(This page is dedicated to the
stories of Snow in Waddington Willows written by Sherry Brandon)
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the links to each chapter:
Chapter 130–“Danger in the Woods”
“Snow?” Mike whispered to the figure below him. He couldn’t believe his eyes. He knew that Snow was with Eddie at the
stream fishing…or whatever they were doing.
So how could she possibly be here?
Then he looked into her eyes.
They did not seem to show any fear at all. Her eyes showed a warmness
that he had not seen in months…since the incident with Ed, since he and Snow
had separated, in fact. All it once it
hit him like lightning. The realization
hit him so hard that he gasped out loud.
He slid off of her and to the side in shock. He suddenly felt like the one who had
betrayed, rather than the one who had been betrayed. He knew.
In one look into her deep blue eyes and he knew everything. That woman in the village who had been so
cold to him was not his wife…was not his Snow.
THIS was his Snow…his precious Princess whom he’d not seen in so
long. His gasp startled Snow and quickly
she jumped up and ran fearing that she had blown the operation. She did not wish to overturn the plans that
her mother and Raif had so carefully made. “Snow!” He ran after her. As he rounded the edge of the trail, he
slammed into Raif, knocking them both down. “Good God, Mike! Where on earth are you going in such a
hurry?” He glanced at Raif and then up at Liz who stood over them with the usual
basket they prepare for their hikes into the woods. It dawned on him then…this was for Snow. They had been hiding her…but why from
him? Why would Liz of all people allow
this ridiculous charade with Margurite to continue
and cause him so much pain? Quickly,
Mike stood to his feet, “Liz, both of you…I know. I know what’s going on. I just saw her. You can tell me what’s happening.” Liz gave a quick glance to Raif as he rose to his to his feet and offered a nervous
grin, “What are you talking about Mike?”
Mike took a deep breath to try and contain his eagerness, but he just
couldn’t. He grabbed Raif
by the shirt, “Cut the crap, Partridge!
I just saw Snow…the REAL Snow!
Now I know you two have been hiding her and I want to know where!” Liz’ eyes were wide as she looked at Raif then nodded.
Mike let go of his grip on Raif’s shirt as he
started, “Look…Margurite captured Snow the night
of…well, the night Ed posed as you.
She’s been masquerading as Snow ever since. It’s been obvious that she has had a crush on
Edward since last year. Mum and I found
the real Snow under the queen’s Eternal Rest spell at the emergency cabin near
the mine. Look, I’m sorry we didn’t tell
you. Please don’t be mad at Liz…it was
my idea. We wanted to try and trap Marg in her own game.
We thought that the best way to do that was if neither you nor Eddie
knew the truth. We didn’t want you to
fly off the handle and go after the queen.
God only knows what she would do to you.
So if you’re going to blame anyone…blame me, and not Liz.” Mike looked at Liz and then gave an
exasperated sigh, “I’m not blaming anyone, I guess. I have to accept your decision, although I do
NOT agree with it. But the fact is that
I DO know now that this is MY Snow. And
you’ll have to forgive me, but I am GOING to see her!” Raif gave a knowing
look to Liz who still wore a look of silent guilt, “I know. But please Mike, we need to form a plan
together. This is no time to go after
the queen in anger. We need to find a
way to trap her. We thought we found
that avenue at the divorce signing, but we were wrong. We thought she was using a forgery of Snow’s
ring to morph into Snow, but obviously that wasn’t it. We are trying to figure out what she is using
for her disguise. If we can get that
medium away from her, we can capture her and reveal who she really is!” Mike smiled sympathetically at Raif and then took silent Liz’s hand, “I have no desire to
go after the queen and thwart your plans.
I will help out in any way I can.
But please…I must be able to see Snow.
You have no idea what this whole ordeal has done to me.” Liz squeezed his hand, “Yes I do. I watch you every day. It breaks my heart to watch you lifelessly perform
your tasks when inside I can see the man within you dying. I can read it in your eyes.” She clasped both his hands in hers, “Oh Mike,
please know that it was never my desire to see you hurt. In fact, we have been trying our hardest to
get this situation resolved as fast as possible. I knew that Snow was weak. I suspected that she was following you, and I
feared that you would see her. But I’m
glad you have now, and I’m glad that we found you before you went to Margurite. Now we
are four-fold strong…well, five actually.”
Mike looked at her perplexed, “Five?”
Liz smiled, “Yes. Jennifer knew before any of us. She will help us. We just have to figure out what Margurite’s tool is for morphing into Snow’s form.” Suddenly, the group heard a familiar and
frightening sound. It was the sound of
wolves howling. Raif
grabbed Liz’s hand, “Quickly, we have to get back to the village for our
guns.” The three ran for the Willows
until they heard another familiar sound, a sound that made Mike stop in his
tracks and whirl around…the sound of Snow screaming.
Thomas brushed the queen’s cheek with tenderness, then took her hand and
kissed it. If this was the only way to
save his sweet Lily, then it was something that he would do. The queen accepted his kisses graciously, but
then pulled away somewhat, “So you would do this to save Lily? You love her that much?” Thomas didn’t know how to answer the queen. He did not wish to anger her. Yet, the truth had served him well so far, so
he decided to stay with it, “Yes.” The
queen nodded then backed away slightly.
She stretched her hand out to him.
On her finger, was a large ring. It looked like an oversized diamond encased
in gold. Thomas went to kiss her hand,
but she pulled it back slightly, “No…take the ring.” He looked at her confused. Was she trying to bribe him? Or perhaps make
him to be a part of her royal court?
“Take the ring, Thomas!” Willing
to do anything to save his Lily, he slipped the ring off of the queen’s
finger. Immediately before his eyes,
there was a flash of light and some sort of movement there in front of
him. He had to blink, and even then he
couldn’t believe his own eyes, “Lily?”
Stopping, Mike turned and headed for the scream of his Princess. Quickly, Raif
grabbed him, “Mike, no! We must go and
get the weapons to fight them! We will
never make it on our own!” Mike
screamed, “But she will never make it without our help! She has nothing!” Raif looked at a
most worried Liz, “We will be able to help her better with the weapons we
need.” With tears now in her eyes, she
knew he was right. She grabbed Mike by
the arm and nodded. He looked to her and
then rushed toward the village with a vengeance that she had never seen in him
before. As she followed behind she
thought, “There’s my son-in-law. He’s
back!” She wouldn’t allow herself to
feel the fear of the wolves with her daughter.
She didn’t need that now. They
needed to get back to the village and get the ammo they needed against these
wolves.
Raif grabbed his shotgun at his cabin while handing Liz a pistol. Mike had grabbed his own hunting rifle being
the Willows cook. Liz also thought to
grab Lily’s handgun that she left behind in her cabin as they headed back into
the woods. There was no time to explain
to the others…besides, they didn’t want to alert
anyone to their plan against Margurite. It had been awhile since wolves had attacked
the Willows. But now that it had gotten
very cold, it was going to become more frequent. “Snow!” They kept shouting as they ran closer to the
emergency cabin. Surely, she would have
sought safety there. As they approached
the cabin, a wolf jumped out of nowhere at Mike. Pure adrenaline shot the animal with his
rifle…his desire to reach his true love.
Next, one came at Liz. She shot
at it with the pistol Raif gave her. She missed.
She cursed under her breath as she wished she’d taken lessons. The animal lunged for her throat as Raif quickly butted the beast with his rifle and then shot
it as it came back for more. They
reached the cabin. A wolf then suddenly
jumped out of the cabin towards Mike.
Liz shot it through the heart with Lily’s handgun this time. After a brief second to decide that she liked
her other daughter’s weapon of choice, she then noticed that the door to the
cabin was wide open. She shuddered, now
realizing the extent of her fear.
Frozen, she stood outside the shack…thankfully, there were no wolves
left. Mike, on the other hand, had no
fear when it came to protecting Snow…HIS Snow.
He boldly entered the cabin, “Snow?
Snow!”
His urgent cries were answered with only silence. His eyes fell upon a sight that paralyzed him
in his tracks. Raif
rushed into the cabin with his shotgun ready, “What is it Mike?” Mike could find no words as he stared upon
his wife’s shoe. It was her short black
lace-up boot chewed to bits by a savage wolf over in the corner. Raif’s eyes soon
focused on what Mike stared upon, “Snow’s boot.” Suddenly feeling stupid at his words, Liz
entered almost in a trance as the realization of the situation finally hit her,
“Baby? Baby, where are you?” As her eyes focused on the boot, they then
glossed over before the visual set in.
She screamed. Raif
grabbed her and held her close. Mike
took the boot in his hands, “This should have been me. God! I
left her when she needed me most! This
should have been me!” His words were no
longer comprehensible by Raif as he held a weeping
Liz in his arms and at the same time observed Mike break down into sobs, taking
Snow’s boot into his hands like a precious baby.
Mike almost wished at that moment
that a wolf would prance upon him and rip out his throat. He would not fight back. What was his life now without his Princess? That imposter back at the village was not his
Snow. His love had been here all
along…sleeping. She had not been the
cold and unfaithful Snow he thought. How
could he have thought such things? He
knew better. He should have known, or at
least suspected. It didn’t matter now, though
did it? She was gone. The room was fuzzy as he peered through tear
soaked eyes, listening to the soft whimpers of his mother-in-law…her face
buried in Raif’s chest. The room was silent save the wind outside the
cabin and a rustling noise in the chimney.
The chimney?
The rustling became louder and all eyes looked to the fireplace. With a sudden ‘whoosh’ followed by a loud
bang, a cloud of powdered ash flew into the room. Amidst the smoke, they heard coughing.
Liz shooed Mike out of the cabin so
she could get Snow cleaned up. Secrecy
was of the utmost importance…they all knew that. She’d just drawn a hot bath for Snow as she
soaked comfortably in the warm water, “Oh dear.
I’m out of soap. I’ll run over
to Yvonne’s and get some. She just made
a new batch of floral scents.” Snow
cooed, “Oh, please if she has honeysuckle…?”
“Will do.”
Liz hurried out so the bath wouldn’t get cold. Snow washed the ashes and soot off of her
face with a wet cloth as suddenly her back was gently rubbed, “Wow, that was fast Mama.
What did you do, run to Yvonne’s?”
Snow was surprised to instead see Mike come around and kneel next to the
tub, “Sorry. I just to had to see you alone for just a few minutes. I know I will see your mother’s wrath for
this…but I don’t care.” Snow smiled,
“It’s OK. I’m glad you’re here. Now I don’t have to sneak around the woods to
see you. You’re right here with
me.” Mike gently scooped some warm water
into his hands and rubbed her shoulder, “Where we belong…together. Snow, I’m going to do everything humanly
possible to get this resolved quickly.
We’ll get Margurite and be together
again. I promise. But tomorrow is Christmas Eve, and I want to
spend it with my Princess. While Raif is reinforcing the emergency cabin tomorrow against
wolves, you can stay here with me. I’ll
tell Liz to tell the others that I’ve caught a case of the flu…no one will want
to come around me then. We will have our
own cabin to ourselves for Christmas Eve.
Please say yes, my love?” Snow
put her hand on his, “Well when you put it that way, how can I refuse?” As Mike leaned in to kiss her, the moment
was shattered, “MIKE! What are you doing
here?” Mike quickly turned to see Liz
standing over him with hands on hips, one of them holding a bar of soap. “Sorry, Mum.
I just…I had to see Snow. I HAD
to! You understand…right?” With a surrendering sigh, Liz allowed a grin
to escape to her lips, “Yes, I do. Now
be off with you…so I can get my daughter cleaned up for future visits.” Happily, Mike took Liz’s hand and kissed it
as he turned and left the cabin…although he still wished he could have kissed
his Snow.
“Lily?” Thomas couldn’t believe his eyes. In a flash, his Lily stood before him with a
devious yet inviting smirk on her face.
“Who else?”
He wanted to believe it so badly, but still this could be a trick. “Here, let me show you something else.” She took the ring back and put it on. Suddenly, he was looking at
Margurite
fidgeted with the family crest pinned against her breasts on Snow’s dress as
she churned the memories in her head.
She closed her eyes and replayed the scene in her mind. It was almost as if she were right back
there…standing outside the jail. Being
always suspicious of the mysterious Mai, Margurite
followed her to the jail that night. She
stopped outside the door and listened.
They had carelessly left the door open while they spoke. Why shouldn’t she take advantage? She pressed in closer as she heard the two of
them. It was just after Neville had
walked in on them embracing in the jail.
Margurite held her breath as she listened to
Tom telling Mai he didn’t think he could cover up her actions. Mai was constantly denying any
wrongdoing. Tom seemed quite disturbed
by it all, but his meaning was clear.
Closer she stepped, carefully avoiding crunching any dried leaves under
her feet to alarm them of her presence…but she had to hear more--Tom ending it
with Mai…Mai marrying
Liz had promised to convey the
seriousness of Mike’s flu symptoms to the rest of the village so they would be
sure and stay away. Cheerfully, almost
as if floating, Mike lit candles throughout his cabin. They were the scented ones…Snow’s favorite. He smiled when he heard the quiet knock at the
door. In the dark of the night, Snow
could hardly be seen as her cloak blended into the darkness. With a warm smile, Mike gently led her into
the cabin by the hand. As he turned to
get a large poinsettia from the bouquet to hand to her, his breath was taken
away by what he saw. His Princess stood
before him in an exquisite red velvet negligee with white fur trim…like a
rather tempting Mrs. Santa herself.
Seductively, she pressed into him and moved her Santa hat from her head
to his, “My, my! What I’ve been missing
while I was asleep! I almost lost my
husband, now didn’t I?” Even though she
smiled, Mike became serious and gently grasped Snow’s arms and rubbed them,
“Snow, if I had ANY idea that wasn’t you, I would NEVER have…” “Shhhh,” she
shushed him by pressing her fingers to his lips. “It’s OK, my darling. You were just doing what you thought I
wanted. You didn’t know it wasn’t
me.” He rubbed his hand against her
cheek, “No, it isn’t alright. I should
have known it wasn’t you. I should have
known regardless. She didn’t act like my
Snow at all…yet I didn’t figure it out.
I feel so stupid!” Snow took his
hand, “Just like I didn’t know Edward wasn’t you that night.” He snapped up to look at her with tears
filling his eyes. Her smile was a
knowing one. She was exactly right. He had been upset that night thinking that
Snow should have know that it wasn’t him she’d been with, but she didn’t. He felt guilty after that for blaming her at
all. Now in Snow’s smile, he could see
her understanding. She knew exactly what
he was going through. He didn’t know it
was the queen all that time just like she didn’t know it was Edward that
night. She read his realization in his
eyes and smiled as she hugged him. Still
his tears fell upon the back of her negligee, moistening the white fur trim,
“But I signed the papers. We’re not
married. We’re…divorced.” He choked on the word itself. Snow pulled from him still wearing a knowing
smile, “How can that be? I signed
nothing. Both of us would have to sign
for that to be so…and she isn’t me.
So…my dear husband…don’t think you’re getting
rid of me that easy!” In his
realization, he breathed a sigh of relief just before quickly pulling Snow into
him again. He felt as if a weight was
lifted off of his shoulders. They were
indeed still married. And
since only they knew plus Liz, Raif, and Jennifer,
their time together must still remain a secret until Margurite’s
morphing secret was discovered.
But right now, Mike did not care about all that…not at
all. All he cared about was the
woman in his arms…his Princess, his wife…his life. As a saxophone played ‘Have
Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ on the CD player in the background, he
caressed her soft skin and brushed his hand through her dark silky hair. They were the only two people in the world
right now. They swayed to the soft
music, as Mike brushed his hand against her cheek…then kissed her ear. As the snow gently fell outside the cabin
window, the now reunited couple enjoyed their first night back together again
in peace.
It was Christmas Eve in the Willows
again. Folks were swapping gifts and
stealing kisses under the mistletoe of course.
Ribold was glad to have Jennifer in his arms
this year. Last Christmas was a bleak
one for him, and he was enjoying every minute of this one. Dinger had been gone frequently since Karen
left with
Chapter 133 –“A Family
Liz stood
speechless looking at the face of her daughter…like her precious Snow, only
with blonde hair. Raif
squeezed her hand, but she didn’t take her eyes off Lily. Jennifer ran and hugged Lily and Thomas both
followed by Kahlua and Yvonne. As Lily scanned the room for her sister, her
eyes stopped on another familiar face.
Mother and daughter caught eyes across the room for the first time. It seemed as both were frozen in time. There was a hush that fell over the room as
they slowly walked towards each other.
They stopped barely a foot apart, both with tears streaming down their
cheeks. With the back of her trembling
hand, Liz reached up and gently rubbed her daughter’s cheek. In a childlike whimper, Lily tilted her head
into her mother’s touch. Liz inhaled a
sob of joy as she pulled her daughter into a tight embrace. Words weren’t needed, as none could
adequately express their feelings.
Thomas approached the two of them as they parted. Liz kissed her daughter on the cheek as she
noticed Thomas now standing behind Lily.
Liz took his hand, “Thank you…thank you for bringing back my baby.” He smiled and kissed her hand. Lily sniffed, wiping her nose on the sleeve
of her queen’s gown like a little girl in her mother’s arms, “I’ve wanted to
find you for so long…just to find out who you were. And then to know that you were still alive,
and here in the Willows…” She couldn’t
finish, and Liz pulled her sobbing little girl into her arms.
Lily caught
sight of Snow and smiled. She ran to her
sister and hugged her. As she pulled
back, she looked into Snow’s eyes and for a second frowned. What was this? She did not know what evil lie beneath the
blue eyes of this woman, but she knew it was not her twin sister. Fearing that Lily may suspect, Marg covered quickly, “Lily, darling! We missed you so! I was so worried! What were you doing in the kingdom for so
long? Liz…um, mother has been just
beside herself.” As she took Lily’s hand
in hers, Lily noticed the bare hand where a wedding ring should have been, “And
what’s been going on here, may I ask?”
She lifted Snow’s hand up in demonstration. Quickly she pulled it back, “Oh that. Well, it seems that you have quite a bit to
catch up on.” Liz gently put her arm
around Lily’s shoulders, “Exactly…and I would love to hear all about it. I haven’t even known of the existence of my
Lily till recently, much less spoken with her.
We simply must catch up.”
Risking the awkward look of abandoning Snow, Liz lead
Lily away from Snow and into the kitchen.
Marg was annoyed by the action, more because
she wanted to know what Lily had been doing in her kingdom. Kahlua couldn’t
help but find it odd that Liz would favor one daughter over the other in such
an obvious way. Observing Kahlua’s curious interest, Jennifer quickly strolled over
and began making conversation with her about the twins. Raif nodded a wink
of thanks in her direction for her quick thinking…and fortunately, a harmless
wink that Ribold did not see.
Finally, it
was Christmas morning. Everyone was
talking about the woman Dinger found the night before in the lake. With Mike suddenly coming
down with the “flu” Liz had volunteered to cook the Christmas breakfast while
the other women took turns to help tend to their newest visitor in the surgery. “Poor Mike.
So he just came up with the flu just like that?” Travis popped a biscuit in his mouth as Liz
scrambled the eggs, never taking her eyes off of her task, “Mmhmm.” Travis shook his head as he grabbed his mug
of coffee and headed back into the hut, “Poor lad.” As Travis left, Raif
couldn’t help but chuckle in thinking that sympathy was probably not what Mike
warranted at the moment having been alone with his wife all night in their
cabin. Cheerfully, Lily popped her head
into the kitchen, “Merry Christmas!” Liz
immediately put her utensil down and stretched her arms out to her newfound
daughter, “And a Merry Christmas to you!
I trust you slept well?” Raif cleared his throat, “I hardly think so. Thomas has his own cabin now since he moved
out of ours.” Liz turned and thumped him
on the shoulder, “Reginald! That’s not
nice at all! “ As
she turned, she noticed her daughter turning a slight shade of red. Quickly assuming that perhaps Raif was right, she cheerfully turned back to her eggs,
“Well, I know that Snow will want to see you, so you will come with me to bring
she and Mike their breakfast, right?
Just remember to keep it quiet from the others.” Lily frowned, “Of course. But it still bothers me to no end to think of
that witch taking the identity of my sweet sister! There could be no one so opposite of Snow
portraying her!” Liz whispered as if to
hush the issue slightly, “I know that dear.
But if we can just hold out a while longer and keep the secret till we
can discover what she is using to morph into your sister, then we can trap
her. Otherwise, goodness only knows what
she will do! If Mike can keep the secret
dear, then I know you can.” Lily nodded
as she grabbed a stack of plates to help set the Christmas breakfast table.
As Snow
stretched and yawned, she opened her eyes to find her beloved smiling at
her. She returned the bright morning
welcome with her own innocent smile, “I had almost forgotten how wonderful it
is to wake up next to you my Prince.”
Mike brushed a strand of hair away from her face, “I could never forget
the vision of your beautiful face shining back at me, Princess.” He leaned down to kiss her. As he brought a gentle caress down Snow’s
face and neck, they were interrupted by a knock at the door. They heard a muffled Liz’s cheery voice,
“Merry Christmas! You
two up for some breakfast?”
Quickly, Snow sprung from the bed and toward her long velvet robe,
whilst Mike couldn’t help but think that food wasn’t exactly what he was hungry
for at the moment. “Good morning!” Liz resounded as Snow opened the door. She hugged her mother and wished her a Merry
Christmas as Liz turned to take the covered breakfast tray, with Raif toting the coffee supplies. Snow squealed when she noticed who Liz took
the tray from, “Lily!” She grabbed her
sister into a large hug. Mike took the
tray from Liz, “Thank you, Mum. Merry Christmas. So
did Lily return last night?” Liz removed
the cover on the tray revealing a most scrumptious Christmas breakfast if Mike
did say so himself, “Yes…she and Thomas.
But he doesn’t know about Snow…just Lily.” Mike nodded in understanding as the two
sisters continued to babble at one another.
They talked for the next few hours catching up on the latest regarding
the kingdom and Margurite here in the Willows. Liz was troubled at the news that the king
was ill. The news did not go unheard by Raif who took heed of Liz’s noticeable grief. He would never wish ill on anyone, but the
more his feelings for Liz grew, the more difficult that was indeed
becoming. Liz finally smiled again as
she put her arms around her daughters, tears filled her eyes, “But this is what
Christmas should be…a time with family.
I know that I can honestly say that this is the best Christmas I have
ever had!” “Me too, Mama,” was the
response from her girls, her twins. She
had her daughters back…both of them…safe and sound, and just in time for Christmas. And what a wonderful Christmas Day it
was. “What is Christmas without some
carols?” Snow led the group in Christmas
carols on this glorious morning...this Christmas morning. “I’ll be home for Christmas. You can plan on me…”
“Should old
acquaintance be forgot and never come to mind…should old acquaintance be
forgot, in days of Auld Lang Sine! HAPPY NEW YEAR!”
Kisses and hugs were exchanged throughout the main hut as Stevie noisily yet cheerfully blew his horn party favor and
threw streamers and confetti in the air.
Kahlua tried to hide her displeasure at the
confetti, as she wondered if she could then enlist his help to clean it all up
later as well. Intending to take Kahlua’s mind off of any unpleasant thoughts, with a babe
in one arm Ritchie pulled her into him with the other, “Happy New Year, Duckfoot.” Before
she could reply or protest, he pulled her into a
kiss. Of course, the encounter did not
go unnoticed by a most disheartened looking
Mike was
having his own New Years Eve celebration with his wife, the ‘real’ Snow. Now over his ‘flu’, he’d secretly pulled
back one of the bottles of the homemade wine for this night, plus one of the
champagne bottles that Dinger and Kahlua had brought
back. He could get into terrible trouble
with Dinger for taking it…but he’d simply worry about that later. Right now, all he cared about was his
precious Princess celebrating with him.
They danced to the soft tune of the saxophone playing in the
background. You’d almost swear the
artist was in the room, rather than in the CD player. Mike contemplated if this were the right
time to give Snow the good news…maybe it should be a surprise? Yes...a surprise for the New Year. It was hard to keep such a lovely event a
secret…but he must try anyway. But then
again, it’s quite hard to talk when one’s lips are occupied.
Liz and Raif hurried in helping to clean the hut from the previous
night’s New Year’s Eve party. They knew
that they were needed elsewhere. Indeed Stevie was there helping to clean up the confetti and
streamers. They couldn’t count on too
many others, however. New Year’s Eve
hangovers took most of their help away.
But they managed to get it all cleaned up in a reasonable amount of
time…enough time for Liz and Raif to sneak a picnic
basket of food and some decorations here and there for their special occasion
that day. Lily had a task of her own
regarding the surprise. Mike left early
and quietly, while taking a few important items with him…leaving Snow wondering
as she awoke all alone on New Year’s Day.
Barely before she could ponder a second thought as to where her husband
had run off to so early in the morning, there was a knock at her door. No sooner had Snow pulled on her robe and
opened it, than her sister popped right in, “Happy New Year! Hope you’re feeling well…’cause it’s gonna be a big day!
Come on, let’s get you ready.”
Snow was dazed and confused by her sister’s urgency, “Ready for
what?” “For Ben’s New
Years Day luncheon! It’s just
going to be a few friends…you know, just the ones who know that you’re
back. That’s all. It was sort of a last minute thing.” “Oh.”
Snow was satisfied with her sister’s explanation while still trying to
wake up and as her sister helped her get dressed.
“You did
let Ben know, right?” Liz inquired to Mike as he entered the forest clearing
where she and Raif were preparing. “Of course. I went to see him yesterday…told him the
whole story. He was delighted. In fact, he should be here any minute.” Liz turned as if suddenly remembering
something important, “Oh Reginald…did you remember to borrow that…whatchamacallit from Jennifer? You know, that thing
that makes the instant little portraits?”
Raif smiled, “The Poloroid
camera…and yes,” pulling it out of his coat pocket, “got it right here. Liz, RELAX!
Everything is going to be perfect!”
Liz took a deep breath as Raif put his arm
around her and rubbed her shoulder.
Unfortunately, Thomas was not in attendance of this particular
celebration. Lily had respected her
mother and Raif’s wishes by not telling him about
Snow’s presence in the Willows for fear that Margurite
may grill him on the events that happened in the kingdom while he was there
searching for Lily. “Happy
New Year everyone!” “Happy New Year to you Ben!
Mike bent down to give his dwarf friend a hug as Max jumped up on him
demanding his greeting too, “Yes, and a Happy New Year
to you too, Max!” Liz took Ben by the
hand, “Thanks so much for doing this. It
means the world to us.” Ben smiled, “No
problem! It’s my pleasure! I get to do something nice yet again for two
of my favorite big people!” They
chuckled as they heard a familiar voice in the woods, “My goodness…what a
beautiful day!” It was Lily…this was the
signal to let them all know she and Snow were approaching. “It’s a good thing that we didn’t have a
blizzard today…she couldn’t have said what a beautiful day it was,” Raif jested. Liz was
mortified, “Don’t even jinx it like that!
That would be terrible for today!”
As Lily and Snow entered the clearing, Snow stopped. “What’s all this?” She was then speechless as it all hit her at
once…poinsettias carefully placed around the clearing, just like this same time
last year…Mike and Raif all dressed up wearing lapel
flowers…Liz in her best dress…and in her arms, she held up Snow’s wedding gown,
the one that had once been her own after all.
This was no surprise luncheon at all, thought Snow…this is a surprise
wedding! But who’s? Was it really…for her? Tears were already making their way down her
pink cheeks as Mike approached her with a loving smile, “Since we now have your
sister and mother here and…” he then hung his head somewhat, “…in lieu of
everything that’s happened with Margurite and the
divorce signing and everything, I thought this would be in order. So, my most precious Princess…” He then dropped to one knee and pulled out
the ring…her ring…the one Margurite had taken from
her when she put her under the sleeping spell months ago. Snow let out a sob of joy in seeing that her
most prized possession from her Prince was not lost. “Snow my love, would
you please do me the great honor of marrying me…again?”
Chapter 135 –“New Beginnings-Part 2”
Snow tried
to speak, but her efforts came out in a childlike whimper. Instead she covered her mouth and nodded
agreeably. Mike smiled big, closed the
ring box and stood to pick her up in his arms.
Liz hurried over to the couple, “Alright, look we’ve broken a major
golden rule here already. You’ve already
seen the bride before the wedding…let’s not make it any worse!” She quickly grabbed Snow and rushed her off
to the nearby emergency hut, not giving either of the would
be ‘newlyweds’ a chance to protest.
Travis
played with his hot tea as he nursed a headache from the previous night’s
events. “A little too
much celebrating, eh, Travis?”
“Sod off, Eddy!” Travis gave a
quick scowl in Ed’s direction who laughed as Snow giggled on his lap. This annoyed Travis all the more to think
that Eddy of all people would have a woman on New Year’s Eve and he
wouldn’t. He refused to look yet again
in their direction as he grouchily sipped at his weak hangover tea remedy. As
“You look
beautiful, Snow!” “So do you,
Lily.” Snow had showed Liz the dresses
that Mike had brought back through the mirror last year. Liz was delighted to see her dresses again,
especially her wedding gown. There was
even one dress that Lily had especially liked.
As her mother and sister primped Snow for her big day, Snow had to
remind her mother more than once, “Mum, please don’t cry…you’ll make me
cry!” “You’re right, I’m sorry. I just can’t help it, you know.” Snow then looked to Lily, “And that goes for
you too!” Lily giggled, “Snow, it
wouldn’t matter if we laughed or cried!
I expect you will cry during your vows again anyway!” They both laughed. Liz finished straightening Snow’s hem and
Snow touched her mother’s cheek, “Thank you so much for all of this Mum…and
Lily. It means so much to me to have you
both here for this…at last.” Liz kissed
her daughter’s forehead, “No, the pleasure is all mine. I have to see my babies get married! Both of you!” She then turned to Lily, “So, my dear? How about you?”
Thomas
could hardly believe his ears as Bart filled him in on the latest with Mai and
Neville, “So Mai and Neville got married, just like that? And then Mai cheated on him?” “Something like
that,” Bart said as he popped a few leftover breakfast sausage links in his
mouth. But I guess you don’t have to
worry, eh Thomas? Looks like you have
Lily wrapped around your finger…or is it the other way around?” He chuckled as Thomas smiled, “Well, I don’t
know about that…but I’d say you’re right, it’s the other way around. I’d never take that for granted, though…not
until I can call her my wife.” “So her
past with Neville doesn’t bother you at all?”
Thomas gave a shy grin, “No. That
whole situation was just a big mix up.
She was going through a lot, and neither of us were
really clear about our feelings at that time.
It’s water under the bridge, Bart.”
He patted Thomas on the back, “You’re a good man Thomas to be able to
look past something like that…a good man.”
As the two men left the porch of the hut and headed for the stable, Tom
emerged from around the corner as he pondered what he’d just overheard. “Hmmm…
Chapter 136 –“It’s Not Over Till…”
It was an early morning in the
first week of January and Mike came bounding through the hut with a sort of
bounce in his step, “Good morning!” He
greeted the few men who were already having coffee in the hut as he whistled
his way into the kitchen. Raif had been talking with
“I trust
you had a good night…or good ‘nights’ I take it?” Mike was beaming, “Oh yes, my
friend. I don’t think I’ve been this
happy in all my life. It’s like having a
second chance at life itself, Raif! Like all of the bad things that have happened
in the last few months didn’t even matter!”
He stepped closer to his friend, putting down the cooking pot he’d had
in his hand, “Did you ever have a terrible nightmare that you just couldn’t
wake from? You’d try and try…but you
were just stuck there for what seemed like forever? What that’s how I’ve felt for months. But I didn’t think I would ever wake from
it. Nothing could be worse than a
nightmare from which you would never wake.
Then one day, I pounced on a miracle disguised in a black cloak…my
miracle, my Snow. I awoke from my
nightmare that day, Raif! It’s like those dreams of mine that came true
last year have finally come back…and even better than before! God, Riaf…I feel
like I could shout at the world and tell them how happy I am!” Raif gently grasped
Mike’s shoulders, “Shhhh…but Mike, I’m sorry to
remind you that you can’t do that…not yet anyway. Remember?”
Mike’s smile disappeared from his face and he nodded sadly. Raif patted him on
the back, “Look, Mike my friend, it won’t be that much longer…at least we’re
hoping for an answer as quickly as possible.
With Lily back, she’s going to try her best to discover just where Margurite’s morphing power is stemming from. But in the meantime, you have to be careful
just how cheerful you appear around the others.
I know it’s hard…” Mike cut him
off, “You have no idea! You don’t know
what it’s like to lose the most important thing in your life…and then to find
it again!” Raif
looked past Mike out the back door window and spotted Liz on her way to the
hut. He smiled at Mike, “Believe it or
not, Mike…yes I do. I really do.”
“What’s on
your mind, Snow?” Margurite
blinked, awakened from her plotting by Edward’s casual curiosity. “Um…nothing,” she stuttered as she could
think of nothing to speak of to take the place of her actual thoughts…those of
Mai, Natalie’s murderer. She had to
pay…but how? Marg
had little faith in the investigation by
“Hey Lily!”
Chapter 137 –“Night of the Living Dead”
The Other watched as Thomas happily re-familiarized himself with
the smithy craft as he’d learned from Ivan.
The art came back to him quickly, as he’d already repaired two swords
and sharpened Lily’s large machete. He
saw Neville approach him and greeted him with a friendly smile…something he
found much easier now that Lily’s love for him was sealed, “Hey Neville!” “Hey Thomas! Have you seen Lily? I wondered if she could make me another one
of these Ocarina instruments?” He held a broken little round clay pipe
instrument in his hand. “I’m afraid mine
broke…had a little accident with the bottom of my shoe, ya
know?” He chuckled. “I’d hate to disappoint Stevie.
He really enjoys it when we play
together. Maybe I could see how she does
it this time? Then I wouldn’t have to
keep bothering her, you know?” Thomas
set down his finished sharpened sword, “That might be a good idea…at least it’d
keep Stevie happy, eh? I think she was with Liz the last time I saw
her. They were at Mike’. Oh there she is!” Lily was heading for the hut coming out of
Mike’s cabin. Neville bid him ‘thanks’
and caught up with her on the way to the hut.
As the Other watched Neville’s request to Lily and her smile and nod in
reply, the corners of his mouth turned upward, as a devious plan was suddenly
set into motion in his head.
The setting was perfect, thought Margurite…a cold foggy night, a haggard and “on the edge”
woman…namely Mai, and a perfect morph into what Margurite
hoped would be…Mai’s worst nightmare.
Mai
shivered as she walked to where she’d stashed her bike. The cold moist fog didn’t help the aches and
pains she had been feeling as of late, not to mention add to the eeriness she
already sensed in her latest spell of nightmares. “Damn it all to hell!” She was looking forward to drowning out the
eerie silence with the comforting and familiar roar as she begin to walk even
faster through the cold towards her bike…her salvation, at least for that
moment. Perhaps it would knock some of
those haunting images out of her head…she hoped it would anyway. Suddenly she stopped dead in her tracks. Was she dreaming again? No, she was quite sure she was awake this
time. But to see what stood before her,
she’d given anything for it to simply be one of those bloody nightmares. But this was real…at least it seemed that
way. What was reality to her anymore, anyway? Perhaps this was another one of those tricks
she grew so tired of. She blinked,
thinking surely that it would simply be the trees in front of her that she
saw. But to her horror, the image
remained…it spoke in fact, “Well, well…if it isn’t the devil herself? I used to hear the Willows men say how ol’ Lucifer was probably a woman after all! Now I know it’s true.” Complimenting the swimmy feeling in her head,
Mai now felt queasy in her stomach as well.
The image was a woman…a woman that she did not know. It was the sight of her that made her
queasy. The woman had black stringy
hair, all in a mess much like that of a witch.
Her clothes were worn and torn and faded. Her lips were a poignant blue…such that it
was obvious that she was lacking in oxygen. This may have been explained by the
purple and black marks around her neck.
It looked as though the woman had been…strangled? And her skin was white as a ghost…Mai gasped
in her revelation. This WAS a ghost! “Did you really think you could get away with
it? Did you think no one would notice it
when I suddenly disappeared?
Travis? Nigel? Tom!”
She stepped closer to Mai who backed off, preparing to fight…but how? How do you fight a ghost? It was now obvious to Mai that this was the
ghost of Natalie…either that or a bloody fantastic reproduction! “So tell me…how were you going to do it? How were you going to get rid of my body
without anyone finding it? Did you think
everyone was going to just pass my disappearance off as some kind of a ‘fleeing’
from a jilted lover? Ha! Anyone who knows me at all,
knows that I would NEVER run from anything!
You fool! You foolish bitch! You will pay for this, you know! You will pay for everything!” Suddenly in the woman’s rage, Mai saw her
eyes begin to glow an amber gold as she came at her. Quickly, Mai picked up a large fallen branch
and flung it at the woman. It passed
through the air as the woman’s image disappeared. She heard the branch clang against the
exhaust pipe of her bike instead.
Quickly, she looked all around her, wondering if the woman would
return…perhaps sneak up behind her. She
trusted no one…least of all a ghost.
That is, if that’s what she was…Mai wouldn’t rule out anything at this
point. As she quickly searched about
her, the dizziness in her head finally brought her to the ground as she waited
for the world to stop spinning before her eyes.
What was happening lately? What
the BLOODY HELL was happening to her?!!!
Chapter 138 –“King Cakes and Babies!”
Lily and
Not too far
from where the two were molding their round flutes, Thomas stood near a tree
watching them out of sight. Also not far
away was another quite suggestive presence, whispering things into Thomas’
mind. Perhaps the most damaging was the
image of the two Thomas saw…although quite incorrect, “How dare they! I thought Lily
and I were in love! How could she do
it? How could she turn right around and
kiss Neville after everything that’s happened?”
Annoyed with the vision and with the tears starting in his eyes, he
turned on his heel and started for the mill…his old place of solitude.
The Willows
were beginning to prepare for Mardi Gras. Jennifer was deciding on a theme. Secretly, she approached Snow, the real Snow, about what she thought might be a good theme for this
year’s celebration. Snow smiled at the
honor of choosing the theme, but seemed somewhat sad as she offered her
thoughts, “Well, we do have THREE new babies in the Willows…and since the King
Cakes have babies in them too, maybe the theme could be ‘King Cakes and
Babies’.” Jenn
formed a large smile on her face showing her beautiful white teeth, “Why Snow,
I think that’s a wonderful theme! I hate
to take the credit fo’ it,
though.” Snow giggled, “It’s alright…I
sure don’t want Margurite getting the credit. You just go on, sweetie!” Jenn hugged her,
and then felt a hint of sadness that Snow wouldn’t be able to participate in
the festivities this year.
“Snow” was
preparing the lunch trays in the kitchen to take to the surgery. To her displeasure, Mike was in the kitchen
again instead of Kahlua who’d been quite busy with
the twins. To her surprise, Mike was
quite cordial and friendly…in fact, he didn’t act sad or strange around her at
all like he used to. “Snow” found this
strange in and of itself. But
nevertheless she waved it off, not really caring, and
grabbed up the luncheon trays for the folks in the surgery.
Liz and
Snow still helped with the celebration in ways they could. They spent the evenings together sewing the
Mardi Gras banners.
Snow fumbled with the sewing she was trying to finish as her mother told
her of the recent occurrences in the surgery, “And then on top of Mai finally
going stark raving mad, then there’s Margurite!…posing
as YOU of course, and acting so sweet and darling bringing everyone their
lunches. It made me want to vomit!” She looked over at her daughter who seemed to
be lost in another world somewhere, “What’s the matter, darling? You seem so distracted. Are you all right?” Snow looked at her mother, finally shaken
from her trance of thoughts. She smiled
slightly, “Yes Mama. I’m sorry…I just
have a lot on my mind.” Liz frowned,
“It’s Mardi Gras, isn’t it? You told me
how much you enjoyed it last year when you and Jennifer and the others had such
fun planning the festivities, and now you’re stuck here…and away from all the
fun this year. I’m sorry.” Snow sighed, “Well, I guess that’s part of it…but
not completely. It kind of has to do
with what I was talking to Jennifer about earlier.” Liz put down her sewing and took Snow’s hands
in hers, “Snow dear, what is it? Please tell me.” The Princess looked shyly up at her mother as
tears begin to well up in her eyes, “Mama…I think I’m pregnant.” Liz gasped as a huge smile crossed her face,
“Snow! That’s wonderful! No wonder you have been distracted.” But then Liz’s smile faded, “But why do you
not seem happy?” Snow sniffed as the
tears began to flow down her cheeks, “Because…because I don’t think it’s Mike’s baby.”
Chapter 139 Nine –“King Cakes and Babies!…part 2”
Liz dropped
her sewing, the purple, gold and green banner hitting the floor,
“Not…Mike’s? How could the baby not be
Mike’s?” Just as soon as she asked the
question, the realization came to her and she resounded
a disgusted groan, “Edward! The
bastard! But Snow, are you sure?” Snow shook her head as she looked down at her
sewing without really seeing it, “No.
But it’s just as bad as NOT being sure that it’s Mike’s, you know? Since my body was suspended in sleep all that
time from Margurite’s spell, there’s no telling. I hadn’t even been around Mike till
recently. I’m certain that this happened
before the spell. But I have no way of
knowing when or who. Oh Mama, what am I
going to do? I can’t tell him…it would
break his heart. And I will NOT open
that wound all over again. What am I
going to do?” Liz reached out to her
baby and cradled her as Snow wept against her bosom.
The day finally arrived and all
were in good spirits…well almost all.
Thomas again retreated to the mill for the second day in a row, while
Lily wondered where he’d gone off to.
While Kahlua and Duncan got the King Cake
babies and the honor to ride atop the float, Ritchie was left with the twin
babies in his care…with the help of Liz of course. After hearing the news that she may soon
become a grandmother, she made it a point to secretly get in some more practice
with the present Willows babies. And
after “Snow” was finished bringing the lunches to the surgery in her newfound
duties, she even decided to see what the fuss was all about. Edward nudged her, “You’re supposed to say
‘Throw me somethin’, mister!’…you know, like
Jennifer?” Marg
looked over at Jennifer beaming with excitement over one of her favorite
holidays and frowned. She had never
liked that so-called white witch, and didn’t much like seeing her so happy
either. “Why? Why on earth would I want one of those tacky
and cheap plastic party favors?” Just at
that moment, one of the strings of beads came flying from the float, hitting Marg square in the eye, “Ah…Ouch! Damn it!”
Eddie looked at her curiously. He
had never heard Snow swear before he didn’t think. “Snow” turned and stormed off toward the
surgery, as she muttered back at Edward, “Enjoy the festivities, Edward. I have work to
do.” She rubbed at her eye and thought
about how much more fun she would have in tormenting Mai than standing around
watching a pack of idiot monkeys play!
“Have you seen Thomas?” Lily looked up at Travis with pleading eyes
as though willing him to know where he was.
He tore his eyes from the festivities around the float long enough to
answer her, “Actually, yes. I saw him
head to the mill a while ago. But I
don’t know if he’s still…” But Lily was
gone before he could finish his sentence.
“What are you doing back so
soon? You decide to leave early?” Snow asked with a hint of pleasant surprise
in her voice that Mike would choose her over a party. He winked at her, “Of course. What’s a party without you, my love? Besides, the celebration is right here…we can
have a Mardi Gras party all our own.” He
held up a bottle of champagne and a string of purple beads. “The purple ones are lovely.” As she touched the beads with her fingers,
Mike smiled, “Purple for royalty…for you Princess. Hmmm…now let’s see. What was that phrase that Jennifer said you
had to yell to get beads thrown at you?”
Snow grinned, “Throw me somethin’,
Mister!” “Ah yes…that was it.” But as he was about to put the beads around
her neck, she stopped him, “But I didn’t say I wanted those beads just
now. Now did I?” Mike returned her devious grin, “Oh? Well, then what do you want me to throw,
then?” She rubbed her hands across his
shoulders and down his chest, “Perhaps you’d want to throw ME onto the
bed?” Mike was happy to oblige the
Princess. With a loud squeal of delight,
he tossed Snow onto the bed and then joined her. Lovingly, he took her in his arms and
caressed her back and shoulders while he kissed her and told her how much he
loved her. Snow basked in the feel of
his arms around her, to hear his gentle whispers to her, to breathe in his
scent. Then he began kissing her
neck. How she loved it when he kissed her
neck. With a quiet sigh, she pushed all
bad thoughts away. For now was not the
time to address the issue of Edward and the baby. Perhaps there would never be a time to
address it. “Oi,
Mike! You alright in
there?” Mike let out a hiss as he
stood up from the bed. The familiar
voice of Stevie brought back an all too familiar déjà
vu of when the good-intentioned man would have the most talented intuition for
interrupting he and Snow. Mike chucked to himself to think that it
would be any different now than it was then.
“Yes, Stevie…everything’s fine. Why?”
“Well, I was jus’ walkin’ ‘ome
an’ got worried when I ‘eard squealin’
comin’ from yer cabin. I thought you were in pain.” Snow giggled then clasped her hand over her
mouth as Mike smirked in her direction, “Oh no, everything’s fine. That was just…um…that new opera CD that
showed up in the last crate we found in the woods, you know?” Snow had to fall face down into her pillow to
stifle her laughter as Mike tried his best to stifle his own. “
Thomas was at the mill after
all. Curiously, Lily found him sitting
near the fireplace staring into the ashes, but with no fire lit. “Thomas?
What are you doing here? You’re
missing all the fun.” Thomas did not
turn to look at her…it would surely have been too painful. “I just wanted to be alone, that’s all.” Not taking the hint, for surely it wasn’t
directed at her, she came and sat beside him. She lovingly put her arms around his
shoulders, “What’s wrong, darling?”
Thomas sighed heavily, “Aren’t you addressing that to the wrong
man?” Lily frowned in confusion as she
tightened her arms around him a little more, “What are you talking about?” Then he turned to face her, forcing her arms
to drop from his shoulders. It took an
extra second for him to get his words out after catching sight of her, “I’m
talking about you and Neville. You were
quite friendly the other day at the river.”
Lily half smiled and shook her head, “Well, yes. I was helping him to make an ocarina flute so
he could play with Stevie.” “Looks more like he wanted
to play with you.” Lily tutted, “Now what is THAT supposed to mean? You didn’t seem to have a problem with me
being his friend before now?” Thomas
stood, “That’s because at the time, that’s what I thought you were…his
FRIEND! Now I see that’s all changed
again.” He quickly turned and headed out
of the mill. Stunned, Lily stood and
watched him till he was out of sight, pondering what had just been said. She then ran after him. Catching up to him, she ran ahead of him and
stopped, turning to face him, “Thomas, what’s gotten into you? I haven’t done anything to lead you to
believe that I’m involved with Neville.
We went all through this a long time ago. You know that it’s YOU I love. It’s always been you. I don’t understand what’s come over you.” Thomas tried to think through the cloudiness
that had mucked up his mind the last few days.
He couldn’t explain it…it must have been some sort of flu. And although it had made him a little more
grouchy than normal, he knew what he had seen the other day at the river
between the two. “Lily, don’t try to deny
it! I saw you two at the river…you and
Neville.” “Yes, we were making flutes.” “You were KISSING…and quite well I might
add!” Stunned, Lily tripped over her
words, “K-kissing? Me
and