Brass Automaton

22 - Prophecy

It was quiet in the brightly lit room, so much so that one could hear the dust shuffle in the stale air. An interrupting beam of sunlight snuck inside through a narrow row of windows and cascaded down a large, round mirror. A mirror that didn't reflect anything back. In truth, the room gazed into the mirror, but the mirror didn't gaze back. It was matte, an ashy fog draped over its smooth surface.

A blue jay flew past the windows and descended toward one, landing on its stone ledge. It pecked its feathers clean bathing in the weak warmth of the sun and then began a small chirp. A sudden gust of wind overpowered the serenity of the circular room and a tall construction in the middle of it, huffing and puffing, releasing clouds of vapor began rotating its seven circles, clicking them into a position secured by brass locks. The wind swept the blue jay from its ledge and into the room. It chirped frantically batting its wings against the ominous current existing solemnly inside the transcendental stone area. A purple glow pierced by blood-red thorns began to swirl in the middle of the portal as it burst open.

As Jarvis, Ceridwen, and the automaton stumbled through, the brass construct fell to the stone floor in a spillage of blood and banged old parts, the blue jay was sucked into the carnivorous whirlpool.

Ceridwen pulled herself away from Jarvis and stood above the automaton. Malformed as it was, it was also a mirror image of her current visage: older, but the same heavy, brass vessel in which she resided. She brought an automated hand to caress an automated face without any love or gentleness.

Jarvis sat upon a brass chair, ornamented as would befit a king. He stroked his white beard, gazing into himself more than into the real world and the room.

"What happened, Jarvis, why did we flee? Snow White was in my hands!"

"What happened there indeed, Ceridwen? And no that is not a rhetorical question. How did Snow White know where to look?"

Ceridwen was lost for words.

"Someone must have told her," she finally said.

"Someone?" Jarvis cocked his eyebrow. "Might it be you my Queen of Evil that did speak of our plans?"

"Why would I?"

"Sky would," Jarvis hissed at her.

"What would I have to do with a silly little girl?" Ceridwen remembered the face of the young blond, a beautiful face, though still common, smeared with the blood of her Tenyks.

Jarvis stood from his self-made throne and walked in front of the mirror, the other beholding him before he called upon it.

"Mirror, mirror on the wall show me the Sky before them all."

Quick to its command the mirror gleamed with the requested image. The girl, Sky, was standing above a shattered automaton bearing her face. The King of Dwarfs, grasping her, desperate for support, mouthed the truth and Ceridwen, close enough to the mirror could hear it. "Only the queen could kill herself."

"These are lies," Ceridwen spoke slowly.

Then King John's former advisor spun and pointed his thin finger at her.

"This is your past, present and future all coalesced into one. I created you a body fit for war, a body that would carry you everywhere through time and help you fight Snow White again and again and again until she was defeated so thoroughly that the mirror could see her no more!"

Ceridwen stood toe to toe with Jarvis, her perfect brass nose nearly pressed against his. She was smaller than the wizard, but her brass suit made her more intimidating.

"You promised me a body of armor to please my advances. and when in dire need, armor to lead an army with. You're just an old trickster, a fraud Jarvis, and I consumed your lies like hot bread. You turned me into a monster and gave me weak magick; spawning mindless farmers and cattle boys armed against Snow White and her magick, her Sisters, her dwarven friends. You are not to blame anything on me for your misbehaving with time."

"I gave you everything you needed to defeat Snow White's pathetic forces. You spent the magick I gave you on your visage and on that huntsman. Your poor choices lead you to a miserable decade in the shadows of a kingdom that didn't love you. I became time itself, fitting the needed pieces so you would win, always win and for that, I paid a dear price."

Ceridwen nodded at the mirror, her yellow eyes squinting at the image. "What of this girl then?"

The image of Sky standing above the defeated automaton sat frozen at the moment showing both their faces.

"You cannot remember all of them, dear Ceridwen. There are so many of you out there, scattered, lost, and forgotten by time. I had hoped," Jarvis said waving his hand to brush away the repeating image and cloud the mirror in gray again, "that all of you would bend to the dark will of the magick, but no. I took a leap of faith in your hatred, and it failed me."

"It seems we failed each other, Jarvis."

"No Ceridwen, you don't understand. When we first met, you spoke of your revenge so passionately I was sure nothing could stop you from destroying Snow White once and for all. That's why I took all the risks. But alas, a part of you grew to love her, admire her. One of you wanted Snow White to win and cease the dark magick."

Ceridwen was taken aback. She walked around the room, her brass heels clicked harsh on the stone floor.

"You chance to compare me once more to a filthy peasant, and I will squish you wizard."

Jarvis laughed. "Believe me or not, there was a prophecy as there are many, but this one given to the dwarfs made news of an evil queen and her mirror self, reflected throughout the land using all the mirrors, creating that many more identical images. This nearly immortal queen was set to rule before being murdered by one of her own selves. Prophecies are simply time streams, a future unwritten, only guessed. I tried to prevent much of it, and you nearly did succeed in taking out all of Snow White's family. Of course, one part of the prophecy couldn't be erased, and that was the evil queen herself. I predicted a lot of happenings but never did the mirror show me when and which reflection of you would kill the brass automaton of the future. In this, I did fail you."