“No.” Snow couldn’t prevent the word from escaping on a rush of air.
“I couldn’t prove anything. She never dirtied her own hands. She had others who would do it for her. I couldn’t figure out how, until the day I was visited by a man who told me to beware of her. She had magic that could wield immense power.”
Snow leaned forward, caught up in the story.
“I didn’t listen. I confronted her. I told her that though I couldn’t prove she’d done anything, I knew she had. I told her that I could never love anyone with such a black heart. She begged and pleaded with me to love her. She promised to change and become anything I wanted her to become if only I’d make her my queen. When that didn’t work, she became furious. I told her to leave and never darken my doorway again.”
“Your queen?” she squeaked.
Philip cleared his throat. “I was Prince of Lilyworth. I hadn’t yet ascended, hoping my parents would return.”
Philip fell silent, turning to sit back on the log. Snow wanted to go to him, comfort him. Pain and dismay etched his features.
“What happened?” she asked quietly.
Philip waved a hand around him. “This happened.”
“This?”
“This. Fableton. One day I went into the forest to hunt. I had no idea she hadn’t left the village as I’d told her to. I was separated from my men, but that wasn’t unusual during a hunt. I stopped to let my horse rest and drink from the stream when she appeared.” Snow clenched the edges of the bench, wanting to stop him from telling her the rest. Instead she clamped her bottom lip between her teeth and waited.
“She told me that if she couldn’t have me, neither would anyone else, ever. She told me that I would still rule a kingdom, but that it wouldn’t be the one I currently ruled. She informed me that I would be alone forever, in misery, with only the memory of her beauty to comfort me, and that I would never be able to escape the kingdom she built for me.”
Philip shrugged. “I laughed at her. I thought she had gone completely insane. I pulled my water jug from my horse to drink from it, when suddenly I became completely numb. How was it you put it? Awake, but unable to move.”
Snow lurched to her feet. Was he saying . . .?
“She had a man, a rather large man, who came to carry me. Deep into the forest, into places no one would ever be able to find me. When I woke I was here, in Fableton. Alone. I lived alone for a very long time.” He smiled. “And then one day I had a visitor. A fairy. She’d heard about me. She was unable to undo the curse, but she could add a caveat to it. That was, anyone who was shown Fableton would be able to become a part of it with me. She brought the first person, my friend Dmitri. He’d always been my loyal friend and was happy to join me. It was him who brought the first few people.”
He sighed, and Snow cringed, knowing that whatever came next wouldn’t be pleasant.
“She found out, of course. So she returned. She also couldn’t undo what the fairy had done, but she could add her own extra layer of insurance. She cursed the rest of the forest, so that it would be feared and no one would wander into it for fear of being lost forever. Once in the forest, there are very few who can ever leave again.”
Snow was nodding. This she did know.
“It became harder to get others to join. And then the day came when I realized I was fulfilling my own selfish desires. All who had come were now stuck here with me, without a chance for escape. I commanded them to not bring anyone else in, unless the person asked to be let in. Of course, not many people know about Fableton, and so can’t ask to come in.” He lifted his gaze to Snow. “Can you guess who the girl was?”
Snow shook her head, wanting to deny the knowledge. Nonetheless, she opened her mouth and said, “Katarina.”
“Yes,” Philip said. “Katarina.”
Snow was stunned. Her head was reeling. “How could that be?” she asked. “I don’t know of any kingdoms nearby. We don’t have kingdoms here.”
“I don’t know where here is,” Philip said. “My kingdom was on an island in the Celtic sea. I don’t believe that’s where we are anymore. Or when.”
“When?” Snow repeated.
“What year is it?” Philip asked.
“Twenty-twelve,” Snow said.
“I’ve been here a full half-millennium then,” Philip remarked, awe in his voice. “I had no idea so much time had passed.”
Snow shook her head. “Wait. This is crazy. You’re telling me you are five hundred years old?”
“Five hundred and nineteen, actually.”
“No. No, that can’t be. I mean, you’d be really old. But you look . . .”
“Nineteen, I know,” Philip said. “Time stands still here. No one ages. Just another of the cruelties heaped on by Katarina. No escape, not even in death.”
“But Katarina isn’t old either. So she must not be the same one.”
“She’s the same,” Philip said. “Time stands still for her also.”
“No, this is insane. Not possible.”
“No?” Philip questioned calmly. “Tell me, Snow, haven’t you seen things here in Fableton that aren’t possible? Pieces of the puzzle that aren’t there until you’re shown them? Changing landscapes?”
Of course she had. That’s why she’d come to see Philip in the first place. But now, it just seemed so implausible, in spite of the red willow trees dancing in the breeze.
“I wouldn’t have believed it myself if I weren’t living it,” Philip said.
Snow pressed her hands against her temples, striding silently across the grass until she stood near Philip.
“You’re lying,” she said desperately.
Philip twitched at the closeness of her voice. He looked down at her and that was when she saw it. His eyes were white, the irises clouded over, obscuring his vision.
“You’re blind,” she whispered.
“Yes. Another gift from Katarina. If I can’t see, I’ll never know anything more beautiful than her. And I’m not lying, Snow. Oh, how I wish I were. But I’m not.”
“Can’t you help me get out of here?” she asked.
“I was about to ask you the same thing,” he replied.
*****
Snow looked back at the bridge she’d just crossed. The red trees had disappeared, replaced once again with grassy expanse. She shook her head and walked up the path. There, Dim waited for her.
“Hi, Dim,” she said.
Dim grinned happily. “Hello, Snow. How do you do?”
She thought about his question. How did she do? She was stunned, overwhelmed, disbelieving. In fact, she wasn’t sure that this whole thing was anything more than a crazy dream, or a delusion caused by Katarina’s drug. She could be lying on the forest floor, heartless, for all she knew. That seemed more plausible than all the rest of this.
“I do well, Dim,” she said. It was clear from the halting patterns of his speech that Dim was a bit . . . well, slow. She remembered a boy she’d gone to school with when she was younger. He had something called microcephaly. His head was a little smaller than normal, kind of pointed on top. But he’d been able to attend school for part of the day. She didn’t know what happened to him, whether they’d moved away or just put him in a different school. Dim looked similar, though his head wasn’t quite as pointy. But his happy personality was very much the same.
“Do you like Prince Philip? He’s funny.”
Snow smiled. She did like Philip, though nothing in their conversation could be called funny. “I like Philip very much,” she said. “Is he your friend?”
Dim nodded enthusiastically. “He lets me play with his toys.”
“Oh?” She wondered what toys Philip might have. “That’s nice.”
“You’re pretty,” Dim said.
“Thank you,” Snow said. She knew better—had been told repeatedly by her stepmother how very un-pretty she was, but if Dim thought she was pretty, who was she to argue?
“Don’t eat the berries,” Dim sai
d suddenly, skittering away from the edge of the path.
“What berries?”
He pointed to a bush adorned with dark red berries and bright yellow leaves. She stepped closer to look, and Dim began moaning, hugging his arms around him. Snow walked over to him, placing a hand on his arm.
“Are those berries bad?” she asked.
“Bad berries, bad. Bad!”
Dim was agitated. “Okay, Dim. I’ll remember. I won’t eat them. Okay?” It took him a few seconds to focus on her. “Thank you for telling me.”
Dim gave one sharp nod and they continued down the path.
“What do you like to eat, Dim?” she asked, trying to distract him.
“Not berries.” He continued to wring his hands.
“No, not berries. What do you like?”
“Cake,” he said enthusiastically, dropping his hands by his side and forgetting about the berries. Snow made a mental note to ask Medic about the berries.
When they arrived at the cottage, Coy and Grouchy had fixed dinner. As on the previous night, the food was delicious. They were far better cooks than even the professional cook Katarina employed at home.
“Is there somewhere in town I can stay?” she asked them as they ate.
Seven pairs of eyes looked at her in surprise.
“Don’t you like it here?” Medic asked.
“Of course I do,” Snow said. “You guys have been amazing. You took me in and fed me, and gave me a place to stay last night. But I can’t expect you to keep taking care of me. Plus, because you let me sleep in a bed, Coy and Sneezer ended up sleeping on the couches.”
“I don’t mind,” Sneezer said, a sneeze immediately following his words.
“Me neither,” Coy whispered, eyes glued to his hands, cheeks flaming red.
“I don’t want to be an imposition. I have some money, so I can afford to rent a place.”
“Money?” Blithe asked. “What’s that?”
“You don’t know what money is?” Snow was stunned. She went and got some of the bills and showed them.
“That ain’t money,” Grouchy grumbled. “That’s just pieces of green paper.”
Snow’s heart sunk. Her money was worthless. What now?
“What do you use for currency?” They all looked at one another in confusion at her question. “To pay for things?” she prompted.
“We don’t pay for things,” Blithe said. “Everyone works together so that no one has to go without.”
“Oh.” Now Snow was really depressed. She didn’t have any skills. She was still a student, who’d lived in a house full of servants. What did she have to offer?
“We’ll worry about living arrangements tomorrow,” Blithe said. He glanced at the others, and each of them nodded almost imperceptibly. What was that about? “Some of us have to work tomorrow, but I’d like to take you around and introduce you to some of the residents of Fableton.”
“Yes, that’d be nice,” Snow said, distracted. She had to find a way to earn her keep so she could stay somewhere else until she figured out how to get out of Fableton. Maybe walking around the village tomorrow, she’d discover somewhere she could be useful.
*****
Snow discovered all the residents of Fableton had strange names like The Seven, names that either described their job or something specific about them, like Baker, Blacksmith, Farmer, Runner, Jumpy, Plow, Digger, and Knobby (whose knees and elbows made his name clear). None of them had what she considered a normal name, and therefore none of them remarked on her own strange name. Two things particularly stood out to Snow: there were no children, and no animals other than a few chickens, cows, and pigs they raised for meat.
As Blithe walked her throughout the village, more cottages appeared as they rounded each bend in the road, as if a painting were being created before her eyes. The colors of the plants were unusual as well. The greens were bright, and many of the leaves were yellow or red. Flowers were vibrant shades of blue and purple and orange.
They spent the entire day meeting and visiting with others, even eating lunch at Baker’s which was a spread of baked goods, rolls, and breads that left Snow salivating. Dusk fell as they made their way back to the cottage. When they neared, Snow saw a second, smaller cottage near the one belonging to the men. She didn’t remember seeing it before, but since new things were constantly appearing, she wasn’t surprised.
It was a particularly cute cottage. Some of the purple and orange flowers had been weaved throughout the yellow thatched roof. The shutters were a vibrant blue. It was about half the size of the other cottage. Snow pondered who lived there and why it had taken this long for her to see it. It appealed to her more than even the one she currently stayed in.
“Whose cottage is that one?” Snow asked Blithe. “I haven’t seen it before now.”
“Do you like it?” he asked.
“It’s great,” she said. “Look at how colorful it is. I can’t believe the colors of the plants here. Back home we don’t have anything in these colors. At least, not anything that grows.”
“That’s part of the enchantment,” Blithe said.
Blithe led her past his own cottage to the smaller one. Snow assumed he was going to introduce her to the owner. Instead he pushed open the door and entered. She hesitated. Blithe had knocked on every other door today. Why not this one?
He poked his head back out the door. “Coming?” he asked.
Snow shrugged and stepped inside.
“Surprise!” seven male voices shouted at her. She jumped at the sudden noise, blinking when she realized The Seven stood before her, all of them grinning except for Grouchy, who had a slightly less severe scowl on his face.
“What . . . what is this?” she asked.
Coy stepped forward, ducking his head. So quietly she nearly didn’t hear him, he said, “It’s for you.”
Snow was stunned. “For me? What do you mean?”
Blithe smiled and waved a hand over the other men. “They built it for you. Today.”
“What? They built this whole thing today?”
Dozy shrugged. “Time doesn’t mean the same thing here as it does where you come from.”
Snow didn’t know what he meant, but she was stunned by the magnanimous gesture. She placed both hands on her heart. “I don’t know what to say. This is unbelievable. I can’t believe you did this just for me.”
“Don’t get all goopy,” Grouchy grumbled. “We built it ‘cause none of them,” he jerked a thumb at the others, “—could stand to have you move away.”
Snow laughed happily. She stepped forward and placed a hand on Grouchy’s arm. “Only them, Grouchy?”
He mumbled, shrugging, his cheeks turning red.
Snow laughed again and kissed his cheek. He stepped back, looking at her in shock. His brows crashed together as if in a temper. In an instant, his face cleared and a small smile lifted the corners of his mouth.
“Amazing,” Medic mumbled, watching the smile form. Grouchy’s smile dropped into a scowl as he turned to Medic, setting the rest of the men into a bout of laughter.
Coy stepped forward, turning his cheek to Snow. She grinned and kissed his cheek as well.
“Me next! Me next!” Dim cried, stepping forward to receive his kiss. She in turn kissed each of them.
“Thank you so much,” she said. “I can’t begin to tell you how much this means to me. No one has ever done anything so nice.”
Coy and Medic had made dinner, which they all shared around Snow’s new table that was a mirror image of theirs. Snow couldn’t stop looking around her new home. The kitchen was a little smaller than theirs. There was a small sitting area with a sofa. Books lined the shelves, something missing from the cottage next door. She could hardly wait to see the bedroom.
After dinner, the men left her alone. Snow stood and twirled in a circle in the middle of the room. Then she hurried into the bedroom. Her jaw dropped.
The room was dominated by a large four-poster bed. The posts wer
e made of gnarled, twisting tree trunks that sprouted pink leaves. The bed was covered by a thick comforter with swirls of pink, purple, and yellow. Snow moved to the bed and realized she’d have to climb up to get on it. Apparently the men had thought of it since a step stool stood next to the bed. She climbed up and lay back on the bed. It surrounded her in comfort, as if she were sleeping on a cloud. This bed disproved Katarina’s assertion that you had to have money—and a lot of it—to have the finest things. This bed was finer than anything they’d ever owned.
A small bathroom led from the bedroom. The counter clear of seven razors and seven toothbrushes lying all over the place to Snow’s gratitude. A brush and mirror lay on the counter, and her backpack was propped in the corner. She picked it up and moved back into the bedroom to put her clothes away.
Opening the closet, she was stunned. It held quite a few clothes. She pulled one top out, and held it against herself. It seemed to be the right size. It was a beautiful, silky white shirt with billowing sleeves. There were pants, skirts, and even shoes, all of it vintage. Snow backed away from the closet until she was stopped by the bed.
It suddenly occurred to her that all of this was feeling very . . . permanent. A house and clothing that didn’t belong to her and looked as if from a different time and place. She’d even been worried about what she could do to earn her keep. None of that seemed to equal someone who was going to be leaving soon. Did she believe their stories? That she would never be able to leave?
Drained and overwhelmed by the possibility that this was her new reality, Snow dropped her bag to the floor and climbed up onto the bed, burying herself under the covers.
*****
Snow stood at the entrance of the bridge. She wasn’t sure if it would work again. The area looked like it had on her first visit, ending in a grassy area. Blithe told her he didn’t think she’d be able to find Philip again, unless he wanted to be found.
She stepped on the bridge and felt the same rumble as the first time. Maybe it was some kind of warning system when someone stepped on the bridge, like a doorbell, she mused. She crossed quickly and as she stepped off the other side, the world melted away and became the field of willows, blowing their red feathered branches in the breeze.