Shadows on Snow: A Flipped Fairy Tale (Flipped Fairy Tales)

by Starla Huchton

  Resting my forehead in the palm of my hand, I prayed for the spirits to send me patience. “What’s the matter with all of you? I’ve not even had tea yet and you think I’m concerned with this silliness?”

  Adelaide pushed a steaming mug in front of me. “There you are.”

  I wrapped my hands around the warm cup, frowning into the herbal concoction. “He’s only a man, sisters. You’ve been out of the world too long. Don’t lose your heads over a pretty face. Especially one that must eventually be restored to his throne.”

  “You never said much about it,” Delphine said. “How was the masked ball, Rae?”

  I choked on a sip of the hot tea. “The masked ball? Why do you want to know about that?”

  The looks they gave spoke louder than audible insults to my intelligence.

  “What did he tell you?” I said, still irritable. “Though I doubt his side of it included my skulking about the passages in the walls or creeping into his mother’s bedchamber.”

  “What song was it?” Adelaide asked as she set a hand on my arm. Her hazel eyes glistened with memories of her youthful days at parties and dances in flowing gowns.

  I softened my expression. Of all of us, I knew she missed those days the most. “The Willow Waltz,” I said. “Mama’s favorite.” Their collective sighs tugged a sad smile onto my face.

  “What I wouldn’t give to have seen you,” Delphine said, uncharacteristically wistful. “Lucinda said you were a true vision.”

  My mood soured. “Yes, well, a lot of good it did me. I was too late to be of use to anyone. I’m always too late.”

  “You mustn’t be so hard on yourself, Raelynn.” Reaching across the table, Delphine took my hands. “The fault rests with that evil man. Leo harbors no ill will towards us for our failure to save the queen. You must forgive yourself.”

  “Leo, is it?” I mumbled. “Lowered your guard already, have you all?”

  Her hands squeezed mine. “There’s no need to guard yourself from him. I know what it is you fear, but not all men are as that other.”

  I broke the contact and pushed back from the table, standing. “So you say, but I’ve found it to be otherwise. Do not speak to me of how the world is.” I headed for the door, shuddering. “You’ve all been away from it too long. You don’t know its truth anymore.”

  No longer hungry, I returned to my shared room, hoping a bath and fresh clothes might improve my mood.

  Chapter 9

  The feel of the water as it closed around my body elicited a deep sigh from my lungs. The hot spring near the cabin was easily my favorite part of our home. My aches and pains seeped out of me, bringing relief to places I didn’t know were hurting. The grime, the stench of six months living amongst horses, all of it sloughed off of me in waves, washing away down the little stream that carried the water off into the forest. After three thorough applications of Adelaide’s wonderful goat’s milk soap, at last I began to feel human again.

  As my fingertips brushed the pale scar running down the left side of my ribs, my thoughts turned to the old wound. It would never fully heal, but the injury itself hadn’t stopped me from anything. Belinda said I was lucky when she stitched me up. She said it was only skin deep. It wasn’t, however. It served as a permanent reminder of my own powerlessness and the evil humanity was capable of. It was a warning to never underestimate them again.

  I dipped below the surface for a moment, drowning out the sound of my own thoughts. There were other things to think of, and I needed to focus on those.

  How could we return Prince Leopold to his throne and ensure his continued safety? I wasn’t sure who at the palace, if anyone, could be trusted. Possibly some of the lords and ladies of the court who shared blood ties with him, but I knew from my own experience that family couldn’t always be counted on. It was a cousin of my mother’s that betrayed the aunt and uncle who helped my sisters and me. A man of a lower house, he leveraged his knowledge to gain a position of greater power, and was now seated on King Alder’s high council in Bern after a string of deaths related to our escape. He’d fancied Adelaide for himself long ago, but my mother wouldn’t hear of it. Neither would Adelaide.

  And so, the question remained. How could we return Prince Leopold to his rightful place and know he was safe from the wiles of King Alder?

  I surfaced without any answers, but realized that, for once, I didn’t have to tackle the problem alone. Perhaps the prince would have ideas of his own, and there would be counsel from all of my sisters to weigh in on the matter.

  I leaned my head back on the edge of the spring, inhaling the icy winter air. For the first time in months, I relaxed, drifting away from my worries, if only for a little while. There would be time for them later.

  A twig snapped, and I opened my eyes. Perhaps it was only an animal.

  “Rae?” he said as he pushed through the trees surrounding the hot springs. “Erata said you needed—”

  Gasping, I turned from him, hiding myself as best I could, my back to him. “What the devil are you doing here?” I said, mortified and shaking. “Have you lost all sense?”

  I heard him spin around, and I glanced over my shoulder to confirm it.

  “Erata said you needed to see me. I didn’t know you were…” He coughed nervously. “That is…”

  Erata. I should have known. Only she would find this sort of horrid joke funny. Gathering my courage, I inched over to the side, resting my hand on the large towel at the edge. “Turn around, and I’ll have your eyes for marbles.”

  “You have my word.”

  Watching for any sign of movement from him, I pulled myself from the water and barely dried off before stepping into the clean clothes I’d brought with me. The linen trousers and tunic clung to my wet skin, but I didn’t feel the ice on the wind. Raw anger burned in my stomach. How could my own sister be so thoughtless? Did she truly hate me? The mere thought of being touched by a man sent chills through my veins, but this?

  The longer I thought on it, the more furious I became. Without a word to the prince, I stalked past him, saving my rage for the person responsible.

  “Rae, please wait,” he said, catching up to me. “I didn’t mean—”

  “Keep your distance, Highness,” I seethed at him. “Or I’ll not be held responsible for what you unleash in me.”

  At that, his steps abruptly stopped. Ever faster, I came up on the house, pushing open the door with a loud bang as it hit against the inside wall.

  “Where is she?” I demanded when Adelaide and Belinda looked up at me from their books.

  “Where’s who?” Erata said from the kitchen doorway.

  Gaze firmly fixed on her, I crossed the room to stand before her. As she opened her mouth to speak, I met her with a harsh slap across her face.

  Tears building in my eyes, I couldn’t contain my fury. “You are a hateful, horrible wretch.”

  She stared at me in shock, gray eyes wide as she touched the red mark blooming on her cheek. Shaking, I spun away from her and ran up the stairs, slamming my bedroom door behind me and flinging myself into bed. My wrath slowly ebbed away with each tear as I cried into my pillow. I didn’t wish to be seen, didn’t wish to be known. If I could, I would fade into invisibility, never again to let another man’s eyes rest on my body. Sick with my need for obscurity, I hid under my blankets, not bothering to fight the sobs that shook me.

  A soft knock on the door disturbed my efforts to evaporate under the covers. At least two hours had passed since my retreat and this was the first time anyone dared approach me.

  “Raelynn?” Clarice’s soft words carried to where I lay, curled up on my side. “May I come in?”

  Not trusting my voice, I stayed silent.

  The door clicked closed as it latched, and I felt her weight sink down onto the mattress. Her gentle touch on my shoulder soothed me, but brought slow, sad tears with it.

  “What Erata did was irresponsible, Rae,” she said, “but it wasn’t done out of malice.”r />
  “Why?” I whispered into my pillow. “Why would she do such a thing? She has no heart.”

  “Oh, dearest one, she does. I promise you she does. It was foolish and ill-conceived, but not without reason. She thought she could show you that not all men are evil brutes who take advantage of situations. To that idea, she wasn’t wrong, but her methods…” Clarice shook her head. “It was careless and inconsiderate. She didn’t mean to cause you pain.”

  “I don’t need her callous lessons. It’s not her place.”

  “We’ve spoken with her.”

  “Let her spend one night with my memories haunting her dreams. Let her awake to those smells, that violence. Then perhaps she would understand what it is I live with every day.” I shivered. “It’s relentless.”

  She smoothed my hair. “It will get better, but only one thing will help you.”

  “A spell of forgetfulness?”

  With a little chuckle, she turned me to face her. When she touched my chin, I looked into her clear blue eyes, her gentle waves of wheat-colored hair framing her face.

  “Love, dearest one. Its magic heals all things in time,” she said. “But it only works if you let it in. That’s the hardest part.”

  Her form blurred through my tears. “I have all the love I need in my sisters.”

  Setting her palm against my cheek, she smiled down at me. “There is more love in the world than could be contained in our family. Different loves heal different wounds. Place no limits on where you seek it.”

  I frowned. “I would ask your advice on where I should look, but I can guess at your first suggestion.”

  “You are a princess, after all. It’s not an unreasonable thought.”

  Sighing, I sat up and wrapped my arms around my knees. “I was a princess, Clarice. As were you. None of us have been for a very long time, and I was too young to thoroughly remember that life in great detail. Could you really see me always in dresses, flittering about and prattling on about hairstyles and fabrics?”

  “There’s a bit more to it than that.”

  I made a face. “As though I would know. It’s a ridiculous notion. I won’t waste my time on such delusions.”

  Picking up a brush from my nightstand, she repositioned herself behind me. “There’s a great deal of difference between dreams and delusions, Rae,” she said as she brushed out my tangled locks. “And wisdom in knowing the difference between the two.”

  I closed my eyes and rested my forehead on my knees, enjoying our closeness as she worked through every snag. “The only dreams I have are ones of restful nights where I don’t wake up in tears or covered in manure or to the feel of a boot in my side.”

  “Mmm,” she murmured. “Perhaps it’s time for you to dream bigger, dearest one.”

  “I prefer reality. It’s much less disappointing that way.”

  “May I ask you a question?”

  “Of course.”

  The brushing stopped, and I turned to her.

  “What is it you want in life?” she asked.

  “I…” I paused. “Well, I haven’t given it much thought, really. I supposed I would stay here with all of you.”

  She chuckled and shook her head. “Of all of us, you’re the least suited to this life, Rae. Perhaps Erata as well, but she was old enough when we left that our enemies might know her still. You, however…” Clarice took my hands in hers. “You know I would always miss you, but a life away from here is worth considering. There is more wonder and beauty in the world than what’s on this little parcel of land. You have a chance at something greater. Take it.”

  Casting my eyes to the heavens, I shook my head. “A chance for what? And where? Everything I need is here, with all of you.”

  “You need adventure, Rae. There’s none of that here. Despite what you say, you always have an eye on the horizon, on what awaits around the next corner. Who always ran ahead to scout the paths we traveled? Whose idea was it to trade in town for new things we needed? Who came home with news about the king and convinced us all to try to stop him?”

  Grimacing, I couldn’t argue any of her points. “And you think a life shut away in a palace would suit someone like that?”

  “There is more than one kind of adventure, Rae.”

  I waved my hands about, dispersing the conversation. “It’s a moot point. I neither want nor need that. What I do want…” My stomach rumbled, interrupting my words, and I grinned sheepishly. “Is dinner.”

  By the end of the meal, I still refused to meet anyone’s eyes. My outburst earlier, despite the fact that I felt justified in my reaction, coupled with being caught completely naked, all but ensured I wouldn’t be speaking to anyone the rest of the evening. From time to time, I felt the prince’s eyes on me, an unspoken question hanging in the air. For all the weight that question carried, it wasn’t one I was prepared to answer. My sisters kept to their own conversations, only addressing me to ask for a dish or the salt. After we ate, I began washing dishes, but Adelaide quickly shooed me away, and Erata took my place. With nothing better to do, I wandered out of the house to see the sun dip below the tops of the trees.

  Sitting in Adelaide’s garden, I watched the night-blooming flowers she’d enchanted from where they curled around the stone well. The purple trumpets twisted open, releasing a calming, crisp fragrance that soothed my jumbled thoughts.

  “Flowers in winter?” he said from the edge of the garden. I managed not to jump, but the man’s ability to creep up on me without making a sound was unnerving.

  “Adelaide’s gift is with plants,” I said, touching one of the hearty blossoms. “There’s little in life that brings her greater joy than seeing green where once there was nothing.”

  Cautiously, he approached the stone bench. “And your others sisters, what of them? Farah is wards and traps, correct?”

  I nodded, still studying the flowers. They were much greater in number than last year. “Anything to do with protection, really. She can defend the indefensible.”

  Prince Leopold shifted his weight, and I glanced up. Seeing him there, so unsure of himself, I decided to give a little. Moving to one side, I invited him to sit beside me, leaving room between us. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and turned his face to me. “And the others?”

  “Belinda has a natural connection with animals. She understands their sounds and behaviors intuitively. Clarice communes with spirits, both human and otherwise. If there is magic about, she’ll know it before any others. Delphine speaks from afar. Through her, I kept in touch with my sisters regularly while I was away. Smoke, steam, reflections in still water… once she spoke to me in dreams, although that’s the most difficult for her. Both she and Clarice practice scrying in various ways: tea leaves, mirrors, rune stones, or, Delphine’s favorite, reading ashes on the hearth.” I grimaced a little at that. “She especially will put her nose in things better left alone.”

  “And Erata? What of her?” he asked, listening intently.

  I had little desire to discuss her, but he should know these things. “Erata speaks with the winds,” I said. “I like her best when the South Wind warms her heart, but her preference is the West Wind. That one is a fickle thing, never settling on any one mood for long. I suspect today was a North Wind day, however. Those days have always been my least favorite. The North Wind cares for no one.” I picked at a bit of dirt still trapped beneath a fingernail. “Even so, I shouldn’t have struck her. Repaying cruelty with violence is a poor way to live one’s life.”

  “Agreed,” he said. “Though I think no real harm was done.”

  “You might not be so forgiving were you in my position,” I said, scowling at my fingers.

  “I was referring Erata’s comeuppance,” he said. Soft as a summer breeze, his hand slipped over mine, and I held my breath. “I know she triggered a deep hurt, Rae. Whatever it is, I wish…” He lowered his voice. “I’m sorry I caused any pain on your part. You’ve been nothing but a true friend.”


  I stared at our hands, oddly not uncomfortable at the contact, but not sure of what else to say.

  “And what about you?” he asked quietly.

  “What about me?”

  “You break the pattern.”

  “What pattern?” I said, giving him a curious look.

  “Adelaide, Belinda, Clarice, Delphine, Erata, Farah…” He ticked them off with his free hand. “Alphabetical. But you’re Raelynn?”

  Nodding, I stared up into the darkening sky, watching the first stars blink into view. “Raelynn Grace. R is eleven letters after G, and I arrived eleven days after the never-wrong midwife predicted I would. My mother told me that, since I decided to defy nature, there was no reason to stop there. Raelynn was the name of the first Bernish queen in recorded history. She united five kingdoms into one, stopping the longest, bloodiest war we’ve known since.” Dropping my gaze, I shook my head. “I’m a poor choice to follow in such footsteps. I was even late for my own birth.”

  “I’d beg to disagree with you,” he said, a surety in his voice that I’d never felt in myself. “I studied a bit of Bernish history, so I know a little about your namesake. She was a remarkable woman: strong, brave, intelligent, compassionate, and, if memory serves, quite the marksman herself. I would say without any hesitation that you’re a fine testament to her legacy, Rae.”

  My words came in little more than a whisper. “You barely know me. How are you so certain of that?”

  “I’m rarely wrong about others. In fact, only one person has ever managed to fool me, though, to be honest, I was never overly fond of my mother’s choice when she remarried.” He set his other hand over the one still holding mine. “I knew your character every time I saw you, glamour or no. I should tell you, I was extremely confused after the masked ball. Everything about you was familiar, but my eyes told me otherwise. And then again, when I saw you in the stables after…” He looked down and lifted my hand, his thumb gently brushing across my skin. “If I ask you a question, will you answer honestly?”