Vanity Read online

  “I can’t believe it’s finished already,” she said. She looked at the intricate markings that bordered the glass.

  A handsome face appeared. “Beautiful Cassius!” it said. “How I have longed to meet you.”

  Cassius stared on in shock.

  “You’ve…longed…to meet me?” she asked.

  “Oh yes,” the mirror said. “Quite so.”

  “I don’t understand,” she said. “You’re talking to me and I haven’t even asked a question yet.”

  “You do not need to ask me a question for me to tell you how beautiful you are,” the mirror replied. “I may answer a single question every day like the mirror you had before, but I may also converse with you as much as we like.”

  “Wow,” she said. “Astonishing. The dwarfs didn’t tell me all this.”

  “They wanted it to be a surprise,” the mirror said. “A lovely surprise for a lovely queen.”

  “Yes,” she said. “It is lovely. And now, for my question for today. Mirror mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?”

  “Why Cassius, you’re the most beautiful woman I see.”

  Cassius laughed. “Seriously now, seriously. I can’t be the most beautiful woman in all the land. In fact I’m not even sure why I asked that question, since I already know the answer is Snow White.”

  “Beautiful Queen Cassius, why do you doubt? Your beauty is great, and that should suffice. Forget all the doubts your father put in your mind.”

  Cassius started crying. “Oh how did you know?” she asked. “How did you know?” She continued to cry into her hands as memories filled her mind. Her father. Her mother. Augustus. Genevieve. Gwen. Snow White.

  Broken glass.

  Suddenly it hit her. How did her first mirror break?

  She looked up at the mirror before her. “Mirror mirror on the wall, how exactly did my first mirror fall?” she said.

  The mirror smiled at her in a way that seemed as if it was laughing. “You know, my queen, the rules of this game. I can but answer one question each day.”

  ~

  happily ever after

  Cassius learned over a series of days exactly how her first mirror came to be broken, and once she got over the initial anger she felt, she understood why Snow White had taken the actions she did. She spent several days alone in her room to meditate on her past, and after about a week, she sent a letter to the cottage of the seven dwarfs inviting Snow White back into the castle.

  Upon the mirror’s advice, every day Snow White and Cassius would spend a few minutes talking about their childhoods. Hearing Snow White reminisce about her childhood helped Cassius to remember that this was the same girl she’d helped raise at one time, and it helped to strengthen the bond they once had. Cassius being able to share about her childhood was a huge help also, and Snow White was an excellent listener.

  Every day the mirror showered Cassius with compliments and words of affirmation which she desperately needed to hear, and over time she learned not to compare her beauty to that of others, especially Snow White.

  Henry never returned to the castle after his awkward stay with Cassius. He decided their dysfunctional family dynamics were more than he wanted to deal with for the rest of his life, but Snow White did marry a handsome duke a few years after the whole fiasco took place.

  Cassius invited Snow White onto her team of advisors and was finally able to take her suggestions with wisdom and grace. They got along well after that, and they all lived happily ever after.

  Other Books by Sonya Writes

  Science Fiction/Fantasy

  Yearning: a First to Dance prequel

  First to Dance

  Atalaya

  Imaginary

  Fairy Tales Retold

  Rivalry – a Cinderella story

  Remedy – a Sleeping Beauty story

  Lethargy – a Princess and the Pea story

  Transparency – a Beauty and the Beast story

  Flattery – a Frog Prince story

  Disparity – a Rumplestiltskin story

  Liberty – a Rapunzel story

  Treasury – Fairy Tales Retold

  (complete collection/box set)

  Children’s Books

  Share the Story: Ellie the Elephant

  Share the Story: Eel and Seal Feel

  Share the Story: Ant at Work

  Princess Isabella Counts to Ten

  My First Word Search

  My First Journal

  Coloring Books

  Chemical Structures Coloring Book

  Color and Design 400+ Dresses

  Color and Design 1000+ Dresses

  Other

  Gordon Likes Math

  Board Game in a Book: Gemstone Island

  Board Game in a Book: Matching Lions

  Write Your Own Storybook

  Family Meetings Notebook

  www.SonyaWrites.com

  117