“Well, at least I think we’ve earned our keep for staying the night and eating some of their food,” Snow said, once they were settled at the creek. “If there are owners, I don’t think they’ll mind so much now.”
Val and Sam smiled and nodded, agreeing with her. They were pretty sure who the owners were, but were hesitant to share any information or their thoughts about it.
“Snow, why were you out in the forest by yourself?” Samantha asked. “If you don’t mind talking about it, that is.”
“That’s okay. I have nowhere to go and nothing to lose anymore.” She kept her attention on the water, avoiding the girls’ eyes.
“What do you mean?”
She let out a long sigh. “I was running from the huntsman. Well, not really running from him. He’d caught me, but he let me go.”
“Who’s that? What do you mean running from him?” asked Valerie.
“Well, I told you my stepmother didn’t care for me much. That’s an understatement. She hates me. She tried to have me killed.”
“What?” both of the girls cried at once.
“How could she do that that? That’s too cruel to be true!” Sam added.
“I know, but it is true.” She blinked, as her eyes filled with tears. Swallowing hard, she continued with her tale. “The huntsman was supposed to kill me. He had orders to bring my heart back to my stepmother as proof, so there were no questions about him completing his task.” She was finally able to look up at the girls. The tears that she’d fought so hard to control finally spilled down her cheeks. “I don’t know what I have done to make her hate me so much.”
“I’m sure you didn’t do anything,” Samantha reassured her. “We’ve only known you for a short time, and we like you very much. She must be a very mean lady and probably doesn’t treat your dad too well, either.”
Snow wiped at her eyes with a little more force than necessary. Anger was taking over sadness. “No, she doesn’t. That’s probably why he goes away so much. I wish he could take me, but he says he can’t. Like I said, he doesn’t know how horrible she is to me, since I don’t tell him. I should have done something before it got this far. I can’t go back now. I’ll be killed for sure, one way or another. She’s certain to kill the huntsman as well, for not doing his job.” She paused for a minute. “I miss my father dearly. Maybe if we keep going, we can find a town and get word to him. He’d leave her and have her put in jail once he learns what she tried to do.”
“This is horrible,” said Valerie. “I’m glad we came along when we did. I feel safer with us being together. It’s a good thing we found this place and had shelter, but you’re right. By the condition this place was in, we don’t know when or if anyone would come back. We should keep going, look for a town, and try to find a sheriff or something.”
“That sounds like a good idea to me, too,” Samantha agreed with a confident nod.
“Are you sure you want to stay with me after what I’ve told you? It could be dangerous. What if she tries to come after me?”
“I bet the huntsman was smart,” said Valerie. “He probably killed a wild boar or something, and took its heart back to her as proof you were dead. He wouldn’t have wanted to get himself in trouble.” She stole a quick glance at Samantha. Valerie was sure Samantha knew she was following along with what happened in the story, trying to comfort Snow. Sam winked back. Val translated that as “quick thinking, girlfriend.”
Val couldn’t believe this was happening, but she couldn't deny it any longer. They were with Snow White and living her tale.
“I sure hope so. I’d hate to be the cause of anything happening to you two. What about your parents? Won’t they be worried about you?”
“I didn’t think about that,” said Valerie. “I was so involved in your story, I wanted to stay to help you. I haven’t thought about finding our way back home. We knew we were wandering in the wrong direction when we found you.”
“I don’t want to go back now,” Samantha said. “We have to stay and help.”
“I know. I want to, too. My mom will understand, especially when we explain everything that has happened when we get back.”
“Especially your mom.” Samantha laughed. “We’ll just tell her we found a stray. We won’t even be lying.”
“It’s settled then. We stay with you, find you help, and we aren’t leaving a minute sooner.”
“I don’t know how to thank you two.” Snow had tears building in her eyes again.
“That’s not necessary. It’s what friends do. It’ll be an adventure.” Sam stood. “Now let’s get going. Do you know of any towns close by?”
“No, I don’t. I’ve never been so far from my home on my own. I didn’t want to risk traveling on the roads last night, not that I could find one now even if I wanted to.”
“We’ll keep heading in the direction we were going. We found this place. Maybe there’s a town further up along the stream,” said Valerie.
The girls and Otter wandered upstream for most of the afternoon, pausing briefly for lunch when they found some wild berry bushes. Valerie and Samantha were picky eaters, but wouldn't turn down any kind of fruit. There were a few “Pick your own” strawberry and blueberry farms a few miles from Val’s home. They went to at least one with every one of Sam’s visits. Her dad discovered wild black raspberries along their fence the summer after they moved into their new home. Val and Sam enjoyed eating the berries, but didn’t enjoy the scratches that came with picking them. They were grateful this particular plant had very few thorns within reach of the berry. Snow called it a “Mayberry,” but neither of them had heard of it before.
“It’s a good thing you know your berries,” Sam said. “I would have worried they were poisonous.”
The girls rested for a while after they’d had their fill, then headed on their way again.
Valerie glanced down at her attire. When they set out to look for the possum, they really hadn’t planned on a trek through a forest with Snow White. She decided to make the best of it.
“I guess it’s pajama day.”
“What?” asked Snow.
“Pajama day. A lot of times when we don’t have anything particular to do and just hang out at the house, my mom says it’s pajama day and we stay in our ‘jammies’ and get to be lazy bums.”
“That sounds like fun. I don’t do things like that with my stepmother. You probably guessed that, though. I usually have chores to do. Your ‘pajamas’ as you call them are pretty. I see yours says ‘Princess,’ Val. Are you a princess, too?”
“Oh, no. I like stories about princesses. Where we come from, the stores sell clothes that have things that you like on them.”
“How come Samantha’s say Bratz? Is she a brat? Why is she telling everyone that?”
They both laughed.
“That’s a kind of doll,” Valerie explained.
“That is very odd. I had a doll once when I was small. My mom made it. It was not a brat.”
Val and Samantha laughed again and Snow shook her head, looking confused.
“So,” Snow continued, “you know my story, but I don’t know yours. I heard you whisper about a magic mirror. I’ll believe what you tell me. You believed me. I wouldn’t doubt you have one. My stepmother does.”
“You know about that?” asked Samantha. “I mean, how do you know it’s magic?”
“I hear her talking to it a lot. She used to be very happy when she was young. She used to be a very pretty woman -- if you didn’t know her, of course. Now she seems ugly to me. She is never happy and is very mean. I just can’t see past all that ‘ugly’ in her personality, no matter how much makeup she uses to try to make herself look prettier.”
“Maybe it makes her mad that you are prettier than her,” suggested Valerie.
“Oh, I don’t know about that.”
“But you are very pretty. That could be it.”
“I can’t imagine her being jealous of me. She never liked me in the first place.” Snow sighed. ??
?I don’t care anymore. I’m gone now, and that’s all that is important. Let’s talk about something else. Tell me about your land.”
Valerie and Samantha took turns giving her a brief explanation of where they were from; Snow listened, intrigued.
“I can’t believe you could have a fire to cook food by turning a knob. And lights that work by hitting a…what did you call it? A switch? That sounds simply wonderful.”
The girls were so engrossed in their conversation that it took them a minute to realize they were now walking on a very well-worn path. It was mostly dirt, but they could see grass growing up from the middle and could start to make out wagon wheel tracks.
“You think it’s safe to stay in the open, Val?” Sam asked.
“I think we’re far enough away from where we found Snow that we should be okay.”
They walked for nearly twenty minutes, chatting about nothing in particular and listening to sounds from the forest. The gentle rustling of the trees and sounds of animals scurrying was interrupted by the distinct creaks and rattles of a wagon approaching. The clop-clop of a horse’s hooves grew louder.
Not quite sure what to do, Val grabbed Snow and Sam by the hand, wanting to pull them back into the forest. Unfortunately, Otter must have heard the noises, as well. She took off in that direction, wagging her tail but not barking. Hiding in the bushes wasn’t an option. She didn’t want Otter to be taken away by the driver. Running after her, Val hoped this was someone friendly. The driver stopped his horse at the sight of them. Otter jumped up in the cart and sat next to him like she belonged there.
“Well hello there, young ladies. I take it this is your dog.” The driver was around the age of their own fathers. His hair was a little on the shaggy side. A large smile was still visible through his full beard. Since he was petting Otter, they knew he wasn't angry.
Valerie answered him. “Yes, sir. She’s my dog.”
“Well, what a friendly pooch she is. May I ask what you girls are doing out here by yourselves?”
Snow turned on the charm like only a real princess could. “Hello there, kind sir. We don’t live far. We’re headed to the next town to visit my aunt. She, um, had a baby not too long ago, and we wanted to see her.”
“Princess Rose? You’re her cousins?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Uh-huh. Um, on my father’s side.”
Valerie and Samantha kept quiet. Snow was exceptional at creating a story to tell the driver; they didn’t dare try to add to it.
Val whispered. “I sure hope she doesn’t get caught in a fib.”
“I know,” Sam whispered back. “Especially since they seem to know the same person.”
Even as he sat in the cart, he bowed after hearing she was indeed the young princess. “Forgive my informal nature, Your Highness. I never would have expected a princess to be traveling alone. May I ask where your servants are?”
“I asked them to go ahead and make sure our accommodations were in order. With all the rain lately, we’ve been indoors a lot and were in need of a good, long walk. I’m afraid we underestimated the distance. Would you mind giving us a ride the rest of the way, please, sir?”
“It would be my honor.” He hopped down to help them up. “Sorry I don’t have a fancier wagon like those you are probably accustomed to, but the straw is clean and should prove comfortable.”
“Thank you very much,” Snow said as he helped her up. The girls got in after her, thanked the driver, and made their introductions.
“I’m returning from market. I have some deer jerky left if you girls are hungry,” he offered, handing Snow a cloth pouch.
“Oh, we are! Thank you so much.”
“Why don’t you give your pooch here a couple pieces, too? She looks like she’d enjoy it.”
Val thanked him and did as he suggested. Otter was very appreciative and hungry.
As they traveled down the road, everyone enjoyed small talk. Each girl was careful not to offer too much information. It wasn’t worth the chance of caught in a lie that would tangle them up later.
Chapter 8