Lost Mirror

Raven stared at the old room, filled to the top with random junk. Old paintings, broken desks, sofas, beds, chairs, empty potion bottles and cauldrons that appeared to have living mold growing out of them, and boxes upon boxes, filled with who knows what. There were books and jars everywhere, some intact some broken, and there was a couple of broken chandeliers. There was barely any room to move around and everything was cover in a thick layer of dust.

Raven sighed, picking up the old feather duster. It was unfair. She hadn't even done anything wrong, in fact she was trying to be helpful. Of course, that was inappropriate for a future evil queen. Headmaster Grimm decided that she needed proper punishment for her less than evil actions. Perhaps hoping she would fight back and turn someone into a slug.

Raven began dusting, trying to squeeze pass the humongous piles. Coughing up all dust, magic and non-magic that came up. Soon she was covered in all different colors of dust, she was both dirty and sparkly.

Raven plop down on an old rocking chair, this would take her forever after to clean up. Headmaster Grimm had said spotless, but Raven was pretty sure the room was looking messier than when she started three hours ago.

"It's unfair" a voice whispered. Raven quickly turned around, but didn't see anyone there. She shook her head, perhaps she had inhaled more expired fairy dust than she had thought. She got up, barely noticing the slight gleam of light coming from the corner of the room, behind a broken bookshelf.

It was Raven's third day of punishment, cleaning a forever ever after ancient abandoned storage room that no one had probably laid eyes on for at least a decade. Raven was proud to say that the room was starting to look better. Well at least the area near the entrance was starting to look better.

She starting putting some of the old paintings in a box, trying to organize the mess a little bit more.

"Strange, how none of your supposed friends offered to help you out. None of them even came to your defense". The hollow voiced whispered, as it seemed to creep up Raven's spine giving her the chills.

"Who's there?" Raven asked, her voice shaking. "I know you're in here. If this is some kind of prank, it's not funny. I mean it. Kitty, I swear I will tell Maddie what happened to her knitted sweaters. Kitty?"

No one replied. Raven swallowed hard, no Cheshire grin appeared out of nowhere. Kitty was the only one Raven could think of that would be willing to play a joke on the future 'evil' queen, but even Kitty wouldn't purposely try to frighten her. Would she?

She continued to clean up for a little more, looking over her shoulder again and again never getting over the feeling that someone was watching her. Raven left soon after though, not getting nearly enough done as she thought she would.

"Miss. Queen, I thought you would be done by now." Headmaster Grimm said, never looking up from the papers he was signing.

Raven sighed, holding her hands behind her back and trying her hardest to not appear as nervous as she felt. "I'm sorry, sir. It's just that I keep hearing this voice. It feels like there is someone there, watching me."

"Raven, I can assure you that there is nothing in that room. Only old junk that's been put there over the years."

"But…."

"Raven, if you want your punishment to be over, a simple written apology will suffice." Headmaster Grimm looked over his desk, his eyes narrowing at the young queen.

"Apologize?" Raven exclaimed. "For what? I didn't do anything wrong." Raven crossed her arms and pursed her lips. Clenching her hands into fits, trying to prevent her temper getting the better of her.

Headmaster Grimm, straightened up in his luscious plush scarlet chair, folding his hands neatly on top of his desk. "You participated in the annual royal bake sale."

"Yes".

"There was a huge panic over some rumor of poisoned desserts…."

"I didn't poison the bake sale." Raven said exasperated.

"Exactly."

Raven eyes narrowed, "I will continue my punishment."

Raven smiled over at Maddie. Glad she had asked Maddie to stay with her, while she cleaned the storage room. Maddie of course couldn't help turning it into a game that Raven couldn't quite figure out. Maddie was running around sweeping up the floor dancing around as the colorful dust filling the room. Raven started laughing as Maddie got dizzy form spinning around. Maddie made everything brighter and even better there was no voice to be heard.

Of course, Headmaster Grimm would find a way to ruin Raven's happiness. In one of the many books of 'reasonable' school rules, Headmaster Grimm had come across the rule that no student was allowed near another student's act of punishment, let alone help them carry it out. Raven closed her eyes and lean her head against the cool stonewall of the empty hallway.

She knew she had only heard the voice a couple of times and it could have been numerous of things. The wind making the door creak, inhaling expired fairy and pixie dust, that weird mold in the corner, or Kitty playing a prank. Raven was in no real danger, still though it took her several minutes before she opened the door and walked in.

Raven smiled, wiping her sweaty forehead. She beamed at the room, more than half of it was spotless.

"Excellent job, I haven't see this room looking this good in years." The voice said as Raven froze.

"Don't be scared, Raven. I'm over here." Raven turned around, looking for the source of the voice. "I'm over here, Raven." It was the first time the voice had spoken more than once. Hearing it again, Raven realized that the voice was coming from the part of the room she hadn't touched, yet.

"Over here."

Raven walked slowly toward the east side of the room. Stumbling over random junk and trying to walk over piles of boxes of who knows what. Raven looked toward the nook in the room, where there was only a broken book shelf.

"Over here."

Raven took a deep breath. She then pushed the book shelf out of the way. There in front of her was a full length mirror. Raven frowned, her eyes narrowing and she looked upon her own scowling face. It didn't look that abnormal, the frame was bent up and there was a shattered part on the bottom left, but it still looked like any old mirror.

Magic mirrors were certainly not an uncommon thing. Raven's own mother had mirrors of every possible enchantment, but that was all magic mirrors were, objects that had been enchanted. A magic mirror couldn't see pass a book shelf, nor would it be able to read Raven's mind.

"Never say never, Raven." Her reflection said in the mirror. Raven's eyes opened as her reflection straighten up and smiled at her. "Hi there," it waved at Raven, then put Raven's, no, its hand on its hip. It was still smiling. That was something Raven had never seen before.

"You look so much like your mother, well I mean you look just awful, but I'm assuming under all that grime and dirt, there's a pretty face."

"My mother?" Raven asked, trying to regain her mind. It was just a magic mirror….one that apparently knew Raven's mother. Raven took a step back, almost tripping over a small pile of glass eye balls. "How do you know my mother?"

If possible, its smile grew. "Well I was her mirror of course. We were very close, but of course it is hard not to be close when someone spends hours on their appearance."

Raven's mother had never once mentioned this mirror and mirrors were something precious to her mother. In fact, Raven's mother would spend hours teaching Raven all about her collection of mirrors.

The one with the gold trimming was enchanted to make your hair a different color, the one with fairies carved on the sides made your skin appear to glow, and the small one with the gems would give you make up advice. Of course though, Raven's mom has much more than simple beauty mirrors. The one with the forest green trimming could let you see anyone anywhere, the one with the purple birds painted on the side could hear any conversation, the rectangle one that was twice the size of Raven made mirror soldiers, the fat oval one with the snake figurines that moved could entrap people, the one with the black frame and skulls could make an exact living replica of someone.

Raven's mother had so many mirrors, some had people in them screaming to be let out, and others were talking mirrors that would whisper such awful things. Of course none could compare to Raven's mother's favorite mirror. The one who declared who was the fairest of them all. Raven knew all of her mother's mirrors and Raven was pretty sure she knew all the different types of magic mirrors. Perhaps it was a haunted mirror with someone trap inside.

"Oh no, my dear. I am a living mirror. I use to be your mother's favorite mirror. That is until she found that insufferable, ego driving, and lying two-bit shoddy mirror. She abandoned me, left me in her dorm room, until they packed me up and stored me away."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Raven said hesitantly, not sure how to respond to her own reflection.

"It's not your fault, silly." Raven's reflection giggled. "Besides it seems like this school doesn't treat you much better. All because of your no good mother and your silly destiny. You must be furious inside, just like your mother."

"I'm not my mother," Raven said angrily.

Her reflection smirked at her, cocking its or her head to one side. "Perhaps you're not, but I hate to break this to you, but you have more similarities than differences."

"I am nothing like my mother." Raven shouted, her hand flew in the air and before she knew she had cast a spell at the bookshelf, shattering it.

"My mistake," it said, still speaking in that tone Raven found herself not liking.

"I've been watching you little Raven. I have seen how they treat you, like your some kind of curse upon them. They hate you because you're evil, but the second you do something kind, you are worse than evil. They get to have their wonderful tea parties, fancy balls and banquets, and love and admiration. What do you get? Mobs who hate you or crowds of peasants trying to flee at the very sight of you. I mean, honestly your future is as bleak as can be. You will poison that insipid little girl and while she's getting a kiss and a kingdom, you're stuck in a small dark fortress, as your story is over. It's not like you can be outside with people, you poisoned their precious Snow White, and you will be burned at sight. I mean it's not like you have plans to do what your mother did and go beyond the poisoned apple bit. It will just be you all alone in your dark little castle. All alone, but then again your use to that. You could of course could always not poison her, but than that won't work either, now will it? If you don't poison the girl than you both go poof or at the very least you have ruined that poor wretched girl's life. Taking away her true love's kiss and her kingdom. I mean I hate to say it, but I'm starting to get why people hate you so much, it's like everything you touch breaks. No wonder you're all alone. Who would want to be around someone who is evil?"

"I'm not…I'm," Raven stuttered, trying to adjust to her eyes watering. Raven took several steps back, trying to further herself from herself. "I'm not alone….I…I have friends and I'm not evil," Raven managed to choke out.

"Friends?!" The mirror laughed, "What friends? That little twit of girl whose mind is less than a teacup full."

Raven eyes narrowed at that, as she clenched her teeth, she could feel her hands sparky with magic as the anger coursed through her. "Don't say that about Maddie, Maddie is…"

"Is what? Your friend? A citizen of a world your mother poisoned? A girl who might not ever get to see her family again, her dear old mad dad, all because of your mother? A girl that won't cast you a single thought once your stories play out? A girl who won't have her happy tea time, if you refuse to pledge your destiny? A girl who despite her best efforts can't escape the worry flurries of the fact that you are evil? That girl?"

Raven shook her head, "you're wrong." She whispered, "You're lying." Raven could feel the tears prickling her eyes. "Maddie is my friend".

"Do you honestly think she's your friend? And even if she was, why would you do that to her?"

"Do what?" Raven asked, her voice shaking. "I haven't done anything to Maddie."

"Not yet you haven't. But it's only matter of time, I mean you're evil, one of your spells is going to go awry and you're going to hurt her. Or perhaps she'll still trust you even after your destinies and then you will curse her for all eternity."

"I wouldn't do that."

"Why not?" Raven asked herself. "Our mother did it. She use to have this one close and dear friend, Prince Good. George was his name. They were quite the pair, the future evil queen and the future good king. I forget what happened to him. Oh wait, now I remember…." Raven looked at herself, seeing herself smirking, Raven looked down at the ground, trying to ignore the heaviness she was starting to feel in her chest.

Raven found herself speaking out loud. "After our mother poisoned Snow White she fled their lands. Our father helped her out, he gave her a place to stay. He thought she was still the same, still the kind and caring young woman she had been. Of course he had been wrong, after mom had us, she locked him in his own castle's dungeon for at least a decade. Now he's barely a shell of the man he used to be, forced to raise a daughter of an evil woman who is also destined to be evil. All because he was friends with our dear mother."

Raven felt the hot tears run down her. She couldn't stop herself from crying, she held her head in her head, shaking it back forth. "No, no, please no. I don't want to be evil. Please no. I am not evil. Please."

"Raven, where have you been?" Raven looked up for her hands, the bright sunlight causing her eyes to hurt. Her eyes were no longer wet, but dry and itchy, like she had been crying for a long time. Raven's legs were sore and stiff. She looked at Baba Yaga, who was floating in the middle of the doorway with a stern look that could fill children with nightmares.

"Madame Yaga?" She asked, her voice cracking.

"Raven you have missed all of you classes today and according to Apple you didn't even go to your dorm last night."

Raven scrunched up her face, "I don't understand, I came here after my classes to complete my punishment."

Baba Yaga faced soften, "Raven have you been here this whole entire time?"

"Whole entire time? I only started cleaning two hours ago." Ravens' voice was still scratchy and unpleasant to hear.

Baba Yaga floated closer to Raven, "Raven you came up her yesterday, no one has seen you since." She put her hand on Raven's forehead. "Are you alright?"

"I don't understand. I was here for a little while and then the mirror…." Raven looked at the mirror, she was not accepting to see the reflection of herself and Baba Yaga. It was just a reflection, nothing more. "I was only here for a little bit, I don't understand." Raven said, her voice shaking, unable to look away from the mirror.

Baba Yaga glanced over at the mirror. "Raven, it's just an old mirror. It's not even enchanted. Let's get you out of this room. I think you have been here long enough with all these fairy fumes and rotten potion mold. What you need to do is eat a hearty meal, take a shower, and go straight to bed. I will talk to your teachers about your absences and then to Headmaster Grimm about your punishment. Come now."

Baba Yaga floated out of the room and Raven followed her, still dazed and confused. She could barely even stand, her legs were throbbing. Had she been standing there all this time? Raven was so tired, perhaps Madama Yaga was right, perhaps all the fairy fumes and expired dust was messing with Raven's head. Though Raven could have sworn when she turned around, she saw her reflection waving at her goodbye, still smirking.