Beauty and the Beast

The Mirror

Much to Tara' surprise, the prince had led her back up to the west wing to that forbidden room. There on the mahogany nightstand, next to the crystalline rose, lay a lovely rose gold mirror, one of very few reflective surfaces in the entire castle. "It was a gift from a traveling gypsy woman," Loki explained, picking it up. Tara noticed the rather pained expression on his face as he gazed into its reflection."One of many of the enchanted objects that she left behind. It allows the person who looks into it to find anything, or anyone, from their past. All you have to do is tell it what you want to see."
Gently, Loki took the young woman's hand and placed it unto the mirror's handle. For a moment, Tara stood staring at it, too afraid to ask. The prince seemed to sense how she felt. He placed a reassuring touch on her arm; his quiet support gave her the courage to speak. "Show me my parents!" came the command.

All of the sudden, the magic mirror's surface grew foggy, as if a mist was swirling around inside it. After a few moments it cleared out to reveal a lovely room. There seemed to be black and white photographs pinned up on the wall over a small vanity, with a long mirror and bouquet of roses on the dresser. The onlooker's brown eyes widened as a woman came in to sit in the chair. She was gorgeous! Her dark brown hair had been pulled up high into a bun, and her skin was the exact shade of brown as Tara's. Wearing a short pink dress and white tights, the mysterious lady began to pirouette across the room. A few moments later, a dark skinned man entered the room with his hat and coat on, pulling her into his arms to give her a kiss on the cheek. The man was saying something hurriedly, but the mirror could only show images and scenes, not sound, so neither Tara nor Loki could understand what was being said. Given the excited expressions and the way he was pointing at a book in his hand, they gathered that the stranger was some sort of a writer, and a newly successful one, at that! The couple embraced once more, then turned to a small crib that was in the corner. The graceful ballerina lifted a baby up out of it, and began rocking her gently, while her husband wrapped a loving arm around her shoulder.

Tara stared at the mirror in awe. "Is  that....me?" she whispered, pointing at the image of the little bundle in the lady's arms, "If that's me, th-then they must be....my real parents."
"This must be a terrible shock to you," Loki murmured.
"Oh no, I've always known that Dr. Erskine wasn't my real father. I was alone when he found me," Tara replied, looking up at him, "I remember there was a big church that had caught on fire, and I was roaming around the alleyways of some city, but I can't quite remember where I was or much else before coming to Norway with him." The pair continued watching the mirror as the reflection changed from the apartment, to a stage performance, to a cluttered bookstore, to at last, the couple speaking to a kind-looking old woman. She smiled and nodded just before taking the baby out of the mother's arms and into her small home.

The next scene was of the couple riding in a carriage. It was a terribly stormy night, and the horse was slipping along a rocky hillside. Tara could hear shouts and the whinnying of the frightened horse, then a flash of lightning seemed to split the image, a branch catching on fire, and falling and landing on the horse's back. The terrified creature, now free from his harness, galloped away, leaving the carriage and its passengers to slip back down the road and over the edge of a precipice.   A small gasp escaped from Tara's throat.  Hurriedly, she turned away from the image, tears suddenly streaking down her face as she buried it into the prince's vest. Loki instinctively wrapped his arm around her, holding her tightly. There was no way that Tara's parents could have survived such a fall. Evidently, when the old woman discovered that they were not coming back, she had given the child to the local orphanage, which was overseen by a Catholic church.   Small sobs came from the young woman as the prince gently took the mirror and laid it back down on the table. For a moment, the two stood like that, wordlessly, in each other's arms.   Suddenly, there was another sound coming from the mirror; apparently, it had one more scene to show.

Sniffing, Tara turned to look back at the reflection once more. There was a slightly tanned, middle aged man surrounded by three burly fellows in the middle . She recognized him at once; it was Dr. Erskine!  He was pleading with the men not to rob him, but when he tried to resist, they attacked him, brutally punching him, and ransacking his pockets for anything they could find, afterwards leaving him for dead in the pile of snow.

"Father!!" Tara shouted, frantically, "If that was in the past, then there's no telling how long he's been out there like that! I have to get to him, Loki! I can't bear to lose him, too." She stared at him, her brown eyes wide, silently pleading with him. The handsome dark haired man swallowed. "Your father needs you," he said at last, softly, "Here. Take the mirror with you; you can use it to find your way back to the hillside if you get lost." 

"I'll be back in three days, I promise! Just as soon as I make sure my father is alright," The doctor's daughter exclaimed, hugging him once more. Loki mustered a small smile. "I might look slightly different when you get back," he said, jokingly. He held unto her a moment longer before reluctantly letting her go. Sorrow welled up into his chest as he watched Tara disappear down the hall to get her things, the gravity of what he had just done hitting him all at one. 

A few minutes later, Hemsworth, the miniature grandfather clock, tuttered in. "There you are, your highness! Herre Tekappe wanted me to tell you that dinner is served!" the mahogany servant declared, peering around the moonlit room. "Where is Tara?" The prince didn't reply. Instead, he walked out unto the balcony, gazing down unto the courtyard where the young woman was just untying her horse and climbing onto its back. Curious, Hemsworth followed him out into the cold night air. Once when he saw the horse and its rider gallop off into the forest, he let out a shriek.

"You....let her go?!"

"We saw her father being robbed in the mirror. What was I supposed to do? Keep her hostage here while her own father freezes to death? She would hate me even more. I had to let her go!"

"But your highness, your birthday is only three days away! What if she.....doesn't come back?" The green eyed prince only sighed. He knew all to well the terrible price they would have pay if she didn't.