Hello! If you are here, you have found the two new chapters I uploaded, and your curiosity got the best of you. As I said in Chapter 34 author's note, there are MANY inconsistencies throughout the following chapters. I do not know when I will edit them, and for that I apologize.
I have kept the new and edited chapters in a neat folder, waiting for the right moment to upload them. This feels like it. And so, it is not a good-bye; it is a see you later.
"Mirror on the wall, who is the most powerful of them all?"
"You are, my queen."
Alma smiles at the response.
The sleeping quarters that belonged to the former queen house the looking-glass - a large, circular see-through mirror hangs on a wall, a golden frame carved with infinite imprints of wood branches and vine leaves.
A human-looking face hoavers in emptiness within the mirror, its black eyes smile at Alma.
The mirror was given to her by her deceased brother. It is the only palpable remembrance she has of him, and, in a way, of her purpose - of being someone in a world of kings and monsters. The moment she took her place beside the king of Saldrian, it brought her closer to a satisfying completion. The moment she disposed off the king, the hunger for a final victory began to consume her. And the moment the king's daughter fled into oblivion, the dream found its conclusion.
Although, Alma has not found her peace yet.
And today the answer is different.
"Mirror on the wall, who is the most powerful of them all?"
Alma stands before the mirror with hands clasped in front of her - a woven iron headpiece decorating her braided silver straight hair and a black gown fitting her sturdy, slightly curvy figure - looking on condescendingly at the glass.
"You are, my queen. However, one has returned to take thy place."
Her features soften to an expression of neutrality.
"Who?"
"The princess."
Her hands compress into one another to the point of a passive ache, whilst her expression stays unchanged. The confidence in the thought of the princess's disappearance has been faltering with the passing months. Alma suspected a kind of happening was behind the vanishing of her chosen assassins. Yet, it fandoms her how a mere girl, an ignorant youngster is the cause.
One year lost in the world has certainly morphed the princess into a ravenous being.
"How does she live?" Alma's tone is one of control, in spite of the faint tremble.
"The world has strenghten her," the human-like face responds. "Destroy her heart and become the most powerful."
Alma averts her eyes from the mirror as the words settle in her mind, and walks to one of the windows that adorns the empty room. The colourful glass grants her a view of the inner courtyard, of the single oak tree at its center which slowly but gradually sheds its leaves.
There, leaning against the tree trunk, Alma witnessed the princess wailing silently after the king's burial. What a pitiful sight it was. It did not cause any disturbance to Alma's feelings, only enabled her to act swiftly. The princess was, and still is, a threat.
And yet she escaped before the castle guards got to her. For more than two years, Alma has failed to capture the princess. In spite of the countless bounty hunters that have been ordered to track and bring the young girl, she has continuously found a way to slip further from Alma's hand.
Alma glances once more at the mirror, now displaying an expression of disdain. It is infuriating how useless the now dead brute men are. How futile the mirror is when it comes to the princess's precise whereabouts. She leaves the room, marching with poise towards the throne hall.
An order is then issued: men are wanted at Saldrian's capital.
Their first encounter resurges in Alma's mind. The unenticing appearance and character of the princess did not alert Alma to how she would grow into a problematic affair. The love and attention of the king, the praise of the people. All these were hindrances that affected Alma. On top of that, the princess dismissed her duties, oblivious to those who suffered to reach their social status. It was infuriating.
The princess will cease to be an inconvenience in Alma's world. Her death is overdue. She must be disposed off immediately.