CHAPTER NINETEEN: TWO BITES AND HAPPINESS

They were still all beautiful and there was still enchantment and wonder, but she had crossed a line and now the fairy tale was green with corruption and evil. 
-Stephen King

Before any of them were able to slip past a single guard, Fire stood in the way as they came around a corner with a small brigade behind him.

Magician instantly focused their magic on shielding their team from Fire's magic, Archer pushing his calming aura out.

"Kill them all." The assassin says, giving a fanged smirk -pointing at Snow and Doc. "The dwarf is mine."

He wants another minion, Wolf thinks. If we stay and fight it-

Little Red finishes, we could all die.

Snow, growing giant plants that have sharp teeth and ones that have whips up behind them as weapons and surrounds the medic with them, looks Locks in the eyes. "Go get the queen."

The leader nods. "We will."

Fire lets all of them pass but glares at Wolf the whole time, not looking back at the Ghosts dispatch of all the soldiers -letting the ones who are smart enough not to fight them to run away, though a few get smashed by the nymph for being cowards.

Locks throws many around with her wings, Magician blasting many with their bag of pebbles. They didn't have to use complicated spells to kill someone.

Wolf didn't waste much energy fighting. Instead of shifting, his claws slit throats and he snapped necks until there was nobody left to kill.

People were always so fragile.

"Do we go back?" Huntsman asks, looking to the leader, who shakes her head. "What if they..."

Nobody answers him, they all knew the answer by now.

This was the mission, this was exactly what they signed up for. No amount of teamwork or true love or perfectly timed humor will be able to hide that.

The people you love die.

That's a fact, a simple one.

Sometimes they die faster because of actions you make, sometimes they're saved because of them too.

The Ghosts were one partner pair short now, whether the survived the moment with Fire or not, and that was something they had to choose to do.

Something they had to do.

Snow and Doc agreed to this, they knew the consequences of all the action they would take.

They had to face this threat head on, without back up.

And they were okay with that.

If both Fire and the wicked queen die in one day...it would be a miracle.

"You can run too, little nymphie." The assassin coos, his stance not wavering. "There's no harm in it. Just hand that little rodent of a man over."

"He's mine." Snow seethes, horns twisting around her head. "And you'll have to fight me for him."

Fire pushed wave after wave of a heartbreaking amount of panic onto Snow's conscious. 

She blocked it, growing stamina building crab apples while Doc tried to create a poison elixir but he barely had the right amount of ingredients.

Eventually, taking a break from mind play, the evil warlock creates a ring of fire that starts to consume Snow's plants. She still fights against him as he engages in hand to hand but eventually she's blown back into Doc.

They both skid against the ground.

Trying desperately to save them both, Snow  grows vines to hold down Fire and trees to block him as Doc pulls them back -recognizing her broken leg immediately.

Using his magic, Fire snaps and blasts them both back into the wall.

Snow's back connects to it, her head snapping back into the wall. Her right horn breaks in half, and she screams.

It doesn't last long.

Because she can't stay conscious much longer once the next wave of panic hits her.

When she comes to Fire is holding Doc against his chest, fangs buried in his neck as his wrist is held up to the dwarf's mouth.

Doc tried to struggle, to not swallow the foul liquid, knowing how poisonous warlock blood is to dwarves.

It was futile.

The change wasn't complete, the medic was still able to cry and weakly claw at the assassin's wrist.

Snow could barely move, she was in so much pain. Her mind was still terrified and her body exhausted.

But that was the love of her life, the love of her life.

So with every ounce of strength she has, she calls up one last plant whip and sends it barreling through Fire's body, keeping him in the air as it plunges through his chest and skull until he's as good as dead, arm twitching.

A miracle indeed.

Doc drops the the ground, clawing at his throat.

Crawling over the ground towards him, the nymph finally gets to her husband and collapses against his chest.

The medic sobs, knowing there's nothing he can do to save himself this time. Snow holds him, tears streaming down her cheeks as her horns wilt. 

"Tommy, Tommy," Snow sobs. "Please, just stay with me a little longer."

He was already starting to pale, his eyes starting to lose their stark grey color in place of black. He was already forgetting his past.

"Don't let me, don't let me change, Tiff." Tom pleads, clutching onto her arms. "Let me die me."

She choked at this, realizing what he was asking her. "No, no, Tom-"

"My beautiful flower," The dwarf says, stroking her cheek with a small, forced smile on his blood stained lips. "Save me, please, in the only way...the only way, you can."

Gulping, he feels his heart beat slow down, eyes going fuzzy for just a moment.

Nodding, eyes closed as Snow presses their foreheads together, she grows the last apple she ever will and only pulls away to tug it off the left side of her horns.

Handing it to him, both their hands shake.

"Defeat her," Tom takes his wife by the hand, chest heaving is deep, ragged breaths. "Then find someplace you can be happy. Be, be...be happy, Tiff."

With that, he takes a solid bite from the apple, closing his eyes and holding Snow to his side as they both cry until his body tenses and the apple takes affect.

Then, Snow screams and screams.

Everyone is born alone, Snow was alone for most of her life. 

But then she found Tom Eldridge in a small town and she wasn't alone anyone. 

All the burdens she had on herself was now held up by him too. 

They carried heartache together. When they were sick they cared for each other, when he was upset she'd sit in the bath with him even after the water turned ice cold -whether he wanted to talk about it, or stay silent, it didn't matter. 

They were in it together. 

They made food for each other, bought each other little things that reminded them of each other, they held each other in bed at night and were proud to admit all those things. 

Proud when they discovered both of them went to his brothers to make the other a perfect wedding band. 

Having a the strength to fall so completely in love when everything in the world was trying to discourage them and bleed them dry, the wicked queen included, is one of the strongest things in the universe. 

Nothing would make Snow lose that. 

Not even death.

After a few moments, grief heavy in her system, Snow opens her eyes and finds the bright red apple staring back up at her.

"I'm sorry, my love," The nymph says, pressing one last kiss to her husband's lips. "But you see to have forgotten."

She bites the apple willingly, the piece almost getting stuck in her throat.

Suicide's a beautiful word when you look at it from the right angle.

"I'm only happy when I'm with you."