After Ever After

A New Fairest of Them All

The evil queen ran back and forth in her throne room, forehead scrunched in frustration. How could her most powerful spell be broken by something as stupid and simple as true love’s kiss?

She let out a deep breath to keep her from pulling at her hair. Even at times like these, she will not let Snow White be more beautiful than her.  Smiling at the thought, the evil queen walked up to her most trusted adviser, the mirror.

“Mirror, mirror on the wall. Tell me the future and how it shall benefit all.” She commanded.

The mirror smiled back at her and gave a slight nod. “As you wish, Your Majesty.”

~*~

The mirror showed the queen grinning ear to ear as she stared at the contraption she had finished inventing. Its buttons glowed with vibrant blues, reds, and yellows. The machine beeped and buzzed while the queen stared at it with awe.

“Just a few presses on the right buttons, and this would help me turn into anyone I want! I could be a lowly servant of some noble, I could be my dear old deceased husband or in this case… I could be the fairest of them all, Snow White.”

With another eerie smile, she walked to her cupboard and grabbed a flask containing bluish-green liquid, a potion she just brewed earlier. The queen drank the whole thing and felt herself slowly transforming.

Her nose got longer and crooked, her back rather bent and her skin got wrinkly and saggy. She changed into an old woman, the very same one she used to trick Snow White before. Happily humming a tune, she grabbed a basket filled with bright red apples and made her way to the castle.

~*~

Fools. The queen said to herself as she stepped over one of the palace guard’s body. They should know very well by now not to take an apple from an old woman. Not after what I did to Snow White.

After carefully searching some of the rooms, the queen finally found her target sleeping soundly next to her handsome prince.

The queen looked at Snow White. She had flawless skin white as snow, and her hair was black as the night sky. She had plump limps and a faint pink blush sat perfectly on her face. Oh, how the queen hated how perfect she looked, even while sleeping.

With one quick and fluid motion, she grabbed the sleeping princess and stuffed her in a sack, enchanted to hold any weight and to muffle sounds that came from inside. The queen ran to the edge of the dark forest and threw the sack that held the dainty girl. It unravelled and out came Snow White who looked so frail and fragile around the dangerous forest.

“You,” cried Snow White when her eyes set on the evil queen. “You’re still coming after me? What did I ever do to you?!”

“Oh dear, you ask so many questions! You’re such a whiny little brat.” The queen laughed and clapped her hands.

As if on cue, the machine she built rolled out from the darkness and Snow White’s forehead scrunched in confusion.  Fast as lightning, the queen pricked Snow White’s shoulder with a sharp needle, causing her to bleed. The queen extracted some into a vial and placed it delicately in her machine.

“What are y—” Snow White started, but the machine started shaking, stopping her midsentence.

The machine beeped loudly and gave off such blinding light that enveloped the whole forest. Snow White quickly shut her eyes closed as to not receive any damage.

When the light slowly died off, the princess opened her eyes, anxious to see what happened. What she saw though, she certainly wasn’t expecting.

In front of her stood a girl with skin white as snow and hair dark as the night’s sky. It was like looking at her reflection in the mirror. Snow White was standing in front of her. “Wha- you’re… me!” she exclaimed.

The other Snow White tilted her head as if to show confusion. “I’m sorry, you seem confused! You see… I’m Snow White. You, on the other hand, seem to be… forgive my words, a crazy old lady.” She replied, a small smirk etched on her face.

The real Snow White looked down and her eyes widened in horror. She was no longer wearing her night gown. A filthy brown dress that resembled a rag took its place. Her skin was all wrinkly, and her hair was gray and clumped together because of its oiliness.

The queen, now disguised as Snow White, smiled. “Guess who’s the fairest of them all now!” She said in a singsong voice and with a snap of her fingers, vanished in thin air.

~*~

“Miss… Sir… Please believe me! I am the real Snow White. The one up the castle is an imposter. It’s the evil queen. She tricked me!” the old lady pleaded chasing the young couple around the marketplace.

The woman looked at the old lady with disgust and fear and walked over to one of the palace guards nearby. The guard gave the woman a slight nod and grabbed the old lady by the collar of her dress, dragging her to one of the other guards.

“This one right here’s been bugging people at the marketplace. Should we dispose of her?”

The other guard scrunched his nose in disgust, barely looking up from the book he was reading. “Yeah, whatever. I suppose the prince and princess won’t mind. Those kinds of people are a danger to the community anyways. Take her to the guillotine.”

The guard dragged the old lady to the guillotine, and with one swift motion, the cries of fear and attempts of escape was cut short, leaving the place with an eerie silence that filled the air.

~*~

“Interesting… “ the queen commented as the mirror changed into its original form, a pale white face that resembled a mask. 

The queen walked to her terrace that gave her the perfect view of another castle beyond the forest, the one where a certain princess resides in. “Who would’ve thought that after everything that happened, I would still win in the end?” Her lips slowly formed into a smile, growing wider and wider until she was grinning from ear to ear. And after a deep, contented sigh, she let out a fearsome and evil laugh, the scariest one she has ever done yet.