Chapter Sixteen
ADAM
Upon escorting Snow White into the castle, she thanked him for their lesson then proceeded to run off to do her chores. She left him towards the entrance of the castle, and although he could be figuring out where he needed to put a potential portal, he found himself lingering in the foyer. He casually and rather lazily looked at the architecture and was surprised by all of the details. It was so clean despite the fact she regularly ate the staff. The castle that he knew in the Anti-Realm had little to no roof and had plenty of gaping holes and wreckage all around. The fact that the columns actually held the room and the roof up surprised him the most because he could not help but feel an anticipation of the ceiling falling in.
As he continued to study the room and relish in the warmth of the day, he noticed a puffy figure scurrying about nervously, almost as if he were lost. He had to have been lost because although he was dressed as a royal messenger, his colors and attire represented a different kingdom which meant that he did not belong here. Not necessarily wanting to help the poor fool, Adam remained in the shadows of the columns and watched the messenger make his way to the throne room. As the messenger passed by Adam saw that he was not alone and lost, but being informed by a fellow servant of Apfel and having growing anxiety with all the warnings of how to properly act before Queen Grimhilde if he wanted to live through his visit and actually return to his own kingdom.
"And they say that the king of Apfel died of a heart attack?" He hissed a whisper. "With how dangerous this woman is it would not surprise me if she murdered him herself!"
"Please. Sir." The servant stopped and held him by the shoulders. "Please keep your voice down. The walls still have eyes and ears. If you keep talking like that you are only guaranteeing that you shall not survive the night!"
"How do you expect me to just go in there and deliver my message from my king to a queen that is dangerous?"
"Very carefully." The servant said bluntly. "Otherwise you will know how careless you were."
"R-R-Right." The messenger gulped and continued to follow the servant to the throne room.
Still hiding in the shadows, Adam could not help but grow very curious of this messenger and his message to the old hag and could not help but continue to follow them in the shadows. On the way to the throne room the scenery became somewhat more familiar to Adam, if only for the fact that everything was in deep dark colors and provided an overabundance of shadows to hide in.
The servant brought the guest messenger into the throne room and left him standing nervously in the middle of the room alone. The old hag had yet to leave her dungeon lair, more than likely eating another poor staff person, and the guest messenger looked ready to make a mess of himself. The room only had windows on the ceilings and roof to allow any light into the throne room, and although that would more than likely provide plenty of light in the room the sky was overcast and made the room darker than it normally would be. Staying between the ridiculous suits of armor and over-enlarged plants Adam silently paced in the shadows as he too waited for the old hag to make her appearance.
From what Adam noticed she did not normally keep people waiting, it raised too many suspicions around her otherwise. However she was not absent for too long before he heard her heels clicking slowly and somewhat gracefully to the throne room. The doors were opened by servants on the other side upon her arrival and she walked in rather dramatically with her cape billowing about her as she walked. Adam could not help but roll his eyes at her and scowl at the stupid messenger who fell to his knees at her beauty. To the messenger she more than likely looked like the vision of perfected royalty whereas Adam could only see her as the spider ready to devour her next prey.
Just as slowly as he had heard her come and just as dramatically as she entered she waltzed to her chair before sitting down and flourishing her skirts and cape to sit in the perfect position to make her look as regal as possible. Despite how much Adam detested this he could see how well it was working on the puffy messenger boy. Adam watched as her poisonous green eyes scanned the marble floors before her eyes rested on a messenger with puffy clothes looking ridiculous and oddly shaped. Though her face remained still Adam could tell by the look in her eyes and her posture that she was both amused by the messenger's presence as well as disgusted by his ill fitting attire.
"Your Majesty," His voice was considerably high pitched, and squeaked as he bowed and it took everything within Adam not to smile because he swore that he heard the faintest sound of seams ripping. Not to mention those puffy pants were not doing anything for his already large bottom.
"I am Humphrey from the land of Francka and under King Ferdinand, I have been sent here to request an audience with the young princess Snow White for the possible engagement to Prince Florian Ferdinand." Adam could not help but find his name fitting for such a low status man as he, but tried to keep his thoughts from wandering too far now that Snow White's name had been mentioned.
"Snow White?" Her well manicured nails dug into the arms of the chair and although the messenger did not know it, he was already screwing up his fate of returning to his kingdom.
"Yes." He blinked slightly confused. "The princess Show White does dwell here, yes?"
Even Adam had to blink at this. It was obvious to him that Snow White was here, but that was also because he was sent here to essentially rid Snow White's existence from the Realm. He had not considered how well of a job the old hag could have done in either hiding or covering up Snow White's entire existence in this Realm. From what he had seen amongst the town people they too had little to now knowledge of her existence and only knew her name as if it were something that would pass in the wind. It seemed that very few people knew that Snow White did in fact still dwell in the castle as well as Apfel.
"Yes, she does." She smiled and it took quite a lot of self control to control the twitching of her nose and cheek. Adam could see her blood lust rising; perhaps she hadn't actually eaten before she arrived. "However, at the moment she is in her. . . Lessons. However you can schedule an audience with Snow White in a month."
Adam, though he was already still now that he was watching this meeting, had gone rigidly still and was sure that his heart had stopped beating at some point. The fact that she said that Snow White was at a lesson meant that she knew. A cold sweat began to bead on his forehead and he quickly dabbed it away before the poisonous aroma could waft into the air.
"Well, the audience is not for me, Your Majesty." He cleared his throat nervously. Adam swore he heard another ripping sound. "It is for Prince Florian Ferdinand. I already traveled two weeks by carriage to arrive here. By the time that I return it will be a rushed time for the Prince to make his audience here."
"Well, that will work out just nicely." She smiled darkly as a plan began to formulate. "We have the annual Apfel spring festival that will be next month. I think it would be the best time for Apfel to represent the princess Snow White, and I would love to get to know the king of Francka. So this is an acceptance to the audience and an invitation to King Ferdinand and Prince Florian Ferdinand to come and stay in Apfel."
Adam did not like this. He did not like this at all. The fact that the old hag "loved" this idea of reintroducing Snow White to people could only bring about more trouble for Adam. Although he was fearful of whatever plot the old hag was cooking up he could not help but have an angry heat building in the pit of his stomach at the idea of this prince just coming in and seeking an audience with Snow White.
"If he wanted an audience with her, he should have damn well have done it before now!" Adam thought and found himself balling his hands into fists. However, he did not let them go as he continued to listen.
"My King will look forward to your invitation, Your Majesty." The messenger Humphrey smiled. "He used to visit the late King of Apfel before his passing quite often."
"Did he now?" Her throat felt tight and it was becoming painful to keep her face composed. "I do not believe that I ever had the chance to meet him."
"Surely not, Your Majesty." He scratched the back of his neck nervously. "At the time of your marriage to the late King of Apfel King Ferdinand lost his wife Queen Isabella during her second child birth to princess Cecila."
"I'm terribly sorry to hear this." Her hand covered her mouth to hide the smile that twitched into place rather inappropriately. "Please send my condolences along with my invitation to King Ferdinand."
"On behalf of my king, I thank you, Your Majesty." He bowed politely again. "With that said, I shall be returning to the kingdom immediately."
"So soon?" She hoped the higher pitch in her voice would mask the relief of finally getting rid of him.
"The sooner that I leave, the sooner that we can prepare." He bowed again before turning on his heel and leaving. She sat and watched him leave and narrowed her eyes.
Adam could not help but roll his eyes at the messenger's obvious fear for his life and the feigned innocence the old hag tried to pull on the messenger. As he studied Queen Grimhilde's face Adam could not help but have a foreboding feeling in his chest. She was scrutinizing the messenger and was plotting something that would in one way or another get rid of Snow White, even if it were simply from this castle along with killing her.
Adam suddenly felt ill, like he always did when she was plotting something that would cause him harm. Whatever she was scheming was not only going to affect Snow White but also himself; to this Adam was slowly regretting his lessons with Snow White this morning. Holding his nose, Adam looked out into the throne room and realized that he had stayed a few moments too long because he felt those green eyes searching for him. He had not even realized that the messenger had already left and that he and Queen Grimhilde were the only ones left in the throne room. Her voice crackled with a cackle and made Adam jump.
"Choices, choices, what to choose?" She murmured as she leaned on her right hand and stared out into the throne room. "Perhaps the Mirror will have a suggestion, if not an answer for me. . ."
Not wanting to be caught for eavesdropping, Adam quickly and quietly escaped through the shadows to return to the long hall that led up to the throne room. As the fresh air suddenly hit him, he realized that he had been holding his breath and as he released it felt bile rising in his throat. He wanted to vomit. He searched for the nearest giant potted plant and allowed his body to empty out the small contents of his stomach. He hated the fact that with just a simple look of reprimanding him from that old hag was enough to cause all of his anxiety to stir up his stomach acid and make him sick. It was all the trauma of torture she had done over the years that had left its severe mark on him.
With his stomach emptied he grabbed the edge of the potted plant tightly and found himself sweating up a storm as he shivered from his cold sweat. "Damn it." He hissed and pulled out a handkerchief. He went to dab his forehead with it, however, he saw that it was the one that Snow White had pressed to his forehead earlier and he quickly shoved it back into his pants pocket before reaching for his handkerchief in his breast pocket. With one of his own handkerchiefs he finally dabbed the sweat from his forehead and looked up to make sure he was along. Much to his dismay, he was not.
"Adam?" Her dove like coo whispered on the other side of the giant potted plant. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine." he staggered to his feet to a shaky stand. "Just a mild heat wave hit me."
"Oh my goodness." She dropped the basket of laundry that she had and rushed over to him. "You are sweating quite a lot."
"I am aware." He panted and found the area to be spinning and held his head. "I just need a moment to catch my breath."
"You should sit down a moment." She urged and grabbed him by his elbow.
"Not here." He shook his head, much to his regret. "It's too hot. . ."
"I know a place." She tugged him along.
"Is it far?" He had to place the handkerchief over his mouth because he could feel the acid in his stomach stirring around again.
"Not the way I'll take you." She promised and gingerly but firmly tugged him along. "Just follow me." She quickly scooped up her basket and pulled Adam along behind her. Although he knew the castle in the Anti-Realm very well, he had no idea the way that Snow White was taking him. He had explored all of the nooks and crannies - or so he thought - of the castle and always had an escape route whenever necessary. This small and secluded route was very different however. It was quite literally a hole in the wall and he could not help but wonder if he could find this passage later.
Much to his relief, once they were in the shadows the world had stopped spinning, but he still felt unnaturally warm and his stomach acid had finally stopped churning, Much to his surprise, however, Snow White had taken him to her secluded little garden. She had him sit under the shade of the apple trees and let him sit to cool while she finished her laundry in the small stream beside him. He watched her quietly and noticed how worn and weathered her small hands had been. It was more than likely because of all the chores she has had to do over the years that made them that way. Adam could not help but frown at that. She was a princess, not a commoner; she deserved to have smooth and soft hands. Although her hands were so small, they worked so hard.
"Are you feeling better?" She broke his train of thought, but did not take her eyes from her work.
"Yes." He crossed his arms and nodded. "Thank you." He pushed himself to a stand and was much relieved that he felt more sturdy under his own weight.
She finally looked at him. "Did something happen?"
"No." He looked away from her. "It was just a heat spell."
"Although that is a possibility." She stood and crossed her arms at him. "I don't think I believe that. I saw you walk out of the throne room. You either heard or saw something that you weren't supposed to or something that you did not like."
"Not necessarily." He frowned at her astuteness. "I went from a rather shady room to a sun filled one. The temperature difference messed with my sinuses a little."
Adam was mentally stabbing himself with his own sword at the sorry lies and excuses he was trying to procure for her. Some odd reason he did not want her to know about the prince coming to see her. He knew nothing of this prince or his character, but the old hag was plotting something; it wasn't going to end well. He had this overwhelming feeling of wanting to protect Snow White from the old hag and even keeping her to himself from that prince that would be part of the plot. Adam suddenly stopped and blinked and realized what he was just thinking. He suddenly looked down at Snow White and saw that her eyebrows were furrowed in worry.
"Are you all right?" She asked with her hand on his elbow, ready to make him sit if it were necessary.
"Fine." He stepped away from her and back into the shade. "However, I do think that I need to go. I don't want to be in this place right now. . ."
"Is it the tree?" She rushed and looked around her. "Is there a funny smell? Is it me?"
"What?" Adam blinked in confusion at her.
"Do you not like this place?" She wrung her hands together as she looked around her little oasis. "I know it isn't much and that it is out of the way, but I thought -"
"It is not your oasis, Snow White." He clarified quickly with a soft smile. "I was referring to the castle. I feel as though I have overstayed my welcome for the day and need to return to my own oasis."
Her head tilted to the side. "Don't you have a room here in the castle though?"
"Yes, but I don't find it particularly welcoming." He snorted.
"Is it something about the room?" She fidgeted with her hands. "If so, I can see about arranging things so they are more suited to your tastes!"
"I just find the comfort of the little house in town a little more inviting than the castle." He raised an eyebrow at her nervousness. "The room itself is fine."
"Oh." Her shoulders and her head dropped. "I see. . ." She held her wrist tightly in front of her as though she had something else that she wanted to say, but was refraining from saying.
"Is everything all right with you?" He asked carefully and stooped to peer into her face. "You seem . . . Anxious."
"Well, I'm worried about you having another spell." She refused to look at him and seemed to have found something interesting in the grass to look at.
"Is there something that you want to tell me?" He made sure to stay a respectful distance from her. Her brown eyes looked up at him and those red lips quivered for only a moment, hesitating on saying anything before she bit her lip and shook her head.
"No." She shook her head and threw on a pretty smile on her face. Adam narrowed his eyes and studied her, trying to figure out if he should pry more or not, however she turned around to pick up her laundry as if to signal that that was the end of the conversation. She picked up her basket and rounded around Adam as if trying to run away. He suddenly reached out and caught her thin arm and held her in place. She didn't fight or try to snatch her arm back, but looked at him with wide eyes.
"Would it be possible to try having our lessons here from time to time?" He asked and held her in place.
"Here?" She blinked and looked around her oasis.
"Yes." He nodded his head. "I think that this place is secluded enough to where if we needed to continue your lessons while you need to do your chores it could be possible. That way you can have longer lessons."
"Oh." A small smile formed on her lips. "Yes, I would like that very much."
The ascent up the mountain only seemed to have grown more difficult after vomiting, but still he could not help but have a lighter step as he climbed. Their lessons could be extended and he could protect her from the old hag longer, even if only for a few moments. The Door Between Realms took him easily and in a matter of minutes he was already in the Anti-Realm. A chill wrapped its way around him and immediately choked the last bit of Apfel warmth from him as he stepped out of the Wardrobe. The cat lazed about on the bench and used its tail to scribble something on the page as he passed and Frederick was already waiting at the doors for him.
"Welcome back, Master Adam." He gave a wobbly bow in his greeting. "How were things in Apfel?"
"Fine, until some messenger spouted some nonsense about a prince." He hissed as he walked. "Things just got a little bit more complicated."
Frederick was surprisingly able to match Adam's fast pace and kept up very evenly with him as he took his long strides all the way to his quarters. He cleared his throat. "Could you perhaps be talking of Prince Florian Ferdinand?"
"The very one." Adam grunted.
"Ah, then he must be out to start his quest." He mused.
"His what?"
"His quest." He repeated. "His kingdom has had an obnoxious tradition of sending the male heirs out to go find a wife."
"That's not too obnoxious." Adam's brow furrowed.
"No, only they go to the ones the messengers handpick for them to 'rescue' so to speak." He actually used his fingers to put air quotes around rescue.
"So you're telling me the thing is rigged?"
"Well, it wasn't always." He sighed and put his hands behind his back. "However, as time went on and maidens were put in more perilous and dangerous situations, the kings sent out the messengers to still find a maiden in distress, but not the most distressing of situations."
"Then what happens to those maidens that needed more saving than the others?" Adam stopped and turned to Frederick.
"Well, that's where you get your evil queens, Master Frederick." A sad smile rose on his face. "Those maidens who were actually strong enough or brave enough to actually free themselves carry heavy scars with them for the longest time. Sometimes those scars aren't that bad, whereas others are a literal poison killing the better parts of a person. . ."
"Not every maiden needs literal saving." Adam frowned. He could see the logic in Frederick's words, however, not everyone would just turn out to be like the Evil Queen.
"No, this is true." Frederick nodded his head. "But everyone needs at least one person to depend on. It does not matter how strong one may be or how strong they think they may be, there is always a limit. There is a limit to everything, and depending on which way a person is pushed, pulled, twisted, or bending can break a tiny wheel inside of them that keeps them going. . . I would know." Adam watched as the old man's shoulders tensed and he stood somewhat straighter. "I myself was not strong enough to prevent the things that happened to Grimhilde as well as to prevent her from going down such a dark path. Instead of being the person she could depend on, I became a pawn for her own gain."
Adam had nothing in which he could say to this sad wise old man. Very few people can actually admit their weaknesses, for those few who can prove that they are strong and wise in their humility. He wanted to provide some comfort to him, yet comforting was far outside his literal physical abilities; he still was not used to the physical contact of another. Listening to Frederick's story only made things more difficult for Adam. Not only did he want to have his own Happy Ending as well as somehow save Snow White, but now he wanted to ensure Frederick got his own happy ending.
"If what you are saying is happening." Frederick continued so as not to dwell on regrets and mistakes, "then you are about to meet a pigheaded, lovesick fool who was able to sweep her off her feet because she had never been given proper attention."
"Lovesick fool?" He could not help but scowl in disgust. He crossed his arms as he looked to Frederick for more answers. "He becomes a lovesick fool with a person he hasn't met but once?"
"Hmm. . ." Frederick chuckled with a knowing grin. "You have to remember that Snow White was hand picked by the messenger. He is aware that there is some danger, but he is young, ambitious and pigheaded because he thinks he is living in some sort of storybook. However, his meeting with Snow White was not their first encounter."
"Explain." Adam carefully demanded as they stood outside the door to his room.
"When Snow White's father was still alive, he and King Ferdinand arranged a marriage between their children." Frederick supplied. "However, I do not remember if the agreement was annulled after the king's passing or if there was some sort of expectation of it continuing. Though, now that I think about it. . ." He rambled and put a hand to his chin. "If he sent the messenger, despite the obnoxious tradition, then it means that he is aware that the previous arrangement for engagement was annulled."
"How old is this prince?" His hands gripped his arms tighter at the question. For whatever odd reason he did not like the fact that a prince was to come in and sweep her off her feet. A romantic lovesick fool who has no idea of the dangers he would have to face with a certain mother-in-law.
"Only nineteen, Master Adam." Frederick chuckled. "You have nothing to be concerned about, Master Adam. He is no match for a prince such as yourself."
"Prince?" He blinked at Frederick in confusion.
"But of course." He nodded his head. "Although it is rather complicated, you are a prince. A prince of darkness, but a prince nonetheless. You were created by the Evil Queen herself, and although it is a complicated situation, you are her offspring which means you are a prince. So Prince Florian Ferdinand will not be able to simply woo Snow White with singing."
"He sings to her?" His nose turned up. "And it works on her?"
"Well, in my story it did." He chuckled at the young man's disgust. "However, that does not guarantee that it will work for her in your story."
Adam looked to the floor as he contemplated this and considered his options and his actions. Regardless of how the story was supposed to go, how it was commonly known to go, how it was expected and pressed upon him to go, Snow White was to be his. No prince or Evil Queen would take her from him as of this point. If she did not want him then he would simply kill her. Whether to have her or to kill her it would be up to Adam because Snow White was his for the taking and nothing would prevent him from taking her; especially some prince.
"Shall you be dining in your room this evening, Master Adam?" Frederick cleared his throat as he changed the subject. "Or shall you be joining the others?"
"I would much prefer to dine in my own room this evening." He inhaled deeply and tried not to sigh. "I don't think that I could handle dealing with them after dealing with the Queen this afternoon. . ."
"Did something happen?" Frederick raised his eyebrow.
"Yes, and no." Adam grunted as he looked at Frederick. "She hasn't actually done anything to me yet, but she most definitely foreshadowed that something will be happening soon. Whether it is tomorrow or a week from now, she has some sort of plan for me."
"And you have come to this knowledge, how?" Frederick asked slowly and carefully.
"I was eavesdropping on her conversation with the messenger." He frowned. "I was trying to wait until she left before leaving, but she just sat there and kept talking to herself. Something about a key and me helping her for something in the future."
"I must say, Master Adam." Frederick's bushy brows furrowed together as he frowned. "This is my first time hearing of this. Then again, since this is your story, then I suppose it makes sense."
An eyebrow raised at the comment. "What do you mean by that?"
"Come now, Master Adam, it has been explained a few times by Mr. V." Frederick crossed his arms and actually looked cross with Adam. "Your missions, your choices, your going back through the stories is inserting yourself into that timeline and becoming a part of it. By trying to 'fix' things in the past, you are recreating it and writing your own story. So although I know of a lot of things that happened from my story, it would appear as though there will be quite a few changes from my tale to accommodate yours."
Adam thought aloud. "So what does this mean for me now?"
"Its means, Master Adam," Frederick gave him a knowing look, those green eyes having more to tell than what he could actually tell. "That you have to be very careful who you decide to make friends with and that the choices you make will greatly affect your story."
"Wonderful. . ." He sighed and leaned back against the door. "As if things weren't complicated enough."
"Don't worry, Master Adam." Frederick offered a smile and rested his hand on Adam's shoulder. "You will be just fine. I know it. Oh, please take care to be kind to me eventually when we meet." He chuckled. "I'm not always this nice as I am now. . .especially in my younger days."
"Will I know it is you?" Adam asked. He could not exactly picture a young Frederick. Not that it was impossible, just after seeing the wrinkles and gray hairs it was hard to imagine what he looked like as a young man.
"Possibly." He smirked and tapped the corner of his eye. "You'll either sense me, or you'll know me by the eyes. I'm the only one in Apfel that has them."
"I'll sense you?" His brow furrowed and ever so casually Frederick plucked off his glove and took Adam's off as well.
"We both have been touched by the Black Apple Poison." He showed his gnarled and weathered hand that had black and a rotting sweet smell crawling up his hands. "For someone such as yourself, I'm sure you will pick up on it almost immediately."
"But I thought you died from the poison?" Adam blinked.
"Yes, I did." Frederick nodded as he re-sheathed his hand in his glove. "However, I tested all of her poisons before she tried them on anyone else. I needed to build up an immunity so it would take her longer to kill me." He took a step back and placed his hands behind his back again. "Hopefully we will be able to make friends. . ."
"You sound doubtful of that." Adam noticed. Frederick merely responded with a chuckle and a sad smile.
"I'll be arriving with your dinner shortly, Master Adam." He put his hand on his chest and gave a half bow before suddenly disappearing. With that Adam turned and entered his bedroom, just in time before he could hear obnoxious laughter echoing from down the hall. Closing the door tight behind him Adam leaned against the door.
He was finally in the sanctuary of his room, even though he was in the Anti-Realm, he felt more at ease of finally being alone. He pushed himself off of the door and removed the leather gloves from his hands. He slipped out of his vest and unbuttoned his shirt and pants as he walked towards his bed. Feeling relief as he took off each article of clothing he made his way to the bathroom to take a nice long hot bath. It was just what he needed after a long nerve wracking day.
Stepping into the bathroom he immediately went to the tub and started a bath. With the bottles of different scents he picked up a random one and poured a generous amount in running water for bubbles. As he waited for the tub to fill his eyes drifted down towards his hands. Unlike Frederick, Adam's hands were still clear of the black poison that pumped through his veins. Perhaps it was because he had not used it on himself nowhere near as much as Frederick was forced to, but he found it odd that his skin was not as discolored as Frederick's. What he also found odd was the fact Frederick could actually touch him, he could actually touch his bare skin! Which now that he thought about it made perfect sense since he did take up his laundry, his clothes, and could touch his clothes without dying of noxious fumes.
A quick sloshing of water caught his attention and he looked to the water. The tub was almost filled to the brim. He quickly turned the tap off and eased himself in the water so as not to splash any more water onto the floor. Fully emerged into the tub he rested his head on the edge of the tub and closed his eyes. He wanted to savor this moment of relaxing before the dreaded thoughts of contemplating on what the Evil Queen could possibly have in store for him would come rushing in.
QUEEN GRIMHILDE
The day passed much more slowly than she truly realized and Queen Grimhilde found it torturously boring for the day to pass. After the meeting with the puffy messenger she began to formulate her plan, and as much as she wanted to run it by the Mirror to get a second opinion on it, she knew it would only foil her plans. She had learned, much to her regret, that if the Mirror confirmed anything that he saw as a possible future, that future that he spoke of would completely disappear and would no longer be an option. That was a cruel lesson she learned in trying, and failing, to save her mother.
If this plan of getting rid of Snow White was to succeed, she was going to have to carefully plan and keep her plans to herself. Although she really wanted to kill Snow White, ridding her presence from Apfel would give her just as much peace as killing her, though she would feel much more satisfied in killing her. She already had Jack and Joe play with her so she was of little to no value on the wedding market for pure brides, and although that had given her much satisfaction it was simply not enough. For some odd reason she enjoyed making that girl suffer. Despite the promise she had made to her late husband, who deserved a woman much better than what he got, she could not resist causing some sort of trauma to the girl. Ever since the child was young she had it so easy. She had a father and a father who treated her well and as a lady, though she did lose her mother with her father's love she did not seem to be perturbed by not having a mother. She even welcomed Grimhilde when she was to be her stepmother. The child was odd and had never truly known hardship because she was so sheltered. That alone made the Grimhilde.
On top of being loved and cherished by not only her father, but also the servants, she was extremely beautiful, even as a child. Flawless porcelain white skin, curly raven black hair, apple red lips, a crooked-less smile, a petite frame, and the epitome of kindness; yes this child was revered as perfect. Even after her father's death the servants still revered her and treated her well despite the warnings to not to. Though if Grimhilde were being more honest she had successfully done everything within her power to strip Snow White of her title as a princess. Although she could not touch her birthright, she could take everything else away from her. She could even find a way of disposing of this prince that suddenly seemed interested in her. She had taken away her father, her identity amongst the people, her royal status by making her work, her education which was quickly being readmitted to her, and even her virginity. Taking a prince away from her would be a simple fix. However, Adam was the wild card that swayed her decision in anything now.
Although the boy had promised loyalty to Queen Grimhilde, there was something that laid very deep underneath that told her his loyalty only went too far. Now that he is teaching Snow White how to read it was going to cause an array of problems for her. Though, if she truly wanted to test her loyalty, this prince may be just the proper tool to pit against Adam. A grin slowly spread into a smile on her face as her plot thickened.
Pushing herself to stand she glanced up at the stained glass windows and noticed that the sun finally decided to go away for the day. She left the throne room and made her way to the East wing. As she walked she felt a presence behind her. She suddenly stopped and kept her back to the presence behind her.
"Frederick, why are you following me?" She did not have to turn her head to see him, she knew it was him.
"You act as though you are not used to me following you, My Queen." He chuckled and stepped closer. At his approaching footsteps did she turn and see those dazzling emerald green eyes watching her. Her chestnut hair rested at the top of his brow and rested in a low ponytail on the back of his neck. He stood a whole head taller than her and actually required her to look up at him for her to look him in the eye. A smirk played on his face, "I have followed you, at your request, from our home country to this small corner of the world."
A soft smile played about her lips. "You know what I meant."
"You were in your throne room for quite a while." He stayed perfectly still as his smirk fell. "I was worried that something happened."
"Nothing happened." She waved the thought away. "I was just in deep thought."
He slowly took another step towards her. "What, may I ask, were you thinking so deeply about?"
"I just have another plan," She smiled coyly at him. "This one will require much less blood, but absolute loyalty for."
"What for?"
"To finally get rid of Snow White, of course." She slid her hands into the sleeves of her robes.
"My Queen, I thought you made a promise -" He began to argue, but she held up her hand and immediately silenced him.
"I require loyalty, not blood, Frederick." She repeated, much less playfully this time. "There is a prince who is supposed to be visiting Apfel in a few weeks. He may be just the tool that I need to finally get rid of Snow White."
"You would readmit her to the public?" He blinked at her. It had been nearly twelve years since Snow White was revered as a princess by actual title. Although the people of Apfel were aware of her title and role in society they did not exactly respect her for that and treated her as though she were like them.
"Momentarily." Her nose turned up at the thought. "I by no means plan to share my throne with that brat. I will only do it so long as I can get rid of her. Marrying her off to this idiotic prince may be just what I need. . ."
"You no longer wish to kill her?" He raised a brow in disbelief at her. "After all these years of you having me watch her, now you want to get rid of her so easily?"
"You sound as though you don't believe me, Freddy," She chuckled and pressed a hand mockingly over her chest.
"I don't think I can." He shook his head. "You appear to have something else that you're plotting that you just don't want to tell me about."
"I forget that you're very perceptive." She slid her hand back into her robes.
"It has to do with the boy, doesn't it?" He crossed his arms and put his weight on his right foot. She did not say anything, but her smile slowly shrunk back to a small grin. "Hilde, what is it that you want with this boy?"
She bristled at being called Hilde. Although Frederick was her childhood friend and partner as needs arose, it still was still odd for her to hear the name after being referred to as "My Queen," "Your Highness," "Your Majesty," and the like titles that went with her royal status. Being referred to her old nickname, though endearing, was far from professional.
"I want that boy to uphold his promise to me." She spoke in a low growl as she glared at him. "He promised his loyalty to me as well as to personally kill Snow White, but he has yet to do so!"
"Unlike you who has access to a vast collection of potions and poisons to kill whoever you like whenever you like, it takes a little more tact and time in killing someone who is constantly in the eye of the people." He frowned at her. "I do know that you are impatient, but if getting rid of Snow White is what you wish to do, perhaps marrying her off to this prince would be better. He could be a complete ass and treat her terribly."
"She is not as unlucky as I for that to work in my favor." She frowned and untucked her hands from her robe sleeves to cross her arms. "She is in fact far too lucky to have survived this long on her own that it makes my blood boil."
"You could always try to make amends and raise her to be a proper princess." He casually suggested, but with the intense glare she shot him, he knew that would not happen. "Not for her to take your place, but at least to properly prepare her for when this prince arrives. You could start by at least teaching her to read so that she is somewhat literate. Though, I suppose that has already been put into effect with this boy teaching her."
"So you have been watching him?" She asked and raised her eyebrow at him.
"Of course, you requested that I do so," He nodded. "He seems relatively harmless. . .but I would not underestimate him."
"And what makes you say that?" She frowned.
"He killed both Jack and Joe." He said flatly.
"So?" Her brow furrowed. "Those two were useless to me anyways after they succeeded in tainting Snow White."
"You don't understand, Hilde." She bristled again, but squeezed her arm to remain composed. "He killed them with one hand. AS soon as he ungloved his hand all he had to do was touch them and they turned to ash."
"To ash?" She blinked in disbelief. She had already been burned once by the little exposed flesh that she had touched, but turning those idiots into ashes. . .It was impossible! "This cannot be. There are very few in this world that are that powerful!"
"But he did." He nodded his head. "I saw it with my own eyes. It was as if some sort of demon had taken over his body. . .the amount of bloodlust that was in his eyes as he killed them . . ." He physically shivered. "I would not test him too much, Hilde. I say that for your own sake if you want any plan of yours to succeed."
She had to look away from him as she contemplated her newest plot. Perhaps it would be best if she did not test the boy's loyalty. . . No. She must. She must do it otherwise he cannot be trusted.
"Hilde." Frederick suddenly stood very close to her. "Please, I'm begging you. Please do not test him too hard."
"That is no way to speak to me as your queen, Frederick." She hissed as she looked up at him.
"I am not speaking to you this way as your subject, Hilde." His eyes were pleading and his voice earnest. "I am speaking to you as your friend who cares deeply about you. I implore you to reconsider your actions before you make a wrong turn and go down a path that I can't save you from."
For a moment, a mere moment, her heart caused her to waiver, but her mind would not allow it. She already had a plan made and a path she had already decided to take.
"I have not asked you to save me." She said standing straighter, taller. "Should the time ever come, I shall call for you, but that day is not today. I have already made up my mind and I intend to go through with it!"
"I had a feeling you would say that." He sighed and he too took a step back. "I shall continue to watch over the boy as you requested. Please feel free to call on me any time. . . Hilde."
He bowed and before Queen Grimhilde could snap at him to quit calling her that, he had already disappeared. For a moment she looked around confused by his sudden disappearance, but shook her head as she set out on her original route to Snow White. It should not have come to a surprise that he had developed new abilities since their arrival in Apfel, he made his own deal with the Mirror. Still it did unnerve her how he could come and go as he pleased, but also filled her with a strange peace of mind that he would come at her beck and call. If only he realized that she was not worthy of his services now his affections that he carefully tried to hide from her. He always wanted to save her from the path that she chose, yet she already knew she was too far gone.
Stuck in deep thought, she stopped abruptly when she found herself in front of Snow White's room. She stood hesitating about what to do and even what to say. As she hesitated outside the door her eyes felt hot, as though tears threatened to trek down her face; she refused to allow it. Gritting her teeth to ground her resolve she knocked on the door, perhaps a little louder than she meant to. She did not hear anything on the other side, no stirring of papers, no creaking of beds, not soft footsteps. She readied her hand to knock even louder when Snow White's face suddenly appeared before her with her door open.
"Your Majesty?" She blinked in utter surprise.
"Hello, Snow White." She feigned a smile and tried to hide the malicious intentions that were slowly building up within her. "May I come in?"
"Y-Yes." She stammered as she stepped back and held the door more open for her. She strode into the room and much to her surprise found that the place was entirely spotless. No dust, no cobwebs, no spiders, no mice; it both amused her and annoyed her that the room was so tidy. Despite the tidiness of the room there were evident signs of slow damage in the bed sheets that covered the small child-sized bed and low burned candles that were in almost every corner of the room.
"My, my, I'm surprised by this." She feigned her voice a higher octave. "It is so clean, and so well kept!"
"T-Thank you, Your Majesty." She stammered as she closed the door. "I do what I can."
"Please, dear." She tutted and held her arms out. "Don't refer to me as 'Your Majesty' I am your mother! Come here child."
Snow White stood with her eyes wide and nervously gripping the edges of her ratty and tattered skirt. The Queen held the smile to hold up her patience as Snow White ever so timidly walked over to her. She awkwardly stepped into the embrace and allowed the Queen to feel how boney she had become from the lack of nutritious meals.
"My child, you are so thin." She held her round face in her hands and had to resist the urge of popping it like a grape. "We must fix this immediately!"
"I-I eat plenty." Snow White carefully took a step back and watched the Queen very carefully. "If I eat too much I get sick."
"well, you are far too skinny." She shook her head. "You will never catch the eye of a prince looking like that!"
She blinked in pure shock at her step mother. "Prince?"
"Yes, yes." She waved to dismiss the question. "Prince Florian Ferdinand, from Franca is coming to visit Apfel for the annual Spring Festival! He has been very interested in meeting you. You wouldn't want to be all skin and bones for when he arrives, now do you?"
"N-No ma'am-m." She shook her head, but still looked frightfully confused.
"Good." She patted the girl's cheek ever so slowly so as not to slap her. "We shall have to make sure that you are properly fed and that your lessons begin properly."
"Lessons?" She sucked in a breath and looked guilty. She looked as though she had just been caught doing something she knew she was not supposed to. And in all actuality she already had, but Adam refused to explain to Grimhilde as to why her learning to read was necessary.
"But of course." She smiled now at the girl. "Princesses hold more value when they are literate. You are to pick up your lessons with Adam first thing in the morning."
Snow White looked as though she had swallowed a grape and was ready to choke on it. If she knew it was this easy to frighten the girl she would have down this ages ago if it meant putting her into an early grave!
"A-Adam?" She gulped. "you m-mean your nephew?"
"Yes," She smiled and tried not to snap at the naivety of the girl. She knew she was illiterate, but she had not realized that she was this slow. "He was the one that came to me with the idea of teaching you."
"He did?" Her brow furrowed as she blinked, yet again, in confusion at her.
"But of course, my dear." She chuckled darkly. "Do you think he would actually be teaching you without my permission? He is just as aware as you are of my punishments and the casualties that follow for disobeying me."
"B-But why?" She balled the material of her skirts into her hands. "But why are you allowing him to teach me? After so long. . .why?"
"My dear." She tried to be sweet, but the sweetness she wanted to feign was beginning to rot, and she knew it. "I know I have not been the best of mothers, I know that I have even been the worst of mothers. But you see, with Adam being here after my sister died and him ever so evident on making sure that you are treated right, the conscience that I thought that died with your father has grown back up from the roots." She held her hands and gave Snow White's boney hands a squeeze. "I know I haven't been fair to you, nor have I been good to you, but I want to change. I'm tired of being angry all the time, I'm tired of having to be so strict, and I'm so tired of being lonely. After your father passed. . ."
She glanced at Snow White to see how much she actually believed her words, and much to her enjoyment she was eating up every word. The mere mention of wanting to change and her father seemed to be the right direction to pull her little tender heartstrings the way she wanted.
"I know that I have lashed out at you and have pushed you away for so long, but that was because I was lonely and angry and felt completely beside myself with his passing." She carefully caressed Snow White's cheek. "You look so much like your father. . . I just couldn't bear to look at you without thinking of him and had to push you away, for my own sake. I'm so sorry, Snow White. Can you ever forgive me?"
Snow White stared up at her, wide eyed and tears brimming. Her small mouth rolled into a smile and nodded her head. Before the Queen could react, though, she threw her arms around her neck and gave her a hug. In shock she almost clawed the girl, but ever so carefully relaxed her hands and patted her lightly on the back.
"Of course I'll forgive you, mother." Snow White sniffled as she pulled away, eyes brimming with tears and a gloriously white smile beaming back at her. "I can't tell you how long I've waited to hear those words."
She was thankful for the fact that Snow White went in for another hug because she could not hide the look of disgust that came over her face. She patted Snow White's back until she finally released her and carefully held her out at arms length.
"Now that we have that out of the way." She tried to keep the smile on her face. "What do your dresses look like?"
"Dresses?" She blinked in confusion. "I don't have very many. . ."
"What do you mean?" She already assumed that she did not have much, but she at least needed enough dresses with a few to spare to last her at least a week to woo the prince to lure him into an engagement.
Snow White merely stepped away from the queen, walked over to a small wardrobe and opened them up. The dresses that hung on the rack were dresses for a child, a very small child. Although Snow White was as thin and small as a child these would never do. Queen Grimhilde had to bite her tongue to prevent herself from asking why she had this pitiful selection of a wardrobe when she already knew the answer.
"Right." She inhaled and slapped another smile on her face as she turned to Snow White. "Then tomorrow we will have to go into town and get you a new wardrobe. How are your nightgowns and undergarments?"
"About the same as these. . ." Her face flushed red and she looked down as she twisted her fingers. "I have had to make my own. . .They are nothing pretty, but they work since I have to do so much work."
"Well, tomorrow after breakfast we will go into town and get you fitted for gowns, dresses, and undergarments." She made it final by saying that. "The sooner we get into town to get this all arranged the better."
"O-Okay." Snow White closed the wardrobe.
"You can just throw those old things away." She waved her hand at the wardrobe. "Since you cannot fit them there is no point in you keeping them."
"T-That won't be necessary." Snow White stood in front of her wardrobe defensively. "I'll just put these away in a storage chest."
"Why do you want to hold on to them, exactly?" She raised a long thin eyebrow at her.
"These are the last few things that I have left that my father gave me." She looked ready to cry as she held her arms out behind her over the doors of the wardrobe.
"Oh," Her smile was strained and she wanted to roll her eyes, but somehow managed to not. "Well then, you must certainly store them in a safe place. But you are in a desperate need of new clothes."
"Y-Yes." Snow White smiled and slightly bowed. "Thank you, mother. I hope you have a good night."
"Good night." Queen Grimhilde faked one more smile before exiting the room. As soon as the door shut behind her a small snarl escaped her. She literally has Snow White within her grasp and could have killed her at any point in time. She lured her into the false sense of security that she wanted to make amends! Perhaps this was what Frederick meant when he said there was a tact into killing.
"Well, at least the ball is rolling." She smiled to herself as she made her way to her own room. Yes if this went according to plan, this was going to be a delicious victory, and she may just kill two or three birds with one stone.
Author's Note:
Thank you so much for reading! I hope you're enjoying it!
I know this was a longer chapter, but I felt as though I needed to make up for the lack of content that I have put forth with this story. Hopefully you will enjoy this. Please give me a review to tell me what you think of this so far! It'll help me decide if the story is going in the right direction.
Thanks so much for coming along the journey, stay tuned for more!
