The Seven Items

A snippet of memories starts to enter her mind.

Someone caught her with firm muscles gently in bridal style when her body was falling after a mysterious force dragged her into the mirror. All she remembered was a silhouette of a man with their eyes covered by his fringes, but she did recall an apologetic, fond, and relieved smile while she was in a state of half-consciousness.

The last thing she remembered was his sweet and soothing deep voice, comforting her,

"I'll protect and take care of you. Relax and sleep, young lady."

Then, her body slumped as she knew no more.

---

She could hear the fire crackling while her body was wrapped up with warmth. She could smell the familiar strong mixture of old books and sandalwood in the air.

Her eyelids are heavy while she groans softly in consciousness.

When she opens her eyes groggily, her body moves to sit down. With a sudden movement, the blanket that covered her earlier pools down on her lap.

She discovered that she was inside the one-story and quaint library. It is the typical style of a French mansion with a comfy red sofa and two, crimson, cushioned chairs with a wooden table in the middle while the floor is carpeted red.

There's a fireplace nearby at her place, the crystal chandelier glistening in the light above the ceiling, a study table a few distances away, and she's surrounded by tons of bookshelves with a strong stench of old books.

While she's sitting on the sofa, she wonders how she got here until she jolts in surprise when someone enters the library abruptly.

She looks at who it is, and her face brightens after seeing her brother and her childhood friend with relief expressions on their faces.

"Evangeline/Evan!!" Julian and Aksel call out to her simultaneously after their worries are alleviated when they see that she's safe, and they approach her quickly.

"Brother, Aksel!! I'm so glad to see you, but…" She pauses while she frowns in curiosity and confusion, looking at their faces.

"Where are we and what happened?" She questions. She notices the blanket on her lap, and she wonders who covered her, but she begins to fold it and put it on top of the table in front of her politely.

Aksel and Julian glance at each other, and they nod in understanding that they will take turns explaining.

"It's a long story, Evangeline," Julian replies while looking at her seriously, and the two boys begin to sit on each side of her while Evangeline scoots over to make space for them until she's sitting in the middle.

Julian tells her from his perspective that he saw her getting dragged in the mirror, so he asked for help downstairs, and he saw Aksel in the living room instead.

So, the two boys fill her up with the strange events that they experienced until Aksel mentions Hesekiel, the mysterious butler in the mansion, helping them up.

"Hesekiel?" She frowns in confusion, wondering who he is.

"Yeah!!! He's a great guy and pretty handsome too." Chirps Aksel.

"Please, stop with your flirting, and be serious for once." Julian groans in annoyance.

Aksel raises his hand in surrender.

"Now, now, Julian. Don't be jealous. You know that I love you the most." Aksel placates him, and he winks at him playfully.

"You have to be kidding me." Julian deadpan him, and Evangeline can't help herself but giggle because of their banter. She's quite happy that they get along well.

"By the way, what now?" Aksel replies curiously, talking about what to do next, and he's getting back on track.

"Since we are in the library, how about finding more information about this place?" She suggests, and Julian nods in agreement.

"I agree. Let's start doing that." Julian replies. Aksel groans miserably for doing research, but he reluctantly starts to move when the others begin to search for some useful information.

Aksel decides to look around at the study table, skimming the documents on top of the table while he's sitting on the chair. He wonders if the owner here loves plants with the confusing scientific jargon in the paper, but the sketches look beautiful and realistic.

Meanwhile, Julian and Evangeline are flipping through the books on the bookshelf, and they look serious and intense when they focus on their objective.

"You know, I give up." Aksel groans in frustration, laying the side of his cheek on top of the table with a soft thud while he watches his friends do the work.

Julian glares at him in annoyance.

"It's not even 15 minutes since we started looking," replies Julian in exasperation.

"But, it would take us days to search the entire thing!" Aksel complains.

Evangeline closes the book while he places the material where it belongs, and she glances at them.

"I guess… You are right. What we know so far is that we are in the Mirage Mansion." She replies. She begins to walk toward one of the chairs to sit down, and Julian places the book where it originated until he does the same to occupy the chair across from Evangeline.

"Yes. Also, the only useful thing we have is a guidebook." Julian states while he summons the book until it appears in his hands.

The three protagonists glance at the book in fascination when it appears out of nowhere, and it never fails to amaze them whenever Julian summons it.

Evangeline and Julian wonder how magic works in this place, and Aksel ponders if he could do magic too.

Evangeline curiously reads the title out loud.

"The Mirage Mansion…" She reads softly and slowly, and her mind begins to be lost in her memories, remembering her late grandmother's tale while she frowns.

"To find the escape from the mirror…Grandmother told me that… the five children have to find the seven objects to unlock the key." She says out loud. The two boys perk up while they stare at her in curiosity.

"Oh!!" Aksel exclaims in realization, and he opens one of the drawers of the table that is at the bottom, reading the content of the documents quickly until he finds an untitled small booklet and picks it up.

"What is it?" Asks Julian in curiosity, and he gets off the chair after he dispels the book while he approaches him, and Evangeline follows.

"I remember I read about the seven items earlier," Aksel responds, and he places the thin leather booklet on top of the table while he flips it to the first page.

When the two arrive behind Aksel, they see the picture of the notebook, and the following pages are the image of a pen, glasses, pair of earrings, bracelet, and ring, and the last page is the guidebook.

"You should have informed us earlier," Julian says in irritation, looking at him in disapproval. Aksel quickly peeks at him with an apologetic and sheepish smile.

"For your information, I only read half of it." Excuses the golden-eyed male proudly.

"I know you love looking at pictures more than reading texts." Julian raises his eyebrow at him, crossing his arms over his chest while he's getting his point across.

Aksel lowers his head in defeat.

"Guilty as charged." That's one of his disadvantages when his childhood friend knows him well.

While the two young men talk to each other, Evangeline is busy looking at the booklet, trying to recall more of what her grandmother said so far. Unfortunately, she didn't remember further because it's been years since she heard the story.

She ponders where her grandmother heard the adventure of the five children inside the mirror, and she has many questions that are left unanswered.

"What we know so far is that these seven items are the keys to escaping the mansion, and we have to find them all," Evangeline replies in determination, looking at them.

Aksel and Julian pause their conversation while glancing at Evangeline. They nod in agreement.

"Fortunately, we already have one of the items with us, so it's six." Corrects Julian.

"Mhmm~ How about we prepare ourselves in the bedroom first? There might be some useful items lying around somewhere." Suggests Aksel while getting off the chair, and he doesn't say out loud that it reminds him about the RPG he has played so far to loot useful objects in their journey. If he does say it loudly, Julian will retort him again.

"What a surprise. You do suggest good ideas." Julian taunts him playfully, and he chuckles lightly. He begins to lead the way to the bedroom.

"Hey!!" Aksel cries out in offense, following behind Julian's back quickly while Evangeline chases after them. She's always amused whenever those two boys talk to each other.

When they exit the library and enter the bedroom, they hear a soft groan outside the door next to the plastered bookshelf.

"What was that?" Evangeline whispers urgently. They stop walking, looking at the source of the noise cautiously.

"I don't know. Let's find out." Aksel replies cheerfully, and he moves forward.

"Wait!! Don't just open the door out of a sudden!" Cries Julian, and he tails after him briskly. Evangeline quickly follows them.

When Evangeline and Julian arrive behind Aksel, it is too late, Aksel opens the door.

What greets them is an undead zombie. She has ashen skin, dirty amber hair, dilated white eyes, and an awful stench of decay while she wears ripped black maid clothes with a white apron on her skirt. She begins to shriek loudly in front of them, and the three protagonists scream back.

[Author's note: Honestly, I'm surprised that you are the only person that's stuck with me in here for so long, Chrono. 

You are just a few people who read this novel, and I just feel grateful:').]