Once upon a time, a girl named Sophie went to the forest with the queen's hunter. Her lips were the color of ripe cherries, her skin was as soft as fresh snow, her hair was black as night. When they stopped to rest, the hunter took out his knife and took her heart.

It was no surprise to Sophie. She had heard the rumors, the whispers about her. They said she was too kind and gentle to rule? such a queen would be a disaster. And Sophie believed them. She believed everything she had heard about herself, all the poisonous words people use to discourage girls like her from gaining power.

However, Sophie will prove that even the darkest magic cannot extinguish the fire that burns inside every girl. And that the greatest power is kindness.

They can list all your weaknesses, but they cannot make you believe them. Only you can do that.

"Kindness is many things," she said. "It is gentle. Tender. Tolerant. It is born out of strength and faith. Sometimes, yes, it is dangerous. If you help a wounded animal that may attack you, if you defend someone who is being harmed... all of these are dangerous. But trying to understand another creature, to put yourself in their place, to help them, even when it costs you, that shows strength, Sophie, not weakness."