Yanni was squeezing her bow in her right hand, walking as quietly as she could through the dry levees scattered along the forest ground when she saw a deer in the distance. The forest was quiet tonight, but the moon was shining brightly, casting light on her surroundings.

She sensed the deer a while back, but she didn’t want to get too close for fear of scaring it away. Now, she was nearly there, only several meters from the animal. Her instinct told her that this was the best time to remove her arrow, and that’s what she did. She stretched the bow, watching as the deer dropped its head to graze in the tall grass. Yanni could see him clearly now, and she concentrated, breathing steadily.

Most people in Tyndil Kingdom called her Snow White because her skin was very pale, almost white like a snowy winter. Yanni had been an archer for years; she had enjoyed training with a bow and arrow for as long as she could remember. She had never killed an animal before, and deep down, she felt sorry for the deer. She wanted to prove to a guard in the castle that she was a good huntress too. If she killed the deer, she planned on donating it to the local butcher and having the meat delivered to the poor within her kingdom. She stretched the bow further, squinting her left eye, attempting to gain the perfect angle before she released the arrow, when someone appeared next to the deer out of nowhere.

The animal lifted its head and stood frozen for a long while, unmoving, as if it had been hypnotised. Yanni remained still watching and waiting to see who or what had frightened the deer, when suddenly, the animal roared with agony.

“Oh no,” Yanni whispered when she recognised the shadow. It was her stepmother, Ruth. She mercilessly attacked this beautiful and innocent creature, slicing its neck with a sharp knife. Shocked rippled through Yanni and she didn’t dare move.

She wasn’t even planning to go out tonight. She was a bit tired after archery practise today, but she changed her mind later on in the evening.

Ruth wasn’t supposed to even be in the castle tonight. She was out of town and Yanni suspected that she must have returned earlier on. She felt nauseous seeing how her stepmother took pleasure in slowly killing the deer. Blood was pouring from the wound, covering her hands and black cloak, shining in the moonlight.

Yanni shuddered with disgust, putting her arrow away. Ruth was too absorbed in murdering the deer to pay attention to what was going on around her. Seconds later, after the animal stopped moving, she rose back to her feet and began waving her hands, laughing hysterically

“It’s my sacrifice for you, dear sister. May the deer’s energy be with you. The blood of this animal will allow me to stay young and beautiful forever,” Ruth roared, throwing her head back and spinning around with her arms out to the side. “I have killed dozens of deer and unicorns in order to keep my beauty intact.” Ruth stopped, then raised her hands toward the night sky, and sparks escaped from her fingertips. Yanni didn’t really believed in supernatural forces or magic, but her stepmother was doing unimaginable things. Bright yellow and red light streamed from her hands and her body shimmered in and out of focus as if in a pool of water. Her stepmother was using magic to gather the deer’s blood in a large flask.

The wind blew from the south, ruffling Yanni’s hair and shock, along with cold chills racked her body. She refused to move, watching a woman that she considered family—even if she didn’t care much for her—use magic to stay young and beautiful .

“With your strength and power, I will remain Queen of Tyndil forever. That stupid girl, Snow White, will die before she ever becomes the legitimate ruler!” Ruth continued shouting like a maniac.

Yanni suddenly became paralysed with fear. She didn’t know what was going on, or why Ruth was saying things like that about her. It was no secret that their relationship was rather strained, but was she seriously going to kill her? Snow White was supposed to take over the throne when she turned twenty-one. She came of age several months ago, but she didn’t believe that she was truly ready to become Queen just yet.

Her stepmother was much more experienced and Yanni was happy to wait until she was a little older and wiser. She never thought for a second that Ruth didn’t believe in her, or that she wanted her dead.

She was ready to turn around and return to the castle when Ruth spoke again.

“I need to get rid of her. She came of age a few months ago, but if she dies, she will never take my power and reign as Queen. Poison—yes, sister. Thank you for your guidance. I’ll have to slip the poison into her drink during dinner. No one will never know what happened.”

Yanni didn’t waste any more time. She knew she had to get out of there as quickly as possible. She walked silently through the forest, careful not to step on fallen branches. After several meters, she turned around, hanging her bow and arrow over her shoulder, then started running as fast as her legs would carry her towards the castle. Her heart was pounding in her chest and her thoughts were racing. Over the past several, years she had lived on decent enough terms with Ruth. She never thought she would have anything to worry about.

She ran until she couldn’t run any further. Her chest and legs were burning. This was her land and her people. Ruth had no right to think that she could rule forever. After some time, Yanni finally reached the castle. She went straight to the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water. More questions were rolling through her head. Was she supposed to run away now or stay and fight? Was her stepmother going to try to kill her tonight?

Yanni tried to reason with herself, pacing around the kitchen. She was confused, and wondered how long Ruth had been planning to get rid of her for. Moments later, she felt dizzy and leaned against the wall to stop herself from falling. The feeling became overwhelming to the point where she slid down the wall to the floor resting her head in her hands. She closed her eyes, thinking about what she had seen in the forest. Ruth was cruel, she didn’t even blink when she killed the deer. She needed the animal’s blood to remain youthful in appearance. Everything was a mess in her mind and she wondered what was real and how much, if any of it was a product of her imagination. How could Ruth have gone undetected all these years, showing no sign of magical ability?

Yanni had never seen that ruthless side of Ruth, and the magic? She didn’t even know it existed. She was freaking out, feeling what could only be a panic attack coming on. Her heart continued to thunder in her chest, when suddenly darkness obscured her vision and she began drifting away.

***

Yanni’s head was pounding painfully when she woke. She heard giggles and whispers all around her, but wasn’t ready to face the grey reality just yet. Yanni had never felt worse. Where was she?

“She is a complete disgrace. People are already saying that she’s wasting herself, bringing shame to her dead father,” someone was saying, standing right next to her. Yanni opened her eyes and realised that she was sitting on the kitchen floor, still wearing the same clothes from last night.

The cook, the maids, and her stepmother were all standing around her, and none of them looked happy. She noticed a couple of servants gathered in the back giggling away and whispering between themselves.

Yanni had no idea what was going on. She didn’t remember falling asleep in there, but everything about last night was a little blurry. She didn’t remember much from yesterday, but she recalled that she was supposed to be out hunting for deer. For some reason, her mind was blank and that only happened to her when she drank heavily the night before.

She didn’t remember leaving the castle last night, and if she hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol, then why she couldn’t remember anything? This was bizarre and she began to worry that she was slowly losing her mind.

“Ruth? What’s going on?” she asked. Her stepmother looked furious, but it wasn’t Yanni’s fault that she had fallen asleep on the kitchen floor. She hadn’t planned it.

"That's a good question, young lady. John called me earlier on. He found you sleeping in here when he showed up for work this morning. Apparently, you were here all night. Were you out again last night?" Ruth asked, placing her hands on her hips. Yanni glanced at John, the cook, and wondered why he had to rat her out like that.

She had always been nice to everyone, so she didn’t understand why the staff in the castle spread false rumours about her.

She didn’t know what to say, thinking hard about the last thing that she remembered. Sewing, yep. She was in her chamber last night because one of the maids was trying to teach her how to sew, but Yanni became bored almost instantly. She couldn’t focus and hunting was all she could think about, but she had no idea what happened after she left.

“Not sure. I can’t remember. I know that there was something going on in the local tavern. Dwarves and a musician—”

"Yanni, for heaven's sake. I told you before, you’re a princess and you shouldn’t be seen partying like a pleb in town. You’re going to ruin your reputation. It’s unacceptable that the maids found you asleep in here. People are going to talk!” her stepmother said, almost shouting now.

Yanni chewed her bottom lip, looking around. She knew that she looked like a right mess. Ruth was right. She was a princess and she never behaved like that when her father was alive. And she didn’t want to admit to Ruth that she couldn’t remember anything, because that would only confirm that she was out drinking with the locals last night.