Hey everyone. This story was brought to you by Culinary Arts: Pasta assignment, Insane Prompt List, and Our Tangled Webs on Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Also for Sapphic Season on Harry Potter fanfiction challenges.
Culinary Arts: Pasta assignment: Task 3 - Write about someone who's full of themselves.
Insane Prompt List: 750. (AU) Fairytale
Our Tangled Webs: Lily/Narcissa
Sapphic Season: Lily/Narcissa
Warning for Snow White!AU and slight bit out of character. Word count is 1,746 words. I hope you all enjoy Her Best Chance.
The brush went swiftly over the long blonde tresses as Queen Narcissa had her hair brushed out by her many servants. She adored looking in the mirror. She adored seeing how gorgeous she looked, even if it was just in her night shift. She was the most beautiful woman in the whole kingdom of Godric's Hollow and no one would argue the point with her.
"Did you hear about the new woman in town?" one the servants, a mousy girl with moss colored eyes and sandy hair called Alysane asked her friend. "She's supposed to be even more beautiful than the queen…."
Alysane's friend, a raven haired grey eyed girl named, Charlotte began to shake her head frantically but it was too late. The damage had been done.
"No one is more beautiful than your queen," Narcissa snapped. "Who is this person you speak of? She must be dealt with immediately."
The brushing of hair stopped as the girls stood shaking before the rage filled queen. Neither one of them wanted to tell the name of the fair lady they were speaking of. They both knew that the queen didn't take kindly to anyone who would dare to take her claim to the most beautiful woman in all the land.
"Alysane?" She gave the trembling girl a withering look. She knew it wouldn't be long until she got the information she wanted. She always got the information she wanted.
"Lily Evans," the trembling girl said, voice filled with sorrow. "Her name is Lily Evans."
Narcissa snapped her finger and called for the palace guards. Once they were in the room she folded her arms across her chest. "I want you to find this Lily Evans girl and I want you to make sure she is no longer a threat to me." She stormed over to her waiting maids behind her changing curtain.
Across town, the young beautiful Lily Evans was sitting down to eat breakfast with her best friends, Marlene and Alice. She had heard rumors about the queen of the town. The woman sounded a down right nightmare. Lily figured all she needed was a good telling off and she was figuring on being just the person to do it.
A knock sounded at the door. Marlene went to answer the door and after a brief conversation and a scuffle that followed, she rushed back into the room.
"Lily, you have to run," she said, knowing it was too late even before she said.
The guards came pouring into the room. It was sort of silly how many guards there were for just one conversation with one person. Lily looked up as the man in charge, a dark haired hazel eyed man, stepped forward.
"Are you Lily Evans?" he asked in a serious voice.
Lily looked between the man and Marlene and Alice wondering what was going on. "I am," she said. "Why do you ask?"
"The queen has sent us to handle a matter for her." He looked her up and down and found himself reconsidering the queen's demand. "But I'm not going to take you to her." He looked around and leaned towards her. "Run, Lily! Run!"
Lily's eyes widened in fear and shock but before she could question anything Marlene and Alice each grabbed one of her hands drug out of the house. Why would she have to run from the queen? Wasn't the queen supposed to be a fair and honorable person?
"Are you sure?" Queen Narcissa snapped. "Are you absolutely sure that he told her to run for it, Ser Peter? We don't want anyone to get into trouble needlessly. Much less my cousin's little boyfriend."
"I'm absolutely sure," Peter Pettigrew said, bobbing up and down in his need to please whoever would get him ahead in life. "He said it loud enough for everyone to hear him. You can ask Sirius and Remus if you don't believe me."
"I believe you, Peter," the queen said gracefully, as she turned towards the mirror and looked at her beautiful dress. "You need to relax, little man."
She stormed past Peter, not really needing to ask anyone about what James Potter had told Lily. If the rumors were true then she was pretty enough that anyone would do anything for her and that included a loyal servant such as Potter.
"I guess, if you want something done right you should do it yourself," Narcissa whispered to the mirror, her face splitting into a wicked smile. "I will make sure that there is only one gorgeous woman in this town and that woman will be me."
She knew just the perfect thing to do. She would get rid of Lily Evans once and for all. But how to do that? She needed a plan on how to do that. She went through all her books on revenge and taking out one's opponents for ideas on just how to do that.
Then it hit her. Quite literally it hit her. A book from the top shelf fell and hit her on the shoulder, making her scream in pain. She cursed as she picked it up. It was a history of the kingdom and it's multiple rulers. But how could it help her?
Turning the pages of the book at a fast pace she finally spotted. The one thing that could possibly work in her favor and get rid of Lily Evans. She took the page with the bright red apple at the top of the page out of the book. She had to get started on this plan, after all.
Lily, however, was busy trying to figure out where to hide from the wicked queen Narcissa. Her friends Marlene and Alice had found her spot to hide out that no one would ever think to check. That was what they had thought at the moment.
"Don't open the door for anyone, alright, Lily?" Marlene said, as she and Alice got ready to leave for work. "We don't know if the queen is onto us or not."
Lily nodded with a laugh. "Don't be silly, guys," she said. "I'll be fine. Go to work and have a nice day, alright?"
It wasn't long before there was a knock on the door. Lily walked to the door figuring it was just Marlene or Alice and they had forgotten something. She opened the door to find a petite blond woman standing on the doorstep.
"My carriage broke down," the blonde woman said, "and I was hoping I could come in and get a drink of water. Possibly something to eat before moving on."
"Of course," Lily said, moving aside. "I have to be on the lookout for my friends. They would kill me if they found that I let anyone inside the house. I am hiding out from the queen. I just don't understand why she has it out for me, you know?"
"Queen Narcissa?" The woman asked in confusion. "The queen wouldn't try to harm a fly. She's the most gracious and beautiful woman in all the universe. Why would she want to hurt you?"
"I don't know." She motioned the woman over the table. "I'll just go and get us some tea and cookies then. Do you have any preference for either?"
"Whatever you have is good enough for." Queen Narcissa smiled as she approached the table and poured the potion she had created earlier on the bowl of fruit sitting on the middle of the table.
"Here's your tea," Lily said, holding out a cup and saucer to the woman. "It's one of my favorites. I hope you enjoy it."
"I thought you said there would be cookies with this tea?"
"My friends ate the last of the cookies last night. I guess we'll have to have something else with the tea then."
"How about a nice piece of fruit?" Queen Narcissa asked holding out an apple to Lily. "It's better than a sugary cookie, don't you think?"
Lily nodded and took the apple. It looked very inviting and the delicious scent was wafting up making her want to take a bite. One little bite wouldn't hurt, would it?
Queen Narcissa leaned forwards as Lily placed the apple to her lips. That it, she thought. Take a bite. One little bite and you'll be out cold and no longer my problem.
Lily had only a moment to appreciate the taste of the apple before she passed out cold on the floor. The apple rolling across the floor as to stop at the feet of Lily's friends.
"What have you done?" Marlene yelled, glaring at the queen. "Lily is a nice person and you are...are just plain horrible."
Alice raced over and knelt next to her friend. She motioned for Marlene to join her and help her get their friend to her bed.
Narcissa watched them take care of their friend. She had never had friends who were that devoted to her. Something was wrong with the way she viewed the world and the people in it or else why would she not have friends as devoted as these?
Narcissa followed the two into the room watching as they deposited Lily on the bed. Seeing the girl that was her enemy laying there cold out to the world made Narcissa feel a little bad.
"What do you want?" Marlene snapped. "Haven't you done enough?"
"Marlene," Alice chided, "this isn't why Lily would want us to be acting like and you know it." She turned to Narcissa. "But Marlene is also right, your Grace. You've got what you wanted and there is nothing else to say or do."
"But there is something else to say," Narcissa said, walking over and taking Lily's hand. She'd had seen the error of her ways. She wanted to be the sort of person Lily Evans would want her to be. "I'm so sorry, Lily." She gently pressed her lips against Lily's in a chaste kiss.
Pulling back Narcissa watched as Lily's eye fluttered open and she stared at Narcissa. "If you knew I was after you why did you let me in?" she asked.
"Everyone needs someone to give them a chance," Lily said. "I'm going to give you your chance, Queen Narcissa."
From that day on the kingdom of Godric's Hollow had two fair queens and both them followed the rule of giving everyone their best chance. Neither one of them would change this fact for the world.
I hope you all enjoyed Her Best Chance as much as I enjoyed writing it.