A pair of sparkling eyes watched silently as a Queen sat on a stone bench under an ebony tree and embroidered.
The Queen was not in fact aware of the fact that she was being so carefully surveyed. She had merely snuck out here to avoid the constant, ridiculous chatter of her many ladies-in-waiting and to get a breath of fresh air.
Her lips were puckered in a slight frown of concentration. Shaking her brown hair out of her eyes, she delicately picked the needle in and out of the cloth in the embroidery loop.
The eyes blinked once as they strained to see what the Queen was creating. These eyes weren't hidden in any way at all, but if the Queen had looked up from her work, she might would not have noticed them. They weren't human eyes, after all.
The Queen shivered and pulled her fur coat around her body. Usually when she went out, she had her serving maids button it up for her. This time, however, she had attempted to do the job with her own fumbling hands... and failed. In the end, she settled for leaving it wrapped around her, robe-like, and hoping it kept her warm. She didn't plan to stay out long, after all.
She breathed warm air onto her hands—the only gloves she had been able to grab were the flimsy silk ones—and threaded more black onto the needle. She had been dismayed, when she came out here, to find that the only colors she had with her were black and red. Knowing that if she went back inside, she would be found out, the Queen decided to make do with what she had.
She was embroidering the profile of a young girl.
The eyes saw this. Noiselessly, their owner swept across the snow behind the Queen and gazed over her shoulder. There was a resemblance between the embroidered child and the living Queen, and the eyes did not fail to note it. Despite the fact that the woman's warm brown hair and laughing blue eyes were quite a contrast to the dramatic coloration of the girl, the eyes could see that the shape of the chin, the smile on the lips, and the careless tilt of the head were the same.
The Queen had been barren for many years. She wanted a child, and everyone knew it. She waited and wished and prayed, but the little girl she so dreamed of never came along. But the Queen refused to stop hoping. Someday, she told herself, someday she would have a child, the prettiest girl in the world, and—
She gasped and jerked back her hand. Lost in thought, she had jammed the needle deep into the tip of her finger. Now she watched, shivering, as a single drop of blood blossomed, blossomed, and fell. It splashed at the very base of the Queen's prized ebony tree, showing up beautifully against the black and white. The Queen let out a sigh at the sight of it.
Restlessly, her fingers brushed across her embroidery. Her lips twitched, just barely. "I wish..." she muttered, ever so faintly. "I wish... this was my daughter."
Though the Queen did not look at the embroidery, the ears behind the eyes knew what she meant.
"She would be beautiful," said the Queen, her voice rising. "Beautiful as blood on snow on ebony. Beautiful as these, and beautiful still—more beautiful than the sun, and roses, and—oh—I wish I had a daughter!"
She stood, head bowed, lashes trembling, for but a moment. Then, slowly, she raised her head, looked out across the snow—and for a moment, blue eyes met silver...
"Sky Blue!"
The Queen jerked her head away to face the voice. It came from a rather short, fat man in regal robes hurrying across the garden.
"Sky Blue!" he called again. "Have you been out here this whole time? You know I..." he slowed as he neared, panting. "I worry... about... you..."
The Queen placed her hand on her hip and tilted her head, smiling. All traces of sadness were gone, or at least, hidden. "Yes. I know."
"Dear," the man scolded.
Queen Sky Blue reached out and tousled his red hair. "I'm fine!"
"Your coat isn't buttoned!"
"Need it be?"
"Yes."
"I'm not going to die, Wine Red."
The King shuddered. "Oh, please. Don't talk about dying. You know I couldn't bear it if you got sick."
Sky Blue laughed. "Yes. I know," she repeated. "But I won't."
"What's that you're holding?"
The Queen pulled the embroidery close to her. Oddly, she didn't feel like sharing it, even with her beloved husband. "Nothing. Just some needlework."
"You snuck out her in the middle of winter to do needlework?"
"Yes!"
"But that is stupid! That is... so... like... you."
"Isn't it?" The Queen laughed and took her husband's arm. "Come. Let us go inside. You're right, I will catch a cold if I stay out here much longer."
As the two walked back to the castle, Sky Blue could not help but glance back, just for a moment, at her bench. The red drop still lay there, shining against the black and white.
The eyes took this sight in, this last, soon-forgotten evidence of an idle wish.
They blinked, and a wish was granted.