Chapter Two - Wake Me Up
Hey, an update! Yes, I'm trying to stop being lazy. Are you guys proud? Normally I wouldn't update twice in a day, but I had the first chapter finished for a while and just finished the second earlier today, so I thought, why not? It was the nice thing to do.
In a moment, the noise stops. I open my eyes, and Mina is lying on the bed, quiet and asleep. That should give her time to calm down. I run my hand through her hair before standing up to leave. She looks peaceful; especially now that she's out of her battered dress from the dance and into a simpler, blue one.
With that thought, I quietly walk out the door. She'll be alright.
I walk down the corridors, into my own wing of the castle. I've already asked the guards to summon me to come to her if Mina tries to get back here, and to not let her pass.
I trust her. But, there's one thing I can never trust her with. Maybe because I'm selfish. Maybe because I'm a coward. Maybe because I love her. Or, perhaps, a mix of all three. But she still must never see it. She must never know of its existence.
So I walk down the dark hallways, and pause by the wall, where the object was recently move. I hope it's just my imagination, but the crack looks slightly bigger.
I'm staring at Jared in the mirror. His fists pound the glass, and he's yelling. Background noise. I just ignore it. I need to find a way to keep Mina from finding this mirror. From finding Jared. He could undo everything.
Mina's POV
I'm falling. The world spins around me, one mass of color. It's all blending together and is very disorienting. In the end, I can't even tell up from down. So I just continue to whirl around, confusion engulfing me as my heart pounds loudly in my chest. What's happening? Why is this happening? The fearful questions resonate in my head, swirling around and just making me even more confused.
Suddenly, it stops. I stare at the sight before me. There's a cracked mirror. The hallways are dark, so I can't make out the reflection in it.
"Stop!" The frustrated shout rips through the air, shaking me to the core. I turn, fear making my blood run cold, only to come face to face with Teague. The ice-cold grip of fear loosens slightly as I stare into his eyes, but I'm taken aback by the anger there. "Don't do this to me! He'll ruin everything!"
"Ruin everything? What?" I stare, dumbfounded.
"Don't do this to me, Mina! Not again!" He's begging me, and while he's angry, I catch a glint of desperation in his eyes. What is so horrid about a mirror?
I turn slowly away from the distraught Teague, staring into the mirror and trying to make out what it reflects. Teague said he. What's that supposed to mean though? Was he even referring to the mirror? I turn to ask, but he's gone. In fact, the entire hallway is gone, filled with a white void. I turn back, staring at the mirror, which hangs on nothing. I peer into it, but jump back as gray eyes stare back.
"Jared?" My eyes widen slightly. "Is that you?"
Is this the mysterious he Teague was referring to? Did he mean that Jared would mess things up...Maybe even specifically messing things up with us? So many feelings swirl within me.
"Mina." It's like a whisper as I step closer yet again, taunting me.
"You're alive!" A smile tugs at my lips, threatening to pull through.
"Trace a crack from the outer edge to center." Again, it's like a whisper. I stretch out a finger, landing on a crack that stretches all the way to the edge. Slowly, my finger traces the line, all the way to the big crack in the middle.
Pain shoots through me, spinning me around, as I feel myself being drawn into the mirror. "Jared! Teague! Somebody! Help!"
The spinning stops after who knows how long, once again dropping me off somewhere different than my starting point. Where did I even start? I have no idea anymore. My bearings have been scattered by the wind. I can make out a forest around me, and a lake.
Before me stands a laughing figure, right by the shore. She's turned away. In fact, she looks an awful lot like the Grimorie. Fear ripples through me, tightening its grip again. "Foolish girl. You should've stayed away."
"Wha-What?"
"Now you have to die."
"No, wait, please!" I take a step back, but a root trips me, sending me flailing. That spill has me hit the ground with a terrible thud.
Now the Grimorie looms over me. It's definitely her...But then I see her eyes. Black, cat-like eyes. The image of her and the sea witch collide, melding into a monster. I scream as she grabs my wrist, pulling me closer. I'm frozen at her touch, unable to move and free myself.
"Good girl. You should know that screaming and struggling will do you no good. But what to do first?" She tilts my head up, as if she's a sculptor examining me. "Should I slit your throat? Cut off your ears? Drown you? Perhaps even plunge a dagger through your heart?"
I tremble. Whatever she's going to do will be horrible. But I never envisioned dying any of those ways! Except for possibly drowning. I imagined that a lot...Mainly whenever I had the reoccurring nightmare of drowning.
"Yesssss...Yessss, I have the perfect idea." She drags out the s like a snake, yet I still am frozen, unable to move. I must be held captive by some form of magic. But what? And how do I escape it? "You will die the same way you killed-"
Two voices hit the air in unison. The first is like a hiss, garbled, as if an animal is speaking. "-me!"
The second is the one that belongs to the Grimorie. Melodic, as if an enchantment, and happy, but with a sinister underlying aurora. "-her!"
She pulls out a dagger, and I finally manage to release a scream, before she plunges it into my stomach. I find myself falling backwards, into darkness. Coldness seeps through me, and I feel as if I'm in the water. I probably am, actually. But I should be dead. I can see specks of gold dotting my skin, twinkling like starts. It's starting to take effect.
Something claps into my foot. I turn, everything moving slowly and surreally. It's so dark and murky, nothing like the clear lake I saw above.
"Come with me..." I can't see the speaker, but I identify the voice. Teague?
"Come with me..." A repeat, but slightly different. Jared?
"Make a choice..."
"What?"
"Make a choice..."
They keep repeating each other. What on earth? "Make a choice?" Well, not really on earth. I don't think the Fae Plane counts as being on earth.
"Choose one..."
"Choose one..."
"Your fate depends on it." The last line is spoken in perfect unison. Why are there so many unison things today?
"My fate?" I squeak, and glance down. My entire arm has turned to gold. "But what if-"
"Make a choice!" Teague hisses.
My mouth acts before my brain, although I'm not sure if it's guided by instinct or by my heart. "Jared." It's a whisper, but still audible.
Both ankles are released, and the water becomes slightly less murky. Enough that I can somewhat see, at least. But as I look at Teague and Jared, Jared fades.
"Wrong choice." Teague hisses, latching onto my ankle again and beginning to pull me downward.
"No! Teague, please, no!" I scream as the darkness surrounds me. My head spins. Is this me being lightheaded? Is Fae magic taking a toll? What's going on with me?
"Mina! Mina, wake up!" I shake, and glance around in confusion. That's Teague speaking. But not the Teague pulling my leg. "Mina!
I squirm, lungs burning. I'm going to die. I'm going to die down here!
"Mina!" Everything's going black. This hurts so much!
Suddenly, I'm lying in a bed. Teague leans over me, looking at me with genuine concern. "Mina, are you alright?"
I stare at him, confused. "What?"
"You were screaming in your sleep..."
"I was...sleeping?" I take a deep breath. "I was just sleeping. That was just a nightmare."
He moves to sitting beside me, fiddling with my hair. "Yes, just a nightmare. You're safe here..."
A nightmarish chapter. But, there were reasons behind it. I guess you guys will have to figure that out though...I hope you liked it!
~ Dagger