Finished at last.
Mar. 17th, 2004 11:40 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
maderrMy Official Approver has declared this story done. For ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
suyari, I hope you like it.
"Mirror, Mirror
On the Wall
Who's the fairest
Of them all?"
"Your beauty, Queen
Is quite grand.
But Snow White
Is fairest in the land"
"Snow White? Who in the world is this Snow White?" The Queen stared darkly into her magic mirror, lost in thought. "I know of no one by such a name, such beauty as to rival my own would not go unnoticed in this kingdom." Abruptly she turned away, heavy, ornate robes dragging across the stone floor as she called for a servant.
Seconds later her steward quietly but hurriedly entered the Queen's chamber. "Your Majesty? May I assist you in some way?"
"Yes. I want to know who Snow White is. You will find her for me."
The steward stared at her, confusion flickering across his face. "Snow White, Majesty?"
"Yes," the Queen snapped, "Is that a problem?"
"Why, not all your Majesty. It's only…Snow White is the new hunter I've hired since Grimm was killed yesterday in the boar hunt. I was set to introduce him to you tomorrow morning in the court session. He's only recently arrived."
"Oh. Very well then. You may go."
"Yes, Majesty." Bowing, the steward then turned and departed.
Expression furious the Queen moved slowly across the room, arms folded, long nails tapping restlessly against them. She stared moodily out the high window of her tower bedroom, down at the courtyard below.
Her head jerked up at the sound of the door opening, and she opened her mouth to give a lashing to whoever had dared to interrupt her. The reprimand died in her throat at the smiling face of her lovely daughter, "Ah, Gwen. My darling, what brings you to your mother's room?"
"The steward said you were most upset about something, concerning the new hunter."
"Yes," the Queen frowned, "My Mirror states that he is more fair than I."
"What?" Gwen sounded scandalized, "That should not even be possible. He is handsome, but you are the most beautiful in the world Mother. As I shall be one day, after the crown has passed. The Mirror must be broken, no man could ever be more beautiful than us." So saying she went briskly to the mirror, but a moment later shrieked in anger at its reply. "That is not possible. No man is more beautiful than the Royal Jewels. I won't stand for this!" Her skirts swirled around her as she spun to face her mother, hands fisted tightly in the rich silk fabric. "What shall we do about this, mother?"
The Queen was gazing our her window, expression thoughtful. Slowly she turned back to regard her daughter, "You will go hunting, tomorrow."
"Me? Go hunting?" Gwen was horrified. "Mother, I've not been hunting in ages."
"Yes, you will go hunting." The Queen's voice was stern. "Make it clear you are flirting, want to spend time with him. No man can resist us. Take your arrows, and when his back is turned you will shoot him."
The anger in her daughter's eyes began to fade into eagerness, "That sounds like a worthwhile hunt. Would you like a souvenir, mother?"
"Yes, bring me his heart."
"How shall we explain his absence?"
"We shan't. You will come back early, and claim he ran off after a boar or some such. When he does not come back, that will be the end of it. Hunter's are often lost in these woods."
"Then wish me happy hunting for the morrow, mother."
"I do not know many princesses who care much for hunting." Snow White glanced at Gwen, who smiled sweetly back. "Does your mother mind that you spend your time in such a dangerous manner?"
"Oh no, don't be silly. Mother did it herself as a young woman. She thinks it's a fine way to take the air and escape the stuffiness of court. Besides, we're only hunting rabbit. 'Tis harmless enough, yes?" That sweet smile again, and she winked. "Besides, you're here with me. You're much younger and fitter than old Grimm. Won't you protect me from the more dangerous creatures?"
The hunter nodded, "Of course, Princess. 'Tis my duty. This way and stay close." He stepped up his pace, feet somehow soundless on the forest floor. Behind him Gwen frowned, aggravated that he seemed entirely unaffected by the red-gold curls and elegant features that sent all the men in the palace clamoring. But he was rather stunning himself she had to admit with a pout. Especially for a man that spent all his time in the woods.
His skin was as pale and white as she could wish her own was without the assistance of the tonics she took. As flawless as snow, such a contrast to his ebony hair, the long, thick strands pulled back in a neat tail. His eyes were nearly as dark, the midnight blue of an evening sky. Most stunning of all were his lips, the color of blood and already the envy of nearly every woman at court. All of him was the envy - and desire - of every woman that saw him. No doubt of several men as well. Yet here he was, in the middle of the forest searching for rabbits.
Lip curling in impatience and distaste, Gwen slowed to a halt and lifted her bow. Taking careful aim, she released the arrow.
But Snow White must have sensed something, or perhaps he wanted only to ensure the suddenly quiet princess was all right, because he turned just as the arrow flew and instead of his back and heart the arrow only lodged in his shoulder. He stumbled back in shock and pain - and vanished from sight down the side the hill they'd been walking along the edge of. The sound of him tumbling down amongst sticks and leaves - occasionally a tree - broke the calm chatter of the forest.
Gwen surged forward, nearly stumbling herself over the edge. She watched anxiously as he continued to tumble down the hill, finally coming to a stop at the bottom. She worried her bottom lip, debating whether or not to go after him. After a moment she shook her head and turned away. She would fetch the heart of an animal from the village, and present that to her mother. The hunter was surely dead, after a fall like that.
Groaning Snow White opened his eyes - and immediately shut them. Turning to his side he buried his head in a soft, soap-scented pillow. At that he tried again to open his eyes despite the painful light, blinking furiously until it grew steadily less painful. Finally able to see, he turned again to lay on his back and stared up at unfamiliar rafters.
"Oh, the lovely lad is at last awake." A soft, amused voice spoke.
A sharper one replied, "It's about time, too. Nary a scratch on him but still he sees fit to loaf around our house all day."
Slowly Snow White sat up, the blankets tumbling off his bare chest to pool in his lap. Ink-dark hair tumbled around his shoulders, and he lifted a hand to brush the strands from his face. He turned to face the speakers, but fell silent in shock.
Two little women sat beside his bed - he thought they were women, though they were only the size of small children. "Ah…thank you? My apologies?"
The first woman smiled, as soft and cheerful looking as her voice. "You are welcome. And there is no need to apologize, we were happy to help."
"So says you." The grouchier woman beside her said, thin features the opposite of the plump figure beside her. "We've enough to do around here without caring for a stray."
Snow White ducked his head, "My apologies again, madam. I had not planned on getting shot by the one whom accompanied me on a hunt. Is there any recompense I could make for causing you such an inconvenience?"
Both the women looked impressed, though the second one attempted to appear unaffected. The cheerful one spoke up, "Such pretty language from a humble hunter, my oh my."
"Hmph. You can do some hunting for us, that will be sufficient 'recompense.' We're not much for hunting, I'm sure you can guess why. Now if you'll pardon me, I've a supper to get on the table." With that the small, reed-thin woman turned sharply on one heel and descended a staircase.
The tiny, plump woman offered him another friendly smile. "You'll have to forgive Amaryllis, she's always awkward around guests."
"On, no. I can't imagine it's nice to have a bedridden stranger in one's home. I do appreciate the assistance."
"What's your name, lad? Here I've been chattering on and we've not even introduced ourselves. My name is Daisy; Amaryllis is the sister you just met. We have five others, but they are still out working."
"A pleasure to meet you, my name is Snow White." He attempted an awkward bow from where he sat in bed.
"The pleasure is mine, Snow White."
"Please, Snow is fine."
Daisy nodded, smile ever present. "Snow it is then. How are you feeling? I must say you've recovered quite nicely. When my sisters found you, there were scratches and cuts and bruises all over you. Quite a tumbled you took, not to mention the arrow…yet now there's nary a mark on you, barely even a scar where the arrow hit."
Ducking his head, Snow brushed his fingers over the faint mark that was all that remained as evidence of what had occurred in the forest. He frowned, "I still can not believe…"
"If you're up to it, why not come down to dinner? My sisters will be home soon and they've been absolutely unbearable with their curiosity."
"Oh, yes. Of course. I am feeling fine, I almost always heal quickly."
Daisy nodded, and turned to lead the way downstairs.
"Sisters, sisters" Daisy tapped her fork against her glass until the crowd around the table fell silent. "Stop overwhelming our guest. I am sure he would like to eat without you nattering at him nonstop."
"We are not nattering! And you haven't exactly been silent yourself, Daisy," said a tiny woman with soft, pale purple eyes. She looked very much like Daisy - they all in fact look a great deal alike - but much more tanned, as if she spent all her time out of doors."
The sisters shifted from talking to him to bickering with Daisy about how they'd not been talking constantly to him. Snow smiled and allowed his attention to wander. The little women were strange; from the corner of your eye you would swear the room was full of children but looking directly at them was like looking at dolls, miniature versions of adults. They all had the same cinnamon hair and pale purple eyes, varying only in weigh and height and body shape. Their bickering was easy and familiar, the signs of a close-knit family.
His gaze wandered away from the sisters to the house itself - a large cottage somewhere in the middle of the woods somewhere. What confused him was the way most everything in the house was his size. Except for a few pieces of furniture and some of the cooking ware, everything in the cottage was intended for a person of his size - not the small women seated around him. Thinking back, even the bed he'd awoken in had been far too large for the women here.
"Snow!" Daisy called his name, in a tone that said she'd called it more than once.
"Oh! I'm sorry." Snow smiled, "I was admiring your cottage. It's very lovely…but I was curious as to why everything is so large? Surely it's an inconvenience for you ladies?"
The women laughed, the one beside Daisy speaking up first. Dandelion, he thought her name was. A quiet, happy manner, to Daisy's brighter cheerful attitude, "It's not so much of a bother, really. One gets used to being small in a large world. Besides, it's easier for us to adjust to this than it is for Lord Brendan to adjust to our small things."
"Lord Brendan?"
The woman seated next to him spoke up, "That's enough, Dande."
"Of course, Lavender." She smiled again at Snow, "We work for him, that's all. It's not very interesting; tell us more about yourself. When we found you, you looked something awful. Yet now there's nary a mark on you."
Snow dropped his gaze, hand touching the pale skin of his cheek in what was clearly an old habit. "Ah, well…"
Amaryllis cocked her head, staring intently at him. "We know a spell when we see one, there's no harm in telling us. Looks like yours seldom come from good fortune. The Queen and her daughter are proof enough of that!"
"Amaryllis! Watch how you speak. 'Tisn't proper at all, and you never know when those witches may be listening!" The woman opposite Dandelion frowned reprovingly, stern and thin - the tallest of the seven.
"Poppy, you know very well those old bats can't hear a word we say. I dare them to try anything. We'll set them straight, soon enough."
"Right. Moving on - Snow, my pretty lad. Explain yourself." Daisy winked at him after scolding her sisters.
Snow sighed, setting his fork down and swallowing what was left of his water. "It's not really a spell…I don't know what it is…my mother…" He took another breath. "My mother was the mistress to a king, his favored woman for nearly five years, from the time she was sixteen. But when she turned twenty-one he suddenly lost interest in her, and took another woman - whom he eventually married. Not long after the new woman bore a son, which broke my mother's heart completely. When a lord offered her a new home she took it and left with him to journey toward a new land."
"A year or so later she found herself pregnant…still bitter about the king's betrayal she made a wish…"
Give me a child of unsurpassable beauty, skin as white as snow, hair as black as night, and lips as red as blood. Beauty to enthrall a prince and take back what should have been mine.
"That's some serious magic." Daisy commented, her sisters nodding their head in agreement.
The remaining two sisters examined him thoughtfully, one on either side of the table. The youngest and shortest of the seven, Buttercup, sat to his right, one finger on her chin as she spoke, "Do you know from which kingdom your mother originally hailed? What was her name?"
Snow shook his head, "Melanie was her name. And no, I'm afraid not. She…was utterly horrified that she gave birth to a son. She had very little to do with me after I was born, I was raised by her maid for the most part. She died when I was about twelve, just gave up completely."
"Beauty to enthrall a prince, eh" Iris, the eldest and quietest, finally spoke up. "It is rather awkward that you are not a princess. It would be a rare prince indeed to be enthralled by a man, no matter how beautiful…"
"Well, I've not given the curse or wish or whatever it is a chance to do its job. But you asked about my wounds vanishing so quickly - the wish is why, I believe. My looks refuse to be marred."
"That makes sense," Daisy commented, "After all it is darker magic. Few things can overcome magic such as that. A bitter wish made by a bitter woman? Rare it is, the cure for that."
Snow shook his head, "I don't need a cure, only to stay away from people - especially princes. And it is not your responsibility to find me a cure, though I appreciate your trying to help me."
Poppy made a face, "It's our job to study all kinds of magic. Darker magic is of special interest to us, so you're not putting us out any. We're just 'nattering' anyway. So who tried to kill you?"
"Ah…well…"
"You hesitate too much," Amaryllis said sharply, "Speak up!"
Snow shook his head to clear his thoughts, "My apologies. The princess shot me while we hunted in the forest. " He stared blankly at his food. "I was taken completely by surprise. I'm afraid that is why I tumbled so disgracefully down the hill."
Amaryllis and Poppy both snorted. Daisy spoke up, her cheerful voice more serious than Snow had thus far heard it, "That is of no surprise, you are far more beautiful than the two of them combined. Beauty is the key to their rule, they would never tolerate someone more impressive looking in their midst. A…territorial sort of thing, I suppose."
"I don't understand. I'm only a hunter, what harm could I possibly do them?"
The sisters were silent, and finally Iris deigned to answer. "Far more than you realize. But do not concern yourself, Snow White. A word of advice though - traveling now is not safe for you. Once the witches realize you're still alive, they'll come after you again. If you are willing, stay here for a time."
"I…I could not impose like that. Surely I'm not in so much danger as that?"
"Oh, but I think you are. Stay here." Buttercup's voice was firm. "Besides, it's not so different from caring for Lord Brendan when he is here."
Dandelion laughed, "It will be nice to have fresh meat on the table, we're all rather hopeless as hunters - including Brendan. I would almost say he's worse than we are."
Snow White sat in silence a moment, feeling overwhelmed. But at last he nodded, and picked up his silverware to resume eating. "Very well, if you wish. As it stands I have no job anyway. It can do no harm to stay here."
"Then you can have Brendan's bed." Daisy said, and that was that.
"Mirror, Mirror
On the Wall
Who's the fairest
Of them all?"
"Your beauty, Queen
Is quite grand.
But Snow White still
Is fairest in the land"
The Queen's roar of fury echoed through the castle, followed almost immediately by a shout for her daughter.
In a flurry of silk and lace Princess Gwen flew to her mother's room, tumbling to a halt just inside the door. The Queen stalked across the room toward her, a hand lashing out to back hand the princess - who stumbled backward with a pained cry. "Mother?"
"You told me he was dead.”
Gwen's face paled as realization struck her, "Oh…but I thought he….no one could survive that fall…"
The Queen stared coldly at her daughter, "You will explain to me what really happened out there, daughter."
In a trembling voice Gwen explained, head dropping in shame as she finished her short story. She waited in tense silence for her mother to speak.
Her voice was cool, the heat of her anger mostly vanished. "You were careless. Hopefully a lesson has been learned?"
"Yes, mother. Forgive me, I shall not be so careless again."
"You are young, mistakes will be made. Still you should have been more careful. After I have taken care of this problem, you will be punished. Is that understood?"
Gwen nodded, still not able to meet her mother's eyes. "Yes, mother. I understand."
"Very well then," the Queen nodded slowly. "Then I shall kill the hunter. I know he is in the forest, it will not be hard to locate him from there." Flicking her robes behind her, the Queen departed. "I will be back in two days time, no more. When I return, our power will once again be secure."
Snow White hummed softly as he walked through the forest, a string of rabbits swinging heavily in his grip. The sisters would be most happy with the day's efforts, and he was quite looking forward to his bed. Well, whoever's bed it was he was sleeping in. He hoped 'Lord Brendan' didn't mind.
It certainly was the strangest living arrangement he'd made so far. A cottage and seven small women in the middle of a deep forest was a far cry from the rooms assigned to a royal hunter. Not that he was complaining, but he didn't care for this much seclusion. His humming tapered off into a tired sigh, his steady walk slowing to a stroll.
"What's such a pretty man doing all alone in the forest? Where's the lovely lass to keep you company?" A voice croaked, and Snow White jerked his head up.
An elderly woman stood on the path a few lengths ahead of him, stooped over and carrying a basket of food. "Madame. The better question would be to ask why a woman as lovely as yourself travels through these dangerous woods alone. Need you assistance?"
The woman laughed, "You flatter me, young man. I have long traveled this road, nothing on it can do me harm. I've not seen you before," she slowly drew closer. "What brings one so young as yourself into these gloomy woods?"
Snow White hesitated, "I…I am a hunter, madam. Hired by a lord in the city."
"I see. Not from these parts, either."
"No, madam. Merely a wanderer when not a hunter."
"I see…you are a pleasant sight in this dark place. You must be surrounded by ladies when in town."
Shaking his head in embarrassment, Snow White smiled uneasily. "Hardly madam. But I thank you. You must pardon my rudeness, but I'm expected back shortly and must be on my way."
"Of course, of course. Would you like a snack? An apple, perhaps? For humoring this old lady and chatting with her in the woods for a bit? They're quite tasty, I've just picked them myself not to long ago."
Snow smiled and accepted the red apple she held out for him, nodding politely as she said goodbye and continued on her way. Turning away he continued down his own path, looking back a couple of times until he saw that the woman had gone. Pausing a moment he turned and threw the apple into the woods to be lost amongst the trees. As the sound of its landing faded he resumed his slow, easy walk.
A few minutes later the cottage appeared in his sight, but a second later it grew blurry. He stumbled, feeling suddenly dizzy, and collapsed.
"That's a mighty fine poison, that one. The old bat knows her stuff. No magic at all in her attacks, the tart. Just a poisoned apple and lord knows what disguise she used to get close." Daisy clucked reprovingly as she stroked Snow's long, dark hair.
Her sisters and she were gathered around the cozy bed in the cottage attic, faces tense and unhappy. Amaryllis sniffed, "He's not so bright, to fall for such a trick."
Beside her, Lavender tilted her head thoughtfully, cheek resting in one hand. "I'm not so certain he fell for the ruse." She lifted his hand up, "His fingers are stained, meaning he touched it. But he didn't eat it - else he'd be dead. He must have suspected something, to have thrown it away. Which is what he had to have done, for we didn't find the apple anywhere near him."
Dandelion nodded in agreement, "Yes, Poppy and I found the apple a great distance from the path. Took us three whole days to find it, and that only because it was bothering the animals so much.
Iris sighed softly, "It's unfortunate we don't have a cure for it. There's no telling how long he'll sleep - it's a miracle he's even still alive. The lad has a knack for escaping death."
"Perhaps it's the curse." Amaryllis said dryly."
Daisy shrugged, "Perhaps it is. Though we all know there's no way the so-called curse his mother placed could ever work."
"Very true, but I wonder if--"
"Is there no one home to greet me? Iris? Daisy? Amaryllis? Dandelion? Lavender? Poppy? Buttercup?"
As one the women jumped, eyes wide at the sound of the voice coming from downstairs. Nearest the stairs, Buttercup rushed toward them to ward off the man coming up them - too late. A head peeked up above the railing just as Buttercup reached the stairs. "What in the world are you seven doing up here? Have you missed me that much?" The man laughed, red-brown eyes bright with mirth as he ventured further into the room. He seemed not to notice the dismayed expressions on their faces, "I know you absolutely hate when I leave but really, hanging around my bed is a bit…" His voice died as he caught sight of what really had them gathered around his bed.
"Who…who is this…" Brendan could not tear his eyes away from the man lying in his bed. He spoke to the women even as he continued to stare, "What have you been up to, my flowers?" Reaching up with one hand he pulled his glasses from his face, the sack he carried dropping carelessly to the floor as he knelt by the bedside. "Who is he? Why is he here?" Reaching out slowly he stroked one pale cheek, amazed at the softness of the skin.
Blinking and shoving strands of wheat blond hair from his face, he turned to stare at the women gathered around him, "Explain if you please."
"That is quite the tale. I always manage to miss the fun stuff…do you really think he's the son of Melanie? I never imagined…father spoke of her often when I was young…all this time searching for Melanie or any offspring and here he is in my bed. If I'd known there was dark magic working for me, I would have just waited here. Is dark magic supposed to be this pleasant? I have to say I don't too terribly mind being enthralled."
"Stop being foolish!" Amaryllis snapped.
"Amaryllis!" Daisy responded sharply, "Manners."
Brendan laughed, "Now, now, Daisy. I think I would be concerned if Ryllis was not yelling at me. But Ryllis, you know I am only jesting."
"Well, quite jesting and be serious!"
"As you command, my lady." Brendan bowed his head, and when he looked up again his expression had indeed turned serious. "It's rather lovely how it's all come together of a sudden. But I suppose that makes sense, yes? Here I am with the one person who could oust those witches from the throne…and he's in a poisoned sleep. Is there any way to wake him up?"
Lavender shrugged, "We are extremely fortunate the poison didn't kill him. It was however enough to put him into quite the slumber. I can only assume he will sleep until the poison is cleaned from his system. In the worst case, he'll not be strong enough to fight and die. But I doubt that will be the case."
Brendan nodded, lost in thought. His gaze again wandered back toward the sleeping man.
Daisy yawned, her sisters doing the same around her. Brendan laughed at them, "I can take a hint, my flowers. Get yourselves to bed; I shall stand vigil over our sleeping beauty here. And no, I won't misbehave so don't even suggest it. I'm not that bad."
A few sharp disagreements rang out, but slowly the sisters trudged across the room and down the stairs. Daisy paused, "I'll make up a bed for you beside the fire, Bren. In case you get too tired."
"Thank you, Daisy. Good night."
Alone in his small attic room, Brendan moved out his chair and sat on the edge of the bed, facing Snow White and leaning slightly over him. He lifted a hand to trail lightly down the sleeping man's cheek, amazed at the contrast in their skin. "I've searched the world for you, only to find you here." Snow White's skin was warm beneath his fingers, as were his lips as Brendan brushed them with his thumb. "You're certainly not what I expected, though neither am I complaining."
Reluctantly he rose and went back to his chair, but he dragged it closer to the bed that he might continue to watch over the sleeping man. Against his will he began to nod off, drooping more and more often into sleep until at last he ceased to move.
Blearily Brendan struggled to wake, frowning in annoyance at how stiff and sore he felt. Something soft touched his cheek and he jerked his eyes open. He gasped at what he saw, surging to his feet in surprise. "You're awake!"
Snow White guiltily jerked his hand back and stared back at him, "Are you…the Lord Brendan they're always mentioning? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to take your bed." He threw back the blankets and struggled to his feet - crying out shortly in surprise when the tall blonde standing over him shoved him back down.
Brendan smiled, as he made sure the other man remained in bed, "You're not bothering me at all, Snow White. Take my bed all you like. But how come you to be awake so soon?"
"I…what do you mean? What happened to me?"
Turning his head to look out the window on the far side of the room, Brendan realized with a yawn that he could not have been asleep for more than a few hours. He turned back and smiled at the confused Snow White, "I'm afraid you were rather neatly poisoned by the Queen." He winked, "I'm sure you get gifts all the time, being so pretty, but no more accepting apples from old ladies all right?"
Snow White ducked his head, "I wondered…but I threw it away…"
"Mmm…but it was a pretty potent poison. Just touching it was enough to harm you. At least you had the sense not to eat it. I am duly impressed you woke up so quickly - we had wondered if you'd wake up at all. Oh, but I've been rude. Yes, I am Brendan. None of that Lord stuff, they only do that when they actually remember to be polite. They never quite made it to more appropriate titles." Pulling his glasses from his nose and ignoring the hair that flopped in his face, Brendan sat on the side of the bed just as he had earlier. He tilted the other man's head up, "You and I have a great deal to discuss, Snow White."
Confusion clouded Snow White's face, "What have we to discuss? Am I in the way here?"
"Not at all. So far as I'm concerned, you are very much right where you belong. But that can be dealt with later. Tell me, what do you know of the Queen that has twice now tried to kill you?"
"Nothing. I'm new to this land. I was not there a day before the princess shot me."
"Mmm…then you do not know to whom she was once married?"
"No…what does that matter?" Snow White attempted to pull free from the grip that Brendan still had on his chin, which the blonde man permitted him to do.
Brendan grinned, his had tugging at one strand of black hair teasingly, " That Queen is my mother, her daughter my sister. They managed to have me banished when I was only fifteen, my father died not too long after. For many years he was under the spell they cast with their magically crafted beauty…but towards the end of his life he managed to overcome it enough to draft a will…in it he left the kingdom not to his children, but to the woman he loved before dark magic corrupted him. In the case that woman died, her children would inherit the kingdom. Do you know who that woman was?"
If Snow White were not already so pale, he would have been pale at that moment. He shook his head, black hair tumbling over and around his shoulders. "You can't possibly mean what I think you mean."
"Oh, but I do. My father dearly loved the Lady Melanie, and when he died he left all he possessed to her and her children. You, my lovely Snow, are a prince."
"That…that's not possible!" Jerking away and climbing clumsily to his feet Snow White clambered to get away from Brendan. "That would mean the curse…all this time I've been trying not to cause trouble and I fell right into it." He brought his hands up to bury his face in them, hair falling around his head to hide him completely. "Even you, whom I've spent so long trying to avoid…a kingdom ruled by only a Queen and her daughter, I was so certain it was safe."
Brendan sat a moment, startled into silence. Shaking himself a moment later, he rose and crossed the room. He pulled Snow White's hands from his face and forced the man to look at him. "You worry for nothing. When your mother spoke those words, it was already too late. She could not have known that my father was under a spell, or that he would eventually set all to rights on his own. Your mother's 'curse' was nothing more than an unintentional echo of my father's desires."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that you're not bewitching me or anything of the sort. If I'm enthralled, it's only because I just can't help myself."
"Enthralled?" The hunter's face darkened, "It is my looks you are enthralled with, even if as you say there is no curse."
"Oh? I admit I have my faults but falling easily to beauty is not one of them Beauty generally leads to arrogance, and arrogant men are aggravating. I should know - I am one." He winked, unrepentant. "Though I didn't get mine from being especially good looking. I grant that we have not yet become well acquainted…but that is easily remedied." Brendan grinned mischievously and moved closer to Snow White, who took several steps back - only to have his back collide with the wall.
Snow White frowned up at the man looming over him, back pressed against the rough timbers of the attack wall. "Do you know how often men - and women - have tried this?"
"Tried? Oh, countless I'm sure. But I'm not going to try." The blonde man said confidently, remembering the hand that had caressed his cheek as he had slept in the chair.
Doubt flooded Snow White's voice, "You're not?"
"Certainly not. I'm going to succeed." So saying Brendan ducked his head and covered Snow White's lips with his own, capturing the man's wrists before the hunter could take a swing. Briefly grateful the shorter hunter wasn't trying to kick or knee him, Brendan pressed his advantage and deepened the kiss. He smiled into it as the hunter moaned and began to respond, arms slackening as he gradually forgot he had intended to hit the blonde man.
Smirking Brendan broke the kiss, though he maintained his grip on Snow White's wrists. "Am I succeeding yet?"
Snow White said nothing, glaring a moment before dropping his head in humiliation.
Brendan's smirk faded away, "Are you always this mild mannered? I always thought hunters were more aggressive. I was only teasing you, I didn't mean to actually upset you."
"I've always been quiet - believe it or not that helps the hunting." Snow White looked up at him, pale skin still flushed. "Besides, most of my time has been spent hiding from you."
The blonde man stroked one of the flushed cheeks, "Well I've found you anyway. Now all that's left is to take back what is yours." He winked again.
Snow White was displeased, "All that's left? It seems to me there's plenty left. I was nearly shot by a jealous princess, only to be kept here indefinitely by a bunch of women who would explain nothing. Then I was poisoned by a jealous witch, only to wake up to be accosted by a stranger who turns out to be the prince who I've spent my life avoiding only to find out there was never a curse in the first place. Except that everything in the curse seems to have come to pass anyway."
"Mmm…not so meek anymore…" Brendan commented mildly, but his humor was quick to fade. "Okay, so there's a great deal left to take care. But I promise that you are indeed supposed to be the ruler of this kingdom. I also promise that there is no curse; I can only deeply apologize that you've lived so long thinking otherwise." Tentatively he reached out to play with Snow White's dark hair, silently relieved when the distressed hunter made no move to stop him.
"And your supposed enthrallment?" Snow White asked, not looking at him. "You'll forgive my bitterness, but I wonder if it doesn't relate to getting your kingdom back?"
Brendan frowned, fingers stilling in the dark hair. "I…clearly you would have no reason to believe me…but I'm genuinely interested in you. From the moment I saw you, sleeping in my bed. I'll say again that as beautiful as you are, that alone would not captivate me to this degree."
"Men. You're all quite hopeless really."
The two men jumped, and Brendan stepped back a bit, though he would not allow Snow White to move away from him. He glared at Daisy, "You're intruding."
Daisy smiled, her head just visible behind the railing, "Hardly. So far as I can tell I'm about to keep you two from bungling things. You're lucky you didn't wake the others. Then there really would have been trouble." Slowly and quietly she finished climbing up the stairs, winking at Snow White before turning serious. "Honestly, Bren. You have no tact whatsoever. You should have fetched one of us the moment he woke, not tried to attack him in the middle of the night."
"Who's attacking?"
Daisy raised her brows. Brendan rolled his eyes and muttered beneath his breath. He half glared at the small woman, "Okay, okay. So I got a little carried away."
"You are incorrigible. It's no wonder you were botching this meeting so completely." She shook her head and turned to address Snow White, "Snow, I can assure you completely that there really is no curse. We would have told you sooner but we wanted you to stay here in the woods where it was safe, and where Brendan could find you. He's been looking for you since his father died."
"So why does it seem like everything my mother asked for in her curse has come to pass? My appearance, him, and the fact that I seem to be in possession of a kingdom?"
The small woman smiled fondly. "Your mother and his father really did love each other, of that I have no doubt. I believe that they were meant to be together and would have ruled as King and Queen someday but for the interference of an ambitious witch. Your mother sadly did not realize the truth and vanished to places unknown. In the meantime Brendan, your father's own broken heart gradually overcame the spell woven by the witch, to the point that he was able to fix what he could by giving his kingdom to your mother - and you. Fate rules everything, but even it can have its plans go awry."
She paused to take a breath and smile reassuringly as the two men waited in silence for her to continue, "But fate also has a way of fixing itself. When your parents did not stay together as fate had intended, it began to fix its plans in the form of you two. The very moment your parents were torn apart by that witch, the two of you were meant to be together."
"But none of that explains my appearance. If one part of the curse came true…"
Daisy clucked impatiently, "There is no harm at all in a mother wishing her child to be beautiful, lad. Perhaps the fact that your beauty refuses to be scarred is lingering magic, her desire to see you obtain what she lost. I do not think she was entirely malicious in making her wish. Merely heart broken."
Snow White was silent.
Brendan suffered no such affliction, "I told you I was sincere. Really, I only care about the kingdom insofar as freeing it from my mother and sister. How I escaped being that rotten, I'll never know."
"You're too insufferable to be rotten." Daisy said with affectionate sternness. "Now stop nattering, Bren."
"Nattering? I think you have me confused with your sisters, Daisy." Making a face at the slight woman, he returned his attention to the silent hunter. "Come now, won't you at least give me a chance? I promise I'll try to behave."
Snow White sighed, suddenly looking tired.
Daisy clucked again, her tone reproving. "Brendan, you are a ninny. He's barely recovered from the poison and you're trying to set up a relationship. Not to mention everything else that's been thrown at him."
Brendan huffed, "So what do you suggest?"
The small woman cocked an eyebrow, "First I suggest you not take that tone with me. Second I suggest you both get some sleep - Brendan that means you go down stairs. Third I suggest we wait for Snow to recover and then head to the castle to take care of matters once and for all. Lastly I suggest that after we've disposed of the witches the two of you take a long vacation to become familiar while my sisters and I set your kingdom to rights."
"That's quite a few suggestions."
Daisy ignored him, "Come now, Snow. I know you're made of sterner stuff than you're showing here."
Snow White spoke up slowly, as if still thinking through all that had been said. "I…I've been dealing with strange things since I was born and always managed to come through them. I see no reason that I won't come through this as well. It's only that it's a bit overwhelming."
Smiling brightly and clasping her hands, Daisy nodded. "Most people say that about Brendan. Even when he was a boy he acted that way. I think it's part of the reason the Queen feared him."
"No, mother was just mad I liked all of you more than her. She's going to be livid when she realizes that you not only survived the curses she placed on those ribbons but have been living in her forest the entire time."
Snow White blinked at that and turned to regard Daisy, "You used to live at the palace?"
The woman nodded, eyes bright. "Oh yes, we were healers and advisors and all to the king. The Seven Sages we were called, and a serious threat to the Queen though we did not realize it until too late. Back then her magic was far too strong and unlike any we'd encountered before - mostly because of her dratted mirror. She tried to kill us after the king died."
Brendan picked up the story, "I found them here in the forest and pulled free a ribbon from Poppy's hair by mistake. She woke and from there we have somehow managed to be here." He smiled at Snow White, who bemusedly managed to return it.
Daisy yawned, "We're more than strong enough now to be rid of her. That however is a story for the breakfast table; enough nattering for the time being. Now that we're all here together we have time aplenty to plot our course of action. For now it is time for bed. Brendan, you have two minutes to show yourself downstairs before I will be forced to take drastic measures."
Brendan paled slightly at the word "drastic measures" but relaxed again as Daisy vanished from sight. He turned back to Snow White, "Best do as the lady says, I guess. I hope I haven't put you off me completely, pretty Snow." He stepped forward abruptly to brush a quick, soft kiss across the hunter's lips. "A kiss good night, to wish you pleasant dreams." He winked, "And in the morning I'll bring a kiss to wake you." Smiling and stepping away, he turned and moved to retrieve his discarded glasses. With one last wink he vanished down the stairs.
Bemused Snow White let out a tired yawn of his own, body still stiff and slow from the poison that had apparently overtaken it. He collapsed into the bed and pulled the blankets securely around him, turning to lay on his side. Abruptly he realized that the sheets still carried the scent of the man he'd only just met, a mix of the forest pine and a trace of something tangy that immediately called to mind the forceful blonde man. Almost unconsciously he brought his fingers up to touch his lips, where it seemed the feel of the other man's mouth still lingered. The hand dropped away as he slowly allowed his eyes to drift shut. His last thought was of what it would be like to be kissed awake…
Something warm…Snow White's eyes slowly fluttered open, and he blinked sleepily up at the bright, smiling face looking down at him.
"Good morning! Ready for an exciting day?" Brendan moved back and waited as Snow White slowly climbed from his bed, shaking out his long hair and turning to examine the crowd gathered in the suddenly too small attic room.
The hunter shook his head again, "Good morning."
Seven women chorused a return greeting and instantly began to talk and debate as they dragged the two men downstairs for breakfast. Amaryllis rolled her eyes, catching Snow White's own. "I bet you're wishing you'd just eaten the blasted apple."
A surprised laugh escaped Snow White, "No, not really. But speaking of which, do you think the Queen has figured out yet that I'm still a rival?"
Brendan lifted an indignant Buttercup from her seat and moved her to where he would normally sit, so that he was sitting next to Snow White. He grinned at the hunter, "Doesn't matter. If she hasn't figured it out yet, she will when we "storm" the castle and do away with her."
The hunter peered at him, pausing in the process of starting his porridge. "You seem awfully complacent about the idea of "doing away" with your own mother."
"You insult me," Brendan said seriously, "I'm not complacent at all - I'm deliriously happy. That woman and my sister are both atrocious. They're evil, vicious, power hungry witches. Maybe when I was younger I didn't understand, but it wasn't hard over the years to put two and two together. I watched my father die a slow, agonizing death because of that witch. My sister never once hesitated to follow in her footsteps; it's the way with such witches. My loyalty was to my father."
Snow White said nothing, only nodding before finally digging into his breakfast. Around them the sisters plotted and planned.
"Mirror, Mirror
On the Wall
Who's the fairest
Of them all?"
"Despite your beauty
and that of Gwen
Snow White remains
Fairest in the land."
The Queen stared at the mirror, cold with anger and disbelief. Behind her Gwen let out an outraged gasp. "Mother! I though you killed him? That apple should have spelled his death the moment he touched it."
"I…never has anyone escaped that poison. How is that damnable hunter so fortunate?"
"You…your Majesty…" The Steward crashed into the Queen's tower chamber, gasping for the breath he'd lost running up the endless, winding stairs. "Majesty…"
"What is it?" The Queen snapped, impatience turning her cold rage to a heated one.
The Steward fidgeted nervously, "Downstairs, Majesty. Prince Brendan, and-and the Seven Sages."
The Queen roared in anger and disbelief, surging forward and past the shaken servant to see for herself who her visitors were. Her ponderous robes seemed not to slow her down at all, her daughter scurrying behind in a cloud of lavish silk. Together they appeared in the throne room - and froze.
Standing together in a semi circle were nine figures - seven of them small enough to be mistaken at a glance for children. The Queen stared hatefully at them, still unable to believe what she was seeing. "I should have been more thorough with you."
Daisy smiled, "You never did have the patience to see that someone was properly killed. Or perhaps it's simply arrogance."
The Queen sniffed in contempt, "I had not thought it necessary to check on your bodies. They were left to the wilds of my forest, that should have been enough."
"Except that I was lurking nearby, Mother. Did you honestly think I'd leave the country while you still lived?"
His mother hissed in anger; beside her Gwen was muttering beneath her breath. The princess spoke up, "How is it you've come this far? All nine of you should be dead - including him.” She stared hatefully at the hunter standing beside her brother.
Brendan sneered, "Did not the sisters here once say that as beauty was the reason you rose to power, it would also be your downfall? You worked so hard to keep out all beauty but your own you grew careless in all else, and in doing so led the son of Lady Melanie straight to my arms."
"I will kill you all!" So saying the Queen lifted her arms, as did her daughter. But there incantations never reached completion as they were thrown back by a spell meticulously woven over the years by the small sisters. Amaryllis snorted inelegantly as she regarded the witches crumbled unconscious on the ground, "Pathetic. So confident in their skills they never bothered to improve them in all this time. I really was expecting a full-fledged fight. We should have just waited until after lunch." Approaching the still figures she kicked the Queen soundly a couple of times, as if to reassure herself no one would be waking anytime soon.
Lavender sighed, "And why should they have bothered to improve anything when they thought all potential threats long dead? What shall we do with them, do you suppose?"
Poppy mimicked Amaryllis' snort, "Make sure we kill them. Let's not be repeating the Queen's mistake."
"We will burn them. That has always been the way to best dispose of witches." Brendan said with finality. "I will leave the finer points to you lot."
"Oh?" Daisy looked at him, "Aren't you even going to stay for the execution? Surely you're not in that much of a hurry to run off."
"No, I most certainly am not going to stay for their burning. I will not honor their deaths with my presence, and I trust you seven to do the job properly. I plan on leaving now, before the rest of the castle realize its Queen has been disposed and they trap their new prince and myself here." He turned to regard Snow White, who had remained silent through everything. "Unless you want to stay? I of course realize you may not want to--"
"On the contrary," Snow White interrupted, voice slow and careful, "I am still finding it hard everything that has happened. I'm nothing but a hunter…I would prefer to not become a prince quite so soon. And it would be nice to travel without fear of tripping a curse, to learn if I really want what has been suddenly thrown at me." He smiled every so slightly at the prince.
Brendan smirked back, "Oh, you'll want it all right. I'll see to that." Bidding the Seven Sages a fond farewell, and glaring hatefully at his fallen family on last time, Brendan grabbed Snow White's wrist and pulled him close for a quick, chaste kiss before leading them from the castle and back into the forest.
suyari, I hope you like it.Who's the Fairest
"Mirror, Mirror
On the Wall
Who's the fairest
Of them all?"
"Your beauty, Queen
Is quite grand.
But Snow White
Is fairest in the land"
"Snow White? Who in the world is this Snow White?" The Queen stared darkly into her magic mirror, lost in thought. "I know of no one by such a name, such beauty as to rival my own would not go unnoticed in this kingdom." Abruptly she turned away, heavy, ornate robes dragging across the stone floor as she called for a servant.
Seconds later her steward quietly but hurriedly entered the Queen's chamber. "Your Majesty? May I assist you in some way?"
"Yes. I want to know who Snow White is. You will find her for me."
The steward stared at her, confusion flickering across his face. "Snow White, Majesty?"
"Yes," the Queen snapped, "Is that a problem?"
"Why, not all your Majesty. It's only…Snow White is the new hunter I've hired since Grimm was killed yesterday in the boar hunt. I was set to introduce him to you tomorrow morning in the court session. He's only recently arrived."
"Oh. Very well then. You may go."
"Yes, Majesty." Bowing, the steward then turned and departed.
Expression furious the Queen moved slowly across the room, arms folded, long nails tapping restlessly against them. She stared moodily out the high window of her tower bedroom, down at the courtyard below.
Her head jerked up at the sound of the door opening, and she opened her mouth to give a lashing to whoever had dared to interrupt her. The reprimand died in her throat at the smiling face of her lovely daughter, "Ah, Gwen. My darling, what brings you to your mother's room?"
"The steward said you were most upset about something, concerning the new hunter."
"Yes," the Queen frowned, "My Mirror states that he is more fair than I."
"What?" Gwen sounded scandalized, "That should not even be possible. He is handsome, but you are the most beautiful in the world Mother. As I shall be one day, after the crown has passed. The Mirror must be broken, no man could ever be more beautiful than us." So saying she went briskly to the mirror, but a moment later shrieked in anger at its reply. "That is not possible. No man is more beautiful than the Royal Jewels. I won't stand for this!" Her skirts swirled around her as she spun to face her mother, hands fisted tightly in the rich silk fabric. "What shall we do about this, mother?"
The Queen was gazing our her window, expression thoughtful. Slowly she turned back to regard her daughter, "You will go hunting, tomorrow."
"Me? Go hunting?" Gwen was horrified. "Mother, I've not been hunting in ages."
"Yes, you will go hunting." The Queen's voice was stern. "Make it clear you are flirting, want to spend time with him. No man can resist us. Take your arrows, and when his back is turned you will shoot him."
The anger in her daughter's eyes began to fade into eagerness, "That sounds like a worthwhile hunt. Would you like a souvenir, mother?"
"Yes, bring me his heart."
"How shall we explain his absence?"
"We shan't. You will come back early, and claim he ran off after a boar or some such. When he does not come back, that will be the end of it. Hunter's are often lost in these woods."
"Then wish me happy hunting for the morrow, mother."
*~*~*~*
"I do not know many princesses who care much for hunting." Snow White glanced at Gwen, who smiled sweetly back. "Does your mother mind that you spend your time in such a dangerous manner?"
"Oh no, don't be silly. Mother did it herself as a young woman. She thinks it's a fine way to take the air and escape the stuffiness of court. Besides, we're only hunting rabbit. 'Tis harmless enough, yes?" That sweet smile again, and she winked. "Besides, you're here with me. You're much younger and fitter than old Grimm. Won't you protect me from the more dangerous creatures?"
The hunter nodded, "Of course, Princess. 'Tis my duty. This way and stay close." He stepped up his pace, feet somehow soundless on the forest floor. Behind him Gwen frowned, aggravated that he seemed entirely unaffected by the red-gold curls and elegant features that sent all the men in the palace clamoring. But he was rather stunning himself she had to admit with a pout. Especially for a man that spent all his time in the woods.
His skin was as pale and white as she could wish her own was without the assistance of the tonics she took. As flawless as snow, such a contrast to his ebony hair, the long, thick strands pulled back in a neat tail. His eyes were nearly as dark, the midnight blue of an evening sky. Most stunning of all were his lips, the color of blood and already the envy of nearly every woman at court. All of him was the envy - and desire - of every woman that saw him. No doubt of several men as well. Yet here he was, in the middle of the forest searching for rabbits.
Lip curling in impatience and distaste, Gwen slowed to a halt and lifted her bow. Taking careful aim, she released the arrow.
But Snow White must have sensed something, or perhaps he wanted only to ensure the suddenly quiet princess was all right, because he turned just as the arrow flew and instead of his back and heart the arrow only lodged in his shoulder. He stumbled back in shock and pain - and vanished from sight down the side the hill they'd been walking along the edge of. The sound of him tumbling down amongst sticks and leaves - occasionally a tree - broke the calm chatter of the forest.
Gwen surged forward, nearly stumbling herself over the edge. She watched anxiously as he continued to tumble down the hill, finally coming to a stop at the bottom. She worried her bottom lip, debating whether or not to go after him. After a moment she shook her head and turned away. She would fetch the heart of an animal from the village, and present that to her mother. The hunter was surely dead, after a fall like that.
*~*~*~*
Groaning Snow White opened his eyes - and immediately shut them. Turning to his side he buried his head in a soft, soap-scented pillow. At that he tried again to open his eyes despite the painful light, blinking furiously until it grew steadily less painful. Finally able to see, he turned again to lay on his back and stared up at unfamiliar rafters.
"Oh, the lovely lad is at last awake." A soft, amused voice spoke.
A sharper one replied, "It's about time, too. Nary a scratch on him but still he sees fit to loaf around our house all day."
Slowly Snow White sat up, the blankets tumbling off his bare chest to pool in his lap. Ink-dark hair tumbled around his shoulders, and he lifted a hand to brush the strands from his face. He turned to face the speakers, but fell silent in shock.
Two little women sat beside his bed - he thought they were women, though they were only the size of small children. "Ah…thank you? My apologies?"
The first woman smiled, as soft and cheerful looking as her voice. "You are welcome. And there is no need to apologize, we were happy to help."
"So says you." The grouchier woman beside her said, thin features the opposite of the plump figure beside her. "We've enough to do around here without caring for a stray."
Snow White ducked his head, "My apologies again, madam. I had not planned on getting shot by the one whom accompanied me on a hunt. Is there any recompense I could make for causing you such an inconvenience?"
Both the women looked impressed, though the second one attempted to appear unaffected. The cheerful one spoke up, "Such pretty language from a humble hunter, my oh my."
"Hmph. You can do some hunting for us, that will be sufficient 'recompense.' We're not much for hunting, I'm sure you can guess why. Now if you'll pardon me, I've a supper to get on the table." With that the small, reed-thin woman turned sharply on one heel and descended a staircase.
The tiny, plump woman offered him another friendly smile. "You'll have to forgive Amaryllis, she's always awkward around guests."
"On, no. I can't imagine it's nice to have a bedridden stranger in one's home. I do appreciate the assistance."
"What's your name, lad? Here I've been chattering on and we've not even introduced ourselves. My name is Daisy; Amaryllis is the sister you just met. We have five others, but they are still out working."
"A pleasure to meet you, my name is Snow White." He attempted an awkward bow from where he sat in bed.
"The pleasure is mine, Snow White."
"Please, Snow is fine."
Daisy nodded, smile ever present. "Snow it is then. How are you feeling? I must say you've recovered quite nicely. When my sisters found you, there were scratches and cuts and bruises all over you. Quite a tumbled you took, not to mention the arrow…yet now there's nary a mark on you, barely even a scar where the arrow hit."
Ducking his head, Snow brushed his fingers over the faint mark that was all that remained as evidence of what had occurred in the forest. He frowned, "I still can not believe…"
"If you're up to it, why not come down to dinner? My sisters will be home soon and they've been absolutely unbearable with their curiosity."
"Oh, yes. Of course. I am feeling fine, I almost always heal quickly."
Daisy nodded, and turned to lead the way downstairs.
"Sisters, sisters" Daisy tapped her fork against her glass until the crowd around the table fell silent. "Stop overwhelming our guest. I am sure he would like to eat without you nattering at him nonstop."
"We are not nattering! And you haven't exactly been silent yourself, Daisy," said a tiny woman with soft, pale purple eyes. She looked very much like Daisy - they all in fact look a great deal alike - but much more tanned, as if she spent all her time out of doors."
The sisters shifted from talking to him to bickering with Daisy about how they'd not been talking constantly to him. Snow smiled and allowed his attention to wander. The little women were strange; from the corner of your eye you would swear the room was full of children but looking directly at them was like looking at dolls, miniature versions of adults. They all had the same cinnamon hair and pale purple eyes, varying only in weigh and height and body shape. Their bickering was easy and familiar, the signs of a close-knit family.
His gaze wandered away from the sisters to the house itself - a large cottage somewhere in the middle of the woods somewhere. What confused him was the way most everything in the house was his size. Except for a few pieces of furniture and some of the cooking ware, everything in the cottage was intended for a person of his size - not the small women seated around him. Thinking back, even the bed he'd awoken in had been far too large for the women here.
"Snow!" Daisy called his name, in a tone that said she'd called it more than once.
"Oh! I'm sorry." Snow smiled, "I was admiring your cottage. It's very lovely…but I was curious as to why everything is so large? Surely it's an inconvenience for you ladies?"
The women laughed, the one beside Daisy speaking up first. Dandelion, he thought her name was. A quiet, happy manner, to Daisy's brighter cheerful attitude, "It's not so much of a bother, really. One gets used to being small in a large world. Besides, it's easier for us to adjust to this than it is for Lord Brendan to adjust to our small things."
"Lord Brendan?"
The woman seated next to him spoke up, "That's enough, Dande."
"Of course, Lavender." She smiled again at Snow, "We work for him, that's all. It's not very interesting; tell us more about yourself. When we found you, you looked something awful. Yet now there's nary a mark on you."
Snow dropped his gaze, hand touching the pale skin of his cheek in what was clearly an old habit. "Ah, well…"
Amaryllis cocked her head, staring intently at him. "We know a spell when we see one, there's no harm in telling us. Looks like yours seldom come from good fortune. The Queen and her daughter are proof enough of that!"
"Amaryllis! Watch how you speak. 'Tisn't proper at all, and you never know when those witches may be listening!" The woman opposite Dandelion frowned reprovingly, stern and thin - the tallest of the seven.
"Poppy, you know very well those old bats can't hear a word we say. I dare them to try anything. We'll set them straight, soon enough."
"Right. Moving on - Snow, my pretty lad. Explain yourself." Daisy winked at him after scolding her sisters.
Snow sighed, setting his fork down and swallowing what was left of his water. "It's not really a spell…I don't know what it is…my mother…" He took another breath. "My mother was the mistress to a king, his favored woman for nearly five years, from the time she was sixteen. But when she turned twenty-one he suddenly lost interest in her, and took another woman - whom he eventually married. Not long after the new woman bore a son, which broke my mother's heart completely. When a lord offered her a new home she took it and left with him to journey toward a new land."
"A year or so later she found herself pregnant…still bitter about the king's betrayal she made a wish…"
Give me a child of unsurpassable beauty, skin as white as snow, hair as black as night, and lips as red as blood. Beauty to enthrall a prince and take back what should have been mine.
"That's some serious magic." Daisy commented, her sisters nodding their head in agreement.
The remaining two sisters examined him thoughtfully, one on either side of the table. The youngest and shortest of the seven, Buttercup, sat to his right, one finger on her chin as she spoke, "Do you know from which kingdom your mother originally hailed? What was her name?"
Snow shook his head, "Melanie was her name. And no, I'm afraid not. She…was utterly horrified that she gave birth to a son. She had very little to do with me after I was born, I was raised by her maid for the most part. She died when I was about twelve, just gave up completely."
"Beauty to enthrall a prince, eh" Iris, the eldest and quietest, finally spoke up. "It is rather awkward that you are not a princess. It would be a rare prince indeed to be enthralled by a man, no matter how beautiful…"
"Well, I've not given the curse or wish or whatever it is a chance to do its job. But you asked about my wounds vanishing so quickly - the wish is why, I believe. My looks refuse to be marred."
"That makes sense," Daisy commented, "After all it is darker magic. Few things can overcome magic such as that. A bitter wish made by a bitter woman? Rare it is, the cure for that."
Snow shook his head, "I don't need a cure, only to stay away from people - especially princes. And it is not your responsibility to find me a cure, though I appreciate your trying to help me."
Poppy made a face, "It's our job to study all kinds of magic. Darker magic is of special interest to us, so you're not putting us out any. We're just 'nattering' anyway. So who tried to kill you?"
"Ah…well…"
"You hesitate too much," Amaryllis said sharply, "Speak up!"
Snow shook his head to clear his thoughts, "My apologies. The princess shot me while we hunted in the forest. " He stared blankly at his food. "I was taken completely by surprise. I'm afraid that is why I tumbled so disgracefully down the hill."
Amaryllis and Poppy both snorted. Daisy spoke up, her cheerful voice more serious than Snow had thus far heard it, "That is of no surprise, you are far more beautiful than the two of them combined. Beauty is the key to their rule, they would never tolerate someone more impressive looking in their midst. A…territorial sort of thing, I suppose."
"I don't understand. I'm only a hunter, what harm could I possibly do them?"
The sisters were silent, and finally Iris deigned to answer. "Far more than you realize. But do not concern yourself, Snow White. A word of advice though - traveling now is not safe for you. Once the witches realize you're still alive, they'll come after you again. If you are willing, stay here for a time."
"I…I could not impose like that. Surely I'm not in so much danger as that?"
"Oh, but I think you are. Stay here." Buttercup's voice was firm. "Besides, it's not so different from caring for Lord Brendan when he is here."
Dandelion laughed, "It will be nice to have fresh meat on the table, we're all rather hopeless as hunters - including Brendan. I would almost say he's worse than we are."
Snow White sat in silence a moment, feeling overwhelmed. But at last he nodded, and picked up his silverware to resume eating. "Very well, if you wish. As it stands I have no job anyway. It can do no harm to stay here."
"Then you can have Brendan's bed." Daisy said, and that was that.
*~*~*~*
"Mirror, Mirror
On the Wall
Who's the fairest
Of them all?"
"Your beauty, Queen
Is quite grand.
But Snow White still
Is fairest in the land"
The Queen's roar of fury echoed through the castle, followed almost immediately by a shout for her daughter.
In a flurry of silk and lace Princess Gwen flew to her mother's room, tumbling to a halt just inside the door. The Queen stalked across the room toward her, a hand lashing out to back hand the princess - who stumbled backward with a pained cry. "Mother?"
"You told me he was dead.”
Gwen's face paled as realization struck her, "Oh…but I thought he….no one could survive that fall…"
The Queen stared coldly at her daughter, "You will explain to me what really happened out there, daughter."
In a trembling voice Gwen explained, head dropping in shame as she finished her short story. She waited in tense silence for her mother to speak.
Her voice was cool, the heat of her anger mostly vanished. "You were careless. Hopefully a lesson has been learned?"
"Yes, mother. Forgive me, I shall not be so careless again."
"You are young, mistakes will be made. Still you should have been more careful. After I have taken care of this problem, you will be punished. Is that understood?"
Gwen nodded, still not able to meet her mother's eyes. "Yes, mother. I understand."
"Very well then," the Queen nodded slowly. "Then I shall kill the hunter. I know he is in the forest, it will not be hard to locate him from there." Flicking her robes behind her, the Queen departed. "I will be back in two days time, no more. When I return, our power will once again be secure."
*~*~*~*
Snow White hummed softly as he walked through the forest, a string of rabbits swinging heavily in his grip. The sisters would be most happy with the day's efforts, and he was quite looking forward to his bed. Well, whoever's bed it was he was sleeping in. He hoped 'Lord Brendan' didn't mind.
It certainly was the strangest living arrangement he'd made so far. A cottage and seven small women in the middle of a deep forest was a far cry from the rooms assigned to a royal hunter. Not that he was complaining, but he didn't care for this much seclusion. His humming tapered off into a tired sigh, his steady walk slowing to a stroll.
"What's such a pretty man doing all alone in the forest? Where's the lovely lass to keep you company?" A voice croaked, and Snow White jerked his head up.
An elderly woman stood on the path a few lengths ahead of him, stooped over and carrying a basket of food. "Madame. The better question would be to ask why a woman as lovely as yourself travels through these dangerous woods alone. Need you assistance?"
The woman laughed, "You flatter me, young man. I have long traveled this road, nothing on it can do me harm. I've not seen you before," she slowly drew closer. "What brings one so young as yourself into these gloomy woods?"
Snow White hesitated, "I…I am a hunter, madam. Hired by a lord in the city."
"I see. Not from these parts, either."
"No, madam. Merely a wanderer when not a hunter."
"I see…you are a pleasant sight in this dark place. You must be surrounded by ladies when in town."
Shaking his head in embarrassment, Snow White smiled uneasily. "Hardly madam. But I thank you. You must pardon my rudeness, but I'm expected back shortly and must be on my way."
"Of course, of course. Would you like a snack? An apple, perhaps? For humoring this old lady and chatting with her in the woods for a bit? They're quite tasty, I've just picked them myself not to long ago."
Snow smiled and accepted the red apple she held out for him, nodding politely as she said goodbye and continued on her way. Turning away he continued down his own path, looking back a couple of times until he saw that the woman had gone. Pausing a moment he turned and threw the apple into the woods to be lost amongst the trees. As the sound of its landing faded he resumed his slow, easy walk.
A few minutes later the cottage appeared in his sight, but a second later it grew blurry. He stumbled, feeling suddenly dizzy, and collapsed.
*~*~*~*
"That's a mighty fine poison, that one. The old bat knows her stuff. No magic at all in her attacks, the tart. Just a poisoned apple and lord knows what disguise she used to get close." Daisy clucked reprovingly as she stroked Snow's long, dark hair.
Her sisters and she were gathered around the cozy bed in the cottage attic, faces tense and unhappy. Amaryllis sniffed, "He's not so bright, to fall for such a trick."
Beside her, Lavender tilted her head thoughtfully, cheek resting in one hand. "I'm not so certain he fell for the ruse." She lifted his hand up, "His fingers are stained, meaning he touched it. But he didn't eat it - else he'd be dead. He must have suspected something, to have thrown it away. Which is what he had to have done, for we didn't find the apple anywhere near him."
Dandelion nodded in agreement, "Yes, Poppy and I found the apple a great distance from the path. Took us three whole days to find it, and that only because it was bothering the animals so much.
Iris sighed softly, "It's unfortunate we don't have a cure for it. There's no telling how long he'll sleep - it's a miracle he's even still alive. The lad has a knack for escaping death."
"Perhaps it's the curse." Amaryllis said dryly."
Daisy shrugged, "Perhaps it is. Though we all know there's no way the so-called curse his mother placed could ever work."
"Very true, but I wonder if--"
"Is there no one home to greet me? Iris? Daisy? Amaryllis? Dandelion? Lavender? Poppy? Buttercup?"
As one the women jumped, eyes wide at the sound of the voice coming from downstairs. Nearest the stairs, Buttercup rushed toward them to ward off the man coming up them - too late. A head peeked up above the railing just as Buttercup reached the stairs. "What in the world are you seven doing up here? Have you missed me that much?" The man laughed, red-brown eyes bright with mirth as he ventured further into the room. He seemed not to notice the dismayed expressions on their faces, "I know you absolutely hate when I leave but really, hanging around my bed is a bit…" His voice died as he caught sight of what really had them gathered around his bed.
"Who…who is this…" Brendan could not tear his eyes away from the man lying in his bed. He spoke to the women even as he continued to stare, "What have you been up to, my flowers?" Reaching up with one hand he pulled his glasses from his face, the sack he carried dropping carelessly to the floor as he knelt by the bedside. "Who is he? Why is he here?" Reaching out slowly he stroked one pale cheek, amazed at the softness of the skin.
Blinking and shoving strands of wheat blond hair from his face, he turned to stare at the women gathered around him, "Explain if you please."
"That is quite the tale. I always manage to miss the fun stuff…do you really think he's the son of Melanie? I never imagined…father spoke of her often when I was young…all this time searching for Melanie or any offspring and here he is in my bed. If I'd known there was dark magic working for me, I would have just waited here. Is dark magic supposed to be this pleasant? I have to say I don't too terribly mind being enthralled."
"Stop being foolish!" Amaryllis snapped.
"Amaryllis!" Daisy responded sharply, "Manners."
Brendan laughed, "Now, now, Daisy. I think I would be concerned if Ryllis was not yelling at me. But Ryllis, you know I am only jesting."
"Well, quite jesting and be serious!"
"As you command, my lady." Brendan bowed his head, and when he looked up again his expression had indeed turned serious. "It's rather lovely how it's all come together of a sudden. But I suppose that makes sense, yes? Here I am with the one person who could oust those witches from the throne…and he's in a poisoned sleep. Is there any way to wake him up?"
Lavender shrugged, "We are extremely fortunate the poison didn't kill him. It was however enough to put him into quite the slumber. I can only assume he will sleep until the poison is cleaned from his system. In the worst case, he'll not be strong enough to fight and die. But I doubt that will be the case."
Brendan nodded, lost in thought. His gaze again wandered back toward the sleeping man.
Daisy yawned, her sisters doing the same around her. Brendan laughed at them, "I can take a hint, my flowers. Get yourselves to bed; I shall stand vigil over our sleeping beauty here. And no, I won't misbehave so don't even suggest it. I'm not that bad."
A few sharp disagreements rang out, but slowly the sisters trudged across the room and down the stairs. Daisy paused, "I'll make up a bed for you beside the fire, Bren. In case you get too tired."
"Thank you, Daisy. Good night."
Alone in his small attic room, Brendan moved out his chair and sat on the edge of the bed, facing Snow White and leaning slightly over him. He lifted a hand to trail lightly down the sleeping man's cheek, amazed at the contrast in their skin. "I've searched the world for you, only to find you here." Snow White's skin was warm beneath his fingers, as were his lips as Brendan brushed them with his thumb. "You're certainly not what I expected, though neither am I complaining."
Reluctantly he rose and went back to his chair, but he dragged it closer to the bed that he might continue to watch over the sleeping man. Against his will he began to nod off, drooping more and more often into sleep until at last he ceased to move.
Blearily Brendan struggled to wake, frowning in annoyance at how stiff and sore he felt. Something soft touched his cheek and he jerked his eyes open. He gasped at what he saw, surging to his feet in surprise. "You're awake!"
Snow White guiltily jerked his hand back and stared back at him, "Are you…the Lord Brendan they're always mentioning? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to take your bed." He threw back the blankets and struggled to his feet - crying out shortly in surprise when the tall blonde standing over him shoved him back down.
Brendan smiled, as he made sure the other man remained in bed, "You're not bothering me at all, Snow White. Take my bed all you like. But how come you to be awake so soon?"
"I…what do you mean? What happened to me?"
Turning his head to look out the window on the far side of the room, Brendan realized with a yawn that he could not have been asleep for more than a few hours. He turned back and smiled at the confused Snow White, "I'm afraid you were rather neatly poisoned by the Queen." He winked, "I'm sure you get gifts all the time, being so pretty, but no more accepting apples from old ladies all right?"
Snow White ducked his head, "I wondered…but I threw it away…"
"Mmm…but it was a pretty potent poison. Just touching it was enough to harm you. At least you had the sense not to eat it. I am duly impressed you woke up so quickly - we had wondered if you'd wake up at all. Oh, but I've been rude. Yes, I am Brendan. None of that Lord stuff, they only do that when they actually remember to be polite. They never quite made it to more appropriate titles." Pulling his glasses from his nose and ignoring the hair that flopped in his face, Brendan sat on the side of the bed just as he had earlier. He tilted the other man's head up, "You and I have a great deal to discuss, Snow White."
Confusion clouded Snow White's face, "What have we to discuss? Am I in the way here?"
"Not at all. So far as I'm concerned, you are very much right where you belong. But that can be dealt with later. Tell me, what do you know of the Queen that has twice now tried to kill you?"
"Nothing. I'm new to this land. I was not there a day before the princess shot me."
"Mmm…then you do not know to whom she was once married?"
"No…what does that matter?" Snow White attempted to pull free from the grip that Brendan still had on his chin, which the blonde man permitted him to do.
Brendan grinned, his had tugging at one strand of black hair teasingly, " That Queen is my mother, her daughter my sister. They managed to have me banished when I was only fifteen, my father died not too long after. For many years he was under the spell they cast with their magically crafted beauty…but towards the end of his life he managed to overcome it enough to draft a will…in it he left the kingdom not to his children, but to the woman he loved before dark magic corrupted him. In the case that woman died, her children would inherit the kingdom. Do you know who that woman was?"
If Snow White were not already so pale, he would have been pale at that moment. He shook his head, black hair tumbling over and around his shoulders. "You can't possibly mean what I think you mean."
"Oh, but I do. My father dearly loved the Lady Melanie, and when he died he left all he possessed to her and her children. You, my lovely Snow, are a prince."
"That…that's not possible!" Jerking away and climbing clumsily to his feet Snow White clambered to get away from Brendan. "That would mean the curse…all this time I've been trying not to cause trouble and I fell right into it." He brought his hands up to bury his face in them, hair falling around his head to hide him completely. "Even you, whom I've spent so long trying to avoid…a kingdom ruled by only a Queen and her daughter, I was so certain it was safe."
Brendan sat a moment, startled into silence. Shaking himself a moment later, he rose and crossed the room. He pulled Snow White's hands from his face and forced the man to look at him. "You worry for nothing. When your mother spoke those words, it was already too late. She could not have known that my father was under a spell, or that he would eventually set all to rights on his own. Your mother's 'curse' was nothing more than an unintentional echo of my father's desires."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that you're not bewitching me or anything of the sort. If I'm enthralled, it's only because I just can't help myself."
"Enthralled?" The hunter's face darkened, "It is my looks you are enthralled with, even if as you say there is no curse."
"Oh? I admit I have my faults but falling easily to beauty is not one of them Beauty generally leads to arrogance, and arrogant men are aggravating. I should know - I am one." He winked, unrepentant. "Though I didn't get mine from being especially good looking. I grant that we have not yet become well acquainted…but that is easily remedied." Brendan grinned mischievously and moved closer to Snow White, who took several steps back - only to have his back collide with the wall.
Snow White frowned up at the man looming over him, back pressed against the rough timbers of the attack wall. "Do you know how often men - and women - have tried this?"
"Tried? Oh, countless I'm sure. But I'm not going to try." The blonde man said confidently, remembering the hand that had caressed his cheek as he had slept in the chair.
Doubt flooded Snow White's voice, "You're not?"
"Certainly not. I'm going to succeed." So saying Brendan ducked his head and covered Snow White's lips with his own, capturing the man's wrists before the hunter could take a swing. Briefly grateful the shorter hunter wasn't trying to kick or knee him, Brendan pressed his advantage and deepened the kiss. He smiled into it as the hunter moaned and began to respond, arms slackening as he gradually forgot he had intended to hit the blonde man.
Smirking Brendan broke the kiss, though he maintained his grip on Snow White's wrists. "Am I succeeding yet?"
Snow White said nothing, glaring a moment before dropping his head in humiliation.
Brendan's smirk faded away, "Are you always this mild mannered? I always thought hunters were more aggressive. I was only teasing you, I didn't mean to actually upset you."
"I've always been quiet - believe it or not that helps the hunting." Snow White looked up at him, pale skin still flushed. "Besides, most of my time has been spent hiding from you."
The blonde man stroked one of the flushed cheeks, "Well I've found you anyway. Now all that's left is to take back what is yours." He winked again.
Snow White was displeased, "All that's left? It seems to me there's plenty left. I was nearly shot by a jealous princess, only to be kept here indefinitely by a bunch of women who would explain nothing. Then I was poisoned by a jealous witch, only to wake up to be accosted by a stranger who turns out to be the prince who I've spent my life avoiding only to find out there was never a curse in the first place. Except that everything in the curse seems to have come to pass anyway."
"Mmm…not so meek anymore…" Brendan commented mildly, but his humor was quick to fade. "Okay, so there's a great deal left to take care. But I promise that you are indeed supposed to be the ruler of this kingdom. I also promise that there is no curse; I can only deeply apologize that you've lived so long thinking otherwise." Tentatively he reached out to play with Snow White's dark hair, silently relieved when the distressed hunter made no move to stop him.
"And your supposed enthrallment?" Snow White asked, not looking at him. "You'll forgive my bitterness, but I wonder if it doesn't relate to getting your kingdom back?"
Brendan frowned, fingers stilling in the dark hair. "I…clearly you would have no reason to believe me…but I'm genuinely interested in you. From the moment I saw you, sleeping in my bed. I'll say again that as beautiful as you are, that alone would not captivate me to this degree."
"Men. You're all quite hopeless really."
The two men jumped, and Brendan stepped back a bit, though he would not allow Snow White to move away from him. He glared at Daisy, "You're intruding."
Daisy smiled, her head just visible behind the railing, "Hardly. So far as I can tell I'm about to keep you two from bungling things. You're lucky you didn't wake the others. Then there really would have been trouble." Slowly and quietly she finished climbing up the stairs, winking at Snow White before turning serious. "Honestly, Bren. You have no tact whatsoever. You should have fetched one of us the moment he woke, not tried to attack him in the middle of the night."
"Who's attacking?"
Daisy raised her brows. Brendan rolled his eyes and muttered beneath his breath. He half glared at the small woman, "Okay, okay. So I got a little carried away."
"You are incorrigible. It's no wonder you were botching this meeting so completely." She shook her head and turned to address Snow White, "Snow, I can assure you completely that there really is no curse. We would have told you sooner but we wanted you to stay here in the woods where it was safe, and where Brendan could find you. He's been looking for you since his father died."
"So why does it seem like everything my mother asked for in her curse has come to pass? My appearance, him, and the fact that I seem to be in possession of a kingdom?"
The small woman smiled fondly. "Your mother and his father really did love each other, of that I have no doubt. I believe that they were meant to be together and would have ruled as King and Queen someday but for the interference of an ambitious witch. Your mother sadly did not realize the truth and vanished to places unknown. In the meantime Brendan, your father's own broken heart gradually overcame the spell woven by the witch, to the point that he was able to fix what he could by giving his kingdom to your mother - and you. Fate rules everything, but even it can have its plans go awry."
She paused to take a breath and smile reassuringly as the two men waited in silence for her to continue, "But fate also has a way of fixing itself. When your parents did not stay together as fate had intended, it began to fix its plans in the form of you two. The very moment your parents were torn apart by that witch, the two of you were meant to be together."
"But none of that explains my appearance. If one part of the curse came true…"
Daisy clucked impatiently, "There is no harm at all in a mother wishing her child to be beautiful, lad. Perhaps the fact that your beauty refuses to be scarred is lingering magic, her desire to see you obtain what she lost. I do not think she was entirely malicious in making her wish. Merely heart broken."
Snow White was silent.
Brendan suffered no such affliction, "I told you I was sincere. Really, I only care about the kingdom insofar as freeing it from my mother and sister. How I escaped being that rotten, I'll never know."
"You're too insufferable to be rotten." Daisy said with affectionate sternness. "Now stop nattering, Bren."
"Nattering? I think you have me confused with your sisters, Daisy." Making a face at the slight woman, he returned his attention to the silent hunter. "Come now, won't you at least give me a chance? I promise I'll try to behave."
Snow White sighed, suddenly looking tired.
Daisy clucked again, her tone reproving. "Brendan, you are a ninny. He's barely recovered from the poison and you're trying to set up a relationship. Not to mention everything else that's been thrown at him."
Brendan huffed, "So what do you suggest?"
The small woman cocked an eyebrow, "First I suggest you not take that tone with me. Second I suggest you both get some sleep - Brendan that means you go down stairs. Third I suggest we wait for Snow to recover and then head to the castle to take care of matters once and for all. Lastly I suggest that after we've disposed of the witches the two of you take a long vacation to become familiar while my sisters and I set your kingdom to rights."
"That's quite a few suggestions."
Daisy ignored him, "Come now, Snow. I know you're made of sterner stuff than you're showing here."
Snow White spoke up slowly, as if still thinking through all that had been said. "I…I've been dealing with strange things since I was born and always managed to come through them. I see no reason that I won't come through this as well. It's only that it's a bit overwhelming."
Smiling brightly and clasping her hands, Daisy nodded. "Most people say that about Brendan. Even when he was a boy he acted that way. I think it's part of the reason the Queen feared him."
"No, mother was just mad I liked all of you more than her. She's going to be livid when she realizes that you not only survived the curses she placed on those ribbons but have been living in her forest the entire time."
Snow White blinked at that and turned to regard Daisy, "You used to live at the palace?"
The woman nodded, eyes bright. "Oh yes, we were healers and advisors and all to the king. The Seven Sages we were called, and a serious threat to the Queen though we did not realize it until too late. Back then her magic was far too strong and unlike any we'd encountered before - mostly because of her dratted mirror. She tried to kill us after the king died."
Brendan picked up the story, "I found them here in the forest and pulled free a ribbon from Poppy's hair by mistake. She woke and from there we have somehow managed to be here." He smiled at Snow White, who bemusedly managed to return it.
Daisy yawned, "We're more than strong enough now to be rid of her. That however is a story for the breakfast table; enough nattering for the time being. Now that we're all here together we have time aplenty to plot our course of action. For now it is time for bed. Brendan, you have two minutes to show yourself downstairs before I will be forced to take drastic measures."
Brendan paled slightly at the word "drastic measures" but relaxed again as Daisy vanished from sight. He turned back to Snow White, "Best do as the lady says, I guess. I hope I haven't put you off me completely, pretty Snow." He stepped forward abruptly to brush a quick, soft kiss across the hunter's lips. "A kiss good night, to wish you pleasant dreams." He winked, "And in the morning I'll bring a kiss to wake you." Smiling and stepping away, he turned and moved to retrieve his discarded glasses. With one last wink he vanished down the stairs.
Bemused Snow White let out a tired yawn of his own, body still stiff and slow from the poison that had apparently overtaken it. He collapsed into the bed and pulled the blankets securely around him, turning to lay on his side. Abruptly he realized that the sheets still carried the scent of the man he'd only just met, a mix of the forest pine and a trace of something tangy that immediately called to mind the forceful blonde man. Almost unconsciously he brought his fingers up to touch his lips, where it seemed the feel of the other man's mouth still lingered. The hand dropped away as he slowly allowed his eyes to drift shut. His last thought was of what it would be like to be kissed awake…
Something warm…Snow White's eyes slowly fluttered open, and he blinked sleepily up at the bright, smiling face looking down at him.
"Good morning! Ready for an exciting day?" Brendan moved back and waited as Snow White slowly climbed from his bed, shaking out his long hair and turning to examine the crowd gathered in the suddenly too small attic room.
The hunter shook his head again, "Good morning."
Seven women chorused a return greeting and instantly began to talk and debate as they dragged the two men downstairs for breakfast. Amaryllis rolled her eyes, catching Snow White's own. "I bet you're wishing you'd just eaten the blasted apple."
A surprised laugh escaped Snow White, "No, not really. But speaking of which, do you think the Queen has figured out yet that I'm still a rival?"
Brendan lifted an indignant Buttercup from her seat and moved her to where he would normally sit, so that he was sitting next to Snow White. He grinned at the hunter, "Doesn't matter. If she hasn't figured it out yet, she will when we "storm" the castle and do away with her."
The hunter peered at him, pausing in the process of starting his porridge. "You seem awfully complacent about the idea of "doing away" with your own mother."
"You insult me," Brendan said seriously, "I'm not complacent at all - I'm deliriously happy. That woman and my sister are both atrocious. They're evil, vicious, power hungry witches. Maybe when I was younger I didn't understand, but it wasn't hard over the years to put two and two together. I watched my father die a slow, agonizing death because of that witch. My sister never once hesitated to follow in her footsteps; it's the way with such witches. My loyalty was to my father."
Snow White said nothing, only nodding before finally digging into his breakfast. Around them the sisters plotted and planned.
*~*~*~*
"Mirror, Mirror
On the Wall
Who's the fairest
Of them all?"
"Despite your beauty
and that of Gwen
Snow White remains
Fairest in the land."
The Queen stared at the mirror, cold with anger and disbelief. Behind her Gwen let out an outraged gasp. "Mother! I though you killed him? That apple should have spelled his death the moment he touched it."
"I…never has anyone escaped that poison. How is that damnable hunter so fortunate?"
"You…your Majesty…" The Steward crashed into the Queen's tower chamber, gasping for the breath he'd lost running up the endless, winding stairs. "Majesty…"
"What is it?" The Queen snapped, impatience turning her cold rage to a heated one.
The Steward fidgeted nervously, "Downstairs, Majesty. Prince Brendan, and-and the Seven Sages."
The Queen roared in anger and disbelief, surging forward and past the shaken servant to see for herself who her visitors were. Her ponderous robes seemed not to slow her down at all, her daughter scurrying behind in a cloud of lavish silk. Together they appeared in the throne room - and froze.
Standing together in a semi circle were nine figures - seven of them small enough to be mistaken at a glance for children. The Queen stared hatefully at them, still unable to believe what she was seeing. "I should have been more thorough with you."
Daisy smiled, "You never did have the patience to see that someone was properly killed. Or perhaps it's simply arrogance."
The Queen sniffed in contempt, "I had not thought it necessary to check on your bodies. They were left to the wilds of my forest, that should have been enough."
"Except that I was lurking nearby, Mother. Did you honestly think I'd leave the country while you still lived?"
His mother hissed in anger; beside her Gwen was muttering beneath her breath. The princess spoke up, "How is it you've come this far? All nine of you should be dead - including him.” She stared hatefully at the hunter standing beside her brother.
Brendan sneered, "Did not the sisters here once say that as beauty was the reason you rose to power, it would also be your downfall? You worked so hard to keep out all beauty but your own you grew careless in all else, and in doing so led the son of Lady Melanie straight to my arms."
"I will kill you all!" So saying the Queen lifted her arms, as did her daughter. But there incantations never reached completion as they were thrown back by a spell meticulously woven over the years by the small sisters. Amaryllis snorted inelegantly as she regarded the witches crumbled unconscious on the ground, "Pathetic. So confident in their skills they never bothered to improve them in all this time. I really was expecting a full-fledged fight. We should have just waited until after lunch." Approaching the still figures she kicked the Queen soundly a couple of times, as if to reassure herself no one would be waking anytime soon.
Lavender sighed, "And why should they have bothered to improve anything when they thought all potential threats long dead? What shall we do with them, do you suppose?"
Poppy mimicked Amaryllis' snort, "Make sure we kill them. Let's not be repeating the Queen's mistake."
"We will burn them. That has always been the way to best dispose of witches." Brendan said with finality. "I will leave the finer points to you lot."
"Oh?" Daisy looked at him, "Aren't you even going to stay for the execution? Surely you're not in that much of a hurry to run off."
"No, I most certainly am not going to stay for their burning. I will not honor their deaths with my presence, and I trust you seven to do the job properly. I plan on leaving now, before the rest of the castle realize its Queen has been disposed and they trap their new prince and myself here." He turned to regard Snow White, who had remained silent through everything. "Unless you want to stay? I of course realize you may not want to--"
"On the contrary," Snow White interrupted, voice slow and careful, "I am still finding it hard everything that has happened. I'm nothing but a hunter…I would prefer to not become a prince quite so soon. And it would be nice to travel without fear of tripping a curse, to learn if I really want what has been suddenly thrown at me." He smiled every so slightly at the prince.
Brendan smirked back, "Oh, you'll want it all right. I'll see to that." Bidding the Seven Sages a fond farewell, and glaring hatefully at his fallen family on last time, Brendan grabbed Snow White's wrist and pulled him close for a quick, chaste kiss before leading them from the castle and back into the forest.
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Date: 2004-03-17 08:50 am (UTC)Favorite line EVAR.
*Stamps approval on yet another awesome story*
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Date: 2004-03-17 08:52 am (UTC)lmao. I was rather pleased when he decided to say that.
thank you, EvT!
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Date: 2004-03-17 10:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-03-17 10:28 am (UTC)My pleasure! Thank you for reading!
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Date: 2004-03-17 01:10 pm (UTC)I'm so happy!
My favoritest part!:
"Do you know how often men - and women - have tried this?"
"Tried? Oh, countless I'm sure. But I'm not going to try."
"You're not?"
"Certainly not. I'm going to succeed."
Waaaaaa!!! *dances* This has made my day! Thank you.
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Date: 2004-03-17 06:07 pm (UTC)Loved that part! ^_^ This was *so* immensly awesome! I loved it!
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Date: 2004-03-17 08:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-03-18 07:21 am (UTC)Oh, I used to love those! I think most all my stories are influence by the fact that I love fairytales. Glad you liked, thanks for reading!
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Date: 2004-03-18 07:38 am (UTC)lmao. I don't think I realized just how much he rambled there until I read it here. It's cool how everyone had a different favorite part.
Thanks FQ!
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Date: 2004-03-18 08:06 am (UTC)*glomps back* I'm so glad you liked it! I had a lot of fun writing it for you, and that was my favorite part so you've really made my day.
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Date: 2004-03-18 11:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-03-18 12:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-04-09 01:16 pm (UTC)