Published by: Aliyah Margareth Imbat
Date Published: December 30, 2022
Time published 2:28 PM
Classification: Prose
Theme: Corruption, Royalty, Kingdom
Synopsis: The swan known as the evil queen that took after her mother, however, exactly how alike were the two? And were they the loving mother and daughter others had always envisioned?
Chapter 2
Divina Garcia was a peculiar princess. Her mother was the evil swan queen who ruled the Kingdom of Shadows. And due to that, growing up, Divina was always told the exact same things as a child:
“Power is what makes a great ruler!”
“Never lose sight of yourself and what you can do.”
“Fear is the greatest discipline.”
“Those below you only deserve to rot!”
“Once you have power, you will never need anything else.”
“Trample on those you must. Failure will never be tolerated.”
All of these proved that she grew up under the influence of her tyrant mother. Whenever Divina looked at her mother, all she could think of was how on Earth could she have been birthed by a woman like her. Well, she knew you could not change reality, and all she could do was be a rather “better” version of her wretched mother. The two women were black swans; the animals known in the fairytale world who were notorious for always taking the role of the “villain” in the story. That was always how Divina viewed her mother; however, she also saw her as the woman who taught her how and what it takes to be strong. It’s quite funny, isn’t it? The person you hated the most was also the reason for your strength.
The mother and daughter had mysterious and sinister-looking ruby eyes that shone with an intimidating shine amidst the dark. You could almost mistake them for stars as their stunningly black feathers fused with the darkness of night. Their unique beauty caught the attention of many suitors, but none could ever prove their worth to them as both Divina and her mother were equally fussy. As how they were similarly perfectionists about everything. They had their differences as well as similarities. Though, that did not mean they got along. In fact, the two seemed constantly on thin ice with each other, something that her daughter always commented on. There were many legends -- or better yet rumors -- surrounding her mother.
Some said she had her daughter outside of wedlock. Though, the queen always claimed that she was married when she had Divina; nobody ever knew who her husband was, and she was never seen getting married. Unfortunately, the person who allegedly started the rumor was beheaded for treason under the queen’s orders.
Divina always chose to never think about it too much. However, she had never even met her own father before. She was not even sure whether she was her mother’s only child. Knowing the queen, Divina was certain she had slept with several other men before. But she never chose to question it because she valued her life. One thing Divina never knew was that her mother would have killed her if she was not a girl since the queen wanted a female heir. Nobody ever knew why the queen was so cruel. Everybody shook with fear with even her mere presence.
Perhaps cruelty and power just ran in the Garcia blood. But the reality was that all the power she had in the kingdom had corrupted her. The queen always believed she was unstoppable, and she wanted to pass on this mindset to her daughter; even if she never genuinely cared about her. The evil queen only wanted someone to continue what she started after she left that Earth. Going back to the father, Divina always had a fantasy of him; he was a gorgeous man who was ever-so kind but was manipulated by her mother into having a child with her. Divina was not sure why she found it necessary to add that her mother manipulated him.
Did she just want to hate her mother even more than she did? Albeit Divina always pondered how life would be if her father were there. Would it be good? Or would it be ever more awful? She never knew. But one thing was certain; Divina wanted something to cling to, so she created a fantasy of her “loving” father who would have cared for her deeply if he was there. The girl attempted a few times to get her mother to talk about him, but she always received the same dry response:
“He doesn’t matter, so do not bother asking.”
Divina believed the fact that her own mother was keeping her father a secret was another reason to hate her.
“Mother, why will you not tell me anything about father?” Divina asked then. “Because there is no reason to speak of him, child,” the queen answered coldly, her eyes and tone poisoned with venom. “How many times must I tell you to not think about him?” Divina furrowed her eyebrows before opening her mouth once again, “I will cease to think about him if you just tell me the truth, mother.” Divina answered bravely. The mother stepped in front of her daughter, towering over her as she eyed the little girl up and down slowly.
“Do you wish to live or have your head detached from your neck, Divina?”
It was never certain whether the mother and daughter loved or hated each other. They never showed anything but disinterest in one another. The two were very complicated women, at best. Never showed any emotion and never smiled. Though, one thing was for certain; Divina hated her mother so much and desired to achieve greater things than her; the second death captures the evil queen in its cold embrace.
No comments:
Post a Comment