Lost Destinies

↳ 01: The Land Of Mediocre-Ever-Afters

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away known as Fairytaletopia, everyone lived in peace and harmony.

Well, that may not have been exactly true, but the majority accepted the world as such. For the most part, everyone minded their own business, living their mediocre-ever-afters, relatively undisturbed as time passed. New stories turned the page, some unlucky historical figures forgotten, others revered. Kingdoms rose and fell. Strategic alliances formed. The ordinary plebes went about their daily business. It was not unlike any other historical narrative. It was peaceful, sure. But then you could say that with peace comes laziness.

Without conflict, there's no fear. Without fear, there's no concern. Without concern, there's complacency. And herein lies the reason why sloth is one of the seven deadly sins. The people of Fairytaletopia let their guard down, allowing darkness to slip through the cracks in a world where nothing was as certain as it seemed. Let me tell you a story. I suppose I'll start from the beginning.

Snow Kingdom was a place of elegance and beauty—strange, of course, but no stranger than anywhere else. Snow fell almost year-round, frosting the trees with glittering silver and coating the mountaintops in what appeared to be, from a distance, dollops of cream sprinkled with snowflakes and pink camellias. It had been still called Lakeland not too long ago, and it was cold then, celebrating enormous festivals each winter solstice when the first flake fell. But ever since the queen had been struck with icy powers the whole country had become engulfed completely in white. The Snow Kingdom territory stretched across the northernmost region of the map, and even the sun often elected to leave it be and spent its time down in Fairy Kingdom instead.

Much like the other major kingdoms that made up Fairytaletopia, Snow could be separated into multiple regions, each overseen by a minor royal family who submitted to the rule of the official king and queen: East Snow, West Snow, North Snow, South Snow, and, lastly and most significantly, Central. Smack-dab in the middle of Central Snow Kingdom and vaguely in the center of the entire country sat a large castle gleaming white with the snowfall its queen loved so dearly—surely, you've heard of her.

Snow White.

There was a time when she'd been nothing more than an innocent young woman desperate to escape the looming claws of her wicked stepmother, the detestably departed "Evil Queen", but an apple, a kiss, and the granting of magic had brought her more stress in just three fleeting years than she ever thought one could possibly hold on her own frail shoulders. She and her husband had made haste to join the Royal Alliance to avoid future conflict. Yes, that Royal Alliance. The Charmings of Fairy, the Castellans of Water, the Roses and Novikovs of Rose, the Santoses of Tower, and, finally, the Whites of Snow. The wealthiest and most powerful political figures of the generation. Everyone knew their names, their faces, their stories.

Although the kingdom now bore her name in the interest of ridding the citizens of their wicked previous queen, Snow White had already become a distant and jaded ruler for someone so young, enamored with frivolity and blinded to the needs of those below her. This would be her downfall, along with the others.

Today the Snow Queen walked briskly along the path through her royal gardens, accompanied by her only stepson and the crown prince, Everette White (formerly, Belmonte). He was approaching almost seventeen years of age and reminded many in the palace of what young Snow had been like, despite looking her polar opposite. He shared his father's medium chestnut skintone, which had drained in vibrancy from the lack of sun exposure here compared to his previous home—Water Kingdom—and was quite a bit taller than his stepmother.

His dark hair, which fell in soft curls all the way down to his collarbone, was pulled back into a loose ponytail, a strand or two falling in his eyes and making him itch to blow them away. Although his birth mother's identity would perhaps forever be unknown to him, most figured he must have inherited from her those eyes; green as sea glass and clear as day. If one looked close enough peculiar ice blue flecks might be visible, even resembling snowflakes in the sunlight, though a trait he was quite sure he had not been born with. Still, he did not care to learn who his birth mother was, as Snow White was sufficient enough for him. He called her 'mother' and considered her so. She loved him likewise.