by Jen Calonita
But perhaps most important, the biggest change they made was opening the castle up to their people again. Those seeking employment there were welcomed with open arms, and Snow smiled at seeing the many new faces in the halls. Her mother’s garden parties had been reinstated, with children happily running around the gardens and marveling at the birds Katherine and Snow had always loved so much. They no longer resided in an aviary—Snow felt it was time for all who lived in cages to be free, and the birds were no exception. And yet it surprised her how many birds still graced their garden walls and visited the castle windows. With their freedom, they had found a home, just as she had.
Today would be yet another party, this one for her.
After years of being the forgotten princess, she was now the queen.
“Are you ready to meet your people, Your Highness?”
Snow looked down at the handsome young man on the step below her. He was dressed in a royal blue jacket with a red cape and looked as beautiful as the day she had first nervously watched him from her castle window, listening to him call to her. His arm was outstretched to take hers, and this time she didn’t hesitate.
“Yes, I truly am,” Snow said, and she smiled up at him as they walked out of the throne room to loud applause.
Henri gave her a proud look. “I can tell.”
Snow couldn’t help laughing. He made her infinitely happy, and she was so thrilled he’d agreed to stay in her kingdom. His official duty was acting as a trade liaison between neighboring kingdoms, including his own, but unofficially he was her heart and soul, and she wouldn’t be surprised if a day came in the not-so-distant future when they announced their intentions for marriage.
But for now, she had important work to do.
As they reached the entrance to the gardens, where more subjects were waiting, a cardinal flew down and landed on the stone steps that she had cleaned so many times in her life. It tweeted a song of happiness, and Snow could only imagine it saying one thing: I love you. For her mother would always be with her.
“I feel as if I’ve been waiting for this moment forever,” Snow confessed to Henri.
But now there would be no more waiting.
Snow White’s moment had arrived.
And if it wasn’t quite “happily ever after,” it was pretty close.
Jen Calonita is the author of the award-winning Secrets of My Hollywood Life and Fairy Tale Reform School series. She lives in New York with her husband, two boys, and two Chihuahuas named Captain Jack Sparrow and Ben Kenobi. A huge Disney fan, Jen dreams of moving the whole family into Cinderella Castle at Walt Disney World. Visit her online at: www.jencalonitaonline.com and Twitter @jencalonita.