Sue’s #WritePhoto prompt:
“Mirror, mirror, on the water,
Tell me all about my step-daughter.”
Grimhilde stared at the surface of the pond, waiting for an answer.
Nothing.
Not a peep.
“Stupid reflection. Stupid pond. Stupid Snow White!”
The reflection of her face contorted into an ugly grimace.
“I was the fairest of them all, once,” Grimhelde addressed the terrified frogs who were sat, frozen, on the lily pads, unable to move, in case she cast a spell on them. “Yes, I was. Queen Grimhelde. That was me. The fairest, and the most feared. People quaked in my presence. My dear King, oh how he loved me. But he wouldn’t stop loving her.”
Grimhelde sneered as she continued. “Snow White. She was a harmless child. No match for me. Or at least she wasn’t, until she grew up. Too pretty. Eurgh! Sickly sweet, she was. And they all adored her.”
She sunk to the floor, grabbing a handful of grass and yanking it up, out of the ground.
The frogs cowered.
“And I thought I’d got rid of her! But why I had to send Henry, that daft huntsman, I don’t know. He was always too soft. A few flutters of her eyelashes, and he let her go!” She slowly scattered the broken blades of grass on the surface of the pond, fracturing the reflection.
“She lived. Those blasted dwarves saved her. Even my poisoned apple didn’t work. Instead, she marries that soppy Prince and lives Happily Ever After, and look at me. Stripped of my title and banished from the kingdom.”
She leant closer to the frogs, beckoning them to come closer. “Well actually, they think I’m dead. Left my execution to that stupid, soft Henry, didn’t they? He couldn’t kill his Queen, so he dropped me off here, as he had Snow White. Thing is, I haven’t found a band of dwarves to help me out.” She raised her hand, “I get left with frogs!” Grimhelde brought her fist down into the water, sending ripples across the surface and scattering the frogs.
“And now, even they’ve left me…”
But I Smile Anyway... 