Once Upon a Prophecy

24

The wind whipped the air in cold currents. As I finished the high pitched whistle, it shattered into glass like the cauldron. The thin pieces cut my hands, leaving a small trace of blood. I grimaced, gingerly placing my hand beside my waist. The cool wind flowed together. The fragments of glass gathered together, transforming into a solid mirror. The wind gathered at the sides, as if to leave it levitating.

"Is- is it a portal?" I whispered.

"I don't even know if we should trust it." He gave a fake laugh, then letting it fade. I walked up, only to not see my reflection. Thick vines began to gather around it, only to be crystallized into silver. "Quinn, what are you doing? Quinn?" Peter desperatly took my arm.

"I'm going to check it out. Hold on to me." I eyed the ominous mirror, as if it were to jump out and scare me. Peter muttered something to himself, only to hide it from me. I took a breath, pushing my head into the reflection.

It was black and a void. My hair floated around me. Suddenly, a foggy image approached. Greta was in a corner, dressed in drab clothes. Her hair was is rats, but placed into pigtails. Her wolf fur was layered with ashes. She looked down as she was sharpening her knife.

"Greta!" I yelled, my heart racing. Her face poked up, looking around. It looked as though she spotted me, then went back to her work.

"Greta! I'm here. I'm in front of you. Please look..." I pleaded, my voice grew quieter.

"I know you're there, Quinn." She finally muttered. "I know you're there. But Quinn, it's getting worse here. Darkness is now looming over the kingdoms. Shadows are dispersing themselves to go into war. Everyone's being affected. Queen Briar is going crazy with her constant fainting and occasional prophecies. Your parents are trying to protect your kingdom from death. Wonderland and Neverland are going out and fighting with themselves. It's bad." A small tear escaped her eyes. "And we killed her, Quinn. We had to. She was going to kill Kai. It was before her story."

"I have a feeling it wasn't." I muttered. "Did you find Ana?" I questioned.

"I thought she was with you." Greta's face grew into a dark figure. "She went to fight." The air around me grew colder. I felt Peter on the other end grabbing my foot. I pulled in my arm and touched the figure of Greta. The image rippled, leaving my hand through the picture. Greta rose up, staring at my hand. I felt time slipping, and my air draining.

"Grab my hand!" I squealed. My supply of air was fading away fast. My heart raced faster as I felt my face slowly grow pale. Greta quickly grabbed my hand, trying to pull me in. As my face went pale, I felt empty. Some of my memories were slipping into the darkness. Greta hurried pulling me in, making me tumble into the fireplace. Ashes surrounded me, floating onto my hair and clothes.

"Peter?" I fumbled around the soot. "Peter?!" I yelled. My hands desperately grabbed at the embers.

Then I knew he was gone. I quickly explained everything to Greta.

"Gone as in, trapped in a mirror gone?" She asked, I nodded. We steadied our breaths into the quiet. Bounding in, Kai immeadiatly knew something was wrong. He rushed to Greta's side, cradling her arms into his. I tried offering a smile, placing my hands on my arm.

"Kai, um-" Greta hesitated, but continued with her voice weak. "Kai lost his voice. It seemed piece by piece they were taking a vital piece of life. He can't get it back, though. He doesn't want it back. His story made him say to many horrible and boasted words." She closed her eyes as he began to sway her to a faded lullaby. I looked at my shoes. The leather was worn and ripped. It looked as though a storm whipped it through. The laces began to wear down, and the leather turn yellow at the toes. They distracted me.

A loud noise from the outside made us freeze in our places. I slowly unsheathed my sword, as did Greta. I slowly made my way toward the outside. A man rode his horse toward the candy house.

"Sir," I called out. His head turned. "I need your horse." There was a brief moment of the pounding of my heart.

"Why?" He asked. It was a simple question, but not enough to have me answer. I couldn't tell him who I was, nor my story. Maybe he could settle for a title, or the place I lived.

"I am Princess Quinnalyn of the Eastern Kingdom, and I demand you ask me no further questions. Just your horse, if you may." I stood straighter, looking at the man taller than me. He scoffed, finally jumping down and handing me the reins. I nodded toward him, as he walked along the path mumbling about princesses and stupid curses. I couldn't blame him. On half the things he muttered, I was in there with him. I called out to Greta who pulled herself out of the house with Kai following.

"I am leaving. Please, just please send me a sign if anything happens. Okay?" I sighed. She nodded, quietly awaiting my leave. I sat sidesaddle, but swung my leg out from the saddle. My mother wasn't here. She couldn't tell me how to continue my life. I had to do it on my own. Which hapened to be exactly what I was going to do.

***

It happened to be a wonderful night, filled with new sights and new smells. It was more than the attic to Ellisia, who happened to be there. The ballroom was filled with sights and silk. She pushed through the crowd, her dress shimmered a dark fluorescent royal purple. Her black hair rippled into a half bun and half down hairstyle accenting a bit of the blue in her hair. She felt meek and small after the way she had been treated at home, but here she stood straighter, letting her shoulders pull back. Her dress was adorned with small silver chains and gold pearls with a single shoulder decorated with broken jewels. The crowd made way for the girl, only assuming she was royalty. She nodded to each person, but felt a lump toward her throat. The Prince stood at the the top of the stairwell, his eyes trained in her. Her lump hardened into a wad of cold ice. He walked forward, outstretching his hand. She reluctantly took it. Her eyes slowly raised toward his silver eyes.
"Miss, would you care to dance?" They both knew that he wasn't going to not allow her to leave.
"I- I-" She stuttered, trying to form her words. But all that was in her head was a clock ticking. It would soon be over before this fantasy is gone. He grasped her hand, sternly enough for her to hold on but lightly enough for her to let go. Her silver gloved hand hid the sweat that began to gather at her palms. There was a momentarily moment of suspense in the crowd. She looked him in the eye and gave him a soft nod. They began to twirl, as Elissia clung to her dress. A small breeze from the pavilion in the castle soothed the room. Her heart pounded inside her chest. She felt the lump in her throat slowly back away. Then, as the song began to close, she took her chance. She leaned in to give him a peck on the lips.
Then she ran back to the cupboard.