“Hello?” Snow called up to it. “What are you?”
Just then another spark of light caught her attention in a shrubbery about five feet in front of her. She sat up and had brought her knees in to stand up when that light began to sparkle and bounce toward her.
She froze.
Its luminosity increased into a much larger spark than the other one. Entranced, Snow smiled as the light came all the way up to her, growing in size until it was about a foot tall and then resting upon her knee.
“Hello?” she asked again as she noticed yet another bright spark pop to life a few feet on her right. And then another and another.
Slowly, the one before her dimmed and Snow caught her breath when a tiny ethereal woman in a flowing pink gown stood before her. She had beautiful lavender slanted eyes with long lashes, a thin nose, and a small pink mouth. Her lavender ponytail caught the breeze and flowed around her shoulders briefly before settling behind her back again.
Snow was amazed that she could not even feel the weight of the woman’s dainty feet upon her knee, and then she understood why. The lovely being unfolded the most alluring gossamer wings upon either side of her shoulders. They fluttered and glittered in the sunlight, their iridescent colors changing from yellow to pink and then back again.
“You are a fairy!”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
THE FAIRY GRINNED AND bowed her head. “Yes, I am. And you are the fairest Snow White.”
“How do you know who I am?” Snow asked, not taking her eyes off the pretty creature. Never before had she dreamed of meeting one up close.
“We have always known who you are, which is why we have been searching all night for you.”
“We?”
“Yes, my sisters and I.”
Snow watched each flash of light transform into a beautiful fairy as they fluttered toward her. There were four! She was actually seeing
four fairies
. Smiling, she felt like a little girl all over again.
The one upon her knee flew up and took her place with the others in a small semicircle above her. “How grateful we are to see you well and alive,” she said.
“Did you know I was in trouble?”
“Yes.” She smiled. “We know more about you than you realize.”
Snow quickly got to her feet to see the fairies better. Each one had hair the same color as their eyes. One had beautiful turquoise-colored hair, one blue, and the other green. Their shimmering wings matched their different-colored gowns as well. Snow had so many questions, but first things first. “What are your names?”
The lavender-haired fairy said, “I am Sunday Grace, but you are welcome to call me anything you would like.”
“Hello, Grace.” Snow curtsied before her, charmed by her name.
“This is Tuesday Hope,” said the fairy as she pointed to the turquoise-haired girl. “The blue one is Thursday Peace, and green is Saturday Brave.” The mystical women bowed their heads and smiled.
“There are three days missing. Does that mean there are more fairies?”
Grace laughed, her voice sounding like tinkling bells. “Of course. But I will introduce you to them when we bring you to our home.”
“Your home?”
“Well, my dear, we could not leave you here to be eaten by wolves, now could we? No, we promised Queen Lilith years ago that we would care for you and guarantee that nothing harmed you.”
“You knew my mother?” All at once Snow felt like she was going to cry. Here was a connection she had been wishing to find, someone who had known her mother well and could possibly share more about her than her father ever did.
“Yes, we have assured your protection all this time. Queen Lilith saved me from a woodman’s trap, and in return, as a thank you, we have seen to your success and safety.”
Snow’s jaw dropped. “I
have
been under an enchantment! You placed one upon me, did you not? To make sure everyone I meet loves me.”
The fairies glanced at each other. “Yes, it was us. That was one way we could guarantee your security. We knew if you were enchanted, no one would harm you.”
Peace pushed a lock of her blue hair off her shoulder. “But we felt the energy in your spell waver yesterday, and we knew someone had been able to break through our magic charm and complete their own dark curse to destroy you. We have been searching high and low ever since.”
“I do not think you will ever understand how happy we are to have finally found you.” Hope fluttered faster.
“Yes,” said Brave. “There was a time last night when the tension was so strong we feared you would be gone before we could find you.”
“I nearly was. But Prince Corlan was able to withstand the curse long enough for me to escape.”
“The prince! He has been the one to break our enchantment?” Brave placed her hands on her hips. “If that man is seeking to destroy you, we shall kill him first!”
Great heavens! “No! It was his mother, Queen Melantha, and her wedding gift, the Lythereon Mirror, who have broken the spell.”
The fairies gasped, but Snow rushed on. “Corlan is their pawn. My stepmother placed a curse upon him to murder me. He withstood as long as possible, even stabbing himself in the leg to allow me escape. Please do not harm him. Please, I cannot lose him.”
“My dearie!” Hope exclaimed as she flitted toward her. “We promise not to damage him. But this cannot be a good thing at all, using the Lythereon Mirror against you.”
“We must get her inside immediately. Who knows what the looking glass has seen already!” Peace rushed forward and pulled on Snow’s tattered cape. “Quickly, let us get her out of this forest. There are too many eyes and ears around to be fully comfortable.”
“’Tis true,” said Grace. “You cannot be certain you are alone while in the forest. Goodness! You should have said earlier it was the mirror after you.” She held on to another portion of Snow’s cape. “Hope and Brave, come and hold her front and back so we may be able to get her home as quickly as possible.”
The two fairies fluttered over. One pulled upon the front of her skirts and the other tugged upon the back of her cape. Now she had fairies on all four sides of her, tugging on her clothing. How would this help? They looked as though they would have Snow walk in different directions.
“Now!” Brave said just before Snow saw the forest disappear.
When she felt her stomach drop as though she was falling, she flinched and closed her eyes. A moment later, she opened them and she was in a cozy cottage with the aroma of apple pie and homemade bread wafting through the rooms. “It smells delicious!”
Hope giggled. “I would say the little one is hungry.”
“She must be, or the first thing that would have popped out of her mouth after traveling fairyflight would have been, ‘Unbelievable! Can we do it again?’” Grace said.
Snow walked into the red-and-white kitchen. “Forgive me. Yes, it was astonishing to fly like that, and very convenient.” She found the pies sitting in the window. Not wanting to appear rude, she said, “But do not worry yourselves over my hunger. I am perfectly fine.” She turned around and was startled to see that the fairies were now as tall as she, their wings tucked away. “Oh!”
They all chuckled and pressed forward.
“Come sit down,” said Hope. “By the way your gaze was devouring the pies, you are clearly famished.” She pointed to a clean table with a floral tablecloth.
“You are full-size now.” Snow sat upon the polished wooden chair. “Is this how you always look?”
Grace turned to Brave, ignoring the question. “Will you use the horn so the others will know we have found Snow White and they may return home?”
“Yes.”
Snow watched Brave leave out the side door. A few seconds later, she returned.
“Thank you,” said Grace. Then seeing Snow’s confusion, she added, “It is not a sound humans can hear.” She placed a loaf of bread upon the table. A small wisp of steam floated from it.
It smelled wonderful.
“And as for our size, this is not the easiest way for us to appear, but we felt it would be best for you if we did so. The whole cottage has grown significantly to accommodate you.”
“Oh.” Snow blinked and tried to imagine it much smaller.
When Hope placed a bubbling pot of stew upon the table, Snow’s mouth began to water and her stomach rumbled. “How did you make this so quickly?” she asked. “Did someone stay behind to cook?”
Peace reached over and placed a crock of butter upon the table. “We are magic, dear. Our food always stays perfectly warm until we are ready to eat it.”
Just then, three more fairies poofed into the home. The already busy place bustled to life right before her eyes.
“Snow!” they cried, all of them wanting hugs and asking about her adventure and the like. However, Grace put a halt to their queries.
“Enough! She has not eaten, and she is hungry. We will have her answer all our questions once she is full and can divert us properly in the parlor. For now, please sit down and allow the poor girl to eat.”
Snow grinned as she looked around the active room. This cottage was so full of energy and colors and happiness. Thank goodness the fairies had found her.
As they bustled around the small dining room and kitchen, chattering and bringing plates and utensils, Snow knew she would love them forever. Who would not want to stay in a magical home with seven sweet fairies?
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
RAVEN POURED THE TEA while Corlan sat forward in the overstuffed chair in the drawing room. They had managed to remove all the mirrors and place them up in the attic. As long as her mother did not look too closely at her hands—which, thankfully, had not aged as horridly as the rest of her—they might be able to succeed in diverting Melantha from the truth of her looks for a few days longer. Exhausted, they had taken a short break to decide what to do next. Snow was their greatest concern, of course.
“I believe you may be right, Terrance. If we split up, we might have a better chance at succeeding,” Corlan said.
“Someone must let King Herbert know what is happening here,” Raven said. “Is it wrong to wish to betray your mother like this?”
“No.” Terrance shook his head. “If she were the mother you knew, this would not have happened. You cannot think of her as your mother again.”
“It is true. Unless she can free herself and manage to break the mirror on her own, all will be lost,” Corlan said.
Raven pressed her lips together as she placed the tea things on the end table near the settee where she sat. “You are both certain Melantha will die?”
“Yes.” Corlan nodded.
When she looked at Terrance, he paused a moment before nodding too.
“Very well, then—we must tell King Herbert. He needs to know what she has done to Snow.”
“I would go, but I am afraid to leave Mother right now,” Corlan said.
“If I am going to find Snow, that leaves Raven to fetch King Herbert, and there is no way in all of Hades I would allow her to travel to the battlefront.”
“I beg your pardon?” Raven sat back in her seat and folded her arms. “If I wish to go and warn King Herbert, there is nothing that would stop me from achieving that. Even you.”
Corlan groaned. “Raven, honestly. Let the man protect you.”
“I have no problem at all with him protecting me. But when he dictates as he did just now, I feel a little bit testy.”
“Testy?” Terrance laughed. “I do find you remarkably refreshing. However, I shall put my foot down again and say, over my lifeless body will you go to King Herbert,
even
if you wished it.”
Raven tapped her boot. “Prince Terrance of the SyBright court, need I remind you, as a guest here, that your manners may come off a bit rudely?” She smiled a tight smile, her foot tapping faster.
“Princess Raven of Olivian, no, you do not need to remind me of anything.” He stood up and walked toward her. “I am not like most princes who come to woo your sister. Indeed, I am a prince made of much sterner stuff and have actually accepted the challenge of attempting the impossible in wooing
you
. Therefore, if you believe I cannot handle a mere stubborn girl who wishes to get herself killed, you must think again.”
Raven’s heart fluttered wildly while her irritation at his words drove her mind to frenzy. How dare the man speak to her in such a way? How dare he try to rule her? “What of equality and partnership?” She stood up as well. “Or were you merely saying words that would appease me?”
Terrance searched her features. She was not certain what he saw there, but he bowed his head. “Forgive me, Princess. I seem to have been put in my place. By all means, if you wish to go to your stepfather during war, I will not be the man to stand in your way.”
Her heart dropped. She truly did not want to go to King Herbert—it was only the principle of the matter. But now it seemed she would have to, due to pride alone. Why must she make such a spectacle of herself?
“You may go,” Terrance continued. “However, I will accompany you.”
She grinned. She should kick him in the shins, but instead she looked into his shining brown eyes and smiled like a fool. He was so good to her!