Mirror, Mirror

Chapter 10: A Change of Mind

I hurried into my room and found the closet to be full of cloaks, robes, and dresses with long slits in the back. Everything looked like the clothes straight out of my childhood fairy-tale book. I chose a black dress with silver ribbons on all the hems and silver stitching. I pulled it on, along with some soft leather boots that went up to my knees. Finally, I slipped into a warm black cloak, which hid all the shiny stitchings of my dress. It had gotten cold in all of Acacia and Mauvent. I wondered if that was because everyone was afraid of performing any magic because of Shaya.

Something else caught my eye in the room, however. On the corner table, right by my bed, was a crystal ball, with the words "Ask me anything," underneath it.

I walked over and whispered quietly, "Who is Shaya, really?"

"Shaya is an ex-angel from the times when Acacia and Mauvent were one, called Oceania. The queen at that time, Cilla, cast Shaya out because she was performing too strong of magic. Shaya rebelled against Cilla's decision and refused to leave Oceania. After being forced out, she took a few others and began what is now called Mauvent."

"The queen Cilla died, and Shaya came to the castle, insisting that it had been left to her. No one stopped her and her band of dark fairies and witches. All the good fairies, witches, wizards, and anyone else who supported Cilla left and went to Mauvent. Shaya took over Acacia and made sure that everyone there became a faithful follower of her."

"Why didn't Shaya just take over Mauvent?"

"Because Acacia had more dark powers. There was stronger magic there. They were able to call people over from your world."

"And they called me," I mumbled.

"You have powers strong enough to defeat Shaya here. That's why she called you. She wanted you for her side. But then it turned out Joven was a very powerful person for Mauvent, so now you're on our side."

"I need to get going, to get back through the mirror to my world..."

"Just remember what I said. You are the only one here who can defeat Shaya single-handedly. If you go back over, it'll be like you're giving up."

"I'll remember that. But I need the mirror to at least be able to get back home when I need to."

"Be quick, girl. It's already past midnight. You're on your last day."

"I know." I left the room silently, suprised at how quiet the leather boots were. I stepped outside of Joven's castle onto snow. Yes, it had definitely gotten a lot colder here.

I suddenly remembered that I had forgotten to ask the crystal ball one thing: what did it mean when it said the magic was the only thing keeping me alive? I wasn't from this world. I'd never believed in fairies when I was little, even though there was one protecting me. And now I was in a world full of magic, and I had almost no clue what to do.

I walked over to Joven's stables and found a beautiful black horse with huge, black wings.

"Xavier," I read on his nameplate. "Can you fly me to Shaya's castle in this cold? I would, but I'm not very good with my wings yet..."

He nodded and I climbed on his back. The temperature was dropping quickly, and when we flew, I thought my nose would freeze and fall off.

We flew for about fifteen minutes until he was hovering over the castle. I thanked him, dismounted in the air, and began to use my own wings to drift slowly down.

Once I was on the ground, I had no idea what I was supposed to do. Was I supposed to just go up to the door, knock on it, and demand that Shaya give me the mirror so I could go back? I didn't even remember which room it was in. How was I supposed to find it?

I walked up to a small back-entrance door. To my surprise, it opened easily. I slipped in and walked down a long hallway, making as little noise as possible.

I turned down a long passageway, opening doors quietly as I went. I could feel that the mirror was somewhere close. I felt a strange, excited hum in my chest.

The last door in the passage opened. Inside was the mirror.

But it wasn't on the wall.

It was in Shaya's hands.

She smiled. "Is this what you're looking for, Cassandra?"

I could only nod.

"Well, come and get it, then."

I took a few steps closer to her, trembling with fear.

"Don't be scared. Come here."

I kept walking until we were face to face. She held the mirror up between us so I was staring at my own pale face.

And then she brought it down with a crash, onto my head. I felt the shards of glass fall around me, leaving thin red trails to mark where they'd been. My head exploded with pain, and somewhere I heard a scream. I wouldn't black out this time, I told myself. Not again...

Before I knew it, Shaya was gone and I was lying in a pile of glass and wood fragments, the only things left of my way home. I felt my head. There was a large bump, along with some nasty cuts. There were cuts all over my legs and arms as well.

I tried to jump up quickly, but was hit by a throbbing pain in my head, forcing me to lie back down. I laid still for a moment and then forced myself to sit up slowly. I began to pick pieces of glass out of my skin, but my vision was kind of blurry and there were about thirty glass shards stuck on my arms. I attempted to stand up, using my wings for balance.

I realized that the room I was in had changed. Instead of being a completely empty room, it was full of hundreds of mirrors.

There was a note stuck on one of them.

BREAKING ONE OF THESE WILL GET YOU OUT.

I couldn't stand the sight of my bloody self reflected so many times. I used my fist and began to punch the cold, hard glass, over and over. Pieces of glass stuck to my knuckles, but I didn't even notice in my angry rage. I kicked, hit, slammed against mirror after mirror. I tore the awful glass sheets off the wall and smashed them on the floor.

I smashed until there was only one unbroken mirror left. But I wasn't reflected on it.

My mother was, with Demonia flittering by her.

And all of the sudden, I couldn't stand the sight of either of them.

"This is for dragging me into all of this!" I screamed kicking the mirror with all my might. "This is for ripping me away from my normal life! This is for ruining my birthday! This is for Joven!" I smashed the mirror until there was nothing left.

"And this is for me!" I grabbed the mirror and threw it to the ground.

I looked back at the room, covered in red-stained glass and splinters of wood. Only then did I notice the burning sensation in my feet. Shaya had taken my boots. I had been running around barefoot.

There was a door behind the mirror. I ran out of that awful room quickly, leaving a trail of bloody footprints.

***

A/N: Another update! Yay! Sorry if it's short, but most of my updates are short, and besides, I have school, so...you know. Not a lot of time.

Well, that's about all! Love you if you're reading, thank you for commenting or voting!

See you next update!