Dark Snow White (Grimmoire Series)

Part II

Mornings at the castle always began earlier for the workers. Up before dawn to begin making breakfast, setting tables, cleaning out fireplaces - the work never ended. Strange then, should one find the Prince up, alongside the servants, but his early rise was not without reason.

The latest guest of Castle Hawthorne lay fast asleep in the infirmary, with a guard stationed outside, should she wake. Her surgery had been a success, with the arrow successfully removed from her shoulder and the wound bound with minimal bleeding. While nobody in the castle even knew her name yet, she unknowingly had made one friend, Prince Floran.

Upon approaching the infirmary, Floran motioned for the guard not to make a fuss at his arrival, to keep quiet. The guard thought it strange that the Prince should not want a formal greeting, as Floran had gone to the effort of wearing his formal soldier's outfit, including his sword.

Floran entered the room and gently closed the door. He took a deep breath and walked over to the sleeping Rider. She looked very peaceful, calmer than he imagined for someone who less than twenty-four hours ago was impaled. The Prince wasn't quite sure why he was there, he just had an overwhelming desire to be around her. He didn't want her to be alone.

As he stood there looking over the lady, he felt the heaviness of his sword. With no one around to reprimand him for an improper uniform violation, Floran carefully removed his sword, but he wasn't careful enough. With an ear-piercing clang, the sword crashed to the ground. He quickly bent down to pick it up and when he righted himself, he noticed he had woken the sleeping woman. Floran resheathed his sword.

She was looking directly at him. He stood, motionless.

She blinked, slowly and spoke, briefly, "Good morning."

Floran noticed her eyes were bluer than sapphires and her voice was finer than silk.

A "Morning," was all he could muster. That was enough to make her smile. And her smile was more than enough to make him smile.

"My name is Prince Floran," he managed to choke out. "What is your name?"

"Snow," she cooed. "Snow White."

She seemed more aware of her surroundings and sat up with a start. "Where am I? What's going on?" Snow's frantic questions were interrupted by pain in her shoulder. "What happened to me?"

"It's okay," Floran said, instinctively wrapping his hands around hers. "You arrived unannounced early yesterday morning on horseback. You were injured and our physician tended to you. Whatever happened, you're safe now."

Snow, overwhelmed by this news, hugged Floran tightly.

Suddenly, Floran's sword didn't seem so heavy anymore.

* * *

By midday, everyone in the castle knew her name. "Where did she come from?" "Who was she running from?" "Who shot the poor dear?" Snow White was the name on everybody's lips.

Everybody including Queen Eleanor. El looked out the window at the vast forest below, the view always calmed her, but not today. As she absentmindedly twirled the ends of her long, dark hair, the words of the Huntsman played over and over in her head.

...Her hands... covered in blood... rubbed them all over her face and her long white dress...

...She picked up the arrow, turning the arrowhead to face her... lined it up and then rammed the arrow into her shoulder...

On the one hand, it was just all so preposterous, so difficult to believe. On the other hand, Orion had no reason to lie. The worst part was she couldn't tell anyone about this. It would become an official matter for the soldiers to investigate, which could lead to the finding out about her secret relationship with the Huntsman. A scandal she and her family for future generations would never live down.