Six
The world was changing without her. It wasn't just the passing of the days or the change of seasons; the kingdom and its people were changing as well. The voices that reached her tower sounded harsh, angry, defeated, frightened… Snow White's heart reached for them but what could she do? She was only a child with no allies to fight for her.
But her childhood was cut away the moment her father died. She was growing in the loneliness of her tower. In time the guards brought her a new dress; it was too big but in time she would fill it before it too turned to rags.
She heard talk of how beautiful girls were taken away by Ravenna. Their beauty became her power. Now and then Snow White considered her reflection in the water. She was still young but her body was slowly growing into that of a woman. Would Ravenna come for her beauty one day, too? No, she couldn't have it. Snow White's beauty was within; untouchable.
This thought gave her strength. Ravenna would expect Snow White to wither away into nothing, a helpless despairing creature who let the ugliness of the new world consume her. Snow White pressed a hand to where her heart was beating and vowed to never give in. No matter what came her way she could not let Ravenna win.
Even if that meant she stood alone in the queen's dark world.