The Crucivire

Chapter Ten: A Prison of Mirrors

Twelve years ago.

It was Christmas morning at the Hayes House. Rays of twilight barely illuminated the street outside as a layer of frost covered every surface. Inside the Hayes house, all lights were still off except those decorating the Christmas tree. A young Alice lay on the couch in the living room, staring at the ceiling. Her face, illuminated only by the multicolored Christmas tree lights, showed a hint of annoyance. She was ready to open presents, but mom was still asleep. This wasn't exactly unusual. After all, it was still pretty early, and Alice also knew that Mom was often tired from working a job while taking care of two children by herself. Waking her up was out of the question. Alice knew that, but she was still annoyed. Of course, having to wait for presents wasn't the only thing annoying her.

"Why does it never snow on Christmas?" asked Arthur, kneeling with his elbows resting on the windowsill. "I thought it was supposed to snow on Christmas."

"That's just TV, Arthur," said Alice irritably. "We're too far south for snow. I think it only snows every fifteen years here."

Arthur grumbled under his breath.

"Is mom awake yet?" he asked.

"I don't know," said Alice. "Why don't you go ask her?"

"Very funny," said Arthur. "I'm just ready for presents." He got an idea. "Maybe we could open our presents to each other."

As Arthur left the window and went to grab a present from under the tree, Alice sighed. He could be so impatient sometimes. He'd been asking if Mom was awake all morning, and now, as Arthur reached for a present, something in Alice snapped.

"Typical," said Alice. "Guess I have to be the mature one."

Arthur froze, a stunned expression on his face as he held a present in his hands.

"What?" he asked.

"You can't just wait a few minutes for mom to wake up, can you?"

"I can..."

"You wanna open your presents so much? Go ahead. Don't let me stop you. Just don't blame me when Mom gets upset."

"I'm not..."

"Just stop complaining. Seriously, you're always complaining about something."

"Alice!" he protested.

"I mean, I hoped I could get a break from your whining on Christmas, but I guess that was too much to ask."

"You're such a jerk!" he screamed, throwing the present.

It landed at the foot of the couch to the sound of breaking glass. As Arthur fled the living room, Alice sat up, surprised by the sound. Once Arthur was gone, Alice looked at the gift wrapped box on the floor and frowned. Glass? Neither Mom nor Alice had gotten Arthur a present made of glass. Alice reached down, picked it up, and held it. She could feel broken glass shifting around as she tilted it from side to side. She found the label, and it read:

To: Alice.

From: Arthur.

Alice felt terrible, closing her eyes as she grimaced. After a moment, she slowly started unwrapping the present. She found a cardboard box with a fancy pattern, and when she opened it, she found little cells filled with glass figurines. The figurines lay in cushions, but that hadn't protected them from Arthur's throwing arm. They were fantasy creatures like unicorns, fairies, and dragons, among other things, and most of them were broken.