Chapter Two: Three Shades of White

~July 18th 1254~

"Can I ask you a question, Stella?"
Snow White stood at the window of the highest tower of the castle, overlooking the Kingdom. It was summer, but autumn was on it's way.

Snow White had eyes green as emeralds, lips red as blood, hair as black as a raven's feathers and skin as pale as snow.
She was the only daughter of King Stefan, and she was the rightful heir to the throne. Until now. It was her father's wedding day, he was getting married to Stella, a lady he had rescued from a conquered kingdom.
Snow's mother had passed away when she was very young.
Snow White turned around to face Stella.
"Sure, anything," she said.
"Do you really love my father?"

Stella was quiet as she considered the question. 

"Of course I do. Why else would I be marrying him?"

"I can think of a few reasons."

Their eyes met and Stella merely glared at Snow. She had always despised the wretched princess.

"I love your father, Snow. Whether you like it or not."
Snow's step-mother-to-be turned away from her and faced her mirror.
"I need to finish up now."

"So be a dear, and hand me my hair brush, Snowy."
Her voice was sarcastic.
Snow hated it.

~*~

The wedding march started playing, and King Stefan and Princess Snow stood by the thrones, along with the Bishop, who was leading the ceremony.
Stella walked down the aisle, radiant and beautiful.
Snow felt sick to the stomach.

King Stefan took Stella's hands in his, and together they stood in front of the Bishop, ready to get married.
Snow White stood next to her father, eyeing Stella carefully. She saw something catch light on Stella's dress, a silver gleam. Snow looked again, but she saw nothing.
Must be her imagination.

"We are all gathered here today..."
The Bishop's voice droned on, he talked about God, marriage and how important love is. Snow had never met anyone before for whom she had cared for in a romantic way.
She pushed the thoughts from her mind.
The Bishop was coming to an end.

"Do you take Stella Ravenna Lockwood as your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do."

"And do you take King Stefan White, his majesty, as your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do."

Finally came the kiss, the gesture that will seal the deal, and will put Stella second in charge of the whole kingdom.

Stefan and Stella's lips touched, and she was Queen.

Snow saw the gleam of the silver object again. It was a knife.

Too late to do anything, she saw how Stella sent the knife through her father's body, blooding leaking out form the backside.

"What... are you doing?"

Stefan's voice was barely a whisper.

His eyes were wide, as he felt his life being sucked out form him by Stella. It's then that he realized what she was.

A Witch.

"Taking your throne."

Air rippled from Stella's body as Snow tried to reach for her. The Bishop and Snow were knocked back. The Bishop knocked his head against a column, and he was out. 

All the guards in the room fell down spontaneously. She must be spelling them.

Quickly, Snow picked up a sword and charged towards Stella.

A spray of fire came hurtling towards Snow, and she quickly dodged out of the way.
She swore under her breath as she saw Stella gathering power, getting ready to throw it at her.

"I hate you, you know?" Stella said as she shot a wave of steam and air towards Snow.

Snow was sent backwards, and she landed in between the seats, knocking her head against the wood.

She looked up at Stella, who was floating higher and higher, air and dust gathering around her/

"It's high time, I finished you!" Stella screamed hysterically and she shot a stream of water, fire, wind and dust towards Snow.

Snow saw the oncoming doom and she closed her eyes, as she felt the ice and heat of the four elements washing over her, starting to suck her life out of her...

She just wished she could have hit the bitch at least once...

~August 18th 2012~

Clea  Emerson bolted up in her bed after having tossed in turned all night. Wait until Angelia founds out she's having the dreams again. Sighing Clea climbed out of bed and glanced outside, it was so nice out and she wanted to go for a swim but the pool still needed cleaning. 

Getting dressed Clea tossed a book in her beach bag and headed to the seaside pool believing she could be alone there as few people ever went there considering the other public pools in town and that most people, like her, had their own.

After reading for awhile she set her book down and decided to take nap in the shade of the beach umbrella. She still felt tired not having slept well the night before due to her nightmare.

When she woke up Clea was shocked to see the sun was already starting to set, she had not intended to sleep that long. Having worn her swimsuit under her clothes Clea starts to remove her shirt when she notices a man watching her. "Do you mind?" She asks, lowering her shirt. 

"Not at all" He replies with a cocky grin continuing to stare as she grabs her bag and starts to head towards one of the changing rooms. "Oh, come on, lighten up Princess."

"My name," She said, now getting quite annoyed, "is Clea."

"Richard." He stated simply, having somehow managed to come around and step in front of her.
"Outta my way, Dick." Clea placed her hand on his chest to push him away.
"Ooh, I'm hurt. Never gotten that one before." He replied, still that same cocky smirk glued to his face but let her pass none the less.

A short time later Clea came back out from the changing booth after having removed not only her clothing but also her make up as well as having tied her hair into an intricate braid.

"Whoa there. How did you do your hair that fast, let alone everything else on top of it?" Richard was still there.

"I'm good with my hands." Clea replied flatly.
Richard laughed "Oh I bet you are."
"That's not what I meant." She sneered. 

"Your words, not mine. Well, I've gotta get going. See you around sometime....Princess."

After he was gone Clea jumped into the pool and had a quick swim before heading home, undoing her hair on the way.

 "Someone's been swimming." Angelia, Clea's bestfriend and roommate said with a laugh as she came in.

"Swimming?" Clea asked," No I actually went into public without straightening my hair first, of course I was swimming Angie. So how was your day?

"Ugh. Tell me Clea, how did love get so off course? I mean, when did it all get so complicated, you know? Wasn't it that you used to think you would just find the right guy right away and just be together and that would be it?" 

"I don't know sweetie. So I'm guessing the Mayor, our boss, still doesn't notice that you're in love with him?" Clea asked as kindly as possible despite her thoughts on the situation.

"Of course he doesn't notice me." Angelia replied, "I'm just his house keeper. He knows you better than he does me, and you're his daughter's tutor."

~ January 18th, 2936~

Emily White sprang up from her bed, sweaty and trembling from the nightmare she just had. She has been having the same recurring nightmare every night for a week; ever since that terrible day when Carimir the Great, dictator and ruler of their homeland, Grimvalley, had her parents killed.

The trauma she experienced that day had left her with repeating nightmares and flashbacks of that day. Just two years prier Carimir the Great banned all things supernatural and if you were to get caught breaking that law you were issued the death sentence. Her parents were caught practicing witchcraft.

Emily's breathing began to return to its normal pace and her heartbeat slowed. Finally she was able to think and notice her surroundings again. Just then Nickolas woke up, curious about all noise coming from Emily's bed.

"Emily?! Are you alright?" Nickolas asked with concern in his voice.

She pulled her knees closer to her chest and her hands rested in underneath it. She didn't look at her bother and instead just narrowed her eyes.

"I had the nightmare again, Nickolas," Emily said in barely a whisper.

 "Again? The same one?"
"Y-yes." Emily chocked up on the last word and tears began to swell up in her eyes. She couldn't hold in the sadness any longer. Soon Emily's cheeks were soaked in tears.

Nickolas noticed the sudden tears and jumped up from his bed to go comfort his baby sister. He sat on the edge of Emily's bed and pulled her close to him; arms wrapped around her, he tried his best to calm her down.
"W-why did they have to kill mom and dad, Nickolas? They just wanted to make to make a cure for the supernaturals that couldn't hide their identity. They were doing Cairmir a favor and he still had them killed," Emily sobbed. "Mom and dad are not witches. A-and I just want them back. Nickolas I want mom and dad back."

"They can't come back Emily, you and I both know that. But at least we have each other and I promise you that I will always protect you. I will always be here for you no matter what. I will never leave you. Just like dad always says 'you're a princess that needs to be protected'."

"Thank you, Nickolas. You're my knight in shining armor."

~*~
Thank you all for reading the second chapter of Hourglass.

Please leave a comment and tell us what you think!

Thank you Ashby Lemi for letting us use her sim.

Thank You Charmain Collins for her sim for the role of Stella the Witch.

~Dawn, Skylar and Addy~