Title: Snow White Queen
Character(s): Snow White/The Queen
Folklore Used: German
Rating: G
Summary: The queen from "Snow White" plots to kill Snow White.



Sequestered in her high chamber, the queen looked through her spell book, for just the right one to use. The huntsman had failed her, and while he would never fail anyone ever again, it had still left her needing to come up with another plan. Her vanity would not allow her to let that girl be the fairest in the kingdom. And that girl should have known better than to have let herself become more beautiful than the queen; it was absurd. Anyone with any sense would be able to tell you that it should be the queen of any kingdom that is the most fair. It was only right. And it didn't matter that the girl was a princess; that should allow her to be pretty, but not out-right beautiful.

The queen realized that she should have saved herself the trouble that she was going through now. If she had done the same as when a new lion takes over a pride, and kills the cubs of the previous lion, she might have been saved from having to put forth all of this effort now. The queen was sure that the girl would have been far less difficult to get rid of when she was too small to fight back. It would’ve made her life far less aggravating to not have to work so hard for what she wanted, and what she deserved; but it was too late for that now. She could only work forward from here.

She turned page after page of her book, the pages crackling with each turn. One of the spells on one of these pages would work, she was sure of it; it was only a question of figuring out which one.

Then, she turned a page and saw something that had promise: the spell for a poisoned apple. All she had to do was to make sure that the apple was more beautiful than any other fruit that anyone had ever seen, and it would be impossible for her step-daughter to resist. And then, if she could offer it to Snow White, without anyone suspecting that anything was amiss, everything would turn out perfectly. A disguise would be needed, of which the queen had several; she just had to choose the one that would be the most appropriate ... the one that had the best chance of working. What would put the girl off her guard?

An old woman. Who would suspect an old woman of trying to do them harm? No one. Yes, that is what she would come to her step-daughter as. Snow White's innocence would see nothing suspicious about an old woman with a basket full of apples. She would only see how delicious the apples looked, and would want to eat one of them because of that. And ho, they would be the loveliest apples that anyone had ever seen ... the queen would make sure of that.

Days passed, and then, a week, and the queen was finally ready to do what needed to be done. She readied her basket, making sure that there were a few poisoned apples right on top, where they were easily seen and grabbed. She got her disguise in place, and made her way to the cottage where she knew that Snow White was staying. Those greedy little men would be away, under the mountain, looking for shiny jewels, and Snow White would be left alone; of that the queen was certain.

When the queen got there, she waited a moment before knocking, wanting to make sure that Snow White was inside. As she stood, she could easily hear Snow White singing a working song, and oh, how the song made the queen hate her more. It was the carefree joy of the song that made her angry, and made her even more want to throttle the girl. No one should be that happy ... especially when they were working; it just wasn't natural. Life was hard, and you had to fight for everything from her first breath, to your last. The girl would learn that soon enough ... though, it was going to be a short lessen ... and she wouldn't know the lessen for long.

The queen rapped on the door, and heard the singing come to a stop. Then, there was some chittering to what the queen imagined was a small animal or two. The very thought of how many animals seemed to find their way to the girl, and so happy she seemed to be whenever a new one showed up. It was unnatural. Animals were meant to be enjoyed well done, in some sort of sauce, with some wild rice or mashed potatoes. They were not supposed to be sung to ... not even people were supposed to be sung to.

Then, the door opened a crack, and the queen saw a pair of the bluest eyes. She had a flash of anger that those two eyes could still sparkle at her, but she remembered why she was there, and shoved that anger back down. She needed the girl to think that she was an old woman, who didn't know who she was.

"Hell, dear," the queen said in her best crony voice. "Help an old woman? I have some apples to sell. Would you like to buy one?"

Snow White opened the door a bit wider, her face full of wonder.

"Well," Snow White said, looking down at the basket, "I'm not supposed to open the door to strangers."

"That's a very good rule," the queen said, "but I am only one old woman with some fruit. Nothing will happen if you open the door to me. Just open it a little more, and look at what I have to offer. You'll be very happy that you did."

"I don't know," Snow White said as her eyes flickered down to the basket. "Well ... maybe just one."

Snow White opened the door a little more, still a bit tentative. But then, the queen gave her a large, toothless smile, and Snow White relaxed. She opened the door even more, and nibbled slightly on the inside of her mouth.

"How much do your apples cost?" Snow White asked. "I don't have any money, but I would like one. Maybe we could trade something ..."

"Don't worry about that, my dear," the queen said. "I'll give you the first one for free, as a sample, so that you can decide if you want to buy more the next time that I pass this way."

"That would be wonderful," Snow White said, clapping her hands together once. "That's very kind of you."

"Oh," the queen said, waving a hand, "that's just good business sense. Now, you pick one of these apples, the one that looks the prettiest to you, and you eat it."

Snow White smiled at her before looking back at the basked. They all looked so pretty, how on earth would she possibly be able to choose? But after several long moments, she picked one toward the center of the pile. It was gorgeous, so much so that she was sure that it couldn't be anything but delicious.

The queen was elated. Her step-daughter had chosen very wisely ... or poorly, depending on your point of view. But since the girl had chosen one of the poisoned apples, the queen considered it a very wise choice. Of course, anyone would have been hard pressed to have not picked one off the top of the bushel; the queen was taking no chances.

"Go on," the queen coaxed her, "take a bite. They are quite good."

Snow White smiled at her before taking a large bite. Juice dripped down her chin, but she quickly wiped it with her fingers. She swallowed the bite greedily, as though it were the most delicious thing she had ever had in her mouth. She took another bite, chewing it more slowly this time, as though to saver the taste. But then, Snow White began to look pale, and that pale on her looked ghastly ... it made her look far more like a living ghost than anyone had a right to be. And the queen had to use all of her might to not begin to laugh or dance for joy.

"My dear," the queen said, trying her very best to sound concerned, "you don't look at all well. I hope you haven't over-exerted yourself today."

"I ..." Snow White said, “don’t feel very well."

"Perhaps you should go lay down for a while. I am sure that you will feel much better after a rest."

"Yes ... you may have a point. I think that's what I will do." Snow White smiled faintly as she lifted the apple in salute. "Thank you."

"You are very welcome."

The queen smiled broadly, as Snow White closed the door. The poison would work quickly, not that it really would've mattered if there was an antidote available; it worked so quickly that the antidote would almost have to be taken at the same time. And with those men Snow White lived with, off doing whatever they did all day, there was no way that they could help the girl; and heaven knew she wasn't going to help the girl, she had worked to hard for this. She was tempted to wait for someone to find Snow White, once the poison did it's work; it would make the girl's death that much more enjoyable, to hear and see the reactions of those that loved her. But she didn't want to be caught here, enjoying her handiwork ... not that it really mattered much if someone did catch her; she was royalty, and there was some benefit to her station.

She just wanted to get one gook peek, before she headed back to the castle. She needed to see that the girl was dead, needed to see that her plan had worked, and Snow White was finally gone. Too walk away without seeing that she had accomplished what she had meant to, was just idiotic.

The queen reached out with one hand, and pushed the door open with a squeak.