Celeste's life is far from the enchanting fairy tale one might expect from a princess. Her father, a ruthless and self-absorbed king, leaves a trail of death and destruction in his wake. To seal alliances and maintain his power, he arranges for Cele...
'Celeste, open your eyes.' The spinning world, cloaked in shades of blue and green, dances before my eyes as if I've downed an entire bottle of whiskey in an hour. The pain in my head, the swirling of my eyes, and the nausea they both bring make me want to keep my eyes shut.
'Celeste, open your eyes,' the soft female voice repeats, but again, I refuse to do as she says, unaware of where I am or who is speaking to me.
'No, no, Celeste!' After that shout, I instantly open my eyes against the spinning and the swirling colors. Elien's voice reverberates through the space I find myself in, although I can't see him anywhere.
I gaze directly into a massive mirror made of polished, gleaming obsidian. I see my own reflection - my hair is partially wet and utterly disheveled, and the black dress I'm wearing is stained, best described as mud-like spots. My eyes are spinning in their sockets.
The longer I look at myself and the clearer the world becomes around me, the more apparent it becomes that I am kneeling in front of this massive mirror.
I try to move my arms and legs, attempting to stand, but nothing moves. There are no chains or ropes restraining me, yet moving my body is impossible. I am compelled to gaze at myself in the enormous mirror.
What remains visible is the woman behind me.
A nymph, entirely cloaked in white, stands behind me, gazing at me with her nearly white eyes reflected from the mirror. Her pure white dress plunges into a v-neckline, revealing her modest bosom, and then cascades down into an unadorned, long white skirt. Her pure white hair, flowing down to her breasts, barely sways with her movements.
'No, no,' Elien's voice rings out again.
In all my might, I make an attempt to channel my magic at the woman, to make her blood run or to burn her right where she stands, but not a single spark leaves my hands.
I'm only forced to stare at myself in the enormous mirror, which here and there shimmers with the same blue and white sparks as the pine trees at the beginning of the forest.
'What do you see?' the woman's calm voice echoes as she stands right behind me, devoid of any emotion.
'Release me,' is my aggressive response while my muscles once again make a futile attempt to break free.
'What do you see?' the woman repeats, as if my attempt is not even worth her attention.
'What is this? Release me,' I shout at the woman, who doesn't lift a finger.
'What do you see?'
'No, no,' Elien's voice rings out again.
'What do you see?'
'Myself,' I shout at the woman in total helplessness.
For the fourth time, the woman asks, 'What do you see?'
In total confusion, I gaze at the woman, not understanding what she wants me to see until I slowly realize that what I see in the mirror is probably not what she wants me to see.
The sparkling white and blue glimmers make it clear that this mirror is not designed for mere self-reflection like any other mirror.
'What should I be seeing?' I ask the woman, who I now realize is a nymph.
The absence of a face or complete annihilation is clearly nonsense. This is the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, and magic emanates from her.
For the first time since I woke up, I look as far as possible around me. In the end, it's only myself, the woman, and a white stone wall.
Trying to think reasonably amidst Elien and Novak's shouting as best I can, I realize that we're dealing with nymphs, but we know nothing about them. This is the last thing I expected based on all the stories, and what to do next is utterly unclear to me.
'Sorrow Mirror,' Alisha's voice suddenly echoes through the hollow space.
Before I can answer or react, the woman grabs my hair and pulls it hard, forcing me to gaze into my own brown eyes.
'What do you see?' the woman's voice reverberates through the space.
'What is the mirror?' I scream through gritted teeth, as a groan of pain escapes Alisha's mouth.
Dazed, I stare at myself in the mirror, wondering why I don't see images of all the murders, all the people I've hurt, or the moments I've ruined.
'No,' Novak's voice echoes once more, sending shivers down my spine.
I forcibly attempt to free myself from the nymphs' magic grip, but nothing happens.
'Release Celeste!' an unfamiliar voice shouts through the room.
Not a moment later, I can move my hands and feet, but not for long. I'm swiftly grabbed by multiple nymphs, pulled up, and away from the mirror.
It's the first time I see where I am. An enormous white space with four identical huge mirrors in a circle in the center. Only now do I realize I was sitting next to Alisha, but in such a position that I couldn't see her.
While I'm dragged across the gleaming white floor, I gaze at Elien, who is looking at the mirror with total fear, and Novak, who is attempting to avert his gaze with tears in his eyes.
Before I can say anything to them, which they probably won't hear anyway, I am dragged out of the room through a white door.
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