Page 31 of Blood of the Fairest

"I never said I wanted anything from you. Only that you should ask yourself why," he shrugs.

"Sure thing, Magic Mike." A laugh breaks from me. "Wow. I was going for Magic Mirror meets Michael Jackson, but even though you're wildly sexy, that nickname doesn't suit you. What's your name?"

He looks away, toward the windows I opened. "Reinhilde only called me Mirror."

"Well, sure, but I could already tell her imagination was shit by looking in her closet." I study the ornate frame of the mirror, tipping my head as my curiosity runs wild. "Have you always been in this mirror, or were you cursed? Are you the ghost of a gorgeous, rich poet? Something about your face and clothes just screams rich. Did you once have a name, but you forgot it? How old are⁠—"

"One more question, and I'll find some other mirror to call home," he complains.

"So you consider this specific mirror to be your home?" I ask one more with a cheeky grin.

Lo and behold, he does vanish.

"Hey. I was kidding. Mirror, mirror, come back. I want to bug you."

I'm absolutely expecting him to leave me hanging like he did the other day. But to my delight, that flawlessly beautiful face reappears in my mirror to give me a droll look.

"You'll have to think of something better than mirror, mirror, or I'll be forced to believe your imagination is just as shitty as the real queen's."

I feign insult. "Fine. Just for that, I'm nicknaming you Beetlejuice."

"Beetle juice? No."

"Hey, you wanted imagination. You can be summoned in mirrors, and he's summoned when you say his name three times. Close enough. Bada bing, bada boom."

"I didn't realize you were being literal when you said you wanted to bug me, but I won't be named after the juice of beetles."

I laugh. "Fine, then how about Adonis? It's based on a fucked-up Greek myth, but it basically means a really handsome guy."

The magic mirror man considers. "It's not awful. What are the other options?"

He's trying not to show it, but he's clearly enjoying this. I get the impression this guy hasn't gotten much social interaction outside of Queen Rhinestone for a long time, and it's safe to guess that she was a complete bitch to him.

Have I just made my first friend in this fairytale nightmare? Thank god. This world has been pretty rough so far, outside of Merrick's initial kindness.

"Other options," I muse as I wander to the wash basin on the vanity.

I'm so happy that it's been filled with clean water that I don't even care that it's ice cold when I splash my face.

"Let's see. Mirrors…mirrors…maybe something like the Mirror of Erised? We could call you Eris for short."

Drying my face and trying to ignore the perpetual thirsty burn in my throat, I turn back toward the mirror.

"Hmm. Eris," he repeats, his lips curving ever so slightly.

"Eris it is," I beam. "So. Eris. Back to our conversation from before, is there any chance you have an idea of how to get me back to my world?"

He leans against the inner frame of the mirror on his side of the glass, folding his arms.

"No. But I can search through other mirrors for clues of where to start, if you like."

"You'd do that for me?" I ask, touched.

"With an ulterior motive. Always assume that," he reminds me.

"Sure, sure. Then, exploiting that same ulterior motive, could I ask you for another favor? There's someone I want to get a message to—Merrick, the former chamberlain of this castle?" I hold up a hand taller than myself. "He's about yea high and looks kind of like Idris Elba and has excellent taste in clothes and⁠—"

Eris holds up a hand to slow me down. "Is he human?"