Many people considered their princess Snow to be an overall cheerful and positive young child. A bit naïve, but a very sweet kid. She lived for happiness, whether it was for her or to cheer up others that were around her. It was rare for anyone not to see her endless smile. Today was not a normal day.
She wore a gray mourning dress, a black headband and black flats. The servants and some close visiting royals and nobles noticeably could see her sad eyes and gloomy frown. It was strange for them, yet at the same time not surprising considering the situation.
Beside her was her devoted childhood nurse Gerda. She had her hand on Snow's shoulder and kept glancing at her to see if she was okay. Gerda told her few hours ago that she would have plenty of time to cry tonight. But, until then it was her duty as a princess to stay strong in public throughout the day. Snow was fighting to do just that but it seemed almost impossible. She decided that the one good thing about today was that it was a gloomy day which seems appropriate.
Everybody went inside the royal's private chapel which was doubled as a wake room today and took their seat. In front of the room was an open casket. Only two people stood in front of the casket, they were the kingdom's priest and Grimhilde, the king's new wife. Unlike everybody else who was either secretly sadden or sympathetic to the event, Grimhilde was very emotionless and calm. Nobody found this odd for she was now in charge of an entire kingdom and a stepdaughter until Snow reached full age and married. The visiting royals and nobles suddenly found themselves sympathizing for her. She has so much responsibly and expectations now. Of course, she may not be the warmest person but surely she couldn't be all that bad if she was willing to be a stepmother to a young motherless child. Perhaps they judged her too quickly. Poor dear must be in deep pain due to losing her husband so soon after being married for only one year. The fate of the kingdom and her stepdaughter were now in her hands.
Grimhilde didn't speak much. She just welcomed their guests to her home and thanked them for coming at such a short notice. She then signaled the old priest by giving him a small nod before taking her seat at the empty chair that was in front of her.
The priest said that the world lost a great man, comparing him to the biblical Noah, Josiah and Daniel. Then he invited few of the king's closest allies to come to the front of the room to speak few words. They all basically said the same thing. The good king had been a quiet but thoughtful man, a good friend and a devoted father. The kingdom was lucky to have him as a king and he will be remembered.
Then the priest read few scriptures from the bible that related to bravery, inner strength and going to the afterlife. The scriptures were Snow's favorite part that day. After the priest was finished, a castle maid quickly but quietly handed all of the royals and nobles in the room a rose. Everybody went in order to the casket to throw their rose into the casket and to pay their final thoughts to the deceased man.
When it was Snow's turn, she was very hesitant to step forward to the casket. It was only due to the gentle smile of the old priest and a small push from Gerda that she finally did. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw her father's lifeless body. It had been two weeks now and the situation still felt surreal. For majority of her life it was just the two of them since her mother passed away shortly after childbirth, eight years ago. While her father was busy running his kingdom and she was busy doing her princess' lessons the two always found time to spent with each other.
They bird watched, looked at the stars, played many chess games and went horse-back riding together. Recently, her tutors had added flute lessons alongside with reading, writing, arithmetic, the art of etiquette, and singing. As a result, she enjoyed showing her progress of playing the flute to her father. However, her most favorite activity was him reading the bible to her every night before bed and them discussing the meaning of it. Papa had once told her that they do this to be closer to the good Lord and mama.
Until now, it never occurred to Snow how much he missed mama. But then again, nobody expected him to die so soon. He was still healthy, at least physically, just earlier this month. Even the royal's physician couldn't understand the sudden change. But, he was expected to know such things, so he just chalked it up to the king eating bad food.
The past two weeks have been something of a blur. The world doesn't stops just because of one man, especially if you're running a kingdom. The servants have been busy informing the citizens of the news and preparing the castle for important guests. Meanwhile, the royal council was busy in ensuring that all of their allies were invited and would arrive quickly and safely. Even Grimhilde barely paid much mind to Snow. She was much more focused on having the finest clothes for the funeral and bossing the servants around. She was very particular on how she wanted things to be set up for the funeral. Snow understood that it was a crazy period of time in their lives. But, was it really too much to ask to have anybody else besides Gerda ask her how she was doing? Then again, she supposed that maybe part of the problem was that they didn't quite know what to say.
Well, this was going to be her final moment with papa in this world, so her final words better be special. It suddenly occurred to her that papa and mama could be watching her right now. She didn't want either of them to feel guilty for leaving her so soon. So, she tossed her rose in the casket, leaned into papa's ear and whispered "You enjoy your time with mama. Don't worry about me. I'll be just fine. I'll find a way to move forward and find my place in this world without you."
She then turned around and headed back to her seat, even doing a little skip. It was strange, but suddenly she not only felt stronger but also was at complete peace. This was the first time she felt this way since this horrid event started. She didn't know where life was going to take her next, but she felt that as long as she felt God's and her parents' love and guidance she would be fine. Beside, maybe this event would allow her and Grimhilde to be closer with each other? There always been a bit of a distance between them. Snow never had a mother before so it felt awkward for her sharing papa. But then again, maybe it had been a struggle for Grimhilde as well adjusting to suddenly having a daughter in her life. Well, Snow vowed that after papa's casket was buried and the guests left tomorrow, she would make the first real step in becoming best friends with her stepmother. Maybe they would eventually play chess together?
As it turned out, being friends was not meant to be. Grimhilde turned out to be a tyrant who terrified her citizens and servants. Not only did the kingdom suffered financially but also in morale. The people were in constant fear whether if they would have a roof over their heads, have enough food and even if they would live. Also, Snow White's princess lessons were canceled, she was moved out of her bedroom to the servants' quarters and made into a maid. In other words, the kingdom was no longer like how it used to be.
However, as bad as it was, Snow White herself never broke. She remained cheerful with a strong belief that things would get better eventually, no matter how bleak things might be. While they didn't fully understand how Snow could uphold all of this in grace, her kind nature couldn't help but leave an impact on her people. They were left with some hope and the desired to protect her. They tried to keep her safe in their own small way from the Evil Queen. To them, she was an innocent lamb that needed to be protected.
