It was early the next morning when I was in the training field that Garret asked if I wanted to go and gather some herbs for my Healing class. I agreed thinking it would be fun. Later as we set off towards the forest he seemed nervous and apprehensive. When I asked he replied, "Tis merely the thought of bears." This seemed odd for some reason but I couldn’t place it. I shrugged it off and enjoyed the sunny day. We were about an hour into our ride when he stopped and told me to get off my horse. "We can only reach the spot by foot, Milady." We walked deeper and deeper into tangling, snagging brambles. He was ahead of me when he suddenly turned around with a knife in his hand. He leaped toward me and I dodged him with an unbelieving yelp. As he came toward me again I knew I had to do something to stay alive, so I did the only thing I could do. When he came close again I pulled my own knife out of it’s sheath and threw it at him as hard as I could. When I had puled the knife out he had chuckled darkly and an arrogant look came on his face. That look was wiped off when he looked down and saw my dagger sprouting out of his chest. He slid down to his knees with a surprised gurgle. His last word were, "I hope the Queen doesn’t find out." And then he died. I sat down with a shocked look on my face and began to cry. Killing him was horrible. The feeling I felt inside was like I had been stabbed. After a while though I stood and made my way back to the horses. I knew I wouldn’t go home, but where else could I? I remembered how in the old stories that strong, smart people could survive out in the woods and I knew that I could also. I turned towards the horses but stopped. They were gone! "Blood and bloody horse feathers and sheep livers!" I slowly turned away from the castle’s direction and walked further into the forest.

A few hours later I was tired, hungry, thirsty and wishing for some sign of humanity. The trees had grown much larger and I was feeling very small. As I used what little woodsman skills I had to figure out what direction I was going I noticed some smoke drifting up out of a clearing up ahead. I went over and peeked out behind a tree and saw a house that looked normal-‘Normal?’ I thought and realized that this house was HUGE. It made the trees look only like big trees instead of giants. As I neared I heard childish laughter coming from the other side of the clearing but after several minutes there was no sound other than my breathing. I went over to the door and timidly knocked. When there was no answer I opened the door and crept in. I reassured myself that once they knew I was a Princess they would gladly let me in. When my eyes adjusted I gasped, Everything was massive! It was a house made for giants. I walked through the house ogling. The chair seats started at my head and I could barely touch the table edge when I jumped up. The dirty plates were like shields and the cups were the size of wine kegs. There was a bit of food on the table which I ate greedily. The beds, oh the beds! Huge and soft they were impossible to resist. I flopped down in the softness and sighed. My last thought was, ‘I hope they’re friendly’ and I drifted off to sleep.

"Mirror, mirror on the Wall, Who’s the fairest of them all?"

"You are, your Majesty." Said the Mirror. Of course he didn’t bother telling her that Snowe White was still alive but that in her current state she was a mess. ‘Talk about a bad hair day’ he muttered. "What was that?" Queen Carmondy asked. "Nothing Milady." The Queen turned back the other mirror covering the whole north wall, satisfied. She picked up her brush and started humming happily. "I’m the Fairest" she thought. "And I always will be."

A few hours later I was awakened by a finger poking me in the side. "Is it alive?" A young voice wondered. "Maybe it’s lost." Another one said. I opened my eyes and bit back a scream. Standing over me were seven of the biggest children I had ever seen. Not that they were fat, No! They were TALL. Ranging from 8 to 12 feet tall. "Whoa" I said. They jumped as soon as I said that. It took a while to convince them that I was human but they wouldn’t believe that I was regular. They were sure they were midgets, because of the size of the trees and the rest of the forest.

I stayed with the minors who desperately needed a house cleaner and a cook. As I stayed with them I found something out that I had no idea I could do.

I was exasperated. I couldn't find the children! They had been missing all morning and I needed help reaching the top shelf to get the crackers. As I stood there looking up wishing with all my might to be able to reach that shelf I flew up five feet into the air. With a startled shriek I dropped back to the ground, landing hard. I sat there for a moment before going outside and seeing what else I could do.