Did I win? Did I lose? I honestly don't know. It's a twisted world, a world in which sometimes the worst thing that can happen to you is to get exactly what you want.

The wedding was lavish. Looked like the whole kingdom showed up to welcome me. I was presented to the people from outside the palace, on top of those circular stairs, and they looked like an ocean of heads. Here and there I recognized a face from my old neighborhood. The jealousy was delicious.

My stepsisters did not attend. They're being held in a remote tower prison until I decide what to do with them. I might make up my mind in a decade or two.

It's late now, close to midnight. I'm standing alone in my royal bedchamber, gazing into the mirror. I've got a new black dress that bares my shoulders, a new tiara with silver spikes. But no more crystal slippers. Those things are bad luck, I think.

The mirror is large and elliptical and framed in heavy gold. For some reason I feel better when I look inside it. Reassured, as if the mirror somehow knows me. I know it sounds weird, but even when I'm in other parts of the palace, I can still feel the mirror, calling me to stand before it.

My beauty - it's all I have now. But no more magic to keep it fresh. I miss the white magic. It gave me a sense of control. Still... there must be other forms of magic out there. Darker, more sinister kinds, perhaps. But I can learn them. I will find a way.

Edgar has hit me twice already, once on the morning of our wedding. But I know how to punish him now: through his daughter. She'll have her own wicked stepmother - and I learned from the best. I will ruin her life just as my stepmother ruined mine. It'll make Edgar furious, probably more violent. But I will have courage and be cruel.

She's worse than I thought, that Snow White. Too pretty for her own good. If I'm not careful she'll someday become even prettier than I am. And I rather enjoy being fairest in the land, having the admiration of the whole kingdom. I won't let her take that from me.

My reflection smiles, unworried. It's a new life now, new enemies to conquer. The old Cinderella is dead, she died the moment I plunged that spike into Stepmother. No longer will I subjugate myself to anyone, no longer will I take refuge in my memories of Papa. Try as I might, I no longer see myself as his daughter. Not just because of my mother's secret, but because I've taken a life. Somehow, that pushed my father far away, beyond my reach. I have no family left, no real identity. I will have to create it for myself.

My eyes meet those in the glass, blue and brutal. I lift my chin. "Mirror, mirror, on the wall. Who is the fairest one of all?"

I feel the aura of comfort coming from the mirror. And I know who I am.

I am the Evil Queen.

*********

Thanks for reading Sinful Cinderella! I had quite a lot of fun writing it.

The sequels can be found on Amazon and can be read on Kindle Unlimited:

Sneaky Snow White - Book 2

Rotten Rapunzel - Book 3

Bad Beauty - Book 4

Wishing you all the best! -Anita Valle