Snow White

Chapter One

Chapter One

"Aren't you just so excited for today?" my maid, Penelope asks me as she's brushing my hair.

   "Of course, I'm excited," I fake a smile and look down.

   Today is the day my father is marrying a woman he barely knows. She'll become my stepmother and the queen of the White Kingdom, and I don't know how to feel about it.

   "Princess Snow, do not lie to me!" Penelope says and stops brushing my hair. She comes in front of me so we can face each other. "What are you worried about? Sage seems like a lovely woman!"

   I look straight into my maid's blue eyes and I let out a deep breath. "I just don't know about her."

   "Oh come on! She's stunning and from what I can tell she's nice! What's there to be worried about?"

   "Well for one, she's only a few years older than me. My father has no business marrying a woman closer to his children's ages than his own," I start.

   Penelope raises her brows, ready for more.

   "And for two, she's one of Queen Crystal's daughters. If you know anything about that family, you know they're witches and they possess evil magic," I finish, then grab the brush from Penelope's hand and start to detangle the knots in my long dark hair myself.

   "Okay, you kind of have a point with the age difference thing, but the witch nonsense, I don't think it's true," Penelope says then snatches back the hairbrush from me.

   I sigh and try to get my body to relax, but I just can't. I want to love the idea of welcoming Sage into the family, but it's hard. Mother died around five years ago and I'm still not over the fact that she's not here.

   My mother should be the queen of the White Kingdom, not some young woman who we barely know.

   I look down at my dress while my maid is fixing my hair and I can't help but be reminded of my mother.

   The gown I've picked out for the wedding is deep maroon with small gold accents. The sleeves are long and so is the length, it goes all the way down to the floor. The fabric is a soft velvet and wearing it is comfortable, but it reminds me of my mother.

   When we went to parties and events all around the Fairy Tale World, her maids would dress her in red gowns and she'd always wear her beautiful gold crown. As I look at myself in the mirror, all I see is her and it makes me start to cry.

   Tears quietly fall from my face and I try to wipe them as they come, I don't want Penelope to scold me for ruining my makeup.

   I feel the brush in my hair come to a stop and my maid comes up to face me again. "Snow, are you crying?" she asks and crosses her arms. "There will be no tears today! It's a celebration!"

   "Penelope, I miss her. I miss her so much," I say and don't hide the tears from falling. It's hard to keep it all in, I'm horrible at wearing my heart on my sleeve.

   My maid kneels and gets on my level. She places her hand in mine and squeezes it tight. "I know, Snow. I miss her too. Rachel was the best queen this kingdom had ever seen," she whispers.

   I wipe away a tear and pull Penelope in for a hug. On paper, she's my maid, but in my heart, she's my best friend. Growing up in the castle has always been so lonely, she's the only person that ever listened to me. Yeah, I'm friends with the other princesses, but they just don't get me like she does.

   "I'm not ready to get over her yet," I whisper.

   Penelope pulls away from our hug and grabs a cloth from her pocket. She carefully wipes my tears and smiles. "You don't have to ever get over your mother, she'll always have a special place in your heart," she says. "Your father isn't getting over her either by marrying Sage, he just wants you and William to still have a mother figure in your lives. He knows the White Kingdom hasn't been the same without a queen."

   "I know. It's just hard," I say and look in the mirror. Penelope has done a good job of covering the fact that I've been crying. "Thanks for wiping my tears away," I laugh.

   "Well, of course, that's what I'm here for," she laughs then grabs the brush again and starts to do my hair.

   "I looked over the guest list and the Charmings are coming to the wedding," Penelope says, changing the subject.

   I sigh. "I figured. Everyone in the Fairy Tale World is always invited to these sorts of things."

   "Do you think you're gonna say anything to Prince Asher?" she questions as she starts to braid a small section of my black hair.

   I shake my head. "No way. The breakup is too fresh. I think I'll just get sad all over again if I even see him."

   Instead of tears forming in my eyes, I start to feel my face get hot, I know my cheeks are red. Thinking of my ex-boyfriend, Asher, the second-born prince of the Charming Kingdom, makes me nervous.

   We dated for about a year and it was always so messy with him. He wasn't dating me to marry, he was dating me so he could fool around. He took advantage of me in as many ways possible and he shattered my heart into a million pieces. I hate myself for letting him do it.

   "Okay then, I'll make sure he stays on the opposite side of the ballroom from you. We don't want any more tears today," Penelope jokes then finishes up my hair.

♡♡♡♡

Once I'm done getting ready, I go to my little brother's room and check up on him. If I've been thinking about our mother, I know he has been too. They had such a beautiful bond, he was the most heartbroken when she got sick.

   I knock on William's door and a maid immediately answers it.

   "Hey, Will. How are you doing?" I call out and take a few steps into his bedroom.

   Once I get a close look at my little brother, I see him and he's as handsome as ever. His dark hair is slicked back and he's wearing a fancy suit. For once in his life, he looks like a prince.

   "I'm doing good. I'm happy for Father," he says as his maid is fixing one of the buttons on his suit.

   "Yeah, me too," I whisper and take my brother's hand.

   I'd be lying if I said I was super unhappy about the wedding, I mean, I'm glad my father is getting a second chance at love. But it still hurts to think that Mother could still be alive and we wouldn't have to witness his wedding.

   "Snow, are you doing alright? You're looking paler than usual," William asks then laughs.

   He and I both have our father's pale complexion and saying that I'm "whiter than usual" is anyone's go-to joke.

   "Yes. I'm perfectly fine. I'm excited to welcome Sage into our family. She's going to make a wonderful queen," I say, partially lying, partially telling the truth.

   "Wedding starts in half an hour you two. We can't have Nicholas' children being late to his own wedding!" the head maid and Penelope's mother, Janet, says as she barges into William's room. "Chop, chop! Come on, let's go!"

   I smile at her and follow her downstairs, ready to watch my father get married.

   Although it's hard to think about my mother, a part of me is a little excited to have Sage as my new stepmother. From what I do know, she is a very nice woman, I think I just made up excuses to hate her when thinking about Mother.

   It's hard not to find it all a little bittersweet.

   But I'm glad that Father is getting a second chance at love, he deserves it.