Birds were happily chirping early the next morning. Scarlet could barely keep her eyes open as they rode through the forest. Snow hummed from where she was sitting behind Scarlet on the horse. Scarlet ducked from being decked by a bird’s wing. The bird landed on Snow’s shoulder and chirped along with her song.

Alistair looked over at Scarlet from his horse, an eyebrow raised.

Scarlet shook her head. She had no idea what was going on with this girl.

Alistair cleared his throat, “So… Snow, is it?”

“Yes,” Snow smiled over at him.

“As you know, we are on a mission to save Princess Aurora of Wonderland,” He straightened up on his horse, “I was wondering… what are your plans from here out?”

Snow’s smile fell. The birds stopped chirping. Scarlet looked up at the trees, wondering if the birds were going to poop on Alistair for making their princess sad. She smiled smugly at the thought of it.

“Um…” Snow squirmed, “I don’t know. I don’t really have a place to go.”

“Aren’t you the princess of Winterland?” Scarlet asked, remembering some of the details Snow had mentioned in the castle, “Why were you locked in that tower?”

Snow sighed, “I… am the princess of Winterland. My father was the king. My mother died when I was very young and he remarried Nira. My father died a few years after they got married. Right after his funeral, Nira locked me in the tower. She just said that… I wasn’t beautiful enough to be a queen.”

“She’s probably just jealous that she’s getting old and you are young and pretty,” Scarlet said.

Snow shrugged, “I don’t know… but I don’t have a home anymore. I lived in the tower for 5 years.”

Scarlet hands tightened on the reins. In a way, she could understand Snow’s struggle. Neither of them was welcome in their kingdom.

“I’m sorry,” Alistair said, “I’m sure there is something that King Stephen can do for you once we get to Wonderland. He might be able to let you stay at the castle.”

“Really?” Snow grinned.

Scarlet frowned, her chest burning.

“No.”

Alistair and Snow stared at her in stunned silence.

Scarlet took a deep breath. She bit her bottom lip before exhaling.

“Snow, you can stay with me and my mom… If you want to…”

Alistair’s eyes widened in surprise.

Scarlet froze as arms wrapped around her from behind. Snow laid her forehead on Scarlet’s back.

“Thank you! I’d be happy to!”

Scarlet felt her face heating up, “S-Sure.”

She felt Alistair’s eyes on her. She could tell that it was slowly connecting for him. Snow called Scarlet her friend and Scarlet didn’t want that to slip away. Alistair chuckled as it hit him.

***

A sneeze rang through the forest. Scarlet sniffed, wiping her running nose with her sleeve. It had been a week of traveling through the snowy Forbidden Forest. They had finally made it to the Woodland border: the Woodland Mountains.

Scarlet’s calves complained they ascended the mountain, leading their horses behind them. The route was treacherous and one wrong move on the horses would send them over the edge. Snow stumbled across a rock, barely being caught by Scarlet. Snow smiled in appreciation but didn’t speak. Her fair skin looked paler than usual. Scarlet was sure she probably looked the same way. Being on top of the mountain was colder than being in the Winterland Valley.

“So, where are these dwarves supposed to be?” Scarlet huffed, her breath billowing out in front of her like puffs of smoke from a dragon.

“They live inside the mountains,” Snow wrapped her arms around herself, shivering.

Scarlet sighed, “And where exactly?”

“… I don’t know,” Snow looked down at her feet.

Scarlet felt a little bad for the snappy tone she projected, but she was cold and miserable. She cupped her right hand and summoned a little fire. The warmth felt amazing against her skin. She extended her hand toward her new companion. Snow smiled in appreciation, visibly relaxing from the heat.

“Over here!” Alistair waved at them from where he was several feet ahead.

Scarlet and Snow picked up their pace. They were huffing when they reached him at the mouth of a cave.

“There might be dwarves inside,” Alistair stated.

“Let’s go!” Snow rushed inside, “I’m freezing!”

The cave was dark, no source of light to be found once walking inside. Scarlet held fire in her hand to light the way.

“It’s kind of scary in here,” Snow said, grabbing Scarlet’s sleeve. Alistair followed behind them, his hand on his sword in case trouble appeared.

After walking for what felt like a mile, they could hear a whooshing sound.

“What is that?” Snow whispered.

As the sound got louder, they saw a light appear. Scarlet put her fire out. Alistair put a finger over his closed lips and gestured at the wall. Scarlet pulled Snow over to the wall as Alistair crept ahead. Scarlet followed after him.

Laughter rang through the cave. The three looked at each other but kept their guard up.

Scarlet and Alistair found the end of the cave. It opened up, revealing forests and mountains for miles. Three men separated them from the exit. They had makeshift tents set up and a small fire between them. They didn’t look like anything more than travelers. The men noticed them immediately.

One of the men smirked, his face streaked with dirt, “Who are you? Some knight come to save a princess?”

The other two men chuckled.

One of the other men looked at Scarlett, “Looks like you found her, now scram.”

Scarlet glared at them. She walked into their camp, feeling the heat of the flames thaw her feet. She approached the man who had just addressed them.

She stared him in his questioning eyes, “I am not a princess. Have you seen any dwarves around here?”

They laughed.

“Dwarves?” The man laughed, “They only exists in fairy tales.”

His eyes slid down her body and glided back up. A sly grin covered his face. Scarlet scowled.

“Now I can give you something real, hon-“

Scarlet lunged. She grabbed his neck, fire burning his skin.

He screamed in agony as the other two men hurriedly grabbed their swords and advanced at her. Alistair slammed one in the side, throwing him to the ground. With one hand on the pervert, Scarlet lifted her hand to the man coming at her and threw a fireball. He shrieked, dropping his sword to pat the fire on his head out. Scarlet let the pervert go. The three men scurried out of the cave.

“So,” Snow came around the corner to join them, “Do you always set people on fire?”

Scarlet smiled, “Sometimes.”

Snow nodded, her eyes wide.

Alistair sighed, putting his sword back into its sheath, “We are no closer than we were before.”

“Actually we are,” Snow smiled, “We came through this cave and are now in Woodland.”

Scarlet tried not to smile at the optimism pouring off the young woman. Alistair sat down in front of the fire, running a hand through his hair.

A bird flew through the cave entrance and landed on Snow’s shoulder. It chirped at her. After a moment, she whistled back. It tweeted and flew to the cave entrance.

“Dwarves are that way.”

“How do you know?” Scarlet eyed the bird. It landed on the ground and looked back at them as if it was waiting on them.

Snow gestured at the bird, “The bird told me.”

It was so silent that a drop of water echoed.

Alistair recovered first, “What?”

Snow smiled, “When I was in the tower, birds were the only ones who came to see me. I learned to speak to them.”

Scarlet blinked and shook her head. She had chosen a strange girl to be her friend.

The bird hopped out of the cave and lifted into the sky.

“Let’s go!” Snow ran after the bird.

Alistair and Scarlet followed after them, just hoping their journey would soon be over.