Snow White (5 page)

“Sing?” Corlan looked like he would die of an apoplexy right then and there.

“What?” She chuckled at his expression.

“Good grief, woman! You cannot be serious! This is your list? This is who you hope to win your hand in marriage?” He ticked them off with his fingers. “A man who is kind, can swordfight, and
sing?
”

“Well, you should not have asked if you did not want to hear the answer.”

“I just cannot believe the simplicity of the answer. Where are the other qualities? Like, a man who is loyal? A man who will put your needs before his own? A man who would face all of Hades to hold your hand? A man who wishes to kiss you thoroughly and keep you safe next to his heart every night?”

He continued to count. “A man who cannot wait to hear what words you speak next because you mesmerize him so much, a man who wishes to be better just because he knows you believe in him and love him, a man who wants to raise a family with you so he can see those little children grow and laugh and play and enchant the world the same as their mother.”

His voice grew a bit softer. “A man who needs you to live because if you were gone, his world would be over. A man, a true man, who loves and laughs and lives and breathes. A man who is a part of the world—not merely coasting with it, but making his mark to change it for good.

“Where is this man?” he whispered. “Where are your dreams of him?”

Snow’s breathing became so labored in those moments, she did not realize the tears had begun to fall until one plopped upon her hand. Glancing down, she stared at the sparkling drop until another joined its place.

“Snow?”

“Yes?” She looked up, but her eyes were swimming with tears and he blurred before her. Quickly she dashed them away.

“Have I upset you?”

“No.” She shook her head. “Not at all. I did not know such a creature existed. I would not allow myself to hope for such a man before now.”

“He exists. You will have to open your eyes to see him, though.”

“What if I cannot? What if I miss him?”

“He will not let you.”

His steady, confident gaze did much to confirm that his words were sincere. “What would I do without you?” she asked.

He grinned a bit ruefully and looked away. “I worry you will be quite fine.”

“You worry?”

His hand came up and brushed aside a strand of hair from her forehead. “All these years have allowed me to grow very fond of you. Of course I worry what it would be like if you were married to another and no longer by my side whenever I wished it.”

She had not thought of that. Her brow furrowed. What would she do without Corlan? Though Raven was her best friend, Corlan was her steady voice of reason, the one person who did not cater to her every whim or believe she was perfection. Indeed, he was her pillar of strength. Not having him near would be as foreign as the sky not having the clouds or sun. She shook her head. “Then I will never marry because I need you too.”

Corlan gasped, his eyes searching hers. “Snow, what did you say?”

“I do not want to be without you. If my marriage would place a wedge between us, it is yet another reason not to attach myself to any man. You are so much a part of me, I take it for granted.”

“No matter what the future holds for us, we will still be friends. I will not leave you wholly. I would not be able to treat you the same if you married another, but it does not mean you will lose me completely. Snow, despite my wishes on the matter, you should always follow your heart and choose the man
you
feel would be the best for you.”

She groaned. “I cannot think of such things right now.”

“Then let us speak of something else.”

“Please?” She smiled. “What would you like to talk about?”

“Probably the one thing we would be best to remove from our minds altogether, yet neither of us can since it will weigh constantly upon our thoughts.”

What does he mean?
She met his gaze and then it hit her. “The mirror.”

“Yes.”

“What should we do? Is there anything we
can
do?”

“Hope and pray it does not affect her as the legends say.”

“Are you speaking of the Lythereon Mirror?”asked Raven from across the room.

Snow looked up to see Terrance and Raven watching them. “Yes. We are attempting to decide if there is anything we can do to protect Mother from it.”

“Wait a moment.” Terrance approached. “Do you mean to tell me your family is in possession of the Lythereon Mirror?”

Raven walked up to the group as well. “Did you not see the gift my mother opened from King Herbert?”

“Yes, but I would have never imagined it to be the cursed looking glass. Are you certain?” He looked at each of them, his hand unconsciously reaching for a sword that was not there.

Snow nodded. “My father would have never presented such a gift to her if it was not the exact thing she wanted.”

“Oh, my word,” Terrance whispered as he glanced at Raven.

Snow could tell he was concerned about leaving Raven to face such a mess on her own, and yet wished he was anywhere but in this castle.

“Precisely,” Corlan stated. “We are all very apprehensive.”

“Do you believe she will hang it here in the castle?” Snow asked.

Raven sat down on the sofa next to Snow. “Where else would she put such a beloved gift?”

Snow folded her arms, the heaviness in her chest doubling. “That will make everything dashed awkward for us.”

“Not just awkward. It will be much worse than that,” Terrance exclaimed.

“’Tis true,” Corlan said. “If that mirror resides in the castle with us, we are all doomed.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

CORLAN SLAMMED THE ANCIENT book shut as he sat upon his bed. He watched as a small cloud of dust rose from the book. It would seem the mirror was completely unbreakable. The only person who could do so was the person to whom it belonged. Anyone else who attempted to destroy it would be sucked within its realm and either lose their life or become a servant of the looking glass.

If it could not be smashed, that would explain why the thing still existed. The legend went on to say that those who owned it became so engrossed with its power and the new freedom they experienced that they would never destroy it. They became so obsessed that they could not fathom life without it. Every single owner of the mirror to date had died protecting it—prostrating themselves over the looking glass, guaranteeing it would not be harmed, forgetting, of course, that it could not be, except by them.

Corlan tossed the heavy tome upon his dresser and walked over to the window. His mother had heard tales of the mirror when she was a little girl and had always been enthralled by them. He remembered her reciting the legend of the mirror almost reverently to him and Raven when they were children. His mother used to jest that she would become the first female ruler of the mirror and would change the world with it.

What fool would have sold that mirror to King Herbert?

No, that was unfair. Anyone hoping to make a profit from an unwise king would certainly have sold it. The true question was, how could his mother and new father be so oblivious that they would ignore all the warnings associated with it and add it to their collection?

This was madness.

His eyes hurt from the hours of reading the different reports. If the stories were to be believed, as soon as his mother hung up the mirror, it would awaken to her and everything would change from that moment on. Bad luck would befall their enemies. Bizarre instances would need to be addressed immediately, such as natural disasters, disease outbreaks, and war. Though the owner of the mirror would always be victorious, it would come at quite a cost to the people around them. Many of their subjects would die due to the odd occurrences.

The owner of the mirror would become irrational, power crazed, and slowly show signs of mental illness. The stories varied depending on the person. Some of them took a few years to lose their wits completely, while others began to show signs of lunacy very early on. In two instances, they were proclaimed incapable of rational thought within the first week.

Corlan had decided the night before that he would have to break the mirror himself and stop this mess, which was why he had been searching through the ancient book to find a solution. However, after reading the different firsthand accounts, he was even more worried now than when he began.

Why would his mother risk so much to do something so completely selfish?

He pushed away from the window. Not one of the stories said that the mirror protected the families and those living near the empowered being. As far as he could tell, many of the family members lost their lives, along with those in the kingdom.

It was time he paid his mother a visit and hopefully get her to see reason before it was too late.

The king had left earlier that morning to take care of some farms in the eastlands, so Corlan knew his mother was alone. He hesitated a moment outside her rooms before knocking upon the door.

“Yes?” she called.

“It is I, Corlan.”

“Oh! Come in, dear!” she exclaimed. “Come in and see what I have done.”

He opened the door and walked in. His mother was across the room with her back to him and beckoned him over with her hand.

“You must see this! Look. Is it not the most beautiful thing you have ever beheld?”

It took a moment for him to discover she was not wholly ignoring him as he approached—she was watching him through the new looking glass upon her wall. The mirror had her so transfixed that she would not even welcome her son properly.

With a feeling of dread, he came to stand next to her. “So you have done it. You have hung the Lythereon Mirror.”

“Yes!” She giggled and clapped her hands, her gaze admiring its intricately carved wooden frame.

He had never seen her behave in such an undignified manner before.

“Is it not the most fascinating thing?” she asked. Slowly she turned from side to side, admiring her slender figure. Indeed, her whole person seemed to be even more attractive when one looked at her through the looking glass. Corlan could not dismiss the fact that her copper hair shone with more brilliancy, her blue gown had a richness to it—almost as if it had not been worn before—and her skin glowed with a luster he had never known.

“I am alluring,” she whispered. “This mirror makes me the loveliest woman who ever was.” Nudging him with her elbow, her eyes never leaving the reflection, she asked, “Do I not look like a girl of nineteen or twenty?”

“Aye, you do.”

“Is it not captivating?”

This was not how he expected this conversation to go. “Mother, it is an illusion. It is not real. There is no reason to be captivated by such trickery.”

“Look! You appear the exact same as you always do. Only I have changed in the mirror.”

Corlan looked at himself and blinked. She was correct. Not that it mattered overly much if he did appear different, but it would certainly imply that the legend was true and the mirror was already showing its power. “How long has this been upon the wall?”

“I had the footmen hang it for me just now, about five minutes before you came in.”

Only five minutes? He must remove it at once, before she had a chance to awaken it. As hastily as possible, he stepped in front of her and began to pull it down.

“No!” she shouted.

The thing would not budge. He yanked again. “Yes, Mother. This is evil. It is cursed and will ruin us all. I love you too much—we must remove it.”

“Corlan, enough! I do not care if you are my son; I will kill you if you take it off the wall.”

Amazed, he brought his arms down and turned around, blocking his mother from seeing her reflection. “What did you say?”

Her eyes blazed wildly. “You heard correctly, though if it bears repeating, I will do so.”

“Mother, it has already affected you. Do you not see how possessive you have become? The legends are true! This mirror will drive you to madness. It will destroy you!”

She put her hands on her hips. “I fully understand the legends. I have always known of the power this particular looking glass possesses, but I do not for one moment believe it is affecting me! I will not allow it. It is an object, Corlan, something upon my wall.”

Waving her hand for him to move, she continued, “I have wanted the Lythereon Mirror since I was a girl. It has been my biggest wish to own it and use it for good to help change this world. You know this! I have told you of my dreams countless times. Yet now, when I finally have it hanging upon my wall, you want to take it down? You, my son, are the one who has become possessive and mad. Not I.”

He was about to speak when he noticed green mist coming from the frame of the mirror. “What is that?”

“Mirror?” His mother pushed him aside completely. “Mirror? Are you attempting to speak to me?”

“Do not talk to it!”

“Hush, Corlan. Silence yourself or leave this room immediately.” The green mist continued to pour out onto the ground. “Mirror?” Melantha’s fingers reached out and played with the smoke. It twirled about her hand and wound up her arm.