Savanna Frisque is a sophomore at St. Norbert College studying English. While she hopes to one day become an accomplished journalist and travel the world to explain important news stories, she plans to work for a little while once out of college to gain good experience in the workforce. Her fairy tale, “Vampire Snow,” is a twist on the well known story of Snow White. In the last moments before her death, the Evil Queen takes it upon herself to tell the true story of her step-daughter; a story that shows that things aren’t always as they seem, and that beauty and goodness are sometimes never farther apart than in the girl with lips as red as blood and skin as pale as snow. - Rebecca Jenneman
I never should have ended up here. I did nothing wrong. I was never jealous of her beauty or “kindness”. I never talked to a mirror for advice. Just because you try to save the kingdom, you are going to die. Who am I? I am now commonly known as the “Evil Queen” but that is just a rumor spread by her. Who is she? Snow White: innocent, beautiful, undead, Snow White. As I am writing this in the few hours before my death, I speak nothing but the truth, for what have I to gain from lying? But of course, because I am so “evil,” no one listens or believes what I say. It does not matter how many inconsistencies there are in her story, she is beautiful, so of course she must be good. So, I write to you, future reader, in hopes that you may rectify what I have failed to do. I am not who you think I am. I am no witch, no old hag, no evil queen. I never was so vain as to look into a mirror and ask if I am the fairest of the land, which by the way, how would Snow know about that since it is in MY chambers? No, instead I come from a long line of…hunters you might say. A hunter for animals. Not the cute fluffy kind one eats, but the true monsters, those who harm rather than help, the unnatural, the supernatural. I had grown tired of that life, of always wondering if it was I or the beast that would die next. Tired of being alone. Just…tired. I found a cute little kingdom to retire to, and to my surprise, was chosen by the King himself to be step-mother to his daughter and to become his Queen. Thus, started my new life, a life of comfort and wealth. What would I have to gain from killing Snow? For vanity? That is the weakest reason, and only believable reason Snow can pin on me. I was a good Queen, not corrupt as the rumors say, and it hurts me deeply that my former subjects fall for such an obvious ruse. I may have made mistakes while ruling, but I was fair with punishments, kind with rewards and loved by many for my wisdom of the world. This did not just extend to my subjects, but to my new step-daughter as well. I loved her as if she were my own, but I knew she would never be mine. I suspected something when I first saw her: she was too pale, too perfect, too cold, too…I could not put my finger on it, but something was wrong. I should have followed my instincts. I should have trusted my judgment. But surely, a child, especially a babe, could not be a monster? I convinced myself of this, and there are few bigger regrets I have than that. As the child grew, more unsettling things occurred, which I attributed to coincidence and natural talent. Snow White grew ever more beautiful, enchanting men and women alike in just looks. But not only was she beautiful, but smart as well. Always ready to learn everything about anything. It was her teen years that I started thinking maybe I had misjudged her character. Snow became ruthless, but only in private. Animals kept appearing mysteriously slaughtered, yet no blood to be found within the still bodies. Then visitors would be found dead, killed in the same means as the animals. Whatever was killing these creatures was growing with power. It ashamed me to say it took fourteen years and too many deaths to even suspect that my own adopted daughter, with skin white as snow, lips blood red, hair dark as ebony, to be something other than human. But once I realized that things were not adding up with my Snow being as innocent as she seemed, I was faced with a choice: to kill my beloved daughter and save the kingdom, or let her go on and destroy the entirety of human life here and elsewhere once nothing was left. I regretfully planned my daughter’s death. I told a hired guard to take Snow into the woods and kill her, but to bring back her heart as proof of death. The heart must be stabbed with a stake for a vampire to die. What I did not plan for is that my Snow was cunning and knew how to use her glamour to enchant people to do her will. This is what must have happened with the guard, as I was given a heart with a stake through it. I thought the kingdom’s troubles were over. How wrong I was. Only a few nights after this attempt did Snow try taking revenge. She drained many of my favorite townspeople, leaving them outside the palace gates for me to see. Horrified, the people called for answers, of which I had none they would believe other than there must be a beast somewhere in the dark forest. Knowing I must be the one to end my Snow, for I can only trust myself not to be affected by her glamour, I set out in disguise to do what must be done. She had many people under her spell, including seven dwarves whom she used to capture me when I tried to kill her. I called to a nearby prince (the convenience right?) to save me, but as soon as he saw Snow, it was all over for me. Immediately falling under her spell, I was doomed. Whilst riding back to our kingdom, she told him the truth, that I was trying to kill her, and I had tried before. But not for the reason of saving everyone. Instead, she said I was jealous of her beauty. She then accused me of being a witch (as if I would become one of the things I used to hunt) as a means of explaining all the dead people in our kingdom. So entranced with Snow, the prince would not listen to reason. So here I sit, in the dungeon, waiting for my death. I have been visited only once besides the errand boy who brings me my bread and water daily. It was by my former daughter. She flashed her fangs in triumph as I sat in this cell, bragging about how she had won, the kingdom was hers. Everyone believed I tried killing my own beloved daughter, the princess, over something as foolish as jealousy. She promised me a cruel and slow death. So, therefore I write, dear reader, in hopes that it is not too late to save the kingdom. Do not trust blood red lying lips, or her pure white skin. She will kill you if you do not kill her first. Kill her if you can. If not, escape and send someone who can before all is chaos and death.