They had to make their way through the courtyard before they could get to the Throne Room if they wanted to get there faster. Rain pounded down on their heads and backs, soaking them quickly, as they made their way across the muddy courtyard. Halfway across they were met with 100 guards.
A little less then fifty, not all of them armed, against 100 well prepared guardsmen. They odds weren't good, and some of the men thought they were sure to die.
JC, unspoken leader of them all, raised his sword, and screamed, "For the Kingdom!" They all screamed, repeating what JC had said, and ran forward, merging with the guards.
Swords clashed, lightening flashed, thunder boomed, and they were getting pummeled.
"We should change!" Zander screamed to JC as he smacked another guard away from him.
"Think it'll work?" he shouted back.
"Yes I do!"
They handed off their swords to other prisoners and the next thing the guards knew, seven wolves were plowing through them, advancing the ragtag crew of fifty back towards the castle. Someone set of an explosion, and another followed. It was full on war.
Somehow, miraculously, they won, and they plowed through into the castle, dripping with rain, mud and blood, not pausing for a second. The boys returned to their normal form and claimed their swords back.
The only things left to conquer were the one-foot thick doors leading to the Throne Room. Thunder boomed and crashed as they tried everything to get them open. The boys threw themselves against the doors one at a time, then they all tried at once and they bust open. Men flooded into the room, surrounding it to prevent anyone from escaping or entering.
JC contained himself from running in as he walked forward into the throne room, never before seen by anyone's eyes for over 50 years.
* M * M * M * M * M * M * M * M *
Snow's eyes widened as the seven guardsmen took off their helmets and the boys she had grown to love like brothers stepped forward. "JC... Merlin! Zander!" she jumped up and tried to walk forward but she couldn't move her feet to the first step. The Queen had replaced her old chains with new ones while the men flooding into the room distracted her.
JC walked forward and glanced at her, then went to the Queen. He flipped her over and his face grew hard.
"Who is who?" he asked, his voice full of confusion and bitterness.
Snow felt tears brimming in her eyes as she tried to reach forward for her friends. "Me! Me! Its me!"
The Queen, laying on the ground, began to stir and looked up at JC. "You came," she smiled and reached for his hand but he pulled away, taking a large step back.
He looked at Merlin, his eyes pleading. "Ask them questions to figure out which is who, I-I can't tell."
JC starred at the Snow on the ground. Something glinted on her neck and he knelt down and looked closer.
It was the necklace.
"Its her," he pointed to the Queen, lying on the ground. "That's Snow."
"No! JC no!" The actual Snow cried out. She collapsed on the ground, legs no longer able to hold her up.
JC looked at the Snow on the ground, and the Snow by the throne. The one at his feet had a torn dress, combed back hair, floppy shoes and his necklace. The one by the throne looked like she was dressed for a funeral in a black dress, messy hair, dried blood on her arms and hands, no shoes, and a desperate expression on her face. He looked at the one on the ground. "Who brought you to our cabin?" he asked.
"Zander did," she breathed.
He looked at the Snow by the throne. "What were you teaching Merlin for the past week or so?"
Snow choked out a somewhat hysterical laugh, both at the question and that Merlin had told JC what they had been doing. "I was teaching him how to dance and be proper, while he taught me the ways of the forest," Merlin nodded, confirming this was true.
This went on for minutes, questions back and forth, each answering them correctly like it was a game show and not life or death.
"Enough!" Zander shouted. "You!" he pointed to the Snow by the throne hair. "Come here." Snow stood, and took a tentative step forward. She could finally move. She walked down the steps and stopped directly at the bottom. "And you too." The Queen managed to get herself up and stood next to Snow. They stood two feet apart, hands clasped in front of them, negative energy humming in the air. Murmurs erupted throughout the crowd as the starred at the two identical Snow White's side by side, confused which one was which.
"You," he pointed to the Queen. "What did you find under my bed?"
The Queen stammered. "I-I hit my head when I fell. I can't, can't remember correctly."
He looked at Snow. "Drawing books." She looked at Nicholas. "Drawing supplies." Then at Lucas. "Books and knives." Then turned her attention to JC. "One trunk for dresses. One trunk for shoes. One trunk for capes, cloaks, wraps, and scarves. One for other accessories. You weren't very happy I took them."
"That's Snow." Merlin said, pointing to the actual Snow. "It has to be."
JC stepped forward, mere inches from the real Snow. Her heart pounded and she could feel his breath on her face. She wanted to cry, to reach out and touch him and hug him for coming to rescue her, but she was unable to move, too afraid of what would happen. He bent down and whispered in her ear, "What did I give you for Christmas besides the necklace and what else did we do?"
Snow blushed a deep red. "You gave me back my cleaned cloak, and we danced with no music at all. You had been injured, it was your stomach, and I stayed up with you all night to apply a cream to heal the poisoned cuts. That didn't stop you though, as you pulled me to you, and we began to sway," she whispered back so quietly no one had heard a word they just said.
JC backed away. "You're right Merlin. Now, who are you?"
"She's the Queen!" Simmons shouted, pushing his way through the crowd. The other Snow started to laugh, and ripped the necklace from around her neck, throwing it at Snow's feet. Snow picked it up quickly and fastened it around her neck. The familiar weight of it made her feel slightly calmer; and the fact that her boys were finally here.
"Very good Simmons, very good," she snapped her fingers, and suddenly there was the Queen in all her glory. Black dress glittering with jewels, her crown, and hair piled up into a bun, scepter in hand, and that ever-present evil smile planted on her lips. "And you've really all been very sweet, but I have a schedule that must be followed." A dagger appeared in her hand and before anyone could react she lunged not at Snow, but at JC. The dagger sunk into his chest directly on his heart.
Snow screamed and JC stumbled backwards and hit the ground hard on his knees. A flurry of people raced towards the Queen as Snow ran towards JC and frantically tried to stop the bleeding.
"Look at me JC. Don't close your eyes," she pleaded. She placed her hands over the wound and applied pressure but the blood seeped through her fingers like she had just placed them in a bowl of water.
A loud crash behind her and the men who had attacked the Queen had been blown backwards into the wall.
"Not so fast!"
Snow was yanked backwards away from JC and fell at the feet of the Queen. Zander and Nicholas lunged for her but were blown back as well. A snap of the Queen's fingers again and there was a blazing ring of fire surrounding them.
"Please heal him!" Snow shouted.
"I can't my dear," She smiled wickedly.
"There has to be a way! He's dying!"
The Queen got a thoughtful look on her face. "Well there is one way..."
"Tell me! What is it, I'll do anything!" Snow got to her, begging the Queen to save him.
The Queen snapped her fingers and apple appeared in her hand. "Just one bite of this darling, and the bleeding will stop and he will live."
Snow took the apple from her outstretched hand. It was fat and juicy, a pristine red color. Snow had loved picking and eating apples as a little girl from the orchards the castle had. She would bake apple pies and an assortment of other desserts all the time, or just sit in the field and eat them. "What's the catch?"
"Simply put? You fall into a deep sleep and you wont wake up. Essentially, you die and I live."
Snow looked at the apple in her cupped hands, then at JC's growing-limper-by-the-second body, his eyes fluttering as he struggled to stay alive.
"Don't do it Snow!" Merlin pleaded, stepping as close to the fire as he dared.
Snow looked down at the apple. Her whole life she felt she hadn't had a true purpose. Sure, she went to the charity balls, donated money, was kind to everyone, but that's how she was raised. Never had Snow done anything for her own accord until she had meet the seven wondrous boys who had found her in the woods on that wintery night. She cared for them, and they cared for her. And somehow, she had managed to feel something she had never felt before: Love. Love was a strange feeling; a cross between bliss and pain. It blinds you, but in a good way because someone will be there to guide you.
Snow glanced at JC, praying he might find a way to forgive her, and then back at the Queen. "Let me say goodbye."
He was yanked over the fire into their circle and dropped at her feet. She brought his head into her lap and stroked his hair. "Despite all the fighting, the bad feelings, the tension, and unruliness... You are a wonderful person JC."
He smiled feebly up at her. He raised his hand slowly and stroked her face. "Don't do it Snow. I can die, it'll be okay."
She shook her head and whispered, "I just realized today's my birthday. Funny how that works." She leaned down and kissed him softly on the lips. She drew back, laying him softly on the ground and stood. Looking down at the apple, she closed her eyes, and sunk her teeth into its thin, red skin.
Everything happened quickly after that. Snow fell in slow motion to the ground as Merlin lunged at the Queen and sunk his blade into her heart. Zander reached for Merlin and fell trying to reach him. JC gasped for air as he jumped up, the wound in his chest gone.
He scrambled towards Snow's limp and lifeless body, still clutching the apple, and he kicked it out her hand.
Tears streamed down his face as he grabbed her shoulders. "Snow! Snow open your eyes! Wake up!" he screamed. "You can't die! I can't loose someone else I love! Please Snow, please wake up! Not again... Not again..." He shook her shoulders and the necklace gleamed on her chest. He stopped and starred at it, not remembering her putting it back on.
Merlin checked for a pulse and wiped away a tear as he shook his head, and everyone in the room slowly went silent. "We loved you Snow White, just as much as you loved us and everyone around you. May you rest peacefully," Merlin said softly.
Zander choked back a sob, covering his mouth quickly and Jameson wrapped his arm around Zander as he failed to hold back his own tears. Alex felt tears silently falling down his face as the sword he was holding slipped from his grip and clattered to the ground. Nicholas took off his glasses and started polishing them feverishly to keep from crying to no avail. Lucas covered his face with his hands.
It was over.
They had lost.
She was dead.
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Please don't kill me I promise its not over. At least, not yet anyways.
I just wanted to take a moment and thank all of the people who have read this story up to this far, I really appreciate it every time I see a vote or a comment or even a couple more reads then the last time. You guys are the bestest people ever :) I am dedicating this chapter (and probably the rest of the story) to you all.
Thank you :)
~Anna