Lips as Red as Blood

by GalaxyofCastaborous

Skin as pale as Snow, Hair as black as night, Lips as red as Blood. A vampire Snow White in a richly imagined fantasy world, where we go deeper than is probably wise into why a good king would marry an evil witch, why on earth was the evil queen so obsessed with her own appearance, and why is no-one who knows the girl willing to help her? This is a tragedy, it is not a nice story.

5. Lady Adair

As Lady Adair settled into the household, some things became known that were not known before, and things that were known took on new meaning.

It was known that Lady Adair was hard. Yet, what that meant, was unknown. The servants whisked about with their usual efficiency, yet it seemed less efficient, barely adequate, now. The butler and stewards did not decline in their anticipation of issues or observation of processes, yet the efficiency and logic with which the palace was run seemed to decline. The ladies in waiting grew no less intelligent or beautiful, yet as time went on it seemed like they became mirrors, parroting back ideas and arguments and only beautiful when flocking about the Lady.

It was known that Lady Adair was powerful. Yet, none expected the extent thereof. Endless tomes of magic creeped up the walls and began to spill off the shelves, and strange lights and sounds appeared when the dusting hadn't been done. Three large rooms were suddenly off-limits, the porters whispered that they had spent days carrying apparatuses of gold, silk, wood, and steel up the 5 flights of stairs to that room. They said that the smaller they were, the more they weighted. Finally, though only the Ladies in Waiting would have noticed, a staggering amount of creams, lotions, scrubs, soaps, oils, perfumes, and masks crowded around her (hastily expanded) Lavatory.

The king, while initially taken aback, was good natured about it. After all, she had been chosen her for her ability to keep up with his daughter, not for the convenience of his household staff. After a few initial attempts to learn what was being brought into his home, he allowed her to do as she wished. After all, if she wanted to focus on getting things done, it wouldn't be prudent for him to be constantly barging in.

Snow hated her. Emotions had more strength in those golden times, they loved harder and hated deeper than you and I can really understand. Perhaps Snow did not like the changes she brought with her. Perhaps she felt her mother was being replaced – poorly no less. Perhaps she was afraid her father would grow even more distant.

Or perhaps, she hated Lady Adair because Lady Adair hated her.