“Why should I have any say?” Katiyana asked.
“Now that Queen Radiance is dead, I work for you. And since I’d like to complete my seven years of poverty and be eligible for the throne of Mischief someday, I am at your bidding. At least for the next seven days.”
“Are you that close to being finished, Iden?” Kael asked.
Iden gave a proud nod.
“We don’t have to go back now, do we?” Katiyana asked. “I’m so nervous! What if they don’t like me?”
Having known her so well so long, I gave her the assurance only I could give. “They’ll adore you.”
“Iden, will you return to Mayhem and prepare them with the news?” Katiyana asked. Such suave delegation!
“I could certainly do that, Queen Katiyana.” He smiled at her, as if remembering with fondness all their encounters.
“There is somewhere I’d like to go first.” She turned to me, her clear blue eyes a welcome change to the dark ones that had exercised power over me for so long.
“Your little men,” I guessed.
She smiled and nodded in answer.
Iden interrupted our tender moment of connection. “And would you all mind returning that horse to Juno?”
He nodded toward all the horses tied up to a tree at the base of the hill. “He used to belong to Queen Radiance. But I’m afraid I sold him to Juno and only borrowed him for this trip.” Iden then apologized to the princess, who only laughed.
At Last
We returned Queen Radiance’s horse to Juno, who I learned was not only a friend of the royal family of Mischief, but Kael’s handler as well. He had been the one to place him with the Simkins’ family, the one to give him the name Jeremy Simkins. Kael’s horse remained with the man—he looked so much fatter in person—while we began our excursion to visit the tiny dwarf house, and I walked behind Katiyana and Kael through Fluttering Forest. I listened to their young flirtatious chatter just this once, vowing to give them total privacy ever afterward. I had watched too much of their lives already.
“You look beautiful,” Kael told her. She truly looked stunning in the new dress we’d just bought her at Mischief Market. It was the same rosy color of the darkest part of a ripe peach, and she glowed in it. And her hair! She looked like such a lady with it all done up by someone who knew what they were doing; Barney had never taught her such things, had never known how.
Katiyana showed her gratitude for Jeremy’s comment with a humble smile. “I’m so nervous to see them again.”
“How can you be nervous? I’m sure they’ve missed you terribly.”
“I’m sure they have, it’s just . . .”
Kael waited patiently for her to finish. “Just what?”
“I’ll be the queen of Mayhem. What if they despise me?”
How she loved her little men! I knew she’d be crushed if for some reason they did not accept her as the queen of Mayhem. But given how much they loved her, I knew they would.
“There it is,” Katiyana said, pausing in the blossoming forest. I couldn’t get enough of the forest smells: pine, bark, damp earth, fragrant spring flowers.
Their home looked so much cozier in person. Kurz chopped wood to the side of the house. He stopped when he caught sight of us.
“Can I help you people? Are you lost?”
“Kurz!”
“Kat? Is that you?”
She ran to him, and when she reached the tree stump he’d been chopping on, she stooped, caught him under his arms, and lifted him up as if he were a child. So much for being a lady!
“That’s enough, that’s enough,” Kurz prodded, patting Katiyana on the shoulder.
Just then Duan and Kapos came around the house from the garden.
“Kat!” Kapos shouted. Duan waddled faster than I’d ever seen him move to greet her.
Corto and Arrapato came outside. “What’s all the ruckus?” Arrapato asked.
Katiyana backed away from the others to get a good look at them.
“Wow, you look like royalty,” Corto said.
“What’s it all for?” Arrapato asked. “What does it mean?”
“Where’s Jalb?” Katiyana asked. “I need you all here before I tell you what has happened.”
“I’m here,” he announced, coming up behind the twins. “Welcome home, Kat.” He winked at her, and she beamed in return.
“Everyone, I’d like you to meet Jeremy Simkins.”
“I’ve had enough of this,” Jalb said, turning to retreat into the house. Corto and Arrapato each grabbed one of his sleeves and pulled him back outside.
“But his real name is Kael.”
Kurz’s eyes widened. “Kael? As in . . . Prince Kael?”
“I’m not a prince anymore,” he said, taking a step forward. “But I used to be.”
Jalb grunted and turned away. I can’t be sure, but I thought I heard him mutter something about princes and Simkins.
“And who’s he?” Kurz asked, nodding in my direction.
Katiyana walked back to me and grabbed my hand. I clasped hers with vigor—a hand! I’d missed so many things in the mirror.
“This is my father,” she said proudly, her smile vast.
“I didn’t know you had a father,” Corto said.
She looked up at me, our arms now hooked together. “Neither did I.”
“And there’s more,” Kael chimed.
Jalb rolled his eyes and mumbled something again.
“Kat is to be queen.”
“But I thought you said you weren’t a prince anymore,” Duan reasoned.
“I’m not,” he said, looking to Katiyana for approval.
Katiyana let go of me, and I felt the first pang a father feels when his daughter chooses another man over him. She slipped her arm through Kael’s. What a match they made; I couldn’t wait to see my beautiful grandchildren. “He doesn’t need to be a prince. One day soon he’ll be married to a queen. He’ll be a king.”
“What on earth are you talking about?” Kapos asked.
“Kat’s real name is Katiyana, the daughter of Queen Radiance. She’ll be the queen of Mayhem soon,” I explained.
Every dwarf looked as though he might bolt for the door and lock himself inside the safety of his home. But Queen Radiance was no more, and they soon learned of it.
The dwarves invited us inside, and I got to finally taste Jalb’s stew, which consisted of the best combination of flavors and smooth, creamy texture I’d ever tasted. We spent the evening playing the most delightful game where everyone quizzed me on my knowledge about them. How shocked Kurz was to realize I knew by heart the song he always sang when he worked outside alone. Katiyana read a story, and we all shared a remembrance of Pokole. A happier time I’d never experienced, not in all my life. At last, everything was as it always should have been.
^-]
After that, the sands of the hourglass slipped away in such a hurry. Iden took his place again as the prince of Mischief, the next in line for the throne.
Katiyana became queen and Kael her king—her doting husband. Much later in life, when Iden would become king, many harmless practical jokes went back and forth between the kingdoms—Iden always referred to his sister-in-law as Snow Whyte. And in all honesty, her skin never returned fully to its natural olive color.
Corto and Arrapato moved to Mayhem, taking a job in the royal castle as court jesters, where they had every opportunity to entertain. Duan and Kapos agreed to take on Barney’s orchard, although they would need taller ladders. Only Kurz and Jalb remained at home, but many joyous reunions took place at the castle, the orchard, or the little house in Fluttering Forest. Not ever wanting to be cooped up again, I traveled throughout both countries and even beyond, but always returned to visit my family.
Kael and Katiyana would have many children. They n
amed their first son Fredrick, after the last king of Mayhem, who gave his life for a child that wasn’t even his. And their first daughter they named Kaltza, which, in the language of the forefathers of Mayhem, means . . . Mirror.
Book Club
Questions
1.Give your thoughts on Barney. What were his good qualities and his bad? How may have things been different if he had kept his sight?
2.Give your thoughts on Jeremy’s bold declaration of love and his desires for Kat to leave her home. Did he do the right thing? Did Kat do the right thing in following his request?
3.Names are important in this book. If you could choose a different name, what would it be? Do you judge people because of their names?
4.What do you think of the idea of royalty living in servitude for seven years? Is it a good idea? Why or why not?
5.If you had a magic mirror, and could see everything and anything, what would you use it for? Do you think Jasper used it too much?
6.Compare Kat’s reaction to Jeremy’s first leaving with his second. How had she grown throughout the story?
7.Consider what it would be like to be attached to another person as is the case with Corto and Arrapato? Are there any advantages? What things would be difficult or even impossible?
8.Who is your favorite dwarf and why?
9.In your mind, what is the most memorable scene in the book?
10.How is this retelling of Snow Whyte similar to and different from other versions?
About the
Author
Melissa has been writing stories since she could hold a pencil in her hand and she has a deformed, calloused finger to prove it. She began twisting fairy tales in the fifth grade when she wrote a story about George of the Jungle making his way to Neverland.
Melissa enjoys writing, making music, reading, baking, and running. She lives with her husband, three daughters, and cat named Matilda. You can visit her online:
Blog: lemoninkwell.blogspot.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/authormelissalemon
Also by Melissa Lemon
Many Thanks
1. Escape
2. Blindness
3. Jeremy
4. Farewell
5. To Market
6. Seven Tiny Men
7. A Glimpse
8. Winter
9. Queen Radiance
10. Sharing the Mirror
11. A Faithful Servant
10. A Collision
11. A Princess
12. Stormy Weather
13. A Gift
14. Ruby
15. Going Home
16. Fellow Traveler
17. A Journey at Last
18. The Queen’s Army
19. Resurrection
20. At Last
Book Club Questions
About the Author
Back Cover
Snow Whyte and the Queen of Mayhem Page 19
