Snow White- the Queen's World You Didn't Know
TWISTED FAIRYTALES - SNOW WHITE- THE QUEEN
CHAPTER 1
Princess Alignite sat down in front of her mirror, combing her brush through her thick, creamy brown hair. Her fair white skin glowed silver in the dim moon light, her full red lips caught between her peal teeth. Her rosy cheeks stood out from her pale skin, making her seem so much more alive. She drew her eyes away from her comb, then looked at the mirror.
“Mirror Mirror on the wall,
Who is the fairest one of them all?” Her long eyelashes blinked calmly, as if she already knew the answer.
“My princess, you are the fairest one of them all.” The mirror replied, for a second, the glass turning full gold. Alignite smiled confidently, her elegance evident in every movement. When the door knocked, she immediately stood up, brushing her silk nightgown, and ran hurriedly to her bed. The door opened and a maid appeared, her white apron on her black dress with puffed sleeves, her large shadow looming over Alignite.
“Oh our princess is asleep,” the maid muttered, drawing the door closed again.
The next day, Alignite woke up early in the morning, her eyes bright with excitement. The maids rushed in and tied her long hair into braids and plaits, cleverly twining them on top of one another making an elegant, trendy bun on the bottom of her head. They dressed her in silk white, her white sleeves rich velvet, her long lace stitched by hand, the embroidery on her neckline done by the finest artist. She slipped into a pair of beautifully engraved slippers and twirled around, smiling at the maids. One of the maids wiped her tears, proud at her work.
The princess looked absolutely beautiful. Her veil was cast in front of her face, her sleeves connecting to a golden ring on her middle finger. The long gown flew down like a mermaid’s tail, interpreting her body line to the fullest. The maids all clapped, and the princess laughed merrily, hugging each one of them.
“Thank you ladies,” she said, her voice high toned, colored with enthusiasm.
“Our lovely princess if finally getting married at last!” They cried, looking at her admiringly.
“Oh it joys me to see you off with such a wonderful prince!” Another wailed, her tears falling on her apron. The princess hushed them down, her own feelings wild.
In a couple of minutes, the Princess Alignite and the Prince Edwick were man and women, kissing passionately in front of the whole nation. They embraced in joy, sweet pink rose petals flowering over their heads.
In a couple of year’s time, the princess was a Queen, and the prince was the King. Not soon after, the Queen was pregnant.
“Ah my love,” the king said, kissing her hand. The queen smiled happily. She gazed down at her large stomach, which wouldn’t oblige to fit in her corset. “You are the joy of my life.”
“And you mine.” The queen replied her fingers twined in the king’s dark chocolate hair. He kissed her again on her eyelids, and when he did, he saw smile wrinkles on her eyes. For a second, the queen felt him freeze. Then, as if nothing happened, he bent over again to kiss her on the mouth. “I must tend the royal meetings my love,” the king said as he walked out of the room. The queen sighed, then suddenly alarmed, hurriedly moved in front of the mirror.
She saw her reflection, her dark hair slightly faded, wrinkles decorating her pale skin. Her rosy cheeks were no longer a beautiful feature; they stood out awkwardly among her ashen face.
“Mirror mirror on the wall,
Who is the fairest of them all?” The mirror flashed full gold for a second.
“You are the fairest one of them all.” The mirror replied with a certain tone. The queen sighed in relief, clutching to her chair. She sat down, picking up the piece of embroidery she was doing. It was a picture of an apple tree, its dark trunk connected to the rick green leaves. The queen looked at the window sill, the dark color suddenly appealing to her.
“If only my child had hair as dark as this windowsill,” she murmured gingerly. Then, she looked up, to see the pale white snow that was falling on the ground. “If only my child had skin as fair as the snow,” Finally, she looked at her embroidery, then not knowing what she was doing, accidently pricked her finger. Bright red blood oozed out of the cut. “If only my child had lips as red as my blood,” the queen said finally, licking the blood off her finger. She sighed, then lay back.
Six months later, she went in labor. The king stood frantically in front of her room, walking around in endless circles in distress. He flinched every so often, surprised at the agonizing screams the queen was making. After a whole twenty seven hours of labor, the king was allowed to see his new daughter.
Her skin was slimy pink, little hairs on top of her head. She cried loudly, her small little fingers wailing as she moved. The king wrapped her in a blanket and picked her up, examining her. The queen looked at her and smiled. She was the most beautiful thing she had ever created.
The child had no name until she was four. One day, the queen walked out to see her daughter, who was dancing along the grass, flowers picked and in her hair. Her hair was curly, bouncing up and down her shoulders, pitch black. Her skin was a beautiful fair white, her rosy cheeks standing out completely. Her cherry red lips were full and twirled up, into a huge smile. She wore a little daffodil dress, with mud splashes for decoration. The queen laughed her heart full of warmth. With her pitch black hair and pale white skin, she decided to call this girl, Snow White.
As years passed, the queen grew more and more old, her once beautiful creamy brown hair fading into a lighter shade, no longer soft and bouncy but dry. Her once fair white skin had begun to be tinted with wrinkles, and the rosy glow from her cheeks had disappeared completely. On the other hand, Snow White was at the peak of her beauty. Her gentle grace had developed the playfulness of her father’s side and the elegance from her mother’s side. She had velvety black hair, coiled up into beautiful hairdos, her pale white skin with her rosy cheeks and cherry red lips, her tall slim body fit for any clothing. The queen stood up in annoyance. She stared at her daughter from the palace windows, as she danced and flirted with a prince. When the prince left, she saw him mouth,
“You are the most beautiful women on earth.” The queen’s nostrils flared, her eyes opening wide with shock. She rushed to the mirror and nearly screamed.
“Mirror mirror on the wall,
Who is the fairest one of all?!” The mirror did not turn gold this time.
“My queen, I am sorry to say that the fairest of the kingdom is not you, but your daughter Snow White.” The queen froze, then shook her head, her fingers to her temples. She sat down in horror.
“No, she is my daughter, I should be proud…” she muttered, not willing to accept her unknown jealousy. She thought of the pain of her labor and beauty of her child. Closing her eyes, she imagined her and her daughter side by side, and what comparison would be made. Agitated, she decided to take a walk and breathe in some fresh air. When she walked out, she gasped, so appalled at the sight she saw.
Her daughter, her own daughter was embraced in the arms of her husband, her finger twirling in his hair, sharing the lover’s stare. The queen clenched her fists tight, blinking again and again to make sure she had seen right. All the doubts that she had about her daughter suddenly came alive, and she hurriedly ran to a bush, hiding behind it, observing her daughter and husband from a distance. As she watched, the king took her into the castle doors and soon, they walked up the steps. As the sun shone, she saw their shadow through the curtains. They were kissing; her daughter and husband were kissing. She saw her husband pin her to the wall before the sun moved, the shadow disappearing. Fury bubbled inside. She didn’t know what to think. Now, it wasn’t even
a matter of beauty, it was a matter of lying, incest and family bond. Utter betrayal swam over her, her eyes squinted in severe frowning, burrows furrowed up straight, lips quivering in disgust. No words escaped her mouth as she shook. The only thought she could think was the two of them alone, inside the king’s chambers, doing…doing what? The queen stormed up into her room and sat down on her bed, constantly looking out the window to see signs of the princess Snow White. For hours she sat there, looking down every few minutes, until the sun slowly started to set.
And there Snow White came out reluctantly, her face flushed red, her hair hastily tied, shy smile on her face. The king kissed her hands gingerly, then let her go. The queen swallowed back her rancor and calmly walked down the steps. Snow White ran right into her. The queen looked at her in disgust, the love replaced by bitter hate of betrayal.
“Where have you been?” She demanded.
Snow White looked ashen with surprise. “Nowhere,” she managed, her fingers crossed behind her. The queen laughed frightfully, the situation was so ridiculous.
“Are you claiming me to be a witch?” Snow White gasped.
“Oh no mother, of course not-“ The queen grabbed her arm and shook her fingers, where the cross was made. Snow White quickly undid it, fingers shaking.
“What have you been doing?” The queen asked again, her eyes wide with fury.
“I-I…I’ve been in father’s room-“
“Doing what!” The queen screeched, her face red from rage.
“I was just…mother, I… I can’t tell you.” The queen looked at her daughter in pain, looked at the monster she created. Suddenly, she thought the black hair was too black, the rosy cheeks were too pink; the cherry lips were too red. Suddenly, Snow White looked like a witch.
“You are a worthless child.” She said bluntly. Snow White blinked back tears. It was not so much that she was sad that her mother had just abandoned her, but because her pride did not allow her to be called ‘worthless’, especially from the women her lover once loved.
“You are the worthless one, mother.” Snow White said, glaring. The queen opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again. Finally, she said,
“Why?” Snow White smiled slyly.
“You could not produce an heir, and you grew old right after you had me. You know, Edwick talks about how annoying, barren, ridiculous-“
“Enough!” The queen screamed, slapping her daughter. Snow White fell to the ground, shaking with new found fear. “Do you think you have the world now that your father adores you? You are a sick human being, not worthy to be of the royal line! I ban you from ever coming to this kingdom- again!” Snow White stood up, her hand clasped around her red cheek.
“I hate you.” She said bitterly. The queen just smiled with no humor.
“You, I.” She replied and Snow White stomped off, walking outside the palace gates. She suddenly turned around and screamed,
“Let’s see what Edwick says when he heard you banned me!” With that, she ran off, the sun setting behind her.
CHAPTER 2
“Mirror mirror on the wall,
Who is the fairest one of them all?” The queen recited, anxious to hear the magic mirror’s opinion.
“My queen, Snow White in the woods is the fairest one of all.” The queen grinded her teeth. She felt destroyed and isolated, her husband had betrayed her, her daughter had betrayed her and there was no one she could confide in. After days of thinking, she called in a huntsman. All the curtains in her chamber were draped, the room in complete darkness,
“I have a favor to ask of you,” she hissed, wrapped in black.
“What may the lovely queen ask of?”
“Do not flatter me,” the queen snapped, distressed. “I want this to be between us.” The queen held up a bag of gold. “There are ten more of these bags. If you succeed, you will own all of them.” The huntsman, who was poor with five mouths to feed, was delighted.
“Yes, with honor my queen.” The queen instructed him to come closer with one finger and drew him into the darkness.
“Kill Snow White.” She said flatly. The huntsman seemed shocked.
“But-but my queen-“
“No buts!” The queen yelled. “There are reasons that are…much to humiliating to be shared. To make sure, bring me her heart-“ she stood up and walked towards her glass table, further into the darkness, and picked up a gold box. “Put it in here so I can see.”
“Y-yes, my lady.” The huntsman replied and walked out the room.
Every night, the queen would ask her mirror who was the fairest one of all. And every night, the mirror would reply with ‘Snow White’. This made the queen furious. She saw her wrinkled expression and drooped eyelids, her large pores and dry hair. By severe stress and lack of sleep, it seemed as if the queen was aging by years. When the king asked her where Snow White had gone, the queen refused to speak to him and shut herself inside her chamber, not coming out into the light. Finally, after exactly one week, the huntsman came back with the golden box.
“My queen, I have returned.” He said, with anxiety written over his face. His face struck with fear, he pulled out the golden box from his sack and handed it to the queen with shaking hands. The queen snatched it off his hands and looked at it, and saw the red heart, and in disgust, shut it immediately and threw in the fire.
“You may leave.” She said, pointing to the ten bags of gold. The huntsman bowed deeply and hurriedly scurried off taking the ten bags. With a slightly more brightened face, she walked up to the magic mirror and smiled cunningly. “Mirror mirror on the wall,
Who is the fairest one of them all?” The fire cackled.
“My fair queen, it is true that you are fair,” the queen was about to laugh. “But with Snow White alive with the seven dwarfs, you are yet the second of the kingdom.” The queen’s laugh turned into a screech.
“What?” She screamed, tearing the curtain from the window, the heavy velvet falling with a loud ‘thud’ on the marble floors. She looked desperately for the huntsman, but he was long gone, run away into the woods. Driven by fear and madness, the queen worked witch craft.
She created a poisonous comb, with beautifully embedded yellow pearls on elegantly carved wood, and tucked it away inside her little brown basket. Then, she drank a potion to disguise herself as a helpless old lady, one who was desperate to earn money. With that, she set off to the woods.
Strolling along, her heart thumped. Though she seemed hideous on the outside, the queen’s heart was not yet fully tainted. She still felt the urge to want to hug Snow White, but it was soon followed by a feeling of deep disgust and hatred for feeling so. Although Snow White had done an unforgivable thing, she was still her daughter and the queen felt extremely guilty for wanting to kill her. Still, she knew deep down in her heart that there was nothing to be done. Allowing the large trees to give her cover, the queen spied on Snow White, who was indeed, living with seven dwarfs. Hatred bubbled up. While the queen was in severe distress, gaining age by years and absolutely miserable, Snow White had been living in a laughing, warm and gentle world. It was hardly fair. Fair? The world was never a fair place to begin with. Pushing the thoughts out of her head, she watched as Snow White saw the seven dwarfs off. When she assumed it was safe, she quickly ran to the house and knocked on the door.
“Cheap, cheap, cheap!” She cried, trying her best to get rid of the humiliation. “Cheap combs for sale,” the queen continued, her withered hands grasping the door knob. Snow White opened it, rushing to the door, her elegance not yet faded. She looked at the queen with pity and guided her in the house. The house was very small, certainly no match for the palace. The queen wondered if the seven dwarfs were making her a maid. She only knew once person who was capable of making the place look so cleaned and organized. “I sell some beautiful combs lovely lady, please, try one.” She croaked, and Snow White immediately held one out, not because she wanted to buy them, but because of pity. The queen felt utter mortific
ation, but stayed still as Snow White picked up the comb. She saw with quivering lips, relieved but anxious of what would happen at the same time. Snow White took the comb and pushed it through her hair, just as the queen had twenty years back, on her wedding night. The queen sighed as Snow White fell to the ground. Having nothing to say, she walked out of the house, her head up high.
When she was back at her palace, she got rid of the hideous disguise and stood in front of her mirror. She was extremely happy to see that her skin was not yet that old, and that now that Snow White had fallen, she would be the fairest of the kingdom.
“Mirror mirror on the wall,
Who is the fairest one of all?”
“Snow White is the fairest one my queen,
The dwarfs have picked the comb out nice and clean.” The queen screamed in fury, throwing things at the wall, pushing everything off of the tables, making an utter fuss in the palace.
“She will die, even if it costs me my life!” The queen determined, utterly raged.
CHAPTER 3
Going through the book of spells and potions, she found the perfect way to make Snow White die. She would feed her the poisonous apple. The queen went out of her chamber, to grab an apple. When the sunlight hit her skin, she flinched, surprised at the paleness of her color. Trying to ignore her ashen white skin, she picked an apple from the orchard and ran back. Just as she was going to step back in her chamber, she heard the king call for her.
“Alignite!” He called, walking up to her. His chopped hair held streaks of grey, his once healthy tanned skin turned to pale white like her own. He looked desperate. “I haven’t seen you for months! What in the world have you been up to?” The king asked, trying to hold her arm. The queen thrust his hand away in disgust.
“Don’t touch me you filthy-“ she stopped herself and drew her crown off and handed it to the king. The king took it in horror.
“What is the matter with you?” His voice was barely above a whisper.