Morning Star (The Dragon Prince X Reader)

Chapter 1 - Chance

"Hey Dad," Claudia calls from outside her father's office. After a moment, she opens the door with her shoulder and walks over to him.

"Claudia?" Viren looks up from his desk. "Do you need something?"

"Mhm-hm!" Her hands are clasped behind her back. "Okay, so I was in your... underground magic office place, please don't get mad, and I noticed this!" With a smile, she reveals her find.

"A hand mirror," he states flatly. He looks at the silver object, noting the ancient runes scratched into the frame. "Oh, that hand mirror."

She nods, turning it back towards herself and tracing the inscriptions. "I know you've probably looked at it already, but I noticed the runes match your other mirror." She nods at the mirror in question, which is draped in a large cloth. "What's with that?"

Viren sighs softly. Claudia prepares herself to be sent away, but instead he stands up and walks over to his larger mirror. With a slight flourish, he unveils it. Apart from the runes on the frame, it looks... well, like any other mirror. A fancy one, to be sure, but it reveals no secrets as Claudia's father locks eyes with his own reflection.

"Of all the treasures, artifacts, and relics in the lair of the Dragon King and Queen, they kept this closest to where they slept." Viren runs his hand over the golden frame. "I've tried eight different reveal spells, and failed every time. In the end... I see nothing but my own frustrated face staring back at me."

He gestures, and she hands him the silver hand mirror. He holds it up parallel to the other and waits a moment, but they act as any mirrors would. The smaller one's runes look rushed and sloppy in comparison to the golden embellishments.

"This hand mirror was tucked into a corner of the largest room. It's indestructible, but otherwise I've seen nothing strange. I suspect it might be some kind of... prototype of the other." Viren looks back at his daughter, who is listening carefully. "I want to entrust it to you."

Claudia's green eyes go wide. "Wait, really?"

Viren nods. "Of course. You're very skilled for your age. If anyone else can decipher the secrets of that relic, it's you."

She grins. A real magical artifact from the layer of the Dragon King and Queen! Her father will be so proud if she discovers its secrets. "Thank you, Dad! I won't let you down."

"I have no doubt," he replies. He replaces the cloth, and his faint smile sombers into a serious expression. "Now that you're here, we have something important to discuss. About your mission to find the princes..."

***

"Sun. Moon. Sky. Dark. Ocean. Earth. Star." You toss a slim candle into the air, each catch punctuating a word. "Six arcana. I understand only one of them." Toss. Catch. Toss. Catch. Toss.

A second too late, and your hand bats the candle to the hard wooden floor, where it shatters. You reluctantly sit up and draw a curvy purple rune in the air with two fingers. "Sarcio." The candle reforms perfectly, as always. It's no accomplishment; gone are the days you were impressed with your own star magic, and you've had more than enough time to practice that particular spell.

You sigh and flop onto the ground, which would probably leave a bruise under normal circumstances. "...I am incredibly bored."

Just as it's been for the past three hundred years, nobody is there to hear you.

There aren't a lot of entertainment options on the inside of a mirror. The things you brought, like books and sewing equipment, are nice, but they're nothing compared to the choices in the outside world. Even talking to people would be preferable to this drudgery. You briefly consider redoing an outfit to relieve your boredom or stitching more runes into your clothes, but you have no inspiration for that.

Well, there seems to be only one option available. By far the fanciest object in your small living quarters hangs alone on a wall. The delicate (though magically reinforced) silver hand mirror reflects your glum features as you trace the sloppy runes carved into the frame and peer through your only window into the outside world.

Your heart nearly stops. Visible through the palm-sized pane of glass is something you haven't seen for 106 days, 17 hours, 1 minute, and 34 seconds - a change of scenery. Gone is the dusty, dark grey ceiling that the mirror used to face. Instead, in the middle of your view is the one object that you really don't want to see.

You aren't the only Startouch elf that's been trapped inside a mirror for the past three hundred years. For you, it was a choice, and your best option, as boring as it is. For the other... The mirror you can see now is large, elegant, and framed with careful runes that put yours to shame. Save for the sentence they make, its fine appearance holds no hint of the dangerous man captured within.

The only thing reflected in the other mirror is blank silver glass. But although its prisoner can't see you, and it's equally impossible for you to look through the glass and meet his gleaming yellow eyes, you know that you recognise each other's prison.

Aaravos knows you're nearby.

Whoever is holding you up to the mirror moves away. But just before your window starts to display a dark bag interior, you glimpse another important artefact - a long silver staff, gifted by Aaravos and, hopefully, still passed down to powerful dark mages.

You won't waste this opportunity.

***

Author's Note:

Before you continue, please note that this story will contain the following:

- Canon-typical violence, animal death, mature themes, et cetera

- A female reader insert

- A few background ships (and some in-universe political chaos caused by said background ships)

- A main Reader ship or two (which may end happily, or may not)

- And, of course, a whole lot of headcanons, lore and Aaravos backstory that will probably be immediately proven wrong when more of the show comes out.

I think that's all. Thanks for reading!

Next time on Morning Star: The downsides of living in a glow-in-the-dark hand mirror.