'Snow!' She heard her father call to her from the house and grasped tight the flowers in her hand as she made her way to him. He had told her a week ago that today was to be a very important day, but she hadn't had a clue why. Perhaps now she would find out.
'Father,' she called back and raced into his arms when he held them out and presented him with the flowers she had picked, she smiled wide and happily until she saw the woman standing outside the open front door. Mrs James, her mother's personal assistant, the woman now in charge of the company until Snow grew, stood there at the door and the daughter's eyes narrowed as she thought about all of the money the woman had taken from the company in the "interest" of the business. Snow didn't know why travelling all around the world and buying expensive clothes for oneself was beneficial for the entire company, and found herself suspicious of the woman.
'Ah there is my daughter, Snow I'd like you to meet Miss James, she is now your new mother, and my wife,' her father informed her and Snow looked up at him betrayed. Mother had only just died a year ago and he was already replacing her? Why would he do that? Did he not love mother the way she had loved him? What was this woman of all women doing at their house, marrying her father and trying to replace her mother?
'No, no this isn't fair!' Snow exclaimed and stomped her little foot, her black hair flying in disarray with her anger, her pale skin flushing red with her rage. She would not allow this woman to replace her mother, at least not to her. Her father could do whatever the hell he wanted, but she would keep alive the memory of her mother, even if he had buried it the day they'd buried her.
'Snow, please,' her father insisted between gritted teeth but she only shook her head, could he not see why she was so upset? Why she was so distraught? He hadn't even informed her that he was dating a woman, let alone married to one! Didn't she have a say in anything? Was she not a part of a family that spoke to each other about everything and made their minds up together instead of apart?
'No, it is okay Daniel, I completely understand. I'm sorry I didn't want to tell her yet, that I wanted it to be a surprise. Maybe if we had told her then she would have had a chance to get her head around it.' The stick thin blonde, with her hideously made up eyes, spoke and all Snow could think was: that woman is wearing the wrong shade of lipstick. My mother would never have worn the wrong shade of lipstick. Snow would not accept any new mother, but if she had been able to she would have accepted only the one who used the right amount of make-up and the right shade of lipstick. If father was going for a new wife, a new mother surely he should have picked one that reminded him of his wife.
'You are not my mother,' Snow informed the woman and spat on her shoes, the manliest thing she had ever done, but she would not treat this woman as the lady that she was. 'You are a witch, you're evil, and how dare you try to replace my mother!' she screamed and stormed up the stairs and threw herself upon her bed.
And as she cried into her pillow, she heard the adult voices downstairs conversing about her and she screamed loud into her pillow. What would her father replace next? Her, maybe? Maybe he wanted another child and thought that if he remarried he could have that. Maybe he did it for her, maybe he did it for himself, but she was fine as an only child, she didn't want any siblings. She just wanted…mother.
'Knock, knock,' came a soft female voice at the door and Snow turned over to evil her new stepmother. Could she not be allowed peace and quiet even in her own room? She wondered as she opened her mouth to speak.
'What do you want?'
'Well I came to apologise Snow. I know I may seem a little bit insensitive taking up the offer to marry your father so shortly after your mother's death, but,' here the new stepmother leant against the door frame. 'We're in love Snow. You might not understand just now, but when you fall in love you do things on a whim, you can become increasingly spontaneous as well as romantic. You'll find out one day, when you're old enough,' the woman spoke but Snow could not believe a word from her mouth. Snow didn't like this woman very much so perhaps her hatred was colouring her biased view.
'Don't call me by that name,' Snow snapped. She would not have this woman, this despicable and evil witch call her by the same name that her mother had. This woman did not have the right; she would not be given the right either.
'What shall I call you then?' The woman asked and Snow shrugged.
'How about you use my full name instead of just my first name?' Snow was born on a Christmas when it actually had been white and her mother had named her after the first thing she had seen. Hence Snow White.
'Okay then Snow White. Now I'll go ask the cook to make something special shall I, what would you like?' the woman asked and it was clear that Miss. James, Snow would not call her mother or even give her the same title her mother had, was not going to be the hands-on type of mother.
'I'd like my mother back and you out of my life if that's okay by you,' Snow snapped and turned back over in her bed and went to sleep.