She had never wanted to be a mother. So being the stepmother to a child less than half her age was always difficult. As the Princess aged she surpassed the Queen's beauty which birthed a vicious one sided rivalry. Every chance she had gotten to steer the Princess wrong in beauty or fashion she had jumped on it.
At her lowest she had bribed the royal dress maker to sew the Princess' clothes two sizes too small. The Princess had made a sing-songy sigh and requested the dresses to be made larger. The only part of the whole ordeal that had seemed to bother her was the added hassle that was brought onto the seamstress.
It had only been two years since the King and her had debuted the Princess to the townsfolk and future suitors. From there word of her sweet nature and breathtaking beauty had spread. Everyone who met her was enchanted. She made time for even the most destitute subjects in the same way she did for the upper echelon. For the Queen this was maddening to watch.
For as long as the Queen could remember her beauty had never been compared. She had grown up the daughter of baron. By the time she had turned fourteen she had already been promised to the cousin of the King in exchange for money and favor in the Royal court. However within weeks of her wedding tragedy had struck the kingdom. During childbirth the first queen had died. The King, who had been prepared to attend her nuptials to his favorite cousin decided that his need for a new queen trumped all else. After all, his daughter was in need of a mother immediately.
The Queen's tale was sadly a mediocrely common one. A young bride married off to an older richer man. As with most in her situation their marriage had never been one of love. Unlike most her's was not one of lust either. Sure, he enjoyed looking at her and parading her around court. But other than to consummate their union she had been left alone on a cold bed for almost eighteen years.
She had found ways to supplement her needs though. When the Princess was a child the Queen had been close to her tutor. Until he had fallen in love with a woman in the village and resigned his post. That had been a painful lesson for her and after that she kept her affairs short and emotionless.
When the Princess was getting ready to be debuted the Queen began entertaining a visiting royal. A wealthy viscount. His head had been in the clouds and he had tried to shower her with gifts. She only allowed herself to keep one though. During the celebration of the Princess' 18th birthday her presented her with a once in a lifetime gift. Never before had she seen something like it before. It was a magic mirror.
The introduction of the mirror into her life brought an end to her string of affairs. With the distaste for her step daughter becoming an obsession. The Queen spent her waking hours spying on the Princess. She became familiar with the Princess' body. Every inch of it. She watched as the maids helped dress and undress the Princess. She was even able to pinpoint the moment the Princess fell in love with one of the princes vying for her hand.
When the Princess asked to speak with her father about this man it was the Queen who whispered in his ear against giving his blessing. She planted seeds of fear that his beloved daughter would fall to the same fate as her mother if she were to get married. At his heart the King was a simple man. He had loved the first queen with all of his heart. When she died his love had transferred to his daughter. The Queen had never had a chance. His heart just didn't have room for her. She had accepted these facts long ago. It had made her heart bitter to anything that looked like true love. Why should anyone else have the one thing she had yearned for?
The King refused to let the Princess marry and sent all of the princes back to their respective kingdoms. The Princess tearfully accepted her father's decision. But the light that radiated from the Princess dimmed and the whole castle seemed to lose its shine.
In the weeks that followed the Queen celebrated. She was practically giddy with joy. She watched the Princess through her magic mirror. The Princess spent her days in bed though which proved dull for the Queen. She stopped watching her on the mirror.
It had been years since the Queen had been in need of entertainment. Usually when she was bored she would find ways to sabotage the Princess. But with a broken heart the Queen learned that this was no longer possible. You can't break someone who has already been broken.
The Queen decided to take up hunting. It was just mean spirited enough. She did not hunt for food. She did it to watch the life pour out of another soul. The plus side to this was she had never realized how handsome the Royal Huntsman was.
The Huntsman quickly took a liking to the Queen. No matter how mean she was to him he would smile at her. It had been the first time since she had been wed to the King that her beauty blinded a man like this.
Today the Huntsman had a dozen or so pheasants she had killed strung together and hanging from his back. She would have preferred they leave the birds to rot he had insisted on bringing them back for the townsfolk. The Queen had given him a horrified look but relented.
"You're not as bad as you want people to believe." he told her.
"No." She agreed. "I'm worse."
