Left Behind (Snowbaz fic)

Chapter: 13

SIMON
I awoke to Penelope viscously shaking my shoulder. In that moment I forgot where I was. I didn't realize I had buried myself under the covers of Baz's bed. Everything looked and felt so alien to me in my hazy half asleep brain. I sat up and looked around disoriented.
It finally clicked in my head where I was when I saw the picture of Baz and I on the bedside table. It was the day the three of us went to the beach last summer. Penny had insisted she take a photo of the two of us to commemorate the good time we had. In the picture Baz was giving a sheepish, awkward grin while I was laughing at something. Whatever it was I found it very amusing.
I snapped myself out of my little daydream and looked to Penny. "How did you know I was here?" I asked her.
"When I saw you weren't at our flat it wasn't hard to figure out where you would be. Simon, what were you thinking? Why did you leave me?"
I propped myself up on my elbow. Penny looked at me with anger in her eyes. She crossed her arms over her chest and shifted all of her weight to one leg. She gave me her famous "I'm waiting look."
"I didn't want to get you in anymore trouble then you already were in." She rolled her eyes and shifted her weight once again.
"Simon, I'm always in trouble." It was my turn to roll my eyes and give her a look. She ignored me and pulled the covers of me.
"Get up, Snow, we're going on an adventure!" She announced. I got to my feet and slipped the photo into my pants pocket along with the handkerchief. I was disappointed to see no new messages from Baz sewn into it. But judging from the last message I probably wasn't going to get one.
"What kind of adventure?" I asked. Penny stepped to the side revealing a tall, glimmering mirror leaning against the wall. I didn't notice it before but now that I had I couldn't take my eyes off it. I felt as if I could reach my hand towards the glass and my fingers would pass through it like still water.
I was finally able to tear my eyes away from the beautiful mirror to look back at Penny.
"Where did you get this?" I asked.
"That crazy professor back at Watford. She used to be some sort of keeper or guard for a specific kind of magic until she quit. But before she quit she hid the magic in there." She pointed to the mirror. I looked back at it and I felt like I was being called to it once again.
"What kind of magic?"
"I don't know but she said it would counteract the kind of magic that Amara has. Apparently she stole it from another mirror." Penelope sounded like she didn't quite understand what she was saying because everything sounded like a question. She looked like she was trying to decipher everything she was told in a way that would actually make sense. "It's going to be dangerous." She added.
I ignored that last statement. Nothing would ever be too dangerous to keep me from saving Baz. I took a few steps closer to the mirror. It was sitting on a large, wooden stand with little carved animals on it. The closer I got the more I noticed the details put into each one. They looked alive, breathing and even blinking at me. I extend my arm to touch a little wooden fawn at the top of the frame. When my fingertips brushed against the top of the fawns head its ears bent back and its head sunk lower into the wood. A bird even pecked at my finger when I pulled my hand away. They were beautiful.
I was captivated my its beauty, I wanted to stare at it forever and feel that sense of awe wash over me again and again.
"Let's do it," I said with my attention still focused on the little fawn and other woodland animals crowded together on the frame.
"I thought you might say that," she said. I looked at Penny's reflection through the mirror, she was holding two large backpacks filed with supplies in each hand. I grabbed the bigger one and threw it against my back.
"Whatever is on the other side of this mirror is going to help us save Baz," I said to myself more than Penny. She rested her hand on my shoulder and gave me a reassuring squeeze.
I brushed my fingers against the cool glass of the mirror. I could feel that there was something behind it, like a thumping or a heartbeat, but I couldn't go through. I turned my attention back up to the fawn. It was looking down at me, staring intently. We stared at each other for a few seconds until my fingers finally disappeared into the glass. The mirror rippled all around my hand and pulled me deeper into it.
"Thank you," I said under my breath to the fawn and It bowed its head in response.
Before I knew it I was sucked into the mirror completely. I closed my eyes because if I opened them I was afraid I was going to puke. I thought I was being ripped apart and being put back together in a different place.
When I could finally feel solid ground under my feet I opened my eyes once again. I marveled at the sight set before me. I was looking out over a sea of flowers, it looked like there was no end in sight and the blossoms just went on forever. It was beautiful. Not just beautiful: it was enchanting. Of everything I had been forced to endure over the past few days, this was where I felt like I could forget about all of it. I wanted to lie on my back and let the various flowers guard me from all the dangers that could possibly exist here. I knew I should be itching to trek on, crushing every flower in my wake, to get to the magic in order to save Baz but there was something so calming about the way the flowers danced in the light breeze.
I looked over my shoulder and saw Penny glitter into existence before my eyes. Her eyes widened when she saw where we were standing. We both stared at the stunning landscape before us for a few minutes just taking everything in.
      "Well," she finally said. "Here we go," she adjusted her backpack into a better position over her shoulders and we started walking through the field of flowers. I stayed close to her side. With every step I realized it was another step closer to rescuing Baz. How could I want to forget about him like that? How could I be so selfish and stay here, shutting out the world, when I know that Baz needs me? And with those thoughts still rattling around in my head I pushed myself forward walking deeper and deeper into the infinite sea of flowers.