Crimson Snow

The tale of snow white and the seven dwarves has been told many ways through the years. Some parts are left out, and others added in until the story is so warped with truth and lies that one doesn’t know where the legend begins and the myth ends. But one thing that has always remained true is the beginning. A young princess who’s true beauty outshines her stepmothers. But it is here that myth begins getting mixed with the legend. So I will tell the story that I know. The one passed down to me not from mother, or grandmother, but from my great grandmother who loves the true nature of fairytales as much as I do.

Once upon a time…scratch that… A very long time ago before the time of the internet, before cars, and phones there lived a Queen who’s beauty was matched by no other. Her husband doted on her, gave her everything he could imagine, yet the Queen was still not happy. There was one thing the King had yet to give her that the Queen wanted most of all. A child of her own. They had tried for years and still they had not produced an heir. Finally in a bought of desperation the Queen traveled to a witch to see if there was something she could do.

When the Queen arrived at the witches little shack she was greeted by a horrible stench and grisly sight. The bodies of young women hung around the witches shack, and pieces of the bodies were missing. The eyes from one young women, the lips from another, and so on and so forth. The Queen turned to the men that had accompanied her and spoke quietly to them, “If this witch can not help me, I want her destroyed. And if she does help me, after the birth of my child I want her to be burned so she can not harm anymore young women.” The guards nodded in approval and gave the Queen their word. She gave them all a beaming smile and then turned to the witches door and knocked.

There was a shambling noise from inside and then a whimper before the door opened. Standing before the Queen was a old hunched women with blood staining every piece of fabric on her. For a moment the witch stood stunned to see the Queen, then gave her a rickety bow and grunted, “What do you want Queen Zaphira?” Queen Zaphira ignored the insolence of the old witch and spoke quickly of the problem she was having. She did not want to stand in the presence of the witch and the bodies of the young women for to long. When her tale was done the old witch scratched her chin and turned her chiseled old face away as she thought. Finally she spoke her voice sounding sinister as she told the Queen what it was she was to do, “I can help you Zaphira. You will need to follow my directions exactly if you want this to work. I will give you a potion to help the King produce the perfect child for you. The night before you conceive your child you must recite what you want your child to look like. The color of hair, lips, eyes, and skin is most important. When that is done give the king he potion and the next night when you retire to your bed chambers, you will conceive the child.”

The Queen was suspicious of the old witch, but took the potion she was given anyway and retreated back to her waiting carriage. On the way back to the castle it began snowing and the Queen began thinking over the features of her perfect child. She already decided she wanted a daughter and wanted her to be more beautiful then herself. She made sure to mentally note everything she wanted for her child and by the time she had arrived back at the castle her perfect daughter was alive and skipping inside her mind.

That night the Queen prepared the potion as she had been told. She sat over it and slowly added the final ingredients and recited the final words, “Coal for hair so black, snow for skin so white and pure, a sapphire for eyes so blue, and blood for lips so red.” The potion began to bubble and a puff of smoke escaped from the cup as it settled. The Queen stared at the cup and left it on her dressing table to sit over night and retired, confident that by that time tomorrow, she would be pregnant with a child of her own.

Bells tolled through the streets of Baramor. People bustled towards the courtyard of the castle as a figure clutching a small bundle came out onto the balcony. It was King Leonidas, holding his child in his arms, but there was an air of sadness that befell upon the crowd as their king turned tear stained eyes on them, “The child has been born, her name will be Antoinette. But I am afraid that Queen Zaphira has passed during her birth.” The crowd below the King went silent as they all digested the news he gave them. The King watched over his people and then carefully lifted the bundle he had in his arms to reveal a beautiful baby girl with ebony hair, Sapphire blue eyes, Snow white skin, and blood red lips. The crowd gasped and then clapped as tears of both joy and happiness fell upon all of their cheeks.

In the back of the crowd a old hunched women stood with a slightly sinister grin upon her face. Beside her a teenager stood in shabby clothes and dirt stains upon her cheeks. The young girl looked up at the withered old women and gave her a hopeful grin, “You told me that Zaphira would die. Does this mean the rest will be true as well, Grandmother?”

“I always speak the truth Madeline. You will marry the King in 3 years time. We must prepare you for that day. You can not go to the King’s bed like this. Then in due time you will kill the girl and her father so you will be Queen.”

“And if our plans fail?”

“They will not. Have faith in me Madeline. I have not been wrong yet.”

That night as Madeline and her grandmother settled into their nightly routine a loud bang shook the weathered old shack. Madeline looked at her grandmother as the old women motioned her into a hidden panel below the floor. The Old witch opened the door and spoke out into the night, ‘’I know your out there, come out you hooligans.”

“Old witch! Stay where you are.”

“Who are you? Get off my land!”

‘By the order of King Leonidas, we are to take you, Alandra Etyl, into custody for your dealings in witchcraft.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“That’s what they all say lady. Come on.”

Madeline could hear the scrapes and muffled curses of the men as her grandmother fought. Finally it stopped and one man cursed loudly, ‘Stupid btch. I’ll be glad to watch her turn to ashes at the stake.”

For a moment Madeline thought to follow the soldiers, but the entered the small hut and began searching. Pans were tossed around, bed covers were thrown to the ground, and feathers flew as they ripped apart everything. Madeline lay very still where she was and cried silently in her musty hiding place. Finally the men were gone and she appeared cautiously from her hiding place. Tears made rivulets along her cheeks as she stared down at a small puddle of blood. It was at that moment that Madeline swore her revenge against Leonidas and his precious baby girl.