Princess Snow and the Empress

17: Last of Our Kind

Snow dropped to the floor, holding the deep gash on her wrist. All she saw was blood flowing between her fingers and soaking her sleeve. All she felt was endless waves of pain that got worse with time.

"Why? Why are you doing this to me?" she said between gasps for air. She forced herself to look up at the Empress who stood over her with the scissors still in her hand. Bright red blood dripped from its pointed blades. "Tell... tell me!"

The Empress stared unblinkingly back at her. Her face was how Snow remembered it, with smooth skin, pointed chin, thin curved brows and small lips. It was almost as if they were back in the Empress's receiving chambers, with the Empress looming over her, and Snow crouching on the floor.

The Empress picked up the fallen apple and tossed it into her basket, before she lowered herself on her haunches beside Snow.

"Let me tell you a secret, Snow. Don't tell anybody else." She flashed a mouth full of sharp teeth that looked like they'd been chiseled to a fine point. "You and I, are the last of our kind."

"What?" Snow suppressed another moan of pain while the Empress giggled. Why is this mad woman laughing while I'm bleeding on the floor! Someone help me, please!

"Maybe I should tell you the whole story. After all, you didn't believe I could be a fox demon." The Empress settled herself in a comfortable position on the floor.

"Long ago, we used to rule the world and its inhabitants. The world was perfect. The forests were lush and the creatures within roamed free. But then the humans came along, and they must destroy everything in their path."

Her eyes connected with Snow's, and Snow felt a jolt as vignettes surfaced in her mind, like she was recalling memories from lifetimes past.

Between ancient trees, arrows pierced the air. One grazed her side, but she ran on until she found a fallen log and hid in its hollow trunk.

Blood splattered across leaves and pooled between tree roots.

Men passed with bows, machetes and axes. They lined up deer, their graceful bodies full with arrows, in a row on the ground.

They threw tiger, leopard and fox skins into a pile, like old carpets.

So many fox skins.

To Snow's relief, the torrent of gruesome images halted when the Empress turned away. She held her shoulder; the same side that the arrow had missed. A look of anguish crossed her otherworldly face.

"They kept coming, and killing. So many died. We tried, but we were not strong enough to fight them ourselves. My mother, my sisters, many of us were vanquished. We had numbered in the thousands but were whittled down to a mere handful. We were powerless. To defeat the humans, we had to transform ourselves into their likeness. Of course when the humans found out we could shapeshift, they tried to eradicate us. They branded us evil and set their dogs upon us. If we were caught, they'd saw off our tails before cutting off our heads.

"It took decades, but I hunted down all of them. It was so easy. I only had to offer myself for a night, and when they took me to their bed, I cut them open, like how they cut open my kin. I'd eat their hearts, then sew them back up so no one would know. One can never be too careful, you see." A smirk played momentarily on her lips before she pressed them into a thin line. She gripped the bloodied scissors in her fist. "But that was not enough. Even if I killed fifty or hundreds, there will be more to take their place."

Snow tried to crawl away but was kicked to the floor, the impact sending spikes of pain throughout her body. The Empress pinned Snow down with her foot.