My Dear Snow White

"Mirror, mirror, here I stand, who is the fairest in the land?" And the mirror replied: "You, my queen, are the fairest here, but Snow White, who has gone to stay with the seven dwarfs far, far away, is a thousand times more fair."

Two weeks. Two weeks had come and gone, though it all seemed to blur together in Dorian's mind. Two weeks prior, his father perished, two weeks prior, he was dubbed king and his Selection was announced, two weeks prior, he had to summon the woman who harbored nothing but ill will for him to his home.

Two weeks of waiting, trying so hard to be patient, but each time the old grandfather clock mounted in the throne room ticked, Dorian winced. One second closer to the Selected girl's arrival. One second closer to Loreena's return.

Through the day he struggled, his mother tried to lessen his responsibilities, yet she, too, was in mourning. Guilt nagged at the young king, he wanted so desperately to dampen his mother's pain, but he could fathom no actions nor words that could heal a wound that deep. By night, Roslyn held him. Some evenings they just clung to each other, dreading the moment that Dorian's thirty-five suitresses would arrive and turn their whole world over. For two weeks, the cycle continued. He hardly ate, he hardly slept, rather instead admired the woman who laid beside him. He memorized each aspect of her. Her petite nose, the teasing shape of her lips, the way his fingers had a habit of getting ensnared in her raven hair. Should anything happen, should she not be Selected and her father, Thomas Clarke, sends her away, Dorian wanted to rest assured he'd remember every detail about the woman he loved.

Dorian stumbled out of his empty chambers, clad in black, though this time properly dressed. He turned to Gideon, "Send for Tertius, if you will, I'll be waiting in the throne room," the guard nodded and the monarch went on his way. He kept his chin held high, daring his courtiers to test him. Dorian was a Schreave, and like a Schreave, his valor could never wave.

The guards posted at the entrance shot each other worried glances as their king paused, "Your majesty," one began but his sire raised a hand motioning for them to open the door. Though hesitant, the two guards complied and Dorian stumbled in.

Expecting to be greeted solely by the stone statues mounted above his throne and the vacant one beside his own, the one for his queen, Dorian froze, blinking in shock at the sight of a woman seated on his throne. She rested her head against her elbow, propped up on the side of the chair. "Hello, brother," the foreign queen said, her compelling voice abysmal but feminine and laced with a light French accent.

A chill rushing down his spine, the hairs on the back of his neck stood, "Loreena?" he asked and his elder sister smirked, revealing pristine white teeth only royalty could master. Loreena Schreave la Tour d'Auvergne, not only the queen of France but also the firstborn princess of Illéa, reached out for her cane with long, dainty fingers. The woman seemed virtually flawless at first glance, her raven hair reaching the small of her back with curls that could make even the purest of hearts faint with envy. Her jade green eyes lacking any specks of brown and a fair complexion to match her exquisite features. A true Schreave, most would say, but most failed to notice the details, the imperfections. Her jade eyes were just that, made of stone. Her hair masked a faded abrasion on her temple from her childhood, her lavish dresses concealed a violent red mark on her knee where Tertius failed to heal her. Men kissed the back of her palm, but never turned it over to see the faint, white scars that danced across her skin, the size of her fingernails. Nobody noticed the shadows under her eyes, as they were blind to what was hidden under cosmetics. Like the statues looming above us, Loreena was carved from stone, yet reckless was the artisan who chiseled her, with cracks penetrating her skin, he violated the queen in not only a physical manner but one that poisoned her spirit to her very core. Perhaps it was the same man who crafted Loreena that shaped Cassian.

"It's been quite some time, hasn't it my dear brother?" The French queen tapped her cane against the floor, amusement flickering in her stone eyes, "I apologize for the intrusion," she gestured to how she rested on his throne, "there were no other seats aside from your precious wife-to-be's and my dreadful knee could hardly stand to remain upright for another moment."

Dorian pursed his lips, "No need to apologize, is there something you required? I'm afraid I have a meeting with our physician regarding matters of great urgency."

"Ah, Tertius Albelin," her green eyes darkened at the mention of the man who left her crippled, "I was supposed to meet with him as well, though my matters regarding a tonic for the injury he caused," The queen stood, the very corners of her mouth turning downward in a barely visible grimace. She swaggered forward on all three feet and Dorian opened his mouth to insist that the bone injury was not a fault of Tertius, yet the great wooden doors opened before he could, and Loreena cooed, "Speak of the devil and he doth appear."

Tertius stiffened, his face blanching at the sight of the second Schreave, and a heartbeat later he dipped into one of the deepest bows Dorian had witnessed from him, "Your majesties," he mumbled and the king of Illéa waved him off, motioning for him to come closer. Dorian seated himself in his throne, still warm from its previous occupant, he turned his head to his sister, "I'll be seeing you at father's funeral." Nodding, the female monarch left the two.

After waiting some time before speaking, the younger man exhaled, "Have you discovered the cause of my father's death?"

Tertius' face grew solemn, "Sire," he began, "I swear to you on the gods above us, that your father was in a healthy condition when he last visited me. He had no illnesses that I was aware of."

"So, it must have been murder," the sovereign interrupted.

The older man trembled, "Your majesty, if you please, let us not jump to conclusions. There are no physical wounds on the late king's body, nor are there any obvious signs of a poisoning. Though, it would take a further examination to completely rule the second option impossible."

Dorian shook his head, "If you have no further information for me, then see to it that you do within the next few days, I must know what happened to my father, and soon."

"Yes, your majesty," Tertius stammered, and with another bow, the physician set off to his chambers. Luckily for the aging man, he dwelled not terribly far from the throne room, for safety concerns. As he approached, Tertius watched as Roslyn Clarke, the lady-in-waiting to the Princess Catrain and the daughter of Thomas Clarke, one of the most ambitious and cunning of the courtiers. The young woman turned upon hearing footsteps and her face crumpled in relief at the sight of him.

"Oh, thank goodness you've arrived," she whimpered, her blue eyes bloodshot and full of fear, "I need help." Those words were all it took for Tertius to spring into action, he ushered the lady into his chambers, failing to heed the echo of three feet in the hallway.

The physician her down at his table, and at last devoted his attention to her, "Whatever is the matter, milady?"

"I fear I might be pregnant, I-I haven't bled this month," she divulged, her eyes brimming with tears, "Oh, god, I cannot be pregnant."

Eyes widening, the older man inquired, "When were you supposed to?"

"Nearly two weeks ago, I thought nothing of it, these sorts of things happen to a woman, right? Your bleeding can be postponed due to stress, I have been under a great deal of stress recently, so I didn't believe it, but then the sickness. It's only in the morning so I mustn't have caught the plague," Roslyn turned to him, pleading, "Please help me, I can pay you anything, just please…please help me," She held out a bag of gold coins, but Tertius pushed it back towards her.

"I don't require any of that, I think I have something to set your mind at ease. They were quite common before the war, but now there are hardly any left," he rummaged through his drawers, resurfacing with a small stick. He held it out to the nobleman's daughter, "Go to the room in the back and follow the instructions, here. It should only take a few minutes," he assured.

Rose nodded, doing as she was told, the woman retreated away with a stick she'd never seen before in hand. As he promised, moments later she returned staring in confusion, "What now?"

"Now, we wait. Shouldn't be too terribly long. Would you like some tea?" True to his word, the results arrived just as the water boiled. Roslyn sucked in a breath, "Tertius, what does this mean?"

The physician turned to face her as she started down at the two lines on the face of the old technology. Tertius sat her down, grounding the herbs into the water and giving a cup of it to her, "It means you are bearing a child."

Rose's face blanched, the cup slipping from her fingers. The contents spilling on her chest and her bodice, she didn't so much as flinch at the heat, "No," she muttered, "no, this can't be right. I can't be, it's impossible." Tertius' heart twisted, he knew exactly what this meant for the poor girl, her reputation would be ruined unless she married before she started to show, and even then, her new husband would be forced to accept the fact that she would most likely be giving birth to a child that was not of his blood, unless she married the father. But her father…Thomas Clarke wasn't a very forgiving man and rumors of his unkindness to his own daughter had been circling court for years.

Tertius blinked, "Who is the father?"

Roslyn flinched, she'd been terrified he'd ask this question from the moment she arrived. The girl shook her head, "You mustn't tell. You can't. Please, Tertius, swear to me that if I tell you, you won't tell him. I don't know what to do, he can't know yet."

"Very well," he agreed and Rose sighed.

"The child belongs to his majesty, King Dorian."

The echo of three from the halls returned, but the lady's sobs and the physician's stunned expression allotted no recognition of the danger for the pair to have any extra fears. Tertius shot to his feet, "Keeping such information from the king could be treated as treason. If I had any idea-"

"Please," Roslyn begged, tears staining her pretty face, "Please you can't tell him. I don't know how to tell him and if he hears it from anyone else…I'm so scared, Tertius. Please, please, please."

The physician scowled, had he known the predicament he'd face, the man would have wanted nothing to do with the affairs of the woman and her new child. But once you know something you can't un-know it, "His majesty is holding a Selection, this child would only add to the difficulty, my child you must leave if you so desire to keep this a secret from him. All I can promise you is that I won't tell the king anything unless you haven't left court by the time his suitresses are announced if he is still unaware."

Roslyn straightened her back, trying to compose herself. Tertius passed her a damp towel to mop up the spilled tea, "Thank you, Mister Albelin, your kindness will not be forgotten."

The physician nodded as the lady stood, "Take care, my dear child. Don't wait too long to tell his majesty, if you love him as I believe you do, a secret like this could be the beginning of the end." The young woman thanked him again, but he spoke again as she reached the door, "Please, milady, I beg of you – heed my warning. I do not wish for any misfortune to fall upon you, our new king, or that child you will bear."

She turned to look at him over her shoulder, her brunette curls falling from her bun, "Nor do I, I swear that to you."

Heyyy so I had more planned for this chapter, but considering I have exams next week, this was probably the only time I had to write, but I wanted to get this chapter out to y'all because I'm horrible with updates and I need to get back into a rhythm like I did with Of Truest Heart.

The next chapter of Spiders in a Jar will be the next thing I write, but I needed to get this out. So for those of you reading that too, it should most definitely be out not next week, but the week afterwards, if not earlier should I find any other time to write.

I wanted to say that I made 2 trailers. There should be links to both on my profile, and I would really love if I could get at least a little bit of y'alls character, but as I promised, there is absolutely no rush.

I apologize for any mistakes, once again. I wrote this during my free period which means that lunch starts in less than 10 minutes and I'm hungry…SO if something doesn't make sense, or you catch a mistake, please let me know and I'll either try to explain it to you, or fix the mistake as best as I can.

Thank you so much! Please leave a review, they make my day :)

Bye lovelies!
~Hailey