Trust me, She Had To Die.

Everyone in the kingdom wanted me to die, and it was all because of her. Snow White. That manipulative teenage girl. She created my evil persona, making my own people turn against me. It started out as rumors that I had caused the death of the king, but then the stories about me started to escalate. Her rumors spread through the kingdom like a mutating virus, with everyone having their own version of events, all circling the murderous intentions I supposedly had. I used to be Queen Regina White, but now no one will remember my name. They thought I was greedy for the crown, desperate to stop anyone who got in my way. This was the farthest from the truth. I loved working as a team to make sure everyone in the kingdom was safe and happy. I never made a decision without pitching the idea to the king first. Yet, everyone remained convinced I was the culprit of his murder, and I was just starting to maybe have feelings for him. Either way, his death caused me to take full control of the kingdom. I had to be tough, control the people, and learn how to make decisions alone. I was more stressed than ever, and it was all because of that brat. She was the one who wanted the crown for herself. She thought she could run the kingdom better than me just because she was prettier. I’ll admit, I was always jealous of her beauty, but who wouldn’t be? Her reputation in the kingdom was the fairest of them all. She can get away with anything, because no one expects a pretty face to be guilty. Stupid pretty privilege. It gave her arrogance and selfishness. Even my magic mirror called me ugly, and he just looks like a floating mask with an unflattering green light underneath him. 

“The people want a pretty queen, not an ugly evil one,” She had told me. 

I had always struggled with my appearance, but this was coming from the king’s daughter, which made me feel a whole lot worse. Her opinions mattered in this kingdom. Fortunately, because I was rightfully the queen, they couldn’t dethrone me based on rumors. So, I let them slide. Unfortunately, this was the wrong move. When her rumors reached the whole kingdom, more blame was thrown on me for other treasonous acts. Ones that involved trying to kill Snow White, so the king’s descendants would never take the crown. With that belief, the people started calling me the Queen of Greed, then eventually it became The Evil Queen as rumors worsened. At night villages that were in strong support of Snow White, mysteriously caught fire, massacring them in their homes. These attacks were soon blamed on me. Moving forward, when I would call in the Royal Guard to assist me, they would refer to me as ‘your evil majesty’. I hated it. When I addressed my people, I could tell they were scared of me. This broke my heart, but as the evidence and rumors piled up against me, nothing I said changed their minds. I was the Evil Queen in their eyes. It was an unshakable truth, grown from horrible acts committed by Snow White.

The last straw was when a group of angry and scared villagers burned my favorite apple orchard to the ground. My mother and I had started that orchard together. What was once a beautiful colorful landscape of green and red, became a sea of gray and black. It was the first time I had cried over this whole ordeal. Even though it deeply hurt me, I was their queen, and as queen I could not be weak. I sucked up my tears and stopped crying. I will not give in, not today. As I stared at my garden of ashes, I vowed to never let this get under my skin again. I was tougher than that. Feeling the weight of my crown resting on my head, I let out a breath that cracked into a smile. I knew what I had to do. Kill Snow White. They’ll all know it was me, but at least it’d be the truth for once. If you want a healthy garden, you must pull the weeds out, even though it means killing the pretty little dandelion. 

I took my last remaining apple and brought it down to my secret magic room. My hands were trembling as I dipped the apple into the poisonous concoction I created. The green liquid bubbled and fizzed around the apple, creating a beautiful green fog into the air. Luckily, the scent was odorless. If it did smell, I’d imagine it smelling like rotten eggs or some kind of decay. I couldn’t help but laugh as I imagined her taking a bite, and watching her collapse to the ground like a rag doll. 

The poison dripped off the apple as I pulled it slowly out of the pot, forming a sort of cartoonish skull shape. I knew she would never take an apple from me, but I had the perfect spell that would disguise me as someone else long enough to give her the apple.

As I performed the spell, I felt every muscle and every inch of skin move and transform. I screamed with everything I had as hot tears burned my eyes. When it was over, I fell to the ground and took a moment to breathe. I said I wouldn’t cry again but the pressure in my eyes building up from the tears was unbearable. My face pressed against the cold cobblestone that soon became wet as my tears pooled into a small puddle. Doubts circled my mind like vultures about to feast, but I shot them down with one thought. You are the Evil Queen. I lifted up my head, breathed, and picked myself up, brushing away the dirt from my dress. 

I could easily send a huntsman after her, separating myself from the dirty work, but I know that girl. Her manipulation and beauty would fool him into sparing her life. I had to take it into my own hands to end her life. I needed to see her die to know it was truly done. Her death won’t change my reputation, I know this, but with her still breathing she will cause more and more damage to the kingdom. With her death, there will be peace and prosperity in the kingdom. They might not see it, but Snow White was a plague infecting everyone she interacted with. I won’t let her win, even if they hate me more after. 

 I stared into the mirror, studying every new facial feature. I looked like an 80 year old woman, with plenty of wrinkles, gray hair, and a random black mole on my nose. It bothered me that even though my appearance changed, I was still ugly. I balled my fists and before I knew it, I had punched the mirror. The glass burst into tiny pieces, glittering the floor and my knuckles. Blood pooled around the glass in my wrinkled hand. I stared at it and felt every second of the pain before covering my hand with linen. That girl really did some damage to me. The ugliness I felt on the inside appeared physically on the outside, but I knew there was no turning back. I walked over to the magic mirror. 

“Magic Mirror on the wall, show me where Snow White can be found,” I commanded. 

His masked face appeared in the mirror. He looked confused at first and then when it clicked that it was me standing there, he grinned smugly. 

“I think your plastic surgeon owes you money. You look worse than before,” He replied. 

“Shut up and do your job. Where’s Snow White?” I asked, frustrated. 

“So sensitive. She’s visiting the Dwarfs,” He replied, showing a live view of Snow White sweeping the Dwarf’s floor. 

“She can’t even stay in someone’s house without lifting it up to her standards,” I said, shaking my head. “Oh god, she’s got squirrels doing the dishes!” 

I shut the mirror off and grabbed the apple. She got away with everything and I was tired of it. Time to end this. 

I approached the Dwarf’s cottage, and knocked lightly on the door. I heard some shuffling around coming from the inside, and then a pause. 

“Who is it?” Snow asked from behind the door. 

“I’m just the old woman from next door, delivering a magical apple,” I replied, softly. 

The door swung open. Snow stood on the other side, looking giddy. 

“Magical apple?” Snow asked. 

“Yes, indeed. You’ll appreciate this one, Princess Snow,” I said, showing her the apple. 

“Why’s that?” She asked. 

“This apple has the power of beauty. One bite and you’ll forever be the prettiest woman in not just the kingdom, but the world,” I said, handing her the apple. 

“Really? Forever?” She questioned. 

“You’ll never get a wrinkle or gray hair. Unlike poor old me,” I said, smiling. 

She held the apple to her lips. “Just one bite?” 

“Just one,” I replied. 

With that, she took a large bite out of my poison apple. She bobbled dizzily, knocking herself into the doorframe. The apple slipped from her hand and it rolled along the grass, stopping at my foot. I watched her choke as she clung to the top of my dress. Her eyeballs popped out of her head as the poison set in. She collapsed to the ground, her body rigid and blue. I tapped her body with my foot, but she remained stiff. I smiled the biggest grin I’ve had in a long time. 

“Hey!” A scruffy male voice said behind me. 

I turned slowly toward the voice, my grin faded. The Seven Dwarfs stood behind me with their mining tools, covered in coal dust. Before I could think, my body took over. I burst into a sprint into the woods. The Dwarfs followed close behind me. For short men, they were surprisingly fast. I scrambled up a cliff. My heart pounded in my chest. I looked down the path, but I didn’t see them. 

“PUSH!” Shouted the dwarfs collectively. 

I looked up and saw a boulder slide down the hill. It barreled at me faster than I could move. I think I screamed but I wasn’t sure, the boulder hit me dead on. I flew off the cliff. As I fell, I saw the dwarfs celebrating. Sure they killed the Evil Queen, but I killed Snow White. As I faced my impending death, flashes of my life appeared in my mind like snapshots. Lastly, the image of Snow’s dead body burned in my mind. It comforted me, and I couldn’t help but feel happy in those final seconds. Unless she somehow managed to find true love in her journey to the Dwarf’s home, and he somehow found her, and gave her a kiss, breaking the poison’s spell.