Hi everyone! I'm back! Sorry I couldn't get back sooner. The threat of finals was looming and I, for one, have avoided it and am done. I also just have so much coming up and it's getting a little hard to juggle everything at once, but don't worry! I will keep on writing and there will be more stories.

I may have to take a break sometime in the future but do not fret! More and more ideas for amazing fanfics are popping into my head and I plan to write them out and share them with you all!

Now let's begin where we left off then shall we? I own nothing.

Chapter 3

Sumire looked at the forest around her. She shivered in the unbearable coldness of the shadows. As she walked through the woods, the recent events replayed in her mind:

? ﾟﾍﾏ? ﾟﾍﾏ?

Johnny and Sumire had made it to the edge of the woods and tied their horses on some tree branches. Sumire loved the way the wind gently pushed the tree's branches against each other to create a lovely rhythmic sound.

Johnny looked over at the young Princess with a worried look on his face. He knew he could not perform the deed the Queen had asked him to do. It was heinous! Killing the beloved Princess for the sake of beauty? Johnny could not do it.

He looked over at the Princess and quietly took out his knife. Creeping up behind the Princess, he reached a hand out towards her shoulder.

Sumire reached down to pick some lovely wildflowers when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Johnny holding a knife. Sumire fell backwards and was about to scream when Johnny's hand fell over her mouth.

"Please do not scream Your Highness," Johnny said in a low voice. "I will explain everything. Just follow me into the forest please."

Sumire looked at the Huntsman with scared eyes and nodded. Johnny took the Princess by the hand and led her into the forest. Sumire looked around her at the trees as they walked further into the woods. The wind shook the tree's branches differently than they had in the meadow.

They stopped in a clear patch of the woods when the edge of the forest had disappeared. Johnny dropped the Princess's hand and turned to face her. Sumire felt her hands become clammy as she took notice of the knife in the Huntsman hand.

"Run," he said.

Sumire looked at Johnny with clear shock filling her face. "What?"

"Run Your Highness. The Queen wants you dead."

Sumire was confused. "Why would she…"

"To be the most beautiful in the land," Johnny explained. "She wants you dead because your beauty surpasses hers."

"But that's…"

"Stupid? I know. But I have a plan. You just need to go deeper into the woods and come back before the ball your father has planned for you. I will distract the Queen long enough for the plan to work and for her to be brought to justice."

"Are you sure it will work?" Sumire asked.

"...To be honest, Your Highness, I do not know," Johnny admitted. "But what I do know is that I want you to be safe, Your Highness. Now go. I will take the heart of another and show it to the Queen as proof that I did the deed. Now please, Princess, run."

Sumire nodded and ran into the woods. Her bright red boots kicked up the dry, dead leaves from last years fall. She prayed that Johnny would be alright and that the Queen did not really wish for her to be dead.

Johnny watched as the Princess disappeared into the woods. Heaving a great sigh, he turned around and began to look for a replacement for the Princess. With his luck, he would probably find a boar or another animal's heart to fool the Queen.

? ﾟﾍﾏ? ﾟﾍﾏ?

Sumire shivered in the cold breeze. She didn't know what to believe. After her mother had died, her father had begun looking for a new Queen after his advisors began to pester him about it. He had finally agreed and in the summer of her tenth birthday, her father married her Stepmother and the kingdom had rejoiced.

Her Stepmother was the daughter of a rich Lord who lived near the kingdom's border and her beauty had caught the eyes of the court. Under the pressure of his court advisors, King Rei had proposed to the woman.

The marriage had pleased everyone. The new Queen wasted no time changing the Palace to her own specifications. She had even ordered the empty hallway to be built so that she could have a private place for her mirror.

Sumire had hoped that they would have a wonderful relationship, but the only time they saw each other was at dinner or parties. The Queen rarely spoke to her and only on occasions where it made her look good did she act like the Princess was there. Sumire wished that her mother was here with her now.

The wind pushed the branches together, causing them to rustle. Sumire nearly jumped in surprise at the sudden noise. She looked around her at the trees as horrific faces started to appear on the faces of the trees.

Sumire looked around her in horror as the trees seemed to close in around her. The dark greenery around her began to shake violently.

'This is it,' Sumire thought. 'Wild animals are going to kill. My Stepmother will get her way and my Father will never know what truly happened to me.' Sumire close her eyes and waited for the pain and light that would bring her to her mother.

"Are you okay?" Sumire looked up in surprise to hear a kind, yet energetic voice. She looked into the eyes of a blonde-haired, green-eyed girl about her age. Behind her was another girl with reddish-brown hair and blue eyes. They both looked at her questionably as she sat on the leafy forest floor.

Sumire looked at both girls as they looked at her in equal surprise. "Do you think she's mute Akari?" the blonde suddenly asked after a moment of silence. "Hina! That's rude!" the redhead piped up. "I'm sure she can talk. She was probably just spooked by the forest's shadows. So, what's your name?"

Sumire wasn't sure what to say. She looked at both girls for a while longer and then took and deep breath and stood up. "My name is Princess Sumire Hikari. Some people call me Snow White."

'Now this is interesting.' A shadow watched the girls from afar and chuckled to herself. 'What an interesting development.'

Gasp! Another cliffhanger. That is one of my favorite ways to end a chapter.

Hi everyone! Sorry I took so long to update! I was waiting for finals to pass over so that I could focus on writing my fanfiction. I do have plans for tons of others and I have some of the first chapters written out.

When Snow White and Swan Lake are done, I'll type another Aikatsu! Storybook Tale and another one. Be on the lookout!

Until next time!