The Poisoned Princess: A Snow White Retelling (The Skazka Fairy Tales)
The Poisoned Princess: Chapter 29

Arseniy, Sokolko, and I travel as quickly as we can. We know the general area the Wind spoke of, since we’ve done a thorough search of the area surrounding the cottage, just in case. Kostya must’ve had a good reason for taking her there, and I intend to ask him about it when I see him. But first, I need to see her.

When we reach the small brook, my whole body tenses. We cross it carefully, my mind focused on the cave I’ll replace on the other side. When we replace the opening behind strategically grown vines, I freeze. Arseniy stands back near the entrance, waiting for me to move, but I suddenly can’t.

“Dimitri,”

“I—” I don’t know what to say or what to do. I know I need to go in there. I need to see her with my own eyes to believe it. But I also know the moment I step inside this cave, everything will be over. How does one prepare for that? There isn’t a way. I just have to do it.

“I’ll stay out here,” Arseniy says. I glance from him to the dog sitting next to him. They both look sad. I know Arseniy has been crying and trying to keep it from me. Somehow that gives me the strength I need to move. I squeeze his shoulder as I pass, and then I step inside the cave.

It’s dark and damp, but there seems to be a dim light around the corner. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it isn’t a glass coffin. A candle burns near it, and wildflowers have been thrown all around it. As I step closer, I see her face, and my heart breaks all over again. She looks exactly like she did when she was alive: her cheeks slightly rosy, her lips pink, and her hair flowing freely. She stopped wearing it braided all the time after I helped her wash it.

A sob shakes my body as I step closer, memories assaulting me from every direction. So many memories and yet, not enough of them. Not nearly enough.

“We were supposed to have a lifetime of memories,” I say out loud, making my voice echo all around us. I want to hold her in my arms, one last time. I want to kiss her senseless because she’s being a dork and trying to argue with me, but no matter how much she wants to appear stern she keeps smiling instead. I want to fight the queen with her and watch Ivanka take her rightful place on that throne. But none of that is going to happen, because I left, and I wasn’t there to protect her. And no matter how much magic Skazka carries, there wasn’t enough to keep Ivanka safe.

I stumble forward, too weak to even hold myself upright, as tears pour out nonstop. My hands land on the glass coffin. She’s so close, yet so far away—much like she was in my dream. If only I could break the glass—if only I could’ve gotten to her in time. I drape myself over the coffin and let myself cry. Embarrassing loud sobs straight from my heart. I don’t care if the whole of Skazka hears me. I found my star in the sky, and she has been extinguished. My tears stain the coffin, but I don’t bother wiping them away. I think I could fill this whole cave with my tears, and I still wouldn’t be done.

Suddenly, the coffin beneath me shakes, and I pull back to look at the place where my tears have fallen. The wet spots seem to sparkle as the coffin vibrates and then it shatters beneath me. Glass flies away from Ivanka in every direction, and I squat, trying to keep it from hitting me. I stand up slowly, completely shocked by what just happened. Was it too fragile? Should I have kept my distance? Should—then I’m shocked again when the girl on the table sits up.

“Dimitri?” Her voice sounds sleepy, but her eyes latch onto mine. I don’t hesitate to move toward her, and she reaches for me at the same moment. I pull her right into my arms, and she winds her arms around my neck, as I shower her face with kisses.

“Dimitri, what are you doing?” She laughs, halfheartedly dodging my kisses. “Where are we?”

“Whatever just happened—please don’t ever scare me like that again.” I mumble, and she must realize just how broken I sound, because she gasps, placing her hands on my face and giving me a thorough study.

“What happened? Have you been crying?”

“Did you know that you’re the most incredible woman I’ve ever met?” I ask. She isn’t deterred from examining my face carefully. “You’re also the only one I know who smiles as much as you do. You may not know this, but I never believed in love, and I definitely never believed in it for myself. I’ve always thought you had to be brave to love, and I was never brave enough. Until I met you.” She cocks her head to the side, a strange expression on her face for a moment, before she smiles.

“Don’t change the subject. I know these things already. What I don’t know is why I’m in a cave.”

“Do you also know that I love you?”

She opens her mouth and closes it again, gaping at me.

“Truly?” she whispers, and I grin.

“Truly, madly, and completely.”

“Good. Because I love you back.”

She stares at me for a second longer and then grabs my face, taking my lips in a long, hot kiss. There’s no hesitation in her movements, and I don’t resist answering her in kind. I think we would’ve stayed here forever if a bark didn’t reach our ears. I turn, with Ivanka in my arms, just as Arseniy and Sokolko come into the cave. He takes one look at us and says,

“I have questions.”

IVANKA

When we reach the cottage, I have no idea what to expect. I can’t believe they as good as buried me. And now, here I am. This is some serious trauma, and apparently, I’m at the center of it. I don’t know what they’ll say or do.

Dimitri, who hasn’t let go of my hand this whole time, gives it a quick squeeze. Arseniy hugged me for at least ten minutes straight, and now he, too, walks closely beside me. It’s as if both of them are afraid I’ll revert back to my previous state. But I feel fine. I feel well rested. It’s like I went to sleep and just woke up in a different place.

“Maybe we should let them—” Arseniy doesn’t get the chance to finish his train of thought as Sokolko runs to the cottage barking. The door opens almost immediately, and Yasha is there.

“Hey, I think they’re back,” he says, but then he looks up and sees all three of us standing there. He stumbles back a little against the door, and suddenly, the door is being crowded by the others. Everything happens at once after that. The men pour out of the cottage, racing for me. I am hugged and kissed and given food and water. By the time I’m sitting on the couch, Dimitri holding my hand once more, I’m exhausted all over again. Kroshka is once again on my lap, but she’s been staring at me nonstop and I can’t tell if she’s stern with me or simply happy to see me. I run my free hand over her tiny head, and she relaxes a little.

“How did you know what to do?” I ask Kostya, who’s sitting on my other side on the couch.

“I can’t be exactly sure. But the way Sokolko and Kroshka both reacted to the apple told me that was the cause of your…situation.” He doesn’t say “death,” even though they checked me for a heartbeat and found I was no longer breathing.

“How did you know the glass coffin would revive me?”

“Honestly, I didn’t. But you mentioned it yourself earlier and when we found you, it seemed like the place to keep you safe for the time being. We couldn’t…bury you without Dimitri and Arseniy here. We took you there immediately.”

“I’m glad you did. It would’ve been much harder to wake me up if I was underground.” I reach over and give his hand a squeeze, and he smiles.

“I don’t think it was the coffin that did it,” Kostya says and I look at him in confusion. “I think it was just a place for you to rest until Dimitri found you.”

I turn to glance at the man beside me, and he’s still looking at me. The way he’s holding my hand tells me that he’s afraid I’m going to disappear suddenly if he doesn’t keep me by his side. I give his hand a reassuring squeeze and lean my head on his shoulder for a brief moment.

I, too, think Dimitri was the one to wake me up. But I also think Skazka had something to do with it. He told me of how he asked the Sun, the Moon, and the Wind to replace me. Knowing he trusted in my love for Skazka makes me love him even more.

“So what do we do now?” Maxim asks. He hasn’t taken his eyes off me since I came in and seems to need constant reassurance that I’m actually here. Actually, he’s sitting with his feet stretched out in front of him, so he can touch the sides of mine. “Who was that woman?”

“I’m not sure about the woman,” I speak up, “but I know that it was the queen’s doing. She has magic, and I think it’s time we took it away from her.”

“What do you mean?” Igor asks. I’ve been thinking about this since I decided to leave. But even more so since I woke up with Dimitri not even a meter away, tears in his eyes and on his face. The sight is imbedded in my brain forever.

“I mean that twice I have seen her talk to a mirror in my dreams, and I don’t think they are dreams. Because after the last one, I knew she was coming for me, and then this happened.” I sit up a little straighter, my gaze meeting each man in turn. “I have a plan. I was going to carry it out alone, but I realize I’m not alone anymore. I have a family, and according to what you taught me, family sticks together.”

“Yeah, we do,” Maxim mumbles. If I’m correct in my suspicions about who these men truly are, then I think they’ll be willing to help for several reasons, but I don’t voice those thoughts out loud just yet. Kroshka bumps her little head against my arm, and I glance down to replace her wise eyes on me.

I grin. “I have a way to get us into the castle, and I need to get to the queen’s rooms once we’re inside. I don’t know if this mirror is the answer to all of our questions, but it feels like it might be a huge part of it. So if you help me get it, I would be very appreciative.”

The men don’t speak up immediately, so I wait them out. They exchange a look, and then Igor shifts forward in his seat.

“Tell us more.”