The Mirror Queen: Chapter 4

Walking through the center market, I pass by several villagers and guards among the many booths. Most of the faces are familiar besides some of the guards. My stomach fills with butterflies and not the happy kind. Instead of heading straight for the front of the village, I turn down a side alley and cross quickly to the next street, stopping at an old stone house. Its small and run down but it seems to be standing the test of time.

I knock hard on the front door. For a moment, i felt as if I would knock down the whole door into the house. The door opens and there stands Alger. He looks sleepy, rubbing his eyes and squinting as if he hasn't seen the sun in days.

"We need to talk." I demanded, pushing past him. He grunts and closes the door.

"Yeah, I agree. We do need to talk." He answered quietly. He straightened, leading me to a small sitting area next to his bed. "Lets start with, hey, how are you? Why did you run off last night?" He raised an eyebrow, tilting his head to the side and crossing his arms. I sit down in the chair as he settles next to me on the edge of his bed.

"I'm sorry, Al. I am not sure what to say here. I don't think I am in a position to give you the answer you want right now." I said, looking down at my lap. I feel terrible. Apart of me wants to return the feelings he's confessed. I am just conflicted right now, and he is the most important person to me, so I don't want to rush into something when I am not ready.

"I just don't want to say something that isn't true right now, so please, give me some time." I look up at him. He reaches over and grabs my hand, squeezing it lightly, nodding his head.

"I understand Aspen. You can have all the time that you need." He pulled away and rubbed his face. "Now what did you come over here to talk to me about." He crossed his arms again. I squeeze the staff in my hand and rest it against the chair.

"Something weird happened and I need you to help me understand it." I respond. "You knew you had an ability when we were younger. Do you remember how it felt?" I asked curiously. He raises his eyebrow.

"You mean the first time? Oh, uhh, it's a really strange feeling." he began. "It's like all this pressure is building up inside and you feel like you are going to explode. Next thing you know, bam. It feels like you are being filled with hot air." He finished, He moved from the bed and kneeled on the floor in front of me.

"Are you okay? What happened?" I didn't really want to get into detail of how it happened. So, I try and skirt around the truth.

"I had another run in with that guard, Remmy. He tried to get handsy again and used his ability. He immobilized me. One minute I was helpless, the next, I broke through and then he was the one who was paralyzed and on the ground." I replied. Hopefully, he doesn't push on for more details.

"Wait, so you paralyzed Remmy? What did it feel like?" he pushed. I think back to that moment.

"It felt like a rubber band snapped inside my brain. And then afterwards, when I was leaving, I felt really drained." I answered back. He stood and looked towards the ground, like he was thinking, his brows were furrowed.

"You have never felt that before? I mean it sounds like you used an ability, but so late in your life." he asked, walking over to his kitchen area and grabbing a cup filling it with water. He stood there, sipping out of it.

"Never. So, you think I have an ability? But how? They tested me." I start to become frustrated. I had almost had my life figured out, besides this whole love thing. Why in the hell is there a wrench being thrown in the gears now?!

"How about this, lets test it out. See if you can use it on me, we will go from there." He said, sounding slightly eager. He sat down his water and stepped forward a few feet. "Come on, lets give it a shot. Try and immobilize me." He stood, arms stretched wide, waggling his eyebrows.

"I guess we can try." I stand, turning to face him. I take a deep breath and focus on Alger. I feel like I am pushing everything inside of me out to him. But nothing. Nothing happens. He is still standing arms out, hopping around like a friggin bunny.

"Well, anytime now, duckling." he sneers. The use of my childhood nickname hits a nerve. He hasn't used that since we were kids.

"I am trying, you oaf! Nothing is happening." I stated furiously. He puts his hand over his heart, looking injured.

"Oh, man you hurt me with your harsh words. Maybe that is your superpower." He chuckles. "Look I know this is new, confusing, and frustrating but we have to figure it out some way. What happened when you first used it?" He asked.

"I was being messed with, Alger. By that nasty pig of a guard, Remmy." I said through clenched teeth. The memory was sliding back into my frontal lobe, trying to play out in my head. I wish I could just hit the eject button.

"How about I attack you. Like we are sparring. Just uhh, picture Remmy instead." He shrugged his shoulders. "It could work." He said again, urging me to try.

I nodded my head, deciding to try it out. Hopefully, if I do have an ability, I can find another way to trigger it than that asshole. I take a defensive stance, waiting for Alger to begin sparring. He charges me. I try and picture him as Remmy. I am focusing extremely hard as Alger gets closer.

Suddenly the feeling hits me, only this time it isn't so intense, more like a warm embrace, not an intense pressure. But instead of Alger being immobilized, everything turns into slow motion and like a screen being splayed out in front of me. I see what he has planned to attack me with. I can see that he is going to reach out and grab the back of my neck, pull me into a bowing stance, and bring his knee to my sternum without making actual contact.

One second, I was watching all of this play out and the next everything goes back to full swing and I stumble to the side, falling backwards onto his bed. He is now where I was standing but his head is slightly tilted, confused.

"It didn't work? You moved instead of freezing me." He came over and offered a hand, helping me off the bed. His hand was warm in mine, I think back to last night when he kissed me. My lips start to tingle.

"Oh uhh, no, something else happened." I replied quickly, trying to shake off the tingling throughout my body. I didn't feel the cold shock afterwards, but I could feel that I had a small weight on me, nothing like before. "I did what you could do." I said, looking up at him. For a moment I got lost in those eyes, reminding me of golden sunsets. Dammit Aspen, focus. This is not the time to be thinking about these things.

"Wait.. what? You could see my attack?" his response seemed stunned. "So, you have two abilities?" Shock covered his face as he sat down on the bed again, still looking at me.

"I-I don't know, Al. I don't know how all this works. I just know I pictured you as Remmy, I felt, warmth instead of pressure and then it happened." I plopped down on the bed next to Alger. I am even more confused now, and this wasn't helping at all. I don't think it is at all possible for someone to have two abilities. Even the King and Queen didn't have that, and they were the strongest of the strong. No one could match them.

I sit there for a moment, trying to understand the situation. I feel like I have turned into a statue, then a light bulb went off. "Alger, did you use your ability on me? Back there?" I asked.

"Oh, I tried but I didn't get anything off you. I guess it was because you didn't know what was going to happen. You were just trying." He replied, suddenly interested in my train of thought. "I figured if I saw it, I could anticipate it. Does that have something to do with this?"

"When I first used Remmy's ability, he was using it on me. That's when I was able to get free and immobilize him. This time, you were using your ability on me and so instead of immobilizing you, I used your ability against yourself." Clarity broke through. "I can copy other abilities when they try to use it or use it on me!" I exclaimed, jumping up.

Alger's eyes went wide, and he cracked a smile, jumping up quickly and joining the excitement. "You can mirror someone's ability! Wow!" He looked shocked, rubbing his chin for a moment. "But wait, that is kind of powerful there. Do you know who your parents are?" He asked. I shook my head.

I never knew my parents. I was abandoned as a baby. Whether they are alive or not, I wouldn't even know how I can find them. Alger suddenly gets up and gets his shirt on and slides on his boots.

"Come on." he says quickly. "We are going to get some information."

I follow him out the door. "Where are we going?" I asked, quickening my pace to keep up with him.

"To the orphanage, they may have more information we can get." He says. We walk through the village to the far side where the orphanage is located. Going inside, we go to the first door inside the building.

Man, it was weird being back here. This building was a lot different than the rest of the stone buildings in town. It was made of all wood. It always smelled bad growing up here, maybe it was mold. I wrinkled my nose. We walk into the office and are greeted by a plump smiling lady.

"Welcome! Are we here to adopt some kids today?" She says with a polite smile. Alger shakes his head. "No Ma'am. I am with the Guard and I need to speak with your records keeper, right now." he demanded. I didn't know it would actually be beneficial this way to get information. I would have used him a long time ago to get me out of some bets. I chuckle silently to myself.

"One moment sir." she stands and pops her head through the door behind her, speaking quickly to whoever is in there. She came back around and sat down as a tall, slender lady steps out of the doorway behind her.

"Hello, I am Natalie. I am the record-keeper here. How may I assist you today?" she smiled at us. Her smile looked odd and didn't quite fit her narrow face.

"I am Alger, from the Guard. I am needing to see your records on an Aspen. No last name. Turned 18 three months ago. It is urgent." he stated sternly. She nodded and turned, waving for us to stay where we are. I fiddled with my fingers, realizing I had left my staff back at Alger's home. We will have to go back. I can't believe I forgot it.

We had been waiting for a little while when finally, Natalie came back out with a small stack of papers in her hands.

"Here. This is all we have. Now that she is old enough, we don't need to keep these on file. You may have them." She hands him the papers and smiles. "She must be very important. You are the second person who has come in to look at that file. The last didn't want to keep them, fortunate for you." She nodded towards us and waved us out. We leave the orphanage and as we walk back to Alger's home, he flips through the papers.

Another person? Someone else was digging into my past? But who? I am no one important or special. Well I wasn't up until a minute ago. "Alger, who do you think was looking into my file?" I asked, nervous.

"I am not sure. Maybe it was Remmy? But that doesn't sound like him." He seemed confused and slightly worried. He continued. "It says here your mother's name was Delia, but father is unknown. It looks like they looked her up in the database, so they didn't have to reach out to her, and she was labeled normal." He shook his head, flipping through. "Besides that, just files of your years at the orphanage and this." He pulled out a small envelope. "It's blank." he hands it to me.

There seems to be a small paper folded inside of it. I'll look at it later. My stomach was a pit of chaotic nerves. I never really thought about my mother. I thought maybe she died, or she didn't care and I had chosen to not care about someone I never knew. It was an odd feeling knowing her name. Delia. It was quite pretty.

Alright, so we knew who my mom was, a normal. but not my dad and looks like I may not be able to find out. I shrugged my shoulders and sighed. "Well, that's the end of the road. No information on my father and my mom was normal so all we know is I have an ability." My head started to hurt. The pub would be opening soon for the early risers.

"I am just going to head to the pub and get some sleep. My head hurts, I am tired, and this is a lot to take in." I looked up at him, feeling weary. "Lets just go get my staff so I can get some rest." He nodded.

"In the meantime, I'll see what I can find out through my sources, okay? You are basically an anomaly. No normal has given birth to someone with an ability, ever. Even those who have had children with someone who has had an ability."

I shrugged again, too tired to respond. I just really wanted to get some rest. The answers will have to be put on hold for now. If not, I may drop from exhaustion.

"Look at it this way, at least you are special." He smiled trying to cheer me up.

It didn't work.