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But the truth is it’s not Gothel’s fault. Nor is it Maleficent’s, Ursula’s, the Beast’s, or Grimhilde’s. The truth is I have had enough of the destruction and heartbreak caused by my mothers.
As I’ve witnessed this tangled web of events, following along with each story in the book of fairy tales, I’ve noticed a pattern. My mothers wish to do what they think is good and just—but only when it comes to protecting me. Those who get in their way meet with disaster. I want to forgive them, because I know in their hearts they believe what they are doing is right—and who wouldn’t do anything to protect their child? But what I can’t forgive is their utter lack of empathy or compassion for those they tried to destroy for simply standing in their way: Tulip. Belle. Maurice. And Snow White.
How they hate Snow White. The terrible things they did to her as a child. Frightening her in the woods and tormenting her with threats of witchcraft. Then giving Grimhilde a mirror possessed by her abusive father, driving her insane, and encouraging her to kill her own daughter. It’s unforgivable. And though they’ve trapped Grimhilde in the mirror her father used to haunt, they are still not satisfied. They still hate Snow White.
To this day, the reason remains a mystery to me.
So as I sit here writing in my mothers’ journals, adding to their book of shadows, I wonder how I got here, and how I came to find such a friend in my cousin Snow White. Without her I don’t know how I would have survived any one of these revelations. Without her I wouldn’t have had the courage to see my mothers for who they are.
Snow has been my mirror and my guide as I watch her distance herself from her own destructive mother. A mother full of grief and despair over the treatment of her daughter. A mother forever pleading with her daughter for her forgiveness. Snow is burdened with the task of making her mother feel better for her past misdeeds, as I am burdened by my own mothers’ treachery.
Finding each other has been such a gift to both of us. I feel stronger having Snow at my side as we search together for the truth about my past and my mothers’ past.
Therefore, this is my story as much as it is Lucinda’s, Ruby’s, and Martha’s. Because we are all one. Our fates are connected by a delicate silver thread, weaving us together, binding us by blood, by magic, and by a dangerous, all-encompassing love.
I sit here in my mothers’ house and I wonder what to do next. Do I leave my mothers in the dreamscape to punish them for their crimes? Or do I unleash them on the many kingdoms only for them to ruin more lives, all in the name of love?
Even as I ask myself this, I already know the answer. It’s become heartbreakingly clear I am responsible for my mothers’ foul deeds. And there is only one thing to be done about it.
I just need to find the courage to bring myself to the task.
The odd sisters were caught in perpetual twilight.
In the land of dreams all was chaos, rhythm, and magic. Their mirrored chamber seemed smaller and more confined now that Circe had turned all their mirrors black. It was their punishment for the role they had played in Gothel’s story, and for the deaths of Maleficent, Ursula, and the queen Grimhilde.
The odd sisters feared this time their daughter wouldn’t forgive them as she had so many times in the past. They had crossed the line too many times. They had lost track of the many reasons Circe was banishing them to darkness and withholding her love. And it broke their hearts, sending them into fits of panic and rage. It reminded Lucinda of the promise she had made.
To destroy everyone Circe held dear.
The land of dreams had lost its magic for the sisters. They no longer heard the rhythm in the chaos. They could no longer break the code and use the magic there. The magic was in the many mirrors, but the mirrors were now dark to them. Circe had seen to that. The odd sisters were helpless, captive, and alone with their madness, taking them down a familiar path of ruin and despair.
Martha and Ruby sat on the floor of the chamber, crying. They still wore their tattered bloodstained dresses, clothes they had been wearing since they had done the blood ceremony to communicate with Maleficent when she was fighting Prince Phillip. It all seemed so long ago, but it had only just happened. They’d hardly had time to grieve their beloved dragon fairy-witch before they were distracted by Gothel’s antics.
“Curse Gothe
l!” Lucinda screamed as she manically paced the circumference of the room. “If it hadn’t been for her, Circe may have forgiven us!” Martha and Ruby were still crying, not listening to Lucinda’s ravings. “And what if she learns the truth? What will she think of us then?” Lucinda looked down at her sisters. The three of them had always felt like one. Always the same. But for the briefest of moments, they seemed foreign to her. Almost freakish and unnatural, so different and apart from her. The feeling took her by surprise. She understood in that moment how Circe must see them now.
“Silence! Stop your weeping!” Lucinda needed quiet. She needed to think. She needed to find a way out of the chamber so she could get vengeance on the Fairy Godmother and her meddlesome sister, Nanny, for taking their Circe away from her. “I can’t think with your endless wailing! I promise you, Sisters, we will find a way to destroy everything Circe holds dear! We need to find a means to lure Maleficent back to life so she can help us in our cause! She hates the fairies as much as we do!”
“Lucinda, no! This is exactly why Circe is angry with us!” screeched Ruby. She was looking up at Lucinda with her wide eyes. Lucinda could see the madness in them, and it frightened her.
“Yes, Lucinda!” Martha cried. “She will never forgive us if we kill them!”
“Shut up!” Lucinda abruptly stopped pacing and looked down at both of her deranged sisters. “If we take everything and everyone she loves, she will have no choice but to turn to us for comfort! We will be all she has left in the world. She will need us!” She felt as if she were pleading with senseless children.
“That didn’t work with Gothel! What makes you think it will work with Circe?”
Lucinda considered Ruby’s question. The fact was she wasn’t sure it would work. But she felt they had no other choice before them.
“We neglected Gothel. We left her alone and she went mad. We didn’t realize how much of Manea was within her.” Lucinda looked as if she was remembering something, seeing it in her mind. She twitched her head as if trying to banish the thought. “Gothel was weak. Sisters in magic or no, she is nothing to us now! She refused to give us the flower so we could save Maleficent! She’s to blame for Maleficent’s death! Surely Circe will understand if we bring Maleficent back!”
“We should just wait,” said Martha. “If we wait and do nothing, as Circe asked, she will forgive us eventually. She has to!”
Lucinda waved her hand at her sisters, forgetting they no longer had magic in this place. “Silence! I will not wait on the judgment of fairies!”
“What do you mean, ‘the judgment of fairies’?” asked Ruby and Martha at the same time, getting on their feet.
“Do you think the fairies won’t have a say in all of this? This is their perfect opportunity to put us on trial, while we’re trapped here in this place. Gods, they’ve been threatening to for ages! And now that Circe is their creature, we won’t have her to defend us. We’ll need to defend ourselves! We need to be ready!”
