Mirrored world

Volume 01

Chapter 1 - The beginning

A dark night, the wind is howling. Every street and house is in total darkness except for a tiny light coming from an upstairs window of a shop. Inside a girl in her late teens is sitting on a chair looking at a letter on the table. Several times she looked like she was about to pick up the paper but at the same time decided against it. Except for her, the whole place seems eerily quiet even with the wind howling, 'what am I going to do, what should I do?' she mumbled to herself very quietly. The girl got up and started to pace around her tiny room. Her dog laying on the bed looked at her curiously and went back to sleep. The girl as if hearing a noise stilled her pacing and listened quietly. The house is full of sleeping sounds, everyone except her is sound asleep.

She, after listening for a few seconds, continued on pacing while murmuring to herself. Suddenly as if she came to a decision, went about the room gathering items and putting them on a small bag, after a while she kneeled down between the bed and the wall finding a loose floorboard, underneath it she took out a small pouch and tucked it safely underneath her garment. The dog sensing his mistress's intentions bounced to the door, but the girl shook her head,' sorry buster, you can't come with me, you need to stay here and look after ma and pa.' she petted its head and attached a paper to the collar, she had to let her parents know what she did, they would not understand the reason behind her hastily departure, but she needed to let them know where she went. After shutting the dog in the room she went towards the other bedroom where her parents were sleeping , she, about to go in, seems to suddenly catch herself, turned around and quietly ran down the stairs and out the door quickly, as if she is afraid of changing her mind if delayed. With the bag in her back she quietly disappeared into the night.

Few moons later

The same girl came running through the village, but she looked much dirtier and had an air of uneasiness all-around her. She kept on touching a silver necklace she had around her too slender neck. Her dress is torn in some places. But despite her unkempt appearance one could see that she is of some importance. She had an air of impatience and desperation. Passing every one, she turned towards the abandoned mill. The bag she was carrying looked heavy, the girl kept her face down and ran towards the mill. She looked rather hungry but instead of going to the market place she avoided the crowded areas keeping on to the deserted side roads.

'Please let this be the one, please' she kept mumbling to herself. Passing by's hardly glanced her way twice and she didn't pay any attention to the others either. Entering the mill she started looking under the floorboards. She kept on her frantic search till the sun was about to go down covering the whole place with darkness.

'You shouldn't be out here after dark,' The girl turned around slowly, there on the doorway leaning on to the half rotten wall was a boy about the same age as the girl, if not a little older. Just like her, he was covered in days worth of dirt and grime. But his clothes have fared better than the girl's. The boy had dark red hair, his face could be handsome if not for the scare that ran the length of his face from his left eye to the chin.

'You followed me'

'I told you I would, you really are surprised that I followed you? after all this time did you think I'd let you go alone?' He sounded genuinely hurt, but the girl didn't even look up, the boy, after a minute or so watching her with concern, went to the other side of the room and started looking under loose floorboards.

'I can't lose you too Alia, shadows will come here soon, we should head back to the village. I can only protect you for so long. I can already feel them probing my shield. Let's go before it's too late'.

Bending her head the girl looked utterly defeated. She got up and went towards the door with her bundle. The boy followed her close by.

'Maybe we can find shelter in the village's safe house, did you at least find out where it is, we need to hurry'.

'Yes, it's over by the church, I went there before coming here, it's empty but the spell is holding on, we might have to strengthen it when we leave, come this way'.

They passed the church and right next to it was an abandoned looking two story house, the yard is full of weeds, the whole structure looks like it's about to collapse.

'Come on, let's get inside the property line,' Alia said, dragging the boy through the gate, just as they were going through the gate both of them suddenly disappeared from the view.

'Look over there, they followed us. Nate we have to strengthen the spell now, I'll get the stones, you start the ritual'. Alia ran into the house without waiting for an answer from Nate.

Nate stood over a huge ancient tree with markings on its bark and started to chant holding his hands up while Alia put down different coloured stones around the property line. Just as the markings on the tree began to glow Alia joined Nate with the chanting. They both began to emit a white glow just as the stones, all of a sudden the whole house was covered by a dome. Both of them collapsed onto the ground when the invisible dome concealed the whole place.

'It's done, protection should hold on for another couple of months, Alia come inside, it's chilly out today.'

'No, I need to be alone for a bit, I'll take the first watch, can you find something for us to eat?' She said watching the shadows passing over the dome searching for cracks, the house began to vibrate and the shadows retreated leaving the girl to see the final rays of sunlight quickly disappearing over the horizon. She took a deep breath, the air suddenly smelt sweet and fresh as the corrupted souls of the dark one returned back to wherever they came from.

'Lucy where are you? Why can't I feel you anymore, how I wish you were here with me now, I'm so tired and scared. Where are you sister? Can't you at least give me a sign.' She is now crying into her hands, collapsing onto the ground she took out the necklace she is wearing and opened the locket. There is a picture of two little girls, standing side by side to one another. One has bright white hair with red stains. The other one has dark hair, her complexion is also dark compared to the other girl. Nate came back and stood over Alia, 'Nate what happened to my hair? How did it turn so white?'

'I don't remember either, one day you had red hair like us, but the next day it was all white except for those red stripes. We were all little so none of us thought it was strange back then, but now that I think about it our parents were acting so strange about that. For a while they tried dying up your hair but every morning it would turn white, so after a while they gave it up and made you wear a scarf over.' He looked troubled and was about to say something else but the shadows came back with force just then. Nate looked up as if waiting for them to breach the barriers.

'Alia, come inside please, it's cold outside, you'll get sick. I found us some food, let's eat and get some rest, the house will alert us if there's a threat. I put up more spells, it should allow us to get some decent rest tonight. Come please'

Alia could see Nate is not going to leave her alone, and frankly she didn't want to be left alone right now either. So she got up and let Nate guide her back inside. They had a simple meal of bread and cheese with some berries Nate had picked up from a bush right outside the kitchen window, it was a miracle there even were some food left given the fact that no other caster has entered the house for some time.

'Let's check upstairs, hopefully there might be beds we can use.'

Alia followed him up the stairs. They reached the landing and turned towards the rooms, Nate opened the first door, it was a simple room with just a bed, wardrobe and a sink. 'I'll take this one, I don't want you this close to the stairs. She turned towards him 'Nate you have to stop treating me like a child, I'm fully capable caster just like you, I don't need you to be my mother' she started to open the second door but Nate stopped her ' I don't want to mother you but I am your brother, no matter how powerful you'll get you will always be my little sister, I'm overprotective, I know that, but you have to understand I already lost one sister and I can not lose the other, please bear with me'

'I know, you and Lucy are all I have, I feel so weak, I should have been able to locate her, but I can't . No matter how hard I try, I can't get a feel of her, it's like she doesn't exist anymore' she hung her head low, Nate could see tears running down her cheek, he hated seeing his sisters sad, but right now he can't console her.

'We'll find her soon, I have a feeling we are on the right path, trust me, together we can do anything. Remember what mother always says, she said three of us are connected in a way that no magic can break the bond, Lucy might be cloaked for now, but we'll find a way like we always do.'

They both entered the second room, Alia nearly choked on her next words, the room before them was obviously furnished for a girl, the room itself was much bigger and warmer. The bed looked so warm and inviting, she went to the closet and stumbled back, seeing it's full of clothes, dresses, pants, blouses and anything a girl wants. She turned towards her brother 'Can a house produce whatever we want?'

Nate came over looking troubled ' No, safe houses were designed as a safe haven for casters in times of need, but I have never heard of them catering to the occupants needs, maybe we should stay downstairs until we figure this one out, it just creeps me out.'

Alia spared another longing look towards the bed, she desperately wants to sleep in a proper bed, but her brother is right something is wrong here, better safe than sorry, so she followed Nate down the stairs.

'You take the couch, I'll get some bedding for the floor. Wait here' he went upstairs again reappearing a few minutes later with some bedding and blankets. Handing half of them over to her Nate spread his near the couch.

Alia can see out the window when she lays down, the shadows still lingers by trying to find ways inside the property, but every time it nears the protected line a blue lightning strikes out and throws the thing away. Watching the lightning work Alia fell asleep quickly.

Nate suddenly awakened, it took awhile for him to orient himself, 'Alia wake up, someone's at the door, get up' he shook his sister awake,

'What'

'Someone's knocking on the door, come on'.

Even though a safe house allows any caster to enter its premises, if there's a caster inside the house, others need the permission of the occupant to enter the house. This was a safeguard put forth by the council in order to prevent rough casters from harming other casters.

'Wait here, I'll go and check' he was pushing her towards a back room, before she could protest he quickly went towards the main door, looking out of the window he suddenly tensed, sensing her brother's fear Alia rushed towards the window.

'Is that who I think it is?' Seeing her brother's node she looked out again. The caster outside the door is covered with a cloak but there's no mistake of the darkness Oozing out of him. Shadows have become more restless now mirroring its master who is now leisurely leaning on the swing. Alia knows not to get fooled by the appearance of the dark master, though he appears to be bored she knows how angry and violent he can be. She has seen what his temper brings forth.

'What are we going to do, how did he manage to pass the threshold? Isn't our spell supposed to prevent the likes of him from entering the property?' She whispered to her brother.

'Dark or not he's still a caster, so he can enter safe houses, why didn't we think of this before. Alia look at me, you need to run away, I'll distract him, you get out of the protection line and disappear somewhere safe, NO!! don't tell me where!' He almost shouted, 'Don't tell me anything, you can't let him catch you at any cost, do you understand me? Please do as I say, don't try to find me .' He was shaking her now, 'save yourself, don't let the dark witches see you. Listen carefully, you are the most important key to overthrow the dark master, for that you have to stay out of his reach. No matter what you hear you stay hidden. Listen to your magic, it will guide you to safety' hearing the hard knocks on the door he hugged her tightly and pushed her towards the portal he created just outside the back door.

'Go, I'll be fine, he won't catch me' he said trying to smile, but she could see just how scared he really is. Alia was crying so hard by the time she reached the portal. She just wanted to get away from here. It took her a few seconds to clear her eyes to see where she had landed. Suddenly she was glad of his brother's foresight to mask her appearance, Nate had insisted last night that she put on glamour to hide her true self. Thinking about him was making her wants to roll into a ball and cry till it stops hurting. But she shook herself, she will not let her siblings' sacrifices go to waste. They were both trying to shield her from the dark master.

'First thing to do is to find a shelter, I guess safe houses aren't so safe anymore, maybe I should stay in a crowded place,' she said to herself. She went towards the market place hoping to find an inn to spend the night, she could barely walk, the fear she was trying to keep down was making her cold and shaken.

By the time she reached the inn she was about to collapse, but anyone who sees her would just see an unremarkable face of a common working class woman. Her brother thought it was wise to make her appear older than she really is.

'Ma'm you have a spare room I could use? I've been travelling all day and would appreciate a hot meal and a bath if you please'

The innkeeper was a middle aged woman with a bad hairdo, she looked at her suspiciously but seeing the coins on her hand gave her a node and gestured to Alia to follow her up the stairs. The inn is packed, Alia can hear the laughter and music coming from the front hall.

'If you like you can take your meal in your room or you can come downstairs. This is the room, I'll have someone up with your bath water, .you need anything else?' Alia could see the innkeeper seems uncomfortable around her, maybe it's her glamour or merely that she is suspicious of women traveling alone.

'No, that'll be all. Could you send my dinner up and some wine.' Handing over a coin she entered the room, behind her she can hear the woman shouting to a maid to bring her food and water. Alia gave a heavy sigh getting ready for the questions that would inevitably follow as the woman entered the room waiting for the maids.

'Are you travelling alone, mistress..' she trailed looking at Alia expectantly.

'It's mistress Abe, yes, I am going south to my son's house, my husband passed away a few months ago, so now I'm to live with my son and his family' Alia said enough to make the innkeeper satisfied, seeing the maids carry the buckets of water she turned towards the changing room, taking the hint the woman directed the maids to fill the wooden tub in front of the fireplace. After the bath was drawn another maid brought a tray with her dinner, seeing food and the bath Alia grew impatient, she needed a few moments of alone time to unwind and draw up a plan.

'That'll be all mistress, thank you'

'Keep the tray outside the door when you're done, good night' with that they all went out closing the door behind them, she went over there and locked the door, she could use a protection spell to make sure no one enters the room, but by using magic she might give out her location, so she just pulled a chair up to the door and jammed the lock. Satisfied with that she turned towards the tub and brought the food tray with her.

She contemplated her situation while enjoying the rare luxury of a hot bath and a warm bed. Alia knew she can't stay in one place for a long time, but for now she can finally relax and have a decent night's sleep. When the clock strikes 12 midnight she reluctantly got up from the now cooling tub and changed into a nightgown. She barely had time to say her thanks to the light before falling into a deep sleep.

Alia was suddenly woken up, it took her a few seconds to realise she was indeed still sleeping, she had walked into a dream. Casters are hyper sensitive, and she was now feeling rather cold and hot at the same time, the landscape of the dream seems so real, but like all dreams the edges of it seem a bit blurry. That is how you separate reality from the dream state.

She began to look around as she started walking towards the only building, which happens to be her old house, she almost reached the door when all of a sudden she took her hand away from the door and slowly backed away from the house. She needs to find a place to stay hidden until she can find her way back into reality. She could feel the darkness steeping from the house now, so this was a trap, she ran towards the barn and crawled under the floorboards and reached the hidden room. No one except her brother knows this place, their mother made sure each one of her children have a safe place to hide that no one knows about, not even the family, she was supposed to keep the place a secret but somehow she ended up telling her brother.

Alia waited inside the room as quietly as possible. She needed to wake up now. Gathering what she needed for a cast she started to chant when the room started to shake indicating someone trying to breach the barrier spell she put on as she entered here. Knowing how little time she had left she started to chant quickly. As she was starting to fade away from the dream state she saw the darkness breaching her protection bubble. As she was leaving the dream she heard the dark prince's screams.

'Alia, NO! STOP!!'

She wakes up panting and covered in sweat, jumping out of the bed quickly gathered her stuff, she has to leave this place now, not even bothering to explain to the innkeeper she ran towards the woods. It was early morning, not even the sun had risen up properly. There were only several people going about on the road and no one paid any attention to her, she needed to go back to her old house, there was something about that dream. Alia knew there might be spies planted there in case she comes back, but right now she is sick of running away from the unknown, she has to know more. She needs answers.

The dream bothered her much more than she cared to admit, the prince sounded genuinely anxious, it's like he knew her or something, but Alia had no recollection of him other than the need to run away from him and the dark lord.

After going around the town to calm herself down and gather several food items she managed to get her nerves under control. Time to face her demons, making sure she wasn't followed, She went inside the still dark forest surrounding the village and lifted her disguise to make a doorway to the woods near her home.

It was early morning, so the woods were still dark, Alia went over to the cave she found when she and Nate were hunting for food. It was their secret, no one, not even their father knew about this place. From the outside it looks like nothing more than a pit on the ground, but when you climb down you can see that the cave is much larger and one could easily get lost in the mass of its cave systems. They were only able to explore a fraction of it, but Alia knew enough to get to their hiding place. It was Nate's idea to store supplies down here in case they ever needed to escape or hide away, guess it's good to have someone who has the gift of foresight. Nate never explained to her why they needed a hideout in the forest, no matter how much she pestered, the only thing he told her was to remember this, when the time is right she was to return here and go further towards the road he has marked. Nate never went that way no matter how much she begged him to do so. He always said that this is the path to her destiny,

'when you have nowhere to turn, come back here, you'll find your oasis at the end of this path.'

He said looking at the tunnel, he had been acting so strange the few months leading to the attack. Looking back now she wondered if he had actually seen the event, if so why didn't he do anything to prevent it. Coming back here is somehow triggering her lost memories. She had lost several months worth of memories up until two months ago. Her memories before that are also jumbled up, she sometimes feels like she lived in two different life lines, it makes her confused and worrisome. When Nate found her two months ago wandering the streets of the capital she had been basically living on the streets. Seeing him did bring back some precious memories but not all of them. And Nate refused to help her remember anything saying she had to let her mind repair on its own. He never even told her what happened to her to lose her mind in the first place. The only thing he told her was how the dark one had killed her parents and abducted their sister as a way of drawing both of them out. According to him she and Nate had gone to the market when the attack happened, when they reached home all that was left was some burning pieces of wood and a burned down remains of a house. Nate, without saying a word, had taken her hand and portaled out of there.

Alia looked over the cave, but decided it could wait for a little bit longer, she needed to get to her house first and figure out her dream. She tried to connect with Nate but like her sister, her brother has gone silent. She despised what this war had done to her family, before all of this started she remembered several happy memories she had with her family, as the youngest child everyone else had spoiled her, she was given more freedom away from the house, her sister being the eldest has to help mom with the house work and potion making, her brother went with dad to sell these potions in the market and helped him with the farm. She was left to amuse herself.

She made her way carefully towards her old home, that dream shook her up more than she cared to admit. After almost facing the dark prince she started to regain a chunk of her memory, but as soon as she focused on it, she lost it all. She was sure that was the first time she heard his voice and yet he seems to know her, he even asked her to stop, when he realised she's about to fade out of the dream world he started running towards her panicked. None of his actions align with what she heard about the guy. Looking at his face Alia felt something stir inside her, like some sort of suppressed emotions trying to reach up. All this is making her feel extremely tired. Shaking her head she started picking her way carefully towards her old house. Just as she was about to clear the tree line she saw a necklace hanging by a low branch of a tree. She went towards it and took the necklace into her hand. Suddenly her feet Lifted up, with a blink of an eye she left her old house behind and found herself inside a room with no doors or windows.