The queen had reached the edge of the forest, followed by two of her knights. The search could have lasted for days, but Grimilde would not give up, even though she was losing her mind due to her fears. She feared the princess was in grave physical and mental health conditions, and she was terrified that someone had tried to harm her in some way. She had to find Snow White, no matter the cost, and to do so would mean breaking the pact with her family, and she clearly remembered her father's words when she had spoken it: "Never use magic outside the kingdom."
Grimilde took advantage of the second night of the search to get away from the knights, and when she was far enough away, she set about finding an animal to use as a sacrifice to summon a minor demon and use it in her search for the princess. She would have used the mirror, but she knew it would not give the correct location, so she could only opt for dark magic. These arts were forbidden because they required contact with death. Grimilde recalled the phrases she'd learned during her adolescence, when she'd first experienced this kind of ritual: the demon she'd summoned was familiar, his name was Astrael. The queen colored the ground with blood, forming a circle inside which she drew a pentagram, then set the carcass aside.
"Astrael, this is a summon, this is my offering to you, this is my request: find Princess Snow White, take me to her."
She sealed the pact by making a cut across her palm and then letting her blood drip into the center of the circle. The circle lit up, just as it had done before, and two devilish red eyes and sharp teeth appeared from the darkness.
"Grimilde, how long? To what do I owe this pleasure?" The demon's deep, scratchy voice made Grimhilde shiver. But the queen would never show weakness before him: that would be a grave mistake.
"Astrael, find Snow White."
"Since you've brought me this good prey... I could help you. Continue along the river: you'll soon see a small house, it will be on your right. You'll have to cross the river. Some people live in that house... I must say, they are interesting individuals... you'll find Princess Snow White there... but be careful... the forest is dangerous at night."
Grimilde wasted no time, breaking the circle when the demon caught his prey, throwing dirt on the bloodlines, then raced away on her horse, following the river's line.
The queen continued on, never stopping, and when she began to feel tired, she spotted lights a hundred meters away. Revitalized, she dashed toward the river, at the first point passable on horseback, and held the reins tightly, calming her faithful and courageous steed: "Everything will be fine... everything will be fine." The chant was more for herself than for the animal: she feared that Snow White was hurt, or worse, that she had been captured by evil people. Just the thought of them touching her made her blood run cold. She had to find her, she had to have her back in her arms, and then, she promised herself, she would no longer hide.
When she saw the house, she frowned: it was truly small—or perhaps it was the night that made it seem that way—and it was located on a hill, not far from the stream. The darkness of the night prevented her from seeing the building clearly, but the lights filtering through the three small windows along the side showed people moving about inside. Grimilde approached on foot, after dismounting and tying it to a tree along the path to the house. "Stay here, I'll be back..." she whispered to her steed, stroking its neck and muzzle, then grabbed her sword, crouching to make sure she wasn't spotted from the windows. The darkness would have helped her hide, but she didn't want to risk reflecting the moonlight with her armor and sharp weapon. At the end of the climb, Grimilde found herself under the windows: she had good cover. She sighed, gritting her teeth when she heard voices: "Don't you think she's truly beautiful?"
"Very beautiful, very beautiful! Pass me some bread... hey, Sneezy! Come over!"
"I wonder what she was doing in the woods..."
At one point, a loud sneeze was heard: "Dopey! Stay away from the flames!"
"Come on, Grumpy, let's not start a fight. The girl is resting, don't make a fuss. Bashful, what do you say we bring a glass of water to her room? That way, if she wakes up, she can have a drink."
"Doc is the best! You really are the wisest."
"Thanks, Happy. Come on, have some more bread."
"He ate it all..."
"I'm hungry!"
"Can you... be quiet... I'm tired..." The man let out a huge yawn, which even the queen, kneeling there, could hear.
She watched under a window. At one point, the footsteps got closer, but Grimilde noticed them at the last moment, distracted by the racket the unknown individuals had made.
"Did you hear?"
"What?" The men fell silent and began whispering. Grimilde tightened her grip on her sword, ready to raise it to defend herself. "Sleepy is already snoring!"
The queen at that point couldn't tell if she had fallen asleep and was in a long nightmare: how could such people have kidnapped Snow White? Grimilde gritted her teeth and stepped forward, reaching the entrance to the house; At that point, she could choose to enter and unleash a massacre, surprising the enemy—a perhaps pointless slaughter—or she could opt for something simpler, almost foolish: knocking on the door. Grimilde raised her eyes to the highest window of the cottage, to the left of the front door: perhaps the princess was there, waiting to be rescued by someone and taken to safety, to her home. Perhaps she was waiting for the queen herself...
"Snow White..." Grimilde whispered it to the wind and the darkness of the night. She missed her like air, like water to a thirsty man, like food to the hungry: her chest ached at the thought of her suffering, and she knew she would do anything to see her again. So she decided to approach the entrance. Her eyes lingered for a moment on the garland of flowers adorning the wooden door, then Grimilde took a deep breath and knocked. Long seconds of silence passed before the door opened slightly. Grimhilde saw no one and was startled when she heard someone boom, "Who's there?" So she took a step back, tightening her grip on the hilt of her sword, and only then did she catch a glimpse of a small figure in front of her. Behind the door appeared what must have been a child, given his height, but his deep voice betrayed his true age.
"Who the hell are you?"
"Grumpy, let me do the talking! Can't you see the young lady is scared?"
"What are you talking about, fool! She's got a weapon!"
"Make way for Doc."
"Let's all calm down..."
Grimilde continued to hear various voices, but she couldn't see anything through the crack of the open door, so she waited for their leader to appear, and when she saw someone step forward to open the door further, she spoke decisively: "I'm looking for someone... have you by any chance seen a young woman lost in the woods?"
"What? Could she be talking about her?" A man's whisper in the shadows convinced her even more that she had found the right place. "Please... it's someone I care about very much. Do you know anything about her?"
"I see you're nervous... it's cold. Come inside, we've got a fire going." Before Grimilde could resist, warm hands pulled her inside and she soon found herself in a small living room, surrounded by... dwarves?!
"You are..." The queen was speechless and continued to observe the small individuals around her. Apparently, the long shadows had played a nasty trick on her: she had thought she was dealing with large, tall, and dangerous men, but instead they appeared to be peaceful.
"Sit down and have a drink. There's food if you like." A dwarf with glasses showed her a chair, a little small but sturdy, and Grimilde accepted his kindness, taking a seat at the living room table. She was a queen, knowing how to accept courteous gestures while remaining wary of her surroundings. The dwarves all wore tunics, held tight at the waist with a leather belt, and on their heads they wore what looked like bonnets. The queen quickly scanned the area and noticed some pickaxes and ropes in one corner of the room, but she saw no weapons, and was relieved. The ropes, however, could be used to tie someone up...
"Let me introduce myself, I'm Doc and this is Sleepy," she pointed to a dwarf dozing on some piled clothes, then continued the introductions: "Bashful, the shy one of the group." The little one waved, blushing, then lowered his eyes. "Grumpy, who's a bit grumpy, but he's a softie at heart. Then there's Happy, Sneezy, and the youngest of them all, Dopey!"
"Thank you for your warm welcome, it's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Grimilde." The queen had only revealed her name, which wasn't widely known among Arran's subjects, who preferred nicknames like Ice Queen, due to her Nordic origins.
Doc brought the woman a cup and took the opportunity to examine her closely: "Allow me... you are truly beautiful. Just like the girl you are looking for."
"She has ebony black hair, pale skin, like soft snow..." the queen whispered, full of hope. The dwarves remained silent, then one of them approached timidly: it was Bashful. "You know the girl well, Miss Grimilde? You don't want to hurt her, do you? She was very scared when we found her on the way home from work. She had some injuries..."
"W-what? Is she sick?" Grimilde began to fret and looked around, noticing the small stairs leading to the first floor. "Please, let me see her!"
"She's resting now. Why don't you do the same? Tomorrow morning, you can speak to Snow White." Doc was sincere and wise, the queen could see that too, but she wouldn't be able to rest until she saw the princess with her own eyes. "Please... I just want to see her."
At that point Doc looked at the others: he made a sign with his hand and they gathered in a circle, whispering words and glancing at the queen, then continuing to mutter. Grimilde was losing patience, but she wouldn't disrespect those who were hosting her. Soon, Doc turned to the queen with a kind look: "All right... follow me."
The queen stood up, looking at the ceiling of the little house, which, although low, still allowed her to stand upright. She would have thought that the dimensions would change for dwarves, but she was wrong. Grimilde climbed the stairs behind Doc, under everyone's worried gaze, and soon found herself in front of a room, the one she had seen from the outside, before entering the house. When Doctor carefully opened the door, and Grimilde gazed at the figure shrouded in blankets and shadows on one of the beds in the room. She saw others, but they didn't interest her: her eyes never left the princess she had searched for so many hours. Doc lit a candle and placed it on a bedside table, dimming the room. Their footsteps were silent, and when the queen bent down to observe Snow White's face, she began to think that the pallor of her skin wasn't so reassuring after all: she wanted to touch it to feel if it was cold, as its color indicated, or warm, as it had always been. She remembered their embrace and bit her lip to keep from letting out a small sound of pain: she suffered immensely for the princess. Who knows what she had been through, who had hurt her, how scared she had been, all alone in the woods.
"We took care of her wounds. Don't worry, it's nothing serious." Doc whispered to reassure the queen, who had a pained expression on her face. The dwarf clearly saw how much he cared for the girl and didn't bother leaving them alone: "If you want, you can stay here by her side. Take the bed beside her. Tomorrow she'll be better, you'll see. If you need anything, call me..." Doc then left the room and returned to his companions, who began to confabulate about the identity of the mysterious woman and the injured girl. Bashful was enchanted by such soft beauty, and Grumpy continued to tease him.
Meanwhile, Grimilde knelt on the wooden floor and leaned against Snow White's bed, clutching the blanket that covered her body. She continued to watch over the girl until sleep took her to the dream realm. She was physically and emotionally exhausted, and quickly collapsed. In her dreams, she saw the princess flee into the woods and a dark figure chasing her.
It was a nightmare: she couldn't move, only watch Snow White being chased away by the evil presence.