Wynter (A Snow White Retelling)

The Royal Coup

Wynter struggled to keep up with Christopher and Alfred. Even with their armor weighing them down, they were still twice as fast as she was. Her side was cramping again, but they couldn't stop running. The captain of the guard had seen them.

She saw Christopher and Alfred turn left into a stair well, and she followed them. Her legs felt heavy, making it harder to climb. With each step, her chest tightened. Just a little farther, she told herself.

Wynter finally reached the third level, and the guards were already at the queen's chamber door. They waited for Wynter to join them. Christopher raised his hand to open the door, but the door swung open before he touched it.

Lucinda and Andrew were staring right at them.

Andrew drew his sword and swung it at Christopher, who jumped out of the way right before the sword could strike his chest. Alfred unsheathed his sword and aimed for Andrew's shoulder, giving Christopher enough time to regain his balance and draw his weapon.

Wynter watched in horror as the scene unfolded in front of her. She didn't understand. Andrew was supposed to be asleep in his chambers, and Lucinda was supposed to be asleep here. Wynter could see her on the other side of the men fighting, and her stepmother was smiling at her. She knew they were coming.

Wynter's thoughts immediately went to Cyrus. He would be at Andrew's chambers any second and find him missing. The bad feeling she got when they parted returned, and she hoped he wasn't walking into a trap.

Her focus was brought back to her present situation when Alfred cried out in pain. Wynter saw him grip his left thigh while still trying to defend himself with the other hand. He held his ground, but his arm was dropping. He swung at Andrew's left side, but Andrew blocked it, knocked Alfred's sword out of his hand, and kicked him in the chest, forcing him onto the ground.

Christopher drove his sword straight towards Andrew's heart, but Andrew blocked that strike too. The two men were locked in a whirl wind of word swings and blocks, both skilled swordsmen equally matched.

Wynter's mind raced through their possible options, but she didn't see any good way out of this.

Christopher and Andrew moved across the hall in their attempts to strike a deadly blow against the other, and Wynter saw the queen moving towards them. Lucinda pulled something out of the folds of her dress, and Wynter saw the light reflect off of it.

It was a dagger.

Wynter thrusted herself at Lucinda, trying to reach the dagger. The queen raised her arm, and Wynter missed. Lucinda took another step forward and shoved the dagger in between the pieces of armor and straight into Christopher's side.

"No!" Wynter cried.

Christopher shouted and swung his sword around in defense, but the queen had already stepped back. He dropped his sword and hit the floor across the hall from Alfred.

"How did this happen?" Wynter asked herself in disbelief.

"This happened because you don't know when to stop fighting," said Lucinda. "You lost this battle as soon as your father died. All of this," she waved to the guards who were in agonizing pain, "is your fault."

"No." Wynter shook her head. "All this happened because you're trying to take what isn't yours. You will destroy this kingdom and sentence the people to suffering and death if Andrew is made king."

Andrew pulled a piece of cloth out of his pocket and began wiping the blood off of his sword. He smiled a little, as if he was suppressing a laugh.

"Do you take pride in hurting others?" Wynter asked him. Heat rose to her face and her body tensed up. "Do you feel no guilt at all for killing innocent people?"