A Dream of Ebony and White: A Retelling of Snow White (Beyond the Four Kingdoms Book 4)

by Melanie Cellier

  Chapter 27

  I hit my head as I fell, and it took a moment for my vision to clear. The burning had passed, but I could still feel the apple lodged in my throat. I tried to cough again, and panic seized me.

  I couldn’t move.

  Desperately I tried to cough, directing my arms and legs to push me up from the floor, but nothing happened. No new breath entered my throat. And yet slowly the panic subsided. I was still alive. Or it seemed so, at any rate. And though I couldn’t feel breath rushing in out of my chest, or move so much as an eyelash, I could still hear and see.

  I had fallen so that my head lay sideways, my face turned toward the door. I could see Gertie frozen there, a look of horror on her face, and then she turned and fled with an audible sob. A moment later someone new moved into my vision, and everything became clear.

  My stepmother bent down over me and prodded at my shoulder. When I didn’t move, she straightened again and laughed. She wore the same clothes as the kitchen maid had done a moment ago, but there was no mistaking her. Enchantment. Some sort of enchantment held me in thrall. And some sort of enchantment had disguised her earlier.

  I berated myself for my foolishness. Had I been reassuring myself just a moment ago about how smoothly everything was going? It had been too smooth. Too easy. I should have seen that. And, more importantly, I never should have come here alone without even informing anyone of my plans. There was no one to rescue me now, and it was no one’s fault but my own. What did my stepmother plan to do with me?

  The thought of her original orders to Randolph flashed through my mind, and if I could have moved, I would have retched. Surely she would not do such a thing now. No one would believe it.

  But even as my thoughts were racing, she knelt again and placed a hand on my chest. It remained perfectly still beneath her touch. She leaned in, and I thought she meant to whisper something to me, although we were alone, and there was no need for whispers. But instead her ear hovered over my mouth. After remaining motionless that way for an endless moment, she pulled back.

  Her triumphant smile sickened me more than her touch.

  “Dead,” she breathed. “Dead at last.” Then she stood to her feet and strode from the room.

  For several long moments I couldn’t make sense of it. And then understanding crashed through me. Her poison hadn’t been meant to paralyze me, it had been meant to kill me. She thought I was held motionless by death. A new fear gripped me. Did she mean to have me buried? And what would it mean if she did? Despite her intentions, the enchantment seemed to be holding me alive without even the need for breath. Would I live forever, frozen beneath the ground?

  If I could have produced tears I would have at such a horrifying thought.

  Foolish, foolish girl! Why did you rush so heedlessly into danger?

  But I knew the reasons I had done it. I could just see them now for what they were—foolishness. I had let my new understanding of my father make me doubt everything he had taught me. But he had been right that a ruler should never act alone. I had thought I was being strong, but instead I had been reckless. We had been on the cusp of victory, despite my previous moments of weakness. And that had been because of the support of those around me—those who had proved themselves both wise and loyal.

  I had wanted to be strong—to prove myself untainted by the weakness of my father. But I could see now that in some things, my father had been right. Without me, no bloodless rebellion could hope to succeed. And with my future gone, my kingdom’s hope disappeared with it.

  If only someone would help me.

  Please, please! I pleaded within the prison of my mind. Someone help me!

  Before I could even bemoan the uselessness of my silent plea, a figure strode into my vision from the back of the kitchen where no one had previously been. If I hadn’t already been on the ground, immobilized, I no doubt would have fallen from the shock. Because the woman before me had gray hair, no-nonsense eyes, and wings. Actual wings.

  “It’s about time! I thought you’d never call me.”

  A…a godmother!

  “But of course, my dear. Who were you expecting?” She regarded the food still strewn across the table and selected a small portion of cheese, popping it into her mouth.

  Poison! I screamed in my mind, but she continued chewing placidly.

  She smiled down at me before seating herself neatly on the floor where I could see her.

  “Only that one apple. Well, only that one half of that apple. The rest is perfectly safe. I’d offer you some, but…”

  You can understand me. My thoughts, I mean.

  “Certainly, my dear. I am a godmother, after all, as we have already established. And I’m afraid to say that was an enchanted potion of mine that your stepmother got her hands on. It didn’t do what she thought it did, of course, so we may all be thankful for that.”

  You’re here to free me? Hope surged in place of my earlier fear.

  But the strange woman made an apologetic face. “There’s only one thing that can do that, I’m afraid. So you’re just going to have to be patient.”

  What? What can free me?

  “You have to ask?” She blinked at me. “I suppose I must make allowances. We have been absent from your lands for a long time. Well, not entirely absent, of course.”

  What do you mean, not entirely?

  She gave me a stern look. “These lands may have chosen to reject the High King and his ancient laws, cutting yourselves off from him, but that doesn’t mean he was cut off from you. Us godmothers haven’t been completely free to act—not as we would have liked—but we’ve been watching all the same.”

  Then how come you haven’t helped us?

  “Not helped you?” She shook her head. “How’s that for gratitude,” she muttered before sighing. “We opened up the seas, didn’t we? Sent you emissaries from the Four Kingdoms to help. Well, admittedly they’ve helped Marin, Palinar, and Eldon. But that got the ball rolling well enough.”

  I tried to suppress a surge of resentment. Eliam could have done with a savior as well.

  “Oh, they weren’t saviors, exactly. At least, they didn’t do it on their own. They needed help from the locals along the way. And besides—” She fixed me with a disapproving look. “We did send Eliam the deliverer they needed. And we sent her long before the seas opened up.”

  I don’t…

  “You, you silly girl! We sent you. We might not have been able to come ourselves, but we were watching closely enough to hear the desperate wish of a dying woman. And to see in her the seed that could grow into Eliam’s deliverance. And so we sent you. We even did the whole white and ebony and red thing. Ridiculous, really, but since we couldn’t save her, it seemed like the least we could do. A message to anyone who was listening that her pleas had been heard.” She frowned. “Not that it seems anyone was listening.”

  My head reeled under this revelation.

  But…but…it can’t be me. I’m too weak. Just look at how I’ve ruined everything.

  The godmother raised her eyebrows and ran them down my motionless body, sprawled rather awkwardly on the floor.

  “I’m not going to deny you’ve made something of a mess of things. But then I’ve seen worse muddles come good. There’s hope still. And as for this worthiness rubbish, you should put that out of your head. It’s not being perfect and never making mistakes that makes you worthy to rule.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Believe me, if that were the requirement, no kingdom would have leadership of any kind, and the entire lot of you would be in anarchy. None of you humans are perfect. You’re worthy because you were chosen for the task—appointed, sent especially—and when the moment came, you chose to answer the call.” She fixed me with a piercing stare.

  “You did, didn’t you? You’ve had the chance to run—to seize your own happiness and not look back? And yet here you are, still making a muddle of things. You are the daughter of the king, and when it counted—when it cost you—you said
yes. They’re the only requirements that matter.”

  She gave me a sudden blinding smile, full of compassion. “The rest you can work on.”

  But—

  “Humans,” she muttered over the top of me. “There’s always a but.”

  A sound in the passage outside the kitchen door sounded through the otherwise still night, and the godmother was gone. I didn’t blink—I know I didn’t since I physically couldn’t do so. She was simply right in front of me one moment and gone the next.

  My stepmother entered the room a moment later, Randolph close on her heels, and another man I didn’t recognize behind him. I wanted to kick myself. I had lost my moment. I hadn’t found out from the godmother what would free me. Not that I was free to act on it if I knew, anyway. The hope that her presence had brought faded. But a kernel of it still remained.

  Her words had taken root in my heart. I had been chosen. Sent to rule Eliam. And I already knew how to do that—I’d worked it out just before my godmother arrived. I would rule with the help of those around me. I didn’t have to do it alone. They would balance out my weaknesses.

  Of course none of it mattered if I was going to be thrown down a deep hole, never to be seen again. But still, that kernel of hope remained.

  “As you can see,” said Alida, gesturing toward my frozen body, “it worked. You have at last been of some use to me, Sterling.”

  Sterling. I stared at the third man. So this was the mysterious stranger from Eldon.

  “I still don’t know why you didn’t just send me in to deal with her,” said Randolph.

  Alida narrowed her eyes at him. “She has escaped me far too many times. This time I needed to do it myself. And besides, this is much neater. Even that blasted grandfather of hers can see that there is not so much as a scratch on her body.”

  “I’m glad you have been so successful, Your Majesty,” said Sterling with a smooth bow. His blank face gave away nothing of his true feelings.

  Alida smiled, but it came across more like a frown. “Both of these objects worked well, at least.”

  He stiffened at her implied criticism of the previous objects that she had wasted, but he didn’t actually speak.

  She handed him what looked like a small gold coin. “I don’t know why it had to go in your mouth—most uncomfortable. But it worked just as you said it would. She saw only what I wished her to see. It’s a pity it can only be used such a limited number of times, or I’m sure it would be worth a fortune. It seems to me that using it for prison breaks is most uninspired.”

  “I was happy to give you one of its uses, Your Majesty. I hope you will remember our arrangement.”

  “Oh certainly,” she said with a dismissive gesture. “There is always room in my kingdom for someone with as much good sense and initiative as you. It seems it was a fortunate day for us that saw you prowling around the prisons of Marin all those many months ago.”

  Randolph grunted behind her, and I wondered again how she had arranged to have him released from the Marinese prison. Prison. Suddenly I understood something that had confused me before—the reason Sterling had fled straight to Alida. Alexander had mentioned that Sterling had assisted in some sort of prison break in Marin. It sounded like he must have met Randolph while there. No doubt they had been drawn to one another—a mutual recognition of ruthlessness perhaps. I wished I could back away from the whole group of them, but the enchantment continued to hold me in place.

  “The duke’s army has already arrived,” said Randolph. “We’ve had word that they’ve taken up positions in the forest all around the castle. Only one of our patrols managed to make it back.”

  Alida glared down at me. “None of that matters now that she is gone. They have no one to rally behind. No one with a more legitimate claim to the throne than mine. I’m sure we shall have the court descend on us in the morning, however. We need to be ready for them.”

  She laughed, but it sounded fiendish to my ears. “I don’t want anyone to question her death.” She looked over at Randolph. “You know the plan. Give the necessary orders. I need some sleep before my big day.”

  And she swept out of the room.

  Chapter 28

  I had been afraid that Randolph, or Sterling, or both of them meant to pick me up and carry me somewhere. I hated the thought of either of them touching me. But to my surprise, they both simply walked from the room in my stepmother’s wake.

  A long time seemed to pass while I lay there alone, although I had no actual way to measure the time. When footsteps sounded again, Gertie was the last person I expected to reappear. The sight of her brought back the sting of betrayal, but the tear tracks still visible on her cheeks made me think immediately of my cousin. What threats had Alida used to force Gertie to work with her?

  Two footmen accompanied the maid, and they both made hastily suppressed sounds of shock at the sight of me. But they soon recovered and between them gently lifted me before looking to Gertie for direction.

  “To her rooms,” she said, her voice soft and trembling.

  I remembered her earlier trembles and the fear in her eyes when I had spoken to her in my room. I should have been more wary. More suspicious of her emotions. My mind snagged on another detail. She had called me Your Majesty as well, when before she had always said Your Highness. In my eagerness I hadn’t even noticed. But perhaps she had been subtly trying to warn me that something had changed since my last visit.

  The footmen soon deposited me on my own bed, after which they promptly left the room. Gertie began to work, her hands soft despite her continued tremors. I realized she was preparing my body for a funeral—or display of some sort, at least—and felt immediately grateful she had been chosen for the task.

  She gently washed my hands, face, and hair, combing out my curls. I needed the service, too, still damp and dirty from my latest crawl through the drain. She seemed to have calmed somewhat by the time she dressed me in an elegant gown of deep red, a perfect match for my lips.

  The sound of her voice startled me, although I could give no physical sign of it, of course.

  “I’m so sorry, Your Highness. She worked it out somehow. That you’d been back at the castle. And that we were still cleaning your room.” Her methodical hands fastened the many buttons on the dress, a billowing creation that I had always liked. Not that it seemed entirely appropriate for a funeral given it left my shoulders and neck bare. But no doubt my stepmother wanted everyone to see they were unmarked.

  “She threatened us all,” Gertie continued. “Made us take turns visiting the room regularly, day and night, to check for your return. And of course we were under orders to bring you to her under some ruse or other.” Another tear slipped down her cheek. “I wouldn’t have done it, but I have a family and…”

  She let out a sob. “Oh, Your Highness, I wish you could hear how sorry I am. I wish I could take it back.”

  “It’s not too late, my child,” said another voice.

  Gertie screamed and jumped back from the bed. I heard her gasp, and then she reappeared. On the other side of the bed, just inside my peripheral vision, stood a new arrival. One I had only just met that night.

  My godmother—if she was mine—wore an entirely different expression from any of the ones she had shown me. Her face almost glowed with serenity and wisdom, her hands crossed elegantly in front of her. And was she floating slightly off the ground? It was hard to tell when I couldn’t turn my head and look at her properly.

  “Not…not too late?” Gertie whispered the words, looking between the godmother and my apparent corpse. “But she’s dead.”

  “Is she?”

  I wanted to yell at my godmother and tell her to stop being so cryptic, but I could do nothing but watch the scene unfold.

  “But what can save her then?” asked Gertie, her eyes so wide they seemed to have consumed her face. “If she’s not truly dead?”

  “Surely you already know the answer to that, my child. It is always the answer to every
tale, is it not?” And with that the godmother disappeared.

  I wanted to grind my teeth in frustration. It was the same non-answer she had given me. Except Gertie looked far less perplexed. Still a little shocked, perhaps, but almost excited. Had she actually understood the godmother? But even if she had, what could one maid do about it? If only she were not trapped here. If only she knew how to contact Alexander and my grandfather.

  I could well imagine how frantic they would be when they found my room empty. What would they think? It seemed unbelievable to me now that I had ever thought my plan to infiltrate the castle alone and warn the servants a good one. I wished I could apologize to them.

  Gertie finished her task, despite her new glow of excitement, but I could feel the difference now when she handled me. And when she had finished, she paused for a moment before turning to rummage through my abandoned clothes. When she retrieved my dagger from among the garments, I couldn’t imagine what she meant to do with it. But she strapped the sheath to my leg, beneath the many folds of my skirts.

  It was a kind thought, although useless to me given I couldn’t move. She surveyed me with satisfaction after that, before starting and placing gentle fingertips against my eyelids. To my great relief she didn’t actually close my eyes all the way, leaving me enough of a slit to see through, before stepping back and calling for the footmen to return.

  Once again I was carried limply through the castle, this time taking the familiar route from my chambers to the throne room. My bearers obscured my vision as we entered the room, and it wasn’t until they stopped on the dais and lowered me down that I realized what was happening. My stepmother hadn’t been jesting about wanting everyone to see my dead body.

  She had obviously come up with this plan some time ago, although she must have despaired of it succeeding when I failed to return. She would still be despairing if I hadn’t made such a fateful last-minute decision. But silently yelling at myself would do no good. I’d already tried that.