Gilded Serpents

Chapter Forty-One: Mirrors

I let my feet sink into the sand, and took a deep breath of the familiar sea air as I sat, listening to the gentle waves. I exhaled, letting the light wind tickle the hair around my face. Even in my bed clothes, I was warm, comfortable even, as I traced lines into the ground beside me.

It had been quite some time since I last visited these serene shores, but after a long night of trying to find comfort on a stone pillow, I was more than overjoyed to sit on my familiar dreamy beach. I was alone, stretching out my arms, now free of their voided black against the bright yet sunless sky.

I didn't want to think about tomorrow morning. I didn't want to think about what this ill-prepared group of aged misfits would face tomorrow against an unknown hoard of Selphene knights. Seeing them all bundled up in blankets, low on magic, and looking particularly small in their stone boxes, it was difficult to remain confident.

Milea had sent crane to all the nearby blood mage camps, but all were far too south to arrive, especially with the swampland barrier between. Some pledged that they would still try, but Milea remained doubtful that any would make it in time to join us.

I sighed, tugging at the binding chain at my neck, and tried to clear my head. With a sigh, I then stood, brushing the sand off my night clothes. Maybe a walk along the shore would clear my head.

It was strange, having visited this odd place so many times before, yet never having a chance to really explore. Yet, after a few excited steps forward, I stopped dead in my tracks. Before me, sparkling silver in the light, was something metal in the sand. I took another hesitant step forward before my breath caught in my lungs.

There, in the white sand, was a delicate and ornate silver hand mirror, sparkling and jarringly out of place. I took a step backwards, then another, then another, mind racing.

Was it Herculea again?

If it was, did she mean to try and entrap me in the white room once more?

No, that couldn't be it.

If she did, I would only be closer to Lumo.

And - how would she be able to find me? There was no magic in the underground. How would she be able to enter my dream?

I took a deep breath, hand on my quickening heart as I took a careful step forward. I then crouched, slowly making my way forward, until I could barely peer a look into the mirror's reflected image.

Instead of sky and clouds, there was something else shown in the mirror. And, despite my quickening heartbeat, I couldn't help but inch forward to see what the odd object was trying to show me.

It wasn't the sky, nor the familiar white room shown on the mirror glass, but something else. As I leaned over the silver frame on the ground, I saw another room, with high white arches and marble statues lining an ivy rich path filled with benches. A crowd was gathered, with silver, gold, velvet, and pearl outfits more splendid than anything I had ever seen. Many of the exquisite gathering wore the familiar veil of Herculea, while others wore crowns, pearls, and other adornments above beautiful faces, each facing me as they whispered amongst each other.

The marble rows of benches were flanked by cranes and other odd animals I had never seen before, each beautiful and strange, as they looked idly onward, heavy gold chains at their feet keeping them in place. One such creature had the body of a beautiful woman, but her arms were filled with feathers and she had sharp scaled talons for legs. She perched on a small adorned perch, her eyes vacant and unreactive to everything around her. There was a lion-headed snake, coiled and asleep with a heavy collar dangling to the floor beside her.

Never before had I seen such odd creatures, and in my curiosity, I found myself inching closer until I was completely over the looking glass. Automatically, I picked up the slender silver handle, and began to spin it around to see what this odd assortment of characters were looking at.