Disclaimer: I do not own Snow White, The Queen, or most of the characters in this story, all I own is the story and the handful of original characters I throw in. Enjoy.

Once upon a time . . .

There was a King and a Queen, a loving couple who were loved by all of their people.

When the Queen fell pregnant, the people danced and sang and celebrated for days.

And when the little girl was born, she was the most beautiful in the land, capturing the hearts of anyone who looked at her.

They called her, "the fairest of them all."

The night that Snow White was born was a dark one for everyone in the castle. Her Majesty Queen Eva had gone out for a stroll with her loving and doting husband King Leopold, despite his many attempts at having her stay inside.

But she said, "Leo, I've been inside for a fortnight, I am going outside, and you can either come with me, or stay here, but I'm going."

So he went.

It was a frigid night in the kingdom, with heavy snow falling and icicles hanging from trees as they walked through the grounds. But Her Majesty didn't care. She always thought the snow was beautiful. She'd laugh and play and frolic around, not caring that she was acting extremely unladylike. The King couldn't find it in his heart to reprimand her, ignoring all of the comments his advisors gave him, allowing his beloved Queen to do as she wished.

They'd been outside not ten minutes when she gasped as she felt her water break. His Majesty rushed to her side as she keeled over in pain. Looking down, they saw three drops of blood in the snow. Her Majesty became lightheaded and fell into the King's arms.

"Eva, oh God, blood. This can't be good, come, I'll call for the physician," he said, carrying her back inside.

"It was so beautiful. Did you see it?" She asked, not wanting to worry him any more by speaking of her lightheadedness.

"See what, darling? I need the physician! Someone get me the physician, the Queen is in labor!"

"The snow, the blood in the snow, it was so beautiful."

"I don't believe I can say the same, love."

"Why not?"

"Because," he begins as he gets to their chambers and lays her down on their bed. "Beautiful isn't the first word that comes to mind when I see your blood in the snow."

"Well, I thought it was beautiful. I hope she's that beautiful."

"Oh, so it's a she now?"

"Yes."

"She was a he yesterday."

"Well, that was yesterday. This is today, and today I have decided that she is a girl."

Despite his fear and mounting anger wondering what is taking the physician for so damned long, he found himself smiling, leaning down to press his lips to her head.

She smiled back, but it quickly turned into a grimace as she felt a contraction. Looking down, the King saw more blood gathering on the bed and yelled for the physician again. This time, the wretched man finally came, apologizing profusely for taking so long.

After several long hours, the child was born. And the Queen was right, she was a girl.

"Snow White," The Queen said, holding her daughter while the physician worked to make sure everything was alright.

"What was that, love?"

"Her name, Snow White."

"Really? Are we back to the blood-in-the-snow situation again?"

"Well, look at her skin, it's nearly as white as the snow outside. And her tiny little lips are blood red."

"That's a bit literal, darling. What about something inspired by it?"

"No. That will be her name."

"Sire," the physician called.

"Yes?"

"May I have a word?"

Already, the King could feel the bad news coming. Steeling himself, he kissed the Queen, then placed a kiss on his daughter's head, and walked towards the physician. "What is it?"

The man took a deep breath. "I don't know how to say this sire, but I am afraid. . ."

"Of what?" Silence. "Well, go on then. Say it."

Looking down at the floor, the physician simply said, "Her Majesty will not survive this, sire."

Taken aback, the King felt his world tilt and spin. "What do you mean she won't survive this? She's holding the girl now, look."

"Yes, but there seems to be some hemorrhaging. I've managed to slow it while I tried to stop it, but nothing is working, and I don't believe anything will."

Trying to remain calm, His Majesty asked. "How long does she have?"

The man lets out a breath. "Ten minutes at most."

The King struggled for breath. "But—but you said you slowed the bleeding. Shouldn't we at least have a few hours then?"

"I have slowed the bleeding, sir. If I hadn't, she wouldn't have lived long enough to know if her daughter was a boy or a girl."

The King nodded, not knowing what else to do, but feeling the need to do something to show he understood the weight of the physician's words.

Ten minutes.

Just ten more minutes before he and his daughter have to say goodbye.

He didn't want to tell her. He wanted to just let her go peacefully. For her to think she was tired, and simply was going to sleep. So he walked back over to the bed, and lay beside his wife, struggling to hold back tears.

"You know, I think I've changed my mind. Snow White, it is."

The Queen smiled at him. "I knew you'd come around."

He smiled back, fearing that he'd break down and lose control of everything he was doing to keep the tears at bay.

And so for ten minutes, ten beautiful minutes, the family was whole. The King kept repeating how much he loved his wife, how Snow White would grow to be the most beautiful girl in the world, and would make a fine Queen. And when Her Majesty began to tire, she handed the girl off to the King and laid down, still watching them together as she fought to keep her heavy lids open.

"I love you too Leo. And I love you, my precious girl. Snow White. My beautiful Snow White."

And then she fell into a peaceful sleep, forever.

As the years passed, King Leopold mourned his wife, seeing more of her in their daughter every day. Again, he ignored the opinions of his advisors when they said he needed a new bride. They were callous individuals, hinting at marriage the second the traditional grieving period was over, just three months. He was outraged when he realized what they were suggesting. He loved his Eva, and if he wanted to mourn her for the rest of his life, he would.

When Snow White was 7 years old, her beauty seemed to show even more, to the point where it reached all corners of the world. People came from far and wide to see the beautiful Snow White. One particular woman named Grimhilde came to meet her. She brought gifts as well. This wasn't unusual, as many brought gifts for Snow White, but she brought a gift for Snow White as well as a gift for the King. For Snow White, she brought a handmade dress, just for her. The girl loved it, it was the most beautiful dress she had ever laid her eyes on. And for the King, she brought a pie. An apple pie, to be exact.

The King's people loved him, so he saw no need to have someone taste it before him, as he knew other rulers did. Those rulers were horrible to their people and had good reason to be wary of food given to them. But not him. So he asked a servant to please get him a fork, then dug in happily. It was delicious. He sang her praises as he ate nearly the entire pie himself. Afterward, he realized just how beautiful this woman was. He watched her interactions with Snow and smiled when he saw how motherly she was.

It would please those damned advisors, he thought to himself.

And so he asked Grimhilde to marry him, right then and there. Everyone was surprised, and the advisors actually tried to talk him out of it, or at least wait until he knew her better. They had envisioned a woman from a wealthy family, someone with more to offer than dresses and pie. The King found himself angry at them again.

"Nothing is good enough for you, is it? I marry a beautiful woman, whom I love, and you want an heir, immediately. That demand took her from me, but we produced an heir. But now you want me to remarry. I propose, and you want me to marry someone of higher stature. Why? We don't need more gold, we are very much well off. We don't need more land, we have plenty. We don't need to win over the people, they love me. What more could you want!"

His advisors stayed silent, knowing they didn't have a good enough reason to argue back.

The engagement was quick and swift, with the couple married in less than a month. While the people still missed their queen, they were happy that the King was able to move on. And while it was bittersweet, they still danced and sang in the streets.

The people brought gifts and spoils for the newlywed couple, and of course, fawned over Snow White, talking about what a lovely queen she would make one day. It was then that the new queen first felt jealous of the girl. She thought it was silly, being jealous of a child, but she couldn't shake the feeling.

She wanted the girl dead.

But she couldn't just outright kill her, of course. The kingdom loved her far too much. But if she had someone else do it for her, that could work. And while she's at it, she could kill the King too, and have all the power to herself. So she got a spell from her spellbook, the same one she'd used to enchant the apple pie she'd given the King just a few months earlier, and summoned a phantom army to raid the castle and kill Snow White and those who were most loyal to the King. As for the King himself, she'd take care of him.

The night of the King's death was one of chaos and pain for everyone in the Kingdom, but especially in the castle.

That night, she lay in bed waiting for him to return. He'd been gone most of the day, tending to issues in a nearby village. When he finally did return, he fell asleep almost immediately, too tired to entertain his wife in one of her seduction attempts. Her apple pie made him fall for her beauty, but the memory of his wife wouldn't leave no matter how hard she tried in their bed.

After he fell asleep, the Queen slipped a dagger out from under her pillow, trying her best to move slowly, knowing that if he awoke, he'd overpower her. Once she had it in her hands, she took a deep breath and rolled over to stab him in the heart. But in her haste, she missed, and he woke, eyes wide with betrayal.

"You, you tricked me," he said, struggling to speak as he quickly bled out, the spell wearing off with his death. "It's all clear now. You tricked me."

She smiled. "Yes. Now I have your throne."

His eyes widened even more, this time with fear. She could see him mouth one word. "Snow."

She smiled another sinister smile. "Don't worry, she'll be joining you and your precious wife soon."

"No. No, you can't."

"Oh, but darling, it is already happening. My army will kill Snow, and as the sole royal survivor, the people will look to me to lead them."

"They will never look to you. You are my consort, they see you as my distraction from my grief. And if you kill Snow, they'll want someone else on the throne, not some woman I picked up off the street. Someone who has been a royal barely two months."

Queen Grimhilde thought over this. As much as she hated to admit it, he was right. The people would want someone else on the throne. But if she kept Snow alive and was the Queen Regent long enough for people to think of her as the Queen. . . .then she might just be able to make this work. Under her, the King's breathing slowed, and soon stopped, his lifeless eyes forever staring at the ceiling.

She sat back and thought over what to do. Then she heard screams coming from outside her chamber doors and knew that they were here. Knowing there was no way to prevent them from going after Snow now, she threw open the doors, the guards too busy with the army to notice their King dead. Thankfully, she made certain that the army would not kill or cause any sort of harm to her, so she ran to Snow's chambers without fear. Her guards were already dead, killed by one of the phantom soldiers, who was walking towards a terrified Snow rather quickly. Grabbing one of the guard's swords, she ran and stabbed the behind, then pulled it out and did it again and again until it fell to the ground, dissolving into mist.

Looking at Snow, who was staring at her in disbelief, she couldn't help but feel sorry for the girl. She crouched down to her level and whispered, "You'll be alright now, child. I promise."

The girl ran to her and threw her arms around her neck, her tears flowing freely. "What of Father?"

She took a deep breath but said nothing. The girl understood well enough. "No. No, he can't be."

"I'm sorry, angel. Those. . . .those things broke into our chamber and killed him. They were going to kill me too, but he held them off long enough for me to get away and come find you."

The screams echoed through the halls. "We have to help them," the little girl said, uncaring about the fact that she is just seven years old. She tried to break free from her stepmother's hold, but she held fast.

"We must let the guards defend us. You are but a child, and I must protect you, we cannot worry about any others now."

"But we are their rulers, we can't just abandon them."

"We are not abandoning them. As you said, we are the ruling family, if we die, the kingdom falls further. We must find a safe place and wait. Come."

She grabbed the child's hand and ran through the halls to the servant's chambers in the basement. A few of them had already gathered and were huddled in a small passageway, covering their ears so they wouldn't have to hear the screams.

They waited there for hours until the army was eventually defeated. One of the few surviving guards found them and brought them out to the courtyard, where everyone had gathered to see who had survived, and who hadn't. As she had hoped, they didn't look to Snow White for answers, as she was just a child, they looked to her, Queen Grimhilde. She made a statement that one of the palace scribes quickly wrote down to post in the villages.

"My dear husband, King Leopold, has died. He was killed by this army, the army that would have killed me as well, had he not bravely held them off long enough for me to get away and save my beloved stepdaughter, Princess Snow White. Those lost fought valiantly for their lives, as well as our own, and we commemorate them for their bravery and sacrifice. From this day forward I will serve the people of Talbot as Queen."

"But what about the Princess?"

She stumbled over her words. "Well, until the Princess is fit to take over of course."

With the statement ready, the scribe set off immediately to relay the information so it could be put up in every town and village in the kingdom. People began discussing what to do now, and Queen Grimhilde turned to Snow White. "I know you probably don't want to go back to your room, so why don't you take the room in the North Tower? The room at the very, very top, so you can have the best view."

The girl smiled, and nodded, letting a servant take her away. Turning back to hear the conversation, she realized the advisors were discussing what to do without her approval. Well, she couldn't have that, now could she?

"That won't be necessary, Lord Brimley."

Lord Brimley, who was discussing with General Hoffstead whether they should enforce martial law until everything was straightened out, looked to the woman with surprise. "I'm sorry?"

"You heard me. I am the Queen of Talbot. There is no need for martial law, as the government is still intact. There is still a ruler. Me."

He let out a nervous laugh. "Forgive me, madam, but I don't think—"

"You're right, you don't. If you did, you would stop talking and questioning the orders of your Queen, and would instead be carrying out those orders without hesitation."

Rendered speechless, the man looked between the King's Cons—the Queen, and General Hoffstead. "My lady, you have been in power not but two months."

"And two months is enough to know that I could have you imprisoned for questioning me. Now, I do believe General Hoffstead and I have to discuss replacing the guards that died in the attack. You, Lord Brimley, can either see if I'm bluffing or find something better to do with your time."

Then she walked away, not turning back to see if the General was following behind her or not.

Nearly eleven years passed, and over time, the Kingdom of Talbot stopped sympathizing with their Queen and began to hate her. She was very smart in the way that she went about it, but she slowly inflicted her will on the Kingdom, without mercy. It began when she'd have those who questioned her imprisoned. Lord Brimley was the first to go. She'd explain to the other advisors that if she didn't take charge, then nobody would take her seriously, and they decided not to argue.

Then she raised the taxes. Just a little bit at first, saying she had to raise funds to train and replace the guards and servants lost in the attack. But over time, she raised them more and more, and the people couldn't see a reason for it, only seeing her throw lavish parties while they starved and suffered.

It went from bad to worse when people first tried to revolt. She made the revolutionaries look like fools, with her new army cutting them down like stalks. She went after their families and slaughtered them all to discourage anyone from trying to revolt again. She said that from that point forward, people who questioned her orders or protested her actions wouldn't just be imprisoned, they'd be executed publicly to make a spectacle out of them.

As for Snow White, she too suffered the Queen's wrath. And, as the people had experienced, she at first had done little things to strip away her freedom, banning her from leaving the castle within months of the attack, saying that she didn't want anything to happen to her. Then her confines slowly moved from the castle to her room. Now, she rarely ever leaves, only to help servants with chores and make the public appearances needed to ensure the public that she was still alive. Her room, once a sanctuary from the horrors she witnessed that dreadful night, now a gilded cage.

The chores were given to her simply out of the Queen's desire to be just a little extra cruel. She wanted to show Snow White her place in this world; at her feet. Another little extra thing she had done to be cruel: she had convinced the world that Snow White was indeed not fit to rule. It was how she explained away the girl's constant absence from society, save from those rare appearances of course. She basically said that the girl was stupid and couldn't do anything, and out of fear that she'd end up harming herself because of it, she had her stay in her room.

The servants stayed throughout it all, simply wanting to look after the poor girl.

"Happy Birthday Snow," Mary said as she entered the Princess's chambers with a few of the other maids.

Snow smiled that beautiful smile that made people weak in their knees and drew everyone to her.

"Mary, you didn't have to do this," she said, eyeing the little cupcake in her beloved maid's hands, a lone candle lit.

"Well, go on then, make a wish."

Thinking of the romance books she reads in her infinite downtime, she stepped up to the cupcake, closed her eyes, and thought, I want a love like that. A prince who will come and whisk me away to his castle to live a life far, far different from the one I lead here.

Then she blows out the candle.

"You know what I wish for you?" Mary asked.

"I don't think it works that way, Mary."

"Well, I did it anyway."

Snow laughed as she sat down at her desk and took a bite of the cupcake. "Then what did you wish for, Mary?"

"I wished for you to get out of here. I wished for you to take your rightful place on the throne, as your father wanted."

Snow was shaking her head before Mary even finished. "I wouldn't make a good ruler."

"But that's just it. That's her. That's all her, not you. You have all of the strengths you need to make a good ruler, she's just convinced everyone that you're incapable of it. And her convincing you of it too is the worst of all."

She shook her head again and said quietly, "They're better off without me as their Queen."

"I think you should say that after you get a glimpse past these walls. You'll see then just how right I am and just wrong you and that bitch are."

"Mary!"

"It's true!"

"Weren't you the one who told me that my mother always said to never wish ill things unto others?"

"Well, I think even she would see that woman as an exception to the rule. I know I do."

Shaking her head, Snow looks out of her tiny little window to see the kingdom.

"She's taxed them to starvation, you know."

"What?" Snow asked, whipping her head around to face the woman, who just nodded solemnly.

"It's a madhouse out there. People are selling their children for scraps of bread."

Snow gasped in horror, remembering the way people used to laugh and dance in the streets for days on end. How they used to sing and bring gifts and such. She knew that things were bad, she knew that there was a reason nobody came to the palace to sing them praises anymore, she just didn't realize exactly how bad it truly was. And she wouldn't, she thought, not until she saw for herself the effects of the Queen's reign on the kingdom.

"They've begun to call her The Evil Queen."

"The Evil Queen?"

"Yes. I believe it's quite fitting," she said, looking out the window with Snow. She stood there a moment longer then moved to leave the room with the other maids. "Finish your cupcake, then come down. We divided up your chores so you'd have a little less to do on your birthday, but you know the Queen, she wants to see you working before her."

Snow nodded, then asked, "What does she want me to do?"

"Clean the throne room. She wants every bit of it spotless. Apparently, there's some rich prince coming to town. Probably setting her sights on a new man to sink her fangs into."

Of course, she thought.

"Evil wretch wants to throw all this back in your face," Mary mumbled as she left the room.

Sighing, Snow finished what was left of her cupcake, then got up to get ready. As she did, a lovely pair of bluebirds came to sit on her windowsill. She found herself smiling.

"Well hello there. Aren't you pretty little things?" She asked, putting a finger up for her to perch on it. They chirped back and her smile grew, then it faded when she glanced at the clock and realized she didn't have much time before the Queen would be calling on her. She put the bird back on the windowsill and left the room with another sigh as she watched them fly away.

A/N: Just to clarify on a few more things that I couldn't say in the summary bc there is a character limit, some of this will be based on those movies, and some is just me. If there aren't any names to put in, sometimes I may draw from Once Upon A Time, but the story itself will rarely, if ever take from the show. Also, there WILL be smut, I will warn ahead of time, I promise.