"Mirror, Mirror, on the wall. How did I become the best looking girl of them all?" Asked Rose twirling in front of her grandmother's mirror. It was an old thing with golden edges that sprouted into frozen action. Rose found a certain beauty to it. Gold halted in place so that its luster would never dim. Even after being cooped up inside her grandfather's attic for twenty years, it still looked the same as the day her grandmother bought it.

"Rose," yelled her mother from downstairs. "You'll be late for school."

"Oh, bother. I've never liked going to that old place. Only jealous and ugly crowd those halls." Rose clicked open her phone. Her background was that of her with the mirror. Naked but covering herself with the reflection of her finger. She had one text message from Alice. “When are you getting here, queen? The boys are thinking of skipping school.”

“What boys,” Rose texted back.

“Erin and Cody, lol.”

Now there was an idea. Rose had gotten tired of showing off her beauty to the ungrateful. At first, it was lovely. Her classmates would fawn over her. They would tell her how dazzling she was. She knew this, of course. No one was as dazzling as she was. Rose had model contracts lined up to pay her large sums of money just to have her face on the cover of their magazines. They wanted her face spread all over Instagram. Now though, she was bored of her classmates, even though they grew tired of her.

Sounds fun. Meet me at the front gates, and we'll go.

With a skip and a jiggle, she rushed down the stairs.

"Beautiful pumpkin," said her father, a mediocre man that blended with the background. How did such a bore help give birth to me, Rose thought. "A kiss?"

Rose smiled and swayed over to him, making sure he saw her. Her father's eyes darted from top to bottom. Then he closed them. He was fantasizing about how soft his daughter was. Rose tapped her finger on his nose. "Maybe later tonight." She swayed over to her mother, teasing her father on the way back. Rose gave her mother a gentle kiss on her cheek, keeping eye contact with her father.

"Your lunch money," her mother said, giving her a twenty-dollar bill. "I don't want you eating that cafeteria junk. Order something from Skip The Dishes."

"Will do, mama." Rose looked over to her mother. She wondered how beautiful she must have been once, how she had every man wrapped around her finger. It was a mystery to her how someone so powerful found herself with an incestive poor excuse of a husband. Only pity filled Rose's heart for such a queen. That won't happen to me. I'm going to find a rich man who loves me for me, and I will stay young for him forever.

"Don't look at me like that, Rose, and don't tease your father," her mother said. Together they glanced back to the poor excuse of a man who found his clothes a little tight for some reason. Even at her ripe age of thirty-eight, her mother still got it.

1

Bayside Nulles was a city district in the megacity called Halbridge. Nulles sat on the coast just between San Francisco and McKinleyville. A beautiful district with levels of fame just behind LA. Rose loved her city. She didn't want to move to the heart of Halbridge. She was fine being the Queen of Nulles.

She strolled up to Bayside Nulless Composite High. Every stranger glanced a peek at her gorgeous body. She could feel theirs stares as they undressed her in their minds. It tingled. Rose basked in their lust.

Alice, Cody, and Erin sat waiting around underneath the founder's statue just before the school building. Class starts in five minutes, but for Rose, it begins when she enters the room.

"There she is," said Alice rushing up to her. Rose's right-hand lady. They both met during their first year of high school. Alice stuck out like a sore thumb, she wore glasses back then, and her hair was such a mess that Rose thought that it might have been a bird's nest.

Alice wasn't the prettiest even in her new style of mini skirts and crop tops. She was far below what Rose thought was average on a genetic level. No amount of makeup can fix those problems. But every queen needs a servant, and Alice fit the bill. She wanted to be like Rose, live like Rose, and dominate like Rose. "Ready to go?"

"Always, my dear Alice. Boys," said Rose showing off her pearly whites.

"Hey," said Cody. He was a ginger with a smooth demeanor. A hotshot on the basketball team and a genius when it came to academics. Erin always hung around Cody or more like Cody hung around Erin. Either way, they held a bond that seemed to be something more than friends. There was a rumor that they were part of some greek cult.

Rose found herself staring at Cody whenever she could. He didn't seem interested or captivated by her beauty. A king candidate, but he was not worth her time. He didn't have the riches that a king should have. He was a good distraction.

"Bussin as usual, mama," chimed in Erin. The bad boy of Bayside High, all boys wanted to be him. Rose didn't like Erin, she found him to be quite dangerous. She knew that if she were ever alone with him, her beauty would die. She would be tainted and ruined. The only good thing about Erin was the connections he had. It was through him that she got her first modeling contract. She felt that she had to hang out with him, like an employee being asked out for a drink by their boss. "How's the biz?" He asked, wrapping his arm around her.

"It's good," she said, removing his arm. "Shall we get going?"

"Absolutely," said Alice, just a pitch too high.

"Aight, all y'all hop in the cruise machine," said Erin leading them to his red Hatchback Mazda with black flames on the doors. Alice took the front seat with Cody and Rose in the back. The car started up with a purr before rolling out of the school parking lot. The four of them were on their way to a gorgeous day of playing hooky.

"How was last night," Rose said, directing her question to Cody.

"It was great," said Alice. "Erin and I got a little too drunk, and Cody had to drive us home."

"That must have been annoying." Rose kept her gaze.

"It wasn't that bad. We missed you," Cody said, smiling.

"Work went a bit over time. Those photographers can be quite greedy."

"Taking shots of a high-class girl like you. I would want it to never end," laughed Erin. Alice joined in with a tee-hee and a ha-ha.

"I agree," said Cody staring out the window. Rose found herself falling more and more for the ginger. His silent and cool demeanor were pulling at her heartstrings. So what if he didn't have the money, the fancy house, and an expensive job. He had something else. He didn't give a shit about what other people thought about him. He was dancing in his own lane.

Rose sniffed in his essence, letting it fuel her down to her toes. She wanted him to grovel as all the other boys did. Deep down inside her, she wanted to break this man. Take everything that he is and stomp it. She wondered what kind of face he would make when he begged.

Cody turned to face her, his electric blue eyes glistening as they peered into pretty, pretty Rose. "Maybe next time you should come with me. I swear it would be time you'd never forget."

"Maybe I will." Rose found her cheeks burning red. No one had approached her like that before. Sure there were assholes here and there, but nothing as captivating as this. It just pushed that desire to dominate even more.

"That's an interesting smile," Cody said. She quickly covered her mouth. Rose was grinning ear to ear.

2

The group rolled up to the Passing Bay Bridge. It led to the island just off the coast, which held a building known as Nulles Correctional. There wasn't anyone inside that Rose cared for, but she found the red brick building alluring. Erin took the car off to the side of the road and down under the bridge.

"Back at this old place," complained Rose crossing her arms.

"Yeah, but I did some renovations and spiced the old thing up," said Erin hopping out of the car. "I swear the place looks lit now."

Under the bridge was an old shack put together by some homeless folk before the 'Every man gets a home' bill was passed in the city. It was a bill that gave homes to every homeless person in Halbridge. An impossible task but it got passed.

Erin had taken the shack and remodeled the whole thing. It looked like a beachside house with new windows, fancy doors, a modern wooden design, and a wall-size sliding door. It was a small haven under the bridge.

"I got new windows and doors," Erin said, pointing them out as he approached the oak entrance. "And a camera installed for 24/7 coverage." He opened the door and typed in a passcode to a keypad just inside. "And a security system."

Alice rushed past the group bumping into Rose. She didn't look back and continue towards the massive couch in the middle of the living room. Cody had grabbed hold of Rose making sure she didn't fall. His was stronger then he looked.

Inside there were frames of movie posters and bands. A glass coffee table sat in front of the couch, along with a large sixty-inch OLED tv that hung on the wall. There were hanging lights over the kitchen and google homes in almost every corner. Erin pulled out his phone and connected it. Drake started to play. Alice took a large chunk of the massive couch and started singing along. "Pretty cool right," Erin said. "I know a great designer who helped me fix up the place."

"It's nice," Rose said, making her way across the lavish flooring and pop culture furniture to a ladder. It had been there before the renovations and was there now. She looked up to the loft. It was the same with just a few adjustments. The ladder was new, and a window was built into the roof with a latch that, once flipped, would then be pushed forward, letting in the salty breeze.

Rose settled down in the pile of cushions, looking out at the ocean. The bridge was just off to the left. It wasn't noisy because hardly anyone ever drove across to the Correctional. So the loft had a perfect view of the building.

"I noticed that you like looking at the prison," said Erin popping up from the ladder. "I don't know why but I thought, hey, the queenie likes it, I'll give it to her."

"It's cool," Rose said, stretched out her hand, and Erin plopped a couple of golden pills into it. He just smiled.

"What do you want to do with the place," asked Cody. He glanced up from the golden pills in his hand as he rolled them around.

Smiling, Erin swallowed down one tablet with a glass of water. With a shrug from his shoulder, he said, "I want to expand it into a club - "

"Hey, E," interrupted Alice. "This ain't the cheap shit, is it?"

"Store-bought. I don't deal with the mixed stuff no more. Too many crazy incidents. If it's weird, blame Cody, he bought them."

Alice inspected the pills making sure it wasn't anything funny. She had to be careful since her last trip. A dreadful experience. She found herself talking to a wall about someone after her life. It took Erin and a couple of friends to convince her to sit down till the high was gone.

"Just take one," Erin reassured her. "If you don't like it, you don't have to take another." She nodded.

Rose eyed Erin from on top of her loft. He was a high school dropout just a couple of years older than them, but it felt like he knew how the world worked. He never apologized for being him, and sometimes that made him unlikable. He dressed like a gangster, stalked the streets like a gangster, but he didn't talk like one. He didn't act like one. He could blend in with almost any crowd. He knew the right people to talk to, how to speak to them, and how to befriend them. The cherry on top was that Erin cared for the people he chose as friends. Rose found him irritating. Like he was putting on an act.

Soon she found her mind relaxing as everything melted into one. “That came faster than I thought.” Then Rose started to drift.

4

Rose awoke to the feeling of discomfort as if something was being lodged into her stomach. A pounding feeling accompanied the pain. Her eyes opened, and she found herself bent over out the loft window. It took her a second to realize what was happening. From behind, Cody was shirtless and having his way with her.

"S-stop," she pleaded, her voice hoarse and faint.

"Finally awake, my queen," he said, increasing his tempo. "Don't mind me, just marking what's mine."

"Stop," Rose said louder. "Stop!" She pushed back against him but was met with his hands around her throat, pulling her into an arch. Cody picked up the pace again while Rose struggled to breathe as the air in her body left her at every pound. She scratched at his hands till blood was drawn but Cody …

Didn't.

Budge.

His grip just tightened.

From the corner of her eye, she could see Alice laughing at her, cackling as Rose tumbled through this hell. An imp laughing at the sinner as they burn in heavenly fire forever. "That's what you get, you stuck up bitch," said Alice grabbing her sides. "You had this coming!"

Tears started to swell as Cody marked her inside. Rose could feel her mind going dark. She had one last look at the Correctional across the sea. The seagulls were taunting her that they were free.

A crack from a bat caught Cody's attention, saving Rose from fainting. Erin was awake, a bit groggy, but he understood what was going on. Alice laid on the floor, bleeding out from her head. Her hands were holding her wound.

"Out," Erin roared. Betrayal had sent him into a deep rage but clung to his sanity. Letting it burn underneath his skin. He could feel his eyes boiling from it.

"Damn it, Alice! You said the pills would have them knocked out till tomorrow," said Cody, spanking Rose before hopping down the loft. "Alright, let's talk about this."

"Out," Erin growled as he pointed the bat at his former friend. "You ain't the Cody I know." Alice lounged up at Erin in one final hurrah but was tossed aside. She crashed into the coffee table, shattering the glass into her face. Her scream sounded one of murder.

"Fine, fine, but she was begging for it," said Cody as he walked towards the door. "She should feel honored letting me have my - " A bullet slammed into one of the movie posters, inches from Cody's face. He glanced back at Erin. A .40 was aimed at his head. It was only due to the sheer grogginess from the drug that he had missed. "I … I seem to have offended you. I can take a hint. She's all yours, friend."

"You sick bastard. She's no ones. She's not some object we can claim," said Erin. "And before you leave, take this trash out with you."

Cody nodded and approached slowly. He lifted Alice from the wreckage glass hanging from her face. Then, like a ghost, he strolled towards the door with a type of grace that seemed ancient, "I'll be back for her, Erin. She belongs to me. All belongs to me." Cody tapped his chest, indicating at the lightning bolt tattoo on his left pec. Erin flinched.

"Not her … please." Cody's eyes flash a blue, and then he left.

Erin collapsed to his knees. Everything seeped out of him. He glanced up to the loft. There wasn't time for him to feel pity for himself. He crawled over to the ladder, which seemed to be forever, and forced himself up the long journey to the loft.

At the top, Rose stared out the window, tears already drying on her face. Her eyes locked on the Correctional. The queen had been tainted, and she will never be the same. The cushions were smeared with vile liquid from a rushed cleaning. Even though the monster was gone, his presence was still there. "I'm not a good person, am I," she whispered out. Erin just looked at her, closed his eyes, and sunk his head.

5

Rose's eyes were glued to the mirror. The ancient mirror that seemed to be action frozen in gold. Memorizing who she was, what she has become from her hands, to her breast, to her face, to the brown eyes that only shined in the sun. She thought of herself, how sure she was that she was untouchable - a queen with the fate to dominate. Now the devil came for its due and what stood before her was only tainted royalty - a demon.

Skin red, tough, no longer soft or clean, but drenched in sulfuric ash. Her hands were long with nails of black obsidian. No hair only horns that that stretch long - eyes of golden orbs in a skull with the skin too tight around the bones. "The world is cruel," she told herself. "Men are the worst." Her stare turned into a vicious glare.

"Mirror, mirror, on the wall. When I look in you, I see the devil of perfection."