She stands in the middle of the study, surrounded by the instruments of Jaehwan's sorcery. The only place she feels grounded despite it being the highest room in the tower. Still, at peace. She closes her eyes, deep breaths filling her chest.

"There you are, darling," comes a hushed whisper from behind her, "what're you doing up here?"

Her gaze flickers to the window. Night had fallen. She hadn't noticed in the midst of her pondering. She remains silent and she feels Jaehwan's presence come closer, hovering at her shoulder.

"Something's on your mind. I can feel it. Tell me what's bothering you," his voice is gentle and sweet.

She feels like crying, like she'll break down in sobs right there. She's thankful that he can't see her face, though she's no doubt an open book with the aura she's giving off, heart hammering.

"Taekwoon asked me to marry him," she confesses. A slight pause.

"And what did you say?"

She swallows the lump in .

"I said I would think about it,"

Another silence, the suspense in the air like a held breath. Jaehwan comes closer.

"Do you love him, Snow White?"

"I-I...I don't know,"

He dips his head, fingers resting on her bare shoulders and his mouth parts at her ear.

"Do you love me?" he asks breathlessly. That pulls a soft whimper from and she turns around in his arms to reach his lips, standing on tiptoes. He responds with equal enthusiasm, his hands coming to cradle her face, tilting up her chin with a gentle touch of his thumb to deepen the kiss. Her fingers twist into his cloak to pull him closer despite their bodies being already so flush together and she hears him chuckle.

"So eager, my darling," he murmurs smugly, plush lips pressing kisses to her jaw and neck that set fire to her blood. Jaehwan pulls away slowly and rests his forehead against hers, the sound of their breathlessness and fluttering hearts filling the room. He closes his eyes.

"It's getting late, the Queen will be calling upon her mirror soon,"

She feels her spirit crumble at the mention of the hour and that familiar sadness creeps back into her system.

"But you have my answer, Jaehwan. I love you,"

Jaehwan smiles thinly and runs his finger over her cheek, a similar look of heartache etched into his features.

"And how happy I am to hear you say that," he says softly, "but I'm not the right one for you. I can never leave these woods, I'm cursed here for all eternity," he pauses to take in a shaking breath, his eyes glistening in the low light, "I can't give you the life you deserve, Taekwoon is who you ought to be with. I'm nothing but a sorcerer, and a princess needs a proper prince,"

Her tears finally fall and she doesn't move to wipe them away.

"I don't want him, I want you," her voice is a broken whisper, "one night is all I ask,"

The corners of his mouth turn down in a slight frown and a look of internal conflict flickers behind his eyes and he cups her cheek. Lust and pain.

"The Queen will discover that you've been alive all of this time. She'll come to kill you, Snow White,"

"Then let her," she retorts, the overwhelming urge to be held and loved too great, "it'll be worth it if I get to spend one night with you. Awake."

She doesn't have time to react as Jaehwan falls upon her once more, all lips and teeth and a low gasp, his desperation present in the way his hands fit on the small of her back. Like he can't get close enough. He lifts her up then to set her on the wooden desk, fingers sliding up the smooth skin of her thighs.

"I hope you know we're not going to be done even when the sun comes up," he murmurs into her hair with a smirk, "I've wanted you for too long,"

As promised, they stay in bed well after dawn. He’d kept her up until the small hours of the morning, rousing her to new heights each time with skillful hands and that sinful mouth, stars bursting behind her eyelids. Equally as exhausted, he had tucked her into his side, the two of them dozing off in their afterglow of hazy pleasure.

The sunlight through the window tints his tousled hair a rich gold, highlighting flushed cheekbones and fanned lashes. Honeyed hues against white sheets.

"We should probably get up," she croaks and he snickers softly. His fingers her hair.

"I don't want to," he pouts and she rolls her eyes before moving to a sitting position, hissing as her bare feet brush the cold wooden floor. A hand grabs her wrist to stop her from standing up.

"Come back to bed," Jaehwan murmurs, dangerously close. She swears he's casting magic to try and seduce her since she feels her body pull back for a second before she's able to break away from his influence.

"You're unbelievable," she laughs breathlessly with a shake of her head. She hears him chuckle.

She throws open the shutters to let in as much sunlight as possible, earning a dramatic groan from Jaehwan as he buries his face into the pillows.

Something catches her eye. Two white forms resting motionless on the window ledge, frail bodies bent at awkward angles. Her stomach drops through the floor and she lets out a cry.

"Snow White?"

The doves. Their necks snapped. A piece of folded parchment sits beside them and she breaks the wax seal with trembling fingers. Only two words are darkly written, so much pressure that she can see where it's been torn from a quill digging into the paper.

I know, it reads.

Jaehwan is at her side to catch her the instant her knees give out. He surveys the windowsill and bites off a curse, panic in his voice.

"That's impossible. How did she find us so quickly? How did she get past my borders?"

He tucks a stray strand of hair behind her ear and cups her by the shoulders.

"She's gotten stronger. We have less time than I thought. Can you stand, darling?"

She nods and he helps her to her feet. Her body feels heavy and cold, shock numbing her senses. 

The study is a mess after the aftermath of the previous night, no time to feel embarrassed as Jaehwan starts rifling through chests and drawers, going so far as to empty their contents out onto the floor. Whatever he's searching for, he doesn't seem to find it and he rakes a hand through his hair in frustration. He goes to the far end of the room to where he has his astrology charts and starts digging. She notices him pause when he pulls out a silk drawstring bag, unfastening it to produce a glossy, blood red apple.

Jaehwan comes back to her with it in hand and she notices his features cloud with a look of pure anguish.

"This is my last resort of keeping you hidden from Queen Valaine," he murmurs. Her eyes flicker to the fruit and he stands there, arm half extended like he's unsure whether to give it to her.

"Before she exiled me, the Queen gave me this poison laced apple should I ever run into you." Jaehwan takes a step closer, voice breaking, "This was all planned, Snow White. She knows I have no way out,"

He lets out a choked laugh and she can see tears b his eyes.

"I was supposed to kill you if you ever came to me. But Hakyeon...Hakyeon knew I wouldn't be able to do it,"

A strange tingling blooms at the nape of her neck, moving down to her fingertips until her entire body feels like a live wire.

"Instead, I fell in love with you,"

Heat soars through her chest, moisture slipping from her eyes as she tries to reach for him.

"I fell so hard for my last chance at freedom," he rasps, breathless. The hidden meaning of his words click in her mind.

"If I die, the Queen will break your curse?"

Jaehwan nods once, slowly and that's more than enough, moving to take the apple from him and to her lips. But before her teeth can break the flesh of the fruit, he stops her with a quick tug of her wrist.

"And to think you were willing to," he smiles softly and his tone swells with quiet admiration. He exhales a shuddering breath, a tired look in his eyes, "I cast a counterspell on the apple. It won't stop your heart, but will render you into a deep sleep, only breakable by Taekwoon's kiss,"

That gentle smile, accepting his fate of eternal damnation to these woods.

"Why Taekwoon?" her question is barely a murmur.

"Because a princess deserves a proper prince," he says with a caress of her cheek, "he can take you to the safety of his kingdom,"

She starts to cry.

"Just one bite, darling," Jaehwan whispers and presses the apple into her hand once more.

"I'm scared,"

"It won't be long," he muses against her forehead, "Taekwoon will wake you soon. He loves you, Snow White. Be strong until then,"

She looks down at the poison apple, pulse hammering, then back to Jaehwan. He takes her in his arms, lips against her hair.

"Know that I always loved you, long before any prince,"

He's crying as well.

"Goodnight," he murmurs.

A single bite and the apple dribbles to the floor as it falls from her grasp. Her body goes limp.

She falls asleep just as the sun reaches its point in the midday sky. Broad daylight.