Hello! We are Cat and Bee from RusCanWonderland on Tumblr.
Disclaimers, Notes & Warnings:
We do not own Hetalia or any characters within.
Warnings: Death, horror elements, violence.
Notes: A sequel to Sorcerer's Servant. This is book two in our three part arc and is the shortest out of them all.
The entire castle was filled with mirrors.
It was a beautiful castle made of marble and white porcelain, of the whittled down aspen wood and the pale white blooms of lilies. The entire castle was white and gorgeous and the kingdom of Marmoreal was quiet about the darker undertones of the kingdom, of the death and intrigue that surrounded the entire aristocratic world of the royalty.
Ivan had been brought into the kingdom on the whim of the King, summoned from his own mountain home.
Legend had passed through centuries of the powerful wizard who had killed the King of the rival kingdom of Krims that had enslaved him, but the legend had turned into a story to frighten children and the lesson within was forgotten. The wizard was older now, though, darker and more stoic and cold. He wore a locket about his neck, the silver surface polished and gleaming against the dark of his white robes, mourning robes.
He had mourned for three hundred years, and until he could find his love again, he would mourn for centuries more.
The heels of Ivan's boots clicked upon the polished marble of the floor which reflected his image into the marble and the mirrors, the polished silver of the domed ceiling. He could see himself reflected infinitely and his mind whirrled with the possibilities as knights in polished armor led him into the throne room with it's vaulted ceiling and infinity mirrors that created a perfect illusion.
"You are a great wizard, are you not?" The king had asked when Ivan had stood before him, the three other court sorcerers watching the younger wizard quietly, suspiciously. "Your element?"
"My element is water, your majesty." Ivan stated simply. "But you would hold interest in another skill of mine, would you not?" A flick of Ivan's fingers and the court in unison twitched downward into a courteous bow before straightening once Ivan released them. "Entire armies… Bowing in submission to you at the flick of a hand…"
The king's eyes flared and he nodded, but Ivan smirked. "What if I told you that I could give you an army that would never die. That would never become injured, that would tear the army of your rivals limb from limb with the strength of hell itself?"
There were whispers as the men and women of court stared at the wizard, even the other three sorcerers frowning and hissing in suspicion at the wizard.
"What do you require?"
Ivan tilted his eyes to the side and stared at his own reflection briefly. "Only mirrors."
—
A baby's cry had suddenly broke the silence of the dark castle. Servants and guards that had been on duty had passed joyous, silent smiles.
The queen had had a slightly difficult pregnancy, the baby small and its mother frequently sick as a result.
The royal family had speculated that this baby would be a little princess, but they were pleasantly surprised to have a little prince.
They named him Matthew, God's gift.
The kingdom had rejoiced; they now had two most precious prince's, Alfred eight years older than his infant brother.
Matthew had grown into a tiny, pale thing, his interests in books and art far outweighing his love of militia. He was taught to play music and to paint, his teachers easily doting on the youngest prince who didn't mind sitting for lessons.
On Matthew's sixteenth birthday, his father had arranged quite the ball. Royalty and dignitaries from all over had came, but Matthew had never felt more alone in his entire life.
Though years separated them, Alfred's birthday was only a few days from Matthew's. The guests doted and fawned over the crown prince, and heart broken, Matthew had retreated from the festivities.
His feet had led him far away from his rooms, from the music and color and light of the bustling party.
The only thing that accompanied Matthew as he mindlessly wandered was his reflection, his steps on the white marble floors and his breath, quiet and careful.
The youngest prince had found himself standing at the base of an old, spiraling staircase. Matthew had never been to this part of the castle before.
Tentatively, the blonde climbed the stairs, an old wooden door greeting him at the top.
The door was situated in what could only be called an alcove, large and covering a good portion of the wall. There was a likeness carved into the surface, a man that towered over the floor with a large nose and sharp features, the eyes of the man's face open and blank as they stared kindly down at the viewer. The man's clothing was even intricately carved in detail, the stitching and folds and wrinkles looking almost lifelike in the wooden surface, a large coat flaring out at the sides of the man's frame to fill in the rest of the door's surface. There was no door knob nor lock on the door, and the interlocking hands of the man's likeness seemed to be the only thing keeping the door closed.
There was something behind the doors, something that was burgeoning with power and frustration. It leaked through the cracks and tainted the air with a bitter taste, like wine turned to vinegar with too much age.
Regarding the door carefully, Matthew slowly lowered himself on the topmost stair just before the little landing where the wooden man stood. He tilted his head slowly, the air in the high, dark space giving him slight chills, Matthew swept his eyes over the figure, looking for a name, a date, anything that could give him even the smallest clue to whom it might be.
Matthew had never seen that face before, but the little prince was sure….if he had, he would have remembered.
Cautiously, Matthew stood, his fingers curling together as he peered at the face of the figure, curious and mildly frightened.
The power he could feel surging ever so slightly in the air was humbling, but something in the figure's face, those blank, wide eyes, had the little prince's shoulders slightly relaxing.
"Hello," he murmured softly, his little heeled shoes moving him ever so much closer to the space just in front of the wooden man. "…my name is Matthew."
The carving didn't respond but a trick of the light might have made it look like the man was smiling more fondly now. There was a small groan from the hands of the mirror and the doors pushed forward slightly before settling once more, still unopened but trying very hard to open before the small child.
"You are a door," the blonde murmured softly, curiosity at its peek as he tentatively started to reach a hand forward. He was cautious, eyes darting to the figure's unmoving face, before his fingers curled over the clutched hands, a little smile spreading on his face. With a gentle pull, Matthew slowly unlaced the fingers, his eyes widening as he managed to push open the heavy wooden doors, the joints groaning ever so slightly.
But there was no passage inside, no room or hall.
"A mirror?" Matthew questioned, no one in particular. The little prince tilted his head, watching his reflection do the same, before a hand lifted to finger at the end of a curl and down onto the lace of a collar. Frowning, Matthew shook his head.
He shouldn't have been surprised. There were mirrors all over the castle, this one was probably just thrown up here to be forgotten. Taking a little step back, Matthew reached to gently touch the fingers of the wooden man, intent on closing its ancient doors one more.
Matthew had no reason to want to look at mirrors, when the person inside the reflection was someone that the little prince didn't want to see.
"Matthew?" A voice asked gently as the boy turned away. The mirror darkened slightly and a pale face materialized within the mirror, the visage of the man that had been carved into the mirror's cabinet appearing, his fingers stroking through the curls of Matthew's reflection gently.
Gasping softly, Matthew took a small, frightened step backwards, his eyes wide and round as he peered at the mirror and the face he could see in the darkness of the reflection. Slowly, Matthew nodded, fear and surprise keeping him rooted in place. "Yes…I..I'm Matthew.."
The face in the mirror smiled and stroked over Matthew's reflection as he wrapped an arm around the blonde's thin waist. "My name is Ivan."
The figure's smile didn't scare Matthew…instead, the little prince had smiled softly, his eyes watching the figure in the mirror's arm curl around his reflection's torso. It was a strange thing to see, and Matthew didn't yet understand.
"Hello, Ivan….did I….did I disturb you?"
"Not at all. I've been waiting for someone to open my mirror. It's terribly boring when I'm kept in the dark all the time." Ivan rested his cheek atop Matthew's head, smiling as he watched the little prince. "How old are you?"
Matthew made to smile, but the light simmered from his eyes very quickly, his head tilting down so he could peer at the toes of his shoes. "..today is my sixteenth birthday," he mumbled, his eyes peeking at Ivan's image. What did it feel like to always be kept in the dark?
"Sweet sixteen." The older male teased gently. "And never been kissed." His eyes were a bright violet and the closer he leaned to the glass the brighter they seemed. "Would you like a kiss?"
"But," Matthew started, his eyes trained on Ivan's, the color making something in the little prince absolutely weak in the knees, "…t-there is…no one who would kiss me," the blonde stated softly, as if it were the most obvious thing on earth, even though he took tentative steps that much more closer to the glass.
Ivan smiled and tilted his head, moving to press his lips to Matthew's reflection, long fingers gently cupping soft cheeks and chin, applying a steady pressure to the boy's lips for a long moment before he pulled back gently and released Matthew, retracting his magic slowly into the mirror so as not to harm the blonde boy.
Flushing darkly, Matthew pressed his fingers to his lips, the pad of one running along where he had actually felt the gentle pressure of Ivan's kiss. "I feel like…like I met you before, Ivan…though that's silly…isn't it?" Matthew murmured after a moment, his head tilting to peer down the dark staircase.
He didn't hear a single person, no noise, no footsteps. No one had even noticed he had left the party.
Slowly, Matthew sat down in front of the mirror, his eyes shy as he glance at Ivan before shifting until he could press his side against the glass.
"It's…it's very cold in there. Won't it make you sick?"
Ivan chuckled and shook his head. "I'm just a reflection. And as long as you leave the mirror open… I won't get cold at all."
"Can I come…to see you again, Ivan?" Matthew asked softly, a fond little smile on his face as he curled his hands between his knees, his eyes drooping as he tilted his head against the mirror. Being around Ivan..Matthew felt relaxed, unguarded.
Ivan smiled and pressed his palm against the glass beside Matthew's cheek. "Yes, yes you can… I look forward to it."
Smiling softly, Matthew bobbed his head in a little nod before he closed his eyes and relaxed fully against the glass. In moments, the little prince was asleep, thoughts of parties far from his mind. Discovering Ivan…that had felt more thrilling and exciting than anything had in a long time.
Ivan smiled as he watched the blonde fall asleep before he faded back into the mirror to watch the reflections, silently guarding the thin frame as he waited.
A guard approached some time later and Ivan stared as the man looked at the mirror and then gathered Matthew in his arms before stepping back from the cabinet. He was young, he wouldn't remember the mirror, wouldn't remember why he had to keep it closed. Ivan smirked as he tilted his head to the side, seeing a hallway lined with rectangles and squares where the mirrors looked into the darkness like windows, bodies and ghouls and strange creatures slinking away from the lights to hide in the slivers of darkness between.
Ivan's smirk grew wider as he wandered through the nightmarish creatures, stepping over them as he went to follow the boy's reflection.
The guard had stiffly carried Matthew all the way to the young prince's rooms before settling him on the bed. He wasn't permitted to do much more than ensure the prince was safely in bed before he tugged the curtains on the windows closed and blew out the series of flickering candles next to a round, wide vanity mirror, before he had left, snuggly closing the doors behind him.
In the darkness of the room, Ivan's reflection could be seen standing in front of the mirror, watching Matthew laying on the bed silently.
Part 2 starts! Thanks for sticking around to read, everyone! The tone of the first story with Ivan's sweet nature is almost lost here in the second sequel; it get's a little bit more serious from here.
- Bee and Cat
