Snow White with the Fangs

TW: Blood.

  A long time ago in a kingdom far away lived a mighty king with his beautiful queen; together they had a wonderful daughter.
The king always said if she grew to be anything like her mother she'd be the fairest lady in the land. Her skin was porcelain pale, and her eyes were piercingly deep blue. Ebony black hair fell in waves to her shoulders, and her rosy plump lips moved beautifully as she sang.

Because she was a princess she was hardly ever allowed outside the castle without guards following her. So when her 14th birthday arrived all she asked for was to be allowed a trip to the forest alone, to play with the animals.

At first the king was strictly against it, but the queen argued that little princess Isabel's life would be filled with responsibilities so she should get this one moment of childhood bliss; and the king could never say no to his queen.

Once Isabel had promised to return before dusk and was given a basket with lunch she set off.
The royal couple waited anxiously for the return of their daughter, but she didn't come back.
About an hour after nightfall the king ordered his kings guard to look for the missing princess.
The guards returned the afternoon that followed, one of them carrying the limp body of princess Isabel.

When the queen got sight of her daughter on the bed inside the castle infirmary she let out a horrified shriek. Isabel's skin had turned red and she was covered in blisters, lumps of her once shiny hair had been ripped out by the roots. What horrified the couple the most was her eyes, they were wide open, but the colour had been drained from them, it looked like her soul had been torn from her body and now she was just an empty shell.

The king choked on his words as he ordered the nurse to let them have a moment alone with their daughter. He sat beside his sobbing wife and looked down, into those eyes that were once filled with life.
All night they sat there, the king staring absently out the window and his wife praying as she wept. "Please, give us a miracle; please bring her back." She'd whisper over and over again, as if that would help.
Around minding the king took his daughters hand, planted a kiss on it and rose from his chair.
He froze, however, at the door when he heard a smooth quiet voice speak up. "I'm so hungry."

Isabel woke up by two loud thumping. Ba-bum, ba-bum, ba-bum. They were slightly out of sync, but not so much she was bothered by it.
The second thing she noticed was how much her body burned, it felt like a really bad sunburn, times a thousand.
Candles and lanterns were lighting up the room, she moved her eyes around to see if the rest of the room was as grey as the ceiling. It was.
She felt something warm on her hand, and then something soft, she laid as still as she could so she wouldn't be discovered. Her eyes slowly looked over to where the warmth had come from, once she saw it was her father she sighed in relief.

She spoke up, she wanted to say something nice like 'hello', but all she could think of was "I'm so hungry." and she was, in fact starving.
The queen got up in such a hurry she accidentally cut her hand on the sword leaning against the bedside table, though she didn't pay any attention to it.

"Isabel! Dear lord, how?" She exclaimed, but Isabel didn't seem to be paying attention; her eyes were fixated on the small scratch on her mothers hand, where a small drop of blood was running down her index finger.

The king stood by and watched in shock as his daughter moved at an inhuman speed, tackling her mother. She didn't have time to scream before her daughter bit down on her neck, draining her blood.
Frozen in shock the king watched as Isabel's grew back at a rapid pace, her skin turned pale and smooth once again. The more of her blood she drank, the more beautiful she became.
When the queen finally stopped struggling and her body went limp; Isabel stood up looking down on her mothers body, fear in her eyes.

"What have you done?"
Isabel's head snapped up to meet her fathers gaze. Her hand flew up to her mouth and she wiped some of the blood from her lips with her palm. As she saw the red liquid running down her wrist something clicked in her mind, that was why she had been so hungry; she had been turned into a vampire in the forest.

After the king made all the servants in the castle take an oath not to tell anyone about the undead princess, he locked her away in the chamber in the highest tower.
The handles on the door and windows were silver dipped so she could not get out without the help of another person.
Isabel was only allowed outside of her room certain the night of the week, so she wouldn't get burnt in the sun.
Once every week the king found a dying peasant and told the land he was bringing them up to the castle to help them when in reality he was brought them there to feed his daughter.

Even though she was a vampire and had killed his wife, she was still his daughter and he couldn't bring himself to kill her.
Years and years went by yet Isabel never grew a day over fourteen, and because the princess never grew up the king had to remarry, to produce another heir for the throne.

After months of meeting with ladies of the land, he met her; Micheala.
She was a very beautiful madam, a different kind of beauty than his former wife. Her skin was caramel brown and her hazel eyes looked like they could kill a man with one look. The former queen had been soft and kind, Micheala was fierce and bold.

Only weeks after meeting they had the wedding, the king of course wanted his daughter to be there, so he insisted they had it at midnight, under the stars.

The first months of marriage passed by in a blur, Micheala adored the kind, and he adored her.
Though when summer neared the new queen started to get suspicious, she had lived in the castle for eight months now, and she had started to notice some strange things.
Things like how Isabel would only leave her room at night, and how peasants would be taken to her chambers and never come out again.
Now Micheala wasn't one to keep secrets, she knew she'd have to confront her husband about her suspicions.
However, Micheala also knew that the king lived his daughter far more than he'd ever love her, and he would go through any means to protect her.
She came to the conclusion that she needed to ask for advice.

The large golden mirror had been a wedding gift, she had been told it could tell you the future.
The queen stood in front of the mirror on the wall, it had a gorgeous golden frame, laced with small details all over. She wasn't quite sure how it worked but she had an idea.

"Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is going to kill us all?"

The glass of the mirror formed a grotesque face which spoke in a very deep voice.
"The young princess who will never grow old, she will go mad with rage when your first child is born."
The mirror reflected her reaction, her eyes went wide and her mouth hung open in silence.
"To ensure you will stay at the throne you must stake her heart, it is the only way dark creatures like her can be killed. However this will not be an easy task, her father is blinded with love and will not allow it. You must find a way."

After finding out that she was correct and how to kill Isabel, the queen knew she needed to act quickly, she never knew when she could get pregnant.
She had managed to hire a huntsman without her husband finding out, she ordered him to cut out the princesses heart and bring it to her. She didn't doubt that the huntsman could kill Isabel, but she'd rather to it herself, to be sure.

What the queen didn't know however was that along with with never growing old, Isabel had incredible hearing, so she had heard when the queen had been planning the murder with the huntsman.
Isabel made an escape that night, venturing into the woods, not aware of the green eyes following her.

Alexander, the huntsman, followed his Isabel like a predator follows his prey. He made sure not to make a sound as his black boots thumped softly against the moss. In his hand he held a dagger he would have preferred using his steel sword but the queen had insisted he used a a silver dagger, he was up against a vampire after all.

Isabel had stopped running after a while, thinking that she should be safe now. She had no idea for how long she ran but she was definitely surprised when she heard soft footsteps behind her. Having used all her inhuman stamina by running she knew she had to fight, unfortunately however, she didn't know how.

Alexander made a jump for her, slashing the dagger in the air, missing Isabel by just an inch.
After a while of Alexander trying to get in a hit and Isabel dodging the daggers sharp edge, he finally managed to tackle her.
He put his weight on her hips so she couldn't escape he held the dagger high, ready to cut out her dead heart when she started to cry.
"Please no! I won't ever bother you again, I'll run away far far away! Please just don't kill me!"
Alexander was used to people begging for mercy, being a huntsman and all, but there was something different about this girl.
He sighed and tossed the dagger into the bushes, helping her up after brushing off his thighs.
"Listen, you come near the castle ever again and I will kill you, understood? Now run as far and fast as you can!" He gave her a soft shove and she quickly nodded in thanks and took of running again.
Alexander watched the girl disappear into the distance before walking over to the bush to retrieve his silver dagger. On his way back to the castle he caught a boar and cut out its heart, to give to the queen.

Meanwhile Isabel had been running for quite some time now and thought she must be far away enough now. She slowed down started simply walking, the tall grass tickling her ankles.
After hours of just walking she noticed the sun was about to come up, she said a silent prayer that she'd find somewhere to take cover from the sun.
Then outfit of nowhere, as if someone had read her thoughts, she caught sight of a small cottage.
To say it was small would be an understatement, the door frame wasn't larger than Isabel herself and the windows were about as large as her torso.

Her hand curled up and she lifted her fist to give the door a loud knock. Only seconds after she could hear a cluster of footsteps, as if a bunch of children were running to the door.
The door swung open and she could see seven little dwarves standing in the doorway, all of them staring up at her with doe eyes. Her lips formed a kind smile and she gazed over their heads to see a cozy looking couch and a fireplace, though the place could definitely use some cleaning.
"Who are you?" The one in front asked in a grumpy voice.
Isabel knew she couldn't use her real name, they might recognise her. "Snow White, my name is Snow White." The dwarves looked at each other for a a moment before on in the back spoke up. "Well what are you waiting for? Come on in!"

Months went by and the dwarves were still oblivious to the fact that Snow White was actually the missing princess Isabel.
Snow White would spend her days cleaning and cooking as the dwarves were working in the mountains, when they returned there would be singing and dancing before they fell asleep. At night she'd be as quiet as she could as she bit into one of her housemates. It was a good arrangement for everyone involved, Isabel got to feed (without them knowing, of course) and the dwarves got someone to clean for them.

Back at the castle however, things were not so good. The king had gone mad with sorrow when he found out his daughter was dead, and jumped off the highest tower, resulting in his death as well.
The queen was sad of course, but she couldn't help gloating in her new power. She had taken up a habit of asking her magic mirror for advice, but one day it said something that alarmed her.

"Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?"

The familiar voice spoke up, informing her that a lost princess who went by the name of 'Snow White' was the most beautiful lady in the land.
Micheala was enraged, "Show her to me!" She demanded the mirror.
She couldn't believe the image in front of her; there, in the mirror, was Isabel, humming to herself as she cleaned the little cottage.

After she had calmed herself down, Micheala was off to the library, she needed to research.
Micheala spent the following week hollowed up in front of a kitchen pot, she would've used a cauldron but she didn't have one. In one of the books she had found a potion to poison an apple, she would get Isabel to take a bite and the she could rule the kingdom without worry of her wicked stepdaughter coming home to kill her.

While she was brewing the potion she had ordered to have the huntsman hanged for treachery against the crown.
Once she finished making her apple, the queen asked the mirror for directions to the cottage where Isabel was hiding.
Micheala was dressed in a dull grey dress and a black robe which flowed behind her as she set off into the forest.

Snow White stood by the sink, looking out of the window longingly; oh how she missed taking walks in the sunlight. She hummed a quiet melody to herself, one her mother used to sing to her. Her cold hands put the plate in her hands down when she noticed a black figure nearing the cabin. Her mind raced, who could it be? Did the huntsman change his mind? Did her father find her? She got so lost in her worries she didn't even notice the figure was right outside the door until she heard the knocking.

Knock-knock-knock.

Three loud loud and slow knocks snapped her attention back to reality, her fangs popped out instinctively as she made her way towards the small wooded door.
She swung the door open and to her relief it was just an old woman in a black robe.
Her back was hunched and the hood of the robe was pulled down so you couldn't see her face.

She smelled of perfume, a lot of perfume, almost as if she'd dosed herself in it to hide her real smell. Isabel knew she should be wary but she didn't see a need to intimidate the old lady, her fangs had probably already done that.

"Is Snow White here?" Her voice was hoarse, she sounded as if she'd been downing whiskey since she was 15. Isabel was shocked, the lady had seen her fangs but she didn't seem to be scared,

"Uh, yes ma'am. That's me, Snow White." She answered after a few seconds of deducing her.
A wicked grin crept onto the woman's lips as she started speaking again. "Lovely fangs you've got there Snow White, though I bet you might want to get rid of them?"
Isabel's hand flew up to touch her fang, she considered what to say before answering.
"Well, if there was a way to be human again, I'd do it, but there isn't." There was a tone of sadness and regret in her voice.

The older woman hand stretched out, a large shiny red apple locked in her fingers. "One single bite of this apple will give you your humanity back."
Isabel stared at her for minutes before slowly reaching reaching out to grab the apple from her hand. It smelled of death and perfume.

Isabel blacked out the second her fangs pierced the soft apple.

Micheala caught Isabel's limp body before it fell to the floor, she hauled the little girl up in her arms and closed the cabin door with her foot. As she stood straight up again her cloak fell off so you could now see the queen holding her dead stepdaughter.
She walked through the green forest, Isabel laying in her arms, towards the chest she had brought with her from the castle.

Laying there, in that glass casket, Isabel looked, for the first time in a long time, she looked peaceful.

Micheala knew she couldn't trust anyone with this, that's why she had decided to bury Isabel herself. However she was starting to regret this decision when she heard the thumping of feet storming her way. It sounded as if there were more than one person.

Now Micheala wasn't weak per say, but she knew there was no way she could win when she was this outnumbered. So she ran, as fast as she could, back to the castle.

She knew there was no way of Isabel coming back to life so what'd it matter whether she was buried or not.

A true loves kiss. A voice in the back of her head said. That's all that could save her. She knew that of course that was just silly thinking.

Who could ever love a monster like her?

The seven dwarves gathered around the glass casket, when they had returned home they had found that Snow White wasn't there so they had gone looking for her, now here they were.
Gathered around the dead body of the little girl they had come to adore.

The tallest of the bunch hopped up on a log next to the casket, pulled it open and leaned down to place a kiss on her forehead, "goodbye, little Snow White." He whispered.
The six others followed his lead and said their goodbyes, the last one ending with
"we forgive you for not telling us what you were, we still love you kiddo."


It had been about two weeks since Micheala had gotten rid of Isabel, and now she was enjoying ruling her kingdom in peace.
One silent night she went for a walk in the castle garden, looking up at the stars.
Then she heard it, an oh so familiar voice.
"Hello stepmother, did you miss me?"

She didn't have time to whirl around before two fangs bit into her neck.

~Written by: Miriam Jensen.