Shadows on Snow: A Flipped Fairy Tale (Flipped Fairy Tales) Read Free Page A

further in palace intrigues.”
    Following him out of the stall, I secured the latch behind us.
    “I hope you won’t mind if I tell Master Grey you’re the only one to handle my horse from now on, however?”
    Flushing, I nodded. “As you wish.”
    With a nod and a wink, and a last pat to Remy, he turned and made his way out of the stable. It took me several minutes before I composed myself enough to realize how completely, thoroughly exhausted I was. After a nuzzle from Remy to prompt me, I yawned and returned to my pallet, thoughts of the prince’s smile haunting me as I drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 2

    “What’s going on?” I asked, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.
    “Hush, dearest one,” Adelaide said as she bent over me. “It’s time for us to be away.”
    “Away?” Sitting up in bed, I wrinkled my nose at her in confusion. “Where are we going?”
    She wrapped my coat around my shoulders and kissed my hair. “Somewhere safe,” she whispered. “Somewhere he can’t find us.”
    At nine years old, I couldn’t understand what she meant. “But aren’t we safe here? There are plenty of soldiers to—”
    She set a finger against my lips, but her sad smile deepened my worry. “The soldiers aren’t our friends now, Rae. Maybe they used to be, but they serve the king now. Remember what we talked about a few days ago?”
    I screwed my face up. “You said he didn’t want you to be queen. You said it was his fault Mama died.”
    She nodded, her dark hair brushing my arm. “That’s right. But now people are asking questions, and he doesn’t like it. He’s telling them it was our fault instead.”
    “Our fault?” My eyes widened, stunned. “Why would we want that?” Tears blurred my vision. “I loved Mama. We all did. Why would anyone think—”
    “Because of our magic, dearest one. It scares some people. That’s what happens when they don’t understand something.” She laid a hand against my cheek. “We know differently, but there’s nothing we can do about it at the moment.” Adelaide stood and pulled me to my feet. “Do you need help with your boots? We have to hurry.”
    I shook my head, fear of this sudden need to be away coupling with my own confusion and causing my hands to tremble. Despite me telling her I could do it myself, I shook so badly she took over the laces and hurried me towards the wall.
    As she reached for the latch to open the secret passage, I cast a look back over my shoulder. I’d spent nearly every night I could remember in that room, and I loved it dearly. The rich red tapestries and gold-tasseled curtains all held warmth and comfort for me. I knew each stitch of cloth, each little knick in the wood, as well as I knew my own skin. My sisters and I played at tea parties and tried on all my new dresses in that room. My tears had soaked the pillows on more nights than I cared to remember, and laughter had rung off of the stone walls, echoing and multiplying the joy of far more days. That was where I plotted against Erata’s tricks, and cooed over Belinda’s newest furry friend. It was where Adelaide helped me grow posies in the window sill, and where Clarice taught me to braid my own hair. Farah had even warded a little hiding place for my most prized treasures, and Delphine assured me that, even though I was the youngest, I should never worry about being less wanted when I was left out of events my elder sisters attended.
    My entire existence was contained in that bedroom. Nearly every memory of my mother, and the vague whispers of the father I barely knew lived there.
    And, in a single moment, it was being taken from me.
    Adelaide’s warm hand slipped into mine. “There are some things he will never be able to take from us, dearest one,” she whispered.
    I sniffled and wiped at my cheek. With a nod, I turned away from my bedroom. “I won’t let him take you, too.”
    She gathered me in a tight embrace, so close I heard the tiny sob she choked back. “And