Enchanted

Chapter Four
Reflection.

By this time everyone knew what I was, blending in with other kids my age was hard enough for me when everyone thought I was a “nobody” but now. Everything is a lot harder, Amanda’s pretty great about sticking up for me but she has her own group of friends she likes to hang with during school hours. Most of my time is spent alone, between my normal classes and my lessons with Rumple I was busy enough. But it made those moments when there was nothing to do a lot harder to deal with.

I watched as a group of girls passed by while I was sitting by my locker reading one of the manga I had picked up in the book store. The most popular guy in school was with the group. I think I’m the only one who isn’t competing for his attention. Unlike most girls I don’t like to compete for guys or share crushes with people. It’s something secret to my heart, maybe that’s why I don’t talk about my crushes with people much, because it’s something I don’t trust people with. I don’t want to have someone else swoop in and start liking them too, because it’s like that secret loses it’s magic.

Not to say that no one else will like the same guy as me, but if I keep it to myself no one else will ever know what that person has come to mean to me. My sister on the other hand is completely boy crazy, sometimes it’s hard to keep those crushes to myself. For the most part I really don’t think I can match up to anyone else. Which is why I don’t share my crushes cause then I don’t have to compete with anyone. I saw my sister laughing and talking with a group of guys down the hall from where I was. I looked back to the manga I was reading hearing footsteps approaching me.
“Well, if it isn’t the new savior”.

I looked up at Lissa who was the most popular girl in school and one of “Cinderella’s” daughters. Standing I brushed myself off and turned to leave but Lissa grabbed my arm, I looked back at her.
“You know the whole town might be fooled into thinking your something special. But there is nothing special about you. You have no friends! You have no boyfriend! And you’re pathetic. You’ll never amount to anything, I think it’s about time you accepted that Princess”.

I ripped my arm free from her grasp before turning and leaving fighting back tears as I pushed my way into the bathroom. I hung my head tears rolling down my cheeks as I leaned over the sink. What if she was right? What if everyone was just making a mistake? I splashed some water on my face trying to get a grip on my emotions as the lights in the room began to flicker. I lifted my eyes to the mirror and froze, his piercing blue eyes looking back at me.

I stumbled back from the mirror looking at him. He looked just as shocked to see me as I was to see him. I didn’t know how this was possible. But he was the one I had seen when I was drowning and when I had that vision in the forest. Now he was in the mirror looking back at me. I placed my hand against the mirror looking at him. I wanted to ask him who he was, but the bathroom door swung open and his image faded away. Soon I was looking at myself again. Grams came over to me.

“Are you alright sweet heart?”
I looked at her forcing the best smile I could muster.
“Yeah, I’m fine”.
I said quickly grabbing my manga and moving from the room. Part of me wanted to talk to Rumple about this, but I got a nagging feeling that talking to him about this was the last thing I should be doing.

“Controlling the elements is the most basic magic”.
Rumple explained that afternoon in the back room of the pawn shop. I was sitting on a stool in the center of the room as he walked to a book case and pulled out a book.
“You must remain calm and relaxed before summoning an element, it will become chaotic if you are upset or feeling any unhealthy emotion”.

He explained crossing the room to me holding out the book.
“I don’t normally use books in my training, but I think it’s good for you to learn the price of magic before we get down to using it. I’ll meet with you in the forest on Saturday and we will start your elemental training”.

I looked down at the book he handed me. It was a midnight blue hard cover book with gold diamond shapes on the cover. I was assuming it was filled with stories of people who used elements and had to pay a nasty price for doing it. Rumple looked at me knowingly.
“Has anything strange happened today?”
He asked, I looked at him and smiled best I could.
“Not at all, Lissa gave me a hard time but that’s all”.
I hopped down from the stool and Rumple didn’t look convinced that I was alright. I slung my messenger bag over my shoulder and headed out.

“Thanks for the lesson see you Saturday”.
I called on my way out before he could ask questions. When I arrived home, Henry and Amanda were playing video games together, the smell of mom’s cooking wafted from the kitchen, and my dad was nowhere to be found. I assumed he was working at the docs today. I managed to get to my room without so much as a greeting from anyone.

I fell back on my bed taking a breath closing my eyes. I didn’t know what was happening to me but there wasn’t a single person I could talk to about it. Mom would worry, Dad would get over protective. Amanda had no way of understanding what I was going through and neither did Henry. It was in that moment of realizing how truly alone I am now that I sensed him. I sat up looking across the room to the vanity mirror, he was there again his face looking through the mirror at me like a window.

I stood crossing the room and sitting down at the vanity table. I saw a slight smirk cross his lips.
“You can see me”.
I nodded slowly still not sure what was happening. I saw him studying my face trying to figure me out. I rested my arms on the vanity leaning forwards a little.
“Who are you?”
I asked lightly, He smiled at me.
“Peter, who are you?”

I couldn’t help smiling at him, somehow I felt lighter inside sitting here talking to him.
“Krissi, Krissi Jones”.
His eyes seemed to light up at the sound of my name.
“Krissi? Cute name for a cute girl”.
I laughed rolling my eyes.
“Right, I’m so “Cute””
I shook my head, Peter raised an eyebrow at me.
“You don’t believe me?”
I looked at him shaking my head lightly.
“My sister is the one who gets the guys, I’m just the family freak. I mean I’m talking to a guy in my mirror”.

He snickered.
“I’m talking to a girl in a shard of glass”.
I frowned at him having to wonder where he was and why he was able to communicate with me.
“Where are you?”
I asked, Peter looked around.
“I wish I knew, I woke up here after I died and my body was regenerated. I’ve been here for a while, I was walking and I found this piece of broken mirror. So I picked it up and I saw you inside”.

I smiled a little at him.
“And you held onto a piece of broken mirror?”
Peter smiled at me.
“You’re the first person I’ve spoken to in a long time. Maybe you’re my answer to getting out of this place”.
I had to admit he had a point there. If I was his only way of getting back into the physical world it made sense for him to hold onto the broken mirror.
“I haven’t really started my lessons yet. With my magic I mean, I’m only learning about the elements right now”.

Peter smiled at me.
“I’ve waited this long to find you Krissi Jones, I can wait a little longer to get out of this place”.
I smiled at him feeling my cheeks flush with color. I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was meant to be near him. Like someone or something was guiding me towards him. Before either one of us could say another word my mom called upstairs.

“Krissi! Time for dinner!”
I looked towards the bedroom door and sighed, looking back to Peter I smiled at him.
“I gotta go”.
“I’ll try to find some way to get you out of where ever you are. It’s the least I can do”.
I stood smiling at him.
“I can’t leave someone trapped inside some realm with nothing but a mirror shard to communicate with”.

Peter smiled at me.
“Then I will trust you with my freedom Krissi Jones”.
He swept a bow before his image vanished from the mirror. I couldn’t stop smiling once he was gone. I felt like dancing.
“Krissi! The food is getting cold and I’m starving!”
Henry called upstairs. I rolled my eyes heading downstairs into the kitchen. I slid into my place next to my mom. Mom looked at me as she loaded my plate with spaghetti and caser salad.
“Your awfully happy for a girl whose world was just turned upside-down”.

I shrugged not meeting her gaze.
“I just have a different perspective”.
Mom looked down the table to my father who raised an eyebrow.
“Please tell me you aren’t talking about Jack Sparrow”.
I laughed looking down the table at him.
“No Dad, I’m not. I think my gifts are a good thing, I can help people in need”.
Mom smiled at me placing her hand over mine.

“That’s a great outlook to have sweet heart”.
I started to eat as Amanda went on about Avenged Sevenfold. She was going to a concert with her friends a couple of town’s over. She obsessed over those guys the most. I liked them too, but I again didn’t like to compete with people for who likes something more and she pretty much has a crush on the whole band so I tend to keep my distance. But now that I had something of my own with magic I didn’t feel quite as empty now.