Q is for Queen

         Welcome to the April A to Z Blog Challenge!  Everyone else is almost caught up to me now, but if you’re still sticking to the officially scheduled letter of the day, you can find my Post for P here.

        (My A to Z Blog Challenge theme this year is Beyond Pomegranate & Thorns, my immanent collection of short stories, poems, and art inspired by fairy tales, myths, and folklore.  All through the month I’m sharing excerpts of art, stories, and poetry, as well as some reflections on the power of the traditional stories that inspired me.)

        Today’s story is inspired by one of the most famous Grimms' fairy tales of all, “Snow White.”  (But in case you’re not familiar with it, feel free to read it here.  And while you’re at it, you may enjoy my prior post about Happy Endings, which explores the idea through the use of the “Snow White” fairy tale.)  But in my story that’s included in Beyond Pomegranate & Thorns, Snow White herself is barely mentioned at all.  The spark of magic that got me thinking was the Magic Mirror on the Wall.  Does the Magic Mirror have sentience?  Free will?  Is it driving the stepmother Queen into her murderous jealousy, or is she driving the Mirror into its odious comparisons?  And that got me thinking about how beauty really might feel worth fighting and killing for in a court like that of Louis XIV of France, for example, ruled by an absolute monarch for whom status, decided largely by appearance, makes all the difference between rising and falling.  Consider the possibility that it might not be mere vanity that prompts a new young queen, well aware that she’s been chosen only for her looks, to use whatever tools she can to protect herself.  Those two ideas combined into a vignette exploring how such circumstances might transform people.

        One moment I was a handsome young nobleman – and not just in my own estimation, I assure you.  The envious glances of the court testified that I was a figure of admiration, precisely as magnificent as possible without threatening to overshadow the king.  I spent enough time with my mirror to be confident that my hair was powdered to perfection, my sword hung correctly, and the very expensive lace on my cuffs and shirtfront draped to the most flattering effect.  Here at court beauty is powerful currency – vital currency.  So yes, when I ducked into that side chamber to check my appearance mid-ball, I am quite certain that I was a spectacularly handsome young nobleman right up until the moment when everything froze, shifted, and became something else…

        If you want to know what happens next, you’ll just have to read my book!  Available in just a few more days at the usual on-line places, or contact me via my web site to order directly from me.

        The moral of Snow White’s wicked stepmother Queen is that it’s never healthy to spend too much time with your mirror.

        Also, here’s my hot take: It seems to me that all these new “AI companions” sound very dangerously like the Magic Mirror, telling you whatever they think will keep you most engaged, regardless of how harmful it may be for you or for others around you.

        So, if you decided to smash the Magic Mirror on the Wall, would you get the usual seven years of bad luck, or would you get a worse curse… or perhaps even good luck?

[Picture: Mirror, Mirror, rubber block print by AEGNydam, 2025 (Image from NydamPrints.com).]