Page 160 of Naughty Nelle

DEWITCHED

E.L. SARNOFF

BOOK ONE

Look in the mirror and one thing’s sure; what we see is not who we are.

—Richard Bach

CHAPTER 1

Amirror can be your best friend. Or your worst enemy. The only thing you can count on is brutal honesty.

I talk to my mirror. Lots of women do. Except mine talks back. It’s magic.

Time for our daily chat. I head down the long corridor toward the chamber where I keep my magic mirror, but I’m distracted by the sound of singing. I detour over to a window and peek between the thick, tightly drawn drapes.

Below in my castle courtyard, she’s standing idly by the wishing well. My stepdaughter. Snow White. Why the hell is she wasting her time wishing when she should be washing? Well, I suppose I’ll give her a little break today. After all, it’s her birthday. Her sixteenth.

Birds and butterflies dance around her. I don’t get it. Her whole life, I’ve piled her with a crapload of chores and dressed her in rags, yet she still looks ravishing.

I try hard not to scowl; the last thing I need is a deep, ugly crease between my brows. I know. I’m going to double her workload. What a perfect birthday present!

Enough. I yank the drapes closed and quicken my pace down the corridor. At the end, I crank open a heavy mahogany door.

The windowless room is dark and bare, lit only by candlelight. My mirror faces me. I stride up to it and meet my shadowy reflection.

“Mirror, mirror on the wall

Who’s the fairest one of all?”

Awaiting an answer, I admire my candle-lit face, flickering in the smoky glass. My creamy, unblemished skin. My cat-green eyes. My full red lips. And those high cheekbones.

I grow impatient. What’s taking so long? There’s only answer. ME!

Finally, the mirror responds:

“You are fair indeed, My Queen,

But there is someone fairer who is Sweet Sixteen.”

I let out a gasp so loud it echoes. The mirror continues:

“Even in darkness she is a bright light,

A princess who goes by the name Snow White.”

Her?Blood rushes to my head. I pace the chamber, zigzagging from corner to corner, in a frenzy. My mirror is a traitor! I rip off my crown and aim it at the glass. About to smash it into smithereens, I get an even better idea. Something I should have done ages ago…

Eliminate the competition. And I have just the perfect person to do it.

My faithful Huntsman.

Snow White can wish as much as she wants. This birthday will be her last.

The Huntsman cowers before me as I sit high on my gem-studded throne. Despite his imposing height and girth, the bearded man appears small to me today. Almost frail.

“Take Snow White deep into the forest and bring me back her heart,” I command.

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