Snow White stood on the balcony of the nursery. Her month old daughter, Emma, cradled in her arms. She stood in the warm night air gazing out at her kingdom. "See Emma," she said to the child, "this is our home." Emma smiled at the sound of her mother's voice. Her eyes began to droop, fighting off sleep, her smile turned into a tiny yawn. "Looks like its time for bed little one," Snow said laughing.
She carried Emma into her nursery, closing the balcony door. She set herself down in the rocking chair near Emma's cradle, not ready to let go of her baby. She leaned Emma against her shoulder and smiled when the baby cuddled into her neck. As she rocked in the chair Snow began to think about how much her life had changed in month.
During her pregnancy Snow had no idea if she was worthy of being a mother. She was unable to learn from her mother, how would she know what to do. But the second Snow laid eyes on Emma after her birth the motherly instincts kicked in. Now she insisted on doing as much of the child care as she could, turning away the nursemaids because she wanted more time with her daughter. In her mind, nothing was better than being a mother.
Snow glanced down at her child once more. The baby's eyes were slits, trying so hard to refuse sleep. Stubborn, just like her mother. "Well, your certainly taking after me." she said turning her head, placing a kiss on Emma's tiny head. She began running her fingers up and down Emma's back, knowing that this ritual would soon lull her daughter to sleep. "You are my world baby girl," Snow whispered, "I would never let anybody hurt you."
She began to feel Emma breaths even and the infant cease to move. She placed Emma in the cradle and a kissed her daughter's head one last time.
"I love you Emma." she whispered.
She heard footsteps coming from the hall. Snow looked up to see Charming leaning against the door frame. "Am I going to have to pull you away from her again?" he chuckled. Snow smiled, "Maybe,". Charming walked over and put his arms around his wife, she leaned into his embrace in return. They both stood in silence for a moment, taking in the wonder that was their daughter. "A perfect little family." Charming whispered, kissing Snow on her temple.
"Yes," Snow said, "perfect indeed."