by Anita Valle
“Get away from there!”
I leap back, terrified. The big man has emerged. He stands next to the cottage and glares at me. The axe is parked on his shoulder again.
“You scared me!” I shout at him.
“Get over here now,” he growls.
“Who’s this lady?”
“Leave her be.”
“But who is she? Why is she sleeping in a box?”
“She cursed. Let’s go.”
“She’s cursed?”
“Did you get your water?”
“No, not yet, but-”
“GET IT NOW!” The man points at the well, face like a furnace.
I get my water.
But I’m not done with this. I wait until we’re back on the trail and the red flames have cooled from his cheeks. It’s not just curiosity, I feel sad for this lady. I want to know.
“If you please… can you tell me more about the lady? And why she was cursed?”
“She’s the Cursed Queen. Thought you kids were taught about her by your folks. She was queen of our land for a while but now she sleeps. Not likely to ever wake up.”
My heart sinks within me. “Who did that to her?”
“Look – when you get back home, get someone to tell you about her. I don’t have time for it. I keep her safe from prying eyes and poking fingers. That’s all.”
“That’s all you do?”
He groans. “That’s all you want to know about.”
I look ahead at the trail, the twisted roots that run across it, the trampled snow, the trees with their sad, sagging leaves. And back at the man. “Is this about the noise I heard upstairs?”
“Keep quiet.”
“No. I don’t like your attitude.”
This brings out a harsh, gravelly laugh from the man. He lifts a hand and shows me the back of it. “You won’t like this across your face either, missy. Now shut it.”
“You said we were friends.”
“We’re not friends.”
“Why not?”
“I know nothing about you. Other than you’re insane to grow your hair that long. I’m beginning to think you escaped from some place.”
“I did. I escaped from my tower. My sister is the Snow Queen and if she learned you mistreated me she would kill you in an instant!”
There’s a shift in the man’s eyebrows and his heavy gait slows for a moment. “Snow White.”
“You know her?”
The man looks at me. There’s a deep crease between his eyebrows and frown lines around his mouth. “You survived?”
“What are you talking about?”
“We didn’t think the babies survived. They lost their mother.”
“No, I’m – I’m fine.”
“And the other one?”
“She was stolen from us. I don’t know where she is. But… but how do you know about it?”
“I was there the day Snowy ran away.”
I’m beginning to understand something. The stories Snowy has told me a hundred times are becoming real. “Are you… a Dwarf?”
The man smirks and holds out a hand. “Barker. At your service, miss.”
That does it.
I run.
~*~ 15 ~*~
But I don’t get far. Within two bounds, the man reaches me and jerks me back by the arm. “If I was going to harm you, I’d have done it by now, don’t you think?” he shouts.
“Let me go!”
“Not until I’ve brought you to Kay. Now stop your fussing or I’ll put you over my shoulder again. ENOUGH!”
I stop my fussing. There’s nothing I can do, he’s too big. “You’re as horrible as Snowy said you all were.”
“Yeah? Her hands aren’t squeaky clean either. She tell you about Hunter?”
“Oh yes.”
“What’s she got to say about it?”
I sigh. “She misses him. More than anything.”
“Anything else?”
“She says his death froze her heart. And that’s why the kingdom is cold.”
Barker’s eyebrows drop lower but not in an angry way. “She’s been away too long. She should come back.”
“Why?”
“RAPUNZEL!”
Oh, thanks be to everything, I hear Kay. “Over here!” I call out. I turn to the section of The Wood from where I heard his voice and moments later, Kay comes dashing out from the trees. “There you are! What happened?” He looks as pale as Snowy. And surprised to see the Dwarf. “Barker!”
“Sorry, Kay. The girl lost her wits and I had to take her to the cottage. She’s all right now.”
“I’ve been looking for an hour!” Kay’s voice is hoarse. “I thought something terrible had happened, she was nowhere! We’re supposed to be at the palace!”
“Well, take her and go, she’s caused me enough trouble. That family always does.” The man nudges me with his huge hand. “Look here. When you see Snowy next, tell her Barker says hello. Tell her we wouldn’t mind it if she came back to us. We’re not mad now, it all worked out.”
I nod. “All right.” The man heads away from us, the blade of the axe peeking over his shoulder. Kay pulls me in the opposite direction and we return to our original trail. We’ve been set back a bit, he tells me. His voice his strained for a while, he runs his fingers through his hair and blows the air from his cheeks several times.
“I’m sorry,” he says after we’ve walked in silence for twenty minutes. “I’m just a little… but we’ll be fine. We’ll be late for the celebration but the beginning is boring anyway. Introductions and speeches and stuff. I just hope we get there in time for the ceremonies. The queen will be mad if I miss that.”
“Remember, I have to get home before Snowy.”
“Sure.” Kay’s smile is beginning to grow back. “I’ve got to tell you, that was rough when I was looking for you. You don’t have the easiest name to yell. ‘RaPUNzel! RaPUNzel!’ I shouted – but not too loud. I was afraid the Snow Queen might hear me.
“Oh!” Impulsively, I check over shoulder. “She must be far away by now.”
“Well, with that in mind, in the unlikely event that I misplace you again, I’m thinking a nickname might be useful.”
“I don’t have a nickname.”
“Fortunately, it’s not hard to make one up. I’ve been thinking about this for several minutes. True enough, your name doesn’t lend itself easily to nicknaming. So, I’ve broken it down into three parts: Rap, Pun, and Zel, and tried each one. Now Rappy doesn’t work well at all, I think.”
“Oh gobs, no.” I wrinkle my nose.
“And Punzy sounds like an old man with a big stomach.”
I burst into surprised laughter and it’s the best feeling in the world. “That’s even worse!”
“So, what about Zelly?”
“Zelly?”
“Yeah. It’s cute, and it fits you.” He smiles, the one I like that makes me happy inside.
I smile back. “Acceptable.”
~*~ 16 ~*~
“Dark days. Dark days. That’s all she talks about. Her excuse for keeping me locked up.”
Kay frowns. “She sounds afraid. Has she been hurt by someone?”
I sigh. “She does talk about… things.”
“But is she cruel? Does she really murder anyone who tries to speak to her? Is her skin blue?”
“What?”
Kay grins and pushes back a stray branch that hangs in our path. “I know, another myth. I grew up hearing about the Ice Witch. She was spoken of like an evil spirit, not an actual person. Whenever it snowed, someone said the Ice Witch was angry. It killed all the farms, the peasants were starving. Many people left the kingdom.”
“Really?”
“No one likes an endless winter. Most of the villages are now abandoned and sit there rotting. But the towns are still populated. I’m told there’s been a near-complete turnover of the people since the days when Edgar was king. A few old families have remained out of loyalty. The rest are re
fugees from war-torn kingdoms, or people who don’t mind spending their lives indoors, or have businesses that agree with cold weather. Furriers are doing well.”
My mouth falls open. “So, these ‘dark days’ that Snowy loves to talk about… are actually her doing! It’s her fault!” Oh, this is glorious. What a weapon I have. “But never mind, tell me more.”
“You hungry?”
“Not yet.”
“Well, naturally, there was a lot of speculation about the Ice Witch. Who she was, where she was…. A group of men swore up and down that she was the former princess, Snow White. But most people didn’t believe them. Snow White was described as unremarkable, certainly not magical. And the men were criminals.”
“The Dwarves?”
“You know about the Dwarves?” Kay cries.
“Of course. They were a gang of criminals. I didn’t realize that big man was one of them until a few minutes ago.”
“Yeah, that was Barker. The rest have married, they’re no longer a gang. Actually, the oldest one-”
“So, who did you think the Snow Queen was? If she wasn’t Snow White?”
“Most people thought she was some kind of witch who got banished from her kingdom and was taking it out on us. We weren’t sure, we just wanted the winter to stop. But nobody knew where she lived.”
I can’t help but feel smug. Snowy always said our tower is well hidden. Although it’s built on a high ledge, it can’t be seen from The Wood below. Somehow the trees block the view.
“But… Snowy goes out almost every day,” I say. “Hasn’t anyone recognized her?”
“Maybe. Like I said, there’s been a turnover in the population. She must have a story ready in case someone does ask. But one secret she has kept very well: no one knows she’s the Ice Witch.”
“The Snow Queen,” I say.
“Whatever you want! Some people call her the Frost Demon. She’s a problem that everyone talks about and nobody wants to face. Believe me, it’s been a headache to the real queen for ages.”
“Snowy is the real queen,” I say.
“I would argue with that. She abandoned the palace and shows no interest in her people. The throne was up for grabs. Snow White couldn’t have it now.”
“She could if she wanted! She can do anything with her magic.”
“Yet she chooses to hide away in the hills and throw snowflakes around.” Kay looks at me and raises one of his long black eyebrows.
I should be mad at him. I kind of am. But he’s only saying what I’ve said to Snowy for years. And Kay doesn’t look mad, more like he’s teasing.
I shrug. “Well… I guess she likes doing things her own way.”
Kay’s eyes travel from my head down to the hair in my basket. “You don’t say?”
I roll my eyes. He does an odd flinch and stares at me.
“What?” I say.
“Sorry. You roll your eyes just like Beauty does. She does it the same way, rolls and blinks twice.”
“She does it to you?”
“All the time.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. I don’t impress her.” He gives a lighthearted laugh but I can see he’s bothered by it. “She says I have no achievements. I’m not a hero, I haven’t won a battle or sacrificed myself to save another. She says she could only love a man she admires.”
I scowl. “That doesn’t sound right. I mean….” I’m not sure how to explain it. “She says you have to be a hero. But what about her? What makes her deserve that? If you have to be a hero than she has to be special too!”
“Oh, she’s special. She’s more beautiful than the fairies. My heart burns whenever I think of her. I’d walk a hundred miles just to kiss the smallest finger of her hand. I – I don’t know what to do, Zelly.”
I release a silent sigh. This sounds like Snowy and her Hunter. Love is so dumb. But I’ll humor him for now, after all, he’s my friend. “Well, let’s think about it. You need to do something she’d consider heroic. Is there anything she likes?”
“Flowers. Gardens. She loves the rose garden at the palace because she can’t have one of her own. It’s too cold. Our garden never freezes, oddly enough.”
“Hmm. I’m not sure that helps us. Is she afraid of anything?”
Kay nods. “The Beast. She is very much afraid of the Beast. But then, so are all the girls.”
“Well, that’s easy. Kill the Beast.”
Kay jumps. “What?”
“That would make you a hero. Definitely.”
“I can’t kill the Beast!” Kay laughs. “I’ve never even seen it! I wouldn’t know where to look!”
“So? Hunt for it! You’d be doing the kingdom a favor.”
“I’ve never even killed a rabbit.”
“I’m just saying, Prince Kay, that this is something that might impress your little Beauty.” The beginning of a scheme is forming in my head. It’s not nice – but Snowy never taught me to be nice. Two things seem to be threatening the new life I’m starting: Beauty… and the Beast. I think I can use Kay to get rid of the Beast.
And then I’ll get rid of Beauty.
~*~ 17 ~*~
I don’t know what I was expecting. But not this. The trees just end. They were all around us, snug and quiet. But I picked up new smells, felt a breeze on my face. And then we reached the end of The Wood. I have never seen land without trees.
It’s flat and uncovered. A field of snow so white, I find myself blinking. A few scraggly, black bushes reach out like boney hands and there are two narrow grooves that cut through the snow and curl with the land. At the back of it all is the palace.
“It’s so… big!” I say. All my life, I’ve seen the palace from my tower. Just a pretty little toy down in the valley. Now I’m gazing upward, stunned at how it stands above the world, solid and beautiful. It’s got a large, squarish midsection with towers that seem to grow from the walls and climb to the sky. So many towers! All of them bigger than mine. I can’t believe that people, puny little people, could build something like this.
We don’t talk much as we cross the field. Kay guides me into one of the long grooves, which he explains were made by carriage wheels. I walk in one groove, he in the other, about six feet apart. I can’t stop gawking at the palace.
“What do you do with all those rooms?” I ask.
“Anything you want! We’ve got a room just for sitting and thinking. Doesn’t get used much.”
“How did they get the towers up there?”
“Honestly, I have no idea.”
“What’s under my feet?”
“Gravel,” Kay says. “We’re on the main drive up to the palace. It’s always under snow, they gave up trying to keep it clear.”
The palace creeps closer and our grooves bend to face the front of it. My eyes widen. “Look at the stairs!” At home, the stairs follow the curling wall of the tower, but the edge of each step is straight. Here, the steps – must be forty or fifty of them – go straight up to the doors but their edges curve back. Steps like circles. Doors like giants. On the wall far above, a large clock with gold numbers. I think I like this palace.
“Shall we?” Kay smiles and points his elbow at me. I stare, bewildered, until I figure out that he wants me to hold the inside of his arm. As we climb the stairs, my stomach gets all jumpy and wriggly. “Do I look the way I should? I know people like to make themselves fancy for a party.”
“Your dress is fine,” Kay says. “And don’t worry about the boots, you needed them to get here. I’ll ask my mother to find you some dancing slippers.”
The doors are opened by two strange men, very stiff and serious. I give them a curious glance but they don’t even look at us. Kay instructs me to give them my bear cloak. “And leave the basket. Outrageous hair is common at a party.”
“Oh… all right.” I’m feeling uncomfortable. But I set the basket on the floor and gather up my braid. I sometimes do this at home when I’m tired of my hair, I hang it in long hoops from
my arms, like a shawl. It’s heavy but it keeps it off the floor.
“Perfect!” Kay says. “You’ll fit right in.” He takes me down a corridor with shiny walls and through another set of doors. We’re standing at the top of a staircase again, in a room of white and gold. I’m seeing so many things I’ve only read about in books: chandeliers that look like sparkly trees hanging upside down; a marble floor with swirls of white and gray that holds the light inside it; columns bearing up the ceiling where a blue sky and angels have been painted above our heads. And best of all, far better than anything else – I see people. Lots and lots of people.
Silently, we slip down the stairs. Kay smiles with ease but I clench him arm, afraid. My ears are crowded with too many sounds - music, voices, laughter. The people shift and flow around each other. The ladies’ dresses stand out to me, each one a different color. Like bright triangles, I think. And the men look like dark lines between them. I’m seeing so many new things, it’s almost too much. I drop my eyes to the stairs to rest them.
“We’re in luck!” Kay says. “We missed the talks and the dancing but not the dinner. That should be next. Are you hungry?”
I nod. Actually, I’m very hungry. And I think I smell pork, which Snowy almost never buys for me. But I don’t want to eat here, it’s too shiny and loud. I need a place where I can close my eyes and breathe until I’m ready to face it again.
Kay tugs my arm. “Come with me.”
“Are we going to eat?”
“Not yet. I’m taking you to meet the queen.”
~*~ 18 ~*~
Oh sugar. Oh snap. Kay pulls me through all those lines and triangles while I try not to look afraid. It feels like a very long room. He leads me to the other side, right up to the wall. There are two chairs sitting under a canopy and a curtain that falls behind them. I’ve never seen a curtain against a wall before-
