Beyond the Looking Glass

Chapter 2: The Celestial Mages

"Where are we going? Who are you? Let go of me!" I protested.

"Don't be so harsh on her." The other one said.

The guy who was holding me let go and stared into my eyes. "How did you get here? Why are you here?"

"I don't know..." I muttered softly.

"Speak up!" He exclaimed.

"I don't know!" I yelled back and turned around to walk away. Tears were already forming in my eyes.

Why was he mad at me? Did he think I liked being here? I wanted to go home.

I climbed back down the ladder and sat under the tree house as tears fell from my eyes. I felt another person sit beside me. I knew it was him but I refused to look at him.

"I'm sorry." He whispered.

I nodded as I wiped the tears away. I just wanted to go home.

"Look I just panicked because you're already here and all." He explained.

"You know why I'm here? You know about the prophecy?" I asked.

He stared into my eyes and I realized that he had hazel eyes. The beautiful mix of brown, green and blue.

He stood up and offered his hand for me to take. "Come with me to the castle and we'll explain everything."

Castle? What?

I took his hand and hoisted myself up. The other guy and Kenisha climbed down from the ladder just as I stood up.

"Are you going to be okay, Keni?" The other guy said.

Kenisha smiled and nodded. "Don't worry about me."

He looked at her with worry evident on his face. "But-"

"Alli, I'll be fine." She said, assuring him.

The Alli guy nodded and turned to face me. "Hey Sierra! My name's Allister and I'm sure you already talked to my brother, Zion."

I nodded and smiled shyly.

He wrapped me in a hug. "Don't be shy around us. We're friendly and we won't hurt you."

I let out a genuine smile at what he said. Somehow, I felt more secure.

He let go of me and looked back at Kenisha. "You're coming to the castle later?"

"I'll be there." She said.

We waved at Keni when we left. Two horses were waiting for us at the end of the forest. I rode with Allister to the castle. He joked with me along the way and told me some of his embarrassing moments to lighten up my mood and to lift my uneasiness. I had to admit, it worked.

We stopped infront of a big castle. It looked so modern. The walls were a tint of beige and the roofs were dark brown but overall, it looked like an ordinary castle, like one you'd see in movies.

We were greeted by a man in a suit when we got inside. "Welcome back."

"Why are we in a castle, Alli?" I asked Allister who was walking beside me.

"Prince Allister." The man corrected me.

I raised an eyebrow and stepped back in shock. Prince? What?

Alli chuckled. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. Zion and I are the princes of this kingdom."

"Kingdom? Prince?" I asked. Where exactly was I?

"Welcome to Aerondovia! The kingdom beyond the looking glass." Alli exclaimed.

My mouth hung open in shock. A kingdom? Beyond the mirror...

"Who is this, Prince Allister?" The man asked as he followed us down the hall.

"This is Sierra." Alli said.

The man stopped walking and so did we. "That's why... I'll inform your parents."

He made his way up the stairs and we continued down the hallway. We turned to the right and stopped infront of a big door at the end of the hall.

Zion muttered something and the door opened by itself. I should've been amazed but I was already getting used to the peculiarity that was happening around me in this world.

The room consisted of a round table with 9 chairs around it. There was a glass on the wall with a glass stained writing that said "Celestial Mages". The room was decorated with paintings of people. I recognized three of the paintings. They were Zion, Allister and Kenisha. Some of the other people on the wall looked about our age. On the the other wall were paintings of older people.

I sat at a random chair as Alli and Zion were talking at the front of the room.

"Hello!" A voice said into my ear.

I yelped and almost fell from the chair if it wasn't for the girl beside me who pulled me back up.

Zion and Allister looked at us, shocked too. "Aya!" They exclaimed at the same time.

Zion let out a long sigh. "Aya stop doing that."

Aya giggled and leaned her head on the table. Where did she come from? I didn't hear anyone open the door.

"Hey there Sierra." She greeted.

"Why does everyone know my name?" I asked.

Aya lifted her head and looked at the two boys. "You guys haven't told her?"

Alli shook his head. "No, we're still waiting for the others."

Kenisha walked into the room and sat down beside Aya. We waved at her and she waved back.

The door burst open and another girl flew in. Flew in as in literally flew. She landed on a seat infront of me.

"Not fair, Shaine." A boy who ran inside muttered.

He sat beside Shaine and looked at me. "You must be Sierra. I'm Raymond."

I nodded. Shaine chuckled and waved at me with a big grin. I smiled back.

Allister sat beside Keni and Zion sat beside me.

"Where's Ally?" Zion asked.

Just on time, the door opened and a small girl ran in. Even she was shorter than all of us, she looked about the same age as me. She looked so cute. "I'm here!"

She sat beside Alli so our arrangement was Zion, me, Aya, Keni, Allister, Ally, an open seat, Raymond and Shaine.

"Let's start our meeting." Zion stated.

"Wait what about Haruo?" Aya asked.

"He'll be here. Just late as usual." Raymond said.

"First things first..." Zion said as he stood up and looked at me. "You're not supposed to be here."

***

Picture in multimedia is how I imagine Kenisha in anime/real life.