Way AU in which King George wants his daughter Snow White to marry the captain of his guards, who like his father knows all the Kings secrets. Only Snow White in love with King Leopold's son, Prince James. I union James' stepmother will stop at nothing to prevent. Right now the focus is on Snowing, but the story will eventually include the Huntsman and Emma.

Switching the kings around worked for this story. I wanted the Huntsman to be friends with Snow, but also to be a confidant for her father. The affair between George and seems to work better if she is James' stepmother. James is the natural son of Leopold in this story.

I claim no rights to these characters.

Chapter 1

At the tender age of 10 years old, Snow White did not understand the constant parade of women than regularly went through her father King George's bed chamber. It had started 5 years ago right after the death of her mother and the faces of the women had become a blur over the years. One had been a constant though, Queen Regina, the wife of King Leopold. It was Regina who now occupied the attention of her father. Regina had been at the castle for a week and she had brought her step-son Prince James.

Snow had never met a bigger toad than Prince James. He was 2 years older than her and he still acted like a baby. He was obnoxious and spoiled and no fun at all. As the only son of King Leopold he knew he would inherit a kingdom and he already behaved as if he were king. The whole week he had done nothing but complain about how bored he was. Never mind the fact that he did not want to do anything.

Snow had asked him to go on walks with her in the forest, it turned out that he hated nature. She had tried to engage him mock sword fights, but he always cried when her wooden sword hit him, even lightly. She had tried to get him to read her poetry, but he did not even want to do that either. Her mother had taught her to be a good host, but Prince James had tried her last bit of resolve.

All he wanted to do was to sit by the river and skip rocks and he could not even master that simple skill. Snow had learned how to skip a rock when she was 3. She had even tried to show him how to do it, but he was a very bad student.

Snow had been reading a book and she thought maybe something suggested with in its pages might help.

She snuck up on the surly Prince, turned him around until he was facing her and before he had time to protest she kissed him long and firmly on his pouting lips.

She brought the kiss when she ran out of breath. He had a dumbfound look on his face, but then he pushed her away. He gave her an angry look.

"What did you do that for?"

"I read in a book that if you kiss a frog you can sometimes turn him into a prince. I guess it doesn't work because you are still a frog." She shook her head sadly and started to walk away.

"It didn't work because I am already a prince!" He yelled at her retreating form." You are so stupid and you are ugly."

That stopped her in her tracks. No one had ever called her ugly.

"Excuse me?" She glared at him and marched back over to the side of the river.

"You heard me. You are so ugly that is why your mother died," He seethed.

He hit a very tender nerve and Snow wanted to cry, but she would not give him the satisfaction.

"You Prince James are a wart covered toad and that is why your mother died."

She picked up a rock and hit him squarely on the chin. It knocked him off of his rock and into the river. The last thing she saw was him floating down the river with blood dripping from his chin. He had a bewildered look on his face.

Snow White was running, out of breath down the corridor of the castle when William caught her by the arm. He was 4 years older than her. He was the son of Graham, who was her Father's huntsman and the captain of the palace guards. William was also her closest friend.

"Daddy! Daddy!" Snow franticly screamed at the top of her lungs.

William grabbed her around the waist. The fact that he was 6 inches taller than her gave him an advantage.

"Where do you think you are going, squirt?" He grinned.

"I have to see my father," Snow said, out of breath.

"He is still in his planning session with the Queen. My father is guarding the door." He gave her a helpless shrug.

"I have to see him, I think I might have killed Prince James," She said her voice tinged with exasperation.

"I just saw him and he is very much alive," William smirked. "He had a bloody jaw and probably an equally blood ego, but he will survive."

"Good, false alarm," She tried to slink off.

"Snow, what did you do?" He narrowed his eyes at her.

"I might have hit him with a rock," She gave him a sly look.

"You did what?"

"And I pushed him in the river," She continued.

"You are going to start a war someday," He shook his head sadly.

"He insulted me and called me ugly and said that was why my mother died!" The princess crossed her arms and pouted.

"Might you have started it?" William gave her a scolding look.

"Fine, I called him a frog and told him that was why his mother died."

"He is a sniffling brat, but you cannot go around hitting every jerk you meet with rocks."

Snow looked towards the door of her father's chamber.

"What are they doing in there? They have been at it for hours.

William had his suspicions on what went on in the King's bedchamber, but it wasn't anything he could share with a 10 year old girl. He knew that his father knew all of King George's secrets. What an awful responsibility that was. He hoped it was one that he would never have to bear.

"I want to see what is going on in there." Snow White demanded impatiently.

"My dad is at the doorway, there is no way anyone is getting past him to get into that room." William informed her with authority in his voice.

Snow gave him a defiant look, "I don't have to go in the front door. I know a back way into the room. My mother showed me a secret passage."

She hurried off.

"Snow, come back!" He demanded to empty air.

The secret passage opened noiselessly and allowed Snow and William a good view of the chamber. They were shoulder to shoulder though. More important, they could clearly hear every word that was being said. Both the King and Regina were on his bed, both were partially clothed and they were drinking wine from goblets that had been used at the wedding between George and his now dead wife, Snow's mother. The princess had been shown them by her mother before the good Queen's death.

"George, you owe me a great deal." Regina was saying between sips of wine.

"I have treated you very well these past 5 years." He replied as he tried to kiss her.

William felt bile creeping up his throat. He wanted to shield Snow's eyes and hide the truth from her. It was too late. She was transfixed on the vile scene.

"Not enough to make up for the risk I took in poisoning that shrew of a woman you married!" Regina gave him a scandalous smile.

"What risk? You had a very successful trial run when you poisoned King Leopold's wife."

They both laughed

"What are they talking about?" Snow asked in a low sob.

"I think Regina killed your mother after she killed the mother of Prince James," William had said the words before he realized their full implications.

All the color drained from Snow's face and William felt her body go limp and slump against his body.

He dragged her out of the secret passage and left her seemingly lifeless form on the hallway floor. He ran to his father.

"Call the healing woman, there is something horribly wrong with Snow."

His father looked up and scowled, "This had better not be like the time that you tried to make me believe that you were seriously wounded by that fake arrow!"

"It is not anything like that, there is something wrong with her."

His father looked at the doorway to the King's chamber.

"Stand here boy and do not let anyone in that door."

The boy nodded, "Just hurry!"

The door opened and King George yelled with a deep, angry, booming voice, "Graham, what the hell is all the noise about?" He saw that it was not his loyal huntsman who was guarding the door, but the servants son.

"William, where is your father?" He asked short tempered.

"He has gone to get the healing woman, something has happened to Snow."

William nervously glanced down the hall as if he desperately wanted to follow his father and check on his dear friend.

"What is wrong with my daughter?" The King glared at William. "Did she fall out of a tree again or do something equally as stupid?"

"She collapsed your majesty." William stated slowly as if he were speaking to an idiot cow.

The king looked back into his chamber, were Regina was impatiently waiting for him. She had slipped off her gown and was beneath the bed covers. She was not going to be happy, but he had to check on his daughter. After all, he had a reputation as a doting father to uphold.

"Show where they have taken her," He said with far less enthusiasm than William thought the situation justified.

Prince James had not floated downstream too far before he was able to make his way to the river bank and climb out. He could taste the blood from the gash on his chin and he should have been angry. Yet, what he felt was much different. The sun was shining and its warmth felt good on his wet skin, he could hear birds engaged in a merry song and for once he did not want to pick up a rock and silence their chirps. The air was full of the scent of flowers and he was not sneezing. For the first time in a long time, Prince James was happy. Ever since his mother had died he had been a very sad little boy. Something, no make that someone had changed all of that. That someone was Snow White.

"I was wretched to her," He whispered out loud.

He had to find her and apologize. He was trudging through the riparian zone when William saw him and he had almost made it back to the castle when Graham found him.

"Where do you think you are going?" Asked the elder huntsman.

"I am going to the castle to apologize to Snow." James stated bravely.

"What did you do to her?" The angry booming voice of the authoritative adult asked. Graham was convinced that James was somehow responsible for Snow's state on health.

"I called her some names and she hit me with a rock and pushed me into the river," he replied defensively. "I want to tell her I am sorry what I said to her about her mother."

"Did you touch her?" The huntsman asked with a serious tone in his voice.

"No, I swear I never laid a finger on her. Is something wrong?" James asked franticly.

"She collapsed in the palace. No one is sure what happened." He turned to head back to the palace. James had to run to keep up.

"Sir, may I please see her?" The young prince pleaded.

"Yes, but do not touch her!" He warned. "If I see you try to harm her in any way, I will send you to the salt mines." There was a fierce protectiveness in the elder Huntsman's voice.

James wanted to explain that he would never hurt her because she had changed his life. He wanted to shout out to the world that he, Prince James loved Snow White. But he wasn't sure that was true. He was 12 years old, what did he know about love? He had loved his mother, but she had been gone a long time.

"You would send a 12 year old boy to the salt mines?" His eyes grew large with fear.

"In your case, with pleasure," The Huntsman sighed. "Just keep your hands to yourself."

James entered the room slowly. Snow had been placed on a bed and sunlight from a nearby window was streaming through and illuminated her so she looked like an angel. King George stood by her bedside with a pensive look on his face. The healing woman was bathing her forehead with a cool compress. The water in the bowl that she was using to wet the cloth smelled of flowers. Everyone was talking in soft whispers.

James approached the bed and his breath caught in his chest. She looked so frigile, the color had drained from her face and making her skin appear even more pale than her normal milk white pallor.

"Can you help her?" He asked the woman who was bathing Snow's forehead.

"I will certainly try." She replied with little hope in her voice.

He was about to lean over and kiss the unconscious princess. The huntsman had told him to keep his hands to himself, no one had mentioned lips. Suddenly the room became cold and dark. Regina stormed into the room and what had moments earlier felt like a sanctuary, suddenly felt to James like a tomb.

Regina was angry, George had kept her waiting far longer than she was accustom to going with out her own way.

"Come on James, we are leaving! I have already called for the carriage," She shot George an angry look. "Our business here is complete."

James gave his stepmother a desperate look, "Snow is sick and we have to stay to make sure she is alright."

"We will do no such thing; we have already been here long enough," She snapped. "If I leave your father alone for too long he does stupid things like form alliances with King Stefan!"

"At least let me say goodbye." He begged.

Regina cast her gaze towards the seemingly lifeless Princess.

"She can't hear you, what would be the use in saying anything to her?" She shook her head sadly.

"I meant to William," James quickly lied.

William gave him a puzzled look. They had hardly become friends in the time that Prince James had been staying in the Palace. In fact, William could hardly remember the two of them exchanging more than 10 words in the past 7 days.

James drew William aside where none of the adults could see what he was doing. He took a gold chain from around his neck. On the chain was a ring with a shiny stone set in the middle. James kissed the ring with reverence and then he gave the chain with the ring to William.

"Give this to Snow," James pleaded. "The ring belonged to my mother. It will protect her."

William closed his hand around the ring to hide it from view and nodded his head in the affirmative.

"James we are leaving now!" Regina seethed.

"I need to hear you promise that you will give her the ring." The prince demanded softly.

"I promise. Not now, there are too many people. I will come back to night and I will make sure she gets the ring," William vowed.

Regina gave George one last killer look and sashayed out of the room.

George turned to Graham and whispered, "Find something rare and exotic and have it sent to the Queen at King Leopold's Castle.

Graham nodded in agreement and understanding.

True to his word, later that night William slipped into Snow's chamber. There had been no change in her condition throughout the day and into the night. The healing woman was seated by her beside, but she had fallen asleep. William bent over the bed and placed the chain with the ring around Snow's neck. He waited, as if he expected some kind of magic to occure. He was not disappointed. Her eyes slowly fluttered open.

"Where am I?" She asked.

"In your bed chamber, you need to get some rest."

"I feel like I have been asleep for days," She yawned.

She reached up and felt for the chain around her neck and pulled out the ring.

"What is this?" She asked as she stared at the ring. it was the most beautiful piece of jewlry she had ever seen. The stone caught the moon light and sent it dancing across the room.

"It is a gift from Prince James. It belonged to his mother and he said that it would prtect you."

"Then I shall never take it off," Snow vowed before she drifted off to sleep.

12 years later.

True to her promise of that night, Snow had worn the ring on the chain around her neck faithfully. She was in the royal carriage with her father and they were traveling to the Summer Palace the way they did every spring. Snow loved the Summer Palace, it had been her mother's dowry, a piece of property that her grandfather had given King George at the time of his marriage to Snow's mother. She loved the woods most of all, even though they were filled with Trolls. She loved most of all that those woods bordered the Kingdom of King Leopold. When she was in those woods she felt close to James, the man she had secretly loved since she was 10 years old. Never mind that she had not even laid eyes on him in 12 years, she loved him madly. Ever year when they came to the Summer Palace she hoped that it would be the year that she was reunited with her long lost love. She hoped it would be the year that she swept him off his feet and they lived happy ever after. Snow looked over at William who was seated beside her father and smiled at him. He was her best friend, more like a brother, and the only other person that knew of her yearning to be with James.

Prince James stood way back in the crowd and watched the royal procession was it went by on the way to the Summer Palace. He was wearing a rough woven cloak over his royal clothing in order to blend in with the crowd. He had watched Snow White's annual migration to her summer home for 12 years. Every year she grew more lovely and every year in fell deeper and deeper in love. The carriage stopped right in front of him and he could almost reach out and touch her. Every year he wanted to call out to her and make his presence known, but he could never find his voice. He hoped this year would be the year that he swept her off her feet and was able to tell her that he had spent the last 12 years trying to become the best man possible. He had worked hard to transform from the toad she had despised into someone she could be proud of and maybe even someone she could love.

The carriage began to move again and once more the woman he loved slipped from his grasp.

After writing the first chapter of this story, I am not sure how I feel about it. I started writing the description and realized the concept is really far out. The reaction I get may determine if I continue the story or not.