"He wasn't lying... this place is a mess."
The queen's comment brought a smile to the princess's face as she rummaged through the drawers of the small kitchen next to the entrance hall. The refuge had only one room, besides the common room, and it was bare, as if it had been empty for many years. Grimilde glanced thoughtfully at the window overlooking the forest. She had taken care to tie the boy to a nearby tree with ropes she'd found inside the refuge, then she had joined Snow White to help her on her mission. She hadn't yet figured out what she intended to do, but she was happy to help the princess at any opportunity.
"You must think I'm crazy..." Snow White stopped near the wooden table in the living room, picking up a large leather bag she'd found leaning against the chair; she continued rummaging through Aron's things, finding letters whose contents she carefully checked.
"I'd never think so." Snow White didn't notice the queen approaching; she was intent on reading a mysterious letter, unmarked and written in dark red ink.
"If I may ask, what are you hiding from everyone with that innocent face and your naive girlish charm?" The queen whispered close to Snow White's ear, and she froze, sensing things she had never felt before. She shivered and blushed immediately, then a sweet, torturous heat spread across her belly. Grimilde's voice had even sounded sensual, or perhaps it was just the young girl's imagination. She felt their bodies very close: the queen's warmth enveloped her, and soon she saw two hands stop on the table, trapping her in two arms, those of the most powerful woman in the kingdom of Arran, Grimilde, or Ilde, as she playfully called her in her thoughts.
"By any chance... have you ever deceived me?" Grimilde would never accuse her of anything; her goal was to see the princess red-faced and embarrassed, just for the fun of it. But Snow White misunderstood the question and became agitated. "No! Never!" She turned quickly, gripping Grimilde's shoulders with her hands. Her eyes were wide, and her red lips trembled with terror that the queen would think that of her. She would never harm or betray the queen. Her loyalty and adoration for her far surpassed that of the royal knights, she was certain of it.
"How can you think that of me?" Snow White was on the verge of tears; it was clear in her voice and evident in her moist, red eyes. Grimilde gasped at that heartbreaking image and immediately tried to right her grave mistake. "Oh, Snow White... I never meant to hurt you, you must believe me. I was a fool, and I humbly ask your forgiveness." The queen dried the princess's tears, caressing her cheeks, then held her in her arms, breathing deeply. An enormous tension was crushing her heart. She would never forgive herself for that mistake: making Snow White suffer must have been a sin so grave that it would lead to the Abyss of the tormented dead.
The Abyss was a popular belief in the north of the continent: it was said to contain the souls of sinners, the cruelest people who deserved to be trapped forever in the deepest, most frightening darkness.
Snow White soon stopped crying, and while Grimilde ached inside, with a thousand thoughts and self-curses, the young girl lost herself in the sensation of her body pressed against the queen's. At a certain point, she remembered the letter she was reading and tried to separate from Grimilde: "Is everything all right... Grimilde?" The queen tightened her grip when the princess tried to pull away.
Snow White smiled, touched by the older woman's actions: she had never seen her so vulnerable and affectionate; she longed to spend eternity in her arms, but they would have to leave as soon as possible. They didn't know what other threats lurked in the forest.
"I forgive you." The princess, aware of the queen's emotional state, finally conceded those two words, and Grimilde recovered in a flash. The blonde's eyes were slightly red, but she didn't appear to have been crying. She avoided the princess's gaze for a few moments, then the princess leaned in to kiss her cheek, surprising the queen. To avoid further embarrassment, Snow White quickly turned and read the mysterious letter again: "A girl will come your way... take her to the refuge and... could it be the same being who followed me? It was a demon, I was certain of it. Shouldn't they be able to operate in the mortal realm only through a contract? Such levels of organization require reasoning..."
The princess's knowledge came from extensive reading on the subject. She was interested in all abnormal phenomena and in myths.
"Yes, there must be a person behind all this." Grimilde concluded Snow White's thought after quickly reading the entire letter. Apparently, someone had plotted to lead the princess into the woods and get her lost, so that she would end up with Aron. The plan, written on the paper, was for the man to lure the victim to his hideout, offer the girl food, and then...
The letter was torn.
"We'll never know the rest of what would have awaited us if we'd been trapped..."
"Unless..." Grimilde turned and strode out the door, catching up with Aron, who was just waking up.
"What-?" As soon as the young man saw Grimilde's grim look, he became agitated: "She is wicked! Witch!"
"Silence." The queen drew her sword, displaying her elegance and terrible grandeur against the prisoner's cowardice and timidity. Snow White appeared behind her, and the young man shouted to get her attention: "Beatrice! Please run away, while you can!"
The princess nodded and continued to advance, then when she was within a meter of the boy, she bent down to look him in the face: "Do you see this letter? I want to hear you say every single word that's missing."
"Letter? I've never seen it! You must believe me, Beatrice!" The princess responded by raising her eyes to the queen and signaling her to slit his throat. Aron turned pale when he saw this, and all hope abandoned him.
"Now you will answer all his questions, or I will have to end your life... you wouldn't be the first to die under the weight of my sword. I advise you not to make another grave mistake." Grimilde assumed the regal expression that so captivated the princess, and her voice became imperious, decisive, almost harsh. The Ice Queen stood before her in all her splendor, and Snow White took a moment to admire her.
"I-I... What do you want from me?"
"We know you're following someone's plan... and that you wanted to capture me." At those words, Aron shrank even further: he lowered his head, hugging his knees to his chest. His hands were tied behind his torso; he couldn't move them, and his wrists hurt. He wanted to cry and run away: it shouldn't have been like this! Frustrated by what was happening and terrified of the armed woman, he decided to tell everything: to hell with the deal!
"I was told I could marry a beautiful woman and become powerful if I followed the plan. He said I'd have everything I wanted, all I had to do was sign the pact with him... he did all this! I didn't mean to hurt her! Beatrice, you have to believe me! I should have given her food... he would have taken care of the rest. It was... Yes, the apple! It's inside the shelter! I should have given the girl an apple and she would have fallen asleep... then... then..." Aron blushed and bit his lip hard. "That's all I know —!" He was forced to continue when the sharp sword approached his throat: "I should have kissed her and she would have fallen in love with me! He said people would find her in the woods and I should look for her, we would run away together, far away from here... I don't know anything else, I swear, for real."
Aron began to tremble and buried his head in his knees. Snow White felt sorry for him and asked Grimilde to move away: she knew he was sincere, but his words had been confusing and hadn't helped clarify the matter. The princess began to think as she returned to the shelter to find the famous apple Aron had spoken of, the poisoned one: someone wanted to harm her, but above all, they wanted to drive her away from the land. She was certain that Aron might have been trapped himself, but what didn't convince her was the fact that demons were involved.
"It must be this one." The princess quickly found the poisonous fruit: it was a red apple, much darker than the others. It seemed sweet in appearance, attractive, its smell made you want to get closer and take a bite. When the princess realized she was getting closer, her mouth touched the seemingly tasty fruit, a hand closed over hers, and, raising her eyes, she smiled at Grimilde: "Thank you. Is this forbidden magic?"
The queen nodded in response and took the apple, placing it in a pouch she found lying around.
"It's someone who knows us well and practices forbidden magic... someone in the castle, who wants to get rid of you or of me, perhaps. We can't be sure, but we must try to find out who it is before it's too late."
"Is it possible that it wasn't part of their plan for the queen to get lost in the woods too? After all, without you, Aron would have managed to capture me, and the plan would have been completed without a hitch..."
Grimilde thought about it, then replied: "It certainly wasn't supposed to happen this way, but why? The kingdom doesn't follow meritocracy when it comes to heirs to the throne. If he wanted to rule, it would have made more sense to sideline me and, if it were a man, convince you to marry him. If the apple has this power, why give it to Aron?"
"Your argument makes sense, but only if you consider the desire to become regent by following official procedures. If someone wanted to betray the kingdom, they might also want its destruction... the formalities wouldn't matter. It would be enough to get rid of the princess, then the queen... and thus definitively seize the throne, with some help. My father wrote a will before his death, granting you the right to the throne of the kingdom. Do you remember if it said anything else? Something about a succession to the throne in the absence of direct heirs. Apart from the two of us, he has no one left, no brothers, no grandchildren."
Grimilde should have thought about the deceased king's will, but she got lost in the adoration she was feeling for the princess: she was displaying enough wit a to rival and surpass any court advisor or politician the queen had ever known. In that moment, she realized she never wanted to stop talking face to face with Snow White: that way, she could see every expression she made when she shared her thoughts, whether she was frowning, confused, ecstatic, or even angry. The queen loved to see the surprise on Snow White's face.
"I would have to look at the will to be sure, but I believe there was a solution in the event of the absence of a regent. Your father would have vested the power in the Council, under the official coordination of the most trusted advisor at court."
"...Sir Edgar?"
"Exactly."