The Other Side of the Mirror

If I Hope

"You want me to go back in time?! No way! Besides that's completely impossible!"

Merlon shook his head as I quickly paced around the room. "Quite the contrary, it's very possible."

I sighed and collapsed on the sofa. "Isn't there another way?"

Merlon shook his head. "We don't have time to think of another plan. This is the best way."

I breathed a heavy sigh of defeat. "Ok, I'll do it."

Merlon eyes lit up a bright yellow. "Oh ho, marvellous! Well there's no point sitting around here chatting, let's go!"

"Go where?"

"To visit a friend of mine. She stays just on the other side of the village." He walked over to his heavy front door and heaved it open. "Come on, let's go!"

Due to the urgency of his voice, I immediately sprung up from the sofa, before quickly readjusting the cushions on it, and followed him outside.

He pulled the door shut behind us and we walked down his little front path and out of the gate.

Confused, I looked back at the beautiful house. "Don't you lock your door?"

He shook his head. "We all trust and know each other in the village, so none of us worry too much about locking our doors or windows." He paused for a minute. "And yet, if I had always locked it, I may not have been captured by Priscilla."

I looked up at him, his eyes were a sad, navy blue. "What happened?"

He closed his eyes and bent his head.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

We both fell silent for a minute and the only things which could be heard were our footsteps crunching the leaves on the path and the faint whistle of the wind.

Suddenly, Merlon broke the silence. "I was having quite the pleasant evening when Priscilla barged into my house uninvited. She stormed around my house until she found me browsing in my library." He paused for a moment. "She said if I came quietly she would let me go when she got what she was looking for. I knew she would be looking for the prophesied twins and I refused to leave. I couldn't let her get to you and Nyx." He once again fell silent and focussed his bleary eyes on the path we were walking along.

"Thank you for refusing to leave, that was brave."

He smiled sadly before continuing. "Sadly I couldn't refuse to leave after she threatened to do something."

"She threatened you? That's horrible. What did she threaten to do?" My voice came out laced with anger and my hands clenched into fists.

"What you must understand dear, is that Priscilla will do whatever it takes to get what she wants. When I refused to leave, she threatened to steal my Lyra crystal which she knows is something I protect with my life. She left me no choice, I had to leave. True to her word she did release me when she captured Nyx, which made me feel worse than ever to know she had got one of you." His voice became quieter and quieter as he spoke until it was barely a whisper.

I wasn't sure how to comfort him, and so, an awkward silence hung in the air between us as we walked along in the warm, early afternoon sun.

We continued to walk along the narrow path until it gradually widened and a small village could be seen up ahead.

Merlon finally looked up from the ground as we were approaching it and smiled happily. "Oh ho, that's the village just up ahead!"