Chapter Twenty-Seven

FLORIAN

The night was long, the sun was bright, and overall Florian's face would not stop hurting. Breathing hurt, sleeping hurts, even being angry hurts. The doctor said that his nose was fine and that it was just bruised, but the amount of pain that his face was in made him believe that his nose was truly broken. Every time he thought about Snow White, the doctor, and Adam his face would heat up and contort into a glare which would scrunch his nose and make tears run from his eyes.

Between the lack of sleep, the withheld anger from yesterday and the pain in his face, Florian wanted nothing more than to stay inside and hide away from the day. He knew that his beautiful face had been tarnished and would not be suitable for wooing gullible fair maidens into his bed any time soon. Finding that staring at the ceiling did nothing more than irritate his already aching nose, Florian sat up and went to the mirror.

The bridge between his nose and eyebrows was so swollen his face looked as flat as a shovel. On top of being swollen his nose was a deep purple that spread out into red as it went towards his cheeks. It looked as though he had been slammed against a tree instead of punched in the face with a fist. His growing distaste for Adam left a bitter and iron taste in his mouth, and much to his chagrin he was aware that Adam could probably do more than what he had already threatened to do. As of this point, however, irritating him is just too sweet of an opportunity to pass up; especially if he can woo Snow White into wanting to marry him. He glared at his reflection. No girl would want to marry a shovel faced guy like him.

"Trying to cover this up is going to be hard." He hissed and cursed under his breath as he delicately tried to touch his face. Just thinking of touching the tender skin made him whimper in pain. Touching the red and purple spots on his face made him grimace and made him hurt even more. He pulled out his compact mirror and applicator and tried to gently dab some foundation onto his face. It made his face sting.

"Touching it is only going to make things worse, Prince Florian." A voice droned in the room.

"Who's there?" He jumped and waved his applicator as if it were a weapon. "Show yourself!"

"You royals are all the same." A green mask appeared in the mirror and rolled its empty eye sockets at Florian.

"What the hell!" He shrieked as he fell back and hit his head hard on the marble floor.

"Prince Florian, you of all people should know that such language is a far cry from winning any woman, fair maiden or princess to your chambers." He raised a bored eyebrow at him. "To get on with things, I shall introduce myself. I am the Magic Mirror."

"You can't be serious." He gawked and shook his head in disbelief. "This is dark magic!"

"Just because I'm made of magic doesn't mean that I am all dark." The Mirror chuckled. "I am here to check up on you, by request of the Queen."

"The Queen?"

"Yes, the Queen." He smiled, though his tone gave way to his irritation. "She is the one who conjured my existence up in the first place."

"She made you?" Florian stood up and neared the table. "So then you're just what, her spy?"

His smile had grown tight, "Of sorts."

"What do you want from me?" He glared then flinched as his face hurt.

"Why, nothing more than to check up on you, Prince Florian." He sounded aghast that he should be framed for anything else but something good. "I was told that you received quite a terrible head injury, and though I anticipated something that required bandages, I must say that I was not prepared to see such terrible marring on a handsome face."

"This was the handiwork of Adam." He grimaced as he attempted to glare again. "I can hardly breathe, my face is swollen beyond belief, and it is growing harder to see by the second!"

"Oh, you poor thing." The Mirror tutted, rather condescendingly at that.

"I would never have been dishonored or disgraced such as I have here in my own kingdom!" He stomped his foot as his anger grew. Though it felt good to stomp his foot, contorting his face into an even more unpleasant one just caused more pain to his face.

"I am terribly sorry to hear that, Prince Florian." The Mirror gasped. "However, I wouldn't hold it against the Queen since she was not the one to start this predicament between you and Prince Adam."

"That monster is far from a prince!" He yelled back.

"Calling him a monster is a bit of a stretch." The Mirror frowned. "Though I will say he has certainly dealt you quite a blow."

"He most certainly has!" He crossed his arms and felt his blood pressure rising.

"Well, never you worry, Prince Florian." The Mirror smiled, and Florian couldn't help but wonder if there was a little darkness hidden behind it. "I have a way of fixing that."

With a quick pop from his nose that hurt intensely for a millisecond, all the pain in his face, all the aching in his eyes, and all the blood pumping through his face suddenly went away. Florian immediately touched his nose, blinked, then looked into the mirror to see his reflection.

"There you go, that should do it!" The Mirror chuckled.

"My face!" He laughed in disbelief and continued to touch it to see if it would change colors again or remain the same. "My beautiful face! It's as good as new! Oh, how can I repay you, ah, good kind . . . sir?" He blinked up into the face, double checking that it was in fact a man.

"Oh, just a simple request of mine." The Mirror's smile widened, darkened even.

"Name it." Florian smiled proudly.

"I need you to help gather ingredients for the Queen."

"You want me to do what?" He half laughed as he raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm sorry, I don't think that I heard you correctly."

"Allow me to speak up." He cleared his throat. "I need you to help gather ingredients for the Queen."

"You need me to go shopping like a commoner?"

"Oh, of course not." The Mirror chuckled. "The ingredients that you need to gather are things that only the wealthiest could afford!"

"Why doesn't she just send a servant to go out and do her shopping for her?" He put one hand on his hip and the other to his chin. "It doesn't make sense for a Queen, of all people, to be out and about amongst the commoners gathering ingredients."

"Well, you see, Prince Florian they are magical items." The Mirror explained. "They are items that only royals who have the greatest eye of quality could identify them and purchase them."

"Well, I do have an eye for the finer things in life." He chuckled. "I suppose that I could do something to go about gathering ingredients."

"Fantastic." The Mirror smiled. "Now, I'll need you to go to the dungeons to meet up with the Queen."

"The dungeons?" He blinked and froze. "Why is she in the dungeons?"

"Well, there is very little crime that happens here in Apfel and the dungeons are going through a renovation process by being turned into an additional storage space. While the blueprints are being drawn up and discussed, though, the Queen practices a little magic here and there in her spare time."

"She's a witch?"

"Just because she practices magic does not automatically make her a witch, Prince Florian." The Mirror frowned. "She has been doing her duty in practicing spells to protect her kingdom, but as one way thinkers like yourself would believe, she has to hide away in the dungeons to privately and secretly practice her spells to ensure the safety of the kingdom."

"So that is how this kingdom has had peace for so long . . ." Florian mused. "Very well, it would appear as though I have no choice. You have fixed my beautiful face so I simply must return the favor."

"Marvelous."

"Is it relatively easy to get to the dungeon?" Florian asked thoughtfully. "I assume it's under the castle, though I think I have only ever seen the top floors. I'm afraid I would get lost."

"Don't worry about that." The Mirror disappeared from the vanity mirror to his compact mirror. "I shall be your guide."

"Excellent." Florian gaped. He quickly tucked the compact mirror back into his breast pocket and proceeded to throw on his more clean clothes. He would be waiting on getting his other clothes back from the washing since his others ones were covered in his own blood. He gritted his teeth at the thought. He was lucky to have gotten off with only a bloody nose, but still, he only had two shirts and the one covered in blood was his favorite!

Since he was a man who liked to pack light so as to have very little weight on his own persons while he waited for the caravan from Franca to arrive, Florian only had the leather pants he currently wore, the boots he slipped his feet into, and his second clean shirt aside from his suit coat and puffy hat. He greatly loved the color of maroon, he thought it suited him best.

Once he was ready to leave, he double checked the compact mirror to make sure that the Mirror was still and was pleasantly surprised to see that he was.

"Magic is truly a marvelous thing." He marveled and held the compact like a compass.

"Yes, yes it is. Unless you're stuck in it, of course." The Mirror half shrugged and gave a sigh. "Don't take being able to walk around for granted though."

"Why would you say something as silly as that?"

"You have legs to take you wherever you want to go while I am trapped behind a face of fragile glass." The Mirror explained. "Although I can travel small distances between mirrors themselves, there is little of the world that I can actually see or interact with."

"How sad." Florian actually felt bad for the Mirror. He could never imagine not being able to go anywhere! And living behind a window where you could only look out at; no he certainly could not endure such a life as that. He would not have made it to nineteen had he lived that sort of life.

"It is." The Mirror nodded. "But all is not loss, for the Queen has promised me a body and things shall come to light of it soon."

"She's making you a body?" He blinked down at the Mirror.

"With her magic, of course." The Mirror confirmed.

"I'm getting ingredients for a body?" He blinked down at the mirror.

"Why, yes." He chuckled as if it were the most normal thing in the world. "But don't worry, you'll only have to get the dry ingredients, you won't have to worry about getting your hands dirty."

"Oh, well that is a bit of ease to my soul then." He forced a laugh, but his mouth suddenly felt dry. "How far away is the dungeon?"

"Oh, not far at all." The Mirror began his long line of instructions. "When you exit your room, take a right down the hall and make your way down the stairs."


QUEEN GRIMHILDE

The wee precious hours of the morning were the best for catching glimpses of the ghosts of her tortured victims in the dungeons. She had never been able to see them before, but after some time, and especially with this week's events, she found herself talking to the shadows more and tapped into some of the darker forces. Watching them float and roam about made her a little thirsty as she thought about how their blood tasted. The tart iron flavor was rather invigorating to taste, especially as the blood just popped from their necks, like a grape. She could not help but giggle to herself as she walked to her grimoire and looked to see what secrets it wanted to reveal to her.

With Fredrick not taking an interest in her now and she not wanting to be forthcoming with her emotions she decided she would focus and harness all her endeavors to finally fulfilling the Mirror's wish. She has failed far too many times and it has gotten beyond frustrating trying to create a body for the Mirror. She desperately needed to get this recipe right sooner rather than later; especially since everyone including Frederick has turned against her.

She paced the floors reading over the grimoire and the recipes it contained. It had recipes for controlling the shadows, for creating a mindless puppet, but the one for creating a body or minion was rather difficult to master. There were so many playing factors into creating a body for a minion versus creating a mindless puppet. All one needed with the mindless puppet was to have a body, whether they were dead or alive did not matter in the least. She had plenty of bodies she could choose from if she desperately needed puppets; she currently had them stored in the walls of the castle, just in case it was needed later. She already had many of the ingredients prepared and waiting around her cast iron cauldron which she already pre-heated to a warm temperature.

"They say the third time's the charm." She frowned as she flipped through the pages to the body recipe and read it over. "Recipe for Creating Body/Minion, Alchemic Ingredients for the Body. . . I need one bucket of the Wishing Well's Spring Water." She dumped the bucket of the Wishing Well Water into the cauldron.

"Ground carbon freshly mined from the Dwarves's Mine." She scooped up the wooden bowl and carefully shook it into the cauldron. "In which the concoction will sparkle silver."

"Four liters of Cat Urine," Her nose wrinkled as she uncorked a vial and poured the highly intensified ammonia into the cauldron. "In which it will now change gold."

"Five grams of ground Lime." She dumped another wooden bowl of powder into the cauldron. "From gold to copper green."

"The head of a Three Eyed-Fish subbed in two hundred and fifty grams of Salt." She dropped it into the cauldron and cast the cutting board aside. "Copper green to deep sea purple."

"One hundred grams of the Saltpeter from the Russian mountains." She sprinkled it in. "Stir in gently so that the deep sea is purple to the lightest shade of pink roses."

"Eight Ancient Chicken Eggs." She plopped them in upon counting them in and tried not to gag as the smell changed to the mixture of rotten flesh. "From roses of pink to the orange skin of a peach."

"Seven and a half of chopped Fluorine." More minerals were dropped into the brewing cauldron. "The mixture should now thicken and darken a half shade to the orange of Autumn. Quickly add five grams of Iron so that it will change to the color of red dirt." She followed the instructions and her hand hovered over the last ingredient. "Let the heat gather within the cauldron with high steam then add three grams of Siliconic Beer then allow the cauldron to simmer overnight before adding the ingredients for the soul."

She placed the lid to the cauldron over the top then went to the short credenza to place the grimoire down. She proceeded to skim over the ingredients for the soul and murmured aloud. "Alchemic Ingredients for the Soul: The pure heart of a lover, Three drops of blood from a witch, The hair of someone handsome, 3 Sprigs of Rosemary for remembrance, 2 Tablespoons of chopped holly for spirit calling, A pinch of cypress for longevity, Shredded Yarrow root to make him a relative. . . How interesting." She put her hand to her chin and read the finishing touches to the recipe. "Once everything has been added, stir with a wooden spoon (a tin or metal one will melt into the mixture and cause a chemical imbalance) and boil the ingredients for three nights before a lightning storm to fully cook and thicken. Leave opening for the lightning to come down and strike the pot and the body will be ready."

She glanced to the panel in the ceiling that she had installed so she could allow the sun and air into the dungeons. "That should do it." She set a finger bone into the book as a bookmark before flipping through the pages. "Should probably look up how to conjure a storm just in case there isn't one Friday evening. . ."

As her hand flicked over the pages there was a timid knock at the doors to the dungeon. She whirled around and looked around for anyone, but there was no one. She slowly turned back to the book when another knock came. "Who the hell is knocking?" She hissed as she gathered her skirts and stormed over to the door. She snatched it open and saw that Prince Florian stood outside looking lost and holding his compact mirror out.

"Prince Florian." She held her head high and looked him up and down. Last night his face had been bloodied and bruised, but now it was as clean and flawless as if nothing had happened. "You're looking much better."

He smiled nervously, but feigned the confidence. "Thank you."

She raised her eyebrow at him. "Are you lost?"

"Oh, do I wish that I were." He laughed dryly and nervously, his hand squeezed then released. "You see, I'm supposed to be here."

"You are aware that these are the dungeons, yes?" She feigned a smile. "We don't normally allow guests over, you see, we're working on a bit of a remodeling process that I need to oversee –"

"He's here to assist you, My Queen." Florian held up his compact mirror and she saw the face of the Mirror smirking back at her.

"Did you now?" She raised an eyebrow suspiciously at him. Her hands slipped into her robes as she glanced up at Florian. He looked terrified, ravishingly deliciously terrified; her throat suddenly felt even more dry.

"Yes, you see, I healed his face after his terrible injury." He rolled his eyes. "And in reimbursement for helping him, he has agreed to assist you."

"That's so." She chewed on the inside of cheek as she looked Florian up and down. He was looking everywhere but her at the moment. He more than likely hasn't seen green flames before. Though he was a fool and would be the perfect tool, he is also the prince of another country, and though killing him was once again way too easy she did not want to put up with the emotional attachment this boy was to his country nor the war that would follow. Taking him on would be a serious risk, but she was aware that she really did need some assistance so as not to tarnish her own reputation.

"Prince Florian." His head snapped back to her. "Are you sure that you want to do this?"

"Oh, yes." He smiled and nodded his head. "Anything to repay the service done for me."

"He is willing to do anything you request of him, My Queen." The Mirror spoke confidently. "He will be a much better help than Prince Adam has been."

"I am far greater than that fake excuse of a prince." Florian snarled. "Anything he can do I can do far better!"

"Interesting." She blinked and soaked up this knowledge. "You see, the recipe that I have started is already half finished. I already had my nephew Adam gather the majority of the ingredients for the first portion. He did so well in getting the ingredients that I needed, it'll be rather difficult to top the quality of ingredients that he got."

This was a lie of course, ever since Adam showed his pretty little face around here he has been swept up in Snow White's babbling nonsense of a life. She couldn't even get Adam to kill the poor girl after getting her alone several times. She was like a stupid lucky rat that just had the right amount of bread crumbs thrown at her to keep her from starving to death; lucky enough to have just thick enough of a blanket to keep her from freezing in the winter; just lucky enough to have survived different accidental poisonings to build up a tolerance and actually live to the age of eighteen.

"You have yet to see quality until you see what I will find for you." His eyebrow twitched and he almost looked desperate to do anything.

"Well, Adam has been rather busy with Snow White's lessons." She pretended to think about things and tapped her finger on her chin. "He said he would help, but I'm not sure if things will work out for him to do so, so I supposed that I could have you help me."

"Think of it as a way of reimbursing the Mirror as well as making up for yesterday with the bear." He took off his head and tried to give her a pathetic puppy look. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes and merely smiled at having a new pawn to play with.

"Well, if you insist." She turned and opened the door. "Then welcome to my lair."

He entered first and she closed the door behind them as they descended the stairs.

"The Mirror told me you were renovating." Florian called over his shoulder. "I can see why. This place is in a desperate need of work."

"Yes, well, though it is a little piece of work, I've found that it works for my little. . .hobby." Once they reached the second landing Grimhilde took the lead and showed Florian where her simmering cauldron was.

"If spooky was what you were going for you succeeded in it." Florian turned his nose up at the lack of interior, or lapidating of the interior. "It surely looks like a witch's lair."

"I'll take that as a compliment." She snorted and returned to the grimoire.

"So what are these ingredients that you need?" He turned his nose up again at the smell that seeped from the cauldron.

"Just a few things." She gave a shrug as he approached. "Rosemary, holly, cypress, yarrow root . . . The pure heart of a lover."

"The heart of a lover?" he put his hand to his chin. "That's rather interesting."

"Do you know of any human that doesn't have a heart?" She crossed her arms and dared him to challenge her.

"No." He shook his head and a weird smirk grew on his face. "Where do you expect me to get the heart from?"

"Well, you tell me, Prince Florian." She looked him up and down again. "Honestly tell me, what do you plan to do with Snow White?"

"That gullible wench?" He snorted. "I think you and I both know that I just need the marriage to please my father and have a union with your country and mine."

"No feelings for the pretty little pet?" She raised her eyebrow, marginally surprised by this. There were few that weren't truly attracted to her.

"I would take her without question if she were just a pet. She has a brain she's actually trying to use." He frowned. "All I need her for is to stuff her when I want to have a child. She's a pretty face, but she's only useful to me if she just listens to me without question. She's questioned me far too much that I'd much sooner make a peasant with a pretty face my bride than her."

"Rather brash of you, isn't it?" She narrowed her eyes at him. "For someone who is a man of quality, you seem rather ready to settle."

"Stuffing a woman isn't entirely settling." He gave a shrug. "If one bride dies, she can easily be replaced by another."

"Let's put a pin in that and think on that topic later." She smiled as she could see his rising lust for blood. "Tell me, what do you think of Snow White and Adam?"

"What about them?" His eyebrow flinched.

"Well, I think it is rather apparent that there is some sort of chemistry between them." She shrugged.

"That much is obvious." He crossed his arms and leaned back on his hip. "It makes it that much more fun to get under that craton's skin in trying to snatch Snow White away from him."

"Would you say that the chemistry between them could be love?" She put her finger to her chin.

"Potentially." He nodded with a shrug. "At least on her end anyways. He seems to want to entertain her and enjoys her company, but refuses to make a move on any of her advances; that, or he's blind to them."

"So you think she's in love with my nephew?" She used her hand to hide her growing smirk.

"Yes." Florian growled. "Yes, I think I do."

"Well then, I think we found our heart of a lover, don't you think?" She gave him a knowing look.

"Why yes, I think we have." He chuckled as if the light just turned on. "But how do you propose we get it?"

"Well, I think we both know, Prince Florian." She casually went over to her credenza and pulled out the dagger she had been saving for the chance to kill Snow White herself. "That I, as the Queen of Apfel, cannot kill my step daughter without heads turning to me." She carried the dagger in her hands and brought it over to Florian. "However, should, let's say, an accident in the woods occur and the Prince of Franca did everything he could to save her but was just a tad too late, could go over well." She held it out to him.

Florian's eyes looked greedy as he stared at the dagger then slowly turned his eyes up to her. He was almost where she wanted him.

"You would have a clean slate from here," She tempted further. "And should you want to, stuff her, before the accident were to happen, well, you simply get your just reward as a hero for attempting to save her before going back to Franca."

"Adding another achievement to being a hero is just too rich of a chance to give up." He smiled like a snake as he reached his hand out towards the dagger. "I do think it would be a tragedy to lose such a pretty pet in the world, but it does make for a great story."

His hand stretched and reached for the dagger and he took it. Though Florian himself could not see it, Queen Grimhilde could see that the shadows that she had cast the day before were slowly returning and seeping into Florian. He radiated with a hazy shadow that gave him a growing power.

"Yes, it will make for a great story." She agreed and could not wait to see what would happen next. She watched as Florian sheathed the dagger into his belt and smiled darkly back to the Queen.

"Are we going on that picnic today?" He asked with a smile and she knew that he was already plotting how to get a hold of Snow White.


FREDERICK

Upon Florian's arrival and lack of entourage Frederick has had the worst headache and the worst time having to shadow Florian and babysit the foolish prince. He has a very nasty habit of getting into things that he didn't need and causing unnecessary trouble. He rode a bear through the streets, kidnaped Snow White momentarily, got punched in the face by Adam, made Frederick regret that he could not have punched him himself, and whined for hours both during and after the doctor's visit. The guy had an unnatural and annoying way of being able to attract unwanted attention and bad company.

Frederick felt obligated to watch over Florian for the sake of Adam's winning streak to keep him from killing the fool as well as the growing darkness that kept shrouding the guy. He already had a pretty high level of darkness from within him, which did nothing to make Frederick trust him, and the longer he stayed here the more darkness he seemed to gather around him. Although he could slap a smile on that pretty face of his it only drew more trouble to himself which would make him a very prime target to be used as a tool for Grimhilde if he allowed himself to be; which Frederick was counting on it as of this point. The guy had such high envy levels that he would do anything to get above Adam at the moment, even if it meant having a pretend interest in Snow White.

The guy grumbled all through the night and didn't really sleep and Frederick did not trust him. He cursed all night about everything Apfel was, but especially Adam. Other than the one time in the throne room Frederick could not think of a time or a reason as to why he had such a nasty grudge against Adam.

Whatever the reason was Frederick saw that no good would come of it and that Friday simply could not come fast enough to get rid of the guy. Friday evening would be the last day of the festival and would end with a small show of fireworks; so long as it wasn't raining. Friday was the day he would have his bags packed, ready to leave Saturday morning. He was too ready to get rid of him.

A yawn escaped him and Frederick rolled his shoulders to loosen his joints. He had been standing a few doors down from Florian's room for a few hours, took a nap before the sun came up, and stood in wait for him to leave. Frederick knew when he was awake because the first thing he did was swear a few curses, more than likely from touching his face, as though it were a morning routine. He was not loud for long, however, and there was another voice in his room. A certain voice that ensured that there truly would be nothing good coming from this fool.

He neared the door, just to listen, and gritted his teeth upon hearing the Mirror's voice.

"What do you want from me?" He heard Florian ask.

"Why, nothing more than to check up on you, Prince Florian. I was told that you received quite a terrible head injury, and though I anticipated something that required bandages, I must say that I was not prepared to see such terrible marring on a handsome face."

Frederick's right hand balled into a first and his other held his halberd tightly as he continued to listen. The Mirror was up to something, something big if he was getting this fool in on things. His teeth grit tightly. This Mirror had already lured Grimhilde to the dark arts, pulling Florian in would be far too easy. He was easily vengeful, jealous, and all too ready to get rid of any kind of competition.

"This was the handiwork of Adam." Frederick rolled his eyes. "I can hardly breathe, my face is swollen beyond belief, and it is growing harder to see by the second!"

The Mirror tutted, "Oh, you poor thing."

"I would never have been dishonored or disgraced such as I have here in my own kingdom!"

"I am terribly sorry to hear that, Prince Florian." The Mirror gasped. "However, I wouldn't hold it against the Queen since she was not the one to start this predicament between you and Prince Adam."

"That monster is far from a prince!" Florian yelled and Frederick had to resist barging in there and smashing the Mirror. He was very aware that breaking mirrors caused seven years of bad luck, but he's suffered a lot of bad luck over the years that he would readily go into a hall of mirrors and break them all without fear.

"Calling him a monster is a bit of a stretch, though I will say he has certainly dealt you quite a blow."

"He most certainly has!" Florian yelled again and Frederick could not fathom how he had actually managed to live this long. He was the only child of Franca, so it still made sense, but this fool made enemies far too quickly.

"Well, never you worry, Prince Florian." He heard the Mirror chuckle and he felt his blood go cold. "I have a way of fixing that."

Things got quiet, almost to the point of silence, for two whole minutes and Frederick readied his hand at the doorknob. This was how all the things started with the Mirror, he did a 'kindness' that immediately demanded something in return. For Grimhilde it has been a body that she has not been able to successfully make. For Florian it could very well be giving him his body . . .

"My face!" Florian laughed. "My beautiful face! It's as good as new! Oh, how can I repay you, ah, good kind . . . sir?"

"Oh, just a simple request of mine." Frederick pressed his ear to the door, almost opening it.

"Name it." Florian responded and Frederick could have yelled. He had agreed far too easily and now protecting Grimhilde would grow to be more problematic than what it originally was.

"I need you to help gather ingredients for the Queen."

Despite having his ear pressed against the door things got quiet again, as though the Mirror knew he was listening in. Although he could not hear the Mirror now, it was lucky the Florian could rarely keep his mouth closed or be quiet.

"Why doesn't she just send a servant to go out and do her shopping for her?" Florian complained. "It doesn't make sense for a Queen, of all people, to be out and about amongst the commoners gathering ingredients."

He was straining his ear to hear what the Mirror was saying.

"Well, I do have an eye for the finer things in life." He chuckled. "I suppose that I could do something to go about gathering ingredients."

"Fantastic." The Mirror smiled. "Now, I'll need you to go to the dungeons to meet up with the Queen."

"The dungeons?" Frederick froze. "Why is she in the dungeons?"

Hearing as much as he could, Frederick released the door and quietly returned to his position down the hall where he could watch the door to Florian's room. He debated on what he should do, he could easily beat the prince to the dungeons and discuss things with Grimhilde, however, after their last conversation and denying her and his needs he almost felt as though he would be trespassing. Although he swore to protect her and to save her from the nightmare of the villain she was becoming, every idea that he came up with was very quickly shot out from under him. It felt as though every time he was able to bring her a little closer to him the Mirror and the Shadows would merely drag her back.

No, going to her with the way things were between them at the moment would do nothing more than to cause further conflict between them. No, he could not go to her now, he would have to follow the fool to the dungeons and see what would happen. As much as he tried to draw her to the light, he could not make her step into it unless she wanted to do so. He knew that there was good in her, but there was just something inside her that denied that and kept pulling her to the dark arts and that cursed Mirror.

"Magic is truly a marvelous thing." Florian fawned over himself and genuinely surprised Frederick. He had not heard him exit his room. Perhaps the powers of the Magic Mirror were sinking in quicker than Frederick had anticipated.

"Yes, yes it is. Unless you're stuck in it, of course. Don't take being able to walk around for granted though." Frederick remained as still as possible upon hearing the Mirror's voice, louder and clearer now.

He was using the same gentle tone he had used with Grimhilde upon his creation and discovery. It was sweet like honey, but stunk like vinegar, but had the right amount of sweetness to it to still lure the weak hearted to the darkness.

"Why would you say something as silly as that?" Florian blinked as stupidly as he sounded.

"You have legs to take you wherever you want to go while I am trapped behind a face of fragile glass." The Mirror explained. "Although I can travel small distances between mirrors themselves, there is little of the world that I can actually see or interact with."

"How sad."

"It is." The Mirror agreed, though Frederick greatly disagreed. "But all is not loss, for the Queen has promised me a body and things shall come to light of it soon."

Again with the body. . .

"She's making you a body?" He blinked down at the Mirror.

"With her magic, of course." The Mirror confirmed.

"I'm getting ingredients for a body?" He blinked down at the mirror.

"Why, yes." He chuckled. "But don't worry, you'll only have to get the dry ingredients, you won't have to worry about getting your hands dirty."

"Oh, well that is a bit of ease to my soul then." He laughed dryly. "How far away is the dungeon?"

"Oh, not far at all." The Mirror began his long line of instructions. "When you exit your room, take a right down the hall and make your way down the stairs."

Frederick waited until Florian got far enough ahead before carefully following behind him. With every new direction that the Mirror told Florian, Frederick could not help but wonder how the Mirror really knew the way. Even though there were several mirrors along the walls of the halls that eventually went all the way to the dungeon there was no way he could really know the path that carefully.

"If you were going for being sneaky and secretive you have failed greatly, Hunter." The Mirror droned from his own mirror inside his leather vest. He pulled it out and blinked at him.

"How the hell are you in two places at once?" Frederick hissed and glared down at the Mirror. "I thought you only had one head!"

"Yes, but I have multiple thoughts, Hunter." He sneered. "I'm the Magic Mirror, remember? I have magical qualities with massive amounts of power that your mind could not possibly comprehend."

"For a floating mask in a mirror claiming to have all this power, you still haven't nailed down the recipe for the body, have you?" Frederick raised his eyebrow at the challenge.

"Eavesdropping too, eh?" The Mirror snorted.

"What the hell are you doing?" Frederick continued to glare. "I thought we had an agreement!"

"Oh, we do." He nodded his head with a snake-like smile. "However, I have multiple deals with multiple people. Since you beings don't seem to last very long, I can change them however it is necessary."

"I thought you were helping me!" He pointed at the mask. "You said getting Grimhilde out of the dark arts would get you out of a horrible end!"

"And it is true." The Mirror nodded. "However, you and I both know life isn't as simple or predictable as we would like it to be."

"No, it's just that people are predictable." He huffed and ran a hand through his hair. "Really? You're using the fool as your new tool?"

"You have no idea how necessary he is for this little story." The Mirror chuckled. "If he isn't taking part in the story then things will get boring very quickly."

"Do not add any more dramatics to this than necessary!" Frederick hissed. "It is hard enough trying to get her out of the dark arts as it is, now you're throwing that fool, who is a prince of Franca, who is easy bait to your temptations into the mix too! He's more vengeful than her step father! He might actually try to kill Snow White!"

"Exactly." The Mirror chuckled darkly and Frederick froze. He felt a chill and his hands were sweaty.

"What do you mean by that, Mirror?" Frederick asked as calmly as he could. "I thought you said –"

"I know very well what we said." The Mirror rolled his eyes. "I know what we agreed on. Despite the perspective of things that you're seeing, I'm guaranteeing that things will work out for everyone."

"You can't be serious."

"Oh, I'm deathly serious, hunter." He chuckled and Frederick could feel his hand clenching the small face tighter. "You know that."

"If you go back on our deals I swear I'll –"

"You'll what, Hunter?" The Mirror challenged. "I am made of magic. Oh, you can break all the mirrors that you want, but you won't be able to get rid of me that easily."

"I'm very aware." A growl escaped from Frederick. "I've been trying to for years."

"Oh, I don't blame you." The Mirror snorted. "I would get rid of myself if I could. This life is miserable. But you know, I don't mind making others miserable too."

"Misery loves company." Frederick sighed. He was all too aware of himself-putting misery he held over himself with Grimhilde. Despite knowing it, he couldn't not be there for her. If he could be the one to save her, he would.

"Don't worry, I won't make everyone miserable." He chuckled before disappearing.

"Yeah, somehow I don't believe that." He heaved a heavy sigh and felt as though another weight had been added to his shoulders. Tucking the mirror back into his leather vest he just made his way in the direction of the dungeons. The all too familiar path that led him to the woman that he loved in her lair of darkness and dark magic. She currently stood outside the dungeon looking Florian up and down questioning his presence at the dungeons.

Staying behind the corner he was surprised and momentarily proud of her for truly questioning Florian, as if she really didn't want to drag him down into the darkness too. However, that moment was quickly squashed by the miserable Mirror.

"He is willing to do anything you request of him, My Queen." The Mirror spoke confidently. "He will be a much better help than Prince Adam has been."

"I am far greater than that fake excuse of a prince." Florian had been far too easily baited. If only that fool realized that those who know how to anger you control you; then again that is perhaps one of the hardest lessons alongside patience to learn. "Anything he can do I can do far better!"

"Interesting." She blinked those pretty green eyes and Frederick knew, he just knew, that she was quickly weaving her web of plotting thicker. "You see, the recipe that I have started is already half finished. I already had my nephew Adam gather the majority of the ingredients for the first portion. He did so well in getting the ingredients that I needed, it'll be rather difficult to top the quality of ingredients that he got."

"You have yet to see quality until you see what I will find for you." He looked desperate to do anything, whether for the satisfaction of being better or revenge had yet to surface.

"Well, Adam has been rather busy with Snow White's lessons." She tapped her finger on her chin and Frederick noticed that her nails were covered in a strange dusty powder. He grimaced; she had been at work again. "He said he would help, but I'm not sure if things will work out for him to do so, so I supposed that I could have you help me."

"Think of it as a way of reimbursing the Mirror as well as making up for yesterday with the bear."

"Well, if you insist." She didn't even bother to put up a fight and turned to open the door. "Then welcome to my lair."

Florian entered first and she barely closed the door behind them as they descended the stairs. It was as if she had purposely left it cracked for him to enter, as if she knew he had been standing there eavesdropping. Perhaps he was really slipping. . . No, they had a blood bond where they could sense each other; their emotions, their hormones, their presences, they could sense each other even if they were miles apart. Of course she knew he was there.

Following suit with the invitation Frederick silently followed after them, making sure they were a few steps ahead of him. Luckily it was so quiet in the dungeons that he could hear what they spoke of from their echoes bouncing off the walls.

"The Mirror told me you were renovating." Florian called over his shoulder. "I can see why. This place is in a desperate need of work."

"Yes, well, though it is a little piece of work, I've found that it works for my little. . .hobby."

Frederick frowned. He highly disapproved of her 'hobby'. Although it saved them from one life of misery it merely threw them both into another one. Once they reached the second landing, Grimhilde took the lead and showed Florian where her simmering cauldron while Frederick took a few more steps down to continue to listen.

"If spooky was what you were going for you succeeded in it." Florian turned his nose up in the air, and Frederick just wanted him, mentally continuing to dare him to look into one of the cells, see how truly spooky it was. "It surely looks like a witch's lair."

"I'll take that as a compliment." She snorted and returned to that forsaken grimoire.

"So what are these ingredients that you need?" He turned his nose up again at the smell that seeped from the cauldron. It was horrendous, even from where Frederick stood. He knew this smell all too well, it was the smell of burning flesh that she hoped would turn into a body to finally grant the Mirror his wish. Frederick prayed and wished that there was some other way to finally be released from his invisible grasp that held them tightly. The grasp on her held an even tighter grasp on his heart. . .

"Just a few things." She gave a shrug as he approached. "Rosemary, holly, cypress, yarrow root . . . The pure heart of a lover."

Frederick's own heart froze.

"The heart of a lover?" Florian put his hand to his chin. "That's rather interesting."

"Do you know of any human that doesn't have a heart?" She crossed her arms and dared him to challenge her.

"No." He shook his head and a weird smirk grew on his face. It was as if he already knew. Like he wanted to hear her say it, not because he didn't know what it was, but because he wanted to be granted the permission he hoped he saw underlying in her words. "Where do you expect me to get the heart from?"

"Well, you tell me, Prince Florian." She looked him up and down again and Frederick's teeth grit. He knew what she was trying to do. She was looking for the right tool to toss away once it had finished its task. "Honestly tell me, what do you plan to do with Snow White?"

"That gullible wench?" He snorted and rolled his eyes. He truly was as low as the other two hooligans. "I think you and I both know that I just need the marriage to please my father and have a union with your country and mine."

"No feelings for the pretty little pet?" She raised her eyebrow.

"I would take her without question if she were just a pet. She has a brain she's actually trying to use." He frowned. Frederick could see why Adam was struggling not to kill him. Yes, every man has needs, so do women, but there are limits to everything. Limits to Adam's patience, limits to Frederick's own tolerance, and limits to what qualified him as a man and not a pig.

"All I need her for is to stuff her when I want to have a child." He gave a shrug. Frederick found himself reaching for the dagger in his sheath. "She's a pretty face, but she's only useful to me if she just listens to me without question. She's questioned me far too much that I'd much sooner make a peasant with a pretty face my bride than her."

"Rather brash of you, isn't it?" She narrowed her eyes at him. "For someone who is a man of quality, you seem rather ready to settle."

"Stuffing a woman isn't entirely settling." He gave a shrug. "If one bride dies, she can easily be replaced by another."

"Let's put a pin in that and think on that topic later." She smiled as she could see his rising lust for blood. "Tell me, what do you think of Snow White and Adam?"

"What about them?" His eyebrow flinched. Frederick took another step closer. He almost wanted to stand in the light so she could see him and maybe actually think about her actions before going forth with them.

"Well, I think it is rather apparent that there is some sort of chemistry between them." She shrugged as though she were trying to ignore the fact that there was a chemistry between them. Frederick almost felt bad for them, from what he has learned of Adam, the chemistry between them should be forbidden; and Adam knows it, and though he is doing an excellent job of refraining from moving any farther, having Florian around certainly did not help things.

"That much is obvious." He crossed his arms and leaned back on his hip. "It makes it that much more fun to get under that craton's skin in trying to snatch Snow White away from him."

"Would you say that the chemistry between them could be love?" She put her finger to her chin.

"Potentially." He nodded with a shrug. "At least on her end anyways. He seems to want to entertain her and enjoys her company, but refuses to make a move on any of her advances; that, or he's blind to them."

"So you think she's in love with my nephew?" She used her hand to hide her growing smirk.

"Yes." Florian growled. "Yes, I think I do."

Frederick did not like this. He did not like this at all. The longer he listened, the more he truly began to question if he could save her any more. . .

"Well then, I think we found our heart of a lover, don't you think?" She gave him a look that Frederick saw as the spider finally laying out the traps in her web.

"Why yes, I think we have." He chuckled as if the light just turned on. "But how do you propose we get it?"

"Well, I think we both know, Prince Florian." She casually went over to her credenza and pulled out the dagger she had been saving for the chance to kill Snow White herself. Frederick felt something in his heart truly go cold. As if whatever connection they truly shared finally decided to dry up. She really wanted to kill the girl, and because she knew that both he and Adam would not do it, she found a tool that would.

"That I, as the Queen of Apfel, cannot kill my step daughter without heads turning to me." She carried the dagger in her hands and brought it over to Florian. "However, should, let's say, an accident in the woods occur and the Prince of Franca did everything he could to save her but was just a tad too late, could go over well."

She held it out to him. She held out the same blasted dagger she had held out to him. It pained him to see that dagger, but it also gave him the smallest fraction of hope. There was still some good in her. She still couldn't bring herself to kill the girl herself, despite it being a promise she made to her late husband, she still needed someone else to kill the girl.

Although she couldn't kill her herself, Frederick has watched through her mannerisms in pretending to be a mother to Snow White, watched how she's interacted with Adam, and although the immature dark side of herself wants Snow White gone, he sees that in her heart and in her eyes that she wanted her gone because of the guilt and because she sees herself in Snow White. She sees what she used to be, the side of herself that she considers weak, and she sees how there are outside forces that are actually trying to protect her. The outside forces that she, the Queen Grimhilde, refused out of fear a long time ago.

He stared her down now as she slowly held that dagger out to him. She was stiff, as if she knew that he was watching her. She wasn't hesitant, not as hesitant as she should be, she knew what she was doing, and she still wanted to kill the girl she tormented in her past and her present. She didn't want Snow White gone because of what she never did to Grimhilde, no she wanted to get rid of a living memory that breathed before her.

Florian's eyes looked greedy as he stared at the dagger then slowly turned his eyes up to her. He was almost where she wanted him, and Frederick tried to think of a way to make him change their minds.

"You would have a clean slate from here," She tempted further, her voice was quiet, like she was talking more to herself and not tempting Florian. "And should you want to, stuff her, before the accident were to happen, well, you simply get your just reward as a hero for attempting to save her before going back to Franca."

"Adding another achievement to being a hero is just too rich of a chance to give up." He smiled like a snake as he reached his hand out towards the dagger. "I do think it would be a tragedy to lose such a pretty pet in the world, but it does make for a great story."

Before Frederick could actually come up with some sort of plan, Florian's chubby hand stretched and reached for the dagger and he took it. Having witnessed another agreement being made to both the Queen and the Mirror, Frederick watched the shadows seeping into Florian. He radiated with a hazy shadow that gave him a growing power. Things just got a lot more complicated.

"Yes, it will make for a great story." She agreed. Remaining in the shadows Frederick silently made his way down to the same level and tucked himself in the remnants of an old closet.

"Are we going on that picnic today?" He asked with a smile and she knew that he was already plotting how to get a hold of Snow White. He crossed his arms, his hands holding the gap in his elbows tightly, and just continued to watch.

"We will have to see how the events go today." She flashed him a really quick smile. "For now, why don't you go back upstairs and join the others for breakfast? I'm sure Snow White will be one of the first ones at the table. If you hurry, you might even beat Adam to the table."

"If you insist." He mock bowed her with a smirk and a flare of his hat before turning on his heel and leaving. With a pep in his step and hum on his lips Florian easily took the stairs two at a time and left the dungeon with a loud slam from the dungeon doors.

Frederick had to remain where he was so he could figure out what he wanted to say. He was really at a loss for words.

"Are you going to come out, or are you going to keep lurking in the shadows?" She crossed her arms and frowned at him. "I know you're there."

"What would you have me say?" He glared down at her. He was so disappointed. "I try to live by the rule of 'If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all'."

"What? How do you not have anything nice to say?" Her nostrils flared and she jutted that chin at him. He wanted nothing more than to catch that chin and take those frowning lips against his own until they curved up into a smile. "I made sure that you nor Adam would truly have to get your hands dirty, so don't give me that look!"

"What look?" He mirrored her motions and tightened the hold in his arms.

"I hate that look." She hissed with a glare.

"What look is it, My Queen?" Those green eyes intensified.

"You know what it is!" She snapped and put her hands over her ears as she turned.

"What look is it, Hilde?" He took three steps closer to her. She threw her arm out and pointed her pretty little finger in his face.

"Disappointment." She snarled. "If anyone has any right to have the look of disappointment, it is me!"

"Oh is it?" He kept his tone cool, but he felt burningly cold as he stood in front of her. "Why do you have reasons to be disappointed?"

"You have decided that you no longer want to help me." She pushed on his chest. "You have betrayed me!" She continued to push and shove at his chest.

"No, I haven't." He would remain calm. He would remain calm; he had too. "I merely decided to no longer give into these selfish actions that cause problems for your own personal safety."

"Oh, really?" She snapped. "You deny me and proceed to tell me that you aren't going to help me any longer, you don't see that as betrayal?"

"Oh because I refuse to give you what you want?" He found it harder to keep his voice level as he snatched her hand to prevent her from pushing his buttons any more. "You are the Queen of Apfel, Hilde, you're not just some spoiled princess. You're better than that. I've already told you, Hilde, no matter how strong you are, I am not going to let you do this on your own anymore. If anyone has betrayed the other, it is you to me."

She stopped fighting and had a look of hurt flash across her face, it hurt his heart but for a moment; he couldn't allow himself more than that or he would be sucked into her seductions.

"I have put up a lot for you, for us, Hilde." He looked into those peridot eyes, hoping that his words were touching her somehow. "I would have thought you would have respected me for wanting to be more than just a hero, more than just someone to put a healing wrap on things. I don't want to lose you, Hilde, but from how you're acting from what I'm seeing. . ."

He slowly released her and stepped away from her. "Perhaps I already lost you, and just hoped you would come back to me. . . So yes, I'm disappointed, I don't know if it is with you, or if it is with me. . ."

His own words echoed in his ears and he hoped she felt it. He was one way or another gaining the realization that the woman he loves so dearly could have been seriously lost and the current woman possessing her will just use him as a tool as she would Florian. He held her gaze, much surprised that she was gawking at him in silence, before he turned on his heel and left. He had nothing more to say to her.

He ascended the stairs and made his way to the West wing where Adam was supposed to be residing. The more the sun rose the more the castle came to life. The servants were bustling about getting flowers in cases, cleaning the windows, sweeping floors, dusting, and all of the usual morning chores. When he finally reached Adam's room, he heard the tink clink of glass being swept up into a dustpan. The door was cracked and Frederick could see that Adam was not there and that he completely smashed the mirror of his vanity. The poor maids set to clean this room would have quite the chore ahead of them.

Heaving a sigh he turned and left again and made his way to the dining hall. Perhaps he actually got up early enough to go and get breakfast. Frederick had actually hoped that he found a little rock to hide under and sleep under if it meant he could catch up on sleep. Whatever hole that he had decided to crawl into, Frederick needed to find him quickly and warn Adam of the Queen's fans.


QUEEN GRIMHILDE

She could only stare after him as he left her. She wanted to scream, to grab him, to do something that would make him turn around and face her. Wordlessly she reached for him and it felt as though she had been stabbed in the heart. While he climbed the stairs she fell to her knees clutching her chest. She was furious at his words, she was hurt by his words, but what was worse was that she felt his words. She hated that. Her heart ached with such guilt, such hurt, such anguish that she was gasping for breath trying to push herself up off the floor.

He was disappointed in her, the Queen. He the Hunter was disappointed in his Queen that he had been so devoted to for his entire life. She wished that he would have realized sooner that he should not have followed her, and yet, he followed her all the way to Apfel. She wished that he would have found someone else entirely, yet at the same time she never would have allowed that. She wanted to give him any happiness in the world, but she knew she would deny him of it if it somehow didn't involve her. How terribly selfish she was, but that was the role that she wanted to play, the one she felt terrified of escaping because she would go back to being weak and helpless.

Catching her breath and gaining control over her heart, she pushed herself to a stand and hobbled her way over to the Mirror. The fires that sat on either side of the Mirror glowed a soft yellow, which meant that he was sleeping or not present in the dungeons.

"Slave in the Magic Mirror!" She raised her voice, her heart still ached but she knew that the pain would subside momentarily. "Come from the farthest space, through wing and darkness I doth summon thee!" The fires flared and the room's temperature dropped. "Speak! Let me see thy face!"

"Rather impatient, are we My Queen?" The Mirror droned as he made his appearance on the mirror. "What wouldst thou know, My Queen?"

"Magic Mirror on the wall." She disregarded the comment and continued to push through the pain in her chest. "Who is the fairest of them all?"

"Famed is thy beauty, Majesty." He rolled his eyes at her request. "But hold on, a lovely maid I see. Rags cannot hide her gentle grace, but alas, she is more fair than thee."

She knew who it was, but she had hoped that things would have somewhat changed. It only fueled her fury and her own disappointment.

"Alas for her." She hissed and crossed her arms, nails digging into her skin. "Reveal her name; though I know it well . . ."

"Lips red as the rose, hair black as ebony, sin white as snow," The Mirror prophesied.

"Snow White." She hissed. "Damn that wretched girl!"

"I warned you once, My Queen." He frowned at her. "The more dark magic you dabble in the farther you get from your fairness. The more lives you spend, the more blood you spill to satisfy your own thirst will catch up with you. Dabbling in the darkness and the dark arts of the world only sinks you deeper from the light and from being the fairest of them all."

"We will just have to see about that." She smirked up at the Mirror. "For I do have a plan, one that will get rid of Snow White once and for all."


Author's Note:

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you're enjoying it so far!

Things are getting more complicated now! But oooh, is it getting exciting. Even I can't wait to see what will happen next. ^_^

Thank you to all of you wonderful readers and reviewers! The reviews have been very helpful and have helped me steer this story in a rather good direction. Though I'm not entirely new to the world of fanfic, I used to write on Quotev, it has been interesting getting back into my niche and just finding the love of writing again. The support from you lovely readers has been phenomenal and very encouraging. It means the world to me and I have loved being able to write again and provide a little bit of entertainment for you all.

Thank you so much for coming along the journey with me, stay tuned for more!

Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter