Jean in the Mirror
In a small town protected by walls, lived a girl who was very ill and frail. She was never aloud outside. She never made any friends, making her very lonely.
One day the young girl wanted to explore her house. She went into the attack and found a rather large object covered by a large dusty cloth. Curious, she pulled the cloth off and gasped. It was a mirror, but that wasn't the surprising thing about it. Instead of seeing her reflection she saw a boy.
The boy had his eyes closed, perhaps he was sleeping? He was pretty tall, the top of his hair was an ashy brown color while the side of his hair was trimmed and black, and he wore an olive green cloak from the neck down.
"Who are you!? What are you doing in the mirror!?" She asked and placed her right hand on the glass.
The boy's eyes opened, revealing his light brown eyes. The girl pulled her hand away from fright as he stretched and yawned. He rubbed his eyes before he looked at her. He had a surprised look in his eyes, but then he smiled.
"So you're the one who woke me up." He said simply.
"Who are you? What are you doing in the mirror?" The girl asked once again.
"My name is Jean and I'm a magician that lives in this mirror," He answered, "My soul purpose is to grant wishes to whomever finds me, and that's you."
"You grant wishes?" She said almost in disbelief.
He nodded, "Yes, anything you wish for dear."
"What's the catch?" The girl asked crossing her arms.
Jean shook his head, "No catch, but I would like to know my master's name."
The girl stared at him for a moment before answering, "Elizabeth. My name is Elizabeth."
"Elizabeth..." He said softly and smiled sweetly, "Such a pretty name."
Elizabeth blushes slightly and cleared her throat, "So Jean... What kind of wishes do you make?"
"Anything that your heart desires." He answered simply.
The girl started to think. Anything her heart desires? What did she desire?
"I wish..." She said softly.
Jean waited, "Yes?"
"I wish I was healthy and be able walk easily again." She said.
"As you wish my dear." He said simply and snapped his fingers.
A bright light illuminated from the mirror and shined at Elizabeth's body. Her body felt warm and lighter than air, but when the light faded she didn't feel different. She stared at the man in the mirror in confusion.
"Sleep." He said simply, "When you wake, you will be cured. I might be a magician but big wishes takes time."
"So I just need to fall asleep and I'll be cured when I wake up?" The girl asked.
The magician nodded.
"Okay then... I shall visit you again after I wake up." Elizabeth said.
"I shall wait for your visit..." Jean said and watched her walk away, "Dearest Elizabeth..."
He was left alone.
Elizabeth woke up in the morning and as promised, she was cured of her illness. Her doctor came that same day and confirmed that her illness was gone.
What a miracle it was.
She quickly ran to the attic and ran towards her magical mirror.
"I'm cured! I'm cured!" She shouted excitedly to Jean.
Jean smirked and boasted, "Of course, I promised didn't I? I am a magician after all."
Elizabeth smiled brightly and hugged the mirror, making the magician blush, "You're amazing!" She let go of the mirror, "I'm going to write a letter to my brother Marco so he doesn't need to be burdened by me anymore!"
Jean blinked, "You have a brother?"
The young girl looked at the magician sadly, "Yeah... My brother left to join the army so he can have enough money to take care of me and pay for my medical bills, but thanks to you he can finally come back home!" She started to walk to the door, "You're amazing Jean! Thank you so much!"
When she left, Jean blushed lightly. Her smile made his heart feel warm and proud.
He smiled softly and said, "Anything for you... Dearest Elizabeth."
The next day Jean was greeted by a crying Elizabeth, making the magician in the mirror concerned.
"What's wrong Elizabeth?" He asked.
The girl collapsed on her knees in front of him and sobbed, "I-It was too late!"
Jean kneeled down and placed his hand on the glass, "What was too late?"
"M-Marco! My brother, he died!" She said and covered her face.
Jean frowned in response.
"I want him back! I wish for him back!" Elizabeth said uncovering her face.
Jean's eyes widened, "What?"
"I wish for Marco back and for this stupid war to be over!" She stated with tears streaming down her face.
"Elizabeth... That's a big wish, bringing back the dead is difficult and ending a war as well..." He said before she interrupted him.
"You said anything my heart desires, so why not him!?" She yelled.
Jean stared at her teary eyes. He couldn't bear to see her sad. Her wish will take a toll on him, but he was determined to make her happy again.
He stood up and forced a smile on his face, "As your heart desires." He then snapped his fingers as a bright flash illuminated from his mirror. Once the light died down Jean said, "The war will be over and your brother will be safe at home after you wake from your slumber."
Elizabeth stood up, "Do you promise?"
The magician smiled warmly, "I would never lie to you, now go to bed so your wish can come true."
The young girl smiled and wiped away her tears. She thanked Jean and left the room.
Once she left the man in the mirror collapsed and the glass cracked from the bottom of the mirror. His breathing became irregular and he started to sweat.
He started to feel weaker and weaker, when he was about to black or Elizabeth's smiling face popped into his mind.
"N-No." He forced himself to stand, "I-I'm not giving up that easily." He placed his hand on the glass and thought of the young girl.
"I'm staying as little longer..."
When morning came, Elizabeth smelled food being made. She quickly got out of bed and ran to the kitchen to see a familiar freckled face. She gasped earning the boy's attention.
"Oh, morning Liz, I made breakfast." He said smiling.
Tears escaped her eyes and she held her brother in an embrace, "Marco! Marco you're back! I can't believe you're back!"
"Huh!? What are you talking about?" Marco asked and patted her head, "I didn't go anywhere, did you have a bad dream?"
No words escaped from the young girl's mouth. She just held Marco close and cried.
What a miracle it was to have her brother back.
Elizabeth spent her whole day with Marco, but when night came thy the young girl went to her attic to thank her friend in the mirror.
"Jean!" She said happily running to the mirror, "Marco's back, just like you promised! I spent the whole day with him!"
"That's nice." He said secretly jealous that she spent time with Marco instead of him.
"Thank you so much for everything!" Elizabeth said and hugged the mirror, "I wish I could be hugging you right now."
The man frowned, "Me too..."
Elizabeth's eyes widened as she let go of the mirror, "You do?"
The magician nodded.
"Then why don't you? I wished for it." She said.
"My magic doesn't work like that, it's only supposed to be used on other people, it doesn't work on me." He explained.
"How... Sad." She said looking at the floor.
Jean laughed, "No it's okay princess, I really don't mind."
Elizabeth blushes, "Princess?"
The man in the mirror smirked, "Yes, princess."
"Whatever, I'm not even going to ask why you're calling me that." She said giggling.
"Because you're my princess..." Jean thought and watched her face become carefree to mildly serious.
"Jean, can I ask you something?" She asked.
"Huh? Of course." He said with a nod.
"How come Marco doesn't remember the war?" She asked.
"No one does." Jean answered simply.
"Why?" Elizabeth asked curiously.
"Well princess, your wish was quite large. To make it come true I had to change time and prevent the war from happening. If the war never happened of course no one would remember. You're the only one that remembers because you wished it to be over." He explained.
"Oh... I guess I understand." The girl said.
"So princess, what's your next wish going to be?" The magician asked smiling.
Elizabeth giggled, "To be a princess would be nice."
The magician's smile grew larger, "If you wish it I can grant it."
The young girl thought deeply about wishing to be a princess. Sure it's practically every girls' dream to be one, but being a princess is a lot of responsibility too. Is she even worthy of being one?
She then looked at Jean and thought, "Well if I have Jean by my side nothing can really go wrong." She then have herself a reassuring nod.
"Jean, I wish to become a princess." Elizabeth said.
"As you wish, princess." Jean said humbly before snapping his fingers making the mirror illuminate light once again.
Once the light faded Jean said, "You know the drill, fall asleep and when you want your wish will come true."
"Thank you Jean!" The young girl said with an excited smile on her face, she wanted Jean goodbye before leaving the room.
Once she left another crack formed on the mirror making Jean frown.
"I don't want to leave... Not yet..." He murmured and place his hand on the glass.
"I want to be with her... Forever..."
When Elizabeth awoke the next morning, her house had completely changed. Her house was now a castle that resided in a beautiful forest. All of her clothes were fancy dresses. Marco was now a lord and she even had her own servants.
She had soldiers, their names were Eren, Mikasa, Annie, Bertolt, Ymir, and Reiner.
Her captain of the guards was named Erwin.
Her maids were named Christa and Sasha.
Her butler's name was Levi.
She had a jester named Connie.
A tactician named Armin.
And an animal keeper named Hanji whom took care of her lovely horse Skippy.
Together they made a lively but we'll maintained kingdom.
It took Elizabeth a while, but she soon found her special friend in the mirror, he was in one of the many rooms that he made for her in castle.
"Did I do good?" Jean asked softly.
"You did wonderful Jean! This is more than I ever dreamt of!" Elizabeth said happily.
Jean just smiled weakly making the princess concerned.
"Jean... Are you okay?" She asked placing her right hand on the glass of the mirror. In response he just placed his hand on the glass, yearning to feel her touch.
"... I want to be with you..." He said simply, looking into her pretty eyes, "But I can't."
Tears teased Elizabeth's eyes as she forced a smile on her face, "You are with me."
A crack was made under her hand making her gasp and removing her hand from the glass. Jean just stared blankly at the crack under his hand.
"Jean what's happening!?" She shouted concerned.
"My magic in this mirror is fading... I won't be connected to this world for much longer." He said add more cracks formed on the mirror.
"No... No! No! No!" Elizabeth shouted shaking her head, Y-You can't leave me! You can't! "
"I'm sorry... I truly am..." Jean said pressing his forehead on the glass, "I know I don't deserve this... But can I ask a favor from you?"
"Of course!" Elizabeth shouted.
"Can... Can I kiss you?" He asked, practically begged.
The young girl blushes brightly. He wanted to kiss her.
"A k-kiss?" She asked softly.
Jean nodded and said, "I know I won't feel your lips, I will only feel cold glass, but... I still want it." He stared at his left hand on the glass, "Please?"
Elizabeth placed her hand where his was and stared into his eyes.
Tears trickled down her face, "Anything for you... Dearest Jean."
Jean smiled softly as they both placed their lips against each other between the glass. Even though they only felt the sheer coldness of the glass, their hearts were warm.
A crack formed between their lips making the young girl gasp. Jean however kept a smile on his face.
"Thank you." He said softly as the mirror started to form more cracks.
"No! No! No! Jean! Don't go!" She begged, "I love you!"
Jean closed his eyes, "I love you too, dearest Elizabeth."
The mirror split in two.
"You'll always be in my memories." Was the last thing he said to get before the magic mirror shattered and fell to the floor.
"Jean!" Elizabeth shouted falling to her knees and grabbed pieces of the mirror and tried desperately to put it back together.
"Come back Jean!" She cried, "Come back to me!"
"Elizabeth?" Marco said walking into the room and found his sister on the floor, "Elizabeth!"
He ran to her, went on his knees, and held her close, "Elizabeth, are you okay!? Why are you crying!? Are you hurt!?"
The young princess just sobbed, her brother wouldn't believe the reason why she was crying, but she couldn't speak anyway.
Her heart was in so much pain to let her talk.
Days passed since that incident. Elizabeth never gave her brother an explanation for anything that had happened, but was alright with Marco, he was just happy that she was feeling better.
Through all that time, Elizabeth's wishes were still reality.
Jean's magic didn't fade away with him...
After a day's work of her princess duties, Elizabeth retired to her bedroom. She dressed into her nightgown and walked to her little vanity mirror to brush her hair.
When she looked at the mirror her eyes widened in surprise, but a smile grew on her face.
"Jean." She murmured.
There was a message written in her mirror, it said, "Wait for me."
The young girl placed her hand on the mirror and whispered,
"I will."