Snow

 This is my rendition of the fairy tale Snow White. Credit and thanks to Carolyn H., Carolyn M., Linda S., Rachel K., and James I. for name suggestions. This is part one of three.


  Snow smiled at the seven men before her all holding the lunches she had packed for them in little baskets. They were dressed for hard work in the mines and each carried an ax over his shoulder.
  "Did you pack us any fruit today, Snow?" Mortimer asked, looking up at the beautiful young woman. She looked down at him through sparkling blue eyes and her ruby red lips curved into a kind smile.
 "I did," she answered. "Each one of you has a shiny green apple in your lunch. And of course I kept one for myself." She winked at him and tussled his thick red hair. Mortimer blushed and turned to the rest of his brothers.
 "Well it's off to work we go," he said in a loud voice. "A dwarf's work is never done."
  The rest of them murmured agreement and they all said goodbye to Snow as she leaned down to give them hugs.
 "Have a good day, Snow," said Elias, the tallest of the seven. If he stood on tiptoe his head almost reached to Snow's shoulder.
 "You too, Elias," the girl answered. "Tonight for dinner we are having your favorite:vegetable stew."
 "Don't forget the carrots," Elias told her. "You know how Alistair loves his carrots."
 "Of course," Snow said, with another winning smile. "How could I forget?"
  She stood in the doorway waving goodbye to the dwarves till they were out of sight, then turned and looked at the cabin she shared with them. The table was covered in dirty dishes from breakfast and none of the seven little beds had been made.
  "What a messy bunch they are," she thought to herself with a sigh. But there would be time for housework later. The morning was too nice to be spent inside. Snow tied a worn out white apron over the waist of her dark green dress and went outside with a basket to gather vegetables from the garden. Remembering Elias's suggestion of carrots, she decided to start with those.
  Snow knelt in the dirt, set her basket down next to her and began to pull at the carrots. The sun felt warm on her back and shoulders and a light breeze blew gently through her black hair. She pitied the dwarves having to spend their days in dark dreary mines breathing in dust instead of this fresh air.
  As she began to pull at a particularly difficult carrot, Snow thought she heard footsteps approaching. She stopped and looked around.
"Is somebody there?" she asked. There was no answer. Snow began to pull on the carrot again until she heard a rustle and the snap of a twig.
"Who is there?" she asked, more firmly this time. "Show yourself."
 Looking in the direction of the sounds, she watched surprised as an older woman in a long black dress emerged from the trees behind the cabin. Her graying hair was pulled back in a simple braid and she wore a dark purple cape with a hood.
"Who are you?" Snow asked.
"My name is Violet," the old lady said, taking a few steps towards her and stopping at the edge of the garden.
"Have you been watching me this whole time?" Snow asked, her eyebrows creasing into a frown.
"I have been," Violet said with a nod. "Forgive me, I was not trying to startle you."
"Are you hungry then?" Snow asked, assuming this woman must be a beggar. "Thirsty? I can bring you some water."
"No I am not here to ask you for help," Violet said slowly. "I am here to offer you mine."
Snow tilted her head and considered Violet's words.
"You wish to help me?" she asked. "With what?"
"To help you escape from these men who have imprisoned you."
  Snow smiled and laughed.
"The dwarves have raised me from a child. I am hardly imprisoned. My mother died giving birth to me and they found me and saved my life."
 Violet shook her head and looked pityingly at Snow.
"Is that what you think?"
"Well of course. It's the truth," Snow said with a polite smile. Who was this woman and why did she presume to know Snow's past?
"I am sure that is the story you have been told. But it is all a lie. Allow me but a few moments of your time and I will tell you who you really are," Violet offered.
"As long as I can pick vegetables while you talk," she told the old woman. Violet nodded so Snow knelt down once again in the garden and listened as the story began.
"You say you have lived here your whole life but it has only been little more than a year. And your real name is not Snow at all, it is Amarys. You were the daughter of a lord and lady who had great favor in court with King Roland. When they were both struck with a terrible illness, the king made sure you were kept healthy and when they eventually died, he took you into the palace to be raised alongside his own children."
 "As you grew older your beauty increased greatly and it did not escape the king's notice. Of course his wife, Queen Melania, was not very happy about this. She would ask him often who he thought was the fairest lady of them all and instead of her name he would utter yours. Finally the queen's jealousy got the better of her and she hired a huntsman named Tywin to take you into the woods and kill you. Of course being a father himself, Tywin could not finish this task but he could not bring you back with him either. So he left you here with a basket of food and said a prayer for your life."
 Snow paused and looked up at Violet.
"If my name really is Amarys, then why am I called Snow?"
"The dwarves are to blame for that. When they found you it was a freezing cold winter's day and snow had just begun to fall. You had run out of food and were practically unconscious beneath a tree. When they asked you your name you muttered something incoherent and so they just called you the first thing they could think of. Snow."
"How do you know this?" Snow asked, raising an eyebrow. Violet blushed slightly.
"Because I was there. I spotted you just before they did but they got to you first and so I had to hide."
"Hide?" Snow exclaimed. "Why would you hide from such kind little men?"
"They are not kind men," Violet said in a grave tone. "They are evil. They took you back to their cabin and called upon the evil witches in these woods to cast a spell on you. The spell has made you forget who you were and assume this life of being their slave."
  Snow laughed again.
"I am hardly a slave. I serve these dwarves because I love them." Satisfied with the number of carrots in her basket, Snow moved over to the row of potatoes.
"Right now I am gathering vegetables to make them a lovely stew for dinner."
"My dear, you do not love them. You only think you do because of the spell," Violet insisted. "There are evil witches who live in these woods and they have had dealings with the dwarves for years. They are wicked to the core and would take great pleasure in watching a pretty young girl like you suffer."
"But I do not suffer," Snow retorted. "I am happy in my work."
 Violet sighed and took a step toward Snow.
"Do you not see? These dwarves are using you. They leave you with all the housework and all the chores and they give you no reward."
 Snow shook her head and pulled up a large potato.
"No they admire me. I serve them in every way and they love me for it."
 Violet's eyes widened.
"Please do not tell me they have taken you to their beds?"
 Snow blushed slightly and did not look up at the woman.
"I do this for them also out of love."
 Violet buried her face in her hands and shook her head.
"My dear child, no. You are simply a pawn in their evil game. But I can save you. I have worked hard this long year and have finally discovered a spell to counter the one they had placed on you. All you must do," Violet said, reaching into a pouch inside her cape,"is take a bite of this lovely green apple."
 Snow looked up at the old woman who held the apple in her wrinkled hand.
"A spell? You are a witch also?"
Violet nodded.
"I am, but unlike the others in this woods I have no desire to serve the darkness and no desire to see you under this spell. If you bite this apple your mind will be clear to see the truth in my words. I can help you run away and start a new life."
 Snow stood up face to face with the old woman.
"I do appreciate your considerate offer," she said sweetly. "But you are sadly mistaken. I am here only by my own choice and I do not wish to escape."
  Violet sighed and shook her head.
"I feared you would not be convinced by my words but I assure you they are true. I have no reason to lie to you."
  She reached down and set the apple in Snow's basket with the carrots and potatoes.
"I will leave this here for you to consider. Its potency will only last till tomorrow at midnight. I will return then and if you are waiting for me here in this garden, I will know you have learned the truth and are ready to run away. If not, you will never see my face again and I wish you only happiness in this life you have chosen."
 Snow looked down at the apple and then back at Violet.
"This is silliness," she insisted.
"Perhaps," Violet agreed, pulling the hood of her cape onto her head. "But let me ask you one question. You tell me these dwarves love you for serving them but have they ever said it? Do they serve you in return or simply demand more work from you?"
  Snow creased her forehead in thought. Had any of them ever said they loved her or raised a hand to help her with her work?
 "Think on my words. I will return at midnight tomorrow," Violet reminded the girl. And before Snow could respond, the witch had vanished back into the woods.