Snow White by Jenni James Page B

as they fluttered toward her. There were four! She was actually seeing four fairies . Smiling, she felt like a little girl all over again.
    The one upon her knee flew up and took her place with the others in a small semicircle above her. “How grateful we are to see you well and alive,” she said.
    “Did you know I was in trouble?”
    “Yes.” She smiled. “We know more about you than you realize.”
    Snow quickly got to her feet to see the fairies better. Each one had hair the same color as their eyes. One had beautiful turquoise-colored hair, one blue, and the other green. Their shimmering wings matched their different-colored gowns as well. Snow had so many questions, but first things first. “What are your names?”
    The lavender-haired fairy said, “I am Sunday Grace, but you are welcome to call me anything you would like.”
    “Hello, Grace.” Snow curtsied before her, charmed by her name.
    “This is Tuesday Hope,” said the fairy as she pointed to the turquoise-haired girl. “The blue one is Thursday Peace, and green is Saturday Brave.” The mystical women bowed their heads and smiled.
    “There are three days missing. Does that mean there are more fairies?”
    Grace laughed, her voice sounding like tinkling bells. “Of course. But I will introduce you to them when we bring you to our home.”
    “Your home?”
    “Well, my dear, we could not leave you here to be eaten by wolves, now could we? No, we promised Queen Lilith years ago that we would care for you and guarantee that nothing harmed you.”
    “You knew my mother?” All at once Snow felt like she was going to cry. Here was a connection she had been wishing to find, someone who had known her mother well and could possibly share more about her than her father ever did.
    “Yes, we have assured your protection all this time. Queen Lilith saved me from a woodman’s trap, and in return, as a thank you, we have seen to your success and safety.”
    Snow’s jaw dropped. “I have been under an enchantment! You placed one upon me, did you not? To make sure everyone I meet loves me.”
    The fairies glanced at each other. “Yes, it was us. That was one way we could guarantee your security. We knew if you were enchanted, no one would harm you.”
    Peace pushed a lock of her blue hair off her shoulder. “But we felt the energy in your spell waver yesterday, and we knew someone had been able to break through our magic charm and complete their own dark curse to destroy you. We have been searching high and low ever since.”
    “I do not think you will ever understand how happy we are to have finally found you.” Hope fluttered faster.
    “Yes,” said Brave. “There was a time last night when the tension was so strong we feared you would be gone before we could find you.”
    “I nearly was. But Prince Corlan was able to withstand the curse long enough for me to escape.”
    “The prince! He has been the one to break our enchantment?” Brave placed her hands on her hips. “If that man is seeking to destroy you, we shall kill him first!”
    Great heavens! “No! It was his mother, Queen Melantha, and her wedding gift, the Lythereon Mirror, who have broken the spell.”
    The fairies gasped, but Snow rushed on. “Corlan is their pawn. My stepmother placed a curse upon him to murder me. He withstood as long as possible, even stabbing himself in the leg to allow me escape. Please do not harm him. Please, I cannot lose him.”
    “My dearie!” Hope exclaimed as she flitted toward her. “We promise not to damage him. But this cannot be a good thing at all, using the Lythereon Mirror against you.”
    “We must get her inside immediately. Who knows what the looking glass has seen already!” Peace rushed forward and pulled on Snow’s tattered cape. “Quickly, let us get her out of this forest. There are too many eyes and ears around to be fully comfortable.”
    “’Tis true,” said Grace. “You cannot be certain you are alone while in the forest.