Happily ever after: Snowhite

Snow-white: shell-shock and life after poisoning.
The days after waking up, thanks to Prince Charming’s kiss, had passed in a daze. Everything had been so confused and fast, that Snow-white had really had no time to think of her options. The doctor said her condition was called shell shock, where the patient has a sudden trauma and can’t come to terms with the realities of the situation. Call it a situation; one minute she was happily singing in the dwarves house, the next she was lying on the floor given for dead, all because of the step-mother’s apple. The old witch.
If Snow-white had a fault, it was that she saw only good in people, never questioning their true aims. This had cause a whole heap of trouble, starting with the wicked step-mother, who was tremendously jealous of Snow’s beauty; the hunter, who had spared her life by a miracle of God, or thanks Snow-white’s very good communication skills; even the dwarves, kind as they were to offer her accommodation, now had a free cleaner and cook by the hand, and tidy they were not, the little sods.
And now Prince Charming. It’s true that he did save Snow’s life, with that lovely true kiss; it’s also correct to affirm that it was perhaps a bit too early to speak about marriage, especially in a moment of extreme vulnerability for the poor girl.
Charming was a fine fellow by any means, tall, good looking and very attractive on that beautiful palomino horse: he wasn’t a romantic in any sense of the word though, and that was clear by his temperament and chosen course of study. He had graduated in Economics and learnt the ropes of Financial Accountancy, so that he could personally take care of all the financial affairs of his vast kingdom; kingdom that had been rendered even vaster by Snow-white’s contribution. You see, Snow-white, after the ordeal of the apple and the semi-death experience, had happily become a heiress. Given that the dwarves had eliminated the old witch, which was only a disguise for the wicked step-mother, Snow-white was now the sole survivor in the whole family unit and therefore the full recipient of her parents’ kingdom. So really, what was in principle a really bad thing (attempted murder) turned out to be her making by a stroke of fate.
The only fly in the cake was that her kingdom was now controlled by Prince Charming, who had made her sign that she agreed that he would take care of it.
Obviously, when Snow came back to her senses, she saw Charming for what he was and wanted her kingdom back. She wasn’t even sure she liked him anymore, as he was surely dashing with that horse and his perfect haircut, but to be honest he was a bit full of himself. Plus, he was a thief. He had stolen her kingdom.
Snow-white, rich of previous experiences and a bit wiser, was well careful not to voice any of her concerns. She knew that if anyone tried to touch his purse, the prince was well bound to become defensive, and could claim she was weak and insane, due to her dysfunctional upbringing. This particular kipper, had to be stitched up with particular care and a lot of strategic thinking.
She counted her options and could only see two. A-she could ask the dwarves to kill Price Charming. They were loyal enough and they had killed before. The little devils would do it again. B- she could put a case together and with the help of a lawyer try to make the marriage invalid on the basis that Charming had brainwashed her.
Solution A was by far the quickest, however it was risky. Solution B was less appealing but it was legal and probably the best one, if she chose the right lawyer.
She went for solution B. Snow found a lawyer in her kingdom. With a bit of help by some corrupt couturier, she moved to her old castle, where she had being humiliated by her step-mother not long ago: many remembered her and marvelled at what a fine young woman she had turned out to be. With marriage, her sartorial taste had also become better, and she was wearing nothing less than gowns by Prada, Armani and Blueberry, fact that was sourly remarked by the ladies of the castle. They accepted her, though, as their peer and superior.
Which is exactly what Snow-white wanted, because after a few days she proclaimed herself Queen of her kingdom and made the army swear allegiance to her, the true Queen.
Prince Charming had not seen this coming. He had been too busy admiring himself to pay attention to his wife’s unhappiness.
Obviously her subjects preferred Snow-white to the foreign Prince, who was good only at grabbing. Now it was the turn of the Prince to be shocked.
Snow wasted no time. She sent a messenger to set up a meeting in neutral territory: she knew better than having a meeting in the Prince’s kingdom! He would have killed her lawyer and sent the head back!
The two lawyers met at the stream bordering the two kingdoms. Snow sent a healthy number of armed soldiers with her man. The instructions were clear: no favours.
Charming backed down, as he was a bit spineless in spite of being a good show. The marriage was annulled on grounds of not having being consummated, which wasn’t true, but was convenient and quick for everyone.
So now Snow-white was master of her own destiny. There was only one little hitch: she was with child.
‘If the prince realises that I am having his baby, he will claim the kingdom!’ she thought. But again her cunning came to the rescue. This time she disguised the bump so that it was impossible to see, and had the baby in secret. Then she pretended to find it and she adopted him. Normally it’s quite difficult for a single mother to adopt a child, but she pulled a few strings and besides, she was the richest woman of the kingdom-actually, she was the kingdom now.
‘One day I’ll tell you the truth’ she whispered to baby. ‘For now I need to protect you.’
And so she did....
Epilogue
The baby grew into a fine young man, blessed with his father’s looks and his mother’s cunning: a fine combination.
Snow-white learnt from her terrible family experience, and instead of continuing the chain of abuse, she became an excellent parent and in full control of her destiny.
The prince didn’t learn much from the whole experience, however did find a nice girl to marry eventually, who sadly was as manipulative and interested in money as he was. This though, suited him to a tee and they lived happily ever after in co-dependency.