WATTY'S 2022 SHORTLIST🏅A Qing Dynasty Snow White fairytale retelling with a Princess Mononoke twist.
Featured on @Wattpad's Fantasy Adventures reading list and @WattpadExplorer.
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Snow is anything but the submissive princess the Jade Palace exp...
Snow was six, and Erden was nine years old when they first met in the Palace courtyard one balmy summer evening. The courtyard shrubbery was lush and green, and though most of the roses had already bloomed and gone, a few still remained.
Snow had been plucking rose petals and throwing them into the air over her white Pekinese, which was snuffling the ground.
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"You're such a goofy dummy!" she had said, scratching her dog's floppy ears. She still remembered the softness of its fur, the warmth of the sun on her face and the scent of rose petals on her fingers.
Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Princes were playing in the far corner of the courtyard. Weilong was having his lessons with Master Li, so there was no one to play with her that evening. Before this, she could play catch with the other princesses, but after they died in the outbreak, she mostly played alone.
The guards, nannies, and attendants stood in their places in the background. Under the courtyard pavilion, the lower ranked concubines were languidly fanning themselves with their round embroidered silk fans.
Snow remembered wanting a fan herself. The silk weave of the fan was so fine that the flowers and butterflies embroidered on it appeared to float in mid-air. Naturally, the concubines would not let her hold one and she was shooed from the pavilion to the rose bushes nearby.
As she played with Chow Chow, she could hear the concubines gossiping amongst themselves.
"The Emperor should not let that barbarian into the Palace."
"I don't know what the Emperor sees in the boy. Apparently he took a great liking to him when the envoy brought him in."
"Are our sons not good enough?"
"No! It cannot be! Our sons are better than those yak herders!"
"I heard that their women look no different from the men, they're all rough and dark skinned. And they sleep with whomever they want under the open sky."
"You don't say!"
"And they carry their squalling offspring everywhere with them. When the baby cries, guess what they do? They expose their saggy breasts for all to see!"
The concubines gasped and tut tutted amongst themselves.
"Psst, here he comes!"
Snow glanced up to see a tanned boy wearing a dark jacket, riding trousers and leather riding boots being led into the courtyard by a man servant. She marveled at his strange appearance, noticing the silver in his braids and earrings. He looked at his surroundings warily, taking in everything he saw.
"Oh, it's him," she heard Fourth Prince say from the corner of the courtyard. He stalked over to the boy, followed by the rest of the princes.
The boy had halted in his steps and Fourth Prince loomed over him. From her spot, she could not make out all that was being said. The princes surrounded the boy, and after an exchange of words, one of them shoved him in the chest.
