Snow White and The Seven Dwarves ~ Part One

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Almost eighteen years ago, when the snowflakes were falling like feathers from heaven in the middle of winter, a queen sat sewing at her open window, which had a frame of black ebony wood. The young Queen sighed as she looked out over past the castle and its kingdom and over at the kingdom she once lived.

Before she married the King, she had run away from home. The King found her when he was just a young Prince. She was almost sixteen years and had been living in the forest for almost five years. A few years later they were married, but she had lived in the castle since she was found.

The young woman still had the same straight, ebony hair that tumbled down to her waist and the youthful, brown eyes that shined with happiness that the prince fell in love with. The first years were blissful and she spent her waking hours strolling outside and exploring the castle grounds. However, everything had changed. Whispers of threats of the young woman's safety meant the soon to be king, kept his wife inside the castle. She wasn't allowed to leave her room alone.

As she sewed she looked at the snow and pricked her finger with a needle. Three drops of blood fell into the snow. The red on the white looked so beautiful that she thought to herself, "If only I had a child as white as now, as red as blood, and as black as this wooden frame near where I sit at, just like my mother wished for me."

After a month passed, the snow outside vanished.

Two months went by and the world turned green.

Flowers blossomed out of the earth, once three months had passed.

Four months went by, and all the twigs on all the trees in the forest grew stronger and pressed themselves together. The birds sang so loud that the woods resounded and the blossom fell from the trees.

Five months went by and the woman longed to be outside. She snuck out and stood by the fruiting tree that grew outside her window. It smelled so sweet, that she wished to taste it before she die.

Six months went by, and the fruit tree grew firm and heavy. The woman tried, but failed to once again sneak out the safety of the four walls around her room.

When the seventh month had gone by, she plucked the fruit and ate almost all that had grown on the tree. That night, she Queen was restless and couldn't sleep. The very next day, she felt sick and sorrowful.

After the eighth month had gone, she called to her husband and said to him, weeping, "If I die, bury me under the tree outside my window."

Soon afterwards she had a little daughter. However, despite the kind Queen's wishes, her daughter wasn't what she hoped. Her skin was close to white as snow and her cheeks were red with blood, but the ebony hair she wished for her daughter didn't exist. In fact, the King was sure she would grow up to be as beautiful as the Queen. As he held his baby daughter, he lied to the good queen.

"Tell me please," the weak Queen muttered. "What does she look like?"

The King, despite not being told directly the Queen's wishes knew of her dream child from the servant that overheard her in the room beside the Queen nine months ago.

"Her skin is as white as snow," the King said, as he looked at his daughter's fair, but not snow white skin.

The Queen said, "How wonderful," and a small smile appeared on her face. The King tried to hide his sadness from his wife and new-born child.

"Her cheeks are as red as blood," the King said, as he looked at his daughter's pink coloured cheeks, that was no where near red.

The Queen cried out in pain and the King knew she wouldn't last long. She would never know the lies she was being told right now was nothing than a mere way to comfort her in her final moments of life.

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