by Lilly Fang
“Shell was a beggar when I found her,” Imerine said. “She was my first friend.”
Shell’s eye was blank.
Imerine tenderly swept her fingers through Shell’s hair, brushing the stray strands back. “Such a sweet girl. She lived by the ocean. That’s how she got her name. She was one of the girls who would gather shells to trade for a few scraps of food.”
A single tear slipped out Shell’s good eye and slid down her cheek.
“She had magic, but she didn’t know the first thing about it. When I saw her, I knew that she would be useful to me. She has a most unusual ability. You see, she can control metals.”
Imerine raised her hand and, like a puppet mirroring her master, Shell held up her own hand.
Chains shot out from the wall to wrap around my wrists, my ankles, my neck. At another gesture from Imerine, Shell yanked the chains back and I fell to the ground, helpless. So much for running.
“She’s not blinded in that eye, you know,” Imerine said, gesturing to Shell’s eye patch. “She fights me for control, from time to time, and so I’ve given her that one eye to have all to herself. Of course, I must keep it covered, lest she do something… unwise.”
“Why do you use her?” I asked. “Why do you need to?”
“I don’t need to. I prefer to work through Shell when I’m hunting,” Imerine murmured tenderly to Shell. “She can draw any suspicion and leave me free to, well, feed.”
“I don’t understand,” I stammered. “You’re one of us. Why are you doing this?”
“Silly girl,” Imerine said. “Who ever said I was like you? Didn’t your mother tell you there were monsters?” As she spoke, her teeth shifted, growing and moving to form fangs. Her nails grew longer, sharper, turning into claws.
I know I must have screamed, but all I remember after that is darkness rushing up to swallow me.
Chapter 13: The Letter – Snow White
There was a piece of parchment pinned to my door with a dagger when I returned to the cottage.
I have your sister. Your heart for hers.
I felt a cold calm wash over me. I went into the cottage.
I looked at the tome that held the list of spelled items and again at my ring. I flipped to the Amulet of Vipers and saw how, removed from the ornate setting, the gem might be placed in a ring.
I took one of the apples that Latham Rosewood had sent with Rose earlier in the week. It was bright and red, juicy and still fresh. I held it to my lips and bit down deep.
Chapter 14: The Sacrifice – Rose Red
I woke with a metal chain wrapped tight around my neck.
The Huntsman stood in the corner, an axe in his hand. Shell had been abandoned in the corner of the room, a puppet that was not currently needed.
And Imerine… Imerine was more beautiful than I had ever seen her be. Memory came rushing back to me. It had been Imerine all along.
I grasped at the chain around my neck, my fingers exploring the cold metal shackles. I thought of the fire that was in me, just under the surface, if only I could call it. I placed my palms on the chain willing it to burn. But nothing happened. Frustrated, I yanked on it once, then again and again, panic growing in my chest.
“You can’t escape,” Imerine said, watching me with amusement. “You’ll never be free, without my permission.”
“If you’re going to feed on me, get it over with,” I said through gritted teeth.
Imerine laughed. “Oh, I don’t think I’ll feed on you. I’ve got something special in mind for you, my dear.”
The look of horror on my face must have satisfied her, for instead of drawing out the torturous moment, she rose and continued to speak as she walked towards me. “Your sister will feed me, and you will help me get her. And after that, you will have the great honor of staying with me as one of my companions.”
“I will never be like them,” I said.
“Not the way you are right now, no, of course not,” Imerine conceded with a wave of her hand as though I was being a very silly child. “I couldn’t expect to control someone of your strength yet. That’s why you’re in chains, my dear. No, we will need to break you first.”
I cringed away from her, getting as close to the wall as I could, but she reached forward and caressed my hair.
“And you will be broken. I don’t think it should be too difficult… Not after you see what’s going to become of your sister because of you.”
I knew Snow would come for me. I dreaded it, but I knew it would happen. She’s my big sister, after all. She wouldn’t leave me to this, even if it meant sacrificing herself.
But still, my heart sank when I saw her walk through the doorway.
“Well, well. If it isn’t the fairest of them all,” the witch said. “How I’ve hungered for your heart, Snow White. Once I feed on you, my beauty will be surpassed by none.”
“Let my sister go first,” Snow said.
The witch cackled. “You must think me a fool.”
“I don’t trust you.”
“You’re not in a position to negotiate,” the witch barked. At a gesture from her, the chains snapped tight against my skin and I couldn’t help crying out. I tried to summon fire, a spark, anything, but the magic wouldn’t come.
Snow looked at me with anguish in her eyes. “Stop! I brought you something.” Snow pulled a bright red apple from her pocket.
“Is this some sort of trick?” the witch asked, peering at it.
“It’s a gift,” Snow said, holding it out. “Take it.”
“Oh, how kind of you. But perhaps your sister should take it. She looks famished, doesn’t she?” the witch leered.
Snow flung the apple at the witch. It glanced off of her arm, leaving a deep, bubbling burn. The witch screeched. Never hesitating, Snow pulled a flask of water from her pocket and flung the water into the air. Narrowing her eyes, she formed the water into daggers of ice and with a gesture sent them hurling toward the witch.
At a snap from the witch, the Huntsman dove in front of her. Snow gave a little cry and the ice melted to water before it could pierce him. Little puddles splashed harmlessly to the floor in front of him.
“Huntsman, fight her! Please!” Snow begged.
“He is under my power,” the witch said. “Now, no more tricks. Give me the ring.” The witch had a greedy look in her eyes now, her teeth were starting to grow into fangs and her fingers were stretching out, turning into claws.
Snow’s eyes stayed on the Huntsmen, heartbreak written plainly on her face.
The witch snapped again and pointed at me. This time the Huntsman closed on me, grabbing the chain that held me captive and pulling my neck back. He pulled a knife from his belt and held it to my chest.
“I’ve no more time for games. Your heart or hers, Snow White,” the witch said cruelly. “Either will do.”
“Take mine,” Snow said, slowly rising to her feet.
Snow looked down sadly at the ring the Huntsman had given her. She turned to him. “I promised to never take it off,” she said. “But now I have to break that promise. I’m sorry. If you can hear me, I’m so sorry.”
And then she pulled the ring from her finger.
“You’re mine!” the witch proclaimed, swooping down on Snow and grabbing the ring. She immediately jammed it onto her own finger.
“Snow!” I pulled again at the chain. Sparks crackled along my hands.
“I think it only fitting that you meet your end by your own foolish trick. Now that I have the ring, I think you’ll have a new appreciation for the venom in this apple,” the witch said, going to the apple and picking it up. This time, it did not burn her. She held it up before Snow.
“Take a bite, my dear.”
Snow’s eyes were on me as she opened her lips and bit down on the apple that would kill her.
Chapter 15: The Last Breath – Snow White
Pain laced through every part of me. I wanted to scream, but there was no air in my lungs and the pain wracking my body wouldn’t
allow me a breath.
I crashed to my knees, my vision swimming.
Dimly, I was aware of what happened around me. The Huntsman roared. Rose screamed my name.
But it all seemed far away, so very far away. My world was not theirs. Mine was agony, blinding, searing agony.
I collapsed, the sounds and the sights of the world fading away from me, slipping by as I tried to grasp them.
But then, it was a mercy, because the pain was going with all the rest.
My world narrowed to my heart, beating slow… slower… and then finally, it stopped and there was nothing left to hold onto.
Chapter 16: The Kiss – Rose Red
“No!” The world fell away, and it wasn’t until later that I’d realize I had been the one screaming. The witch loomed over Snow, a dagger in her hand to extract my sister’s heart.
Fury shot through me, burning and scalding me, and then suddenly the fire that I’d tried so hard to call came to me, not just erupting from my palms but blazing up my shoulders, my back—a burst of flame that washed over my entire body.
My clothes were charred to ash within seconds. I brought my hand up to the chain that held my neck and as I wrapped my fingers around the links I felt them soften and give way like clay. The flames burned higher and suddenly the metal was melting through my fingers, sliding off my scalding body and pooling at my feet.
The witched raised her hands, sending first Shell after me and then the Huntsman. I reached out with my hand and a wall of flames roared to life, separating them from me.
Shell was thrown back by the flames. She fell to the ground, bashing her head against the wall. She did not get back up. The Huntsman, however, charged through. I glanced between him and the witch, knowing I didn’t have time to deal with him before the witch would take Snow’s heart.
A snarl tore through the air and suddenly a great mass of fur and teeth crashed through the window.
William turned two big, red eyes on me… And then threw himself at the Huntsman. The two wrestled on the ground, locked in combat. If we survived, I knew I’d need to make amends for ever doubting William.
I turned back to the witch. She was about to bring the dagger down on Snow, her greed blinding her to my approach.
I reached out a hand and a lash of flame curled around the dagger, melting it. The witch screamed her frustration, turning her mad eyes to me.
Imerine was no longer beautiful. Her hands were claws, her teeth glistened with sharp points. She was a terror as she threw herself at me, screeching curses.
The flames glanced off of her, and she threw me to the floor, kneeling on my chest as her hands wrapped around my throat. My head struck the floor, and the flames around my body immediately went out as my concentration broke. I felt cold, so cold. And exhausted. But her hands around my throat reminded me that something very urgent was happening.
Her nails scratched my neck, drawing blood. I felt the cold bite of the ring on her finger.
I suddenly understood. The ring. It made the witch invincible. My hands went up, scrabbling against her fingers to find the ring. I clutched it and tried to pull. It would not move.
Of course. She’d made Snow take it off by choice. She would only do that if magic prevented someone from stealing it.
Black spots clouded over my vision. I tried to blink them out of the way to see where William was, but he was still battling the Huntsman, though it looked like William was limping badly, blood running down his left side.
There was no time. An idea suddenly came to me. I wrapped my hand around the witch’s where she wore her ring and I called up everything I had left—every insult the village girls had ever thrown at me, every kind thing that Snow had ever done for me, every single bit of life that I had left in me—I threw it all into calling up one last bright white burst of flame that engulfed the witch’s hand. There was a hissing sound, the sound that I now recognized as the sound of melting metal, and then I heard the gem fall to the ground in a puddle of liquid silver.
The witch screamed as the fire finally bit into her hand. She pulled back, outraged and afraid.
“Huntsman!” she called. “Shell! To me!”
But Shell was still unconscious from her fall. The Huntsman began to rush to her side, but William snapped at him, slowing him.
I tried to summon the fire, but it was gone. I’d used it all. I was shivering, exhausted and spent. But I could not yet rest. The witch was groping for a weapon, and so was I.
She found a sword.
I found a crossbow.
She ran at me as I grabbed an arrow and ducked out of her swing.
She crushed the crossbow, but she lodged the sword in the floor. I had a few seconds before the Huntsman closed in on me and ended this. An arrow wound would not kill the witch, and there was nothing left to fight with. I looked desperately around the ground, my eyes landing on the apple.
I crouched as the witch drew close to me, triumph in her eyes.
In one motion, I skewered the apple with my arrow and dodged around her strike. The blade cut into my shoulder, but I was close enough to drive the arrow, glistening with the apple’s poison, straight into her chest.
The witch gave one single gasp and then her façade fell away, all of the beauty burning away under the poison until all that was left was ash.
William changed back to his human form, somewhat abashedly as he looked around for something to cover himself with.
The Huntsman dropped his weapon, a new look in his eyes as he rushed to Snow’s side. Before I even reached my sister, his cry of despair told me that we were too late.
In death, Snow was as beautiful as she had been in life. I knelt over her, my tears falling down beside her.
The Huntsman fell to his knees beside her, a clanking of metal accompanying the movement. He leaned close to her and, before I could stop him or ask what he was doing, he pressed his lips to Snow’s.
There was a spark that turned into a glow. It started in the Huntsman’s heart and rose up to pass from him to Snow.
And when it was gone, the Huntsman seemed less somehow, as though the color had been drained out of him. He pulled back just a bit, to look at Snow one last, short time, and then he fell over, all the life gone from him.
With that, Snow’s chest heaved and she breathed in! I fell to her side as she coughed and struggled to rise.
“Rose,” she said weakly, reaching out to take my hand. “I dreamed I was dead.”
“You were,” I said quietly. “For a moment, anyway.”
“But how… What happened?”
“The Huntsman…”
Snow’s eyes searched for him, finally finding him beside her. She gripped his arm and shook him once, then again. “Rose, why is he not moving? Rose!”
Tears were streaming down Snow’s face already, so she must have known or at least guessed.
“He had been given life from Imerine. He gave that life to you,” Shell said, coming to kneel beside the Huntsman. I hadn’t even realized she’d woken up.
“No,” Snow whispered, horrified. “No, he wouldn’t do that. It’s too cruel.”
Snow grabbed him and shook him, crying and then screaming, but still he did not move. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that he never would again.
Chapter 17: The Trials – Snow White
I cradled his head in my hand, tears flowing down my face. “You should not have done this for me,” I whispered, my voice hoarse from so much weeping. “Not for me, Huntsman.”
I felt a hand on my shoulder, and looking up, I saw my mother.
“Mother!” I would have jumped up to embrace her if I hadn’t still held the Huntsman in my arms. It made no difference—Rose already had her arms wrapped around Mother and was weeping into her shoulder. “I was so worried about you.”
“I’m so very sorry, my darlings,” Mother said. “I was detained.” She looked back over her shoulder and I saw the old fortuneteller standing at her side, leaning heavily on a cane.
“Mother,” I said, fear cutting through me. “that’s the fortuneteller. The one who worked blood magic to read my future.”
Mother crossed her arms and scowled at the fortuneteller. “Did you really need to take her blood to see that trouble was coming?”
“Oh, I wanted to see how bad things would be. I needed to know when we should return to stop anything serious from happening. Do you think I wouldn’t look in on the future of my own granddaughters?”
“You might have asked, Mother,” my mother said.
Perhaps it was the exhaustion of having died earlier that day, but it took me a moment to understand the familiarity between the two. I glanced at Rose, who looked aghast.
“William, no need to slink in the shadows,” Mother called out.
The beast that was William emerged, bloodied but whole. It must have been for modesty that he had changed back to his Were form. He went to Rose and she buried her head and hands in his fur.
“He’s hurt,” Rose murmured.
“He heals quickly,” Mother reassured her.
“At least you know now that they can handle themselves,” the fortuneteller said, not looking in the least abashed. “Besides, it is past time that you return. You’re needed, my dearie.”
“You should have warned me, Mother,” my mother said, dropping to the ground beside me. “Or at least let me return to them! I’ll never forgive you for that. See how distraught Snow is?”
“Mother, what’s going on?” I asked.
“You passed the trials, my dear. Both of you.”
“This was a test?” I squeaked. “That monster…?”
“No, Imerine was not of our sending. But she came across the two of you at the right time for your trials. I admit, I was very worried. Most don’t face such danger.”
“The Huntsman,” I said, looking at him. “He is dead because of this.”
“Yes, that was very unexpected,” the fortuneteller cackled.
