Once Upon a Time- The True Story
The kingdom of Anseillin was a truly beautiful kingdom. Surrounded by three great kingdoms constantly vying for control between each other, the constant wars continuing on and on and on until no one remembered what life with peace really was. The kingdom of Anseillin was unique. It was a completely autonomous kingdom. They were not involved in any of the going-ons of the other countries. Thus, the people of Anseillin could count on one hand the times they had gone to war. And these were just instances of strife not real wars. It was not an understatement to say that Anseillin was a completely peaceful state. However, this peace was fraught with danger, a fragile peace. Each successive monarch of the kingdom tried their hardest to either not communicate with other countries or if that did not work to treat all the other kingdoms the same. Every single monarch had this taught, or in the case of the more stubborn ones beaten, to them. However, this was not the case if Snow White.
The then King of Anseillin, Richard Morran, fell in love with the daughter of a family that had just migrated from Vance, one of the three kingdoms. This marriage was frowned upon by the aristocrats because they understood that by doing this, the king was indicating that he supported Vance above all the other kingdoms, however indirectly it was. However, despite the complaints, no one really disapproved of it in public as the King had not truly chosen a kingdom over another and thus the marriage happened as normal.
Years passed and the Queen had not given birth to a child. The people, surprisingly, did not mind as they loved the Queen but the nobles began to try to persuade the King to get another wife. So Queen Anne, heartbroken when she heard through her sources that the King had a mistress, took her horse and rode violently, passionately into the woods ignoring anyone all the shouts while crying her heart out. She rode and rode into the woods farther than she had ever done and then she looked around and realised that she was lost.
"Ah," she broke down crying, "Is this my fate? I cannot fulfil my duty as a wife, my husband has a mistress and now, I will die alone, lost with no one looking for me."
"Argh," a voice said, clearly annoyed, "Stop being so melodramatic. It's irritating." The Queen screamed then looked around.
"Who is speaking," she called out, obviously shaken.
"Hmm," the voice said amused. "Just think of me as the voice in the wind. Why are you here? Isn't this far away from home?"
There is no loss in telling this stranger. After all, I cannot see him and he knows me not, the Queen thought. So she told him. Of her insecurities in her womanhood and that "his majesty would lose interest" in her. The voice listened and then chuckled.
"So the only trouble is that you have no child. I think that can be easily done. You can even consider it a favour of mine for coming so far into the forest. But there will be consequences, are you ready for them?" It waited. A pause. A nod. She accepted his terms. She just wanted a child.
"Then wish," it said. A lake immediately appeared. The Queen sat down on one of the stones surrounding the lake. She was tired.
"If I have a child," she started then stopped, sobbing. After she regained herself, "If I have a child, I wish for her to be beautiful. She will have lustrous black hair. Skin as white as snow." She said nothing after a while then picked up a stone to throw in the river but it scratched her. "And lips as red as blood. That would be my child." She stared off into the distance enjoying the fantasy she had created about her daughter before crying again. "But I will have no child. Voice or no voice I will have no child." She dusted her robe and got up deciding to go back home. She had stayed there long enough. Then she remembered she lost her way and did not know what to do. Then, a road not there before appeared out of the winding trees and forest. No knowing what to do, she followed it and it led her home. Her husband looked up and when he saw her a look of complete bliss and relief filled his face. He went to her and hugged her, held her in his hands. He promised that he would take no more mistresses and that if she had no children the line would die with him if she would please not do that again. The Queen was oddly pleased and kissed his lips. She told him in a low, sultry, sensual seductive voice. She whispered that they should go to bed not for the sake of trying but to both enjoy. And they did. And the servants would swear they heard the noise down the hall. Yes, they were that loud.
On October 21st, the child was born. She was a beautiful creature, all white with black hair and red lips. Exactly as her mother wished for. Queen Anne held her in her hands and kissed her.
"My beautiful baby, so young," she said, "I wished I did not have to go but I made promises. Even now I hear the wind against the windows. A rustling, living thing. Demanding. But it was worth it. You were worth it. To see my child in my hands was worth it." A sound almost like banging happened on the window. The Queen heard it but did not look up. She wanted to spend the time looking at her child, "I have to go my little angel. Richard, take her." Saying this, the Queen gave the child to her husband.
"Take care of her." The king nodded. The noise happened again. This time she looked at the window and sighed. "Goodbye, loves." With a sad smile, the King used one hand to hold her chin as he kissed her lips. Deeply. Intimately. Her hand rose to touch his neck then dropped without touching it. She was dead. The King kissed her dead lips once more then put her down on the bed. He turned away as the attendants rushed around, preparing her for burial. Tears streamed down his face. He looked down at Snow White. She raised her hands and he put a finger through them.
Time passed. Snow White was five. The King was at a party and then he met her. Alexandra Carrasse. Daughter of a countess. He had met her once in his childhood and he remembered thinking of her as a weird girl. Her father and his ancestors had always been secret keepers for the King. They were basically his personal slaves. They would do anything for the King and the kingdom. But Alexandra was a girl, the only child of her father and thus had to work harder than her ancestors to prove herself worthy of being the next 'Keeper'. The King was entranced the moment he met her. She was tall with long blond hair reaching her waist. She was splendid, beautiful. He knew that she would be trouble. A dangerous woman that no man could tame. But he did not mind. He was King after all. He craved a challenge and he was overjoyed that he was interested in a woman again after the death of his wife. So began the love affair of the century. He bought her roses. She graciously accepted because it was expected then promptly dumped them in a place housing the flowers which she never visited. He laughed when he heard that. Amusing, he called it. Absolutely fascinating, he said. What do you want, he asked her once as they danced oblivious to the envious stares of both men and women. Nothing, she said. Nothing much. I just want you to respect as my own person. Don't be too overbearing. Let me have my own space. But I don't want to be a pretty bauble. A trophy. I refuse that. Is that all, he said drawing closer. I'll get back to you when I remember, she said with a quirk of her lips. Tell me then, he muttered and kissed her in the ballroom. There was shocked silence.
They got married three months later. It was a gay spring day. The clouds were draped across the sky, carelessly, as if a child had sprinkled them on. The leaves were yellow. Almost there, almost there. There was snow melting around the corner and the sun peeked out of a cloud like a recalcitrant child. Perhaps it was afraid to ruin the day with its sharp glare. So it was perfect and matched Alexandra who preached neutrality. She laughed that day, for the first time; he thought, and hugged him. There was something immensely sentimental about it. Different from their previous encounters of sensuality and pleasure. And so they got married.
They got on surprisingly well. People kept expecting them to slip up get other partners but they did not. It seemed that Alexandra had what Anne lacked – self-confidence and high social status. The fact that Richard was more flighty, more likely to make decisions based on emotions matched up with her practical attitude that looked before it jumped. They were enamoured with each other and Snow White noticed.
When Snow White was 12, King Richard the 12th, the 77th King of Anseillin died.
It was summer. A perfectly lovely day. The sun was shining, the birds were singing and King Richard was bedridden. He had caught it in the winter. The flu. And no amount of prayer or entreaties had helped or was going to. The King was going to die. He knew it, the public knew it, everyone knew it but his family refused to accept it. Alexandra kept vigil at his bed and Snow White looked to the stars pleading with someone she did not know or see to help. But it was for nothing. That night or the next morning. Whichever it was. He died peacefully though, in his sleep. It was as if he was sleeping. But when Alexandra came out of the room she looked haunted. She had woken up with a kingdom in her hands and she had realised, in a moment of clarity that she was responsible for an entire kingdom. How do kings manage, she thought. It was not a nice feeling. What was she going to do about Snow White?
Snow White was 16 now. Still the same. The girl never changed. She was beautiful. People had told Alexandra that she would become more beautiful than her. She smiled and laughed. She was a monarch, responsible for thousands of lives, something as petty as that did not bother her. Snow White had a natural grace and gentility that attracted anyone and the people loved her. She was good with languages, too. However, Alexandra quickly realised that Snow White was not meant to rule. She did not understand the situation of the kingdoms and was always asking why they didn't just become one kingdom. She never understood that Anseillin was the smallest out of all the kingdoms and could be invaded at a moment's notice. She hated studying – she did not know the name of every precious resource that Anseillin had to offer and she hated socialising with the nobles. It is okay to hang out with the people but a monarch must always have the aristocracy support them to a certain extent. By socialising with the nobles, she would understand what their intents were and she would be able to read people more effectively for no one is as treacherous as the nobles were. But Snow White did not know this. She preferred staying in the forest with the animals and running around with the local children. She was ill suited to rule.
And then, Alexandra heard of a plot. A plot to take her off the throne and put Snow White in her place. She knew immediately that it was a plot by some nobles to have a puppet ruler in order to be able to trade more freely with the other kingdoms. And then she understood. She knew that as long as Snow White was alive, this issue would always come up. After all, snow white was the child of the king and his first wife. By living and remaining as she was, Snow White would hurt Anseillin. There was only one course to take. It went against all her instincts and training as a 'Keeper' but it was necessary for the kingdom. Besides, Snow White was not a monarch.
So she called her lover, the huntsman. He was a young man, 28 years of age and she had caught him eyeing her step daughter on more than one occasion. But she was not jealous; they had a sex-only relationship. Not like the one she had with her husband. In the bed after the day's activities, she kissed his cheek going down to his shoulder and she muttered in a sensual voice. Enticing. "I want you to help me with something." Driven by his libido, he promised to do whatever she wanted. Then she asked him to kill Snow White and bring her heart to her as evidence. Shocked, he jumped out of bed and screamed an emphatic 'no'. The covers fell down and she told him to cover himself up before continuing in a tone of voice as if they were talking about the weather with a "yes".
He refused, she insisted. Said it was no longer a favour but an order. He had no chance but to accept. Really it would have been better if he had just agreed from the beginning, then it wouldn't have turned so ugly. He started getting dressed. He said nothing but she got the message, their liaison was over. What a pity, she mused, the sex was good too!
Five days later, the huntsman came back with a pig's heart. She stared at it in silence before she looked him in the face and he saw his death in her eyes.
"Do you think me stupid? Of course I can differentiate between the hearts," she raged. She had gone through immense training after all. "Coming back with this travesty shows how little you think of my intelligence. You should have run."
The next day, she had him executed. She could not trust anyone with this task. There was no way to keep her hands clean- not that she minded much. It had to be done. So she disguised herself as an elderly woman. But she should have known. Her height, the height that made the King attracted to her made her distinctive from any other woman. It was obviously her. Her graceful steps also, too light an old woman, outed her. Snow White knew immediately who it was. Snow White set a trap. She was tired of her step mother and she was ready to rule. So she conspired with her boyfriend, the prince of Vance to take the throne from the Queen and join their kingdoms together.
They set a trap for me over the cliffs and I fell for it. Blinded by my duty I fell for it. I am so ashamed of myself. As I fell into the deep, deep dark, I looked up and saw Snow White. She was hugging Charming, prince of Vance. Poor girl. I wondered at the story of how they met but I was so tired. Tired of keeping my duty, of being Queen of juggling everything. I was ready to go now. To go meet Richard. I saw them hugging and then he sent an absolutely wicked smile to me over her shoulder and then, I knew we were doomed. Poor Anseillin. I closed my eyes. I was ready to go now
And what of the kingdom of Anseillin. It has completely disappeared. I suppose Vance took it or the other kingdoms. It doesn't matter anyway. After all, Snow White became a sweet princess victimed by her step mother over who was more beautiful. How stupid. Well the stories say so, so they must be true right.
I go back to reading more books.