(This page is dedicated to the
stories of Snow in Waddington Willows written by Sherry Brandon)
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As another tear escaped Lily’s eye, Neville wiped it away with his thumb. Lily turned her head away gently in embarrassment, “I hate to be seen like this…like a crybaby!” “Nonsense, Lily. You’ve gone through a very emotional ordeal. It’s only natural to feel this way. I hate to see you hurt Lily. I consider you a good friend.” Lily looked away remembering Thomas’ cruel words as she shook her head, “I just don’t understand what’s come over him! That wasn’t like him at all!” It didn’t surprise Neville at all…with all the strange things that had occurred in the Willows recently. But he kept his thoughts on that to himself. What could he say to help Lily feel better? He knew somehow she and Thomas work things out eventually. Was there any way he could calm her spirits, even for the moment? Then it hit him. He smirked as he took a lock of her blonde hair between his fingers, “She's got a smile that it seems to me, reminds me of childhood memories, where everything was as fresh as the bright blue sky. Now and then when I see her face, she takes me away to that special place, and if I stared too long...I'd probably break down and cry. Oh, sweet child o' mine. Oh, oh, sweet love of mine.” As he sang the words to that old familiar song he once took the credit of writing, Lily stopped crying briefly and slowly turned to look at him. He continued, “She's got eyes of the bluest skies, as if they thought of rain. I hate to look into those eyes and see an ounce of pain. Her hair reminds me of a warm safe place, where as a child I'd hide...and pray for the thunder and the rain to quietly pass me by. Oh, sweet child o' mine. Oh, oh, sweet love of mine.” He then got a twinkle in his eye, “I couldn’t have written it any better.” Suddenly, Lily burst out laughing, to Neville’s delight. He was hoping that song would bring up some sort of other emotion besides sadness…he’d just hoped it would be a positive one. As she laughed she reached up and hugged him, “Oh thank you Neville. I needed that laugh! You’re such a good friend.” She lifted her head and gently kissed him on the cheek. He smiled back and touched her chin with his hand. He then leant in to give her a friendly peck. However, when he did, he seemed to make it last a little longer than he’d originally intended. And in her emotional state, Lily was extremely vulnerable, tugging him gently closer with her hand around his neck. Neville pulled her to him…his hand around her waist. Without even realizing it, he was lowering her onto the hay.
Snow knew she wasn’t supposed to go out at night. She hurried as fast as she could to the spot where she left it in the woods. “Silly girl, Snow! How could you be so careless!” It had been such a lovely brisk winter day and she decided to take her sewing into the woods. When she was greeted by Tweety, she forgot all about her sewing, seeing as how she hadn’t seen him in so long. “There it is!” She rushed over to the cluster of trees and grabbed it. The next thing she heard made her drop to the ground immediately and hide amongst the trees. She heard wailing…like a kind of chant almost. It sounded like Margurite back when she used to chant her spells in the palace back home. Snow slowly moved closer. Through the trees, she could see her…it WAS Margurite. She was waving her arms about and chanting. Suddenly, her form began to change. Her clothes began to mutate into torn dingy and dusty tatters. Her facial features began to sag and draw in…almost like a decay into skeleton like gauntness. The color of her skin was a dirty grey…a very death-like color. That was it…she looked dead! She was so frightening to look upon, Snow was paralyzed with fear. What on earth is going on? Satisfied with her mutation, Marg left the clearing. Snow shook off her shock and followed her. This was the last person that should be trusted and Snow couldn’t imagine where she was going looking like that. What if she wanted to hurt Mike or her mother? Snow would have none of that. She followed her back to the Willows and hid behind the chapel as she watched Marg enter the surgery. Snow looked puzzled. Would she need the surgery for her appearance? Why would she mutate in the first place if she were just wanting it repaired? No, there was something far more sinister going on here. There would be no one in the surgery this time of night except the two patients…no one awake, anyway. Snow quickly headed over to one of the windows and peered inside. What she saw shocked her almost as much as the horror of Margurite’s appearance. Marg was pulling at one of Mai’s handcuffed wrists. In her other hand was a scalpel. She was going to kill Mai! But why? Snow didn’t have time to ponder…she had to think quickly. She looked around outside by the window where she stood. There was a pile of firewood and a stack of aluminum metal sheets that the men had stripped off of Jenn’s old truck to be used later as solar panels for power. Snow gave the pile of wood a good shove, knocking the majority of it into the stack of metal sheets. The racquet was quite loud…just what Snow was hoping for. Quickly she dashed behind the chapel again. Just a second later she saw Margurite, still in that hideous form, run out of the surgery and across the lawn to the woods again. Other folks began popping their heads out of their cabins wondering what the awful noise was as well. Once everyone had gone back inside, Snow rushed back to her own cabin…still without her sewing and wondering what she would tell Mike.
Neville deepened their kiss to a passionate one and Lily responded eagerly. Slowly he moved his hand up her skirt and rubbed her thigh. Lily gently caressed his back with her fingers. Neville brought his kisses down her face to her neck. Lily lifted her head to give him easier access. Once again Neville felt the twinge at his heartstrings. Lily was overcome with the emotion of the whole day. Together in unison they sighed, “Mai”…”Thomas”.
“Snow” stood with her arms folded the next morning at the hut as she argued with Dinger, “I’m perfectly fine by myself, Dinger. I don’t want to move out of my cabin!” Dinger with hands on hips wasn’t budging on his opinion, “Snow, look…I’m sure that noise last night was made by a wolf. Now it is just too dangerous for you to be livin’ by yourself…you’re a woman.” Karen threw him a quick hard glare. He glanced her direction then cleared his throat and looked back at “Snow”, “What I mean is, it’s dangerous for anyone to be livin’ alone with wolves roamin’ ‘round, ya know?” “Snow” tutted, “Dinger look, “I’m sure it wasn’t a wolf that made that noise last night.” “Oh yeah? How do you know?” “Because I took a walk last night and I didn’t see anything.” Dinger was quick to jump on her words, “And that’s another thing…ya ain’t supposed ta be out walkin’ alone, especially at night. Ya know that, Snow! Just ‘cause yer a princess doesn’t mean that ya can just run off whenver ya want. You’ve always had a hard time grasping that, ya know! Look, I think ya need to move back in with Mike…at least temporarily.” Mike’s eyes widened, but he didn’t say a word, knowing she would most likely protest anyway. And he didn’t have to wait long, “NO WAY! In case you haven’t noticed Dinger, we’re divorced! D-I-V-O-R-C-E-D!” Jenn wondered in the back of her mind if Margurite had actually heard that country song. “So I’m not moving back in with Mike and that’s final!” Dinger hissed out a sigh, “Fine, then pick somewhere else…ya just can’t stay there alone. Natalie’s cabin was never one of the sturdy ones. It would take some renovation ta get it secure enough for someone to be there alone. It needs ta be able ta take a beating if it gets attacked by wolves. Right now, it ain’t gonna cut it.” With a sly look over to her right she grinned and looked back at Dinger, “Alright then. I’ll just move in with Edward, then. He’s got plenty of room.” The folks in the hut were stunned. Edward was equally as stunned, although he didn’t object. He looked over at Mike, who was casually sipping his coffee. He wondered if Mike had even heard what Snow said…as he looked utterly unaffected. “Fine…whatever. Ya can move in with Eddie then. Makes no difference ta me.” “Snow” looked over at Eddie and smiled as she took his hand. Amidst all the surprised faces in the room, Ed gave her a nervous grin in return.
Chapter 142 – “Don’t Cry Over Spilled Blackberries”
"Mai?" "Thomas?" Neville and Lily stopped suddenly as they realized
their illusion of each other as their true love. "I'm sorry..." Lily started, but
Neville wouldn't let her finish, "No, I'm the one who's sorry. I should never have pushed like
that." He looked away with a
sadness, "It's just that I want Mai so much that for a second I
thought..." "So did I," Lily offered. "So what now?" Neville looked back at her and smiled,
"Well, it's obvious what we want, isn't it? I suppose the next step is just to reach out
and grab it...well, maybe not literally at first." "Lily stood with an air of resentment,
"I can't do that Neville...not now.
I wish I could, but I can't.
After what Thomas said, even if I could put it out of my mind, he didn't
much look like he was going to change his mind anytime soon. But I will help you and Mai in any way I
can." Neville stood to his feet and
took her hands, "I appreciate your selflessness Lily, but I worry about
you too. I'm going to talk to Mai right
now. Maybe then we can both talk to
Thomas about this whole thing." "No." Lily was adamant, "I
would need to talk to him alone on something like this. But thank you Neville."
"Here you are!" Raif found Liz on her knees in the woods amongst a small cluster of wild blackberry bushes. "Yes, here I am! I just had to gather this early crop of blackberries I found before the birds or bugs got to them. I think this is the earliest I've ever seen them produce fruit." "You want some help?" She looked up at him and smirked, "Only if you won't eat them all." As Raif bent down to assist in the picking, his knee caught her basket, tipping it over. All the berries she'd picked rolled everywhere, "Oh Liz, I'm so sorry. Here, I'll get them." Liz began grabbing for them under the bushes, "It's alright, they can't go too far." As she reached for a handful under the bushes, one of the sticker vine weeds that had grown up through the bushes snagged on her cheek, "Ouch!" Quickly, she pulled back and wiped a spot of blood from her face, "Stupid weeds!" Gently, Raif reached up and rubbed her cheek next to the cut. Liz shook her head, “It’s nothing…just a scratch. More annoying than painful, really.” But Raif said nothing and instead kissed her cheek tenderly, then he did it again but closer to her lips. This second kiss told Liz that this was more than just a kiss to help her cut feel better, but one of obvious emotion, judging from the tenderness behind it. Liz didn’t move. She herself didn’t quite know why she felt so frozen…was she frozen with fear that she didn’t know what to say to ward him off? Or was it more that she was afraid he would stop if she moved? Her inner fears told her the latter. Before she could second-guess herself, Raif’s lips had met her own. But rather than pull away, it was Liz herself that deepened the kiss. She put her arms around Raif’s neck and pulled him closer. She’d hidden her feelings for this man for months…hidden it from herself as well as from others. She couldn’t hide it anymore. Though she had been in a comfortable marriage, it was not a passionate one…in fact it had been quite loveless. She was fond of the king, but she had never been in love with him. And she had certainly never felt about anyone the way she felt about Reginald these past few months. Her body was hungry…hungry for a love she’d not known till she met this man. This wonderful man, who gave her all the love and attention a woman could ever ask for and then some. No longer did she feel neglected by one whose royal obligations always outweighed his obligations as a husband or a lover. She in turn felt a passion in Reginald matching that of her own. Raif brought his kisses down her neck and across her shoulders. With hesitation, he moved his hand toward her breast. His fears were put to rest as Liz moved his hand upon her breast herself. But this was wrong…very wrong, though Liz. So if it was so wrong, why couldn’t she resist it? Why was she drawn so? A rabbit scampering behind them scared them both half to death. Liz quickly pulled back, landing square on her rump in the midst of the spilled blackberries. Stifling a chuckle, Raif offered his hand to help her up. She took it as she sputtered nervously, avoiding speaking on what just happened between them, “How clumsy can I be? Here I spent all that time picking those berries just to use them as a seat cushion!” “Don’t worry. We can just look for some more.” Raif smiled warmly at the thought of another opportunity to be alone with her. Faking a rushed schedule, Liz tried to appear calm about the ordeal, “No. Really, I should get back. I was going to help out with the twins today.” Raif said not a word in his disappointment, but merely smiled as he offered his arm. She smiled back as she took it. The two were silent on the walk back to the Willows as the scene in the woods replayed itself in their minds.
Lily was still in a fog as she
drudged across the Willows lawn to see her sister. It was risky for anyone to go and visit Snow
so blatantly, considering no one was supposed to be in Mike's cabin if he is in
the kitchen by all respects. But Lily
didn't care. She just needed someone to
talk to...she needed her sister. On the
way, Neville spotted her. Despite her
eagerness to get to her sister, she stopped and smiled. "Have you spoken with Thomas
yet?" Lily shook her head, "I
just need some time. But I
will."
Lily found Liz in the cabin with Snow. From the dejected look on her sister’s face, Lily assumed they had been discussing the potential father of Snow’s baby again. Lily sighed as she shut the door. Her problems seemed to pale in comparison to a child’s paternity. Liz was brushing her daughter’s hair, “Snow, I think you just need to tell Mike the truth. Goodness knows that you two have been through so much recently…your love has been tried as much as anyone’s. I’m sure he will understand.” “But Mama, you didn’t see what happened when I lost the baby…it was like he lost a part of himself. I can’t see how this news would be any less detrimental.” Thinking of a way to interject her subject, Lily offered, “Maybe you should go see Papa for a visit and get away from it all. He was doing much better when I left. He’d just gotten over a bout of pneumonia.” Snow whispered to herself, “Pneumonia?” Liz stopped brushing Snow’s hair and turned to Lily, her face almost white, “Richard?” Her tone was almost that of a guilty conscience, as though she’d almost forgotten about…well, almost. Lily took a deep breath, not looking at either of them, “You could come with me for a visit. I’ll be going back soon.” Liz gently reached over and touched her daughter’s hand, “You’re going back?” Lily nodded, again without looking at her. “Why?” “Because I need to get away, and I miss Papa. I feel like I’ve abandoned him. I know the servants take good care of him, but still…Besides, there’s nothing here for me now.” Liz sputtered, “What do you mean? You and Thomas…I see wedding bells any day now!” “Mom, please don’t…” “Well I do! I’ve never seen a happier couple. You two are…” MOM! You don’t understand. Look, my mind is made up. I’m going.” Liz sighed and touched Lily’s cheek while she took Snow’s hand, “Well, why not, then. It would give us all a nice break from this place with all the strange things going on lately. It would just take some explaining to Richard as to why I was there.” “I’m not going, “ Snow coughed out her words, causing Liz and Lily to turn and discover that she was crying. “Snow, baby, what is it?” She shook her head, “I just can’t go through it all over again. I can’t. You said he just got over pneumonia at Christmas. It was just the next spring he relapsed and we lost him. I won’t watch him die again.” “DIE!” Liz jumped up causing the hairbrush in her lap to crash to the floor. “Richard, die? No! I can’t allow that! I won’t! I have to go back…I have to take care of him.” Lily grabbed her hand, “Then let’s return together, Mum…you and I together.” Liz took Lily into her chest and held her. “Well that’s great! So I’ll lose you both along with my father. Perfect!” Snow’s tone was oozing with sarcasm as she stood. “Never mind us…I’m sure my baby and I will do just fine!” Quickly she stormed out slamming the door.
“Snow” watched in delight as Travis and Edward moved her things…never did she lift a finger to help, either. Finally, after changing her mind several times regarding where to put things, her belongings were finally put away to her liking. Travis then bid Edward a well-meant “good luck” and quickly left. “So Snow my dear…is everything to your liking here?” Edward peered around the room checking for any misplaced items. As he spoke, he felt a sudden shove and found himself lying on the bed with “Snow” on top of him smirking, “This is especially to my liking. I have a handsome King at my mercy…and this humble abode all to ourselves. What else could a queen want?” Ed thought it odd that Snow refer to herself as a “queen”, but quickly passed it off since she had just stated that she were with a king. He especially lost his thoughts as “Snow” kissed him hard, her hands wandering with vigor.
Snow knew she shouldn’t have left her sister and mother like that. She knew it was childish, but she had so much on her mind…things her mother and sister did not know, nor did they need to. But right now, the important thing at hand was the issue of Margurite. They needed to uncover her identity so that the Willows could be free of her evil ways and she and Mike could live normally again. The first step…to get Mai on her side…but first she had to get her to believe her story. Perhaps a visit during the day would not be as startling as interrupting her rest in the evening. If the poor woman ever got any rest, that is…with that witch lurking about. Speaking of the witch, Snow knew that she needed to be sure that Margurite wasn’t going to show up while she was in the surgery. Snow knew that Margurite was moving in with Edward today. Perhaps she should go and take a peek at their moving progress.
Snow carefully approached the window and listened before peeking inside. She could hear slight noise in the cabin, but it didn’t sound like “moving in” noises. As she slowly looked in the window, she could see just what kind of noises they were indeed. She froze. It was a shock for Snow to see herself inside the cabin with Edward. The scene before her brought back a terrible déjà vu to her memory. It was the same…the same way Edward was with her on that fateful night…the same things that Mike had said should have clued her in to the fact that HE was not Mike. But how could she have known? She just thought he was being…different. She clutched at her stomach as it churned within her. The thought of this baby being the child of the man she watched through the window rather than her own sweet Mike repulsed her. The man in the window was calculating and cold, proven by the fact that he would stay with such a creature as Margurite, who was ugly on the INSIDE. Whereas her sweet Mike was her knight in shining armor, as well as her own “Prince Charming”, as the other ladies called him from those fairy tale books they always compare Snow to. She couldn’t stand to see any more. Figuring that Margurite would be occupied for a while longer…she hurried to the hut to get the lunches ready.
As she walked into the kitchen, she spotted Mike in the kitchen of course preparing lunch for the rest of the village. Then it hit her…Mike would never let her take the lunches to the surgery as herself. She wasn’t even supposed to leave the cabin. She took a deep breath as she knew what she must do…she had to pretend she was Margurite. The thought made her shiver…the very idea of being that witch, much less wearing the usual rudeness that witch wears to her sweet Mike anyway. Nevertheless, she had to do it. Her thought was to get the trays as quickly as possible and get out. She came in without a word. She just went to her duties grabbing the sandwich makings and tea, plus throwing some fruit on the trays…her big mistake. Apparently, Margurite never gave them fruit as Mike looked at her funny, “Fruit today, eh?” Snow tried not to stammer, but instead thought quickly, “They requested it.” Then thinking again as Margurite would, she added sarcastically, “And we have to be sure they have their way, don’t we?” Apparently satisfied with her performance as Margurite, Mike sighed and went into the hut. Although she was pleased that she pulled it off, she still felt a twinge of regret in her heart that she had to be so nasty to the one man in the world who meant so much to her. However, she shook it off quickly and went on with her plan.
Remembering when Liz told her of how sickeningly sweet Margurite would act in the surgery, Snow tried to mimic this as best she could as she brought in the lunches. Mai as usual was handcuffed, her wrists still sporting the bandages from the incident with Margurite from the other night. She rolled her eyes when Snow came in, looking none too pleased to see the Princess. Cliona also didn’t appear thrilled, except she stopped and took a second look. True, Snow was being ‘sugary’ as usual. But there was something different about it this time. What was it? Snow put Cliona’s tray down with a smile and then quickly went to Mai’s bed to set down her tray. Cliona couldn’t make out the conversations today, as Snow seemed to talk to Mai much quieter than usual on the whole. She also seemed…kinder. “Humph…must be another act”, thought Cliona. Snow leaned in to Mai who wore her usual sour “get away from me or I’ll kick your ass” expression, “Mai, it’s me…the REAL Snow…remember from the other night? I wanted to talk to you in daylight, so I wouldn’t disturb your rest.” “What rest?” thought Mai. “I wanted to see if you had thought about what I asked. If you say ‘no’, I’ll understand.” Mai looked down at the sheets. Snow wasn’t quite sure what to think of this. “I just need to try to find out what it is that’s giving Margurite her morphing power. If we find that, she won’t be able to haunt you anymore either.” Mai looked back at Snow then over at Cliona and Karen, as if to be certain that no one else heard what Snow had said. “Think of it this way, “ Snow continued, “This is really a win-win scenario for you, Mai. What do you have to lose by just scoping out what she’s wearing when she comes to see you? And if we can catch her…her visits to you are over! I know you wouldn’t mind that, right? So what do you say, Mai? Will you help me? Can we help each other?”
As Cliona watched Snow talk to Mai, it finally hit her what was different about Snow’s sweet disposition. This time it seemed…genuine.
Chapter
143 – (MISSING PARTIAL)
Thomas woke with a start as he sat up in bed. The horrible words he had said to Lily in his nightmares were still haunting his mind. He sighed heavily, "Thank God that whole ordeal was only a dream." He couldn't imagine ever saying things like that to his sweet Lily. He didn't even know why he'd dreamed it. However the thought of seeing his beautiful gypsy flower appealed to him immensely.
Chapter 144 thru 149 – (MISSING!!!)