Summary

A woman grapples with her mother's manipulative and narcissistic behavior, ultimately deciding to confront her in a drastic and violent manner.

Abstract

The narrative revolves around a woman who is deeply troubled by her mother's controlling and self-centered nature. Her mother, once a prom queen, continues to dominate the lives of her children and those around her, treating her son as a king and her daughter-in-law with disdain. The protagonist feels alienated and compared to her brother, who is favored by their mother. After years of enduring psychological abuse and witnessing her mother's influence over her husband and son, she reaches a breaking point. In a final confrontation, she initially intends to leave but instead resorts to violence, deciding to kill her mother to end the cycle of manipulation and become the new matriarch herself.

Opinions

The protagonist views her mother as a manipulative and self-absorbed individual who thrives on being the center of attention.
She believes her husband is naive and under her mother's spell, failing to see the true nature of their family dynamics.
The daughter perceives her mother's relationship with her son as inappropriately close and competitive, akin to a queen and king dynamic.
She is concerned that her mother is grooming her granddaughter to be as manipulative as herself.
The protagonist feels that her mother's courtiers are sycophants, blind to her mother's true intentions and manipulations.
She initially sees herself as a victim of her mother's games but ultimately embraces the role of the aggressor to put an end to the psychological abuse.
The protagonist acknowledges her mother's intelligence and cunning but believes these traits are used for selfish and harmful purposes.

All Hail The Queen!

She’s been trained well

“No way! We aren’t going back there, ever.”

“It’s just a word. Forget about it.”

“It’s never just a word!”

My husband doesn’t understand the context. He’s biased. My mother charmed him like she charms everybody that comes less than two feet away from her. She can’t resist. She has to be the center of attention. She was the prom queen 30 years ago and has been ever since.

Fuck.

I feel like snow white, and she’s the old witch. She called me her little princess. And my brother, he’s her little king.

Just a word!

Yeah, right.

Can’t anybody else see the difference between princesses and kings? Can’t they see it’s pretty Oedipus type of weird shit that she sees herself as the queen and her son as the king?

My husband, he’s just a fool on her chessboard. Without me, he would have never even made it to a pawn. She’s been repeating it enough. How many times did I hear that I married beneath me? How many goddamn times?!

And why does she care anyway? My brother is the only one that matters to her. She wouldn’t want my husband to be competition for him. Not that it would be difficult to win.

She’s so perverse and manipulative. I can only guess that Machiavel traveled in time and modeled his Prince after her.

Today she called my son her little frog and my brother’s daughter her little princess. It’s not just a word. It’s her whole sick mindset showing. And there’s no way in hell that I’ll let her put my son through the same ordeal I went through.

It’s not a fairy tale; it’s a nightmare.

I can see the twisted scenarios in her mind where the princess kisses the little frog, turning him into a prince that will stay forever under her rule. She’s going to make a manipulative machine out of her granddaughter. I don’t want to see that; I don’t want to participate in it. If my childhood were the rehearsal, this new show would be pure horror.

She became skilled with age, I must say.

Fuck her! Fuck them all. I’m leaving. And if my husband can’t get that, he can stay with them and enjoy the “delicious chicken she’s always preparing for our Sunday lunches.”

I hope he’ll over-eat and get a cardiac arrest. I might be a bad person for thinking so, but all of them are much worse for letting mental abuse happen for so many years.

And all her courtiers? Don’t they have anything better to do than trying to catch her attention? Now that father is dead, their numbers doubled. Not only do they hope for a juicy business opportunity, but they could hit the jackpot and get her in their bed; and, who knows, married again.

I don’t think they understand the situation clearly. They can’t grasp it.

She’s three moves ahead of them, and that’s when she’s not actively plotting.

They’re here because she wants them to be. She doesn’t need them. They’re exchangeable. I can’t believe the number of men ready to crawl at her feet.

Grow up! All of you! Open your damn eyes!

That’s it. I’ll go and talk to mother one last time; I need to cut off this cancer.

“I came to say adieu. I’m leaving. You won’t see me, or my family, again.”

“So, I failed. You’re a coward after all?”

“What?”

“All these years, I tried to harden you up. I even played your sweet, mindless brother against you. I wanted you to be strong, to rule these half women that men are. And you could have done it. Now is the time. I was born too soon. It was impossible for me; wrong era, wrong generation. But for you — Ah! — everything was possible.”

“So, you love me after all?”

“Of course I do! I’ve always loved you like myself. And there’s nothing in the world I love more than myself.”

“Oh, Mother! I love you too. I’ll stay. Let’s forget our twisted past; we can build such a better future together.”

“Honey, you don’t understand. You have only two options now. You can flee, or you can stay and be the little worm you were always meant to be.”

The old witch. Tears in my eyes, I go to the kitchen and grab her favorite Sunday lunches knife. The one that so easily cuts through the bones of the chicken.

I won’t flee, Mother. Not anymore. I’ll kill you instead, and I’ll stab you in the back. You don’t deserve to face your death.

As I come closer, fake crying, I can’t see the smile on her face. I can’t understand how proud of me she is. She trained me well. I’ll be the new Queen.

This story is in response to the MWC and Microcosm’s character vs. character prompt.

Best of luck to all of you entering the challenge!