From the Edges of the Mirror

Chapter 2, What on Htrae?!

I heard some footsteps behind me, as I jumped through the mirror, but I wasn't concerned. Whoever it was, they'd have to deal with whatever their illness, without me. I tumbled and twisted through a tunnel of colors, then landed with a thump. I lay there, winded, when a huge weight landed on me. "Oof! What the heck...?" I groaned, and tried to see what had knocked the breath out of me, but I couldn't swivel my head far enough back. I grumbled, "Hey, can't you get off me already?!" The weight lifted a bit, then disappeared entirely, leaving only my sore back.

"Oops, I was recovering for a second, there. sorry about that, miss witch." Muttered a familiar voice. It couldn't be- it shouldn't be... "Anglo... Why are you here? In fact, why were you even in my house?!" I snarled at him, my eyes shooting daggers at him. Anglo wasn't a close friend, for me, he was more of an itch I couldn't get rid of. No matter where I went, he always seemed to be there too, tossing jokes and empty threats at me when he noticed I was near, always followed by laughter from his friends.

He wasn't really tall for his age, but he was really strong. 'Talk of deceptive appearances, get a load of this guy!' I thought. He was one of the more sought after boys in the village, all the girls squealing and fainting when his dusty green eyes dashed across their faces. During summer, contrary to what his guardians said, he always ended up taking off his tunic, purposely showing off a well tanned and muscled body, full of power. Even I had to admit, despite his rotten attitude, he really was handsome, with strong cheekbones, and a defined jawline that was framed by delicate, fair, shoulder length russet hair, with almost perfect curls that made gentle waves in his hair.

"Do I need a reason to go to an herbalist's place? I needed some mint..." He mumbled, as he sat down on the grass where we landed, fussing with his hair."Well, that's a good reason," I responded thoughtfully."Sorry for lashing out. But why did you fall in here too? Don't you have any common sense?" When I asked this, he just looked down and got this really sad look on his face.

"I heard around town, that your parents had died. I thought you might need a shoulder to cry on. Excuse me, if I was wrong." He finally grunted, after a minute of silence. I guess he can have a good side, but why would he know that my parents are dead? Who told him... Could he have figured out who I actually was? No, not likely. "The concern is appreciated, but not required. How did you even know?" I decided to go ahead and probe him, how bad could it be? 'It's not like he's a murderer. So far as I know....' "Uh, Emma? I'm not a murderer. Where did you even think that up?" Anglo muttered in distaste.

"Ack! I said that outloud?!" I banged my head into the tree in embarrassment, and ended up tumbling down the other side of the hill we were on, into some lush, blue-green leaves. "EMMA!" I hear Anglo call, from far up high. I can't see anything... What's with the darkness here? It's really overkill. "ANGLO! I CAN'T SEE ANYTHING!" I called out, not knowing who or what might be nearby, just hoping he could tell where I was. "STAY THERE EMMA. I'LL COME FIND YOU!" He yelled in response, his voice becoming frantic. I heard crashing and thuds as he ran down the hill, into the foliage. Lots of huffs and snapping of twigs sounded nearby, but the breaths sounded too deep to be coming from a human.

I somehow had gotten accustomed to the darkness, and could look around a bit. I saw something about two-thirds my height, with a long snout and wiry body, with patches of fur atop flaking green skin. Amme had told me about such creatures. This was a badger of Htrae, not nearly as vicious as the badgers on earth, but ten times more revolting. I gagged, as the putrid stench reached my nose, I assumed I ended up in it's den after my tumble. I whimpered, the remembered that Amme said they were herbivores.

I opened my bag of herbs, and tossed a good handful of the non-essential ones away from me, and struggled towards the small glimmer of light I could see. I crawled out into a small, dimly lit clearing in the brush, looking around for Anglo. "Anglo! Are you nearby?" I called out, cupping my hands to my face, in an effort to make my voice louder, but not to attract the carnivorous animals. There was another loud rustling in some of the tree leaves, and I looked up to see a boy, roughly 15, sitting in the tree, staring at me.