I: Queen of The Dawn
In a land called Transylvania of dark creatures, legends and myth
lived the fair Queen Aurora, the Briar Rose with golden locks
and rose-red lips. A queen of beauty yet curses. The land echoed
of her wish to be blessed with a beautiful child. She could not
deny to sew once more - the craft her gentle hands wielded well.
The Queen accidentally pricked her finger with a needle on a
winter day. A drop of red blood fell onto the snow on her window
sill. A tree black as night decorated the scenery. The Queen
succumbed to daydreaming: "O' how I wish I had a daughter with
skin white as snow, lips red as blood and hair black as that
ebony tree outside by the castle, that outstanding gothic beauty!"
II: Curse of The Wish
Dream fulfilled, she gave birth to a child the following winter.
The kingdom rejoiced with a new heir to the throne: a princess.
The Queen of the Dawn soon realised she had to suffer yet another
curse: to pass away before she could see her daughter grow up.
Her heart was taken away by sorrow and death's defeat over her.
It was the curse of the wish she had made. And so the kingdom
fell into sudden silence with the first day without her presence.
The King could not avoid the wars of plunder nor the wars of
grief in his pierced heart crying of dissappointment and loss.
III: Appearance of The Dusk
No, she was nothing like the Dawn. She was merely the opposite:
the Dusk that would steal away the Sun and the stars in the sky.
Green eyes like absinthe or perhaps worse - poison. A heart of
stone and ice. A phantom from another land unheard. Malicious.
The Mistress of Sins. With her she brought a magical mirror.
It had been created by the darkest magicians of her unknown land.
It had only but one virtue - honesty - which she feared the most.
Her name was Melantha for she was like a shadow on the castlewalls.
She filled the empty kingdom with even more emptiness and darkness.
IV: The Raven Princess
Daughter of the Dawn. She was the only part left of her mother.
She was named Lilliana for she was pure like the white lily,
her skin pale like frost. Her lips like that of a rosebud, eyes
dark brown with black iris' and raven locks. For that her father
called her Snowdrop. She aged well and grew into a dazzling beauty.
The Dusk Queen called her Lily-White in mockery but merely out of
jealousy and envy. The Raven Princess wore a dress with short
lightblue puffed sleeves with red drops, royal blue colour on the
chest and around the waist, a pale yellow skirt and golden slippers.
A simple necklace of garnets decorated her neck. Ruby earrings
gleaming inbetween dark hair strands. For red was her favourite
colour. And a ring with a most precious gemstone - a sacred Onyx.
V: Lament of Innocence
"Mirror, mirror on the wall.. who is the fairest one of all?!"
Asked the Dusk Queen as she stood in front of the strange mirror.
"You, my Queen, are the fairest in your land.. But Snow White
is still the fairest one of all!" Stated the magic mirror.
The Queen could not control her rage: million pieces of glass
broke on the marble floor. Dangerously sharp. Reflecting the
pale moonlight. Melantha ordered the best hunter of the land
to her morbid service. Given a red box with a knife in it and
a key to unlock the heartshaped lock, he set out for the kill.
With flowers in her hair Lilliana crouched down in the meadow in
full laughter. But the joy was interrupted, she was silenced by
a blade under her chin, against her neck. The Lament of Innocence,
the purity of her heart prevailed. The Hunter's weakness could not
help but to let the maiden go. He yelled: "Escape! Escape!"
VI: The Crystal Coffin
Royal people rule lands yet they cannot control their fates.
Nor could Lilliana. She had spent days running in the Dark Woods:
"'Tis my father's kingdom. But my father's kingdom 'tis no
longer can be. For I am lost and though I walk on land where my
feet are supposed to belong, I do not belong. No more. Nay. I am
in a grave of silent mists dismissed by my royal heritage. I am
chased in this endless place of darkness and feel my life is
starting to wane. Yet the Red Moon keeps on waxing and waxing."
Lily-White said these words in agony as she reached the
state of deep sleep. Though she did not sleep too long for Seven
Knights of Chivalry awoke her. The princess spent months in their
realm that lacked the safety she had felt between the castlewalls.
Safe she only felt in the arms of her lover, her knight. Safe
she was not when he was away. On one unfortunate day she took
a bite from Melantha's poisonous red apple that she had put
onto the table. In a crystal coffin Lilliana had been placed.
VII: Fall of A Kingdom
The kingdom was fleeting of tears. The King had given up searching
for his only daughter. He passed away too soon for it was too much
to handle for his sore heart. Lilli's mother cried painfully in
heaven. The land had been shred just like that mirror - into
thousand pieces cutting everyone's skin. The land was bleeding.
There was but one of royal blood alive - Melantha. She brought
plague to the land. No remedies for illnesses. She brought misery.
The knights did not know whether Snow White was dead or alive.
They did not know what had caused her tragic death. And so she
remained a Sleeping Beauty for a time. She had been impregnated
by the knight in the heat of a moment of love. Yet her swollen
belly was not visible behind the glass. Snow kept on falling and
falling. It seemed like it would fall forever until the day the
Dark Woods echoed of Lily-White's shriek. She screamed in such pain
she coughed up the piece of the apple. The knights hurried to her
presence. Her lover embraced her with tears of joy. Heaven rejoiced.
VIII: Glorious Resurrection
She gave birth to a daughter in her crystal coffin. It seemed there
would always be blood around her, no matter where she went. Nay.
No matter! And it looked beautiful on her. Snowflakes shimmered
on her face as she screamed for one last time. Her white gown,
her coffin bathed in red. Lily-White asked about her father.
She asked about the kingdom. She even asked about her mother.
The knight grabbed her: "Lilliana! You are alive! You will live!
Together we will resurrect the kingdom, with our newborn daughter!
What shall we call her?" he asked her with overwhelming joy.
Snow White caressed the baby as she had a vision of her daughter
grown into a fine woman. "She will have fair hair like the narcissus.
Blue eyes like the Sapphire. Like my mother.. and eyebrows like thine.
Her name shall be Aisling for she is my vision!" she had spoken her
last words. Her last breath. She fell, empty and drained, back into
the crystal coffin. Back into the blood that was hers. Sinking.
The knight grabbed the baby and shook his love but she would not
wake up anymore. She was gone. Forever gone for she had died in childbirth.
But not all had been lost - with a new heir to the throne the
knight killed the Dusk Queen and resurrected the land.
A new kingdom, a new age of glory could finally begin.
Driving away all the dark creatures of the land. The light had
been brought back. No longer was sunshine just a dream...
Or so he thought.
Author notes
ABOUT THE STORY:
I wanted to make my own version of the story of Snow White. The reason why I decided to call her Lily-White instead of Snow White is because firstly, her name is Lilliana so it would make sense, secondly Lily is a symbol of purity, light and innocence. Lily-White literally means "pale, snow white" and that is what the Snowdrop is as well - a white flower.
I thought it would be interesting if her mother was Aurora since she pricked her finger with a needle and so did Lily-White's mother so I thought I'd combine these two and make them into one mother.
I wanted this story to be dark. Perhaps even a bit morbid - like having an impregnated Lily-White in a crystal coffin like a Sleeping Beauty (like her grandmother Thaleia - who, in the original Sleeping Beauty fairy-tale had been impregnated during her sleep as well!).
The difference is that Aurora is not the Sleeping Beauty. In the original tale she was the daughter of the Sleeping Beauty (Thaleia). There was a prophecy upon Thaleia and a curse with two fates on Aurora (pricking the finger, dying at a young age) - this is the difference as well.
The original fairy-tales were morbid and darker anyway so I wanted to keep that feeling. I did a lot of research on everything. I read that originally she was called "Snowdrop" so that is why I gave her that name and title.
Lily-White was named Lilliana because it is a Romanian name & of course because of the meaning too like I stated in the tale. Transylvania = Romania.
Also, it is said that the oldest fairy-tales come from Ancient Egypt. Supposedly the oldest "disney" fairy-tale is Cinderella.
As you might've noticed I didn't change the fairy-tale too much, it still might seem similar to the Disney version. But that's because after doing my research I understood that Lily-White is one of the few fairy-tales that had been changed less of all (possibly not all fairy-tales) but at least the Disney fairy-tales. The only exception was that it was more toned down for children.
I changed the 7 dwarfs thing. Since Lily-White was most likely told (as a story) in the medieval times I replaced the dwarfs with knights of chivalry instead.
About the apple - I didn't want the witch to personally give it to her. I don't think Lily-White was that naive.. or at least that is not how I wished to portray her anyway. So I wrote that the witch had placed it on the table before Lily-White woke up.
In the end of the story Lily-White gives birth to her daughter, Aisling because it means "dream/vision". Aisling is the Cinderella of the third tale. The name is pronounced "ashling" so that's where Cinderella (meaning: ash) comes from. I thought connecting the fairy-tale princesses together would make it more intriguing and interesting, a generation of royalty.
Aurora means "dawn" so I thought that the new queen should be the opposite of her kindness - "the dusk" because Lily-White's stepmother was evil. Melantha means "darkness". Note that Melantha is actually Lily-White's relative in this story. She is Snow White's cousin.
The ending is the twist of the story. Instead of the "happily ever after" thing I decided that Lily-White had to die (at first it seems like it ends in a dark way) because something new had to be born. Although yes, it ends in a good way after all but happily ever after comes with a price. So, at least it has a bright ending apart from the rest of the story that seems rather dark.
Instead of glass I decided to use crystal since I thought it'd sound better because the time is set in the medieval times.
Wonder where I got inspiration? From the movie Snow White: A Tale of Terror and the fact that Snow White's my fav. character/princess. Also from Evanescence's amazing song - Snow White Queen - listen to it if you're a fan of this fairy-tale, it's got this eerie and dark feeling about it - exactly that would match what the fairy-tale originally was!
At first I did not intend to continue the story of Snowdrop (her daughter, and ancestors etc) because mainly I just didn't have it in mind until now.. I think this would make it great! So basically Snowdrop is not the first part of the story of the whole princess-generation thing. I think the first part will be about her mother Aurora and her ancestors. Third will be about Cinderella. Fourth about the Beauty & The Beast. And of course, I shall do research again because I'd like to bring back what they were in their original forms.. but of course with a little of my own twist in the story as well to be creative. I hope you will enjoy it and I hope I will get many reads!
Tales of Royalty Part I: The Dawn
Tales of Royalty Part III: The Moonchild
To get further information about the tale of Snow White:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_White
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Option 3. 'Alice is from the dark side.'
A contest entry
- Story Poems by Zixaphir.
700 points, ended March 4, 2008, 25 entries
Gold trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - Not So Happily Ever After by November-Dani.
410 points, ended September 27, 2008, 12 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
1 - 10 of 10
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Very well done. I have to say at the begining i was a little bored with it, but as it progressed i realy started to enjoy it. The ending is fantasticly written, this write flows very well.
Thank you for entering and best of luck.
Dani. -
Well done! Very lengthy but well worth the space and time to read it! I adore this take on combining all the fairy tales, and the keeping of the dark feeling as were the orginal stories. I was always read the more orginal versions so I enjoyed this alot. Anyways thank you for the wonderful entry into my humble little contest
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Wow, what an amusing take on the story of Snow White, among the others you have mixed into it. Very, very original with its inspirations.
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This is cool but awesome at the same time . .
You have two stories in one much like the canterbury tales as I recall. Very interesting and creative 2 spice up a old tale to a new. I will consider you. Goodluck in my contest .
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Just an amazing story. Filled with colour, imagery,
and refined emotion. There's probably not much to
compete with this! Fairytales seems to be a calling for you. Blessings, Blue
PS-I had to highlight to read...font/background
makes it hard on the reader to enjoy this story!
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pfft.
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Keep going!! This is really good~ I like the way that you've done your research, and the fact that this isn't as light and fluffy as all other fairy tales.
I had fun reading the author's notes, too~
Keep writing! -
An incredible epic....what work you have done.... what gorgeous language and imagery here. A bit of Women Who run With Wolves" feel to it.
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Thank you so much! This was my first story and I'm glad people liked it!
I am tired of those happily-ever after fairy-tales (even though I'm a Disney fan) and this just isn't real. The original fairy-tales were actually a bit more morbid and darker so that's why I wrote this, I wanted to have it told that way.
I will write more though, if it interests you. I had this idea that I should write about Snow White's mother too - Aurora. And then later write about Snow White's daughter - Belle. And so on. To create a princess-generation!
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I really really liked this.
It was really detailed.
Finalist [=
♥
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