The Mirror

I was a normal princess with normal dreams until one day I met the one woman that would change my life forever. Beauty and power seemed to resonate from her. All I knew was she would free me from the tyranny of my uncle. That murderous bastard took from me the only people that truly loved me, my parents. 

I was 18 when I met Esme, an enchantress from a faraway kingdom. Her reputation preceded her, so I asked for a secret audience. My heart was pure then. I begged her to make me as beautiful as she was and to stop the arranged marriage that my uncle had put in place for me. 

“I can no longer live under the rule of my uncle. I know this kingdom is my birth right, but he will never let go of his reign over my people. This plain face and generic stick frame body has gotten me nothing. If I were as beautiful as you, I could marry a prince that could help me regain control of my kingdom. Please help me, Enchantress. My people are suffering.” 

Her smile seemed so kind, “There, there my young princess. I will help you under one condition. I will make you as beautiful as I, but you must marry the king that has come for your hand. He has a young daughter who will need your guidance. Your beauty will come from within, as that is where true beauty lies. Tread lightly, as the girl still mourns the loss of her mother.”

“I am too young to be a mother. I am not ready for that responsibility. And what of my people? This king will take me to a kingdom far from here?” I could not bear to let my uncle win by sending me away. 

“Princess Alexa, you will return when the time is right. I will take care of your kingdom and allow no more suffering. I assure you of this. Will you take my offer?” Tricked by her kind demur I agreed to her terms and true to her word I became beautiful. 

The enchantress assured me that she would be able to guide me through my new life as a queen and mother through the use of a magical mirror. She told me I held magic in my heart so all I would have to do is use a simple phrase to summon her into the mirror. Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?

Within a month I was married to King Terrence. He was a gentle man, but it was clear there would be no love between us. The only one he held in his heart was his daughter, Snow. She was beautiful by nature and a kindred spirit. The enchantress was right. The girl missed her mother tremendously and as hard as I tried the girl pushed me away. I would go to the mirror and summon the enchantress, “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?” 

Every time it was the same, “Queen Alexa, be patient. As long as I continue to tell you that you are the fairest of them all there is still hope for you to be loved by your new family.” Little did I know it was all a ploy to take my kingdom.

For years the girl wanted nothing to do with me and frankly neither did my husband. Isolation and loneliness darkened my heart. I grew resentful of the child as she had the love I longed to have.  I again went to my mirror, “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?”

“You are my dearest Queen Alexa. What is it this time? And make it brief you shall have company soon,” the kindness had left the enchantress and now it was apparent she had become annoyed with me. 

“The young princess still pushes me away. How do I win her heart?” I was desperate for answers. I could not see what path the enchantress had in store for me. 

“The princess will come to you and ask for guidance. Give it to her. Be a mother figure. Why is this so hard for you to comprehend? No wonder your uncle sent you away. You can’t even handle a child. Yet you wanted to rule a kingdom. Bah!” I noticed a change in the enchantress. She was no longer as beautiful as she had once appeared.

A knock at the door caused me to startle. I vanquished the enchantress from the mirror. “Come in.”

“I am sorry to bother you stepmother. I just wanted to talk.” Snow looked so uncomfortable to be near me, let alone to talk to me. 

“Of course, Snow. I always have time for you, my darling,” my sweet tone must have eased the child for she no longer seemed overly uncomfortable. 

“My father is sick. I know we haven’t been the most accepting of you, but you are the closest thing to a mother I have. It’s rumored that you have magic. Save my father, please. I do not know what I would do without him,” Snow sobbed uncontrollably with her face buried into my lap. 

“I will try my darling. I can make no promises, but I will try,” I stoked the young girl’s hair as a way to comfort her. She left with hope in her heart. I was beginning to earn her love, or so I thought. 

I went to my husband’s bedchamber that night. Sitting next to his bed to watch as he struggled for breath. “Snow has asked me to heal you, dear husband,” I whispered softly. “I will try my best to make you well again. Snow needs you.”

King Terrence grabbed my hand, “I brought you here to be a mother to my daughter and yet you have done nothing of the sort. You are a failure of a mother and as well as of a queen. There is nothing more to you than your beauty.”

“I have tried for years to earn the affection of both you and your daughter. I have come to help you because your daughter asked me to. You both have pushed me away leaving me to live a life of solitude. What could I have done?” His words angered me and darkened my heart further. “Whatever fate has in store for you, you deserve every bit of it!” With that I placed my hand over his heart and even though I wished for his healing, the opposite occurred. 

Snow came in as he took his last breath, my hand still glowing over his heart. “What have you done?!” She was inconsolable.

“I’m sorry, Snow. I tried but it failed,” although I tried to have compassion in my voice, the sound came out ice cold. 

“You murderer! I should have known you would be the end of my father’s life!” Her hatred ran deep. 

Upon the dying wishes of the king I was moved from my luxurious bedchamber to a drafty old part of the castle. The top room of the tower served as my new bedchamber and the sitting room at the base of the tower I turned into my study and workspace. Snow did not speak to me and stuck her nose in the air anytime she had to come near me. 

Soon the whole kingdom called me the ‘Evil Queen’. I once again consulted the mirror, “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?”

“Not you Alexa, the queen fallen from grace, no longer loved by her subjects. Snow is now the fairest of them all. Not only beautiful, but loved by all,” the enchantress looked haggard and no longer angelic. 

“What have you done to my life? I never wanted this. I am here because of you,” my anger and resentment continued to turn my heart to ice. 

“I did not kill the king, you did. You let darkness cloud your judgment. My advice is to embrace your new title. All the land calls you the evil queen so be evil, my dear.” I gave great thought to this. 

“You are right, Enchantress. I will give the people what they want, an evil queen. For my first act as evil queen, you will forever be bound to the mirror. Never to leave the mirror realm, you will be at my every beck and call. You will answer only to me. This is my will and so it will be.” I placed my hand against the mirror and the enchantress screamed in terror. “This will be your punishment for ruining my life. As for Snow, I have special plans for her. I have always wanted her heart and now I shall have it, in this ornate box.”

I would destroy anyone or anything that kept me from getting my way. I became methodical. Apples were always a treat Snow loved. She could run but my poisoned apple would find her. 

Damned that Prince Charming for wrecking my perfect plans. I will destroy them. It’s just a matter of time, mark my words.