Smoke and Mirrors (21) + Memes

Twenty-One

Dress Me in Rags

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Early the next morning, we met in the dining room and had one last grand meal with father to celebrate our beginning.

A few months ago, I would have laughed at the idea of sitting at a long dining room table eating a gourmet breakfast with two different kings and a prince. I would have died laughing. I mean, me! The most gourmet thing I’d ever eaten was one of those “gourmet lollipops” that you get from the store for a dollar. But here I was with a tray of fruits I’d never seen before and fried meats from who knew where.

Father had recently begun playing a game with me of “Guess what this fruit is”, in which he’d pick a fruit and I’d guess the name and flavor. Then he’d laugh, tell me the real name, and offer me a bite. It was like trying a huge sampler of foreign foods from another side of the world, except this stuff was all in another universe practically.

My taste pallet had greatly expanded within the last month, needless to say.

“Guess this one,” he said, picking up a red, pear-shaped fruit with a black ombre look at the rounded base.

I couldn’t get the idea that it was a pear out of my head, so I guessed, “Pear. . .? Kind of a gritty texture, sweet taste?”

He laughed. “We call this one a Fire Plam. Here–try a bite.” He handed it to me and I took my knife and began slicing into it.

The moment my knife broke the skin of the fire plam, light began to seep out around the blade. I gasped as a drop of glowing, clear juice rolled down my hand. I looked up at father and he gestured to keep going. I blinked and looked back down at the plam. I cut out a slice in the side, and realised that the deeper I cut, the brighter it glowed. This was definitely not a pear.

I took a bite.

My expression must have been funny, because both Adrian and Father laughed. I couldn’t help it though, it was the most wonderful thing I’d ever tasted.

I took a bite out of the plam then, which made Sterling finally snort.

I looked at him. “What’s your problem?”

“Your lips are glowing,” he pointed out.

I knew what he meant, but I decided to annoy him a little just because I could. “Sterling, Darling. You shouldn’t make such comments for everyone to hear. If you want to kiss me, tell me so later!”

He shot me a withering look and groaned, burying his face in his hands.

Adrian laughed again.

I used a napkin to wipe away the juice, but found that not only was my mouth glowing, now my hands and napkin were as well.

I ate two more fire palms after that, and it suddenly seemed to dawn on Adrian that I was still eating them. His eyes widened. “Tessa, you probably shouldn’t–”

I took another bite.

“--eat any more palms for today. If you eat too much at once, you’ll start–”

Just at the end of my vision, I began noticing that my nose was glowing.

I dropped the fire plam.

Sterling looked up and began laughing, which was a first from him.

I looked at father, only to see that he was trying to contain his own laughter, along with Adrian.

“Sterling?” I asked quietly. “What does my face look like? Do you have a mirror handy?”

He smirked. Slowly, as if they were uncoiling from within his hand, his mirrors began to stretch forward like silver taffy, glistening in the light from the chandeliers above. In all reality, his power was beautiful–when it wasn’t wrapped around my neck in a threatening manner.

His mirrors pooled together in front of me to make a clear mirror that almost seemed to glow ethereally. The edges of the glass were milky and silver, but the center was the most clear bit of mirror I’d ever seen before. It looked like you could reach out and touch it–and maybe your hand would go inside.

–But on the less lovely side of things, my face was glowing. Which looked really odd, because my nostrils were also glowing, and my eyes were glowing, and everything glowed. I started laughing at my own appearance, and then realised that even my teeth were glowing. I poked the mirror and it rippled beneath my touch like syrup. When I pulled my hand away, my finger was silver, like the mirror.

“Alright, that’s enough.” Sterling quickly pulled his mirrors back and they once more looked like silver ropes as they disappeared into his hands. The silver on the end of my finger went with it.

“Your powers aren’t scary at all,” I said slowly, then squinted at him. “Why do you have to make everything look so much worse than it is?”

“Well, not everything is what it looks like.” He cleared his throat and stood. “May I be excused? I’m finished with breakfast.”

Father blinked at him. “Of course. You can wait in the gardens for the rest of us.”

Suddenly, I sneezed, and water poured over the room. Sterling used his mirrors to form an umbrella over himself, Father deflected the water easily, and Adrian used his fire like a canopy until the shower passed.

***

After breakfast, we each changed clothes to look like normal people before starting our trip. The problem was, what group of normal people consisted of a dude from Fire, a king from Mirror, and a me from Water? I guessed we were hoping no one looked too closely at us.

So now I stood in the middle of an empty road just outside of Mirror land–or whatever it was called–with a problem.

“How are we going to deal with all of our luggage?” I asked. I was already getting tired from carrying my luggage case of food, clothes, water, and a few other necessities. How would we–or maybe it was just I who was weak–carry this stuff further into our journey?

Sterling looked back at me and with a dry tone of voice, replied, “You have two hands. What seems to be the problem?”

I noticed something and narrowed my eyes at him. Adrian was carrying his own luggage, but where was. . .

“Where’s your luggage?” I asked.

His eyes widened in mock horror. “Oh, no. I must have left them behind. Dear me.” His expression turned serious again. “None of your business.”

I huffed and readjusted my grip on my luggage.

Adrian tightened his own grip on the sacks slung over his shoulder, so I knew this wasn’t completely effortless for him either. Water bottles weighed things down majorly, but unfortunately, it was one thing we needed most.

According to father, I especially needed the water. Water Talents get dehydrated more easily than other Talents, so I had to drink constantly. We hadn’t even gone far and I noticed that my mouth was incredibly dry, even though it wasn’t hot at all out here.

We were still in the borders of Water, so clear streams flowed all around us out here. Father’s kingdom was much larger than I’d thought at first.

We walked for a while until we came to the border of Mirror. We were lucky that our destination was only in the neighboring kingdom.

The border was obvious, because it was like a shimmering mist divided Mirror from Water. Sterling lifted his hand towards the mist and it began to roll back for us to walk through. Once we were inside, it closed again.

“What was that?” I asked, eyes wide at the mist.

Sterling ignored me.

I turned to Adrian for an explanation. He sighed. “It’s a long story, but basically, every kingdom works with the neighboring kingdom to create a border. That border was made of mist and mirrors, which could slice a person apart if they crossed without a pass of some kind. It keeps armies out. WIthout the mist, the mirror pieces couldn’t float around like that, and without the mirrors, the mist becomes harmless. It’s an effort from both rulers.”

I looked back at the mist, which now looked a bit more ominous now that I knew its purpose.

On the other side of the border, everything began to change.

The streams and ponds had been anywhere you looked back on Water, but here, they began to change. Instead of soft and rippling, the further in we kept walking, the more silvery and still the waters grew. It was like watching the weather freeze a pond over, except instead of ice, this was mirror. I touched the end of my shoe into the water, but when I pulled away, sticky threads of mirror snapped away from my shoe like gum and curled back into itself. The end of my shoe was now silver.

“Look out for the pond mirrors,” Sterling warned. “Just like fish live in water, other creatures live here.”

I raised my eyebrows at that and stopped walking. “Really? What kind of creatures?”

“I’m not here to give you a blasted tour, alright? Keep walking.”

Adrian whistled. “Warm up a little, Sterling. She doesn’t know anything here.”

Sterling walked up ahead of us, so I knew he couldn’t hear me. I leaned over to Adrian and whispered, “What kind of creatures?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know anything here either, just stories. I heard one person say they lost a daughter to the mirror ponds before. Some people describe horrible creatures in them. Creatures that can steal your very soul.” Adrian’s eyes were intense.

I shuddered. “Is that real?!”

“It’s not,” Sterling replied.

Adrian chuckled. “I’m just messing with you. Most creatures in those are small bog pugs and sliter beets. Nothing intense.”

I blinked. “And those are. . .?”

He raised an eyebrow. “The Otherside doesn’t have sliter beets or bog pugs?!”

I shook my head. “Not that I’ve heard of.”

“Well, sliter beets are slippery, slimy things. They’re round and long, silver usually, and drink blood. But not a lot or anything. You only have to worry about them if there’s a lot on you. And sometimes they can spread diseases.”

I cocked my head. “We have something called a leech that sounds a lot like that.”

“Oh really? Huh. Does it have horns too?”

“No. No horns.”

“Ah. Then I bet our sliter beets look the best.”

I chuckled. “Sure. Now tell me about a bog pug!”

We continued like that for a while, until Sterling finally told us to quit talking so much, we were going to wake up creatures we didn’t want to mess with. Most likely, there were no creatures and he just wanted us quiet, but we were quiet just in case.

After a while, my hands started to go numb from the weight of my suitcase. “Look,” I groaned, “can we stop a second? I really need to rest my hands.”

Sterling looked at Adrian who shrugged, then sighed. “Fine. Just for a moment.”

I dropped my suitcase and wandered over to a mirror pond, wringing my hands to get the feeling back in my fingers.

Adrian and Sterling were in a conversation when I slipped away, so they didn’t notice me squatting near the pool to get a better look at the sliter beets and bog pugs.

It wasn’t until I felt thick chords of mirror wrap their icy tentacles around my neck that I realised I should have been less infatuated with the pond and more focused on my surroundings.

My heart thundered in my chest as betrayal washed over me. Sterling had promised he wouldn’t kill me! How could he–

Then it hit me. He never promised–not really.

“Quiet. Open your suitcase and give me any valuables. Hurry–before your friends see me.” The voice was a woman’s–not Sterling’s at all. I swallowed, but even that was hard with the mirror ropes pressing tightly into my neck.

I reached over and slowly opened my suitcase.

Suddenly, I sneezed.

Fire shot out from around me, causing the woman to yelp and fall backward. I quickly jumped to my feet and looked at her, my hand outstretched as if I could willingly harm her.

She scrambled back, her palms pressed into the white sand and patches of silvery grass. She wore a hood to hide her features, but it fell back when she stumbled.

The face looking at me was a literal mirror image of my own. Her skin was like Sterling’s–pale and tinted a light blue, which reflected the light like a mirror. But everything about her looked like me.

I swallowed, shocked.

Suddenly, from behind me silver bands of mirror shot out and wrapped around her hands. Adrian rushed over, his skin dancing with tendrils of fire and smoke. Sterling followed behind him, slowly walking since he now controlled her with his mirrors.

“Are you alright?” Adrian asked.

I absently touched my neck. “Fine.” I was still in shock. My eyes couldn’t leave her face.

“Ah, you found your reflection, I see.” Sterling stepped beside me. “That’s rare.”

I blinked at him as he forced the woman to stand. “My reflection?” I replied.

He nodded. “We all have one. Somewhere on the Otherside, I have one that looks more like you–normal skin and coloring. Not like Mirror people. It’s rare to ever meet your reflection though–few people ever cross to the Otherside.”

I blinked in disbelief and realised she wore the same outfit as I was, under her cloak. She truly was my reflection–as I was hers, apparently.

“Look, I don’t want any trouble,” the woman said slowly. “Just let me go on my way and I’ll forget I ever saw an Outsider.” Her eyes stayed on me just as mine stayed on her.

I snorted. “You wanted trouble the moment you decided to rob me.”

Sterling shot me a look. “Stop. This isn’t your place.” He turned to the woman–the thief–and his face almost seemed to soften when he saw her. “You must pay for your crimes, but there will be a warm bed, water, and food. Come.” Raising another hand, I saw mirrors pour from his palm like liquid and form a puddle similar to the one we stood by, but clearer, like water. On the other side was a jail cell.

The woman obediently walked forward and stepped into the mirror. “Thank you,” she whispered, and in a moment she was gone. The mirror closed behind her.

I blinked at the place in the sand where the jail had been, just behind the mirror. “What just happened?” I asked, looking up at Sterling.

He grunted. “You’ve had enough of a break. Let’s keep moving.”

“But–what about the woman? My–reflection! What does that even mean?!”

Adrian’s flames disappeared from his skin now that the woman was gone. He titled his head at Sterling. “I heard you and your father were different. I guess I’m still trying to determine whether that’s a good thing or not.”

There was a moment where Sterling said nothing, then, as we continued to walk, he replied, “Sometimes I wonder the same thing myself.” He turned to me. With some hesitation, he said, “Look, your luggage will slow us all down. And attract thieves.” He waved a hand towards the ground and a mirror pool poured from his hand. “Drop your packs here and I’ll give them back when you need them.”

I eagerly dropped my suitcase into the mirror and watched as it disappeared behind it’s rippling surface. I couldn’t see where it went.

Sterling gestured for Adrian to do the same, but he shook his head. “I’ll carry mine,” he replied. “Thanks.”

I was much lighter on my feet after that.

We stopped once it grew dark. Adrian made a fire, but Sterling quickly suffocated it with his mirrors.

“You don’t want to do that here. It’ll draw unwanted creatures.” Sterling withdrew his puddle of mirrors from the fire and I watched it disappear into the palms of his hands.

“What kind of creatures?” I asked, infatuated with the idea of more creatures like mermaids or bog pugs or anything else this world had to offer.

Sterling glanced at me and sighed. “Muncale. They love to stomp out fires. History says we haven’t had a forest fire for several thousand years because of them.”

I knew of a few places back home that could have used a few creatures like that. “What’s the downfall of a muncale?”

He sighed. “They eat people. They’re particularly fond of loud, talkative people who can’t even defend themselves from a weak commoner.”

I sat up straighter at that. “I did, too! I’m the only reason I’m still alive!”

Sterling snorted.

Adrian leaned closer and spoke in a mocking tone. “Alright, calm down children. You both played equal parts in saving Tessa’s life, and your mommies love you both very much, no matter who did less.”

I shot an indignant glare at Adrian. “Now you're both ganging up on me. I thought you were supposed to protect me?”

“Is he hurting you? No. Are you dying? No. Everyone just needs to eat something and rest up for tomorrow.”

I sighed, knowing he was right, but I was still annoyed. “Alright, fine.” I turned to Sterling. “Can I have my suitcase back please? It has food in it.”

Wordlessly, Sterling reached into a puddle of mirror and withdrew my suitcase.

We dined on dried fruit–most flavors I couldn’t taste much of aside from sweet and tart–and flat bread, but it put something in our stomachs for the time being. Tomorrow, Sterling said we would hitch a ride to the Weeping Stones, and our journey would be over.

I popped a piece of fruit in my mouth. I couldn’t see colors in the dark.

Sterling’s lack of promising father to spare my life scared me, so I decided to address him on it.

“Why wouldn’t you promise my dad you’d spare my life?”

He looked up at me. Adrian chuckled in the background. Sterling replied, “Why can’t you just sit there and eat your fruit?”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m sorry, next time your life is on the line, I’ll remind you to do the same. You know, I thought that thief back there was you?! I was stunned you’d broken your promise to my father, but then I remembered something.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “You never made any promise. Why?”

He sighed. “Not everyone who makes a promise keeps it–and you can’t break something that’s not there.” He tilted his head back and tossed a dried berry in his mouth. “People break promises anytime it conveniences them.”

I left it at that, but the question still remained unanswered–at least, to me anyway.

I needed to make sure I was safe.

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Author Note: Hey guys!!! Are you enjoying the story? Am I updating too slowly or just fine? I'd love to hear from y'all!

Also, I ran a contest this last month to see if any of you guys had some good memes to share. I loved all of the entries, but there were a couple that really made me laugh from my dear friends, Iris Tanis and Grace Johnson!!! (Click to visit their blogs. You won't regret it!)

Iris Tanis

Grace Johnson

CONGRATS!!! Thank y'all so much for the awesome memes<3