The Other Side of the Mirror

The Middle of Knowhere

Nyx's PoV

I stirred awake to the gentle patter of rain. The sound itself brought me back to all those rainy nights I spent curled up in my tree letting the calming rhythm of the raindrops lull me to sleep. I let out a soft sigh.

"Shh ber. She's awake." Came a gruff voice.

A series of hushed whispers sounded around me.

I slowly opened my heavy eyelids. The blurry outline of six shapes came into focus around me. I heaved my body off the wet ground and sat up properly, rubbing my head with my dripping hand.

I stared around the group of mysterious shapes. They took the form of people yet they were make of dark, smoky shadows with huge glowing circles where their eyes should be. The shadow separated whenever they spoke, creating a mouth shaped hole.

"What is she?" Came a throaty voice on my left.

"She's a dolphin Grace." A tall shadow on my right replied flatly.

"Ohhhh." A pause. "But why doesn't she have any fins?"

This received a series a exasperated sighs from the remainder of the shadows.

"For yonder sake." The gruff voice muttered in disbelief.

Their attention snapped back to me. "So what brings you here ber?" Came a new, gravelly voice from the rather short shadow in front of me. His outline suggested his hands were on his hips.

"Well-" I began, standing up on my slightly shaky legs.

"Oh dear yonder, the poor girl is soaked through." Interrupted a softer voice. "Oh Saul let's take her to the weeping willow until the rain lets up. She can shelter there and hopefully dry off a bit, there's always a lovely breeze."

The shorter shadow sighed before nodding. "Alright Vi."

"Can we come too ber?" Asked the voice I recognised as Grace's.

"It might be best you don't." Started Vi. "Don't won't to overwhelm the poor girl."

Saul nodded along. "Yeah Violets right. Sorry ber."

While it was hard to tell, Grace seemed to shrug and the remainder of the shadows floated off in different directions, leaving me with Saul and Violet.

"C'mon ber, this way." Stated Saul dryly as he and Violet began up a hill.

I stayed put for a few moments, trying to take everything in. I stared around my surroundings. The entries landscape was the same as home except everything was darker, as though the usual life and vibrancy had been stripped from the land. The once emerald grass was now a muddy olive colour, the familiar weeping willow seemed to droop limply and the sky was a sad grey with heavy clouds dotted across its canvas.

I shivered in the sharp breeze and hurried after Saul and Violet who were now tiny dots in the distance. My frozen bare feet squelched through the sodden grass, getting more muddy with each step.

I quickly glanced down at my wrist to ensure Merlon's bracelet was still there. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw the black crystals on the star charm twinkling gently in the daylight.

My dress had changed too. I was wearing a magnificent black dress with embroidery on the bodice and a long chiffon skirt which twirled delicately in the breeze. My arms were covered in goose pimples due to the lack of sleeves causing me to shiver, but for once I didn't mind, choosing to instead focus on the beauty of my outfit.

"Keep up ber." Saul called to me from the tree.

"Leave off Saul, give her a minute to catch up."