"Snow in Waddington Willows"

"Run! Hide in the woods! Never come back, or she'll kill you!" These words kept booming in her head like a crash of thunder. Never had she run so fast. It was pure adrenaline that kept Snow's tiny feet running as fast as they could away from the huntsman. It was only his sincere devotion to the little princess that kept him from killing her at the evil queen's demand. "Why?" Snow thought. What had she done? She was faithful to her many chores and polite to her stepmother. And to never return? Where would she go? She had never ventured very far from her own castle home. And she was surely approaching the enchanted forest-a place she had been warned against time and again...a place of mystery and doom, she had been told. Yet, she had to keep running...to where, she did not know. The fear in her eyes turned to grief and as the tears streamed down her face, she wished her father were still alive to comfort her, to hold her. "Daddy!" She yelled as she kept running...but to no avail. There was nothing around her, but the trees and the vines that now began to appear menacing and started to grab at her ankles and tear at her dress. The fact that her favorite dress was being tattered did not even cross her mind. She had no family, no friends even, except the servants with whom she shared chores with. For so long, she had dreamt of her handsome prince-that he would come and carry her off to his castle to live happily ever after. This dream seemed so far away now, as she grew weary from running but did not dare stop. The shadows growing darker, now seemed to reach out to grab her. At times, they made her jump aside, sometimes tripping over branches and brush. So scared now, Snow leapt from one of the menacing shadows falling into a brush. Instead of a grounding, she found herself sliding through a deep chasm below the brush's disguise. She screamed, frantically grabbing at anything and everything her fingers could find. But the moss and dirt delivered no rescue from what seemed like an eternal fall. She saw what she thought was light growing closer, rushing towards her feet. At that moment, her feet broke through a wall of branches and into a padded pile of what felt like leaves, and her fall had come to a stop. Thank God, she thought. At that second, a rain of the branches she had just broken through began to fall all around her, and after a painful hit to her head, Snow's world went black.

When she slowly opened her eyes, Snow found herself still surrounded with the leaves she had fallen into. She moved her hands, but there was something different, here. She looked down...a blanket! She was covered with a blanket. What was this? Where did it come from? It wasn't one from her own castle homestead. Quickly she sat up, her head now throbbing with pain from where the branch crashed down on her head. She grabbed her head, "Ouch. Hello?" She called to anyone. "Is anyone there? Hello!" "Hello", a male voice said back to her. Coming out from his hiding place in the bushes was a tall gentleman who wore a black shiny coat and a look of genuine concern. "There now, you 'ave a nasty bump. That's why your "'ead 'urts." This man talked rather strangely. It took Snow an extra second to decipher all of what he said. "Took a bad fall ya did. Did ya fall off'n yer horse?" From the words "fall" and "horse", Snow gathered that the young man had asked her if she had 'fallen off of her horse'. "No", she replied back, never removing her hand from the throbbing spot on her head. He could see fear in her eyes, but not fear of him. He saw a fear that she possessed as soon as she awoke to recall where she was and how she got there. "M' name's Stevie" as he helped her to her feet. "Good day, Stevie. My name is Snow", she said in the polite way in which she was trained at the palace. Stevie recognized the style and accent in her voice to match closely that of Ivanhoe and was slightly relieved. She seemed very young to him, possessing an innocence that attracted him to her all the more. He felt a desperate desire to protect this lovely young girl from whatever brought her here. "Well, Snow. We should get you back to the village an' get some ice fer yer 'ead there. Don't want it to swell up any worse now. 'Ow did ya fall and 'urt yer 'ead?" Snow handed him the blanket, "Well, it's a rather long story." Stevie smiled excitedly, "At's alright. We have a way's to go back to the Willows." "What's the Willows?" Snow asked with some concern in her voice. "At's where we live. Me and my friends. Don't worry, they are very nice, most of 'em. You shouldn't 'ave any problems. 'Ow did you get 'ere, Snow? We don't get many visitors, and the ones we get usually can't remember 'ow they got ' ere any'ow." "Well, " Snow began slowly, as if trying to remember clearly, "I was running from the huntsman who had orders from my stepmother to have me killed. As I was running through the forest, I fell into some kind of deep-hole, or something and ended up here." Stevie had stopped and turned to her, "Wait a minute, you're teasing wit' me aren't you? Name's snow, runnin' from a huntsman, stepmother trying to kill you? C'mon. What really happened to you?" Snow backed away form him. "I am telling you what happened. Are you calling me a liar?" Stevie's smile disappeared. He didn't mean to upset this girl, but he really thought she was putting him on. "Sorry, you mean 't's what really 'appened?" Snow nodded. "Wow! I can't believe this, it's a like a reg'lar like fairy tale this is! So that must mean you're a princess, right?" Snow's doe-eyed expression became even wider. "Yes, but how did you know that?" He grabs her hand, "C'mon, I can't wait to tell the others!". He quickens their pace. Puzzled, Snow offers, "Tell the others about what?" But Stevie was already lost in his own excitement in bringing Snow to Waddington Willows. It was like he was bringing his own personal fairy tale to their world, something he thought the village needed. In turn, Snow was intrigued by this stranger pulling her through the woods. He possessed an excitement about life that she thought was a rare sight to behold. She pondered back to her dreams of her handsome prince, and realized-what a strange resemblance this young man had to the prince in her dreams...she just noticed that! Although, his nature reminded her more of her favorite servant playmate since childhood, in any case, she thought to herself that this man could be the makings of a very good friend.

"OK, so how much more do we have to cut?" Murray inquired to Ribold as he looked down at the lumber they had been cutting for the new rabbit pen they were planning to build. "Probably about twice that amount", Ribold replied back as he eyed the stack of wood. "Well for Pete's sake, Ribold, how many rabbits are we planning to have?" " Murray, have you ever seen a litter of rabbits? Believe me, you've never seen so many babies come out of one creature. Besides, it seems like lately we have been adding a new mouth to feed around here every day. We will need as much meat as we can get." As Murray was about to leave for more wood, he caught a glimpse of Stevie heading their direction. "Oh good God!" Murray exclaimed as he realized Stevie was not approaching with a familiar face. Ribold rolled his eyes at this friend's reluctance, "Murray, quit your belly-aching and let's just go get some more wood." Murray motions to Stevie "No, not that-THAT!!" Ribold dropped the piece of lumber he had been inspecting. "Well, what do you know about that---another mouth to feed. Next time I'll be sure and keep my mouth shut! " "Hey, guys!" Stevie cried, "look wha' I found in the woods. Those are some woods, aren't they? This is Snow. Snow, this is Murray and Ribold." Snow finds herself face to face with two other men that look practically identical to her guide, had it not been for the differences in clothing and hair. And once again, each man looked like the prince in her dreams-her prince. But how could this be possible? Besides, she only needed one, not three! Getting a second look at the lovely young stranger, the two men were not as disheartened as before. "Hello miss," said Murray with a nod of his head. "A pleasure," stated Ribold as he took Snow's hand and kissed it. She smiled. As the two gentlemen kept their glance on her for what seemed to be an unusually long time, Snow became somewhat nervous. "What's this, or shall I say WHO is this?" came the booming voice of Ivanhoe. His tone hinted on the 'flirtatious' as he approached the rest of the group. Eghad, thought Snow-now there are four! "Ivan, this is Snow. She's a new friend, so we need to treat her right, ya know. I found 'er knocked out cold in the woods. She took a nasty fall, she did." "Well, Stevie, it appears you have found an enchanting friend, indeed." And then with a bow, "Wilfred of Ivanhoe at your service." "But you can call him Ivan, or even Winnie...that's what the girls call him" offered Stevie. "Girls?" Snow inquired eager to find companionship, even safety, amongst a female group. Stevie's eyes lit up "Oh yes! You have to come and meet the girls-I know they'll love you!" At which point Murray leans in to Ribold, "Let's HOPE they do, that is." Ribold offered back, "Nah, it doesn't matter as long as we do, eh?" Both laugh as Stevie led, or truth be said, pulled the clueless girl toward the huts.

"This material is just too.....what's the word here? Frilly! That's it, it too frilly", complained Jen as she inspected the bag of material Kaz has brought in. "Well, I thought it was rather pretty" offered Kaz as she spread her hand across a pink silken remnant. "Me too", offered Sue. "Yes, it is pretty but-I'm sorry, Kaz. I didn't mean to complain. I'm sure it will be good for something." Kahlua sighed. "It's just not something you go ridin' in or anything like that, that's all." Kaz put the material back in the bag. "Well, I'll agree with you there. I suppose it would make some nice curtains, though. I still get self-conscious at night wondering who may be walking by and looking in the windows." Jen laughed, "Amen to that!" As the women heard a rap at the window, they look over to see Stevie peering in at them smiling and waving. All three of them laughed. "Case in point!" managed Kahlua as she went to the door. Without even a knock or a hello, Stevie burst through the door just as Kahlua reached for the handle. "Hey, I got someone for ya t' meet." To all of their shock, Stevie pulls in a woman. She is quite young-looking with very light skin-almost pale, but a soft look. She had large blue eyes and dark brown hair, shoulder length, which gently curled under and just slightly brushed across her shoulders. She wore a medieval dress with a royal blue lace-up top, puffy sleeves, and a yellow tattered skirt bottom. She looked like she just stepped out of a fairy tale costume contest, frankly, thought Jen. Adding to her youthful look was the ribbon in her hair and her 'doe-eyed' facial expression. "Well glory be...another woman! Thank heaven!", Kaz praised. Jen eyed her curiously, "Where in the world did ya come from, child? You look like you just fell outta Disneyland or something." Snow look puzzed, "Fell from where?" Stevie offered his own, "Oh no, Jen! She did fall, but she fell down this deep 'ole, wasn't it Snow? Then she go' knocked out cold down th' woods. I found her. She was runnin' fer her life, she was." "Running for her life?" repeated Kaz with much concern. "Well", began Snow but was innocently interrupted by the rest of Stevie's version. "Yeah, ya see, Snow's stepmother got this huntsman fellow to try an' kill her, see. But he let her go, probably 'coz she's so beautiful," with a glance at Snow, she blushed. "Then he told her to run into th' woods an' never return. She can't even go back 'ome, see?" Kahlua was taking in the conversation as if she had a notepad in her hand--in fact, she wished she had. Jen giggled, "Oh Stevie, she's puttin' one over on ya, boy. You're a sweetheart, but ya believe everything ya hear." Snow frowned, and with and with a pout in her lips the disappointment in her voice was obvious, "Why is it that no one in this village seems to believe me? I was not brought up to tell lies!" With tears in her eyes, she brushed passed the group and went out the door. She stopped on the steps, as she wiped her tears and tried not to cry. Where was this place? She just wanted to go home, but she couldn't. She wanted her father back, but she couldn't have him either. Stevie looked at Jen, "Oh, now look, you've gone and made 'er cry, Jen. Why'd ya do that?" Jen's smile left her face, "I'm sorry Stevie-I didn't realize. Does she actually believe those things?" Stevie nodded, "Yes, because they're true." Before Jen could reply, Kaz offered, "Jen, you know anything can happen here. Remember where we are, what we've seen? Nothing surprises me anymore." Jen nodded, "Yes, that's true. Sorry, Stevie. Let's go talk to her." The four of them headed outside and Kahlua quickly glanced around the room as a last ditch effort to find a pen and paper.

"Raif, you're going to eat all of them. There won't be enough for the pies!" Mike and Raif came into view of the cottages with Mike carrying a large basket of berries and Raif tossing one after another into the air and catching them in his mouth. "Well, there were plenty more back there. You could always go pick more later if need be." He smiled mischeiviously as Mike rolled his eyes. "Thanks a lot." Raif stops as they came in view of Jen's porch," Whoa, what do we have here? I can't believe it. It looks like another lovely guest to the Willows." Mike looks in the same direction as Raif and almost drops his basket as he sets it down. The two of them approach the gang on the porch. Stevie spots them and smiles with delight. "Aye! Mike and Raif, this is Snow. " Mike was about to take her hand when Raif beat him to the punch. He took her hand and kissed it, "A pleasure." In seeing the two men, Snow had to blink her eyes a few times in seeing that here again were more of these "look-alike" gentlemen. What kind of village was this? It was like there were all of these 'twins'. She had only seen one set of twins in her life. The two sons of Lord Chamberlain were twins, and she found the concept fascinating. But it was nearly impossible to tell these two boys apart. So this predicament she found herself in today was quite peculiar. What was even more curious is that each and every one of these gentlemen looked just like the prince-the one she keeps dreaming about. Oh, of course---that was it! That must be it. This was all a dream! She was going to wake up any minute in her own bed in her own castle and all of this will have been a dream. A thought which now seemed to almost sadden her, as she thought this village filled with would-be 'prince look-alikes' was something she found most interesting. But alas, she also found comfort in thinking that at any given moment she would awaken in her own bed. Stevie continued, "I found her in the woods. She 'ad a nasty fall. She was runnin' from..." Kaz interrupted him "It's a long story. Why don't we get everybody together for dinner and we can all hear the story then, mmm? Sound good? Mike, can you make one of your most famous dishes? Us girls will get Snow cleaned up for dinner." Stevie offered quickly, "We need t' get some ice for her 'ead, 'ere." He points to where the lump on her head was without touching it. "All right, what's this? We 'ave another female in our midst, do we?" Stevie's face lights up as Dinger walked up to group. While his tone gave off an approval to having another female in the village, his look was that of skepticism. Kahlua frowned. She didn't think Dinger would accept her story very graciously and feared for Snow regarding the consequences. "Dinger, this is Snow." Dinger eyed her up and down, "Why, she's just a kid." Snow protested, "I turned 19 years the last moon." Dinger never took his gaze off her as if he were interrogating her with his eyes. "What's her story?" Stevie began his excited tone once again, "She took a bad fall in th' woods and I had to nurse her back. She was knocked out cold." Before anyone could stop him, Stevie proceed to tell Dinger Snow's whole story. Why not? Dinger was his good friend. Why shouldn't he believe Stevie? Dinger's face wore a combination of disbelief and laughter. "You've got to be kidding me? You don't actually believe this, do you?" Upon hearing another doubter to her story, Snow dropped her eyes and again the pout returned to her lips. Raif and Mike both found this innocent look to be most appealing. Raif was especially aware of the red full lips that formed that innocent pout. Stevie approached him, "Dinger, it's true." "Yeah, and I'm the king of England!" "Snow looked up upon hearing this and her eyes it up again, "Really, my father was the King of the House of White." Stevie was enlightened with a revelation, "Aye! See, she is Snow White!" Dinger rolled his eyes. Snow's face was one of relief in hearing someone finally believed her. She smiled at Stevie. Why were the others having such a hard time? Perhaps they were used to lying gypsies coming through their village. She hoped she never ran into any of them. Just then she felt someone grab her arm. Dinger was pulling her down the porch steps. "All right then, Snow White. Maybe you'll tell us where you REALLY came from with a little interrogation. Perhaps with a little trip to the jail, maybe?" As he pulled her down the last step, Snow lost her footing and fell to the ground, with Dinger's hand still firmly and painfully grasping her arm. "Dinger, stop please! You're hurting her! She's my friend, Dinger!" Stevie pleaded as he saw the painful look in her eyes. "We need to find out more about her, Stevie. We can't just take her word at face value, ya know." Kaz stepped down to Dinger, "Let her go, Dinger. She's just a child-you said so yourself!" "Yeah, well kids can be strong. Let's find out how strong this kid really is!" He reached down with his other hand and squeezed her face, causing her lips to protrude in an involuntary pout. Snow was terrified. She didn't know what to think of this barbarian, who again, possessed the look of the other men. But this one was rough and had cold eyes that pierced right through her soul, sending a shiver down her spine. Why was he so vicious? What had she done? Trying to think of anything to get away from this barbarian who threatened to take her away-to wherever, she grabbed a handful of dirt with her free arm and flung it into her captor's face. Letting go of the girl he violently rubbed his eyes, "Bitch!", he yelled! Snow had scampered to her feet, pushed through Mike and Raif and made a beeline for the woods. "Snow!" Stevie cried, "Wait!" He went after her, as did the girls. "Why didn't you two grab her?" Dinger shouted at Mike and Raif as they stood there, speechless. As Dinger ran after the others, Raif offered "Man, let her go! She an innocent child!" Dinger did not heed his words-his anger still powering his actions as he continued to brush the sand out of his eyes.

At the first large tree she came to, Snow scampered up a very large oak within the confines of the village. She was an avid tree climber-had been since she was a little girl. Climbing trees was one of her favorite past times as was picking flowers, sewing and cooking. She was glad she still had it in her, as she had not climbed for a while, since her father had died. Safely away from the others she broke down, burying her face in her hands. She wished her father were here now to save her. Why not? It was her dream, why couldn't she wish him to be here. She wished very hard-wished him into the very tree she was sitting. But he wasn't there. When was this dream to be over? She even pinched herself to try to awake, but to no avail. She could hear the others down below. They were at the foot of the tree shouting up at her. "Snow!", said Kaz. "Please come down!" Kahlua added, "Yeah, we won't let that Dinger get you! We'll kill him first!" Kaz looked at Sue, who just shrugged. "Well, don't put off for tomorrow what you can do today!" came Dinger's voice regarding Kahlua's remark. Kahlua glared at him, where Jen reminded them, "All right. Look, fight later. Let's get her down from there!" Dinger started up the tree, "Not a problem." Snow gasped and grabbed a nearby branch, ripping it from its trunk and hurling it at Dinger, hitting him in the arm. "Oh, that's it, little missy. Just wait till we get you down from..." "Dinger, stop it! Just go. We'll get her down. Haven't you done enough?" Kaz pulled him back down with her hand on his shoulder. "Please let us take care of her. You're just scaring her and you know it!" Dinger backed down, "Well alright, but this isn't over. There is more to this than meets the eye, and I'm gonna find out what it is!" Kahlua pulled him away from the tree, "Just give it a rest, will ya? Leave her alone." Dinger mutters under his breath as he heads back to the Willows. "Please come down, Snow. Dinger's a friend of mine. I won't let 'im 'urt ya", pleaded Stevie as Raif and Mike joined the band at the bottom of the oak. "Some friend!" Snow sobbed. "With a friend like that, I would just as soon befriend a gypsy." Raif stifled a giggle at her statement as he caught a glimpse of her skirt up in the tree. To his disappointment, all his vision caught were the large white bloomers under her tattered dress. "Please Snow, come on down. We won't let him near you again. I promise." Karen's voice was soothing and Snow wanted so desperately to make friends in this village. "You do promise?" She sniffled, almost too quietly for the others to hear. "Yes, we do," promised Karen. Snow began to make her way down the tree. Upon approaching the bottom, she stepped on one of the branches, and it gave way. Snow gasped and fell the remaining four feet or so and was caught by Mike in mid air. Their eyes met for a few seconds before Stevie helped Snow down to the ground and out of Mike's arms not even seeming to notice the moment between them. Raif, on the other hand, did notice. The girls took Snow back to their cabin to help her clean up and put some ice on her head, which had begun to throb once again. After much argument, Stevie finally stop insisting he tag along. They all went ahead and planned dinner for that evening so Snow's entire story could be told. Kahlua just hoped that Snow would tell it without the aid of Stevie-and this time, she will bring her notepad. Kaz promised Snow to keep Dinger at a safe distance. As Mike pondered what meal he could prepare that would prove extra special, he glanced in the direction that the women went. To his surprise, he found Snow glancing back at him as well.

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  Raif never took his attention away from Dinger's scowl as Snow was telling her story at dinner that evening. Raif just wanted to be sure there was no repeat of that afternoon's performance. Thankfully for Kahlua and the others, Stevie allowed Snow to tell her own story as he was too busy feeding his face with the exceptionally delicious supper Mike had cooked for the occasion. When asked what it was called, he replied that it was a new recipe he invented called "Snow Surprise" and smiled at her as he said it. Snow blushed heavily. They exchanged occasional glances during dinner, which was also noticed by Raif in between his glances at Dinger. As Snow described her kingdom, its servants, and her childhood with her mother's death so long ago, she spoke of her favorite hobbies like picking the forest flowers and climbing trees. Her father had even built her a tree house when she was little. She came to tears as she spoke of her father and how close they were. Her "little princess" was what he called her. Pausing for a moment, Kahlua handed her a tissue to wipe her tears. "I'm sorry, " Snow apologized for being so weepy. Karen offered, "You have nothing to be sorry for. You are still in mourning. We understand. It's only been a year." Ivanhoe pondered how much she reminded him of the women of his time--she really was from his time when he thought about it. They shared similar values, opinions, and memories of what home was like. Duncan, Ribold and Bartolome had similar views as well. The innocence of this young beauty intrigued Mike, as he continued to clear the dishes, catching her words here and there. Finally, he decided to finish the dishes later and sat to listen to the conversation. As the topics led to the subject of chores, Snow's ears perked up. "I can do many chores. I am not a stranger to housework. I can cook and clean and tend to animals. I can clean your cottages spic and span! I can sew my own clothes and I also do mending. I know I need to earn my keep here. May I please stay? I can no longer return home." At the thought, she lowered her eyes in remembering her fate, and the pout returned to her lips. Even though Raif didn't like to see her sad, this pout of Snow's enticed him every time. He had to keep his thoughts from wandering--oh yes, and to keep an eye on Dinger. "Of course you can stay." There was a cheer from Stevie as Kahlua continued, "We don't want you wandering about the woods," offered Sue. "Especially at night, " added Kaz with a quick glance at Dinger, thinking about the dangers of the woods at night. "Yes, that is one thing. You must NEVER go into the woods at night. So if you decide you 'ave to go pick yer flowers or climb a tree or whatever, you must always be back before dark," warned Dinger sternly. At his words, Snow's eyes became even larger as she is now always startled at the sound of the barbarian's voice. She reminded herself to never call him that out loud to anyone in the village. However, the title shall always stick in her head. As she glanced across the room, she noticed Mike now sitting with them. Remembering that just a few moments ago, she saw him clearing dishes, "Mike, would you like some help in washing the dishes? I could start earning my keep right now." She smiled at him. Mike would have loved nothing more than to have Snow help him in the kitchen, just the two of them. But he didn't want to ask her to help him with the dishes. He wished she could just sit and talk to him, and he could do the dishes on his own. Raif quickly offered, "No, I'm sure you are tired from a long day and need your rest. You don't need to be doing any chores tonight." He didn't like the thought of Mike and Snow alone in the kitchen. Jen added, "Yes, you should get some rest. You can stay with me if you like." Snow was delighted, "Thank you Jen. I so appreciate your hospitality, all of you."

The next morning, Stevie showed up to Jen's cabin before breakfast to take Snow on a tour of the village. Snow had been up even before sunup using the material Jen offered her to sew some new clothes. She managed to alter her white bloomers with some extra material at the top into a pair of 'riding pants' at Jen's suggestion. Jen had also offered Snow her pick from an assortment of the most lovely shoes. She found a pair that fit perfectly-what are the odds? The first stop on the tour was the stable. Stevie thought this to be appropriate, since Snow had made herself a pair of riding pants. Even though he hadn't asked permission, he didn't see any harm in going riding with Snow that morning. After all, she was a guest and he wanted to be hospitable. Snow loved horses. She remembered back home to her horse, Sal. She was a beautiful black mare given to her by her father when she was only of eight years. Oh, I mustn't think of sad things, thought Snow as she shook away the memory. This dream had gotten better since yesterday, although she did think it odd that she had awoken in the village this morning and not in her own bed like she had thought. Well, I guess this dream is going to last a bit longer, Snow decided as she effortlessly mounted the brown mare, and she and Stevie rode about the Willows. He showed her the chicken coop, orchards, and fields where they gathered crops, and the main pathway to the clearing where Mike always picked berries. They again approached Ribold and Murray building the rabbit pen, this time joined by Ivanhoe and Raif. "Aye, mates!" cried a cheery Stevie. "Hey, Stevie. Looks like you keep real good company, there." Murray was referring to Snow. Raif smiled at her and she smiled back, as she petted her mare. Once again, Raif had to catch his thoughts from wandering as he felt a strong sense of jealousy for her horse. Shaking off the thought, he considered himself being childish and continued with his work. Stevie told Snow, "We're workin' on buildin' a pen 'ere for the rabbits, like we got for the chickens." And then the idea struck him like a lightning bolt as his face lit up. He had to come back and talk to the guys later when Snow wasn't around. "Come on, then. Let's go an' see how long 'fore breakfast. I think Mike was fixin' up a special welcome breakfast for ya." Snow asked, "Does Mike do all of the cooking here?" Stevie thought for a second, "Well, yeah- s'pose he does. Mostly, anyway---and Jen cooks, too sometimes." They rode up to the rear of the kitchen in the main cabin where Mike was shaking out some towels outside. He stopped and smiled as he saw them. "Aye, Mike." Stevie helped Snow down from her horse. "I wondered if you might could show Snow around the kitchen? I have to go check on something." "Are you leaving?" she asked as he got back on his horse. "I'll be right back. Just have t' do somethin'." Mike smiled. "Don't worry about a thing, Stevie. She won't even notice you're gone." He turned to Snow, "Would you like a tour of the kitchen?" "Yes, thank you. It will go nicely along with the tour Stevie gave me of the village this morning." He showed her where all of the ingredients and supplies were kept and how the dishes were stored. They swapped cooking stories and versions of recipies of pies and pastries. "I was in fact going to make a pie for this evening of the berries I picked yesterday in our very own berry patch." Mike picks up a basket of berries and sets it down in front of her. "Please try one, they're delicious." Just as he reaches to pick a berry for her out of the basket, Snow reached in to get one and he incidentally grabbed her hand. How soft her skin was, Mike thought. And how delicate her hands were-just as lovely as their owner. In fact, he couldn't imagine these hands ever doing housework, or any type of chore, for that matter. He held her hand for a moment and then realized, "Oh, I'm sorry. Here..." He let her hand go and gave her a handful of berries. Nervously, he tried to recover, "Delicious, aren't they?" She smiled. "Yes, very," Snow also hinted a nervousness in her voice. As she offered to help with breakfast, she thought to herself that maybe she would rather not wake from this dream after all.

"Hey, good job everyone," said Murray as the men looked down at their work. They had completed the rabbit pen in record time. "Hello, again!" yelled Stevie as he rode up on his horse and jumped down. "Hey, Stevie," Ivanhoe greeted him with a smile, still quite happy about the finished pen. "Guys, I 'ad this great idea, and I wondered if'n you could 'elp me wit it." "What is it, Stevie?" inquired Ribold with a hint of fear. "I 'ad this idea for Snow, for 'er to stay, ya know. I thought, wha' 'bout a treehouse!!" The men look at each other with dread. Stevie continued, "Ya know, ya remember at dinner last night when she talked 'bout her treehouse being her favorite place to go?" Murray approached him, "But Stevie, I don't think she would actually want to LIVE in a treehouse. Do you?" Stevie lit up with excitement, "Why sure! Why not? She used to love it and she still loves to climb trees, ya know." Ivanhoe offered, "Well, alright. We can ask her about it at breakfast". Stevie shook his head, "No, it 'as to be a surprise, ya know. She can't know nothin' 'bout it, OK? I'm gonna go tell the girls, they'll love this. See ya!" Once Stevie was out of earshot, Murray ran his hands through his hair, "What are we going to do with him? Does he have any idea how hard a treehouse would be to build and then hoist into a tree?" "I'm sure he doesn't," offered Ribold.

A treehouse! What a wonderful idea, thought the girls as they whispered amongst themselves. Whether Snow decided to live in it or not, the girls decided that a treehouse would make the perfect escape. What better location to have a romantic rendezvous, for example, thought Kaz. Kahlua was thinking how much closer the treehouse would be than the woods to be by herself for a change, or NOT by herself, perhaps. Jen thought it would make a perfect place to read a book uninterrupted. Stevie was concerned that the other men wouldn't help him. "But I dunno that the guys thought it to be such a great idea, ya know. I dunno 'ow 'ard a treehouse is to build." He knew he could never build one by himself....not one that would actually hold the weight of someone, anyway. "Don't you worry your cute little head about a thing, Stevie, " began Jen, "They'll build it. Heck, if Snow takes to it, we may even get them to build a spare one just for recreation." She looked at Kaz, who then winked back at Jen, afterwards scolding herself for doing that again.

Breakfast was delicious as usual. There was no talk about the treehouse in Snow's presence, but the news had gotten around. The men seemed a little grouchier than usually to have given in to the request of Stevie and the girls. Jen actually hoped that Snow would hate the thing, so that they wouldn't have to wait for the men to build another one. Mike reminded Dinger that it was his turn to do the dishes. "Wha'?" Mike nodded his head. "That's right, Dinger. I remember" Karen said as she giggled. "Why can't the new 'PRINCESS' get the dishes. She needs to earn her keep around here, anyway. Great, now we 'ave a new 'Your Majesty' to tend to," as he gives Kaz a look that she gives right back to him. Jen must have seen the wide-eyed expression on Snow's face at the sound of the "barbarian's" voice discussing her, as she gently put her hand on Snow's shoulder. "Don't pay him any attention. He's just grumpy." Stevie's face lights up and springs from the table, "Aye, Grumpy!" Stevie points at Eddy, "And he's Sleepy! And over there is Doc and Bashful!" "And you're Dopey!!" Dinger cuts in. There is hysterical laughter around the room. Snow smiles at their joy, but hasn't a clue as to what is so funny. "Did I miss something?" she inquired, which made the room break into hysterics all the more. "No, you didn't miss a thing, dear," offered Kaz. "Let's take a walk. Come on, girls. Let's all of us have some quality 'girl talk'." The women excuse themselves and start on a hike through the woods.

The women shared with Snow their experiences here in the village and in turn told how each one happened upon the village. They talked about their attractions to the male members of the village, as well as who they were NOT attracted to. When they asked Snow if she thought her newfound companions attractive, she blushed, "Oh well, yes I would, I guess. But I cannot consider an alliance with someone who is not of royal blood. It is our decree." Kahlua frowned, "But Snow, you aren't in your kingdom here. You are no longer bound by any decree. You are free to do as you wish here." Snow added, "But it is what my father would have wanted. So it appears that I am out of luck. The only one of royalty here is not someone that I would ever choose to form an alliance with." Kahlua offered, "You mean Eddy?" Snow was puzzled, "No the barbar--I mean that Dinger fellow. Yesterday he said he was the King of England." The three women burst into a symphony of hysterical laughter. Jen offered, "Oh, goodness we have had two good laughs today. We are so glad you came, Snow!" Kaz was on the ground, tears streaming down her face. She couldn't even speak, she was laughing so hard. Kahlua turned back to the puzzled young girl, "No, Snow. He isn't the King of England. That was just a statement of sorts." Snow looked somewhat relieved, and then inquired, "Then what were you saying about Eddy?" Kaz got up still giggling, "Oh, no-not Eddy., You don't want Eddy." Jen added, "No, Eddy is-how shall I put this-not in the 'wife seeking' mode at the moment. I'll just put it that way." Snow looked somewhat disappointed. "Oh, well. No nevermind. I should be waking up from this dream any moment anyhow. So I guess it doesn't matter." Kahlua frowned, "What do you mean by that? Are you saying you think this is all a dream?" "Of course, " Snow replied. "I know these things couldn't possibly happen. My stepmother would never try to kill me, I could not possibly fall through a hold in the woods THAT big, and there is no possible way that a village like this really exists where all of the men look the same." The other women laugh again. Snow continued, "But the strangest part about it is that they all look exactly like the prince I keep dreaming about, which is what made me realize this is all just a dream." Jen retorted, "Well, maybe we're all having the same dream then. I wouldn't rule it out." Kahlua thought for a second, "Wait a minute, did you just say that all the men look just like someone in your dreams?" Snow nodded, "Yes. I dream about a handsome prince all the time-the one that someday will carry me away to his kingdom." Jen leans in to Kaz, "Good think Dinger isn't here." Kaz nods in agreement. Snow is still puzzled by the whole thing. Kahlua tries to reassure her, "Snow, I assure you, you are not dreaming. Believe me, we all had the same thought, that this whole thing was a dream and we would wake up in our own bed at any given moment. Well, it took a while, but we finally were able to come to the realization that it just isn't so. We are really here. And you are welcome to stay as long as you like." Snow didn't know what to think about it all. Should she believe these women? They seemed to be genuinely concerned for her. She wanted to trust them, really she did. Jen added, "Oh and about your stepmother-forget her! Believe me when I tell you that the whole reason behind that plot was because she was jealous of you, Snow! You were prettier than she was and the whole kingdom favored you over her, and she knew it." Snow was fighting back tears, "But how do you know that?" Kaz offered, "Jen has special insight into things sometimes, dear. She is telling the truth, you can trust her words. Everything is going to be OK." Jen giggled, "Yes, and of course we all couldn't help but notice that Stevie has a mad crush on you." Snow looked surprised, "Stevie?" Kaz gets up, "Oh yes, no way around it!" Snow sniffled, "Well, I think Stevie is really nice and will probably make a good friend but he isn't..." "Oh, please don't say he isn't royalty, " Kahlua interrupted. "That's what you were going to say, wasn't it?" Snow nodded. "Well, don't you worry your pretty little head, these men are all 'princes' of a sort, and I would think many of them would fancy you." Jen smiled, "Yes, I seem to recall Mike looking in your direction an awful lot this morning." Kaz teased back, "Ah, you noticed that too, Jen?" Kahlua turned to go, "Well, let's head on back and see what the fellows are up to. We gotta make sure they aren't makin' any trouble, ya know." Kaz and Jen laughed. Snow smiled and thought that if this were to not be a dream, that she may be able to be happy here. However, as she remembered the words of her new friends, she couldn't help but think back on her kingdom's decree.

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Isn't this a lovely afternoon, thought Snow? Although she appreciated Stevie's company, she didn't have the heart to tell him that the book he was reading to her was quite appalling to her, a brutal story that she found no interest in. She was actually thankful to the barbarian himself for dragging Stevie away to talk about some kind of wood-structure, or something like that. It allowed her the chance to drift into her thoughts, taking in all of this newfound excitement and pondering the events of the past two days. What of this "mad crush" the girls mentioned that Stevie had on her. Could it be true? And what about Mike? She really enjoys his company as well, and they have so many things in common. She wasn't sure what she felt about them, any of them. She didn't want to know, didn't want to allow herself to feel more than a friendship for any one of these men. She couldn't betray her decree--betray her father. She loved her father. Yet still, she felt...what was that? Snow heard a tiny little chirping noise. Where was it coming from? She lowered her head, lower, lower still. It was coming from somewhere on the ground. There, in that pile, a patch of blue. It moved! As she drew closer she could see it. It was a tiny bird. A baby blue jay! "Have you lost your mamma and papa?" She looked all around in the trees and in the air, but saw no signs of any other blue jays. "I've lost my mamma and papa, too." She knelt down and gently scooped up the baby. "I'll take care of you." Wait, what was that? Another noise? She covered the bird with her other hand and walked in the direction of the sound. This sound was deeper and was getting louder and louder with each step. Peering from behind a tree, she saw it. Lying in the distance was a horse, a mare. She sounded hurt. Snow approached the mare and saw that she was about to give birth! Tending to horses, she had seen this before. She knew she needed to get help. "Goodness, I'll be right back. Just hang on!!" Still holding the bird, she ran back to the village. She recalled the story Kaz told her of the mare that had run away when Bartolome accidentally forgot to properly lock the stable. This had to be the one. She found most of the men discussing a project by a large pile of wood. Thinking that Bartolome would most probably like to redeem himself for his mistake, she called to him and he rushed over accompanied by Stevie upon seeing Snow. "Bartolome, that mare that escaped the other day is about to give birth in the woods! Come quickly!" "Good Lord! Ivanhoe, Ribold come here!" The two men approached. Bartolome continued, "Snow says that escaped mare is about to give birth in the woods. We need to hurry!" The men gathered some supplies and darted into the woods. Stevie, still standing with Snow glanced at her hands with curiosity, "Wha' ya got there, Snow?" "Shhhh", hushed Snow. "Come and I will show you." Snow headed back for Jen's cabin with Stevie following behind. Snow sat on the bed. "Sit," she said "and then be careful." Between them, she set the delicate little bird on the bed. Stevie's face lit up, "Aye, it's a bird!" "Yes, it's a baby blue jay. Be very gentle with him." Stevie attempted to pet the bird, but then decided not to. Snow smiled, "I named him Tweety" Stevie laughed, "Aye! And What about Sylvester?" Snow was puzzled, "What?" "Oh, I forgot that ya-oh nevermind. He's a cute bird, there Snow." "What's this?" came Jen's voice in the doorway. "What are you two doing on the bed?" inquired Karen. Snow was startled, "Oh Jen, Kaz, you gave me such a shock!" "Why's that? Ya weren't doing anything that ya weren't supposed to, were ya?" Jen winked. "Hey, whatcha got there?" she inquired. Stevie whispered as though he had to be quiet around the bird, "It' s a baby blue jay. Snow found it in the woods." Snow said back to Stevie, "It's OK Stevie, you don't have to whisper. The poor thing didn't seem to have any parents, so I adopted him." Kaz cooed, "Oh, well isn't he cute?" Snow smiled. "Yes, I named him Tweety." Jen giggled, "So where's Sylvester?" Snow frowned at hearing that name again, "Who is Sylvester? Everyone seems to know but me." Jen looked at Stevie who just shrugged. "Sorry, Snow. There is a famous cartoon duo name Sylvester and Tweety." "Cartoon?" inquired Snow. Kaz smiled as she watched Snow bond with the little bird. Tweety didn't even seem frightened anymore. "You really seem to have a motherly touch, there" Kaz offered. Snow smiled, then pondered what her mother was really like. "I'm sorry, Snow. I didn't mean to make you sad" Kaz said, mentally scolding herself for bringing up the thought. "No, that's alright. I like to think about what she must have been like. I was so young when she died. Funny, my father re-married to try and help me, not hurt me. Margurite wasn't even his first choice as my stepmother, she was his third. He was truly in love with Cynthia. But my father was shy and not fast enough in proposing, so alas she accepted a proposal from the King of Hughes, thinking that my father would never ask. But she was wonderful. She was kind and we had so much in common. She lost her mother at an early age, too. Her father re-married a woman with two daughters. After his death, they treated her just horribly. They wouldn't even call her by her real name. Instead they called her..." "Cinderella!" Jen interrupted. Snow's eyes widened, "Yes, how did you know that?" "Jen smiled, "I had a vision." Kaz giggled. "What about his second choice?" Jen inquired. "You said your stepmother was his third." Snow added, "Yes, he would have proposed to a princess over near Biloxi, but rumor had it that they were all asleep-the entire town! It was very odd." Jen and Kaz just looked at each other.

"That's it, girl...just one more push." soothed Ivanhoe as he stroked the mare's mane. "I've got her!" cried Bartolome as he pulled the remainder of the colt's legs free. "It's a boy!!" "Hurray" cried the others who had joined the birth in the woods when they heard the news. After the birth, the mare practically sprung to her feet. "Thank God it was an easy birth for her. She could just have easily been held up for days. I've seen it happen too many times," suggested Ivanhoe. "Well this is definitely the one that got away", said Dinger, "Looks like you've redeemed yourself, there Bart." Bartolome carefully scooped up the colt in a blanket. The group headed back to the village.

The blossoms on the trees are so lovely, not something you see every day, thought Snow as she walked through the Waddington Willows orchard. Just then she saw Mike. "Mike, hello! Fancy meeting you here!" Seeing Snow thrilled Mike to no end. "Snow, what a most pleasant surprise. What are you doing in the orchard?" She trotted over to the tree he was picking from, "Oh, I just wanted to see what all types of fruit the village had to choose from. What kinds of pies you can make-things like that. Looks like I picked a perfect time. You are here to show me." Mike took her hand to lead her around the orchard, "Very true. Here we have peach, plum, and apricot trees for the warmer seasons. And over there we have the apple and orange trees for the cooler seasons." "What were you picking just now?" Snow inquired. "Ah, I was choosing the most perfect peaches to bake a pie for a very special someone." Snow bit her lip, "Can I help you pick a peach for this special someone?" Mike smiled and paused to think it funny that this little "peach" would be picking a peach for herself. "Of course, my lady. Be my guest, but be careful." Snow climbed the ladder as Mike held onto it. She glanced around the tree, looking for the best peach...then she saw it. The most perfect plump peach. She reached....argh! Just out of her reach. She elevated onto her toes on the ladder. "Careful dear," warned Mike once again. She grabbed a branch above her for support and pulled herself up ever so slightly to just touch the peach with her fingertips. Snap! The branch she held onto for support broke, sending her backwards off of the ladder. Thump! An all too familiar scene for Snow, as once again she found herself in Mike's arms after falling out of a tree. Their eyes meet again, their noses almost touching. Snow found herself struggling with her feelings again, specifically her feelings for Mike. One cannot just stifle one's feelings for someone just like that. However, she made a conscious effort to brush them away. This is such a beautiful and precious girl, thought Mike. She is so innocent and trusting, that he dared not kiss her, although he wanted to, badly. "Dejavu! We have to stop meeting like this, eh?" joked Mike as he set her down gently. "I'm so sorry I'm such a clutz, " Snow offered. "Nonsense," Mike assured her. "Happens all the time around here. I have had more falls out of orchard trees than I can count. Had my share of bumps and bruises, too. I have enough peaches here I think. Come on. Let's get back to the village. We don't want to be late for dinner. Jen is cooking tonight. Think I'll enjoy the break. I'll make you a cuppa. Sound good?" Snow nodded. She didn't quite understand the wording, 'cuppa', but coming from a friend like Mike, it must be a good thing.

"Where is she?" inquired Stevie. "If I didn't know five minutes ago Stevie, why would I know now?" retorted Kaz. Then seeing his sad expression, "Look Stevie, I'm sure she'll be here any minute. Why don't you go into the kitchen and see if Jen needs a hand with dinner, eh?" Stevie smiled and nodded and dashed into the kitchen. Kahlua giggled, "I think he's hooked! I also think he's starting to drive Snow crazy!" Kaz looked at Sue, "You really think so?" "Well I do," Raif added. "I think he is definitely driving her mad. And if I have anything to say about it, tonight she's getting a break from him for a change." Kaz and Kahlua exchange raised-eyebrow looks at Raif's statement. Just then, the door to the main cabin opens and Mike and Snow enter with a basket of peaches. "Well, it's about time!" Kaz scolded in jest. "Yeah, I think Stevie was about to send out a search party for you...namely himself. He's in the kitchen if you'd like to announce your presence and save his sanity," Kahlua offered as she eyed the basket of peaches. "Nice bushel there, Mike," she added. Snow entered the kitchen to find Stevie drying a cooking pan. "Hey, heard you were looking for me, Stevie." "Snow!" Stevie drops the pan and it crashes to the floor loudly. He runs over to Snow and hugs her tightly. " I was worried about ya. I didn't know where ya was," he sighed. "I was fine Stevie," Snow coughed, finding it difficult to talk within such a bear hug. "I was picking peaches with Mike in the orchard." Mike overheard as he passed through with the peaches, "Yes, Stevie. You shouldn't worry. Snow will always be well cared for around here." Jen offered, "Yes, as will the rest of us girls. Right Mike?" Jen winked at him. "Right, Jen." And he winked back. Stevie showed concern, "Well, I worry 'bout them woods and all. Didn't want you to get sucked into 'nother hole or nothin'." Snow smiled, "Well, that is very sweet of you Stevie, and I do appreciate your concern for my well-being. Jen, do you need a hand here in the kitchen?" "No, but thanks. If Stevie here will stop dropping pans and making enough noise to wake the dead, I think he will be able to help me enough," as she looks at Stevie who takes the hint and picks up the pan he dropped. Snow entered back into the dining room. "Man, what was all the clattering in there?" inquired Sue. Snow smiled, "Oh, Stevie was just a little too glad to see me and dropped his pan to rush over and make sure I was alright.....harmless act." "But annoying none the less," Raif said under his breath where only Kaz and Nigel could hear him. Nigel coughed to stifle a laugh. Dinner was delicious as usual. Jen fixed a wonderful cajun dish with rice and catfish from the river. "This is delicious, Jen. Where did you catch the fish? This is the first time we have had fish since I've been here, I think," suggested Sue. Finishing the bite in her mouth, Jen offered "Actually I can't take credit for the catfish. That was Eddy's doing." Edward smiled, "Yes, I'm quite fond of fishing, actually. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that we have some nice breeds of catfish down in the river. I find it very relaxing to fish, personally." Snow made a mental note of this. After dinner, it was Stevie's turn to do the dishes, much to Raif's delight as he asked Snow if she would like to go visit the newborn colt in the stable. "Oh yes!" she squealed. She hadn't seen the newest edition to Waddington Willows as of yet and wanted to very much. Raif stops at the door and looks at Nigel "It's all set up," Nigel says. Raif pats him on the shoulder, "Thanks, Nigel." Nigel grins, "No problem, but you owe me BIG for this one!"

Raif slowly opened the barn door to let the both of them in and then carefully closed the door behind them. He didn't want to wake the colt if he was sleeping. "Oh, he is so precious!" Snow cooed as she saw the little colt curled up in the hay. He wasn't sleeping, but looked like he would be at any moment. "He is such a beautiful golden color." Snow added. Raif smiled, "Jen decided on a name him for him. She said since he is such a nice golden color and because horses love carrots, she named him '24 Carrots'. They judge the quality of gold in a measurement called carrats, now." After a few moments of gazing at the little fellow, Raif asked Snow, "Do you like dancing, Snow?" Snow's face lit up, "I love dancing! However, I haven't danced in what seems like ages." Raif offered his arm, "Then shall we?" As Snow took his arm he led her to an open section of the barn, he said, "Here, I want to show you something." He went over to a bail of hey that had a small black box sitting on top of it. The box was strange looking to Snow, as she had never seen anything like it before. Raif had asked Nigel to set this up for him just before dinner. A few weeks ago, the men in the village found a crate with this box among its contents. Dinger told Raif it was something called a 'cassette player'. Dinger complained that the cassette that came with the player contained only waltz music and then mentioned that he hoped the next crate they found had something in it called 'rock and roll', whatever that was. Raif , however, found the cassette to be perfect music for dancing. After Raif pushed a few buttons on the odd contraption, out of it began to play the most beautiful music Snow ever heard. She gasped, "Raif, is that a magical box? How can a box so small hold so many people playing instruments of that sort? I've never heard music of that kind." Raif smiled, "Yes, we found this little gem in the village a little while back. It is actually quite simple to operate. Shall we?" Raif takes her hand in the air and puts his other hand on her waist and she rests hers on his shoulder. Raif was an excellent dancer, Snow thought. This 'waltz' music was very enjoyable. After some time of various chit chat and comments on the music, there started to play a rather slow piece that placed the two of them at an almost stand still of a dance pace. Raif hadn't been able to take his eyes off of her the entire evening. She had made a new dress that afternoon of a soft light blue material that swished around her angles as she walked. The blue in her dress brought out the blue in her eyes in the most astounding way, thought Raif, that he couldn't help but gaze into them. At which point, Snow found herself gazing back. What was going on here, Snow thought? What am I doing? She feared now that she was leading on this gentleman in such a way that is just not right. Then why did she feel the way she did? What was it about his romantic nature and sincere attentiveness that attracted her so? She felt drawn as thought she were physically unable to retract her gaze from his. It's true, she thought that Stevie was a sweetheart and Mike so kind and giving, but Raif had this something about him. What was it? It was this special charm that he possessed, in that he knew how a girl wanted to be looked at, or talked to in a certain way...like he brought just the right romantic spark to a conversation. How was that? She had no experience in such things, yet felt something extra special in being in such a romantic presence. Yet, there was something she couldn't quite put her finger on, something else going on. Was there another motive in having her in his company, maybe? No, Raif was quite the gentleman and Snow just couldn't imagine otherwise. He wasn't like some of those palace guards that she would avoid walking past due to the strange way they stared at her, almost seeming to undress her with their eyes--No, no, no! That was not what this was. Not at all! Raif was not like that, so what was it then? What about Stevie's 'mad crush' as the girls called it-maybe it was like that? She didn't quite know the answer. Then as she compared her visits with Mike in relation to her talks with Raif, her thoughts were interrupted as Raif leaned in to kiss her. What do I do now, she thought? Do I stop him? Before she could answer her own question, Raif was softly kissing her. It could only barely have been less than a minute, but seemed like an eternity as her thoughts screamed through her head. Why is he kissing me? Does this mean he is wanting to be more than friends? Is this like a mad crush? Why did I kiss him back? Why aren't I stopping him now? What is this I am feeling for this gentleman? Wait, gentleman-but not of royalty! The decree-DADDY!!! Snow gasped and pulled away, "I'm sorry. I-" Raif gave a look of concern and put his hands on her shoulders, "Snow, are you alright? I didn't mean to scare you. I'm sorry." Snow was terribly nervous, and her head still screaming it's thoughts so loudly, she felt she had to raise her own voice slightly to hear herself over them, "No, Raif it isn't you. It's my--I mean it's me. I was in the wrong, not you. I'm sorry." Raif touched her cheek, "Snow you did nothing wrong. What's.." She interrupted, "I'm sorry, I should go now. But thank you very much for bringing me to see 24 Carrots." Before Raif could say anything else, Snow was out the door. She rushed back to the cabin in a dead sprint. By the time she reached the porch, she was sobbing uncontrollably. Luckily, Jen was still out with the others, she thought. She dashed over to where she kept her clothes and pulled out her blue lace-up top from her original dress from home. She carefully unpinned the broach from the top of the corset, and held it tightly in her hand as she slid to the floor. This was her family crest, her father's crest. Did she disappoint him tonight? Was he saddened as he looked down at her from heaven? "I'm sorry, Daddy!" she sobbed. " I will not dishonor the family crest, Daddy. I will not dishonor the decree. I won't! I--" She couldn't talk anymore through her sobs as they were too heavy, causing her to gasp for air. She got up and walked over to the little sleeping bird she had befriended and gave a weak smile. "In fact Tweety," she sniffed, "tomorrow I shall go fishing."

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"Oh, you gals make such a mess!" Snow scolded the chickens as she cleaned the coop. "I'm going to have to get a fresh bucket of water to do the rabbits. My, my!!" As Snow picked up the bucket and turned to leave, something caught her eye over in the corner leaning against the chicken wire. It was a fishing pole and tackle box. It's still here, she thought. She would have assumed that most fishermen start early, but then of course people don't fish every day. Stop being silly Snow, she thought. If not today, there will be other days. Her thoughts drifted to the conversation she had the previous afternoon with Yvonne and Duncan. She enjoyed talking with them. At one point, the subject had rolled over into one's position in society and the like. From there, Snow just couldn't help but ask about their views on royalty. Duncan of course being under the crown's military service had much to say on the matter. It was through this topic, that Snow was able to get the answers she needed about Edward. He was from a royal bloodline, and he was the only one in the village that was. What Snow didn't understand was why did all the women in the village, including Yvonne, keep trying to steer her away from him? He seemed like a nice enough gentleman, although she had not yet had an opportunity to get to know him quite yet. What was the problem they saw? She just didn't see it. Why did Jen say that he wasn't in a 'wife seeking' mode? Why did Yvonne agree when I told her what Jen said? Well, at any rate, he would certainly make a better companion than that Dinger fellow, for example. Who wouldn't, she thought? She returned with the new bucket of water for the rabbit pen. "You guys are so cute! And you aren't nearly as messy as those chickens over there." An especially fluffy white rabbit caught her eye. "Well, hello there! I wonder where they got you from? You look much too pretty to have been fetched out of the woods. You are snowy white!" Snow laughed out loud hearing the unintentional joke she just made. "I will call you Whitie. I would call you Snowy, but I would be afraid that would get confusing to some folks." She giggled and put Whitie back into the pen, then continued with her work. Upon leaving, something made her stop dead in her tracks. The fishing equipment was gone! How did I miss that? Oh, of course. It must have been when I went to get the water. Well, now is my chance. "Oh yuck! I can't go like this!" Snow looked down at her 'chores outfit' of what the girls call jeans and one of the men's shirts-very large one at that. "I have chicken stuff all over me!" Remembering back to last night when she couldn't sleep, she finished a dress in the loveliest pink silken material. That would be perfect.

"Wow! That's beautiful, Snow. Where are you going all dressed up this morning?" inquired Jen as she scanned the lovely pink dress. "Um, nowhere. I got chicken goop on my chores outfit." Jen made a sour face at the thought, "Yuck. Sorry they had you doing that so soon." Snow smiled, "That's OK. I love animals. I think I'll go check on 24 Carrots, speaking of animals." Why not, she thought. He is such a cute little thing. As she approached, she caught a glimpse of Raif going into the barn, apparently to check on the colt as well. Snow stopped. Oh dear, I really can't run into him again-especially in the barn where they kissed the previous night. She hoped he wasn't angry with her for leaving so suddenly. She didn't want to hurt him. She didn't know how he felt about her. But what frightened her more was that she didn't know what she felt about him.

Although he had returned the cassette player, he could still hear the melody of the waltz as he relived the dance with Snow in his thoughts. She was so lovely, Raif thought-she still is lovely, of course. But it is that innocent nature of hers that had really taken him. Her doe-eyed expression, her full lips that he had seen pout so often that first day she was here. It seems that she had grown up since then. That scared young girl was now open and friendly with everyone--and in such a short time. She didn't even seem as afraid of Dinger as she was at first. He hoped he hadn't frightened her last night. "Blasted, what was I thinking! Stop rushing things Partridge!" He spoke out loud and awakened the sleeping colt. "Oh, I'm sorry 24 Carrots. I didn't mean to be so loud. I should just keep my thoughts to myself, eh?" He reached down and petted the colt, who quickly went back to sleep.

As she traveled the path to the river, she grew nervous with each passing tree. What am I doing, Snow thought? I don't know this man at all. But that is why I'm here, right? To get to know him better? What things will I say? 'Here I am! Whacha doing?' just didn't seem like the right way to approach the situation. He will want to know why I'm here. Oh dear. Why am I here? Oh my, I have to think of something. Mmmm. Well, I haven't seen the river yet and decided to seek it out. I guess that would work. I'm always curious about nature, so that wouldn't be a lie. OK...got that part down. What things will I say? Should I ask about his kingdom? His family? She promised herself not to stay long. This man will be fishing and enjoying his time alone. Don't bother him and make him hate you, Snow! She wished she had one of those contraptions for her wrist that the others called a 'watch' so she could keep the time of her visit. She could hear the babbling of the brook as she grew closer. With each step her heart pounded louder. She came to a clearing. There! Sitting on a large rock holding the fishing pole, of course, was the prince...I mean was Edward...or is it Eddy? She must remember to NOT call him 'prince'. That was just unnatural in this village, even though perfectly acceptable and expected in her kingdom. What was it Yvonne once said? 'We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto'? Wherever Kansas is, and whoever Toto is. But she wasn't too fond of calling him 'Eddy'. She much preferred Edward. It sounded more proper and more like a name she was used to. But what if he likes 'Eddy' better? Sakes, Snow you are making this so difficult. You always do that-Stop it! OK...deep breath-not too loud, though! Alright...here goes. "Oh, Edward, hello. I wasn't expecting to find you here." She held her breath just waiting on the lightning bolt to strike her down for such a blatant lie. "Snow, greetings. How are you this beautiful morning?" Snow smiled, "Very well, thank you." She hoped against hoped that there wasn't a crack in her voice that would give him any indication of how nervous she was. She thought back to the talks she used to overhear at home. She would softly creep down the large staircase and stand just within earshot of her father and the other monarchs. They would speak about the arranged marriages of their sons and daughters. Snow was always amazed at the fact that unions would be planned for people that had never even met. She remember the sick feeling in her stomach when she would think that she would ever unite with someone she had never met. Well, it wouldn't be happening this time, she thought. "Are they biting much?" Snow asked politely. Luckily for her, she had been fishing one time with a noble that was a good friend of her father's. She was able to catch some of the fishing terminology from him. She just hoped she remembered it correctly. "Ah, not really today. But I guess since we just had fish last night, we wouldn't really be needing any more for a little while. I just find it relaxing. I can just sit and be one with nature. That sort of thing, you know?" Snow almost panicked, "Oh, well if you would rather be alone, I ...." With a laugh, Ed calmed her fears, "No, that's alright. Please stay and sit for a while. I think I have been 'one' long enough this morning." As Snow smiled and sat next to Edward, a wave of relief passed over Snow almost like cool water flowing over the top of head. She had felt so warm. Oh, dear, she hoped her face wasn't flustering and turning red as it sometimes does. She took a quick glance into the water at her reflection. Her cheeks were slightly pink, but not too red, thankfully. "Yes, the water is quite clear, isn't it?" as Ed saw her peering into the water. "Yes, very." Snow, embarrassed that she had been caught, tried to recover. "So, what are your favorite kinds of fish?" Oh, gosh, did I just say that, thought Snow? What a stupid and childish question. He's going to think you've the brain of a 12-year old! Edward happily began discussing the different types of fish he had seen in the river along with which ones were the easiest and hardest to catch. "My favorite is shellfish, which of course, is only found in the ocean. Before I came to the village, my ...um....friend and I used to trap different shellfish off of the ocean's coast back home. " A shudder went through Snow when Edward mentioned 'back home'. This is my open door, she thought. "Please tell me more about where you came from, your heritage? I am very curious about other royal houses." Edward remembered, "Oh yes, I almost forgot, you are of royal blood as well, aren't you? House of White, wasn't it? Well, I'm sure we are probably more lax on such things than in your kingdom, but we probably share many things in common." Upon hearing this, Snow was delighted and soaked in every word as Edward went on about royal customs and history. He was right in that things were different than where she came from. But nevertheless, Snow found his words fascinating. As she watched, she of course couldn't help but ponder in her mind the similarities of the men in the village. Edward reminded her of Raif who reminded her of Mike who reminded her of Stevie and so on. Each one possessed qualities different from the others. Raif had a sense of romanticism that was, by her standards, perfected by trade so to speak. Raif knew how to treat a lady and how one wish to be treated. To Snow, this most probably meant that he had many women in the past, which wasn't the most pleasant thought to Snow. Then there was Mike. He was so sweet and giving. Women were not new to him either, but she found her opinion of him to be that he was still searching for that certain 'someone', and searching very hard for that matter. He seemed to ask everyone in the village at some point to dinner or tea or something-which was alright, I guess, Snow thought. She liked his company. They both had much in common. He was charming and easy to talk to and.....she found herself thinking back to the two times Mike had caught her in midair falling from those two trees and remembered the gaze into his eyes. That gaze they shared that seemed to last a lifetime, even if only for a moment. She found herself watching Edward and looking for similarities in him to that of Mike. Snow, stop that! This is Edward-Prince Edward. He is his own person. Stop looking for someone else. You haven't even gotten to know him yet. He seemed sweet and friendly, and also open to conversation. Many of the others weren't so eager to converse so friendly and freely, like Dinger. Oh, my lands, don't think about Dinger! Moving right along.....Edward. Right, OK. Edward, however-well there was something.....different about him that Snow couldn't quite put her finger on. She couldn't say if that were a good thing or a bad thing. Although he was friendly, he was also distant in that he didn't have the same...what is the word...affection in his voice when he spoke with Snow as some of the others did, like Mike. And in his eyes, although friendly, lacked what the other men had shown within each of their gazes, especially, for example, the gazes of Raif, Mike or even Stevie. Of course, Stevie was a whole different story altogether. He was fun to be around and his attentiveness was very flattering. However, he wasn't used to being in a lady's company for a long period of time, in that, Snow didn't think he quite knew what kinds of activities a lady preferred or subjects to speak on. Plus, Stevie was just plain shy. She thought if he was ever kissed by a woman, he would probably faint dead away-well almost. Snow noticed that Edward had one of those wristwatch contraptions. "Oh, do you have the time?" Looking at his watch, "Yes, it is nearly twelve, by about ten minutes or so. Perhaps we should head back to the village? I'm sure lunch will be ready soon. I can't remember who is cooking today, though." Snow thought it would be nice to walk back to the village with Edward, but she in no way wanted Kaz, or Jen, or Sue, or even Yvonne to see her walking with him. What an obvious little plight that would be! "I believe it is Killion cooking this day." Edward's eyes rolled, "Oh good Lord. I hope we make it out alive!" He laughed at his own remarks, but Snow was so distracted with her own thoughts she merely smiled, "Do you mind terribly if I follow along in a few minutes. I just remembered something I need to do." Edward smiled, but wondered if perhaps the joke he made was not all that funny, "Yes, of course. I will see you at lunch." What a nice young girl, thought Eddy. She was sweet and her innocence quite refreshing. He thought that she seemed quite lonely. Perhaps she was homesick, and he, being of a royal background, probably reminds her of home. He enjoyed her company and thought she could probably be a good friend. If he could help her 'homesickness' and make her feel more comfortable here in the village, then he was glad to help.

The luncheon to everyone's surprise was quite good. Thomas Killion had received some help, no doubt, from Mike in his preparation of their lunch. The mood in the room was jovial. The weather had been very nice the past few days and seemed to lift everyone's spirits. The biggest topic at lunch was no doubt the Halloween festival, which was suggested by, of course, Jen-our resident "Spiritual specialist". After a brief explanation on how Halloween is celebrated today, Jen suggested everyone dress up in a costume of sorts. She then offered to help out in any way she could on the costuming. Snow was also eager to help. In her day, Halloween was referred to as 'All Hallow's Eve' and was considered a day of fear and evildoing. She was glad that things were not that way any longer. It sounded like a fun day in these terms, and she was busy thinking of what she could dress up to be. A bride, maybe? EEEK! Snow, stop it! Stop it right now! Snow scolded herself for the thought. She was glad no one in the room could read her thoughts, especially the men, lest they all run out the door and into the woods screaming! Stevie was excited about the festival as well, "Dinger, wha' ya gonna dress up as?" Dinger scowled, "Ow 'bout this. I'll be Dinger, and you can be Stevie, and you can be Ivanhoe, and so on," as he motioned to the others. Kaz gave him 'the look', which this time he did not return. She appeared disappointed that he didn't . Duncan added, "In my day, we called these occasions 'Masquerades' and everyone wore a mask. You had to guess at who everyone was." Yvonne squealed, "Oh, what a wonderful idea. Can we do that for the festival?" Jen thought for a second, "You know, that may not be a bad idea. But of course, you have to consider that the guys are going to have a huge advantage over us there. They could really mix up their identities and we'd never know who is who, especially under a mask and costume." Raif lifted an eyebrow, "Sounds like a splendid idea if you ask me." Nigel smiled, "I'm game." Across the room, the others nodded and whispered among themselves. Kahlua and Kaz seemed a little apprehensive of the thought, but finally shrugged and agreed. Snow added, "Well, if we are helping them with their costumes anyway, then we should know who they will be." "There ya go, Snow. Good point," retorted Jen. Raif thought to himself how funny it would be if someone were to fool the girls by having someone else fitted for their costume. Hmmm. Not a bad idea, as he smiled while pondering his clever plan. Even funnier still, was the fact that Raif wasn't the only one to have the very same thought.

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It had been nearly a week since her arrival into the village and Snow was adjusting well to her new life. She enjoyed the company of her new women friends in the village, she considered them like sisters to her- like the sisters she never had. And of course, Stevie, was almost like a brother to Snow. She felt very comfortable around him. He was very non-threatening, so to speak. She was feeling more comfortable with the things they did in the village. She finally seemed to get the hang of the massages that the girls gave to the men. Although, in the beginning, Stevie was the only one that would go to her, due to her lack of experience. It took a few extra sessions with Kaz to get her up to speed. She was still smiling at the most wonderful gift the men bestowed upon her yesterday. A tree house of her very own! How thoughtful! Stevie's doing, no doubt. It was lovely and very efficiently crafted. It was simple, yet elegant. It consisted of one room, a split level. Built in the very oak tree she escaped in that first day, the ground ladder led up to a small porch with a front door complete with a lock of course. You walk directly into the "kitchen", a collection of cabinets and drawers mainly. There was a small metal inset for a fire in keeping warm or to cook something small, perhaps. Another small ladder led up to the half-level loft, the bedroom. This was just enough room for a feather mattress bed, and of course a curtain to pull for privacy. Under the loft, an entire section of nothing but pillows, for a floor-type couch. Of course, she would still use of the girls' cabins to take a bath or the like. The house itself was not more than probably 5 meters by 5 meters. She loved it, nonetheless-another way for her to stay close to nature, and a time to herself when needed. She had been able to keep her journeys to the river a secret up until now. She preferred that the girls not know about her visits with Edward, since they seemed so against her seeing him for whatever reason. Last night Dinger managed to burst her bubble by ordering that no women go into the woods alone, not even during the day. Who did he think he was? Snow wondered if maybe this was a personal attack on her in order to totally take all of her freedom and privacy away, knowing how important nature was to her. But he couldn't know that. He didn't know her at all, and Snow wanted to keep it that way. He reminded her too much of those palace guards that used to make her shudder. Snow shook off such thoughts, as she snuggled with her favorite rabbit, Whitey. He sat just as still as you please in Snow's hands, as if he knew she wouldn't harm him. What to do now? She wanted to keep visiting Edward at the river, or anywhere, when she could. Although, she didn't really know why. She was fond of Edward, but her feelings for him weren't,....well.....she didn't seem to feel the way about him like she did for...oh Snow, stop. There you go again. It's your imagination. Edward is a fine fellow. Of course, you know the reason you visit him. Things will get better. They have to. You just have to get to know him better, that's all. "Furry little thing isn't he?" Snow was startled by the soothing voice of Mike. She turned to him and smiled, halfway embarrassed that she had just been thinking about him. "Hello, Mike." She swallowed, trying to recover, "Yes, he is my favorite. I call him Whitey. Not very original, I know." Mike laughed, "No, it's very cute, really. I thought I might find you here. I was about to start preparing dinner. Everyone's in the main hall discussing the festival and costumes and such. Thought you might like to join in." Snow smiled as she put Whitey back in the rabbit pen, " Oh, yes, I would. How thoughtful of you. I hope you aren't slaving away over that hot stove so much so that you can't join in the discussion." Mike winked at her, "Nah, I'm sure I'll get to put in my two bits worth." Mike offered her his arm and she took it as he led her back to the dining room.

In the room, she found everyone discussing their costume choices and other plans for Halloween night. "Hey, Killion, why don't you go as the "Headless Horseman"? laughed Ivanhoe knowingly as Thomas replied with a hard 'look' and added, "Well, how about you being ol' Robin Hood?" Ivanhoe retorted, "Actually, I had been thinking more along the lines of the 'Black Knight', but Robin Hood wouldn't be so bad. He was an excellent marksman. " "You knew Robin Hood?" gleamed Snow, " I just adore archery." Kaz eyed her quizzingly, "Snow, you can shoot a bow and arrow? I would never have guessed. I'd love to see you shoot sometime." "Sorry, I'm late, everyone." Murray burst in. "Had to bring Mike the dinner to cook tonight. It was my turn to do the hunting. Not much luck, though. Had to use a couple of our own critters. Don't worry, Kaz. It wasn't Brutus," added Murray, with a look at Karen. "Yeah, Kaz. Are you going to be dressing up that beast Brutus for Halloween, by the way?" laughed Ivanhoe. Karen just looked at him. "That reminds me," Snow added, "I'm going to be gathering materials and such and need to know what all you would choose in the way of costumes." Stevie said shyly, "Well Snow, I don't wanna be no trouble, so I thought I'd just cut some holes in a sheet and be like a ghost, ya know. That'd be easiest." Snow smiled at his courtesy, "Oh Stevie, you know you're no trouble, but if that's what you'd like to do. I'm sure we can arrange that." "Eddy and I will get with you later about our costumes," Raif smiled mischievously as he went over the plans in his head to have a little fun this particular "Hallow's Eve". He had asked Edward what he thought about having 'matching' costumes of a sort. Eddy had agreed thinking it might be a fun idea. Raif formed the idea after a most enlightening conversation with Duncan the other day. When Duncan pondered the idea of Snow's visits in the woods with Eddy, he mentioned that Yvonne struggled with telling Snow the truth about Eddy and could never quite get the words out. Curious about the situation, Raif decided to take a stroll in the woods and surely enough found Snow and Eddy fishing by the river's edge. He couldn't help but laugh to himself at how dry the conversation was, and how bored Snow actually appeared, resting her face in her hands-fishing pole on her knee as she listened to Eddy go on and on about fishing and hunting and the like. Of course funnier still was that Eddy wasn't even as good of a fisherman as Raif was, who had decided to give it a rest when Eddy took a fancy to it. All this talk about 'royal decree' and this and that was just plain hogwash, thought Raif. That was the reason for the matching costume idea. His thought was maybe he could get Snow to see that a "true love" is not found within any decree, no matter how 'sacred' the tradition is. Besides, it should prove to be jolly good fun, anyway.

"Dinner was delicious, as usual, Mike. Thanks, man" sighed Nigel as he reached for his cup. "Murray, you said you didn't have much luck hunting. What did you finally come up with for dinner?" asked Travis. "Well, luckily, we still have our little rabbit farm out there, so I gotta confess. Those two fat ones did us pretty well, the black one and that furry white one." Snow gasped as if she'd been stabbed with a knife. "No!" she cupped her hands over her mouth to stifle a cry, jumped up from the table and ran outside. "I wish you hadn't said that, Murray." Added Mike sadly as he, too got up from the table and followed Snow outside. "What did I say?" asked a confused Murray as he looked around the room.

Mike found Snow huddled in a heap next to the dining cabin with her knees in her chest sobbing. Mike crouched down next to her and gently stroked her arm. She peeked out at him for a second and then buried her face again, embarrassed, "Why do I get so attached to animals? I know that their main purpose is for food for the village" Mike brushed back her hair, "Hey, I want to show you something, OK?" He spoke so gently that Snow looked up at him. He wiped one of her tears away, "Come on. It's alright." He took her arm and helped her to her feet. He led her to the back door to the kitchen and lifted a box onto one of the preparation tables. He raised the lid, "Whitey!" Snow gasped with glee. She picked him up and held him in her arms close to her face, "Hello there," she said tenderly. Mike for a second wishing he were the rabbit, "I went and picked another rabbit when Murray brought him over. I would never cook him knowing how much he meant to you." Snow looked at Mike with regret remembering her thoughts of him just a few moments ago. She put Whitey back into the box and looked back at Mike lovingly, "I'm sorry for doubting. I shouldn't have." As she hugged him, he wished the moment would last for hours, "It's alright Snow. You didn't know. " She pulled back and looked at him again, "I do now, " and she kissed him tenderly on the cheek. "Aye, you alright, Snow? You ran outta there so upset. We all didn't know wha' t' think, ya know, " came Stevie's concerned tone suddenly. "Thank you Stevie. I'm alright now. It's Whitey, see. I thought they cooked him." She lifted the lid to reveal her furry friend to Stevie. "Oh, yeah, I remember ya said ya liked him pretty good. I'm glad he didn't end up dinner, there." Mike thought for a second, then with a gleem in his eye, "Stevie, would you please be a dear and get Whitey back to the rabbit pen? I'm sure he's pretty tired after a scare like that." Stevie nodded and took the box, "Sure thing. You're right about that. He's probably plum wore out from all that rucus." As Stevie took the rabbit back to its home, Snow smiled at Mike, "Now you weren't trying to get rid of him, were you?" Mike looked shocked, "Of course not. I just know Stevie likes to help out in any way he can around here." Snow eyed him suspiciously. "Speaking of help, I'd better go and remind Travis that it's his turn to do the dishes tonight. Are you free this evening, Miss Snow?" Thinking for a moment, "Well, other than speaking with Raif and Edward about their costumes, yes, I believe so." Raif again, thought Mike-great! He would definitely rather be around if Raif was going to be paying her a visit. The fancy he had taken to her lately just seemed to be more than 'friendly' to Mike's observation. "Yes, costumes. I suppose I should think of something for the festival, shouldn't I?" "Of course!" Snow cooed, "Why don't you come to the tree house and we will get you fixed up. We'll pick out something perfect I'm sure." Happily, Mike offered, "Great. I have been wondering how you fixed up the place." Snow's eyes lit up, "Oh, it's simply wonderful. You all were such dears to build it for me. " "Well," Mike's eyes looked down at the ground regretfully, "Actually I'm not too good with woodwork, so I can't take any credit. I'm more of a 'kitchen-help' person I guess." Snow smiled, "Well it does have a kitchen that could probably use a little help. In stocking supplies, perhaps?" Mike caught her gaze lovingly, "I think I can do that." Snow found it difficult to tear her eyes away from his, but managed to do so. Mike passed the reminder of the dishes to Travis and packed a box of supplies for the tree house. Snow went ahead to separate out the materials she gathered before everyone arrived.

"Cheerio!" came Raif's voice at the bottom of the ladder accompanied by Eddy. Snow's door was open and she peeked down the ladder, "Come on up. I've been expecting you." Upon their entrance, they found Snow with piles of materials on her "floor couch" pillows. "What did you fellows have in mind?" "Well," Raif smiled, "we thought it would be fun to have matching costumes. Like what about the 'brothers Grimm'?" laughed Raif and Edward while Snow stared at them blankly, "The brothers what?" "Never mind, " Raif continued, "We thought we would both be the 'grim reaper' in a black cloak and stocking caps." Snow frowned, "You know, in a costume like that, it will be difficult to tell you two apart." Raif grinned, "Exactly the idea. After all, it is a masquerade, right? Old Eddy and I thought we would have a bit of fun with everyone." Snow was thinking how awkward this would be with Raif and Edward in the same costume. She decided that perhaps it would be best to stay away from the both of them the evening of the masquerade for obvious reasons. Raif continued, "So what do you think, dear? Do you think there's enough black material for the both of us?" Snow smiled shyly, "Yes, I'm sure we can find enough. Jennifer also has lots of material at her cabin as well." "Well, we would rather our costumes be made by such a lovely princess as yourself, " winked Raif. Snow winced at Raif's flirtatious tone, mainly because it was appealing to her, and she didn't want it to be. Perhaps she'd rather the tone had come from Edward, but couldn't picture that it would have contained the same meaning, somehow. "Evening, gents." Mike announced loudly carrying a box of supplies. Raif tried to hide his disappointment. "Oh hello, Mike." Eddy looked on the box with curiosity, "What do you have there? More materials?" "No, this is some supplies for Snow's tree house. Can't have her cabinets bare." Mike set the box down on the small countertop against the wall. "Thank you so much, Mike. Any thought yet as to what you would like to be for the masquerade?" Snow began sifting the black material out of the piles on her couch pillows. Mike came to have a look and had to duck to enter this portion of the tree house, as the bed-loft was overhead the living area. "Well, what do you suggest?" Snow sifted through the rest quizzingly, "Well, anything except black, I hope." Mike laughed, "Anything is fine I'm sure." Snow turned to Raif and Eddy, "Oh, stocking caps. Can you be dears and see if Jen has two black stocking caps, or something I could make those out of?" Mike looked at Raif, "You guys robbing a bank?" Raif smiled weakly, "No, Eddy and I are going to be the 'grim reaper', the both of us." Eddy winked and motioned to Snow, 'Yeah, you know the 'brothers Grimm'?" Mike laughed, while Snow still appeared confused and shook her head as though she were fairly used to never getting the jokes around here. A reluctant Raif along with Eddy left the tree house in search of two stocking caps from Jen, leaving Mike at the tree house with Snow. "What is such a beautiful princess as yourself going to dress as?" Snow blushed, "Well, I don't rightly know yet, but I was going to let it be a surprise when I'm finished." Mike teased, "Hmmm, I would think such a lovely princess would prefer to be accompanied by a prince at the masquerade?" Snow was frozen as she stopped sifting through remnants. How did he know about that? Did Yvonne say something? What did he mean by that? Seeing her discomfort, "Or are you not planning to dress as a princess?" Snow gave a sigh of relief, "Oh, you mean a costume! Well, I haven't yet decided, really." Mike smiled nervously as he tried to think of a costume, since his first brilliant idea of a prince didn't seem to go over like he'd hoped. "Are you saying you were thinking of dressing as a prince for the masquerade?" Snow asked quickly, trying to sound objective. Mike found a particular spot to stare at on her new wooden floor, "Oh well I was just thinking if you needed an escort. But I didn't know what you were going to dress as." Snow gave him an eye, "I see. So the guys here gave you an idea to dress up in matching costumes as well, eh?" Nervously, Mike continued his fascination with the spot on the tree house floor, "Oh, well, only if you think it may be something you would like to do. But if not, it's no big deal, really." Snow had finally caught his meaning, although she had been reluctant to admit it to herself what Mike was doing. He was flirting with her. Although, one part of her desperately wanted to give in and flirt back, another part of her saw the danger in it and said 'no'. Was it sincere, she thought? Of course, Mike is always sincere. Why not? It's a party, right? She decided to meet herself halfway in between. "Well, I had thought about making wings from mesh and chicken wire as I've always dreamed of what it would be like to fly, so perhaps I will be a 'fairy princess'. However, I just don't think I can quite see you wearing wings, Mike. Perhaps just a regular prince costume would suit you best." Mike raised his eyes to meet hers upon hearing her suggestion. He was thrilled-it sounded perfect to him. Their gaze met for what seemed to be hours, although Mike knew it was only for a few seconds when he finally got the words out, "OK. A regular prince it is." Both smiled and Snow again felt her feelings for Mike deepening-something very difficult to fight when Mike was looking back at her with his warm brown eyes and friendly smile. Mike was finding that Snow's tree house was quite a romantic setting. He wondered what her reaction would be if he kissed her at that moment. Her eyes seemed so friendly and her lips inviting, but he didn't want to approach the issue too soon, too soon for Snow that is. He had wanted to kiss her that moment she fell into his arms from the very tree they stood in now. How funny life was to bring them back here at this moment in this setting. Of course Mike always considered himself a hopeless romantic. He loved cooking romantic dinners and serving only the finest wines and after dinner coffee. Mike was finding the temptation more and more difficult to resist. Snow had kissed him on the cheek, earlier. He could just do the same. But could he stop with just a peck on the cheek with her lips only centimeters away? He thought, well, it would be worth a try. No, he should wait until the party at least. Shouldn't he? Maybe it wouldn't hurt, just a small..... "Oi, Snow! You up there?" came the unmistakable voice of Stevie once again. "I got a sheet for my costume. Can ya believe this? Raif gave it to me at Jen's house just now. Wasn't that nice of him? He said I should bring it to you right away so you can have time to fix it up, like." Mike rolled his eyes, knowing Raif's sole mission was to send anyone or anything to spoil any time Mike might have with Snow. It certainly would not take her very long to cut a few holes in a sheet. "Come on up, Stevie," laughed Snow, not noticing Mike's disappointment. "I'd better go and make sure Travis didn't make a complete disaster area out of my kitchen." He paused to gaze into her eyes once again. "I'll see you tomorrow, fairy princess." Snow smiled and blushed as Mike departed. As it turned out, it only took Snow a few minutes to get Stevie's costume ready. What kept him there for the better part of the next two hours was a book that Stevie decided Snow really needed to hear.

"Are you kidding me?" came Jen's reaction as Yvonne told her of Snow's recent excursions. Kaz added "She's going for Eddy after all, is she?" Yvonne frowned, "Now, you aren't supposed to know this. I wasn't supposed to say anything, but I just didn't know how to approach the situation. You know how sensitive she is. How do we tell her about Eddy? I don't think her time had that sort of thing, you know?" Jen thought for a moment, "Well, maybe we shouldn't tell her, then. Maybe we should try an experiment of sorts. I've always wondered if it would work on ol' Eddy boy, anyway." Kahlua frowned, "What are you talking about, Jen? You've got that mischievous sound in your voice that always scares me." Kaz added, "Yeah, what are you up to, Jen?" Jennifer went to her room and came back with a very small vile of a liquid. "Here is a sampling of my Dixie Love Oil. I say we let Snow give it a whirl on ol' Eddy dear. If it doesn't work, she's no worse off, but if it does.....well if Eddy is who she wants, then that's who she'll get--against my better judgment. But hey, it's her life." Yvonne shook her head, "I dunno, Jen. It sounds too risky. Besides, I don't think Eddy is right for Snow. We just gotta get her to let go of that stupid decree thing." Jen brushed her hair of her shoulders, "Well, we can't tell her what to do or who to see. She may be young, but she is still old enough to make her own decisions and her own mistakes as well." Kaz gave Jen a look, "Are you doing this to try to help Snow or just because you're curious of the oil's effects on someone like Edward?" Jen smiled, "Well, of course I want to help Snow. I've already spoke my peace on how I think Eddy is all wrong for her." Kahlua added, "Well, we all think that. But the question is do we tell Snow what the oil does? Because if we don't, she won't realize it and might wear it around the others-not good. " Jen thought about this, "True. Well, then I suppose we should have a talk with her about it. I think she could handle it. And if she doesn't want to use it, that's up to her." Kaz nodded, "That sounds innocent enough." Kahlua agreed as well. They all looked at Yvonne, still uncertain. She sighed and finally agreed, "Well alright, but just remember, this wasn't my idea." Jen smiled, "No, I'll be taking full credit for this one. My curiosity will probably get the best of me someday," as the girls all laughed.

The next morning, Snow felt as if her feet were simply floating through the orchard as she stared upward at the trees. The blossoms now gone and the leaves beginning to turn multiple colors of yellow and orange as one of them brushed against her hair. She had a dream last night, a wonderful dream. She was here in the orchard, just like she was now. Mike was with her. But things were different, much different. In her dream, it was the Halloween festival and Mike was dressed so handsomely as a prince-the prince of her dreams. Only in this dream, he WAS the prince of the Willows. She would no longer need to worry about her decree, that silly decree. Snow quickly apologized under her breath to her father, or to whomever, for calling the decree 'silly'. But in her dream, she was so happy. She returned here to the orchard to, if just for a moment, pretend it were true. Her daydream was interrupted by the rumbling of her stomach. She hadn't had breakfast yet and she was starving. Apples! Over by one of the trees was a basket of apples that her prince.....er umm .....Mike had no doubt been picking that morning. She loved apples and right on top of the bunch was an exceptionally large red one. Just as she was about to bite into it, it was snatched out of her hands. "Whoa, wait Snow." Mike's face looked almost white as he held the apple she was about to eat. Snow felt a combination of confusion at Mike's actions and dreaminess in seeing his warm smile so briefly after her previous night's dream about him. Thinking quickly, "These haven't been washed, yet. But I have some nice clean peaches in the kitchen, probably the last ones till next year. They are just about out of season. You should get them while you can." Snow smiled, "Sounds lovely." Mike felt embarrassed in taking the fruit right out of her hand, but he couldn't help but feel an uneasiness in watching Snow eat an apple. He knew it was silly-just a dumb story in a book, but he just didn't feel comfortable. "OK Karen. Whatcha got up yer sleeve?" asked Stevie as he followed Kaz into the orchard. "There she is. Royal archery champion!" said Karen when she saw Snow. "I found this set and wondered if you would do us the honors?" as she presented Snow with a bow and packet of several arrows. "Champion? Oh, Karen, I don't know if I'm that good. I'll probably disappoint you." Mike folded his arms, "Well, no matter what, I know you'll be better than me. I've never even picked up a set myself. Please go ahead. I would really like to see you shoot also." "Yes, please Snow," came a plea from Stevie with his begging eyes. "Here, how about shooting at this." Mike took an arrow and thrust it through one of the apples, then shoved into the tree bark. "Well, alright, since you are all so insisting." Snow stepped back about six meters. She loaded the bow instinctively and shot at the apple. Bam! The arrow landed almost dead center. "Oi, Snow! 'at's a dead target center there!" came Stevie's approval. "Wow! I know who to get for my bodyguard, now." Mike applauded. "Well, maybe I was a little close, there. I'll step back a little more. I can't remember how far back I usually practice. I just shoot, is all." She stepped back to about ten meters, loaded the bow and let the arrow fly. Splat! The arrow hit the apple once again, this time just off to the side, but still making its mark. "Bravo, girl!" Kaz clapped "You are really good at this. We should get a contest going at the festival and put you in it." "Aye, Karen! That's a great idea! What if we was to 'ave a contest with teams and 'ave different games and stuff and prizes-like that. Ya think we could do that for the festival?" Stevie's begging eyes directed at Karen this time. Karen thought that this was perhaps one of Stevie's better ideas. "You know Stevie, that's a wonderful idea. I think that would great fun, and I'm going to tell the others that it was all your idea." Stevie beamed with pride and smiled at Snow, "Well I know this much, Snow. I wanna be on your team, eh?" "Make that two," coming from Mike's direction. "Let's see what different games everyone can come up with and we'll put it all together. That reminds me, " and with a gleam in Karen's eye, "Snow, did you decide on your costume yet? I thought maybe you'd like to join us girls in Jen's cabin and we can compare ideas?" Snow giggled, "Well, yes, actually," she glanced at Mike and then back at Karen, "I did think of something. But I hope you don't think it's silly." Karen smiled, "Nonsense! Come on then. Let's go have a little, girl talk. Shall we?"

Upon arriving at Jen's cabin, Snow and Kaz found Jen, Sue, and Yvonne picking through different remnants, swapping outrageous ideas and laughing. "Can you picture Dinger in something like this?" giggled Jen. Kahlua and Yvonne laughed hysterically. Jen quickly shoved the remnant under the pile as Snow and Kaz walked in. "Picture Dinger in something like what?" demanded Karen. "Oh nothing." Jen said innocently while Kahlua and Yvonne struggle to stifle their laughter, and Kahlua unintentionally lets out a 'snort'. Trying to change the subject, Jen approaches Snow, "Ah, Snow. We're so glad you're here! Sit down, dear. Have you thought about what you'll wear at the festival yet?" Snow was baffled at the way the girls were fussing over her. Snow would never imagine that they had a plan of their own. "Well, yes. I've always wondered what it would be like to fly. I thought I could make a pair of wings out of material covered chicken wire and be perhaps a fairy, or actually fairy princess as Mike suggested. Is that really silly?" Yvonne giggled, "No, that isn't silly at all, Snow." Kahlua's eyes widened as she stopped sifting through remnants, "As Mike suggested, huh? What else did he suggest?" Snow looked sown shyly, "Well, he wanted to go as matching prince and princess, but I didn't think he would look right wearing the wings." The girls all laughed with Snow clueless as to the meaning behind it. "So what did you suggest back?" winked Jen. "Well, I simply thought he could just go as a regular prince rather than a fairy one." Kahlua grumbled, "A 'fairy' prince? Nope....wrong person." Kaz gave her a 'shush' look. "What do you all think?" inquired a curious Snow. "Oh, well I definitely think that would be a lovely costume," Jen started, "and perfect for you. Let's see, how about this?" Jen pulls out a short white negligee. Snow frowned, "That's really short, Jen." "Of course," Jen continued, "You're a 'fairy' princess, not a regular one. Faeries wear shorter dresses, like Tinkerbell." "Like who?" "Tinkerbell was a magical fairy who wore really short dresses, that's all. Don't worry, you'll have something on underneath it, of course." "Hey, Jen, maybe we could find something a little longer for her, " inquired Kaz, "We don't want to give her 'culture shock'." "Or the guys, either," added Sue, "Some of them still have problems with jeans, remember?" "Nah!" came Jen's retort. "The festival will be a perfect place for everybody to just get a grip then." "Everyone will be in costume. It will be a time for everybody to just have fun and hang out...well not literally of course," as Jen noticed Snow wincing at the length of the dress. Jen gave her some additional materials to build her wings with and extra trimming for the dress. "Now, there is another issue we would like to talk to you about, dear...." as she hid the vile behind her back.

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As Snow rubbed the vile in her fingertips, she pondered what the other ladies told her. She had never heard of such a substance. "What do you think about it all, Tweety?" The little bird eyed her fingers as if he were inspecting them for food. "Something you mix with a perfume that would give off a scent to attract a male? Sounds almost barbaric, but still interesting." Although Snow was in the habit of using vanilla as a natural perfume, she didn't have any immediate intentions on using the oil in the near future. She hadn't seen a need for such a thing. "It has always been within my heart to find a gentleman that will love me for who I am." Although the thought was an interesting concept, she thought it would be almost cruel for her to use a potion such as this on a gentleman, and then not return the affection. But still, she couldn't help but wonder what kind of effect it would have. Brushing away the thought, she tucked the oil away in a drawer, gave Tweety a little rub on the head, and then tucked herself away in her new loft bed.

"What about a 'witches' brew', Mike?" inquired Jen as she helped him decide on the items to be served at the upcoming festival. "A what?" as Mike continued writing finger food ideas down on paper. "A witches' brew! Ya know, a party punch that really packs a 'punch'-has a kick to it?" He nodded, "Oh, you mean 'spiked punch'?" "Exactly! That's just what this festival needs! I mean Dinger already has us coming back in here at the end of the evening like prisoners. Might as well make the best of the situation with some interesting conversation, or possibly games and such over a good witches' brew." Jen reached down to pet the new black cat that was affectionately rubbing against her leg. Mike shrugged, "I guess we can do that. I would just hate to see anyone overdo it and be sick the next day, like some people we have already seen fall victim to such an action." He shook his head as he remembered Dinger's difficult day. "So what ideas have we got so far in the way of Hallow's Eve treats for the festival?" as Jen leaned over to glance at his paper. Oh, ya gotta add Dead Sea Soup. I can make that one." Mike eyed her with curiosity, "Dead Sea Soup, huh? OK, this I gotta taste for sure."

"That's it Tweety, that's the last step." As Snow came off of the final rung of the ladder to her treehouse. "Now it's off we go to find you some breakfast. How about some nice juicy worms, eh? Only for you would I go dig up worms, well and maybe for prince fishing-- I mean fishing with the prince, perhaps." Carrying Tweety in a basket-made-bed, the little bird was still not able to fly. Snow made her way over to the rabbit and chicken pens where Edward kept his fishing gear usually. But it wasn't there. "Wait a minute. He said he would wait for me. Surely, he didn't forget." She went around to the barn to see if he had left his equipment there and ran into Stevie. "Hallo, Snow. Whatcha doin' this mornin'?" came his usual happy tone. "Have you seen Edward this morning, Stevie?" "Oi, I seen him headin' toward his usual fishin' spot just a while ago. I guess we'll 'ave fish for dinner, eh?" He did forget then, thought Snow as her lips involuntarily curled into their usual pout. "Aye, there. Wha' ya look so sad there for princess? Did ya need to speak with 'im?" "No, I just thought he was going to take me fishing with him, is all, since I can't venture into the woods alone due to Dinger's rules." She emphasized Dinger's name sarcastically. "Aye, there Snow. No need ta worry. I'll take out there if ya'd like." Snow's face brightened as though she'd walked into a surprise birthday party, "Oh Stevie, would you? That would be so lovely! Thank you!" She kissed him on the cheek, and he grinned, speechless. "Hey, now. What's this?" Mike had come around the corner to get some more canning jars he'd stashed in the barn. He teased them knowing Stevie was harmless, "What's all this? Stevie, all the men are going to be jealous of you, there if you're not careful." Stevie didn't catch that Mike was just kidding, "Oi, Snow just wanted to go fishing with Edward, but he forgot to wait for her and I just offered to take her to where he usually goes, that's all. Ya know, since the girls can't go out into th' woods alone from wha' Dinger said and all." Snow looked down at the ground refusing to meet Mike' suspicious gaze. I wish he hadn't spilled all of that, thought Snow. She didn't really want to advertise her visits with Edward, especially to Mike, of all people. Mike, in seeing her uneasiness with Stevie's explanation, "So, Snow you enjoy fishing?" Snow pets the little bird in her basket and manages a shy reply, "Well, yes. I do find it quite relaxing." Mike never got a response look back from Snow, "Well, I was just after some more canning jars. A harvester's work is never done. See you all at lunch, then." Snow barely heard a word Stevie said as they trekked into the woods toward the river. She was too lost in her own thoughts, her own feelings of guilt, or was it more of regret? Here just the night before, she had planned to be a fairy princess to Mike's prince and then she is caught red-handed in her schemes to visit Edward. You idiot! Snow thought, if you had just played it cool and not acted like it was such a big deal, Mike never would have known. But no! You had to go and not even look at him, like the cat that ate the bird, or um, mouse-sorry, Tweety. She glanced at her feathered friend in the basket. And in fact she was regretting the whole thing, now. Fairy princess with her prince-she only wished. Only wished like in her dream that Mike was the prince, the real prince. OK, that's enough, Snow. You really must get over these little 'pitty parties' you keep having for yourself. What's done is done. You can't change what's here. A dream is a dream and what's real is what's real. Everything else is...."Snow?" Stevie had stopped and was looking at her with a questioning stare. "Did you hear what I said, Snow? Are you alright?" Snapping back to where she really was, "Oh, yes. Sorry, Stevie. I guess I'm still sleeping this morning, ya know?" " 'Ats alright. It wadn't important anyway. " "Hark, who goes there? I hear voices." Edward teased. "It's me, Stevie, and I've got Snow with me. Did you forget to take her with you this morning?" "Stevie!" said Snow embarrassed. "Oh goodness, I'm so sorry, Snow. You're exactly right. I forgot all about the fact that you can't go into the woods alone, after the world according to Dinger there the other night. Here I was, expecting you to pop along any minute. I suppose it's too early in the morning for me today. Please have a seat, both of you." Snow was relieved as she felt those blasted butterflies leave her stomach as they so often come to visit her. So he DID expect me, Snow thought. And I was afraid he had forgotten. "What have you got there? A little visitor?" Edward peered curiously into the basket. "I brought Tweety with me today. Would you happen to have a tiny little extra worm you could spare?" Edward smiled, "Of course. The fish don't much go for these little ones. He can have as many as he likes." "Stevie!" came the booming voice of Dinger. "I thought I saw you trek into the woods with the pr---with Snow, that is. I'm glad you're heeding the warning, miss." Snow refused to look at the barbarian and continued to feed her bird. "No never mind, I don't need any acknowledgement from ya. Just so ya know that I'm watching you princess. I know how ya like to go strolling by yourself. But just remember, it's for your own good. Don't leave here alone without Eddy, now--got that?" "Don't worry, I wouldn't dream of it!" Snow finally glared back at him. Dinger grinned and shook his head, amused at the girl's defiant spirit against his own authoritative nature. Maybe she had some guts after all, he thought. "Stevie, I wondered if you might come and help with a couple of things back at the village." Stevie followed Dinger like a puppy, as usual. Hmmm, Snow thought. Dinger actually did me a favor today, and without even knowing it. After a few moments' pause, a rather uncomfortable one at that, Snow managed, "Edward, what was your life like before you came here to the Willows? Did you have a family? "Oh, yes, I did have a wife and son, respectively the queen and prince along with me and my brother." Snow looked out onto the water. So they were your last memory of home, then?" Edward winced at the thought, "No, not exactly. I'd rather prefer to not think about my last memory of home, actually, but yes, I guess they were part of the whole picture." Snow made designs in the dirt with a stick, "Do you miss having a family, or a companion, for example?" Edward thought for a second, "Well, not really. Since I arrived here in the village, I have found the other men to be like brothers to me. They have actually become my new family, new companions. So I guess the answer to that is no," he added innocently. "So you don't miss having a wife or child, then?" Snow kept her gaze on her dirt art below. "Not really, no. It's kind of nice to have the freedom to just be me for a change. I don't have to worry about the responsibilities of wearing a crown here in the village. I'm part of a team here where we are just trying to survive." She looked up from her artwork, "If I may be so bold, as to get your thoughts on the recent arrivals to the village--namely, us girls?" Edward tilted his head, keeping his eyes on the fishing lure out in front of him, "Oh, it's a fine thing, I suppose. We could use a woman's touch around here on some things. Plus it doesn't hurt to have some help doing chores and cooking and such. But I'm sure I have a different take on the idea than the other men. No doubt, some of them are interested in one thing or another, like being in the company of a woman and the like. But I'm just not after those kinds of things at this point in my life right now, you know. I can only guess that you aren't the type of girl that likes being 'chased' by different men, so you can feel safe with me. I would never do that sort of thing. That is what you were getting at, wasn't it? In no certain terms? You needn't worry. You're safe from being 'hunted' around me, so to speak." "I appreciate that, I suppose." Snow felt the butterflies had returned, and brought their friends this time. Great, she thought. That's just what she wanted to hear, sure thing Ed. I wonder what that's all about? Perhaps he had a bad relationship with the queen that left a bad taste in his mouth, thought Snow. Maybe she should go have another talk with Yvonne and see if she will tell her more this time. More about what is really going on with Edward. Then again, maybe Edward just needed a little 'push'.... like from a certain potion, perhaps? Stop it, Snow. You're not going to use that stuff. I'll bet this wouldn't be so difficult with Mike. Oh, there you go again with the pity party thing! Quit it! Edward began to pack in his gear, "Well, I guess we won't be having fish tonight. Doesn't look like they're biting today. They will probably be serving lunch soon. Ready to go back?" Snow smiled weakly, "Sure." She scooped up Tweety as they hiked back to the village. Snow felt the pout try and return to her lips, so she bit her bottom lip to keep Edward from seeing. Not wishing to speak at all on the way back, lest she give away her disappointment somehow, she asked Edward if he knew what the different types of trees were they passed on their way back to the village. That way, the rest of the hike was composed solely of Edward pointing and reciting the different types of trees and what kinds of spores they produced. Perhaps it had been a stupid question, thought Snow, but she didn't care.

Snow found Mike in the kitchen preparing chicken for lunch that day. "Do you need a hand, there Mike?" Snow looked at him with pleading eyes. "Sure, why not. I'd always accept an invitation from you, Snow." She blushed, "Well, I'm afraid we just didn't catch anything at the river. I just thought I'd tag along this morning. You know, trying to get the hang of fishing and getting to know everyone and, well, you know, everything else like that." Golly, Snow you're rambling, she thought! He's really going to think you're batty, now! "Snow, you surely don't have to explain yourself to me, love. Besides, you know I'd never worry about Eddy of all people, " he laughed. Now, what did he mean by that? Why not worry about Eddy? What was the deal with everybody regarding Edward!? Alright, now I have to find out, thought Snow.

After lunch, Snow couldn't find Yvonne, but Stevie suggested they go for a walk into the woods, as he wanted to look for "scary looking" branches to decorate with for the festival. "Oi, here's some over 'ere. These look pretty scary, don't they Snow?" But Snow didn't hear Stevie. She was too preoccupied with a strange mist over in a small clearing ahead. She stepped closer and an eerie feeling came over her. "Aye, Snow you alright? Ya sleeping again are ya?" Stevie teased. But as he came closer to her, he could see her face was almost white, her complexion paler than usual, her wide-eyed expression directed in the distance toward the misty clearing. "Stevie, what's over there?" pointing to the clearing a few meters away. "Wha'? Well I'll be!! Ya know what tha' is? 'Ats where I found you Snow! Right there in 'at pile of leaves!" He walks towards the clearing. "No, Stevie, I don't have a good feeling about what's over there." It's alright Snow. I've been here hundreds of times." Snow reluctantly follows him over to the familiar pile of leaves she began her quest into this new life from. "See 'ere, Snow. You 'ad to 'ave fallen from outta this tree, maybe. There's no other place you could've come from." Behind the leaf pile, stood a large tree...an odd-looking tree with a hollow area at the bottom. Snow wouldn't get too close to the area. She felt a breeze on her face mixed with the mist in the air and she began to hear something in the wind, a voice almost. It was saying something. It was speaking her name! She would swear to it! She grabbed Stevie's arm, "Come on, Stevie. Let's go." Stevie was peering into the hollow bottom of the tree, "No, let's 'ave a look and see if we can see where you came from, eh?" The voice in the wind was getting louder saying her name over and over. She tugged at Stevie's arm, an urgency rising in her voice, "No, come on! We gotta go NOW!!" "It's alright Snow. We're not gonna be late for supper, promise." She let go of Stevie's arm and backed away from the tree, feeling the mist all around her. It was the same mist that followed her through the enchanted forest as she ran from the huntsman, from her stepmother. She tried to tell Stevie to hurry, but she couldn't speak, she couldn't breathe. What was wrong? She was choking-she tried to gasp, but couldn't. She grabbed her throat. On the outside it felt normal but on the inside, her airway felt blocked. She couldn't get any air at all! Stevie, HELP, she thought! She couldn't get his attention. She ran out of the clearing, out of the mist and fell to the ground gasping for air finally able to breath. She clawed at the leaves on the ground as she caught her breath. In her grasp she clutched a large broken branch. She held it for what might come after her, out of the clearing. Whatever that was, she was ready in case it materialized again. She got up, still not able to speak, and so she ran. She ran back to the village as fast as she could. Stevie or not, she had to get away from there, away from whatever that was, choking her, killing her. "Snow, would you look at this? Where do ya suppose this came from?" He turned around, but Snow was not there. "Snow? Where are ya? Snow!!" Frightened that she was in the woods alone, he knew he had to go after her. He went to put the object he just discovered into his pocket, then stopped to look at it once more and wondered if it's purpose had anything to do with Snow in relation to the story behind the fairy tale. He rubbed the shiny object in his fingers, then put in his pocket, carefully. He didn't want to cut himself.....on the broken piece of a mirror he had just found inside the tree.

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Snow was putting the finishing touches on her costume. Made from the satin short slip given to her by Jennifer, Snow had lined the outside with sheer white chiffon and added a large ruffle with a silver ribbon at the bottom of the satin garment. The small straps of the slip were now covered with a lovely lace. Snow also added more strips of lace across the rest of the shoulder down to the arm, giving the dress the look of five straps on the shoulders. Along the neckline, a trim of lace with a silver ribbon to match the hem. Her wings were crafted with chicken wire, covered with white chiffon, and also trimmed in lace and silver ribbon. Of course, pinned to the center of her neckline was her most prized possession-her family crest. As an added touch to her fairy princess costume, she had fashioned a crown of flowers that she had picked near the edge of the woods and fastened it with chicken wire. Hanging down from the back of the crown were the lace and silver ribbons she had used in her costume. Snow held the costume up for Karen to see, "Are you sure you don't think it's too short? That garment Jen gave me...what was it called again? A negli-- what?" "Negligee, " finished Yvonne. "Yes, that was it. I just thought it was really short, so I added some more material to the bottom, here." Karen stood up and spun around in her pretty witch costume, "Well Snow, look. Mine is even shorter than yours, so you don't have to worry. The men will all be staring at me instead, " and she gave a wink to Kahlua who smiled and shook her head. "Well, that's good I suppose, because Dinger says it isn't good for me to 'flunte' around the gentleman with not a lot of clothing on." "Flunte? Oh, you mean 'flaunt'! Flaunt around!" laughed Karen. Kahlua gave an irritated look at Snow's statement, "Snow, don't you listen to Dinger. He's just talking to hear himself talk most the time," with a sideways glance at Karen. "Ta da!" Jen bursts through the door ceremoniously in her lovely crushed green velvet dress. "Well, what do you think?" "I think somebody will have to hold Ribold down when you enter the party, dear!" said Yvonne teasingly. "Wow, that's lovely, Jen. I really think I should have gone with a longer dress, like back home," as Snow looked at Jen's long green dress, "However, I made this hooded cape much like one I had at home. Perhaps I'll just leave it on all night." Kahlua gasped, "Snow, no! You can't do that! You worked so hard on your dress. It's lovely, and it isn't that short, really. And what about your wings? The cloak will cover your pretty wings. You have to take it off sometime." "Well, I'll think about it. I guess," as Snow wrapped the white cloak around her shoulders. "Aye, ya girls in there?" came Stevie's voice with a knocking at the door. "All the chores are done now, and Dinger says we can start the games and stuff for the party! Are ya ready yet?" "Poor Stevie, I think he's just about ready to jump out of his skin waiting on this party all week. I'll bet he didn't sleep a wink last night." Karen whispered, then continued to Stevie, "Yes, Stevie. We're all about done. Tell all the guys to meet us in the main hut. We'd prefer to make a, " she paused to think, "ceremonious entrance." Karen looked to Yvonne who giggled and to Kahlua who gave a 'thumbs up' signal. Snow looked at Kahlua's thumb wondering if she were hurt.

All of the food was prepared and laid out. Mike was relieved that he wouldn't have to spend the better part of the festival in the kitchen. He was also glad he hadn't spilled anything on the costume that Snow had made for him. When he picked it up at her tree house that morning, Stevie was there as usual. He knew that Stevie's relationship with Snow was harmless, but he couldn't help but be jealous. At least, he hoped their relationship was harmless, he thought. Perhaps he should watch their progression more closely. All the men waited in the main hall. It was just about noontime. Ivanhoe adorned a handsomely formed armor of chain mail with a black crest. Just as he has hinted the other evening, he was the "Black Knight". He said it was someone he once knew and greatly respected. Killion did NOT come as the Headless Horseman for obvious reasons, but as a hooded priest or monk-minus the bald head. Stevie was of course in the 'ghost' sheet that Snow cut out for him, although Raif and Nigel batted around the idea that he should have been Snow's court jester. Stevie had not quite understood their meaning, and Dinger melted away their teasing with a hard stare. Nigel chose the easy route and decided to be a hunter, in his usual attire and unloaded hunting rifle. Raif and Edward wore the matching grim reaper or otherwise known as 'Brothers Grimm' idea that Raif conjured up for Snow to make them. Travis had decided to be a vampire. He said it was a great excuse to be able to bite the ladies on the neck. His statement received groans from the other men in the room. All of the men could hardly wait to see what the ladies were wearing. Their imaginations ran wild when Stevie came in with his announcement of the girls' entrance shortly. The boom box was already playing party music awaiting any willing soul to come to and dance to its tune. The door to the main hall opened and the men were almost tempted to hold their breaths as the ladies strolled in. Upon seeing such visions of loveliness, it almost took their breaths away after all. Stevie all but bounded over to Snow to tell her how lovely she looked. Duncan immediately approached Yvonne and took her hand and kissed it. Ribold quickly followed and asked Jen to dance. After thinking for a second just to torture him, she said yes. As they joined Duncan and Yvonne, Murray took a quick look around the room to be sure no one was going to try and beat him to the punch to ask Kahlua to dance, and then strolled over to ask her. Stevie wasn't very comfortable at dancing, so instead he offered to get Snow some punch. Seizing his opportunity, Mike quickly headed in Snow's direction, so as not to give an open door to Raif to dance with Snow first. But it was too late. Raif had appeared almost out of nowhere and asked Snow to dance. Snow gave a look of concern, still thinking about she would rather not remove the cloak she wore to hide the revealing nature of her costume. "Well, I'm not sure I'm very familiar with the way everyone dances here. I'm sure it's quite different than I am used to." Raif smiled at her innocence, "That's alright sweetheart. I'll teach you everything you need to know." Although reluctant, Raif took her hand and started to lead over to where the others were dancing. As Snow took a step and turned around, Stevie was coming towards her with a cup of punch for her. They collided and punch flew all down her cloak. "Snow, oh dear I'm s' sorry! I go' punch all over yer pretty cape!" "Not to worry, it will wash out I'm sure. Here, Mike can rinse this out for you. Can't you Mike?" assured Raif as he untied Snow's cloak before she