Slipping Through The Cracks

Somehow, the entire world had flipped inside out over the course of a single afternoon. It had even found time to shatter at the same time. Mirror could feel her head nodding. She was beyond tired, and could not have said how long she had been walking, nor even where she was going. Her lungs ached so fiercely that she longed to stop breathing, and perhaps that would have made more sense - but then, Mirror was not a mare to give in so easily. This was the same witch who had spent anywhere from years to decades locked in a prison that should have made her wither away to nothing, and from there had spent years dedicated wholly to breaking the laws that governed nature itself, studying and searching and trying. This was a witch who should have died a thousand times over. She steadfastly refused. She raised her chin high, straightened her shoulders, and she kept walking. Wherever this path was leading her, she would get there, and she would not die trying. To hell with death and all its disciples. If the world did not want her, it would be stuck with her, because she had made it this far, and there was nothing to turn back to. No matter how badly she trembled or hurt, no matter what lay ahead. For so long, she had lived for someone. First for the vibrant kingdom of her childhood, for her dear friends and for her loving family. That had kept her going up until the day she’d been locked inside a glass prison. Then, she lived for the Queen and her staff, however dearly she had loathed them, as their tool. Faith. She had been living for Faith since the day they first met, and living for someone, living for Faith, she was prepared to die. Her own safety, her life had meant nothing but what they could do to save Faith. It had gone so far that she had outright declared to the world it could do what it liked to her, to anyone else, but nothing it threw would ever hit Faith. Not ever. It had gone so far that she had put her life in Faith’s hooves. She had given up everything for Faith, and it had not been enough. She had not been enough. Faith had seen her at her weakest and at her lowest and had pushed her anyway. All at once she realized she was crying - warm tears that came too quickly to distinguish from one another were pouring from her eyes. However she blinked or tilted her head, they simply kept coming. How could this be? Faith could not be wrong. Faith could not be cruel. Faith was perfect, Faith was everything, Faith was - she was- Wrong. A chill crawled under her skin and rippled up her back. She had devoted her whole life to Faith. She had trusted her. She had loved her. She did love her. She had to. There was nothing else. If she did not love Faith, then she did not exist. And besides, had she not been wrong before? Somehow she had simply mis-interpretade the situation, she had taken it the wrong way because she was tired and confused. You will return. Right. That must be it. Faith had not meant to upset her; she was being oversensitive. You have no choice. It was silly to blame her own dramatics on Faith. She had blown things out of proportion. There was nothing Faith had done wrong, and besides, why couldn’t Mirror just support her? For years she had trusted Faith completely - years couldn’t be wrong. Faith couldn’t be wrong. You are nothing without her. Mirror stopped so suddenly that it startled a rabbit in the brush. She went still, utterly still, as death itself. Every breath curled into the night air and dissipated as she breathed in again. Mirror screamed. It was a scream so terrible and so deep that it tore out of her and left her breathless, and when it stopped, everything was silent. Her mind was silent. The world around her was silent. For that moment the universe held its breath. Every muscle she had was tensed. She closed her eyes. When she finally breathed again, the world was still there. The universe was still there. She was still there. She turned around, and then she started walking again, walking right back towards the Wandering Woods. Right back to Faith.