Not the Villain - The Evil Queen's Retelling of Snow White

Bonus Scene: Casimir. I

The end? Haha just kidding, there's another chapter! This book just wouldn't end, right?

Anyway, here's a bonus chapter from Casimir's point of view. I was originally going to publish this as a celebration for 2k reads (which is ABSOLUTELY CRAZY, by the way, I must thank all of you for your support!) but I see now that I am a bit too late...

Also, this is kind of (very) different from what I usually write so forgive me. I shall (mostly) stay true to my evil INTJ self from now on.

Ah well. Here goes nothing.

25 years, two months, and 13 days ago:

The carriage jolted as one of the wheels hit a bump on the road. Absently, I slipped my hand into my pocket, my fingers expecting the soft velvet of the box, but they were met with nothing. Of course. My mind wandered to the garden where I had knelt before Amethyst merely two hours ago. Had I really proposed to her? It seemed surreal, like it happened in a dream.

"I'm engaged," I whispered to myself, with no one to overhear me in the confines of the luxurious carriage, "I'm engaged."

I tried to feel happy, but I couldn't. I really couldn't.

Why had I decided to do that? To use Amethyst, I mean. To egg her on even though I had no feelings for her. It was a foolish prank on a childhood friend, a joke, a means to merely entertain myself in the bland palace. I really thought it would've been funny. But I didn't anticipate that she would have feelings for me. Now it seemed as though I had gone too far; father wanted me to propose to her. I could see the wisdom in it— she was smart and could handle the court matters for me. But I refused. Marriage felt... permanent. Very permanent.

That was when I found myself on my knees with my father standing before me, his sword at my throat. You are a disgrace. He had whispered in a tone that promised death. It is your duty. I hated how powerless I had felt, how I had quivered in surrender. He had thrown the velvet box at me before he left the room, footsteps thundering on the marble floor. You have until noon, was the last thing he had said.

And yet a part of me also did want to do it. A small part, but a part nevertheless. Maybe it was because I wanted someone else to feel how I feel. How it felt under the weight of the entire court. How it felt to be lonely. To feel as though you'd never find love.

Maybe somewhere, deep down, I wanted her to suffer along with me. I wanted her to break. I wanted her to be anything but happy, just like me.

Stop overthinking, I scolded myself. There's nothing you can do about it anyway.

The carriage jolted again, and the curtains came away, coming loose of their clasp. From the thin gap, I caught sight of a slender figure robed in a large, patched brown cloak. My heart skipped a beat in recognition, but I was sure I had not met her before. How would I know a peasant? I jumped from my seat and yanked the curtains apart, but the form was gone, lost in the crowd.

Without thinking about it I unlatched the door, kicking it open and jumping out onto the streets. I staggered a little, but quickly regained my footing. From somewhere behind, I heard rough exclamations and shouting as they realised that I was gone. I ignored them, my mind wandering back to the girl. Who was she, and why had I felt so attracted to her presence? There was a gravity about her that lured me in that made me want to uncover each of her deepest, darkest secrets. I didn't understand it.

I had lied to Amethyst, saying that I would be attending a meeting, when in reality I just had to get away from her. I couldn't face her knowing that everything between us was a lie, and will stay a lie for the rest of our lives, in all probability. I had ordered my servants to bring me to a pub somewhere, and I even wore a peasant costume for it. Although plain and untasteful, it was thankfully clean.