Charming

The Doctor was already banging on the door and Snow was terrified. “Doctor,” she hissed. “I’m Snow White!”

“Why, yes.” He looked at her, curious. “I know that silly Snow,”

“No, Doctor. I’m a wanted fugitive. The Queen wants me dead, if whoever lives here recognizes me. Well, we could both be in danger!”

“Snow, what did I say about trusting me?” His eyes started to twinkle.

Snow White wanted to hate him, but she couldn’t. She hated how he was always right and how everything he did made absolutely no sense. On the other hand, she loved how caring he was, his alien clothes, and how it seemed like he would do anything to protect her. She pulled up her hood over her head, “Okay.” she said quietly. She trusted that The Doctor would save her, but she still didn’t trust whatever was behind that door.

“No ones answering, maybe no ones home.”

“No no no, I know they’re in there. My sonic is detecting life in there.” The Doctor cleared his throat and began to introduce himself through the door.

~

“Who is that?” Grumpy snarled. “Whatever you do, don’t let them in.”

“And why not?” Happy chimed in. “Maybe they’re nice!”

“Or, maybe they’re not nice. They’re humans. You know how humans are,” Grumpy said.

“Whoever they are, they sound like they’re in trouble.” Doc said wisely. “I think we should help them, it would be the right thing to do.”

“It could be a trap,” Bashful said as he stared at his own feet. “I don’t like strangers,” he whispered.

While all the dwarves were bickering over whether or not they should let the mysterious strangers in, it was Dopey who decided for them.

~

The door opened and Snow held her breath. She had no idea what to expect, but she was definitely not expecting this. The door opened to reveal a small child, but upon closer inspection she realized it was a dwarf!

“Doctor,” she gasped. “Just like you said, how did you know? Tell me!”

“It was... a hunch” he smiled and turned to Dopey. “Why hello there! I’m The Doctor and this is Snow White. We’re on the run from an evil stepmother, you know, typical fairy tale magic nonsense. Can we come in?” Without waiting for a reply, he grabbed Snow and walked in past Dopey.

“I really like what you’ve done with the place, although it’s a little dark in here. You need more bright colors, maybe add some yellow curtains instead of...whatever color that is.” He grimaced.

Grumpy looked furious. “This is our cottage! You can’t just come in!”

Snow curtsied. “I’m so sorry for my friends rudeness, we’re just very tired. You see, we’ve been on the run from The Evil Queen. I’m sure you’ve heard the rumors, well, they’re all true. After my mother died everything changed.”

Grumpy huffed and walked away from The Princess. “Whatever,”

“That’s horrible, you poor thing!” Happy ran over to Snow. “Oh, you look exhausted. Come with me, I’ll let you take a nap in my bed. It’s a bit small, but I think you’ll fit.” Snow followed Happy to the room.

“Thank you very much..um, I'm sorry..what’s your name?”

“I’m Happy! I live with my 6 brothers. Grumpy, Doc, Sneezy, Dopey, Sleepy, and Bashful. Dopey let you in, I think you know which one Grumpy is, Bashful is hiding, Sneezy is out in the garden, Doc has glasses, and Sleepy is in here...sleeping. Here we are!”

Snow didn’t realize how tired she was until her head hit the pillow. As she was falling asleep she thought of her magical, frightening day. Dwarves, The Huntsman, and The Doctor of course. What was she going to do with him?

~

The Doctor and Doc (not to much surprise) hit it off well. They were talking about the local fauna, the caves nearby, where exactly they were, and magic. The Doctor got to this world with magic, and as exciting as this new world was, he needed magic to get back home.

“Magic, huh?” Doc said. “Dwarves try to stay away from magic but I can tell you this. I’ve heard rumors of there being magic crystals in a nearby cave. If you know what to do with them, I’m sure they can get you home.”

“Oh, wonderful!” The Doctor exclaimed. “You must take me!”

“Me and my brothers will show you the way.” He smiled. “Grumpy will be very happy to know you’ll be leaving. Don’t take offense, his name is Grumpy after all.”

“None taken.”

The Doctor left a quick note for Snow on the table, and off he went with The Dwarves. They left Snow at home because she was way too exhausted to go anywhere, and the journey was quite dangerous. The Doctor didn’t want to put her in any more danger than she already was. The door was locked, and she was in a secluded cottage. He had faith that she would be okay.

~

A knock at the door woke made Snow White jump out of her miniaturized bed. “What in the world..?” She found herself saying out loud. “Doctor?” He didn’t respond. No one responded. She tip-toed into the kitchen to find a note on the table.

“Dear Snow, Do not worry. I’m off with the Dwarves. We’ll be back for you. Trust me x”

She held the note over her heart for a quick moment, and put the note back down. Knock Knock. Someone was still at the door. Snow pulled back the dreary curtains and saw an grey, elderly woman with a basket of apples.

The woman spoke, “Hello? Dwarves, are you home? I brought my lovely apples for everyone.”

Snow spoke through the door, “I’m sorry. They stepped out, but will be back soon. If you leave the apples by the door I’ll take them in for you.”

“Oh! Who’s that? I’m not used to hearing a woman's voice. Do open the door! Any friend of the dwarves is a friend of mine!” She cheered.

Snow did not want to risk this lady recognizing her. “I’m sorry, I just woke up and I’m not decent.”

“Alright dear. I’ll leave the apples here. Please take them in, I don’t want animals getting to them. And do try one! It’s my first batch of the season. They’re delicious.”

Snow peeked out the window, only to realize the lady was already gone. “Spooky,” she whispered. Nonetheless, Snow took in the apples. Snow admired the glossy red apple as she brought it to her lips.

~

The Doctor and all The Dwarves were on their way back. They only found one magic crystal, but The Doctor knew it had enough power to get him back to his world. He didn’t want to admit it, but The Doctor found himself not wanting to go home. He made new friends, friends he never dreamed of meeting in his entire life. The Doctor, Snow White and The Seven Dwarves. He chuckled to himself. He was in an entire new world! He could start over. No daleks, no reminders of lost friends, no enemies, just new friends. Friends that he cared for very much. He didn’t want to leave Snow.

The Doctor walked in, eager to tell Snow everything. He was ready to explain. “Snow, I-” but he stopped. He saw her dismayed body laying on the ground, with a bitten apple in her hand. “Oh, no. No, no no, no no!” The Doctor was furious with himself. He grabbed Snow immediately. “I’m sorry, Snow. I shouldn’t have left you alone.” He pushed her hair behind her ears. “I knew this was going to happen, I should have protected you! Instead I was too busy looking for a stupid magic crystal.”

The Doctor was dismayed, but he knew she wasn’t dead. Only in a deep slumber. He was no fool, he knew the fairy tale. He knew her Prince Charming would come along and wake her up. He smiled, and turned to the dwarves. “Don’t worry, she’s only sleeping. True loves kiss can wake her up, but we must be patient. A prince should be coming into town soon, am I right?”

“Uh, no, stupid. The Prince is kingdoms away, if he is on his way here he won’t be here for months.” Grumpy said.

“What? Are you quite sure!? Think, this is important!”

“I ain’t stupid, Doctor. There ain’t no prince nearby these woods.”

The Doctor fell onto his knees, defeated. “How is that possible? I know Snows story, and it doesn’t end here. It musn’t.”

~

The Doctor had been pacing for a good hour, thinking of ways to save her. He had a magic crystal, but he had no idea how to use it to wake her up. He had his screwdriver, but that wasn’t working either. He felt lost without his TARDIS.

Dopey pulled on The Doctor. “I’m sorry Dopey, not now, I need to figure out how to help Snow.”

Dopey kept pulling. “Dopey, no. This isn’t the time.”

The pulling continued, and finally The Doctor acknowledged him. “Fine, Dopey! What is it?”

Dopey looked at Snow, and back to the doctor. He smirked, and pushed The Doctor closer to Snow.

“Oh no, no no no no no. You don’t think?”

Dopey nodded.

“It can’t be, I only met her today!”

Dopey kept pushing.

“Alright, I guess I can try. Nothing else is working, right?”

The Doctor admired Snow while she was still sleeping. “She truly is the fairest of them all, isn’t she?”

The Doctor leaned in slowly (and nervously) as he kissed her.

Her eyes fluttered open.

“Oh, Snow! Hello,” The Doctor smiled sheepishly.

“Charming, I knew I could trust you.”