Forest of Fireflies

Chapter 24

(Daniella's POV)

The eternal slumber of Snow definitely brightened my mother's day. When she came back into the carriage after poisoning the Princess, she was grinning as if she had just won a battle and defeated another kingdom.

"Did it work?"

"It did, my little firefly....I did it!"

When mother sat down onto the carriage seats, I reached around her waist to give her a hug. Even though the carriage started to move in order to take us back home, I didn't let go. Mother stroked my hair and whispered, "thank you Daniella. You helped me retrieve that apple. You helped me with my revenge."

I smiled back up at my mother. Then, I untangled myself from her and looked out of the carriage window. Keeping my head faced away from mother, I asked, "How do you think the people will respond?"

"To the death of Snow?"

"Yeah."

There was a sigh before mother answered, "Whatever they say doesn't matter. The kingdom is running smoothly; now that's all that matters."

"What do you mean?"

Mother snorted before saying, "Those peasants may not want me as their Queen but they can't deny that I've done a much better job providing to their needs than Snow's father did."

I turned back towards my mother and put my head onto her shoulder as the carriage rattled along the road. We fell into silence until we approached a village, my village. When we passed, I heard joyous music resonate through the forest. Wait a second....

"Mother, what day is it?"

"The 20th of March. Why?"

I squinted past the trees before exclaiming, "Its the Spring Equinox! There must be a festival going on right now in the town square. Can't you hear the music?"

Mother looked out of the window on her side of the carriage. "I must have forgotten about such novelties but I think you're right. Its the Spring Equinox today."

When mother turned back to me, she saw that I was looking at her with pleading eyes. Raising an eyebrow, she questioned, "Yes, Daniella? What do you want?"

I held on to my mother's arm and grinned as I replied, "Can I go to the festival? Everyone seems to have gone to the square before; villagers alike..." Then, my voice dropped to a quiet tone as I continued, "But is royalty not allowed to go?"

Mother frowned, "How did you come to that conclusion, Daniella? Of course royalty can go; I haven't been to any of those festivals in a very long time but I was forced to go with the King and Snow until that girl got bored of the festivities."

I pasted a wide grin on my face as I prompted, "So can I go, mama? Please?"

I held my stare until mother sighed and nodded. I gave her a quick hug. "Thank youuuuu."

"Have you never been to the festival before?"

Quietly, I replied, "I've gone...but I was helping the orphanage sell goods instead of having fun."

I knew that mother didn't like it when I mentioned my past life so I grimaced a little when I watched her look away. Then, she tapped the carriage walls and shouted, "Andrea, take us to the Spring festival."

"Yes, your majesty," the driver replied. After the carriage changed its course, mother turned back to me and said, "Well, my little firefly, I'll make sure that you get to enjoy every festival from now."

I smiled as my mother took my hand and squeezed it reassuringly. Soon, the music from the festival grew louder and louder. I looked out of the window, seeing that we were approaching the square. My heart leapt with excitement as the carriage stopped, making the gravel grind below our feet. I pushed open the door and a guard helped me step out. When my mother had gotten out of the carriage too, she put her hand on my back and we started walking towards the town square. I glanced subtly behind me and saw that four guards were trudging closely behind us.