Bad Apple (5 page)

My
eyes flutter open to the echoes of snaps and crackles from the fireplace at the
corner of the room. I roll over to find a note and a white rose. Sadness aches
in my heart that Darien's left. I succumbed to the call of sleep after our love
making, content with him tucked against my bosom. Thoughts of making a life
with him in the castle fill my head. Perhaps I really could stay here, with
him.

My
time in the cottage has ended. A new season for me must begin, in life and in
love.
In love.
The words circulate in my head until
they no longer make sense. I am in love with Darien. Closing my eyes, I think
back to what he professed to me as he filled me with himself. He loves me too.
My heart ached to tell him the same in that moment, but he swept me into our
special world and I lost myself in him. Tonight though, I will make sure he
hears the words. I need for myself to say them as much as he needs to hear
them.

I
pick up the note, holding the rose against my face to indulge in its sweet
scent.

My
dearest Snow,

Forgive
me for departing before you wake. Truthfully, I could have spent all day
watching you sleep, looking upon your beauty, and touching your softness. But
I'm afraid I have a bit of kingdom business to tend to this afternoon. Wait for
me tonight in your bed chamber. I promise you will not wake up alone again.

All
my love,

Darien

I
swallow over the emotions choking in my throat. There is so much I want to say
to him. But first, I must find Rose and tell her of my decision to stay with
Darien in the castle. What she must think of me for running out on her this
morning at breakfast. She needs to hear the blessing from my lips. I want her
and Marcus to spend a long happy life in the cottage.

Leaping
from the bed, I scurry around looking for some form of clothing. My poor
chemise and overdress lay in a puddle at the edge of the bed. A giggle floats
from my lips as more memories from the morning swirl in my head.

A
stunning red and blue dress in one of the armoires catches my eye. I work
myself into it, lacing up the tight blue bodice that puts my bosom on display.
I've never worn such a thing before, but glancing down to my breasts peaking
from the top I picture the look on Darien's face. I imagine I won't be in it
for long. Another giggle flits from my lips as I slip on my boots and make my
way through the snaking castle halls in search of Rose.

Winter's
wind barrages the castle, its howl piercing through the cracks in the walls.
Yet I sense no chill over my skin, my body still flushed and heated from
Darien. I check the dining hall, throne room, and common areas to no avail.
Rose must be in her bed chamber with Marcus.
Where once this
would annoy me, I laugh it off now.
I understand. Rose and I share a new
connection, one I could never have had before Darien.

I
make my way back to my own bed chamber to await Darien's return. As I round the
corner, I catch the glint of moonlight flickering off something silver, casting
shimmering beams into the hallway. With slow steps, I make my way inside to
seek out the source.

A
regal mirror hangs from an archway. Elaborate silver and gold flourishes scroll
around its border. The glass glistens like moonlight on water. It beckons me
toward it, as if calling my name. As I inch closer, the glass ripples, coming
to life. Shock fills me, dropping my jaw open as I look upon the reflection.

My
own eyes look back at me from under pinned up tresses adorned with a crown. But
blackness fills them, shrouded in power and lust. Long dark fingernails hold a
scepter in one hand, and in the other an apple dripping with blood. A scream
sticks in my throat, escaping in a choked whisper. “No.”

I
turn away, but it commands me to look upon it once more. I swallow hard over
heavy breaths as I take in the sight before me. Reaching my hand out, I attempt
to touch it, make sure it's not real. My fingertips graze the surface, slipping
through it as if it isn't there. But something pulls at me from the other side,
and a shock rattles through my body as images from another time and place
pummel me. Flashes and images I do not understand attack me, yet they fill my
heart and I know them as if I've lived them.

I
yank my hand back and drop to my knees, weeping. My future stares back at me
from the mirror. One in which I am queen. One in which I have lost who I really
am, fueled by a desire for power and sins of the flesh. The kingdom lay in
tatters, tears, and terror. The people fear me instead of love me. Darkness drenches
my heart.

Sobs
rips through me in convulsions, and I pound my fists on the stone floor. If I
remain with Darien, this is who I will become. An ache wells through me,
ripping open my heart, and I bleed out my love for him. I will not turn into
that. For the love of the kingdom, all of its people, and for Darien, I must
leave.

I
push myself up from the floor on wobbling arms. So heavy is my heart it weighs
me down, and I force myself to my bed chamber through languishing strides. My
body collapses against the bed as I take one last look around the room. I
search for an ink well and quill to scrawl a letter to Rose, giving her the
cottage and my blessing. In loving detail, I express my gratitude at having had
her in my life like a sister, and pray one day I may see her again. I beg her
to tell Darien that I love him and my reasons for leaving, but only after I am
gone, pleading for them both not to come looking for me.

Even
I know not where I will go. Tossing what little belongings I brought to the
castle in a satchel, I head out of the room leaving the letter on my bed.

Blustery
winds sting my face as I step into the night air. Tightening my cloak around
me, I press on through the drifting snow. It mocks me as the flakes fall and
melt
against my tears. I have fallen so far. Trading purity
for pleasures of the flesh, I can no longer be Snow White.

Moonlight
slices through the darkness as I enter the haunted woods after an hour's walk
through the kingdom. Stillness calms the howling winds, but it gives way to
howls of another kind, those from the wolves hiding in the shadows.

The
snap of a twig jerks my attention, and I freeze in place.

“
Do not be afraid, dearie, I won't be
doin
' ye any harm,” a feeble voice creaks from the trees.

I
spin around, toss back my hood in a fury, and search for the source of the
voice. “Who's there?”

A
frail woman steps into my path, cloaked in drab gray. Leaning on a staff, she
offers a hand. “Looks like the winds have said all they can for the night. I'm
thankful for the silence.” She stares into my eyes. Something familiar looks
back at me from them, but I cannot place where I know her from. “Where ye be
headed on a night such as this? Ye shouldn't be
wanderin
'
the haunted woods alone.”

“
Do forgive me, but my business is none of yours. I
must make haste.” I slide my hood back up and take a step forward.

Her
staff catches my ankle, halting another step. “
You
runnin
'
from
yer
past or
yer
future?”

Her
words stop my heart, and I whip around to face her. “What do you know of it?”

Releasing
the hold on my ankle, she once again leans on her staff. “I know a great many
things...Snow White.”

My
chest convulses in a choke and gasp. “What do you want from me?”

“
Nothing.”
She shakes her head. “I only offer help.”

I
eye her with suspicion and doubt. “How can you possibly help me? You know not
of my troubles.”

“
Fear boils in your veins, so heated I can smell it.
As much as the scent of the prince that still clings to your body.” She taps
between my legs with her staff.

I
jump back and fight for words to form in my mouth. I have no response. Are my
indiscretions that obvious? Tears flood my eyes and leak down my cheeks,
freezing against my skin like icicles.

“
But I can help ye, dearie. You need a clean future.
Something to wipe away the past.”
Tilting her head, she
inches toward me.

“
And how can you help do that?” My words come out as
frosty as the air that carries them.

“
Ye need not but take a bite of this.” From inside
her cloak she produces an apple, outstretched in a hand of bones and wrinkles.

An
apple.
Just
like the one in the mirror, only this one gleams in the moonlight; red,
inviting, and not painted in blood. “I take a bite of that apple, and it washes
away the past and changes my future?”

“
Aye, it can.” She nods.

“
And what do you want in return?” I
suck
in a deep breath, hating myself for even considering
this as an option. But maybe it'll allow me to somehow still be with Darien.
Maybe we can have a fresh start, and I'll be able to control myself around him.
We can be married before we make love, and I will not turn into an evil queen
and destroy the kingdom. But that's a lot of hopes to place on an apple.
Perhaps it will just wipe my memories and I won't remember any of this, a fresh
start with no past and no haunting future.

“
Nothin
'.
I'm
repayin
'
ye
for what ye've done for the kingdom all these
years.
Helpin
' the poor, feeding the sick and hungry.
You
and
yer
mother.”
A smile slithers over her
lips and it gives me pause.

“
You knew my mother?” I reach for the apple with an
unsteady hand.

She
inches it closer to me, dropping it into my palm as our hands meet. “Oh yes, I
knew Ella very well. Eat.”

My
eyes trail from the apple to her elongated, sallow face. I glance back to the
apple and bring it to my lips, taking a small bite from the skin. My tongue
tingles as it slides down my throat. “How did you know her?”

The
old woman's eyes blaze from black to violet. “She tried to take my kingdom from
me. She was a queen once. But I'm sure you knew that.”

The
apple lodges in my throat, and my eyes grow wide. “What?” The bits choke me,
and I cough, working to free it and suck air back to my lungs. I swallow hard,
and it slides down my throat, burning until it hits my stomach. My limbs blaze
as if fire lights them from the inside, and I drop to my knees. “What did you
do to me?”

“
Fixed a problem,” she says, sliding back her hood,
revealing herself as Queen Miriam. “I was once betrothed to your father, King
Henry of Evansdale. But Henry fell in love with your mother instead, charming
her into his bed. How could he love a commoner who slept with pigs and dressed
in
cindersoot
? We were to be the most powerful royal
couple in the world. Then she showed up at our engagement ball, professing her
love to him, and he called off our wedding.”

She
blurs before my eyes. Dizziness swarms my head as I force myself to look up at
her from the ground, fighting to keep awake. “I....I don't under...stand...” My
body sways, and my head bobbles forward.

“
I took care of that problem, and I'm taking care of
this one.
Hestor
gave me a potion that stripped your
mother of her memories. She didn't remember she was a Queen, nor in love with
Henry, or even marrying her Prince Charming.
All of it, poof.
But it was too
late,
you were already in her womb.”
She stalks around me as flakes of snow blanket my body. “I found a new prince
to marry though, here in
Everwood
. I got my kingdom
in the end. And I will not let the offspring of my archenemy steal that from me
too! From that day forward I made the decree, only those of royal blood can
marry another royal, thus ending the commoners from invading our world.”

“
I'm....a.....princess?” The words barely leave my
lips as I drift in and out of consciousness.

“
Unfortunately.
But no matter, with you out of the way now, Darien
will not marry, and I will keep my crown.” She drops to a squat and whispers in
my ear. “I'd hate to have to turn another of my sons into a bear.”

In
a puff of purple smoke, she vanishes. And so does the world around me.

I
march through the halls in search of my mother. After several hours prepping
the perfect speech, I'm ready to face her. I refuse to give up Snow. My plan is
perfect. I shall marry Snow and abdicate the throne, as my brother did. Snow
and I shall live among the people, helping them retaliate and withstand the
oppression of my mother's forces.
When mother passes, I shall
regain the throne and extinguish the decree that a royal cannot marry one not
of royal lineage.

With
purpose in my head and love in my heart, I feel ready to take on the world. I
speed my steps into the throne room and find mother pacing the floor.

“
Oh Darien!” she cries out, throwing her arms toward
me. “I've been trying to find the words to come talk to you.”

Sadness
fills her eyes through glassy tears, and it strikes my heart with worry.
“Mother, what's wrong?”

Pulling
me to her chest, she strokes the back of my head. “I'm so sorry, son.”

“
For what?”
I ask, buried against her neck. Once again she
manages to derail my plans.

“
Snow,” she says, and wipes a tear from her eyes as
she pulls out from our embrace.

My
heart hammers. “What about her?” I left her only a few hours ago, asleep safely
in her bed.

“
I had gone into her room to let her know I had
accommodations arranged for her at the best inn in the kingdom until she could make
herself a new home. I found this letter on her bed.” She turns the letter over
to me.

My
heart lurches into my throat as I read the words.

Sweet
Sister Rose,

I
fear my time here at the castle has come to a close. It's best for me to move
on, from here and from my old life. You and Marcus may have the cottage, and I
pray you fill it with lots of scampering little feet. One day I'll return and
hope to meet them, as I know they will be good-hearted and beautiful. Please
tell Darien....please tell him that I love him, and that he's showed me things
I'd never dreamed of. He fills my heart with the love I've longed for all my
life, but feared I'd never be worthy of keeping. He is my world, and that is
why I must leave. A premonition of the future haunts me, and if I do not leave
now, I fear I will destroy everything I hold dear. I love you, dear sister. And
I love Darien with all my heart and soul. And if you love me as much in return,
do not come looking for me. I beg of you. Nothing good will come of it.

Til
next we meet,

Snow
White

The
letter crumples in my clenched fingers. I shake my head. “No. I must go and
find her. What is this premonition of which she speaks? She's never told me of
such a thing.”

My
mother grips my shoulder and spins me to face her. “You can't go.”

“
I don't care what she says. She's out there, in the
dark, alone. I love her, mother! I love her more than anything. She is my
future. That's what I came to talk to you about. I wish to abdicate the throne,
like Marcus. If I can't have Snow, then I don't want the throne. We will do
good
by the people among the people.”

Rage
replaces the sadness in her eyes. “You can't. You're a fool. All men are fools
the minute a pair of perky bosoms and full bottoms appear. Do not let flesh
trick your judgment, Darien.”

“
Why?
Because you've never known
love?
Father forced to make love to you in order to bring forth an heir,
while people watched to make sure it happened? Do not spread your venom and
hatred of how your life turned out onto mine and the kingdom.” Regret punches
me in the gut the minute the words leave my lips. I've gone too far and let
anger control my words. She is still my mother, and my queen.

“
Regardless, the decision has been made for you and
saved you from a mistake. Snow is dead.” Her sharp tone lacks emotion, slicing
at my heart.

The
words circle in my mind, and I fight to make sense of them. It takes everything
I have in me to push the word over my lips.
“Dead?”

She
nods. “One of the huntsmen out killing wolves found her at the entrance of the
haunted woods.”

I
shake my head as the words continue to swirl in a massive jumble in my head. An
ache fills my heart, weighing it down so much that it plunges to my stomach.
The thought of her death guts me to my core, and I lurch over as if someone
punched me.
“But how?
Was she attacked? Where is she
now? I must still go to her. I must say goodbye.” I clutch her shoulders and
lock onto her eyes. They sparkle as if they're happy where sadness should be. I
jerk back from her. “What did you do?”

Hitching
a shoulder, she glares at the accusation. “Me? Why on earth would you think it
was me? She's the one who made the decision to leave you.”

I
inch closer to her. “Because I know you had something to do with Marcus and
Hestor
. I don't doubt you did something to father or to
Snow. I've seen with my own eyes how you've destroyed this once prosperous
kingdom.”

“
Leave it be, Darien. What I've done, and continue to
do, is for our well-being. Do not test me.” Her stern eyes advise the
conversation is over.

“
Where is she?” I demand.

Mother
hikes her dress as she stomps to the far corner of the wall. Whipping her head
over her shoulder, she narrows her eyes.
“Right here.”
She slams a palm against a stone in the wall. It scrapes against its sister
stones as it retracts and opens a hidden room even I didn't know of.

Inside
the dim room, moonlight filters in through a ceiling hole, its beam pointing to
the glass coffin that holds Snow's lifeless body.

“
Why? Why did you do this?” I scream at my mother,
yet refuse to look in her deceitful eyes. I focus on Snow, her smile as
beautiful in death as it was in life. She
lays
as if
she were a doll, merely sleeping.

“
She is my prize. I've worked far too long to get
where I am to be stopped once again by Ella.
Even if it's in
the form of her daughter.”
Mother sidles next to me and folds her arms.

“
What are you talking about?” My eyes remain glued to
Snow's body in the coffin.

With
slow, methodical steps, she circles the coffin. “Her mother once took what was
mine. And Snow tried to do the same, through you.”

Her
words make no sense, and I grow tired of these riddles. “How did you know
Snow's mother?”

“
She was Queen Ella.
The woman who
stole my throne when I was set to marry Henry, Snow's biological father.
Now Snow is trying to do the same by marrying you. I won't fall for it. I did
what I had to in order to protect our throne.” Mother lays her hands on the
glass encasing Snow.
“All too easy.”

Sharp
breaths stab at my lungs as I fight the urge to lunge at my mother and kill her
myself. “So, you're telling me, Snow's really a princess?”

Mother's
wicked laughter echoes through the tiny room, rattling Snow's coffin against my
hands. “This is why you'll never be king, Darien. You fail to know who sleeps
in your very bed.”

That
painful ache stirs once again in my heart. I could have married Snow. I could
have dethroned my mother. “Did she even know? She would have told me. She lived
like a commoner. Why?”

“
I removed her mother's memories of royalty as
punishment. They lived as they deserved, like animals among the animals.” The
aloofness in her words brings me one step closer to making them her last.

I
dash across the room and slam her against the wall. “You did this with magic.
Her body still glows in a faint purple hue.
Evidence of
Hestor
.
You can reverse this!”

More
laughter chokes from her throat as I wrap my hand around it. “I dare you,
Darien. Show me what you're made of. Prove to me that you're worthy to run this
kingdom.”

My
fingertips press into her flesh, and her windpipe flexes in my palm. With just
a little more pressure I can snap it. Tremors rumble through me as I hold her
there, gasping for breath. Even though the love of my life
lays
in a coffin at her hands, I will not have my mother's blood on mine. I release
her, and she drops to the floor.

I
slide down the edge of Snow's coffin with my back and bury my face in my hands.
The hands that nearly killed my mother.
Who am I? What
have I become?

Her
choking laughter continues to ring in my ears. “This is why I turned Marcus into
a bear. He failed me as well.”

“
You?
You did that to Marcus? And killed my sister?” Rose chokes out. My head snaps
up, and I stare at Rose and my brother as they run into the room. Rose drapes
her body over the coffin and convulses in sobs.

“
I should have killed you when I had the chance. But
since Marcus gave up the throne, I let you live. I'm rethinking that decision.”
Mother raises her hand and a ball of glowing purple sizzles in her palm.

“
Where my brother may have failed to kill you, I will
not.
Mother.”
Marcus leaps into the tiny room and
grips mother by the throat, snapping her neck like a twig.

Mother's
body slacks as her last breath leaves her lips in a puff of purple mist. Ashes
that were once bones crumble in Marcus' fingertips and fall to the floor.

“
I'm sorry, brother.” Marcus says as he places a
comforting hand on my shoulder. “Had I but known earlier.”

My
jaws clench as the pain ricochets through my heart. “None of us knew. She's
taken away years of your life, and the love of mine.” I stare back at Snow,
hoping that somehow now that Mother's gone perhaps she would arise. That maybe
it was only a spell.

Marcus
pulls Rose from the coffin, and she collapses in his arms a weeping mess. I
fight to remain strong in their presence, but in my soul I weep even more than
Rose.

“
May I....have a moment alone...with Snow?” I choke
out, begging for my brother to leave before my own tears wash me away.

“
Of course, brother.
If you need anything...” He
turns back. Worry floods his eyes.

I
nod. “Thank you.”

Marcus
sweeps Rose into his arms and carries her from the room. Her soft wails trail
behind them. As the moonlight drapes Snow in her glass case, I succumb to the
emotions welling in me, and my tears plunk against the coffin.

Draping
myself over it as Rose did, I stroke the glass as if it were her face. “I'm so
sorry, Snow. I promised to protect you.
To love you.
And I failed.”

The
case beneath me rumbles, jiggling against my body as if there were an
earthquake. The glass lining thins and shatters beneath my fingertips and face.
I plummet against Snow's body. Where there should be shards of glass there is
only air.

Snow's
cold body lies beneath mine. I scramble to touch her lifeless face. With a
gentle stroke, I trace her porcelain cheek and ruby red lips.

“
I love you, Snow. Even in death, I will love you
forever.” I sift my hands through her raven locks and crush my mouth to hers
for one last lover's kiss.

The
minute my lips touch hers, warmth flows through her skin. Her body, once cold
to my touch, heats beneath my fingertips. A thump beats against my chest,
echoing my own. Her eyes flutter open, and the stunning brown eyes I've ached
to look into stare back at me.

She
is alive!