“What should I do now?” he asked the woman.
“Are you making fun of me? Move it,” she guided him out of the room and then walked to whatever business she had to manage.
Loki was glad she was gone so he could pick up his Alicorn from the floor. He stomped out to the hallway of an enormous castle; it was the Schloss in earlier times. Everything was different but fancier. Gold and blue were two prominent colors in the decoration of the Schloss. He could hear the sound of celebration outside the castle. There must have been thousands of people outside for the princess’ birthday.
Loki wondered where Snow White was. He had already wasted time with this woman, and he couldn’t wake up before he accomplished his job.
Closer to the edge of the stairs, he watched a ceremony taking place down the hall. The king and the queen were sitting on their thrones, but Loki couldn’t see their faces. There were another king and queen standing opposite to the throne with a seven-year-old kid. He looked like a prince.
“God bless this meeting,” the standing king announced.
“Where is the princess?” asked the standing queen.
“I’m right here, my queen,” a young girl said, her voice coming from the hallway. The kings and queens downstairs turned their heads up to look at the princess talking from behind the banister. Loki retreated against the wall. Looking sideways, he saw her, Snow White, seven years old, looking down at them from the hallway.
“Good job, Loki,” he mocked himself. “Now, how are you going to have the heart to kill a seven year old girl?”
“I will be right down,” Snow White said. “Sorry if I was late,” she held the rim of her dress in her hands and strolled down the hallway to the stairs and the awaiting ceremony.
Loki stood silent, watching her walk the hallway the way elegant young princesses do. She tripped over her dress once and managed to pick herself up fast, making sure no one saw her. She sighed and mumbled something about how tight her shoes were, and that she hated being a princess, preferring to play outside with the other kids. “Silly shoes, silly etiquette. Everything in this castle is so boring,” she talked to herself like Loki usually did. Loki liked the idea that he wasn’t the only one who talked to himself. The two of them actually had a couple of things in common.
On her way to the stairs, she suddenly stopped in front of him.
Snow White turned her head slowly toward him. His heart raced so fast he thought he’d wake up from the dream. He pressed tighter on his Alicorn, unable to pull it up to stake her when she approached. If a Dreamhunter had to have the heart to kill a cute seven-year-old girl then Loki was definitely the lousiest in the world.
Snow stared at him with her doe eyes as if she had seen ice cream and wondered if she should try it. Loki heard her mother summon her again. Snow White craned her neck toward Loki and stuck out her tongue. Then she smiled a teasing smile.
“What are you going to do now, Loki Blackstar?” she whispered.
“You can see me?”
“No,” she shook her head. “I’m a crazy princess who sees imaginary friends. Of course, I see you. Did you think you could kill me so easily?”
“Snow White!” her mother’s demanding voice was peculiar. It had a twinge of unusual authority to it. Was that her mother, or her stepmother?
“Alright, I’m coming!” Snow White said. “You can’t kill me, Loki,” she turned back to him. “Try it. Go on,” she whispered, stepping closer to him. “I am stronger and I know you have a weakness for monster girls. Go on; pull that stake out from behind your back.”
Loki gritted his teeth. He hated that he didn’t have the nerve to stake her right at this moment. How long was he going to battle his fears? He tried his best to kill her, but something held him back.
“Ora Pedora,” he whispered, closing his eyes. He wondered if the Alicorn could give him strength, but it didn’t. What was all that talk about the Chanta? Why isn’t this Alicorn ever useful? “Ora Pedora,” he repeated, but nothing happened. This Alicorn was useless.
“I thought so,” Snow White laughed at him, and walked elegantly down the stairs. Loki walked to the edge to watch her from behind the banister.
Loki stood there helpless, still wondering how he was supposed to kill a seven year old, even if she were a demon.
Princess Snow White was being introduced to the prince from a neighboring kingdom. Loki couldn’t hear what his name was, but he heard the maids describe him as ‘Prince Charming.’
It seemed that the gathering was more of a political merge between kings and queens of both kingdoms. Loki heard them call it the Kingdom of Sorrow.