I wake up, bleary eyed, and exhausted, and am met the intense stares of seven, very short men. I scream.

"Shhh!" one with glasses says, waving his hands anxiously.

"Where am I?" I say, a bit annoyed. This is what I get for falling asleep in the woods? Jumped by midgets?

"We are the seven dwarfs." says another one, who has a silly smile on his face. I roll my eyes.

"Nice to know." I say sarcastically, “but you haven't answered my

question. Where am I?”

The frowning dwarf scoffs at me, and starts talking.

"You are in our cottage."

For the first time, I look around. The cottage is small and cluttered, with dirty dishes scattered about, and newspapers strewn over the floors. Mining shovels are stacked in a corner, and dirty shoe prints mark the wood floors.

"Well, why am I here?" I ask.

"Oh, your step mother," the one with the glasses says, "is a friend of ours. She said we should look after you until you learn to be the perfect wife, so that you can marry a prince.". I gasp. That wench! How did she get my father to go along with this? I glance down at my clothes.

"Where is my gown?" I ask, looking at the old maid's outfit in dismay. One of them, the one with no beard, shrugs.

"That's how we found you." he says, his gray eyes twinkling. I sigh again, and stand up from the old couch I'd been laying on.

"Well I might as well clean this place up," I murmur, surveying the room.

"Okay then," says one of them, clapping his hands. "We're off to work."

They walk over to the shovels, pick one up each, and trail out the doors. I set to work, dusting and scrubbing and rearranging, until the place looks like new. I must say, I'm quite proud of myself in the end. The door opens, and the dwarfs walk in. They look at the place in awe, and then look at me.

"Have you been cleaning all day?" asks the one with the frown. I nod, wiping my hands on the front of my dress.

"Take off your shoes! I just mopped the floor!" I say, scolding them. "I'll make dinner now."

I enter the kitchen, and start throwing together some ingredients. The end result is roasted chicken and rice. I bring it out, and they shout with joy. They eat quickly, and leave the table to go to sleep. I clean up after them, pushing aside my annoyance. Is this how it'll be for the next few weeks, or however long I have to stay here?

It is. But time pasts by in a blur of cleaning, cooking, knitting, writing poetry, and walking in the woods. One day, while in the market, I bump into a man. Tall, black hair and dark green eyes.

"I am so sorry!" I exclaim, rushing to gather the fallen goods. He helps me, smiling.

"It's alright." he assures me. "What is your name?"

"Snow White." I reply, smiling back at him. He is very handsome.

"So what brings you here?" he asks, his eyes twinkling. I avoid the question, embarrassed.

"What brings you here?" I ask back, propping my basket of fruit on my hips. He laughs.

"Quite a tongue you have there," he says.

"I have to go," I say regrettably, remembering I have to cook dinner. He nods.

"Maybe I'll see you again?" he asks.

"Maybe," I reply, turning and walking away.

When I return to the cottage, my step mother is there, tapping her foot impatiently.

"Have you learned your lesson, Snow White?" she asks, false sweetness coating her voice. Her ice blue eyes gleam, her blood red lips upturned in a smirk. I nod, just wanting to get out of here. She smiles triumphantly, and leads me to that carriage.

"Goodbye!" I call out to the dwarfs. It just occurred to me that I never asked their names. I frown to myself, and step into the carriage. We head of to the castle.

"Today, we will have a ball, where we shall find you a prince." she tells me, looking forward.

"Yay," I say sarcastically, not hiding my annoyance. She doesn't pick up on it. As soon as we reach the castle, I'm ushered into a room to prepare. Smiling, blond ladies tend to my dark black hair, combing it. It'd gotten tangled from weeks of neglect. I wince with every stroke.

Next, they torture me by forcing me into a too-tight dress that 'slims' my waist and 'emphasizes' my bosom. I nearly turn blue when they tie on the corset.

After that, they delight in powdering my face excessively, and then spray expensive perfume all over me, launching me into a coughing fit. At last, I'm ready to be presented to my suitors.

As they lead me out the door, I catch a glimpse of my self in the large looking glass. I have to admit, I look...nice. The pale blue dress gives me a flattering, slim figure. The dress is edged with lace, and the corset goes nicely with it. My hair is in a complicated updo, with lavender flowers decorating it. My face is slightly pale, but my cheeks are flushed pink. My usually red lips are even redder. I smile despite myself, and make the trip down the long hall.

Once I enter the dancing room, my senses are over whelmed. The colors of the large swirling dresses, and the different senses of perfumes nearly nauseates me, but in a good way. There are tall, dashing men all over, all looking at me. The loud chatter has stopped. I feel myself blush even more.

The music starts up again, and they line up, to dance with me. The first prince is no older than 14, about 4 years younger than me.

"I am Thomas," he says, blushing. "You are very pretty."

I smile. "And you are quite handsome," I say back. He beams, and we begin to dance. He counts to himself, careful not to miss a step. Soon, it's time for the next dance. He bows, kisses my hand, and shuffles away. The next man is quite old, and smells like cheese. I hold my breathe the whole time, waiting for the song to end. It does, and he walks off.

The third prince is incredibly good looking. He has dark brown hair, intense green eyes, much darker than my celery-colored ones. He's very tall, and looks dashing in his blue suit, which compliments mine perfectly.

"Hello, Princess Snow," he greets me, smiling. I blush.

"Hello, Prince..." I reply, taking his hand. He puts his on my waist, as the music starts.

"Well, I'm no Prince." he says, "I am just a lowly captain. Captain William."

"Oh, captains aren't lowly." I tell him, smiling. We begin to dance, effortlessly.

"Why thank you." he says, "And you are far from lowly yourself."

"Is that because of my over bearing title?" I ask, smirking.

"Not at all," he assures me, his dark eyes dancing. We continue to dance. I'm not sure for how long. We continue talking, about everything from our childhood to politics. Soon, I hear my father begin to speak.

"Now, my daughter shall decide who she shall wed." he says, in his serious tone. He catches my eye, notices William, and smiles his warm smile. My stepmother also sees William, and smiles uncertainly. I take William's hand. Everyone is looking at us.

"I hope you don't mind, lowly Captain," I tease, "but I think I love you."

He looks surprised, but then smiles.

"And I you." he says, smiling broadly. We walk up to my father, and William requests my father's blessing. He receives it, and sweeps me into a kiss. I hear my step mother in the background,

"Well I never!” I ignore her, and pull away, to look into Williams eyes. I gasp.

"You are the young man I met in the market!" I exclaim. He nods, his eyes looking as if he knows a secret.

"I am the dwarfs' nephew." he explains. "They told me about you, and I wanted to meet you. When I first met you, I was completely smitten." His hand brushes a stray hair that's fallen in front of me face. I feel myself blush again.

I look at my stepmother. And see her sly, knowing smile. Is it possible that she could have known? Is that why she sent me there? Did she know of the dwarf’s dashing nephew? I shrug off those thoughts, and turn my attention back to William.

We dance the rest of the night together, and the next day, get married. It’s a small wedding, friends and family only. I smile the whole day, ready to spend the rest of my life with Captain William...