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For an instant, Snow White panicked.

She could only imagine what it must seem like, a young woman -a princess no less- living in a house with seven grown man. It was the reason she had asked Red not to tell her grandmother about it when they had traveled to meet Snow as part of her plan to rescue Charming.

Admittedly, after she became a fugitive the princess had ceased to worry much about what people would say or think about her, and, despite her good nature and friendly disposition, she had learned to stop explaining or excusing her actions to others. But her friends were her friends. It was different.

Snow silently stripped Charming's jacket off her shoulders and turned away from him to pull something out of a drawer. After seeing that flash of what looked like anger in the prince's eyes, she was slightly scared of what he might be thinking of her.

As if sensing her apprehension, Charming spoke first. But not without making sure the dwarfs had busied themselves with something else first.

"So, you live here" it was not a question.

"Charming" she turned to face him again, tensely grasping a gown with her pale fingers. "They are simply my friends. Nothing else. And I owe them more than I will ever be able to repay."

Charming frowned, confused. And then he understood.

She thinks you doubt her loyalty, his mind shouted. Or perhaps her love –maybe even her purity. "Stop" he said aloud, as much to halt his train of thought as hers.

Snow's eyes were pleading, almost tortured as they looked into his. She felt the need to explain everything all at once, but hesitated whether this was the right time. There was so much she needed to say, but she felt weary and overwhelmed. All she wanted to do was slip into his arms and feel his comforting warmth again.

"I owe them my life," she managed to say before, as if reading her mind, Charming walked the short distance to where she stood and held her face between his large, strong hands. She was still cold to the touch; and he yearned to wrap himself around her until his skin had infused hers with its natural heat again.

Snow White felt his breath upon her lips as he sighted, a single tear making its lonely way down her soft cheek as she instinctively closed her eyes.

Kissing the small teardrop, he felt the saltiness of her tear tickle his lower lip and his heart raced at the thought of finally being able to freely taste even the tiniest part of her.

"You must think me so petty" David whispered fervently, his face and body drawing impossibly closer to hers. Snow's clean gown was crushed between them -most of the fabric puddled on the dusty ground, like shimmering water flowing down from between their pressed bodies.

"To be thinking and talking of such silly matters after all that you've been through." He continued.

But the princess shook her head; she didn't want an apology, she didn't need an apology.

Snow pulled his lower lip with her teeth, tugging gently at it and eliciting a soft groan deep down his throat -equally matched by a rush of blood down to his groin- thus effectively making him forget whatever he'd been thinking of mere seconds earlier.

The princess could feel his hands moving further down her hips, and she wondered if she might have been able to feel an entirely different part of his anatomy had they had fewer layers of clothes between them.

Soon, they were kissing again, and Snow realized they were dangerously close to starting down a path that could prove embarrassing for everyone in the cabin.

Another time Charming, she told herself, I shall make sure we pick this up at another time.

David was surprised to suddenly feel her turning around in his arms, the kiss over, his hands coming briefly into contact with the tout contour of her buttocks.

"Undo my gown." Her voice was soft and raspy.

"What?" He asked clumsily, looking up from her slim backside to stare at her beautiful black hair. He couldn't think straight. His mind was muddled and his senses buzzing with the palpable electricity of their mutual attraction.

"I need to change out of this dress." She said with a grin, knowing full well what he was feeling since she was feeling the same way. Her sweet voice innocent and seductive all at once. "Can you untie the laces so that I may do it? Please."

She reached over to lift her hair away from her shoulders and felt again the warmth of his breath upon her skin, this time on her neck. Her breathing fastening as his strong fingers traced lines from her hips to between her shoulder blades.

David's hands were shaking as he carefully tugged the thin ribbons of her bodice. His concentration wavering as the gown began to come apart and his eyes rested on the exposed flesh of her back for the first time ever.

For a moment he thought she was wearing nothing underneath, his knees almost buckling with anticipation. Then the edge of an undershirt became visible, but he remained just as enthralled; Charming had never seen a woman without a corset under her clothes before.

It was terribly arousing and exhilarating. The air was heavy with desire, and everyone and everything else outside that room was momentarily forgotten.

Her dress finally completely untied, Snow heard him sighing behind her. She didn't need to look at him to know that he was struggling to keep himself a gentleman, his excitement tinkering with the limits of his self-restraint.

She smiled at herself once more; smiled at the rush of power and satisfaction she felt being able to produce such temptation in him by doing nothing more than inviting him to unlace her garment.

However much pleasure she felt imagining Charming caving into an overwhelming urge and ripping her dress completely off her body, Snow decided it was best to end his torture now and slowly walked away from him.

Sneaking behind the changing screen, the princess started sharing a summarized version of the story of how she ended up living with the dwarfs.

Charming sat on the bed and listened. Soon, the moment's magic and thoughts of passion were overcome by the resentment and hatred he felt towards the man he had to call 'father' for appearance's sake.

No more, he thought. King George was naught but a monster in royal clothing; a corrupted soul who would one day pay for all his wrongdoings. Charming would see to that.

"Your father is a very determined man. And he's determined to keep us apart."

As Snow stepped to stand in front of him again in her clean gown, David knew that he needed to tell her the whole truth about who he really was as soon as possible; but not in that moment, nor in that place.

He needed more privacy than the small cabin could offer, as well as the freedom to speak without so many sets of ears around to listen.

Snow White knew the story had upset him, just as she knew the dark and troubled thoughts that were now running through his mind. She could almost see the cloudy, angry feelings lingering behind his pale blue eyes and the frown upon his forehead.

It is not easy to hear how a parent -someone who is supposed to protect you and love you- is willing to trample over your feelings to get what they want; to realize how far they will go regardless of the consequences. She knew of this first hand, her own stepmother being responsible for nearly all the tragedies and miseries plaguing Snow's life.

The princess wondered if she should have indeed waited for a better time, should have told him all this later. But there was still so much to say, and seeing as she had to start somewhere, she had impulsively shared part of the story just to fill the silence and to distract him –and herself- of the fact that she was undressing in his presence.

Now, unable to reverse time, she did the next best thing she could think of. She tried to comfort him.

Snow took his face between her hands, caressing the rough, fuzzy stubble of his unshaved cheeks, and forcing him to look into her eyes. "Hey, it will be alright. We're together now."

Charming felt close to tears at the tenderness in her face, and at the compassion burning brightly in her two green irises; thoughts of revenge against king George not quite forgotten, but abated in her soothing proximity.

Thankfully, before any more talk of heartbreaks and misfortunes could ruin the rest of the evening for them, Snow and David were distracted by the loudness of the dwarfs as they welcomed back three of their man, who had departed the group to collect what seemed to be a whole tavern's worth of liquor.

Bringing enough barrels of ale and rum to satisfy a small village, the cabin was soon filled with the pungent smell of alcohol and the hollow, shallow noises of mugs bumping together and being set on the table.

(To Be Continued...)

Thank you for reading.