A Grim Fairy Tale

Chapter Seventeen

The alps never did get around to explaining to Alastor what it was they were hiding from that night but the boy eventually forgot his curiosity on the subject. Especially once he found himself spending the next week doing all the chores save for the mining and after he served his punishment, he pleaded with his guardians to allow him to visit his friend Charlotte.

"I suppose I could consent to that." Millie told him. "But on one condition, you are to return home before dark."

"Oh I will." He replied. "I promise."

He left for Dolores's cottage in a haste. He couldn't help himself, he was just so eager to see Charlotte again and with his advanced senses he would surely be able to track down the humble abode of the kindly old woman. Although when he arrived he found something very unexpected at the cottage. It was a royal carriage. Now what would a royal carriage be doing this deep in the forest?

"Little thief!"

His confused thoughts were interrupted by a harsh voice screaming. He followed the voice to an area behind the cottage but kept himself hidden in the shadows. His watchful eyes carefully observing the scene of Charlotte being scolded by a woman he had never seen before but instinctively took an instant dislike to. Something was held tightly in the woman's hand. It was a necklace. A necklace that she then dropped into the pocket of her cloak.

"How dare you steal from me! You miserable wretch!" She continued to berate.

"I didn't steal anything!" Charlotte defended. "That necklace is mine. My father gave it to me."

"Well I am your father's wife and his queen which means everything he owns and everything you own now belongs to me. Now I know you're far too stupid to pull off an act of theft on your own so who helped you?"

"Nobody."

"You're a liar!"

"It's true."

"You don't seem to understand the position you're in girl. Your father is no longer ruling the kingdom, I am. Therefore you should not cross me."

With each awful word this woman spoke to Charlotte, it sparked a great anger inside of Alastor.

"Real life has nothing to do with your little fantasy stories! It's a cruel, nasty, world out there! And you're not a princess any longer! So if you think that someday you'll find yourself back in your father's castle, living a life of luxury then you are sadly mistaken!"

Tears threatened to well up in Charlotte's eyes but she fought the urge to cry.

I mean look at you! You wear rags, your face is dirty, and you live in these God forsaken woods! There's no reason for you to see yourself as a princess! You're just like your mother! Indulging yourself in meaningless dreams! Believing that hope and kindness will cause some good fortune to come your way!"

Charlotte then looked at the woman confused.

"What did you say?" She asked. "I thought you had never met my mother. If that were true then how would you know what her beliefs were?"

For a moment the cold woman's face bore an expression that seemed to convey that she had said too much.

"It doesn't matter how I know! I just know that she was a naive, good for nothing, fool just like you!"

"She was not!"

"How would you know? You don't even remember her! And why is that? Because you caused her death! You were born and that's why she died! You killed her!"

Horror and indescribable pain rose upon the face of the child. She could hold back her tears no more, she slowly shook her head in denial.

As for Alastor, he couldn't stand this another minute. His animal instincts insisted he attack but his human mind reminded him that if this woman was truly a king's wife as she said then guards wouldn't be too far from here. He needed to smart about his defense. No, he wouldn't just come out and pounce on her, instead he picked up a nearby rock and threw it right at the side of her pretty yet cold face.