ROTTEN to the Core [EN]

Prologue - Once Upon A Time

Once upon a time...

... many years ago, there was a kingdom called Valtara. Once blessed with wealth and peace, the golden years of the country were long gone. Numerous wars with neighboring lands and a heavy blow of fate in the royal house had weakened the kingdom. Now it was in a state of darkness and despair. Blood and the countless battles had poisoned the soil and made it barren. Poverty, disease and war plagued the poor and the people began to suffer.

Their kind-hearted ruler had always cared for their welfare. But since his beloved queen passed away in childbirth years ago, all compassion seemed to have died. The empress left the king her only daughter, whom they named Mairwen, because this meant beautiful, bright and white. And because they loved her so much, the royal couple affectionately called her 'Snow White', to match the snow-white skin and delicate beauty of their sweet little daughter.

Mairwen grew up and with each day she became more like her late mother. This, however, pressed deep shards into her father's chest and even after all these years, his grief was still great and sorrowful. For this reason, he kept his daughter away from his sight and avoided her to ease his own sorrow.

So the years went by and the princess grew up. She was just a young girl when her father finally took a new wife. With the love for his new beautiful queen, the king's heart warmed again for his daughter. So it happened that after the days of joyful wedding celebration, the king and queen brought the girl from the shadows back to their side. Everything seemed to change for the better.

But that little glimmer of hope was not to last long.

As Mairwen grew older, her beauty began to rival that of her stepmother. With each passing day, she seemed to grow more radiant and beautiful, and the queen had to realize that the girl was gaining more and more approval. She saw her power threatened, which only increased her contempt for her stepdaughter. For Queen Rhiannon was a woman consumed by vanity and pride. She saw the young princess as a constant reminder of her husband's past love and a competitor for her position. She simply could not bear the sight of the girl and the love the king felt for her. Jealousy thrived in her heart and poisoned her thoughts. And it was those thoughts that would eventually become sinister deeds.

As Snow White's beauty continued to blossom, Rhiannon's envy grew to unbearable levels. She hated the child so much that she could not bear it any longer. So she made plans and was determined to get the disagreeable daughter out of the way.

She began to spread rumors about Snow White, portraying her as a vain and selfish girl. Out of fear, the servants bowed their heads and helped her in her sinister schemes. They complained to the king and other servants about how much they suffered from the princess, how lavishly she bought new clothes, hardly ever wore her expensive footwear and carelessly threw it away or severely punished her for the smallest offenses. Only before the king the girl was sweet. Like snow, she hid her corrupt personality under a white veil of deceptive innocence.

It was not long before the king also heard of the rumors and his heart became heavy. When even his queen finally approached him, Rhiannon convinced the king that Mairwen was plotting against him and the kingdom and that she was taking advantage of her beauty and his love for her.

Although the king was saddened at the thought of losing his daughter, he began to believe his queen's lies. Mairwen, meanwhile, had no idea of her stepmother's plan and lived her life as usual. But her stepmother's plan slowly poisoned the opinion of the king and the servants against her.

So it finally happened that they banished her to her premises and commanded her not to leave them again. Thus Snow White became a prisoner in her own castle, away from the gaze of the king and queen. This is how this story could have ended. 

But the queen was not a woman who left things unfinished...