Mirrors are dangerous objects. They reveal all that is true, laid bare without filter or editing. But they also, by their very nature, distort the truth. One who looks into even the most perfect mirror will see themselves reflected back upon themselves in reverse, and not in the way that others perceive them with their own eyes. Imperfect mirrors can also warp our perception of reality, their uneven faces making small things appear large and vice versa. And if one were to stand between two mirrors then we receive a glimpse of infinity reflected back at us.
All of this to say that although mirrors can reveal much about the world around us, we should never completely trust what they tell us. For even a truth which looks as plain as the nose on your face, can be warped by our perception into something which reflects a lie.
- - -
The second marriage of King Wulfus II of Voldiva was a joyous occasion celebrated across the land with fetes and carnivals and all manner of toasts and blessings to the new couple. His royal bride was Duchess Anya Baratov of the neighbouring kingdom and once wed to the king she would become both Queen and step-mother to the King's daughter from his first marriage, the beautiful princess Snowdrop. Snowdrop's mother had tragically died of a fever two winters back and the palace had been decked out in black mourning colours for months afterwards.
But now, It was time for the king to take a new wife and cement new noble alliances across his kingdom and beyond. The new Queen Anya was a strikingly beautiful woman. Her long dark brown hair was tied respectfully behind her head in a sensible woven pattern, but untied would have fallen nearly to her waist. Her skin was pale and pristine, almost alabaster in perfection as if she had been carved from the stone itself. Her eyes were as dark and lustrous brown as her hair and her lips were the perfect pouted rose-bud of a practised half-smile. On the day of her wedding she wore a long velvet dress dyed in the exorbitantly expensive colour purple with a long red cape flowing behind her. She was tall and stood perfectly upright, the effect of which was to make her appear imperious and more elegant than anyone else in the room, a perfect queen.
Many of those present stated that Queen Anya was the most beautiful woman that they had ever laid eyes on and marvelled at how lucky their king was to have a woman like her as his bride. That was of course if you discounted the beautiful princess Snowdrop, although this was said casually and jokingly, as if comparing the cuteness of a puppy to the elegant power of a hunting dog.
Nobles and dignitaries came from all across the land and from lands beyond to celebrate the wedding of Rufus and Anya. They brought gifts of fine jewellery, magnificent artworks, fine spices and perfumes from distant sun-baked shores, and of course enchanted magical objects to dazzle and delight their recipients.
Of these magical objects, a certain special one from the Sultan of Harquabithstan would draw the eye of Queen Anya. It was a beautifully constructed hand mirror made of quicksilver sandwiched between two perfectly cut layers of crystal. The whole thing was probably no more than a hand's width wide but when sunlight shone on it, the whole room blazed with dazzling fragmented refractions. When it was revealed, the display merited a round of applause from the gathered guests in the throne room after the wedding and the king and queen smiled in gratitude that their union merited such a delightful gift.
The dignitary delivering the gift also explained to the queen that the mirror was enchanted and would answer any question that was asked of it truthfully. This merited another round of applause and the dignitary bowed and took a step back to allow the queen to demonstrate. A little nervously, Queen Anya looked into the mirror and saw herself reflected in the perfect liquid metal and asked the question...
'Mirror mirror in my hand, who is the fairest in the land?'
A small chuckle went up from the assembled guests, for they all surely knew who the most beautiful woman that they had ever seen was, and it was the queen herself. The quicksilver in the mirror swirled like a whirlpool and then a beautiful voice like cut crystal rang out in reply.
'Thou, queen, art the fairest in all the land.
'Thou art fair and beauteous to see.
'But one day Snowdrop, in beauty, will surely surpass even thee.'
A delighted chuckle and polite round of applause rippled around the room and Princess Snowdrop, who was seated at her father's left hand, blushed in embarrassment but smiled sweetly. Queen Anya smiled too, placing the mirror down on the table before her, she clapped along with the audience and only for a moment did her eyes flash sideways to her step-daughter with a look of pure venom. Jealousy is a twisted and dangerous emotion and on that day, its ensnaring vine began to twist its way around the Queen's heart.
- - -
Although the wedding of King Wulfus II and Duchess Anya Baratov was a joyous occasion for everyone involved, the next few years were sadly tinged with tragedy. Despite their best efforts, the King and his new Queen were unable to conceive a child to cement the royal bloodline and Snowdrop remained the king's one and only heir. On top of this, Snowdrop's father began to fall prey to a wasting lethargy which often left him confused and morose. He retreated from public life as his mind and body slowly wasted away, and poor Snowdrop was forced to watch as the man who had been her father diminished.
In public, Queen Anya made a great show of taking the young princess under her wing and being a surrogate mother for her step-daughter as she ruled as Regent. But in private she was often distant and cold to Snowdrop, never cruel or unkind, but certainly not the mother she purported to be. There were rumours amongst the staff that the Queen dabbled in black magic and that she used spells and hexes to weaken the king so that she could rule in his stead. Snowdrop never saw any evidence of this rumoured witchcraft, but she did keep the enchanted mirror close to her at all times.
Through it all, Snowdrop herself continued to grow up, learning the ways of royal politics and leadership from those around her, either by direct tuition or by simply observing closely the way that those around her acted. It did not escape her notice for instance that her stepmother rarely slept in the same bed as her ailing husband, but instead preferred the comforts of her own rooms on the far side of the castle. As well as this, there were plenty of rumours that the Queen had taken to inviting beautiful young ladies of the court and various female servants and guards who took her fancy into her bed chamber.
Snowdrop didn't resent her stepmother for these flings, her private life was her own, but what she did resent was the way that the older woman looked at her with her judgemental, wary eyes. It was as if she was afraid that the young princess was plotting against her. Snowdrop had no such ambitions, and she blamed the enchanted mirror, that Queen Anya always kept close at hand, for spinning the tale that her stepdaughter would one day replace her stepmother as the most beautiful woman in the land.
As far as Snowdrop was concerned, no magical object, however powerful or clever, could make such a definitive statement, for surely beauty was in the eye of the beholder. But it could not be denied that Princess Snowdrop had indeed become a beautiful young woman. It was said that she resembled her late mother more and more each day. She was still quite petite standing at only around five feet high but she had beautifully curved hips and a small waist that was often constrained further by tight fitting bodices. Her skin was a pale almost ethereal colour with adorable freckles across her shoulders and cheeks, like a dusting of finely ground cinnamon. Her face was rounded with smooth lines including her small delicate nose and pink lips. She wore her hair quite short, and its straight black strands were as dark as coal.
There were plenty of nobles across the land and beyond who saw the young princess as a valuable bride for their sons or daughters. As Snowdrop reached her twentieth year the Queen regent began receiving proposals from many of these supplicants and the jealousy that festered inside her grew all the stronger, consuming her every thought until she resolved that something must be done about the beautiful little Princess Snowdrop.
- - -
An answer to her problem came to the Queen Regent in the form of a stunning impetuous young woman who had been caught hunting without permission in the King's hunting grounds. As the poacher in question stood awaiting judgement before Queen Anya, she examined her from her position on the throne above. Esmeralda Clawthorpe was a tall and lithe young woman, probably no more than around 25 years old. She wore simple travelling leathers and furs with dirty blond hair cut in a fluffy bob and currently had a few leaves embedded in the nest-like curls. She certainly had some muscle on her bones, no doubt from years of hard living out in the wilds, and her face was hard and angular, with a wide nose and thick dark eyebrows which currently furrowed over her pale blue eyes in a look of callous defiance of authority. Overall she was quite a handsome looking woman, and Queen Anya wondered what other delightful secrets she concealed under the thick wild clothing she wore.
Esmerelda had been seized by the king's guard as she had tried to flee the royal forests with a brace of pheasants that she had illegally poached. Justice was usually meted out to criminals such as these with a lash and a short stay in the stocks, but in this case Queen Anya thought Esmerelda could serve her sentence in quite a different way and commanded that the hunter be placed in one of the 'executive' cells in the west wing of the castle for the time being.
These cells were usually reserved for diplomatic prisoners or hostages, but for the past few years Queen Anya had found them useful for indulging her secret trysts with her various lovers. The cells were secure, away from any other parts of the building and, most importantly, soundproof.
When the Queen came to the cell, taking the key and dismissing the guards as she did so, she was surprised to see the criminal Esmerelda lounging quite comfortably on the simple couch in front of the fireplace. She made no effort to stand or bow before royalty and barely even seemed to notice Anya entering at all. Such blatant disregard for social status was not something that Queen Anya was used to and she pursed her lips slightly as she strode over to where the criminal sat. Esmeredla continued to not look up and seemed to be enjoying simply staring off into the fire, now purposefully ignoring the Queen. Anya clicked her tongue disapprovingly, such disrespect simply would not do, especially from such a wayward brat as this one.
'Stand and bow before your Queen.'
