Snow White with the Red Hair: The Valkyrie

The Fairest of Them All

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

In a hidden lair, deep underground, a mirror swirled with a different power, charged with answering the questions of its owner. A woman, who wore a black cloak hunched over a wooden cane, smiled a rather toothy grin, showing off some of her missing teeth. Colors continued to spiral within the reflective glass of the mirror until it finally stopped, creating the image of a girl with hair so red, the most violently colored rose would be put to shame.

"Yes..." She hissed, rather pleased. Her wrinkled hand, which had unkept fingernails, stroked the mirror with a newfound obsession. "She's perfect. All I need is to have her captured and brought here. Except..." The witch turned; anger boiling in her bloodshot eyes. "Where are you, you good for nothing girl?! I'll have you whipped if you don't come here in three seconds!"

"No need to scream, Madame. I am here."

A figure that stayed enveloped by the darkness of the cave stood firm with attentiveness glistening in her faintly red colored irises.

"Oh good. Perhaps you know why I want you then."

"I am to capture the redheaded girl and bring her to you so that you may become beautiful again."

"That's right, dear. Good girl. I want her here in one piece. Not a scratch on her or there'll be more than a scratch on you when you get back." She snapped.

"I do not intend to fail. There is no force that can stop me. Where is the girl located?"

"Within the castle walls of Clarines."

"And when do I depart?"

"Right... now."

♡

"Obi! Please be careful with that! I just picked those."

"Don't worry, Miss. I'm not gonna let anything happen to them."

Shirayuki watched worriedly as Obi walked on his hands, holding a basket of freshly picked herbs with the soles of his boots.

"What are you trying to do anyways?"

"I guess you could call this arm day. I haven't really had time put aside to work my arms out since the Master has me doing lots of stuff and they seem to have gotten a little wimpy. So I decided to try some workouts doing my assignments."

"Maybe not this assignment, Obi. Those herbs are really important and I don't want you running into anything by accident."

"As you wish, Miss."

He threw the basket up with his legs, nearly paralyzing Shirayuki as she watched with terror, anxiously hoping it wouldn't spill itself all along the grass. But just in the nick of time, he got back onto his feet, allowing the woven basket to fall into his arms. The redhead sighed a breath of relief.

"Don't scare me like that!"

"Aw, come on Miss. Have a little faith in me."

"I do have faith in you, Obi. It's just a really important job and I don't want you being anything less than graceful."

"Miss... we're just carrying herbs." They continued walking and the redhead sighed.

"I'm sorry. It's just that... I don't know. I'm feeling really nervous today when I probably shouldn't be. But... it just feels like something is about to happen."

"It's probably nothing to worry about. I'll be around. If you need me, don't hesitate to call."

This made the girl smile.