Queerky Tales: Snow White & the Poisoned Apple

Read the classic stories like never before! Based on the original fairy tale by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, Snow White & the Poisoned Apple is a retelling with an LGBT twist put on it. A Queerky twist on a classic tale. Snow White was born a boy, a Prince, but

Queerky Tales

Snow White & the Poisoned Apple

by Rhys Christopher Ethan

© 2012 by Rhys Christopher Ethan

Free-eBooks.net All rights reserved No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written

permission of the author

Illustrations by Christina Ismail www.rcethan.wordpress.com

Table of Contents

Title Page Copyright Page Dedication The Story Acknowledgements About the Author

To the LGBTQ communities everywhere

The story

Once upon a time, the Queen of the Forest Castle sat alone in her chambers and sewed She and the King were happily married and ruled their land with justice and kindness But they couldn’t have children As she stitched the blanket she was holding, it begun to snow And it did for hours until the mountains were covered with thick piles of snowflakes and the trees glittered whiteness The Queen was still sitting on her big rocking chair, when from the top of the window she saw a carriage down the road being carried by an old man dressed in a heavy woollen coat and a straw hat The fine carriage was made of the darkest wood in nature Ebony! On the carriage were several logs, they

were however covered in snow And as the Queen looked at the snow and wood, she wished for a

child as white as snow and as black as ebony wood And she cried for she knew her wish wouldn’t come true The King entered her room and knelt beside her trying to comfort her, but his pain was

as big as his wife’s He lead her to her bed where she closed her eyes tiresomely and he retreated to his own chambers

Everyday the Queen would wish the same thing, over and over again That she had a child as white as snow and black as ebony But the child never came and she grew very sad The King occupied himself with the business of the Castle and hid his sadness under his work Soon the winter came to an end and the celebration for the Spring Harvest was the biggest event of the

season Everyone prepared for the royalties that were going to arrive from all the corners of the Earth The Queen saw about helping with the preparations Although the snow had melted not long ago, every night before she went to bed, she wished for a child

When the day of the Spring Harvest celebration arrived the Queen’s maids all

assembled and helped prepare their mistress to present herself They perfected the bun on the top of their mistress’s hair and got her dressed in a beautiful red and blue gown They put her ruby crown

on her head and she climbed down the stairs to welcome her visitors

‘Oh, one minute ma’am,’ her maid, Selest, stopped her and stepped in front of her She took a serviette out of her dress pocket and wiped the Queen’s tears just before they opened the door

to the Entrance Hall of the palace

The Forest Castle Orchestra was already playfully drumming their welcome for the

Kings, Queens, Princes and Princesses

The Queen smiled “Thank you, Selest,’ she grabbed her maid’s hands in hers and kissed them

The young maid blushed ‘Enjoy your evening, ma’am,’ she wished her mistress and fled up the stairs

The doors opened and the Queen descended gracefully through to meet the embrace of her husband They welcomed everyone and showed them to the Dining Room, where everything was set, with golden plates and cutlery and crystal glasses glimmering under the light of the elegant chandeliers Violinists accompanied the royal meal and when that was finished the servants led the way to the Ball Room where everyone danced around to the traditional music of the West The Queen, after a joyful supper and a lively dance with her King and others from other Kingdoms, sat

on her throne allowing her misery to overcome her Thinking of the child she could never have, a tall, dark figure approached her

“Your Majesty!’ the woman’s figure said and curtsied to the Queen

The Queen stood up and bowed back

‘Allow me to introduce myself I am Narcissa, Queen of The North,’ she announced

herself

‘I have heard of you, your Majesty! I have been told about the rough times in your Kingdom What with the unpredictable weather conditions and the revolution of the Elves,’ the Queen replied

Queen Narcissa laughed “Oh, that is not a discussion for such celebration Queen

Alessa,’ she replied ‘Tell me, however, why such a sad face on this pleasant evening?’

Queen Alessa sat back on her throne and Queen Narcissa approached her with interest

‘I am trying very much to enjoy this evening, but I find it hard without an offspring,’ she admitted

Queen Narcissa showed her understanding

‘I have heard of your misfortune, my lady You really do yearn for a child?’ Narcissa asked her

‘But of course!’ The Queen replied immediately ‘It would bring me the greatest joy,’ she added

Narcissa seemed to smile slyly before she continued ‘How far are you willing to go to earn a child?’

Queen Alessa had heard of the Queen of the North Her reputation was not very good She knew she kept her people hungry if they didn’t obey her She knew the business she dealt with Kingdoms of the deep East She also knew she was an enemy to many of the people present in the room Her craving for a child, though, was blinding her judgement when she agreed to her bargain

‘T will grant you a child as white as snow and as black as ebony, if only you give me half your fortune!’ she had told her

And the Queen, without advising her husband first, agreed to it and ordered her servants

to load the carriage of the Queen of the North with all the gold they could find When that was done, they met at an empty room and Queen Narcissa held a small knife on her right hand and a glass chalice on her left

Her features seemed darker and her smile evil But Queen Alessa was determined to

have an heiress to the throne

‘All I need to give you the child of your dreams is a single drop of your blood,’ Queen Narcissa told her grabbing her left hand

The Queen nodded her approval ‘Do it!’

Queen Narcissa pinched her finger and let the drop of blood pour in the glass chalice She let her hand go and walked towards the door

‘In three days time you will be bearing a child as white as snow, as black as ebony ’ she paused ° and as red as blood!’ Queen Narcissa yelled at her and laughed an evil laugh that made Queen Alessa’s skin shiver with terror

The next day the King realised he had lost much gold and silver and valuable gems He ordered his knights to search high and low for the thieves that dared steal from his Kingdom They never found an inch of the lost treasure

Queen Alessa sat alone in her room and waited for three days, only breaking her

stillness to eat and drink And true to Narcissa’s word, three days later, she found out she was

pregnant and her deal with the Queen of the North had blessed her with a child Once she found out, she ran to the King and throwing herself in his embrace she told him the merry news The King immediately forgot about his lost fortune and celebrated with his wife, dancing endlessly

As the months went by and the Queen’s belly started to grow, she made all the

preparations for her daughter’s room Everything had to be ready for when she came Luckily, she never heard of Queen Narcissa ever again and was glad that she had kept her end of the bargain and didn’t have to deal with her ever again The whole palace was in preparations for their princess and they never complained about working twice as much to provide for themselves now that the

Kingdom was poorer

And soon enough, the autumn came and the trees abandoned their decaying, dried leaves on the earth and the Queen was in bliss for the baby moving inside her belly And sure

thereafter, the winter arrived dressing everything in white, as her daughter was promised to be A new year begun for the palace and on the 7th of January the Queen gave birth And the whole palace was on its feet for the big feast in honour of the Princess

Only when the midwife came out of the Queen’s room, she had different news to

deliver

‘My lord!’ she curtsied

The King, red with agony, turned and paced towards the midwife “Is everything

alright? Is everyone OK?’ he asked her

‘Everything is absolutely fine Congratulations, my Lord! You now have a beautiful Prince! Skin as white as snow, hair and eyes as black as ebony and lips as red as blood,’ she smiled and opened the doors for him to see

He run to his wife and rested next to her He kissed her forehead and saw anxiety dripping off her face

‘What’s happening, Gregory? Is something wrong with my girl?’ she asked on the verge

of tears

The midwife approached them both, carrying a bundle in her hands

The King laughed heartedly ‘You haven’t told her yet?’

The midwife shook her head

‘Myrtle, what’s wrong?’ The Queen cried with worry

‘My sweet Alessa, nothing is wrong,’ the midwife answered as she knelt closer to her Queen ‘It’s just that she’s not a Princess, but a Prince! A boy!’ she told her giving her the bundle

The Queen took it in her hands and drew the white blanket off her baby’s face and saw

him for the first time His skin was whiter than the silk he was covered in, pale as death His hair

was black as the night and rich in texture His eyes dark and shiny as the rarest of diamonds and his tiny lips, red as the finest wine of the castle and finally cheeks as rosy as the red sunset

She fell in love with him instantly, not minding the slightest that he wasn’t a girl, or for the fact that she had to redo his room which she had worked months on, or for having to knit new clothes for him in the shade of blue She simply loved him beyond reason

So the second day when she got up from her bed, she rushed to her baby’s room and ordered her servants to bring new paint When they brought it, she send them away and started to paint the room blue, then the maids brought her son to her and she left the room half pink, half blue

to go play with him in the evening before his bed time

She went to bed soon after and was planning an early start to finish painting the room

so that her son would finally sleep in the shelter she had created for him

Her plans, however, were left unfinished The next day, three days after she had given birth, she never opened her eyes from slumber She didn’t answer when her maid woke her up by

drawing the curtains for the winter sun to come in, nor did she flinch when her husband shook her

with panic, and nor did she respond to her baby boy’s cry when he was brought in, in hope of waking her from her last sleep

Deep sorrow fell over the castle and the whole palace was in utter grief All the

preparations for the young Prince’s birth celebration were postponed Instead there was a wake for the lost Queen Everyone attended the church that night to mourn their mistress who laid beautiful and cold on her deathbed covered in black lace

The King’s only solace was his son, and he knew his wife would have wanted everyone

to move on, so he ordered the festivities for the birth of his son to begin on the seventh day and everyone bid their final goodbye to the gracious Queen by celebrating her Prince’s birth

The Prince, whom the King named Snow White grew up in his half pink, half blue room When he was three, the King decided to re-marry and who else would it be then the Queen of

the North, Narcissa The King, of course, was unaware of the secret deal between the two Queens,

and he saw his new wife as a new beginning and as a source of new-found wealth for his Castle

The new Queen embraced the little boy as her own and showed him true affection Snow White however didn’t like her and always cried in her presence Queen Narcissa didn’t know how to win the Prince’s heart

But in time he learnt to tolerate her and even like her at times as he grew up The King and Queen often invited the Royal family of the South to their castle and their son was best friends with Snow White

‘Oliver, stop being such a savage!’ Snow White called his best friend who was

pretending to be a pirate holding a fake, wooden sword to fight

‘Oh, come on Snow White So what are we going to play if not pirates?’ Oliver

complained

“Well, we can play the trapped Princess and the Prince who comes to save her from the monster,’ Snow White said

‘And who will be the Princess?’ Oliver looked around

‘I will,’ Snow White answered

Oliver laughed ‘You can’t be the Princess, Snow White,’ he told him

‘Why not?’ Snow White asked placing his arms on his waist

‘Because you’re a Prince, you silly,’ Oliver said and started running with his sword shouting like a barbarian

When Oliver and his family departed for their Kingdom once again, the King went to good night to his son before bedtime Snow White didn’t want to sleep

‘Father!’ he called the King

“Yes, my prince,’ King Gregory asked as he approached his son’s bed

‘Oliver said I’m a Prince,’ he said

‘But of course you are Why do you think everyone treats you like one?’ the King answered tickling his son’s belly

‘So if you’re a Prince, you can’t be a Princess?’ Snow White stopped laughing and pushed his father’s hands away

“No, my son Only girls are Princesses,’ the King answered getting serious

‘What if I want to be a Princess, father?’ Snow White asked

‘Snow White, you can’t be a Princess, because you’re a boy and therefore you’re a Prince,’ the King answered as truthfully as he could

‘But ’ Snow White went on, but the King got up and put the lights out

“Go to bed, Snow White,’ the King said and shut the door of his son’s bedroom

Snow White’s reply was troubling the King for a long time and his Queen noticed, but

he wouldn’t confess what was on his mind He often found Snow White wearing his step-mother’s shoes and using her make-up and he never felt bad about it The King was starting to believe that

his son ought to be a Princess, after all So he visited his fairy Godmother, Melissa, to advise with

her And Fairy Melissa followed the King to Snow White’s room and played with her Godson, discussing with him

‘Snow White! Is it true you want to be a Princess?’ Fairy Melissa asked

“Yes Auntie Everyone tells me I’m a Prince, because I’m a boy, but I don’t like it I

want to be a Princess and marry a handsome Prince when I grow up Oliver is a boy I’m not,’ Snow White said innocently

Fairy Melissa then transferred the discussion to the King and told him what his son had told her They both talked about it and decided that Snow White is meant to be a Princess And Fairy Melissa had still to give Snow White her gift She was going to do so at his wedding, but he needed her good magic now

So the fairy Godmother told Snow White she was going to be a girl and he was so happy Then she took her wand out and with a magical swish and a swoosh Snow White became a girl His short ebony black hair grew into long locks, his red lips and cheeks turned even redder and Snow White danced around with her Godmother happily

The King and his Queen were there and smiled happily now that Snow White was finally happy The Kingdom celebrated for their Princess and the King invited her best friend Oliver and his parents to pay a visit, but they never came On Snow White’s sixth birthday and half a year after her transformation a tragedy hit the little girl Her father died in his sleep and now Queen Narcissa was in charge of the whole castle And the grief returned to the Kingdom

With the King’s departure Queen Narcissa showed her true colours and everyone

suffered under her ruling She made her servants carry her around in a hand-held chariot on her daily excursions to the forest The people became poorer and worked harder for the Queen who sent them in coal minds as she started trading coal with other Kingdoms So even though the castle became richer, everyone was miserable And most of all Snow White who had lost her father and

her friend and had no one left in the world except for her fairy Godmother who was locked away with the other fairies of the palace

Queen Narcissa walked around in her chamber waiting news of her transaction with Royalties of the East When the news arrived she relaxed in front of her dresser and smiled slyly to the mirror Her plan had gone exactly the way she planned from the very start It was her who had

cursed Queen Alessa , her who got rid of her after her heir was born and now was the sole ruler of

two Kingdoms She was a smart woman And highly optimistic She looked herself in her dresser’s mirror and asked:

‘Mirror, mirror, true to all,

Who’s the fairest of them all?’

The mirror rippled like water and a grey, bald face appeared inside It gave her a big

smile and answered with a hoarse voice “You, my Queen, are fairest of all!’

‘Thank you, mirror,’ the Queen laughed maliciously and the face in the mirror

disappeared

She was a merciless woman She was vain and longed to be the most beautiful in the whole wide world So far, she had succeeded in being so and was the happiest evil Queen

She checked her mirror daily, morning and evening, before breakfast and after dinner She didn’t just want to be the most beautiful, she wanted to hear it as often as possible So in

addition to consulting the Magic Mirror day and night, she commanded her servants to call her

“Your Fairest Majesty” As for Snow White, she was left to look after herself She still had meals with the Queen, but was hostile and cold to her for what she was doing to her father’s Kingdom The Queen had no problem with Snow White In fact she was planning to win her over and make her the Princess of the New Kingdom, which she was planning to expand as far as possible But Snow White hated her step-mother And no matter what Queen Narcissa did, she wouldn’t open up

The years passed and Snow White grew older The more she grew, the more beautiful she became And everyone had started to notice The servants fed her well and the people of the Castle would welcome her in their houses with warmth But the Queen had missed the progress of her little step-daughter

So one day when Snow White was thirteen years old, the Queen sat comfortably at her dresser in the early morning and applied her make-up before asking the Mirror

‘Mirror, mirror, true to all,

Who’s the fairest of them all?’

The Mirror rippled and the grey, bald face appeared to answer truthfully and honestly:

‘My Queen were the fairest, it is true,

But a young beauty is fairer than you,’ the Mirror replied

The Queen demanded to know who that young beauty was with the anger rising inside Instead of telling her, the Mirror showed her the image of beautiful Snow White dancing around the kitchen while the cook prepared the Queen’s meal

The Queen longed to be the most beautiful in the whole wide world She couldn’t accept the fact that there was someone else who surpassed her beauty Even if that someone was Snow White, her adoptive daughter, whom she much adored She was now her enemy She had to find a way to get rid of Snow White

‘Mirror, mirror, true to all,

Tell me, how can I be the fairest of all?’ she asked the Mirror with frustration

The Mirror rippled and the grey, bald face appeared to answer truthfully and honestly:

‘My Queen has to kill Snow White and eat her heart,

She can be fairest in the land, only if the two are apart, ’ 1t said bluntly and the Queen gasped in shock

Shocked as she may were she was determined and ordered the best huntsman in town to pay her a visit When he came, she told him of his task He was to drag Snow White into the woods, where she would collect the prettiest flowers for her parents graves, but then his task was to kill Snow White and bring her heart to the Queen The huntsman was reluctant to do it, as he loved the

little Princess and was very close to her, but the Queen threatened to harm his family if he didn’t, so

he had no choice, but to follow her commands

The next morning he woke up early as usual, went to Snow White and asked her to follow him into the forest to collect the prettiest flowers for the graves of Mum and Dad Snow White wore her favourite pink and white dress with blue sleeves made of ribbon and a blue bow on her head and happily followed the Huntsman into the forest Once they were far enough he let her pick up all the colours she found and run around like the child she was But the huntsman couldn’t

do it They sat for lunch and he let Snow White tell him all about the music that she loved to sing And afternoon came soon, but the huntsman couldn’t do it Then it was evening and they had

walked a lot They sat down to have supper When they finished, they turned back, heading to the Palace But the huntsman couldn’t do it And when the nightfall arrived and stars shone above them, they lay down to rest and sleep But the Huntsman couldn’t do it And they fell asleep And when he woke up, he was ready to do it! He didn’t want to, but he also didn’t want to lose his family So he took his hunting knife out of his pocket and raised it above the sleeping Snow White And as he was about to do it, she opened her eyes and yawned When she saw the Huntsman, she screamed and she

wanted to run, but was too scared, so instead she tried to reason with him

‘What are you doing Mr Huntsman? Why ts that knife aiming at me?’ she was as kind

as ever She smiled with her beautiful red lips and her ebony black eyes

The Huntsman tried to finish what he started, but was unable to He just stood above the Princess

‘I don’t want to do it, but I have to Oh, dear Snow White, I have to,’ he cried

“We only have to do what we choose to do,’ Snow White responded

The Huntsman thought of his wife and kids and the idea of losing them was driving him crazy, but he also couldn’t commit such a terrible crime “You re such a nice young lady Raised with morals and etiquette A true Princess!’ he told her

‘Is that why you’re aiming a knife at me?’ Snow White asked innocently

The Huntsman put the knife down * Your Step-Mother ordered me to kill you and take your heart to her But I cannot do it I swear, I can’t!’ the Huntsman sobbed

“My Step-Mother? Why would she do that?’ Snow White wondered sitting up now that

the knife was no longer aiming at her

‘I don’t know my Princess, but she said she’Il hurt my family if I don’t follow the plan,’ the Huntsman admitted

‘Oh, no!’ Snow White sobbed and approached the Huntsman ‘Then by all means do what you have to do Please I wouldn’t want your family get hurt,’ she said truthfully and tried to take the Huntsman’s hand in hers

‘How can I do that now? How can I do such a terrible crime to someone as kind as you? The Princess who would sacrifice her life for that of her citizens?’ he asked himself

Snow White remained silent And then the Huntsman raised his knife again, making her jump in her place ‘Go away my Princess Run as fast as you can Run as far as you can,’ he urged

her, but she didn’t move She looked at him confused

“Are are you letting me go?’ she asked reluctantly

“Yes! Run! Pll hunt a deer and take its heart to your Evil Step-Mother and she can do what she wants with it So run!’ he told her and shouted as loud as he could: “Run!’

Snow White ran She ran in the forest, where all the dangerous creatures lived Where

the plants moved and sneaked up on you She ran over rivers and through bee hives She didn’t look back, only forwards She was cautious, but grew tired So after hours of running, she lay down on the ground and slept