A/N: I love fiction especially fairy tales, but I'm not someone who thinks they would be a brilliant writer just because they are an avid reader. Pretty please leave me comments / criticism to give me an idea of how I went. I think it turned out pretty well, but I feel like the end is a bit sloppy :/
The Very Wicked Snow-White
Once upon a time, in a far-off land, there lived a King and his Queen.
The couple desperately longed for a child, and so one day the Queen journey into the depths of the forest to buy a potion from the dwarfs that dwelt there. With the help of the potion the Queen conceived a baby girl. However, unknown to the Queen the dwarfs wielded ancient black magic, so potent it was used by their ancestors to bind the legendary wolf Fenris.
The Queens unborn child was too powerful, and she drained the life from her mother. The Queen lived just long enough to see her daughter born – hair as black as the magic used to conceive her, lips ruby red as blood, and skin as pale as a corpse. The Queen smiled and whispered "Snow White", before departing for the Underworld.
And so it was that this great force of evil was brought into the unsuspecting world.
As she grew older, Snow White longed for the mother she had never known. And so at the tender age of ten years old, she began to hatch a plot to resurrect the dearly-departed Queen from the grave. Snow went forth into the village outside the castle to find the most important thing needed for her plan. After hours of relentless searching, she came across exactly what she was looking for. The woman was perfect – an almost mirror image of the Queen: shining golden hair, clear ivory skin, and a smile so bright it put the sun to shame.
Snow brought the woman before her father, and the King (under the influence of one of Snow Whites enchantments) fell deeply in love with her. The woman, Lilith, without the help of Snow Whites magic fell in love with the handsome King as well. And so, the pair was wed in a lavish ceremony that was talked of all across the land.
On the couples wedding day, Snow White gifted her stepmother with an ornate silver framed mirror that stretched from floor to ceiling, and was placed in Lilith's private sitting room. The new Queen loved her husband, but try as she might Lilith could not find a place in her heart for her sinister stepdaughter, and out of instinct avoided the girls wedding gift as much as she could.
The years passed, and for the most part the King and Queen spent them happily ruling over the kingdom. However, Lilith's piece of mind was darkened by the comings and goings of Snow White. The King seemed oblivious to his daughters' almost constant absence, but Lilith could hardly sleep for fear of her stepdaughters doings.
And so, one bright spring morning the Queen called her brother to the castle and charged him with the task of following Snow White. The brother thought this an odd task, but he could see the fear in his sisters' eyes and so he agreed, hoping it would turn her back into the happy woman she had been before her marraige. As one of the most skilled huntsmen in the kingdom, the Queens brother saw little difficulty in the errand.
When the cloaked Snow White slipped from the castle, she was followed by the Huntsman. Once they entered the forest, she confidently navigated the twisted trails left by the animals that lived in the woods. It was near sun-down when Snow White finally entered a clearing inhabited only by shadows and a small cabin.
She stopped as she reached the door of the cabin, slowly turning to face where the Huntsman stood and smiled, raising a beckoning hand to him.
For the first time the Huntsman looked upon the beautiful face of the girl, and felt time stop as he fell into the depths of her gaze. She was the last thing he saw before the deadly point of a dagger was thrust into his heart.
As he dropped to the ground, seven figures stepped out from among the trees. Snow Whites' gentle smile turned into a fierce grin as she recognized the dwarfs who had for many years tutored her in the dark arts and taught her how to wield her powers. She turned and entered the cabin, clearing a space on the table for the Huntsmans body. From an old chest, she then pulled out a formidable looking knife and an enchanted box, which would grow or shrink to accommodate whatever was placed inside of it. A gurgle of laughter slipped past her ruby-red lips as she anticipated the Queens reaction to her gift.
Back at the castle, the Queen was beside herself with worry and guilt. The darkness of night had long cloaked the earth, and still no word from her brother. Pacing one of the immense corridors of the castle, she heard a whisper come from the direction of her sitting room.
Pushing open the heavy wooden door, she froze in shock at seeing a woman standing patiently in the mirror. Lilith recognized her as Snow Whites mother from a portrait that hung in the family gallery. The old Queen, with a single tear trailing down her cheek, solemnly offered Lilith the bejewelled box that she held in her hands.
Lilith reached out and took the box. As soon as she pulled her hands free of the mirror, a picture replaced the Queens image. Seeing her brother lying on a table with his chest bare and bloody, Lilith opened the box with shaking hands to find a heart within.
As Lilith collapsed to the floor sobbing, a voice said sadly from within the mirror;
"Snow Whites mother I may be,
But even I can tell there's none so heartless as she.
Take this apple, cursed with an enchantment
One bite is all it will take
To put an end to her depravement."
When Lilith looked up, the mirror was once more just a mirror, but in front of it sat a perfect shiny red apple. Lilith carefully placed the box onto the floor and picked up the apple, a plan forming in her mind. One of the few things Lilith knew about Snow White was her love of candy apples – sickly sweet on the outside, but tart and rotting on the inside.
The next morning, just as the sun peaked over the horizon and the birds began to sing, an old crone hobbled towards the old mines that had been abandoned by the villagers many years ago. On her arm hung a basket filled with delicious foods.
On reaching the opening for the biggest mine shaft, the crone sat on the side of an overturned wooden trolley and settled down to wait.
When the sun reached the middle of the sky, seven dwarfs exited the darkened mine into the bright sunlight. The dwarfs, after having spent hours toiling to find precious gems for their beloved Snow White were ravenous with hunger. A croaky voice called out to them "Help an old lady keep a roof over her head – I have here a basket of the finest food in all the land, all I ask in return is one of your smallest gems."
The dwarfs glanced at the tempting basket, then at their own buckets overflowing with jewels and silently all agreed to the bargain. Items were exchanged, and the crone clutched the gem tightly in her hand as she headed back to the village.
The dwarfs greedily gobbled down the delectable array of foods, only slowing down when there was a single candied apple left at the bottom of the basket. Hoping to surprise Snow White, the apple was saved as a present for her.
When the dwarfs arrived back at the cabin that evening, they presented Snow with the tempting treat. She cried out in glee and snatched it from the basket, immediately biting into the sweet morsel. But when a piece of the apples flesh touched her tongue, she dropped the fruit and raised both hands to clutch her throat. Before any of the dwarfs knew what had happened, Snow White had collapsed to the ground, seemingly dead. Rushing to her, they all let out a sigh of relief when it was discerned that she was still breathing: although the old Queen hated her daughters' actions, she still loved the girl as only a mother could. And so instead of killing her, the Queen placed an enchantment on Snow which would imprison her in an eternal sleep.
Realizing that they could not wake her despite their best incantations, potions and spells the dwarfs built a beautiful glass room encrusted with gold and jewels to house Snows body until she awakened.
Thousands of people travelled from all over the land to mourn their adored fallen princess; piles of flowers reached almost to the roof of the room and not one eye gazed upon the serene face that didn't shed a tear.
The King and Queen arrived to pay respect to the sleeping girl. The King appeared dazed, as if he had awoken from a long slumber, while the Queen shed silent tears as she placed a jewel encrusted box under one of the princesses pale hands. The couple then returned to the castle, and tried to forget their grief. But, once a year, the Queen returned to Snow Whites side. Dwarfs guarded Snows body day and night, so all Lilith could do was ensure that she continued to slumber on.
The End