Chapter Text
Once upon a time, there was an owner of an apple pie factory. He made the best apple pies in town, and also other apple-flavored treats as well. The people would grace the stores by the flock just to buy his apple pies, which were almost always sold out. As a person, he was known to be a down-to-earth boss and he was well-loved by his staff. Eventually, he has passed down this kindness to his only daughter.
Snow White practically grew up in her father’s factory, watching the workers hum and whistle as they work their way through the day. But for them, it wasn’t simply a job; it was a family. Snow White and her father treated each employee equally and with kindness for they knew the efforts these people have put in to get their factory going. Whenever Snow White had the chance to go with her father to work, she would greet each staff with a warm smile and occasionally, playfully sneak a taste of the pies itself. Oh how she loved them! It was a family recipe that her mother had left behind.
Snow White had unfortunately lost her mother at a very young age. But to keep her legacy and spirit alive, her father made sure that the recipe they were using at the factory was that of his beloved wife’s, so that they could share this wonderful blessing with others.
For nearly fifteen years, Snow White lived a fairytale life. Even if they were rich, it never dawned on her to become a snotty and spoiled brat. Through and through, she remained humble and kind to every one she met.
One day, her father had told her he met someone. He tried his best to explain to the young teen that her mother can never be replaced, but that he just wanted a second chance at love again. And of course, Snow White, the kind young lady that she was, understood. She wanted her father to be happy more than anything.
And so, her father remarried.
For almost a year, Snow White tried to adjust to having a stepmother. She was strikingly so beautiful that the employees at the factory would stop and stare at her every time she was in the room. She had such a grounding presence that accompanied her beauty and it was felt every time she was around. Snow White found herself intimidated at times, but she tried her best to get to know her and create a relationship with her – to which they did for a while.
But just in any fairytale, some things just don’t last forever. Snow White’s worst fear was realized one morning when they found her father lifeless on his bed. There couldn’t have been a more tragic and devastating moment for the young teen, who was celebrating her eighteenth birthday the following day.
When the time for mourning had passed, Snow White had come of age as she carried on with her life, entering college and making her way in the world. But through it all, she remained humble and kind, all of the things her father had taught her growing up.
Things at the factory, however, did not remain the same. When Snow White’s father passed, her stepmother immediately took control of the company and named herself CEO. It was only natural that this title goes to her, the wife, after all. And so, Snow White saw less and less of the factory. She no longer went on daily trips to visit the workers and sneak a taste of the pies. Instead, she was forced to go to school and back home on a strict basis without being allowed to go anywhere else. She had no friends outside of class, and she was strictly supervised with her studies. Her fairytale life had suddenly turned upside down.
Nevertheless, she remained resilient and wished every day that one day, things will be better.
One afternoon, as she was reading at home by her windowsill, she looked out towards the sky with a faraway look in her eyes. The birds were chirping at her, as they always would, then landed on her windowsill.
“I know,” Snow White told them. “I miss the pies too.”
The birds chirped again.
“I mean, I know how to make them, but I just can’t find any reason to, since…” her voice trailed off. She couldn’t bring herself to say “since her father died.”
Snow White sighed. She thought to herself, what was stopping her from visiting the factory, really? Ultimately it boiled down to her being afraid to speak up to her stepmother. She had been really tough on Snow White for the past three years, but to appease herself, Snow White would simply dismiss it by thinking her stepmother just wants her to excel in school.
But today felt different. She wanted to go see the factory. It felt like it was time. Something in her heart was urging her to go today, and so she followed her heart.
She slowly crept out of her room, then down the stairs, carefully avoiding any of the servants who might see her. And so she snuck out of her house altogether and hailed the first cab she saw.
On the way to the factory, it was seemingly quite traffic. It was a busy Wednesday afternoon and being the middle of the week, people were just running around everywhere. As the cab slowly approached the building, she looked up from inside window and instant memories of her childhood returned. She found herself smiling fondly at these memories when the cab driver announced that they’ve arrived.
As she got off, she realized just how busy the street really is. It was different than seeing it from inside a car. She looked up again at the building, wondering if it has always been that tall. Behind it she could see the actual factory where the magic really happens. Putting her hands in her jacket pockets, she slowly skipped towards the entrance.
Entering the building felt so strange and familiar at the same time. She turned and looked around a bit at the ceiling interiors, noticing that the once colorful palettes were now replaced with stone cold pieces. As Snow White made her way to the elevator, she noticed the employees walking around her were all in dark formal attires, pretty much in uniform. Not a smile on their faces either. This wasn’t the building she remembered at all.
She pressed the up button on the elevator and paused. What exactly would she tell her stepmother and why she was here? She had no clue but she took courage anyway, even when she knows that she was going to get in so much trouble.
Just as she was entering the elevator, someone called out, “Hold the elevator please!!!”
She was taken by surprise and accidentally pressed the close button instead of the open one. Luckily, the person was able to block the doors from closing with his arms.
“Ah!” Snow White exclaimed, suddenly in a small panic.
When the elevator doors emerged open, she was met with a tall figure, somewhat sweaty and catching his breath. He was wearing a long sleeved polo and semi-squared glasses. Snow White blinked and realized that he was most likely an employee from upstairs.
“Gee, thanks for that,” he muttered sarcastically under his breath.
“I’m so sorry,” Snow White apologized. “Your voice startled me and I pressed the wrong button in a panic.”
The guy gave her a sarcastic smile. “That’s great.”
“I’m really sorry,” Snow White said again.
As the elevator doors finally closed, the guy straightened his polo and took out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped it on his sweaty face. He took off his glasses for a second and ran his hands through his messy ash brown hair. Snow White immediately noticed his bright blue eyes and wasn’t sure why she suddenly felt safe around them. She immediately shrugged off the feeling and looked away before he noticed she was looking at him.
“Phew,” he said as he was wiping his neck this time. “I am so dead.”
Snow White looked up at him. Gosh he was so tall, she thought. “I’m sorry, but why are you dead?” she asked innocently. “I mean, if you don’t mind me asking…”
“Well, traffic was so bad because there was some kind of protest and now I’m going to have to face the consequences of being late,” he explained miserably.
“Oh I’m sure it’s not all bad,” Snow White said. “I mean, if you just explain it to your boss—”
“Oh ho ho,” the guy chuckled. “You don’t know my boss.”
He turned to finally get a good look at her since he entered the elevator. “Wait, who are you anyway? Are you supposed to be a new applicant or what? I mean, I should know if we were hiring… ‘Cause I’ll be real with you, go apply somewhere else while you can. Save yourself,” he said in a low voice.
Snow White raised her eyebrows in confusion. “No, I’m not an applicant. I’m…” her voice trailed off. For some reason, she couldn’t bring herself to say who she really was. She felt like a stranger in her own father’s building.
Before she could continue, the elevator dinged and the doors opened. He turned around again and mouthed, “Save yourself.” Then he was gone.
Still confused, Snow White exited the elevator a minute after he did. She couldn’t take her mind off the guy who was desperately trying to get to work on time otherwise there will be consequences. Apart from the sarcasm, he seemed like a decent dude. And his eyes, for some reason, she couldn’t take it off her mind’s eye. Her thoughts clouded her mind as she found herself entering her stepmother’s office.
She knocked on the glass door and let herself peek through. “Hello, stepmother,” she said softly.
Sitting behind a large wooden desk that probably weighed like an elephant, her stepmother looked up sharply from the newspaper she was intently reading. “Snow White?” she said in a shocked yet firm voice. “What on earth do you think you are doing here? Didn’t I tell you you aren’t allowed in the office?”
Snow White closed the door quietly behind her. “Yes, stepmother,” she answered. “But I just thought that I would come and visit the workers… and you,” she quickly added as she noticed her stepmother’s eyes grow at the mention of the workers.
“You see,” she continued nervously. “My father and I—”
Her stepmother’s eyes now squinted.
“We… We used to visit the workers all the time, and—”
“Listen to me, Snow White,” her stepmother cut her off. “This is no place for a young girl like you. You should be in school focusing on your studies.”
“But I am, stepmother,” Snow White replied quite proudly. “I’m even the top of my class this term.”
To this, Snow White’s stepmother took no pride or pleasantry. But just as she was going to open her mouth and continue with her sermon, in the corner of her eye, she had seen her secretary through the glass enter the room outside hers. He was hurriedly placing his things down on his desk when she shifted gears and called him out.
“Jonathan!”
Her secretary straightened up so fast at the sound of his name. Jonathan’s eyes grew for he knew what it meant. Taking a deep breath, he slowly entered his boss’ room.
“Yes, madam?”
His boss smiled snarkily. “You’re late.”
Jonathan seemed to still be catching his breath. “Yes madam, but I—” he stopped right when he noticed that the same girl who was with him in the elevator earlier was also in the room with them. Distracted and confused, he continued, “I was here five minutes ago, madam. I just had to step out to the bathroom. And forgive me, I was only two minutes late—”
“Mm-mm,” his boss shook her head with pursed lips. “I don’t have time for your excuses. Salary deduction.”
Jonathan’s face fell and tried to say something in objection, but nothing came out of his mouth. Instead, Snow White stepped in for him.
“Please, stepmother,” she pleaded.
Her stepmother took a sharp look at her.
“He… He was in the elevator with me. I saw the time, and he was rushing so quick to get to work but the traffic was indeed terrible downstairs and—”
“I didn’t ask for your opinion, Snow White,” her stepmother replied coldly.
Meanwhile, Jonathan was in the corner, trying to put two and two together. He gasped quietly to himself. “Stepmother? Snow White?” then he looked up again at the girl who was trying to reason out with his boss.
“But—”
“Enough!” her stepmother replied in a raised voice, slamming her hand on the desk. “Jonathan, that’s all.” She nodded her head towards the door and he took that as his sign to exit the room, all while he was still connecting the dots in his mind.
She then turned to Snow White. “As for you my dear, I will no longer have any of this nonsense. You will not come back here, and you are to go straight back home this instant and stay there. I will have the driver pick you up. Is that understood?”
Snow White enveloped and bowed her head. “Yes, stepmother.”
With somewhat broken spirits, she left her stepmother’s office with her arms wrapped around herself. She tried to hold back her tears since there were people looking at her.
Before she could head back to the elevator, a hand suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her in a corner. She almost let out a loud gasp.
“You!”
“Why didn’t you tell me who you were?” he asked in a hushed whisper, not letting go of her arm.
“I…” Snow White couldn’t bring herself to answer nor to look at him straight. There’s those blue eyes again.
Realizing that his grip on her arm was probably getting to her, Jonathan let go. “Well, thank you anyway for trying to save me back there. That was very kind of you,” he said with a smile. And for the first time since they met, Snow White felt it was a sincere one. “I’m sorry that I was snarky towards you earlier too,” he added.
Snow White smiled and unconsciously tucked her hair behind her ear. “It’s alright.”
For a moment, the two of them said nothing to each other but there seemed to be some sort of unspoken connection between them. Just then, Snow White was the first to break the silence.
“I have to go,” she said, remembering that the driver will be there at any moment.
As she was about to leave for the elevator, Jonathan took her hand. She was surprised but not frightened at all. It’s as if there was something familiar about his touch. He too, unconsciously knowing what he was doing, was surprised, but he smiled all the same.
“I’m going down to check on the workers, do you want to come with me?”
Snow White looked at him, distracted and trying to find the right words. “I… I can’t,” she managed to say. “My driver will be arriving soon and if I’m not there when he gets here, I’m so screwed. You saw what happened back there…”
He managed to curl up a smile. “Yeah, I did see that. That’s why I think you’re tough enough to go against the tide every once in a while,” he teased. “Come on, we’ll be quick.”
Still holding on to her hand, he led her to the elevator. He soon realized this and let it go when they got in the elevator. He then cleared his throat and pressed the elevator door, hoping she didn’t notice him turning a bit pink.
The two of them made their way to the basement to where the workers were. While inside the elevator, they were both quiet, but it was a comfortable kind of silence. Something inside Snow White told her that this was going to be the start of something. She just didn’t know what yet.
As they reached the basement, she was welcomed with a somber image. What was once a joyful environment now turned into a robotic and lifeless atmosphere. There wasn’t a smile in the room, all just tired and burnt out faces. Snow White couldn’t bring herself to leave the balcony where the elevator door was located. Jonathan was about to descend the steps but stopped when he saw her.
“Your stepmother has created a harsh environment down here,” he said, putting the image before them into words.
“It wasn’t like this when father was alive,” Snow White gasped. “I can’t believe this is how it’s become.”
Jonathan just pursed his lips. He looked at Snow White intently and saw how concerned she was with the workers.
“I have to do something,” she declared.
Jonathan shrugged. “Yeah that would really be great, but we all know your stepmother.”
“But what about you, why do you stay and continue to work here? For her?” she asked him.
“It was my father’s dying wish,” he sighed. “He was working here when it was still run by your father. Like you, I too saw how happy he was to be working here. I thought it would be the same for me, but alas.” They both looked down at the poor workers.
“I have to do something,” Snow White repeated, this time to herself.