Into the Villain's Mirror

Chapter 6 - Glimpses of her Path

The girl was breath-takingly beautiful, with big, doe-eyes framed by curling lashes and smooth skin that shone like alabaster. Her black hair was rich and gleaming, gathered beneath a delicately spun crown of silver and jewels.

Her lips, red as sin, parted, presenting pearl-like teeth. "Royal Father, it was her."

Lucy was engulfed in shadows, stretching across her naked flesh like dark claws. She felt a heavy gaze on her, but she couldn't lift her head to look at the man standing next to the girl, as if his eyes were a physical weight pressing down her neck. And then came the pain, wrecking her in gut-wrenching waves, flashes of hot and cold burning in equal measure -

Lucy bolted upright, her choked sob filling the stillness of the Queen's chamber. Morning was far away, no sliver of gray yet invading the blueish darkness all around her. She was sweating and shivering, the nausea churning in her gut causing saliva to pool in her mouth while the priceless sheets clung to her clammy skin.

Just a dream, she tried to tell herself, swallowing heavily, it was just a dream.

But neither her breath nor her heart were calmed that easily. She felt it hammering inside her chest, throwing itself against its prison of bone and muscles as if it wanted to escape Lucy's body.

Just a dream ...

Lucy's eyes settled on the heavy curtain sheltering the mirror and the doubts that had followed her all day long bubbled to the surface.

Every night she was haunted by visions of the sweet-faced girl and bone-shattering agony. Every night since the last time she had talked to the mirror - and decided to live out her days in this reality instead of murdering Snow White.

Was it really just a dream?

Because deep down she somehow knew exactly who that girl was ...

The mirror obviously had no need for sleep or any concern for normal business hours, as the shadows coalesced into the familiar silhouette as soon as Lucy tugged the curtain aside.

"My Queen."

Lucy's voice was hoarse with sleep and imagined screams. "Is it you? The nightmares?"

"I would never plague my Queen with meaningless terror."

Meaningless. Lucy's eyes narrowed. "What would be considered meaningful terror?"

There was a short pause. "A glimpse of the destination my Queen's current path is leading her."

Destination ... 

The realization was like a vat of freezing water dunked over her head, goosebumps rising all over Lucy's skin while her lungs constricted. She was definitely awake now. "Glimpse of ... my destination? My death?"

"A final conclusion."

"No, I – but why? I didn't do anything! I'm just living my life in peace, without ... Snow White isn't even here, why do I have to die?"

The mirror almost seemed to sigh, a soundless notion that feathered through its smoky form. "My Queen, I once warned you that this story will not bend easily. Snow White's fate is to become a beloved queen, and my Queen's fate is to die at her feet, repenting all your sins."

Hysteria bubbled in Lucy's throat, distorting her voice. "But she's hiding in the forest right now, how - ?"

"Does my Queen really not know? One day a king's son shall ride through the woods and up to the dwarfs' house, where he will lay eyes on a girl so beautiful he never found anyone her equal. Without your hand, there will not even be a glass coffin to separate them. And Snow White will return to the courts and my Queen's misdeed will be a secret no longer."

Strength left her limbs and Lucy didn't care when she fell to her knees. Of course, how could she have been so naive? Why did she forget about that stupid prince, an important part of the villainess' original ending?

Why did she delude herself into thinking it could be this easy? Why did she believe she would be safe as long as she didn't harm anyone?

When she found her voice again, it sounded flat and cold to her own ears. "Snow White returns and I will be killed."

A few seconds of silence stretched between them while Lucy's words settled over her like a dark funeral shroud.

It was the mirror who broke the morose stillness. "This fate can easily be avoided, as long as my Queen succeeds before Snow White has a chance to return."

A spark of familiar annoyance ignited in Lucy's chest, driving some of the numbness from her limbs. "You mean, if I actually manage to kill her instead of inducing some kind of fairy-tale-coma."

"My Queen worried if her desires were selfish and wrong. Now you may rest assured that destiny is forcing your hand."

You're the one forcing me, Lucy thought but it lacked any spite.

The nightmares were horrible but wasn't the mirror simply trying to warn her, in its own convoluted way? Without her dreams, Lucy would have been unaware of the looming danger until the day she suddenly found herself tortured and executed.

The realization swelled in her head, pressing against her skull with the beginnings of a migraine. A trickle of helplessness mixed into her blood, slowly accumulating into a wave of dependency, overwhelming her. When Lucy looked at the faceless mirror-figure again, her voice was pleading. "Is there really no other way? What if I run away?"

"My Queen cannot run from her destiny. It will always find you, as long as you inhabit this world spun from imagination and parchment. The only way to survive is to overthrow it."

Lucy carded a shaking hand through her long golden tresses, relishing the tug against her scalp like the hooks of tiny fishing lines sinking into her skin, keeping her anchored. "I ... I need to think. I need some time - I need some sleep. No more glimpses, this night or any other."

"As my Queen wishes."

But even after knowing that she wouldn't be plagued by nightmares, Lucy had trouble falling asleep. Every time she closed her eyes, that beautiful face would crystalize from her memories, as haunting as any terror.

Because she was familiar with her tale, Lucy had always pictured Snow White as sweet and naive, sheltered to a fault first by her upbringing and then by the dwarfs. For pity's sake, in the original tale the girl had fallen for the Queen's tricks three times in succession, despite the dwarfs' desperate warnings. That certainly didn't speak of a very cunning character or sharp mind.

But in the original tale, Snow White had also watched silently as the Queen was tortured to death at her own wedding ceremony.

And in her nightmares ...

The stunning face had been branded into Lucy's sleep-addled brain, white cheeks flushed prettily with a very honest sentiment, unclouded by questions or hesitation.

Righteousness. Accusing Lucy, Snow White hadn't shown any pity or doubt, just the true belief of justice finally fulfilled.

And maybe a spark of satisfaction, deep in her bottomless, beautiful eyes.