"Christy," I heard my mother's voice, "Wake up, we must go to the castle immediately, your Uncle needs us."
Wiping the sleep from my eyes with one hand and tying my robe, I followed my family down towards Uncle Wendell's apartments. Mom knocked softly on the door and entered upon hearing Wendell's soft, "Enter."
Uncle Wendell was seated in the middle of one of the sofas in his parlor sandwiched between his wife and my cousin. They all looked as if they'd been crying. Wendell brushed the tears away from his red-rimmed eyes before gesturing for us to take a seat on the opposite sofa. "I'm afraid I just received some terribly depressing news," He stated.
"Queen Cinderella passed away didn't she?" I asked, realizing the dream I had wasn't really a dream.
"Yes," He nodded mournfully, "How did you know?"
"She came to me," I replied simply before crossing to him and giving him a hug. "She asked me to tell you she is proud of the man you have become."
"But why did she come to you?" My cousin asked giving me a confused look.
"She said there was something I had to do." I explained, reclaiming my seat between my parents and my older brother. "Something involving using your new mirror, but that I had to talk to Gustav using the old queen's mirrors."
"That would be easier than taking the hike to Dragon Mountain." I heard Mama sigh before we heard another knock on the door.
"Come in, Antony." Wendell responded looking towards the door as it opened.
"What did I miss?" Grandpa asked, crossing the road as quickly as his old body would allow him to take his seat on the other side of my mother. His fuzzy bunny slippers, a gag gift from my Papa some years ago, flopping comically this way and that as he walked.
"My grandmere passed away," Wendell stated flatly, "Apparently before she went, she visited Christina and tasked her with something."
"I'm so sorry, Wendell," Grandpa gave him a sympathetic look before looking towards me, "What did she tell you to do?"
"She said I had to talk to Gustav."
"Which means I'm going to be left out of the loop," Grandpa sighed, "I don't think they ever forgave me for breaking all those mirrors."
"Well you're in luck," I replied, "I'm supposed to use one of the old queen's communication mirrors."
"Christine's mirrors?" He asked incredulously, "No, no way is any child or grandchild of mine going to touch anything that was given to her by Snow White's stepmother."
"We use the traveling mirror all the time," I reminded him which gained me an exasperated huff and eye roll from my grandfather.
"I've told you many times over, the mirrors are not inherently evil," Wendell commented, "While some may have been corrupted by the constant evil usage, they are, by design unable to lie or enact evil on their own. The communication mirror should still work to our purposes."
The mantle clock on the far edge of the room chimed 3am, catching us all by surprise. "Oh dear, is it still that early yet?" Wendell asked to himself, "I suppose we should all get a bit more sleep. I guess Cinderella knew what she was doing tasking you with this the same night she passed; it gave me a much needed distraction. Let's do meet up in the mirror room after breakfast to attempt to contact the dwarves and Gustav."
As if on command, the stomachs of both my father and my brother grumbled. "Warren and I should probably get something to nibble on now." Papa laughed uncomfortably, "C'mon cub, let's see if there's any more of the mutton left in the pantry before we head back to bed." With that he and Warren exited the suite. My mother and I stayed back long enough to give Wendell, Leonia, and Bianca consoling hugs. Lastly, Grandpa gave us all hugs before shaking Wendell's hand and offering his ear if Wendell needed to talk.
"Thank you, my old friend," Wendell smiled sadly, "Good night." With that he guided us toward the door of his suite before returning to his own rooms.
