"Avast, ye terrible dragon!" A tiny child with straw-coloured hair swung her toy sword through the air. "Ye'll not be taking away our beloved princess!"
Little Snow White, round and soft as only a royal could be, giggled behind her hands. "Why is a pirate saving me from a dragon?" she asked.
"I'm not a pirate, Snow!" Her friend planted her sword in the ground and stood tall. "I am a strong and fearless Huntress! That's what I'm going to be when I grow up."
Snow's eyes sparkled with awe at such ambition. "Oh wow! What will you do then?"
The Not-Yet-a-Huntress's ears went pink. She was just old enough for Snow's sweet smile to make her stomach churn and her chest spin in funny circles. "I'll be your personal bodyguard," she said, waving her wooden blade. "Ready to protect you from dragons and spiders and... whatever other monsters there are. But..." she fiddled with her toy sword. "If I'm gonna be a proper Huntress, I'll have to go away to train with my family."
"What?" Snow's lower lip quivered at this bleak turn of events. "But you're my best friend. I would miss you!"
The young Huntress's heart thumped in her ears. Miss her. Snow would miss her. "Don't worry Snow, that's years and years away." She threw her arms around Snow, squeezing her plump little body tight. "Just promise you'll come tell me goodbye, alright?"
"Of course I will!"
∻∻∻
The Huntress ran a hand along the cool green moss that grew up the side of a mighty oak. She threw a rock into the forest shadows, listening to it clatter down the well-trod path. She was supposed to be deep in the woods by now, ready to begin her training as a proper Huntress. But she stalled, hoping...
She scanned the castle walls, hoping to catch a glimpse of Snow coming to see her off. A flash of dark hair as she blundered down the parapet steps, her round face flushed and winded from the run, her round belly still jiggling as she tried to catch her breath...
The Huntress realised she was off in the clouds again, daydreaming about the princess's warm smile and butterball body. She shook herself. It was time to accept that Snow wasn't coming. Which... which was good, actually. It was a silly crush, and one that she'd be better off letting go...
From the window of her room, Snow White watched the Huntress disappear into the forest shadows. She wanted to run down, catch her, apologise for breaking her promise and beg her to stay. But the Huntress wouldn't want a big dumpy thing like her hanging around. She should have let go of that silly crush long ago...
∻∻∻
The king's square jaw clenched as he clung to his dying wife's hand. "Isn't there anything we can do?"
The doctor shook his head. "Medicine has done all it can. I've never seen any illness like this."
Snow lay her plump cheek against her mother's soft waterfall of chins. The Queen was enormous, round and rolled and butter-soft. Though she often wheezed when walking and could hardly manage anything more strenuous than lifting her plate for another helping, she had never been sick a day in her life. But now here she was, paler than death, her stormy grey eyes looking feverishly around the room. Tears dripped down Snow's face. Her strong mother looked so... broken.
"My sister..." the Queen wheezed. "My sister... she's the one... she did this... she... don't trust..."
The King leaned close, thick brows knit in concern. "My dearest, your sisters haven't visited since May."
The Queen shook her head, feverish sweat dripping onto the pillow. "Not them! The other... other... other..."
"The fever is making her delirious," the doctor sighed. "You can't take her words seriously." He took the King aside to discuss options.
The Queen struggled to raise her weighty arms, cupping her daughter's plump face one last time. "My dear, whatever you do, don't... trust her."
Snow clung to her hand. "Who, Mama, who?"
"The youngest... the... snake..."
∻∻∻
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