Samantha R. Cichella - A New Successor

Wolf was running. It was dark out and he was in the middle of a forest. He was running to get somewhere, but he didn’t know where. He just knew that if he didn’t get there soon he would be to late. He was almost there. He could feel it. He saw a door, just in the middle of the forest. Nothing around the door, it looked as if it would lead to nowhere. He threw open the door...

Wolf sat up sweating. It was very early morning. The sun was just starting to come up. He looked around, and saw that he was the only one up. Everyone else was still sleeping soundly. Tony was snoring, and Wolf was surprised that he didn’t wake himself up, he was snoring so loud. He looked down at Virginia and smiled. He lay back down so that he was facing her.

His thoughts went back to the dream he just woke up from. He had gotten further this time. He had actually gotten to a door. He had woken up before he could see what was beyond the door though. He knew it meant something. In the Nine Kingdoms, you should never underestimate your dreams. They almost always meant something. The only thing that bothered him was the feeling he got during the dream. It was as if he was trying to save someone but failed. He just didn’t know who it was. He wanted to finish the dream, but was afraid of the ending. He closed his eyes and drifted off into a light sleep.

Virginia was in a white cavern. It white because it was snow. She knew that snow was supposed to be cold but she couldn’t feel anything. She looked around and realized that she recognized the cave. She looked to the right expecting to see the tomb and there sitting on the steps to it was Snow White.

Snow White smiled and gestured for Virginia to come over to her. Virginia did so and sat down next to the great queen.

“Hello Virginia.”

“How did I get here? The last thing I remember was being going to sleep in the woods...Am I dreaming?”

Snow White nodded her head. “Yes, there was something I wanted to tell you. First of all, I’m very proud of you. I know that what you did was very hard on you, but you did the right thing.”

“What makes you say that? I killed my own mother!” Virginia felt hot tears start to run down her cheeks. She didn’t want to yell at Snow, but it still hurt inside. Snow White didn’t seem to notice the tone in her voice though. Her eyes were sad but knowing.

“Yet by killing her, you were able to release her soul. You see the Swamp Witch had imprisoned her. She took her will and was then able to control her. By poisoning her it was able to free her. Didn’t you notice that during her last few seconds, she seemed different? She was able to come back to her old self long enough to say goodbye.”

“But when I was talking to her, in her mirror room, it seemed like a part of her still remembered me. Like she was trying to come back.”

“Yes, but that only made the Swamp Witch work harder at controlling her. You would have never been able to free her any other way. I’m sorry Virginia. I know you have gone through so much, but I am proud of you. You saved a great many people. You’re a heroine and a lot of girls now look up to you.”

“I never wanted to be a heroine. I didn’t do it just for the fame or anything.”

Snow White smiled. “And that’s what makes you one. Remember when Wolf told you that you had the strongest will he had ever seen?” Virginia nodded. “He wasn’t lying. There are very few people who, if given the chance, will do the right thing.”

“But how do I know if it’s the right thing?”

“If you listen to your heart, you’ll know.” Snow put her arm around Virginia and Virginia put her head on her shoulder. “Virginia, you’re not so cold anymore.” They both smiled. “You’ve come along way since coming though the traveling mirror.”

“I think we all have. Dad’s changed a lot. I was noticing that yesterday.”

“Yes. My grandson has also come a long way. I’m very proud of all of you. I know Wendell often tries to do whatever he thinks I would do. But he just needs to follow his heart. I think he’s been doing fine job so far.”

They sat there in silence for a few minutes. Then Virginia thought of something that she wanted to know. Snow had been waiting for it.

“Snow White? Is there another witch or evil queen now? I mean, Wolf said that he heard the Peeps talking about a woman who was controlling them.”

“I cannot give you all the answers right now. But what I will tell you is that my stepmother has a new successor. She is the one behind this. She will try and take over the Fourth Kingdom, and then go for the other kingdoms. This will be very hard on you as well. You will need to rely on your family to get through it. I won’t tell you anymore other than you all must stick together. I told you that once before and I will say it again. She will try and eliminate you each. She knows how powerful you are together. That was why Wolf was kidnapped. She will not be defeated easily. If you all stay together and united, she will have a much harder time. Evelyn’s destiny is tied with all of yours as well. She is shy but she is also very strong. Let her travel with you.”

“But what can we do? We don’t have any clue where this new successor is or how we can defeat her. Are we supposed to just wait for her to come to us?” Virginia knew she was sounding a bit sarcastic but she didn’t understand why she could never just get a straight answer in this place.

Snow White gave her a disapproving look. “I cannot give you all the answers. That is something you must find for yourself. But I will tell you this. She is watching you through magic mirrors. Fight fire with fire. I haven’t been shielding your images from her like I did before. That was because she already knew who she was dealing with. But I can start shielding you now if you like. It can only be for a few days though, otherwise she will get suspicious. I’d rather her not know I’m helping you. It will make her underestimate you a little. But by shielding you that should give you enough time to tell the others what I have told you. Then you could come up with a plan and she won’t know anything about it. You must go now. I will see you again soon.” Snow White stood up and Virginia followed.

The next thing Virginia knew, she was back in the forest curled up next to Wolf. She looked over and saw that he was still asleep. She went to sit up and looked at her watch. It was about 7:30. She quietly got up so that she wouldn’t wake anyone. Virginia decided to go down to the little creek she the night before. She walked as silently as she could out of the camp.

Wolf watched her go with his eyes half closed. He had woken up when she had sat up. He got up as well and silently followed her, keeping a good distance behind. He watched as she bent down and took a sip from the creek. She then went and sat up against a tree so that her back was facing him. Wolf quietly approached her, not making a single noise. When he was right behind her, he put his hand on her mouth.

Virginia tried to scream but she couldn’t get her mouth open. She struggled and sent her elbow flying behind her. She heard a grunt and the hand was released. She turned around to see Wolf hunched over holding his stomach and grinning.

“You are one dynamic girl.” He laughed and sat down. Virginia went over and hit him in the arm.

“Don’t you do that again! You almost gave me a heart attack!” Virginia crossed her arms and stood glaring at him.

“I’m sorry lamb chop. I couldn’t help it.” Wolf held out his arms for her to come and sit with him but she stayed standing glaring at him. Wolf put on his most pitiful puppy dog pout.

“Oh no, you’re not getting me this time.” But the longer Wolf held it, the quicker Virginia softened. Finally she relaxed her face and uncrossed her arms. Wolf held out his arms again and Virginia went and sat on his lap. Wolf put his face in her hair and breathed in her scent. It was the loveliest thing he had ever smelt. It never failed to calm him down or make him relax.

“What were you doing down here? Sitting all by yourself?” Wolf’s voice was full of concern. He didn’t want Virginia going off by herself like that. Who knew what was hiding in these woods? He didn’t want anything to happen to her.

“I’m sorry. I was just thinking about a dream I had.”

“What dream was it?” Wolf didn’t want to tell her about his dream. It scared him too much, especially if it was Virginia that he was supposed to be rescuing in the dream. But if she asked, he would tell her. He had never lied to her and didn’t want to start now. Actually the only time he had ever lied to her was when he had told her that he was serving the queen. He had seen the look on her face and it had broken his heart. But he had kept his composure in front of the queen.

“Well, it wasn’t really a dream I don’t think. I know it happened, so it wasn’t that I was imagining it.” It sounded to Wolf like she was still trying to sort it all out. So he just let her be. He didn’t push her, knowing that she would tell him as soon as she was ready.

“Anyway, I was talking to Snow White.”

“You visited Snow White again?” Virginia had told him of her time with the great queen before. He knew that Snow White had a special liking for Virginia. Virginia should be honored. If Snow White was a fairy godmother and she chose to help Virginia, it was no small thing.

“Yes, you could say that. I woke up and I was in her cave in Dragon Mountain. We talked for awhile.” Virginia didn’t want to relate everything they had discussed. Wolf sensed this and didn’t badger her for more.

“I asked her about the woman the Peeps were talking about. She said it’s the Swamp Witch’s new successor. She couldn’t tell us much, but she did say that it would be really hard on me and that I would need to rely on my family to get through it. Snow also said that we all need to stick together. Whoever this new successor is, she’s going to try and eliminate us since she knows how strong we are together.” Wolf remembered the old beggar lady in the Disenchanted Forest, who had had Virginia try and break the sticks. He had thought it was a good lesson and realized it would come in handy again. “Oh, and she said that Evelyn is to stay with us. She said something about how she may be shy but she is also very strong.”

“I don’t think we’ll have much of a problem convincing Wendell to let her stay.” They both laughed. “Do you think we should stop by Kissingtown? It may not have worked for us, but it might speed their relationship up a bit.”

“Wolf! You let them do it on their own. You stay out of it. Besides, some good came out of it. When you were gone, I realized how much I really did like you. I was constantly thinking about you. That’s how I realized my true feelings. Haven’t you ever heard the saying ‘You don’t know what you have until it’s gone?’ I’m just lucky that I was given a second chance. I won’t make the same mistake again.” She turned and they kissed. When they were done, she turned and leaned against him. They sat there silently for a while, watching all the little animals go by. They saw a family of chipmunks, a deer, a rabbit, and some squirrels. At about 8 o’clock they got up and headed back to the camp.

Wendell was already up and preparing breakfast. Tony was still snoring away and Evelyn was beginning to move around. Wolf and Virginia helped Wendell prepare the food. Wolf tended to the bacon, Wendell got the bread out and began cutting slices of it, and Virginia got out some oranges and bananas. By the time they were done getting ready, Evelyn was up. She came over and Virginia went over to wake up her dad.

Five minutes later, they were all eating. Wolf kept glancing at Virginia to see if she was going to tell the others about her dream. But if she was, she gave no sign that she intended to. He turned to find Wendell looking at Evelyn again. Evelyn looked up and caught Wendell looking. They both blushed and looked away. Wolf smiled and went back to eating his bacon sandwiches. He knew exactly how Wendell was feeling. He himself hadn’t been able to take his eyes off of Virginia, even now. They all finished eating and started packing up. When they were almost done, Wolf saw Virginia pick up the canteens and walk over to Evelyn. He watched as Virginia pointed in a direction and Evelyn walked off. He shot her a curious glance but she just went over to where Wendell and Tony were tying down all the blankets to the side of the horses. Understanding what she had been doing, he went over there as well.

“Dad, Wendell, I had a dream last night. Not really a dream, but an out-of-body thingy. But I talked to Snow White.” Virginia then went on to explain what she had told Wolf earlier. “Oh, and I asked her where this new successor was and how we’re supposed to defeat her. All she was able to tell me was that the successor is watching us with mirrors. Snow White said she would shield us until noon today so that I’m able to tell you everything and we can come up with a plan. She said to fight fire with fire. I think she means for us to use magic mirrors as well. I know she said to keep Evelyn with us, but I wanted to tell you this alone first.”

Everyone nodded and they were all silent for a while, contemplating what they could possibly do. Eventually Tony spoke up.

“Why don’t we use Gustav? Remember that old mirror in Dragon Mountain? He knew everything. He could probably tell us who this lady is and where we can find her.”

“That’s a great idea. We should go immediately. If we travel fast enough, we should reach there by tomorrow evening.” Wendell turned to finish gathering everything together quicker.

“But wait, are the dwarves still mad at Dad for breaking all their mirrors? Last time we were there, they wanted us dead.” Virginia didn’t want to go back there if they were going to end up fleeing again. She didn’t know if she would be so lucky this time in finding a way out.

“Don’t worry, we’ve made amends with them. They are still a bit bitter and probably won’t allow Antony back in the library, but they forgave us. I think it had something to do with me being related to Snow White. Normally, they aren’t that forgiving. Especially since Antony broke almost a hundred of their precious mirrors.”

“It was because of my bad luck. It wasn’t my fault.”

“Yeah, but who broke the traveling mirror in the first place?” Virginia raised her eyebrow at him.

“Also, not my fault. Well, not entirely anyway. Hey, at least I was trying to get it back, you were off having lunch. I was the one sneaking up to where the Huntsman was at and climbing all over roofs.”

Virginia snorted. “A lot of good that did you. It probably would have been better off just being left to the Huntsman.”

“You know, you could be at least a little grateful, its not easy for a man of my age to be traveling all over the place chasing a mirror and getting chased by three trolls and a crazy Huntsman.”

“You’re right, I’m sorry. I should have given you a little more credit. After all, the most exercise you had before coming here was walking from the refrigerator to the chair in the family room.” That was when Wolf and Wendell moved in between them. Wolf took Virginia by the shoulders and made her look at him.

“Virginia.” He whined. “Remember what Snow White said? We all have to stick together. Give Tone a break. We all know he’s not the most coordinated person...”

“I heard that!” Tony shouted. Wendell was also trying to get him to calm down.

“Sorry Tone!” Wolf shouted back. He turned back to Virginia. “Okay? Now say you’re sorry.” Wolf pushed Virginia over to Tony and they both stood there for a minute awkwardly. Finally Virginia said, “I’m sorry Dad. I guess old habits die hard.”

“Apology accepted. Just try a little harder next time.” Virginia glared at him and turned to walk away but Wolf stopped her.

“Tony!”

“Okay, okay! I was just kidding. Virginia, I’m sorry. I was acted like a three-year-old. Can you forgive me?”

Virginia nodded and she went up to him and hugged him. Wolf grinned and pretended to wipe his eyes. “I’m just so proud of you guys.”

Virginia laughed and Tony glared at him. Wendell clapped his hands together and said, “Okay, now that that’s settled. We should get going. Oh! Where’s Evelyn, shouldn’t she be back by now?” Everyone turned and realized that she still wasn’t back yet.

Everyone went in the direction she left in. Wolf led since he was following her scent. They found her sitting on a log next to the stream. Her eyes were swollen from crying. She stood up and hurriedly wiped her eyes. But they had already seen her. She smiled to try and act natural. Virginia went up to her.

“Evelyn, what’s the matter?” She sat her back down on the log and sat down next to her. Wendell figured that they might want some time alone. Evelyn was obviously still hurting from something and he didn’t want to pressure her into telling everyone. He touched Wolf and Tony on the arm and gestured that they should leave. The three of them left and headed back to where the horses were. Virginia watched them go. Snow White had told her once before that someday she would be a guide to other lost girls also. So she figured she should start here.

“Evelyn? You want to tell me what’s wrong? You don’t have to, but sometimes its better to get things off your chest.”

Evelyn sniffed and stayed silent. Virginia didn’t want to push her to hard. She wanted to respect her privacy. Eventually, she spoke. Her voice was a little cracked, so she cleared her throat and tried again.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be acting like this. I guess I’m just a little over emotional.”

“It’s okay. I understand completely. I’ve been going through a hard time lately too. I’m still getting over my mother’s death.”

Evelyn started crying again. Virginia gently put her arm around her and let her cry. After awhile, she stopped and tried talking again.

“I’m sorry. I just lost my family not too long ago also. I don’t really have anybody left. I guess it was just hard on me because I saw how you guys are all really close and have your own little family.” Virginia thought about saying that she didn’t see it that way a few minutes ago, but thought better of it.

Instead, she just said, “I’m sorry about you’re family. When did it happen?”

“Almost three months ago. I had been gone at the time, traveling to a neighboring village to gather supplies. I came back and found... found...” She sobbed and started crying again. It was a hard topic to talk about. Virginia realized this and let her cry. When she was done again, she wiped her eyes on her sleeve and continued. “My parents owned an apple orchard. When I came back I found my parents and my little sister dead. It was the Evil Queen. She had killed them because they had found out too much about the false Prince Wendell. When I got there, I had found all the dead trolls in the back with all the trees.” Virginia gasped and tried to fight back her own tears. It didn’t work though. Soon, she was crying as well.

“I’m so sorry.” She got up and took off in the other direction. Evelyn watched her go confused and still upset. It had helped to tell someone. She felt she could trust Virginia and everyone else. She also knew that Virginia had killed the Evil Queen, which could have been why she trusted her so much. But she didn’t know that Virginia was the Evil Queen’s daughter. She walked back to camp to let them know that she had run off. She figured Wolf could sniff her out better than she could follow. When she got back to the camp she watched as everyone turned to her.

“Evelyn, are you alright? Where’s Virginia?” Wendell looked around but hadn’t seen Virginia behind Evelyn.

“S-She took off. She started crying and ran off.” Wolf immediately took off in the direction of the creek. Tony followed. Wendell wanted to go also, but saw that Evelyn was also still upset. He watched Wolf and Tony go and turned back to Evelyn who was now sitting down staring at her feet. He went over to her cautiously.

“Evelyn?” He sat down beside her as she started crying again. He hesitantly put his arm around her. She leant against him and continued to cry. Wendell realized how good it felt to have her against him. He tried to concentrate on calming her down instead. He sat there as she cried herself to sleep. She had been so worn out lately, from constant wondering and was exhausted. Wendell let her stay there and kept watching in the direction that the others had gone in, hoping that Virginia was all right, and wondering what had caused her to take off.

Wolf got to the creek and could smell the spot where Virginia and Evelyn had been sitting. He followed Virginia’s scent as it ran off. Tony got to the creek just as Wolf was leaving. He jogged to keep him in sight. I’m getting to old for this, he thought as he followed Wolf in and out of trees.

Virginia was sitting on a boulder crying. She knew that she shouldn’t have run off on Evelyn like that. She was just so upset. It was hard dealing with the fact that her mother had caused everybody so much pain. Her mother that used to tuck her in at night and read her stories. It was hard dealing with everyone speaking about her mother in hushed whispers because the name was so evil to them. Children would probably be told bedtime stories about how evil the queen was. Virginia heard a twig snap and spun around.

Wolf was standing there, looking a little winded from the running. But she saw the relief in his eyes when he saw that she was all right. She saw Tony run up behind Wolf. He was completely out of breath. When he saw Virginia, he sighed and leaned up against a tree. Wolf walked up to Virginia and she stood up and ran into his arms. She sobbed into his shoulder. When Tony had caught his breath he walked slowly up to them.

“Virginia, honey, are you alright?” Virginia pulled away from Wolf. But when she saw her dad she started crying again. Tony and Wolf led her back over to the boulder and sat her down, each sitting on the other side of her. Virginia then told them what Evelyn had told her. Tony looked at Wolf. They both had a troubled expression on their faces. Tony had been in the kingdoms longer than Virginia and was used to hearing about all the things his ex-wife had done. It hurt to hear that his Christine had done all those awful things. He hugged Virginia and they all sat there quietly for awhile.

Wolf went to get up to leave them alone, but Tony shook his head no. “You’re part of the family now.” Wolf smiled and sat back down. When Virginia was done crying they all slowly made their way back to where Wendell and Evelyn were. When they got there, they found Wendell sitting with his back up against the tree and Evelyn fast asleep with her head on his shoulder. Wendell watched them enter and sighed as he saw that Virginia was okay. Wolf grinned when he saw the two. When Wendell realized what he was grinning about, he blushed.

“She was upset and she fell asleep crying,” he whispered, not wanting to wake her.

“Good job Wendy.” Wolf grinned.

“I’m quite sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Wendell tried to act confused but was never very good at lying. Then Evelyn started to stir. She opened her eyes and looked around her. She noticed that she was leaning against Wendell and quickly sat up. She got up and seeing Virginia, went over to her.

“Virginia? Are you okay? I’m sorry if I said anything.”

“No, Evelyn, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have run off like that. It was just hard on me. You see, the Evil Queen, she was...my mother.”

Evelyn gasped. She had never heard that part of the story before. Traveling through all the villages, she had heard the story of the Four Who Saved the Nine Kingdoms, but it had never mentioned that the queen was Virginia’s mother. “Virginia, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” Virginia shook her head and they hugged. It was as if they now had a special bond. Evelyn was shocked that Virginia had to kill her own mother. They had both suffered a great deal.

Eventually everyone was finally ready to go. They all got on their horses and headed back to the road. Meanwhile, Wendell explained to Evelyn what their new plans were.

“Apparently, my grandmother’s stepmother has a new successor. We don’t know who it is or where she is, so we’re going to travel to Dragon Mountain to ask Gustav. He is an ancient mirror that knows just about everything. If you like, you may join us. That is, if you don’t have anywhere else to go. You’re welcome to stay.”

“I would like that. Thank you. I don’t have anywhere else to be. I’ve sort of been wandering for the past couple of months.” Wendell nodded and they rode on. Evelyn rode up next to Wendell and Tony rode behind with Virginia and Wolf, who still shared the same horse.

“I think those two would make a great couple,” Tony whispered so that only Wolf and Virginia could hear. They smiled and nodded their agreement. The group traveled on the rest of the day. Only stopping once, long enough to make a quick lunch.