Through the Mirror

The Mirror

-6 Years Ago-

"I expect that room of yours to be spotless.  For a fifteen year old, you sure are messy. " Elise's mother snapped at her, "Now your father and I will be doing some last minute Christmas shopping so you'll have plenty of time to have this room cleaned before we get back. "

"Yes mother. "Elise replied with a sigh.

Christmas was literally just around the corner and she had family coming up,  and the last thing she'd want is for her older cousins to think she was an immature grade A slob.  Her mother had already felt that way about her,  she didn't want anyone else to think that too.

After watching her parents car disappear down the street,  she turned to her tornado stricken room and began her task.

Three garbage bags later,  she finally had everything she'd been wanting to get rid of off of her floor and she walked the bags out to the curb where the garbage can sat. Her breath came out in white puffs as she stood on the curb.  The icy wind cooled off her sweaty skin,  a relief from the sauna inside.  Her mother always kept the house at a solid seventy-five degrees.

When the cold became uncomfortable, she turned and walked back into the house.  There was still more to be done with the room. Though she could now officially see her floor,  there were things that needed to be put where they belonged,  like her shoes needing to go in the closet.

Elise started tossing her shoes and small boxes into the closet when she heard an odd sounding thud.  Her brown eyes drifted over towards the closet where she noticed a floor board was raised. Her favorite pair of sneakers had wedged the board up.

Slowly,  Elise approached the board,  was it broke?  Was it always like this? Curiosity killed the cat.....  Elise shrugged, at least I'm not a cat!  Elise knelt down beside the board and gently pried it up with her fingers.

It was a secret compartment and by the looks of it,  the secret has been kept safe for quite some time now. Cobwebs clung to the surrounding walls within the small hole.  Elise dug through them praying that there wouldn't be any spiders in there.

Finally her fingers found purchase on a small leather bound object. Excitement rushed though Elise's body. She always loved a good mystery!  Elise got up with the bundle and ran to her bed, this was by far the best chore she'd ever been given!

Carefully,  she unwrapped the leather and pulled out a beautifully crafted mirror.  It looked like it was chiseled out of iron, the cold metal bit into her skin.  Ivy and flowers were etched into the irons surface.  It looked otherworldy.  Like something straight out of a fairy-tale.

She turned the mirror over expecting to see her reflection,  but instead she saw a frozen landscape peering back at her. Elise furrowed her brows and went to touch the glass surface when the mirror began to warm and hum in her hands.

She yelped and dropped the mirror,  backing away from the thing slowly when a sucking sound replaced the silence and she felt herself being dragged into the mirror. She screamed but stopped when she realized that she was home alone and no one would come to her rescue.

Elise stood up and shook the snow off of her.  Not only did the magic mirror transport her to another place,  but she wasn't wearing her jeans and t-shirts anymore.  Instead she was wearing a dark blue gown and a brown fur cloak as a coat. And instead of being barefoot,  she was wearing some sort of animal hide boots.

She took a look at her surroundings, it was a snow covered forest.  Snow and ice encrusted every tree and rock in sight. Her breath came out in white wisps of air,  the world around her was definately not a world she knew.  In fact she didn't think it had ever been touched by a single human before.

"I see you found my mirror. " A female voice sounded from behind a frozen bush.

Elise whipped her head around and looked at the woman.  She was gorgeous,  with tanned skin and snow white hair that had been braided in randome places all the way down her back.  Just like Elise's own clothes,  the woman was dressed in a gown of crimson with the same type of cloak and boots.

"Who are you?  How did I get here? " Elise asked.

"I am Avarly,  I am a Pure Fae.  I lost the mirror that took you to this place many years ago.  However,  the mirror needed someone to look into it so that it could come back." The woman spoke,  her voice like tinkling bells.

"Why did it bring me here?  And what is a Fae? " Elise Averly spoke,  unasked questions still burning on her tongue.

"I enchanted it to bring whomever had found it to me so that I could formally thank them and bless them. And Fae is not a thing child.  You'd best remember that, what you said could be highly insulting. "Avarly chided softly, "And Fae is a race of people.  There are the Lesser Fae,  having little to no magical abilities,  there's the High Fae which are royalty among my kind,  and then there is me, the Pure Fae.  I work with the temple,  I bless people and hold the sacred solstice gatherings every season."

Elise's eyes widened, "Woah, that's so cool! "

Avarly laughed a tinkling laugh and smiled, her purple eyes sparkling, "Would you like to see the Winter Solstice be performed?"

"Oh my gosh yes!"

Avarly nodded, "Alright,  it won't be taking place until sundown,  but until then you could help me prepare for it."

Elise smiled happily, "What should I do? "

The Pure Fae motioned to her horse and wagon a small ways away,  "You could help me gather the wood for the Ritual Fire."

Elise watched the woman summon a large log and flicked her wrist causing the log to settle into the wagon, "How could I put wood in there?  It is too heavy.  How is your horse going to lug that all the way to the place you need it? "

"Ah child have you no faith?  My horse is enchanted.  And since you have appeared with my mirror,  I shall grant you with temporary Fae powers,  however once you go home you shall return to normal. " Avarly said coming over to where Elise stood.

Avarly closed her eyes and began chanting foreign words that somehow spoke to Elise deep in her bones.  Elise began to glow,  and she let out a yelp of surprise as a magical hum vibrated through her body.

Then the feeling subsided and Averly nodded, "It is done,  you will look like a Fae for now until you return home.  Now let's get these logs into the wagon before it's too late. "