Snow White

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

Six months.

   It's been six entire months of living with these dwarfs.

   I've loved every second of it, the dwarfs are the funniest people I know, but it's been a really long time.

   Six months without joking with Penelope. Six months without being able to kiss Asher's sweet lips. Six months without teasing my little brother William. Six months without Father's hugs.

   It's been long and hard, but it's also been six months without the wicked queen trying to kill me, so it's been a good six months.

♡♡♡♡

Right now, the dwarfs are off at the mines and I'm preparing dinner for them. Barnaby, Chuck, and Grub are huge fans of my apple pie, so I'm preparing one right now.

   Since I've got nothing to do in this small cottage but cook, clean, and think of past memories, I've perfected my skills in the kitchen and I'm pretty impressed with myself.

   Eight months ago, I'd never guessed that I'd be a professional chef, I thought I'd be happy in my castle, but of course, fate had other plans.

   I've got the pie crust made, now I just need to make the sweet filling full of apples, cinnamon, and sugar.

   As I look in the pantry, I notice that there are no apples anywhere, so I go outside of the cottage to collect the sweet red fruit from a nearby tree.

   Flint has advised me to not go outside of the cottage unless I really need to. Since I promised the seven little men apple pie for dessert, I'd say I need to go outside and collect some apples.

   As I step outside, I breathe in the fresh Enchanted Forest air, and it makes me feel good. I miss being able to roam my kingdom freely.

   I could be out here all day, taking in the air and the fresh smell of damp moss, rain, and wet tree trunks. But I can't. I need to stay safe.

   The big apple tree is a little far away from the cottage, but I need to get to it, so I walk the distance with a big basket in my hand.

   This morning, I put on a short red dress. It's one Flint went into town and bought for me. It's not as extravagant as the ones I wore day to day as the princess, but I love it way more than those gowns. The thought behind it is so much more meaningful than a maid sewing it up for me to just wear once.

   My gowns aren't the only thing that has changed about me, my hair has changed a bit too. I stupidly chopped it off in front of Sage up to my shoulders all those months ago. Now, it's past my collarbone and almost down to my breasts. I've grown to love the shorter length, it was hard to adjust to at first, but now I feel like such a badass.

♡♡♡♡

As I approach the apple tree, I start to pick a few fresh ones, but then an arrow shoots right past me, hitting the tree.

   I quickly turn my head and see a tall man with a head of dark brown curly hair, smiling at me with a bow and arrow in his hand.

   I've never seen this man before, but with his black armor on, he's got Sage's name written all over him.

   "Well, well, well. Took me long enough to find you," the man chuckles.

   "Who are you and what do you want with me?" I huff and drop my basket full of apples on the ground.

   Right now, I'm in defense mode and I'm going to fight for my life.

   "Oh don't worry. I'm not going to be the one to kill you," the man says, still smiling wide. "The queen will be the one to do that after I take you."

   I quickly pick an apple from the tree and plan on using it as my weapon. It's the only thing I can think of right now.

   "Yeah, that's not happening. If she wants to kill me, she can have the decency to find me herself," I laugh at him.

   The curly-haired man continues to chuckle at me. "That's not what Sage has planned. She wants you delivered so that's what she'll get."

   His words fuel me and I raise the apple in my hand and throw it directly in his face. The red fruit hits his forehead and I know it hurts. Unfortunately for me, it doesn't knock him out like I wish it would, it just leaves a red mark on his tanned forehead.

   "Why would you work for Sage? Why would you help her kill someone?" I ask, almost pleading with him to change his mind. "I mean, do you have some sort of sex deal with her?" I whisper in rage.

   The man looks at me with his dark brown eyes and scratches the top of his head. "Um, actually, yeah," he says shamefully.

   I grab another apple from the tree and chuck it right at his head. "Wow, that's just low. Do you know how many people that awful woman has slept with? I've seen her with like three guards and even the king of the Beauty Kingdom," I say. "You're not gonna be the special one that gets her at the end of the day. In fact, at the end of the day, she'll be getting two favors from you. Me dead and you in bed. Nothing special."

   It's unbelievable that Sage is using her sexual desires to her advantage.

   How could someone be that cruel?

   The man rubs his bruise away and just stares at me. "I guess you're right, but having this job is taking my mind off of my children and everything back home. I mean, Sage won't forget me if I deliver you to her. Maybe she'll keep me around."

   "You have children back home and your main priority right now is to kill me so you can sleep with a queen? You really are a low life," I say and shake my head.

   He just shrugs.

   "Well I've got a tree full of apples and I'll keep throwing them at you unless you go away," I snicker even though this man could kill me right now with his bow and arrow since I'm completely defenseless.

   I don't know if it was the mention of me throwing apples or Sage's sexcapades, but something has changed in the man's mind and he starts to walk away.

   Before he's fully gone, he turns to look at me. "I'm gonna let you go this one time, Princess Snow, but it probably won't be the last."

   My heart starts to beat at a normal rate at his words and I sigh a breath of relief.

   This huntsman just had a moment of weakness and I couldn't be more grateful. It lets me know that Sage is still trying to get me dead, even six months later, but it gives me time to come up with a real plan. I may not be delivered to Sage today, but I might one day, and I need to prepare for it.

   The evil queen is still out to get me, and I need to do something about it.