Poison (3 page)

‘
She truly is the fairest in the land
.’

Lilith looked up. She saw the familiar face in the glass, hung on the inside of the door, was surrounded by inlaid precious jewels. The emeralds sparkled green.

‘Shut up,’ she said.

She should have smashed that mirror. It had belonged to an emperor in the East, the imp claimed, stolen as he lay dying after a hundred year reign. The story went that he had opened the cabinet every day for everyone of those years and listened to its words. She didn’t believe it. The lands were filled with stories, most of which were just inventions. She didn’t think anyone could bear the enchanted mirror day after day.

‘
And so graceful
.’ In the mirror the face was frozen but the words came anyway, from some endless place behind the glass that could never be under stood. It was a soft voice full of warmth, but still every syllable stung the queen. Her jaw tightened.

‘I said, shut up.’

‘
Everyone loves her, don’t they? And it’s so easy to see why. Beauty and kindness and yet still wild and free. She will have her pick of the princes to fall in love with. Yes, she truly is the fairest in the land. Isn’t she? Isn’t she beautiful?
’

Cold, bitter fire burned in the queen’s heart and it erupted in a screech as she launched her goblet at the glass. The door slammed shut and the liquid splatted like blood across the gargoyle faces which decorated it. She stared as it trickled across their open eyes and dripped to the floor.

‘Good,’ she hissed. ‘If she wants a prince then I shall find her one. One who will take her far, far away.’

She trembled and magic tingled on her skin. She spun round, leaving the spilt wine to drip red over the shredded fabric, the wind from her robe snuffing out the candle, and she stormed out into the dark.

One way or another, Snow White had to go.

‘A giant from the Far Mountains’

B
y the time the king had been gone a month, things had changed significantly in the castle and the land beyond. It was astounding how much could be done in so short a time when you put your mind to it. The king, although bluff enough by nature and deed, had never given much thought to his subjects who lived beyond the castle walls. They loved him, they always had, and they paid their taxes which allowed him to go on his wars. In turn he made sure they had enough food to be the right side of starving, but not too much that they would become greedy and consider rebellion. The king took them for granted, in a way that only one born to a throne really can. They got on with their business and he got on with his and they cheered when he passed on his horse and that was generally enough.

There were no statues or portraits of him in public places. He hadn’t seen the need. Having narrowly escaped the flames in the land of her birth, the queen, more than most, understood the power of public perception. She did not have their love or their natural fealty, but she knew how to get their fear and respect.

She wanted the people to feel she was watching them at all times. The busts and paintings in every hall and market took care of that, along with, for a brief time at least, a network of spies who ensured she knew enough to make the people believe that she could see all of their secrets. She dealt a very visible and unpleasant justice to a few merchants who had been less than honest with their taxes, and the rumours of the queen’s sharp eye and iron grip subsequently spread like fire through the kingdom. Her spies added a few stories of dark magic and soon all cheered loudly when she passed but none would meet her eyes.

People were so easy.

Life in the castle had changed as well, especially for Snow White. The stable boys had been ordered to saddle only the gentle mares should she wish to ride, and she’d been instructed – under pain of punishment falling on her maids – to dress according to her station at all times. The queen had ordered a selection of dresses to be sent from her own kingdom for her step-daughter. They came with stiffer corsets and stronger binding than they made here, and if she wore them for a month or two she’d realise what a blessing her normal dresses were. Perhaps then she wouldn’t fight wearing them so much. Maybe then she’d see there was no point in fighting any of it.

On top of this, Snow White was no longer allowed to find refuge in the servants’ quarters, and although she still roamed the forest – even the queen could not imprison her in the castle – and visited her beloved dwarves out by the mines, her visits were less frequent and always reported. A little magic here, a curse here and there, was all it took to gain the loyalty of the forest folk. Her great-grandmother had taught her well.

No one would dare defy the queen’s orders, however much they hated seeing their beloved princess so unhappy. And she was
desperately
unhappy but that, after all, the queen reminded herself, was the point. Why would Snow White agree to a marriage if she was happy at home? The queen wanted her gone. She
needed
her gone. And if there was one thing she’d learned in her lifetime it was that nothing was ever achieved without a little pain.

She swept out into the busy courtyard her black dress, glittering with precious black rubies that dwarves had died to find, at odds with the brightly coloured ribbons and bunting that were being hung from the walls and posts. Doves cooed in boxes. Merchants dragged carts filled with all manner of foods and the finest wines towards the heavy doors that led to the store rooms and kitchens. The preparations were well under way. Even though she prided herself on quelling her emotions, Lilith felt a small tingle of excitement run through her veins. By the following evening her plans would have come to fruition.

It was the queen’s twenty-fourth birthday and she was having the most magnificent ball. All the finest ladies and gentlemen of the city would be there and she had invited handsome princes and noblemen from all of the allied kingdoms as well. Her jaw tightened. Snow White would be, as the saying went, like a pig in shit amongst them.

She snapped unnecessary orders and then retreated inside. She kept her head high, ignoring the sharp glances from the women scrubbing the floor. The corridor was one hundred feet long and the two ageing women had reached approximately half way. Their knees would be raw and bruised and no doubt their lower bodies would ache and cramp for the rest of the day when they were done. She’d learned as a child in her great-grandmother’s cottage that scrubbing floors could be back-breaking work. She reached the far end and then paused and turned.

‘Not good enough,’ she said. ‘Start again.’ This time they did look up, eyes wide in their tired, sagging faces. The queen tightened her lips, accentuating the sharp angles of her delicate beauty, each one like a knife’s blade. ‘Right from the door.’

She watched as the two women hauled themselves to their feet, picked up their buckets and brushes and hobbled, broken, back to where they had started hours before. They didn’t argue and Lilith allowed herself a small smile. The old queen and her daughter had the people’s love. She would have their fear. It was a hardier emotion. As she turned away she felt a small twinge in her chest and wondered idly if it was a small part of her own heart turning black and hardening. Good, she thought. The sooner the better.

* * *

‘Come on,’ Snow White said as she wiped her tears of laughter away. ‘Let’s try again.’ She took a sip from the beer tankard, sighed, hitched out another laugh, and then passed the mug along to the first of the dwarves who were picking themselves up on the grass.

‘It’s never going to work,’ Dreamy said. ‘And I’m not sure the beer is helping.’ He was sitting beside the princess on the wooden table, having taken and caused enough bruises during the previous attempts to get himself removed from the proceedings for all their safety.

‘Beer helps everything.’ She winked. ‘It will relax them.’ She clapped and laughed. ‘Try again. Grouchy, you on the bottom. I think you’re the hardiest!’

There were exclamations of protest as each of the dwarves wanted to be the strongest in Snow White’s eyes, even though they knew in their hearts that she loved them all equally. Grouchy, squinting in the warm sunshine, steadied himself and then Feisty clambered onto his shoulders. When he was steady the next climbed the rickety ladder to perch on his shoulders.

‘Keep going! It’s amazing!’ Snow White said, smiling. ‘We can do this! You can do this!’

‘It’ll go wrong at the top. It’s the coat. It unbalances them.’ Dreamy took a swallow of beer from the mug.

‘Hmmm,’ Snow White frowned, looking at Bolshy, drowning in the overcoat designed to cover them all and with his shoulders padded out with quilted coat hangers to make him ridiculously broad. ‘You might have a point. Maybe Grouchy needs to be at the top.’

A few moments, and another tumble to the grass later and she was proved right. Luckily although the dwarves weren’t good at balancing, they were good at landing. The mines weren’t safe and tunnels often gave way, dropping them great heights to the rocks below. If they didn’t know how to land, they didn’t live long. The grass might as well have been cushions for what they were used to and so after more giggles, more beer and a dusting down, they began again, this time with Grouchy draped in the coat and going up last.

‘Are you sure this is a good idea?’ Dreamy asked. He’d been wondering it for a while, but had been caught up in the fun of it with the rest of them, and when Snow White was enthusiastic about something it was hard not to get swept along. But now that he was sitting out and watching, doubts niggled at him.

‘What do you mean? It’ll be funny.’

‘I’m sure it
could
be funny,’ he said, slightly hesitant. ‘But I’m not sure your step-mother has a sense of humour.’

‘That’s where you’re wrong.’ Snow White smiled and squeezed his knee. ‘She used to have one. When she first got here. I remember we used to laugh a lot. She laughed yesterday.’ She looked away from him. ‘She’s just lost her reasons to have fun, that’s all. Maybe that’s what being married does to you.’ Snow took the mug from Dreamy. ‘I’m getting it now. She just doesn’t like being married very much. And that must make someone quite unhappy.’

‘She’s not unhappy,’ Dreamy muttered. ‘She’s plain mean.’

‘Well, maybe unhappiness makes people mean.’ Her eyes sparkled as she looked at the tower of small men which looked like it might actually stay together for more than thirty seconds. ‘But my father’s gone to war again, for a long time this time, I think, so we need to make her smile. It’s her birthday, she’ll love it.’

‘You think too well of people, Snow White.’

‘Someone’s got to, Dreamy.’

The precarious tower took a few hesitant steps towards her.

‘Yes!’ Snow White leapt from the table and almost jumped with glee. ‘We’ve got it! You’ve done it!’ She looked over her shoulder at Dreamy, her grin enticing and wicked. ‘This is going to be amazing!’

* * *

It was a magnificent affair. The chandeliers sparkled and filled the vast space with light. Musicians in every corner created a magical symphony in perfect time with each other although so far apart. Masked servants circled the room with platters of the most exquisite canapés and wines each served at their perfect temperature. Every invited guest was in attendance, and the gowns worn by the ladies transformed even the plainest of them.

The queen surveyed the room from her throne. It was a sea of pastel colours, as was the tradition of such events. She’d chosen to wear red, the same colour on her lips. Even those who hated her, and their number was growing fast, had to admire her beauty. Her blonde hair hung long and straight down her back, the colour of the far off winter lands. And her heart, she’d heard them whispering, was just as hard.

She smiled but she did not join them, although she commanded the music and watched the timeless dance between the sexes begin. A glance that lingered too long. A smile behind a fan. Eyes that peeked up playfully from a bow. It was always the same. She wondered how many ever ended happily ever after? Her mother had wanted that. It hadn’t lasted.

After the first round of dancing came the entertainment as her guests ate and drank some more. There were the tumblers, the piper and his dancing rats, the fire eaters and the dancers, and soon the music would begin again. The queen clenched her teeth. The ball was in full swing and Snow White had yet to appear. She snapped her fingers. A footman scurried over and bowed.

‘Send someone to the princess’s rooms. Tell her she must come at once. I will not have her keeping my guests waiting longer.’ Enough was enough. There was lateness and then there was arrogance. ‘This delay is clearly the fault of her maids.’ Lilith smiled. ‘Make sure the princess knows that I shall punish them for embarrassing her if she does not arrive within five minutes.’ She gestured for music, sat as far back in her throne as the stiff upright chair would allow and focused on her annoyance rather than how easily the threats came from her these days, or on the knowledge that she would follow through on them if she had to.

The footman, however, had barely turned to leave when the trumpet sounded and the doors at the far end opened wide. The orchestras stopped, trickling away to nothing as the performers forgot their notes and their bows hung in mid air above the strings. Even the queen was breathless for a second at the sight of Snow White’s beauty. Gasps punctuated the stillness. Snow White stepped through the doors and paused at the top of the three marble steps that led down to the ballroom. She wore a pure white dress, strapless and fitted, so different to the full skirted style that the ladies of the court preferred, and it was decorated with small purple jewels. The same gems sparkled in her dark hair, swept high and tousled on her head, and they served to highlight the violet of her eyes.