Wilhelm, the girls, and Otter, got an early start the next morning as he’d promised. The ride was uneventful, especially considering all the excitement they'd had the day before. They were happy to see Dorothea and the tiny cottage again.
She gave them big hugs and, of course, had a meal fit for a king waiting for them.
“Gee, Val. For being lost in your woods, we sure are eating great. I’m probably gonna need new jeans when we get back.”
“Like you need a reason to ask for new jeans, Sam.” The girls laughed together. Sam was as much of a shop-a-holic as her mother, with an equally over-spilling closet. This was another point on which the girls differed like night and day. On many occasions, Val’s mom had to insist that she change out of her pajama pants before leaving for school. Samantha was always dressed and completely accessorized.
Dorothea and Wilhelm stepped outside to talk. The girls assumed he was going to tell Dorothea the news about Snow. Suddenly, Wilhelm came bursting in.
“We’re going to have a baby!” he shouted with pride. “Finally! A baby of our own!” He hugged them, then picked up Dorothea and spun her around.
“I’m sorry, dear. I should probably be more careful with you.”
“It's fine this once, but I suppose I should be more careful not to let such strong, handsome men swing me around from now on.”
Wilhelm stole one more quick kiss, then was off to spread the word to everyone he could. He was temporarily distracted and forgot he wanted to get the girls back to their home right away.
Snow turned to the girls. “Looks like he forgot about wanting to get you guys back.”
Sam grinned. “I know. That’s too bad, huh? Now we get to spend more time here.”
Val laughed and gave her a gentle jab.
Snow’s smile faded. She wandered outside and the girls followed her.
“You doing okay, Snow?” Valerie asked.
“I’m fine. It’s just that I worry about them. I don’t think I should stay here. Dorothea will have a baby of her own soon, and they surely won’t need me in the way.”
“Don’t say that. They love you. Of course you are still wanted. You think I got any less attention when my brother was born?” Sam asked.
“I know how it works.” Snow sighed. “I don’t know about this, though. I think I want to be by myself for a while, if that’s okay with you two. I’m going down to the creek for a bit.”
“Okay. Don’t be long, though. Dorothea will start to worry.”
Snow sat at the creek and cried. She missed her father so much, and could not imagine life without him. Her mind wandered to her stepmother’s magic mirror and hoped that it could not see her and know she was still alive. She picked up pebbles and tossed them in the water. As the water rippled, she noticed something shiny and red at the bottom, on the other side. Otter came running up behind her and ran straight into the water, making splashes everywhere, and Snow lost sight of it.
“You sure do have the right name, you silly dog,” she said with a laugh. Otter wagged her tail, and almost appeared to smile in satisfaction. Made you smile! My job here is done. She came out of the water, shook herself off, and rolled around in the grass. The water grew calm, and Snow saw the shiny red object again. She was wading through the creek as the girls came running up.
“What are you doing, Snow?” asked Samantha.
“I see something in the water. Look, right there.” She pointed. “Wait. I’ll get it and bring it over. You probably can’t see it with me stirring up the water. Otter did that to me a minute ago, as well.” She made her way over to where she thought it was. It took a second to find it before she bent down, picked it up and studied it. It was the biggest ruby she had ever seen.
“What is it?” Val asked from the edge of the creek.
“Look!” She held it up and ran back through the water.
The girls took turns with their exclamations of amazement. “Oh my gosh! Is that a ruby? It’s huge!”
“Sure looks like one to me. My mother had a ruby ring, but nothing like this.”
Together they wandered through the creek searching for more stones, but didn’t find anything.
Something caught Valerie’s attention on the other side of the creek. She walked over to Samantha and gave her a nudge.
“Sam, look! It’s the possum!”
“Val, maybe it’s not even the same one. We are in a forest.”
“It has to be. I never see them at home, now this one keeps showing up. Snow, come here! There’s the possum we were following.”
As if it heard the commotion, it scurried deeper into the forest. The girls rushed to get out of the creek and went after it, careful not to lose it, but also careful not to get too close and risk scaring it.
They followed it over trees that had been blown down and bushes so thick, they could hardly make their way through. Wild rose bushes added to the challenge. It was an acrobatic feat at times to avoid getting scratched to pieces.
“I can’t believe it hasn’t noticed us, Val,” Sam said.
“I know. Even Otter seems to sense the importance of the situation, and is behaving.”
They were far enough into the forest that they didn’t hear the rumbling of a magnificent carriage approaching the small cottage of Wilhelm and Dorothea. Inside the carriage sat a once-stunning woman who now just looked haggard. She wore a black dress with a black hooded cape and a not-so-modest crown on her head. In her hand was a small, jeweled mirror. The woman found her own appearance so stunning that she rarely took her eyes off herself.
It was Snow White’s stepmother.
Chapter 15