Haley Thistle
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The Tweedle Twins: Part One (special preview)
🕑 Added 2021-10-05 21:01:01 +0000 UTCLike most good fairy tales, this one begins because my father married an absolute bitch. My father was a king, you see, and since his only child was me, a girl, he was expected to marry in hopes of providing the kingdom of Miror with an heir. An heir, you see, must have a dick. If the heir does not have a dick, then people lose their minds. Hence, why my father had to marry again, because as long as I existed alone, people lost their minds.
On paper, Pleasance seemed well, pleasant. Well bred, well educated, well endowed, what more could my father want? Well, my father wanted my mother. Unfortunately, though, my mother died after a prolonged illness. So when Pleasance was presented to my father as an option, he chose her.
The wedding was elaborate, Pleasence’s specifications were as detailed as they were expensive. The entire garden, which my mother so lovingly crafted herself, was replaced entirely with red roses. The castle itself was adorned with more red accoutrements than a freshly used guillotine blade. Pleasance had us paint rooms to suit her tastes, and to top it all off, all guests were required to wear red. The wedding itself looked like a bloody sheet.
Compared to my father, Pleasance was a big woman, both in size (she was almost nine feet tall) and in her personality. My father was small, soft, and demure, he was easily swayed after my mother’s passing. Pleasance took advantage of his kindness and his grief, essentially taking over the kingdom once the honeymoon phase had passed.
I did not like her. I despised how she had changed everything within the castle. I loathed her condescending treatment of my father. I hated how, in her eyes, I was nothing more than part of the staff, and at best a set decoration. She had not even bore an heir, yet she already acted like this imaginary child was far superior than me. I know I am not the most delicious cookie in the jar, but I am at least better than fake.
Pleasance’s penchant for red made me feel like my home was a war zone. And the sickly sweet stench of roses was beginning to become cloying and aggravated my senses. Not to mention the horrendous allergies I had been suffering since the wedding. If that wasn’t enough, the guillotine was being used at least once a day as anyone who offended her senses was sent to the block. She had killed so many of the staff, as well as my father’s own council and noblemen. Only to replace them with members of her family and their friends.
The new royal advisor was Pleasance’s own brother, Jukel. While he wasn’t as big as Pleasance, he did hold more power than an advisor should. He was sneaky and creepy, and he hired mostly young pretty men who seemed skittish around him. I’d had enough. Once my father was alone, for once, I approached him on the matter.
“You need to put your foot down,” I told him gently. “You’re the king, you can tell her no.”
He looked at me with a smile. My poor father suffered so much. His whole family was gone, his wife died young, all he had of blood was me. I could understand why he would want more children, I did not blame him for that. I just wanted him to return to his senses.
“How can I put my foot down when she is so happy?” He said.
I shook my head. “But the rest of us are miserable.”
“Happy queen, happy kingdom,” he chortled.
Was this even my father anymore? “She’s beheading people left and right. I barely recognize any of the staff or the advisors. There’s no one from Miror left it seems! She keeps bringing in her own family and friends to fill the high ranking positions.”
“Oh, Alice, my dear.” He patted my hand gently. “When you marry, you’ll understand. You will know what it means to run a house. Imagine how it must feel to Pleasance, running a kingdom on top of running a home.”
I yanked my hand away. “What has happened to you?” As I started to scold him, Pleasance came into the room. She ducked down in the doorway and rose back up. She glared down at me with those cold blue eyes and plastered on a forced smile.
“Alice, my child,” she said in a wispy, altered voice. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” She glided into the room and came towards me.
“We were just talking about you, my pet,” my father chuckled.
