Vanity

by Sonya Writes

“Mm-hmm. You can call me Cassie from now on, or Cassius, like all the other grown-ups.”

  Snow White beamed. “Okay,” she said. “I like your dress, Cassie. Do you think I can have a dress like that someday?”

  Cassius smiled. “I’m sure of it,” she said.

  There was no one she felt comfortable with to walk her down the aisle, so Cassius walked alone, but a handsome man stood waiting for her at the altar. Cassius looked around and was glad: Augustus had designed this wedding to look distinctly different from his wedding with Genevieve. The colors were different, the seating arrangement was different—it was uniquely their own.

  As she said her vows she felt butterflies in her stomach again, and she wondered if Augustus could see through the veil well enough to know she was blushing. They exchanged rings and were about to kiss, but before he kissed her he took a moment to look at her without the veil in the way.

  “You’re so beautiful, Cassie,” he whispered.

  When her lips parted as she smiled, he moved in and placed his lips upon hers. The kiss was soft and sweet, and Cassius felt as if her whole body had come alive at his touch. For a moment, she actually felt beautiful.

  The rest of the wedding was a blur to Cassius, a fantastic blur. There was dining and dancing, and more people than Cassius had ever met in her life came up to her to congratulate and meet her. That was when it first set in that she was a queen now: their queen. She’d never felt so important before.

  Snow White went home with Mrs. Snowshoe that evening, and once they were alone, Augustus scooped Cassius up into his arms and carried her through the palace to his bedroom. He set her down on the bed and pushed her hair back behind her ear.

  “At the altar, was that your first kiss?” he asked.

  She nodded.

  “I could tell.” He gave a soft laugh and a wide smile.

  “Is that a bad thing?” she asked.

  “No,” he said. “It’s good.” He kissed her once more. “Very good.” He kissed her again and they lay down together in the bed. Cassius had been nervous about their first night together, but his touch put her at ease. She felt alive when he touched her, as if he was lighting a fire inside her.

  “Tell me I’m beautiful,” she said.

  “You’re beautiful, Cassie.”

  For the first time, she truly believed him.

  Afterward she lay in his arms, closed her eyes and daydreamed. Augustus rubbed her shoulders and kissed the back of her head. The moment seemed like it would last forever, but it ended all too soon.

  Augustus gave her one last kiss on her shoulder and then rolled to his back. He yawned and then mumbled.

  “Good night, Genevieve.”

  Her heart sank. Did she hear him correctly? “What?” she asked.

  “I said good night, Genevieve.”

  “Oh,” she said. “Good night.” She rolled away from him and hugged herself. The bed felt cold all of a sudden. She waited until she knew he was asleep, and then she cried.

  ~

  mirror mirror, on the wall

  When Cassius awoke the next morning, Augustus’s side of the bed was empty. She was disappointed at first and then relieved. She needed a moment alone. Her heart still ached from the night before.

  “Good night, Genevieve.”

  She couldn’t believe he’d said that. Sure, he was tired. It had been a long day for both of them, but it was their wedding night. Cassius had tried to tell herself leading up to the wedding that she wasn’t just a replacement wife to him, but after he called her Genevieve the second time that night she could no longer convince herself.

  She closed her eyes and sighed. “Be strong,” she said. “You can be strong.” She got out of bed and put on one of the gowns in the closet. They were all new, again. She wondered what happened to her old ones.

  As she left the room, one of the servants approached her. “His Majesty is in the throne room,” she said. “I think he’s waiting for you to arrive.”

  Cassius thanked her and hurried toward the throne room.

  He beamed when he saw her “Cassie! My queen. A gift has just arrived from the Seven Dwarfs of Jeweled Fall. I hoped you would awake soon so we could open it together.”

  She noticed the large object wrapped in cloth and wondered what it could possibly be. It was nearly her height, three times her width, and thinner than a brick.

  Cassius moved to stand next to him. “What is it?” she asked.

  He laughed. “I don’t know yet. As I said, I wanted to open it together, like we did for the gifts we received last night.” He gestured to the object. “Why don’t you do the honor?”

  She stepped toward it and carefully untied the ribbon. With the ribbon undone, the cloth slipped the floor to reveal a magnificent mirror. Cassius’s mouth dropped open and she stared at, her reflection shining back at her. The frame was made of gold and formed to look like a rosebush with brilliant rubies shining from golden stems. The whole mirror shimmered and shone.

  “It’s beautiful,” she said.

  Augustus broke the seal on the letter that accompanied it. He started to read aloud but then stopped and read in silence.

  “Take the mirror to our bedroom,” he asked. The servants quickly moved to do as they were told. Once they were alone, he turned to Cassius.

  “It isn’t just a mirror,” he said.

  “What do you mean?”

  He read the note to her.

  Please accept our sincere apologies in regard to the lateness of our gift. Thy wedding came as a surprise to us and we were not able to finish our gift in time. This is a gift we have been preparing for weeks, and when we heard of your impending wedding we tried to complete it as quickly as possible. We suspected that you would remarry shortly, and we asked amongst ourselves what sort of gift would be most useful to a twice married king and his bride. We hope this gift will be a blessing to your household and the entire kingdom.

  This mirror is a magical mirror. It will answer exactly one question each day so long as the question is asked in rhyme. It can be any question about any topic, and the mirror will answer truthfully. The future is never set in stone, however, and we urge you to remember this when seeking your answers.

  Sincerely,

  The Seven Dwarfs

  “A magic mirror,” Cassius whispered. She was awestruck by the gift. She looked to Augustus. “We can ask it any question we like. One each day.”

  He nodded. “We must choose our questions wisely,” he said. “This is a great power we’ve been trusted with.”

  “Should we go see if it works?”

  He answered her question with his feet instead of words. She briskly followed him to their room. The mirror was installed on the wall across from their bed, and the servants had gone.

  Augustus took a deep breath. “Here goes,” he said. “Mirror mirror near our bed, can you do as the dwarfs have said?”

  An old, wise-looking face appeared in the mirror and spoke with a deep voice. Both Augustus and Cassius flinched upon the sight of it.

  “King Augustus, it is as they’ve said. The truth I’ll tell you, newlywed.”

  Gradually the face went away so that Augustus and Cassius found themselves staring at their own reflections once more. The two stood there for a long time in silence until at last the king spoke.

  “We agree that this is a secret between us?” he said.

  “Of course,” Cassius answered. “I won’t tell anyone.”

  He nodded. “Good,” he said. “The only person we should ever tell about this is Snow White, but not until she’s older.”

  “I agree.”

  “Very well,” he said. He smiled and placed a kiss upon Cassius’s cheek. “I have much that I need to do today, dear wife, but I look forward to seeing you at dinner tonight, and afterward.” He left the room and Cassius brought her hand up to the place on her cheek where he kissed her. She thought about the night before and how he’d called her Genevieve instead of Cassie. Her eyes watered a
s she wondered what it meant. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and decided to ask the question.

  “Mirror mirror on the wall, does my spouse have love for me at all?”

  The old face reappeared and spoke.

  “Cassius, queen, you heard the king say: I can but answer one question each day.”

  ~

  Each day Augustus asked a question pertaining to the well-being of the kingdom, and each day Cassius wished she could ask a question as well, but she never mentioned this to him. She knew he would laugh if she told him her questions, and she knew also that the questions he asked were important on a larger scale. He asked questions for the kingdom, a topic Cassius barely understood. She felt like more of a bystander than a queen, and by the way Augustus responded to her when she had questions about reigning over a kingdom, she wondered if he wanted to keep it that way. Her duty was to him and his daughter; the kingdom was his domain.

  Cassius tried to be engaged with him at night, but after that first night it was difficult for her. His hands were touching her, but she couldn’t help thinking that in his heart he was touching Genevieve.

  Over time, his interest seemed to wane as well and Cassius felt all the more insecure about their marriage. One night when he seemed particularly distant, Cassius decided to ask a question that weighed heavy on her heart.

  “Do you still find me beautiful?” she asked.

  He rolled toward her and looked into her eyes. “Cassie, I’ve always told you how lovely you are,” he said. “What have I ever done to cause your doubt?”

  “Our wedding night,” she said. “After making love to me, you called me Genevieve.”

  A look of pain came over his face. “Is that why you’ve been so distant? Cassie, why didn’t you tell me? I wish you’d told me before,” he said. “I didn’t realize I said that.”

  “You did,” she told him. “And ever since, I’ve felt that in your heart you were still sleeping with her instead of me.”

  “No,” he said. “No. It was a habit. Only a habit. I called you that out of habit, and if I’d realized it I would have taken the words back to apologize right then. Please accept my apology. I never intended to hurt you.”

  “So you’re not thinking of her when you’re with me?”

  “I still miss Genevieve,” he said. “I still love her. But you’re the woman I’m with now, and when I’m with you, I’m completely with you.” He touched her cheek and then kissed the tip of her nose. “Cassie, my beautiful Cassie. Please don’t let the dead haunt our marriage.”

  A tear rolled down her cheek and she leaned up to kiss his lips. “My king,” she said. “Forgive me for the accusation I’ve made. I truly thought you didn’t love me and only wanted me so you could pretend I was Genevieve.”

  He kissed her back. “I love you, Cassie. I love you, and I’ll show you how much I love you every day of my life.”

  She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close. Touching him felt right again. She drank in the feeling and hoped it would never go away. “I love you too,” she said. She allowed him to enter her heart once more

  She was happier after that, but her joy was fleeting. It came and went like the morning breeze.

  ~

  Most mornings Augustus asked the mirror a question about the kingdom or a decision he needed to make. One morning, however, he asked a question specifically about himself. His question surprised Cassius.

  “Mirror mirror this answer please give: tell me now how long I’ll live?”

  The face appeared. It was a familiar face to them now, and the more she saw it, the more Cassius thought the golden border resembled hair rather than a rosebush.

  The mirror spoke in its usual deep and eerie voice. “If your character stays strong, then your life shall be quite long. But if your honor goes astray, your life shall end that very day.”

  The face and voice faded away until Augustus and Cassius were left looking at their reflections.

  “If my honor goes astray,” he said. “I wonder what that means.”

  Cassius shrugged. “We could ask tomorrow,” she said.

  He nodded, but never asked the question. The next morning he resumed his usual inquiries about decisions that needed to be made and the needs of the kingdom.

  ~

  Six months passed. For a while, Cassius and Augustus were able to enjoy each other again, but as time went on he grew distant once more. Cassius clung to him every chance she got, growing more and more desperate for his love and affection. But the clingier she became, the more he withdrew. He insisted it had nothing to do with his still missing Genevieve, and Cassius was left to assume there was something lacking about herself. He’d grown disinterested in her for some reason, and she didn’t know why.

  Augustus rarely ate breakfast with Snow White and Cassius, but one morning he made time to eat with them.

  “Cassie,” he said, just before his last bite. “Mrs. Snowshoe sent word that she misses you and Snow White. Why don’t you visit her today? You can make a day of it and I’ll see the two of you tonight at dinner.”

  Snow White clapped her hands. “Can we?” she asked.

  Cassius smiled. “Of course we can. That sounds wonderful. I do miss her.” She wondered for a moment why Mrs. Snowshoe hadn’t come to visit in a while. How long had it been? Four weeks? Five?

  “Excellent,” Augustus said. “I’ll see you tonight then, at dinner. You can tell me all about it.” He kissed her cheek and left the room.

  Snow White scarfed down the rest of her meal. “Let’s go!” she said. “I want to see grandma!”

  Cassius laughed. “Hang on,” she said. “We need to get ready if we’ll be out all day.” Cassius finished eating and then called for a carriage. As they waited on the carriage to be made ready, she asked the cook to prepare them a picnic lunch and then gathered a few of Snow White’s recent projects to show Mrs. Snowshoe. Snow White had been learning to crochet and was quite proud of it. She’d made a tiny scarf for her doll and was working on a matching one for herself.

  A servant arrived to notify them that the carriage was ready, so Cassius and Snow White headed for the door. As they stepped outside, Cassius noticed Gwen coming up the stairs to enter the palace. She was dressed in royal servant’s attire. That’s odd, she thought. Has he hired her for something else? Once again, the girl’s resemblance to Genevieve put a sick feeling in Cassius’s stomach.

  “Hello Gwen,” she said.

  The young woman looked away. “Hello, Your Majesty,” she replied. She picked up her pace and disappeared into the corridor that led to the servant’s quarters.

  “What’s she doing here?” Snow White asked.

  “I don’t know,” Cassius said. “I really don’t know.” They were walking toward the carriage when the sound of thunder filled the sky. Cassius looked up. “It looks like it’s going to rain,” she said. “I better run back for our umbrellas and coats.”

  “I’ll come with you,” Snow White said.

  “No, no. You wait here in the carriage and I’ll be back shortly. Perhaps you can finish your scarf before we get to grandma’s house, and then wear it on the way home.”

  Snow White smiled. “Yeah!” she said. She stepped inside the carriage and sat.

  Cassius handed her the unfinished scarf. “I’ll only be a couple of minutes,” she said.

  Cassius ran inside. She went first to Snow White’s room and spent several minutes digging through the child’s closet looking for her rain coat. When at last she found it she took one look at it and knew it was too small. She couldn’t remember the last time they’d gone out in the rain and realized that Snow White didn’t have a larger rain coat. Cassius reached for one of her winter coats instead. “It will have to do,” she said. Next she looked for an umbrella. It took a few more minutes of searching before she finally found one. She held the umbrella in her hand, draped the coat over her arm, and then started walking toward her own room.

  As she came closer, s
he thought she heard laughter from within the room. Cassius paused outside the door and listened. She heard a woman giggling, and then Augustus’s voice.

  “We can only go through with this if you’ll let me call you Genevieve,” he said.

  Cassius brought a hand to her mouth and froze.

  “Anything you want, Your Majesty.”

  She recognized that voice. It was Gwen.

  “Good,” he said. “You’ll be richly rewarded for this, Genevieve. Now, come closer, my dear, and let me kiss you.”

  Cassius stopped breathing for a moment and silently stepped back. Then her breathing grew heavy but she kept it as silent as possible. Her eyes watered but she held the tears back. Cassius crept away from the door and back down the hall. She came to the room she’d slept in when she was Snow White’s nanny instead of her step-mother, and she slinked inside. She hadn’t entered that room since her wedding day, and she found that nothing had changed. Everything was exactly as she’d left it. Even her old clothes were still in the closet. Cassius sat on the bed and held her head in her hands. Tears streamed down her face and her mind raced back to a memory she’d long ago blocked out.

  It was a week after her mother had left and Cassius was in bed unable to sleep. Suddenly she heard laughter coming from the hallway: a woman’s laughter. Excited, Cassius jumped up and ran to the door, fully expecting to find that her mother had returned and was home to stay. But when she opened the door she saw not her mother standing there but another woman, one she didn’t recognize. She heard her father tell the strange woman how beautiful she was. “You’re far more beautiful than my wife,” he said.

  The woman never saw Cassius, but her father did. He gave her a look that told her she better stay out of sight or else. She stepped away from her door but continued to watch. The woman followed her father to his bedroom and he closed the door behind them. Cassius never saw that woman again.

  When she looked up from her hands she seethed with anger. “I’ll make him pay,” she said. She went to her closet and rifled through her old clothes for the least attractive gown she owned. She also pulled out a hooded cloak that had been in the closet since before she moved into the palace. She wrapped them up in a pillowcase and then put on her old raincoat. With the parcel tucked inside her coat and Snow White’s things in her arms, she made her way to the carriage.