Author Notes: Sadly enough... I do not own Inuyasha. I just like creating stories based on the characters. Hope you enjoy & let me know what you think!
*~ Crystal Jade ~*
Kagome just couldn't understand how it worked. She had been looking into the mirror randomly for days now; yet there was no change. She was the only thing that reflected back. She reached out and touched the cool, smooth surface.
"How does this stupid thing work?!" She growled out.
Three weeks ago, she had been given the mirror, as decreed by her father's will. He had kept it after her mother went missing 10 years ago, who had received it from her mother, and who received it from her mother, and so on and so forth. Kagome really didn't know how old the mirror truly was but it did have the wear and tear of aging.
The mirror was a round, full length mirror surrounded by some type of dark wood and had faded, weird symbols ingrained into the wood around the mirror. It was a free standing mirror but the wood was starting to crack and separate in places near the base of the stand. The glass itself was spotted with tarnish and looked like it had been rubbed down in other places so much so that it no longer held a reflection.
She dropped her hand back into her lap.
'I know what I saw...' She mused.
One week ago, while she was sleeping, she was awoken by a cool breeze that had gently caressed her face. When she opened her eyes, she had looked over at the mirror in the corner of her bedroom and saw another world in the mirror. She could see several tall trees covered in moss, with peeps of deep blue and early morning skies through the branches, and tall grass all along a dirt path beckoning her to come on the adventure. The grass looked so green; it looked like it had been painted on. The trees surrounding a dirt path swayed gently back and forth. She could smell the dew on the grass and hear the birds' sweet song of the approaching dawn. It looked simplistically beautiful. There were no other words to describe it. Yet, the moment she leaned up and rubbed her eyes, the world was gone from the mirror. She had not been able to see the place since.
Soon after (as in, later that morning), she decided to look through the rest of the stuff her father and mother had left her. Besides the standard clothes and furniture to give away due to her lack of want and space, she soon found some random, old artifacts. However, as she looked through the boxes and crates, the artifacts seemed to be too authentic, too random in eras, and should have been in a museum. Not only the strangeness of even having them, the artifacts were in pristine condition; like they were worn or used for a short time but then stored away where no moths or humidity could find them. She had found such items as a Civil War nurses' outfit, a French courtier's silk fan, several tribal spears, pelts from various animals, and even a red teacup with black saucer. She wondered how her family had come to possessed them but she didn't give it much more thought once she found what seemed to be a clue to the mirror. Three days ago, she had been searching through a wooden box filled with small trinkets and had found a piece of paper stuffed in a leather pouch. She understood the writing, or riddle, for the most part; yet, however, she had yet to fully understand it.
Kagome looked down once more at the parchment in her hand that had been yellowed with time; she reread the now familiar riddle.
The Mirror that Transcends Time
The mirror will choose ye time in destiny
And bring ye to a place which is needed for thee
The dangers that lie ahead are for a sound heart
But there is the chance ye will lose more than just a part
In order to go beyond, ye will have to come
Trust, give kinship, step onward, and succumb
Do not fret, for once ye arrive, ye can effortlessly go back
But, in order for it to close, ye must complete its task
Once ye have given all and ye journey is complete
Thee will have just once more at a chance, at one last leap
So, with this grand chance, what will ye let fate decide?
Will ye shall truly live or will ye shall just strictly die?
Kagome blew out a puff of air and mumbled, "I feel like Alice and the Looking Glass."
She remembered seeing the mirror before in the attic when she lived at home. At that young age of 8, she found it sitting in the far corner and she had asked her mother about it.
A little blue-eyed, brunette girl ran to her mother who was sitting in a chair in the living room.
"Mommy, mommy! I found a cool looking mirror in the attic. Can I have it for my room?"
Her mother looked up from her needlepoint with a sharp look on her face, "Darling Kagome, what were you doing in the attic? It's dangerous up there."
Kagome blew at her bangs which were dangling in her face. "Oh mommy, there isn't anything up there that is scary. But I did find a cool mirror! Can I pweaassseeee have the mirror for my room?"
"Kagome! You are not supposed to be in the attic by yourself, you know that. And no, you cannot have that mirror for your room. You are not ready for it."
Little Kagome tilted her head to the side, "What do you mean by that I'm 'not ready for it'? It's just a mirror."
She watched as her mother's face relaxed and let out a slow, deep breath and answered, "The mirror reflects what it will want you to see and I mean more than just that that which is skin deep. You are too young to look beyond the looking glass, no matter if your ancestor was younger than you when she did."
"My ancestor? Who and what is an ancestor?"
Her mother gave her a small smile, "I'll explain it when you get older."
Her mother put down her needlepoint and stood up asking "Now, who wants a cookie?"
Forgetting about the mirror completely in favor of something sweet, little Kagome started jumping up and down, "Ooo! I do! I do!"
At that time, she had no clue what her mom was going on about. It seemed like the mirror and its pull was gone from her thoughts so quickly then. Only 3 years later, her mother finally disappeared after being gone weeks at a time, coming home only to leave again soon after. She never did get the chance to ask again.
Kagome looked into the mirror again. At 21, she had once again become enamored by the mirror. She felt the call it seemed to have on her yet she didn't know how to answer it.
"This is stupid. It's just a mirror."
Biting her lip, she continued, "But... How cool would it be to go on an adventure though?"
Smirking at her own inside joke, she thought 'If it was possible for Alice, why not for me too?'
Standing up, Kagome put the paper down on the dresser and grabbed the paper towels and glass cleaner that was sitting there beside her. She began cleaning it off in swirling motions. As she finished cleaning the upper right hand corner, a part of the paper towel caught on part of what looked to a chip in the glass. She reached up to pull off the torn paper towel. At that moment, the glass cut her finger.
She drew in a quick breath at the sudden pain and gripped her right pointer finger in her left hand. She watched as a bead of blood appeared on her fingertip.
"Ugh. Seriously?!"
She reached up once more and grabbed at the piece of paper towel left, smearing the blood drop onto the mirror. She stepped back and gasped as the mirror reflection changed to the world she had seen a week ago. She could once again feel the gentle breeze again and hear the birds' song.
"H-How?"
She looked at the parchment again that was on the dresser. And noticed the one line of the riddle in particular she had not been able to understand:
In order to go beyond, ye will have to come
Trust, give kinship, step onward, and succumb
She broke down the phrase, "To go beyond the glass, you have to come... Come to the looking glass. That means step up to it."
She rolled her eyes at the simplicity of it. 'I should have known that.'
"Trust? Hmmm..." Biting her lip, she tilted her head and thought aloud, "Believe that it can be more than a mirror? Okay. But give kinship? Kinship... What is kinship?"
After a moment, she knew. "Kinship: Kindred, Family, Blood."
Reaching up, she slide her finger gently over the chip in the glass again, "Give blood. Only those who have the certain blood line can enter."
She gasped and stepped back again when a random thought hit her. "The story of Alice was real! It was all real and I'm…. I'm related to her! She was the ancestor mom was talking about!"
She looked into the world beyond the looking glass and knew this was her destiny; just as every woman in her family before her. She had come to this point in her life and just knew that she had to decide if she wanted to accept, 'Succumb' to, her fate or not.
Looking around, she decided, "There is nothing here that needs me right now. College is finish for the summer, all expenses have been paid since getting my inheritance, I have no family left, or many friends that would care. No one will really miss me. So..."
Once more she looked at the mirror and bit her lip again, "Why not?"
Kagome grab the parchment with its leather pouch and took a hesitant step forward and reached out with her hand. Her hand seemed to go through the mirror and she didn't feel anything but the cool air from the other side. She took a deep breath and step through the looking glass.