The Girl in the Mirror

When I opened my eyes again, I saw some unfamiliar surroundings.

'Is this somebody's house?'

I tried to get up and move around but my body wouldn't move as I wanted.

Rather, I couldn't move a single muscle.

'Was this body damaged very badly? It doesn't feel that way though.'

I heard a knocking on the door.

"Miss, it's morning. Time to wake up."

I tried to look towards the door I heard the woman opening, but once again, I couldn't seem to budge an inch.

I heard footsteps coming into my room.

I heard the woman walk past the bed and open the curtains.

"Miss, you can't sleep all day"

The woman ripped the cover off of the bed.

Only then, did my body start to budge.

'Hm? I can move after all?'

'Who are you?'

I tried to ask but instead,

"Go away"

Is all that emerged from my mouth.

"Miss, even if you're troubled by the rumors circulating, nothing will be solved by shutting yourself away in your room."

The woman softly but firmly led me out of the bed I had been lying in and brought me in front of a large mirror to comb my hair.

'Hm? Is this a different body than the one I passed out in?'

The young girl reflected in the mirror looked to be about 8 years old. She had medium-length black, curly hair and glistening eyes.

'Hm? Heterochromia?'

One of the girls eyes was a vibrant hue of red, while the other was a deep midnight blue.

She had an incredibly pretty appearance but the girl reflected in the mirror looked incredibly dejected.

As I was looking at the young girl's appearance in the mirror, I started feeling like I was forgetting something.

'Something about this appearance.'

But I didn't have time to study the mirror in more depth, suddenly my vision turned to face the floor.

'It feels like I'm the one being possessed and manipulated rather than the other way around.'

I pulled up a mental image of the girl I had seen for only a few short seconds.

'I suppose she looks similar to the girl I possessed in the forest. However, it's hard to know for sure. Besides the age difference, the girl I found in the forest had her hair braided, so even if the color is the same, I can't say whether or not her hair was as voluminous and curly as the hair this body possesses. Then as for her eyes….come to think of it I never saw her eyes.'

Suddenly my hand acted on it's own, pulling down a handful of bangs over my right eye.

My vision was directed towards the mirror again.

I could see the lady brushing my hair seemed uncomfortable with my action, but not surprised.

'Why would such a young girl want to hide her face? Does she not like her heterocromia? She's incredibly pretty though….'

Even though the bangs that were thrust over my right eye looked incredibly out of place and messy, the woman arranging my hair did nothing to adjust them.

The woman went to grab the clothes she had prepared for me but my vision began to fade again.

When I came to again, I was in a small, dark room.

I was eating a small meal as I was reading and jotting down notes.

'Magic theories?'

I had nothing else to do as I was trapped as an observer in this body, so I continued to read what my hand was writing down.

It seemed like many hours had passed before my vision faded again.

Like that, I continued seeing glimpses and fragments of this young girl's life.

Through my limited lens, I have learned many things about this girl and the world she lives in.

First of all, I learned that her name is Andrea.

One would think that this would be a quick and easy detail to figure out.

However, I didn't hear her name even once in the first dozen flashes.

Ironically, I learned the girl's name as her step-brother was chastising her.

Besides the details about her personal life, I've also begun to understand a bit more about magic from her incessant study habits.

I've lost track of how many times I've lost and regained consciousness now.

'Every once in a while I feel like this body has grown a bit.'

Even though I felt like an observer in this body, I could taste every meal she ate, the pain of her legs cramping after studying for hours, and as more time went on, I began to even feel her emotions.

Very rarely, one of the flashes would include the girl looking in a mirror.

'She certainly is getting older.'

The more time that passed, and the more the girl grew, the more I became convinced that this girl was one and the same with the girl I had possessed in the forest.

'Then, could these be her memories?'

That seemed to be the only thing that made sense.

If that's the case, then I understand why I can't change any of her actions.

'All of this is already in the past.'

But still, aren't I forgetting something important…?

Ever since I started seeing these 'memories', I've felt like I was missing something important.

When I opened my eyes again, it was pitch dark.

'Where am I now?'

I could only vaguely make out my surroundings. I seemed to be standing behind a tall shrubbery in some sort of garden.

"I heard from her maids that she was hiding away practicing magic again"

I heard a man's hushed voice coming from the other side of the shrubbery.

"She's more useful if she's good at magic"

Another man spoke flippantly.

"But I heard the magic she was studying was…. She must be trying to curse someone"

The man spoke scornfully.

"Could it be Alisha?"

"She's never even met Alisha, do you really think she's that shameless?"

"Even if she never leaves the estate, she still hears the rumors from the maids."

My fists clenched on their own and I could feel bitter emotions welling up inside.

From some of the flashes of 'memories' that I've seen, I already know that Alisha's story was a hot topic after she was adopted into a Marquis' house. Furthermore, she seemed to be on good terms with the people in the castle.

'It really is good gossip'

But the problem is, that Andrea is supposed to be the fiancé of the second prince.

It seems that Andrea's red right eye is proof of her strong magic affinity. Because of her unique trait, the second prince's faction wanted her to marry the second prince to solidify his political power.

However, once Alisha appeared, there began to be turmoil within the faction, pushing for Alisha to be his fiancé instead.

Unlike Andrea, Alisha had a positive reputation with both the nobles and the people of the capital.

Like Andrea, Alisha has a good affinity for magic. However, Alisha has a bright personality and appearance as well as a talent for healing magic and a natural charisma. On the other hand, Andrea's magic was inherited from her great-grandmother who was said to be a master of curses and hexes. Stories of her grandmother,paired with her somber appearance and personality has damaged her reputation, especially amongst nobility.

Although it's widely accepted that Andrea's raw magic ability is far superior to that of Alisha's, the nobles in the second prince's faction believe that Alisha's personality and reputation still make her a more worthy candidate.

'I suppose that's why they assume I'm trying to curse Alisha'

Honestly I can't be certain either way. While I don't have any memories of Andrea actively trying to curse Alisha, I know that there are a lot of gaps in between my memories.

Personally, I don't hold Alisha at fault for this situation, but I'm not sure how the original Andrea felt about her.

'I can tell she's angry, but I can't tell who her anger is directed at.'

What is this nagging feeling that I'm missing something extremely important?

I faintly heard the men continue to talk as I was lost in my thoughts.

I felt my body shivering.

'Come to think of it, it's quite cold outside, and Andrea's body was always fairly weak.'

I began to walk away from the shrubbery, most likely Andrea had heard enough and wanted to go back to her room to rest for the night.

However, when she had only taken a single stride away from that place, she heard one of the men speak again.

"Andrea's death may be a necessary sacrifice to protect Alisha"