Chapter 2
H igh in her castle, Seraphina stood on her balcony overlooking the far reaches of the Mystic Vale kingdom. Her kingdom.
She had risen through the ranks of court, garnering the eye of the king, and schemed her way into his arms. From there, it was easy to use her magical abilities to convince him to marry her.
But his daughter was a problem. Even from her young age, Snow didn’t like Seraphina. She tried on numerous occasions to come between her and the king.
The queen did what she had to do to dispose of the king by using her magic. Knowing the girl was too young to rule yet, her plan was to step in as regent and then make sure Snow would never ascend the throne. However, Seraphina discovered the king made sure the rule of the Mystic Vale would pass to Snow White upon his death.
Seraphina did not want to hand over rule to an eight-year-old child. Why should she? In a document outlining the king’s final wishes, there was no mention of a regent or a steward. It merely stated Snow would ascend the throne and rule.
Naturally, there was much talk among the high council that there should be a steward. None of those on the council deemed her worthy. They voted to uphold the king’s final wishes, effectively casting her aside and ending her rule. So, they thought.
As the months passed, Snow prepared for her coronation. Seraphina realized there was one truth above all—the people loved her and would never want to see anyone else ruling the kingdom or sitting on the throne. This did not sit well with the queen who was now a widower.
She did what she had to and invited the girl for a walk in the castle gardens under the guise of getting to know her better. When they arrived, she told Snow White all those who lived within the keep hated her and wanted her gone. She used a bit of dark magic to make the girl believe and then cast her out into the night, banishing her forever from the castle.
The girl, crying with despair, fled. The queen had never seen her again. Her hope was that the girl fled into the dangerous Wyldwood Forest and it would swallow her whole.
When she banished Snow White, most of the castle staff left. So be it. She didn’t need them if they were not loyal.
Heaving a sigh, she shoved away those memories. After all, it had been ten years since the girl’s disappearance. Surely, she was dead by now.
As she stood looking at the land gripping the handrail, her mind plotted. There were three other kingdoms in the Enchanted Woodlands. Three kingdoms that could be under her rule and only her rule. Three kingdoms she needed to bend the knee to her.
Feywood was to the south and ruled by King Alfred. He had a large army and so he would be difficult to defeat. He would be a formidable foe. Further south, Ellewood. A smaller kingdom ruled by a smaller man, King Egbert, who was as flamboyant and ridiculous as his name. To the east, Hollow Glen, ruled by yet another king by the name of Rufus.
Kings. Alfred, Egbert, Rufus.
She scoffed.
Useless men. All of them.
Why should the kingdoms be ruled by men, when she was as worthy? She had a crown and magic.
Regret sifted through her now as she thought of Snow White. She should have used the same destroyer spell on her but something held her back. Instead, she banished her from the kingdom.
Turning from the balcony, she walked across her immense chamber to the secret door hidden behind a tapestry. She shoved it aside and pressed the stone which was a lever. Stone scraped against stone as the door slid open for her.
Once inside, she whispered an illumination spell, lighting the two torches on either side of the Magic Mirror. A mirror that was full of darkness and shadow. A mirror that held secrets and dark magic. She consulted it from time to time to give her guidance and advice.
It was one of three on the entire continent, though the one Malvina possessed, the Dark Mirror, was destroyed. Pity. With its destruction, the three were no longer connected. Only the Magic Mirror and the Enchanted Mirror remained.
The oval mirror in a silver frame was large enough to fill the whole wall. She paused a moment, admiring her reflection. Her black hair was over one shoulder. Onyx eyes peered back at her out of her youthful face that belied her true age. She raised taxes on the land more than once to maintain her extravagant taste for high fashion that included fairy silks from the Eternal Court and velvet from Rothbridge on the other side of the continent.
“Magic Mirror, in your silver sheen, who’s the one with dreams so keen? In this vast world where hopes do roam, tell me, mirror, who calls it home?”
The mirror came to life, the visage appearing as nothing but a featureless face. “It’s you, my queen, who holds no fear.”
She smiled, well pleased with the mirror’s response. “Tell me, mirror, who is the one to control all the land?”
A pause, then, “You, my queen.”
She smoothed a hand over her shiny hair. “Tell me, mirror, who is the fairest in all the land?”
She asked this question every now and then to make sure she still reigned supreme. That no man would be able to resist her charms when she marched across the land to take down other kings and kingdoms.
The mirror said, “With dreams that sparkle and passions that enthrall, in your heart, you’re the fairest one of all.”
That response gave her pause as she stared at her wavering reflection and the face in the mirror that gave her the answers she sought. But this answer was not the one she wanted to hear.
“In my heart?” That phrase sent a cold chill through her. “Is there another? Tell me, mirror.”
It was silent for a long moment, and then, “It is a fair maid I see. Lips red as the rose. Hair black as ebony. Skin white as snow.”
She gasped, pressing cold fingers against her lips. “Snow White. She was supposed to die in the forest. The girl still lives?”
“She still lives, my queen. Deep in the forest she has made a home, where the elves have allowed her to roam.”
“The elves ?”’
The elves were a reclusive sort. But what she knew of them was they inhabited the Wyldwood Forest. She sent a hunter there to bring back the horn of a unicorn. She needed it for a particular spell. One that would help her conquer the remaining kingdoms in the Enchanted Woodlands.
“Yes, my queen. She lives among them and follows their ways. She’s learned their magic in the moonlit forest where enchantment plays.”
Fury rose through her breast in a burning sensation. It was not the news Seraphina wanted to hear. She shoved away all thoughts of conquering the rest of the realm. Now, the only thought she had was of destroying Snow White, for while the princess lived, she was a threat to her and her throne.
“Thank you, mirror.” Her voice was but a whisper.
She turned from the room, closing the secret door behind her once more and returned to the balcony in her chamber. Once there, her hands gripped the handrail as she glared with deep regret and fury at the treetops in the distance. Somewhere out there the princess dwelled.
Seraphina had been a fool to think she would perish deep with the forest. Perhaps it was time to conjure a spell for the elves in the Wyldwood Forest. A spell that would, ultimately, reveal the princess’s location. One thing she knew for certain, Snow White could not be allowed to live.
Snow White must die.
As Snow approached her woodland village, she saw the preparation for the upcoming Springtide Festival, the celebration of the vernal equinox, was already underway. When she slipped out early that morning, no one was stirring in the village. Now, several villagers hung cascading colorful string lights going up on the lowest tree branches. Others wrapped the base of the trees in lights to match.
Long tables covered in white tablecloths for feasting were placed under the trees. Down the length of the table were clusters of candles in three different sizes. In between the candles were square vases with fresh cut flowers of the season.
The festival was held every year to celebrate not only the coming spring, but also the romantic pursuits of the young elven men and women. When the seven-day festival was over, there were always couples announcing their intentions to marry.
As she approached the village entrance, a couple of the men hoisted a large arbor into place under the strict supervision of one of the women Elders. Her long silver hair hung in waves over her shoulders. Her gown was also silver trimmed in white fur. Her sharp blue eyes took in every detail. When she saw Snow, she gave a broad smile and a wave.
“Snow, Yirrie is looking for you,” she called. “Best hurry along, dear.”
She gave a nod, then picked up the hem of her skirt off the ground and hurried through the bustling village. A pang of guilt swept through her as she realized she was late for her solstice gown fitting. Yirrie would not be very happy with her for slipping out before dawn. So, she hurried, waving and smiling to the few who greeted her along her way. Not everyone in the village accepted Snow’s presence.
At last, she reached her woodland home and burst through the front door.
“Yirrie?” she called.
Yirrie, who raised her since she was eight years old, was the closest thing to a mother she had. Her own mother had passed away when she was small. She had no memory of her.
“Ah, there you are. Where have you been? Why is there dirt on your face?” Yirrie emerged from her bedroom looking frazzled.
“Did Annilen tell you I was on my way?”
Yirrie was tall and elegant and carried herself with aplomb, something Snow had always wanted to emulate. Her brown hair was long and straight and always had two plaits on either side of her head showing off her pointed elven ears. Her eyes were a mystifying shade of copper with gold flecks that gave a charmed look about her. She had high cheekbones, a pointed chin with a cleft, dusty pink lips, and was quite possibly one of the most beautiful elven women in the village.
Ignoring her question, she huffed out a breath at Snow’s appearance and shook her head. “You’ve been deep in the forest again, haven’t you?”
“I—”
“And yes, Annilen told me. Come now. The dressmaker is waiting.”
She grasped Snow’s elbow in a firm grip and led her through the house to the bedroom where Yirrie had emerged. The dressmaker was an elderly woman and, by elf age, that meant she was more than two hundred years old. No one was quite sure how old Zaliya was, after all, but she had been the dressmaker in the village for decades. She knelt at the base of a gown on a dress form, pins in her mouth, as she pinned up the hem of Yirrie’s gown.
“She’s here, mistress,” Yirrie announced.
“Ah,” she said around the pins on her mouth. She waved Snow forward, then removed the pins. “Where is the gown?”
“Here, mistress.”
Yirrie had somehow disappeared into the other room and quickly retrieved Snow’s solstice gown for her final fitting. The shiny blue and silver material was draped across her arms. She shoved it at Snow.
“Get changed quickly.”
Snow took it and disappeared into what served as the dressing room. She pulled off her day dress and shimmied into the gown, the smooth fabric hugging all her curves. The sleeves were a bit too long and the hem dragged the floor but that was why the dressmaker was here. Snow was also concerned about the plunging neckline that showed a significant amount of cleavage and intended to bring that up during the fitting.
When she emerged from the dressing room, both Yirrie and Zaliya gasped with delight and then smiled.
“Such a lovely vision,” Zaliya said on a sigh.
Yirrie clasped her hands together, a wistful smile on her face. “Snow, you look beautiful.”
“I’m not sure about the neckline—” she started.
“It’s perfect, dear. Now stand still and let me pin the hem,” Zaliya said as she dropped to her knees. The pins were back in her mouth as she scooted around Snow.
“But, it’s too—” Snow tried again.
“What’s wrong with it?” Yirrie moved to stand in front of her, looking her over with a critical eye. “It’s the new fashion for all the maidens.”
“Ye will be sure to catch the eye of one of the young men,” Zaliya added helpfully.
Something shifted inside Snow at those words. She wasn’t sure that’s what she wanted. While she was a member of the village for the last ten years, she wasn’t exactly looking for a husband. Though she knew that most of the young maidens in the village would be doing just that. The Springtide Festival was all about finding one’s soul mate, dancing and singing around the bonfires, sipping honeywine, and feasting until one could no longer feast. The banquet hosted a twenty-course meal that included several roasted meats, vegetables, different kinds of breads, all sorts of delectable desserts, and dancing and singing from the moment the sun set to the moment the sun rose.
Suddenly, a sense of exhaustion pressed through Snow as she thought of the coming evening. Her shoulders slumped a little.
“Snow, do stand up straight,” Yirrie said when she noticed. She pressed a hand into her back between her shoulder blades to force her back straight.
Once Zaliya was finished with the hem, she rose, her knees creaking as she did. Then she went to work on pinning up the end of the sleeves so they would fit her properly.
“Is there nothing you can do about the neckline?” Snow asked.
Zaliya stopped what she was doing to give her an incredulous look. “What’s wrong with it?”
“It’s just…” Snow made a gesture with her free hand up and down. “Too…”
“It’s fine, dear,” Yirrie said. “This gown will turn all the heads.”
She sounded so happy about that it was hard for Snow to argue. She had to admit it was a lovely gown. Blue with shimmering silver whorls that twisted and turned up and down the bodice and the skirt. For a moment, the thought it made her feel like a princess skittered through her mind. Then she quickly pushed that away. She was no longer a princess. She had lost her kingdom years ago.
“It’s just that it feels a bit plunging,” Snow tried again.
Zaliya finished with her second sleeve, all the pins removed from her mouth now. “It’s perfect, dear. Now if you’ll let me have the gown, I’ll have it finished and back before you know it. Be careful of all the pins.”
Nodding, Snow returned to the dressing room and slipped out of the gown and back into her day dress with the dirt smudged along the skirt. In her mother’s room, she handed off the dress and wondered when she could make her escape back into nature.
Zaliya took the gown with a nod and told Yirrie she would return in a few hours with both gowns—which meant her mother already had her final fitting.
“Now that you’re back, I need your help in the kitchen.”
Yirrie had other plans for her. Snow should have realized solstice day was a busy one. She wouldn’t likely get another chance to visit the forest until tomorrow. Sighing, she gave a nod and followed her.