Red as Snow
Page 3
She dared not glance back.
She made it to the courtyard, where she found Snow in the glass coffin, as Charmel had promised. Noland had opened it and leaned over her, staring helplessly at her.
“It didn’t work,” he said, as Rose took his hand. “I tried kissing her. She … just look at her.”
“Well, maybe I was wrong,” she admitted.
“Of course, you were wrong,” sneered Charmel, catching up to her. “You foolish, naïve girl truly thought that you could steal the throne back for your family this way.”
Noland whirled on Charmel. “Don’t you dare talk about my sister like that,” he growled. “And we all know who’s the one who truly after that throne.” With that, he drew his sword again and launched himself at Charmel. The prince was barely able to draw his in time to counter, but he still wore a calm, cool smile, as though he were completely in control of the situation.
It made Rose’s skin crawl.
“It’s not my fault that my uncle was never able to sire a son, and that Snow was his the only excuse of a daughter,” Charmel countered. “Truly, Noland, you had your chance eight years ago. You failed so miserably, and it was your own fault.”
Noland’s eyes flashed as he gave Charmel another vicious attack, but he didn’t answer.
Rose turned her attention to the princess. Surely, there had to be another way for her to wake up, rather than Charmel’s schemes. There was still a flush to her skin, the ever-so-slight rise and fall of her chest, the faintest pulse. She lived.
She had to wake.
It was the apple that had poisoned her. The apple that lay beside her even now. There was only one bite taken. Rose picked the apple up and found that the flesh inside was still milky white. It should be brown by now. And it smelled far too sweet. The scent of it alone was enough to make Rose want to close her eyes and curl up next to the princess.
Perhaps that was just it!
She threw the apple at Charmel, and it hit him square between the eyes, knocking him off balance, giving Noland a chance to overpower him. She then rolled Snow over and began banging on the girl’s back.
Moments later, Snow began coughing, then spat out a glob of apple on the ground.
Rose pulled back, biting her lip, hoping that this had done the trick.
Slowly, Snow pushed herself to a sitting position, coughing some more. Pressing a hand to her forehead, she opened her eyes and focused on Rose. “What are you doing here?” she whispered. “I thought…”
“Charmel tricked me into poisoning you,” Rose quickly explained. “I had to come back and make things right. And I brought Noland back with me because he wants to make things right too. Between the two of you, that is.”
“Noland.” Snow’s eyes slid closed again as she slid herself down from the pedestal and stood shakily. Rose hastened to offer her support before the woman could collapse.
Thanks to the apple, Noland had succeeded in disarming Charmel and had his sword pressed against the scoundrel’s throat.
“Guards,” Snow ordered. “Arrest my cousin on grounds of treason.”
“You believe that witch?” Charmel spat, glaring at Rose.
Snow lifted her chin. “I will speak to you later once I’ve fully recovered from the effects of this poison you gave me. Guards!”
Charmel didn’t even fight the guards that took him by the arms and hauled him away. Which probably meant that he had more plans, but, for that moment, it didn’t matter. Only when they were gone did Noland sheath his sword and hesitantly turn to Snow. “Princess, I…”
“You came to save me,” she said, simply.
Noland glanced down, fidgeting with the hilt of his sword. “Snow, I’m sorry about eight years ago. You wanted us to be secret, so I was doing what I could to keep people from suspecting.”
“I know.” Snow closed her eyes. “And I know you weren’t after my crown. That’s why I fell in love with you. But…” She shook her head. “I don’t know why I listened to Charmel.”
“There’s not been anyone else for me,” he added, stepping towards them.
She smiled, stepping away from Rose. “You might not want my crown, but I need a husband so that I can have it.”
“So you just want to marry me so you can you can have your crown?” Noland asked.
Snow’s smile turned playful as she put a hand on his arm. “Would you be okay with that?”
“Actually, after eight years, I would be,” Noland admitted. He was smiling now, arms circling her waist. “But I don’t think that you would choose someone as amazing as I am just so you can have your throne.”
“Oh, I don’t know, I think it’s the only reason why I’d consider anyone so annoying,” she returned.
The next moment, they were kissing.
And Rose was quite sure that she was going like Snow as an older sister far better than she liked her as a stepdaughter.
This book was published as part of the Magic Mirrors, a collection of seven unique and exciting retellings of Snow White. Check out these other titles, each showing a side of the tale you’ve never seen before!
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