Yuki: A Snow White Retelling

by Nicolette Andrews

  "I'm just tired, that's all. I'll be fine after I rest."

  She held his hand, rubbing her thumb over the digits. That's what he had been saying for weeks, but he was only getting worse.

  "Why waste your time? He's just like the rest."

  Riku took another shaking breath. "I know."

  "Why does it even matter to us? The forest will protect us, let them destroy one another."

  He turned toward her, his eyes glassy. "I don't care about the war. But I do want to know you're taken care of when I'm gone."

  Something took a hold of her stomach and twisted. "You're too young to worry about things like that."

  He squeezed her hand, or at least he tried to. He'd gotten so weak. She couldn't hide her frown.

  "It's time you married," he said.

  "I will not marry without love you know that." She felt she needed to remind him. It was just an excuse really. There'd never been anyone who'd made her heart race. And she wasn't even sure that sort of thing was possible. Her father said he had loved her mother, and that when she'd died it had destroyed him. And yet he married again.

  He patted her hand, "I know, my heart."

  That had been her father's nickname for her. The heart of the household. Her father's death was too fresh. It hadn't been a full season since he died. She couldn't get married now, not when Riku was sick. Besides, this was where she belonged and this is where she would stay.

  "What do you think he wants?" Yuki asked her brother as she tucked him in like a baby.

  "You, most likely."

  Yuki's hands froze. "He hasn't asked you yet? How tactful," she said as she smoothed the blankets over him.

  "I was hoping to introduce you at dinner tonight," her brother said, with the ghost of the smile she remembered on his face.

  "I lost track of time while I was in the forest."

  "Maybe if you could just talk to him—"

  "To what end?"

  "Whether we like it or not, war is coming, and we're going to have to pick a side," he said, and tried to be authoritative but he went into a coughing fit instead. His entire body shook with it and each time, Yuki felt as if she were being stabbed in the gut.

  "Then why don't you marry, brother? You're the clan leader, you need an heir," she said, trying to lighten the mood.

  He clutched his bedding as he continued to cough. Eventually the coughing subsided and he looked at her, his eyes bloodshot.

  "Listen to me, Yuki. I'm not getting any better. If I cannot produce an heir in time, then it will be your son who takes over the clan. I've already decided."

  "You'll find a wife soon enough." She couldn't stand this kind of talk. He sounded like her father at the end. She refused to believe he was dying.

  "Promise me, Yuki."

  She swallowed past a lump in her throat. "I promise. But only if you promise to live a very long life."

  They stared at one another, already she could see a dark shadow creeping around his aura. The same she'd seen before their father died. They thought it an illness, but no one had gotten sick but her brother and her father, one after the other. The people in the clan whispered about a curse, but she didn't want to believe. He had to live. He just had to.

  3

  "Yuki?" The man scratched his chin as he stared at the sky. "She's a good girl, more or less."

  There was something he wasn't saying and he was too quick to return to cleaning. His attention was focused on wringing out a rag into a bucket. The hallway behind him sparkled and was in no need of cleaning. But he continued to fiddle with it, wiping the same spot over and over.

  The clan was strange. No matter who he asked, he heard the same thing. He'd be lying to say he wasn't intrigued. There was something wild and untamed about her and this place. The Fujimoris were in a position of strategic importance: their territory, placed as it was in between him and the Fujikawa's and filled with thick forest, could help him gain the advantage in the war. In addition to that, they were said to be fierce fighters.

  "Isn't she a bit...wild?" Hotaru asked.

  "She spends a fair bit of time in the forest." He shrugged and picked up his bucket, perhaps deciding he was only going to avoid this conversation by walking away.

  Hotaru followed after him, taking the burden of the bucket from him. "Is that typical of your clan?"

  The old man laughed, nervously. He kept eyeing the bucket and then scanning the hallway. "Oh, no, Yuki, is eh... unique in that way."

  The water sloshed around in the bucket threatening to soak the front of his clothes as he followed the servant down the hall. Apart from running into one another briefly upon his arrival, he hadn't seen a sign of her. And he had looked.

  "Does she always run around barefoot and chase animals?" Hotaru asked.

  "A bit." They arrived at a courtyard and the servant reached for the bucket, but Hotaru held it outside his reach.

  "Why is she like that? Is there something wrong with her?"

  The servant sighed, realizing there was no way of avoiding his questions. "She didn't have a mother to teach her how to be a lady. And the former Lord Fujimori would take her into the woods, taught her to fight and hunt. It's no wonder she chased away the others." He mumbled the last under his breath.

  "The others?" Hotaru prompted, finally getting to the heart of things.

  The servant, realizing he had said too much, cleared his throat. "Why are you asking these questions?"

  "Just curious, you could say," Hotaru replied as he handed the bucket back to the servant.

  "Curious about what exactly?" said a woman from behind him.

  Hotaru plastered a charming smile on his face and turned to see Yuki glaring at him with hands on her hips. She'd recently re-braided her hair and washed the dirt from her face. Without the dirty smudges and tangled hair, she was actually beautiful. The rumors had only been a slight exaggeration then. But her clothing confirmed what the servant had said, she wore a plain hakama and haori, close fitted and similar to what he wore when he was sparring. Not something he would have expected of a young lady. But he was coming to realize there was nothing predictable about her.

  "I wanted to learn more about you."

  She smiled sweetly, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Oh really?"

  "I was hoping we could be formally introduced. I am Lord Kaedemori, but you can call me Hotaru." He bowed to her, deeply, giving her the utmost respect. She gave him a quick shallow bow.

  "I heard you've been asking about me." She took a step closer toward him.

  I hoped she would. Nothing lured a woman in like knowing a man was interested. "I wanted to get to know you. In times like these it's good for us to work together. Make new bonds." He inched closer to her.

  "The way I heard it, the Kaedemoris and the Fujikawas were working together."

  "You're very informed, for a woman." Could she know about the falling out between his clan and the Fujikawas?

  She'd gotten very close now, where he could smell a faint flowery scent, perhaps her bath water. Her lashes were long and framed large brown eyes. "Are you saying because I'm a woman, I shouldn't be informed?"

  "It is unusual for a woman to know about the dealings between the clans."

  The fake sweet smile was wiped from her face. "Or perhaps I should be sitting quietly in the corner, like a delicate decoration, ready to be traded in an alliance?"

  Her response had caught him off guard. It was the first time a woman had disarmed him with just her words. She fluttered her eyelashes at him, waiting for a response.

  "Not at all," he stammered

  "Then why are you asking about my family and me like one would livestock?" The intensity of her glare was enough to set him on fire.

  "I'm sorry. I believe I've offended you somehow." He bowed to her, hoping to salvage the situation.

  She laughed. "You don't even know what you've done wrong?"

  "Perhaps if you could explain it to me?" He smiled in a way that made other girls swoon.
But it only seemed to make her angrier.

  She curled her hands into fists at her side and her face was flushed. It was rather charming. She was even more spirited than he had thought.

  "Why did you come here, really?" she said through gritted teeth.

  It seemed crude to bring up a marital alliance before he had a chance to speak with her brother. It would be his decision after all. And so he said, "I believe that's between your brother and I."

  "Is that so?"

  She marched over to the servant who'd been watching their exchange and grabbed the bucket from his hands. Then she stomped over to Hotaru and dumped the contents of the bucket over his head, dousing him in cold water. He gasped and sputtered, shaking the water from his hands and wiping it off his face.

  "What was that for?"

  She pointed her finger at him. "Hear this now: I'm not interested in marrying you or anyone."

  He glared after her. What did I do wrong? He'd always been good with women, able to charm any woman. But it was becoming clear, Yuki wasn't like most women.

  4

  Yuki sat in the round window of her room that looked at the forest beyond. She should be out there. Suimin, the tanuki, dozed in her lap as she stroked his fur. The moon was full in the sky and cast a pale light over the garden. She could feel spring trembling beneath the surface of the sleeping forest. She wanted to be out there, to watch the flowers bloom, feel the forest awaken again.

  Instead she was trapped by the promise she'd made to Riku, caged behind the walls of the palace. One of her legs dangled out her window, her back leaning against the frame. She told her brother she'd give this new suitor a chance. And she was going to this time, she really was. She'd even gone looking for him this afternoon. But he was more insufferable than all the ones who'd come before him. How arrogant. How repulsive. She scrunched her nose up in disgust.

  There was a knock at the door. The other six tanuki who were playing in her room froze, taking the shape of items around her room. Kashikoi a book, Happi a brazier in the corner, and so on. Suimin hardly cracked an eye open before flopping onto her futon and pretending to be a pillow, one with a suspicious striped tail. She hid his tail beneath the blanket before going to answer.

  The maid peered into the room. "Are you ready for dinner?"

  Yuki, still in her same clothes from that afternoon, shrugged. "Just about." She looked to the open window. It wouldn't be hard to climb out the window and then over the far wall. She did it all the time.

  "Lord Fujimori told me to remind you of your promise," the maid said, knowing as everyone in the palace did, that she was not easily confined indoors.

  Yuki sighed heavily. She had promised, hadn't she?

  "I'll only be a few more minutes."

  The maid looked skeptical as she bowed her head and closed the door. Yuki turned back to the tanuki. Most of them had resumed their normal forms. She said she would come, but she hadn't promised she'd behave.

  "How would you guys like to have a little fun tonight?" she asked.

  The seven voices cheered with excitement.

  Yuki dressed and headed to dinner. She had to suppress her smile or Riku would be suspicious. The entire clan had gathered in the dining room. Everyone was eager to catch a glimpse of the handsome stranger. Their territory was so isolated they rarely saw outsiders. Riku sat at the head of the room, her spot beside him empty, and that man was seated on the other side of the empty space. This was Riku's plan to force them together, just as he'd done with all the others. For once, she was glad he had.

  Her stepmother was seated to the other side of her brother. She saw Yuki enter and smiled and waved at her. Yuki ignored her as she made her way through the crowd. Even after her father's death her stepmother remained, and acted as caretaker to her brother. She'd been married to her father less than a year when he'd passed. And being just a few years older than Yuki, she could never see her as a mother.

  As Yuki made her way to her seat, the clan members muttered to themselves.

  "How long will this one last?"

  "I heard she poured water over his head."

  "Who would take such a girl as a bride?"

  She forced a smile and kept walking, ignoring their criticisms. Each step she took she felt Hotaru's eyes on her. She had hoped she'd made her decision clear. Normally she didn't need to take such drastic measures. Most of the suitors had left not long after arriving, thinking she was a feral beast. She wasn't wife material, she needed her freedom to roam. She couldn't be a painted doll locked in a room all day. She'd go mad.

  But either he was exceedingly stubborn, or very stupid. She'd like to think it was the latter of the two. She'd taken the long way to her seat, hoping to delay the inevitable. But as she got closer she gave him a shallow bow, and their eyes met. He was handsome, she'd give him that. But the handsome veneer couldn't take away the rotten core underneath. She sat down next to him, keeping as much space between them as possible.

  "You look lovely," he said.

  She snorted in disbelief. How original.

  Riku gave her a discreet pinch. Yuki hissed, to keep from crying out. She glared at her brother and was prepared to return the pinch with a punch, but seeing his frail body, she hesitated. He gave her a look that said, 'you promised.'

  Yuki plastered on a fake smile and turned toward Lord Kaedemori. "Would you like a drink?"

  She held up a jug of sake.

  He held out his cup for her to fill. While she concentrated on pouring he continued to stare. It was a bit disconcerting, feeling his eyes upon her. It made her stomach squirm unpleasantly. She glanced up at him, wondering what it was about her face that was so interesting. Up close, and without his mouth moving, he was very handsome. The ghost of stubble over his chin and his smile were very alluring. Distracted, she overfilled his cup and liquor spilled onto his haori. He jerked backward, spilling the glass and all of its contents onto the ground.

  "Oh, I'm so sorry," she said with a complete lack of sincerity.

  He kept that same charming smile in place as he wiped it away. "No matter, it was me who was a bit clumsy."

  She forced a laugh and then looked away, letting her smile drop. She scanned the room until she spotted a servant carrying in the first course. He knelt down to give a plate to one of her cousins and she noticed the striped tail sticking out from beneath his haori.

  Yuki stifled her laughter behind her hand and covered it with a cough.

  "I wanted to apologize for what I said this afternoon," he said.

  Yuki turned toward him, eyebrows raised. "Oh really?"

  "I've heard a lot about your beauty, and they say you’re a very intriguing woman."

  She had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. So he hadn't really learned his lesson. It was all just lip service.

  "I got tongue-tied in front of you, and I said some things I didn't mean," he said as he leaned toward her.

  It took all of her willpower to not flee from the room. Her only saving grace was Baka, disguised as a servant and carrying a bowl that was teetering dangerously close to the edge of the tray.

  "Uh huh," she choked out as she tried to contain her laughter.

  "You see—" Before he could finish his sentence, the bowl of soup Baka was carrying tipped over onto the lord’s lap.

  The puffed-up lord gasped in surprise, and Yuki waited for him to explode in anger.

  "Oh my lord, I am so sorry," Baka said as he attempted to clean up the spill.

  "No, it's fine really," Hotaru replied, bending down at the same time Baka stood up.

  The top of Baka's head struck Hotaru in the nose. Unprepared for the collision, Baka's illusionary magic faltered. And fearing she'd be caught, Yuki leaped up, putting herself in between Hotaru and Baka, whose ears and tail were already showing. But Baka was also trying to get away and instead knocked Yuki into Hotaru. He caught her and she stared up at him, shocked and frozen. There was a small trickle of blood coming from his nose.

  "Oh si
r, you're bleeding," said Kushami, another tanuki disguised as a servant.

  Yuki leaped away from him, Baka had made his escape, and she was no longer needed to make a diversion. Kushami was attempting to wipe away the blood from Hotaru's face but had to sneeze mid-way through and accidentally swiped blood across his face.

  "I'm fine, really," Hotaru said in exasperation, taking the cloth from Kushami.

  But Kushami wouldn't let go and what resulted was a tug of war, each of them refusing to give up the bloody rag.

  "That's enough!" her brother said.

  The tanuki bowed as he dropped the cloth, leaving Hotaru with his bloody trophy. The tanuki backed away, and Yuki gave him a wink. Hotaru was brought more soup, and dinner continued on as normal. When the meal was finished, Hotaru stood up.

  "I have brought gifts," he said and gestured to the far end of the room. His soldiers carried in three chests. It took two men to carry a single chest. The clansmen mumbled their approval, speculating as to what could be inside. Lord Kaedemori had brought more than his predecessors, that was for sure. All the suitors brought presents. It was the price for buying a bride after all.

  But when the first chest was opened, a foul smell filled the room. Everyone gagged and covered their mouths and noses.

  "What is that?" Yuki cried, knowing perfectly well what it was. It had been her idea after all.

  "It looks to be filled with rotting fish heads." Her brother coughed and her stepmother handed him a handkerchief to help him cover his mouth.

  Hotaru leaped up slammed the chest shut. "Take this away," he growled at his men, then to Riku he said, "I am so sorry, my lord, I don't know what happened. That was not the chest I brought."

  "It looks like your chest," Yuki said, smiling. Hotaru was scratching his head.

  From the corner of her eye, she felt Riku watching her. A second chest was brought out and this one was filled with human bones and skulls and what looked to be grave soil. One woman screamed and several others made the sign of warding.

  "Why would you bring a curse into our house?" Yuki asked.