Chapter 40

K ing Alfred's men had used the battering ram to bash in the large oak door at the front of the castle. Two of his men now stood to the side of it while others were stationed within the great hall. A few dead—presumably Seraphina's guards—littered the ground. The captain of the guard was being held by one of Alfred's men, his hands bound by rope.

Much to her surprise, Tasnia and a few of the other Elders stood behind the king. To her right, Elator. Elation soared through Snow as she broke free from Roderick and rushed to him. She flung her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. Tears flooded her vision.

"You're all right," she whispered.

He hugged her back. "The forest—"

"I know," she said.

He pulled back, holding her at arm's length. "You saved us, didn't you?"

"I tried," Snow said.

"You did." He gripped her hands in his, squeezing them.

Tasnia stepped up to her then. Elator moved aside as the Elder looked over Snow. "Most of the village burned but because of you, Snow White, the rest was saved. For that, I will be eternally grateful."

Then the Elder did something that utterly shocked Snow. She dropped to one knee and bowed her head.

"You have the loyalty and gratitude of the elves forevermore, your majesty."

Uneasiness swept through Snow. "Please rise, Tasnia. I did what needed to be done to save those in the forest and the village."

She stood up, thanks glittered deep within her eyes. Snow suspected that it was difficult for the elven woman to admit to a mere human.

"I will help you rebuild," Snow promised.

In a rare moment, a smile lifted the corners of her mouth. "We can manage. It appears you will have your own rebuilding to oversee."

King Alfred cleared his throat.

"Apologies, your majesty." Snow turned her full attention on the king who had come to her aid. She dipped a low curtsy. "I want to express my deep thanks for you coming to my aid, though I'm not entirely sure how you got here or knew I needed aid."

"I received a message from a little sprite who insisted I needed to answer the call. Apparently, she knew I had an enchanted blade with the initials of my family engraved on the hilt." His gaze flickered to Roderick who stepped up next to Snow.

"I sent her," he admitted.

"Seraphina had no intention of invading Feywood, did she?"

Roderick shifted next to her, uncomfortable. But it was Erick, the captain of the guard, who answered.

"She planned to invade all the kingdoms and claim them for her own."

King Alfred glanced his way, his brows raised in surprise.

"It was her plan as soon as Snow White was dead," he added. His gaze was full of sorrow and regret when he looked at her. "I'm glad to see she did not succeed."

Everyone understood the queen wanted Snow White dead because she was a threat to her throne and would always be as long as she lived. Snow thought of the cut on her palm, the blood oath she made, and how close she came to losing that throne.

King Alfred said, "As am I. As for how I got here, the elves had a hand in that."

Snow gave Tasnia a questioning glance.

The Elder said, "I did what I had to do and used elven magic that has not been used in over a thousand years."

"And what was that?" Roderick asked, curious.

"Why, I opened a portal, of course." She said it as though she were speaking of nothing more than the fine weather. "And, now, Snow White, we elves will return to our forest to continue our efforts to rebuild what was lost."

Snow reached for the Elder, taking her hand in hers. "I cannot express what it means to me that you came. Thank you. I hope we can continue to be friendly."

Tasnia lifted her chin. "The elves will consider an amicable coexisting with the Mystic Vale, if your majesty agrees to it."

Snow tried hard to hide her grin. "I do."

She nodded and turned away, gathering her Elders and motioning them out of the great hall and into the night. But Elator hung back and approached Snow. He took her hands in his.

"I'm glad you have your throne back," he said. "I'll tell Yirrie."

"Yes, and that I miss her."

"Of course."

He released one of her hands as his gaze lifted. He touched the circlet still on her head, which she had forgotten about. Amazement flitted through her that it had remained on her head during the entire ordeal with Seraphina.

"I was wrong. Not fit for a princess." He paused, smiled, a twinkling of admiration and pride deep in his blue luminescent eyes. "Fit for a queen ."

"I will wear it always."

He kissed her cheek then bid her farewell and left with the others.

Alfred watched them go, clearly confused by the interaction. "I must say, I don't understand why the elves came to our aid. When we started our trek through the Wyldwood Forest, they were more than happy to get us here through the portal. An odd experience, that."

"How so?" Snow asked.

"Hard to describe, but I would say it was like walking through a hole in space. At any rate, now that everything is settled, we'll round up Seraphina's men and arrest them. It will be up to you to decide what to do with them. For now, I'll leave a few men stationed inside and around the castle."

"I appreciate that," she said. "Thank you."

"And, uh, if you don't mind, we'd like to set up camp outside the castle walls for the night," Alfred said.

"Please stay as long as you like," she said.

"I thank you." Then to Roderick, he said, "I knew the message was from you. It's the reason I came. However, it would appear I've lost my best blacksmith to the Mystic Vale."

He gave Snow a surreptitious wink, which made Snow blush to the roots of her hair. Then he and a few others headed out of the great hall through the destroyed door and into the night. Roderick moved to stand by her side, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"Now that you have your throne back, your majesty, what will you do first?"

"Try to get used to everyone calling me your majesty for starters."

He chuckled at that. "And next?"

She took a deep breath, expelled it, then glanced up at him. "I don't know, really."

A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "I'm sure you'll figure it out in no time."

As the weeks passed, Snow oversaw the rebuilding of the castle, which didn't sustain too much damage from Alfred's trebuchet. He broke down camp, but left a few men behind to assist in the rebuilding.

Snow found the family portraits Seraphina had stashed in an unused bedchamber and restored them to the gallery. The queen had also removed much of the furniture, stashing it away in parts of the castle that were unused. Snow spent a lot of time putting things back to the way she remembered when she was a girl.

She'd offered the position of advisor to Roderick, but he refused. He was more comfortable with a hammer in his hand pounding out steel. He never found his enchanted dagger and so he resolved to make another one. Snow, however, had retrieved hers from the dead queen but refused to keep it. She asked Roderick to melt it down and remake it into something else.

The Captain of the Guard, Erick, pledged allegiance to Snow and asked to regain her trust. Snow agreed since he helped them gain access to the queen's chambers, much to Roderick's objections. But Snow trusted him and allowed him to interact with Alfred's men and saw he had changed and was willing to fight for his new queen.

When it came time for her and Roderick to visit the villages, she left the care of the castle in his hands as steward. They told the villagers of the queen's death and that she had taken her rightful place as ruler of the Mystic Vale. There was much rejoining within the villages and they were treated with feasts and festivals and tournaments. Snow was happy to learn the innkeeper's son, William, was still alive and well and happy to see them again. And Snow made good on her promise of paying the innkeeper in gold. He was shocked and grateful.

After weeks of traveling, they returned to the castle to find things progressed and Erick had not betrayed her in her absence. The rebuilding of the castle was almost complete.

Snow found she could not stop thinking about the dark wizard deep within the Wyldwood Forest and wondered if his essence had also died with the mirror. There was only one way to find out.

She fell easily back into old habits by slipping out at night to spend time in the castle gardens, which were overgrown and ignored. She vowed to bring them back to their former glory. But in the meantime, she managed to find a piece of grass under an old oak tree. There, she sat cross-legged, her eyes closed and her palms flat on the ground.

She attuned herself to nature, feeling it inhale and exhale every breath as it moved under the canopy of stars. Night creatures were busy foraging. Frogs sang in the creek beds. Crickets chirped the night away. The elves were busy rebuilding their burned village. Some regrowth began to spring from the ashes, which made her smile.

And deep with the Wyldwood there was an abandoned cabin that once belonged to the dark wizard, Govan.

She used her senses to push deeper into nature than she had ever been. There was Faradill, standing strong and sure as always. In the meadow, the unicorn grazed on blades of grass bathed in the blue-white veil of moonlight.

Past that, she pushed deeper until she was in that place where the abandoned cabin was. The place where there was silence and no creature stirred. She stretched her senses deeper, recalling the ivy climbing the walls and smiling at the alias she gave the disembodied voice of the dark wizard. Her mind stretched into the cabin, where it was overrun with plant life and nothing more.

The dark wizard was gone.

She sensed no other presence aside from nature and nocturnal creatures. And so, he told her true. Destroying the Magic Mirror released him from his bonds, allowing him at last to rest.

Snow pulled back to herself, passing by Faradill. A faint fluttering brushed her cheeks. She opened her eyes to see Annilen hovering. She held her palm out to let the little sprite land. She dipped a curtsy.

"Your majesty."

She laughed. "I'm Snow to you. And I didn't get a chance to thank you for helping bring King Alfred here."

"No thanks necessary. I was happy to do it." She stifled a yawn. "Snow, can we take our morning walks again?"

Snow leaned back against the tree. "Yes, we can."

"Good, because I missed them." Which also meant she missed Snow. "What happens next?"

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"With you and the Mystic Vale?"

"Well…" she said. "I suppose I'll do my best to be a good queen."

Annilen yawned and settled down in her palm. "You will."

"I hope you're right."

"I am," she said, sounding confident. "You'll be a kind and just ruler."

And she was.