Celesta pulled him to a stop and turned to search his face. Her eyes softened and she squeezed his hand. “Fine,” she finally agreed. “But only to go get help, and then I’m running back here as quickly as I can.”
It wasn’t what he wanted, but Alex had a feeling it was the best he was going to get. He had seen his little ballerina fearlessly dancing among her soldiers, standing in the face of the enemy with nothing but a pair of ballet slippers and tulle skirt. He shouldn’t be surprised that she was willing to face Stahlmaus’ army now. A surge of admiration filled him, combined with a healthy dose of fear on her behalf. He needed to make sure they found those mirror shards, not only so that he could return home, but also because until Stahlmaus was gone his little ballerina would constantly be putting herself into danger.
It turned out that his fears came to nothing. They reached the city without incident, and the guards on duty seemed to be familiar with Celesta and rushed them both through the gates without taking the time to ask questions. Alex received a few curious stares, but the guards walking the streets and the few citizens milling about seemed much more absorbed in their own quiet, fervent conversations than in his presence.
Fleurzon was spacious, with wide, well-tended streets and pristine landscaping. The main road took them through an open-air market, and Alex saw that the majority of the businesses either had entire walls that rolled open to the side or else had their front doors standing wide open. It seemed the residents of the city preferred to spend as much time outside as possible, and when necessity dictated that they have a roof, they compensated by making the indoors as much a part of the outdoors as they could. The abundance of outdoor seating and entertaining areas made the nearly empty streets and sidewalks all the more disconcerting.
Celesta led him through the heart of the city and towards a large structure in its center. Tall, white pillars stood in two proud rows, supporting a latticed roof and leading to the great double doors at the entrance of the building. These swung open without ceremony, and Alex and Celesta entered what appeared to be a large receiving room.
The walls were white stucco, though like the rest of the buildings in Fleurzon, the ceilings were high, and the walls built in such a way so as to allow as much air and sunlight as possible to come in. The floors were whitewashed stone, covered in places by thin, brightly colored rugs. Watercolors hung on the walls, depicting various nature scenes, and white and blue ceramics were placed artistically throughout the room. The furniture was all light-colored wood and white linen cushions, and the guard at the door directed them to take a seat before heading quickly down an adjacent hall.
They waited only a few moments before two tall figures came strolling through the doorway. The woman was dressed in a pale blue dress that seemed to flow around and behind her like water as she walked. She had sun-tanned skin and golden hair that hung in curls to her shoulders and bright blue eyes that seemed to take in everything about her in a single glance. The man at her side was slightly shorter, wearing a loose white shirt and pants and sandals. His brown hair was longer at the top than on the sides, falling over his forehead and almost to his eyebrows. His eyes were the strangest of all, however, for one was a deep, dark blue, and the other was a vibrant green flecked with gold. Like all the other elves Alex had met over the last few days, these two both had features so perfect it nearly hurt his eyes.
“Celesta!” the woman exclaimed, immediately crossing the wide room and embracing the little pixie. Celesta seemed even smaller next to the statuesque woman, but her smile was wide as she greeted them in turn.
“Elsa, Lowen, let me introduce you to my friend, Alex.” She turned and motioned for Alex to step forward. “Alex, this is Lady Elsa and her husband, Lowen-who-has-no-formal-title.” She grinned mischievously up at the tall man and hopped lightly away when he shoved her arm with a laugh.
“Lowen is training with Drosselmeyer, and so has declined to take the title of Lord,” Elsa explained to Alex. “It’s wonderful to meet you, Alex. Drosselmeyer has spoken highly of your abilities.”
“He was here?” Celesta spoke up eagerly, returning to her place by Alex’s side.
“Yes, but he left this morning.” Lowen’s voice was deep and rich, and Alex could hear similarities in tone and cadence to the young man’s teacher. “He said you might be here before long. Why don’t you sit down and tell us how we can assist you.”
The cushions were soft and comfortable, and after stiffly lowering himself down, Alex was more than happy to lean back and allow Celesta to spin the majority of their tale. He chimed in only when she asked for clarification, or to gently redirect the conversation when she inevitably started following some rabbit trail in her train of thought. Elsa and Lowen listened with grave, serious faces, the latter growing even more so when Ferrys’ warning about Alex’s injury was relayed.
“May I see it?” Lowen held out his hand.
With effort, Alex pushed himself forward to the front of his chair. He tried to lift his left arm but found that it would only move a few inches on its own. The steady and growing worry that had accompanied him since they left Autumn flared into full-fledged panic. He breathed deeply, forcing himself to remain calm. “I can’t move it,” he said as evenly as he could.
He saw in the corner of his eye the way that Celesta’s head whipped around to look at him at his statement, her eyes growing wide with fear. He tried to ignore her, focusing instead on Lowen’s face.
The young man frowned and moved from his chair to kneel on the floor at Alex's feet. He took Alex’s hand and examined the cut. “You say you cut it when the mirror broke?” he asked. He tried first to bend the elbow–which was unsuccessful–then to lift the arm. While Alex could feel some amount of pressure deep in his shoulder, it was like watching Lowen touching someone else. He could feel none of it, and though he could see that his arm was slowly moving up and down, his brain did not make the connection that it was his own limb.
“Yes. I tripped and tried to catch myself but landed on a piece of glass.”
Lowen gently set his arm back down and leaned back onto his heels. He crossed his arms in front of him and leaned his chin on his fist. “And had Stahlmaus already attempted to cast his curse when this happened?”
Alex frowned. “I…suppose? I don’t know exactly what was happening that night.”
“Yes,” Celesta jumped in. “Yes, he had.”
Lowen let out a long, slow breath. “I believe Ferrys is correct, and that this injury has a magical component and will continue to spread. Part of Stahlmaus’ curse must have permeated the glass of the mirror, and when you cut yourself, the magic transferred to you.”
He swallowed. It was all Alex could do to keep his face passive. “What does the curse do?”
“From what I can ascertain, it was meant to turn the entire army into wooden soldiers that Stahlmaus and his men would have been able to easily destroy. Obviously, the magic that has infected you is less potent, as you are not actually being transformed into wood, but the same elements are there.”
Celesta had risen from her seat and was kneeling on his right side. She wrapped both her hands around his good hand and squeezed tightly. “But restoring the mirror will heal him?”
Alex gripped her small, slender fingers in return, hanging on to her like a lifeline.
Lowen turned to her and nodded. “Restoring the mirror and sending him back to his own realm should negate the curse, much like the magic and air of Faerie healed his previous injuries.” He shifted his focus back to Alex. “You don’t have to worry about that, by the way. Your injuries may have been healed in Faerie, but they are well and truly healed. They won’t come back to trouble you as soon as you step foot once more in the mortal realm.”
The thought had crossed Alex’s mind, and the reassurance helped ease some of the tension in his shoulders. All they needed to do was find the last two pieces of the mirror. “Do you know what Drosselmeyer meant by his instructions? So far, the two mirror pieces we’ve found have seemed to be purely coincidental.”
“They weren’t,” Lowen answered quickly. “But I’m afraid that’s all I can say. Not because I don’t want to, but because even I don’t know exactly what Drosselmeyer’s words mean. I’m sure, though, that if you found the mirror shards, it was not by chance.”
Alex gave a low growl of frustration. “Great. So, we’re supposed to just wander around hoping to stumble on the last two pieces before time runs out? How much longer do I have, anyway?” He looked Lowen squarely in the eye.
