The Cruel Queen

I am the Queen of Hearts, the ruler of Wonderland. They fear me because fear lasts longer than love. Every day the blade falls, and every day I remind them what happens when they cross me. But behind my mask, behind the crown that weighs heavier than anyone could imagine, there are cracks no one sees.

Because once, I was not a queen of cruelty. Once, I was a girl who loved. A girl who laughed. A girl who dreamed of running away with a boy who made me believe in forever. And then the blade took him from me, and with it, it took everything soft inside of me.

Now I sit on my throne of blood and ice, and I kill without hesitation-except when I see couples. Lovers who remind me of what I lost. Lovers I cannot bring myself to destroy. They think it's mercy. But it's not. It's selfishness. Because every time, I see his face. Every time, I remember what it cost me to love.

I am the Queen of Hearts. And though I rule with fear, I am still haunted by the echo of a heart that once was mine.