Wynter (A Snow White Retelling)

The Spell

Lucinda reached across her vanity and grabbed a vial of greenish brown liquid. She popped of the cork top and dumped the contents of the vial into a large iron pot. She paused and held up the vial. The label was missing. She shrugged and dumped the rest of the liquid into the bowl. She couldn't remember what it was, but she knew she needed it.

She pulled some sheep wool out of a hidden pocket in her coat. She had to pay a stable boy five gold coins for that wool. He could tell that she needed it and would pay. Lucinda scowled. Her servants were getting too smart for their own good. It was a small matter though. One that she could easily fix while her son was ruling the kingdom.

After she dealt with Wynter.

She added the wool to the greenish brown mixture in the pot and placed the pot over the fire in her room. She put her hands on her hip and frowned. She knew she was missing something, and the potion wouldn't work if she was off by the smallest fraction.

She turned back to the wooden chest laying open on her vanity and began rummaging through its contents. She hoped that she would remember the missing ingredient if she saw it. She pulled out vial after vial of liquids, many of which were not labeled. She pulled out pieces of cloth from other kingdoms and dried leaves from plants found in the marshes. None of them were right.

Lucinda stopped mid search when something shiny caught her eye. She pulled out a necklace and held it up in front of her. It had an apple blossom pendant. It was Wynter's necklace. She couldn't remember how it got in the chest.

Memories of Wynter wearing it every single day came flooding back to her. It was her favorite necklace, but after Lucinda married the king, Wynter gave it to her. Wynter had told her that the apple blossom was a symbol of love, and she wanted Lucinda to have it in hopes that she would learn to love the king. She could hear Wynter's voice even now. "I know you don't love my father, but I believe you can learn to love him."

She didn't need to love the king. She only needed to rule the kingdom through her son.

Lucinda turned and threw the necklace across the room just as Andrew walked in. It bounced off the floor once before landing at his feet.

Andrew picked up the necklace. "Mother, what's going on?"

Lucinda fumed. She had put up with Wynter's insolence for years on end, and she still couldn't get rid of her. She couldn't even destroy Wynter's necklace. Even now she had the brat's nonsense ringing in her head.

"Where is it? Why can't I remember?" Lucinda mumbled to herself.

"Where's what?" Andrew asked impatiently.

"The last ingredient. I don't remember what it is." Lucinda held up the chest. "And none of these are labeled."

"Why didn't you label them when—"

"Silence," Lucinda snapped. "You wouldn't even know which horse was yours if there wasn't a stable boy to show you."

Andrew scowled at her. "How are you going to finish it?"

"I have to get the physician to finish it, and that will ensure there is enough evidence to frame him for the king's death."

"Then what?" Andrew asked. "How will you make her drink it?"

"You don't drink it, half-wit. And I can't make her do it. She's wriggled her way out of all of our schemes so far, and I'm not making that mistake again. I have to entice her to touch it willingly. But," Lucinda looked around her room, "I have to find a way to make it look innocent. We don't want it traced back to us."

Andrew held up the necklace. "Can you use this?"

A smile crept across Lucinda's face. "How fitting. We will destroy Wynter's love with the very symbol of love."

Andrew frowned and snatched the necklace away before Lucinda could grab it. "I thought you were going to kill her."

"And put her out of her misery?" Lucinda laughed. "Oh, no. Wynter doesn't deserve that. She will be put into a deep sleep, and the only way to wake her is with true love's kiss. However, I modified the recipe so that you are the only one who can wake her."

"Are you mad? We're supposed to be killing her not romancing her!"

Lucinda swiped the necklace from Andrew's hand before he could pull away again. "Shut up and listen. You said yourself that the kingdom doesn't know who you are. If you're going to take the throne without a revolt, we need you to marry Wynter." Andrew's jaw dropped, but she silenced him before he could protest. "We can dispose of her later like we did her father. We can frame Cyrus for her death and be rid of all of them. But first, we need the kingdom to demand you as king."

"I won't do it."

"Excuse me." Lucinda eyed her son, assuming she had heard him wrong.

"I won't wake Wynter, and I certainly won't marry her," said Andrew. "She will not submit to my authority. She will only cause trouble, and I won't put up with that."

"Let me put it this way then," said Lucinda. "You will wake the brat and marry her, or you will not become king. You don't have to suffer her insolence for long. Just long enough for the kingdom to praise your name as king."

"None of it really matters though, does it? Wynter has refused me countless times. She won't have me."

"But this time she will have a different choice to make. She will not—"

Lucinda was interrupted by someone pounding on the door. She wrapped the necklace in a piece of cloth, dropped it in the chest, tossed the chest to Andrew, and motioned for him to hide behind her changing screen. Andrew pointed to the spell that was still sitting on the floor before he stepped behind the screen. Lucinda put the pot back over the fire as if she had tea brewing. Someone pounded on the door again.

"Coming." Lucinda opened the door to a red faced page. "You look awful. What do you want?"

"The captain sent me to tell you that he saw Wynter in the castle. But...how can that be? You said she was dead."

"It would seem that the captain is seeing things. Tell him to lay off the ale or I'll have his head."

The page's eyes grew twice as big. He quickly bowed and ran off.

Lucinda slammed the door and started laughing. Andrew came out from around the curtain and eyed his mother suspiciously. She tried to stop laughing, but it was just too good to be true. Wynter was in the castle. She was just making it too easy for Lucinda to win.

She finally took a deep breath to calm down. "You will marry Wynter," she said to Andrew, "and I can guarantee that she won't refuse you."