Disclaimer: I do not own any fairy tales or most of these OCs, I only own the OCs that I have created.
"Hey Sylvain, can you hand me that chisel please?" Princess Eira held out her hand as she sat in front of the enormous piece of ice before her, waiting for her step-brother to comply with her wishes.
The twenty year old prince tossed his perfect dark-blond curls and asked, "Which chisel? There are so many…"
"That one with the four points," Eira answered without looking, narrowing her eyes at her sculpture in progress.
"Oh, okay." Seeing the desired tool, Sylvain picked it up and laid it in his step-sister's palm. "There you go."
"Thank you, sir." Eira said absentmindedly as she waved her hand, causing the snow falling around her to fall a bit harder.
"Eira, why do you always have to make it so cold when you work?" Sylvain complained as the dark haired girl picked up a small mallet and began to chisel away at the hunk of ice.
"Because ice melts when it's warm, duh!" She answered distractedly, biting her lip as she worked.
"I know, but… it's so cold!" The young man insisted.
Eira sighed, "Well then, if you're so unhappy about it, my dear brother, you may occupy yourself elsewhere and let me work in my little cold environment."
"Fine…" Sylvain stood up, stretching. His rather intimidating frame loomed over the girl seated on the ground, casting a shadow.
"Excuse me, Mr. Super-Tall, could you please move? You're in my light," Eira complained, gaze still fixed on her work.
"Oh, um, right. Sorry." Sylvain turned and left the princess's parlor, suddenly bored out of his mind. Deciding to go for a stroll through the town square, he set off down the corridor, lost deep in thought. He was so consumed by his musings that he didn't notice the ethereal blue glow coming from his mother's room, shining out under the door.
"Mirror mirror, on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?" A dark haired woman stood before the full length mirror on her wall as she chanted, her grey-green eyes shining.
A blue light, like a hot flame, slowly shone from the mirror, and a graceful young-appearing man stepped from it, his long veil slightly obscuring his attractive features. High cheekbones set in childish cheeks drew you to look at his slightly sunken teardrop-shaped eyes, and he had a strong jawline, with small, lush lips. His eyes glowed blue, like flames, and his hair was pure white, floating as if he were under water. He wasn't overly tall, and had a slender, athletic build. He glowed slightly blue as he exited the mirror, his veil floating slightly around him as if he were submerged in water. His legs were difficult to see, but covered in dark breeches, leaving his feet and torso bare. He had a ghostly appearance overall, and moved very gracefully.
"You summoned me, your majesty?" A soft, melodic voice spoke from behind the shroud, the vision stopping before the woman, hands folded politely behind his back.
"Indeed I did, Israfel," Queen Lune Yevlana of the Reflection Sector said primly to the mirror spirit. "I have a question for you."
"Is it the usual one?" He asked in his smooth, pleasant tone.
"Shush, let me finish!" The queen snapped, crossing her arms.
"Oh course, your majesty." Israfel bowed his head, waiting for his queen and master's request.
"Good." Tucking a stray black hair into her updo vainly, Lune wandered to seat herself on a plush sofa, motioning for him to stand before her. Israfel obediently complied, moving lithely to wait for her.
"Now," Lune began, examining her fingernails, "Who is the fairest in all the land?"
Israfel's fiery eyes blazed brighter for a fraction of a second, and then he said, "The fairest in all the land is still the one they call the Snow White maiden, your step-daughter, Princess Eira."
"Argh!" Lune stood and stomped her feet on the floor childishly, crossing her arms angrily. "How dare that girl still be prettier than I!"
Israfel merely stood, silent, waiting for the queen's annoyance to pass. He saw the same thing, every day, and she always just resolved to work more dark magic to make herself more beautiful.
After several minutes of the queen ranting on and on, the quiet Israfel frowned. This wasn't the normal tantrum. Something was different. Something was off.
"Stupid girl… I wish she were dead!" Lune screamed violently, throwing a perfume bottle across the room.
Israfel jumped, startled. Lune could be bossy, and vain, but she loved children. While she grumbled about Eira's beauty constantly, he knew she cared about the girl. Not as much as her own pampered son, but still, she cared for her.
"Dead…?" Israfel inquired, stepping forward. "Your majesty, isn't that a bit rash?"
"Nonsense!" Lune shouted, hated seeping from her eyes. "I want her gone. Tell me, Israfel. Tell me how!"
"Your majesty, with all due respect," Israfel began, "I do not wish to advise you on such an irrational and violent matter, not pertaining to the benefit of the kingdom. Or even you yourself, my queen."
"You stubborn little mirror!" The queen's angered retort made the gentle Israfel flinch. "I know you like that current mirror. How would you like it if I shattered it and got a new one?!"
Israfel looked hurt at the mention of shattering a mirror, but stayed silent.
"Fine…" Lune rubbed her temples impatiently. "At least look into the future, and see what will happen if, say… I send my huntsman after her somehow."
Sighing softly, the obedient Israfel closed his eyes. "I see… you sending the huntsman with Eira into the forest. You have… instructed him to kill her, and bring you her heart."
"Yes, and?!" Lune interrupted eagerly.
"And… he succeeds in bringing you a heart."
"YES!" She screeched victoriously, "Thank you, Israfel!"
He simply nodded in response, "I obey your commands, master."
"Good, good, good!" The queen was beyond reasoning, and stumbled giddily about. "I need Felix in here! Israfel, you may return to your mirror."
Israfel bowed gracefully. "As you command, my queen." And with those words, he walked slowly back to the mirror, melting into it as the blue glow faded.
"Yes, yes, soon, I shall be rid of her!" Lune danced derangedly around the room. Far up on a hill overlooking the entirety of Pure Imagination, the sorceress Malorica smiled happily, as another plot point fell into place.
"Rumpelstiltskin? Are you sure?" Preston asked seriously, frowning at the two panting Merry Men before him.
"Yeah, Eric says that's who it was!" Hugh gasped, terror written on every inch of his face.
"This is no small matter, Preston," Eric straightened gravely, crossing him arms. "When he comes around, it can't mean anything good."
Frowning, Preston said, "What's become of Mother Goose's protection spell over the grounds?"
Eric shrugged, "You think I know? Look, I'm no magic expert, but that wall is gone, and Rumpelstiltskin was here. He's dangerous, Preston." He gestured at Hugh, "Remember what you told me happened the last time he came around?"
Hugh took a step back, puzzled. "What? Eric? Preston, what does he mean?" The boy's big sea-green eyes welled with tears, "Preston?"
"That's not important at the moment, Hugh." Preston said, frowning at a tree, thinking hard. "Better prepare the men. You never know when he'll decide to cause trouble, or what that trouble means."
Footsteps could be heard leaving the building behind them, and a voice called out, "Preston! Where are you?"
"Over here, Chi." The man answered, his gaze not even flickering.
"Oh, thank goodness. I haven't been able to find you anywhere!" The girl trotted over to the group, slowing once she saw the grim expressions on their faces. "What's wrong? Preston?"
Preston turned abruptly to her and said, "We're on the watch for Rumpelstiltskin until further notice. Take Hugh and go gather any Merry Men that aren't here and bring them back."
Chihara nodded, "Alright, will do! C'mon, Hugh." She held her hand out gently for the boy, but he was staring up at Preston.
"Preston?"
"Yes, Hugh?" The man's patience was wearing thin, but he returned the boy's gaze and stood, waiting for him to speak.
"...Did Rumpelstiltskin kill my parents?"
Running his hand through his hair with a sigh, Preston said, "This is not the time, Hugh." And with that, he spun on his heel and left.
"Come along, Hugh. It's best not to bother him when he gets like that," Chi advised.
"Okay…" Unhappily, the boy slipped his hand into Chi's and the two set off to gather any wandering Merry Men.
"Rumpelstiltskin…" Eric murmured musingly. "Too bad he's not much of an alliance person. Bet he'd pay well."
"Vanilla!" The shriek rang out into the nearly empty street, causing a sixteen year old girl walking down it to snap her head up panickedly.
"Oh no." Her whisper was hard to hear, but it quivered with fear. Stumbling, she ran the remaining hundred feet to her house, panting in the doorway. "S-Sorry I'm late!"
Lorelei Lancaster's piercing green eyes snapped over to the door, and narrowed at the sight of her stepdaughter. "It's about time, young lady! You were to be home an hour ago, where WERE you?!"
Vanilla stumbled into the house and set the basket she'd been carrying down. "I was out buying fabric, like you asked."
"Tch." Lorelei obviously disliked the way the girl had said she'd only been obeying. "Well I didn't tell you to take all day, did I?! We're going to starve if you don't get to work on making our dinner!"
"Of course, I'm sorry." Vanilla bowed her head quietly, her long, chocolate-brown hair falling in sheets over her face.
"You better be." Lorelei snapped, then turned and swept towards the stairs. "I expect my dinner in exactly an hour, not any earlier and certainly not later!"
"Y-Yes ma'am." Vanilla nodded and hurried to the kitchen, grabbing up the heavy basket on her way there. Never did she complain, never did she rebel. Vanilla Xavier was at the mercy of her stepmother, who, unfortunately for her, had no such thing as mercy. Every day, she slaved for her. Every day, she silently mourned the loss of her father. But, also every day, she would look up at the bright, puffy, golden clouds and smile, remembering that every cloud has a silver lining, and all bad situations can turn out for the better.
Hey guys... I have so many excuses I could make, and apologies to give, but I'm just not going to. I'm very sorry I have not updated this sooner, I was very busy with my musical (which is now over), and since it's been finished, I've had trouble typing. I haven't even written since mid-May. Until I did today, of course. :) Finished up this chapter. I sincerely apologize for my lack of interaction on this site, I just haven't been able to be on it all that much. And as for reading... I WILL TRY TO CATCH UP ON THE HUNDRED OR SO UPDATES I HAVE MISSED... sorry guys! T.T
Anyhoo, did you like the chapter? I really hope so. :) More important things to happen in the next chappie~ ;D I will put review replies and the OC disclaimer below. :) AND, and! I've decided to put up all the characters and exactly who they are on my profile, since it's easier than going back in all of these chapters. So look for that below the OC form, and it will be updated whenever new characters are introduced. :)
I do not own the following OCs, however I do have permission to use them:
Prince Sylvain Edgar Cassius Beau Romulus Edward Callum, he belongs to my twin sister, Angel Princess 31,
Lune Yevlana, she belongs to Moonlit Medley,
Israfel, he belongs to Nefertam,
and Lorelei Lancaster belongs to me.
Now, review replies! :D
johnmboutell: Thank you so much! :D Although Preston and his men's bit in here isn't so smiley. ;) But hopefully it was still enjoyable. :)
KuraiHaru17: Haru-chan~! :D Oh, no worries about being busy - I mean, look how long it's taken me to update! ;) I'm sosososososSOOOOO glad you like this story! :D See you aroung, Taffy! :)
Nefertam: Thanks! :D I hope you liked Israfel's debut~ :)
Princess Gakoshi: Yup, you were the first! :D Aw, I'd looooove another character from you~ :) I really hope you continue to enjoy this story, your reviews and support really mean so much to me! :D
KongFuBoo: You're welcome! :) ahaha, awesome! :D Lots of sisters are great. ;)
iamgoku: Phew, I'm so glad you liked it! :D And the characters with their stories will be on my profile, thank you so much for replying about that. :) Ahaha, yeah, Eric has every right to fear him. As does everyone else. Hehehe. ;) Well, he miiiight have been teasin' Ivory, just a tad. ;) :P Messing with her and her little prisoner, heehee. :3 Awesome! Sorry I haven't read it lately, but I honestly haven't been reading much of anything lately. Not even my twin sister's fics, who recently joined the site. I'm such a terrible person... T.T Anyhoo, yeah! I'm glad you liked Rumpel! :D
Grimdark Terezi: YAY! :D *dances* Although my little brother busted my 3DS... I may replace it with one of the new ones when Black Friday comes around. If I can wait that long. ;) I'm glad you liked Chi! :D She's so cuuuuteee~ :3 I hope you liked her in this chapter, too! :)
NightStryke: Yay! I'm glad you liked it, Stryke! :D Sorry no Rapunzel in this chappie, but I'm sure the next one will make up for it. *evil chuckle* ;) :)
And with that, I'm going to sign off. TTFN, Ta-Ta For Now, and please don't forget to review with your thoughts, good or otherwise~! :D bye-bye~
~Swaggy-chan