I close the door behind us as we enter Snow's room. She goes over to her window and looks at the town across the lake. She looks at me. I nod and quickly run to my room, grabbing my dark green cloak. I make sure Father's sword is by my side before I make my way back to Snow's room. I find her coming out with a gold cloak. We quickly make our way downstairs and enter the gate room.
"We're going out." Snow states as we make our way up the stairs.
"Are they allowed to go out?" One guard asks.
"I don't know… Are they?" The other one asks.
We pause in front of the doors. "Okay… She's going out!" The first guard states. They open the door and we put our hoods up. We walk outside and I stop to stare at the beauty of outside. I couldn't remember the last time I was out here. We quickly make our way across the courtyard and into the forest.
We walk in silence, taking in everything as we follow the path. Just as we cross a small bridge I hear something. I stop.
Snow turns to me. "Are you okay, Leila?"
I look around. "I thought I heard something."
We both stop and listen. After a few moments of silence I heard it again. "Hello!" Both me and Snow look around trying to find the source of the noise. "Anybody out there!"
I blink as I spot two men hanging from a rope… Half naked. Snow notices me staring and starts laughing lightly. We walk closer as the two argue.
"We were warned about what we might find in these woods, but…" I trail off.
"I never imagined this!" Snow says as she and I walk up, looking up at them. Snow giggles.
"Who laughed at us!" The one without the shirt asks.
"We are in dire need of your ladies. We were ambushed by 7 dwarf-"
"Blood thirsty giants!" He shirtless man cuts off the other one. I raise an eyebrow, catching what the other one said. 'Dwarfs… Cool…' I thought to myself.
"Giants!" Snow gasps.
"We were out numbered but fought bravely. But they cheated!" Shirtless man says.
"Young ladies, if you would be so kind to help us out so the honourable princ-"
"Prince embarrassment…" The shirtless one interrupts again. I blink. 'Prince?' "I am but a humble commoner. Now I order you to release us."
"Order?" I ask.
"If you refuse, you shall suffer dire consequence." The shirtless one comments back.
Snow bends down. "Only… If you say please."
"Well, given the circumstances, sir, I think a please is in order." The other man says.
"Your right… Where are my manners… Please?"
"That's all you had to say!" I say.
Snow walks over to the rope tied around the tree and brings out her dagger. "No! NO! NO!" The two men cry. Snow cuts the line and the two guys fall to the ground. They both rush to get up. I giggle as they look like fish flopping around.
"Can I help at all?" Snow asks.
The one guy turns around. "Oh! Yes please." Snow quickly unties him. She turns to help the shirtless man but ends up face to face with him. For a while it's quiet, the two staring at each other. "Um… Do you want some help with the rope?" Snow quietly asks.
"Yes…" The guy says with a shake of his head. "Thank you." Snow quickly unties him. "Sorry you had to see us in such a compromising position." He turns around to face us. "We're going north." He says.
I walk over to Snow. "Oh, we're traveling south." I tell them.
"It's a shame." The shirtless one states, staring at Snow.
"Yes it is…" Snow mumbles.
They continue to stare at each other until the other guy clears his throat. "I guess we must abide you a due." The two bow slightly and we head our different ways. I watch as Snow turns back to look at the men. She quickly looks back and pulls up her hood. I quickly follow her.
Around 20 minutes later we enter the town. I look around at the towns people. A lot of them were wearing rags and it looked like they were very hungary.
A little girl walks up to Snow. "Excuse me… Do you have anything to eat?" She asks. Snow sadly shakes her head.
"What happened here?" I ask lightly.
"We visited once with our father… and it was a wonderful place." Snow says as she looks around. "People always seemed to be singing and dancing."
"That must have been years ago." One lady says. Everybody turns when they hear the sound of a sleigh. Snow and I watch as it pulls up and Brighton walks out. Snow and I quickly put up our hoods and discreetly watch as Brighton nails something to a board.
"More taxes!" A man asks.
"Good, you an read. Make sure they are collected in a timely fashion." Brighton says.
"What's she doing with all our money?" One lady asks.
"Protecting you." Brighton answers.
"From what?" The man beside her asks.
"Must I remind you of the brutal attacks we have suffered." Brighton says.
"He speaks of…" The lady from earlier trails off.
"The Beast!" The crowd gasps.
"Yes. Evil lurks in the dark woods. More hideous then you could imagine. The only reason it hasn't gorged itself on all of you is because your tax dollars are hard at work. I'll be back tomorrow for the money." Brighton states as we walks back to the carriage. Snow and I share a glance, we quickly make our way out of the town. We run through the forest, quickly making our way back to the castle.
We quickly enter the kitchen entry. "Baker Margaret! Baker Margaret!" We both cry as we rush into the kitchen, throwing off our cloaks. "Margaret! It's worse then you could ever imagine!" Snow cries.
"You saw the town!" She asks us.
"Yes! It's horrible!" I say. Margaret quickly pulls us into a hug. "The Queen has destroyed everything our father believed in!"
"She's even taxing them more as we speak, even though they have nothing!" Snow cries.
"That's to pay for all her lavish parties." Margaret explains. "She's throwing another one tonight. For a prince."
"A prince is here?" Snow asks as we pull away.
"And you two… It's said he has a army." Margaret says.
"Well… Maybe he could help us." I say.
"If he truly has an army… Then maybe he can help us take back the kingdom." Snow says with a small smile.
"My goodness, you two have had quite a day." Margaret says with a smile. "You're gonna have an even bigger night."
"Really?" I ask.
Margaret nods. "The two of you are gonna crash that ball."
Me and Snow look at each other, wide eyed. We've never been to one of the Queens ball.
I glance at Snow. She's dressed in a beautiful white feathery dress with white wings and wearing a hat with a swan on it. As for me, I'm wearing a white dress that fades out to black near the bottom. I have a black belt underneath my bust and I have white and black cat ears on my head.
We walk through the crowd of people, looking for someone who could be considered a prince.
"Her Majesty the Queen!" Someone suddenly announces. We follow everybody and move to the side of the room. We bow with everyone else. "His Royal Highness, the Prince of Valencia!" Snow and I share a glance.
Snow and I quickly find a spot just as the music starts. Snow and I turn around, I find myself staring at a guy with a giant beak covering half his face. I glance over to my sister and see her with the half naked guy. 'What is he doing here?'
"You." He says.
"You!" Cries Snow.
"You're here." He states.
"I-I am. I'm here." Snow states the obvious. "But… You're the Prince?" Snow asks. I roll my eyes and bow to my partner.
"I'm sorry. Seeing you in this dress has caused me to lose my words." The Prince stammers.
I giggle. He looks in my direction and blinks when he recognizes me. "Well, at least it doesn't cause you to lose your pants." I snicker. I put my hand up and we walk in a half circle.
"She means, when we met you first, you weren't wearing pants. Sorry about her." The guys walk behind us, getting ready to shift partners. "Well, at least now you're dressed… Up…"
"Like a bunny." I snicker. I turn around to face my new partner. This one has a donkey on his head.
"Apparently it's a rabbit." The Prince corrects. I look over and notice that he didn't change partners. "Something about trickery and enemies and cunning." The Prince explains as everyone bows to their partners.
"Oh, ok…" Snow trails off.
"I look like an idiot."
"Yes, a little bit." Snow laughs.
"No. A lot." I correct. We all share a laugh.
Our partners turn us around. "So, what are you two…"
"Doing in the palace? Um…" Snow trails off, unsure of how to answer. "We live here. We have for a while, actually."
"We're kind of the princesses." I clarify for the Prince as the guys walk behind us again.
"What? You didn't tell me that." The Prince says, surprised.
"You never told us you're a Prince." Snow counters. I turn around and find myself staring at a frog man.
"I feared I looked ridiculous… Said the Prince in the bunny hat." We all giggle.
Snow finally notices that they haven't changed partners at all. "Aren't we supposed to be changing?"
"Yes, I believe so." The Prince twirls her around and dips her, causing Snow to step on his foot.
"I'm so sorry!" Snow cries.
"No, no, no, it's okay." The Prince assures.
I turn around but Snow and the Prince don't. "Forgive me." Snow says softly.
"No, forgive me." The Prince says.
I turn around and find myself staring at a guy in huge antlers. Snow finally gets to the point. "The truth is, I didn't just come here to dance tonight. I need your help." Snow states.
"Anything. I'm at your disposal." The Prince says. I smile, the two are perfect for each other.
"It's the Queen. Ever since our father died, she's terrorized the people and ruined the land. And we're hopping that a good-hearted Prince like yourself would…" Snow trails off. I look to where she was looking and find the Queen looking at us.
"We have to go." I grab Snow's arm and lead her out of the Hall. We jog out into the hallway and find ourselves being grabbed by two guards
Another chapter done!
Please let me know how I did! Please R&R
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