The Other Side of the Mirror

The Beginning of the Tragedy

I remember that day well...

The room was warm and cosy, I could hear the crackle of the fire and the delicate patter of the rain against the window.

It was peaceful.

"Ugh...ugh..."

"You're awake at last?" A voice spoke.

"Where am I? Is this...a wisps house?" My own voice came out croaky and hoarse.

"Yes, after all you are in our land. What are you doing here?" It was a man's voice. It was gentle and something about it made me feel safe.

I sat up and opened my eyes. My human eyes. "I live here."

"You do? I thought all humans born to wisps were sent to grow up in the human land." I looked to where the voice was coming from. A young man was sitting on the wooden chair across from the bed I was lying on. He looked about 24, only a couple of years older than me.

"My parents couldn't bear to send me away to the human land. They always kept me hidden in the castle. I've never left the grounds...until now that is." I hung my head so my hair fell over my face, not wanting him to see my plain, human eyes.

He must have sensed I didn't want to talk more about this and so he tactfully changed the subject. " Why did you leave."

"My sister can't stand to be in my presence and whenever I try to talk to her she just shouts at me or storms off. Or both."

"What happened between you?"

I looked away. I left the castle to get away from constantly thinking about my sister and the jealousy and anger she felt towards me, not to be reminded of it.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to pry. It's none of my business. If you don't want to talk about it I completely understand."

I turned my head back to face him, bringing the hair which was covering my face behind my ears, and smiled at him.

"Thanks." I moved myself to the edge of the bed and tried to stand up. The room began to spin as soon as I was upright and I couldn't keep my balance. I would have fallen over if the man hadn't rushed over to steady me.

"Careful there! It's probably best if you sit back down. You took quite a fall earlier."

I nodded and followed his advice, sitting back down on the warm bed. "Where did you find me."

"I found you in the river, you fell down the embankment. Are you feeling okay? It was quite a drop."

My head was pounding and my arm was throbbing but I decided not to mention this as his face looked worried enough as it was. "Yeah I'm okay thanks." He didn't seem convinced but he nodded all the same.

"I'll be back in a few minutes, if you need me for anything at all just shout."

"Okay."

He left the room and I listened to his footsteps move along down a hallway.

I took this opportunity to take in my surroundings. His room was pretty simple, the walls were all painted a dark red making the room seem warm and snug. There was also a fluffy ruby rug at the foot of the bed. Despite the warm walls, the room itself was cold due to the gaps in the wooden floorboards and the big window on the left side of the room.

An old fashioned writing desk sat beneath the window with a few quills and a pot of ink on top of it. There was also a thick book with a black leather cover on the table which I assumed was just a notebook.

A small bed side table sat to the right of the bed with an elegant silver lamp on it, casting a soft glow on one side of the room.

I heard footsteps coming back along the hall and I watched as the young man re-entered the room carrying a dark wooden tray in his hands.

He handed me the tray which had a big bowl of tomato soup on it. "This should help to warm you up." He nodded towards the soup.

I smiled gratefully as I picked up the silver spoon in my right hand. It was heavy and had an intricate pattern engraved on the metal.

I brought a spoonful of the boiling liquid up to my mouth and carefully blew on it.

"What's your name?" I asked as the dancing steam of the soup slowly disappeared into the air.

"It's Morpheus."

I smiled at him softly before taking a mouthful of soup. It was smooth as silk and warmed up my whole body as it ran down the back of my throat. "Thank you so much for saving me Morpheus."

He shrugged modestly as if he saved people every other day. "It was nothing, don't mention it." He looked away and a comfortable silence fell between us.

"Oh sorry, how rude of me. What's your name?"

I laughed. "Don't worry about it, I'm Rhea."

He smiled. It was a genuine smile which radiated a sense of hope and joy.

"Nice to meet you Rhea."

And just like that, our tragedy was set in motion.