Last chapter!
"Mirror, do you have a name?"
The mirror shimmered in the setting sunlight flooding through the tall windows, almost turning its surface blind with gold. "My Queen called me as her looking-glass upon the wall."
"That's not a name."
"It shall be, unless My Queen calls me differently."
Lucy glanced up from her exquisitely painted nails to shoot the mirror a skeptical look. "You know, you always act so demure but why can't I seem to buy it?"
There was no answer, so Lucy resumed admiring her servants' work. "Not having a name is sad, you shouldn't spin it as something admirable. Names are important."
"I may be whoever My Queen wishes me to be."
Lucy scoffed. "What if I want you to be 'Bob'? Or 'Mirror McSurface'?"
"As long as My Queen is pleased."
"I'm not pleased at all." Lucy leaned back in her plush chair, trying to banish the annoyance that had clung to her like a leech ever since Snow White had called her a 'madwoman' over breakfast. Was that really the extent of the girl's cruelness? Where was the Snow White from her dreams, the one that had happily watched Lucy's limbs be devoured by greedy flames? "Why isn't she more angry?"
"My Queen, Snow White is an embodiment of virtues. No matter the injustice heaped against her, she will not be the first to draw a sword. The only way to be rid of her is to trick her - let me show you how to brew -"
"Yes, that sounds like a fabulous plan. Let's poison the girl I just took back to the castle, no one will be suspicious. Should I maybe time it so it perfectly coincides with the king's return, and his first act can be to lob off my head?"
"Her presence here is a burden you choose to carry yourself."
"I thought it would work! I thought she would be a lot more decisive, in my dreams she was always so …" terrifying .
"In your dreams she never stood alone."
So it was because Snow White had no backer that she failed to go after Lucy with more vengeance? But that was not a solution - it was like handing her a cleaver and then recommending a chopping block to go with it.
Lucy sighed, her head lolling, weighed down by the long waterfall of hair. "Why am I even here? I'm sure your Queen would know how to handle this better."
For one ludicrous second Lucy actually wished she could ask her for advice. A full-fledged villainess with crimes under her belt surely knew how to break this stalemate.
"You are needed. Though my Queen does her best to avoid nooses, she cannot escape the strings already leading her limbs, long fastened without her knowledge. Her actions will always be controlled by an outside force."
"An outside force …"
Her thoughts turned slowly, like a heavy mill-grind fighting against its own weight.
"Is that what I am?" Lucy whispered. "An outside force? Is that why I'm here?"
There was a second of lingering silence as the light of the setting sun faded, elongating the shadows inside the room.
"As you are not part of the original tale, an outside force describes you quite sufficiently, wouldn't you agree … Lucy? "
Lucy bolted upright, an electric shiver shooting down her spine. "What … did you just call me?"
"I believe we were speaking of names and their importance. I crave only to follow your wishes, Lucy."
"Stop it." The words escaped before she could think them through. "I'm going to bed."
"As you wish."
She almost ripped the curtain in her haste to shut the mirror away, her reflection wide-eyed and pale in the glimpse she caught before the heavy fabric blocked her view. Gooseflesh pebbled her skin and now matter how many times she rubbed her arms, it wouldn't go away.
Even when she fell asleep many restless hours later, Lucy still couldn't remember if she had ever told the mirror her real name.
It seemed that Lucy had a weakness for dreaming of stunning women.
At first she thought it was a mirror image scowling at her, the talk of the evening haunting her in her sleep. But when her reflection moved Lucy realized that she had never held herself with such poise, such grace …
"You …?"
"Stupid thing! Do you think the incantation is beneath you? That you don't need it?"
The woman's exquisite features were animated with rage, flashing amber eyes and flushed cheeks only adding to her allure, a gown of sparkling light winding around her heaving chest in a tight embrace.
"You're leaving the demon free reign!"
Lucy tried to swim through her confusion but it was clogging her head like thick molasses, slowing her thoughts. "What?"
"It chose an especially dimwitted one this time, I see." The woman - or rather the Queen, for surely it must be her - spat out and even her insults sounded like beautiful melodies.
"Just - wait, give me a second, what - how are you …?"
"You wished for my advice so here you have it: Stop being such a fool!"
"I wished …" Lucy broke off as she recalled her one second of desperation, when she had wanted to ask the Queen what to do about Snow White - but surely that couldn't be the reason? It was too simple …
"The rules of the game are always simple, it's the players that complicate it! Especially if you choose to ignore them."
What rules? Can she read my thoughts?
"The incantation! And we are inside my body but your mind, of course I can hear your thoughts, you imbecile."
Lucy tried to corral her questions, voicing the first one. "What incantation?"
"You - ! You know the tale, otherwise you wouldn't be here, how can you be so ignorant?" The Queen actually stomped her dainty feet in frustration. "The incantation to bind the demons' power! Why do you think it was resentful enough to orchestrate my death by leading me to Snow White's wedding? If you don't ask it for something specific - you have to restrain it: 'Looking glass upon the wall, show me the fairest of them all'. Otherwise …"
Lucy briefly wondered how it was possible to grow dizzy inside her own head.
"The demon is greedy, it always seeks to further its own power and it has found a way - consuming the tales that birthed it. If you aren't careful, we will suffer the same fate." The Queen pursed her lips. "Though you would be dying after fulfilling its wishes while I died for being smart enough to use it."
But not smart enough to survive it.
"Hey!"
"Sorry." Lucy regretted her reflexive apology as soon as she uttered it - after all the Queen had thrown worse insults at her ever since she appeared. "What do you mean, consuming the tales?"
"It needs one of our stories to change, to be so drastically altered that it collapses on itself - and the demon can gain the energy that is set free by its destruction. But as part of the story it cannot wreak these changes, the tale resists its power. An outside influence is the only loophole and so the demon has started abducting souls from different worlds."
"This world is only a branch on a vast tree, one story among hundreds of its kind, its tale old and retold so often it splits in its details, creating a myriad of similar but different realities, linked in their essence, overlapping in their forms but twisting in their minutiae. And your task is to cut it loose from its trunk."
The slithering voice of the mirror echoed around them and Lucy flinched, looking behind her as if the mirror - the demon - was waiting to ambush her. But everything remained dark and hazy, the only clear light centered around her and the Queen who was positioned as her reflection.
"Stop remembering, it's so annoying, I don't need to hear everything twice!"
"Abducted? The mirror is the reason … ?"
The Queen sounded exasperated. "Did you never wonder how you ended up here?"
Of course Lucy had wondered and the answer had stung more than she cared to admit. Chance .
"Yes, but what chance? Might it have been that your head was filled with my tale while you were standing in front of a looking-glass ? I told you the rules are simple."
"I need … that's all? But -"
"You are not the first it chose but none of them ever achieved its goal, they all failed as their role was destined to - as I was destined to." The Queen glanced away quickly. "I would have remained unaware, if the demon hadn't chosen to give my body away again and again. No matter how small the trace of my essence was over time - and worlds - it trickled into a big enough stream for me to awaken."
"Lucky me," Lucy muttered weakly.
"Indeed! Though I fear you're too stupid to make use of it - already your mind grows so disturbed that your body awakens. You really are useless." The Queen was growing hazy in front of Lucy's eyes, her last words echoing strangely as they accompanied Lucy into the waking world.
"The demon has always underestimated our connection. Where it lingers, I remain - we are connected by the narrative. After all, there exists no looking-glass without a Queen to use it."
"Your Grace!"
The fine-haired brush dusting Lucy's cheeks with pearly powder stalled for just a second, the soft bristles tickling her skin. Lucy opened her eyes, glancing at the gray-haired matron prostrating herself beyond the invisible border of her chambers, visible to not only Lucy but all her servants busy with her morning ablutions. The woman had not dared step inside, despite her obvious distress and even with her forehead lowered to the polished marble, Lucy had no issue identifying exactly whose servant was kneeling before her.
Internally, she sighed. Not again .
"Please, this servant is begging Your Grace for the benevolence Your Grace has always shown Her Highness! This servant is helpless …"
"Save your words." Lucy stood up, straightening a hand down her corset, embroidered with birds and flowers. If the Queen's body didn't already have a natural hourglass figure, her waist would have been painfully pinched. "Lead the way for me."
While much of the nobility sneered at Snow White's past and conduct, there was a strange magnetic attraction to the girl that those closest to her failed to escape. While Lucy's servants attended her diligently out of fear, Snow White's servants were devoted to their princess. They would gladly endure any punishment in her stead, if only to keep the innocent girl safe, and so the panic the woman in front of Lucy displayed while walking through the castle was genuine. She even dared quicken her steps when they neared the advisor's hall, something that no-one else would risk in Lucy's presence at the danger of giving offense. But the threat of Lucy's ire was obviously weakened in the face of the soft sobs they could hear.
They found Snow White kneeling ( you stupid thing, never lower yourself, you're presenting a vulnerable back ) on the cold stone floor at the flustered advisors' feet, big tears dropping down her white cheeks, gleaming as much as the pearl that had just been smeared on Lucy's face. Even in distress, Snow White looked unbroken and beautiful without comparison.
"You have to let them go, they saved me!"
"Your Highness, please stand up, we don't deserve your humble salute …"
"Your Highness, please cease …"
"Your Highness, we are unable …"
Lucy swept into the room, her presence catching the attention from the advisors, all with sweat standing out on their foreheads and bulging, frightened eyes. They looked terribly relieved to see her and Lucy almost laughed. In the past her presence had only evoked trepidation and fear, but suddenly the whole castle breathed easier as soon as she was around.
Snow White, you really have made life easier for me.
"Trusted advisors, please excuse my presence in your chambers, it was not my intention to intrude …"
Snow White flinched at Lucy's voice, turning her head to glare at Lucy, who had barely inclined her chin in greeting, a vast contrast to the kneeling princess. The advisors all around her were quick to bow in turn and deny her feeble excuse. "Your Grace, please do not feel unwelcome …"
"Your Grace, your presence would not disturb …"
"Your Grace …"
Lucy accepted their words with a slim smile before her eyes 'fell' on Snow White. She forced her lips to turn down with false discomfort. "Your Highness, what are you doing here? Please stand, your fair skin is not fit for the harsh floor -"
"Stop pretending! I know it was you!"
Lucy ignored her, as if she was a child throwing a tantrum. Instead she directed a glare at the servants scattered around Snow White, their skin almost as pale as their mistress', though their pallor held the green tinge of panic. "What are you doing? Help Your Highness up this instant!"
"Yes, Your Grace!"
Snow White was a slim and frail thing so it didn't take more than one servant girl to haul her back to her feet, though the handling was still very gentle, almost loving. Snow White angrily freed herself, her black eyes burning while a shining trail of spent tears was painted down her flawless face, like silver morning mist.
Really, her beauty knew no limits .
"You're the one who imprisoned them!"
"Your Highness, what are you accusing me of today? Who are you talking about?"
"The dwarves! I saw them when they were led to … to prison," Snow White's voice broke with a sob.
This time Lucy's frown was real. The dwarves? She hadn't ordered anyone to imprison the seven dwarves, happy as long as they were far away and left Snow White with no allies. If Lucy had her wish, they would remain far behind the mountains and never grace the pages of this story again. "What dwarves? The mines in the north are …"
"Not those! My dwarves!"
Lucy shot a sharp glare at the advisors, who were acting like they were invisible, not looking at either her or Snow White. Could the girl really be this naive? Dwarves or not, those were men she was publicly claiming as 'hers'.
If she had any real consideration for the girl, she would try to get some privacy, so Lucy said: "Let's talk about this in my chambers …"
"Stop trying to hide! I know what you did, I know what you are! You want to get rid of me and because it didn't work the first time, now you're exercising your anger on those who protected me -"
Lucy allowed Snow White to burrow herself deeper into her hysterics, though she did her best to keep her face straight, only letting one deep, exhausted breath slip. "Your Highness, please . Let us not do this in your Royal Father's advisor's chambers so as to not …"
"You don't want them to know? Too late!" The girl's eyes were gleaming ominously, either with righteous fury or fresh tears, Lucy wasn't sure. "If you don't let my dwarves go, I will let everyone in the whole kingdom know that you are a wicked - "
"Wicked?"
The deep voice froze the whole chamber as if they had turned into mannequins. Even Snow White stopped in her tirade, blinking at someone behind Lucy.
Lucy felt as if time had slowed, a myriad of thoughts burying her mind in an avalanche of panic and dread. She wasn't sure what expression her borrowed face held when she turned her head, unable to stop herself from looking at the man standing at the entrance of the chamber.
It seemed her husband had finally returned.
Lucy first thought upon seeing the King was that he was old. Not ancient-old, but older than she had expected, with crows-feet surrounding deep-set eyes and lines bracketing his stern mouth.
Her second thought was that he had a … presence. There was no other way to put it - from the set of his shoulders and stance of his feet to the strands of silver peppered throughout his dark hair, he emitted something majestic and magnetic that drew the eye.
"Father …"
"Your Majesty!"
The advisors' shout easily drowned out Snow White's breathless exclamation when they bowed so quickly and deeply Lucy heard more than one spine crack.
Lucy herself had taken a step back without any real thought, her mind alight with shock. She hadn't even considered how the Queen would usually greet her husband or what she was expected to do - bow? Hug and smooch him? Burst into relieved tears?
Before Lucy could defrost her limbs enough to do anything, Snow White made her move first, sobbing so loudly her chest heaved and thankfully drew the attention of the room. "Father … You came to save me …"
Something twitched across the King's face, softening the creases between his stately brows. "Snow White - Daughter …"
And then Snow White did what Lucy had quickly dismissed as over-the-top in front of all the King's advisors, attendants and the handful of guards that had followed in his wake - she threw herself against his chest, hugging his waist and letting her tears free reign. "F-Father, you're back!"
Lucy wanted to blend into the background, though her colorful and elaborately decorated dress didn't exactly make it easy. Looking around the room though, at the astonished faces and worshiping postures, she realized that she shouldn't have worried about attracting attention.
How quickly her influence had waned, how easily the power had shifted with just the man's appearance. Before he had stepped into the room everyone had looked to Lucy for clues on how to act, orbiting her sun, but now she was just another pale star in the galaxy, glittering but too far away to have any influence.
Lucy had dreaded the arrival of the King ever since she had first learned of his existence. There was no question that he would ally with Snow White, any affection he might feel for his pretty wife paling in comparison to the love his only daughter evoked in him, especially after she had been missing for so long. Regaining something after losing it only made it more precious.
Already his big hands were carefully soothing Snow White's trembling, thin back, a private gesture Lucy couldn't imagine he would have displayed in front of all these outsiders if he could at all help it. His voice was gruff and deep when he spoke. "Calm yourself, lest you hurt your body."
"Father, please … please, you have to help me! She - my dwarves …"
The King's posture stiffened slightly and his hands moved to rest on Snow White's shoulder instead, creating a bit of space between them so he could look at his daughter's face. "There is no need to fret, Snow White. I ordered those wild dwarves questioned when we were passing through the glen. After all, they kept our daughter from us for ten years."
Fresh tears were added to the ones already drying on the girl's face. "No, they protected me! If I had returned - the Queen wants my life! Father, please believe me …"
Lucy's chest twinged in panic and she stepped forward, instinct propelling her small curtsy more than any clear thought. "My King."
Piercing eyes turned to her for the first time. They were the color of polished steel, a blade hovering above her neck.
"Wife."
"It was her, Father! She's the one who wanted to kill me all those years ago, she's the reason I had to hide in the forest -"
Lucy was no learned actress. The ruse she had used to trick the nobles had been easy, because none of them had expected actual, genuine affection from her anyway. When they spotted glimpses of disdain or annoyance in her expression they took it for granted, a conscientious but overall cold queen doing her duty by her wayward, non-blood daughter who behaved less like a princess and more like a curious child. Pampering her earned Lucy praise and admiration but she didn't fool herself into believing that no-one saw through her schemes. Court wasn't a place where the obvious or stupid could thrive.
Her steward for example must be quite clear when it came to his Queen's motivations, shooting Lucy a conspiratorial smile when he had presented Snow White's (outrageous) monthly budget, citing the need for the girl to now enjoy all the amenities she had been robbed off for years. It wouldn't look good on paper so of course Lucy had allowed it, with the strange knowledge that someone was actually on her side - though she suspected the steward would have been considered as another villain in the original story, sharing her fate.
But despite others' misgivings, the hard facts had been uncontestable enough to shield her - Lucy had been the one to identify and bring Snow White back, she afforded the girl every luxury she was owed and she had never attempted to harm the princess through anything more malicious than indulgence.
No one could ask more of her - no one except the King.
Lucy was no learned actress, so it was fortunate that in this instance the distress and feeling of injustice crumbling the Queen's perfect features were genuine.
Those knife-like eyes cut away at her one layer at a time, seeking blood. "I have heard of your accusations, Snow White."
"They wouldn't believe me, Father! But you have to - you know I'm telling the truth!"
There was a pregnant pause, as everyone in the room held their breath.
"I believe you are telling the truth as you know it."
Something unclenched, an invisible clamp loosening from Lucy's lungs and allowing a shuddering sigh to escape her.
Snow White on the other hand looked crest-fallen. She had staggered back, the King's hands falling from her shoulders while she shook her head in mute denial. "Father … you don't believe me either?"
The King's face was unreadable. "I don't think you are being deceitful, Snow White, rather that you have been deceived."
Snow White hiccuped a truly heart-wrenching sob before whirling around and fleeing from the chamber in a swirl of blue skirts, the guards hastily making way for their distressed princess. Snow White's servants hesitated for a few long seconds before, sustaining their deep bow towards the King, they trickled from the room as inconspicuous as possible.
Relief still coursing through her veins like a heedy drug, Lucy sensed her chance to escape. Taking a step forward, her courage bolstered by the King's words, she demurely lowered her head without bowing. "Allow me to talk to Her Highness, Your Majesty. Her Highness' grudge is with me and shouldn't be allowed to taint the respect she holds for her Royal Father."
For a prickling second Lucy feared she'd been too forward, her wish to flee too obvious. Should she have ignored Snow White's outburst in favor of welcoming the King instead? Flattered him, worried for him and his well-being instead of this false concern for 'their' daughter?
But then she heard a sigh. "I will order the dwarves released while you calm Snow White - and you have leave to call her by her name. You are her mother."
Lucy inclined her head further, her voice deeply touched. "My King."
All he gave in return was a regal nod.
Lucy took it as permission to go, taking her retinue of stiff servants with her and making sure her expensively-clad feet didn't speed up no matter how much she wished to run. Only when she had left the corridor did it feel like the air was light enough to inhale again.
Taking a few seconds to gather her tattered resolve and wrap it around her frail nerves like armor, she turned to the silent attendants behind her.
"Bring the gift I prepared for Her Highness. Take it directly to her chambers." Lucy huffed in annoyance when only one slim girl peeled away from the cluster. "It's heavy and don't you dare break it!"
Two others followed suit, one of them built broad and strong enough to reassure Lucy. She left them to it and resumed her walk with her reduced group of servants, feeling more like herself with every step she took up the winding stairs leading to Snow White's room - and farther away from the King.
She had no illusions that the princess would be happy to see her or allow Lucy to talk her out of her hysterics. But it didn't really matter. Lucy was not here to calm her down - she was here to make a last gamble.
Lucy didn't have to wait long in front of the double-winged doors barely muting Snow White's crying before her three servants puffed up the stairs, their faces red and sweaty.
And carried between them was Lucy's mirror, hidden behind a heavy drape.
"Snow White, let me in, I've brought you something precious."
The King's return swept through the castle as if someone had poked a beehive - everything was humming with activity and the nobles were buzzing with eagerness to be the first to welcome their monarch back into the fold of sparkling gowns and elaborate feasts.
Of course the gossip was just as quick-spread, though kept to a lower frequency in hopes of escaping those high-held ears. Talk of the King's and Snow White's conflict made the rounds and the fact that Snow White had kept to her rooms since had escaped no-one's notice, from chamber-maid to the courtiers.
Thankfully the King was busy with resuming his duties and taking the reins from his eager advisors, who were all too happy to tell him about every small grievance they had judged in his absence, to spare much time for either Lucy or his sulking daughter - for now Lucy had been spared any husbandly attentions, or any attentions at all really. The most she had seen of the King was a quick greeting when they had crossed paths in the corridors, her on her way to the gardens, him on the way to one of his endless meetings.
The fact that Lucy had kept herself occupied as well was probably another factor playing into it, greedily swallowing any morself of time left over for recourse.
The King's safe return must be celebrated after all, and who better to take charge than his devoted wife? Organizing the guestlist and seating chart meticulously, scheduling the menu down to the last ingredient and minute - all in all, it was a very convenient excuse to avoid her private quarters.
It had been three days since the King's return and Snow White's self-inflicted house arrest, and every minute that flitted by wound Lucy just that tiny bit tighter. Her days seemed to stretch like taffy, long-lasting and tedious, despite the busy work she occupied herself with.
It was only now that she realized that patience was truly a virtue - and one she lacked. But biding her time couldn't last indefinitely and something had to give, either her nerves or Snow White.
Underneath the perfect surface of a hard-working Queen her mind was churning, going over the bare bones of her plan, the chance that everything could go horribly wrong - and then there was a knock on her door on the morning of the feast and Lucy blinked, as if awakening from a dream.
"See who it is," she ordered one of the two servants kneeling on the floor and adjusting the folds of her gown, a waterfall of ruby-red silk embroidered with swirls of gleaming pearls. A second later a clear, youthful voice rang through her stuffy chambers.
"It's me, Mother."
Lucy felt her fingers clench, her mouth dry and strangely fuzzy as if mold had grown on her tongue. Show-time .
She stepped over the servant in charge of her wardrobe, striding towards her doorway with steps as wide as her skirts would allow.
Upon seeing her Snow White gifted Lucy a sweet smile, so unlike the resentful glare she usually reserved for Lucy, dressed in one of her unadorned dresses dyed a shy spring-green. She was accompanied by only one servant, the matron who had begged Lucy for assistance the day of the King's return, holding a tray covered with a white cloth.
"Mother, I hope I have not disturbed you."
Lucy swallowed and hoped her throat didn't click as loudly in reality as it did in her head. "Nothing would be disturbed by your arrival, Your Highness."
"There's no need for such formality — among family."
Lucy let her eyes linger on Snow White's mask, porcelain skin crafted into a naive smile with painted red lips.
"This means a lot to me, Snow White. Ready my chambers."
Servants started fluttering around, some fluffing cushions and arranging chairs, others hastening to the kitchens to order refreshments and one - one of them was snared in Lucy's gaze.
It was the young girl who had first introduced Lucy to this world upon her awakening, with her watery eyes and a pointy nose. The girl blinked before skirting a quick bow and vanishing.
"Come, sit and rest. I'll have some tea brought up."
"Thank you, Mother. Tea will go well with what I brought."
The matron stepped forward and Snow White's swept the thin cloth aside, presenting what had been hidden underneath with an elegant flourish.
"I baked it myself."
A delicate pastry sat on the precious plate, pale apple slices glazed with sugar and gleaming as golden as honey.
"How considerate of you."
They stepped into the room and Lucy allowed the matron to set her burden on one of the low tables next to the chairs Snow White and herself settled into.
"Don't worry, Mother, I didn't cause the kitchens any undue work. I know they are quite busy preparing the feast for tonight."
"We are celebrating your Royal Father's return."
"Just like you celebrated my return - I remember. And I never thanked you."
"There is no need for thanks among family."
Before Snow White could answer, the tea set was brought into the room, laid out around the apple pastry with diligent hands.
"Mother, is it possible to have some private talk? Only I wish my next words to only be for the two of us."
Lucy watched her reflection in the opaque surface of the tea, distorted and small. "Of course."
"Leave us," Snow White told her matron and Lucy waved a belligerent hand, wordlessly ordering her servants to do the same. Tea clattered and steamed and quiet feet rustled across her expensive rug before the heavy doors closed with barely a snick, leaving them alone. Lucy's giant and opulent room suddenly felt as unfamiliar as the first day she had woken up here.
Snow White pushed the pastry closer with the tip of her delicate finger. "Have a taste, Mother."
"Let the tea cool a bit first. I'll need it to battle the sweetness."
Snow White voiced agreement. "Of course. You don't have a sweet tooth?"
"On occasion. But everything tastes better in moderation."
There was a short lull before Snow White took up the conversation again. "I have come to talk about my accusations against you - I had been so convinced that anything else seemed false to me. But after taking the time to think about it, Father's words made me realize that I must have been tricked by a villain."
Oh, how right you are.
"I baked this apple tart as an apology."
Lucy's smile didn't falter. (Too eager .)
"I'm very glad to hear you say this, Snow White. I feared for our future as a family and for your Royal Father's happiness."
"There is no need for you to worry about Father."
"Now there isn't." Lucy's chest clenched as she leaned forward, taking a piece of the delicious-looking tart. Crumbs clung to her fingers, leaving a residue of melting sugar behind. For a fanciful heartbeat she imagined it to be sticky blood.
"Thank you, Snow White."
There was a brisk knock on the door before it was thrown open, Snow White spinning around in her seat as her mask shattered, glimpses of panic shining through the edges.
"F-Father?"
The King strode into the room, Lucy's mousy servant girl remaining in the doorway and closing it with a quick bow.
"You sent for me, Wife." His silver eyes ghosted over their intimate little set-up, lingering on his frozen daughter. "What is so urgent that it couldn't wait for tonight?"
Lucy took a deep breath, allowing the aroma of tea, candle-wax and powder to deeply invade her lungs, before eating her piece of cake, licking the crumbs from her fingers so as to not leave a trace behind.
Sweetness spread through her mouth, tacky and cloying, gluing her teeth together before her tongue pushed everything down her tight throat.
Only once she had swallowed did Lucy answer. "Our daughter wanted to reconcile and I thought Your Majesty would wish to be part of it. She even baked this tart herself, as a sign of her remorse. Truly, it tastes divine, Snow White."
The King's face softened visibly and he suddenly looked younger. "It does look very appetizing. I should -"
"No, Father, you can't!"
The King's brow clouded. "Why?"
But there was no need for Snow White to answer when Lucy fell from her chair, gasping and writhing at his feet.
Lucy had never really philosophized about pain. She knew that there was the bright, sharp pain of a broken bone, the dull, throbbing pain of a bruised heart, the nauseating, drawn-out pain of a migraine, the itchy, annoying pain of grazed skin …
But she had never before felt anything like this. Her stomach seemed to melt into hot goob, burning and churning her insides so violently Lucy wondered that her intestines hadn't burst from her skin and spilled across the carpet along with a flood of boiling, bubbling liquid. It was so painful that her scream was stuck behind her sternum, too much pressure all over her rigid body to let it loose, as if there was no sound in existence that would show her agony …
And then something just snapped, a mental border crossed, and everything turned dark.
Blessed silence enveloped her and only now did Lucy notice that while she hadn't voiced it, her scream had still been deafening inside her head.
Though the silence didn't last long.
"That went rather well."
The Queen was standing opposite her, her position once more a reflection of Lucy's but her expression haughty in a way Lucy had never managed to copy.
Lucy took a few seconds to orient herself from burning torment to disembodied lightness. Strangely her first thought was about Snow White's plan and the obvious pit-falls the girl had overlooked.
"I wonder how she thought to get rid of my body."
"Her servant, you dimwit. Did you think I dug holes in the rose garden myself?"
"Still - it just seems so clumsy. There were witnesses …"
"It's her first time, of course she'll make mistakes. Maybe she planned to say that we choked on the tart instead of hiding our body."
"Couldn't she still do that?"
"Not now that you made sure my dear husband stood right next to us."
Lucy allowed herself a moment of calm, startling slightly when a memory surfaced from the depths of her mind, playing over the surface they were standing on like a movie projected onto a still lake. The images were slightly wavy and hazy but she watched the expression on the timid servant girl's face turn determined, the firm nod of her tiny chin as Lucy told her to get the King if Snow White ever seeked her out …
"I wonder how he'll deal with her," the Queen mused leisurely. "Surely he won't be too harsh, but I should be able to convince him that a convent is a very sensible place for a princess to exercise her demons, undisturbed and protected - and far away from any appraising eyes …"
At the mention of 'demons' the memory-picture whirled and stirred until Lucy saw the expanse of her room bathed in moonlight, her hand stretching for the alcove hiding the mirror and slowly pulling the curtain aside.
"My Queen."
The demon's voice was dim, muted by time, but Lucy still felt a shiver creep through her, disturbing the image until she could barely see what was happening.
Her own voice sounded next, somehow smaller than she had thought it had been but lined with determination.
"Looking glass upon the wall, tempt Snow White to her downfall."
"My Queen should be cautious -"
"Looking glass upon the wall, let Your Queen survive it all."
And then the curtain swished closed and the memory sunk down into the black abyss that had housed it.
"A simple ploy," The Queen said. "But apparently clever enough."
"Be careful, that almost sounded like a compliment," Lucy countered. "I only hope you're right - no one has woken up yet and we still don't know who -"
"Me."
"How -"
"I can already feel it, my cramping stomach, my twitching fingers … And because I'll survive, the demon has no choice but to remain in this world. We are bound and he won't be able to reap the energy and move on like he planned."
"Even now -"
"Even now that it is not the tale we used to live."
"Stop answering my questions before I can ask them."
The Queen shrugged a dainty shoulder. "Your thoughts are slow and obvious."
Lucy was sorely tempted to give a one-finger salute and only restrained herself with the knowledge that the Queen wouldn't know what it meant.
"And we don't have much time left."
Only after the Queen had mentioned it did Lucy register that the circle of light around them was growing smaller, edging closer and closer to their limbs.
Panic suddenly burst through her, doubts that she had fulfilled her end of the bargain, doubts that the story was altered enough to allow her to return to her own body, doubts that the demon hadn't found a loophole in her simple commands, tumbling over each other and tearing at her, cutting deep.
"What if -"
But it was too late.
"Goodbye, Lucy Lambert."
And then she was heavy again, her body weighed with flesh and fueled by blood, her head pounding and her eyes crusted closed.
Please, please let me be myself …
Lucy opened her eyes. A lightbulb flickered above her head, illuminating the water-stained ceiling of her college bathroom.
Evil Queens, poisoned apples and magic mirrors were once more firmly banned to the pages of a storybook where they belonged.
And Lucy laughed, finally free.
The End.
My biggest thanks goes out to the readers who let me know that there were people out there reading this little thought-experiment that wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it down.
I had a lot of fun toying with the concept of fairytale villains, grey morals, the pitfalls these stories usually have and everything in between. I hope you enjoyed Lucy and her adventure and who knows - maybe it won't be the last time you see her.
After all, there are still so many fairy tale villains out there waiting to be given the spotlight …