Snow White Queen [NaNoWriMo 2018]

Chapter Thirty-Five

Lilia slipped into the castle using a secret entrance. It was near midnight, so not many people were awake. She was careful to be silent so as not to wake anyone.

She had no source of light. She navigated only by the slivers of light from the crescent moon that just barely made a dent in the darkness.

Footsteps sounded around the corner. Lilia quickly darted to hide behind a column, praying the uneven lighting would hide her well enough. She held her breath to hide as much sound as possible, but her pounding heart might give her away anyway.

Luckily, the guard passed her by. Lilia let out a sigh that was a little too loud for her liking.

Technically, there was no reason for her to be hiding. Since she was back in the castle, anyone she happened upon would simply assume that she was just wandering about, as was her right to do as the sole remaining monarch, or at least, the current head of the castle. However, she wasn't prepared to answer any questions about where she had been in the last few weeks and she wasn't very good at lying on the spot, so hiding was probably her best bet.

She silently cursed whoever decided to put her bedroom on the highest floor of the castle. And was it just her, or did her path seem to intersect with all the guards?

Several close calls later, and she finally made it back to her room. Lilia closed the door behind her, breathing a silent sigh of relief. She tossed her bag to the side and staggered to her bed. She was asleep before she hit the blankets.

~~~

Lilia tossed the Apple between her hands, examining it closely in the midmorning sunlight. She held up an ordinary apple next to it, trying to find any visible differences. It was slightly larger, and the color red was just to the left of natural. She put the apple down. When it wasn't being compared to something else, it passed pretty convincingly, she told herself.

She stood up and closed the curtains. Chances were, Neva would only see it at night. She looked at the Apple again. In the dark, the differences would be obscured even better.

Yes, it would pass perfectly.

Lilia glanced at a book she had been reading about vampires before she had left.

Assuming she'll eat the Apple in the first place.

~~~

Lilia perused her spellbook, absently picking at her meal. She wasn't quite sure what she was looking for. Something that would help her get close to Neva... but what exactly would that be?

This spell will age the appearance of the caster.

Intrigued, Lilia leaned in closer. Yes... yes this could work.

A glob of food dribbled onto the page. Lilia started in surprise. She looked up and realized that she'd been spilling food onto the table.

I should... probably clean that up.

~~~

Lilia examined her hands, now wizened and yellowed. She looked in the mirror. Her hair had turned silver, though there was a small hint of the original brown at the roots. Her face was wrinkled and pockmarked. Her back was hunched, making her shorter. Only her eyes remained unchanged, though they were sunken deeper into her face.

Well, if I never get to grow old, at least I get to see what I'd look like.

She stared for a moment longer, then tore her eyes from the mirror. She didn't know how long the spell would last, so she wanted to make the most of it.