A/N: This is a retelling of the grimm fairy tale "Snow White and Rose Red" I wrote it chapter by chapter over about a three month period. This is the revised version. Nothing much has changed plot-wise but I feel that much of the grammar and syntax (espsecially from the first four or five chapters) has been greatly improved. I would like to especially thank my own twin sister (who is a fantastic writer /pen name: laminsrose/ and will be attending the Alpha young writers workshop where famed author TAMORA PIERCE will speak YAYAYAY!) for helping me so much. I would also like to thank my previous reviewers ElvenSilver, Glitterpoison, Athena Diagon Cat, littlelambug, Heather, and catakit. So even if you are rereading (like I want you to) or if you are reading this for the first time...PLEASE REVIEW!
muah,
atsuibelulah ;D
Chapter 1
White Rose, Red Rose
We are compliments of each other, my sister and I. The morning after we were born, our ailing father went into the garden of our cottage in the mountains of the north and planted two rose-trees, one white and one red for one white baby girl and one red baby girl. We were mirror images of each other, except for our coloring. Her hair was white-blonde, her skin alabaster, her eyes two windows into a clear sky. My hair was a dark bronzed red, my skin glowing rosy, my eyes pools of shadow. These features have not changed since we were infants. My sister's name is Rhoswen. My name is Rhoslyn.
We were always most comfortable in the forest. There we are in our element. We are also most at ease when we are together. When we were old enough to understand such things, we made a pact to never grow too far away from each other. As young children, we played for hours under the shade of the trees, some of whose trunks I still cannot encircle with my arms. When we grew older, Wen enjoyed helping Mother with the housework and needlework, while I apprenticed with the town's midwife and general wise woman, and spending the rest of my time in our beloved forest, learning its many secrets.
The forest, the cottage, and, Coedbryn, the town a half-days walk south, were all that we knew of the world for much of our lives. Mother told us, when we were old enough to ask, that she and Father had journeyed north from the country of Eisgairdin in search of a more peaceful life. Shortly after they had settled in the cottage, Father became ill and his condition grew worse as the days grew shorter. We were born near midwinter, and Father died before spring touched the mountain. Mother never told us about the latter part of that winter and we never pressed her.
Mother also never spoke of their lives before the journey north either. However, unlike many of the inhabitants of Coedbryn, she was educated and took much care in making sure Wen and I were well learned and well spoken. The townsfolk always called her Lady or ma'am and they were very courteous to us. Although, they always kept us at a distance. This led Wen and I to believe that Mother and Father must have been important in the south, but we did not dwell on the matter. Our belief was always that Mother would tell us what we needed to know and the rest did not matter. As far as we were concerned, the forest was where we came from, the forest was where we would return, and the forest was all that mattered, until the Bear knocked on our door.
