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“Please don’t do this.” My father pleaded.

“Don’t do what?” She snapped before quickly regaining her composure.

“She’s not a harm to you.”

“You know nothing, you idiot. My mirror told me what’s going to happen.”

“Your mirror is lying. I won’t hurt you.” I added.

“My- My mirror does not lie! Take the bag off her head.” She thundered.

I shook the hair out of my face and looked around and realized I had punched my father in the jaw. Part of me figured he deserved it, but the other part felt guilty. I loved him, even though he never protected me from her. “Queen.” I said with as much disgust as I could manage.

“Snow.” Her one word equally dripped with hatred. Then she looked at my father. “What were you doing?”

He was still rubbing his jaw, but he put his hand down before he spoke. “I can’t let you do this. I can’t let you kill her.”

She gasped, clutching her chest. “I’m not going to kill her.”

I looked between the two of them.

My father seemed confused. The clarity I saw in his eyes was fading fast, second by second. “I… I heard it. I heard you. Your mirror said Snow was a thousand times fairer than you. You yelled out…”

She walked over to him and extended her hand, gently rubbing it across his face. The cut on his cheek healed, and he stood up taller, like he was in a trance. “What you heard, my King, was the frustrations of an old woman.” She laughed. “Nothing more.I,” she paused, “would never harm a hair on our precious daughter’s head.”

“You wouldn’t?” He dribbled out.

“Darling. No.” She shot her wicked gaze at me.

The semantics of her words- she wouldn’t hurt me, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t have someone else do it for her. Did my father actually believe this garbage?

“You go back up to your room and we can talk about this in the morning.”

My father nodded and started walking back to the main part of the castle, like the mindless drone he’d become.

The Queen glared at the man behind me and spoke in hushed tones. “See to it that he goes straight to his chamber and try not to mess this up!”

“Yes, my, my Queen. Right away.”

“Now what to do with you?” she asked, circling me.

I turned my head following her and saw my bow and quiver was propped on the wall near the door, just out of arms reach. “I could leave.” She stopped in front of me, so I pretended like I was scared, taking a step back closing the distance to the door.

She bobbled her head from side to side. “See, that doesn’t work for me.” She took another step closer to me, sticking her nose in the air. “You smell… so sweet… So youthful.” She looked at the sky. “It’s almost midnight.” She clasped her hands together.

I realized I was running out of time and had to move quickly. I reached down and looped my arm through my quiver and grabbed my bow, swinging it at her and striking her across the face. I heard her yell out in pain, but I ran as fast as I could, not turning back. A flame shot past my head and landed in the field in front of me. I dodged to the right and saw another ball of flame land just to my left.

I grabbed an arrow and placed it in the bow, drawing the string before I looked over my shoulder. I waited for a beat and then turned, found her and released the arrow at the same time a ball of fire was coming straight at me. I dodged as the arrow was shooting out, so I knew my aim was off, but I heard her scream out and fall to the ground.

I knew I didn’t kill her, so I kept running.

I ran as far and as fast as my legs would carry me.

Chapter two

Dark Queen - Healer and the Head

“MyQueen,myQueen,are you ok?” One of the house staff ran outside.