The Mirror Read online

  The Mirror

  Fizza Younis

  Copyright © 2022 Fizza Younis

  All rights reserved

  Contents

  Prelude: True Love’s Kiss 4

  Prologue: Stranger in the Mirror 7

  Snow White: Time for Action 9

  Evil Queen: No One Knows the Witch 11

  Snow White: Her Decision 12

  Evil Queen: Blurred Reality 14

  Snow White: Something’s Afoot 15

  Evil Queen: Wicked Incarnate 16

  Snow White: Trusting the Enemy 18

  Evil Queen: Twist of Fate 19

  Snow White: Into the Jungle 21

  Evil Queen: Plot Thickens 23

  Snow White: Owl Hoots 25

  Evil Queen: Beats No More 27

  Snow White: Time Flies 29

  Evil Queen: A Beautiful Dream 31

  Snow White: All is Well 33

  Epilogue: Happily Ever After 35

  About the Author 36

  Also by Fizza Younis 37

  Prelude: True Love’s Kiss

  Let me tell you a story,

  It’s something familiar,

  About true love’s glory.

  Once upon a kingdom,

  Somewhere far, far away,

  There ruled an evil queen,

  The cruelest woman you had seen.

  The story has only just begun,

  You can sing along,

  Dancing would be fun.

  The queen had a step-daughter,

  She grew up to be the fairest of all,

  Not something evil queen could overlook,

  After all, she was a crook.

  Every tale must have a savior,

  Someone to fight for what’s right,

  Who will come out a victor?

  The evil step-mother decided to kill,

  She couldn’t tolerate someone prettier,

  And wanted to be the only one to rule,

  An apple became her murderous tool.

  There is nothing worse than taking a life,

  What a tragic tale of a sweet girl dying!

  Oh, but wait, she should have used a knife.

  Snow White didn’t die, only fell asleep,

  To be awakened by a true love’s kiss,

  Her Prince found her soon,

  They walked away hand-in-hand, one afternoon.

  But that’s not the end,

  Stepmother has something to say,

  She, too, needs a friend.

  They painted her as the villain,

  Not knowing her side of the story,

  All wasn’t as it had seemed,

  Even the worst could be redeemed.

  The story must continue,

  Let’s not stop before it’s time,

  This side of the tale is known by few.

  She didn’t want the kingdom,

  Tired of being the prettiest in the room,

  She wished to find some peace,

  And longed to be called nice.

  Now, it’s the twist we have been waiting for,

  The truth is hidden between the lines,

  If you dare, open that door.

  She was defeated by Snow,

  But she would find her true love soon,

  A reason to smile and a home of her own,

  For that, she didn’t need a throne.

  Prologue: Stranger in the Mirror

  When she looked into the mirror, she was unprepared to find a different face gazing back at her, and then it vanished. Making her believe that the fleeting moment was her imagination. She stared at her face reflected in the mirror as if trying to solve a puzzle.

  “Why are you standing in front of the mirror?”

  Deep in thoughts, she didn’t notice when the Queen entered the room. No wonder her voice startled Snow White. “I thought I saw something,” she said, shrugging.

  “Yes, yourself,” the Queen mocked. “When you look in the mirror, what else will you notice?”

  Embarrassed, Snow didn’t know what else to say. The question didn’t require an answer, anyway. She stood there awkwardly, in the middle of her stepmother’s study, facing the woman she hated the most in the world. The one who killed her father, thus taking over his kingdom when Snow was only a child. She couldn’t do anything then, but she would now.

  “Scram!” the Queen bellowed, bringing Snow out of her stupor.

  Without a word or backward glance, Snow left the room. She had lived in fear of her stepmother for a long time, but she wanted to take her rightful place in the kingdom. Her people needed her. Determination evident in her every step, she was prepared to do whatever it took to get back what belonged to her. She would watch the Evil Queen’s reign end even if that was the last thing she ever did.

  #

  She woke up with a start, perspiration ran down her forehead, and a sense of dread gripped her heart. She noticed the moon was high in the sky, peeking through the open curtains. It must be the middle of the night.

  Lying in bed, she tried to understand what had awoken her, but all was quiet. Unable to fall asleep again, she sighed heavily and got out of the bed. In her study, she took out her favorite book, and settled down on her favorite armchair to read in candlelight.

  Suddenly, a voice got her attention, and she turned to the mirror. “What is it?” she said to it.

  “My Queen, you seem troubled,” it said without any concern.

  “It’s nothing. I had trouble sleeping, that’s all.” She didn’t like it when the mirror asked intrusive questions. She wanted to take her mind off things, not be reminded of her problems.

  “Is it Snow?”

  “What about Snow?” she said more forcefully than intended. The mirror shouldn’t find out about her weakness. It would use it and make her life even more miserable than it already was.

  “Nothing, I just wondered, she is all grown up,” Its voice trailed off.

  “Of course, she is. All children grow up. What’s new about that?” She couldn’t hold back her annoyance. She stood up and blew off the candles. “I’ll try to rest.”

  She returned to her bedroom and reminded herself to limit Snow White’s visits to her study.

  The mirror was cunning, but she wasn’t ready to give up the last good thing in her life. She vowed to do whatever it took to protect the only living person she truly cared for.

  Snow White: Time for Action

  Snow White stood in front of her stepmother’s mirror and stared at her reflection. Tilting her head a little to the left, then right, she tried to unravel the mystery behind it.

  She couldn’t put her finger on it, but she had always found something disturbing about the antique full-length mirror fixed on a wall in her stepmother’s study. It called to her, making her want things she had never desired before.

  “Snow,” queen said, entering the room.

  “My Queen.” Snow bowed her head slightly to show respect. Since her father’s untimely demise, the Evil Queen took the reins of the kingdom. Nothing had gone right since then. “I came to see you,” she explained quickly. “The dwarfs are causing trouble again. They claim the tax is unfair and are refusing to pay it.”

  “Hmm,” the Evil Queen mused as she took a turn around Snow, with one hand under her chin and the other folded across her chest. “They need to learn a lesson.” She stopped in front of Snow White, regarding her. “What do you think, Princess?”

  The way she said the word princess made it sound like a curse. Or perhaps an endearment. Snow could never tell. Her stepmother was as much of a mystery to her as the mirror they both stood in front of.

  “I’m but your humble subject, my Queen,” she said, her head still bowed. “How can I know what’s best for the Kingdom?”

  “My, are
n’t you the obedient one,” Queen cackled, making the hair on Snow’s arms rise in fear. “Okay then, I will leave their punishment up to you. Make them pay no matter what you must do. Understand?”

  “If that’s your wish.” Snow bowed her head lower and left the room.

  On the outside, she appeared calm, but inside, she was fuming. Her irritation with the Queen-Witch knew no bounds. She couldn’t fight for the freedom of her people when she knew nothing about magic. What hope did she have to win against a witch?

  When her father remarried after her mother’s passing, no one imagined things would get ugly. He was a benevolent king, and his people loved him. Then, everything turned upside down. Her father died, leaving the kingdom in the clutches of a witch who knew nothing about love or mercy.

  As she walked towards the stables, her mind was churning, trying to come up with a solution to their current predicament. If the dwarfs didn't pay the taxes, Queen would slaughter them like cattle, and the worst part, she would make Snow carry out her orders, and if they paid the taxes, they would probably starve to death. No matter what, they would lose. Unless Snow could come up with a better solution.

  Evil Queen: No One Knows the Witch

  The Evil Queen, they called her. Hima often wondered if anyone even remembered her real name. She wasn’t so different from them. Everything was out of her control. She was merely a servant of the mirror, and it required blood. Better the dwarfs’ than hers or her stepdaughter’s. If only she hadn’t made that deal with the devil all those years ago… She sighed.

  Standing in front of the mirror—her master, she tried to recall a time when she was happy. If only she had found a way to be content in her humble existence, but no, she had to become the fairest of all, and where did that lead her? A moan left her rosy lips, full of regret and pain.

  She had tasted true happiness only briefly. Even after selling her soul, she wasn’t content. The king married her, not because he fell in love with her pretty face, but because he needed a live-in babysitter for his daughter. She loved the girl. Snow was everything good—everything she wasn’t. The price she paid for her stupidity, however, made it impossible to cherish anything in life. Even her sweet stepdaughter hated her. Not that anyone could blame the girl.

  “You look tired, my queen,” the ghost of the mirror rasped, bringing her out of her head.

  “Just thinking,” she said without elaborating. The mirror knew a lot, but it didn’t know everything. She preferred to keep it that way.

  “The full moon is upon us,” it reminded her, coming straight to the point. They weren’t friends after all. It was a relationship of necessity.

  “I remember.” She sounded bitter. “How can I ever forget?”

  According to their deal, she must feed the mirror every month, on the night of the full moon. The mirror wanted the blood of five living beings—humans, dwarfs, fairies, unicorns—it didn’t matter. Only once had she failed in her task, and the very next day, her husband, the king, had died.

  The prisons were now empty, but the mirror was relentless. If only she could get rid of it. When she was killing the criminals, she had somehow slept at night, telling herself they deserved it. Killing the innocents had taken its toll.

  “You are still the fairest of all,” it said soothingly, detecting her discontent with their deal. “Are you not?”

  “Yes,” she whispered, turning away as a stray tear rolled down her cheek. “That I am.” Without a backward glance, she walked out of the study.

  Snow White: Her Decision

  “Princess!” someone was shouting at the top of her lungs.

  Snow stopped in her tracks and turned around, coming face to face with Betty, her maid and best friend.

  “What is it, Betty?” she asked.

  “What happened?” Betty says, looking at her with concern.

  “What do you mean?” Snow didn’t want to talk about it, but trying to feign ignorance would not work. Betty was relentless when she thought something depressed Snow. She wanted to take all Snow’s burdens and make her life a bed of roses. Alas, that wasn’t remotely possible. At least, not until the reign of the Evil Queen ended.

  Snow knew about the empty prisons—she knew what her stepmother had done. She wished there was a way to stop the injustice.

  “I know you went to see the dwarfs. There are already so few of them left in the Kingdom. No one cares about their plight. They have been living in a Jungle for years. Yet, they’re forced to pay the taxes and house rents. I mean, they don’t live in the houses anymore. What do you think will happen?” Betty said without taking a breath.

  They were both walking towards the garden path that leads to the kitchens. It was their favorite hangout in the castle. The only place where the Queen didn’t have eyes or ears.

  “Don’t worry about it. I have talked to the Queen, and we will find a solution everyone can accept.” She was going to keep Betty out of it. Involving her would be a bad idea. Who knew what the Queen would do if she discovered Betty was in any way an accomplice. Because one thing was clear, Snow couldn’t let the dwarfs suffer more than they already had. Something needed to change. She didn’t know what yet, but she would figure it out soon.

  “You know,” Betty said, thoughtfully, “you are terrible at lying. I don’t understand why you even bother.”

  “Okay, you got me. There is no solution that will make everyone happy, but I must find something. Don’t worry about it. I have been thinking about it. Fairies already left the realm, unicorns are extinct, and dwarfs are forced to live in caves—” Snow sighed in exasperation. “Things can’t possibly get any worse.”

  “I am only worried because you are.”

  “Oh, Bets. What am I going to do?” The enormity of their situation dawned on her, crushing her spirit.

  “I think I should go with you. We can talk to the dwarfs together. Maybe we let the Queen win this time.”

  Snow wondered how to explain to her that if the Queen won this time, there might not be another, not for the dwarfs, anyway. Maybe if she had help… “On second thought, come with me.” She gave Betty a full smile. Finally, she had an idea. There was hope still.

  Evil Queen: Blurred Reality

  Snow White came back with the amount of taxes Hima had imposed. That was unacceptable. She never thought the dwarfs would pay up. She was looking forward to throwing them in jail and then feeding them to the mirror. Even if one of them had rebelled, she would have used it as an excuse to make an example of them all. Now she had no reason to execute anyone.

  “I see you have outdone yourself, princess,” she said, looking out the window, too disturbed by the news to look directly at Snow. “How did you convince them? Didn’t they consider the tax unjust?” She had made a mistake giving this task to Snow White. Not knowing why she even did it. She may have wanted the blood on Snow’s hand for once.

  “I explained to them how much our kingdom has suffered in the recent years because of losses in trade. Since father’s death, many countries have stopped trading with us. It was easy after that. They are loyal to their country. They might not survive the winter, but well…” Snow’s voice trailed off.

  “I see.” Knowing fully well that Snow was lying, she said nothing more. There was no point in it. She would have to kill off the guards, or maybe a maid or two. There was no other choice. It would have to be someone not easily missed. The mirror would have its blood, or Snow might die.

  Finally, she turned around and looked at her stepdaughter. The girl did not know what she was dealing with, and there was no way to warn her. The magic of the mirror wasn’t something to be trifled with.

  No one would believe she was seventy years old. The only reason she looked about thirty was because of the magic. As long as she fed the mirror, that’s how she would look. But if she ever stopped doing that… Well, in fairness, she had no clue what might happen. She might die. Someone close to her might die. Or the kingdom might perish. The mirror had its ways.
r />   “Mother?”

  Snow’s voice startled her, bringing her back from the dark thoughts. It’s rare for Snow to call her mother. She wondered what the princess had seen on her face to bring out that cursed title. She cleared her throat and looked away. “I’m proud of you, daughter. You did well. You can go now.” She dismissed the princess and started planning the murders.

  Snow White: Something’s Afoot

  The Queen’s behavior had disturbed her even more than usual. There was a vulnerability about her Snow had never seen before. It was as if her stepmother regretted something, maybe even everything, but no, that was ridiculous. There was a reason why people called her Evil--she had no conscience. There was no way she could feel things like remorse, or was there? For the first time, Snow was doubtful. The Queen had looked almost human. Somehow, that scared her even more. Because that would mean there was more going on than she knew. She did not like that thought. Not even a little.

  Late that night, Snow White left the safety of the palace and ventured into the Jungle to meet with the dwarfs. It was a good thing that the Queen gave her the task of dealing with them because otherwise, she might never have learned about the rebellion underway. Normally, she wouldn’t participate in any such activity sponsored by their neighboring kingdom, but she needed help to deal with her stepmother.

  “You’re early,” Doc said as if shocked.

  The dwarfs were gathered in their underground bunker. There were about thirty of them there. A few stood while most were sitting around a long table. It was a spacious room that served as a common room. The stairs leading above ground were in one corner, while small doors lined the three remaining sides, leading to the other rooms. Most of them served as bedrooms.

  The bunker wasn’t their home. It was a place where they gathered to plot against the Queen. However, seven of them lived there permanently. They were the leaders and the instigators of the whole rebellion.