The Ultimate Vampire Resource and Directory

The Tale of Snow White & Briar Red
18:38 Oct 25 2008
Times Read: 807




Once upon a time, in a kingdom far, far away, there was a beautiful Queen and her handsome King. Queen Zephyr, soft and warm as the breeze she was named for, was about to give birth to the King's heir. She was hoping for a son to carry on the tradition of the King and rule the countryside with a fairness and firm hand. Her King was beloved by his subjects and by her.



King Light was a fair man: pale blond hair cascading around his shoulders, pale blue eyes and a corpulent face that led to many teasings from his wife about blushing. No time for blushing now. The Queen was to deliver him a son and to his many subjects, he would deliver their next King.



Nursemaids scurried in and out of the hallways and there was great excitation. A child had been born, and although it was not the son as hoped for, the King had been given a reprieve by being advised there was yet another child on the way.



Snow White was carried to her father: She had the same complexion as her sire with large blue eyes looking at him with joy and innocence. King Light laughed heartily at his daughter and rose her above his head. "I shall name thee, Snow White", he bellowed so all could hear. "Thy name will describe this moment when I saw myself pure as the driven snow in my daughter's eyes. Let you be always pure in heart and deed."



Another nursemaid came out with a second baby. The baby was curled up in swaddling and was shrieking at the injustice of being pulled from the womb. The nurse was a little hesitant in giving King Light the child.



He unwrapped the blanket and saw to his surprise that not only was the child NOT a son, she had none of the colouring of either himself nor his wife. Zephyr's long dark curls were not evident nor his straight blond hair. This squawling child had waves and waves of bright red hair, as red as her face was becoming. King Light had the feeling the child hated him on sight.



Nonetheless, the gods had blessed him with two children, his wife was faring well. He raised the cacaphonous infant above his head and stated: "I will name thee Briar Red. You are such named for the fiery temper and piercing scream, much like the briars you are named for. My hope for thee, dear Briar, is that in the force of your personality, you will become a good leader. Gods help us if thou chooses to become a shrew!"



And with that, the King and Queen set the tiny princesses into the blue bassinet prepared for their newborn son. The Queen was dismayed by both Briar's appearance and her demeanor. She noted with some sense of satisfaction that Briar did begin to calm when placed next to her sister and was able to start suckling on Snow's tiny thumb.



The children grew. Briar was the most difficult of babies and refused to be taken out of castle walls by the nannies and nursemaids. A wet nurse was called to feed Briar as her nursing hurt the queen. Queen Zephyr swore to secrecy any feeding her daughter. They could only maintain that Briar was a voracious feeder and that twin girls was too much energy for the Queen to keep up with and maintain her royal duties.



Briar hated all of them. She would try to bite at the nursemaids, her parents, the servants. She was always cold and uncomfortable. She was never satisfied with the milk and tended to nip at the breast. She knew she made the entire castle nervous...even as a baby.



But she grew. Snow White was her only ally. Snow would come to her, draped in silky whites, looking like an angel or a ghost. So pale. And when she would climb into bed with Briar, she would immediately go back to the twinning behaviour of their infancy and would offer her fingers, then her wrist and finally the crook of her elbow for Briar to suckle on.



Snow White loved her sister and couldn't understand the reasons why everyone, including their parents, kept their distance. Her sister's suckling didn't hurt at all and the wounds magically bound themselves up. Snow White believed they were two halves to the same whole: one complete person split into two.



One night, Briar arose from her bed. She was turning into a woman and her hunger and restlessness had hit an apex. She ran, almost floated, to the room of her parents. They were sleeping but she awoke them in her haste. The King and Queen sat up sharply, both with a look of horror on their faces at being woken up in the middle of the night by their odd daughter. Briar could no longer take it and climbed onto their bed.



"I am hungry. You are my parents. It is your duty to feed me and help me grow." Her eyes stared into one and then the other. Her mouth opened wide. This time, she did not aim for a finger or a wrist. She dipped her head to the side and began to feed upon her mother's neck. She drank and drank until there was no pulse left to feed her. She turned to her father, mesmerized, his jaw slack. She opened her mouth and on him, too, began to feed.



Snow White came in, wraithlike, when she felt her sister stirring about. She saw the carnage but did not care. Snow White slipped into bed, ever the innocent, between her parents. She kissed one, then the other, good bye. She offered up her neck to her beloved sister. It was not Briar's fault: she was made this way.



Briar wiped her mouth and climbed in beside her sister. She lifted Snow White's thumb and began to suckle.



Together, the princesses ruled the countryside with just the right amount of mercy and retribution. Together? They were a whole Queen.