Ehrhart

Approaching the Mirror

With a swipe of her hand, the Evil Queen made the Magic Mirror's face disappear from view. The woman, still shaking with fury, marched out of the throne room and slammed shut the door to her quarters.

Anastasia waited five minutes. When she was certain the Queen wasn't coming back inside the throne room, she made her move. She ran to the wall and faced the mirror, gazing at her anxious reflection, her tired, fearful eyes, and seeing for the first time in at least a month how she looked.

Then she took a deep breath, and, feeling very silly, said, "Magic... Magic Mirror on the wall, I, um... need some help?"

She folded her hands behind her back and waited. After about ten seconds, the face in the mirror appeared, his expression awash in surprise and confusion.

"My Queen?" He inquired, squinting at the curious girl. "My, you've taken on a strange form..."

"No, I'm not her," Anastasia answered, her voice expressing the word her as a bitter and cruel person. "My name is Anastasia. I'm the daughter of the huntsman, and a servant girl here..."

The man in the mirror nodded, and his head dipped in a bow. "I see. Well, it certainly is a pleasure to meet you, Anastasia."

He said her name with such elegance that it made Anastasia feel warm inside. "I have a couple of things to ask of you."

The man nodded. "Of course. It is... it is what I'm here for, after all."

"First," Anastasia said. "There's a village in the far reaches of the kingdom called Lohr am Main. How can I stop the Queen's army from attacking it and enslaving its people?"

The Mirror cleared his throat. "The village you speak of- leave it alone! It will escape the clutches of the Evil Queen's throne. But only in a natural sequence will this come to be; lest terrible things could happen, as I foresee."

Anastasia's eyes widened and she stumbled back.

The Mirror seemed sad. "I did not mean to frighten you, Anastasia."

Anastasia shook her head and smiled reassuringly, though her heart was pounding. "It's all right. I understand your message."

The Mirror nodded. "You said you had a few things to ask of me...?"

"Right. Second: my father-"

"The huntsman."

"Yes. Can he be... helped?" She fought back tears. Her hands began to sweat. Toughen up, Anastasia. Quit being such a lady. That thought made her smile.

"You may want to write this down."

Anastasia quickly pulled out the only thing she had in her pocket- the knife.

"A quill rests on the Queen's end table," the Mirror informed helpfully. "I've seen her use it before."

Anastasia thanked the Magic Mirror and found a quill resting on the end table on the other side of the Queen's throne, then returned to the mirror and began writing the words on her blade as he spoke.

In order to reverse

The Queen's hold- a witch's curse

You must venture out into the Seven Hills Forest

And seek out the lone dwarf, who lies at rest

A true love's kiss will do no deed

To stop the Queen's blossoming seed

That reeks of darkness, doom, and despair

Only the blood of a dwarf can repair

"Thank you," Anastasia said again, holding out the blade in front of her and blowing on it so the ink would dry faster.

The mirror drooped his head in a nod again and then looked back up at her.

He seemed so lonely- his eyes were nothing but pools of darkness, with huge eyebrows painted above them to make him look angrier, but nothing in his expression looked angry, just sad. Anastasia knew that she wanted to help him, but had no idea how.

"I feel I must help you," she said simply.

The Mirror shrugged. "The Queen cursed me three times, so three times the spell must be lifted."

"How could she curse you three times?"

The Mirror averted his gaze. "That, Anastasia, is a tale for another time. You must leave."

Anastasia turned to walk away, then stopped in her tracks and made eye contact once more with the Mirror. "May I ask... what is your name?"
The Mirror's face unfolded into a welcoming smile, which looked strange with his angry eyebrows. Almost maniacal. But Anastasia felt that the Mirror would never be cruel. He was enslaved, after all.

Then he spoke once more. "Ehrhart," he said softly. "My name is Ehrhart." The word echoed in the throne room corridors, and Anastasia realized that his name hadn't been spoken in a long time.

"Thank you, Ehrhart," Anastasia said for the third time.

I thanked him three times. Perhaps that will lift the spell? But it did not. The mirror- Ehrhart, smiled once more.

Then Anastasia turned to leave, and when she looked back again, he was gone, replaced by a useless mirror.