Prologue

It had been two months since Christine had failed to take over the Nine Kingdoms. She had failed to even take over just the Fourth Kingdom. The Swamp Witch was not all that surprised. She had only chosen Christine because she could be so easily corrupted and persuaded into doing whatever she required. She could almost have predicted the outcome. But that still didn’t dismiss her fury. She still fervently wanted her revenge on the House of White. She had hoped that Christine would surprise her and actually fulfill the Swamp Witch’s wishes. But, no, that girl Virginia had defeated her. Snow White had helped as well. She needed to find someone stronger, someone who would not be so easily be defeated.

The Swamp Witch then focused the rest of her energy and power on her mirrors. She had not given all of her mirrors to Christine. She had kept a few for herself. The Swamp Witch was not dead, but neither was she alive. So she was kept to the confines of her cellar in her coffin. She was unable to get up, so she had to focus her energy to connect with her mirror. Her spying mirror was her most prized possession. It showed her anything she wanted to see. It also told her everything she needed to know. This was how she was able to watch Christine’s progress. She called on it now, asking it who could take Christine’s place as her successor. Who could be stronger than Christine, yet not strong enough to withstand the Swamp Witch’s power. Since the Swamp Witch was not all that strong, she could only think of the request, not say it, so she had to focus all of her power on the mirror.

The mirror complied with her request, and within a minute, an image of a girl appeared on the mirror. She looked to be about sixteen years old. She had brown hair with blue eyes. She looked strangely familiar. The Swamp Witch had her precious mirror tell her about this girl. By the time the mirror finished, the Swamp Witch was smiling. Perfect.