Snow White
The writing challenge for this was to write the story of Snow White from a different perspective. I chose the perspective of the prince. I always had questions about him, even as a child! Trigger warning! Don’t read this if you are easily triggered!
Mother and Father are King and Queen and I am their only heir. As soon as Snow White was born to a neighbouring kingdom, my fate was sealed.
“They have no male heir,” father said. “You will grow up and marry Snow White and our kingdoms will become one.”
All my life, they wittered on about Snow White. “Our spymaster reports that she is very beautiful and sweet in disposition,” and, “Her father has passed and she is not treated admirably by her stepmother the Queen. Little more than a servant to her in fact!”
So it went into adulthood, with updates provided by the spymaster, until one day, her name was suddenly dropped! She was whispered about though. She had run off with a huntsman, then took up with some dwarven miners, living in some kind of commune. Ugh! My parents had nearly married me off to that… that, slattern!
One day, my parents summoned me to the throne room. That meant they were going to tell me to do something and use the weight of their position to enforce it. Sighing, I anticipated the subject of marriage would come up. I was right!
“Snow White has died, poisoned by an old hag.” Father began. “We are freed from the betrothal and can arrange for another to take your hand. The stepmother is a widow Queen with no heirs. You shall ride to her and plead your troth. We can still take that Kingdom by marriage.”
“Father!” I protested. “She is significantly older than me!”
“Stuff and nonsense!” he said. “I hear that she is an exceedingly attractive woman.” He glanced nervously at mother but continued. “You will ride out this very day and obtain her promise. We shall have that Kingdom by marriage before the month is out! Make preparations immediately. Return with her post haste!”
Despite my protests, I received my orders. There was one small problem though. I had no interest in women of her type. Women who moved and breathed, that is. The spymaster constantly provided me with young women, brought to the secret room behind my bedchamber, and removed the bodies after a couple of days once their stench became untenable. I much preferred them to women that could move, chatter, and complain and … horrors, who tried to touch me.
Riding to the adjoining Kingdom I stumbled across the glass coffin in the woods. There was a vision of beauty! I halted my men and went to inspect it. The legend on the side said this was Snow White. I had to have her!
There was a dwarf on watch. Explaining that I was her betrothed, and that she would lie in state in my kingdom, I arranged to take the body. I could not resist though. I had to taste those sweet breathless lips. I opened the coffin and lifted her limp form up. A piece of apple fell from her lips. I caught it and felt the tingle of magic. I pocketed the piece of apple, my mind racing with possibilities.
I kissed the woman, bracing myself against her breath. Blergh! I told her I was her betrothed come to collect her. I even professed my love. I arranged for most of my men to return to the palace with the coffin, all except for my most loyal man who would remain as chaperone, as was only right.
“Tell the spymaster to put that coffin in my back room,” I commanded the captain. “It is part of my Beloved’s heritage,” I explained. “Tell father we shall have a wedding as soon as I return!” Doing as I bade, the men rode off taking the coffin with them.
With Snow White in my arms, my bondsman and I travelled through the forest until I called a halt. “Night is close, my lady, and the journey is far,” I told the simpering idiot who was still somewhat groggy. “We shall make camp here.”
We set camp, and Snow White fell asleep. Once she was asleep, I sent my man out of sight to set a new campsite. We broke camp and I carried Snow White to the new site then woke her. She had been asleep for less than an hour. She looked around the new camp in a bit of a daze.
“You have slept through two days solid, my dear,” I lied. “The magic is still affecting you!” I repeated this cycle a half dozen times during the night, and Snow White was very disoriented.
Upon arriving at my palace, Snow White wearily explained her ordeal to everyone and said that she now slept for a couple of days at a time. Everyone accepted this as a side effect of the magic.
The wedding was held that same day and was an immense affair, after which, Snow White and I retired to my quarters. I fake-kindly absolved her of marital duties, saying, “You must recover from your ordeal first, my dearest!”
After hearing Snow White gush over how kind and understanding I was, I smilingly gave her a laudanum laced night cap. Once she was asleep, I carried her to the back room and placed her into her coffin. I opened her mouth and pressed the piece of magic apple inside. She gasped, gagged and died again.
I did not absolve her of conjugal duties, and had her for two days straight, before cleaning her up, and returning her to the bed. Lightly drugging her again I removed the apple from her throat with a sharp slap and pocketed it.
Snow White woke a few hours later and told everyone confidently. “It is always like that for me now.” Believing she always slept at two day stretches, she convinced people this was normal, an after effect of the magic.
Our relationship continued in this manner with her being dead for two days out of every three, therefore filling my every need. She was the perfect wife!
© Catherine Knee 2025. All rights reserved.
When I was a child, I asked my father why the prince kissed a dead body. “She wasn’t dead,” he confidently replied. I pointed out that she was in a coffin, everyone thought she was dead, and the dwarf watching her coffin would have said she was dead, so why did he kiss her. My dad got irritated with me and snapped, “it is only a story!” But I had questions, so when this prompt came up at writing club, I had to explore this problem I had with the story.