Hi everyone! Happy Friday again!

I got another chapter ready to go. This time, we're on a mission to retrieve a magic crystal from an abandoned mine. You cannot make this stuff up! How in the world does Crowley get away with being a headmaster? XD

Enjoy!

Chapter 6:

Mirror Chamber

"How did things turn out like this?" Ace sighed. It felt like it was only just yesterday when he stood in this room, eagerly waiting for his sorting. Actually, now that he thought about it, it literally was just yesterday that he stood here.

"Today is not my lucky day," he continued to moan.

"Quite complaining," Deuce snapped, "Let's hurry and get there before it's too late."

"So how exactly do we get there?" a different voice asked.

Deuce turned to see the janitor from earlier.

"Isn't this where you guys had that entrance ceremony?" she asked. She looked up and around at the room with a child-like curiosity.

"You." Ace shot a filthy look at Grim. "What are you two doing here?"

"Call me your official babysitter." Claire said, shrugging her shoulders.

"We're on orders from the Headmaster," Grim said, sounding just as displeased.

"Seriously?" Ace looked wide-eyed with disbelief, waiting for someone to say, 'Just kidding!', but Claire remained quiet. "What use are you guys?" he demanded.

Although he would've worded it differently, Deuce secretly agreed with Ace. There was no need for the janitor to come with them. Without magic, what help could she provide?

"If you are referring to me being a 'deadweight' because of my lack of magical skills, I agree," Claire said as though reading Deuce's mind, "I don't see a point in going on this dangerous quest. But again, I have no say in this."

"This is getting nowhere," Deuce said, impatient, cutting off Ace before he can object again. "If the Headmaster said she should come, she can. Let's hurry up and get that crystal." He turned his attention back to the mirror.

"This is just making things more complicated," Ace groaned.

"Isn't that my line?" Claire shot back before glancing over to the Dark Mirror floating before them. She remembered the spooky mask and green flames the last time she stood in front of it and wondered if it was going to show up again. "So, how are we supposed to get to this mine?"

"Mirror, mirror on the wall!" Deuce chanted, "Light our way to the Dwarf's Mine!" Immediately, the black mirror glowed.

"Whoa!" Claire gasped as light spilled out. Unperturbed, Deuce took a step and walked into the mirror. He didn't come out from the other side, and the surface rippled like water before turning smooth again.

"Don't just stand there," Ace said, impatiently as Claire continued to stare dumbfounded. "Hurry up."

With slight hesitation, Claire reached out to the mirror. It rippled as though the glass had lost its solid form, and she watched her hand engulfed into it. Steeling herself, she pushed on, feeling the coolness on her skin as she passed through. It was like stepping into an icy shower.

When she opened her eyes, Claire found herself standing in some quaint countryside area near a thick forest. Although there were no street lights or any civilizations nearby, tiny stars in the night sky lit up the gravel path.

Stunned, she wondered how many miles they had traveled to this remote area.

"This isn't the mine," Grim said though his stunned face stared in disbelief at the change in scenery. "Where's Deuce?"

"Looks like he went ahead," Claire said. She looked over her shoulder and to her shock, found the mirror floating in the middle of the road. Before she could comprehend the bizarre scene, Ace's head rippled out of the glass.

"Do we use this mirror to get back?" Claire asked, unable to stop her curiosity.

"Yeah," he glanced back at the magical device, "the mirror is invisible unless we are near it, so we can't forget where it is or else we'll be searching around in the dark."

"How does that work? How near do we have to be? Does it sense us, or does it sense anyone coming near it? Also, why doesn't it just take us directly into the cave?"

"How should I know?" Ace rolled his eyes, starting to walk down the path. "You ask way too many questions."

"I don't know anything about this world," Claire shrugged, following him. "Of course, I'm going to be asking a lot of questions."

"Wait." Ace stopped and turned to her with genuine astonishment. "So those rumors were true? You're really from another world?"

Claire blinked in surprise. It slipped her mind that her mysterious origin would be a hot topic of conversation after that entrance ceremony fiasco. The gossip on why she was still allowed on campus despite having no magic should've spread across this school like a wildfire. Though to be honest, she was more surprised that people actually considered the possibility of her being from another world.

"Well, yeah. Why else would I not know about those Great Seven?" She rolled her eyes, trying to play it off. "Besides, do you think Crow- I mean the Headmaster would let someone like me stay here if I had a home I could go back to?"

Claire suddenly fell silent, realizing what she had just said.

Home.

After everything that happened yesterday and today, she didn't have the time to think about it – her family, her friends, her life – but now, she didn't even know if she could go back home. Despite trying to hold back, hot tears burned Claire's eyes. She could feel Ace watching her expression and felt the heat creeping up her neck. He was the last person she wanted to get emotional in front of. No doubt, he'll make fun of her just like before.

Claire looked away and walked ahead, leaving him behind. She managed to wipe away the rest of her tears when she found Deuce. He stood at the edge of the forest next to a large worn-out signpost.

"So, this is where the Dwarf Mine is," Deuce muttered as he stared up at the tall oak trees.

"What do you know about this place?" she asked.

He shook his head. "Only that it used to be a prosperous place to mine for magic crystals."

"It looks scary…" Grim whimpered as the wind howled through the trees like hungry wolves. Claire was starting to wonder if this place was even safe to begin with.

"Where's the mine?" Claire asked out loud staring up at the woods.

"Maybe it's past that cottage," Ace said. Claire immediately stiffened as he stood next to her, but he acted nonchalantly and merely pointed to the small dark lodge in the distance. "Let's see if we can ask them about the mine."

They crossed a small wooden arch bridge over a bubbling creek and arrived at the front door. Claire noticed that inside was devoid of any light, and suddenly, the hair on the back of her neck stood up.

"Hello?" Deuce knocked on the front door, and it creaked open inward slightly. Claire took a step back in fear, but Deuce wasn't fazed by it and merely pushed the door and poked his head in.

"Looks like it's abandoned," he announced as he stepped inside.

Hesitantly, Claire followed in with the rest of them.

"Ewww. Gross," Grim grimaced as his pitchfork tail got tangled from the spiderwebs that hung everywhere like Halloween decorations.

"Looks a lot like our dorm. Minus the ghosts," Claire mumbled to Grim as she glanced over at the inch-thick layer of dust that have accumulated on all the pieces of furniture. The place has been abandoned for a while now; however, there was something about this house that didn't feel right.

"Hey," Ace pointed to the furniture scattered around, "Aren't these chairs and tables kind of small? Like they were made for kids?" Claire widened her eyes in realization. He was right. The table barely reached their knees.

Now that she thought about it, everything about this place was way too small for an average person to live in. The three of them even had to duck their heads coming in.

"One… two… three… Whoa, there are seven?!" Ace looked baffled. "Seven kids lived here?!"

"That doesn't seem likely," Claire said, heading over to the kitchen area.

"How so?" Deuce asked.

"Look at the stove's height." Claire pointed to the miniature cooktop. Like the table, it barely went up to her knees. "I highly doubt any parent would be fine with their kids cooking. Especially with seven of them."

"Wait," Grim said slowly, "are you saying that…?"

"The place we're going to is called Dwarf's Mine," she said and shrugged her shoulders, "Maybe this house was for the dwarves who worked here back when it was prosperous."

"Either that or midgets," Ace said.

"It was probably a lot livelier back then," Deuce added, looking around at the number of items strewed around. "I wonder why they left without taking anything."

"Well, wondering about it won't make a difference," Ace said, already heading out the door. "Let's check out the mine."

Even though the house can no longer be properly called a home, Claire made sure that the door was properly closed this time. She looked back uneasily and wondered what happened to turn a place into this.

Author's Notes

Oh dear, another abandoned house? Well, at least this one isn't haunted XP

Like the magic crystals, the mirror transportation system raised a lot of questions for me as a writer. Of course, as the main character, Claire has the honor of asking all of them and, of course, not getting any answers in return XP

But I feel like the interaction between her and Ace is what it would be like if someone from a different planet came to our world and ask me how a car is built and how it works or why we call a strawberry a 'strawberry' when there's no straw. Hopefully, the questions Claire ask reflected how a newcomer would feel in a different world and show that just because something exists in a magic world, doesn't mean everybody knows the answers.

Also, the new Ingnihyde chapters… AHHHH! I did NOT expect so much action this early in the game. I have so many theories of what's to come but I'll save that for another time. It definitely motivated me to write more, and I cannot wait for the next update.

Finally, expect the next chapter to be action-packed and longer!

Thank you for reading and I'll see you next week with a brand-new chapter!

-JD