I Never Saw My Reflection

I was never allowed near the looking glasses.

"You might break it!" my beautiful cousin would say, brushing her silky, golden curls as they glinted in the sunlight.

I was never allowed to speak to the servants.

"You might cause them to drop dead; your voice is so harsh and crude," my charming cousin would explain as he wrote his next speech for the university.

I was always locked in the cellar when guests came.

"You'll make them run away in fright," my aunt would tell me as she dressed for a high tea.

And so it was, I never saw my reflection, saw anyone other than the servants, or spoke in front of anyone besides my three remaining family members.

You might wonder where my uncle was... To put it frankly, he's dead. He died of the same fever that killed my parents when I was only six months old....

I knew my hair was blond - I had found strands of it hanging to my comb - but I had no clue as to how long or short, smooth or coarse it was. Aunt always had it pinned up for me. She forbid me from toughing it. The rest of me was skinny and pale.

My face... I could only imagine it.

Around my fourteenth birthday, things began to change.

******

I was in the enclosed potion of the garden when I heard voices calling a name.

"Daniel! Daniel!"

I assumed the voices called for a dog or some other pet so I continued my leisurely reading.

"Anyera," my aunt called sharply from the house. "Get in the cellar, a guest shall be arriving soon."

Sadly, I closed my book and followed the hedge maze back to the hou-

A boy was running full speed toward me, looking over his shoulder. I cried out in alarm when we collided but he clamped a hand over my mouth and dragged me back into the maze.

"Shh" he hissed, "if they find me, you're dead."

I quieted when I heard the rapid footsteps outside of the maze. When they had disappeared further into the garden the boy released me.

I stepped away from him swiftly and bowed my head, I could not let him see my face auntie would punish me.

"Sorry ;'bout that," the boy grinned. "But I can't let them find me."

I nodded without looking up.

"I'm Daniel, by the way; I don't believe I've met you before. Have you never attended the youth balls?"

Shocked, I forgot myself and looked up. "N-no, aunt would never allow me to attend. She does not wish for me to be seen."

Daniel, his brown eyes wide, nodded. "I can see why. Your face and voice would cause most people to stop in shock."

I could feel the blood rush to my face.

"I need to; my aunt will be calling for me again,." I dashed away from him and it wasn't until after I was safely in he locked cellar that I realized he hadn't dropped dead at the sound of my voice.

******

The damp, cold cellar was split into three rooms. The first is small and only contains the stairway up to the main floor and the two narrow doors leading to the other rooms.

The second room, accessed by the door on the left, was similar in size to the first. It was completely bare of furniture. It only contained three old, but large, pillows, a threadbare quilt, and a small stack of books that kept me entertained during my long hours of banishment to this dismal. hole.

The final room was the storage room where our food was stored. I never went in since I had no purpose there, but today, I was BORED.

I found myself picking up my tiny lantern which I used for reading and gently pushed the door on the right open.

Shelves lined the walls, stuffed full of jars and sacks, except for a small area in the corner. Something leaned against the wall between the farthest two shelves. It was concealed from my view by a thick canvas.

Curious, I set my lantern on the shelf next to the mysterious object and reached out hesitantly to the heavy canvas and pulled it away.

It was a mirror with a carved gold frame.

I shut my eyes quickly, realizing what I had just done.

There was a loud CRACK and I opened my eyes nervously, fully expecting to find broken glass on the the floor. Instead, dust, which had been caked on the mirror's polished surface ad fallen off in clumps and the mirror SHONE as if freshly polished.

Tentatively, i peeked at my reflection and gasped. My white blond hair, although piled messily on my head - Aunt had been in a hurry this morning - was silky and rich. I pulled the lose pins from it and it fell around me, stopping six inches above me knees.

My waist, which I had always been told was "sickly skinny," was more waspish with perfectly sized hips to match. I wasn't skinny, I was the ideal young lady.

Nervously, my eyes finally made their way to my face and I gasped in delight, My aunt, whenever I asked what I looked like, had lied.

She old me my eyes glowed red like a demon's, my nose was like a pig's snout, my lips thin and pale, and my overall complexion was pasty.

In reality, much to my delight, my eyes were a deeper blue than he royal crest. My nose was like the one on out queen's, regal, straight and elegant. My lips were full, like the princess's but not quite as red - mine were tea-rose pink. My skin was ivory, not pasty, with a slightly pink undertone in my cheeks.

To put it frankly, I was BEAUTIFUL.

I WASN'T the ugly troll my cousins had convinced me I was.

I giggled with pleasure then gasped.

My reflection in the mirror had rippled.

"I've heard of these," I whispered to myself in awe as I carefully reached to tough my reflection's outs-stretched hand.

When the mirror melted around my hand, it confirmed that this was really a magic mirror.

Excitedly, I stepped through the mirror to the magical realm within.