Mirror, Mirror

by Jen Calonita

  Leonetta smiled as she dropped four mealworms into the pot. Henri began to gag. “Not literally invisible, my dear princess. Instead, I will cloak you from her. She will not be able to find you, for you will look completely different than you do to me or anyone else you encounter.” She ladled the bubbling concoction into two mugs and handed them to Henri and Snow. “Drink up!”

  Henri looked into his cup of broth and dead mealworms and started to gag again. “I’ll go first.”

  “No, I will,” Snow said. He was doing this for her, so she should be the one who took the risk. One step at a time. With that thought running through her mind, Snow drank the concoction. It was tangy and tasted like ginger, but it wasn’t as bitter as she’d imagined.

  She looked at Henri. He took a deep breath and chugged. They looked at one another. Neither’s appearance had changed.

  “It didn’t work,” said Snow.

  Leonetta tsked. “Ye of little faith! Look at yourselves through this!” She went digging in a box on the floor and came up with a small dirty mirror. She wiped the glass on her apron and handed it to Snow. Henri walked up behind her and the two stared at their reflections. Or at what should have been their reflections. Snow’s eyes were now green instead of amber. Her hair was now a wispy mop of long blond locks in two braids piled on top of her head. Her body looked thicker than her own and shorter, while Henri seemed to have sprouted two inches and had her jet-black hair instead of his normal brown. His eyes were a deep chestnut, and he had long lashes that blinked anxiously at he stared at the man in the mirror.

  “This is . . . hard to get used to,” he said, touching the hair on his head.

  “Enjoy it!” Leonetta said. “Tomorrow you face the consequences that come with challenging the queen. You will need all your wits and your strength about you, so today you should continue to let your relationship blossom. You will need to draw on its power.”

  Snow didn’t understand what Leonetta meant by that. It felt like something was about to go wrong, and if that was the case . . . “If you can see what comes next, wouldn’t it help us to know?”

  Leonetta busied herself cleaning up the cauldron. “Why, I can’t predict the future! Futures change depending on who tries to change them.” She pointed to both of them. “Remember your feelings for each other.” Snow and Henri looked at one another and then away. Snow’s face felt very warm. “Your hearts are stronger than you realize,” Leonetta said.

  And with that, the enchantress unceremoniously pushed them out the door. Within seconds, vines grew over the entrance, obstructing it from view.

  Anne blinked at them in wonder. “Snow? Henrich? Is that really you?”

  Snow took Anne’s hand so she wasn’t frightened. “Yes! It truly is!” They all started to laugh. It was almost too impossible to believe.

  “You are truly disguised!” Anne said. “There’s a small hamlet right outside the castle village where we can celebrate. Hopefully the others will begin to arrive in the area tomorrow and we can discuss how we will descend on the castle.”

  The warmth of the sun felt good on Snow’s skin after so much rain.

  “Come on, you two,” Anne said, beckoning them to follow her down the path that would lead them to their destination. A blue jay flew over their heads and began to lead the way. Snow and Henri filled Anne in on the rest of their visit with the enchantress, including the fact that the spell would not hold once they reached the castle—though they both carefully avoided the woman’s advice about their growing feelings.

  It was just growing dark as they made their way to an inn, where a sign offering a reward for Snow’s capture had been torn in half on the door. Snow wondered if this meant the people inside were friends, not foes. Either way, she would not give herself away. Anne decided it was safer if she was the one who made conversation with people at the tavern to see if they could add to their ranks, while Henri paid for two rooms for the night, giving one to Snow and Anne and taking the other for himself. It would feel strange being so close to the castle and placing her head on a pillow that was not her own. The tavern sounded boisterous.

  “I’ve met two men already who are here to help aid the princess,” Anne said with a pointed look when she returned to Snow. “They said there are growing numbers of folks arriving and camping out in the woods. A group of little men are said to be leading the charge, but are waiting on word from the princess to storm the castle.” She raised her right eyebrow.

  The dwarfs were safe. Thank the heavens. “We should send word that the princess is safe and ready to take back the castle with them at noon,” Snow said. Midday was usually when most guards took their main meal, if they had one to eat. Perhaps it would give her friends an advantage.

  “I can tell the others to be ready then, but there is still the problem of getting you in the castle unseen,” Anne said.

  “Maybe you could take us separately. I could sneak in first so that I’m there to provide a distraction if needed once Snow gets inside,” Henri suggested.

  “It’s too dangerous,” Snow protested. “You’ve done so much already.”

  He took her hand. “And I would gladly do more. I believe in you. Please believe in me and let me do this.” He looked her straight in the eye.

  “I believe in you, too,” she said softly. Snow didn’t want to let go of Henri’s hand. “But you must be careful. Find safe haven until it is absolutely necessary to intervene.”

  “I’ll be safe,” he said.

  “The kitchen,” she said quickly, thinking of Mrs. Kindred. “Say you are her new baker. The queen fired the old one. You’ll be all right there.”

  “Okay. Tonight, I’ll go find the others and tell them our plan,” Anne said. “I’ll come back and take Henri at first light so we can enter unseen. Then I can slip back out and come for you.”

  “All right,” Snow agreed. There was a lot placed on Anne, but Snow had faith she could do it.

  Anne placed her hood over her head. “I’ll meet you in our room later, after I go see the men. Try to keep your mind at ease while I’m gone.”

  Snow hugged her. “Be safe, my new friend.”

  Henri led Snow to a table, and food was set down before they knew it, as were their drinks. The tavern grew louder as people kept drifting in—travelers, locals, even beggars. Some were turned away and others were not. Henri raised his glass.

  “To storming the castle, tomorrow,” he said.

  She held up her glass and clinked it with his. “To tomorrow and all the days that will come after.”

  Who was this boy? A prince from a neighboring kingdom. That much she knew, but how she regretted declining his request for a meeting at the castle when he’d come. She’d worried he’d want to ask for Snow’s hand, so she’d sent him away, never knowing he’d find her again. How was it even possible?

  Like so much that she had anticipated, she had been wrong.

  The huntsman had failed her.

  Snow had found safe haven.

  Now the princess was returning to the castle for her crown.

  What did the boy get out of her escorting her like this?

  She’d been watching them since they’d emerged from the cave unscathed and made their way to a nearby village. She had been certain someone there who had seen her generous reward proclamations for the princess’s capture would turn her in, but no.

  Instead, Snow had embarked on the road again, nearing the castle with each step. And this time, she didn’t just have the boy with her. She had a girl, too. It was hard to tell who she was with the hood raised above her head, but Ingrid would find out. She couldn’t sleep, couldn’t eat, couldn’t breathe till she figured out what to do with Snow and her prince.

  “Show me Snow White,” she requested for what was surely the tenth time that day.

  The mirror began to smoke and she watched the glass begin to swirl, turning violet then pale green. Then the masklike face appeared.

  “Alas, something is not right. The fairest a
nd her beau are mist on a bright summer’s day. They have vanished in plain sight.”

  “You can’t find them?” Her whole body tensed. “How is that possible?” Ingrid began to pace back and forth in front of the mirror, feeling like a large cat about to pounce. Suddenly, Katherine appeared and began to walk in her footsteps. Ingrid flicked her cape out, making the image of Katherine disappear. Momentarily.

  “As though under the snow for which she’s named, their footprints are gone. And magic is to blame,” the mirror replied.

  “No!” Ingrid swept her arm across a table, knocking over several seeping vials. They crashed to the floor and shattered. “How do I break the spell?”

  “They must pass the castle gate. Only then will their true selves emerge. It appears you must wait.”

  “Someone must be hiding them! Who?” she snapped. “There is a price on the princess’s head. The whole kingdom knows that! Who dares disobey that? When will I see them?”

  “The magic has been planted like a powerful seed,” the mirror replied, and Ingrid let out a low growl that turned into a cough in her old hag voice. The mirror continued, “From an enchantress. One who helped the king in his time of need.”

  Ingrid had a sudden urge to throw things against the wall. Instead, she steadied her breath. “Georg?!” Instantly, Katherine appeared by her side again. She was the thorn that would not go away. “But how? He can’t be inside our borders! He’s bound by magic. Show him to me.”

  A blurry image appeared in the mirror, and for the first time in the last few days, Ingrid breathed a sigh of relief. Yes, there he was, pacing in his dank cottage, looking very much worse for wear. She realized it had been many years since she had last seen him. But he was still where she’d left him. And yet, he’d found a way to help

  Snow. . . .

  “How did this happen? What do I need to do?”

  “Choose,” the mirror said simply.

  “Choose?” Ingrid repeated, confused.

  “The crown or your mirror, which will you choose?” the mirror replied. “If you try to keep both, you will surely lose.”

  “I am not choosing!” Ingrid thundered. “I earned this crown! I have given everything I have to you as well! I am not being banished or made to choose by a young girl who doesn’t know what it takes to rule!”

  “Life is not fair, this you know,” the mirror replied. “Try to keep all you have obtained and you will lose everything—including me—to Snow.”

  “But how?” Ingrid cried. “She’s only been in your presence once, and she was just a small child. No one even knows you’re here. How could she possibly imagine what you’re capable of?” Ingrid stopped pacing and clutched the mirror’s gilded frame for strength. “Unless . . .” The image suddenly came to her so strongly she could see it in her mind’s eye. “Of course. Georg told her.”

  “The ties that bind are strong,” the mirror said. “The fairest in the land has consulted her father; she has the people on her side. She can do no wrong.”

  “Stop calling her that!” Ingrid screamed, and she felt the crack before she heard it. She looked up to see the fracture in the mirror growing. She felt a sudden sharp pain in her right arm and she clutched it, gasping in horror as a blue-gray vein trailed from her fingers up her arm to her elbow, growing and spreading like a weed. “What is happening?”

  “We have become one,” the mirror replied. “My fate is yours. And yours is almost undone.”

  More damage to the mirror would cause her death? Was that what the mirror meant?

  She didn’t want to know for sure, but she suspected as much. Were they too close now? In the recesses of her mind she’d allowed herself to wonder, but never fully, as the mirror could hear every thought. It knew her every action, and she had given it that privilege. Now her body was paying for it. “What do we need to do?” Ingrid whispered, holding her arm, which was burning.

  “Choose.”

  “No.” Ingrid was firm. “I won’t. I need both.” She tapped her chin, which had a single hair sticking out of it. “There has to be another way.” She glanced at the smoking mirror and had an idea.

  Smoke the girl out.

  Yes.

  The girl was already coming. There was no stopping that. So then let Snow come. She would be ready for

  her.

  Ingrid glanced at the poison apple that remained unused, lying on top of a basket of fruit. Its potency was still strong.

  Snow knew what Ingrid most wanted: the mirror and the crown. What did her niece most want? Not the crown. No, the girl never seemed to ache for power the way she had. The girl had lost her mother and her father. She’d raised herself. What she most wanted was . . .

  “Love,” the mirror replied.

  Love. Such a foolish thing, to love another. It made a person weak.

  Which was what she was counting on.

  So she couldn’t get to Snow via the dwarfs or the prince. No matter, there was another loved one she could use to her advantage. It was time King Georg returned to his castle . . . or more precisely, became comfortable in the dungeons, where Snow would never find him.

  She picked up the poison apple and looked it over. The girl would come for her father. And the poison would still work if she could get the apple to her.

  Ingrid smiled. She had a plan, and she was prepared to follow it through to the end.

  “Magic Mirror? Keep an eye out for the princess,” Ingrid said. “For the first time in a long while, I’m looking forward to having visitors.”

  Just before dawn, while the rest of the inn and the kingdom slept, Snow, Henri, and Anne made their way to the edge of the forest, where their forces were waiting in the dewy early morning light. There was a light fog, making it hard for Snow to see, but she kept moving forward. She was desperate to see the dwarfs again and whatever villagers they had gathered. Perhaps they would have as many as twenty. But when she reached the hilltop, she gasped in surprise.

  There weren’t twenty villagers waiting for her.

  There were hundreds—women and men, old and young.

  Seeing Snow, they raised their weapons.

  “Who are you?” Grumpy thundered.

  And that’s when Snow remembered—she didn’t look like herself.

  Henri put his hand on his sheath, his pocketknife within reach. Snow reached out and touched his hand. “It will be all right.”

  “I bring the one you seek,” Anne announced, leading the way. “You may not be able to see her clearly with your own two eyes, but I know for certain that the one you are looking for is here in front of you. All you need to do is listen to the sound of her voice.”

  “What is this hogwash?” Grumpy blustered. “I don’t know those two! Who are you? And what are you doing here?”

  “Where’s the princess?” someone in the crowd shouted.

  Snow feared their voices would soon give their gathering away. She stepped forward before things could get out of hand. “She’s right here,” she said, and the men looked at her. “The same one who cooked and cleaned by your side in the cottage stands before you. But thanks to a bit of magic, I look nothing like myself, which is how I’m able to walk through our kingdom unseen.” As though further proof was needed, a cardinal landed on Snow’s shoulder and tweeted happily.

  “Snow?” Grumpy repeated.

  “Yes,” Snow said with a pleasant laugh, clearly her own. “It is me! I’m so glad to see you all. I was so worried after the cave-in. Where is Dopey? Is he all right?”

  Dopey jumped from the crowd and hugged Snow’s waist fiercely.

  “Dopey! I’m so glad you’re all right,” she cried.

  “It is you!” Happy cried, rushing toward her and giving her a quick a hug.

  “You look better with brown hair,” Grumpy said to Henri before shaking his hand. “Thanks for getting her here in one piece.”

  Henri eyed Snow. “I assure you, she’s more than capable of doing that on her own.”

  Grumpy turne
d to Snow. “It’s good to see you . . . well, sort of see you.”

  “The magic only lasts until I reach the castle gates,” Snow explained. “We were helped by an enchantress. It was Anne’s idea.”

  “Who’s Anne?” Doc asked.

  Snow turned to the girl, who remained hidden under her hood to avoid being seen. “My friend.” Both girls smiled. “She has agreed to take Henri to the castle now so that he will be inside waiting for me, should I need backup getting to the queen’s chambers. I will slip in once the fighting starts. The diversion will give me a chance to get in unseen and make my way to the queen.”

  Grumpy sighed. “Are you sure you don’t want us coming with you?”

  Snow clasped his hand. “I need you at the castle, leading the rest of the men. It’s because of you and the others that a group of this size has gathered here to help us. You must be a strong speaker.”

  Grumpy blushed. “I just told them the truth. We need the Evil Queen gone.”

  “Maybe you’d like to say a few words?” Doc suggested.

  Snow looked around at the group of people, with their varying sizes and strengths. Some had nothing more than a slingshot, but they were all there, ready to fight for her. She felt overcome with emotion as she stepped forward. “My faithful subjects, I know it doesn’t look like it, but I am the lost princess. I say lost, because that is how I’ve felt the last few years living under the Evil Queen’s rule. I accepted my fate, thinking there was nothing to do to change it, but I realize I was wrong. As the daughter of King Georg and Queen Katherine, I am this kingdom’s rightful heir, and it is my job to fight for my people. I want all of us to live as happily and harmoniously as we can, and we cannot do that under the current regime. I will do all I can to change that.” She looked around at their solemn faces. “Your presence here means more than I could ever convey. We have something the Evil Queen will never have—friendships, families, allies. In short, each other.”

  There could be no clapping—not if they didn’t want to be heard—but one after another, men moved forward to shake the hand of their princess. By the time Snow made her way back to Henri and Anne, they had both been moved to tears, and Grumpy was dabbing at his eyes with a handkerchief.