The Reflected Truth

[Guest]

Alys had had all sorts of notions regarding her new school when she had first received her letter and from what little her Mama and Papa had told her, she had gathered that there would be much to see and explore. However, her first week at school had not only been extraordinary but also time consuming and she hadn't gotten in any exploring during the weekdays.

But today was different. It was a Saturday and so far, it had been wonderful. The witch had slept in until ten and then reached the house tables just to catch the end of breakfast. She supposed everyone rose late on weekends. After a delicious breakfast of sausages and cheese, the witch had decided to go outdoors. However, the snowfall from last night still lay thick on the grounds and the witch didn't particularly want to fight the ever present gales outside.

And then she remembered that there were plenty of places inside the school worth a closer look.

And that was how the blonde found herself fifteen minutes later at the entrance to the Room of Mirrors. Her Papa had called it the Room of Truth but she had no idea why, until she took a deep breath and stepped in.

The first thing that assaulted her senses was the light. There was so much of it, and it was everywhere. It took her eyes a while to adjust to the brightness but when they did, she only saw herself, reflected from every angle possible. Everywhere she looked, she saw her reflection. There was no hiding in this room, not with so much light and so many mirrors around. Maybe that was why Papa called it The Room of Truth, everything was so open and bare here. No place to hide, no place to conceal anything.

The witch gazed in awe at all the reflections around her.

[Avangeline King]

Avangeline was bored. This was not unusual for her. However, this being the first weekend she wasn't sure how she was going to releave the boredom. She didn't want to cause trouble this soon into the school year as if she waited a bit and flew under the radar she could cause more havoc later on with no one the wiser... Well she hoped with no one the wiser.

Wondering through the halls, she caught sight of familiar blonde hair, and the Muhe alterations to the uniform the girl was wearing, Alys! Before Ava could call out, the girl had cautiously opened a door and stepped inside.

Curiosity peeked, Ava followed, giving Alys a few moments in the room to either get used to it herself, or come straight back out if she needed to. When the other first year stayed inside, Ava entered too.

It was bright, way too bright, it was worse than her practice room at the manor that had a mirror along one wall.

The reason became clear as soon as her eyes stopped watering, there was a mirror here like in her practice room, but it didn't stop there. The entire room was one giant mirror, all angles, all views. In each panel she could see her own reflection, as well as Alys. It made Ava's heart leap into her throat.

"Oh wow, this is really cool!" Ava forced herself to say, trying to cover her unease, but not sure how well she had managed.

[Guest]

Alys saw Ava before she heard her. For a moment, the witch had thought she was missing Ava and that's why there was a reflection of the Risiko student behind her own but then was reminded that for there to be a reflection, there had to be the object itself. A small smile played on the blonde's face as she turned to her friend.

"Oh wow, this is really cool!"

"It really is," she agreed, still staring at the hundreds of Alyses and Avas staring back at them. "My Papa called it the Room of Truth. And now I see why."

(OOC: Though that typo coupled with all these mirrors has possibilities! XDDDD)

[Avangeline King]

Doing a slow twirl, Ava inspected her reflection, Alys telling her about the 'Room of Truth', "Yeah that sounds like the right name. You can't hide anything!"

A thought hit her then, "I won't try it now, but I wonder how strong these mirrors are? It would be so interesting to practice magic in here and watch ourselves move. We could see more of our dodging and learn how to be smoother and more graceful. It would be similar to how I practice my dancing at the manor, but I only have one long mirror, not a whole room of them!"

[Guest]

The blonde laughed at Ava's line of thought. Not even two minutes into a strange and fascinating room and she was already thinking about how to utilize it for dueling and spellwork. Yes, that was Ava all right.

"Well, you go ahead and do that, Fraulein. I think I'll intelligently stare at the reflections for a while. And wonder where the light is coming from seeing as there is no window in here, only mirrors." The girl trailed off, frowning slightly now.

[Avangeline King]

Ava blushed as she realized she had gotten ahead of herself again. She had to admit Alys had a point.

"Hmm, now that you mention it, that is a bit odd." Ava agreed, "I would assume a spell of some sort, but I have no idea what kind. Most light spells have a point of origin, and I don't see one here. Do you?"

"I wonder what this room was meant to be used for? Its interesting, but it probably had a purpose of some kind at one point in time." Ava was curious if one of their instructors might know the answers, but didn't know which one to ask. "Do you think one of the instructors knows?"

[Guest]

"Well, I haven't asked any," the girl replied honestly. "But they probably do," she added.

Alys had never been the type of girl to stand for hours in front of mirrors, examining her face and hair. She had a mirror at home but it was mostly used for sticking up important notes and cards from friends and family. In fact, it was so cluttered, she could barely see her face in it. The mirror above the basin in her bathroom was for brushing her teeth.

She remembered what her Papa had told her about the mirror and repeated it to Ava.

"The room helps you find yourself."

Looking at the hundreds of reflections of herself and her friend, she explained "at least that's what Papa said. He said that whenever he was at a loss, he always came here and the answer became clear to him."

[Avangeline King]

Ava thought about that for a little while. Staring at the multiple reflections, seeing herself from every angle, good, and bad, beautiful or ugly, it didn't seem to matter. "I can see what you mean. Nothing can be kept from sight here. I can see how it could anchor you when things get to be too much, or when you have an important decision to make."

Tucking an unruly curl of her red hair behind her ear Ava added, "A place where no one can lie, even to themselves. It could give anyone a much needed reality check." Ava knew that could be useful. When they were surrounded by magic all the time, sometime reality and fiction got blurred together, this would be a good place to come to get a better grip on the truth.

[Guest]

Ava's words made as much sense to Alys as her Papa's had done back then. But maybe that was the point? You weren't supposed to understand until you were ready?

"You know, we'll probably be able to find some information on this room at the archives. I was going to look up some House history anyway because they way we enter our common room scares Tarragon like you wouldn't believe." Involuntarily, the girl giggled.

"And we'll probably have to do our homework too. I have Ancient Runes work for the Highmaster."

[Avangeline King]

"You're probably right, the archives would be a good place to check for information," Ava agreed.

"And, yes, I have homework too. I suppose I have to do it eventually don't I," Ava grumbled, it wasn't that she didn't like learning, she simply wished she didn't have to sit still to do it.

[Guest]

Alys let out a groan to show her own feelings on homework. "Really, its not fair. They keep us so busy throughout the weekdays then give us homework. Are we supposed to get any time to ourselves?" she asked pouting. A hundred Alyses pouted back at her, making her feel slightly childish yet awed. The girl tried to study the reflections closely but couldn't see anything other than just that.

"Do you see anything other than our reflections here?" she asked Ava after a minute.

[Avangeline King]

At Alys' inquiry, Ava did another inspection of the room, this time trying not to focus on the reflections but the room itself.

There was nothing, and that in of itself was strange. "No, I don't see anything, don't you think its odd that for an old school like this there isn't a spec of dust, or a bug, or any evidence that this room is used at all? I mean House Elves are good, but this is almost spooky even for them."

There wasn't even a smudge on the glass where they had come in at, nothing at all to say they had been anywhere in the room but the exact spot they were in.

[Guest]

As Ava made the perfectly valid point, the blonde's eyes flew open in panic. "Do you think people have gotten lost in the room? I mean, I know where we could leave because we're still standing there but if we closed the door and at the back was just another mirror..?" she trailed off, too scared to continue. The prospect of getting lost amid the numerous reflections making her slightly sick.

[Avangeline King]

Reaching out her hand, she touched Alys' shoulder comfortingly. "I think they may get lost yes, but remember we live in a world of magic. If someone disappeared for no reason, they would be found eventually, whither with tracking charms or House Elves. It would be creepy yes, but we would come out alive, it would be even better if we didn't get stuck in here alone."

Ava understood the fear of this room. It WAS very possible to be trapped in here, it would be creepy, but if you kept a level head and didn't panic someone would find you. "I don't think this is a room to play around in, but it could be useful if you needed a moment of peace."

[Guest]

Perhaps it was because the witch had been raised in such an unmagical environment but the thought of tracing spells and elves hadn't even occurred to her. But as Ava's words soothed her, she started to relax. The other girl was right, if people really had gotten lost here, there would be more of a warning around this place. But if the school just left it the way it was, it was most likely safe.

Still, the enchantment she had been under when she first entered the room was gone. And though Ava had put the majority of her fears to rest, a thread of anxiety still remained.

"We should probably go catch up on our homework," she said carefully, hoping her anxiety didn't show. "Or anything else you want to do. I guess homework is for late Sunday nights," the blonde attempted a laugh.

[Avangeline King]

"Yeah, maybe we should leave," Ava agreed, "You're right though, this isn't a day for homework. What say we explore the grounds and maybe I can teach you how to make a snow wizard?"

Avangeline knew her words wouldn't be enough to eliminate Alys' fear, but at least it helped. Now hopefully the thought of something new would cheer her up.

Maybe some of the others would join in too. The more the merrier when playing in the snow.

[Guest]

Alys shivered at the thought of venturing into the gerunds amid all that snow. Her own fascination with it had lasted all of two days into school until she had discovered there was too much of it, and it was cold. But the mirror room was now equal parts scary and boring so she might as well get some fresh air outside. Besides, anything with Ava was bound to be fun, the girl really was like her Mama, unable to sit still for a second.

"Sure, though I warn you I'm probably going to b the worst wizard builder ever. I've never even seen one before. How tall do we have to make them? And how do we get their hair and wand and stuff right?"

[Avangeline King]

Ava giggled at her anticipation, "It isn't that difficult, it's supposed to be fun! So relax and enjoy it. You'll love it!"

Holding out her hand, "Now are you ready to get out of here? I know I am!"

[Guest]

"Of course," Alys replied, easily taking her hand and walking out the mirror room, leaving its strange mysteries behind for the moment in favor of a day out in the grounds making snowwizards. Ava had said first snows were magical, maybe they would be for her too?

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