An overwhelming feeling of purpose washed through Grimhilde as she stared at her reflection in the gilded mirror. In this place of shadow and simmering power, this mirror was the link that kept her tied to the ‘being’ that saved her in the forest. The mirror now served as a tool to summon the being when needed. She also suspected that it was there to monitor all her movements. When she was not standing in front of it, she had often glimpsed shadows curling around the edges and eyes spying on her. Grimhilde was under no illusion that this being was not helping her but that she was a pawn in a bigger game of his. She just hadn’t figured out what yet. Whether she wanted it or not, she was now linked to it through a bargain she had made. 

She let her thoughts drift to the last few weeks here, with ‘it’. She had woken up her first day with a sense of rage and relief, determined to get revenge, but she had no clear path to how this would come about. Exploring the place showed her nothing. It was an endless space of corridors and rooms with no end in sight. Each room she opened, led her into the room that she had woken up in. No matter what she tried, she could not find a way in or out. Never did she find another living soul either. Her room had an adjoining bathroom with all necessary utilities and food showed up in the room at fixed hours. While none of the amenities or the food could be considered luxuries, they did the job. Her saviour and captor seemed to drift in and out at will. Leaving her alone most of the time and only coming back to ask her if she had made a plan or to mock her endlessly about her lack of direction, her naivety and even made crude remarks about her looks. Whenever it showed up, Grimhilde used the time to ask him all sorts of questions. He ignored most of them but what he answered showed her that there were limitations to what the creature could do. She had used this time to figure out a plan and learn more about the shadow being and its power. So far, she had figured out that its power seemed to lie mainly in mind manipulation and illusions. That meant that she could not ask him to kill the man who had betrayed her father and her or raise an army. Now, she was finally ready to share her plans with him. Taking a deep breath, she said to the mirror 

Mirror, Mirror on the wall… come aid me in bringing about the Evil King’s downfall

The mirror seemed to come alive again. Grimhilde took a step back as liquid smoke, as dark as the moonless night poured out of the mirror. Within seconds it had morphed itself into the familiar form of her saviour. 

‘Hello, princess. Have you finally been able to come up with a plan or is this another day where you waste my time?‘

Its voice grated against her nerves. She forced down a shiver as she said, ‘I have a plan! I need you to make me the fairest in all the lands.‘

What followed next was a few years of amassing riches by hoodwinking all suitors. The more unattainable she became, the more people vied for her attention. Showering her with gifts of precious jewels, luxurious fabrics, servants, houses to no avail. Grimhilde knew that these men, though rich and powerful, did not serve her purpose. They would not be able to exact the revenge she has been nursing in her heart since her betrothed had humiliated her and killed her father. She needed more, she had to be patient. She used this time to hone her craft. Learning how to lie and manipulate men to her own advantage. Any man who came too close to her and started to become a nuisance suddenly fell violently ill and either passed or died in their sleep. By the end of the year, news reached Grimhilde’s ears that her enemy had borne a son. It was time for the next step of her plan. She was ready! She set her mark on King Leopold, the richest of the Kings, with the most land, the most power and the most vulnerable.

The King had just lost his wife during childbirth and the kingdom needed a queen. The Queen’s death had broken the King and he spent his days mourning his wife. He lost all interest in his duties and it had started to affect the royal household and the kingdom. It was obvious that the kingdom needed a queen and the King needed a companion to bring him out of his grief-fueled stupor. They made various attempts at bringing in suitable matches for the king. A host of possible matches were considered. Princesses, Scholars, and Daughters of rich merchants, but the King refused them all. It was during this time that the tales of Grimhilde’s unparalleled beauty and sharp wit reached the. Such was her beauty that it had reached the ears of the courtiers of King Leopold. After much deliberation, the courtiers decided to arrange a feast to celebrate the birth of the princess and invited all the eligible maidens in the land including Grimhilde.

The night of the feast, Grimhilde dressed in an opulent silk dress the colour of midnight rain. She looked at the mirror and there, staring back at her was her old plain face. The ‘being’ had given everyone the privilege of looking at the most beautiful woman when they looked at her but in his cruelty, he had not granted her that satisfaction. The satisfaction of seeing her own beauty. She still saw the same old face she always saw, her face, plain, simple, forgettable, unlovable. It served as a constant reminder that this was all an illusion, she wasn’t really with a friend, none of this was real and if she defied or denied her ‘saviour’, it would all disappear in a flash. She sometimes wondered whose game she was playing, her own or its? 

She walked down the aisle, with no real power, no land, no army, and she walked out with a Queen with the most powerful King at her side, and all the power she would need to bring down her old lover.