Snow White's Prince
– Her Best Friend!
*Author's Note: Everyone knows the story of Snow White but they usually only remember the details from the huntsman's murder attempt until the "happily ever after." I have always loved the fact that the Disney version shows the Prince in the very beginning. In fact, he was supposed to have a much larger role in the film but Disney wanted to keep the film as short as possible since money was running out and they were getting hell over the film by critics as it was. With each new Disney fairy tale, the Princes' role has become larger and larger but I've always wondered about this Prince who was given very little screen time. So, here's my first fanfic: the Snow White story with more SW/Prince moments.
*This fanfic is based on the Disney version, which I do not own the rights to.
Chapter 1: The Lonely Princess
SW's POV
I awoke this morning to the first rays of sunrise shining upon my face. I kept my eyes shut for a moment, imagining that I would be able to truly enjoy the day for once. But alas, I knew I couldn't stay in bed forever as reality set in. The Queen would be furious if I was late with her breakfast. I quickly dressed in my rags which I had hanging all night to dry. I only owned 3 articles of clothing. Two sets of rags: one for spring & summer (which I put on now) and one for fall & winter. Whichever season it was, I wore the respected dress; wearing it in the day and wearing only a slip at night. Before bed I would wash that dress and hang it up so it was clean and dry in the morning. I would never dream of wearing dirty rags! They may be rags but they're MY rags and I'm still a princess who prides herself in looking presentable – even in rags. The third dress was a gorgeous traveling gown the Queen had made for me for when we travelled out of the kingdom or for when the Queen feels that I need to look presentable at some kind of occasion. I LOVE that dress. It's so bright and colorful and it perfectly suits me! Bright yellow skirt, blue satin bodice, blue and red sleeves, and a beautiful white collar! It looks great in all seasons, though I usually only wear it in the fall and winter. That's really the only time we travel to other kingdoms. I wish there were more events to attend the rest of the year so I could wear it. Putting on that dress makes me feel alive and truly like a princess! Unfortunately, the Queen has it locked up in her tower so I can ONLY wear it when she wants me to.
My father had died many years before, so I only grew up knowing the Queen and her rules. Immediately after my father died she had fired all of his servants and kept only his army. There were only some of her servants left and she let them stay under one condition. Their job was to take care of her and she made it my job to care for the castle. I wasn't allowed to even look at one of her possessions. Though some of her servants felt sorry for me, there was no way I could get close to them. They served the Queen in her part of the castle while I was somewhere in one of the other hundred parts of it. I'm not even allowed to bring her her breakfast. Yes, it's my job to cook her meals, but one of her servants gets to bring it to her.
As I prepare her meal, I start to think about when the Queen first arrived here. I had been thrilled when I discovered that my father was getting remarried! My mother died when I was born so I never had a mother-figure to grow close to. I was only four when the Queen arrived but I remember that day because of how excited I was! The servants had dressed me in my best dress and I waited with them on the castle steps for my father's carriage to arrive. When the Queen got out I couldn't help but think that she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. I had been told that my mother was quite beautiful, but at that moment, I couldn't imagine anyone being more beautiful than the woman coming up the castle steps. There was only one thing that could've made her more beautiful – she didn't smile. Over the next few months I noticed that she NEVER smiled, even at my father! I know now that the smile I remember her giving him was actually a sly kind of smirk which in my opinion doesn't count as smiling. Oddly, a few months later my father died, or so I was told - I wasn't allowed to attend any of his farewell ceremonies. With my father gone, the Queen revealed her true nature. She was a very cold-hearted person and I remember crying as my father's servants – the only friends I had left – walked out of the castle for the very last time upon being fired.
That is when the Queen started forcing me to work. I did everything she said because I wanted desperately to please her. I kept a naïve dream alive that I would one day please her and we could at least be friends. But as the years went by, I knew that wasn't going to happen. So one day, I told one of her servants that I wished to have an audience with the Queen. To my complete shock, she sent a servant to fetch me one day as I was doing spring cleaning. I went to her chamber and requested, with the utmost respect, to abandon my role as princess and leave the castle. I wanted to become an apprentice to someone in town. It didn't matter for whom, I already did so much around the castle that I was sure I could learn anything. I tried to reason with the Queen; I knew that she didn't like me very much and that I just wanted my own life. She could have the crown: I just wanted to make friends and one day, fall in love. But she insisted that I couldn't give up my crown because I was my father's last remaining heir and it would be an insult to him, and to her, and to the kingdom, and she went on and on and on. Finally she promised that if I stayed and worked hard, she'd let me participate in more royal duties. Being young, I agreed. However, the Queen actually did keep her promise. She had some new dresses made for me and I was allowed to travel with her to other kingdoms. In addition to caring for the castle, I also was able to assist her with writing letters to other kingdoms. Yes, by the time each writing session was done, the Queen dictating while I wrote, my hands were sore and blistered, but I felt glad to be doing something important. She even started to be slightly nicer to me! Just slightly.
Then, I accidentally did something that angered her so much that any chance of our growing close was destroyed. Well, I didn't DO something - something happened to me. During this time in my life, I began to go through the physical changes which every woman must endure. My body began to, well, mature and unfortunately all these changes made me look more beautiful, though I don't like to brag. Even my hair, which never grew, was now elegantly falling down my back. The Queen wasn't completely aware of it until we went to one of the harvest celebrations at one of the other kingdoms. Several people must have made comments as to how beautiful I looked because after that, she was more ruthless than ever before. Thanks to the Queen, the workload just kept piling up and before I knew it, I barely even had enough time in the day to get my work done. I was so exhausted by the end of each night I NEEDED the sun's rays in my face to wake me up! I was so busy that at one point I had one of the Queen's attendants cut off my long beautiful hair since I no longer had time to care for it. It didn't bother me though. Even though I knew that I looked better with long hair, I was just no good at styling it – even when I had had more time. I felt lighter with it and it was just easier to care for, it suited me. It looked good naturally and I didn't need to fix it. I even started collecting spare scraps of ribbon from the Queen's seamstress and would put a different color in my hair every day! It was the only accessory I had to wear with my rags and it was fun to pick out a different color to wear every day!
As the workload increased, my role as princess was greatly diminished. I was no longer allowed to help her write letters or do any royal responsibilities. I was still allowed to attend a few events at other kingdoms, but that was only because she couldn't use the excuse that I was too young to attend them all. They had all seen me grow up and would've known this wasn't the case. She feared someone would come looking to see what happened to me and would find me wearing rags if I didn't join her at these events. Whenever someone arrived at the castle to visit, I was summoned to her chamber to change out of my rags until they left. That was another aspect that changed - my dresses. Instead of getting three new gowns each year to wear to events, I only was allowed one. Once my body stopped changing, I was made one last gown. It was pretty enough to pass as a ball gown, but simple enough for travel. Luckily this last gown was also my favorite: bright yellow skirt, blue satin bodice, blue and red sleeves, and a beautiful white collar.