The Revelry
Footsteps filled the silent throne room, producing echoes of fury. Queen Ravenna stood tall, staring at her reflection in the mirror across the room. She flinched at her ebbing beauty, her power was weakening. "Mirror, Mirror, on the wall, who is fairest of them all?" Her voice sounded worn as she sputtered the words. Out of the round, gold mirror, manifested a liquid substance, falling to the floor. It drifted closer and closer until it rose, forming the shape of a hooded figure. The Queen lifted her head higher as the mirror towered over her feeble body.
"My queen, you have defied nature and robbed it of its fairest root. But to this day, there is one more beautiful than you," a deep voice announced from within. Ravenna jerked her head away from the Mirror. She didn't want to hear her name anymore; the one who was even more fair then her. A tear formed in her eye, which she wiped before it descended, and when she looked back, the mirror had returned to it's original form. She quickly composed herself and called her brothers name.
Finn entered the throne room, anticipating his sister's order as she stared at him with loathing. "You've failed me Finn," she said with sorrow "Time and time again I've depended on you, and for what? Nothing." Finn began to mutter something - "STOP!" Yelled the Queen. "It's been ten long, long years, and you've yet to find her. Where is she? WHERE IS SNOW WHITE?" The Queen eyed her brother with irritation, nearly out of breath.
"There's been new word on the whereabouts of the girl, sister," Finn softly spoke, twitching his right arm where a hand was absent. Ravenna peered at him with curiosity. "It's been said that she resides in the cavernous region of the dark forest, inhabiting a home with dwarves." The queen's face turned to disgust at the word. The queen found dwarves to be of repulsive nature, foul beings. A revelation dawned upon her.
The Queen looked up at Finn with new conviction, and decreed, "Find me someone to hunt her down."
The familiar images filled Snow White's mind as they had before. Images of fairies soaring through the sky around her, leaving trails of pixie dust, a panicked, white horse, gliding towards her. However these images soon turned to one's of horror. The pixie dust turned into trails of blood and the horse began to charge at her. She witnessed a beautiful woman's final breath whom she did not recognize, and a young boy's innocent smile, a smile which slithered into the smirk of the devil. The last thing she would witness before waking up was the glint of light blonde hair. These images would forever be etched into her mind, yet she couldn't recall witnessing any of them. Maybe they were from another life, she thought.
Snow White opened her eyes to the beaming light through her window. She fluttered them in response and turned to her side, where eight dwarfs stood gaping at her. Snow White wasn't tremendously surprised when all of them yelled, "Surprise!" at once. This had turned into an annual thing, and with this day, it had been a decade since they found her. "We have something waiting for you in the kitchen," the dwarf named Coll announced. Gort, the fighter of the bunch, chuckled in excitement.
"Thank you, everyone," Snow White mumbled, still awakening. "I'll be out in a few," She announced. All of the dwarves departed her room, with only one remaining, Muir, the guider of the group. He was a father-like figure to all of them, even Snow White herself. He placed himself beside her on the bed, and she welcomed him in return.
"It's been many years since Gus and I had found you at the edge of the dark forest," Muir said, staring at Snow White. He had never told her the story of how they stumbled upon her before. The first thing she ever remembered was waking up inside the dwarfs' cottage to the smell of alcohol and rotting food. They had been her only family ever since. "We were mesmerized by your purity, your beauty that you hold deep inside your soul," he continued. "And when you awoke, on this very bed, it was as if you were reborn. You hadn't remembered anything, not even your own name." The memory was becoming faint, but Snow White still remembered seeing their faces for the first time. She was scared, lost, but after time, she adapted to living with them.
It wasn't easy, however. There were many winters lacking food to feed them all. They had experienced four droughts, preventing them to farm in the fields encompassed by the forest. Snow White learnt to hunt in the woods, but each animal she caught would be released from her grip. There were nights when Snow White would awake, beads of sweat running down her face, shivering with tears. She had now become accustomed to the nightmares in ways. At least it wasn't so bad now as it was before. And now, a darkness was covering the kingdom. Animals fell from the poisonous fumes of dark magic, trees desiccated, some crumbling to the ground, while others stood like statues, unable to grow. They were fortunate it hadn't yet breached the the walls of the cavernous regions of the forest. But only time would tell.
"When you entered our cavern that starry night, it was as if new light had shone upon us," Muir said dourly. "You, just a nameless child, to have such an impact, well, it's inconceivable." Snow White looked into Muir's glistening eyes, with regard. "I think it is time that we find where you came from." Snow White was hesitant at his suggestion. She didn't feel as though she belonged anywhere outside the walls of the woodlands. Her home was with the dwarfs, they were her family, her comfort. "Well, it's just something to think about," Muir added, noticing Snow's hesitation. He left the room, leaving Snow White alone with her thoughts.
She immediately changed her clothes, putting on her regular suede attire and entered the kitchen full of drunken, singing dwarves, while Gort continually hit Nion in the head. They drank from mugs full of ale and some laughed endlessly, scattered around the dining table in the kitchen. On it, sat plates filled with chicken legs and beans, kegs filled with ale, and a present in the centre, wrapped in leaves and bark. "Open it!" The drunken, Beith announced, he had taught Snow White to hunt, and informed her of the ways of the forest. She approached the gift, with admiration and settled it in her hands. The wrapping easily fell apart, and inside was an object wrapped in cloth. She unfolded the cloth, revealing a lustrous dagger embedded on a gold, sculpted handle. An expression of awe filled her face. The blade was cool on her hand and she placed it down on the table. "You'll need it for when we set out into the woods," said Beith.
"Thank you," Snow White declared. "Really, I couldn't have asked for a finer gift." Snow White hugged each of the dwarfs and enclosed the dagger with the cloth. They continued to drink, celebrating the occasion, while Snow White danced with the Coll and Gus. When afternoon arrived, half of the dwarf's left to gather food for the night's supper, bringing back corn, potatoes, and a plump turkey. They feasted on the meal and Snow White went off to sleep. Before positioning herself on the bed, Snow took out the dagger once again, admiring the engravings the dwarf's designed on the handle. Flakes of snow bulged in the gold, while swirls of pixie dust surrounded the shaft, and just below the blade ended, two words were carved within. Purus Sanguinem.
A Huntsman sat under a colossal apple tree in the courtyard of Queen Ravenna's castle. He looked around him, witnessing the hunger consuming people's faces and the solemnness gaze in their eyes. His stomach growled, noticing how hungry he, himself was. He thought of his wife Sarah, who was gone, and for all he knew, dead. He missed seeing her warm face and feeling her welcoming touch. His thoughts were soon terminated once two of the Queen's guards approached him, followed by her brother, Finn.
"Thank you for meeting with us this evening," said Finn serenely. The Huntsman peered at Finn's missing hand and grinned. If he knew what the Huntsman had done to him those many years ago, it would be likely he'd be walking to his death sentence, rather than meeting with the Queen. "Please follow us," Finn instructed and they walked to the monstrous castle doors. The Huntsman hadn't been within the castle walls, following Ravenna's reign. There were many changes. Crows infested the halls, picking at the bodies of dead, old women. The rumours must have been true, thought the Huntsman. It was said that the Queen would devour young women's beauty, eating their souls, leaving just their lifeless bodies. Now he had witnessed it for himself. After passing the deathly halls, and ascending up a spiral staircase, they entered a room full of mirrors which led into the Queen's throne room. They entered, and Queen Ravenna sat at her throne with a wicked smile on her face.
"Eric," Ravenna exclaimed, as the Huntsman entered the room. "It's been a while." The guards threw him to the ground and he fell to his hands. "I Have a proposition for you," she announced.
"I'm not interested," he quickly rebutted.
"I have no concern with what you're interested in and what you're not," The Queen said, looking down on him. "One of my prisoner's has escaped and ventured into the dark forest. It's been said she resides in the cavernous woodlands, and is currently living with dwarfs." The Huntsman listened intently.
"Why not your men?" The Huntsman asked. "Why not you?"
The Queen stared at him with irritation. "My men have tried time and time again, failing miserably." He could tell these words brought displeasure to the Queen, a sense of helplessness. "And I am powerless beyond the realm of the dark forest. You however, are one of few who has travelled into the dark forest, and made it back alive to tell the tale." A new truth had dawned on the Huntsman, this wasn't a proposition, this was an order. If he didn't submit, he would die. "I've almost forgotten," said Ravenna, ending the tense silence. "If you do this for me, I can give you something, that no gold can buy." Eric knew where this was leading. "I can find Sara for you, your wife."
"And why should I trust you?" He grumbled. He knew her words were too good to be true, yet he saw a glimpse of hope muddled in all of his misery.
"You can't," She exclaimed. "But if you yearn for her as much as I can feel in your soul, then you will do this, you will see your love once again." The Huntsman yielded. The opportunity was to grand to refuse and the hunt would be easy. What's one prisoner's life when he has the chance to be with his wife once again, he thought.
"I'll leave in the morning," he declared.