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Ravenna dismounted easily from her horse in a flurry of dark skirts and velvet. She took in the courtyard, bustling as it was with horses and people, with a quick glance. It wasn’t just her own people, either, she realised as she drew the gaze of a dainty beauty being helped down from a carriage. They appeared to have arrived close on the heels of another.
None of Ravenna’s servants rushed to aid her in the same fashion. They knew better, instead circling her at a respectful distance as they worked to unload her belongings. All of them knew that she would not welcome any show of weakness beyond the usual fluttering fripperies of courtship and besides which the journey had been an easier one than expected for all of them, Ravenna included. The height of summer was long past but everywhere they had travelled had still been vibrant and gentle with rolling, green hills, abundant food to hunt, and pleasant weather.
It was as if the long arm of autumn which had already settled in elsewhere had not yet begun to creep across this land. Though odd, Ravenna couldn’t find fault with it nor suspicious cause. She had even found herself strangely buoyed by it, unused to travelling so far from the security of her army and relieved by the lack of challenge in her path.
It would not have done to play her hand too soon and send harmful rumours ahead of their arrival.
The girl was still staring unabashedly at Ravenna from beside her carriage, half-hidden in a circle of her maids. Her fingers toyed nervously with her long blonde braids and Ravenna had to restrain the urge to smirk back at her in full view of the rest of the court. If this was to be her only competition, she was confident that this kingdom was already all but won.
Still, a little caution never went amiss. Ravenna slipped off her riding gloves and handed them to one of her maids. She fluttered her lashes at the nearest onlookers and snuck glances from the corners of her eyes as she began to covertly assess the strengths and weaknesses of the stronghold in greater detail.
There were people hanging out of every window and over every balustrade, even off the top of the gate tower itself. Protecting the keep seemed of trivial importance to the guards that gawked alongside everybody else, even despite the size of the crowd and with strangers in their midst. Her arrival, and that of her rival, was clearly a long anticipated event. Ravenna allowed herself to smile just a little as she caught them all whispering and pointing at her.
Let them look. She knew she was a glorious sight, and the love of these people would only strengthen her appeal as a bride.
The attention of the crowd didn’t stray until a great set of doors opened. The murmur of voices grew as a woman swept through them and down the stairs. Her dark hair flowed free and a little wild, tussled perhaps by fingers or the wind. The quality of her dress, the guards that haunted her steps, and the maid that fluttered at her side, all spoke to a high position in the court; yet the flush of her cheeks and the sparkle in her eyes did not suggest her to be a well-behaved lady who only wiled her hours away with an embroidery needle.
Ravenna caught herself nodding in approval and quickly diverted her gaze. She had been travelling too often to the north of late, where all was secured by the strength of her sister and no woman need be demure. There were more important things to be found here than allies, even those of like mind to herself.
The newcomer moved to greet the other suitor first, and despite her obvious naivety Ravenna was still surprised to see the girl blush as she curtsied. Raising an eyebrow, Ravenna pretended she was focused on soothing her horse after the long ride before passing the care of him off to the royal stables, as if her rival’s behaviour was of no matter to her. The mirror had foretold no more than one heir for Ravenna to conquer, so this could not be a protective sister in need of impressing. What did it matter if her rival was so easily daunted by a simple member of court?
Whomever she was, the woman seemed pleased about something by the time she approached Ravenna’s retinue. Her gaze was oddly fixed beyond Ravenna’s shoulder as she approached, in the direction of Ravenna’s horse, until she noticed that she had drawn Ravenna’s gaze. The scrutiny only made her smile wider however, as she hurried her steps to join them.
“Welcome to my home,” the woman said in greeting before her guards could catch up with her. Ravenna raised an eyebrow at the casual brashness and opened her mouth to reply, only to find herself hastily interrupted.
“Introducing Her Highness and Daughter of the late King, the Princess Snow White,” one of the guards announced in a hurried yet faintly long-suffering tone and Ravenna stilled, her other eyebrow raising.
“Princess,” she echoed faintly as she dropped into a deep curtsey of her own, holding the bend for far longer than she might normally as her mind raced.
The mirror had not warned of this.
The look of amusement on the princess’ face had only deepened by the time Ravenna straightened. That same wildness about her hair lingered in the sharpness of her smile as their gazes caught and held and something strange began to beat in Ravenna’s breast.
It was an odd sensation, as if something was trying to tug her forward; something which she’d never felt before, yet also seemed strangely familiar. Like a long-forgotten dream or a word that stubbornly lingered on the tip of her tongue. Ravenna continued to stare, lips parted, but still the word would not come to her.
It took her horse whickering and nudging at Ravenna’s shoulder to finally break the tension between them.
“My steward will made be available to you for anything you might need,” Snow said, her expression warming further as her gaze darted back and forth from Ravenna to the curious horse. “I was hoping we might be graced with your presence in our halls at the evening meal, my lady? Or perhaps that a stroll about the gardens might be pleasant after so long riding. Of course, I would understand if the journey has been too tiring for you.”
Ravenna dropped into another curtsey, looking up at Snow through her eyelashes. “No journey could leave me so weary as to decline an invitation from your lips,” she murmured and was rewarded with another sharp smile.
“Good,” Snow replied, her voice surprisingly but equally softly. “I have been looking forward to meeting you.” Her hands clenched once, almost convulsively, at her side; then she was backing away and taking a deep breath. “Good. That’s good,” she repeated almost to herself as she went, those same hands rising to press at the sides of her face and push her hair back.
Ravenna watched closely as the Princess left. She did not even pause by the carriage, and her steps were brisk as she hurried into the castle. Ravenna thought she could spot the lines of boots and long trousers peaking out from beneath her skirts as Snow hiked them out of the way in her rush to climb the staircase. Even if Ravenna had known she’d be meeting a princess instead of a prince, this woman was not at all what she would have expected.
She was clearly practical despite her young years and high station but still Ravenna did not understand the reason for the mirror’s warning. Snow White was alone with no other family to protect her and she was clearly cavalier about the use of her personal guard. Ravenna’s usual tactics should have been more than sufficient to win such a kingdom.
No matter. Ravenna’s brother and her army were both only a few weeks ride away if she should chose to call for them, safe out of reach but also away from fear of discovery. Ravenna could bide her time to discover what the mirror’s true purpose for her was here before she decided what to do next.
*
Ravenna was still directing her maids in the unpacking of her things when there came a knock at the door. The sound of a familiar voice asking tentatively after Ravenna made her pause and smile.
Her most trustworthy servant had only just returned from a covert exploration of the castle, so Ravenna already knew that Snow White had not stopped to visit her rival yet. Casting her eye to the nearest window, Ravenna assessed the angle of the sun and decided that this certainly boded well. There was little time left for two garden walks before dinner. Already she was favoured.
It only took a moment for a shawl to be found and then Snow was leading Ravenna eagerly through the castle, showing off all the grandest rooms and stopping to speak kindly with her subjects whenever they turned a corner to find someone else bowing. Ravenna’s maids and Snow’s guards followed them everywhere at a distance, close enough to see but not to hear as Snow shared childhood stories and reminisced about growing up in the castle.
Ravenna had been shown many such places in her long life, but none with such painstaking care. Slowly they worked their way out from the ballrooms and the central dining halls and public courtyards, until they were in smaller hallways and little stone lanes that wound through the outer areas at the back of the fortification, out by the sea.
Now people were beginning to squeak or jump and backtrack whenever they spotted Ravenna with their princess, quickly hurrying back to work or avoiding them altogether. Snow only smiled each time and lead Ravenna on, until eventually they emerged fully into the open air. Ravenna stopped still at the precipice as the view took her breath away; she could see the ocean stretching away to the horizon beyond low stone walls that wound their way down into the rocky cliffs, and the deep blue of it was clear and bright in the sunshine.
“You must forgive my subjects. I don’t normally take such a long route to this particular garden, I think we took some of them by surprise,” Snow said as she offered her arm to Ravenna to steady her as they stepped out onto a damp stone path.
“Your people seem to hold great respect for you,” Ravenna demurred as she slipped her arm through Snow’s elbow.
Beginning to walk once more, Ravenna found her attention split between the quaint reddening of Snow’s cheeks and the starkness of the courtyard. Little seemed to be growing around them, in sharp contrast to the rest of Snow’s kingdom. The air was sweet though, and the breeze brought the ocean spray up to them until their eyelashes shined like diamonds and Snow was laughing and brushing droplets from Ravenna’s cheeks.
“They have known me all of my life,” Snow replied, ducking her head.
“That might be true of many royal families, yet it does not guarantee the devotion of a people,” Ravenna said, leaning in close as if to share a confidence. “So I suspect the compliment is well earned, though I cannot protest at the sight of such a becoming blush on your cheeks.”
Snow was already shaking her head although her eyes were shining. “It cannot be as becoming as this place. This is not the only garden in the castle but it has long been my favourite.”
“You bestow a great honour in sharing a place you love with me. It is… stark,” Ravenna said slowly, carefully, and was pleased when Snow only chuckled and nodded at her honesty instead of taking offence.
“Stark? Perhaps. Though do you not think there is beauty in the lines of the cliff there?” Snow asked, tugging Ravenna to a stop so she could sketch the shape of them below with her hand. “Or in these few plants that still manage to grow here despite the harsh conditions.”
And watching her, seeing the beauty in Snow’s unrestrained smile, the sharp line of her jaw, and the quickness of her eyes, Ravenna found herself agreeing for more than simply the niceties of courtship. It must have shown in her expression, because that wild edge faded again into something pleased as Snow drew her close and began walking again, speaking all the while.
She spoke of running away to hide from her lessons in the many gardens of the castle, and of her parents, and the great love she had for her land. They continued wandering down the cliff path as she spoke, trailed reluctantly by their chaperones, until Snow stopped in a small hollow where the cliffs and stone walls conspired to briefly block the damp breeze. One of Snow’s much admired scraggling shrubs was thriving there, filling the space with sprays of green and brown against the grey of the rock.
“You seem surprised,” Snow said, smiling even though she had only just been speaking about her family. “Were you not told of my parents passing before you chose to journey here?”
“Of course, but I would not expect anyone to seem so peaceful about such a loss,” Ravenna said slowly, searching carefully for each word before she spoke it.
“My parents lived long, happy lives, ruled over a thriving kingdom, and died together in their fever bed. It is the natural way of things. I cannot find much sorrow in that.”
That took Ravenna aback again. “You speak with much wisdom,” she demurred.
Snow’s amusement finally blossomed into laugh at the sight of Ravenna trying to draw a veil over her confusion. She let the silence stretch between them for a moment as she idly plucked a cluster of leaves from the shrub and twirled it between her fingers.
“Perhaps I am older and wiser than I appear,” she suggested with another chuckle, throwing the sprig up into the wind and watching as it was caught up and flung beyond them and over the wall until it slipped from sight. “Come, we must turn back or my steward will be cross with me for delaying the start of the meal,” she continued quickly, guiding Ravenna back to the path before she could decide whether to question her statement.
Ravenna followed Snow without murmur or complaint. As Snow’s stories turned to lighter, less meaningful things, and speculations about the grand welcoming feast that apparently awaited them, Ravenna found her mind lingering on each previously shared confession - and on Snow’s idea of an amusing joke.
*
The scrape of knives and the rowdiness of drinking easily filled the hall with sound. Ravenna watched Snow watch her court, saw her smile and lean forward without hesitation across her table to speak with people whenever they wandered past. She paid no heed to her meal when approached and not once did she wave anyone away regardless of how long they lingered.
It was a strange sort of dance to watch, unlike any court Ravenna had found herself in before.
Snow caught Ravenna’s eye throughout the evening, sometimes raising her cup in acknowledgement and sometimes simply smiling broadly but never leaving her seat. Still, neither did she approach the other new arrival to her castle and so Ravenna was content to simply study the workings of the court around them.
Only one other person in particular seemed to capture Snow’s attention, an older man with a greying beard and a loud laugh. Perhaps an uncle or some other distant relation, Ravenna thought, for Snow often laughed along with him without reservation and more than once scolded him loudly, calling him William in a familiar way with amusement in her voice as she smacked him on the arm. Though Ravenna suspected that an uncle would surely have tried to claim the throne for himself by now.
It was a pleasant evening all told, with bountiful food and even more bountiful gossip. When it was over, Ravenna retreated to the fire in her room and stayed by its warmth deep into the night as she pondered what she had seen. None seemed to want for anything nor did any seem to vie openly for power or influence. All were so relaxed in this court - perhaps even to the point of carelessness, like the guards on the gate. It seemed strange after the mirror’s warnings.
Still unsure of what she might be missing, Ravenna did not find her way to bed until the first light of dawn began to creep through her window. Even then her sleep was restless, disturbed by thoughts of bleak cliffs and beautiful faces.
*
Ravenna did not see Snow again the next day except from a distance, nor the day after, though each time she returned to her rooms she found that a new gift had been left for her. Her tables quickly overflowed with flowers in beautiful vases, delicately carved figurines, and boxes that spilled over with jewels and previous metals.
Her spies told her that Snow had also granted her rival a personal tour of her home, though it was gratifyingly shorter in duration and only of the public areas of the castle. Then they informed her that the Princess had departed. None would answer her servants when they asked where Snow had gone, only to say that many of her guards had joined her.
Only a small group had been left to defend the walls and occupants within and it made Ravenna itch to write a message, but-
There was one solitary spot in her rooms where she could glimpse the outermost cliffs through her windows, and her dreams continued to rouse her from her slumber each night. So she waited, and she rested, and on just one solitary day she even allowed herself to venture into the cliff gardens for her daily walk.
Somehow, it did not seem quite so beautiful when viewed alone.
Until one day, when the whole castle was roused at once from its lethargy by the drumbeat of hooves. Ravenna quickly found her way to a balustrade that overlooked the main courtyard, ignoring the flood of people surging towards the lower levels.
Snow was easy to locate in the melee from Ravenna’s vantage point above. With skirts eschewed for armour and a bloody bandage wrapped around her thigh, she looked for a moment like an entirely different woman to the one Ravenna had first met in that same courtyard. Yet there was also something of the familiar wild thing about her which Ravenna had seen in brief moments and hidden glances.
She was unnervingly quick to notice Ravenna above her, looking up as if she had sensed just one important gaze among the many that were upon her. There was a smile on her lips once she had found Ravenna’s face and satisfaction in every line of her body as she moved among her men with ease and confidence to reassure the wounded and direct those with prisoners toward the dungeons.
And suddenly, with startling clarity, Ravenna understood the mirror. This was no simple heir to be easily seduced or swept aside in battle. Nor did she even particularly wish to try, and so the largest danger to her plan must live within herself.
*
The evening meal that night was another feast even more boisterous than the first. Snow’s hair was once more wild and unbraided and she had not even eschewed the entirety of her armour, her bandages fresh once more but openly worn with pride.
The uncomplicated pleasure of her people at being in her presence made more sense to Ravenna this time as she watched them approach one by one throughout the evening to reassure themselves of their defenders health and success. With so many wishing to speak to her, Ravenna wasn’t surprised that by the time she slipped away at the end of the night that she had been unable to speak with Snow herself. At least, not without walking up to the high table in full view of the room for a brief conversation like any other commoner.
Neither were the eyes she could feel on the back of her neck a mystery. Nor was the message she would read while breaking her morning fast the next day that invited her once more to the gardens.
It was not the cliffside that Snow lead her to this time though. She was sheepish when she admitted that these were more public paths than their quiet little corner of the bluffs, but Snow was no less enthusiastic in guiding Ravenna to her favourite benches or pointing out which flower beds were still planted with the royal family's personal designs in mind.
“My mother was always particularly fond of this rose,” Snow said, drawing them both to a stop beside one particular bush. Red roses tumbled from every stem in such number and vibrancy that the green of its leaves were almost entirely buried beneath them. “I worry more each day that its many blooms will finally overwhelm its strength and I will lose it forever, like I have her.”
“Surely a capable gardener could be found save it,” Ravenna said, though truthfully she thought the plant appeared almost oddly in the peak of health. Just like everything else in Snow’s kingdom. “Perhaps I might send for one as a gift, if you have none here so able.”
Snow’s mouth twisted into a something wry. “Perhaps,” she replied noncommittally as she ran her hand gently across the petals of the topmost flowers. “I never seem to find the time for such tasks.”
“Is that why you seek a queen instead of a husband to rule by your side?” Ravenna asked, pleased to finally have an easy opening to ask the question which still puzzled her the most.
Snow’s smile became a little more genuine, though she did not answer immediately. Instead she continued to examine each rose one by one as she gathered her thoughts. “I protect the land,” she replied eventually.
Ravenna waited patiently as Snow spoke, each sentence given with worn familiarity as all humour slowly slipped from her face. It was clearly an oft-repeated, if confusing, explanation.
“It is what my father’s grandmother did for the kingdom before me and what many in my family have done. We hold the borders and ensure spring blooms, strong and beautiful, when the time for it comes, but I have found….”
Here she hesitated once more, stroking a single visible leaf contemplatively with one finger before continuing in a different tone of voice, as if redirecting herself to a new topic entirely.
“I never wished to marry before and now I lack both the time and inclination to tend to the court in the way I might wish it be tended-”
“And so that is why you seek a queen,” Ravenna finished for her, knowingly.
Fleetingly, Ravenna saw Snow’s lips into something amused before she ducked her head, hiding briefly behind the fall of her hair. Carefully, silently, she plucked a single rose from the bush and removed each thorn with a practised flick of her thumb. Its petals seemed to brighten and open even further under her touch, leaving her with one of the most perfect examples of a rose that Ravenna had ever seen.
Raising it up, Snow inhaled its scent with her eyes fixed on Ravenna. Then ever so carefully, she reached over and tucked the bloom behind Ravenna’s ear, her fingers lingering to steady it into place and stroke its petals - also tracing the curve of Ravenna’s ear in the process, making her shiver.
“Or perhaps I’d simply prefer a wife to a husband,” Snow said, gaze heavy as she slipped her hand into the crook of Ravenna’s arm once more.
The story lingered with Ravenna long after Snow had bid her goodnight. A girl, nay, a woman, from a long line of women with power forever waiting to blossom from their fingertips. It was an unnervingly familiar tale, but only for a brief moment just before dawn did she finally let herself consider whether it might be enough to stay her hand.
*
In the end, Ravenna’s rival left as she had arrived; nervous and quiet and only farewelled to the extent that courtesy and Snow’s endless kindness dictated. Ravenna barely even noticed her departure, except in how it made her heart suddenly pound in her throat and anxiety grip at her insides.
Every doubt she’d entertained however briefly in the dead of night came rushing back to her all at once.
“You would be better off if you did not choose me thus,” were the first words to come unbidden from her mouth. She had deliberately caught Snow by surprise, cornering her in the round, empty antechamber near the hall where Snow took her morning audiences. Ravenna’s maid quietly closed the outer doors behind her as she backed out, leaving them alone as instructed.
The pleasure on Snow’s face at seeing Ravenna was quickly replaced by confusion. “Ravenna, you are the one I’ve been searching for-"
“I came to conquer your kingdom and take it from you,” Ravenna interrupted, nearly spitting each word from between her teeth. “If you had been a prince instead of a princess, I would have already taken you to my bed long ago and put a blade between your ribs and never thought of you again.”
An expression both harsh and unfamiliar briefly twisted Snow’s face, but still the confusion remained and the warmth in her eyes never completely faded. “Is that what you still want, to kill me?”
Ravenna voice sounded more and more like a snarl to her own ears, unfamiliar even to herself. “If I used that same blade to cut out your heart right now I would have immortality,” she said, baring her teeth. “I would live forever and none could stop me from doing it, not even your guards, not even if they ever bothered to stay by your side where they belong.”
“So this is what your magic is? Brutality and death?” Snow said, not even flinching from the clear evidence Ravenna was giving her of her own duplicity. Ravenna found herself at a loss when Snow reached for her instead of shying away, cupping her cheek with a delicate hand and drawing her closer. “You watched me return from battle only days ago, Ravenna. Do you think me incapable of understanding the need to wield power, even destructive power, or to take a life for a greater purpose?”
Stunned, Ravenna took a faltering step back but Snow followed her. Her hand never left Ravenna’s face.
“You have felt the connection between us from the start just as I did, I know you must have. We are bound together,” Snow said, no longer looking confused but deeply determined. “I have grown more certain of it every day since you arrived. Can you not feel it?”
They stood there together for a long time, Ravenna’s chest still heaving with emotion as Snow searched her eyes for an answer that Ravenna could not bring herself to voice. Her fingers itched. To push Snow away, to deny it, or perhaps even for her blade, she did not know.
It was bird song that broke the stillness between them.
Snow turned towards the sound as if in a dream, eyes turning unfocused as her hand dropped from Ravenna’s face to her shoulder. Then even that faint weight was also gone as Snow slipped out of her line of sight. Ravenna stayed still, rooted to the spot, as she listened to Snow’s footsteps cross the chamber.
“My heart is already yours,” Snow said as she reached the window. She sounded serene, even happy, and that finally broke through the heaviness in Ravenna’s feet, had her turning to see. The bird continued to twitter on the sill, bobbing its head happily as Snow’s fingers traced the shape of it in the air above its feathers, and she was smiling, that sharp little quirk of her mouth that Ravenna had dreamed of so often.
Ravenna paced the length of the room twice before she turned to stare at Snow some more. “You would give it to me so easily?” she asked in a whisper. She reached out almost without thinking, the hunger and desperation inside her surging up - but she pulled back her hand just as quickly.
It was an unthinkable bargain now.
“Do you care so little for your own life?” she asked, voice rising with each word.
Snow turned back from the window with a casual grace that drew Ravenna’s eye, even in her distraction. “Of course not,” she said calmly as she returned across the room, as if it was some simple thing they were discussing. “Ravenna, you aren’t listening to me. You already have it. My heart is already yours.”
Then she stretched up, balancing herself with light hands on Ravenna’s waist as she brought their lips together.
“You cannot give me this gift,” Ravenna murmured against her mouth, only just barely holding back the urge to return the embrace.
Snow pulled back with a sigh, dragging her hand through hair and turning her face away as if she could not bring herself to meet Ravenna’s gaze. “Things cannot grow forever unchecked. The land becomes tired and the people who must tend it do as well. The fever that took my parents was a strangely living thing, it grew across my kingdom like a strangling vine and made me realise that it was time to find somebody who could temper my power.”
Ravenna clenched her jaw. “You would let me cut out your heart for the sake of a fever long since burned out? And I once thought you so wise.”
Snow’s exhale was a sound of pure aggravation. “Not for the fever. For sake of my kingdom which needs somebody to lead it finally into the rest of winter, and also for my own sake! My land is not the only thing from which burdens need lifting. Why are you so certain my death is necessary? Ravenna, I give you my heart. Accept it.”
This time, Snow pulled Ravenna down towards her instead of stretching up and Ravenna’s control snapped. When their lips collided, she kissed back - and all thought was swept from her mind by the surge of power that followed.
It was so alike to the pleasure that had always come from her consumption of youth that Ravenna tried to struggle to free herself as soon as her senses began to return. For one blinding, horrible moment, she expected to open her eyes and find Snow in her arms, withered and old. But when she opened her eyes, Snow was smiling back at her just as young and radiant as ever.
“You will make a beautiful Queen,” Snow said quietly, her eyes tracing every curve of Ravenna’s face as if she was trying to permanently commit this moment to memory.
“Even though all your people already speak most highly of your beauty,” Ravenna replied absently, knowing her voice was a little bitter on principle but unable to care enough to hide it. She could feel herself shaking, still trying to reconcile what she was seeing and feeling against her fears, but Snow only held her tighter, continuing to support her until she felt steady on her feet again.
Snow threw back her head to laugh. “And I have heard just as many whispers about you since your arrival, even though you’ve been here less than a single season. Imagine what they will say of our combined beauty once they see us throned side by side?”
Ravenna stilled. “Indeed,” she said lightly, trying to buy herself time to think. “Perhaps we might become the most beautiful rulers in all of your kingdom’s memory.”
“With you by my side, I do not doubt it,” Snow said, reaching for Ravenna again and stroking the back of her fingers across Ravenna’s cheekbone. “Though I like to think we will be remembered for a great many other things as well.”
Their breath caught at the same time, eyes meeting as Snow’s hand lingered. Her eyes were intense with something Ravenna still couldn’t quite bring herself to name, but no longer wished to disavow.
“Will you accept my heart, Ravenna? Just as it is, still beating in my chest for you,” Snow asked, and this time Ravenna was the one to answer by pulling Snow into a kiss.