“Speak frankly, please, my friend. Don’t censor yourself on my account.”
“Well, my Queen, those sisters are rather…well, peculiar.”
The Queen agreed.
“I hate to be uncharitable, but what is wrong with those women? They seem quite deranged.”
The Queen could hardly stifle her giggle as she said, “I think they might have had a sheltered upbringing, and it’s made them quite odd.”
Verona laughed, “Sheltered indeed! Perhaps in a damp cellar?”
The Queen giggled outright.
“They look as if they’ve never seen the light of day.”
The Queen never knew Verona to speak ill of anyone, and she loved her all the more for being so frank with her now.
“Why do they paint their faces so white? It’s hideous. They look like absurd dolls brought to life by a mad alchemist!”
The Queen chuckled again. “Stop it now, Verona. You don’t want Snow to hear you, she’ll be back any moment now.”
The two women giggled like little girls while the Queen unwrapped the solstice decorations; the mirrors reflected the light coming from the arched windows on their happy faces.
The weeks passed quickly and soon the winter solstice eve was upon them. Snow draped the grounds and the entire castle was infused with candlelight. The Queen imagined how lovely it would appear to the King as he made his way up to the castle. It must look like a magical castle from a fairy tale—a luminescent dream floating against a sea of darkness. Every tree was filled with candles reflected in the tiny mirrors hanging from the branches, casting the light beautifully, making the castle and the grounds otherworldly.
Snow White looked spellbound. It was the first time since those strange sisters arrived to court that the girl seemed to be completely at ease. The Queen wondered where the King’s cousins were; they had waited a fortnight for this evening, and now they were nowhere to be found.
“Snow, do you know where your cousins are?” the Queen asked.
Snow gave her mother a weary look. “I’m sorry, Momma, but I didn’t want to ruin our party.”
“I think you’d better tell me, little bird,” the Queen said more sternly than she had ever spoken to Snow before.
“I’m not quite sure where they are. They were acting so strangely when we went on our walk today, Momma, saying those scary things again…they chased me, yelling nasty things about my first mother and you.…Then they spoke of enchanted fruit…apples that could put a little girl to sleep forever…pears that make you wither away and die.…Then they said they were going to chop me up into little bits and cook me in their stew…!”
Snow’s lip began to quiver, and then she burst into tears. She collapsed onto her stepmother’s breast, sobbing.
“I just ran and ran until I couldn’t hear them anymore, but I kept running, and when I finally looked back they weren’t there. I didn’t tell you because I was afraid to ruin your day.”
The Queen held Snow tightly and rocked her.
“Don’t worry, my darling. I will have someone find them and have them removed from the castle. I think we should wait until after the celebration to tell your father, don’t you?” The Queen motioned to Verona.
“Verona, dear, have the servants search the castle for the sisters, if they are not found, then have the Huntsman and a few of his crew go into the forest and see if they can locate them, I want them brought before me immediately. One of the men should stand guard should they return here.”
“Yes, my Queen,” Verona said, and she hurried up to the castle.
The Queen again turned her attention to Snow White.
“I’m so sorry. I should have never trusted those wicked women alone with you. Can you forgive me?”
“Oh, Momma, those sisters are so wicked. It wasn’t your fault.”
“We’ll talk about this more tomorrow, my bird, but let’s try to put it out of our minds for now. Look! I see your father’s riding party just upon the horizon. I want him to have a wonderful homecoming, my darling. I’m just going to say this one last thing until we discuss this tomorrow—promise me, Snow, should anything like this happen again, you come to me right away? Do you understand? I have to know you will come to me in all things, especially when someone might be trying to harm you. I am here to protect you, my sweet; no matter what,
you must trust that you can always come to me.”
“I will, Momma, I promise.”