Through the Mirror and Into Snow (6 page)

They traveled down the road enjoying small talk. Each girl was careful not to offer too much information. They did not want to get caught in a lie that they would surely tangle themselves in deeper later.

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, they found themselves in town.

“Thank you so much for the ride, Wilhelm. We can find my servants from here.”

“If you say so, Your Highness.” Again he bowed to her from his seat. “Enjoy the party tonight.”

“Oh, we will. Thank you.”

As soon as they got off the wagon the girls pulled Snow aside.

“That was a good save. Do you really have an aunt here that had a baby or did we just get lucky?”

“My father does have a sister. I knew their kingdom wasn’t too far away and that they were due to have a baby recently, so it seems I did get lucky with a guess. I wasn’t certain we were in the right town. Remember? I was rarely able to go anywhere.

“The baby really was great news for my aunt and uncle. For years they had wanted a child and now their dream has finally come true. You may think this is strange, but my Aunt actually told my father that a frog visited her.”

“That’s really cool,” Val said.

Samantha gave a shiver as her response. She was not fond of reptiles like Val was.

“Well, the frog told my aunt that she was going to have a child and not to be sad anymore.” Valerie remembered a story about this, but she couldn’t place her finger on it. “He thought for sure she was making it up to feel better but she was so happy with the news, no one made fun of her. From the looks of the commotion in town, I guess tonight is the party for the baby. My aunt, the queen, would be pleased to see me, but I can’t go to her. She’d wonder where my father is. She wouldn’t expect my stepmother to show and would certainly know I wouldn’t be here alone. We’d better stay out of sight. You should put a rope of some sort on Otter too, Val, or they’ll think she’s a stray.”

“That’s probably a good idea. I’ll go find something.”

“I’ll go over to that fruit stand and see what time things are going to start tonight. Maybe we can find something to wear so we can blend in with everyone and sneak something to eat while everyone is busy with the festivities. We need to find somewhere to sleep tonight, too. Maybe one of the servants has a kind heart and has somewhere we can stay.” Snow wandered toward the stand.

“She really is a great person, Val.”

“I know. I like her a lot.”

“I wish she could come back with us.”

“She can’t, Samantha. She has to stay and live happily ever after with the prince, remember?”

“I know. It’s just that you always wanted a sister and right now, she seems to have nowhere to go.”

“We’ll find a way to help her get back to her dad. She’ll be okay.”

“I hope so. Hey, this will make a decent leash.” Samantha bent down and picked up a long piece of twine that had been discarded. “Let’s go find Snow and get to that party. I’m starved. I didn’t like that jerky too much.”

“I swear, Samantha, you are the pickiest person I know.”

Valerie was a fine one to talk, as she was just as bad when it came to food. She and Samantha were a perfect match in more ways than one, especially at breakfast. Samantha only ate the whites of eggs and Valerie, the yolks.

They ran over to look for Snow, but couldn’t find her right away. They became a little scared for a minute, but relaxed again when she came out from behind one of the carts.

“That woman was very nice. I told her that our clothes got lost on our trip and all we had were our night things. Her daughter became ill a few months ago and passed away. She couldn’t bring herself to get rid of her clothes and was very happy to be of help to us. I told her we were orphans. She is a very nice lady. I hope I can return and do something nice for her someday.”

“Can we please take a minute to go thank her?” asked Samantha.

“Of course, then we must get going. It’s still a little bit of a walk to the castle.”

The girls turned around to go to the stand where Snow pointed, but to their surprise it was gone.

“Where did it go?” asked Valerie.

“I don’t know. How did she disappear so fast?”

They turned back to Snow without a uttering a word about the missing woman and went into the forest to change their clothes.

The girls realized with more certainty that they were indeed in another time. There was no plumbing or electricity here; that they had discovered at the cottage, but it could have been explained by being too far away from a town. In Minnesota, there were isolated cabins deep in the woods that only had power with the help of a generator, no running water, and still sported an outhouse instead of indoor plumbing.

Getting dressed here was equally as challenging as not having the convenience of public utilities. There were no zippers or buttons. Instead there were ties on very loose fitting dresses. The underwear was almost as large as the dresses themselves. The peddler woman had given them simple leather shoes that held at the top with a tie. The girls were close in size. The shoes were a pretty good fit and a much better choice to help Sam and Val blend in than the shoes they were wearing. Someone was sure to notice that they were quite different. Sam’s boots with the large tread were especially far too modern. Snow was particularly happy to no longer go barefoot.

“It’s a good thing we don’t have our Heeleys, Val. Those would really stand out,” Sam whispered so Snow wouldn’t overhear.

Val laughed. “Can you imagine seeing Little Boy Blue go by in those?”

Look at them laugh. Silly girls; Little Boy Blue doesn’t even like Heeleys. It’s too hard to tend to the sheep and cows. As a matter of fact, Jack isn’t fond of them either. Jill made him try them once down that hill. Talk about breaking his crown on that ride! He hasn’t gone back to them since. Now if I could only convince him not to try snowboarding again.

“What are you two laughing about?” Snow asked.

“Nothing. I was just saying we’d better hide these.”

“Good idea.”

They found a large tree that had fallen and tucked their shoes and clothes in a hole then stuffed the flashlights in there as well. The girls hated to leave them, but they’d rather not have any strange objects with them if they were caught by someone and questioned. History told too many stories about how people reacted to things they didn’t understand. The last thing they needed was to invite trouble and be accused of being witches…or worse.

“This was really a surprise,” said Snow. “Peasants are lucky to have one pair of shoes. This woman must have made them herself for her daughter to have three pairs. Good thing we are so close in size.”

Samantha piped in, “I have seventeen pairs of shoes at home.”

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Seventeen pairs! Are you sure you aren’t a princess?”

“I’m sure. My mom is what Val’s mom calls a ‘shop-a-holic.’”

“A what?”

“Never mind.” Sam had to remember to watch what she said from now on. “It’s just something silly between them.”

“I’ve been thinking,” Val said as they came out of the forest. “Maybe we should talk to your aunt, Snow. I’m sure she has people who could help us find your dad. You would be safe here while they look for him.”

“Maybe you’re right. Let’s slip in and join the celebration. We can get something to eat first then we can make a plan.”

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of the festivities. To Valerie and Samantha, it was an awesome sight to see how such a grand party was thrown in those times. There were at least a dozen courses of food. It amazed them to think of a time when cooking didn’t involve a microwave. There were several people playing instruments that looked like simple small guitars. Valerie remembered they were called mandolins. There were also instruments that were obviously early versions of a violin or fiddle. Whatever they were, the music coming from them sounded incredible. Valerie’s aunt and uncle were music teachers. She often watched them play and sat in admiration as they went from one instrument to the next so easily. She was inspired to ask about taking violin lessons as soon as they returned home.

The party also captivated Snow. She was never allowed to attend any at her own castle. Her stepmother usually had them when her father was away. When he was there, she would make excuses about how a ball was no place for a young child to be underfoot. She made her father put Snow to bed early, but he always snuck a tray of desserts up to her later. Sometimes she was crying and pretended to be asleep when she heard him approach. Other times she really wanted to spend time with him and fussed, insisting that her father didn’t need to bring her such things. Thinking about him made her miss him more.

The girls managed to mingle in very easily with all the commotion going on. Valerie and Samantha were too hungry to question what every dish was. They were careful to pick plain-looking meat dishes and filled up with lots of fruit. Valerie tucked a cloth napkin of scraps in her pocket for Otter. They decided it was best if they tied her up away from of the celebration for now and had left her off to the side of where everyone was sitting. She wasn’t one to tug on a leash or bark; they were grateful for that.

They saw the king and queen sitting at a head table on a large stage. A woven bassinet sat off to the side of them with several twisted vines hanging from it and a variety of pink flowers laced throughout them. On either side of the head table were two more tables with six settings each. After everyone was done eating, there was a marvelous fireworks display. Again, the girls were impressed with what could be done several hundred years ago. How men could figure such things out in primitive times like these amazed them. When the fireworks display was done, the king made an announcement that it was time for the twelve fairy godmothers to now give their gifts to the baby.

Valerie gasped, stepped closer to Samantha and grabbed her arm.

“What?” asked Samantha.

“The baby! That’s Sleeping Beauty!”

“I thought her name was Aurora.”

“She was named Briar Rose by her parents. Her three fairy godmothers called her Aurora when she lived with them in the cottage.”

“I didn’t know she was related to Snow White.”

“Well, in the books I guess she wasn’t, but we are in real life now.”

“What are you two whispering about?” asked Snow.

“Well, it’s just that…” Sam started to explain, but she didn’t know how to finish her sentence.

Valerie finished it for her. “We don’t have fairy godmothers where we come from.”

“Oh, that’s too bad. I guess I really don’t have one either. I know of them, but nothing special has happened to me to make me think I actually have one.”

The girls wished they could warn her of all the heartache she would endure as well as tell her about her own ‘happily ever after,’ but they couldn’t. Things would just have to run their course. They knew they could only interfere if they absolutely had to. They couldn’t risk changing the stories…or could they, if it meant saving their friend?

While their minds wandered, they missed the wonderful gifts that were being given to the little princess. A loud bang and a puff of black smoke returned their attention to the baby and the excitement going on at the stage. A thirteenth fairy had appeared on stage and joined the other twelve that were surrounding the baby.

“So, am I not important enough to be invited to your little party?” the thirteenth fairy screamed.

The king shot to his feet. “No! It was not intentional. I assure you—” He tried to explain, but she cut him off.

“Not intentional? It would not have been difficult to send word to me. How else can I take you excluding me from your little party? I suppose I’ll have to teach you a lesson to insure it doesn’t happen again.”

“Mathilda. No. Please!” the king pleaded.

The fairy took a few paces around the bassinet. She tapped her forefinger on her chin as if in great thought. She stopped and pointed her wand at the king.

“I have it! My gift to your daughter is death! When she turns sixteen, she will prick her finger on a spinning wheel and die! That should give you enough time to think over what you have done!” She held her wand straight above her head. Within seconds, a dark cloud appeared in the sky and a bolt of lightning struck with a quick blast that did not even jostle the fairy. A gasp was heard from the entire crowd as the thunder that accompanied it cracked fiercely, shaking the tables of food as well as the stage. The baby cried out in fear at the sound and the king rushed to her side.

“Please no!” he begged again as he picked Briar Rose up. “I beg you. Do not harm my beautiful, innocent daughter! Please remove the curse. Cast your spell upon me instead.”

The fairy cackled in delight. “It’s too late. She will pay for your insolence, you pitiful man! Let’s see you leave me out of your celebrations next time! You’ll never forget the day you tried to exclude me ever again!” As suddenly as she had appeared, the evil fairy disappeared, once again in a cloud of black smoke.

The girls stood in shock. Snow was very upset. “My poor aunt! We have to go to her right away.” Snow ran into the crowd toward the stage with Sam and Val close behind.

It took them a while to make their way past the hundreds of frightened guests. When they finally reached the front of the crowd, there were guards surrounding the royal family and the fairy godmothers. They were not allowing anyone to pass through except the king’s magicians. They were hastily trying to find a way to cancel the evil fairy’s spell.

The king was pacing frantically. “I didn’t think to invite her. No one has seen her for so very long. Mathilda is always so mean and likes to keep to herself. How could I know she wanted to come? This is all my fault. I should have told one of my guards to find her. How could this happen? My poor, poor Briar Rose.”

Just then the queen caught sight of the girls. “Snolindria? Could it be? Is that you, child? Come forward.” She motioned to the guards. “Let these girls through.”

Snow made her way to her aunt. “Yes, ma’am, it’s me. How did you know who I was? You haven’t seen me since I was a baby.”

“My dear, you are the spitting image of your mother. I would have known your lovely face in a sea of a hundred faces.”

They hugged tightly for a long time before finally letting go.

“It is so good to see you, Snolindria, although I wish this was a happier time. Is your father here?” she asked as she anxiously scanned the crowd.

“No, ma’am, he’s still away on the crusade. One of my servants brought me so we could visit you and the baby. I came with my friends.” She pointed over toward Samantha and Valerie. I was glad to see they knew enough to give a polite courtesy to the queen. Maybe they did hit a few branches on the way, falling out of the ‘behave yourselves’ tree.

They stood to the side while the king and his magicians argued over what to do to save the baby. One fairy stepped forward and offered her solution. “Your Highness, I have not yet given my gift.”

“I can’t think of gifts at a time like this! I have to worry about my daughter dying!”

“Please allow me to speak,” insisted the last fairy godmother. “I regret that I cannot take away the evil spell, Your Highness, but I can change it.”

“Change it?”

“Yes,” she said as she turned to Rose. “My darling godchild, when you are sixteen and you prick your finger on the spinning wheel you shall not die but you will instead go into a deep, deep sleep.” She waved her wand over the baby’s head as she said the words.

The king was slightly relieved, but that did not satisfy him completely. “I want no harm to come to this child! Do you understand me?” he shouted to his magicians. “What else can we do?”

“Excuse me, sir,” Valerie said as she approached the king.

“I’m sorry little girl, but we are very busy here.” He turned away from her.

“Please, sir, I can help. I think I can anyway.”

“How?” he asked, again giving her his attention.

“It seems to me that the easiest solution would be to burn all the spinning wheels. Then she can’t ever poke her finger on one.”

“Why that’s…That’s an excellent idea! Guards! Go now! Gather up every spinning wheel in the kingdom. They are to be burned immediately!”

He turned to thank Valerie, but she was already gone. After Valerie spoke to the king, Samantha grabbed her arm and they hurried away.

They reached Snow as she was kissing the queen goodbye. “I’ll come see you again soon,” Snow promised. “Everything will be okay now. You’ll see.”

“Thank you, child. You take care in getting home. Have your servants take you straight away.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Snow said as Sam tugged at her sleeve and pulled her along.

“Valerie,” whispered Samantha once they were out of the crowd. “You changed the story. Doesn’t she go into the sleep and get woken up by the prince’s kiss?”

“No, I didn’t, Sam. Remember? The wizards decide to have the spinning wheels burned after they try a few spells, but the evil fairy has one appear by magic.”

“I guess I don’t have a photographic memory for every fairy tale like you.”

Valerie gave her a ‘whatever’ look with a little dramatic eye-rolling. “I just felt bad for the king. He was so upset. I just hurried things along for him. The story won’t change any. You really should read more, Sam.”

“I prefer my dance class, thank you very much.”

“What are you girls talking about?” asked Snow.

“We can’t stay here.” Samantha turned to Snow. “Did you get a chance to ask your aunt for help?”

“I couldn’t. There is too much excitement going on. She asked if my father was here with me, so she doesn’t know where he is either. What are we going to do now?”

“I have a good idea,” Samantha said as she pointed to a man and his cart. He was at the hitching post petting Otter. It was Wilhelm!