The Other Side of the Mirror

I'll Find You

Vivians PoV

The ground was hard and icy cold. I summoned all my strength and pushed my heavy body up off the ground and fluttered open my eyes.

I was in an unfamiliar, dimly lit corridor. The air was icy cold and I shivered as I slowly stood up.

I took a few shaky steps along the narrow, cobbled corridor, the noise of my footsteps echoing around the walls.

I began walking along the corridor, rubbing my freezing hands together to try and warm them up, and tried to work out where I was. Wherever I was, I knew Nyx was here as well, which probably meant Priscilla was as well. My train of thought was interrupted by the murmur of voices further down the corridor. I immediately froze and desperately looked around for somewhere to hide.

I spotted a large, broken wooden crate sitting next to a big, heavy looking door and quickly dived behind it as two figures emerged from the darkness. I clasped my hand over my mouth to muffle my heavy breathing and did my best to ignore the broken bits of wood jabbing into me.

"Are you sure she needs to be locked up Priscilla? She's just a child!" An unfamiliar voice spoke.

"Of course I am sure, she and her sister are the girls the prophesy refers to, and as long as they are apart, the fate foretold cannot come true."

"Maybe it's about time for you to step down and let Rhea rule, you know it's the right thing to do!"

"Silence!" Priscilla slammed her hand against the wall.

"But-"

"Choose your next words carefully Marcie, you don't want to be locked up like Rhea and Nyx do you?"

"No...no of course not." She stammered. "I just thought..." She trailed off.

Although I couldn't see their faces from my hiding spot, I could envision Priscilla giving the poor woman a threatening glare and I got goosebumps up my arms just thinking about it.

"You just thought what?"

"That...that..." The woman's voice was high and nervous.

"That what!" Priscilla's shout bounced off the walls like a swarm of angry wasps.

The woman sighed. "That you would be able to open up your eyes and see that giving up your crown and setting your sister and Nyx free is the right thing to do." Her voice was a faint, timorous whisper and a loud silence followed her bold statement.

What happened next was a blur. Priscilla violently yanked a plank of wood from the crate I was hiding behind. I was grateful for the darkness keeping me hidden.

"Let's hope this teaches you to not argue with me." She screamed before bringing it down over the woman's head. She threw the plank of wood on the ground before storming off down the corridor, leaving an the unconscious woman behind.

Her angry footsteps faded down the corridor and as soon as they were no longer audible, I silently crept out from behind the crate and gingerly approached the woman. She had a gash on her forehead where the wood had pierced her skin, the blood slowly trickling down the right side of her face.

I jumped up and returned to the crate and pulled a small piece of wood from it. I studied the jagged edge and hoped it would work. I returned to the woman and began hacking at the bottom of the skirt of my dress with the wood. It ripped quite easily and I managed to get a thick strip of fabric off. I folded it over on itself and used it to gently dress the gash on the woman's forehead.

I hacked another small strip of fabric from my dress and took hold of her cold hand as I used it to carefully wipe away the streak of blood down her face.

Just as I was finishing, she let out a short, shaky breath and wrapped her slender fingers around mine. Her eyelids slowly opened as she brought her other hand up and rubbed her head.

"What's this?" She asked as her hand made contact with her make shift bandage.

"Sorry it's from my skirt, it was the only thing I could think of to dress the gash on your forehead."

Her pale purple eyes met mine. "Thank you so much...what's your name?"

I smiled. "I'm Vivian, lovely to meet you."

"Thank you Vivian, I'm Marcie, it's lovely to meet you too." She smiled back at me before her expression turned deadly serious. "What on Earth are you doing here?!"

I looked into her concerned face and decided I had to trust her, she could be my only hope at finding Nyx. "I've come to save my sister, Nyx, do you know where she is?"

"I do. But it's an extremely risky mission, do you have some sort of plan?" Her voice was slightly panicked.

"I do, but I don't have time to explain. Can you take me to her please."

Marcie hesitated before letting out a deep sigh. "Okay, follow me."

She opened the door next to the crate and beckoned. "This way."

The door lead to another long corridor, which she cautiously tiptoed along, looking over her shoulder every few seconds to make sure I was still close behind her. She came to a door at the very end of the corridor and stopped in front of it. Carefully, she removed the silver necklace she was wearing and unlocked the door using the old key attached to it.

"Just in here." She walked into the room and I followed.

"Nyx? Are you in here." I called out desperately.

There was a small window in one of the brick walls which cast a pale strip of light across the room, giving it an eerie feel. We both walked further into the room, calling out for Nyx.

BANG!

We both jumped and ran back towards the now shut door. There was a small peep hole which I pressed my eye to and peered through. I could make out Priscilla's face with a smirk plastered on it.

"Sorry but Nyx has been taken to another room." She said as a smug smile crept across her face. "Also Marcie, it's not a good idea to leave your key in the lock. You never know who could come and snatch it!" She laughed as she locked the door and strolled back along the corridor, swinging the necklace in her hand as she went.

Marcie fell to the ground, burying her head in her hands. "This is all my fault, if I had just been more careful! We never should have tried to save her without making sure Priscilla was distracted first." She sniffed as tears began rolling down her red checks. "If I'd just held onto the key we would be able to get out of here!" She began sobbing uncontrollably and I struggled to think of something comforting to say to her.

I crouched down next to her and brushed her mousy brown hair out of her eyes as I pulled her into a hug.

"It's okay." I whispered gently as she clung onto me. "It's not your fault."

"She's right, it's not your fault." A voice came. I snapped my head round to where the mysterious voice came from.

"Who are you? Show yourself!" I tried to make my voice sound brave but it came out afraid.

"It's okay, I mean you both no harm." A woman emerged from the darkness and she cautiously approached us. She was frail and her hair was in need of a good brush but despite that she was really pretty and something about her gentle voice soothed me. There was something about her which seemed familiar but I couldn't put my finger on what it was

She stepped forward so she was fully standing in the light. She looked at the quietly crying Marcie and then to me. Her face paled as her icy blue eyes met mine.

"Vivian?"

A wave of realisation washed over me.

"Mum?"

Tears spilled over her eyes and ran down her face as she pulled me into her arms for the first time in over 12 years.