The Poisoned Princess: A Snow White Retelling (The Skazka Fairy Tales)
The Poisoned Princess: Two months earlier

Dorogoi Prince Yevgenich,

Today I woke up wondering if everything I have done up until this point has been wrong. Well, maybe not wrong. But just…unnecessary. It seems that I have studied my whole life, but I still know nothing of the world.

I read something in one of my mystery books that took me by surprise. Or I guess my response to it took me by surprise. It’s the last book, by the way, and I’ve been savoring it. But it talked about how the main character had to sacrifice her own happiness for the well-being of her family. For a split second, I thought, I could never do that. Would I really walk away from someone I loved to protect them? And then I felt ashamed for even doubting that I would. Because of course I would. If I had a chance to save my father by sacrificing my own happiness, I know I would.

Does that split second of doubt make me a bad person? Does it make me selfish?

I guess it made me reevaluate what I’ve been learning all this time. Will being book smart help me make the right decisions? How can I trust my own instincts when I have such limited practice using them?

Here I go again, bringing down the attitude of the letter. I’m sorry. I think that I’m more unsettled lately, and the only outlet I have for this are my letters to you. People say I’m typically a happy person, and I think I am. But I also think it’s because I have a place to come and share my feelings when they’re not that happy.

What does that make me?

S uvazheniyem,

Princessa Sergeivna