Snow White looked in the mirror one last time, smiling at her reflection. Her dark hair was neatly coiffed and she was wearing her blue nightgown with a red silk overcoat. She came out of her bedroom carrying a small lantern she'd bought during her years of childish adventures, at a second-hand stall she'd spotted at one of her secret outlets.
Not many lights were on in the corridors of the castle, it was now rest time for both employees and people at court. Snow White fortunately did not encounter obstacles along the way from her wing of the castle to the queen's chamber, but once she made it there, just a few meters away, she saw the same guards from the last time. How could she overcome them?
It certainly wasn't fitting for the princess to sneak into the queen's bedroom at that hour of the evening! As Snow White worked her brain to find a solution, she didn't notice the person who was silently approaching.
"Princess?" Snow White spun around, shutting the mouth of whom called her name. Only then did she realize that it was a young employee of the castle, the same boy who had called the queen that afternoon.
"Princess, are you telling me to shut up? Is something going on?" The boy whispered, removing the girl's hand. Snow White immediately blushed, pulling away from him when she became aware of their proximity. "Nothing is happening..."
"But shouldn't you... I mean, shouldn't you be at rest by now? Do you need something, Princess? May I help you?"
"There's no need..." Snow White began to say, then decided to do something she would never do: take advantage of her prominent position to make requests to people without providing any explanation. "Actually, you could do something..." He grabbed the boy's arm and showed him the guards, still remaining close to the wall, so as not to be seen by them, from around the corner. "Could you distract the guards for a few minutes?"
The young man looked at her confused, then turned his eyes to the door that hid the queen's chambers. For some reason his frown suddenly relaxed and he smiled: "Is this a secret meeting? Wow... don't worry princess, I'll take care of it!" The boy thus reached the guards and after exchanging a few words with them, one soldier moved away from the area, while the other followed them towards the corridor, stopping at the beginning of the queen's private wing. Snow White didn't question the boy's availability and walked quickly towards the doors, knocking softly, before entering.
"Bianca, why are you acting like you're committing a crime?" Grimilde took the girl by surprise who found her right at the entrance to the room. Snow White smiled embarrassed, closing the door. "Next time, I'll inform the guards to let you through, no questions asked."
"No! I mean... what will they think? It's late and..."
"And?" Grimhilde found the princess's embarrassment for such simple things truly adorable. "Bianca, we are two women... what could they think of us?" And I'm your stepmother , thought Grimilde, herself confused by that title. Snow White relaxed, chuckling: "You're right... what could they think..." For some reason those words brought an unknown tension inside the room. Grimilde stopped smiling and became silent, then walked away towards her luxurious red sofa, signaling the princess to follow her.
"Would you like something to drink?" Snow White looked at the full glass of wine on the table next to the sofa and asked the woman to pour some for her too. She didn't have a great tolerance for alcohol, but she certainly wouldn't have missed drinking with the queen. Grimilde got up only to go and retrieve the bottle and another glass, then poured a drink for the princess as well.
"Thank you..." the princess took a sip and then continued: "I wanted to ask you how it went with the messenger." The two women began talking about the usual business of the kingdom, and Grimhilde explained that the man who had come to speak to her was a soldier working on the northern edge of Arran, who reported hostile and suspicious behavior on the part of the Marquis of Terran, a border province. The queen confessed to the princess that she found it strange that a soldier would personally come to court for such a matter and although she did not trust the young man's words, after checking the documents on the province of Terran, she decided that as a precaution she would investigate further. After all, the borderlands were more vulnerable to treachery if some neighboring kingdom plotted against Arran. As the queen spoke, Snow White began to feel more relaxed and her eyes wandered over the surrounding environment and then stopped on Grimhilde's body: she was wearing a black nightgown, with lace of the same colour. Snow White found it sensual and blushed. However, her cheeks were already red from the effect of the alcohol and with the dim light in the room, not even Grimilde would have noticed it.
"A lantern... where did you get it?" Grimhilde observed the object at Snow White's feet and came closer to see it better. He smiled at the girl who explained that she had bought it at a stall in previous years, then she realized, too late, that she had revealed that she had escaped from the castle on that occasion. "So I'm in front of an expert..."
"I haven't done that many times... I apologize for not mentioning it."
"It could have been dangerous." Grimilde drank the last sip of wine in her glass and placed it on the table. He looked with interest at the princess who followed to take her last sip; only after feeling the warm alcohol running down her chest did she realize she was a little tipsy.
"Tell me, weren't you afraid of the consequences of finding yourself alone in the city? Weren't you worried about being captured or worse?"
"I know how to defend myself, at least enough in a crowded market."
Grimhilde shook her head, covering her lips with her hand. Snow White continued to stare at her curiously: "Is something wrong?"
"No, no... I find you really interesting. I like listening to you." Snow White found herself in front of a smile so enchanting that she stopped breathing for a few seconds. Grimhilde leaned back on the sofa and a few blonde locks fell on her face, covering it from Snow White's sight. The latter didn't even realize that she had approached and moved the queen's hair: with that touch she realized that they were really soft and the proximity allowed her to smell the woman's perfume. Rose. Smell of roses, just like those in the queen's private garden, which came from her homeland.
"Bianca..." The princess didn't see the change in the queen's gaze, who blushed and closed the distance between their bodies. Snow White had moved the lock, but her hand remained firm on the cheek of the woman who in his eyes was the most beautiful in the kingdom. Snow White remembered the mirror and bit her lip: she wanted to ask the queen if she knew the magical arts, even if she wasn't sure they existed; after all, a mirror shouldn't have talked. However, he was afraid of asking too much and making Grimilde antagonized. He cared too much for her, for what they were creating together: he had never had such a friendship. In the past she had spent time only with her younger handmaidens and it was the only friendship she had known, the only relationship allowed within the palace, but now she was discovering a new world and Snow White was entranced.
The princess lowered her gaze, remained helpless in front of the queen, who at that moment was about to abandon herself to a desire that had been harboring for days. Grimilde surrounded Snow White's body with her arms and the latter gasped in surprise, but did not dare to move away: she perceived with great intensity the sensation of their intertwined bodies; the queen was soft in all the right places, but seemed to hide working muscles, especially in her arms and abdominal area. Snow White felt a warmth making its way from her head to the rest of her body and tightened the arms she had left hanging around Grimilde's waist. At that point there was no distance between the two and Snow White found herself immersed in the sweet scent of flowers and wine that the blonde emanated.
"Excuse me..." Grimilde whispered when she separated from the ebony-haired woman. Snow White watched her lips as she formed the words: "I was impulsive. I would like to blame it on the wine, but I have to admit that I have long wanted intimate contact with someone I can trust. It has been years... "
"You can..." Snow White raised her dark eyes: her expression was full of compassion. "When you feel the need, you can hug me. I know loneliness inside out and I don't deny that I share your same feeling." Grimilde once again found herself pushing away forbidden sensations and thoughts. Perhaps, one day it would become intolerable and she would lose his sanity, but that night, for the first time in years, she remembered what it was like to feel loved.