Brass Automaton

25 - Guardians of Time

Snow White, queen of Oossah, rode Cloud Dancer as fast as the overworked animal could go. He stopped abruptly at the same spot where Snow believed that Sky mounted him for her journey back to Oossah Keep.

"Only this far?" she asked the horse, who replied with a whinny.

Snow hopped down and took her collapsible brass spear from the satchel. She gave the horse a brief tap and watched him disappear into the Rennoc Woods.

She walked with caution looking for signs of lurking Tenyks or steaming automation, but nature was alone and quiet. Snow realized she couldn't hear any birds chirping, and her old familiar path seemed less lavish than she remembered.

She passed a grave marked by sticks and rocks. One of the dwarfs must have made the little gravestone, and it was beautiful craftsmanship bearing the dwarven sigils of honor. It had just a single name engraved upon it: "Tobias."

Snow walked along the path. When she reached a spot and knew that no danger lurked, she called out to the dwarfs. "King Odc? Pelyse?"

When she heard nothing in reply, Snow traversed further into the deep of Rennoc Woods where no light shone through the thick crowds of high trees. She saw them at the foot of the active portal, a round structure swirling in a red vapor and spitting demonic hisses. Their beards and boots and belts had turned to stone – arms outstretched, mouths shouting, swords thrusting: The last images of their deaths were forever imprinted in stone. Despite their arguments, Snow had much respect for the merry bunch. She may have been the Queen of the Meadows, but Odc had been the King of the forest for centuries. She placed a kiss upon her fingers and delivered it to Odc's cheek.

"Sleep well guardians of time and magick," she whispered.

Before her, the portal was still wrapped in outstretched tendrils, and below it, lay the automaton. Snow looked down upon a younger Sky's face, but when she kneeled to close her eyes, the magick faded away, and an old woman, small and dry of age was held tightly in the brass prison. Repulsed, Snow pulled back.

She stepped over the prostrate body. With her spear at the ready; with no hesitation; with no time to waste; Snow White stepped into the portal.

* * *

The portal illuminated, startling both Jarvis and Ceridwen. Jarvis ran for his staff and brandished it with purpose, pointing it toward the portal.

"Here she comes," Ceridwen purred, as steam rose above her head.

* * *

Snow felt torn apart as she cascaded through the portal. Time pulled her in all directions, stretching her skin and her limbs to excruciating pain. She had only to focus on where the Brass Ceridwen was and as soon as she did, the portal at the end of this tunnel illuminated her exit.

Snow tumbled out of the portal still grasping her spear. When she looked up and ignored the bruises, she saw Ceridwen's burning gaze.

"You have nerve to seek me here."

Snow shrugged and stood up. She observed the room and found the Enchanted Mirror in its corner, but it was already damaged. "Whatever it takes to stop you for good, Sky Ceridwen."

"Ha!" Ceridwen laughed. "So you do know. The warlock did not lie. Tell me, Snow White, why did you keep your love for her if you knew she was a piece of me?"

"Because she was a good person, perhaps the only one of your shattered heart. She vowed to stay with me until the end no matter what. But you are not her, and none of your other brass forms were either."

Ceridwen, unthreatened by Snow's edged spear began a slow pace back and forth. "Do you remember how we met Snow?"

Snow White nodded. "You poisoned my father and took the place of my mother."

Ceridwen spat. "I was a poor girl, brought up in the farthest house of your kingdom. My father made brews for the local taverns and sent me to sell it. Have you ever stepped in a tavern? It stinks of urine and puke; the men are dirty and drunk. I dreamt to be in the Keep, to live a luxurious life as the royal family. I imagined how I'd run down the corridors, playing hide and seek with my servants, or how I had my morning meal in the gardens, while my faithful hounds laid beside me. You were but a babe when the queen took to bed, ill. Your father was coming home from a hunt unaware that he would soon be a widower. He passed right beside my house and looked down from his silver steed. He looked at me and smiled. I was a young girl then, but old enough for marriage. He was so handsome, the King."

"You enchanted him," Snow said in a gravelly voice.

"I had to. He loved your mother too much. On that day, I promised myself to be his next queen no matter what. It was a silly thought, but a powerful one. Days passed, and your mother perished. On that day, a cloaked man came to me and told me that he could help me be the Queen of Oossah."

Ceridwen looked at Jarvis and smiled, but her brass mouth twisted it into a grimace. "He told me how to trick your father into loving me. He gave me a piece of mirrored glass and a potion to drink. It was filled with magick that made me the fairest of them all. As I walked through the village, all of the men turned to look at me, men who had ignored me before. I already felt like a queen. Jarvis became the King's advisor and me his queen. I kept King Richard mine with the power of the mirror and took to Jarvis for advice. We ruled the kingdom until you, dear Snow White, became of age and the mirror spoke your name instead of mine. I was so angered one night my magick poisoned him. He was talking about how beautiful his dearest daughter had become. His love for you was stronger than my curse."

Snow kept the tears from running down her burning cheeks. She remembered the day her father died, and her stepmother sent her to the forest with a young huntsman, a year or two older than herself. John was to kill her, but he was kind, and the most handsome boy she had seen, with his golden locks and wolfish gray eyes. The evil Ceridwen tried many times to kill her, but no matter what, Snow avoided death. She and John banished Ceridwen from the kingdom. Many years had passed before she rode back from the Rookskye, a diplomatic advisor to help propel the kingdom to a brighter future. Oh, how she propelled it, Snow thought, grinding her teeth.