A/N: Oh, bother...let my schedule slip again...
Anyways, salvate, lectores! I'm afraid things have gotten busier on my end, so I do not know when I will post next. However, I'll be sure that I got the characters right before I release it, as it has been a while. I hope this chapter's been worth the wait. Enjoy!
Chapter 4: Reflections
They hadn't been walking for long before they encountered what had to be the first obstacle: a mountain with the giant entrance of a cave or tunnel. Serena shrunk back with a small whimper.
"Do we have to go in?" she asked.
"'Fraid so," Lucy answered, scanning the ground around the entrance. "That's where the path's heading, so…"
Iris let out a quiet snort, catching her attention.
"Something wrong, Iris?" Lucy asked as the others turned to look at them.
For a second, they all stood and stared in awkward silence before…
"Never mind," Iris answered. "Nothing."
"All right, then," Lucy said, turning back to their obstacle. "Let's go."
I don't like this…Lucy thought as she scanned the area.
They hadn't gone far into the tunnel before she and Nessa had to use their magic to light the way. Despite their best efforts, though, they didn't seem to light much up at all. Lucy could hardly see in front of her, leaving any twists or turns hidden until the girls arrived at them.
She was so involved in thinking about this that she nearly ran into Rosie, who had stopped for some odd reason.
"I-Is something wrong?" she asked urgently, once she had recovered.
"My knee!" Rosie answered. "It's gotten pinchy again!"
Oh, no…Lucy thought, remembering what that meant…
BANG!
Startled, the girls all jumped and turned around.
"What in blazes—?" Ava called out.
Nessa held out her hand, and they could clearly see the source of the noise.
"My word! How did this door get here?"
Suddenly, Iris gasped.
"Oh, my gosh. Oh my gosh, oh my gosh…" she muttered in a mix of terror and excitement.
"Wha's the matter, Ahris?" Ava asked as everyone else turned to them.
"It's just like my adventure books…" Iris answered. "Dark tunnel? The way out blocked?"
A distant chunk! drew their attention back up front. A few seconds later, another followed. Then another, and another. Each one sounded closer than the last, approaching faster and faster.
"It's a trap!"
With this revelation, the girls watched in horror as the chunks rounded the bend in front of them, accompanied by flashes of light.
"WATCH OUT!" Lucy shouted.
They all recoiled as light their heads with a POW!
A few seconds later, the scariest thing happened: nothing. Catching their breath, the girls glanced around the now brightly lit tunnel.
"Better keep moving…" Lucy said, keeping her right hand glowing. "Stay on your…toes."
The others nodded and followed her lead, tiptoeing towards the curve ahead.
Strange…she thought as she started to turn to follow the path. Is this really one of the three changes that woman told us about? If so, how could someone make it so quick—?
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something move. When she turned to look, she was startled to be face-to-face with…herself?
"A mirror?" she asked.
"Not 'a' mirror," Ava answered, pointing past her. "Look!"
Lucy did, and indeed, the entire tunnel shone with the gleam of glass and silver. If she had tried to count them with an abacus, it would have run out of room rather quickly.
"What's this supposed to be, some sorta…laser-bouncy thing?" Iris asked, glancing around at them.
"Dunno," Lucy answered, looking around at her companions. "Keep alert, we don't know when—"
Suddenly, she stopped. No, not suddenly, it was as her eyes had come to—
"Rosie?"
The normally carefree girl didn't seem to hear Lucy. She was too busy glancing around at the mirrors, eyes very wide.
"No…" Rosie muttered, backing away from it. "No no no no no…"
"Rosie!"
The terrified girl gasped and looked right at Lucy, tears starting to come out of her wide eyes.
"What's the matter?" Lucy asked.
"Sh-She's here!" Rosie all but shouted. "She followed us!"
"Who followed us?"
"Don'cha remember her?! The other me!"
Lucy's eyebrows flew up.
"You mean the one in the mirror?"
"Yesyesyes! And she's—"
Rosie gasped again and looked at the mirror.
"No…" she whimpered. "No, leave 'em alone!"
"ROSIE!"
Lucy grabbed Rosie by her shoulders and turned the frightened girl to face her.
"It's all right!" She pulled her quaking roommate into a tight hug. "It's all right…"
It took a second, but Rosie did calm herself down. Her breathing regulated, and she stopped shaking. So much.
"Remember," Lucy all but whispered, "she can't hurt us. She's not real. Even if she is, she's on the other side of the mirror."
"But…but…but what if she…?" Rosie tried to say.
"Don't worry about her," Lucy answered as she released her roommate. "Just…"
She had to think for a second before continuing.
"Just cover your eyes and hold on to me. I'll lead you out."
"O-okay…"
And Rosie did just that: she took one of her hands from Lucy's and put it over her eyes. The other one grabbed on a little tighter.
"You ready?" Lucy asked.
Rosie nodded.
"Now don't you peek, and we'll be outta here before you know it."
"Uh, beg pardon," Ava called from behind them, drawing Lucy's attention. "Bu' what in th' hay wuz that all about?"
"We'll explain later," Lucy answered calmly. "Right now, let's just get outta here."
"Sounds like a plan," said Iris dryly.
She couldn't help but wince sympathetically upon seeing Rosie's plight.
I hope that doesn't mean what I think it does…
She took a deep breath to dispel the anger she felt building inside her.
But I wouldn't put it past him…
"Thank you, Lucy!" Rosie cried, throwing her arms around her roommate. "Thankyouthankyouthankyou!"
Lucy chuckled as she hugged her roommate back.
Iris, on the other hand, just grumbled and turned to Serena. The latter was glancing back into the tunnel past the little light.
"I hope they're all right…" she muttered.
"Who's that?" Iris almost spat, making Serena recoil. "Nessa and Ava?"
Serena nodded. Iris couldn't help but grumble a little more about why they were a little behind.
Not too long after Lucy had resolved Rosie's mirror issue, Vanessa had gotten a good look of herself in one of the many mirrors. She became so horrified that Ava ultimately stayed behind to snap her out of it while the others made it out. As such, Iris had to accompany the timid Serena to the other end.
I dunno how Nessa puts up with this wimp…she complained to herself. I'd bet she's scared of her own shadow! Oh, how I'd like to give her a piece of my mind…
Are you sure? said a little voice in her head.
Iris couldn't help but roll her eyes. She knew the voice was part of her, but right now…
You stay out of this, she growled at it, barely keeping the lid on her temper.
If you insist…the voice replied. Can't say I didn't warn you, though…
"Oh, there they are!" Rosie squealed, startling Iris out of her reverie.
Iris looked into the tunnel and saw the two girls coming up. Nessa was covering her eyes with one hand, while Ava led her by the other. Behind them was the piece of the little light that had detached to keep watch over them, just in case.
"Don'cha worreh," she could hear Ava saying. "We're almost there…"
Finally, Iris sighed. Took them long enough.
He frowned as he sensed them continuing along the path.
That was…disappointing. I would have thought my favorite would be a little more…effective.
However, his frown turned into a nasty smile as he sensed their approaching the second change he had made.
But no matter. I'll taste it in full soon enough. Besides, I've still got two more appetizers to go…
A/N: Does that trap mean what you, the reader, think it does? And if you don't understand it, lucky you...for now...
Now you may have noticed that I got rid of the "Part I" in the title. I've still broken this up into two different stories, but I think what was going to be Part II deserves its own title. Sorry, I'm not telling you here, but I'll say at the end of Chapter 7. Thanks for being faithful readers thus far; I hope you enjoy the story as I continue to post. Until then...
Vivatis diu fortunetisque. \V/