Seanwhite's Path: Door with the Apple

Key:
"": Speaking
(): Thoughts
*Alakazam!*: Spell Incantation
/Hello, Readers\: Magic Book Speaking

Chapter 1
I walked calmly towards the door with the Apple on it. I opened the door to see the room with the large Mirror in front of me. Stepping through the door and allowing it to close behind me, I sealed my path.

I walked through the room towards the window on the left. Looking out, I saw I was in a castle and a large forest loomed nearby. I turned and looked at the Mirror. Its design was one I recognized as my Grandmother's. "So, you're the Magic Mirror she said a King wanted."

I looked into the Mirror and watched through the reflection as the door I came through disappeared. "Just as I expected. The door is gone. Let's get started!' I pulled out my Magic Book. '*Ut mihi non loquaris Magicae Libro!*"

The Book flew open, stopped on an empty page as silver mist rose from it forming words. /Magic Book is not here right now. Please hang up and try again later.\

I rolled my eyes. "Shut up! Anyway, give me the details."

/Well, as you know, Magic Doors disappear once closed in order to prevent misuse. There are two options you have. One: You wait a hundred more years till you are powerful enough and had more training, but I doubt you'll want that.\ I growled out a 'Not a chance!'. /So that leaves the second option: Fulfill people's wishes and grow as an Enchantress.\

I sighed. "Alright. But I'm still going practice some of my magic daily. Don't make me mess up like you usually do."

/Fair enough. I'll not mess with your training, but I'll withhold anything that's above and beyond your level at the moment. Remember, this is a test for you, to make you grow into a first-class Enchantress. Use your magic to make someone in this world happy. When you do, you'll pass the test, and the door will reappear.\

I nodded and replaced the book back in my bag along with my staff, so it doesn't get lost. I looked back at the Mirror and grinned impishly. Raising my arms, I chanted. "Slave in the Magic Mirror,' I folded my arms in front of me. 'come from the farthest space!' I raised my arms up again. 'Through Wind and Rain, I summon thee, Speak! Let me see they face!"

The mirror rippled before the Spirit of the Mirror appeared before me. She has Marybell's face, but her hair was almost a grayish blonde and her eyes were light blue. She was wearing purple outfit with gold, black and red jewels covering her. A veil of blue lay over her head and fell down her back. She also looked irritated.

"I'm not a Slave. I'm a Spirit."

I giggled and blushed. "Sorry. Those words were spoken by a Queen in a story from my home world. I couldn't help myself.' I smiled at her and received one in return. 'Is there something I can help you with Spirit of the Mirror?"

She nodded before saying, "Step back a bit, I'll come out there."

I took three steps back and watched in awe as she placed her hand against the glass making it ripple like water before stepping through like it was a simple curtain. "Hey, I've been watching you for a while- can you use magic?' I nodded. 'What's your name?" "Anneliese..." "Did you come from a different world?"

I bit my lip on the second question. "I did, but it's kind of complicated. My Mother and Grandmother are Enchantresses. Mom fell through a portal transporting her to a world with no magic. She met my father and had me a year or so after their union. She died a year ago today, the same day my Grandmother cast the spell that brought the one wearing this necklace,' I pointed to the one around my neck. 'my mother's and her mother's and so forth, to her. I've been learning from Grandmother Hime ever since."

She looked at me sadly. "I'm sorry." I shook my head with a small but sad smile.

"It's alright, really. But what can you tell me of this world? Are we in a palace?' she nodded. 'A King's Palace?' she nodded again. 'Will I get into trouble for talking with you?" she shook her head. I sighed.

"If you really wanna know, I can tell you 300 years of history I've seen and put it in 100 years!"

My eyes widened. "I don't think I can live that long. Plus I have to at least find a way to open the door back up so I can tell my Grandmother I'm alright. I need to make someone happy with my magic."

She grabbed my hands and jumped up and down. "You can make me happy! If you stay with me until you die, that will make me happy!"

I gulped at how she unknowing made an ominous statement like that. "Wait, if I stayed with you until I die, I wouldn't be able to return to my world at all! I'd be dead!"

"Don't worry about the insignificant details.' She replied with a wave of her hand. 'Ah, it's been hundreds of years since I've spoken to a woman!' she frowned. 'It's so boring just reflecting men every day. Even a good man gets boring after about three days.' She then perked up and gripped my hands. 'Hey, let's have a pajama party tonight! I've got so many worlds to show you, we'll never run out of things to talk about! Anneliese! Anneliese let's live together in the mirror forever! Wouldn't it be wonderful?"

I gulped and pulled my hands away from her and looked out the window. I didn't wanna go with her, but at the same time I didn't want her to call the guards on me. Thankfully, my broom was in my bag so I could escape easily enough. Turning back to the lonely Mirror Spirit I spoke.

"I know your lonely, and I do want to see all the worlds out there... But I wanna experience all this world has to offer first."

She frowned, taking a step back. "I won't let you do that! You are MY friend!" It was then she called the guards. I jumped, backwards, through the window behind me before grabbing my broom from my bag, mounting it mid fall and flying off. I glanced behind me to see the shattered window and the angry Mirror Spirit looking at me as the guards entered the room she was in. I swiftly flew away from the castle and the town.

Shaking my head at how selfish she was, I turned my face forward and headed to the nearby forest. I flew into the trees and avoided hitting anything before landing, putting my broom back in my bag. The sun seemed to have set sometime while I was talking to the Mirror Spirit, so the forest looked dark and ominous. (It's dangerous to spend the night here... And my back is hurting me from jumping through that window. If I had known that today would be the day I would find the doors, I would have packed lunch. I'm getting hungry.)

I wandered through the trees, getting a little bit scared the farther I walk into the forest, until something tripped me, and I sprained ankle as well as hitting my head on a rock, knocking me out. When I awoke, light shined through my eyelids, alerting me to the morning. Opening my eyes, I saw a small bunny sniffing me. I looked up and gasped. The bunny hopped away and hid as well as a family of deer, raccoons, bunnies, birds, a chipmunk and squirrels.

"Please, don't run away! I won't harm you!' The animals poked their head out of their hiding places. 'I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten all of you, but I've been through a lot lately. I was afraid. I'm so ashamed of the fuss I've made."

I know what you're thinking. Well, when I appeared in Grandmother's world, I found a spell that would allow me to understand animals and them me. It seemed cool so I tried it out but didn't realize that you were supposed to cast it on another and not yourself. Now it's permanent, but I've figured out how to turn it on and off. Right now, I felt a bit like Snow White, but I didn't mind. My voice wasn't as beautiful as hers, but Grandmother said it was lovely.

Looking at the birds perched on the branch above me I asked, "What do you do when things go wrong?' They looked at each other before chirping out a few notes. 'You sing a Song?" I giggled. They nodded. I hummed a couple of notes and a small bird echoed me, fluttering into my open hand.

"~With a Smile and a Song
Life is just like a bright sunny day
Your cares fade away
And your heart is young!'

They all slowly came out of their hiding spots and came closer as I sang.

'~With a Smile and a Song
All the world seems to waken anew
Rejoicing with you
As the Song is sung...'

The small chipmunk came closer to me and I lowered my hand to pet it slowly, but he dashed away behind a bunnies leg.

'~There's no use in grumbling
When raindrops come tumbling...'

I turned to a young faun beside me and reach out and it nuzzled into my hand.

'~Remember, you're the one
Who can fill the world with sunshine!'

The chipmunk came back with the bunny it hid behind and both hopped into my lap.

'~When you Smile and you Sing
Everything is in tune and it's Spring
And life flows along...
With a Smile and a Song…~"

The animals all cheered in their own way and I smiled at them. "I really do feel better now. I'm sure I'll get along somehow. Everything's going to be alright.' They all nodded. 'But I do need a place to sleep at night."

The bunny hopped up to me before nudging my leg and pointing to his little hole. I shook my head and laughed a bit. "I can't sleep in the ground like you.' I looked up when a Squirrel chattered and shook my head again. 'Or in a tree, the way you do.' My eyes went higher as a bird tweeted. 'And I'm sure no nest could possibly be big enough for me!"

The large antlered Deer nudged me, and I looked at him. "Do you know where I can stay? In the woods somewhere?' He bowed his head in a nod. 'You do! Will you take me there?" he nodded again but then his Doe nudged against my ankle, licking it. I smiled and slowly stood, wincing when I put pressure on it. The Deer stood by me and allowed me to use his antlers as a hold. Smiling, the animals led the way.

Soon we came to a clearing where in it stood a simple little cottage. From what little I could tell from the outside, it was a three-boudoir house with a pantry, foyer and parlor. After saying thank you and goodbye to my new friends, I walked up and looked in the window.

"Ooo. It's dark in there."

I went to the door and knocked. After a few minutes I knocked again. "Guess no one's home." I placed my hand on the knob and turned it. It opened and I walked in. Looking around, I noticed how messy it was. "Someone must definitely live here if it's this untidy. Maybe I should clean up around here, maybe make a stew or soup and a dessert, maybe then they'll let me stay."

I pulled out my broom and placed it upright on the ground, it's bristles on the hardwood floor. "*Et veniet properans, Genistae! Redige cubiculum tempus!*"

My broom came to life, sprouting arms much like in 'The Sorcerers Appreciate' in Fantasia 2000, and began sweeping the room while picking things up. I looked into my bag to change my clothes into something I could clean in. I always put an extra set of work clothes and a nightgown in my bag if I was away from Grandmother's home. I pulled out a dress with blue sleeves that went just past my elbows, a chestnut brown bodice and a lighter brown skirt. I also pulled out a white apron and black flats. I tied my hair back with a blue ribbon before covering my head with a white handkerchief.

Once dressed and my clothes I just stepped out of in my bag, I first washed dishes. I hummed 'Whistle While You Work' as I cleaned and cooked. I made a simple Brunswick stew with sour cream drop biscuits and a cinnamon apple pie. When it was late, the pie cooling in the window and the stew over the fire stewing, I wiped my hands clean on my flour-covered apron and hung it up on a hook near the pantry door.

Looking around the foyer, parlor and boudoir and seeing it sparkling clean. Smiling, I canceled the spell on my broom and placed it back in my bag. Knowing the owners of the house will be home soon, I washed my face with a small basin of water in one of the guest rooms before changing into my nightgown, placing my work clothes on the nearby chair. I pulled down the covers and tucked myself in before falling asleep.

I knew when the Masters of the House had come home when I heard the front door shut.

"Ah! Someone cleaned up our house!"

"Look there's something cooking in the pantry!"

"It looks like stew... Smells like stew… Tastes like stew so it must be stew."

"And there's a hot Apple Pie sitting by the window!"

"The door to my room is open... Someone is sleeping in there."

I kept my eyes closed and my breathing steady as I heard the door squeak open.

"Who's that!?"

"What? Ah! A human!"

(So those high-pitched voices are the house owners? Then the deeper male voice I heard in the other room is...)

"It looks like she's sleeping so comfortably. It'd be a shame to wake her up."

(There! That's him!)

"Ah! Seanwhite, we're not ready! If it's a strange person what should we do?"

"Just look at her face. A cute face like this can't belong to a bad person. And I believe she's the one who cleaned and cooked for us." Seanwhite replied.

Feeling someone sitting on the edge of the bed, I felt him reach out and brush a stray hair behind my ear. Slowly, I stirred, sitting up, stretching and yawned. "Oh, Dear! I wonder if the Master of the House is..." I blinked my eyes open. Looking up, I met Him face to face.

He had a sharp nose and strong jaw. His hair fell to his shoulders which were squared. He wore a white shirt with a dark red and black jacket with golden buttons and cufflinks and silver lining. A cravat of dark violet, almost black, was around his neck clasped with a turquoises clasp and a brown belt sat lazily around his waist. He wore white pants and black boots, his hands covered by white gloves.

His eyes were as red as blood, his hair black as ebony, and his skin as white as snow.

(Seanwhite! He's so Handsome... Even more so in real life then he was in the game...)

Biting my lip a bit and pulling the covers up I asked him, "Isn't it improper for a Man to see a Women who isn't his wife in her nightclothes?"

His eyes widened, and he blushed a bit. "I'm sorry I woke you. But forgive me, you're even more lovely awake. Your eyes are almost transparent."

I held in the blush and gave him a small smile. "Indeed?"

He smiled charmingly. "Yes. Part of me wanted to awaken you with a gentle kiss..."

I gave a slight frown. "I'm saving my First Kiss for the man I will fall in love with. Not a stranger whose house I cleaned and cooked in."

He blinked. I could see some shock in his eyes over the fact he didn't get to kiss me but then he stood up and turned his back to me, blocking the open door. "I'll let you get dressed."

I slowly got out of the bed. Making sure he wasn't looking, I straitened and turned down the bed before getting redressed. Folding my nightgown and placing it in my bag, I wiped the sleep from my eyes before tapping him on the shoulder. He turned around and stared at me.

"Wow, when your eyes are open like that your face is even cuter. What is your name?"

I raised an eyebrow. "My name is Anneliese. What is your name and are you the Master of this House?"

"Seanwhite.' He took my hand and kissed my knuckles. 'And no, I'm not the Master of this House. These Little People, my friends, are."

He gestured to the door, and I was surprised to see two Little People standing there about as tall as children. They both had green eyes and golden hair that was braided over their shoulders, one on his left and one on his right. The Man who had his braid on his right shoulder was dressed in a white shirt with a dark blue and light blue V-shaped vest with gold borders. A short, dark blue cape wrapped around his shoulders held together with a gold and white wing clasp with a green gem, the wing over his left shoulder. The other looked exactly like the first but mirrored. His vest was of two distinct colors of red and his cape a rose red. Both wore brown leggings and boots as well as a brown belt fitting snugly around their waist.

"On the right is Ruben, on the left is Toto." Seanwhite introduced. "I'm the one who named them, they didn't have names. But it's hard to remember which one is which." He laughed and smiled at them. I curtsied to them.

"Ruben, Toto, please forgive me for intruding in your home but I couldn't sleep in the woods at night, and I couldn't return to the palace without fear of being trapped there forever by the Spirit of the Mirror my Grandmother made for the King."

I heard Seanwhite gasp, as they both smile and shook their heads. Ruben stepped forward. "There's no need to worry. You cleaned and cooked for us, and the woods is indeed unsafe at night."

Toto came over and took my hand and kissed the back of it before gripping onto my arm. "It's alright. Your welcome here if you can cook as good as that stew smells. I tasted a bit of it, and you have to teach me how to make it!" I giggled before gesturing for him to lead me to the pantry. He giggled in return and half dragged me to where the stew was steaming.

I grabbed a tea towel and took the lid off before tasting. "It seems its ready. Can you set the table for me Toto?"

He nodded and started laying everything out as I placed the pie in the oven to keep warm while pulling the biscuits out and placing them in a small basket. I looked over to see Ruben start ladling the Brunswick Stew into four bowls. I smiled at him before we all went to the table where Seanwhite was setting out glasses of water. I sat next to Toto and Ruben sat across from me next to Seanwhite. After we all said Grace, we all started eating and I smiled at the looks on the other threes faces as they hummed and smiled eating their stew and biscuits. When I served the apple pie I was asked how I got in. "I knocked but I didn't receive an answer. Then I looked to see if it was locked but the door was open and..."

"Who forgot to lock the door? Even though I always say to check the lock!" Ruben asked angrily.

Toto looked down. "That was me. I'm sorry!"

I rubbed his shoulder as Reuben's frown deepened.

Seanwhite then asked me, "What did you mean earlier? You said your Grandmother made the Magic Mirror in the Castle, but from my knowledge, The Enchantress Hime lives in another world."

Ruben and Toto paused in their lecturing and lecture-receiving to look at me.

I looked up at Seanwhite. "You're from the castle, then?"

He sighed sadly. "Yes. I was..." he said no more on the matter.

"He's the Prince, actually." Ruben said having calmed a bit.

I nodded. "I figure as much. He has that kind of air about him much like Marybell. Well then, allow me to properly introduce myself. Enchantress Anneliese, Granddaughter and apprentice of Enchantress Hime.' The three stared at me in awe as I told them how I arrived in Grandmother's world and how I met the Mirror Spirit. '...Now I must find someone I can help with my Magic to help them find their Happily Ever After."

Ruben and Toto offered then to clean and told me I could stay as long as I wished as I went to sit by the fireplace in the parlor. I summoned my bag and pulled out a cross-stitching pattern my Grandmother told me to work on. It was a picture of a dress much like Snow Whites'. My job was to cross-stitch it then use my magic to pull it from the image and onto myself as real clothes. I glanced up as Seanwhite sat beside me, watching me for a while. I would let him tell me what was wrong in his time.

"My Stepfather is after my life, so I ran away to here... We didn't get along very well, but it's no big deal. The Little People are letting me stay here.' I looked up at him to see him staring into the fire. 'It's different here then what I'm used to, but' He looked up at me with a smile. 'I'm Happy here."

"And yet you're not."

He tilted his head in confusion at me. "What are you talking about? Of course, I'm happy here. Why would I not be?"

I looked him in the eyes. "Though you say you're happy with your mouth, your eyes say different.' He blinked. 'I won't interfere with whatever is going on between you and your Stepfather, but I won't stand by when you are obviously hurt by it. You say he's after your life, you shouldn't take that lightly. I will, however, use whatever magic that is within me to make you happy."

"Just having you here with me makes me happy."

He seems to be insisting it. I sighed and shook my head, returning to my cross-stitching. Soon, Ruben and Toto came in and we spoke of lighter things. Seanwhite, at some point took my free hand when I put my needle and thread down. He asked if he could kiss me. When I refused he took both my hands in his and just said, "But I'm no longer a stranger to you. A kiss has nothing to do with Time. It's all about the love that two people feel."

I raised an eyebrow. "But I'm not in love with you."

Toto shook his head. "Seanwhite could love a deer or a rabbit, as long as it was a female."

Seanwhite shook his head. "The species doesn't matter. All women are equal in my eyes. Of course, though you are not women, I love you two as well my Little People!"

"Ah! Seanwhite! We love you too!"

I giggled as Seanwhite gathered the two in his arms and hugged them tight. Toto then led me to another guest room. "This is your room for as long as you stay with us."

I smiled and kissed his cheek. "Thank you." He blushed and left to allowed me to settle in. After a while, I saw, from the mirror on the vanity where I was washing my face, Seanwhite came in and leaned against the doorframe. "You said you want to make me happy, you being here makes me happy."

I looked at him with a frown as I wiped my face dry with the towel. "I have to use my Magic to make you Happy."

He came in and wrapped his arms around me and placed his chin on my shoulder, looking at me from the mirror. "Haven't you heard that love is the most powerful magic? Could you use that magic on me?"

I turned to him shocked and a bit angry. "Magic Love!? Yes, Love is powerful and has a certain Magix all its own but using magic to force someone into love is worse than being a slave! One forced into love would allow the one of their 'affection' to do whatever they want to them, even if it means killing oneself or worse! Do you really want that?"

He seemed shocked but nodded. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that..."

I sighed. "I know. But I can't stress this enough: Magic cannot do everything. If it did, people would become lazy. What's more, Magix is Love's own form of magic. There's a difference. Magix cannot be cast using spells, rituals, potions or just by waving a staff. It is almost like a living being all on its own. Do you get it?"

He nodded understanding, brushing a bit of my hair behind my ear. "You're blushing red. Like an apple. It's cute."

I shook my head with a sigh. (Looks like this is going to be harder than I thought.

buChapter 2: CLICK 8/u/b