Sharper Than A Serpent's Tooth

They say that history is written by the victors. Take it from one of the vanquished, truer words were never spoken.

Seriously, if that willful little girl hadn't become the queen, don't you think the story just might have been told a little differently?

But she did marry the prince, and eventually she became the queen. The Brothers Grimm - palace apoligists, both of them - turned her story inside out and made her the heroine of the tale.

Don't get me wrong, she wasn't all bad, either, but I think it's time we set the record straight, in the name of justice for stepparents everywhere.

Being anyone's second wife isn't an easy task, and it's even harder if the first wife died tragically, surrounded by her living family. No matter what you do, you're going to spend the rest of your life in that shadow.

Not that I'm bitter, mind you, because I'm really not.

I just want a little respect, is all.

If I had known, before I married the duke, the way things would end ... well, I would have married him anyway.

There weren't many career paths for a widow with two daughters, after all. The only job skills I had involved husband-catching, and when my first husband died, I tightened my corset and set about finding another.