Almare - The White Mirror

Virginia was lying down on a soft bed of...of something that felt like a cloud. Slowly, the thought slipped into her mind that it probably was a cloud, but she didn't remember why or how she got there or when she had fallen asleep. It was so warm and comfortable that she wanted to roll over again and drift off again to rest, but something kept her from doing so. She managed to force her eyelids open to look around. First, she checked to make sure that Patrick, Wolf, and Tony were still near by. Patrick was cuddled up close by her left side, so it was a good thing that she hadn't rolled over or she might have crushed him. Wolf was on Patrick's other side, and he had his arm around him. They looked so cute sleeping there together, curled up on the fluffy cloud. Virginia smiled and knew that she would never again take a sight like that for granted.

Tony was snoring on Virginia's other side. He also looked cute in his own way, Virginia thought fondly. She didn't want to wake any of them, but she was no longer at all tired. Slowly and carefully she stood up, trying both not to wake her family or slip on the force field she remembered all too well.

With not a notion in her head of where she was going, Virginia set off by herself into the fog. Judging by the amount of light, it seemed to be early morning, perhaps just at sunrise. It was cool and breezy, but Virginia had the idea that it was likely much colder than she felt it to be. The ring on her finger felt heavy, reminding her of her ultimate dependance on it.

Walking became easier as Virginia practiced, the force field becoming no more difficult to navigate than a particularly wet patch of sidewalk. Not being able to see more than a few feet away in any direction was still rather unnerving to her, though. She brushed away a patch of cool mist with her hand, and it swirled and disappeared. That frustrated her for some reason. It was so elusive and intangible, she felt powerless against it. Vainly she grabbed at the clouds, but the mist slipped through her fingers into nothing and was gone. Just like my life, she thought. I'm going to be stuck here forever in this place I don't understand, and there isn't anything I can do about it.

She walked on, trying not to feel too sorry for herself but failing miserably. She had no idea what to do. What the stupid old Guardian had told her was unbelievable to say the least. Actually, everything he had said about the White Mirror's history made reasonably good sense. According to that book Wolf had shown her in Wendell's palace, it was as suitable an answer as any. But of course, she couldn't possibly be expected to believe that her son, her son, was a "Seer". Patrick, the little baby who slept and cried and threw up just like all the other infants in the world? It simply wasn't possible. Virginia tried coming up with several good reasons to support her argument. The power couldn't be something he had inherited from Wolf. Or from her, for that matter. But maybe it wasn't genetic. The Guardian didn't say anything about it being genetic. Maybe it didn't have to be inherited at all.

But then, Virginia thought, grasping at another idea that would make it all impossible, how did that Guardian know anything about it anyway? How could he have any clue that Patrick was a Seer if Patrick was born only three months ago? He couldn't, she concluded, and left it at that. She didn't want to think about it too much as it made her head hurt.

She had been walking for a long time and was only just beginning to realize how foolish it was of her to start out into the mist without a thought in her head of where she was planning on going, or how she was ever going to get back. Virginia stopped walking and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands to help her think. She had been going in a fairly straight line, she reasoned, and if she turned around now she should end up close enough to where she started to at least scream for help. Not the most brilliant plan, but good enough. She turned on her heel and started walking in the opposite direction. Despite her efforts to remain calm, Virginia broke out into a run after only the first few steps. She was suddenly very eager to get back to civilization, or what there was of it up here.

Fortunately she noticed in time that the cloud was thinning. Virginia slowed her pace to a stride. More light was shafting through the haze than had ever before in the short time that Virginia had spent in Welkin. She didn't realize at first what it meant, but in the next second she inevitably did.

The Nine Kingdoms were stretched out before her. The breath-taking, indescribable beauty of it knocked the wind out of her. The sun was rising to the east, brilliant colors splashed across the sky in perfect harmony with the distant clouds. Fields, mountains, valleys, cities, and forests were arrayed below, contrasting almost in a pattern. On the distant horizon she could see the curve of the earth, and beyond that more clouds. It was so odd and beautiful at the same time, to see those faraway puffs of clouds at eye level. She stood perfectly still for at least two minutes, drinking it all in. If she could remember this sight, if she could preserve this one radiant instant in time forever, somehow it would all be okay. Whenever she felt like giving in, giving up, she could pull this out of the depths of her mind and it would all turn out all right. It was so perfect, so completely flawless, that Virginia wanted to stand there forever and melt into that landscape. She could smell it, taste it. The aroma of a deep forest, fresh roses, air on a mountain after the rain, and the tiniest intimation of a wind on the ocean, traveling from undiscovered lands she couldn't see. But she could see everything.

Virginia blinked. She had to wake up. Why was she standing there, looking down on the Kingdoms, when what she should be doing was trying to get back to Welkin? Stop being so critical, she told herself severely. It's beautiful, and I could use something beautiful after all I've been through these past few days. But every time she glanced down and recognized a landmark- Kissingtown, characterized by a flash of pink, the fields around Cinderella's palace, Dragon Mountain in the distance- she thought of how it could all change so quickly if Wendell didn't win the damned war. The trolls, the giants, and all their allies would take over, and who know what they had in store for the Kingdoms? Virginia rubbed her temples gloomily. She planted her feet firmly in reality now, remembering with a shock what was really going on down below her, beneath the deceptive cover of beauty. There was a war brewing, and Wendell and the entire council of the Nine Kingdoms were brutally outnumbered.

Virginia tried to focus on the immediate future. Her mediocre plan was ruined. She couldn't go straight back to where Wolf, Patrick, and Tony were because the cloud had ended. Therefore, she didn't have the faintest clue to where she was. Lost and alone, Virginia sat down on the force field. She remembered something she had learned a very long time ago, maybe from that one year she had joined the Girl Scouts, but had then decided she didn't like it and quit. It was one of the few rules she had understood in Girl Scouts, because it made perfect sense: If you get lost, stay where you are. Don't go running around like a fool looking for the way back, because you'll only go further away from people trying to find you. Virginia decided to try it. She curled her legs up under her and propped her head up with her hands. She realized then that she was on a cloud, and it is the nature of clouds to break apart and float away from other clouds. This could make it considerably more difficult for someone to find her. But even with this new knowledge, she was strangely calm. Maybe it was the effect of the highly panoramic sight of the Nine Kingdoms. Or maybe, Virginia thought, I’m just losing my mind.

Wolf had been awakened by the wonderfully familiar sound of a baby wailing. Without even realizing it, he had wrapped his arm around Patrick during the night, so the experience was even more enhanced: he got the wake-up call and the punch in the nose.

Picking up Patrick and setting him gently on his knee, Wolf rubbed his eyes groggily and attempted to smooth his hair, which, after first being plunged under the ocean and then suddenly forced into the cold high-altidue air, was not faring quite as well as he wished. Not that he was complaining at all. He had his cub back, and there was no amount of torture he would not undergo to save him. But it seemed that Patrick's troubles were just beginning.

Wolf held his son's hands and bounced him on his knee until the sobs turned into giggles. Looking at him, smiling and laughing with not a care in the world, Wolf couldn't begin to wonder what the Guardian was thinking when he stole the cub from them, claiming that he was a Seer. The man was not all well in the head, Wolf thought sadly, and it could cost them all their lives. How could Patrick, an infant, even if he was a Seer, tell about what he "Saw"? How could he communicate it to them? And what exactly did the Guardian want to learn from him anyway? Wolf wanted answers, and he was getting restless just sitting there. And it wasn't as if the thought had not occurred to him that he hadn't eaten in at least twenty hours. It had been so long! The last food he remembered was a quick meal in Eulonia, the underwater city, and fish was not exactly his food of choice. Yes, he was going to find some food for his cub and himself. Right away.

Wolf stood and lifted Patrick up onto his shoulders. The baby's feet dangled down on either side of his neck, and Wolf held the chubby little hands so that Patrick wouldn't lose his balance. Virginia always winced and looked the other way when Wolf sat Patrick in this precarious position. But Virginia apparently was not around at the moment. Wolf figured that she had already gone off to find some food. Trying not to feel too annoyed that she hadn't waited for him, Wolf scanned the clouded areas to all sides of him. He could see the clear buildings off to his left, so he started to walk that way. Wolf paused and steadied Patrick with his arms. Maybe he should wake Tony. No, on second thought, Tony could sleep a little longer and find them when he woke up.

When Wolf and Patrick arrived at the house where Lorelei had taken them yesterday, Wolf noticed the Guardian standing inside. He could see him clearly, of course, and that was actually how Wolf was able to tell that house from all the other identical houses on the street. The old man seemed to be deep in thought. He was standing very still, hardly breathing, with his eyes closed, and was leaning unsteadily against the translucent wall. Wolf wasn't sure what to think of the Guardian's strange behavior, but it was no stranger than anything else he had already done. Wolf stepped up the stairs, being careful not to drop Patrick.

As Wolf reached the door and went in, the Guardian's eyes flew open suddenly and he reached for Wolf's arm. With surprising speed and strength, the man grabbed his sleeve and dragged Wolf down the steps that led to the opaque chamber. Without knowing what else to do, Wolf let himself be led away, trying desperately to keep Patrick upright.

"Hurry!" the Guardian cried as they rushed down the stairs. When they reached the basement, the man crumpled onto the rickety old stool and panted for breath. Wolf lifted Patrick off of his shoulders and set him down on the ground. He shook his head.

"You really are out of your mind."

"No!" the man gasped, "They were about to find me!"

"Like I said..." Wolf repeated, "You're out of your mind."

The Guardian groaned. "The fairies," he said. "Those devil fairies. They can sense me. They're looking for me, searching, all day, everyday. Whenever I use my powers of Hearing, they can pick it up with their awful sensors, radar, I don't know what to call it. I'm only safe in this chamber. Didn't I tell you? No, I guess not. You don't believe me anyway."

Wolf sighed. "I have to. Sadly enough, you're the most reliable source any of us have right now." He rolled his eyes, and decided to humor the nutcase. "If they were going to get you, why were you trying to Hear outside the chamber?"

"It's the only way I can," the Guardian said miserably. "I'm too weak to attempt it in here. The walls block me so much. I needed to know how my troops were doing at battle stations. Everyday at about this time, one of them reads out a report of their situation, so that maybe I can pick it up and listen. But I can't contact them, and that's very frustrating."

"Why are the fairies searching for you?" Wolf asked, curious in spite of himself. He picked up Patrick from the floor as the baby began to whimper, and swung him gently back and forth in the air a couple of times. "How do they even know that you exist?"

"Technically, they don't," the Guardian said. "They only know that there is something spying on them using supernatural powers. The trolls have discovered that when someone is Hearing or Seeing the past, present, or future, the person sends out some kind of wave, like sound waves, or ripples on a pond. They've developed sensors that can pick up these waves. They want to know when someone is spying on them. Some pixies carry these tiny sensors on them, and if they detect the waves, I'll be finished." The old man paused for a while, staring at Patrick, but not really seeing him. "Welkin is not really a different dimension, as the Tenth Kingdom is different from the other Nine. Our city is above the Nine Kingdoms, and it would be very possible for the trolls to get to us here, if they realized that we existed and could figure out how to go this high and still be able to breathe. But they have an easy solution at the moment. They could send the dragons." The Guardian shook his head in sorrow. "We would not be able to deal with red dragons right now."

Wolf held Patrick close. Something about the way this man talked, some quality in his voice, a whisper of truth, made it almost impossible to disbelieve him. But if it was true, if everything that he said was true, then they were in more danger than Wolf liked to think about. Especially after that comment about dragons, which Wolf chose to ignore. Otherwise, he might go crazy as the Guardian with all the worrying and waiting over something he didn’t know, but feared. Dragons!

"So," Wolf said quickly, so that the Guardian couldn't tell them any more bad news at the moment, "How about some food? We haven't eaten in... Well, when a man can't even remember the last time he's eaten, it's time for dinner, don't you think?"

The old man smiled. "Yes, I suppose so. Where's your wife?"

Wolf frowned. "I thought Virginia might be with you."

"No, I haven't seen her since last night. But don't worry, Lorelei will find her."

Wolf put a hand to his head. He desperately hoped so.