Mirrors of the Snow Queen - Part Two
Lady Red finally faces the Snow Queen...
Hi everyone!
Welcome back to the second part of this three-part short story event!
If you missed the first part, check it out here!
And if you’re interested, please also check out the entire Red Riding Hood Saga!
And now, back to the north… ❄😱❄
Mirrors of the Snow Queen - Part Two
Interlude - Gerda at the Ball
"What do you think, grandma?" I asked, as I stepped out in my mother's dress.
"Oh, my darling Gerda," my grandmother said, as she walked up to me with her hands on her chest, "you look beautiful!"
"Turn around, let me see," she said, as she spun me around in the living room of our house.
"Gorgeous, my dear," she said, "Simply gorgeous."
"Thank you, grandma," I said, smiling.
I looked down at my mother's dress, "Do you think mum would be alright with us getting her dress adjusted for me?"
My grandmother held my hands and gave them a gentle squeeze.
"I'm sure that she would have wanted you to be happy, my dear," she said, with a smile on her face.
"And if she has an issue with it when your parents get back, then she can come to me about it," she continued, giving me a wink.
I laughed, "Thank you, grandma."
There was a knock at the door.
"Oh!" my grandmother hurried over to the door, "That's probably them!"
She opened the door.
"Good evening," the person on the other side of the doorway said, "I am here to escort the lady Gerda to the ball, as per the prince's request."
"Yes, that's me," I said, as I walked over.
"Ah, very well, Ms Gerda, I shall be your carriage driver this evening."
I looked out, and saw a beautiful carriage waiting for me.
The carriage driver walked over to the carriage and opened the door, "When you are ready."
I gave the carriage driver a nod, before turning to my grandmother, "I'll be off then, grandma."
My grandmother smiled and gave my hand a gentle squeeze once more, "Enjoy yourself, my dear - have a wonderful evening!"
"Thank you, grandma!" I said, smiling back.
I turned and walked over to the carriage, and the driver graciously helped me in.
"Thank you," I said.
"My pleasure," was the response, as the door was closed.
The carriage driver headed back towards the front of the carriage, and got into the driver's seat.
And as the horses started to trot towards the castle, I smiled and waved goodbye to my grandmother.
***
"Look! It's that commoner that the prince has taken a liking too!" I heard one of the nobles say - their whispers barely meant to be hidden.
"I don't know what he sees in her," another one said, at a volume that could barely be called a whisper, "perhaps he fancies her as his commoner friend."
"Yes," another voice joined the whispers, "perhaps to show the townsfolk that he can 'slum it' with the rest of them?"
"Yes, that must be it!"
The nobles laughed, and I could feel their gazes mocking me as I walked away.
As I moved from one end of the ballroom to another, I looked around, trying to find someone to talk to or something to engage myself with.
Instead, I heard another noble say, "I heard that she sweeps houses and cleans fireplaces!"
"Oh!" another one said, with a voice that was dripping with mockery, "she must be covered with dust and cinder all the time!"
"Ah!" another one chimed in, "So she's a dust girl?"
"Hmm, no, that doesn't sound quite right... A cinder girl?"
I could hear the pause as they considered what to call me.
Suddenly, one of them exclaimed, "-ella! She's a cinderella!"
The nobles laughed, excitedly chanting the 'clever' name that they had come up for me - Cinderella.
"Gerda!" I heard a voice call out to me.
I turned and saw the prince heading towards me.
As he approached me, however, I could feel all the nobles' mocking and judgemental gazes fall upon me.
Tears started to well up in my eyes, and the emotions welled up in my chest.
Unable to stay any longer, I could only blurt out the word, "S-Sorry!" before I rushed out of the ballroom, sobbing as I ran.
***
It was not until I had gotten outside that I had noticed that one of my slippers had fallen off.
I stood there, with my bare foot on the ground. And between my sobs, I wondered what I should do.
Spotting a fountain, I made my way over and sat down on a nearby bench.
I wiped the tears off of my eyes and cheeks.
I sighed sadly, as I watched the water flow in the fountain.
"Gerda, there you are!"
I turned to see the prince rushing over to me, with my slipper in his hand.
"M-My prince," I said, standing up, "I am so sorry!"
I tried to bow, but the prince stopped me.
"No, Gerda, I'm the one who's sorry," he said, "I heard about what happened."
"Please, sit down," he said, gesturing to the bench.
After I had sat down, he gestured to my bare foot, "May I?"
I nodded, blushing.
Using a handkerchief, he wiped my foot before he slipped the slipper back on.
"Thank you," I said.
He smiled, and sat down next to me, "Are you feeling better now?"
"I am, thanks to you," I said, smiling back.
We began to talk, and as we talked, we reminded each other of the reasons why we had fallen in love with each other.
"My prince," I said, gazing into his eyes, "My charming prince."
And as the water continued to flow in the fountain, we kissed.
~~~
Part Two: The Snow Queen's Reign
My red riding hood billowed in the blizzard winds as I examined the frozen knight.
Caliburn, Gerda, and I had journeyed further up north into the snowy landscape, when we ran into what had, at first, seemed to be ice statues in the distance.
As we got closer though, we examined one of the statues and found a still-standing, frozen knight instead.
Indeed, all of the statues seemed to be knights who had been frozen to death while still standing - some even looked like they had been charging into battle when they were frozen.
"Do you think that the Snow Queen did this, mentor?" I asked Caliburn.
My mentor nodded, as she examined another knight, "It's possible, but that would mean that she is more powerful than we thought."
"Not only does she have the ability to bring ice and snow across the land," she continued, "as well as the magic to create and control monsters made from those elements..."
"But she can also freeze things very quickly," I said, finishing her thought.
"B-But, how?" Gerda asked, shivering.
"How, indeed...," I said, pondering the question as another one appeared in my mind, "And if the Snow Queen really is made up of shards of mirror, how did it gain such dominance over ice and snow?"
"Well, the mirror was the queen's," Caliburn said, "and the late queen's magic was known to heavily involve mirrors. Perhaps the mirror..."
Caliburn's voice trailed off as she approached another frozen knight.
"Mentor?" I asked, concerned.
Caliburn's eyes widened in shock, "G-Galatine?!"
I hurried over.
Looking through the thick ice that had covered the frozen knight, I could see that it was indeed Galatine - another member of the dwarfen Band of Seven that my mentor was a part of.
... another member of the Band of Seven who had turned against me when the queen had framed me for Princess Snow White's poisoning.
"No...," Caliburn said softly, pained at the state of her old friend.
"I-I'm sorry," Gerda said, placing a hand on Caliburn's shoulder, hoping to offer some comfort.
I looked at poor Galatine.
He had placed his sword in front of him, almost as if he had been using it to block or parry something that was coming at him.
Like my mentor, he had a magic that he could direct with his sword - only instead of water, it was f-
Suddenly, there was a audible crack.
We turned our attention to the sound, and saw that a crack had appeared in the ice that was covering Galatine's sword.
Another audible crack, with more cracks appearing on the ice.
"Stand back!" Caliburn yelled, as Galatine's sword began to glow.
We hurried back as more cracks appeared on the ice and as Galatine's sword began to glow redder and redder.
Then, Galatine burst out from the ice that had frozen him, his sword aflame.
We rushed over as Galatine fell onto his hands and knees, his sword of flames melting the snow around him.
"Galatine!" Caliburn said, as she hurried over, "Are you alright?"
"C-Caliburn?" Galatine said, between heavy breaths, "Is that you?"
"Yes, it's me, old friend," my mentor replied, as she placed a hand onto Galatine's back, hoping to help.
Galatine picked up his sword and stabbed it into the ground, still on his hand and knees. The sword's flames grew stronger, warming us all.
Leaning on his sword and still breathing heavily, he said, "I never want to be cold again."
Caliburn chuckled, "By the time this is over, I suspect that we'll all feel the same."
"But, tell us, Galatine," she said, her voice taking a more serious tone, "What happened? How did you and all these other knights get frozen?"
Galatine struggled to stand, trying to use his sword and Caliburn's offered hand for help, "My party and I had come north, for the same reasons as you, I suspect."
Caliburn nodded, "To rescue the prince and to stop this 'Snow Queen'?"
"Right," Galatine said, "And we were preparing to camp here for the night, when-"
Suddenly, Gerda called out, "L-Lady Caliburn! Lady Red! Look!"
Quickly, we turned our attention to where Gerda was pointing at.
And there it was - a snow creature.
But... it wasn't just one.
All around us, creatures of snow and ice began to stand up, as if the snow on the ground had come alive and birthed these creatures.
"... when that happened," Galatine said, finishing his earlier thought.
He lifted his sword out of the ground, and the three of us got ready to fight.
"We'll try and protect you as much as we can, Gerda," my mentor said, "but be ready to run and hide."
"Y-Yes, Lady Caliburn," Gerda replied, nervously.
"Careful," Galatine said, "if this is anything like the last time, then..."
Galatine's sentence trailed off as our attention was drawn to a sled that was approaching from the skies.
And as this sled came to a stop in the air, a swarm of frozen mirrors flew out and reformed into a human-like form above us.
This was, no doubt, the Snow Queen.
And as her face began to form, I was greeted with a familiar visage - that of the late queen's!
Memories quickly flashed in my mind - memories of the queen poisoning my beloved Princess Snow White, of how she had framed me for it, and of how I had to kill her to save the princess.
"Snow Queen!" Caliburn yelled, jolting me back to reality, "Release the prince and stop spreading your domain of ice and snow!"
The Snow Queen turned to us, her facade of a face glaring emotionlessly at us.
She raised her hand...
Suddenly, a ray of whitish light shot out at me!
Before I could react, Galatine shoved me out of the way.
As I fell to the ground, he raised his flaming sword up and blocked the ray with it.
As the Snow Queen's ray hit the sword, I could see ice forming on it - but, the flames on the sword held back the spread of the ice, protecting Galatine.
The Snow Queen dropped her hand, and the ray stopped.
Pointing his sword at the swarm of mirrors, Galatine declared, "You may have caught me by surprise last time, but I'm ready for you this time!"
To the rest of us, he warned, "That magical ray of hers freezes anything that it hits, be careful!"
"I only managed to survive because I had already begun to set my sword aflame when she blasted me by surprise. Otherwise, I would have ended up like..." Galatine briefly gave his party of frozen knights a sad look, before turning his glare back at the Snow Queen.
I stood up, my rapier at the ready, "Thank you, Sir Galatine."
He nodded, "No need for thanks. Just be ready to-"
The Snow Queen raised her hand again and quickly fired another ray at us.
This time, it was aimed at Gerda.
Quickly, I leapt and grabbed her, sending the both of us crashing into the ground as the ray passed by behind us.
"Run!" I yelled to Gerda as I quickly got to my feet.
But Gerda wasn't listening.
"M-My prince!" she yelled, looking up at the sled.
I looked up, noticing for the first time that the prince had also been in the sled.
He sat there, emotionless - almost as if he was sitting on a throne, just witnessing the events below him.
I turned my attention back to the battlefield.
The snow creatures had begun attacking as well, and Caliburn and Galatine were fighting the monsters off with their water and fire swords.
"Gerda," I began to say, "We'll-"
The damn page ignored me and ran ahead.
"My prince!" she shouted again, running towards the sled, "Please, it's me - Gerda!"
I ran after her.
To our surprise, however, the prince's face seemed to contort as Gerda's voice reached him.
"Ger... Gerda?" he said, turning our way.
Suddenly, shards of frozen mirror swarmed between us and the prince.
As the mirrors reformed into the Snow Queen, icicles began to form in the air around her.
"Damn it!" I yelled out, as I managed to get in front of a Gerda who had halted in fear.
"Run!" I yelled.
And as Gerda began to run, the Snow Queen blasted her icicles at us.
I quickly summoned my two wolves, and sent them after two of the icicles.
As my two wolves managed to deflect their assigned icicles, I managed to parry another one away with my rapier.
However, another icicle was coming at me quickly - and with Gerda behind me, I was unable to move.
And though I tried, I wasn't quick enough to parry it.
The icicle stabbed me through the abdomen, and I flew back - crashing into the snow-covered ground.
"Lady Red!" I heard Gerda yell, as I bled onto the snow.
I struggled to stand, but the pain in my abdomen jolted through my body and I dropped to the ground once more.
Behind me, I could feel Gerda trying to lift me up by my arms, trying to drag me away.
I tried to tell her to get away, but I could barely stay conscious.
Using what little strength I had left, I kept my wolves summoned and gave them the order, 'Protect.'
I began to blink in and out of consciousness.
Through glimpses, I could sense my wolves attacking the approaching snow monsters.
I saw my mentor and Galatine managing to make their way to us.
I saw them putting their swords together, and a fog beginning to appear around us.
And then...
***
I jolted awake.
I jolted awake from a dreamless nightmare.
A dreamless nightmare where I hadn't dreamt, but was still left with an overwhelming feeling of dread.
I groaned from the sharp pain in my abdomen, and my body shivered.
As my body shivered uncontrollably, I tried to call out.
"H-Hello?" I said weakly, as I tried to focus my vision and my mind.
In my blurry vision, I saw someone rush over, "Red!"
It was my mentor, Caliburn.
She picked me up and rested me on her lap, "Are you alright? Are you in pain?"
My body still shivering, I nodded and tried to gesture at where the sharp pain was coming from.
"Here, drink this," she said, as she brought a bottle of liquid to my lips.
Slowly, she poured the liquid into my mouth, and I drank it.
The pain began to subside.
I struggled to talk, only managing, "W-Where..."
"It's alright," Caliburn replied, "we're safe, for now."
I blinked my eyes rapidly, trying to stay awake.
"Rest," my mentor said, "don't try to move right now."
I nodded and closed my eyes - hoping to rest them for but a moment.
But, my mind began to drift, and I...
***
I hadn't exactly fallen asleep.
But in my stupor, memories came rushing to me.
In particular, I remembered my days of training with my mentor.
Of how she trained me, so that I could protect my beloved Princess Snow White.
One day, she came to me with a gift.
"I think you're ready for this now," she had said to me.
With a proud smile on her face, she held out a sheathed sword.
Excitedly, I grabbed the sword and unsheathed it - it was a rapier, the one that I would go on to carry with me for all these years.
"It's beautiful," I said, admiring the blade, "Thank you, mentor!"
"I'm glad that you like it," she said, "I've named it Wolfsfang."
"Wolfsfang?" I asked, puzzled.
"I remember you telling me about your grandmother and her magic," she said, "and how much you miss her."
"So I thought that Wolfsfang would be a good name for a sword by your side," she continued, "U-Unless I was wrong?"
I sheathed the sword and hugged my embarrassed mentor.
"No," I said, with a smile on my face, "It's perfect."
***
I began to wake again.
Unlike the last time, my mind slowly began to focus as my body slowly started to listen to me again.
I groaned and sat up - there was still a pain in my abdomen, but it was more of a dull pain now.
"L-Lady Red!" a voice called out.
Gerda rushed over, and tried to help me, "I-I'm so sorry."
"I know what I did was wrong," she said, "And I-"
I held up my hand and squinted my eyes.
"Not now, Gerda," I said, weakly, "Water, please."
"Y-Yes, of course!" she said.
She rummaged through a bag, before finding a waterskin and handing it to me.
Slowly, I drank some of the water.
As I put down the waterskin, I noticed that Caliburn and Galatine had gathered around me as well.
"Where are we?" I asked, handing the waterskin back to Gerda.
"We were making our way back to the village," Caliburn said, "when it had gotten dark."
"But, thanks to Galatine's sword," Caliburn gestured to a calmly flaming sword stabbed into the ground, "as well as the equipment that the villagers had given us, we were able to set up this warm camp for the night."
I looked around, noticing that we were in a small tent atop of damp ground.
Luckily, the thick blankets and furs that we had brought with us provided a layer of separation from the ground.
"What happened?" I asked, "Are we safe?"
Caliburn nodded, "We seem to be, for now."
"After you had been struck by one of the Snow Queen's icicles," she explained, "Sir Galatine and I fought our way towards you two."
"Luckily, your wolves had managed to hold off the snow creatures for as long as they did," she said, "which gave us enough time to get there."
Galatine nodded, "Yes - well done with that, Lady Red."
Gerda nodded as well, "Y-Yes, thank you..."
"At which point," Caliburn continued, "Galatine and I put our swords together, to create enough steam that would then create a big enough fog to cover us all."
"Again," Galatine said, "you and your wolves were instrumental in holding off the Snow Queen and her creatures while that was happening."
Caliburn nodded, "Though, at that point, many of her creatures had already began to fall apart."
"Fall apart?" I asked, "Why?"
"We'll get to that in a bit," she said.
"So, we had created the fog," she continued, "in order to give Gerda a chance to escape with you, while Galatine and I would attack the Snow Queen with a surprise attack."
"The thinking," Galatine said, "was that either our surprise attack would destroy her, or that it would at least distract her long enough so that you two could find somewhere to hide."
"I'm sorry," I said, "to have put you all in that desperate situation."
Caliburn placed her hand on my arm and shook her head, "You were just protecting Gerda, as any knight should."
"Besides," Galatine said, with a shrug, "we all made it out alive."
"How?" I asked.
"Well, when the fog cleared," Caliburn explained, "the Snow Queen had already fled the scene with the prince in tow, and the snow creatures had all fallen apart into snow again."
"She... She fled?" I asked, incredulous.
Caliburn nodded, "Yes, and we think that it might have something to do with Gerda."
I looked at Gerda, who had looked away from me out of guilt.
I didn't blame her, but I was feeling too weak to deal with that right now.
"How so?" I asked.
"When she had called out to the prince," Caliburn explained, "it seemed as though her voice was helping the prince break out of whatever spell the Snow Queen had him under."
I remembered the contorted face that the prince had made, before he called back to Gerda.
"So," I said, "you think that the Snow Queen fled so that she could reassert her control over the prince?"
The other two knights nodded, and Galatine said, "We think so, yes."
"If that's true," I said, "then we could..."
My voice trailed off, as my mentor raised her hand up to stop me.
"We can think about battle plans later," she said, "for now, you need to rest, and..."
She looked at Galatine and Gerda, "So do the rest of us."
I looked at everyone.
Indeed, we were all exhausted, our strength having been sapped out of us by the Snow Queen and the day's events.
***
Galatine and Gerda had turned in for the night.
Having just awoken, I sat by the fiery sword next to my mentor, who had volunteered to keep watch for the first part of the night.
"What did you feed me, by the way?" I asked my mentor, as I placed my hand over the bandages on my abdomen, "It seems to have done wonders."
Indeed, what would have been a painful injury that might have taken months to heal seemed to have already healed to the point of being only a dull, if persistent, pain.
"It was a magic healing potion," she answered.
I gave my mentor a puzzled look, "Sorry, a what?"
"Oh, that's right," she said, "you wouldn't have known about them - only a few select people do."
"They're rare potions that can cure almost any physical injuries," she explained, "and they were created by some of the kingdom's most knowledgeable magic users, along with the help of some fairies."
"However," she said, "they're very expensive and very hard to make."
"So only a few of them are made every year," she continued, "and they are usually reserved for things of the utmost importance."
"Right," I said, with a small smirk, "like rescuing an abducted prince."
Caliburn chuckled, "Exactly."
For a few moments, we watched the fires of Galatine's sword crackle.
But then, I had to ask, "These healing potions..."
Caliburn sighed.
"I know what you want to ask-," my mentor stopped herself before she said my name, before trying again, "I know what you want to ask, Red."
"We did try giving one to the princess before we sealed her inside the Glass Coffin," she confirmed, "but it didn't have any effect."
I sighed, "I thought so."
Again, we sat in silence for a few moments, with only the sounds of the crackling fire nearby.
Finally, I said, "Thank you, mentor - for using the healing potion on me."
Caliburn shook her head, "There was never any doubt about it."
"I...," she began, "I couldn't lose you again."
She looked away, out of embarrassment... and guilt.
I looked at my mentor.
I couldn't be angry with her anymore.
"Mentor," I said, "do you remember when you gave me my sword?"
She turned back to me, and said, "Of course, I do."
Weakly, still injured, I held out my arm, "And do you remember what I did, after you told me its name?"
Caliburn looked at me for a moment, before her lips quivered into a smile.
She reached out for me, and pulled me into a hug.
And as she cried on my shoulder, I returned her warm embrace.
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Part Three: A Queen's End
