Mirror, Mirror {#Wattys2016}

Chapter 19- Action

After passing Sector D without incident, it was becoming easier to believe that they could go unnoticed on the path leading to Queen Pandora's palace. Even if there was just a small glimmer of hope, it would be enough to push them to victory.

The dense curtain of leaves cleared, framing what looked to be a humbly paved path leading to the distant shadow of the palace. They decided to rip their blankets into long strips that could act as shawls and cover their facial features. Otherwise, the action would be over before it had even started.

Keeping her head down, Cassandra grasped Liam's hand and shuffled onwards, desperately hoping to blend in. The shawl became stifling around her neck and had begun to itch, but she shoved the distracting thoughts aside and kept concentrating.

For a path that led to the residence of Echo's ruler, it held much less grandeur than expected. Plain stones imbedded into the pavement seemed unfit for somebody like Queen Pandora, who had an extremely flashy taste. Not to mention the odd placement of it between Sectors C and D, so that they were the only ones who could easily reach it.

After a couple of minutes had passed, Cassandra found herself staring eye to eye with another citizen. The person in question was a haggard looking maid who seemed to be looking at her for much too long. Breaking eye contact quickly, Cassandra decided that it would probably be best if she avoided looking up and kept her focus solely on where she was walking.

By the time they had reached the halfway point, Cassandra's palms began to sweat. They were so close that to be caught now would be agony. However, there was no room for doubting. After wiping off her hands and glancing over at Liam for support, she steeled herself and kept moving.

The path itself hadn't seemed very long at first glance but the journey seemed to take an eternity of time while they walked along it. By the time they got to the end of it somebody would have surely connected the dots about who they were.

However, as they finally reached the end of the pavement and glanced up at the staggeringly tall palace, it seemed no one had.

We're halfway there. Now all we have to do is get in and out, before anybody notices something going on.

Adrenaline began coursing through her veins as she pulled Liam to the front gates. They made sure nobody was looking and then bolted for the doors, not daring to breathe until they were shut safely inside.

Everything inside was just as grand as Cassandra remembered. The palace practically screamed expensive living albeit a touch of over the top. But what Cassandra couldn't remember was the placement of any Mirrors, meaning they would have to start peeking in whatever room they saw first.

Bang! She carelessly threw open the door merest to her and peered inside what seemed to be a sitting area where there was no Mirror to be found. "We'll have to split up if we ever want to find two Mirrors, but just stay close, okay?"

Liam nodded as a grin crept over his face and he too became caught up in the excitement of their soon to be escape. After five minutes of searching they had found a handheld Mirror hidden in one of the bathrooms and a floor length Mirror in front of the Queen's throne. Cassandra had her doubts over whether the handheld Mirror would work, but decided to try it out anyways.

Once they had regrouped in the throne room, Liam had the brilliant idea to try balancing the handheld on the arm of the throne. That way, they could make sure their Parallels were still seeing their own reflection in the handheld Mirror. The whole concept was really staring to hurt her brain.

Liam stood still as he balanced the Mirror ever so slightly. "Be careful, I can't say this thing is very st-"

Boom! The thundering noise of splintering wood and running feet came from the entryway, followed by an unmistakable cackle.

Eyes widening in fear, Cassandra grabbed Liam's wrist and came to the realization that they would need to trust in what they knew.

Time began to slow as Queen Pandora burst through the palace doors, yelling how they were caught. But Cassandra knew better and shoved herself into the Mirror, hoping against all hope that it would work. She met no resistance and was plunged into what felt like ice cold water. The last sound she heard in Echo was the unmistakable roar of what seemed to be every Mirror in the land shattering.

Then the world exploded into a frenzy of colours that were too bright, noises that were too loud, and feelings that were too harsh. Everything expanded outward in a barrage of sensation until it was practically unbearable, before narrowing into a single black point where nothing was felt.

"Ouch!" Cassandra came tumbling onto lush green grass, Liam following closely behind and landing on top of her. When she opened her eyes she saw a bearded elderly man wearing glasses peering down at them. Behind him was a sky bluer than any other, though some admittedly dark clouds seemed to linger on the horizon.

"You've made it!" The man helped Cassandra and Liam to their feet, laughing merrily all the while. "I've been waiting for somebody like you to arrive here in London for ages, although I wasn't quite expecting two of you."

London? So that's what the Other side is called.

"Well never mind that now, you may call me Professor. I assume you saw the note I left in that cooking book? Quite genius, really."

It had never occurred to Cassandra that the owner of the note might have already left Echo. "Yes, it was very helpful, thank you. I'm afraid that nobody else will be able to come back though, as it sounded like all the Mirrors shattered when we left."

The Professor let forth an enormous chortle. "Bahaha! The Mirrors themselves are fine, you just stopped their ability to act as Portals. I don't suppose you thought that two people Portalling at once might be a little much for them?"

Cassandra flushed, looking at Liam. It seemed that they had a lot to learn, but it would all be okay. Now they had all the time in the world.

The End.