Eira was washing the steps of the castle, as her step mother had instructed her to do, as she didn't want an argument to start from this.

You could ask why Eira's father didn't step in these arguments, but the answer is unfortunately he's very dead.

While Eira was washing the steps of the castle, her stepmother Grimhilde was looking at herself in the mirror, now this was not an ordinary mirror, this was a talking, all knowing mirror, this would freak a lot of people out, but not Grimhilde, she asked the mirror questions about her beauty and who was the fairest of them all.

"Mirror Mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all"
"Eira is the fairest of them all"
"What!, fetch me my henchmen!"