Title: Rose Red
Crossover: The 10th Kingdom and Snow By Tracy Lynn
By: FallenArchAngel47
Chapter 3
"Rose! Come on now! Madame Lisette will be here any moment!" Alicia called out down the hallway. She had searched the entire house, and still couldn't find Rose. "Rose this is not funny!" She yelled. She ventured her way outside. "No Kitty! Leave the poor thing alone!" She heard Rose say. She turned the corner and found her, cradling something and pointing off in another direction for the cat to do. Alicia made a small chuckle. "Rose, why does it always seem that when you run off, and I find you, you're always saving some small defenseless animal." Alicia asked.
She walked over to her. "But it was a raven Alicia! The poor thing…" She observed the baby raven's wing, which was twisted and broken. The hopes of its wing's recovery were very slim. Alicia then paused, seeing Rose's condition. She was caked with mud, and her fine dress was ripped, tattered and dirty. "How did you manage to do that in less than a half hour?" she asked. "…I was chasing Puss to get the poor bird, she had it by the wing." She said sadly. She stroked the raven's head softly. "I'm sorry I couldn't save your wing in time…" she said. Alicia picked her up, and sighed. "Now, put that bird down, and let it be." She said. "But Alicia! I want to keep him! Please? He's hurt, and it'll be hard for him to survive on his own." Rose said holding the bird gently, but closely. "Fine." Alicia sighed, seeing there was no winning for her.
She picked her up and walked into the castle, up the stairwell and to her room. Alicia placed her down, and Rose immediately brought out a small box, and placed clothes in it. She placed the small bird in and stood on the stool, watching the Raven. The Raven sat silently, and looked at her, it's dark eyes shining. Rose stood on the stool, as Alicia wiped her face off with a wet cloth, and washed off any traces of mud or soot that could be seen. After doing so, she put on her dress, and put her in, of course, the pinchy shoes. When she was finished, they sat in silence on her bed. "…What's wrong with my mommy?" Rose asked after some time. "Why am I getting a new one?" she continued, and she looked up at Alicia, her eyes round and a bit saddened. Alicia sighed softly. "There's nothing wrong with your mother dear, it's just the fact that well… she's… gone sweetie… and well… your father needs an heir to the throne…" she continued.
"And he needs a "proper" woman as he would put it, to raise you into a fine young woman." She said softly. "Aren't I his heir to the throne?" Rose asked. "Sweetie, your husband would be the heir to the throne… woman cannot inherit property." She said. Rose sighed softly. "So daddy would have been happier if I was a boy?" she asked. "Sweetie I… I can't exactly tell you if that's right or wrong…" she said. Rose folded her hands. "…Do you think she'll be nice?" She asked. "I don't know, but I hope so." Alicia responded softly. "What if she isn't?" Rose asked. "…Well if she hurts your father, I could care less, but that's just me, all he does is sit on his a-" "Alicia! What are you about to say to that poor child!" Virginia said walking into the room. "…Oops…" Alicia said. Rose sighed softly, and sat in silence. Virginia looked at her. "Sweetie, you're not getting a new mommy to replace your old one…you're just… getting a new mother to help you and your father better stable yourselves." She said.
Rose gripped her hand around the gold heart shaped locket around her neck. She had found it going through some of her mother's things in her old cottage. It had a picture of her mother and her father in it, and herself in the corner. Rose nodded mutely, as if she did not want to discuss the topic any longer. "She's here!" called out one of the many other various servants from the hallway, the news spread quicker than a speeding …cannon ball. "Come on, we'll have to get you into the great hall with your father." Alicia said. Rose nodded and hopped down from the bed, and sped out of the room, as quickly and gracefully as she could. She skidded to a halt in the doorway, as not to make an obscene entrance, and gracefully walked over to her father's side. He was smiling and holding a rose in one hand, which was white.
The doors opened, and amongst the bunches of servants carrying furniture and other various things in, came a woman. She was very tall, and walked with a regal grace of which Rose had never seen before. Her skin was as white as snow, if possible maybe whiter, it was creamy, and there was no fault in any of the contours of her face. Her golden blonde hair was pinned up in a bun, with a few gentle curls falling down the sides of her face. Her bright blue eyes sparkled in the sunlight. Her dress was a pale color of white, and was tight at the top, showing off more bust than anything, at the bottom, it formed into a white bell. She was absolutely breath taking, almost angelic.
At the first moment that Rose saw her, she immediately felt inferior to this woman's beauty, as if she were nothing but a little cockroach, and she was a beautiful swan. The woman smiled delicately at both Rose, and her father. Rose curtsied as polite as she could, and managed not to gawk at this immortal goddess before her. Wendell held the rose out to her, and took her hand, and kissed it. "I have arranged a bedroom for you, and anything else you may need, feel free to ask any of my servants." He spoke. Lisette nodded and walked past him, as another servant lead her toward her room. Rose did not follow, she was told that she would spend more personal time with her later, after she was adjusted and well rested. She sighed in defeat, and had Alicia change her into her play clothes, so she could go see her friends outside and tell them off this angelic being who was to be her new mother.