The knife clattered along the rocks as it fell from the huntsman’s hands

“I can’t do it.” He said, falling to his knees. Shaking his head as he fell to Snow White’s feet. She looked down at him in confusion. “Forgive me, please forgive me.”

“I don’t understand,” She said. The huntsman looked up, a crazed look in his eyes.

“She’s mad. She’s jealous! She’ll stop at nothing!” He said Snow White could only shake her head.

“You’re not making sense. Who’ll stop at nothing? For what?” She asked.

“The Queen! She’ll kill you. She’ll never rest!” The Huntsman said. Snow White fell against the rocks weakly.

“The Queen?” Her voice wavered.

“Run. You have to run! Run as far as you can and never look back!” He yelled, pushing her toward the forest. She picked up her skirts and tried to find a place to run. The huntsman kept yelling. Commanding her to run and hide and never come back. Her mind started racing as fast as she was into the dense forest. It all tumbled as wild as she did as the trees grew so tightly together that it blocked out the sun. Shrouding the way forward in darkness. This forest was untraveled and left no room to move through between the trees. Vines and branches gripped each other, Snow White swatted the branches away from her face as she ran.

She pushed through the dense branches and vines further into the darkness. Running into a tree that howled at her. Something with giant yellow eyes swooped down with sharp talons bared down at her. Snow White dove to the ground before clawing her way back to her feet and running aimlessly further into the forest. Coming to a stop at a wall of bright yellow eyes. Hundreds of black screaming creatures came rushing out at her. She screamed as she ran blindly in another random direction. Running right into a horde of gnarled sharpened claws and grabbed her skirt and red cape.

Screaming again, Snow White ripped her clothes away from the hands. Stumbling backwards and into more grabbing claws. She threw them off and then ran down a steep hill. Rasping from lack of breath and heart pounding in her head as she entered a clearing. Fighting to breathe as she tried to get her bearings. Looking around and coming face to face with a monstrous face staring right at her. Snow White had no breath to scream. She ran back to get away only to fall through a false floor through the teeth of a wickedly big beast.

She screamed while her hands grabbed wildly in the dark for anything to catch her. A vine went taunt and stopped her freefall. Her hands ached from holding her own weight. She dangled, kicking her legs purely from the adrenaline of not being able to see what was below her. It looked pitch black, like a fall into forever.

Snow White was not strong enough to hold her own weight. Her trembling muscles suddenly dropped her and she plunged into icy cold water. Never had she needed to swim and her panic increased as she flailed. Kicking her knees against the ground of the body of water. There was a momentary flash of relief as she stood up in the water that vanished the second she saw the heads of dark hidden alligators bobbing up over the surface and bobbing toward her. She screamed and turned to run but fell in the water. Digging her nails into the mud and kicking up dirt and rocks as she scrambled through the water. Scrambling up, cold and shivering, onto the banks continuing to run only to hear the scream of some kind of giant witch reaching down to snatch her.

The more Snow White ran, the more horror she saw at every turn. Every breath she took in came back out as a scream. Everywhere she turned there were claws or angry yellow eyes, gnashing teeth, and horrid monsters only conceivable through imagination.

Snow White screamed as she became completely overwhelmed and simply collapsed into sobs.

High above, the clouds moved away from the sun and light again streamed down into the forest. Revealing the princess had collapsed in a small clearing within a lush green forest. The gnashing teeth were nothing more than bushes. Snatching claws only branches. The watching eyes emerged from their shadows, proving to be only natural inhabitants of the forest. Harmless little critters that were just as frightened of Snow White as she was of them.

Families of rabbits looked out from their burroughs, Squirrels and chipmunks climbed down their trees. Deer appeared from behind the trees. Watching the princess, they became more curious. Creeping closer and closer.

A rabbit snuck the closest and sniffed at the unknown stranger who’d made such a ruckus in their home. Feeling the small touch on their arm, Snow White looked up. Prepared to face her fate, only to be surprised by the harmless little rabbit. She sat up, her sudden movement had all the forest inhabitants diving for cover.

“Wait! Please don’t run away!” Snow White called. “I won’t hurt you. I was afraid you’d hurt me.” The critters peeked back out from their hiding places, waiting to see if she was being truthful. Snow White for her part, laced her hands together in her guilt.

“But, you don’t know what I’ve been through!” She tried to explain, but even to herself it sounded like an excuse. “All because I was afraid. I’m so ashamed of the fuss I’ve made.” Snow White looked at the ground sheepishly. She looked around as more of the critters began to appear, she spied her new friend the little blue bird and his family.

“What do you do when you’re afraid?” She asked. The blue bird family looked at each other before whistling a cheery tune. Snow White lit up instantly. “Oh! You sing a song!” She clapped her hands happily.

She sang to the bird, showing her full vocal range. The littlest bluebird flew down and landed again on her hand.

“With a smile and a song,” She began to sing, soothing herself. “Life is just like a bright sunny day. Your cares fade away. And your heart is young.” All throughout the forest, the woodland critters looked up as her voice carried through the trees.

“With a tune and a song,” Snow White sat back and let the bluebird fly away. “All the world is a bright sunny day, your cares fade away. And the world is young.” Her voice carried across a peaceful river where a young buck looked up and followed the noise. Little raccoons, and turtles emerging to find the source of the crooning.

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“There’s no use in grumbling, as raindrops come tumbling.” Snow White turned to the rabbit creeping closer to her. Reaching to pet her but being surprised when she ran off instead. “Remember you're the one, who can fill the world with sunshine.” Coming up behind her was a young doe who sniffed at her hair. Snow White turned and smiled. Touching her nose to the young doe’s.

“When you smile and you sing.” Snow White sang, being surprised in the next second as the rabbit jumped into her lap and all the other woodland critters she’d startled surrounded her peacefully. “Everything is in tune and it’s spring and life flows along. With a smile and a song.” Snow White let out a long contented sigh.

“I really am quite happy now.” Snow White said, looking at all her new friends. “I’m sure I’ll get along somehow.” Thinking clearly, she thought about what her next steps should be.

“Everything is going to be alright.” She asserted, but her thoughts turned to shelter. “But I do need a place to stay, at night.” She looked around and spotted a little burrow of rabbits and smiled.

“I can’t sleep in the ground like you,” She laughed, looking up the tree she saw the knotholes occupied by the chipmunks and squirrels. “Or in the trees, the way you do.” Looking up even further she saw a mother lark sitting on her eggs. “And I’m sure no nest could possibly be big enough for me.” She thought about her options, she had no idea how to build a shelter. Her only hope for surviving the night would be to find it. But how? She looked around at all her new friends.

“Maybe you know a place I can stay?” Snow White asked. “In the woods somewhere?” The critters all looked at each other speaking in a quiet language that only the forest knew. They turned back to Snow White with a smile and nodded enthusiastically.

“You do?” She said, her spirits soaring. She stood up and brushed off her skirts. “Will you take me there?” The bird took flight and rounded around her, taking hold of her cape to lead her into the trees.

The family of deer led the way, with the smaller creatures like the rabbits and raccoons keeping a pace behind them. The chipmunks and squirrels jumped from tree to tree, keeping an eye on Snow White as she watched her where she walked to avoid stepping on the family of pheasants that were keeping pace. Birds of all colors flew around, leading her forward before doubling back to keep her from losing her way.

Now that she could see the forest, Snow White found it wasn’t scary. It was beautiful, everywhere she looked there was something new to see that left her breathless. Every breath she did take in was refreshing. Full of the smell of fresh bloomed flowers and there were berries on every bush. She walked down a hill and found herself beside a gloriously clear river. She stepped over a fallen log, pausing to see into the water. Looking at the rocks under the water, seeing all colors. With little small fish swimming between the rocks.

Snow White felt her heart swell, she held her hands tightly together for a moment to just drink it in. Then she picked up her skirt and kept moving forward. Ducking underneath the low branches. But a sudden jerk had her stopping and leaning backwards. Her cape had gotten caught on a branch she hadn’t seen. A pair of birds swooped down quickly and untangled her from the branches.

“Thank you,” Snow White said. The bird chirped back and they continued moving on. Finding the end of the forest and stumbling onto a mountain road. Snow White looked back and forth but couldn’t see any landmarks that told her where she was or how far from home she was. She took that as a good sign and crossed onto the dirt road and climbed the mountain path. Hitting its peak and feeling like she could stretch out forever. She stretched her arms out as wide as they’d go. She had never felt such freedom before.

The woodland critters led her off the road and back into the forest where the canopy was so thick it shadowed the way forward. Snow White hesitated. Afraid of going back into the dark, but her friends assuage her fears by pulling the new trees to the sides and letting in the light. Snow White slowly approached. Holding the trees apart and looking through.

In a beautiful little mountain valley sat a peaceful little wood cottage. The road they’d just left, led right to the cottage’s front door. A sweet crystal clear river wound through the clearing. Giant tree stumps were sitting around the cottage, showing that the clearing was man-made and not natural.

Snow White looked at her friends and smiled excitedly. She picked up her skirts and stepped over the rotting log and through a little grassy clover to get back to the road. She hurried down it, barely able to contain her excitement. Looking back and waving her friends forward. All the critters jumped the rotten log to follow her down the road. The road led down and down, turning what once Snow White thought was a clearing into more of a valley. At the bottom of the hill’s road there was a little wooden hand made bridge over the river.

After she crossed the river she looked around and found the view breathtaking. The cottage was nestled in the valley with its back to a thick forest where the sunlight didn’t permeate. Looking up through the thinner trees where she could, Snow White saw the towering mountain just behind the cottage. Every bush and tree bore fruits or nuts and a little garden for root vegetables were sheltered and fenced in just beside the cottage. Snow White paused and picked a berry and tasted it. Grinning wildly.

“Gooseberries!” She said gleefully. “I like it here.” She continued down the road where the overturned dirt made a much bigger path around the cottage. All lined with large rocks and scattered with pebbles. Snow White walked up to the cottage and looked it over. Confused at how well kept the cottage was for how dark and abandoned the cottage looked.

Out of curiosity, she tried to look in the mirror but found it impossible to see through. She used her hand to wipe away some of the dust though that didn’t change anything.

“It’s dark inside.” She said to all the critters staring at her in anticipation. She goes to the door, pausing to make herself look a bit more professional. Pushing her curls to look more full and brushing off her skirts. She lifted her skirt poised for a polite curtsy and knocked on the door. But there was no response. Snow White looked around before knocking again. But again there was no answer. She stood up and let her skirts drop.

“Hm. Maybe nobody's home?” She said, shrugging her shoulders. She stared at the door for a second and looked around. Wondering what to do next. She reached out and tried the handle. Finding the door unlocked.

“Hello?” She called as she peeked into the door. The hinges creaked loudly as the door opened. Snow White looked in the dark space, the only light coming from the sun pouring in from the open door. “May I come in?”

There was a slight echo to her words as she called them into the empty space. Snow White opened the door fully and looked into the space. It was a lovely little place, if small. A single staircase led to a closed door on the second floor. A single room stretched and changed from a sitting room, a dining room and a kitchen. All in a single space.

Snow White looked around the space, waiting with her heart in her throat for the owner of the house to appear and yell at her for walking right in. She couldn’t even make her voice work to call out for the owner a second time. The woodland critters crept alongside her. Taking in the sights of the empty cottage.

The whole place has a dusty smell like dirt after a fresh rain. Stuffy like the air was actively being sucked out of the home. Every window was covered and left the place in a permanent night. There also was a strange earthy almost decay sort of smell coming from the kitchen. A sort of sour smell coming from the door and the corners of the room.

Floorboards creaked as Snow White took in everything around her. There was so much to look at and so much to see. She turned around and nearly tripped as she came across something in her path.

She threw up her hands and cried out. The critters flew from the house in pure fear. Looking in for a second to see Snow White. Looking at a little chair.