A voice echoed in Grimilde's consciousness. It was distant, faint, but she managed to hear it anyway. Darkness surrounded her: she was scared and cold. When she heard the voice again, she tried to follow it, walking blindly toward the source of the sound, until at a certain point she fell and her body crashed against the ground.
The pain knocked took her breath away, yet something was wrong: that pain didn't feel real...
She opened her eyes and saw an enormous expanse of white before her. It was a snowy landscape, and it took Grimilde a moment to recognize it.
She was at home, in the north of the continent.
"Hey, wait for me!" an immature female voice made her whip around. A few yards away, she saw a little blonde girl running to keep up with two older boys.
"You can't come with us... you'll slow us down!"
"I don't want to be left alone..." protested the little girl, who was never included when her brothers went outside to play. In truth, they weren't playing, but the little girl couldn't have known that.
"I said no. Grimilde, don't make me repeat myself... you know what happens when I get angry," Roland commented, his expression deadly serious. Grimilde was afraid of Roland; he reminded her a bit of her father when he got angry...
"Alright..." the little girl whispered weakly, before turning around and heading back inside the villa.
The servants greeted her silently, but didn't spare her a second glance. It had always been like this, just because her powers hadn't awakened yet. The little girl, however, believed in her potential: one day, she would amaze them all!
The Queen watched, paralyzed, as the scenes began to unfold before her eyes: she was forced to retrace part of her childhood, witnessing once again the abuse she had suffered at the hands of her family. Ignored, treated poorly, deprived of any affection or care, and detested. Some of her siblings couldn't stand her for some reason, although over the years Grimilde understood that nothing but hatred and envy flowed through that family. Her father, in particular, after his wife's death, had convinced himself that Grimilde was the cause of all evil. He always treated her with coldness, ignoring her every request, forcing her to stay cooped up in the villa studying endlessly. This continued until the day of the revelation. Grimilde tried to close her eyes to avoid reliving those scenes, but something forced her to look.
"Do you think you can outrun your past?" A deep, unfamiliar voice appeared behind her, and an invisible force made her fall to her knees.
She saw her family gathered in the villa's courtyard, all ready to judge her, with mocking smiles and cruel glares; her impassive father telling her to begin the summoning ritual.
She remembered the fear and profound sorrow she felt upon realizing that no one present would support her. The ritual she prepared was steeped in her resentment, her anger, her pain... she hadn't wanted to kill a crow to use its blood, but her father had forced her to. The drawings on the stone floor were crude, but they worked, and that day her powers revealed themselves in all their might.
It was the same moment she realized she had never understood a thing about her family.
"Why do we do these things, father?" She had asked him innocently back then, aware she wouldn't get an answer that time either. Her father had shaken his head, stating that discussing these things with her would be useless. She was to follow his orders, without question.
"Do you know now? Have you understood what you are... a lie, ever since you were born."
The scene changed, and she found herself back in the woods, enveloped once again by darkness. Only the moon allowed her to catch a glimpse of the surrounding vegetation. She whipped around toward the voice haunting her but sensed no one's presence.
"A secret guarded by your family for generations... a secret you discovered that fateful night..." The voice continued to narrate that nightmare until Grimilde had had enough. She covered her ears with her hands, collapsing to the ground and pulling her knees to her chest: "Stop it!"
"You never intended to tell Snow White the truth, did you? That innocent girl doesn't know who she's dealing with..."
"Be quiet!"
"How would she react knowing she lies in the bed of a—"
"Enough!"
Grimilde opened her eyes, sweating and short of breath: her whole body ached, and she was still terrified by the nightmare she had just escaped.
"Ilde?"
The Queen quickly turned toward the only person who could calm her with a simple look. Snow White grabbed the damp cloth and rushed to cool the wounded woman's sweaty skin. "My love, what's wrong? Is it the pain?"
"No..." Grimilde's trembling voice broke her heart.
Snow White stroked her face with reverence, waiting patiently for her to explain what was tormenting her.
"J-just a nightmare."
This time, Snow White couldn't hold back her tears seeing the person she loved suffer like that, whether in dreams or reality. She wiped her tears immediately, but Grimilde had already seen them. Saddened, she raised a hand to her beloved's pale cheeks and caressed her: she was weak, but she wanted to try to comfort her.
"My love, I'm sorry to make you cry... what a disaster I am."
"Don't say that." Snow White brushed the hair from her forehead and leaned down to leave a kiss there, trying to convey all her love in that small gesture.
"Something's wrong." William's voice reached Grimilde's ears, and she tried to look around: she hadn't had a chance to gather her bearings yet, given that she couldn't stay awake, but in that moment she felt slightly more present.
"Grimilde!" As soon as Adelina heard her, she moved into the cart to reach her: "How do you feel?" At the moment, she didn't care what was happening in the nearby camp; her attention was focused solely on her friend, who finally seemed lucid.
"Adelina..." the Queen smiled at her, squeezing her hand: "I'm better, thank you..."
"Did something happen?" Snow White asked, remaining by Grimilde's side.
William had joined them with a serious face: "Something about this situation doesn't sit right with me. We are at the border, but it's far too quiet..." then he turned to his friend who had just woken up: "Grimilde... I'm glad you're feeling better. We were all worried." The man's tormented gaze struck Grimilde, who had never seen William in such a state.
That shared moment didn't last long, interrupted by voices coming from outside the cart that drew their attention. Iza pulled back the curtain to enter the covered space with them, leaving Scarlet alone to handle the horses.
"Stay quiet and put out the light. We have reason to believe there are bandits nearby."
"Bandits?" Adelina gasped, while Snow White immediately grabbed the dagger she had with her, unsheathing it. She passed another to William, who gripped it so tightly his knuckles turned white. He looked at the weapon with fear, but his face remained impassive, tense.
"We'll try to deal with them as quickly as possible." Iza left in a hurry, casting one last look at her Queen, who acknowledged her with a nod. Grimilde nodded seriously and watched her go. She was grateful for their protection and wished she could help them, but it was impossible in her condition.
"Do you think they really are bandits? What are they doing out and about after a catastrophe?" Their conversation continued in hushed tones as William moved to put out all the lights and position himself near the exit.
"Will, it's dangerous," the Queen whispered, then turned to Adelina and Snow White: "You should lie down with me to be safe."