Chapter Eleven
Things were back to normal in the days following and March came in with howling winds and pouring rain. On one occasion, the dwarves had to stay home because the torrent of rain was too hard to travel in. They became my dearest of dear friends. We spent days reading aloud books to one another and creating magical meals and nights of music and dancing. I couldn't remember a happier time of all the time I spent with the dwarves.
Spring finally came and the gardens behind the house bloomed to their fullest extent of wild violets, Johnny Jump Up's, starflowers (my personal favorite), foxgloves and the scarlet rhododendrons, as well as the hydrangea and the azalea bushes by the front walkway. The vegetable patch on the side of the house was chock full of tomatoes and the yellow flowers on the pumpkin vines and other such delicious delights. An orchard I had found on the side of the meadow had trees thick with blossom. Through my days by myself, I spent many hours climbing trees and filling baskets of apple blossoms and the daisies of the meadow. On one walk through the woods, I stumbled upon a lilac bush of which I cut a branch and brought home to the cottage, filling it with a fragrance sweeter than any perfume I had smelled wandering through the streets of my old village.
June arrived and with it the first apples in the orchards. Unfortunately I couldn't pick and eat them quite yet, as they were young, small and mostly wormy. I couldn't believe I had spent nearly a year in this cottage in the middle of the woods. It had seemed only yesterday when I stumbled upon it, dizzy with hunger and weariness. And now as I looked at myself in the mirror, I saw a girl of now seventeen years of age with soft, long black hair, full rosy cheeks from the fresh spring air and the sunshine, and eyes that sparkled after a day of wandering in the woods.
One morning in early July, after seeing the dwarves off to the mines, I set up a picnic just outside the front of the house and sat in the sunshine creating one of my flower wreathes this time of the fragrant lilac blossoms I had found. It was a particularly fine day yet with a taste of a wet wind coming in from the north. There were clouds settled there over the mountains, but I paid no heed to them as I hummed and worked my fingers through the purple flowers.
"Excuse me," a sweet voice said. I jumped and looked up and saw an old woman that had to be a dwarf because her loss of height and the tiny pointy ears. For human years, she looked about to be ninety years old, but for a dwarf, I thought perhaps 250. She carried a basket of flowers and what looked like her lunch and was dressed in similar clothing my seven dwarves lived in, a cotton shirt and a dark skirt with bare toes peeking out from underneath. A grey shawl was wrapped around her shoulders.
"Is this the house of the seven dwarves?"
Concluding that she was indeed a dwarf by her slightly strange accent, I nodded and smiled at her.
"They are unfortunately off to work until the evening, but you are most welcome to sit down with me in the sunshine. You must be Fera."
"Yes, I am," the old woman dwarf smiled, though she kept her eyes to the ground. She sat down beside me and took out her lunch.
"You must have traveled a long way to get here," I replied, trying to make conversation.
"Oh yes, my nephews' house is very far from where I live. I have been traveling this past week to get here."
"Are your brothers not arriving as well?" I asked, tying together my wreath.
"No, I am the youngest of us three and the only one up to make the journey. Amos and Avery are much too weak to walk such a long way."
"I quite understand. But I'm sure the dwarves will be happy to see you despite the fact." I smiled at her.
She smiled back at me, "Perhaps."
There was a moment of silence before she offered me some of her lunch.
"Oh no thank you. I have a sandwich inside waiting for me."
"Oh really I insist," she picked up an apple from her basket, "Our apples are famous for being the biggest and the sweetest on our side of the country. Try it."
She held the biggest, juiciest, reddest looking apple I've ever seen in my life. I couldn't resist. It looked positively delicious, compared to the small sickly ones in our orchard. I took it from Fera and took a large bite. She was right, it was the most wonderful apple I've ever tasted, the sweet yet tangy flavor melting in my mouth. The last thing I remember saying to her was "thank you," and her saying with a malicious tone of voice, "You're quite welcome."
Then a strange feeling came over me that started from my head and worked down to my toes. It was almost like being dizzy, yet dangerously so. I couldn't quite explain it. I put my hand to my head to stop the world from spinning around me. Nothing would steady. I was falling, falling into oblivion and not knowing an end. Darkness slipped over my eyes and I knew no more.
(((
The next part of my story was told to me by Alberic. Here I write it as best as it was described to me.
Alberic and the other dwarves arrived home as usual about an hour later for their lunch break.
"I really don't think it was real," Daran argued to Warryn.
"Well of course the diamond was real! I found it amongst the other set of crystals that we put-"
Warryn bumped into Martin who had crashed into Alberic in front. He was then squashed from behind by Daran, Gareth, Samsen and Perry. Alberic seemed stricken with fear. They all pulled away from each other and peered at what Alberic was looking at in front of the house. The limp form of Lady Snow lay on the grass under the front window and Fera sat complacently waiting for them on the front stoop.
"Fera?" Alberic finally found words, "Wh-what is the meaning of this? What has happened to Lady Snow?"
"I was wondering when you'd come back Alberic," Fera stood up, wiping her hands on her skirt. She had a strange smile on her face and even though Alberic and the others hadn't seen her in at least thirty years, they could tell something was very wrong about her. She raised her eyebrows.
"I see you've all met my stepdaughter."
Things were back to normal in the days following and March came in with howling winds and pouring rain. On one occasion, the dwarves had to stay home because the torrent of rain was too hard to travel in. They became my dearest of dear friends. We spent days reading aloud books to one another and creating magical meals and nights of music and dancing. I couldn't remember a happier time of all the time I spent with the dwarves.
Spring finally came and the gardens behind the house bloomed to their fullest extent of wild violets, Johnny Jump Up's, starflowers (my personal favorite), foxgloves and the scarlet rhododendrons, as well as the hydrangea and the azalea bushes by the front walkway. The vegetable patch on the side of the house was chock full of tomatoes and the yellow flowers on the pumpkin vines and other such delicious delights. An orchard I had found on the side of the meadow had trees thick with blossom. Through my days by myself, I spent many hours climbing trees and filling baskets of apple blossoms and the daisies of the meadow. On one walk through the woods, I stumbled upon a lilac bush of which I cut a branch and brought home to the cottage, filling it with a fragrance sweeter than any perfume I had smelled wandering through the streets of my old village.
June arrived and with it the first apples in the orchards. Unfortunately I couldn't pick and eat them quite yet, as they were young, small and mostly wormy. I couldn't believe I had spent nearly a year in this cottage in the middle of the woods. It had seemed only yesterday when I stumbled upon it, dizzy with hunger and weariness. And now as I looked at myself in the mirror, I saw a girl of now seventeen years of age with soft, long black hair, full rosy cheeks from the fresh spring air and the sunshine, and eyes that sparkled after a day of wandering in the woods.
One morning in early July, after seeing the dwarves off to the mines, I set up a picnic just outside the front of the house and sat in the sunshine creating one of my flower wreathes this time of the fragrant lilac blossoms I had found. It was a particularly fine day yet with a taste of a wet wind coming in from the north. There were clouds settled there over the mountains, but I paid no heed to them as I hummed and worked my fingers through the purple flowers.
"Excuse me," a sweet voice said. I jumped and looked up and saw an old woman that had to be a dwarf because her loss of height and the tiny pointy ears. For human years, she looked about to be ninety years old, but for a dwarf, I thought perhaps 250. She carried a basket of flowers and what looked like her lunch and was dressed in similar clothing my seven dwarves lived in, a cotton shirt and a dark skirt with bare toes peeking out from underneath. A grey shawl was wrapped around her shoulders.
"Is this the house of the seven dwarves?"
Concluding that she was indeed a dwarf by her slightly strange accent, I nodded and smiled at her.
"They are unfortunately off to work until the evening, but you are most welcome to sit down with me in the sunshine. You must be Fera."
"Yes, I am," the old woman dwarf smiled, though she kept her eyes to the ground. She sat down beside me and took out her lunch.
"You must have traveled a long way to get here," I replied, trying to make conversation.
"Oh yes, my nephews' house is very far from where I live. I have been traveling this past week to get here."
"Are your brothers not arriving as well?" I asked, tying together my wreath.
"No, I am the youngest of us three and the only one up to make the journey. Amos and Avery are much too weak to walk such a long way."
"I quite understand. But I'm sure the dwarves will be happy to see you despite the fact." I smiled at her.
She smiled back at me, "Perhaps."
There was a moment of silence before she offered me some of her lunch.
"Oh no thank you. I have a sandwich inside waiting for me."
"Oh really I insist," she picked up an apple from her basket, "Our apples are famous for being the biggest and the sweetest on our side of the country. Try it."
She held the biggest, juiciest, reddest looking apple I've ever seen in my life. I couldn't resist. It looked positively delicious, compared to the small sickly ones in our orchard. I took it from Fera and took a large bite. She was right, it was the most wonderful apple I've ever tasted, the sweet yet tangy flavor melting in my mouth. The last thing I remember saying to her was "thank you," and her saying with a malicious tone of voice, "You're quite welcome."
Then a strange feeling came over me that started from my head and worked down to my toes. It was almost like being dizzy, yet dangerously so. I couldn't quite explain it. I put my hand to my head to stop the world from spinning around me. Nothing would steady. I was falling, falling into oblivion and not knowing an end. Darkness slipped over my eyes and I knew no more.
(((
The next part of my story was told to me by Alberic. Here I write it as best as it was described to me.
Alberic and the other dwarves arrived home as usual about an hour later for their lunch break.
"I really don't think it was real," Daran argued to Warryn.
"Well of course the diamond was real! I found it amongst the other set of crystals that we put-"
Warryn bumped into Martin who had crashed into Alberic in front. He was then squashed from behind by Daran, Gareth, Samsen and Perry. Alberic seemed stricken with fear. They all pulled away from each other and peered at what Alberic was looking at in front of the house. The limp form of Lady Snow lay on the grass under the front window and Fera sat complacently waiting for them on the front stoop.
"Fera?" Alberic finally found words, "Wh-what is the meaning of this? What has happened to Lady Snow?"
"I was wondering when you'd come back Alberic," Fera stood up, wiping her hands on her skirt. She had a strange smile on her face and even though Alberic and the others hadn't seen her in at least thirty years, they could tell something was very wrong about her. She raised her eyebrows.
"I see you've all met my stepdaughter."