It had
been days and even with all seven of the dwarves, they hadn’t been able to
bring Snow back. The protections on the house repelled her, so they made a
glass box to keep Snow in outside. Emil blamed himself. He should have been
watching. He set himself up as the one to watch over Snow now. He studied the
spell on her and tried to figure out how they could break it. He watched to see
if anything changed after they tried.
He hadn’t
been to the mine in weeks when a procession made its way to their house.
Warily, Emil rose to his feet, putting himself between Snow and the horsemen.
When
they drew closer, one man dismounted. “Ah, I see the stories are true!” he
said, looking around Emil. “She is truly beautiful.”
“You’ve
had your look, now get out of here,” Emil growled.
“Tut,
tut. So little hospitality for a visiting prince.” The man grinned. “Shall we
make an example of you?”
“We’ve
had plenty of your type around here,” Emil replied. “And I haven’t cared for
any of them. Now get lost.”
“But we’ve
only just met. And I must try my luck with the sleeping princess.”
“You won’t
lay a hand on her,” Emil replied, picking up his axe.
“How
droll,” the prince replied. “Guards?”
Emil had
expected to be surrounded, but the guards tried to run him over with their horses.
Emil fought back, injuring many good horses in the process, but there were too many.
And yet more guards were picking up the box with Snow inside. Emil screamed,
but wasn’t able to get to her. There were just too many guards and as the horses
dashed around him, one of the horses kicked him in the head. Emil went down.
Cautiously,
a guard dismounted and checked. “He’s still breathing, your highness.”
“Leave
him,” the prince directed. “We have what we came for.” He brought his horse
over toward where Snow slept in her glass box. “She truly is as beautiful as
they say. A masterpiece.” He sighed and looked around briefly. “Move out.”
And they
all left.
~*~
There
was uneven footing in the woods and Snow was jostled in her box. The prince
snapped at his guards to be careful with her, but there was only so much they
could do. On one particularly bad step, Snow was knocked sideways and the piece
of apple fell out of her mouth. Once the apple was removed, all of the magic
the dwarves had been trying on her went to work at once. By the time they stopped
for the night, Snow was conscious, but not sure where she was. She decided to pretend
she was still asleep until she knew what was going on.
She peeked
through her eyelids and saw a fire playing over leaves and realized she was in
a forest. She hoped it was the same forest the dwarves had been in.
“Where
do we venture to next, your highness?” a man asked.
Snow
caught herself before answering.
“I hear
there is another pretty maid in a spell just East of here,” a man replied. “Perhaps
we shall secure her for ourselves as well.”
The man
guffawed and Snow’s spine turned to ice. He dared to talk about Aurora like
that?
“Did you
want to try to break this one’s spell?” the first speaker asked.
“Not
yet,” the prince replied. “Let’s wait until we’re safely back at my castle.”
“It’d be
a shame if she took a look at you and ran away,” the first man replied with a
laugh.
“For
shame, Lambert,” the prince replied jokingly, “I would be her true love. Why
would she want to run from me?”
“I can
think of a few reasons,” Lambert replied with a snigger.
Fortunately,
the two of them moved away and Snow lay still, barely daring to breathe. These
men thought they had her and that they could get Aurora? Never. Snow knew that
no matter how angry she was, if she tried to fight them, she would only lose. So,
she waited.
Eventually,
all of the noise quieted down. Then she started to hear snores. Snow was
grateful that she didn’t feel sleepy at all. “How long as I out?” she wondered.
But there were more important things to think about now. Slowly, Snow opened
her eyes and looked around. There was no one around her. She put her hands up
and opened the glass lid. Thankfully, it opened without a sound and Snow
slipped out of it. She saw the horses and made her way over to them.
Moving
carefully and quietly, Snow picked out a mount and untied him. She found a
saddle and put it in place on top of him. The other horses whickered at her a
little, but she managed to soothe them and Snow led her chosen horse away. She
held her breath, but she had a better chance of escape if she was stealthy now
and rode later. It seemed like it took forever, but Snow and the horse picked
their way away from the camp headed toward what Snow believed was the East.
Eventually,
Snow turned around and realized she couldn’t see the camp any more. Sighing in
relief, she managed to mount the horse and got it walking. It didn’t want to go
very fast in the night since it couldn’t see and Snow didn’t want her only
chance of escape to twist an ankle. But at least they were a little faster now.
Slowly,
the sun rose and the horse began to pick up the pace. By the time Snow could
see clearly all around her, she was able to get the horse to trot directly toward
the rising sun. They were heading East and Snow was going to see what happened
to Aurora.
~*~
Everything began to look familiar,
but it was still a shock when Snow pulled up in front of the giant hedge of thorns
around Aurora’s castle. All she could see of the castle was the tallest tower.
Snow
dismounted and looked up, fear suddenly gripping her. How was she going to get
in there, let alone save Aurora? She didn’t even know what she was up against.
But it didn’t matter. Snow shook her head and squared her shoulders. She had to
try. Snow walked forward and the hedge slid away, allowing her to pass.
Tentatively, Snow stepped forward she turned around, but it had closed up
behind her. Snow gulped. It seemed she was truly in this now.
She
walked forward, trying not to be scared by the size of the thorns moving near
her face. They seemed to move away from her, but Snow didn’t want to try
reaching out to them in case they decided to change their behavior.
Eventually,
Snow made it out of the thorns. She turned around, but there was no telling
where she had come through. She turned back toward the castle and noticed the
bodies in the courtyard. Heart in her mouth, Snow raced forward. The first
person there was Gerta, a downstairs maid. Snow turned her over. Gerta was
breathing, but her eyes were closed.
“Wake
up,” Snow said, shaking her a little. Gerta didn’t move.
Snow set
her back down gently. She looked at the other people in the courtyard and
noticed that all of them were breathing as well. It was like everyone had just
fallen asleep where they stood. Was this the curse the dwarves were talking
about?
Slowly,
Snow made her way into the castle. She wasn’t sure where to look first, but if
everyone was sleeping, maybe Aurora had still been in bed when the curse hit.
It made as much sense as anything else, so Snow walked to Aurora’s room.
She
opened the door and saw Aurora laying in her bed. It looked like she was just
sleeping too. Snow tiptoed over and said, “Aurora, wake up.” Nothing happened.
Snow tried gently shaking her, but Aurora kept sleeping. Snow used to find
Aurora’s little snore comforting, but now she would give anything to make it
stop so Aurora would wake up. Snow shook her a little harder and began yelling
Aurora’s name.
Nothing
worked. Aurora kept sleeping. Snow held Aurora to her and started crying. “What
am I supposed to do?” Snow asked. “I’m here! Why can’t I save you?”
She set
Aurora back on her bed and stared down at her. “What am I supposed to do?” Snow
asked, tucking a stray strand of hair behind Aurora’s ear. Snow stared at
Aurora’s face. She wasn’t sure she could live a life without her. She’d bring a
doctor in here, someone who would know how to fix this. There had to be a way
to get back out.
“I won’t
give up,” Snow said. She looked around. There was no one here to see. She
remembered what the dwarves had told her about breaking fairy spells.
Tentatively, Snow leaned forward and kissed Aurora’s lips. “I promise I’ll fix
this,” she whispered. She sat up.
Aurora’s
snoring stopped and she opened her eyes. “Snow?” she asked.
“Aurora!”
Snow pulled Aurora upright and kissed her, and to her surprise, Aurora kissed
her back.
They
parted and Snow stared at Aurora. Slowly, Aurora started to smile and Snow did
too.
“How
long have you waited to do that?” Aurora asked, a shy smile on her face.
“Too
long,” Snow replied. They kissed again and Aurora’s door opened.
“Sweetheart,
you’re all right!” Queen Emilia said. She and King Grant stopped in the
doorway.
“Hello,”
Snow said awkwardly. “Um.”
“Only
true love’s kiss could break the curse,” Queen Emilia said, looking at the two
of them.
“And it
seems to have worked,” King Grant finished with a smile.
Snow
stared at them. “You’re…you’re okay with this?”
“We’ve
had a long time to get used to it, dear,” Queen Emilia replied with a smile.
“Is that
why you sent Snow away?” Aurora demanded.
“We
didn’t want her to get caught up in the curse,” King Grant explained, “but we
thought that maybe…”
“So, you
knew about this curse and you never told us?” Snow asked.
“We
wanted to give Aurora a normal childhood,” Queen Emilia replied. “We can sort
all of this out later. You broke the curse!”
As much
as Snow wanted to have it out with them, she looked back at Aurora and couldn’t
help but be happy. Aurora squeezed her hand and smiled.
~*~
As
worried as Aurora had been about becoming engaged on her sixteenth birthday,
she was impatient to become engaged to Snow. However, first Snow had to travel
back to her kingdom and set a few things straight.
Princess
Aurora, King Grant, and Queen Emilia came with her, of course, but it was not
their place to tamper with the justice of King Nicholas’ kingdom. Snow swept
straight into King Nicholas’ throne room.
“Snow!”
Nicholas said, cutting off the noble who had been talking. “They told me you
died!”
“Not for
lack of trying,” Snow said. “Your wife tried to kill me.”
Queen
Rebecca had jumped up from her throne as soon as Snow had come in, but she
didn’t get far. Guards grabbed her and she turned to face Snow. “Why, dear. Why
on Earth would I try to kill you?”
“I’ve
been thinking about that,” Snow replied, “and I know you’ve driven out anyone
prettier than you in the castle, but that just seems so simple and petty. As
much as I want to believe you’re only simple and petty. It has more to do with
the crown, doesn’t it? If King Nicholas doesn’t marry anyone else, and I were
to mysteriously die, you would rule the kingdom on your own, wouldn’t you? And
your child would rule after you. This was all about power.”
Queen
Rebecca’s face twisted, her hands covering her belly protectively. “You stupid,
selfish girl. I should have just cut off your head!”
“I think
that will do,” King Nicholas said, signaling to the guards. “Take this woman to
the dungeon.”
Queen
Rebecca protested, but her yells soon dwindled away as the guards took her out
of the throne room.
“I
should have done that a long time ago,” King Nicholas said, sighing and shaking
his head.
“I don’t
know why you didn’t,” Snow snapped. Then she gathered herself. “Father, there’s
one other thing I came to ask you.”
“Name
it! I’m so glad to have you back.”
“I want
your blessing for my marriage,” Snow said. Aurora walked up from the back of
the room and held Snow’s hand.
“To
whom?” King Nicholas asked, looking at Snow.
Snow
swallowed. “To Princess Aurora.”
King
Nicholas stared at them. “Oh,” he managed. He looked beyond them to King Grant
and Queen Emilia. “Do you two agree to this?”
“We do,
Your Majesty,” King Grant said.
King
Nicholas nodded. “Then, I agree as well. Blessings on you both.”
Snow
grinned and turned to Aurora. She couldn’t help kissing her.
“Well,”
King Nicholas said, “I suppose the only thing to do is start having their
wedding dresses made.”
~*~
The
wedding took place a year later, as was customary. By that time, King Nicholas
had restored diplomatic relations with the kingdom that Rebecca had come from.
They had recently come through a civil war and Rebecca’s family was no longer
on the throne. As the new king wrote to King Nicholas, he would be doing them a
favor if they could execute Rebecca themselves. So it was that deep in the
dungeons on the day of the wedding, Rebecca danced in red-hot iron shoes until
she died.
In the
castle proper, the focus was entirely on the wedding. Snow invited all of the
dwarves from the cabin and the fairy who had changed the curse to save Aurora’s
life. The feasting went on for a week, if they are not feasting still.
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