First Frost (30 page)

Rose quickly climbed down the cabinet she’d been trying to climb in order to reach her daughter. She ran to Bianca and gently touched her forehead, the way she used to when she was a baby. She kissed her cheek, her forehead and the very top of her head.

Rose then examined Bianca’s hand. The apple shaped bruise on the palm of her hand was the size of a half-dollar coin, and it had tiny red veins that sprouted out of it as though trying to latch onto Bianca’s fingers.

“Why didn’t you tell me about this sooner?” Rose wondered aloud.

Bianca, unable to speak, only shook her head.

“Come on, let’s get out of here,” Rose said.

Terrance stood up, with Bianca safely in his arms. They all made their way toward the exit. Just as they reached the way out, Rose touched the massive wooden door and cast a fire spell. The door burst into flames as though it had been doused with gasoline.

“Bianca?” Terrance whispered her name as he lay her down on her ground. They were at a safe distance from the castle. The grass was burned and the color of ashes, a sharp contrast to Bianca’s milky white skin.

Bianca opened her eyes and gazed at Terrance. She’d been afraid she would never see him again. He smiled as he smoothed her jet black hair and tucked it neatly behind her ears.

“Hurts,” she whimpered.

Terrance studied the bruises on her neck. Prince Ferdinand joined them and sat down next to Bianca. Luna sniffed Terrance and then reluctantly sat several feet away from the odd group.

“I can’t believe a ghost can cause so much harm to a single human being. I’m amazed your neck isn’t broken,” Prince Ferdinand whispered.

Bianca tried to sit up, but grimaced in pain and slowly lay back down.

“Shh, don’t worry. You’re safe now,” he said.

“Mom?” she croaked, searching for her mother.

“She’s on her way here. She’s setting the castle on fire…at least that’s what it looks like from where I’m sitting,” he explained.

Bianca smiled.
Good riddance
.

Rose finally returned to the group and sat down beside her daughter. She frowned and after several minutes of silently studying Bianca’s wounded neck, she finally said, “I hope this works.”

She cast a spell and healed most of Bianca’s neck wound. It still hurt to turn her head from side to side. But she could speak without sounding like a toad.

She looked around and frowned. Where was her father? “Terrance?”

“Yes?”

“Where’s my dad?” she asked.

“The last I saw of him he was taking care of some of the guards at the main entrance of the castle,” Terrance said.

“You found your father?” Rose’s voice cracked as she asked the question.

They called out to David until he finally appeared. He took slow steps, and it seemed as though he was literally dragging his feet beneath him.

Rose fell down on her knees when she saw the great black bear. He gingerly took steps closer to Rose. She couldn’t stop staring at him. She opened her mouth to speak but all that escaped her lips was a series of sobs that threatened to shake the earth to its core. Tears poured out of her eyes, as though she were a river. The greedy soil welcomed her gift of tears. She reached out and caressed his face. After ten years of searching, she finally found him.

“David,” she whispered. A word. A name so charged with love that it was electrifying. Out of a land that was barren. Their love was able to create life…or at least the promise of it. The sky was brighter, flowers bloomed, butterflies fluttered around them, curious and wanting to be a part of the love that surrounded David and Rose. At that moment, anything was possible.

Rose smiled as she gazed into David’s ice blue eyes. There was no denying that he was in there somewhere. David licked Rose’s lips and face.

“Not exactly the type of kiss I was looking for, but it’s better than nothing,” she said with a smile.

The first genuine smile Bianca had seen since her father’s disappearance. Everyone remained silent. They were witnesses to true love in its rarest form. None of them had ever seen anything like it.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

“Human Girl.”

“Yes, Luna?” Bianca replied.

“I must leave you now.”

Bianca smiled and told her that she understood.

“I will be eternally grateful for what you have done.”

“I’m just glad I was able to help.”

“Anyone else in your position would demand as many favors from me as possible. You are a strange human.”

“Yeah…I get that a lot.”

“Should you ever need me, just call my name to the North Wind. I will hear you. Goodbye, Human Girl.” Luna gave her a short bow.

“Goodbye, Luna.”

The great white wolf walked up to Terrance and studied him for a moment with inquisitive hazel eyes. “Why do you smell familiar to me, Human Boy?” She sniffed the air that surrounded him and gave him a quizzical look.

“We share the same blood, you and I,” Terrance explained.

“Do we now?” Luna asked.

“My father is your son…William.”

“I see,” she whispered.

Terrance let out a gasp when Luna surprised him by licking his face and hair.

“Tell my son that his mother misses him,” Luna said.

“I will.” Terrance nodded.

“Farewell…Grandchild.” And having spoken those words, Luna finally left.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Bianca sat up and gazed at Lenore’s castle. Half of the building was engulfed in flames.

“Mom? Am I finally going crazy or do you see what I’m seeing?” Bianca asked as she squinted.

Rose sighed and searched in Bianca’s backpack until she found her glasses.

“Here.” Rose handed the wire framed glasses to her daughter.

Bianca groaned but put the glasses on. It felt good to have her mother back. She was relieved to have someone take care of her for a change. She was able to see much better and was happy to see that she was correct: there was a figure emerging from the flames.

“Look.” Bianca pointed to the entrance of the castle. Rose and Bianca got as close as they could. They were precariously close to the fiery building, but Bianca wanted to get a closer look.

Amid the flames, they could see two ghosts, Snow White and Mirabel, standing before each other.

“I’m weary of all this nonsense, Mirabel. Aren’t you tired of fighting?” Snow White asked.

“You ruined my life, you little whelp. The moment I set foot into your father’s castle, I not only had to compete with you for your father’s affections, but I also had to compete with your mother’s bloody ghost! Everywhere I looked there was a portrait of her or some memento your father refused to get rid of no matter how hard I begged.”

“That was not my fault,” Snow White replied.

“You ruined my life. Now I’m going to destroy
everything
and
everyone
you hold dear.”

“You know very well that what you plan to do is impossible. They are strong.” Snow White looked at Rose and Bianca and smiled.

Mirabel contorted her face in anger and screamed with rage. She then threw an emerald green energy ball at Snow White. She deflected Mirabel’s sickly energy by barely lifting her hand.

“I am not a terrified little girl anymore, Mirabel. While you have been hiding in the shadows, feeding off of everyone’s nightmares, I was living my life and learning and practicing my craft. I know things that would astonish you…if such a thing were even possible.”

Mirabel launched herself into the air like a panther. Snow White grabbed Mirabel by the throat in midair. Bianca gasped when she saw the look of fierce determination on Snow White’s perfect face.

“You will plague my family no more,” Snow White said.

A flash of white light burst up toward the sky. Bianca covered her eyes as the light became brighter and brighter. When she uncovered her eyes, the castle was burnt to the ground and the flames that had engulfed the building had been extinguished. All that remained were ashes and puffs of smoke that curled into careless tendrils that caressed the sky.

“Where did they go?” Bianca whispered.

“I don’t know,” Rose replied.

“Well…they were dead before. But I think Snow White finally killed her spirit,” Bianca guessed.

“You are correct,” Snow White’s said as she emerged from the ashes like an ivory phoenix. Snow White walked toward her kin. “You fought well, Bianca. Rose, you should be very proud of your daughter. She was very brave.”

“Oh, I am.” Rose put an arm around Bianca and kissed her on the cheek.

“Bianca,” Snow White said.

“Yes?”

“I need you to give me the little hand mirror.”

“Um…Lenore is in there.”

“I know. I’ll take care of it.”

Bianca looked through her backpack until she found the mirror. She handed it to Snow White. How she was able to hold onto something material when she herself was a ghost, Bianca would never know. All she knew was that she felt an immense sense of relief as she passed on the responsibility to someone else.

“Don’t feel guilty. You did what you had to do in order to protect yourself and your loved ones,” Snow White said, almost as if she had read her mind.

“I know…it’s just…I can’t help but feel bad,” she said with a shrug of her shoulders.

Snow White nodded. She remained silent. There were no words of comfort she could give her. It was something Bianca had to deal with on her own.

“I must go now,” Snow White said.

“Wait. Where are you going?” Bianca asked.

Snow White let out a happy sigh. “I finally get to rest. I can
finally
go home now.”

A massive, regal white door appeared several feet away from them.

“Will we ever see you again?” Bianca asked.

“When it comes to our family? Never say never, but I have a feeling that you will be just fine without me,” she replied.

“Thank you for all your help,” Bianca said.

“You’re very welcome.”

“Goodbye.”

Rose echoed the same words and waved goodbye to the most famous woman who ever lived.

“Farewell,” Snow White said with a bright smile on her face.

The white door then swung open and waiting on the other side was a man dressed in princely finery. He had light brown hair and kind green eyes. Snow White ran to the man and embraced him. Snow White rested her head on his broad shoulders and allowed herself that moment with him. She lifted her gaze toward him and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips.

“Is that…?”

“Her husband? I think so, yes,” Rose replied.

“Wow,” Bianca whispered.

She wondered if she would live happily ever after once she walked through that door. Would she remember her life? Would she remember what it was like to be alive and in love? Would Snow White remember the pain she lived through? Would she remember Bianca? She wondered all of these things as she watched Snow White disappear to another world, someplace she couldn’t follow.