'Mother! No!' My voice echoes out across the room. I stand there helpless, watching my mother die right in front of me. I watch as the Queen rips her heart out, crushing it to dust as she crumples to the floor lifeless. She's motionless on the ground now, right next to my father. I scan the room sobbing once more as I see father's head a few feet away from his body. He was beheaded exactly two minutes ago. I don't know how much more of this horror I can take but suddenly the Queen is standing right in front of me. 'Go ahead, kill me just like you did my mother and father.' The Queen laughs, but it sounded more like snakes hissing as she looked at me. 'Oh sweet Alice, I'm not going to kill you.' She leans closer to me and whispers 'you belong to me now…' I swallow, terrified as the Queen starts walking out of our cottage, that had been safe and peaceful only minutes before. She dragged me along but yet her hands did not touch me, it was if invisible hands were dragging me forward against my will.
The scene dissolves and I wake up in my room in the castle, sobbing. I've lived in here for the past ten years, ever since the Queen took me from my home. I pretend she's my mother because I know this will spare my life even longer. She's normally kind but if I ever do something wrong then I gain punishment. I try not to do anything that will rouse her anger but sometimes it is unpredictable. Voices downstairs tell me she's brought company. "Another suitor with my luck," I mumble to myself. She always seemed to try and marry me off ever since I turned seventeen. 'It's only proper for a princess to marry early.' She always said as her explanation. I roll my eyes and get out of bed, throwing on a simple blue dress with a white apron over it as was my custom. The Queen didn't like when I dressed in this matter, especially around guests but it was well worth it. I liked moving around and those ballgowns made it impossible.
Later that night
The suitor left claiming I was "too independent and cheeky for my own good," which was really my intent. I didn't want to be married off to some charmer who'd ignore me once we got to his kingdom. I was tired of hearing the abuse of my mother's words after he left so I decided I'd attempt escape. I climb out my window with a satchel across my left shoulder and dart for the woods. I had no time to waste, and I was already in a short time frame as it was. I finally stopped after nearly four hours of ceaseless running. My thighs hurt and my lungs burned. The trees around me were filled with black, rotten apples and no light shown through the thick leaves. Strange noises fill the air but I shrug it off and lie down. I was tired, I needed rest, this trip was going nowhere but somewhere was exactly where I needed to be. The last thing I see before I fall asleep is a strange creature flying through the trees and then there's only blackness filling the forest.