Stranger in the Mirror

All I could remember of that day was how silent it was. The drops of rain barely managed to penetrate the thick castle walls. The room was as dark as the night sky outside, dimly lit by the singular candle light burning on my desk. As I sit, with my pale white skin shining in contrast with the darkness of both my pitch black hair and my charcoal suit, while reading the latest report by the guards, the sound of hurrying footsteps gradually becomes louder outside my room. Then a knock on the door… then another… and another after that.

“It’s dead in the night. Who could it be?”

I asked as I got up from my desk to answer the door. Outside, I saw my subordinate sweating profusely, as if he had just taken his nightly showers fully clothed.

“Sir! Something’s wrong with the Lady!”

He exclaimed. The both of us then rushed to the Lady’s chambers. Surely this will be just another unreasonable request by her—same as all those times prior, when I had to enact this silly dance and fulfill her obnoxious requests—but the small crowd gathered just outside her chamber begs to differ. Something is clearly wrong, though I wouldn’t understand the scale of it at that time.

The rain intensified. We quickly entered and found the lady standing in front of her mirror. Though the room is quite dark, Her skin and long white hair shone brightly. Thrown bedding can also be seen spread on the ivory marble floors, an impressive feat given the size of the room—the size that a family of four can comfortably live in. As I approached her, her crystal clear blue eyes scanned me from top to bottom, as if they were trying to make sense of where she was. What caught my eye was the look in her eyes. It was… strange, somehow. The dignified look of a noble is no more, what I saw was someone who is scared and confused, more akin to those you would find on the grimy faces of the peasants on the outskirts of our kingdom. I know then: She—no, this “person”—is not Lady Catherine.

I always pride myself on my ability to see the personality of someone just by looking into their eyes. Could I’ve been wrong? Perhaps, but I have honed this ability for the past three years since that day. I continuously trained until perfection, and then some. This is something that I utilized to escape the guillotine, unlike my unfortunate family, who did not enjoy the same fate as mine. Something that earned me the title of the right-hand man of the same prince who executed my entire lineage. I can confidently state, without a shadow of a doubt, that I am not mistaken.

Clearly afraid, she can only utter a few words together.

“Where am I? Who are you people?”

She sheepishly asked. I tried to reply in a composed manner while quite bewildered.

“You are Lady Catherine, from the Elysian Kingdom, you are currently in th-“

Before I could finish my sentence, she replied in an instant.

“Holy kingdom of Veritas?... dear god.”

The way she uttered those words practically confirmed my suspicion. But all of a sudden, BANG. I turned around and saw the double Cedar doors burst open and the prince practically sprinting towards us. He glanced at me with his fiery crimson eyes and quickly ordered the both of us to leave. I was hesitant, but I knew when the prince was dead serious, and this was one of them. I don’t wish to be on the receiving end of the prince’s anger. So we hurried out of the room and left the both of them be. Of course, I’m worried about the prince being so close to someone who is clearly “changed”, but alas, what can I do? You don’t disobey royalty… unless you want your head to fly off.

The crowd watching had increased, from just a few to a handful. I then quickly yelled.

“Look at the time, people! Quit staring and go back to your chambers!”

That’s what I wanted to say to myself as well. I slowly walked along the carpeted floor towards my own room, just wanting to lay flat on my bed in order for this wretched day to finally end. Before I fully slept, I glanced at the window and took note of something.

“The rain is… completely gone? How… strange…”