Mirror of the Enchantress

Of all the things my Grandmother owned, her mirror was the only thing I ever wanted. I had been drawn to it since I was a child. It was as if it called to me, like a siren song, begging for just a gentle tap on its pristine, reflective surface. Grandmother never would let me touch it, but now here it sits on my thrifted, antique vanity.

I wandered over to the Vanity and sat in front of the beautifully ornate mirror. It's frame was of swirling, gilded gold and looked as if it belonged in an old, Victorian estate rather than my industrial studio in the city. I still felt the heaviness in it's presence and wondered if I was the only one who felt it.

I began to stand from the vanity chair, needing to get ready for work, when I heard my name. It was soft, almost too quiet. Quiet enough that perhaps I imagined it. I lingered towards the armoire, pulling the doors open to choose an outfit when I heard my name once more.

"Brielle." This time, there was no mistake. Someone was calling me. The voice was feminine and soft and it had a quality about it that felt like a tug on my mind, beckoning me to obey. My eyes were wild, looking around the studio apartment in pure fear. Nothing could be hidden in the apartment as there were no walls to hide behind. The only thing to hide behind was the curtain that hid the bathroom area, but it was wide open.

Slowly, my eyes drifted back to the mirror and to my utter horror, I saw a pair of honey brown eyes staring back. But these eyes were not my own. My eyes are a muted shade of murky, ocean blue. Nothing else in my reflection had changed but my eyes. I approached the mirror and blinked several times, but the color remained the lovely shade of golden honey.

Again, my name filled the air and as it did, the mirror rippled. I jumped back, alarmed by the sudden movement of the glass-like liquid. Despite my fear, previous warnings and intuition, I touched the rippling glass.

My lungs felt as though they were ablaze. I coughed and gagged as I rolled off of my back and onto my knees. Grass. Beneath my fingers was a mixture of grass, soil and twigs. It was shaded, but not dark out. The sun was softly breaking through the trees, giving small areas an ethereal glow.

I looked around, shifting on my knees as I surveyed my surroundings. I was in a forest. I turned around slowly on my knees and then I saw her.

Her golden hair fell to her hips and her sun-kissed skin radiated warmth and light. Her eyes were the eyes I saw in the mirror. That golden honey. She wore a simple Ivory gown and a gold circlet atop her head adorned with what looked to be a sunstone in the center.

"Who are you?" My words were a dry rasp.

She smiled and reached out her hand to help me up. "My name is Iliana and I am in need of your help."

I stared at her hand, cautious. I looked into her eyes and saw no malice. Carefully, I placed my hand into hers and rose from the ground. I wiped myself off as I pried, " And what exactly would you need me for and where am I, first of all." I looked to her expectantly, a hand on my hip.

Her smile turned wary as she regarded me. "We are in Solara, my home territory. I am the Princess and my mother, Queen Cyra, has gone too far. I need your help to overthrow her and take the crown." Her eyes were pleading.

"Why me?" I was simply a bartender. Nothing more, nothing less.

She took a careful step forward and her eyes turned serious. "The mirror belonged to Vanessa, your Grandmother. Vanessa stole the mirror from the Queen and left through it with the Queen's commander, Eren. My mother has had many lovers, but Eren was her favorite. So, when Vanessa stole not only her Enchanted mirror, but also her lover, she lost herself in madness and she has been terrorizing our lands ever since."

"So, you're telling me, my Grandmother stole the Queen's mirror and boyfriend and somehow I am supposed to stop her after all these years of her not being able to get over it? Yeah, I don't see how." The confusion and shock was evident on my face.

The princess looked up to the canopy of trees and sucked in a breath. "Unfortunately, yes. That mirror is a portal to different worlds or other places within this world. There is only one like it. If we can trick my mother into touching it, we can banish her to a wasteland in another realm. Vanessa was the one who created this mirror. She was what we called an Enchantress. Your realm might have called her a witch. She was a crafter who could enchant items, produce potions, cast spells. She worked for the queen as an advisor and liaison between realms and other territories, but she also provided her enchanted services to the queen as needed."

She paused briefly giving me a moment to absorb this new information.

"How did you know to call for me?" I remembered hearing her voice call my name and thought it odd that she knew of me, especially if Grandmother never touched the mirror again after coming to our realm.

She gently touched the sunstone in her circlet. "This was crafted by Vanessa. The circlet allows me to see the mirror and use it to call for help. My mother does not know of it's ability. Vanessa Enchanted it before she left through the mirror. I have seen you through the mirror many times throughout your life. I have also seen your mother and her brother."

It felt odd knowing she had seen me without my knowlege. I became irrationally embarrassed, worried about what I may have done in front of that mirror. Though I know I really did nothing at all but stare at my reflection, judging myself.

Iliana smirked smugly and pulled a book from her satchel. "I have Vanessa's spell book. You should be able to use it." She tossed it into my hands and I slowly flipped through it. There were mundane spells for everyday things such as illness, pain, love, beauty, but then there were also spells for trickery and war. The one I noticed first was an invisibility spell.

"Perhaps we could start here." I pointed to the spell for invisibility and cracked my neck. I may just be a bartender and this may just be a crazy dream, but I can play along. "If we turn invisible, perhaps we could get to her while she sleeps and make the mirror touch her hand and transport her to some deserted realm." I shrugged at the simplicity of my plan but maybe it could work.

Iliana narrowed her eyes in thought, staring just past me into the trees. "Yes, this could work. She takes a nightly sleep tonic, But there are two guards that stand at her door. Perhaps we could use the mirror to transport into her room tonight after she goes to sleep, veiled with the invisibility spell so that even if she is not asleep or awakens, she will not suspect." Her arms crossed over her chest and she smiled, her eyes hopeful.

I took a step forward and panic hit me. "Where is the mirror?"

She stepped aside and pointed to a tree behind her. There the mirror was propped against it's trunk. "It travels with you wherever you go."

I settled, panic easing away, but slowly being replaced with uncertainty. "Does your mother have abilities?"

She laughed haughtily and shook her head. "Heavens, no! That's why she had an enchantress. But she is the Queen and her guard and armies heed her every command, even the most heinous ones. Just last week she burned an entire village to the ground because their local enchantress wouldn't craft her a new mirror. She has been on the hunt for a new enchantress for decades and has yet to find one. They are rare and tend to run in specific family lines. My mother has been slaughtering all the known lineages when they refuse her."

If I wasn't scared before I was now. But it suddenly dawned on me that Iliana must be more than 50 years old, but she looked not a day over 20. "You speak as though you witnessed all of these happenings and as though you knew my Grandmother before she took the mirror. This had to have happened before my mother and uncle was born. How old are you?"

"I am 103. We are what your realm would call Fae or Fairies. We do not all have abilities, only the Enchantress'. But we are remarkably long lived. Not immortal though. We typically live about 8-900 years. Your Grandmother and Eren must have passed I assume since you have the mirror. Your realm does not support such long lives as ours. Not sure why. Perhaps it is the air or even the food. Who knows." Her eyes briefly lit with curiosity before the flame dulled and she straightened, holding her hand out to me.

I took her hand and she lead me to the mirror. "They did, pass away. Eren, My Grandfather, passed away at the beginning of the year. My Grandmother passed away just last month. "

Her eyes took on a wistful sadness as she brushed my fingers with her thumb. "I am truly sorry. Vanessa and Eren were every bit a love match and I considered Vanessa a great friend."

I nodded and we stood there for a moment. I glanced up at her golden honey eyes and must have stared into them a beat too long because her eyes darkened ever so slightly and a subtle haze glossed over them as she gestured to the mirror.

"Let's get back to the castle. I'll have to hide you away in my bed chamber until nightfall. I apologize." She still had my hand in hers as she smiled apologetically and reached for the glass of the mirror and gently touched it with her fingers.

Suddenly we were in a large room of carved stone walls and beautiful wooden floors. The large arched windows revealed an impressive view of the forest we had just been in and flowing rivers cutting through the lands and in the distance, a village still in pristine condition stood. Likely where the Royal staff lived.

Iliana sighed and plopped down onto the plush bed in the center of the room. "Come, lay a while. We have much time yet before nightfall." She patted the spot beside her welcomingly.

I slowly made my way over and sat down beside her, eyeing the curves I had not quite noticed before in the shadows of the forest. Here, draped across the bed, there was no hiding the figure beneath the thin material of the dress. There was a slit on either side of the gown's skirts, revealing her toned thighs and shapely legs. I quickly snapped my attention away as I felt a warming tingle in a place I haven't felt in a while.

Her hand gently caressed mine, asking silent permission to grab. I opened my hand to allow hers to hold it. Once she grasped my hand she slowly dragged it up her body and placed a chaste kiss upon the back of my knuckles.

"Thank you for doing this. I know it is none of your concern, but I am in your debt." Her thick blonde lashes fluttered over her sultry honey gaze. She shifted from her back onto her side, propping her head on her hand. "What would you like as payment?" She traced a finger idly on my forearm as she spoke.

"The mirror. I'd like to keep it, if that's not too much to ask." I swallowed and sat up a little, nervous at her sudden change in behavior. I wasn't sure but it felt like she was hitting on me. Highly unlikely, but stranger things have happened today.

She tilted her head back and sat up. "As you wish, but I must ask one thing if this is the case." She brushed my hair over my shoulder, revealing my collar bone. She leaned forward and whispered in my ear, her breath hot on my skin, "Visit me. Often." She pulled away and a soft smile graced her full lips as she eyed my clearly flustered face. I simply nodded.

Night fell on the castle swiftly. I had no idea how long I had been asleep. I awoke to Iliana's arms around me, her voice purring in my ear "It's time." She slithered away from me, my back suddenly cold from her absence. I rolled to face her and sat up as she handed me the book.

"All you have to do is read the spell. The magic will do the rest." She nodded to the invisibility spell on the page opened up before me. I studied it for a moment and then read it aloud.

"Swift and quiet, unheard and unseen, light as a feather, clear as the air we breathe, cover us with the shield of unwavering invisibility until Reveal we breathe." And suddenly we were invisible. We could see each other, but our reflection in the mirror was non existent. Together we clasped our hands and touched the mirror.

We were in a dark room, similar to Iliana's. The windows had the curtains drawn and there was no light save for a small candle at the bedside where a raven haired, fair skinned woman lay sleeping. She resembled Iliana, but had slightly sharper features. The princess must have gotten her coloring from her father.

Together we crept silently towards the bed, mirror in hand, her on one side and mine on the other. We decided to raise the mirror and touch her face to it instead of risking moving one of her hands. Slowly we brought the mirror down and tapped it to the tip of her nose. She awoke immediately as her body was sucked into the mirror head first. Her scream echoed through the room and then she was gone.

The guards burst into the room but could not see us. They searched the room but when they did not find the Queen, they ran to Iliana's room across the castle on the other side. We touched the mirror and were back in her room. Iliana crawled into bed and whispered "Reveal." So that she would be seen, but I would not yet.

The guards rushed in and asked if she was okay and informed her of her mother being missing. She played the dutiful daughter and feigned worry. She ordered them to search the grounds and do all they could to find the Queen. When they left the room, she crawled back into bed and reached out her hand toward where she last saw me.

"Reveal." I whispered. I crawled onto the bed and sat beside her. She gently grabbed my chin and turned my face towards hers and time moved in slow motion as she kissed me. Her lips were soft and warm against mine. Her skin smelled of roses and vanilla. As she pulled away, I felt sorrow with her removal.

"Thank you. With my mother gone, I can finally heal these territories and set things right. I couldn't have done it without you and that mirror. I am grateful." Her smile was soft and genuine, but there was sorrow there as well. A bit of remorse that it had to end this way.

"I'm sorry you had to do this." I wrapped my arms around her and held her against my chest, bringing her with me as I laid back.

She cupped my cheek and kissed me again briefly. "It had to be done. There was no other way. She wouldn't stop. Her goal was to find Vanessa and Eren and end them both herself. Even knowing they were passed on wouldn't have stopped her. She would have tried to take you and keep you prisoner to use that mirror and just as a way to get back at them even after they were gone."

I pulled her closer against my body and kissed her deeply. Feeling bold, I grabbed the back of her neck, the intensity of our kiss deepening further. She reciprocated in kind, wrapping her legs around me tightly.

She pulled back, breathless. "I will require you to visit me VERY often. That is a royal command." Her eyes were like fire as they burned into me with a smoldering passion and wicked glint.

"Hey, where were you yesterday? We were slammed and had to call in Rufus." My boss, Leland, leaned against the frame of the back room, his arms crossed over his chest.

I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck, still feeling where Iliana's fists had tugged at my hair. "I'm sorry, Leland. I had some things going on with my family I had to deal with. I should have called."

"It's alright. Just don't do it again. You call me next time." He pointed a finger in warning but his eyes were kind and his mouth twitched in to a half smile as he left the room.

I walked behind the bar and let out a string of curses under my breath. I whipped the hand towel over my shoulder and placed my hands on the bar. "What can I get for you?" All I could think about was getting home to that mirror and my new second life within it.