Fairest of them all

She cheered up Grumpy?! I didn’t even know tha’ was possible, he’s always so mis'rable all tha time an– you’re IN LOVE? WHO IS IT???? HUUUUHH

I promise I saw him grin, even though he was fussing about the murals she paints everywhere! Really, I’ve never seen my uncles so cheerful.

Oh! Um, you’ve never met him.

Well I do love her very much. Why she’s, she’s like a little drop of sunshine! I think she’s even helped cheer Grumpy up a bit––but don’t tell him I said so! The only problem is, I’m afraid I’ve already fallen in love with someone...

It was hotter than Snow had realized, and her stroll through the Hundred Acre Wood with Bambi quickly turned into resting under a large oak tree. Its leaves provided plenty of shade, and they talked for what felt like hours. He gave her insights on his life as a prince, and she tried to remember every detail about life back at the cottage. Sometimes Snow couldn’t believe how fortunate things were going for her friends these days: Rapunzel seemed to be thriving outside of her tower, and she had enough beautiful murals on her walls to show for it; Thumper never had many complaints and had visited her many times since school let out, Alice was smiling more often than not lately, Tiana was falling in love, and Aurora and Bambi, royalty! Why, it felt like dreams coming true, that’s what it was. 

She carefully looped one purple wildflower around another, just like Alice had taught her. By the time she was through, she had a crown that she placed on Bambi’s head mid-sentence. 

Oh Alice, I don’t like that game very much. Why don’t we make a new game! We could call it, bake with, sew with, and collect pretty pebbles with!

I’d bake with Bambi and make all his favorite treats, and he could tell me about Faline and goodness, it would be so romantic. Hehe, maybe I could practice making a wedding cake! I’d sew with Minnie because she has the prettiest dresses and I could make something polka dotted to match her! And I’d take Dinah down to the creek and we’d find the shiniest little pebbles, you know those are her favorites. 

Let’s see...I’d wed Rapunzel, because I love her very much and she’s very fun to live with! Oh, don’t take it personally, but you always track dirt through my home Thumper, and you don’t have any long hair I can brush, and you almost never do the dishes. 

I’d bed Bambi. Being a prince must be so tiring! I’d give him a snack and some warm milk before reading him his favorite bedtime story. I’d even sing him a lullaby!

She’s in the forest, in a small clearing. It’s the dead of winter, and the snow is deathly white and the sky is watery gray and the wind stings her face. There is no sound. It would almost be peaceful, except for the trees. Their branches are black and twisted, and they reach for her. She imagines if they grabbed her, they would tear into her skin, right down to the bone. 

She sees Grumpy first. He’s laying on his back, in the red shirt she made for him, his cap tightened in his fist. His eyes are closed, mouth in a firm line. And there’s a hole in his chest, exposing veins and sinew. But no heart. 

Her other uncles are beside him, in a nice neat line. Their hearts are all gone too. 

Rapunzel looks as though she were just sleeping. Her expression is of serenity, and she is almost smiling. She rests her head against the ground, and her fingers are just beginning to turn blue. The blood flows down her chest, into her golden hair.  

Alice’s eyes are open, and she stares. Not shock, or hatred, or even fear. Snow looks into her eyes and sees the childlike curiosity her friend always had. How strange, she would say, running her own fingers across the wound. Curioser and curioser. 

Bambi and Faline hold hands, and their blood intermingles on the ground. 

They are all there, everyone Snow had loved, laying all around her. She carefully walks around the bodies, calling out their names, finding a new horror with each step. She tries to remember, if there was a story for this. For putting new hearts into broken bodies and breathing life into them again. Cinderella might know a story, but she lays beside Aurora, both in silvery blue gowns. And then, when she felt just on the edge of madness, she sees Quasimodo. 

His eyes are closed, head tossed back so that his throat is exposed. Blood trickles from his mouth, and his hands are clenched at his sides. His heart had been crudely cut out, not like the others. His chest was hacked and torn, as if someone had done it in a frenzy. Snow White cried out and fell to the ground, throwing her arms around him. 

“Now now dear, it’s only your fault isn’t it?” A voice smooth and low spoke from behind her. Snow White raised her head, her own gown now covered in blood, and she saw her stepmother. 

“You were the one who was supposed to die, that day in the wood. The Huntsman needed your heart. I needed your heart. If you hadn’t run away, none of this would have happened.” 

“Please, I’ll do anything!” she sobbed, “Just take me! Take my heart, but oh, give theirs back!” 

And the Queen just smiled and withdrew a dagger from her cloak, long and sharp with rubies on the hilt. And she moved closer and closer, and Snow wanted to run away, but she couldn’t leave her friends.....

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Snow’s uncles burst into her room at the sound of her screams, fists, pots, and shoes raised for battle. “Snow!” yelled Doc. 

“Snow what’s the matter?” asked Happy. 

“Did anyone try to hurt you?” asked Grumpy, rushing to the window and making sure it was closed. But Snow White couldn’t say anything, just grab her sheets as the tears flowed freely. 

“It must have been a-ACHOO! A bad dream,” said Sneezy, and they all nodded. 

“Snow, please couldja try and breathe? You’re gonna make yourself sick,” said Doc. Snow couldn’t answer. For a moment they all stood, unsure of what to do. But then Dopey ran over and started fluffing up her pillows, and that seemed to give them an idea. 

“I’ll go make her some tea!” said Happy, scurrying down the hall. 

“I can-ACHOO! I can find that old teddy bear she used to sleep with,” said Sneezy.” 

Sleepy curled up at the foot of the bed and snored. Doc offered his shoulder for Snow to cry on and patted her head, going “there there.” 

“I’ll stand here,” said Grumpy with a scowl. “If anyone tries to hurt her, I’ll punch them in their stupid face!”

Oh Bambi you are so sweet! I think you’re very cute as well, and—oh wait, what’s the yellow one? Yellow is one of my favorite colors but I don’t think I understand...

Nevermind, I’ll just ask Grumpy!

PURPLE: We near never speak, but I do enjoy your presence on my dashboard.

FUCHSIA: I wish I could become your best friend through the internet.

GREY: You leave me with jumbled words.

RED: I'm in love with you.

PINK: I have a crush on you.

TURQUOISE: You're hot.

CHARTREUSE: I sincerely wish you would notice me.

TEAL: We have quite a lot in common.

BLUE: You are my Tumblr crush.

ORANGE: I dislike your page.

YELLOW: PLEASE FUCK ME.

WHITE: PLEASE MARRY ME.

GREEN: I find you cute.

......Oh Alice, that is so kind! It’s always so wonderful to have friends who know exactly how to cheer you up. 

The view from the tower was spectacular. Snow White leaned her head out of the window, rested her chin in her hands. It wasn’t like looking out into the gray, busy city with Quasimodo; everything was green, so wonderfully green, and if she squinted she was sure she could see a castle in the distance, although she wasn’t sure who it belongs too. 

“It’s gorgeous,” she sighed, and she looked down at Rapunzel’s little green friend Pascal. “Is she always so skittish?” she giggled, and Pascal shrugged and turned a lovely shade of orange. She turned around clapped her hands together.