Hal knows the strongest thing in the universe is (willpower) wrote in doorslogs, @ 2012-09-13 23:15:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | door: tales, prince charming, snow white |
Meet and greet with the ex
Who: Snow White and Prince Charming
What: A casual visit
Where: Snow's "office" Fabletown
When: Recently
Warnings/Rating: Nope none
It was strange having a silent office. Snow White used to long for these days, when Bufkin was asleep, Blue wasn’t practicing and the line of angry townspeople wasn’t outside her door. The first happened sometimes. The second happened often. But the third hardly ever happened so her little fantasy always remained that.
Strange though it was, she was still enjoying it. She missed a few choice people but the novelty hadn’t worn off yet. In the quiet she managed to get a lot of admin work done that so often was pushed aside due to interruptions. Her paperwork pile was the smallest she had ever seen it. She even managed to make a dent in organizing their vast storage of artifacts that they had absconded with when they left the Homelands.
All in all, Snow was enjoying this moment of oddity and she smiled as she sat at her desk, pulling a book into her lap to enjoy her break. The situation with her sister and Las Vegas remained vexing but as far as strangeness went, this bit of peace could stay.
The silence of the place as unnerving. Everyone of note around his home was gone, which was why Charming found himself forced to spend more and more time with his ex wives and that fascinating journal, pulling sweet little girls from the Doctor's world to his own. Or to the room, more accurately, as he'd not yet figured a way to get Justine here.
That may have been all for the better though. Let her stay on her side, he on his, and she might never know about his true nature. After all, she'd already proven that she would ignore the advice of his exes and he had every desire to use that to his own advantage.
As far as exes went though, Snow was still the one that he privately referred to as the one that got away. He'd tried so very hard to remain faithful to her after what happened with Cindy, all to no avail. He'd broken one heart he had never intended to hurt and sworn off any other marriages since. But, with so many of the towns notable residents missing, it narrowed his choices for who to visit drastically. He'd already visited Cindy once -- that was enough for this week. As often as he could, he avoided calling on Rose as well, which left Snow.
Dressed in a pair of black riding pants and a loose white shirt, he entered the Sheriff's office and spotted her immediately. It was far more quiet in here than even he was used to. "Good day, Snow." She may have been his ex wife, but Charming was still polite. It was only ever Cindy that pushed him.
“Charming.” Snow could also do polite too but hers was a degree cooler than his. The relaxation that settled in her shoulders melted away and she sat up, closing the book and setting it to the side of her desk. She was dressed in a light blue blouse and a grey pencil skirt, though she was sitting down all he might otherwise see were a pair of black heels peeking out from the bottom of her desk. She looked every bit the deputy mayor she was, even if her superior was MIA and she was overseeing a ghost town.
“Can I help you with something?” No one ever walked into her office for a social call. It was always something. They needed more funds. Need more help. Needed to complain. It was always some problem that Snow had to deal with and nothing else.
"I'll grant that it's not a sitting room," he said as he strode in, his gaze flickering over the very empty interior before settling on her. "But it's nearly quiet enough to be one."
Charming usually reserved his social calls to parlors and sitting rooms, even occasionally at the stables or at a local inn, but given the amount of people missing and businesses closed, he had to rely on places of employment to find anyone of interest. It was a poor state of affairs that the most interesting people left happened to be his exes, but as far as exes went, Snow was the only one whose well being he had a pointed interest in. Cindy would always manage to land on her feet, as would Rose, as would a thousand others. "I was only coming to see how you are. If there was news of note."
How Snow could keep deepening her serious expression was a mystery. This comment made her back straighten all the more, brow furrowing in suspicion and the temperature around her seemed to drop another degree. “I’m fine,” she said immediately, as she had said countless times before, in the same dry tone she had always used. Rain or shine, during catastrophes or times of peace, Snow White was always and ever fine. “I’m sorry that my office isn’t nearly as entertaining as you would like to be. Considering it’s a place of business,” she reminded him with an arched brow. Never mind that she had been resting when he interrupted.
“I’m sure you could go to…” she trailed off as even she recalled there was hardly anyone around. “Cindy’s shop.” That was a good one. “Or Mr. Wolf in his office.” Though Bigby had helped her recently so she shouldn’t be sending things to incite his ire. “Or back to the Homelands. There are still nobles, witches and beasts too, but I’m sure you’ll find their rich company just fine.” Anyone, everyone, other than her would be better company. Her expression did soften a bit as she thought on some news. Past aside, she did have a job to do, and this was part of it. “Other than the path back home being open, nothing really. Occasionally I see someone pop up on these journals but it’s often a toss up on who they are and what they know. It’s… strange. But we are certainly used to strange things.”
He already had plans to see Cindy in her shop, there were a few items he wanted to pick up for one particular girl. Charming counted it a success when he managed to limit himself to one, rather than a whole pack of them as was his wont. It was almost like monogamy... until the next lady, or even the occasional lord, caught his eye and he was off again. As long as he didn't promise to be faithful, he didn't feel the least bit bad about it. He grinned as she mentioned all the other places he could visit. Ones that were likely to be more entertaining and a bit louder than the quiet office. "I was planning on visiting Cindy later, but you have decided it for me. I won't be visiting Bigby though." They never quite saw eye to eye on things, including the woman sitting across from him.
"Since the path has opened, have you been back yet?" He asked, curious about the state of their original home. He missed it. Too much had changed between here and there and no matter how much he tried to keep certain things the same, they weren't. Nor would they be until they could return to their homes. Or at the very least, Charming wanted to return to his castle and the land he would one day govern.
Her smile held as he promised to meet Cindy, tightening only a moment out of habit, before relaxing as he promised not to see Bigby. Perhaps her quiet day would continue. Her cool demeanor held until he asked about the path home and she sighed, ice melting long enough for her forehead to meet her fingers. “I have. It makes me think that we’ve romanticized our motherland too much. Less than half a day and I ran into a sorcerous witch, a beastly prince and, hm, Rose.” Her sister was a sore subject on most days but between her and the man before her, it was much worse. The tense note lingered a moment as she settled back into her chair, debating on telling him more about those three but instead looked away.
“Then had to wait in a purportedly dangerous wood since Bigby insisted,” she couldn’t help the exasperation with the word, even slight, “that he come and get me instead of letting me make my way home.” It was obvious what she thought of that nonsense but her gaze shifted back to her former husband, assessing him quietly. “If you do go back,” for now that there was a way, she didn’t doubt he’d try to go, “bring your sword.” Snow was more prone to focusing on Charming’s faults – and she would say few had better reasons to than her – but occasionally she’d admit his strengths. Her sword fighting was good, and she had him and his tutelage to thank for that. “Little has changed on the home front. You’d be better suited with a blade than without.”
There was that term again. Beast. Rose had said the same thing when they last spoke over the journals and it tickled at his mind. Other people might have frowned, their brows drawing up, a little line appearing between them, but frowning was one of the first expressions he'd learned to master. It was not flattering and not a single line marked his brow.
Prince Beast. He'd ask about that one later. "Thank you," he said with a smile. "I will keep that in mind." Home was still dangerous then, but he had no problem keeping his sword at his side. "Do not blame Bigby for wanting to keep you safe, especially if you are running into witches and beasts." Charming did not bring up the d-word, as he knew better. He also knew that his ex wife was more than capable of defending herself if she was in danger, but there had always been something different about Snow that neither Cindy nor Rose had. An innocence perhaps, or something simply worth protecting, more than the fact that she was of the fairer sex.
"Speaking of beasts, do you know anything of that one? The princely one?"
Her eyes narrowed slightly when he mentioned Bigby - a fleeting thought and wonder if they were conspiring against her. And then the expression only deepened when he hinted she kept getting into trouble, at least that’s how she heard it. “I can handle those,” she reminded him, for in her mind it was men, not animals, not witches, that gave her the most trouble. She kept her tone mild though the thin line of her lips remained. Charming had schooled himself not to frown, no power to be found in that expression when his face was more suited for warmer moods. But Snow found some solace in the seriousness of it all. It often gave her presence and words weight and truly, there was little she smiled about anyway these days.
Questions of the beast drew another sigh from her again, a definite slump in her shoulders as she settled against her chair, more out of defeat than any real sense of relaxation. “I’ve met him. Pun absolutely not intended, he’s quite beastly. Gigantic. Fierce. Angry. We got into a shouting match about Rose.” She said it so glibly, as if other than annoying there was nothing wrong with yelling at beast creatures one has just met. “I’m not sure what sort of prince he truly is. I’m getting stories but the sources, the queen, Rose, the fall into the suspicious category. I’ll have to look into it more.” Mostly meaning she’d be returning to the forest, but admitting it aloud hadn’t crossed her mind.
"It's not a matter of can. I know you can, but its a matter if you should." They may have been divorced, but as far as Charming was concerned, he would rather see Bigby harmed than Snow. There were few people that he actually cared enough about to see that they were safe and Snow was one of them, whether she wanted to be or not. He did his best to keep it from her though, it was one of those uncomfortable situations that was best avoided.
A lot of people considered Charming to be only a pretty face with a speck of intelligence between his ears, but he could figure things out. Just like now, with Rose's Prince Beast. There was no doubt in his mind that the Beast that Rose had spoken of was the same Beast that Snow was referring to. And while there were many beasts and they truthfully could have been two separate ones, why would Snow bother arguing with one that was involved with Rose?
And just like before, when he had been the one to figure out that Snow's disappearances into the forest corresponded with the deaths of dwarves, he didn't mention it. Given the tight line of Snow's lips – she always looked prettier when she smiled, or so he thought – it was best not to show too much concern for Rose. "If she's happy with him, why not let her stay?" He finally asked. Everything in his conversation with the other girl had indicated that she was right where she wanted to be with her Prince. Not to mention that it kept the two of them separated, which – in his opinion – was a much better option than anything else.
Charming had a point, which Snow was always loathed to admit. Bigby was better suited for this sort of work, no matter how capable she was, and the look she gave him - equal parts understanding and defeat - said as much. That quiet moment between them melted away quickly once he brought up Rose’s happiness, and a slash of suspicion crossed her face. It was bad enough that Rose Red sent her away after she had made the trek, but that Charming believed her to be truly happy? That he had been talking to her enough to know it? That he knew her better than her own, albeit estranged, sister?
“Because she’s not happy,” she insisted, curt and colder than she might have intended. “And even if she thinks she is,” for thinking and being were so terribly different, “he’s a monster. He thinks her little more than property. Holding her there for someone else’s mistake. She’s a prisoner in that castle. I don’t care if she can walk freely about it, she can’t walk out of it.” In her tirade her gaze had fallen to the floor so she looked back up to Charming, heat and anger blazing behind icy blue eyes to see if he knew that little information and still thought Rose was fine. Then again they got along far better than Snow ever would have liked. She wouldn’t be surprised if he did still side with the redhead sister after all this time.
The anger wasn't lost on him, not when it was crackling out of her eyes like knives, but he ignored it. Lust turned to anger easily enough when they found that they were not the only one he was spending time with. "When I spoke to her last, she implied that she had no desire to leave his castle, nor his bed." He wasn't so uncouth as to say that he doubted she could walk out of the castle because of whatever she and her Prince were doing in that bed, but he let the implication hang there between them.
If she wanted to be this Beast's kept pet, that was Rose's choice. The less the two sisters tried to influence one another's lives, the better it was for everyone involved or so Charming thought. "Has she actually told you that she's unhappy?" He asked, his tone light as he continued to ignore the anger coming off Snow. All too well he could remember how hard they tried to make room for Rose at the castle and what had happened in the aftermath. Remorse was not a feeling he was well accustomed to, but he still felt it, like an old wound that had never healed quite right.
The thought of her sister being intimate with anyone always made Snow wrinkle her nose, some things best left out of familial conversation and thought. The notion that lying with she was lying with the Beast - and telling about it - made her give a soft audible grimace as she turned her head. Of course Rose would say something like that. True or not, she did like to get a rise out of people even if it meant saying the most uncouth things.
“She... She was frightened. I know that. Do you recall that strange episode some time ago, when memories and visions not of our own came to us? I know I felt Rose and she was afraid to be there. So I went to get her and there she was, cool as you please, acting queen of a decrepit castle.” Her irritation was getting the best of her, else she would have realized what a careless slip she was making. His own part of their further falling out aside, he would know her history of trying to reach for her sister, only to have her hand bitten for her trouble. “But she’s never been good at making sound decisions. I can’t just leave her there. She’ll get eaten. His temper is short enough as it is. I doubt Rose will make it any better and she can’t get out of there on her own. I have to try at least.”
He was half tempted to tell Snow that he completely and utterly believed the Beast was eating her sister and not for dinner. That was far too illicit to say though, even if Rose had left him with that impression. "I remember, but that was some time ago. She may have grown happy there." Such things were not unknown, especially amongst royalty. In some places, Charming knew, some couples were married without ever having met each other before. Love had to grow then and sometimes the bride was scared but it wasn't anything that a little tenderness couldn't cure.
Of course, tenderness from a beast might be too much for the creature. And truthfully, it wasn't his concern. What Rose did now was her own business. And all too well he knew how often Snow reached out to her sister, only to get horribly burned in the process. "Leave her, Snow. She's a smart woman, if she wants out, she'll find a way or ask." If Rose didn't want her help, she would hurt Snow, that much he was sure of and though he'd certainly done worse, Charming didn't want to see her go through that much pain again.
Snow understood love blooming under odd circumstance. She met and married a man who kissed away her slumber, falling in love with him somewhere after that first surprising blink. It could happen, she admitted silently to herself, but remembering her own marriage to the man across the table from her soured her almost fond expression quickly. Still, he was giving her sound advice, lips thinning thoughtfully as she mulled it over. She still wasn’t convinced that Rose should be left alone, but she knew they would never agree on that. “Well. Bigby’s around and he can be in charge of finding a way to get her out when--if she wants.” Hopefully that would be enough to placate her visitor.
The fond expression wasn't lost on him and he found himself smiling, remembering better days with the woman across from him. There had been a time when he had loved her truly and even tried to curb some of his more indiscrete behaviors. It hadn't worked though and he'd ended up in bed with her sister because of it. Marriage was simply not for him and there was no point in trying any longer. The smile remained in place, more out of the belief that he should smile, rather than the desire to do so.
"That is a much better idea." Rose preferred men to help her with things, Charming knew. She could profess to hate them as much as she liked but when it came down to it, she used them as ruthlessly as they did her. "I can think of no one better equipped to deal with a Beast and to rescue your sister." Capable as she was, Snow deserved better than to spend her days hunting down monsters -- or her wayward, angry sister. Or so Charming believed. "Though if she's happy, I would suggest leaving her there." He knew sworn enemies who were nicer to one another than the two sisters.
But, as he suggested that she should leave Rose behind, he promptly stopped talking about her and changed the subject. "And what of you, Snow? How is the love of the fairest of them all?"
He kept insisting that she was happy, that he leave Rose there, and Snow straightened up to remind that they didn’t know for sure. But then asked her a question that derailed her so completely that she blinked blankly at him for a long moment before she rolled her eyes. “Oh that is rich, Charming.” Married to her work was a mild understatement for her and the dissolution of her marriage had put her off of anyone for a while. Then that while became a long while, and then rolled on to years, decades, and so forth. “And you? What sweet young or conveniently loaded thing are you cozying up to these days?”
He flashed her a smile, his pearly whites shown off as he had been trained to do for years. Smiling naturally put people at ease and he knew it. Even if it failed to put her at ease, it never stopped him from trying. "Their money is of little interest to me." Unless he was marrying again, which he wasn't. Though he did like to be spoiled... No, he shook his head. As for pretty young things -- there was Justine. However, he was rarely one to seduce and tell as such things were rarely polite to do. "Ask me in a few days," he said, still smiling. "It's too early to tell yet." And in a few days, the chances were that he would have seduced Justine, gotten what he wanted, and left her dancing her little heart out alone. It was all fairly standard for Charming.
“Of course it is.” As if she would ask him about it later. Snow wasn’t quite the jealous type, at least not in the obvious sense. She didn’t really care about who he was dallying with, or that he was with someone else, but she didn’t actively seek out confirmation that he was better off since their divorce. She knew it. It irritated her. She had more important things to care about than his free time. “I’m sure it will be very… Well. I’m sure it’ll something.” She didn’t even bother to offer a smile, even for the sake of politeness. Instead she just turned her eyes back to the book she had set aside earlier, lingering on it a long moment before flickering her gaze back to his face. “I should leave you to it then.”
She might not have been interested in who was taking care of his needs, but Charming had always had a soft spot for her. It might have been somewhere close to his proverbial heart, but it was definitely not in his pants. He wanted to make sure that she was alright, that she had something more than the anger of what had happened to her and a sister that was as likely to stab her in the back as she was to breathe. And, really, Snow was too pretty to waste her life on vengeance. "Of course," he said, recognizing the urge to end the conversation, such as it was. "Think about it. And think about a date. You can't spend the rest of your life in here," he said with a glance around, only barely managing not to sneer at the interior of the building.
Snow wrinkled her nose indignantly, shoulders rolling back as she took offense. “It’s my office, Charming. Not a lounge. And it’s fine. Perfectly fine.” Perhaps that was more defensive than she intended but how dare he come in here and criticize her office. She was so incensed she breezed right past his suggestion for dating, though she had given him another roll of her eyes at that. Dating was about as conducive to her work as new décor, so clearly neither was going to happen. “And speaking of work, I really should go back to it and I’m sure you have things to do. Some socialites to love and leave perhaps?” Other people to bother?
"An office, yes," he said lightly, ignoring her biting words and the roll of her eyes. "Which is precisely why you shouldn't spend the rest of your life in it." Charming nearly blew her a kiss as he stood up, but smiled instead and gave a little bow. "Places to see and people to do," he said loftily, even laughing a little. "And so should you, fairest of them all. Think about it, Snow. There's a whole new world out there and you shouldn't see it alone." He was still smiling as he strode out of her office and out the door, taking care not to have the door slam behind him.