-A Winter’s Dawn-

Prologue

By now, every kid and adult from ages five to fifty is familiar with the story of Snow White. I’m sorry, did I say ‘the story of Snow White’? I meant the sorry-excuse-for-a-replicate Disney version of it. The version that rather coincidentally has a beautiful princess (just like all the other Disney movies) and a dashing young prince (just like all the other Disney movies) and an evil stepmother (just like all the other Disney movies). Now however did that happen?

Truth is: Disney’s a liar.

And a fool. Disney came across the greatest story of the millennia and decided it was too complex for the little kiddies they were marketing to. So they ruined it—simply ruined it. Ever wondered why the hell seven dwarfs (I’ve got to give it to Disney for complete randomness there) would be living in the middle of the forest? Or perhaps why the princess herself could be simply ordered to be killed on a whim? Or how about why the queen would want to kill her in the first place? Unless of course “You’re prettier than I am. Rar. I’m going to kill you,” was a better excuse for murder back then than it is now. And the magic mirror? I’ve tried talking to my mirror before. Trust me, mirrors don’t talk.

And what I never understood was why the prince would want to kiss a dead woman. A dead woman whom he had never met. I’m sure she looked so sexy lying in that coffin.

Nothing sexier than dead corpses. (Forgive me while I look away and gag.)

So I did a little research. Surfed the web, stayed late at libraries, and I’ve finally found it: the real Snow White story. The complete facts: unblemished, unedited, un-Disney-destroyed…and kick ass.

To begin with, Snow White was no princess. She wasn’t poor, but she wasn’t rich either. Her father was a rather successful salesman. Honest, unselfish, trustable…altogether the kind of salesman people like. Unfortunately, not such a good dad. Not that he chose to neglect his daughter or chose to know absolutely nothing about her life. He simply didn’t. He was away too much for that, and besides, his wife had everything covered.

That is, until cancer came knocking at her door.

Serena (did you actually think her name was Snow?) White’s mother’s death was a tragedy. Perhaps if her father had just switched occupations so that he could watch over his daughter more, or if he had decided to take 12-year-old Serena with him on his business trips, nothing would have happened. But instead, he decided to get remarried. (Fool.)

His new wife’s name was Lavinia Wilton. She was a beautiful lady, and rather young too, with an eye on John White’s growing bank account. And she had an older brother—with a gun. Simply put, John’s will gave half of his savings to Lavinia, and half to his daughter, as a dowry. Lavinia did the math, and decided that having all of her husband’s savings would be much nicer than having half. She also decided that it was time for Serena to have an…accident.

Nothing scarier than a sweet innocent-looking stepmother out to kill you.

Looking back, Serena probably realized that she should have gone to the police. But at the time, she was 17, at gunpoint, and much too terrified to breathe, much less think. So when she finally escaped, she took off running like crazy. And when she stopped (too weak to take another step) and looked up, she found that she wasn’t at the police station.

She was at a dorm. A college dorm. For boys. Boys in a fraternity, to be exact. (7 dwarfs? Hah! Try 7 amazingly hott college guys.)

Otherwise known as…the one place her stepmother would never look for Serena.

The rest of the story is the part really worth telling. There’s romance, of course, but not in the Disney fashion. It’s a twisted romance of heartbreak and confusion…the way romance is in real life. And there’s much more than romance. There’s death and tragedy and a brutal determination to get through all of it.

Things not meant for little kiddies to see in a movie.

Here’s the story of Serena White. It’s the story of a girl lost in the world as she tries to find her place and find herself. A girl some love, some hate…but a girl whom all will agree is more of a princess than Snow White ever was.

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A/N: What do you guys think? Reviews are very much appreciated.