Snow White and the Seven Dwarf Planets: A Space Age Fairy Tale (Star-Crossed Tales) Read online

  "Oh, you weren't? Most people being chased by the Queen's guard are in a bit of trouble. But I'm sure you could've handled them. There were what... Five? Ten of them tops. That little blaster of yours definitely could've made quick work of them. And you obviously know your way around a spaceship." His eyes still sparkled and that only served to make her blood boil. He'd interfered with her plans and now she was stuck on this ship with him until they could find somewhere safe to port — or until he dropped her off unceremoniously on a remote outpost she couldn't escape from.

  "Are you mocking me?" she asked, her voice picking up in pitch. Didn't he know who she was? Didn't he know he couldn't talk to a princess like that? She balled her hands into fists and unclenched them. Of course he didn't know who she was. No one even knew if she was alive or dead.

  Or, at least, they hadn't before her stunt tonight. She hoped the Zomerians remembered the smoke signals of old. She hoped they got her message. Your Princess is alive and she's taking her Empire back.

  Hunter rolled his eyes and held up his hands. "I wouldn't dream of it. It's called joking, ever heard of it?"

  "Yes, of course, but it hardly seems appropriate at a time like this." She was letting him get to her and that was something she couldn't do. Keeping her annoyance in check was as critical as keeping her sadness and anger tucked safely away. She couldn't leave any openings.

  "Look, you're safe now, okay? I'm not going to take you back to the guards. I just wanna know who you are. I think I've earned that much," he said, gesturing out to the starfield in front of their ship, the green planet of Zomer shrinking until she couldn't even see it anymore.

  She softened a little, unclenching her jaw, letting her folded arms drop to her sides. He had saved her from a mess of trouble. She'd be no good to her people if she was captured before she could even confront the Queen.

  "Why don't you take a seat?" Hunter said, indicating the chair next to his. She selected a different one, a little further away from him, resting the blaster in her lap, just in case. There was still something about him that didn't add up.

  She remembered what he said about the Queen deserving all the trouble she got and Snow felt a little safer. Maybe this man could be an ally of hers, at least until her next stop.

  "So...?" Hunter prompted.

  She looked at him blankly, not knowing what he wanted from her.

  "Your name?" he pressed, answering her unspoken question.

  She sighed, her hands clasped, resting on the blaster, remembering all the times Plick told her to trust nothing, his voice screaming in her head right now. But she didn't know if she could do this completely alone. She'd been away from society, away from the reach of the Empire for so long, there were too many things she didn't know. Like the scouts. What other new technology had the Queen implemented in her years away? She needed someone to confide in, even if she didn't trust him completely. Even if she didn't let her guard down. She needed help and there was no denying it.

  She tried to slow the race of her pulse, and tried — in vain — to silence Plick's voice screaming at her. Finally, squeezing her clasped fingers together, she met Hunter's eyes and took a deep breath, ready to take a leap of faith. "My name is Snow. Snow White."

  Chapter Two

  Hunter

  Hunter was careful to arch his brows, widening his eyes and letting his jaw go slack just the tiniest amount. He had to give off the impression of being surprised.

  But of course, he wasn't surprised at all. He'd known who she was for a while now. Days, even. Tracking her under the Queen's orders, trying to figure out her next move.

  He'd never expected her to blow the damn palace to smithereens. He'd have hell to pay for that, he was sure, but he couldn't deny that he was impressed by the Princess. She'd shown more backbone than he expected.

  And even though she'd made his job easy, even though he could deliver her straight to the Queen right now, there was more at stake here. He couldn't let her go without figuring out her plan.

  "Snow..." he whispered, like he was awed with her presence. "You're alive? Everyone thought..."

  He watched her fingers curl inward, flexing her hands into fists, but her face stayed even, neutral. "Well, now they can stop thinking that," she said, her syllables clipped, her voice tight.

  "Wow," Hunter said, playing his role beautifully if he did say so himself. "It's an honor to have you on board, Princess."

  She winced only a fraction — if he wasn't so used to looking for that kind of thing, he might not have seen it — and gave him a stiff nod. "Thank you."

  Hunter leaned forward in his seat, his elbows on his knees his chin resting in his palms. "So where have you been all this time?" he asked, doing his best to sound enthralled.

  "It doesn't matter," she said, her voice cracking as she cleared her throat. "I just couldn't stay there any longer."

  Hunter nodded as if he understood. He did though. He didn't know the exact circumstances of what had driven the Princess from hiding, but he knew the Queen had found her and botched an assassination attempt. Now, she didn't want to take any chances. She wanted the Princess delivered to her in person. And Hunter was the delivery boy. He sat back, dropping his hands to his lap, his fingers digging into his knees at the thought of what would be done to her after she was delivered.

  But that wasn't his worry. He had one job to do. And that job didn't involve thinking about what happened after a delivery. And if he wanted to stop being a delivery boy and ensure himself too valuable to be killed indiscriminately, there was only one course of action — impress the Queen enough that she promoted him.

  To do that, he’d have to do more than bring down Snow White.

  "People have hoped that you would return..." he said, giving her a once-over. He only vaguely remembered photos of the Princess as a child, her dark hair always in curls, her pale complexion set off by a rosy tint in her cheeks and freckles across her nose. It was difficult to merge the image of that smiling little girl with the wild woman who sat before him now, her hair tangled with leaves and twigs, her face smudged with dirt, a dark haunted look clouding her eyes. This was not the savior the Empire was expecting. She looked like she'd done nothing but live in the forest for months, her clothes ratty and filthy.

  "Well, I have," she said, staring past him at the stars beyond.

  Hunter blew out a heavy breath and leaned back in his chair, swiveling to follow her as she stood and walked toward the windscreen, her hands clasped behind her, the blaster left on her seat. Good, she was opening up to him, even if it was the oddest form of opening up he'd ever witnessed.

  "So what was your plan, exactly?"

  She turned to him, her forehead creasing. "What do you mean?"

  "I mean, you torched the palace, right?" She said nothing, but her tight-lipped expression told him all he needed to know. "And then what? You didn't have an escape plan? Seems pretty lucky that I was there at all."

  She folded her arms in front of her, her hip cocked in defiance. "I could've figured it out."

  "Yeah, I'm sure. Stealing a ship without knowing how to fly?"

  Her mouth opened and closed, her eyes wide. "I—" She dipped her head. "I guess I didn't think that far ahead. I was supposed to be long gone by the time the fire took hold, but..."

  Hunter nodded. "It was a very pretty fire," he agreed.

  She narrowed her eyes at him, almost like she was trying to determine if this was another joke or not. "That's not it... It doesn't matter. You're right. I'm lucky you were there."

  Hunter sat back with a big grin. "And you tried to get rid of me."

  Snow pressed her lips together so tight that they nearly disappeared and Hunter had to hold in a little frown of his own. She didn't joke, she didn't understand his attempts at humor or levity, he briefly wondered if the Princess was even human. But he remembered the force of the palace's explosion rocking the earth, sending her off balance, his hand reaching out to catch her by the arm, her skin soft and warm
under his fingertips…

  Definitely human.

  "So, Princess, what's the plan?" he asked, swiveling back and forth in his chair as the ship sped off in an unspecified direction. He hadn't had a coordinate to point to, just 'away from here' had been good enough for the moment, but now that the guards were long behind them, he needed to pry her open to see what made her tick. He needed to know her plans. To know who else she'd involved with her schemes to take over the Empire.

  He could navigate toward the palace, take her straight to the Queen, but after the destruction of the Summer Palace, he wasn’t sure delivering the Princess would be enough to save him from the Queen’s wrath. He’d much rather ensure his survival by delivering more than the Queen expected.

  She crossed her arms, shielding herself from him, even subconsciously. He couldn't push her too far or she might never open up to him at all. "Why would I tell you?"

  He didn't miss a beat. "I need to tell the ship to go somewhere? Unless you'd like me to just deposit you at the next planet we come to," he added.

  Snow's eyes widened and he saw for the first time the depths of those dark pools, the intelligence sparkling there and the racing thoughts that flashed through her expression almost too quickly to see. She actually looked... frightened.

  Hunter sighed and dragged his palm over his face with a frustrated groan. "Look, I'm just teasing you. Obviously I'm not going to leave you stranded on some deserted uninhabitable planet." The Queen wouldn’t like that one bit.

  Snow looked away, the delicate muscles in her throat working as she swallowed. "You would if you were sane."

  "We've already determined that I'm not. And since I helped you escape, I'm in this just as deep as you are. The Queen has no mercy, you know."

  She nodded once, her jaw tight, her eyes focused on something far-off and invisible. "I know."

  "So, the way I see it, you wouldn't have done what you did unless you had a plan to take her down for good. And that's probably my only way out of this mess, so... You know, I wanna help."

  Her gaze snapped over to him, those dark shadowed eyes raking up and down his body, still slouched in the Captain's seat. She was trying to decide if she could trust him, he saw it and he tried to look as unassuming as possible. He focused on the one part of his statement that was true and tried to project an aura of honesty. Snow defeating the Queen probably was his only way out of the mess of his life, but he didn't think the poor girl stood a chance. Especially not since she'd already found herself caught in his spider's web. She didn't know it yet, but she'd walked straight into his trap and was already doomed.

  A tiny part of Hunter wished it could be different. Wished that he had any faith of anyone being able to defeat the Queen, but he knew it was impossible. He knew how firm her grip on the Empire was. How determined she was to tighten that grip until no one under her rule even had the space to draw air into their lungs.

  The best he could hope for was a better position in the Queen’s Empire. And that all started with the Princess.

  Snow went back to her seat, holstering the blaster before she sank into it, drawing her feet up under her. "I'm afraid I don't really have a plan," she said, licking her lips to wet them, looking down at her hands folded in her lap.

  Hunter blew out a long breath and shook his head. "Well, that's going to be a problem."

  Chapter Three

  Snow

  She watched him carefully, her mind still swirling with questions and possibilities. What she'd said hadn't been exactly true, but it wasn't technically a lie, either. Snow didn't have a plan, not really, but she had an idea of what to do, based on years of Plick's teachings. She wished he was still around to guide her, to help her figure out the next step.

  That familiar lump of grief pressed against her windpipe and Snow swallowed. She couldn't think about that. Couldn't let herself give into the sadness. That was how the Queen won. She wouldn't let her win.

  "Who are you?" she asked Hunter, watching his face for any of the tell-tale signs of dishonesty.

  He tilted his head to the side, his brow arched in a question. "I believe I've already introduced myself, Princess. Name's Hunter."

  She fought the urge to roll her eyes. Princesses did not roll their eyes. "Yes, but that's only your name. Who are you? What do you do? Why were you on Zomer watching my fire and invading my privacy?"

  A slow smile spread Hunter's lips and Snow wanted to scowl at it until it disappeared. Instead, she kept her face as neutral as she could, focusing on keeping her breaths steady. "Is there some expectation of privacy in a public forest I'm unaware of?" he asked.

  This time Snow did roll her eyes. She couldn't even help it. "You know what I meant," she said, her molars gnashing together.

  Hunter shrugged, still grinning. "I'm just a merchant. Was leaving Zomer after a shipment and saw the blaze. Have to admit, I'm a sucker for a pretty fire," he said, his eyes glittering even with the distance between them.

  There was nothing in his body language to suggest he was lying, but that wasn't enough evidence for her. She'd spent her whole life learning to master her emotions, what was to say he hadn't done the same? That was precisely the kind of thing a spy would do.

  "Awfully small ship for a merchant," she said, looking around the tiny space for effect.

  Hunter didn't even pause a moment before shrugging again, that smile never faltering. "Luxury goods don't take up much cargo space."

  "Your clothes are rather plain for a luxury merchant," she said, barreling right into the next question.

  Her eyes roved over his form, clad in all black, a form-fitting style that showed off his physique without flaunting it. It was the kind of outfit that afforded free and easy movement, lightweight and silent. Most merchants were far more... ostentatious.

  "My clients appreciate a measure of discretion," Hunter said, his eyes twinkling with unreleased laughter. Snow remembered him traipsing through the woods, making an awful racket, accusing him of not knowing the meaning of the word.

  She felt her face warm with the memory, the hot flush of outrage pushing through her walls. He was mocking her — again!

  "I see," she finally said evenly, despite her hands being clasped so tight her fingers ached. "I'd appreciate you use that same discretion in matters relating to me." She was done peppering him with questions for the time being, but not because she believed him. Because she recognized the threat his cavalier attitude posed to her tightly-held control. She was tired. It had been months since she'd slept properly and her nerves were frayed. She'd be able to deal with him better after a night's rest, but she wasn't sure she trusted him enough to sleep on his ship. And that thought alone was enough to spark an idea.

  "I know a place you can take me," she said, a long-forgotten whisper of a memory floating up from the depths of her mind.

  "Anywhere you wish, Princess," he said, his eyes still sparkling gleefully. What could he possibly be so damned happy about?

  Unless of course, her worst fears were true.

  It was buried deep in the recesses of her memories. Just the faintest recollection of her father telling her about this place her mother loved. How he'd built her a secret getaway that no one else ever knew of. He'd told Snow this after her mother passed. When they were both still reeling from the loss, drowning in their own grief. He'd promised to take her there one day. To show her this magical place her mother had cherished so much.

  Of course, he'd never actually managed to take Snow there. She'd never seen it, and only had the mnemonic rhyme he'd told her to remember its location.

  Hopefully, the Queen had never found it.

  Was it possible there was still some forgotten part of the Empire that had belonged to her mother? Some place the Queen hadn't yet tainted with her vile touch?

  "Princess?" Hunter said again, breaking through the haze of memories fogging Snow's mind. She snapped to, her eyes focusing on him.

  "Please stop calling me that."

  A ghost o
f a smile teased the corners of his lips. "Why? It is your title, isn't it?"

  She nodded, unable to tell him that the only other person to have called her that in recent memory was dead. Unable to convey the deep chasm of grief that his death left inside of her. "It is, but discretion is appreciated, if you'll remember."

  Hunter laughed, his eyes crinkling around the edges as he waved around the ship. "Who's going to hear, Princess?"

  She ground her teeth together, trying to ignore his blatant disregard for her wishes. She'd never faced such disrespect, and though she tried not to let it get to her, she couldn't help but feel he was purposefully slighting her. Goading her somehow.

  She wouldn't give in. "It's a bad habit to get into," she said, casting her gaze around the ship warily. "Besides, you never know who's listening where."

  Hunter's expression sobered a fraction and Snow was satisfied that she'd gotten through to him on some level. "Alright, where to, Snow?" he said, emphasizing her name this time.

  That wasn't any better. Coming from him, her name sounded jarring and alarming. Like the sound of metal scraping on metal. It sent her hairs on end and made her whole spine tingle. She didn't want to say it, but she thought she might actually prefer 'Princess.'

  "One forty-two is always blue, seven twenty-eight is also great," she muttered, causing Hunter to tilt his head and look at her like she'd grown another.

  "I beg your pardon?" he said.

  Snow shook her head. "My father, he liked to speak in riddles. A holdover from his youth spent in the military fighting in the outlands, I think."

  "Your father fought in the outlands? You mean, he was safe on a ship far away from the action while others fought, right?"

  Snow didn't even try to hide her scowl. "How dare you," she hissed. "My father was not a coward." Her throat tightened at even the mention of her long-departed father. In her memories, he was still the happy King with the light of laughter always twinkling in his eyes. Not the broken and hopeless man that was left after her mother died. After the Queen came into their lives.