Page 30 of The Broken Mirror
Alistair looks at her. “Yeah, Beatrice, that’s the first line. ‘Roses are red.’” He says this slowly, like she hasn’t understood.
“No, no, you just reminded me of my cousin, Rose Red! She lives in Snow Country.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever met our cousin Rose Red,” Gretel says.
“Jeez, Gretel,” Alistair jokes, “how many cousins do you have?”
Filomena frowns, thinking.Rose Red…That rings a bell. She tries to remember what she learned about Rose Red in the Never After books. They all start walking again.
“Rose Red is friends with the famous dwarves of Snow Country,” Beatrice explains. “And if I’m not mistaken, there are seven of them.”
“Seven!” Jack exclaims. “Do you think they could be…?”
“It’s worth a shot, I say,” Beatrice replies. “Plus you’ll all like Rose Red. She’s cool.”
Snow Country, Rose Red…Something clicks in Filomena’s head. “Beatrice, is Rose Red the sister of Snow White?”
“Oh, no. Rose Red is Snow White’s daughter!” Beatrice says.
“Wait a minute,” Jack says, “I just remembered: Isn’t Colette’s nickname… Snow White? It is, isn’t it?”
Snow Country. Snow White. Rose Red. For some reason, Filomena can picture only blood on snow. But she tries to shake the vision away.
CHAPTERFIFTEENHEIGH-HO, HEIGH-HO, TOSNOWCOUNTRYWEGO
“Next time, I’m totally adding like two more layers of fleece to our jackets,” Gretel says, shivering.
“Is it just me or did it drop like ten degrees in the last ten steps?” Alistair adds.
“Drama queens!” Filomena laughs. “After all we’ve been through, we can’t let our downfall be the cold, can we?”
Though she’s trying to keep spirits high, Filomena has toadmit that the cold is getting a bit out of hand. And the sun is starting to set on the snowy landscape.
“We’re almost at the border of Snow Country,” Jack says. “Once we cross over, I say we find somewhere to rest and call it a night.”
“You know what invention would be really great for Never After?” Gretel asks. “A service that, when you’re on a quest, you can use to book a room to stay in ahead of time. You know, Fil, like in the mortal world? Nice elves and woodland creatures could rent out their spare rooms for weary travelers like us!”
“And what money would we use to pay for that? Do you have a stack of gold lying around, Gretel? Have you been holding out on us?” Jack laughs.
“They should payus!” Gretel adds. “We’re saving their butts from the ogres! If I ever run for prime minister of any kingdom, I’m totally going to use that in my platform.Free room and board for heroes!”
Filomena chuckles.
“That would be a popular campaign, but only if the ogres weren’t in power. And eventually, hopefully, there won’t be a need for heroes anymore,” Beatrice says.
Jack looks uncomfortable.
“What is it, Jack?” Filomena asks.
“I always feel weird about the titlehero. Don’t you? It just feels presumptuous.”
Byron pipes in: “For what it’s worth, from where I’m standing, rescuing me from a curse and returning my mother and me to our real forms are pretty heroic acts. Especially when risking your life to do so.” Byron does a formal little bow.
Jack is ready to change the subject. He shivers. “So, Byron and Beatrice, you went to Bali for your honeymoon, right? It’s hot there, isn’t it? Can you tell us about it? Describe it in very precise detail. Just how warm was it?”
They all laugh, and Beatrice and Byron gladly tell them about Bali.
An hour or so later, everyone is deep in daydreams of hot sandy beaches and luscious fruit drinks. They can almost forget the frigid temperatures they’re walking through. But the ground is gradually becoming more and more packed with snow. The sun is half-set now, just a blazing semicircle on the horizon. Before them, as far as the eye can see, are rolling hills covered with glistening white blankets of snow. Pine trees the size of buildings stretch upward, grand and evergreen.
