STORIES FOR THE PEOPLE

“Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is fairest of them all?”

As the words were spoken, the reflection of the speaker melted away and smoke swirled across the surface of the mirror. The room darkened, the mirror flashed lightning-blue, and a thunderous rumble shook the walls. A booming voice echoed around the room: “Why, Snow White, though years have passed it is still you who is fairest in this kingdom”. A satisfied smile spread across her lips, and she turned to leave.

But just as Snow White reached for the doorhandle, she was stopped by the sound of a ‘ping’. Frowning, she reached down and took from folds of her ballgown her new iPhone. On the screen, a notification read ‘new post from Cinderella’.  She tapped the notification to open it. Her frown deepened, her brow furrowed, and she whirled around with anger in her eyes. “Mirror, you lie to me, look!!” She pushed the phone toward the mirror, “look at Cinderella’s post, she looks perfect; how can I ever compete!” A tear was rolling down her cheek and she was shaking. She scrolled through the photos. “See, in every post she is perfect! Mirror, how can I be fairest of them all?” And, without waiting for an answer, she stormed out of the room and ran down the winding staircase.

On the battlements, two guards were leaning on their spears in fits of laughter. One had told the story about the king attempting to cross the boglands on foot, and sinking up to his chest in brown, sticky mud. They held their sides as they guffawed at the ridiculousness of it. But the laughter stopped when one looked up and pushed the other to attention – across the battlements Snow White was hurrying toward them, her dress billowing in the wind.

“Ma’am” they both yelped. The senior guard began with a long and winding apology for their loss of discipline, but Snow White waved it away as if flapping at an annoying fly: “never mind that.  Quickly, take this”, she shoved her phone into his hand. The soldiers were confused as she quickly fixed her makeup and reclined on the battlements, taking care to position herself against the expansive view of the forest and the blue mountains beyond.

Then she started snapping orders.

 “Now, just make sure you get the angle like this… no, no not too high! Now notice how the light is falling, just make sure my face is well lit. Ok, ready, one, two, three…

Now let me take a look.

No, that isn’t how I asked you to do it! Do it again.

No! Once more…. one, two, three! Aaaaand.… Oh I suppose it’ll do.”

And with that she snatched the phone from the soldier and marched off.  The guards exchanged expressions of confusion and surprise in silence for a moment, before simultaneously erupting into newfound fits of giggles. 

Later that evening, the castle was alight with the annual ball. Minstrels from across the kingdom filled the streets with song; the squares were festooned with colour as town and village folk alike wore their finest clothes; and the fairies filled the night with their glow, as they danced across the sky. In the palace, Snow White, in her finest white dress moved gracefully as a swan, arm-in-arm with Prince Charming.  Princes kissed Snow White’s hand and Prince Charming shook hands with his knights as they glided toward the grand staircase.

On the balcony, under the moon and stars, Prince Charming held Snow White in his arms, looked deep into her eyes and spoke: “Oh my love, though the years have passed never have I loved…” But he was cut off as she whipped out her phone “oh darling!” she cried, “it is beautiful up here, we simply must get a selfie!” Surprised and stung, Prince Charming half-smiled as she snapped the photo, then looked around awkwardly as Snow White tapped the screen with her thumbs. Suddenly she gasped, “Darling!” she cried “I have 1000 more followers than Cinderella! Who is picture perfect now.” And with that, still staring at her screen, she set off, leaving prince charming alone and confused.

She wound her way through the crowd, to the door of her tower and hurried up the winding staircase to the stone room. Bursting in, she cried: “Mirror, mirror on the wall, am I not the fairest of them all?”  The smoke swirled, the lightning flashed, and the low thunder rumbled until the mirror cleared and the answer boomed forth “you are fair, Snow White, but there is another who is fairer”. Her face clouded with fury she was almost unable to spit out her reply “another? Cinderella! But I have 1000 more followers than her and I get more likes than her now, how can it be?!”

In its monotone voice, the mirror replied “‘tis not Cinderella, my lady”.

“Then who can it be! I demand you show me!” No sooner had she spoken than smoke swirled and revealed a farm girl, milking a cow with a bright smile on her face. “But who is this?” she screamed, “she is too normal, what is her Instagram? I will judge for myself!”

“Instagram she has not”.

“Then how can she claim to be the fairest of them all?!”

There was a long pause then, as if the old mirror was deep in thought. Then the voice boomed out again “Cinderella and yourself, through this Instagram, have become prey to vanity”. The smoke swirled once again and as it melted it revealed the two guards laughing as Snow White hurried away across the battlements. The swirling smoke then revealed Prince Charming, looking sorrowful and lonely on the balcony where she had left him. The smoke swirled and settled one last time, to show Cinderella, sat on her bed, her face in her palms, weeping. At her feet was her phone, showing Snow White’s profile. The voice boomed “You have forsaken your care for others and yourself. You are not the fairest one of all”.

Snow White’s head drooped. She had a heavy heart. She took out her phone and stared at it for a long time before walking calmly to the window and dropping it into the night.  Down the stairs she walked, through the busy crowd, to the balcony to find her Prince Charming. She held him close and said quietly, “Tomorrow, I need to pay Cinderella a visit. Oh, and I love you.”