Rue-
The princess who discovered the fatal flaw with her happily ever after.
"My turn." Rue said, with an entitled air.
"I first met Mytho when I was a little girl. We went through so much together. He was the virtuous prince who could do no wrong. I assumed he was single when we started dating, later on. Ahiru, you know our story. After nearly escaping the tragedy, Mytho and I became the prince and princess of the fairy-tale land.
All was well, right? He'd always have royal business to attend to. He'd go to work (as we called it), come home, and I'd brew tea whenever he came home.
Nobody had ever told me how the rules worked in this kingdom. I didn't know the truth. I thought I knew who he really was, but I'd only known him while he didn't have a heart. He didn't have a personality then.
So it was only natural. How could I have even dreamed he was capable of doing what he did?
But then I found out.
Single?
Single my ass.
Not only was he married…oh no. He had six wives, who'd all been waiting for him when he came back to his kingdom. Apparently, as a prince he's entitled to as many wives as he likes. But he lied to me. Lied by omission. Let me believe what I thought I shouldn't even doubt! How was I supposed to know he was a polygamist?
And all the while, desperation had been mounting in me. I'd known I didn't belong there. Neither did he. We both shared that raven's blood flowing through our veins. It was more pronounced in me than it was in him, but it was still visible.
He, however, could hide it. I couldn't. I found urgings towards evil in me, and I fought back. There were those traces of darkness in my soul, however, that could never be repressed. That perfect life…it was too much sometimes. It's like having your eyes burned by the blinding whiteness of snow. I knew this was what I'd wanted, but it was too perfect. And I was too flawed, too weak to the raven's blood within me.
But this…this was the tipping point. It pushed me over into madness. If the one person I'd trusted more than myself had betrayed me, how could I trust life itself?
So that night, when he came home, I fixed him a drink, as usual.
And I waited.
You know, some guys just can't hold their arsenic.
I loved him. And he betrayed me.
They found out, soon enough. I didn't mind. I didn't mind at all. I was expecting all kinds of horrific punishment, most likely death.
But they didn't kill me. Instead, the Council sent me into jail as a murderess back in reality. I still don't know how they did it; one moment I was standing before them and in the next I was in jail, guilty of murder.
In their way, that punishment's just as bad as death, if not worse. I think that their logic was that they were depriving me of the quick release of pain death would have brought, instead forcing me to regret what I'd done.
It was true I would rather have died than remaining there. But this…being back in reality is almost unbearable. The pain, the guilt…and sometimes I think I hear Mytho's voice in my dreams.
But I don't regret it.
He had it coming. He had it coming, all along. It was a murder, but not a crime."
"I always knew you were insane." Hermia told Rue.
"She really is." Ahiru said disbelievingly. "You went through so much to be Mytho's princess…and then you killed him?"
Rue nodded. "But I wasn't Mytho's princess…I was expendable. One of many. And he lied to me! I didn't belong there, either…and I guess I couldn't see any other escape."
"Since you couldn't die there…you thought you'd teach them a lesson about polygamy and escape from that place at the same time." Pique said, as she puzzled over Rue's actions.
"That's terrible." Edel told Rue. "I'm sorry for what happened to you."
Rue's mouth tightened into a grimace. "Like I said, it was a murder but not a crime."