Through the Mirror and Into Snow

by Ann T Bugg

“Thank you again for the ride, Wilhelm,” said Samantha as they once again travelled down the road together.

  “No problem at all. The pleasure is all mine. I can’t imagine your father will be too happy about your servants leaving you, though, Young Highness.”

  “I can’t blame them for being scared when that nasty witch showed up. I’m sure they thought I would be fine with my aunt. I really couldn’t bear to stay and add to the turmoil.”

  “I’m sure things will calm down in a bit.”

  Valerie sensed Wilhelm believed they were stretching the truth. She was grateful he didn’t push the issue.

  “I hope you’re right,” Snow said, “but just the same, I would like to go to the next kingdom. There is really someone I must find, and I need to start looking. That is as good a place as any to begin.”

  Wilhelm was surprised at the determination of the young girls. He didn’t have any children himself, and felt he needed to look after these three. The forest held far too much uncertainty to leave them alone. He knew Snow had been fibbing and had no servants with her. No servant, no matter how low in rank, no matter how scared, would simply leave a ten-year-old girl on her own, especially when she was a princess.

  The girls were sound asleep on the straw bed of his cart when they reached his humble cottage. His wife had been waiting up for him like she always did, despite his repeated pleading for her to settle in bed without him when he ran late. She came out to help carry the girls in, after he briefly explained how he came across his little friends. After getting them tucked in, she gave Otter a drink of water and some scraps.

  “I’ll head out for Sequoia Kingdom tomorrow, after they have gotten some rest. They are certainly determined to find someone. I don’t know how they came to be traveling alone, but I’m worried for them. My common sense tells me I should take them back the way I found them, but something else makes me want to continue helping them along. I’m not sure what it is, but I sense something has gone wrong and they're running away.”

  “I can’t imagine these three angels could have possibly done anything wrong. Look how peaceful they are.” She took great care in tucking them in once more, pulling the blankets up just a little closer to their chins.

  “I know,” Wilhelm whispered. “If we had children, I would like them to be just like these three darlings.”

  Wilhelm and his wife longed for children of their own. For several moments they stood there and gazed at the girls adoringly. Finally they went to their bed in the corner of their small cottage and tried to fall asleep. Wilhelm worried about who or what the girls were running from and who they could possibly be looking for. He was sure, however, that his wife was dreaming of a house full of children.

  Dorothea made sure she was awake before the girls the next morning. She didn’t want them to wake up afraid because they were in a strange place. She’d gone out and collected eggs right away, then started a fire and got busy preparing biscuits for breakfast. Her apron was on, her hair neatly tied up in a bun, and there was a little bit of flour on her face when Samantha joined her at the table. As usual, Sam was the first to stir. The other two were still sleeping soundly.

  “Good morning, Samantha.”

  “Good morning,” she replied back as she sat at the table in the kitchen area, rubbing her eyes. “Where’s Wilhelm? Are you his wife? Is that why you know my name?”

  “Yes, dear. We carried the three of you in last night. You must have been exhausted. Wilhelm went out to take care of the morning chores. He’ll be back in shortly. Are you hungry?”

  “Yes, ma’am, I am.”

  “Well, good. I have biscuits in the oven. There’s enough to feed a small army. The chickens weren’t stingy this morning, either. They must have known we had company. I found almost double the eggs that we normally get in a day. I’ll get some bacon going too, as soon as your friends get up.”

  “Oh, Val will get up when you start the bacon, that’s for sure.” Sam smiled widely. Although they couldn't agree on many foods, bacon was the one love they shared. Dorothea placed a glass of milk in front of her. “Thank you.” After a few long swigs, Sam put the cup down. She was almost embarrassed as, “Yummy!” escaped her lips. Both Sam’s and Val's mothers only bought skim milk. This “fresh from the cow” stuff was pretty amazing. “You know, it's really not fair,” Sam said.

  “What’s not fair, dear?”

  “You know my name, but I don’t know yours.”

  “How rude of me,” she said with a chuckle. “I don’t get a lot of visitors. I’m afraid my manners are a little rusty. My name is Dorothea, but you can call me Dot or Dottie. Aunt Dot if you’re too proper to call an adult by their first name, dear.”

  Samantha giggled.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “Val’s other dog’s name is Dottie.” Upon hearing the name, Otter perked up and ran outside. They laughed.

  “I suppose she’s looking for her friend.”

  “I guess so. Dottie likes to stay with Val’s mom, so she didn’t come with us.” The other two girls began to stir, which was a good thing. The distraction avoided more questions. Val and Snow wandered over to join the conversation at the table. Samantha took care of introductions. They tried to stick with more small talk; they didn’t want to be caught in any lies. Dorothea sensed she shouldn’t pry and make them uncomfortable. She wanted them to feel as if they were in a home away from home. As she cooked, she kept to safer subjects like the weather and pets.

  Wilhelm came walking through the door, smiling at his guests. He hurried to his wife’s side for another good morning kiss. He and Dorothea chuckled as Valerie gave Samantha the whites of her eggs and Samantha returned the trade with her yolks.

  “Good morning, little ladies. Did everyone sleep okay?”

  “Like rocks. Thank you. I guess I didn’t realize how exhausted the trip had made us,” replied Snow.

  “Well then, it’s a good thing we don’t have far to go today. Sequoia Kingdom is less than a half a day’s ride. I have the wagon loaded up and ready to go to market. When you darlings are done with breakfast, we can get on our way.”

  They finished eating and asked Dorothea if they could help clean up.

  “I’ll have none of that. Thank you, but you are guests here. I hope you can stop again on your way back.”

  “We’d like that very much, thank you,” said Snow as she reached out for a strong hug.

  Val and Sam said their goodbyes and climbed in the wagon. With a click of Wilhelm’s tongue as a signal to the horse, they were once again on their way.

  Snow looked back at her new friends’ small cottage. She was suddenly sad, thinking about what wonderful people they were and what a shame it was that they had no children to share all that love. She once had the love of a wonderful mother, and now she was gone. Her stepmother deserved no more than to rot away in a dark, cold, lonely dungeon, let alone be responsible for a child. Snow watched Dorothea walk outside with a laundry basket, then stop and squat down next to a tree stump. It was hard to see from where she was but there was definitely something small on it. Wait! Could it be? Was she talking to a frog? “Oh my goodness! It is a frog!” Snow said softly, trying to hide her excitement from the girls. Snow remembered how she felt when her father first told her the story. Fairies and spells were one thing; talking frogs were something else altogether.

  As the wagon rounded a turn in the road, Dorothea and the frog disappeared from her sight. Snow smiled. She recalled the story her father had told about her aunt claiming a frog had told her not to be sad anymore, that she was with child. How wonderful for Dorothea and Wilhelm! She hoped she was right.

  After a few hours, they stopped for a quick picnic lunch that Dorothea had packed for them. They also took the opportunity to stretch their legs. Otter used her time wisely and enjoyed a nap in the sun. Apparently, she couldn’t decide whether it was more fun to ride in the cart or run around after it and chase an occasional squirrel up a tree. Sh
e did a little of both during the trip, and was rightfully tired when the wagon finally came to a stop.

  Shortly after climbing back in the wagon, they entered the kingdom. Unlike baby Sleeping Beauty's kingdom, the feeling here was a lot less joyful. The people they passed looked tired and sad instead of preparing for a celebration.

  Wilhelm tied his horse and wagon up next to an empty wooden vendor stand.

  “Is this yours?” Sam asked.

  “It is. I have four. It’s easier to build a few stands and leave them in the towns I frequent, rather than haul one back and forth. It’s much easier on my horse, as well.” After looking around he said, “Something feels horribly wrong here, girls. Don’t wander away too far.”

  As they walked away, he noticed a possum between the trees in the distance. “That's strange,” he said aloud to himself. “They are usually out only at night. Strange, indeed.”

  It wandered into the trees almost as fast as it appeared.

  The girls promised Wilhelm they would stay close, then walked toward a tavern a few doors away. They were grateful the cart blocked Wilhelm’s view of where they were going. A place like this would be a good starting place to inquire about Snow’s father, but Wilhelm was sure to wonder what was up if he saw them going in there. A tavern is no place for three young girls.

  This seemed like a peaceful community of farmers, not warriors, but Snow was no more familiar with this one than any other kingdom, and couldn’t really say for sure one way or another. It made sense that the men in town would gather in a place such as this to haggle crop prices, complain about the weather, or to hide from their wives for a while. Someone had to know something about the crusades, and Snow wasn’t going to let her fear of going into a place like this get in her way. Before they could even push open the tavern doors, they overheard three men talking and paused to listen.

  “It’s a terrible shame,” one man said, “for the king to die in battle. What will become of his kingdom now?”

  Another gravelly voice spoke. “Is there no son? Surely one will come of age soon.”

  “No, sadly there is no son, only a young daughter.”

  The girls listened with heavy hearts. They had found sadness in yet another kingdom. This time, the horrible crusades were to blame instead of an evil fairy.

  “No one has even seen the little girl since her mother died. The new queen is a heartless woman. She is not fit to run a kingdom. Surely the House of White will fall to ruin.”

  The girls gasped and raised their hands to their mouths. Snow felt her legs buckle under her. Samantha caught her arm and together they fell to their knees.

  “No!” Snow cried.

  Chapter 11