Dear Read,

Just thought I would give some more information on this story.

First : Its not set in the book, the musical or film. It is set today. / Two: Only one character is acturally involved in story, though others are mentioned. / Three: I am unsure about what combination of characters will happen. Maybe E/OC, maybe not. (I know though it won't be a E/C story just to tell you now!) / Four: This story is quite different I think so be open minded to it please. If at all interested please give this chapter a read and see what you think. Please give me a review and tell me what you thought of it.(constructive criticism welcome, but any down right nasty reviews which have no point to them shall be ignored.) Anyhow I hope you enjoy this chapter and future ones and thank you very much for taking the time to sit down and read this! I apologise now if its a bit long! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own and characters from POTO who are involved or refered to in this story, (though like many, I wish I did!).

But I DO own Larissa, Tawny, Jason and any other charcters who may come in or be briefly met!

Alright, I have had my say now for the story! Thank you again and I look forward to your reviews!

FD *-*


Chapter One

It was a pretty ring.

Larissa laid on her back in bed, gently twirling the ring in her fingers thoughtfully.

It was beautiful indeed. It had a thin band of pure gold which was intricately designed to look like vines and leaves. Then there was a vibrant red ruby, carved carefully into the shape of a rose with the gold vines wrapped beautifully around it.

It still stunned her that she just happened to find it. Didn't someone look in the old, little wooden carved box when it was deposited at the antique store? Didn't they see that small bump under the red lining of the box? If they had, they defiantly would have taken it out!

Larissa would normally have felt awfully guilty for taking it, but she only found it when she was back in England. She couldn't very well go back to Paris to return it!

Even if she did have the opportunity to go back and return it, though she told herself she would, Larissa knew deep in her heart that she adored it and wouldn't give it back now.

Anyhow, she had brought the box it was in, so technically she had brought it too.

It stayed in the little box she found it in, that was where it lived, sitting patiently on her beside table. She often found herself taking it out and rolling it between her fingers. All ways looking at it and touching it but never wearing it.

Something inside her told her not to put it on. Whispered warnings she couldn't understand. Something terrible. But that was stupid. It was just a ring!

Still, she hadn't found the courage to ignore that part of her and slip it on her finger.

But presently, just observing it was fine with her.

She showed it to Tawny when she came round, telling her how she acquired the little stowaway.

"It was in the box under the corner of the lining here," Larissa said, opening the box and flipping the loose corner of the faded red velvet lining.

"Really!" Tawny exclaimed, taking the box and examining it. "Wow, that is so cool! Let's see it then!" she quickly added, snapping the box shut and placing it back on the table.

Larissa rolled her eyes then opened her hand to where the ring sat cool and glimmering on her palm.

Tawny gasped, eyes flaring wide in wonder as she reached almost timidly out to touch it, then picked it carefully off Larissa's palm and quickly placed it on her own.

"Oh Lara!" Tawny murmured, "Its beautiful!"

"I know." Lara agreed, sitting on her bed beside Tawny and watching the gold and red catch every bit of light possible, making it have a permanent glimmer. Even in the dark it seemed to glow with a magical sparkle.

"So you got this from Paris?" Tawny confirmed, eyes still glued to the ring like a magpie eyeing the newest treasure it planned to take.

Larissa nodded, "Yup. I wonder who owned it?"

"Clearly the same person who owned the box." Tawny unhelpfully said.

"I know, but who were they? And why hide such a beautiful and expensive ring? Makes no sense…"

"Well," Tawny suddenly exclaimed, reverting back to normal and placing the ring back into Larissa's waiting hand. "guess you will never know."

Larissa sighed unhappily, half a smile managing to pull her lips, "Guess I won't." She wanted to though. She wanted to know everything about it. She liked mysteries, but this would just bug her for as long as she owned the ring and since she knew she would never let it leave her, then she would be in constantly wondering all her life. But she needed to know. What was the rings history. Why was it in the box? Who had put it there? Why had-

"What does it look like on?" Tawny asked suddenly, making Lara snap her head round in shock to her friend suddenly speaking and drawing her out of her thoughts.

"On?" She repeated a little stupidly, "I have never tried it on."

"What!?" Tawny screeched, "Why not!?"

Lara bit her lip and shrugged sheepishly, "I don't know," she mumbled, absentmindedly running her finger around the ring, "I just…haven't."

"Try it on now then! Go on! I want to see what it looks like!"

Larissa knew it was such a simple thing to just put the ring on, yet she was still fighting that part of her that was set on never putting it on. But she just should, should just close her eyes and slip it on. It was just a ring…

Lara closed her hand about the ring suddenly, leaning over to the box where it sat back on her bedside table, flicked the lip up, dropped the ring in and shut it.

"What you doing?" Tawny questioned, "I thought you were going to out it on?"

Lara shrugged again, biting her thumbnail and mumbling some feeble excuse about not wanting to damaging it or something.

Tawny laughed and playfully pushed Lara, "You won't damage it, okay? Just put it on! No! Put it on tomorrow! Come to school in it! Show it off! You can't leave it in that box forever."

Wanna bet? Lara thought back, the idea of the ring staying in its box being quiet a good one.

Tawny whined and moaned at Lara till she gave in and made her promise she would wear it to school tomorrow for at least first lesson. Only one lesson, Lara could live with that. Only one lesson.

* * *

She had the first dream that night.

Larissa was standing in the centre of some dully lit room. It was octagonal in shape, and the walls were made up completely of mirrors so all she saw was herself repeated eight times over.

There was a light coming from somewhere beyond the mirror in front of her, she could see it glimmering tauntingly.

And as she stepped towards it across the cold, mirrored floor and as she drew closer, she began to hear singing.

It was a distant sound, soft and full of promises of greatness, of magic, of love…

It was coming from beyond the mirror with the light, and as she pressed her ear against the cool surface she felt that only the thin glass wall held her apart from that truly beautiful and angelic voice.

She had to reach it.

Overtaken by this frightening urge to be nearer to that voice, Lara began to thump her fists against the wall, shouting at the top of her lungs but finding herself unable to make any noise. Even the drumming of her hands on the glass was nonexistent.

Yet the singer could not hear her and continued to create their enchanting sound, taunting and beckoning her. The sound coursed into the room, filling it like water till the mirrors were vibrating furiously with the unearthly tune that rang through them.

Lara shot back from the mirrors as they quaked and shivered violently, her eight images distorted madly like fun house mirrors.

Suddenly they imploded.

Glass shot out at Larissa. She let out a silent cry as all the glass from every mirror burst into millions of shards and showered her in tiny sparkling shards.

But then, like someone had pressed the reverse button on a video, the glass leaped of the ground and her and fell back into place in the mirror they came from.

Within seconds the mirrors were recreated, but the glass was still destroyed and broken in their frames.

Then Lara saw her reflection in those shattered mirrors. She wasn't herself, her whole body was twisted and warped but it was her face which terrified her.

It was torn apart like ravaged by some animal, flesh and bone all one, her eyes gleamed like flames, her lips were mangled beyond recognition.

She was surrounded by these eight images of herself, all as ghastly as the next as she spun round in horror, unable to escape and silently screaming.

Then she woke up.

She was breathing frantically like she had been running, heart pounding and her whole body covered in sticky sweat.

Her mouth was dry and she had to go and get a glass of water, but the simple routine helped calm her and when she returned to bed, she was in a peaceful and resolved state of mind that she could go back to sleep unafraid.

But before she drifted off, Lara lifted the lid of the carved box and drew out the ring, twirling it in her fingers again.

It was so beautiful. So mysterious. So calming. So unnerving.

That was it. That was what made Lara so unwilling to wear it, it unnerved her.

But tomorrow she would have to get over that as she had promised to wear it and she didn't like breaking promises.

It was no big deal. It was just like wearing any other piece of jewellery. Nothing special. It was just a ring.


You have read to the end! Thank you! Please give me a review! Thanks once more! :)