"She's trying to seal the castle so you have no escape route," Sir Bashful had hissed as the door continued rattling behind him, occasionally managing to move the mountain of a man ever-so-slightly. "But what she doesn't know is that these hands themselves helped build this castle. We know things about this dwelling more than these royals will ever know. We'll wait till she thinks she trapped us before we make a move. You two will do exactly as instructed if you want to see the sunrise tomorrow."

"We will!" They had replied in unison. Eerie unison. Like two bodies, one voice.

"We will move as soon as the air stops churning," Sir Bashful had begun, only to see the quirked eyebrows on Ruby's pretty little head, "—with her spell. Once she is done, I can cast mine, ride her waves so we go undetected. When I say go, you go. No questions. Are we clear?"

They had nodded, like two heads on one body.

Bashful had eyed the two oddly then and repeated. "And whatever happens, you two stick together, come shine or thunder. Stick together till you get to the Charming Lands, and tell Queen Cinderella, Bashful sent you. She'll know what to do."

"Are you not coming with us, Sir Bashful?" Millie had asked, fear gripping her from the inside. She had heard of magic and magical folks of ages gone by, but never had she seen two fearsome creatures that could wield it: Queen Snow White and the formidable knight, Bashful. Without Bashful, the two young women stood no chance against a magic-wielder such as the oft-angry Queen. Stories abound painted a picture of an evil being—cold be her heart and colder be her wrath.

Sir Bashful had looked deep in thoughts before he answered the child's query. "I shall try my best to deliver you to your kind-hearted Aunt, however, should we come across resistance or danger, I will hold them back as long as I must and allow you a safe passage."

"I am not the only one who knows of these passages, unfortunately." Darkness had cast over his face then. "My brothers know these tunnels like the back of our hands, and they are still under her spell."

For a moment, Sir Bashful mourned the loss of his brothers—their free will no longer free—bound to Snow's enchantments. The young girl they had thought victim and saved; given shelter and safety to, who had returned their favours by binding her will to theirs. Seven happy, content dwarves, seven brothers who ruled the Dwarf Forest, now allied—controlled by a child who sought nothing more than to dethrone her loving stepmother, the one person who had looked after her and raised her as her father might have.

Fools! All seven of them. The day Snow, with her red lips, innocent eyes, and vicious heart had entered their lives, the Dwarf Forest and their beings had suffered. Cursed. They had all paid with their lives for their Princess' faults, swayed by a beautiful child. His brothers of course didn't remember the destruction they had brought to their own people, marching on the Enchanted Forest under Snow's governance. Countless lives lost on the battlefield. Countless bodies became one with the land outside the dark lands. The Queen, Snow's mother, whom the child saw naught as a mother but a competition, had surrendered to the will of the child—all to save those creatures dying within and outside her walls. A true Queen.

The only reason Bashful remembered all this was only because unknowingly, Snow had broken her own spell over him herself. The moment she'd betrayed him, siphoning his magic for her own use, to smite the unarmed Queen, her hold over Bash had dissolved. The moment she'd done that, she lost her hold on another magic-wielder, but for years, to keep his brothers safe, and to keep the people of the land safe, Bash had pretended to still be under her control, only to go home disgusted in himself. To punish himself. A true Prince would have saved his land, his people, his brothers. And that's what he's been waiting for. For the perfect moment to enact his plan.

"Sir Bashful?" Ruby dared whisper, breaking the knight out of his horrid memories. "What happened to her? In the stories I read, she was a—?"

"Sweet child done wrong?"

Ruby nodded. Yes, exactly.

A derisive laugh escaped the hulking figure. "She was never a sweet child, milady. She was as cold as they come; heartless, vain, and driven mad with power. Only, my brothers and I were too kind to see it and look what's become of us. Slaves to her will."

He grabbed her hand urgently then, his bear-paws holding hers as if they were fragile. "Which is why I must keep you safe, long enough for you to reunite with your powers. The powers I was forced to strip from you while you were a wee lassie. Powers I had to hide in such a place Snow would never look..."

He grabbed Millie's hand then, piling it on top of Ruby's. His warmth seeping into their frightened hearts. "You two must stay together! It is the only way to save this world. Snow grows vainer every day. Every day she eyes the surrounding kingdoms... I can feel it. Without the fear of her impending death, she has been preparing to conquer other lands. Being the Queen of Enchanted Forest is no longer enough. She wants the entire Enchanted Realm. I did not mean you to cross over until time was right for the merge, still a full moon away. But you are here early, I know not how."

"The merge?" Ruby had asked, a dread of sorts settling into her bones.

Instead of answering, Sir Bashful listened intently, to what the girls couldn't tell. "It's time. We've waited long enough."

And indeed they had. They had waited as untimely darkness had fallen over the castle—bringing night with it darker than usual. Ruby could barely see the two people stood before her.

Sir Bashful chanted something under his breath, and three oil lamps appeared out of thin air. He handed one each to the girls and poured the oil Millie had fetched from the kitchen. "Don't let your flames go out, whatever you do. Not until we are clear of this kingdom."

Then he'd lit all three lamps and led them through a hidden passage within the masonry.

They snuck out into the service corridors via the passage. But service corridors or not, Snow White's henchmen—instructed to stop any maiden in their track and throw her in the dungeons—roamed about with eager eyes and ever eager hands. Bashful wanted none of them caught.

Ruby had gawked at him then as if he were an imbecile when he'd prompted them to stay in the shadows as much as they could to keep from being spotted.

"You are kidding me, right? Stick to the shadows while holding lights and hope no one sees us?"

It wasn't the already-annoyed Sir Bashful who answered Ruby then. It was her friend, Millie. "Milady, the yellow blossom oil is no ordinary oil. It can be bewitched to guide those who hold its light, yet hide them from prying eyes should one be around. Or at least that's what my Granny used to say."

Millie held up her lamp. "These lamps will help us see while keeping us unseen."

Upon gaping at the young girl in shock and awe—what you mean magic is real and exists in this world—Ruby was whisked through the service corridors with a burning lamp in one hand and a bundle of her belongings tied up in a strip of a curtain, slung across her torso. Millie too had a similar parcel across her body in which she had packed a few items of clothing for them as well as some bread and cheese. Who knew how long their journey was to be.

As they moved through the corridors with a lamp that helped them see while keeping them unseen—a concept Ruby still couldn't grasp—she couldn't help but think. Again and again: Snow White wants me dead. Snow White wants me dead...

"Snow White wants me dead!" The mantra Ruby had been playing in her head slipped from her lips as the trio soundlessly wove through the near-pitch-black maze of corridors, expertly led by the hulk of a Bashful.

"Of course, Snow White wants you dead. She's become the most powerful being this side of the realm, and you're the prophesied end of her! Of course, she wants you dead—head on a spike over a spit dead!"

Sir Bashful slammed Ruby-Rose against the wall, the bear-paw hand over her mouth surprisingly gentle. Beside them, well versed in urgency, Millie the chambermaid, kept within the peculiarly dark shadows lingering in the chilly halls.

A moment later, three men in golden guard uniform, with swords at the ready ambled along, lost in gossip.

"Yowan saw Sir Bashful huff-and-puff his way out of the Queen's Chamber of Mirror. He said the brute had gone flying in the direction of the Princess," they heard the middle one saying.

"You don't think he's gone to hurt the Princess, do you?" The shorter one closest to the trio—hugging the walls and holding their breaths—asked.

The lanky, tall one farthest away leaned in, eyed the dark corridor this way and that, and whispered right before them. "Not what I heard. I heard Old Griffin say to memaw, the Princess is as good as dead. Something about a spell..."

"You don't believe in that hocus, do you Stane? Magic and such?"

Stane, the tall one straightened his spine. "Me memaw says magic is as real as you and me. Only, a lot fear practising it in these lands."

The trio of guards carried on walking with guffaw from the other two.

The shortest one even saying, "Magic is as real as you and me! Ha. Those are children's stories me Da used to say. No such thing exists..."

Ruby wished she could slip Bashful's paw of her mouth and tell the idiot, "Of course, magic exists, you fool! How else would I be here, and Snow White wants me dead?"

This was a long day for Ruby-Rose, the newly aware Princess. Either that, or it was the longest, most vivid dream she'd ever dreamt.

Just to make sure it wasn't a dream, Ruby pinched the skin on her arm and felt the pain as real as the hand still covering her mouth. The hand that slipped off as the guards disappeared around a corner.

"Come. The entrance to the tunnels below is close. Stick by me and hurry." Sir Bashful started off again.

Millie grabbed Ruby's hand and pulled her along gently. "Come, Princess."

Princess! Bloody hell. Ruby followed quietly, still reeling. 

WC: 1813                TWC: 12, 897

[A/N: Wow! I just hadn't expected this chapter to be as long as it went for. I just couldn't find moments within where I could break it, so I apologize for the length. I hope you still enjoyed it. 🤗

Now that Ruby knows Snow wants her dead and Bashful is helping them out of the castle, what do you make of the story so far? Any thoughts on Snow and the info Bash revealed? Would love to know what you liked/didn't like.

Next up, Ruby and Millie's adventure continues. Will they make it out of the castle without a scratch? Stay tuned!]