Snow White - A retelling

"Mirror, mirror, on the wall..." she began as she stared into my replica of her own emerald eyes.

"...Who is the fairest one of all?"

I knew the answer. Should I tell her? Should I not?

I maintained eye contact as I responded, "You, O Queen, are the fairest of them all."

She smirked hideously and I knew that my white lie had been enough to fill her ego. She turned and strolled out of the room, her long inky black cape slithering on the stone floor behind her. How naïve, I thought as the seed of an idea planted itself in my mind. I could turn her against anyone. She believes everything I say.

If I had a body and legs, I would've started to pace. Who would be the perfect pawn in my game? I paced (metaphorically, of course), and I knew the perfect target.

The Queen's pretty little stepdaughter, Snow White.

She's so easily manipulated. She'll be driven by greed and I could tell her to kill Snow White. Then she'll be filled with guilt and she'll be so vulnerable. I could rule under her name with her face.

About a week later, the Queen had returned once again, the same question on her mind.

"Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?"

I looked into her eyes and replied,

"Framed is thy beauty, Majesty,

But behold, a lovely maiden I see.

Alas, she is more fair than thee,

Lips as red as blood,

Hair as black as ebony,

Skin as white as snow."

The Queen's iconic grin dropped instantly.

"...Snow White? It can't be..." she said, looking down.

She looked up, her chartreuse eyes locked with mine, which were filled with hatred and they sparkled with pure evil.

"Tell me, mirror, what should I do?"

I smirked, "Kill her."

She began to sneer again. At that very moment, a young maid, whose name is Ms Harper, walked in. The Queen spun around and plastered a fake smile across her face.

"I have brought your tea, Your Majesty.

"Ah- Thank you," she replied, accepting the tea. The Queen took a sip.

The maid was about to leave, when the Queen stopped her, "Wait. Please summon Mr Reed, the huntsman." The maid nodded.

A few minutes later, Mr Reed walked in. His hair was dark and overgrown and he had a short beard. His eyes were the colour of dark chocolate and looked so sincere, so innocent.

"Please take Snow White into the woods tomorrow and kill her. Bring back her heart to prove that she is dead," the Queen ordered, "if you fail to do so, I will have your heart. Try to run away and your wife's heart becomes a pretty mantlepiece decoration." With that, she strolled out of the room, leaving Mr Reed alone with me.

He could not see me, as a reflection is needed for me to become visible, to wear their face. He didn't need to be lured towards my frame, he came by himself, admiring the gold swirls and tracing his finger over them.

"Like my frame?" I said, grinning at him.

He took a step back, "You're-"

"-a magical mirror," I completed, "the Queen is absolutely insane, don't you think?"

He took a step closer, observing my copy of his face, "What should I do?"

"Don't kill the princess, she's so young. She doesn’t deserve to die, she has a whole life ahead of her. Since you're going to take her into the woods, you can kill an animal and take its heart instead. But leave the princess there in the woods, or else the Queen will find out."

He nodded solemnly and scurried off.

The following day, he set out into the woods and did as I instructed him to. He returned with the heart of a young boar, which the Queen cooked and ate, believing that it was her stepdaughter’s. Oh how she's going to murder Mr Reed when she finds out.

Snow White, on the other hand, found a small cottage that belonged to seven dwarfs. She ate their food and cleaned their cottage, then slept on their beds until they returned.

That evening, the Queen had returned to the palace, looking into my eyes, eager to find out the answer again, to feed her vanity.

"Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?"

"Snow White, who dwells with the seven dwarfs, is as fair as you and as fair again."

"She's alive?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Where is she? How do I get to her?"

"If you head East, through the woods, after about an hour, you will find her."

"What should I do when I find her?"

"Kill her. With your own hands this time, to ensure that she is dead."

The Queen nodded and picked up a jewelled dagger from her jewellery box. She clutched it so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

"...And when I kill her I'll be the prettiest?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

She left immediately to begin her quest. The Queen stabbed the young girl to death, her insides redder than her lips, her crimson blood leaving streaks on the cottage floor. Snow White was officially dead.

The Queen reappeared in her chamber that evening, and I expected her to ask her question again, but she didn't. Her hands were covered with blood, and she still held her dagger. Her eyes did not look satisfied, instead they looked scared.

"What have I done..?"

I smiled, "Exactly what I wanted you to do."

I spun my own reflected version of her dagger and reached out, through the glass of my mirror, with my other hand. She took a step backwards, startled, as she dropped her dagger. I hoisted myself out of the frame, now standing in the other world.

"You're so easy to manipulate, so gullible," I said, taking a step closer, still holding the dagger, "I would pity you, but instead, I find your oblivion amusing." I laughed.

She continued to back away, but she tripped over her cloak, so helpless, so vulnerable, on the floor.

I raised my dagger, and whispered to her ear, “Bye bye.” She pleaded, telling me not to kill her, begging for her life. I ignored her and brought the baroque dagger to her chest. She stopped breathing as her body became limp. Moments before the blood was able to touch her beautiful carpet, I set my dagger down and picked up the corpse. I threw her body into my world, through the glass of my mirror.

Goodbye Queen Grimhilde. Your kingdom will bow down to me, a mere reflection, who is far more evil than you could have ever been. It's my time to rule.