Grimhilde could rest easy once more, knowing that the job had finally been done properly. Snow White had been taken care of. She was no longer a threat to the village. It would be a little white before Grimhilde grew another gray hair from stress rather than simply aging.
Grimhilde was walking down her hallway to her room when a servant stopped her, grinning broadly. "My Queen, my Queen, have you heard the news yet?"
Grimhilde smiled at the servant. She was, after all, in a positive mood today. "What news? I haven't received anything at all today. Clearly it's something good, based on the look on your face, so lay it on me."
The servant could hardly contain her enthusiasm. "We just received word from our allies, the neighboring kingdom! They found Snow asleep in the woods, perfectly unharmed! She's alive and well!"
"Pardon?!" Grimhilde's eyes widened.
The servant took Grimhilde's incredulity as excitement. "I know! Isn't it a miracle? And the best part is, Prince Ferdinand and she have a wedding planned for the two of them! Can you believe this?"
Grimhilde stared at nothing over the servant's shoulder. How had the girl duped her again? She'd seen to it herself that Snow White was dead. This shouldn't be possible. "Oh my," Grimhilde said to the servant. "I- I don't know what to say. I'm at a loss for words. I suppose I'm going to need a dress picked out for the wedding, won't I?"
She smiled at the servant, and the indication was clear. "Oh, of course, my Queen! I'll go get the seamstress started, shall I?" The servant bustled off down the stairs.
Grimhilde practically ran to her room, shutting the door so that she could not be heard. "Magic mirror, I need to hear it from you. Is Snow White alive? Is it true?"
The mirror looked sorrowful as its face materialized in the glass. "My Queen, my Queen, I'm sorry to tell you. Snow White is alive, the announcement is true."
Grimhilde collapsed on her bedroom floor, sobbing into her palms in frustration. What was she to do? This girl wouldn't stay dead. Surely Snow White would know it was Grimhilde who had tried to kill her twice now, but not going to the wedding was not an option. Grimhilde had to go.
Luck had worked for her before, if only for a bit. Maybe it would work again.
The queen's dress was long and a royal shade of purple, cascading down to her ankles. She wore a cloak attached to her shoulders, black with red accents. Snow's wedding was today, and Grimhilde was to walk her down the aisle, since her father was no longer alive. Grimhilde had been surprised that Snow wanted her to, but she decided to go along with it anyway. Grimhilde hadn't seen Snow at all—today was the first day Grimhilde would see Snow since she'd tried to murder her with the poisoned apple.
All in all, things weren't looking too good for Grimhilde.
But she had to pretend like she was overjoyed to find out that her stepdaughter was alive, lest she become suspicious to their citizens.
Time passed, and Grimhilde found herself waiting inside a large building. Snow White would be inside any minute now, and Grimhilde wasn't sure what she was going to say to her. Obviously there was a part to be played—the loving, relieved stepmother—and she was going to play it.
Grimhilde looked out the window at the rows of seats. The wedding was large, and being held outside. She could already see that most of the benches had been filled up by people, eager to see their young princess married off.
Grimhilde knew Snow was extremely young to be married. But what could she do? The girl broke many other traditional rules—why shouldn't she break this one as well? Grimhilde wondered if Prince Ferdinand was ever going to find out how monstrous his bride-to-be was, or if Snow would play the smart card and keep the future king under her thumb. Grimhilde was guessing it'd be the latter, but she wasn't quite sure. Snow's motives had always been a mystery to her.
