Snow White (13 page)

“Now, goodbye!” Snow giggled as she opened the door and began to push them out. “I shall be safe. Hope and I will get into lots of mischief and maybe have a surprise for you when you get back.”

The women transformed into fairies the second they stepped outside. Taking on their naturally small forms and spreading their gossamer wings, they hovered and waited.

Grace was the last to leave. “Lock this door,” she said to Hope and then, turning to Snow, said, “We love you so much. Be ever vigilant.”

Snow kissed her cheek. “I will. Thank you. Thank you for everything.”

With that, Grace stepped outside and twinkled into a stunning fairy again. “We will be home soon,” she called as they flew off.

“So what would you like to do for their surprise?” Hope asked as she locked the door behind them.

“Do you really have paints?” Snow asked. She would love to create something for the empty wall in the parlor.

“Certainly. I will get them.” Hope grinned. “And afterward we can make some apple pie for supper. I know you have been asking, and today is the perfect day to show you how they are made.”

“Today is wonderful!” Snow could not believe she was as happy as she was. Quite truthfully, she was positive she did not deserve such goodness in her life. If only she could share it with Corlan and the others.

The women toiled away for a few hours with the paints. Snow created a stunning vase of
roses on a stretched piece of canvas and Hope repainted an old wooden box, creating a pretty woodland scene upon it.

As they were finishing up, there was a knock upon the door.

Hope glanced over and her eyebrows rose. “Who could that be?”

Snow’s stomach dropped. “Perhaps we should pretend we are not here.”

“You are very wise.” Hope snapped her fingers, and instantly the table cleared. Brushes and paints were tucked back into the closet and their projects were drying on the kitchen counter. “We will go to the back parlor,” she said.

“Hello?” called an old woman with a kindly voice. “Hello? Is anyone there?”

Hope froze when a shadow fell across the kitchen. The woman stared at them from the open window at the side of the house.

“Oh!” she said. “There you are! May I come in and rest my weary feet? I have been traveling for miles when I happened upon this cottage. Thank goodness you are here. I am simply exhausted.”

Snow looked at Hope. How could they resist?

The fairy took a deep breath and unlocked the door. “Come in,” she said. “Come rest yourself at our table. Oh! And you have a dog with you.”

“Yes. Do you mind overly much if he comes in? He is extremely obedient.”

“I, uh…” Hope glanced at Snow, who shrugged. “I supposed it will be fine.”

The old woman hobbled into the house. Spying a chair in the kitchen, she promptly sat down upon it. Snow watched as her large dog hesitated before coming into the home. He stepped over the threshold and then hunched down near the door, his eyes staring intently at Snow.

“My! You are a pretty little thing,” the woman exclaimed as if she had just noticed Snow.

“Thank you.”

“My dear,” Hope said, “Could you please fetch our guest some water and perhaps a few scones?”

“Oh, that would be lovely.” The woman smiled, revealing blackened teeth.

Snow quickly did as she was asked and set the food upon the table.

“Come here.” The woman beckoned to her.

All at once the dog growled from the doorway.

“On second thought, perhaps it is best if my dog stays outside,” the woman said.

Hope opened the door again, but the dog would not move.

“Go!” commanded the woman a little too fiercely.

Jumping to his feet, the dog barked wildly, staring right at Snow. Strangely, she was not afraid of him. It was not as if he was attempting to scare her. It was more of an insistent bark of some kind.

“You will obey me!” the woman shouted, her shrill voice ringing through the cottage.

The dog whimpered, his eyes looking as though he were pleading with Snow. Was he trying to say something to her? “He is fine, I am sure,” Snow said. “Are you hungry, boy? Is that what you wish to say?” She quickly went into the kitchen and collected a couple of scones for him and a bowl of water before the old woman could object. Walking over, she placed both in front of him, but he did not look down straight away. Instead, he kept his gaze directly upon her. “What? What are you attempting to convey to me?”

He whimpered and nudged her hand.

“Yes?” she asked as she turned it over for him to sniff.

He began to lick it.

“Enough!” shouted the woman. “Get out of this house now!”

The dog gave one bark at Snow and then ran out the open door.

Concerned for him, Snow collected the water and scones and followed him outside. “Here you go. Now you can have something too.”

She set the bowl on the ground and then gasped when she saw his paw drawing a design on the ground. It almost looked like a letter. She turned to the side. It
was
a letter! An R. Glancing at him, she noticed he was already writing something else—U. And then another—N. RUN.

She met his gaze then. What was he trying to say? “Run? I should run?”

The dog barked.

Snow’s heart began to pound. “Are you under a spell?”

The dog barked again and looked at the letters upon the ground.

“You want me to run? Why? What is it?”

“Oh, dear!” the old woman called from the door. “Is he playing his RUN game with you? He just loves that game so much! He must really like you to include you in it.” She wagged a finger at the dog. “No, no, sir! She does not have time to play your games with you. And you are in trouble for barking anyhow.” Then her voice changed significantly. “You will obey me and never bark again!” She pointed her finger at him until he cowed and whimpered. When he was lying upon the ground with his head between his paws as if he were frozen, the old woman smiled and then beckoned to Snow. “Now come here, dearie. I have a gift for you.” Her voice was sweet as she held out a shiny red apple. “I have already given one to your charming friend. Now this one is for you.”

Almost in a trance, Snow felt her feet move toward the old woman. The apple did look so good. All at once, she was very hungry and she craved it. She extended her hand as she approached and felt the weight of the fruit fall into her palm. Before she was fully aware of what was happening, she brought her hand up and bit into the delicious apple, its sweet juice running down her chin.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

NO! CORLAN WHIMPERED AS he watched Snow drop the apple. She turned and clutched at her chest. The pretty yellow gown twisted in her hands as she gasped for air. How he wished he could move! How he wished he could run to her side. Melantha had frozen him as he watched on in horror. She was right. He had never known pain such as this.

Never.

Snow collapsed. Her shoulders and head pounded into the dirt and the ground crushed the roses in her hair. Still attempting to breathe, her eyes met his as she choked and lunged for air.

No! No!

I am so sorry, Snow! I am so sorry!

Melantha laughed as Snow took her final wheeze before her eyes closed and she became still. Instantly his mother transformed into the red-haired beauty she had been before.

“She is gone! Snow White is forever gone!” She snickered with glee and then grinned as she walked over to the stiff Corlan. “Well, my boy. Do you feel the pain now? Do you?” She kicked him in the ribs and he yelped. “I hope you learned your lesson!” she hissed. “I will leave you here with your dead princess to remember always.”

She snapped her fingers and he felt the transformation commence to bring him back to his true form. The night before, she had insisted the mirror give her power to do this. Now she had become as potent as a witch.

“Good-bye, son.”

Lying on the ground, he waited until she had left and then crawled over to Snow and gently picked her up. He placed her head within his lap. “Snow,” he called to her as he brushed aside the dirty hair from her face. She was so beautiful. It was not fair! How could he have lost her?

Pulling her in closer, he brought her head to his chest and rocked.

No. No. No.

This was not fair.

How could he have brought his mother here? Why did he not try harder to withstand the curse? His shoulders shook as his lips brushed her forehead.
I am sorry, Snow. I am so, so sorry.

“I needed you,” he whispered into her brow. “I needed you. Your laughter, your sweetness, your smile. I have never known a girl as kind as you. I know you felt it was all an enchantment, but I promise you, my dear, I loved you before anyone saw you. I loved you all those years ago when we played together and laughed together. I knew then my heart would never be the same.” He cried. “Forgive me for never telling you, for pretending you did not matter as much as you did. You should have heard my admiration. You should have known it. I was a fool to believe you had heard it too much from the other men.”

So busy was he in proclaiming the words Snow never got to hear, he did not realize the fairy was upon him until he felt her hand clutch his shoulder.

Startled, he looked up to see the woman with bright turquoise hair and eyes. “You did not eat the apple?” he asked, positive Melantha had told Snow she had given her one.

“Yes, I did.” She smiled sadly, her eyes scanning Snow’s lifeless form in his arms. “But I am a fairy—we are exempt from dark magic. It can wound us for a time, but we cannot be defeated. I have called the others, and they should be here shortly. We will see what they can do.”

Could it be true? Dare he allow his heart to hope there was a cure for this? What if it did not work? “Can you help her, then? Can you bring her back?”

“I do not know. None of us have ever faced anything so dire as a Lythereon Mirror curse.”

She knelt down and ran a hand over Snow’s face. “She is remarkably stunning, even in death,” she whispered.

Corlan nodded and blinked back a few tears. “I cannot bear the thought of her being gone. Please, if you know of anything that may work—any legend, anything—I will attempt it. Even giving up my own soul so that she might be free.” He brightened. “Is it possible? Could you trade my life for hers?”

“No.” She shook her head. “The mirror has already exchanged her life for your mother’s beauty. The Lythereon Mirror is powerful, but cunning as well. It will never allow its masters to receive
everything
they desire or they would become more powerful than he.”

Just then several bright lights appeared and transformed themselves into enchanting human-sized women.

“Snow is gone!” the lavender-haired one exclaimed. “No! I felt something dreadful would happen, but not this! Look, sisters, her light has left. She is deceased.”

The women murmured.

“Who are you?” demanded the green-haired one, her face taking on a look of anger as she noticed Corlan. “Did you kill her?”

“No. I am Prince Corlan. Who are you?”

“Saturday Brave.” And then she gasped. “Why, it is you! You are the prince cursed by the mirror.”

“Yes.”

The yellow fairy suddenly smiled. “You are the one she spoke of so fondly.”

“She spoke of me?” he asked. Why were they all smiling?

The turquoise fairy reached over and grasped his hand. “My dear, did I overhear correctly? Are you in love with our Snow?”

She looked so eager and joyful. They all did. “Yes, of course I am. Why? Am I missing something?”

The red woman laughed and clapped her hands. “I am Wednesday Love,” she said. “And they are so excited because it means I can possibly bring her back!”

“What?” His heart began to pound. “What do you mean?”

“We believe Snow is in love with you as well,” said the silver fairy. “I am Monday Truth, and I would bargain wings on the truth that she is in love with you.”

“Me?” Warmth fissured through his frame. “Are you certain? She never claimed to have loved anyone.”

“No,” said the turquoise woman, “but we have hope.”

He looked down at Snow, his eyes caressing her features. “What do I do? What do you need from me?”

Love knelt beside him and ran a hand from Snow’s hair to her toes as the other women leaned around them in a circle to watch. Corlan glanced up at Love as she spoke.

“Hold her right wrist with your right hand. Just like so,” she said as she clasped Snow’s left wrist. “Now hold my other hand.”

“Very well.”

She muttered a few words and he felt an energy surge through his arms and chest, going round and round. He knew it was circling through all three of them. Once he felt the energy pulse begin to quicken, she said, “Now, kiss her, for only true love can break darkness such as this.”

He leaned down, his eyes going to her soft red lips. Did she truly love him? Could it be possible? Would this really work? He felt the pulse quicken even more as he lowered his mouth to hers.