Hidden Magic

Chapter Six

This couldn't actually be me, could it? I looked so different, well not really, it wasn't anything drastic like Ariel said it wouldn't be, but I did look different, the same and yet inexplicably more. Like someone had photoshopped my reflection, it was weird, my skin was so clear, my pores so small, were my eyelashes longer and darker? Surely, I couldn't change this much just from a small bit of magic. And yet the longer I stared at my reflection, the more I realized it was indeed me, and not some strange trick.

My hair even looked amazing, there was no frizz at all, it was nice and smooth, falling down my chest in soft waves, my usual dark brown hair had wonderful caramel highlights that seemed to give my hair lighten my hair and make it nicer, while also still keeping my original color. I knew I had bee pretty before, I wasn't in doubt of that, but this was different, it was like every little thing I'd knit picked about myself over the years, how I wish my eyes were a bit of a brighter green, how I wanted my nose to be a little bit smaller, how I wished my boobs were a little bigger while my butt was a little smaller, how I wanted that stubborn little bits of fat to disappear from my body.

It was all there, most of it at least, I wasn't super skinny and muscular, my overall body shape and main features didn't change, I didn't suddenly grow taller from my average five foot and nine inches height. Ariel was right, it wasn't anything drastic, but it was a definite change, a noticeable one at that. I still recognized myself, but it was also like an edited version of me, a version of me that would have normally taken three hours of pampering to even come close to. With one last glance, I tear myself away from my reflection, I wasn't usually so obsessed with my vanity, but it was such a change I just couldn't help but stare.

My rooms were beautiful, much more than I expected, this wasn't even usually my style, growing up with my grandmother, I had very much appreciated the minimalist lifestyle, but this felt right, comfy, I liked it more as I kept finding things. I wasn't sure how I would be able to sleep in such a massive bed myself, it would be a workout alone to go from the center of the bed to one of the sides, but it looked delightfully fluffy, with lots of pillows that I am sure I would shove off when I actually wanted to sleep. With it still being late morning or early afternoon at the latest, contrary to the night view out my balcony, I was wide awake and had no intention of going to sleep soon.

The billowing curtains and open archways, the lack of doors or windows, it was all so strange, let alone the strange color scheme of white, black, gold, and purple, it worked, surprisingly well with the Arabian nights and Moroccan style mix I was seeing everywhere, and it actually appealed to me quite a bit, but it all felt so strange, like I was dreaming and would wake up soon, to realize this was all a bizarre dream. I walked over to the balcony and looked out at the view, it was beautiful, strange soft animal calls reached my ears, ones I had never heard before, I could see strange birds that had glowing feathers which left glowing light trails behind them as they flew, the trees had glowing flowers, the night sky was bursting with stars and color, the purple moon large and obvious, so different from the night sky I was used to.

If this was all an illusion, I can't imagine what the night garden would look like. The balcony had low seating as I was beginning to realize was the normal here in Sira branch, with large fluffy pillows strewn about on the floor that I realized were probably also seats, there was already a small fire going in a gold fire brazier, but it was a strange flame, not quite the normal orange I was used to, but an almost silver colored ball of flames that's flame tips shifted different colors every time they flickered back and forth, green, yellow, blue, purple, red. It was mesmerizing really though it reminded me more of the northern lights than the fire it obviously was.

A strange part of me had wondered why all the lighting was a soft white in color instead of the normal yellowish orange, but I guess I knew now. I imagine pixie magic must add its own spin to each element, but I could read a book and find out about that, I was not about to try to force a pixie to show me after all the warnings I had gotten, I suppose that was why the water in the bath seemed to be a soft purple that shimmered with iridescence, I thought it was just a trick of the light. With the balcony sufficiently explored, the only room I had left to explore was the closet, I don't know why I was expecting less in this room, an ordinary walk-in closet perhaps, but I should have known better by now after everything I had seen.