The tension in the air beat at them. A hush descended over the crowd as the team on the court seemed to pause for a heartbeat before they broke and started to do their best to steal the ball from Jimmy Mason, the captain of Monroe's high school basketball team. He was magic, faster than anything any of them had ever seen. His feet glided, he streaked in and out of the lines of players around him, driving down the court toward the goal. He jumped, the ball flew from his hands, and shot into the basket seconds before the buzzer sounded, ending the second quarter of the game. 

I jumped up and down, my shouts louder than most as I screamed Jimmy's name. I grinned from ear to ear when he blew a kiss at me. We'd been going out for two weeks and I still couldn't believe what a sweet guy he was. He had a bit of a reputation, but so far he'd been nothing but nice to me. His blonde hair, blue eyed all-American boy good looks melted me from the inside out. That and the fact that he'd even looked at me twice. Not that I wasn't pretty. I knew my raven hair and blue eyes could catch and hold attention. Jimmy was rich, I was poorer than a church mouse. At least that's what it felt like anyways. I couldn't wait until I turned eighteen and could leave home and move in with Gran. My step-monster terrorized me on a daily basis. Two more months and I would be free.

"Did you see me make that last basket?" Jimmy asked as he huffed up to where I was. He was supposed to be in the locker room, but he'd managed to sneak up to see me. My heart swelled with happiness.

"I did, didn't you hear me yelling for you?"

"I knew you would be." He swooped in and planted a kiss on my lips. "You always got my back."

"Alw...." I stopped and stared at the entourage that entered the gym just then. Everyone stopped talking. Silence permeated the air, the tension of before came back, only this time, it reeked of fear and trepidation. Ravenwood Academy flooded in. Armed guards. They'd brought armed guards with them which meant they'd be taking someone with them when they left. The men stood at attention, wearing black uniforms equipped with nine millimeters. They oozed danger.

Three guys came in next, followed by a woman dressed in a smart grey business suit. Her auburn hair contrasted beautifully with the charcoal gray of the suit. The boys looked like guards in training. They too wore the same type of uniform, but didn't feel as deadly. Well, except for the one in the middle. He caught my attention. His golden eyes scanned the crowd until they came to rest on me. I shivered, something ghosting over my skin that I couldn't explain. His eyes made me want to hide. He looked beautiful, but more deadly than anything on Earth. 

While Soldier Boy stared at me, everyone else stared at Jimmy. They had to be here for him. There was no one else who could possibly draw their attention.  Ravenwood Academy was a school for the gifted, the unique, and the supernatural.  Hundreds of years ago during the American Revolution our forefathers had made a deal, a deal we still honored today and would honor for as long as our country existed. They helped us overthrow the British and in return, they were given amnesty for being "monsters" and given the option of taking our children to nurture their "gifts" and fulfill their roles as fairytale figures.   

I forced my eyes away from Soldier Boy's and looked at Jimmy. His eyes were wide, but not fearful. Everyone knew he was way too fast on the court.  He could be something other than human. If they took him, I'd never see him again. I wanted to throw my arms around him and scream no. There was nothing I could do, however, and I knew it.  We all did. 

The school officials snapped out of their shock and went over to speak with the woman. The three guys turned and started up the bleachers, heading straight for Jimmy. He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. I loved that about him. He didn't hide. He faced everything head on with no fear.

Soldier Boy glanced at Jimmy and then took my hand. It swallowed mine.  "Time to go home."

"Wh...what?" I stuttered. They were here for me and not Jimmy?

He smiled crookedly at me. "Time to go."

"Her?" Jimmy frowned. "You're here for her and not me?"

I glanced at Jimmy and saw the outrage on his face and it caused me to frown. That was not the reaction I was expecting. I would have understood relief, but he seemed appalled that they were here for me.

"Yes, we are here for Sara White." Soldier Boy tugged at my hand, urging me to stand.  I simply stared at Jimmy.

"But she's...she's...ordinary!" he yelled and I flinched. "There's nothing special about her!"

The two guys behind Soldier Boy growled, actually growled. I could hear the anger in their snarls. Soldier Boy's eyes went from frosty to glacial in the space of two seconds. He pulled hard on my hand, but I refused to move.  This was not the Jimmy I'd gotten to know.

"Jimmy?" I asked, the question plain in my voice.

"What?" he sneered. "Did you honestly think I was going out with you because I liked you? You were just the one girl I hadn't bagged yet. Tonight was going to be the night and then I was gonna dump your ass."

I stood up, yanked my hand away from Soldier Boy and hauled off and hit Jimmy as hard as I could right in the face. Pain exploded in my hand and I staggered back from the force of the blow. I had no idea I could hit that hard.  Soldier Boy caught me before I fell. His hands gripped my arms and a bizarre tingling swept through me. I didn't like it and tried to pull away, but he refused to let go. 

"She's Snow White," Soldier Boy told Jimmy quietly. Jimmy blinked.

Did he just say I was Snow White? No freaking way. No way.

"No, I'm not," I told him quietly. Yeah I had a step-monster, but my Dad wasn't dead and I still had a grandmother. Snow White always followed the rules of the fairytale. There was never a deviation. Not in the history of Fairytale.

His honey eyes softened for a fraction of a second as he looked down at me then he shrugged. "They said you were Snow and sent us to collect you, so collect you we will."

"I don't wanna be collected," I told him and tried to pull away again, but he tightened his grip.

"Sorry, Princess.  Orders are orders." 

Jimmy stood up. "She's right.  There's no way she can be Snow White. It's not possible." The sneer in his voice made me want to deck him again. 

Soldier Boy pushed me into one of the guys behind us and then he grabbed Jimmy by the throat. He lifted him straight up with one hand. Good God, what was he? The coldness emanating from him made me glad of the warmth radiating from the guy who now held me in a death grip. 

"You will speak to the Princess with nothing but respect, do you understand, boy?" His voice held ice.  "I could end any hope you have of a career right now, you understand that?"  Jimmy tried to nod, but couldn't.  "Good."  He tossed him.  Jimmy flew through the air and landed about eight bleachers down with a loud crash.  He didn't get up.

People ran to him, I heard shouts of "call 911." 

"He's not dead," the guy who held me said.  "He might not play basketball the rest of the season, but Jack didn't kill him."

So Soldier Boy's name was Jack. 

"Let's go."  Jack turned back to us and started down the bleachers. 

I dug in my feet and refused to go.  I was NOT going to give up everything to go to some scary unknown school and pretend to be someone I wasn't.  I had a crappy home life, but that didn't mean I was going to go jump from one fire into another one.

Jack sighed and walked back up the steps.  "You want to stay here?  You have no idea what you have waiting for you, Sara.  You are going to get the happy ever after and marry Prince Charming."

"Let me guess, you aren't Prince Charming?"

He grinned.  "Thank the gods for small favors.  I will never be anyone's Prince Charming."

"Let me guess, The Wicked Queen?"

His eyes glowed, changing from honey to amber as he moved closer.  "I'm the big bad wolf."

"Doesn't the huntsman kill the big bad wolf?"

"Only if he can catch me."

We were nose to nose at this point and the guys behind us cleared their throats.  "I'm not going."

"Princess, my job is to get you to Ravenwood.  We can do it the easy way or the hard way."

"You can't make me go."

He lunged and I ended up swung over his shoulder.  I tried kicking him, but he only slapped my behind.  I pinched his in retaliation.  He sighed again and started down the bleachers yet again with an iron grip around my legs. 

"I hate you," I snarled, doing my best to hit him as hard as I could.

"You'll get over it," he told me and proceeded to carry me out of the gym and into the hot California December night.