Sneaky Snow White (Dark Fairy Tale Queen Series Book 2) Read online

  ~*~ 5 ~*~

  Hunter offers me a small parcel, wrapped in brown cloth. He smiles. “Happy Birthday.”

  Grinning, I lay the parcel in my lap and unfold the wrappings. “Oh! Hunter, it’s beautiful!” He has given me a dagger. A small dagger with a thin, steel blade and a handle studded with gemstones. It comes with an ivory sheath and white belt so I can wear it over my dress.

  Hunter smiles. “I think you should wear it whenever you’re at home. If the queen is as dangerous as you say, you need some protection.”

  I sigh. We’re sitting on our well, as usual, surrounded by the grove of glowing red apples. It feels so safe and serene here. I want it to be like this always, me and Hunter, side by side, our love a warm star that never stops shining. That’s why I need the Love Apple. To keep him with me.

  “Hunter, I’m tired of living under her cloud. I’m of age now, I can leave my home and she can’t summon me back. We could find a place together, you and me, far away from here!”

  “What about the baby?”

  “We’ll take the baby with us.” To me it sounds perfect. Hunter and I living in a little cottage, raising the baby together. We would be like a family. A happy family, something I’ve never known.

  Hunter slouches a little and kicks the heel of his boot against the well. I love how he dresses, so handsome and rugged. A white shirt, open at his throat, a brown leather vest, pants that show the thick muscles in his legs. “I don’t feel right about taking the baby,” he says. “It’s hers.”

  “And my father was mine! But she had no scruples about taking him away from me. I have every right to take something from her, something just as precious.”

  “I don’t think you miss your father.”

  “What?”

  Hunter looks at me, his dark eyes troubled. “You have always seemed angry about it. Not sad. I think you just resent that Cinderella got away with it. You told me yourself that he always ignored you. And that he was cruel sometimes.”

  “He wasn’t perfect. But he was still my father, the only family I had left. Even my grandparents are gone.” My father’s parents, King Stephen and Queen Shelley, had been lost soon after Cinderella joined our family. Their carriage slid off a mountain road. Wouldn’t be surprised if Old Cinders was behind that too.

  Hunter reaches around my shoulders and tugs me closer to him. “I’m sorry.” He kisses the side of my forehead. “I just want you to be happy.”

  I take his free hand and bring it up to my cheek. “I am,” I whisper, closing my eyes against the warmth of his palm. He guides my face up to his and we kiss softly and slowly, barely moving to feel the beauty of it. My heart hurts with love for him… and I like the hurt.

  And then I wonder if Cinderella is watching us.

  I pull away from Hunter, sighing.

  “What’s wrong?” he asks.

  I shake my head. “Nothing.” But I should have said “everything.” How can we be free if Cinderella can see us? I will have to destroy The Mirror soon. But I’m afraid to think about it.

  Hunter smiles and bumps his shoulder against me. “Come on, it’s your birthday, let’s have some fun. I’ll let you try out my new crossbow.”

  “Really?” I hop onto the grass. Hunter lifts up a sturdy crossbow he had propped against the well. He bought it only a few days ago and said the arrows fly swifter and straighter than those of a long bow. Makes it easier for him to hunt large animals.

  “Wait.” I pick up my new dagger, slip it into its sheath, and fasten the white belt around my hips. The dagger hangs at my side, the gemstones like flashing bits of color over my white dress. “How do I look?” I tuck my arms behind my back.

  Hunter grins. “Like an angel. But deadly.”

  He transfers the crossbow into my hands. “Oh, it’s heavy!” I laugh as my arms sink beneath it. With a grunt, I hoist the bow higher.

  “Try shooting an apple. No, not yet! Wait until I get behind you!” Hunter laughs, steps around me, and places his hand on my back. “Choose an apple, aim steady, and fire.”

  I pull the trigger and hear the snap and whistle of the arrow. Hunter and I wait in silence. “I don’t think I killed an apple,” I say.

  “Try again,” he says cheerfully. He takes the crossbow and loads another arrow into it.

  “Maybe we can use this to find a fairy!” I cry. “I’ll place an apple on my head and you can shoot it off me. That might make a fairy think I’m in danger.” I know it sounds crazy but I really want the Love Apple.

  Hunter looks horrified.

  “I have faith in you,” I say.

  “And I’m flattered. But….” He takes my chin and looks at me in a way that paralyzes my body, holds me prisoner in his eyes. “I will not risk your life, my Snow Queen. Other than that, there is nothing I won’t do for you.”

  I wink at him. “I will remember that.”

  ~*~ 6 ~*~

  I feel happy as I walk home. Hunter and I have it all figured out. He’s going to find a place for us. A cottage deep in The Wood. If he can’t find one, he says he can build it. Don’t know how he’ll manage that, but it doesn’t matter. I would live in a cave with Hunter.

  For once, the palace doesn’t feel foreboding as I enter. It’s like the poisonous air evaporated and I feel welcomed and loved. Even the walls seem glad to see me.

  And then I hear the screaming.

  I was just about to go up to my room, but now I turn in the middle of the main corridor. It’s far away but unmistakable. Long, trailing wails of agony, a grinding screech of rage and grief. My blood chills through at the sound of it.

  I whirl around and race toward the screaming. There’s only two things I can think of: either someone is actively torturing Cinderella, or she’s about to have her baby.

  I fly through the rooms and climb the curling staircase up to her chamber. The shrieks cut through my bones as I near the doors and I feel sickened with fear. Whatever is happening to her is truly horrific. I don’t want to see, but I know I have to.

  Two palace guards stand outside the doors, both of them pale. “What’s happening?” I shout at them.

  “We don’t know,” says the guard on the left. “She won’t let us in, we were talking of breaking down the doors.”

  “CINDERELLA!” I push through the guards and bang my fist on the wood. “Cinderella, open up! What is happening to you?”

  The screams cut off so suddenly I wonder if she died. But then I heard a shuffling, a scraping, rapid footsteps to the doors. I take a step back.

  The doors snap open.

  “It’s YOOOU!” Cinderella screams. I’ve barely caught a glimpse of her wild eyes and fiery cheeks before she swings one of the iron candelabras at me. I gasp and dive sideways as the iron smashes the marble floor with a thunderous bang. “YOU!” She shrieks again, heaving the stick high.

  “Cinderella!” I drop to the floor as she swings the iron again and it crashes through the window behind me, glass exploding. I scramble to the staircase on my knees and grab the railing.

  “Get her, grab her, KILL HER!” Cinderella screams at the guards. But I guess they realize she’s gone stark mad because they eye each other nervously and don’t move.

  I pull myself up and run down the stairs.

  “Come BACK here, Stepchild!”

  The iron candelabra hurtles past my head and hits the curling wall ahead of me. I gasp as it clangs down the marble steps, deafening as hammer blows. I shoot a frantic look over my shoulder. Cinderella is coming after me and now she’s got a sword, probably one of the guard’s. Her face is grimy-wet with tears and her hair is chaotic, loose shards hanging all over.

  “STOP!” I cry out. I’m nearly at the bottom. I hear her grunt and something whistles past my shoulder, leaving a burning pain. Her crown – it cut me. She’s throwing everything she’s got on her.

  I reach the floor but she’s right at my heels. I drop again and hear the sword swish the air above my head. But she swung too hard and it flies
from her hands, spinning across the floor of the parlor.

  I try to stand up but she lunges and grabs the hem of my white dress.

  “STOP IT! STOP!” I scream, frantically kicking my feet. She looks like a black spider crawling over me, especially with her bulging middle. “What is WRONG with you!”

  “It doesn’t want me anymore. It wants you.” She says through her teeth. We’re both writhing on the floor as she claws her way up my dress. “You are fairest! You are perfect! And today you’re all… grown… up. So now it wants you.”

  I’m panting so hard my voice is in my breaths. My hands are tingling, painfully cold. She’s got her weight on my chest, her face above mine. A red, sweating face with wet eyelashes and bared teeth. Eyes like flashing flames of blue.

  “This is about the stupid MIRROR?” I shout.

  “You can’t… have it!” She snarls. “I will rip out your heart with my fingernails if I have to!”

  Suddenly, I remember Hunter’s gift. Reaching down, I yank the dagger out of its sheath, slashing it across her body. She gasps and pulls off me, her mouth opening wide. Her hand presses the underside of her chest.

  I don’t wait to see more. I spring up and dash across the parlor. I reach the main hallway and turn to the tall, double doors that lead out of the castle. She’s screaming at me to come back but the sound is reassuring. She’s not chasing me.

  I pull on the heavy door and rush into the night. As I’m sprinting down the half-moon stairs, I notice little rivers of blood spilling down my right arm from the wound on my shoulder. My foot has just touched the gravel drive when I hear Cinderella’s voice calling out from the parlor window.

  “Do not think you can fly, little Snow! I will find you!”

  ~*~ 7 ~*~

  I keep running until I reach The Wood. I don’t know if Cinderella will send the guards after me. Like the two idiots outside her chamber who did nothing to help me, thanks a lot, fellows! Too scared of the queen to make a move.

  I slow down, winded, as the trees of The Wood close over me. It’s too dark. If I keep running, I’ll hurt myself. The moon slides blades of silver light through the trees but all else is blackness. I need to find the well… and Hunter.

  My shoulder aches and I close my hand over it. It feels wet. I’m sure the blood has dripped on my dress by now. My white silk dress, iridescent in the moonlight…. I look around me. It’s not good that I’m wearing white out here.

  Oh, my heart. It won’t stop battering. I can’t believe Cinderella…. Well, I guess I can believe it, she always wanted to kill me. But the way she crawled over me with that wild rage in her eyes - oh, it was horrible! I’m going to have nightmares forever.

  I walk carefully, lifting my knees with each step. My racing heart is keeping me warm but as soon as it quiets, I’ll be cold. There’s nothing on my arms and shoulders, except for a loose bit of sleeve. I need shelter. I need warmth. I need Hunter.

  When I reach the well, he isn’t there. And I’m dumb enough to be disappointed. Of course he’s not here, he doesn’t live at the well. I guess I hoped he would sense I’m in trouble and come to me.

  I walk to the well, my arms hanging at my sides. I think the bleeding stopped. But what do I do? I don’t know where Hunter lives. He told me he lives in one of the villages with his family but he’s never taken me there. Hunter and I have always stayed in The Wood. It’s where we felt safe.

  I look at the grove of apple trees around me, tangled black knots in the darkness. I don’t feel safe now. The Wood is not friendly at night, a place of harsh cries and crooked shadows, things that creep just beyond sight. Dangerous thieves are said to prowl The Wood at night, looking for unwary travelers. That would be me.

  A chill wriggles up my spine and crinkles through my scalp. I’m starting to get cold. I rub my arms and look at the well but I don’t want to sit there. There might be insects. I simply don’t know what to do. I simply don’t know where to go.

  A branch cracks and I spin around. Two men step into the grove, abnormally large men. Both of them well over six feet, bearded and broad. They each carry a weapon that flashes the moonlight, axes or something. Though night darkens their faces, I can tell they’re looking at me. I knew my white dress would call trouble.

  “Lose your way, little miss?” one of them asks. His voice is neither friendly nor menacing, which scares me even more.

  “No,” I mumble, backing around the well. But as I do, I spot a third huge man further back in the forest, and then a fourth. My breaths jump in and out, sharp little gusts.

  “Who are you?” I call out.

  “We are known as The Dwarves,” says the first man who spoke.

  The Dwarves. Even I have heard of them, the most brutal gang of rogues in the kingdom. There’s six or seven of them, so I’ve heard, all hulking, monstrous men. Few that have encountered them survived to speak of it.

  “Don’t worry, little miss,” says the first man. “Just leave us your coin purse and we’ll let you walk free.”

  “I – I don’t have a coin purse. Truly! I didn’t bring one with me.” My voice is squeaky-high and scared. I back away, holding up my shivering hands.

  “Hmm….” The first man reaches up to stroke his beard. He doesn’t sound angry. “Guess we’ll be taking that pretty dress, then.”

  The man beside him gives a rough laugh. “And I get her after that!”

  I turn and run with all my strength.

  ~*~ 8 ~*~

  I tear through the forest, my dress catching every branch and briar along the way. I hold up an arm to shield my face and feel the plants lash across my skin. Behind me, the Dwarves are crunching through underbrush, laughing as they pursue me. They don’t sound the least bit worried I’ll escape.

  Then, far to my left, I see something. Small in the distance, but shining like the moon, I see a lady. A beautiful lady made of soft, golden light. She faces me with her hand outstretched, beckoning. Two delicate shapes fan out from her back and I realize this lady has wings….

  A fairy!

  Oh my stars, Old Cinders was right. I change course and sprint toward the fairy. She’s come to help me in my peril, that’s what they do, right? She’ll get me away from the Dwarves.

  I hear them calling out to each other; they’ve observed my change in direction. Instinctively, I know they cannot see the fairy. She’s standing in a darker, denser part of The Wood, where the moonlight cannot find my dress. As I near her, I begin to see the features of her sweet face, the gauzy dress that drifts around her, the golden hair rippling over her shoulders-

  And then she disappears.

  I gasp as if struck. NO! Where did she go? The Dwarves are still chasing me, though the darkness confuses them, and I hear their frustrated curses. I sweep my eyes across the forest and with a surge of relief, I find her. She’s off to the right, far ahead of me, and beckoning just like before. All right, I understand now. She’s leading me somewhere.

  I grab my skirt and raise it over my knees, gathering the bulk of the dress into a big, puffy bundle. I wrap my arms around it and run, my legs now free. The fairy stands silent and still as before, her hair and dress swaying gently. Again, just as I draw near, she vanishes. Moments later, she reappears like a twinkling star in the distance. We go through the cycle several times.

  I can’t hear the Dwarves anymore, except for one faraway shout. They’ve lost my trail. My leg muscles burn but I continue to follow the fairy. I’m exhausted and shivering, damp with cold sweat. Wherever she’s taking me, I sure hope it’s warm.

  The fairy stands before me, no more than a dozen yards ahead. She is so beautiful, a creature of light, with eyes kind as morning. I’m expecting her to disappear again but she raises an arm to her side. “Go through,” she says in a hollow voice. And with the light emanating from her body, I see that she’s brought me to the mouth of a cave.

  And then she disappears.

  The sudden darkness is sickening. I look around but she doesn’t reemer
ge in the distance. The cave – this is my destination.

  I creep inside, lightly touching my fingertips to the wall. The cave is low and the ceiling curves just above my head. I don’t like this at all. Anything could be in here, bugs, bats, bears, you name it. And I won’t see it coming.

  The cave echoes my shaky breaths. I take one slow step at a time, my fingers trembling over the wall. The floor creeps upward as I go. Two tears slip out of me, warm on their release but cold when they reach my chin. Oh, this is horrible. This is so horrible.

  Go through, the fairy said. Not go in. There must be something at the end, or on the other side. I sure hope the fairy was as good as she appeared and I’m not being lured into the jaws of a dragon.

  My feet move upward, always upward, and the passage turns a few times. After some minutes, I feel a rush of cool air and sigh in desperate relief. Air. That means an opening. I’m going to come out of this worm hole.

  The floor beneath me levels off and suddenly I see the exit. A mouth of pale light, as beautiful as dreaming. I grab my skirt and run toward it.

  Cold air washes over me as I emerge from the cave. I drop my skirt and stand there, gaping at the land around me. I feel both scared and spellbound.

  The moon is right above me, a lantern of peaceful light. I’m standing in a meadow, perfectly round, a circle cut from The Wood. The trees form a dark, jagged wall around the edge. Near the back of the meadow, a solitary tower looms above me, sharp and black against the sky. There’s a door at the bottom, a window near the top, and a pointed roof covered in shingles. It’s a very tall tower, at least five floors, and menacing as a spear.

  With a hard sigh, I walk to the door, grass and leaves swishing beneath my feet. This was the worst, most terrifying day of my life. Happy Birthday, Snow White.

  ~*~ 9 ~*~

  I wake up stiff. There’s no bed in this tower and I slept on the floorboards. In the darkness, I found a heavy piece of cloth and drew it over me for warmth. I was too tired to care how dirty it might be.