Mirror, Mirror on the Wall
The open window faced out to the snowy garden; the leaves had fallen from the trees, but the snow-roses were covered with a frosty film. The biting breeze caressed my golden frame before swirling up towards the ceiling like a whirlwind. In front of the window sat the delicate Queen; she peered at the snow falling like feathers from the heaven. Mesmerized, she pricked her finger with a needle. With her body half turned to me I saw her droplets of blood fall upon the black stone frame of the window. The Queen stared, fascinated by the sight, "If only I had a child whose lips were red as blood, skin white as snow, and hair was black as night. Only a child whose beauty rivaled that of nature will make me happy." She murmured to herself. The beautiful Queen did not notice yet, but within her grows that child; I can see its power pulsing within her stomach.
I watched as her stomach swelled with the unborn child; the Queen's eyes radiated happiness and joy, but her face was slowly fading. The once beautiful Queen was becoming pale and sallow, wrinkles never seen before appeared around her eyes, hair that once shown in the light had become limp and dry. The Queen, however, still gazed into my reflection, watching as her daughter slowly sucked the strength from her.
Screams pierce the warm summer's night as the Queen lay in her bed; the midwife gently wiped her skin that was slick with sweat, as she quietly tells her everything is going to be all right. The King leans against my strong frame; his eyes are clenched shut, unable to look at his wife. He does not need my powers to see that the light from inside of her is slowly growing dimmer and dimmer. With an agonizing scream the Queen finally sucks in her lasts breaths as she holds her child to her breast. "Lips red as blood, skin white as snow, and hair was black as night," she coos lovingly to the soft bundle. "How strong you will become my fair Snow White. Never let the light within you go out, for when it does, this kingdom will surely parish. I love you my fair Snow White." And with that the Queen's eyes slowly fall, her pulsing aura beats its finally surge. I watch as the midwife carefully extracts the mewing newborn and quietly exits from the room. The king turns to me, peering within the looking glass he sighs. His smooth hands run over my glossy form. With a confident step back he stares into my depths and says:
"Mirror, mirror, on the wall,
Find me a wife who is fairest of them all."
A wretched vixen the new queen is! Revenna's magnificence hides the darkness that brews within her. Her skin is sun kissed and pristine; her hair was as golden as locks of sun, pilled on top of her head in tiny, intricate plaits. Her slender and feminine body entranced the King, for if I could shut my eyes, I would have looked away from the spell she casts around the foolish man. The fiendish glint in her eyes, those eyes that sparkled like emeralds from the finest jewels held a devilish secret. Yet she has captivated and tricked me as well, for when she tenderly murmurs to me:
"Mirror, mirror, on the wall,
Who is fairest of them all?"
I cannot help but answer:
"You, my queen, are fairest of them all."
Concealed in the privacy of her room, her nails grow into daggers, her teeth elongate, and her eyes burn with a deadly fire. Sorcery pumps through her veins and consumes her; from my perch I watch as she fills herself with stolen immortality. Stolen from the beating hearts of the alluring girls, she stabs into the child quivering at her feet, spraying my face with the virgin blood. Carving the burning organ from the girl, she breathes in its metallic scent that permeates the air. Blood is pooling on lush carpets; she consumes the seething energy from the heart. Sucking the beauty from another's soul is her energy; Revenna's beauty and life are deathless. Behind her stood her knights, who were recognizable by the beautifully intricate tattoos on their faces, coiled around their necks like snakes. The knight's robes, solid black but comprised of so many colors, swirled like liquid metal around their ankles. Hissing their siren songs to the beat of the dying girls heart.
Studying her reflection in my depths, blood drips from her mouth, the skin on her face glows with eternal power. But no matter how heinous Revenna is, her beauty is alluring. Pulling me in I am desperate to see her again, just one more look is all I need. She is like a drug; her features have bound to her with iron chains. I have seen thousands of faces in my long life, but never have I seen one as spell-bounding as her.
But once a long time ago I caught a glimpse of grace, a face that would have the world begging at her feet. That was a long time ago, and that face I have never seen again for she was cast out of the castle. Her beauty I could feel though; the fair child known as Snow White had tethered her soul to mine. When I focus my sight I can she her before me as she lies within dungeon. Flea-bitten and covered with grime, her beauty has not faded. Today she would turn seventeen, the day her beauty would magnify and surpass all others. As has become her ritual after feeding on those poor girls heart's, Revenna steps before my mounting, stoking down my golden ridges and across the luminous jewel adorning my form. Entranced by her spells I almost miss the sweet words she recites:
"Mirror, mirror, on the wall,
Who is fairest of them all?"
For a second I pause, bound by the spell that had awoken my voice I can only tell truths. Knowing the fury and temper of the Queen I speak slowly:
"You, my Queen are quite fair, but there is another whose lips are as red as blood, skin white as snow, and hair black as night. She, my Queen, is much fairer than you."
Revenna's fist, knuckles clad in metal, punch through my face. Tormenting pain fills my core; shards of glass fall from my wound where the Queen has smashed into my face with her demon claws. Tearing into the power that lays behind the glass, she grips at it, slowly draining the power from my vision. Blood pours over glass and glass rips into dainty flesh, she slowly extracts my powers. Leaning in close to the sharp edges she whispers, each word filled with venom, each a promise for revenge.
"Tell me, my honest mirror, who is the girl, who is more beautiful than me?"
"My Queen, it is Snow White who is a thousand times fairer than you. " Painfully she retracts her claws from my soul, turning to the window that another Queen once sat to gaze at the falling snow.
"Lips red as blood, skin white as snow, hair black as night. Bring me your heart, my dear Snow White." She whispered into the chilling night, "For when I have consumed your heart, my reign will know no end."