Snow White and Zombies

By Emily Casey

When she botches the queen's suicide, Snow White finds herself surrounded by undead servants willing to do her bidding...whether she likes it or not.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Emily Casey
• Release date: Mar 26, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301373161

Emily Casey

Emily is a writer from Tallahassee who chases two crazy kids around the house all day before collapsing in front of her computer.She writes everything from fairy tales to zombies, from middle grade to young adult. Emily writes what's exciting to her and just hopes someone else out there likes it.Other little tid-bits: Emily's a dog person (he has a German Shepherd named Guybrush), she likes to run (and ran her first half marathon while 4 months pregnant) and majored in Psychology (which explains why she's a little nuts) at Florida State with a minor in English (which explains the whole writing thing).

Book preview

Chapter 1

Queens shouldn't be ugly.

Honora had once been a beautiful queen. She'd kept her ugliness a secret for so long. Too long.

But then everything had changed.

Now that Snow White knew what the queen really was, the girl ignored the queen and all her rules. But Honora liked to give the princess the benefit of her doubt. Perhaps Snow was still grieving for her father. Someday, she might decide she wants a mother after all...even a mother who had lied about her warts and wrinkles.

That's why Honora's suicide had a fail safe: a kiss from a member of a royal family.

She stood at her window, clutching the apple in both hands. The queen watched the last hour of daylight slip behind the horizon—the last light she would ever see. Probably.

Honora ran her thumb across the glossy red peel. Her own ugly face, reflected and distorted by the fruit, stared back at her. Snow White wouldn't use the fail safe. Nobody loved Honora enough to bring her back. She would stay dead.

The queen opened her eyes wide to keep tears from spilling. She wouldn't cry during her last moments. Honora lifted the cursed apple to her lips and inhaled the fragrance of fresh fruit and peppery-sweet poison. The queen opened her mouth to take the deadly bite.

But someone knocked on her door.

The queen stared at her apple with longing. But if someone needed her, of course she would help.

Yes. Her voice cracked. Honora cleared her throat. Enter, please.

The queen's bedchamber door opened and a servant stepped across the threshold with a bow. Pardon the intrusion, Majesty, but the Princes Henry and Louis of Aranova have arrived unexpectedly. Shall I inform the cook of the added guests?

Queen Honora tightened her grip on her apple. Dinner guests would require her attention. She had hoped to avoid another awkwardly quiet meal with Snow, but these guests might improve the princess's mood. Yes, thank you. I'll be right down.

With another bow, the servant left the queen and her apple alone again. The suicide would have to wait until tonight. It would be rude to die before seeing that her guests were comfortable.

She placed the apple on the window sill and stood back to admire it. The curse brought out the color so nicely. The red against the darkening sky was particularly attractive.

With a sigh, Honora turned and started getting dressed for dinner.

Chapter 2

Snow ran down the corridor, her skirts in both hands. She looked over her shoulder and shouted when she saw her pursuer.

Their laughter echoed through the hall, but Snow didn't care. Everyone else was at dinner.

She rounded a corner and slipped on the carpet runner. Snow ran faster, but the huntsman—Tom, maybe?—was catching up. Snow darted into the queen's bedchamber with a shriek. He followed and closed the door behind him.

Whatever his name was, he was well-muscled and terribly handsome. But he was already getting that dreamy look in his eyes as he crossed the room. Snow would have to dismiss him in the morning to avoid those awkward conversations later. Until then, she would play the game.

She ran away, laughing, to the window. Snow turned around, putting her back to the sill and grabbing the apple to keep it from falling. You have me cornered, Huntsman. What will you do now?

The handsome pursuer smiled at her with naiveté that was almost endearing. I'll do what every huntsman does when he catches his quarry.

Snow laughed, though the game was losing its charm. Oh? Tell me, what is it that huntsmen do?

He didn't respond, only lunged for Snow as if she were a common bar wench. The princess squealed again and slid away from him, holding the apple between them.

Wait, she gasped. Please, I'm hungry. Let's pause for a moment. Let me eat something.

The huntsman, also out of breath, but still smiling, nodded and crossed his arms over his chest. As you wish, Princess.

Snow congratulated herself for buying time to think of an excuse. As far as she was concerned, the game had run its course. This man wasn't nearly as creative, nor as exciting, as she had thought.

Thank you, she said, batting her eyes.

Snow bit the apple and everything went dark.

Chapter 3

Millie clutched her basket to her chest and lifted her dwarfish legs over a fallen branch. The air around her felt eerie this evening, but she couldn't tell what made her so uneasy. Sure, the woods were full of nasty things that loved to chomp on dwarves' bones, but that wasn't anything new. Something about tonight made the chill creep all the way to her gut, like she was being stalked by something that didn't want to kill her, just hurt her.

Millie looked down into her basket. Only half-full. She would have to gather more truffles in the morning. Right now, she needed to get herself home and curled up against Terk's chest with her toes near the fire.

Her shoes swished through the dry leaves as she headed home. Millie hated this time of year. Just knowing that this was the beginning of the cold season, and that the air had only begun to chill, made her feel helpless. The leaves made stealth impossible and the bare bushes didn't offer any good hiding places.

Something screeched to her right. Millie stopped, completely still in the dim light. She crouched behind a fallen log, listening. She heard it again—a high-pitched, rolling sound. It moved closer to her hiding spot every time she heard it. Millie tried to be silent, but her breathing was so loud, the guards all the way down at the palace gates could probably hear her. She shut her eyes and made herself as small as she could around her basket.

The thing grew louder until it was so close. Then it stopped. Had it spotted her? Was it ready to pounce on her and eat her then and there?

Millie peeked over the dead tree. A horse stood a few yards away, white vapor puffing from its nostrils. She couldn't see the rider's face, but his cloak and saddle bag were both embroidered with the queen's seal. Something was strapped onto the saddle with him.

The rider untied the package, the ropes whipping against his thigh as they loosened. The package, just a silhouette in the waning light, slid off the horse and landed in the mulching leaves like a sack of flour.

As soon as he was free of