Categories > Original > Fantasy > Mirror Actions
A Rough Awakening
0 reviewsThe consequences of large and small actions determine your fate in life. Yet sometimes magic can let you glimpse what could have been. Marion is about to learn it the hard way.
0Unrated
Mirror Actions
Baroness Marion Winter frowned.
"I have already read this page," she mumbled and turned the page. The oil lamp spread its warn light over the beautifully inked painted page. She started reading but paused, the next page was familiar too. Impatiently Marion turned the page again and again. She remembered every page.
"Did the servants bring the wrong book?" she wondered, flipping through two whole chapters.
She turned the book around and read the title, "The Adventures of Lady Melody."
The baroness dropped the book with a sad sigh. "Damn servants, they should know I don't want to read this book ever again."
She left the couch and moved over to the bed. The room was warm from the fire, but she felt cold and lonely and pulled the blanket around her tightly. The only light besides the lit oil lamp was from the fire in the fireplace.
"Should have put out the lamp so I could drift to sleep," Marion concluded, but she hesitated about leaving the cosy bed.
Slowly she pulled the blanket away and put her feet down on the chilly stone floor, when suddenly the door opened. Baron Edward Winter entered the room, he wore no cloak but his brown hair was covered in snow.
"Hello, my beloved, no need for you to stay up to wait on me," Edward said.
Marion stared back at him. "This is a dream," she mumbled, all colors draining from her face.
"Did you find the book exciting?" Edward asked.
"I want to wake up," she complained as she shook her head. Her fingers clutching the warm wool blanket.
The baron had started to remove his clothes as he gave her a warm smile.
"You expected more adventure?" he asked.
Marion stumbled out of the bed and rushed over to the window. Desperately she tried to open it, but it refused to move. No matter how she pulled at the handle it would not budge.
Trembling she turned. There was no escape this way, she needed to move past him. Edward had just finished changing to his night clothes, and his broad muscular form blocked the narrow space between the wall and the bed.
The baroness looked at the bed. If she was fast she could move over the bed and run to the door in time. Yet as she took her first step she froze when she heard him talking again.
"Hodgins the spice trader turned out to be more easily to convince than I expected," Edward said, "After I gave my terms he offered a toast and agreed we should meet tomorrow to sign the documents, like I requested."
She looked at him, standing just a few steps away, tears flowing freely down her cheeks. Edward had a slightly troubled look on his handsome face.
"I have had this weird taste in my mouth ever since the toast," Edward mumbled.
Marion stared at him as long as she could stand, and then hid her face in her hands.
"This just a bad dream," she mumbled, "I want to wake up."
Yet it did not work. She could hear the thud when Edward collapsed on the floor, hear the sounds as Edward started to cough up blood. Marion listened as baron Edvard Winter died in horrible agony. Finally, it went so painfully silent.
She woke up. Laying in the bed, with the blanket pulled over her head.
"Why did you have to die from that poison," Marion mumbled and pulled the blanket closer around her.
So many nights she had sobbed as she fell asleep, but losing her beloved did still hurt so incredibly much. Slowly she calmed down.
The room was very chilly she noted, the winter must have intensified. Normally, the fire left by the servants would be more than enough to keep the room warm until morning.
"I sure put that murderer Hodgins behind bars," she mumbled. It had not been for the murder but illegal transports of goods, yet this victory mattered little. Edward remained dead even after she's had her revenge and thrown the merchant in prison.
Marion moved her hand and felt something laying on the bed.
"Coins in the bed?" she mumbled at pulled the bed cover off to look.
It was indeed coins, but more surprising was that they lay on dirty sheets. Never would the servants dare to put such in the bed. Confused Marion raised her gaze.
Instead of her beautifully decorated bed room she saw a room totally bare of furniture. A pile of snow lay by the closed door, it had not begun to melt. The room would be considered a bad one even in the worst slum of the city.
"What has happened?" she mumbled. "I went to sleep in my room at my mansion. How could I wake up here?"
Nobody answered her as she left the bed on shaky legs. Her own nightclothes were gone, replaced with almost nothing. An outfit best described as rags, blending in with the room.
"I must have been kidnapped," she mumbled, reaching for the door. It opened into snow, and a dirty alley. No guards stood watch. Nothing seemed to move in the cold night. She closed it, and retreated to the filthy, depressing room.
Beside the bed she saw a cold heater. At the far side of the room a full length mirror hung on the wall. It was filthy like everything else around but seemed slightly out of place. A kind of luxury you would not expect in such a poor home.
Marion stared at the room at loss about what to do, when she suddenly saw something in the mirror.
She rushed over to the mirror and stared at it with a pale face. She did not see the expected image, but instead saw her room on the other side. Not this room but her real room in the mansion.
A tall woman stood in the middle of the room. In her hand she held a beautiful gown that Marion had purchased last spring. With a smile the woman put down the gown and fetched another from wardrobe. Marion stared at her confused. She had long blond hair, blue eyes.
"It's me!" Marion exclaimed.
The only thing looking out of place compared to herself was the surprise and wonder in the other Marion's eyes when she looked at the clothes in the wardrobe.
"How can this be?" Marion asked, but there was no answer. Confused, she glanced at the poor looking room around her. Trembling she extended her hand to touch the mirror. The surface was hard and cold.
"No," she whispered and tried to knock on the mirror. If the Marion on the other side heard her she must have chosen to ignore it because she continued her investigation of the clothes.
Marion knocked harder to get some reaction. The only result was that the mirror fell down on the floor and shattered with a bang.
She stared at pieces at loss about what to do. Trembling she sat down and picked up a mirror fragment. In the mirror fragment she could see the other Marion with a surprised smile receive her breakfast from the servants.
"I switched place with a Marion living in this poor dump," Marion exclaimed.
She crawled backwards, staring at the walls that loomed over her. Only able to take shallow breaths as she finally started to take in the implications of waking up in such a poor room. Her back hit the cold heater and the whole room seemed to spin. Everything went dark as she lost hold of her conscious.
Baroness Marion Winter frowned.
"I have already read this page," she mumbled and turned the page. The oil lamp spread its warn light over the beautifully inked painted page. She started reading but paused, the next page was familiar too. Impatiently Marion turned the page again and again. She remembered every page.
"Did the servants bring the wrong book?" she wondered, flipping through two whole chapters.
She turned the book around and read the title, "The Adventures of Lady Melody."
The baroness dropped the book with a sad sigh. "Damn servants, they should know I don't want to read this book ever again."
She left the couch and moved over to the bed. The room was warm from the fire, but she felt cold and lonely and pulled the blanket around her tightly. The only light besides the lit oil lamp was from the fire in the fireplace.
"Should have put out the lamp so I could drift to sleep," Marion concluded, but she hesitated about leaving the cosy bed.
Slowly she pulled the blanket away and put her feet down on the chilly stone floor, when suddenly the door opened. Baron Edward Winter entered the room, he wore no cloak but his brown hair was covered in snow.
"Hello, my beloved, no need for you to stay up to wait on me," Edward said.
Marion stared back at him. "This is a dream," she mumbled, all colors draining from her face.
"Did you find the book exciting?" Edward asked.
"I want to wake up," she complained as she shook her head. Her fingers clutching the warm wool blanket.
The baron had started to remove his clothes as he gave her a warm smile.
"You expected more adventure?" he asked.
Marion stumbled out of the bed and rushed over to the window. Desperately she tried to open it, but it refused to move. No matter how she pulled at the handle it would not budge.
Trembling she turned. There was no escape this way, she needed to move past him. Edward had just finished changing to his night clothes, and his broad muscular form blocked the narrow space between the wall and the bed.
The baroness looked at the bed. If she was fast she could move over the bed and run to the door in time. Yet as she took her first step she froze when she heard him talking again.
"Hodgins the spice trader turned out to be more easily to convince than I expected," Edward said, "After I gave my terms he offered a toast and agreed we should meet tomorrow to sign the documents, like I requested."
She looked at him, standing just a few steps away, tears flowing freely down her cheeks. Edward had a slightly troubled look on his handsome face.
"I have had this weird taste in my mouth ever since the toast," Edward mumbled.
Marion stared at him as long as she could stand, and then hid her face in her hands.
"This just a bad dream," she mumbled, "I want to wake up."
Yet it did not work. She could hear the thud when Edward collapsed on the floor, hear the sounds as Edward started to cough up blood. Marion listened as baron Edvard Winter died in horrible agony. Finally, it went so painfully silent.
She woke up. Laying in the bed, with the blanket pulled over her head.
"Why did you have to die from that poison," Marion mumbled and pulled the blanket closer around her.
So many nights she had sobbed as she fell asleep, but losing her beloved did still hurt so incredibly much. Slowly she calmed down.
The room was very chilly she noted, the winter must have intensified. Normally, the fire left by the servants would be more than enough to keep the room warm until morning.
"I sure put that murderer Hodgins behind bars," she mumbled. It had not been for the murder but illegal transports of goods, yet this victory mattered little. Edward remained dead even after she's had her revenge and thrown the merchant in prison.
Marion moved her hand and felt something laying on the bed.
"Coins in the bed?" she mumbled at pulled the bed cover off to look.
It was indeed coins, but more surprising was that they lay on dirty sheets. Never would the servants dare to put such in the bed. Confused Marion raised her gaze.
Instead of her beautifully decorated bed room she saw a room totally bare of furniture. A pile of snow lay by the closed door, it had not begun to melt. The room would be considered a bad one even in the worst slum of the city.
"What has happened?" she mumbled. "I went to sleep in my room at my mansion. How could I wake up here?"
Nobody answered her as she left the bed on shaky legs. Her own nightclothes were gone, replaced with almost nothing. An outfit best described as rags, blending in with the room.
"I must have been kidnapped," she mumbled, reaching for the door. It opened into snow, and a dirty alley. No guards stood watch. Nothing seemed to move in the cold night. She closed it, and retreated to the filthy, depressing room.
Beside the bed she saw a cold heater. At the far side of the room a full length mirror hung on the wall. It was filthy like everything else around but seemed slightly out of place. A kind of luxury you would not expect in such a poor home.
Marion stared at the room at loss about what to do, when she suddenly saw something in the mirror.
She rushed over to the mirror and stared at it with a pale face. She did not see the expected image, but instead saw her room on the other side. Not this room but her real room in the mansion.
A tall woman stood in the middle of the room. In her hand she held a beautiful gown that Marion had purchased last spring. With a smile the woman put down the gown and fetched another from wardrobe. Marion stared at her confused. She had long blond hair, blue eyes.
"It's me!" Marion exclaimed.
The only thing looking out of place compared to herself was the surprise and wonder in the other Marion's eyes when she looked at the clothes in the wardrobe.
"How can this be?" Marion asked, but there was no answer. Confused, she glanced at the poor looking room around her. Trembling she extended her hand to touch the mirror. The surface was hard and cold.
"No," she whispered and tried to knock on the mirror. If the Marion on the other side heard her she must have chosen to ignore it because she continued her investigation of the clothes.
Marion knocked harder to get some reaction. The only result was that the mirror fell down on the floor and shattered with a bang.
She stared at pieces at loss about what to do. Trembling she sat down and picked up a mirror fragment. In the mirror fragment she could see the other Marion with a surprised smile receive her breakfast from the servants.
"I switched place with a Marion living in this poor dump," Marion exclaimed.
She crawled backwards, staring at the walls that loomed over her. Only able to take shallow breaths as she finally started to take in the implications of waking up in such a poor room. Her back hit the cold heater and the whole room seemed to spin. Everything went dark as she lost hold of her conscious.
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