Disclaimer: I do not own The 10th Kingdom; this is merely a fanfiction.
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"Just one bite … and all my powers will be yours!"
Virginia raised the red apple to her lips. It was time. All or nothing. For Fen.
Her teeth pressed down into the skin -.
"VIRGINIA!"
The voice echoed through her skull, coursing down through her body into her heart, as though it were lightning. It was … familiar? And comforting. And angry. And full of sadness all at the same time. She pulled the apple away from her lips.
The corpse of the Swamp Witch hissed as though it had been burned.
Virginia stared down at the apple. It was rotting in her hand, turning brown, then black. Then it turned into a pile of mush in her hand before dripping down onto the floor in a pile of goop.
She had not taken a bite.
The voice spoke again, louder this time, calling out her name. Her vision was swimming, the room was spinning, the surroundings were blending together, the Swamp Witch was screaming in fury -.
Virginia found herself on all fours. She was no longer in the cellar of the Swamp Witch. She stood up. She was surrounded on all sides by white … was it snow?
She took a furtive step forward. As she did, the ground appeared to change with her step. Stone floors appeared. Castle walls with beautiful flora and fauna hanging from the ceilings and columns sprouted up from the ground like dandelions. Golden rays of sunlight beamed through a thatched roof, warming her completely.
She was in a garden within a courtyard of a castle. And in the center of the garden – a well. She walked over to it, drawn to it. She reached the edge and peered down – she saw her own reflection – tired and worn …
"Find what you're looking for in the Wishing Well?"
Virginia spun around to face the voice that spoke with her. Coming around a column, lips red as blood, cheeks white as snow, was -.
"Snow White!" Virginia's jaw lay open as the Princess smiled at her. "I – what are you – how?"
"I told you – I'm into making the occasional fairy godmother type appearances every now and then." Snow White's smile was warm and kind. "Oh – and I haven't come alone. This time I have a whole posse of Princesses!"
Virginia stood in amazement as other figures appeared from behind columns, joining Snow White. Sleeping Beauty yawned and stretched. Gretel the Great appeared in a green dress and white apron. Red Riding Hood the 1stpulled back her red hood, revealing golden pigtails.
"Cinderella would join us," Snow White beamed. "But she's not likely to die anytime too soon." She leaned forward and whispered. "She has a few more rounds of magical dermabrasion to go before she'll let herself die." She winked.
"How is this happening?" Virginia was quite shocked to see all these classic fairy tale princesses that she had only heard about in storybooks as a little girl now standing before her.
"You summoned us!" Snow White answered. "When you cried for help!"
"I … I didn't cry for help -."
"You were about to eat a rotting apple from a corpse's hand," Snow White admonished. "In my book, that's a cry for help." Virginia herself blushed red from how simple and absurd the princess made the scenario sound.
"I mean, when you put it like that -."
Snow White spread her arms out, grasping Virginia's hands in her own, warming them with her kindness. "Oh Virginia, Virginia – what are you doing? You were free from the forest! You had found your way out – only to make a turnaround and get yourself lost again!"
Virginia lowered her gaze. "I … I have no choice …"
"There is always a choice," Gretel advised.
"But what other way is there? Than to become the Snow Queen?"
Snow White gave a look that said all too well – really? "You think that evil can overcome evil?"
"Well … I -."
"Oh Virginia – don't you see? You're doing everything she wants! She wants you to give up! She wants you to surrender to your darkest impulses! She wants you to become her! That's her goal – if you become her, her existence is secured. Forever. And then say you defeat her. What then? You'll have become her – but your heart will be frozen. Oh, Virginia – you're still so cold! You're cold! You let yourself become this way – but that doesn't mean you can't still let warmth flow through you."
"But then how can I save Fen -?"
"Say you become the Snow Queen." Snow White's voice was plain and matter of fact. "Say you freeze your heart – will you still care about Fen? Will you still care about your loved ones?"
Virginia looked away. "My Dad asked me the same thing …"
"Your father is wiser than you realize," Snow White said. "Listen to him sometimes. Between the nonsense that comes out of his mouth, he has a lot of good insights into the world and people."
Snow White sat down at the edge of the well and patted its side for Virginia to join her. The other Princesses sat down on the warm grass, relaxing, bathing in the rays of light shining down on them. Snow White picked up a pebble and dropped it into the well. She smiled at the sound of it hitting the water. "I used to play by this well when I was child. Have you guessed where we are?"
Virginia took in her surroundings. "Your palace. In the Fourth Kingdom."
"That's right. My stepmother – you know, the corpse that you almost ate an apple from … and again, I say really? – used to watch me play from right there, up in that very window." Virginia followed Snow White's finger to a dark window from the tallest spire. "As I grew more and more beautiful, she grew more and more envious. I had no idea that the jealousy and evil in her was only festering. I was a child! A little girl! How could have I known? I told you the story when we last met. She tried to kill me … but did I let that change me? Did I let myself fall into despair and wickedness?"
"But this is different -."
Snow White cut her off and inclined her head to Sleeping Beauty, who smiled from her reclined position on the grass. "I was pricked by a spindle set up by who I thought was a kindly old woman," Sleeping Beauty said.
Gretel leaned forward. "I and my brother were almost eaten alive by who we thought was a kindly old woman."
"I was almost eaten up by a wolf disguised as my grandmama," Red Riding Hood added.
Snow White turned her gaze back to Virginia. "And what is the common theme here – in all of our stories?"
"I guess that … evil … comes in disguise," Virginia said slowly.
Snow White nodded. "The Devil doesn't have red tights horns, Virginia. He doesn't wield a pitchfork and ask you to come to Hell with him. He comes as an angel of light. He appears benign, innocent – and asks you to come to Heaven with him. Evil deceives – that's its nature. It promises power, it promises to conquer your enemies – but it's lying. It doesn't have that power. It can only destroy, not save …"
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~0~
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But Virginia shook her head. "You don't understand though – I'm not powerful enough -."
"No." It was one simple word from Snow White that silenced her. The Princess stared hard at her. "Virginia, Virginia – you've forgotten everything I tried to teach the last time you came to the Nine Kingdoms. How quickly you've forgotten! You came out of the forest and got yourself lost in it again! You've forgotten yourself … You asked your mother, before she died, to just remember who she was. But now – now the time has come for us to ask you to do the same – just remember who you are!"
"And don't you dare say you're nobody," Riding Hood warned.
"But it's not that easy. Fen -."
"Will grow up perfectly fine with a loving mother," Gretel interrupted.
"What will Fen think of you if you become the Snow Queen?" Snow White asked.
"Does it matter?" Virginia asked. "He'll be alive!"
"Will he?" Snow White waved her hand. Their surroundings morphed, turned into cold ice and frost. Virginia saw herself standing in front of the Devil's Mirror, turning into the Snow Queen. "When you become the Snow Queen, the only thing you'll be consumed with is power and self-preservation. Self. Only self. You will step back through time and eternity through the Devil's Mirror into the past to destroy Fen – to destroy yourself. You will do everything you can to ensure that your past self becomes the Snow Queen in order to preserve yourself. And if you have to harm Fen to preserve your existence – so be it!"
"I would never -."
"Your future self said the same thing," Snow White warned. "That is the insidious nature of evil. You always start out with good intentions. You always think you're doing the right thing. You convince yourself the ends justify the means. So, you do some unsavory things – all for the right reasons. But with time and more wickedness – your heart becomes hardened. Finally – the ends are all that is important. And finally … you forget the ends completely."
Virginia was nearly in tears. "I'm not strong enough to defeat my future self. I don't have any powers, I can't stop the Snow Queen -."
"Will you stop attacking yourself?!" Snow White demanded. "I don't know where you got it into your head that there's something wrong with you, because there isn't!"
They were back in the courtyard, sitting on the well. Virginia was staring at her knees. "But the Snow Queen still exists!"
"Yes," Snow White agreed.
"So that means – no matter what you say – somehow, someway – I'll still become her! It's still set in stone!"
Snow White again took Virginia's hands in her own and stared into her eyes. "You alone are responsible for the path you choose right now. In life – there comes a point where everyone will stand before two doors. One will lead to life, fruitfulness, love, peace, joy – the other will lead to destruction, death and decay. You will stand before those two doors very soon. Forget the past – yesterday is a memory. Today is a gift. Tomorrow is a choice. Even when things seem hopeless, there is always another path that can be taken …"
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~0~
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But Virginia still wanted to find a way to doubt herself, to doubt her abilities.
"But what if I can't stop her as I am … ?"
"Has that ever stopped you before?" Sleeping Beauty asked.
"I -."
"What about when the three trolls came to New York to capture Wendell when he was trapped in the dog's body?" Snow White asked. "You didn't seem to worry about your abilities then – you acted. Don't think – become."
"When you freed those poor birds from the gypsies – what motivated you?" Riding Hood asked.
"I wanted to save them -."
"Did you think about your strength, if you could take on the gypsies if you were caught?"
"No."
"Why?"
"Because – all I could think was those poor birds needed help and I was the only one who could -."
"And what about when you took part in the Shepherdess contest?" Gretel queried. "You had no experience with sheep at all – yet you boldly entered to win the mirror. Or when Wolf was put on trial for the murder of Sally Peep – you boldly asserted yourself as his advocate."
Snow White caressed the back of Virginia's hands. "And when you faced your Mother. You didn't worry about your strength. You didn't worry about whether you could stop her. All you wanted was to help her. Why?"
"Because I loved her."
Snow White beamed. "Exactly. It is that power that will help you. That power that will destroy the Snow Queen and stop you from becoming her. It is that power that will fight for Fen, fight to save Wolf! Because you still have what the Snow Queen so willingly gave up – her soul. That will save you – not condemn you."
Snow White stood up, lovingly pulling Virginia up to her feet. "It is time. No more buts. No more excuses. Remember what I told you last time – the time has come for you to see and be seen. The time has come for you to rise up, to step out of the forest and never set foot in it again! The time has come for you – like us – to become a Queen! You are no longer that helpless girl from New York – anymore than I was the little girl in the forest pleading for the huntsman to spare her. I grew up – I became a Queen, as did all these others. We defeated the original Snow Queen – and you will defeat this new one."
Sleeping Beauty, Gretel and Riding Hood stood up, encircling Virginia and Snow White.
"Gaze on us," Snow White said. "The final battle is yours and yours alone – but you may gain some strength from our memories. You cannot escape your destiny. You will face the Snow Queen one final time. And you will not do it as another Snow Queen – you will do it as Virginia Lewis, Savior of the Nine Realms!"
Snow White leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. Her lips left a loving white mark. The Fairest of Them All leaned forward and whispered. "Do you still have it? The gift from Gerda's Grandmother?"
Virginia reached into her pocket and pulled out a vial – the vial containing the last tear of Gerda.
Snow White beamed. "There is more power behind that single tear than you realize. What it is – what it represents. Use it wisely."
"But how will I –?"
"You will know. The time will present itself. You will know how to use it – and whom to use it for. Not all who have faded are vanished."
The Princesses wrapped their arms around Virginia, encircling her, inspiring her. She nestled against Snow White's chest, enjoying the warmth of her love, overwhelmed by all of their compassion and forgiveness …
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Virginia woke up in the Swamp Witch's cellar. The rotten apple had been reduced to a puddle at her feet. She stared at the deep cut in her hand – to her amazement, the bleeding stanched, and the sliced flesh suddenly bound itself up. No more pain. She flexed her fingers in wonder.
"I was right … you are nothing!" The Swamp Witch's decayed lips were peeled back in a grimace of disgust.
Virginia stood, staring down at the corpse, returning the same expression of revulsion. "No. YOU are the one who is nothing! You, who destroyed my mother, who tried murder Snow White – an innocent girl who never wronged you! A child? Because you weren't woman enough to wait for her to grow up and confront her as an adult!"
"You will be silent!"
"NO! I will not be silent ever again!" She grabbed the wrists – the Swamp Witch gasped, air rising in her trachea. "You, who thought you had all the power in your Mirrors – this is where your vanity and power got you! A rotting corpse in a swamp!"
"I said SILENCE!"
The corpse was writhing now, twisting. It tried to sit up, screeching from the empty air holes that was once its throat.
Virginia stared back with righteous fury, tightly holding the skinny wrists, the paper-like skin coming off in her hands. "This is what you were are all along! A corpse! A hag! And what your soul looks like on the inside, is what you are now on the outside!"
The Swamp Witch was writhing, screeching. Her bony hand lashed out, grabbing Virginia's throat. "I'll crush your throat as the corset crushed Snow White's ribs!" Virginia gasped at the sudden surge of strength from the Swamp Witch's fingers – now ironlike around her neck. She gagged, gasping for air.
Something shiny gleamed from the floor – the dagger! Summoning her strength, Virginia kicked it up into the air, grabbed it with her free hand, and embedded it deep into the chest cavity of the Swamp Witch.
A gasp issued from the corpse's throat as her bony fingers detached from Virginia's neck and her body slowly creaked backwards, finally lying still on the bier, the blade jutting out from her chest. Black tar-like blood bubbled up from it.
Virginia stared down at the corpse in utter disgust. "You are the Most Repulsive of Them All. And you can stay here and continue to rot for all eternity." She turned and, head held high, walked out of the cellar.
The paper skin on the Swamp Witch's face thinned like a mask … leaving only a skeletal head in its place as a final gasp issued from the remains of Snow White's Wicked Stepmother, her fingers slowly tightening and curling on her chest like a spider's legs when it finally dies …
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~0~
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Tony was up to his chin in the pond. His sinking into the muck was accelerating. He tried to raise his head, to keep his mouth above the rancid pudding. "Prince! Leone! Anyone?! Hello!"
He sunk down – he tried to tilt his head up, but the mucky substance was quickly becoming like tar. Strands of it stuck to the back of his neck and to the bottom of his chin, trying to pull him under.
"Dad?! DAD?!"
Tony's eyes perked open. "Virginia!"
"Dad? Where are you?!"
"Over here! I seem to be … uh … doomed!"
"Dad – okay, hold still!" Virginia appeared at the edge of the pond. She held out her hand. "Can you reach?"
Tony shook his head as far as he could. "No – my arms are stuck in this gunk – I can't lift them! Leone and Prince are off somewhere!"
"Where's Fen?" she asked instantly.
"Leone has him – he's safe. Wish I could say the same for me!"
Virginia reached out, grasping the sides of Tony's head and tugged hard. Tony yowled. "Ow, ow, ow – you're straining my neck! What – you trying to pull my head off like a jack-in-the box?"
Virginia fell backwards onto the grass. "Okay – let's not panic."
"Easy for you to say!" Tony's head yelled.
"Tony!" Behind her, Leone rushed up, Fen hanging over his shoulder and cooing. Prince bounded to the edge of the pond and pawed at it. Leone held up a long vine. "I found this -."
"Oh, let me guess." Tony's voice was filled with sarcasm. "You found a cobra this time? Or maybe a poisonous viper?"
"He can't lift his arms," Virginia told Leone. "He can't grab."
Prince whined.
Virginia sat there, staring at her father's face which was quickly beginning to sink even further. "Don't think … become …"
Virginia stood up instantly. "Tie that around my waist," she ordered Leone.
"I think I know what you're planning," he replied as he chuckled. He wrapped the vine around her waist and tied it, creating a double knot. He yanked on it to make sure it was secure around her. He gave her a thumbs up. Nodding, Virginia stepped into the muck.
A hiss issued from the pond's surface in response.
Virginia reached Tony – she was hip-deep. She squatted in the muck, her arms wrapping around Tony's waist. "I got him!" she yelled back to the shoreline.
On the shore, Leone gripped the end of the vine tightly and pulled. And pulled.
"You're too heavy!"
Virginia shot him a stink-eye glare.
"He's too heavy!" Leone corrected himself. "Wow, those trolls were right to call him 'Fat One.'" He whistled to the Labrador retriever. "Come on, boy!" Prince gripped the end of the vine with his teeth and pulled, rearing back on his haunches.
"I think I'm getting him -." Virginia said. She could feel Tony loosening. "Keep pulling!"
Tony's jaw rose above the surface … then his shoulders.
"Pull!"
Leone and Prince worked in harmony, tugging and pulling. Leone placed a hand on the rope in front of the other and tugged. Then repeated. Tugged. And repeated. Slowly – ever so slowly – Tony and Virginia were pulled up out of the muck and onto the shore of the pond. Tony grimaced and as he wiped the now liquifying muck off his clothes. "Meh – I've been covered in worse."
"You okay, Dad?" Virginia breathed.
Tony felt his back and chest. "Yeah – yeah, I think so. Everything appears to be where it should be – well, for my age at least."
Virginia was instantly on her feet. She reached over Leone's shoulders and grasped Fen, pulling him out of the swaddling and holding her close to her chest. The baby gurgled and cooed, his little hands flailing. Virginia kissed him on the forehead. "Mommy's back, Fen. Mommy's back from the edge of the forest …"
There were three green sparkles which flew between the trees and encircled them. The three green fairies appeared on a tree stump giggling. Tony's lip curled into a sneer. "And what do you want?"
"Oh, we forgot to warn you about one thing," the blonde one admitted, hands in front her bashfully.
"Yes," the dark-haired one warned, wagging her finger. "whatever you do – you mustn't fall into the pond because you'll never come out again!"
Tony's face grew red as he gesticulated wildly, still covered in muck. "You forgot? You forgot?! It's a bit late for that!"
Virginia chuckled as Tony read the fairies the riot act, his arms waving, the muck covering him bringing to mind an outraged orangutan she once saw at a zoo. She smiled as she drew Fen closer to her chest and planted one more kiss on his forehead …
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"We're finally outta that blasted Swamp!" Tony could now understand Wolf's need to bound and run. He felt he could do the same – well, maybe not at his age.
Virginia strolled past him, humming, Fen slung across the front of her chest in a swaddle. Leone and Prince picked up the rear.
Tony could sense the change in his daughter. "You seem happy," he mentioned as he caught up with her.
"Hmm?" she asked, not quite paying attention.
"Something different – did you meet the Swamp Witch?"
"Yeah … I did …"
"You didn't … "
"No. I didn't follow in Mom's footsteps. I'm still me."
"Oh. Well good. I'm glad to see you smile again. You should do it more often."
Virginia stuck her tongue out jokingly, before she planted a quick kiss on her father's cheek. He smiled. "What was that for?"
"It was just … thanks for trying to talk some sense into me … I came very close to making a really, really big mistake." She picked up the speed, a bounce in her step.
Leone called up to her. "So – what now then?"
Virginia stared forward in determination. "We still go through with the plan with the trolls. They're marshaling their forces on the borders of the Fourth Kingdom." She picked up her pace, her face steeled for what was to come. "We're going after Wallace first … and then he'll lead us right to the Snow Queen … then we finish this – once and for all."
