving forward with a slight limp, the healing scar of a recent wound on his upper leg. Snow smiled back grimly, glad she was wearing the now slightly smelly suit of chainmail armor. 'How do knights do this all the time?' she wondered, moving so that the sword was ready to strike. "That wouldn't be a good idea," Snow advised him. "Oh?" the Wolf twitched an ear curiously. "You probably could manage to eat me," Snow conceded as she waved her sword around for emphasis, "but I'll hurt you worse than you already are. More importantly trouble will follow me, others coming to avenge me soon enough." The Wolf growled deep in the back of it's throat, the expression now of pure disgust. "You're royalty?" he grumbled. "Sorry, but yes," Snow nodded. Wolf shook his head and complained, "I should have just stuck with eating the damn pigs." He turned around stiffly, slowly moving off into the forest but she could still hear him ask, "Why do you call Charming a prince?" "He's of royal blood, of course," Snow answered in A laugh came from the shadows, "No, that is not what I meant." Wolf continued, "Charming cannot be a prince because she is a woman." "You're certain?" Snow managed to get past her shock. The Wolf's final comment was simple, "I smelled it." Snow stood there a moment on the path, then she shook herself. "I still have to find Charming, if only to get some answers," she murmured to herself. She whistled loudly, piercing the silence then called out, "Rosebud!" The sound of hooves on the hard ground signaled her stallion's arrival and Snow smiled happily as the great beast neared, long red mane and tail flowing in the soft breeze. She grasped the saddle horn and pulled herself up into the saddle stiffly, settling into place with a sigh. A gentle tap of her boot heels sent them off down the road even as the stallion made a soft questioning sound, somewhere deep in the back of his throat. "The Wolf was gentlemanly," Snow reassured him as they continued on through the shade of the trees, "I'm fine." They moved down the road and she smiled slightly as she revealed, "We are less than a day behind Charming, it seems." The High Queen's lands that they were traveling through were prosperous, a beautiful region, but Snow largely ignored the sights as they reached the highway and continued on to the west, the last direction they had for the wayward Charming. 'Charming is a woman?' she thought, thinking back to the time she had seen him. It was certainly possible, she had to concede. The beautiful blonde boy had delicate features, almost feminine, and while he had been strong there was no reason in truth a woman could not have been. While there had been no sign of breasts that was easily explained by the armor, in truth Snow found herself mistaken for a man in her own dress. "So how upset will Rose be when I tell her about this?" Snow wondered aloud, noting a marker indicating there was a town just a few hours ahead of them. With a smile she urged her horse forward, looking forward to a warm bath, bedding and possibly clean clothes even as Rosebud probably was for a clean stall and good hay. The town was a larger one, a walled keep out on the edge of the High Queen's lands, likely intended to help defend a valuable trading route. The walls towered nearly twenty feet high all around, while a small town extended out around the central keep itself. The buildings were a mix of stone and wood, signs handing out for various shops, people's homes sandwiched in between the stores. The inn was nearer to the keep, probably established shortly after the keep itself was. Snow checked out the stables first, looking over the stalls and finding them to be both clean and well constructed. Leaving a few coins with a page she walked away, pausing only to warn the boy to be very cautious around her horse. Rosebud huffed out a disappointed noise and Snow chuckled. The innkeeper looked up as she entered, taking the details of her appearance in a glance. "Another adventurer," he grumbled, his long black hair falling in a graceful wave down his back. 'It couldn't be,' Snow thought with dawning hope. "I'd like a room for the night," she said to him crisply, reaching for her money pouch. "One silver," he grunted. Snow set two of her gleaming silver coins down on the desk as she said, "What was that about another adventurer?" The big man studied the coin a moment, finally nodding in satisfaction when he was sure they were both real. "Aye," he met her eyes and said, "the man's horse lost a shoe an' the smithy is right busy, couldn't get to it until today." "Do you know where he is?" Snow asked eagerly. "Out in the common room, last I checked," the innkeeper looked at her a bit warily. "There ain't gonna be trouble, is there?" he asked. "I'll try not to," Snow answered, dropping another coin on the desk. Ignoring his surprise she strode down the hall, deciding to check the inn's common room first. The air carried the sweet smoke of tobacco along with food and drink. The tables were set up evenly apart, crowded with people, and loud conversation went on between the people. Merchants, farmers and town people all mingled together, their clothes reflecting a wide range of class and wealth. And in one corner, a figure sat apart from everyone else. The blonde hair framed a face that was almost too pretty for a man's, blue eyes looking down contemplatively into a drink. Charming was dressed much as Rose was, battered armor and a fine cloak, and from a distance she certainly looked much like a man. Charming looked up from her drink as Rose approached, her eyes widening, "You." "You aren't very easy to track down," Rose sighed, grabbing a chair and sitting down across from her, "I've been chasing after you for weeks." Now that she was so near, yes, she could be certain this prince was a woman. The glaring absence of a Adam's apple, the delicate cheeks, so many qualities added up. 'So why didn't I see it before?' she wondered. "So," Charming sighed as she took a drink of her ale then asked, "have you come to avenge your sister's honor?" "But Rose Red said you...." Snow trailed off. What Rose had said was that Charming hadn't used a sword on her, metaphorically speaking. That didn't rule out much, really. "No," Snow sighed, "I've come to bring you back to Rose." There was a haunted look in Charming's eyes as she said, "It could never work," "I assume my sister knows your true nature?" Snow asked. She sighed once Charming nodded, "Remind me to smack her one for leaving that little detail out." Charming's eyes flashed, "Don't you dare." Snow smiled, "I knew that you cared for her." A faint blush colored Charming's cheeks. "And how upset will your mother the Queen be about this?" she asked with a sigh. "You know, I've always wondered why she prefers having so many female guards around," Snow answered her dryly. She looked over at Charming thoughtfully and asked the question that had been bothering her for awhile, "So how did you get into this, anyway?" "I was the last daughter of five," Charming sighed, "and my mother named us for the qualities she wanted in her daughters. Grace, Virtue, Serenity, Honor and myself, Charming." "Must have been interesting," Snow smiled slightly. Charming nodded slightly, "As the last child I wanted to go out to make my way in the world, and my family reluctantly agreed." She smiled wryly, "I didn't set out to be mistaken for a man, it just kind of happened that way....."
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