Dark Fairy Tales

Snow White

Snow White froze, pressing herself back against the familiar walls of the palace. She silently cursed herself as the sword that was strapped to her waist clattered against the stone. For all her skill and prowess when it came to hunting, weapons were an unknown variable that could very well be her downfall.

Father had taught her to hunt weaponless, to use her hearing and other senses to kill her prey, swiftly and silently.

She had chosen to break her father's rules in order to accomplish her goal tonight. The woman that had taken his throne, his life, would know her seconds were numbered.

She would feel the terror as one by one, her precious guards fell to Snow's sword. She would barricade herself in the throne room, perching herself on the mountain of gold stolen from the late king like a dragon protecting it's hoard. The gold belonged to Snow now, and she had no qualms about tainting it with the blood of the wretched queen.

Another guard passed her, missing her entirely in his panic to find the intruder. She stepped out from the shadows, catching the man by his arm. She dispatched the man quickly, snapping his neck with ease and smirking as he crumbled to the floor.

By her count, that should have been the final soldier. The rest of the army would be off fighting in the war. That left the palace with a total guard of fifty-six men.

The last of whom was sprawled by her feet, his neck twisted at an unnatural angle.

She made her way towards the throne room, humming the notes of an old lullaby her father had sung to her as a baby. The notes echoed through the now empty halls hauntingly as she stepped over the corpses of the fallen guard.

She reached the grand doorway, pushing against the ornate wood. Her laugh echoed through the halls as she felt the resistance of the barricade.

"Your Highness! Open the door! I believe I have something you wanted!"

"Leave my palace, you vile creature! Or face your death by the hands of my men!" Snow laughed, the sound as empty as the halls of the castle she was standing in.

"You mean like that assassin you sent to retrieve my heart?" Snow spun around, leaning against the door and drawing her blade, tracing her thumb along the sharpened steel. "She was lovely, and so strong-willed. One of the most difficult minds I have had to take in a long while." A clattering sound came from behind the door.

The Queen was preparing to fight.

"Or perhaps you mean the rest of the guard? Remember Your Highness, I've lived in this castle my whole life, I know how many men make up your Guard." Snow sheathed her sword, turning back to face the door. "That is how I know," she pressed against the door, finding the weak points, "you have no one left to save you."

A firm shove sent the door splintering in, fracturing to reveal the vast room.

The Queen stood before the throne, a massive sword in her hands. Her skin was pale and Snow could smell the sour scent of fear permeating the air. The woman was wearing a dress that looked as though it had been spun from gold.

"A lovely dress, My Queen," Snow did nothing to hide the empty venom in her voice. "Gold look stunning when paired with blood."

"You were dead. I held your heart. You ate the apple-"

"You held 'a' heart, and the apple was little more than bitter." Snow smiled, stepping closer, stepping closer, taking care to avoid the cracks in the stone. "Did he ever tell you about my mother? How she died to save me?"

"What do you want from me?"

"What do you think?" The harshness in Snow's voice caused the other woman to flinch. "You took everything from me. My father, my kingdom, my life." Snow came to a stop before the queen, sending the woman an empty grin.

The Queen lowered the blade to rest against Snow's collarbone, the cold steel tugging on her skin.

"Lips as red as blood, hair as black as a raven, skin as white as snow." She recited the spell her mother had cast before she had been born. "Sound familiar, Oh Gracious Queen?" Terror and realization flashed through the woman's eyes at her words.

The blade broke through the skin of her chest, passing through the muscle and bones to pierce her back. She glanced down, sighing heavily as the Queen gasped, releasing the blade and stumbling back.

Snow grinned at the queen, reaching for the hilt and pulling the blade from her body, the squelching sound nearly covered by the panicked breathing of the Queen.

"That is the problem with you mortals, you're all so stupid." Snow lashed out, gripping the other woman's throat and throwing her effortlessly back onto the massive golden throne.

She closed the gap instantly, allowing her nails to break the skin of the queen's neck.

A small stream of blood slipped along the skin, the scent filling Snow's nose. Her body reacted, the set of fangs she kept hidden under her gums revealing themselves at the promise of food.

"You can't kill someone who is already dead."

As her teeth pierced the skin and the screams of her victim filled the castle, a single thought crossed her mind.

"Your Queen has returned."