Chapter 8: Wanderings and Memories

"That wasn't so very bad, now was it?" her voice asked soothingly-- with a hint of sarcasm after the strange sensation of having passed through the mirror had worn away, and I felt solid and normal once again.

I nodded, although I could still taste the sweet red apple in my mouth, and although I loathed the flavor, I actually longed for more, "So, where are we now?" I asked, gazing down the long silver hallway in amazement at its beauty, "Surely, this is not the world of the faerie?" I asked, staring into a mirror identical to my mother's that was still focused upon the attic-- I could no longer see the creature with red eyes; I breathed in a sigh of relief, deciding then and there that it might be better for me if I forgot having acknowledged its existence altogether.

She shook her head in response, "No… But there are things of great importance to be discovered here… Come…" she held out her hand once again, for I had torn mine away in order to show my worry to her upfront, "Just wait one second, okay? Where's Matthew…? Where is my husband?"

Her face darkened, "I am afraid that I cannot answer that question, Beatrice…."

"Why?" I hissed, "Why does that always seem to be your answer when I'm with you?" I demanded, angrily.

"I cannot tell you for I-- we do not yet know the answer, Beatrice, and all we know is that Matthew somehow disappeared. Someone took him because they know how much he means to you."

"They want to hurt me?"

She nodded, "They always have."

"Thanks for the understatement of the century," I replied, sarcastically, "Look, REHtoMna," I whispered, "Thanks for bringing me here and all that good stuff, but before we go any further, I would like some answers…"

"Beatrice, maybe we should just--"

"No, REHtoMna. Don't put it off. I need answers now as opposed to later, and please don't give me any of that 'we'll discuss it later when there's time' shit. I've heard it enough, and right now, I need to know what's been going on these past couple of years. That's all I ask of you, all right? And then we can be on our merry way once again, got that?"

"I suppose that first and foremost, you would like to know where Matthew has gone to upon his previous disappearances-- he was sworn to secrecy to ensure your safety, Beatrice. You must understand that."

"Yes, I do now-- please tell me everything I could not be told before. I need to know before I begin whatever is in store for me now."

"Well, Beatrice… As you know, the war between the shaska and the faerie has been waging on for many centuries."

I nodded.

"Lately, it has grown to gargantuan proportions-- larger than ever before, and Matthew, as his ancestors were magical beings has been required to fight along with the others-- it was and is impertinent that we have as much help as possible out there."

I shook my head in outrage, "Well, if that's all that's been going on, why couldn't I have been notified?"

"Well, that's not all, so if you would let me finish, I could--"

"Go right ahead," I interrupted.

"And as you must have suspected at one time or another, Matthew has been trying to at last find the missing half of the prophecy; he was quite confident that he was nearing closer, and that's probably why he was taken from us all… There is definitely something within that prophecy that they do not want us-- which they do not want you to know."

I remained silent; continuing to carefully process the given information in my mind. It all made complete sense, "If all of this is true, then why was I sent that dream-- the one that made me come back to my old house, I mean."

"What dream?" she asked, apprehensively.

"The dream-- a couple of night ago while Matthew and I were staying in a hotel celebrating our marriage, I had a dream, and in it, you urged me to return there… That's why I came, but along the way, Matthew and I stopped about twenty minutes away from out destination, and that's when he vanished."

Her face grew graver still, "Beatrice, I fear that… somehow, you were sent that dream by a shaska-- it was most likely all a trap to lure you towards that place where they took him."

"Then, I guess it's all my fault, isn't it? If it had not been for me, Matthew would still be safe-- and he would still be with me right this instant."

"Blame cannot solely be placed upon you, Beatrice. I should have kept in touch with you, and I should have alerted you to everything that's been going on here since you departed. Otherwise, I am sure you would have known not to be as keen to have listened to a mere dream without double checking, but it does not matter any longer. You are here now, and you must continue Matthew's journey without him-- you must find whatever it was that he knew, and find the prophecy, and above all, you must find him, and return him to your loving embrace."

"Don't worry," I whispered firmly, "because I plan to."

"I know that," she replied, casually, "I know that you will follow every little clue until you have found him, and have been reunited. I know who you are, Beatrice, and I know that you would never give up," she smiled, "but enough chit-chat. There are things to be learned here, and more words to be spoken between the two of us. If you are now ready, take my hand, and we shall continue our journey here."

"All right," I whispered, and I placed my hand once again upon hers, and feeling like a toddler, we began walking down the silver hallway. There were more windows, overlooking other rooms, and there were doors on every other side; where they led to, I was unsure, but I decided not to ask for a further explanation.

"You have grown some more in both your temperament and attitude," REHtoMna whispered.

I nodded; unsure of what other way I could possibly respond to this pretty out-there comment.

"So, where exactly are we going now?" I asked, after a few moments of awkward silence.

"You will see eventually," she replied curtly, and I nodded.

Eventually, we came to an extremely tall door made of oak, and REHtoMna motioned for me to stop in front of it, "There is one more thing you must see before I leave you on your own again, Beatrice, and it's this."

Upon her finishing the sentence, the door suddenly flung open to reveal two women on the other side; one was my age-- she actually looked quite a lot like me, while I could tell the other was much older, although I could not see her quite clearly as she stood with her back to us. I made to venture within the room, but REHtoMna stopped me, "Don't," she whispered, "just stand back and watch."

I stood back, and watched; they were arguing about something-- that was as obvious as the nose on my face. The woman--t he younger one was shouting her head off at the older one, "You can't just act like nothing's wrong damn it!" she screamed, and I saw that tears were streaming down her pretty pink cheeks, and a stone was glowing around her neck-- the exact same one that was now glowing around my neck-- My stone, I suddenly realized, then that means that she's--

"Don't act like this, Joanna," the second whispered, and I realized that this woman was obviously my mother a few months before her pregnancy had begun to show, What's she doing with the stone though? I wondered, turning to REHtoMna, but she simply shook her head, silently insisting that I continue to watch what would unfold.

"But, it's not right! I'm pregnant, and he's missing-- and you're acting like I should just sit around and wait for him to come back-- like you want me to be just like you."

"You know that's not how I feel, Joanna-- what are you doing now?" she asked this for my mother was now throwing on a coat.

"I need to get the hell out of here-- I need to find James."

"That's crazy talk," the second woman responded.

"I don't care-- I need to find him," and with that, my mother rushed towards the door.

"Joanna! Joanna!" the woman screamed, and turned.

It was Elaine.

The door slammed shut, and my head began to spin wildly; It doesn't make sense-- Elaine… Was she my mother's fairy godmother as well?

"Does this mean what I think it means?" I asked, after my shock had worn off.

REHtoMna nodded, "Why haven't I known this yet-- and what relevance does it truly have?"

"It holds much relevance," she replied, "but enough talk for now… We must get out of here… We shall return to the world of the faerie… I feel that it is imperative that you rest up there for a few days before being cut loose in the wild worlds again."

"But--" Now I had thousands of questions, but she merely shook her head, saying, "All will reveal itself when the time is right, Beatrice. Now, hold tight to my hand, and we shall be gone."

I nodded, and the strange silver hallway vanished.