Fables 95

"For one of you, seven evils await. For the other, the loss of one dear."

- The giant bird's prophetic warning.

Snow White & Rose Red is the second chapter in the Rose Red arc and the ninety-fifth issue overall in the series.

Synopsis
''"Rose Red" part 2 of 5! As trouble brews outside her bedroom window at the Farm, Rose reluctantly pulls herself out of the depression pit and into the heart of war. It's the former Adversary vs. the newfound Nightmare and the future looks very very dim for the misplaced denizens of Fabletown.''

Plot
Rose's mother tells the story of her two daughters. They used to live in a small cottage within a clearing of a magical forest. There a poor widow had a garden of red and white roses which were like her two daughters.

Snow White is quiet and gentle while Rose Red is wild and adventurous. The sisters were very close to each other were never apart.

One winter evening a bear arrives at their door seeking shelter and warmth. The mother lets him in and the girls, after overcoming their fear of him, quickly become friends. He returned every night until spring, which was when he said goodbye to them.

In summer the girls are exploring when they meet a dwarf with his beard stuck in a tree while he was chopping firewood. They can't get him loose so Snow uses the scissors in her pocket to cut him free. The dwarf is horrified that they ruined his beard and takes the stash of gold in the tree (what he was really after) and leaves.

That night Snow awakens and tells Rose that she had a strange dream about the bear but she can't recall all of it. The two go back to sleep, not before promising that nothing would ever separate them.

The next day they meet the dwarf again who is hanging on a branch and got his beard caught in the line while he was fishing for his dinner. Snow wants to cut the line but both Rose and the dwarf don't want to loose the big fish that he's caught, so they resort to cutting his beard again. Once more his true purpose was getting treasure, this time inside the fish, and then runs off. The girls decide take the fish home for dinner.

Another day passes and for the third time they meet the dwarf, this time being attacked by an eagle. Snow decides that they should help them and once more cuts the dwarf's beard. The eagle curses the two girls. One will suffer seven evils and the other will lose someone dear to them.

Coalheart, the dwarf, starts counting the spoils that he has stolen, which he claims is fair since the gold all once belong to the ground from which he came and which they'll return. The girls watch him as he counts, which he finishes and plans to leave once more. Before he can the bear from earlier returns and decapitates him. This breaks the spell that was placed on the bear who reveals himself as Prince Brandish.

Back at the Farm, Rose claims that this was the day that she lost Snow. Her mother then tell hers that there is more to the story that she hasn't told her daughter.

Characters

 * Rose Red
 * Snow White
 * Prince Brandish