You have all heard the tale of a girl whose skin was as white as snow and hair as black as ebony, but I am here to tell you that it is far from the truth.

It has been two hundred years since the tale first started being told, and I think it's about time for people to learn the true story of Snow White. And who better to recount it to you than me, the one who has seen it all happen?

You might wonder how it is that I am still alive after all this time, and everything will become clear if you join me on the trip down memory lane.

The truth is that Snow White was born as beautiful as the story says. Her hair was black, and her skin slightly paler than usual. However, the description of her skin as white as snow and lips as red as blood was added later. After everything that happened.

For, you see, the queen did give birth to her and die. Furthermore, the king did remarry, with one slight difference. Snow White's stepmother was not the way she was described in the fairy tale. She was something far more sinister.

There were no magic mirrors involved in this tale, either. As a matter of fact, all magic mirrors were removed from the castle premises the moment the new queen was crowned. No one could understand why since her beauty had no match in the whole kingdom. It was so flawless that many found it eerie, yet she never admired herself in the mirror the way she does in the story.

I assume it's expected that the details would change so much over time, yet I am pleased that at least the crucial elements of what happened have stayed the same.

She was jealous of Snow White, but it wasn't because of her beauty. It could never surpass the queen's flawless nature. It was because of her beating heart, the warmth that radiated from her body.

For, you see, the queen's heart had not been beating for such a long time that she craved to feel it again, to feel alive again. It was the urge that even she could not understand. Yet, the one that managed to overpower her reason.

"Huntsman, I want you to take Snow White into the woods and bring me back her heart," the queen said one day.

"But your highness..." the poor Huntsman started to say.

"Do it, or I'll rip your heart out instead," the queen growled.

The Huntsman was a smart guy with good instincts, and they were telling him that she was telling the truth. Disobeying the thing that was his queen would mean his immediate death. Thus, he chose to obey.

"Very well, my queen," he said, bowing while retreating.

It was far too easy for him to lure the exploration-thirsty princess into the woods, but the Huntsman was such a good man that he could not take an innocent life.

"Your stepmother has sent me to pull out your heart and bring it to her. You have to run! Save yourself!" the Huntsman said as the knife he was holding clattered to the ground.

Seeing honesty in his eyes, Snow White ran as fast as she could, leaving the Huntsman on his knees.

He knew that were he not to deliver a heart to his queen, his heart would be ripped out, he came up with a plan. A plan which he hoped would save his life.

The Huntsman hunted down a wild boar and ripped out its heart, carrying it to the queen.

"Here is Snow White's heart," he said, handing the queen a still warm heart.

However, he did not expect the queen to bite into it with delight nor for her eyes to no longer appear human.

"Argh," the queen said, spitting out the bite she took.

"This is not a human heart. How dare you! What kind of trickery is this!" the queen screamed at the poor Huntsman.

"I assure you, your majesty, that is Snow White's heart," Huntsman said, quivering.

"You will pay for your betrayal," the queen said as her canines elongated.

The next thing the Huntsman knew, she held him firmly in her arms. Before he had the chance to question her motives, her teeth pierced his skin, and he yelped in pain.

He tried to take a step back to break free of her hold. Yet, he could not.

She lapped up his blood, sucking eagerly like a newborn child. Her cold hands were the only things keeping him upright when his legs could no longer do so.

The last thing the Huntsman could feel was darkness claiming him. He embraced it as his dearest friend since it gave him an escape from the monster he called his queen.

The queen dropped the inadequate nourishment to the floor and licked her red lips clear of any traces of the Huntsman's less than adequate blood.

"Humans... They never learn to listen," she said to herself.

"If you want to do something well, you have to sink your own teeth into it, I guess," she murmured.

Soon enough, the queen's spies learned where Snow White was hiding. She was staying with the miners who lived in the forest.

Since they were seven strong brothers, the queen hesitated to make a move. Mind you, it was not because they were powerful enough to stop her, but rather because it would be impossible to hide all those dead bodies. Their death would raise too many questions that she could not answer.

Thus, she waited. Being an immortal bestows one with limitless patience, and she was no exception. She knew where her prey was. She was determined to hunt it down.

Mind you, she did not plan on drinking Snow White's blood. She had plenty of regular humans to choose from for that. Instead, she wanted to eat Snow White's heart in the hopes that it would make her feel alive.

Things did not go according to plan in the least.

One day, when all the miners went to work, the queen disguised herself as an old woman selling trinkets. Then she went knocking on Snow White's door. Her idea was to gain her trust and rip her heart out as quickly and as quietly as possible.

"Pretty things, stay-laces of all colors," the disguised queen said.

"May I see?" Snow White asked, opening the door.

"Of course, my child. Why don't you invite me in? It has been a long day, and I am tired," the queen said.

"Oh, I am sorry. Yes, of course. Come in, please." Snow White said.

To ensure her prey did not try to escape, the queen offered to help her tie the lace, thinking it would keep the girl still. However, she misjudged her own strength, and Snow White fell to the ground, unconscious.

The queen pulled out a knife, ready to carve her heart out when she heard the sounds of the miners approaching. Overconfident in her ability to kill the girl without raising suspicions, the queen dashed away, vowing to return to her prey at a more convenient time.

After some time, the queen devised an even more devious plan. She soaked a comb in poison that would debilitate but not kill Snow White, thus, giving her more time to indulge in her young heart.

She disguised herself and went to the house where Snow White cohabited with the miners.

"Combs, beautiful combs for beautiful girls," the queen said.

"I shouldn't let anyone in. My dear miners said so." Snow White said.

"That's alright, my dear. You can look through the window," the queen said.

Seeing how beautiful the combs were, Snow White decided to purchase some.

However, upon fixing one of them into her hair, she fell down, paralyzed.

The queen jumped in through the window with an agility that only a vampire such as herself could possess and stalked toward Snow White.

You see, once you've invited a vampire into your home, they can come and go as they please, feeding on your blood and choosing whether you live or die.

"You, humans, are so easily fooled," the queen said with a satisfied smirk.

However, her smirk was wiped away by a smell that overwhelmed all her thoughts. All that remained of her was thirst. Her eyes turned bright red, and her fangs came out of her salivating mouth.

Unbeknownst to her, Snow White had accidentally pricked her finger while adjusting the comb in her hair.

That one droplet of blood was enough to dispel all the queen's carefully made plans as it landed on an apple that Snow White's fall brought down.

I am assuming that is how the story of the poisoned apple got started in the first place since it was a green apple that ended up with a red blemish.

The queen quickly licked off the blood from the apple. However, once she tasted its delicious flavor, stopping was an impossibility. Thus, she bit into Snow White's neck, viciously sucking her blood while the girl lay motionless on the ground.

As fate would have it, there was one thing the queen failed to consider, the poison.

While the queen did make a clear plan to use the antidote for the poison on the ripped-out heart before consuming it, her bloodthirst had chased away her reason. Thus, she failed to comprehend that she was drinking poisoned blood.

After finishing her meal, the queen fell down. She was paralyzed next to her victim.

Upon returning home, the miners found Snow White's dead body and the paralyzed queen. Taking stock of the situation, they acted quickly, aware of what the queen's kind was capable of.

They staked the queen, burning her body, but they could not do the same to Snow White. Her innocent beauty was too precious to destroy. Thus, her body was laid out in a coffin in their basement, waiting for them to gain enough strength to give her a proper burial.

However, before they got the chance to do so, a pale-looking prince with bright red lips approached them.

"I know what happened. The princess was attacked by a vampire," the prince said.

"We know that. Aren't you a vampire as well?" Shay, one of the miners, asked.

"I am, and that's exactly why I can help," the prince said.

"How so?" Shay asked.

"She has been drained by a vampire recently. The venom still lingers in her body. If she were to drink my blood now, she would become one of us," the prince said.

"And why would we allow another monster like you to walk the earth?" Shay asked.

"Because I am not like the others. I only feed on evil humans, those wishing to harm others," the prince said.

"I would teach the princess to do the same. Plus, I am a vampire hunter. I hunt all those vampires who choose to take innocent lives," the prince said.

"Why would we trust you?" Shay asked.

"Because my name is prince Abraham Van Helsing, the Vampire Hunter," he said.

The Vampire Hunter's reputation preceded him though none knew his dark secret, that he was a vampire himself.

"Proceed," Shay said, allowing him access to Snow White's body.

Van Helsing quickly bit into his hand and poured his blood over Snow White's mouth.

As the blood trickled down Snow White's mouth opened. She bit into his hand, needing more of the precious liquid.

Once he deemed she had had enough of his blood, Van Helsing pulled his hand away before she could accidentally kill him.

Her eyes suddenly popped open, and her lips were no longer the only red things on her.

"What happened?" she asked.

"You have risen, my dear." Van Helsing said.

Confused as she was, Snow White said nothing but listened carefully to his explanations. Once everything was made clear to her, as much as it ever could be, she agreed to leave with him and join the vampire hunting life.

Decades later, we got married, and we are still living, well existing, happily ever after.

If you haven't realized it by now, I am Abraham Van Helsing, the Vampire Hunter. Now you know the true story of Snow White, my dear wife, and me, the infamous Vampire Hunter.