Age of the Xenti: The Mirroring Realm

2: Mythical Creatures & Magic Cake

 The sun shone bright. I stood in an exquisite forest. A towering castle loomed above the silvery trees with glittering fruit. The grass was just about the greenest thing to exist, yet somehow reflecting bits of gold. Wildflowers blossomed everywhere in sight, most in vibrant violet hues. The ground I stood on was plush and comfortable, as if it were a world made purely of children daydreams. I felt like I could smell the beauty radiating off the scenery; sweet but earthy. And cake. Wait, cake? That didn't seem right.

I bolted upright from my lying position. I was still on the floor of the cafeteria, in between two tables. But the floor was... dry. Derek sat above me at the table to my left.

"Good, you're awake!" He said, putting out his hand out to me. I took it, and he pulled me up. I looked around me, and everything seemed to be in place. There wasn't any sign as to me flooding the cafeteria, but it couldn't have been more than a few hours since the incident.

"What- why- how-" For some reason, I began to panic. I had just realized all the things that were probably going to happen: police, handcuffs, court, questions I couldn't answer, and years of being locked away in a steel room. All for something I didn't mean to do. There's no way to escape fate. No way to escape...

The world around me was ending, and I couldn't even express my worry. I ducked my face into my palms, trying to hold back the stressed tears. But they came. And wouldn't stop.

My hands shook uncontrollably. I shook uncontrollably, and I was sweating profusely. My breathing intensified, but wasn't any easier. In fact, I felt like every breath I took became harder. My mouth tasted sour and metallic, as if I was about to regurgitate my PB&J sandwich. I already saw the cafeteria as my cell. I fell to the floor. The walls were closing in, cold, metal walls that caged me like an animal. Bars. So many steel pillars preventing my escape. No bed, no home, no friends, no family. I darted my eyes around, but I couldn't see. I reached for something, anything to grasp, but stayed empty handed. I might as well kiss hope good-bye in this dark, dreary world.

As I attempted to reach my hands out again, I felt steady arms wrap me in a tight embrace from behind. I held on to that bit of comfort, and for a moment I felt that everything

would be alright. I hadn't yet calmed down, but I knew it was possible.

"Shh, shh. It's okay. You're going to be fine. Everything will be fine," Derek whispered in my ear, pulling me a bit closer. "Everything will be fine," He repeated, and I knew it was true.

I blinked, clearing my eyes of any remaining tears I didn't anticipate. I was quite relieved to see that it was possible to see, even if my vision was blurred. I looked behind me at Derek, and I didn't feel so lonely after seeing his tear-stained face, tears I didn't notice were falling. I immediately felt guilty. Why hadn't I thought about how this situation would affect him?

I already forgot what woke me up in the first place. My mind took a sharp turn, reeling away from the dreadful thoughts I was originally thinking. I had a dream... something to do with silver... gold... flowers... a palace... forest... smell? Right!

"Derek," I began, looking around for any sign of desserts. "Why do I smell cake?" I looked back to him, and his eyes lit up.

"Follow me." I stood up again, and he began to walk briskly. We marched across the lunchroom to a door leading into the kitchen. Derek flung the door open, and I needed to blink a few times to make sure I wasn't hallucinating.

I thought for sure I had entered some fantasy re-enactment. There were brooms sweeping up the floor themselves, whisks that mixed the ingredients pouring themselves, and once the oven let out a ding, it opened itself with no trouble. A deep pan trailed out with the alluring aroma of chocolate. I glided over, amazed at what I was witnessing.