Chapter Text
These clothes didn't feel like what she was used to wearing. That probably should have been the least of Cara's worries, considering she'd woken up in a coffin, surrounded by floating coffins, to a talking cat that breathed fire, and was now running down a carved slope from a castle with no idea how or why any of it was happening. However, this heavy, billowing outfit was throwing her off, making it more difficult to maneuver, and she hadn't even stopped to see what she was wearing yet. She couldn't. Somewhere past the beat of her footsteps, she caught the occasional thump and rustle which made her think the fire-breather was still after her. Each time, it stirred a fresh wave of panic which kept her turning every unfamiliar corner she came across to try to lose it.
She hadn't meant to run into another building. Then again, she hadn't meant to leave the first one, and Lord knew if she'd be able to find her way back now. The floor was cold on her bare feet. The swish of her coat sent soft echoes bouncing around the high stone walls, flickering the flames of the green torches lighting her way, and she prayed not to run into any other people - or should she pray to find some? This whole landscape seemed desolate except for her and that cat.
There were obvious questions. Then there was why she couldn't remember falling asleep, or what happened before then. Had she been attacked? She didn't feel hurt, but that could be adrenaline. Drugged? She didn't feel foggy, which might not mean much, but she was also running pretty hard and fast. She didn't think a drugged person would be able to do that.
Maybe this was all a nightmare. It had to be, right? Sure, it felt real, but didn't dreams always feel real in the moment? How could this be anything else? Cats didn't talk or breathe fire. People didn't sleep in coffins - especially her! Coffins didn't float. There were no Dracula-style castles anywhere near New Mexico. Maybe she'd been drugged after all, and this was what an acid trip felt like. If so, she would be demanding a refund as soon as she came to.
Why were books floating?
She would never understand why that was what finally drew her up short in shock, but it did. She skidded to a halt on the smooth floor and stared, panting hard, at the books playing zero gravity all around the library room she'd entered. Some bobbed mostly in place, some spun in slow motion while they glided through the air. Their pages all fluttered weightlessly in an almost hypnotic display.
Then a shadow leaped out by her side, and Cara screamed, reeling away.
"Foolish human!" the cat yowled.
She shouldn't have gotten distracted. She pivoted and would have sprang back towards the doorway, but a cloud of blue fire erupted in front of her, pushing her back and making her raise her arms against the wave of heat. The cat pounced between her and the door, barely missing the last wisps of flame as they flickered out. The striped bow around its neck fluttered as weightlessly as the books.
"Did you really think you could slip away from me?" The anger behind his words was unmistakable, as well as his raised hackles. He was such a small thing, but he gave off so much darkness. Cara barely paid attention to what he was saying but raised her hands in a frantic gesture to stop, already scanning the room for another escape route. Fire around this many books would not be good.
"Just wait-"
"Now, unless you want to get burned to a crisp, take off that-"
A crack like lightning split the air, making her jump and yelp as though struck. However, when her squinted eyes flew open again, she saw it was the cat who'd been struck and in fact trapped, wrapped in a whip. Holding the whip in one hand and a fancy silver and black walking stick in the other was a...goth circus ringleader. He glared down through a Venetian bird mask at the cat he'd just captured, his golden eyes glowing inside pitch black pits. His ears were pointed.
Could this be called a human?
Where the hell was she?
"Me-yeow! That hurt!" the cat yowled.
"Consider it tough love," the man stated in a deep, stern voice which was clearly and blessedly human, but so matter-of-fact that it stopped her up short. He was too calm for what was happening. He was too composed. His glowing eyes turned on her, and Cara flinched back, crashing against a bookcase and barely managing to stay upright.
"I-" she choked out, throat stuck.
"Ah, I've found you at last. Splendid." His tone softened considerably. "I trust you're one of this year's new students?"
She blinked. "What...?"
"My, were you ever eager to make your debut, and bringing a poorly trained familiar with you? That is a clear violation of the school's rules." Now he sounded annoyed, but still eerily relaxed.
"What?" she repeated, staring between him and the cat. She gestured towards it uneasily. "That's not - I'm not -"
"As if I'd serve a lowly human! Now let me go!" the cat growled, ending with another yowl. The man simply sighed.
"Yes, yes. Rebellious familiars always say that. Do be quiet for a bit, won't you?" With a flourish so fast she almost missed it, he flicked his wrist to loosen the whip only to tighten a couple coils again higher, over the cat's mouth. Somehow, the whole matter held itself together. The cat growled and writhed furiously, now muffled, but she didn't know whether or not to feel relieved the animal had been restrained. Was this man any safer?
"Dear me. Of all the students I've dealt with, you're the first with temerity enough to open their own gate and step out of it. Does the very notion of patience elude you?" The man was busying himself with winding the whip enough to hold the cat over the ground. It took Cara a moment to realize he was talking to her again.
"I - I didn't -" Her mind raced. He had everything wrong, and none of it even made sense. School? Gates? Was this an acid trip fever dream after all? She pointed to the cat. "That thing blew the lid off my-" Her coffin? She couldn't say it. "I shouldn't even -"
He waved off her stuttering. Golden claw rings glinted on the fingertips of his black gloves. "No matter. Your orientation has already begun. Let us return to the Mirror Chamber."
"What orientation?! What students?!" she yelled, her voice ungluing all at once. That made the man pause and turn back to her, seeming to finally take note of her state.
"You awakened in a room full of gates, did you not? All of the students here on campus arrived by passing through such gates. Although typically the students have restraint enough to wait until I open them before waking up."
"I woke up in a...a coffin. In a room full of coffins!"
The man nodded blithely. "The design is intended to symbolize a parting with your former world, and a rebirth into a new one, but now is not the time for such prattle. You've a student orientation to attend!" The man stepped towards her and raised the hand with the walking stick in an ushering gesture, as though to move her along. "Go on, now. Make haste."
She took several steps back from him and shook her head frantically, a cold chill filling her.
"No, wait! This is exactly the time for such prattle! What do you mean former world?! Where am I?! What is this place?!"
The man tilted his head and frowned. Even now, he seemed outlandishly unconcerned. "Hm? Have you not fully regained consciousness? The timespace teleportation must have addled your memories..."
"The what?!" He merely nodded as though she confirmed his suspicions.
"Well, these things happen, I suppose. I shall explain it to you while we walk." And then he smiled a smile of such innocent joy that it sent a shiver running through her. "Truly, my magnanimity is boundless."
In the end, what choice did she have? This ringleader had subdued the cat attacking her, and if she ran, she'd truly be alone in this strange place. Besides, he wanted to take her back to where she woke up, which at this point was her best lead on how to get back home. Gates worked both ways, right? Even when they weren't gates...
The sky still held light, but the sun was out of view over the hills, leaving the path from the library bathed in dim half-shadow. Her guide was so unwaveringly convinced of his bizarre story, Cara thought at first that playing along might be easiest. She needed answers, which meant she needed to make him want to talk. Going with the flow might be her best bet. In the end, her shot nerves didn't let her.
"I don't have magic!" she blurted desperately, because all of this was wrong. She clasped her hands to her chest and hopped out a little in front, spinning back to face him as they walked. "I never signed up for any academy! I'm not supposed to be here!"
Headmage Dire Crowley tutted. "Don't be ridiculous. Only those whom the Dark Mirror perceives as having a talent for magic are admitted to the college. Those selected are summoned to this campus through those gates, which can appear anywhere. A black carriage bearing one such gate should have come to meet you, yes?"
Cara staggered to a stop. She'd been trying so hard to remember anything about what had happened to her, but all she could come up with were impressions of space and sound so inky dark she could barely make sense of them. When she looked up, Crowley had already passed her. She sprang to catch up.
"That black carriage serves to receive a student chosen by the Dark Mirror - no one else. It too bears a gate which connects to this campus, and as you know, sending a carriage to meet someone on a special day is a time-honored tradition."
She made a face at him. Of all the crazy things he'd said so far, this was somehow the craziest.
"Uh...a time-honored tradition where?" They both paused this time. Crowley frowned at her as though she'd said something offensive. She wasn't discouraged. "It's certainly not where I come from!"
"Hm, a strange and isolated home you must have," he muttered, and she snorted in disbelief. "That you're this confused is concerning." Then he smiled brightly again and leaned down towards her in what seemed intended as a warm display. She took a step back. He wasn't discouraged. "But this is also part of my duties to my students, isn't it? How fortunate you are to be in the care of such a kind headmage. We'll sort everything out in due time. Not to worry."
There was something unsettling about this strange man's happy attention, something which felt like staring into black water. He held a depth of darkness in that moment which no pretense of normality could mask.
She wasn't in New Mexico anymore.
He patted her stiff shoulder, then glided by her. "Now, let us attend to your orientation."
They climbed the winding path and stone steps she remembered flying down earlier, but this time Cara heard a din of many chattering voices echoing through the Gothic windows on the upper floor. Going by Crowley's explanations, it must be everyone who'd been...sleeping...in those other coffins. Another shiver ran through her to think all those coffins had been occupied at the time, by living people, and she hadn't even known. And now they were awake. Part of her brain which may have started to become delirious prayed they wouldn't find a room full of skeletons as they entered the castle, crossed the foyer, and made their way back upstairs.
There were no skeletons, to her immense relief. Instead they were met with a crowd of people seated in the pews, all wearing the same black and purple robes she suddenly noticed she was also wearing. Yeah, these weren't her clothes, though they fit her oddly well. Had they been part of whatever magic brought her here? The only alternative was that someone had undressed and dressed her while she was unconscious, which she didn't want to think about.
Cara was so busy examining her heavy robes that she barely heard the word "headmage" tossed around the crowd until Crowley stepped forward.
"If you must know," he called out clearly, instantly hushing all those present and drawing their gazes, "I was searching for the new student who'd failed to show for orientation."
The dark figures in the room all turned towards her at once, faces shrouded under their hoods. She managed not to flinch, though her stomach did a flip and her hands curled into fists at her sides. So many silent stares. Luckily Crowley had pulled her hood onto her head before they came in. With dark hair and a dark enough complexion, she could take comfort that her face was also obscured.
All she wanted was to go home.
The headmage also turned towards her. "You're the only one who has yet to be assigned a dorm. Step up to the Dark Mirror, and be quick about it. I'll watch your weasel." The fire-breather renewed its futile struggles and muffled growls, now the only source of movement and sound in the room.
Part of her was afraid to speak in front of these people, but the other part was determined to hit the brakes on this acid trip train before it ran further out of control.
"That thing isn't mine, and I don't need a dorm. I told you I'm not supposed to be here." Thank goodness her voice didn't shake.
A fresh wave of whispers rippled around the room, and her lips tightened into a line as heat rose to her face. Crowley's glowing eyes seemed to narrow behind his mask. A few people seated to the side of the dais on the far end of the chamber raised their voices to quiet everyone else.
"Your fellow classmates can't leave for their dorms until we have you sorted," the headmage insisted with a note of warning. "Step up to the Mirror, and we will take care of the rest afterward."
They stared each other down. The crowd's whispers threatened to renew but hushed each other this time. Crowley was getting impatient; she could feel the edges of that darkness from him again. He wasn't listening to her, and Cara wanted to yell, but she couldn't afford to push him too much. He was the only hope she had so far for going home safely. Fine, then. All he wanted was for her to talk to a mirror, one which was floating in front of a water fountain on a raised platform all the way in the back. How had she missed that when she woke up? Probably because of all the coffins. And fire.
She stared steadfastly at the mirror to avoid looking at any of the people she passed. They didn't matter. Whatever they were thinking didn't matter. They wouldn't do anything to her, and she'd go home soon and never see any of them again.
It was when she stepped up in front of the - black glass? - obsidian? - that something appeared inside of it, as though it were a window instead of a mirror. Like the books in the library, this somehow was finally too much. She gasped and took a half-step back, then paled, because the disembodied mask which appeared and looked out at her - why did that look so much like -
"State your name," it commanded.
"What?" she breathed before she even knew her mouth was moving.
"State your name."
She did not. She didn't say anything, caught in a flurry of confusion and disbelief. Why was the magic mirror from Snow White the first thing she recognized in this crazy place? She hadn't even watched that movie in years! Behind her she heard a couple tuts and grumbles of impatience, but they didn't have a chance to speak up.
"Carmen Abaroa," her voice rang clearly.
Really, this was fine. In fact, it was good. It was confirmation she was dreaming, which meant she just had to wake herself up. If she couldn't do that, then she could wait to wake up without worrying. Snow White! A Disney nightmare! Cara could have cried from relief, but she grit her teeth to keep her composure.
"Carmen Abaroa. The nature of your soul is..." The mirror fell silent for a long moment. A very long moment. Long enough to make her uncomfortable while it hovered there in perfect stillness.
"Um...you can try Carmen Solana Abaroa Fernandez?" she offered, eyeing the magic mirror slave uneasily. Why was coming face-to-face with a fictional character so unnerving?
Just as she wondered if she'd broken it somehow, it continued, "The nature of your soul is unclear to me."
A beat of silence followed. Then Crowley's footsteps hurried behind her. "What did you say?" he asked incredulously.
The mask in the mirror floated closer to the surface, tilting to peer hard into Cara's face. She tensed and leaned back, clutching her hands in front of her stomach. It can't come out, right?
"I sense no magical power from this one. Soundless. Colorless. Shapeless. Utterly vacant."
She frowned. "Wow. Rude-"
"Therefore, no dorm would be appropriate." The crowd broke into whispers and murmurs which couldn't be contained this time, no matter how those few stronger voices among them tried to demand quiet. Crowley, for once, was entirely displeased when he stepped up next to Cara.
"Are you suggesting that the black carriage went to receive a person who cannot even use magic?! But that is absurd! The student selection process has not erred once in its century of existence!"
"It is not absurd!" she finally exploded, pivoting to glare at him. She swung her arm out towards the mirror. "This is what I've been telling you this whole time!"
He turned as well, making the fire-breather swing between them. Crowley opened his mouth to say something, but it seemed some leverage was all the creature needed, because it twisted, kicked off of Cara's knee, rammed into its captor's leg, and somehow loosened the coils around itself. It dropped to the ground at their feet, making Cara stumble back with a yelp.
"You have an opening!" It yelled up to Crowley, then stood upright on its hind legs to better look at him. "Let me have this student's seat!"
The headmage was already moving. "Not so fast, you hyperactive weasel!" His whip cracked expertly, but the creature was nimble and ready for him this time. The whip met only air, mere inches from Cara's feet.
"Unlike that human, I can actually use magic! Let me be a student here! Look, I'll show you!"
Its excitement was so...earnest. Cara paused to stare at the cat, who proudly pulled in a deep breath. She realized almost too late what was about to happen.
"Everyone, get down!" a voice cried out nearby. The whole room started moving at once, including Cara, who flung herself bodily past the edge of the fountain. She landed on the hard stone floor just as blue flames radiated out from the edge, barely missing her. She quickly rolled further behind the barricade. The heat didn't feel like a dream.
Chaos erupted. Cries filled the air. Everyone scattered, some tripping over themselves to get to the door of the chamber, some throwing themselves behind coffins and columns and each other for shelter. A scant few were holding their ground. The fire-breather didn't let up, determined to put on a grand show. Crowley yelled for order and exchanged frantic words with some of the students around him.
God, she didn't care. Cara gritted her teeth and clenched her fists on the cold, rough floor. None of this matters. She propped herself up on her elbows and raised herself just enough to peer over the fountain. Crowley was trying to organize a handful of his braver students against the cat, who continued to evade everyone and kept them at bay with ribbons of flame. As far as Cara was concerned, it was all just filler content stalling her from waking up and getting home.
Her abdomen ached after hitting the ground. It was a lot of pain not to wake her up. All this shouting and chaos was a lot of noise to not be some distorted alarm clock. Plumes of fire erupted everywhere as the cat ran from two students who chased him, blasting their own magic from some kind of tiny wands. Even Crowley was waving his walking stick, sending gusts of icy air ahead of every flaming breath. He was trying to put out burning curtains and coffins and students, and prevent anything else from catching.
Just. Wake. Up.
She didn't. After what felt like a small eternity, one of the two students called out...the Queen of Hearts' catchphrase.
"OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!"
Cara wasn't sure what happened at first, until a yowl from the fire-breather drew her attention. It rolled over itself and crashed to the floor, and seemed to struggle with something around its neck.
The student stepped forward. She could just make out wisps of shockingly red hair under his hood. "The Queen of Hearts Rule 23: 'One must never bring a cat to a formal affair.' Your very presence here is a violation of order."
Oh, wonderful. First Snow White, now Alice in Wonderland. He even quoted the character like she was some sort of idol. This really was a Disney nightmare, and Cara was over it. She tuned out the rest of the conversation and stared at the door on the far end of the room, debating with herself whether she should try to make a run for it after all. Crowley hadn't been of any help to her. Snow White took the good advice to run away. Even Alice gave up on the White Rabbit after enough grief.
"Carmen!" the headmage yelled, marching to the fire cat and picking it up by its scruff. She silently cursed. "Was I not clear that you are expected to take responsibility for your familiar? Now discipline your-"
He was turning this way and that to try to find her. She rose from behind the fountain and glared.
"He's. Not. Mine! How many times do I have to say it?! When will you listen?!" That shrill note in her voice was maybe a bad sign about her emotional state.
"It isn't yours?" he repeated in surprise. After a beat, he cleared his throat. "Oh...is that so? Then I shall have it expelled from campus. I shall even spare it from being served as dinner." Cara gaped, and nearly gagged. No, these people were definitely not human. He smiled blissfully. "My, but I am kind...someone take this away, please."
The cat screeched in anger...and what sounded like desperation. "No! Let me go! Remember my name: Grim! I will go down in the annals of magical history! You fools will see!"
She frowned and stared at the far doorway where the cat disappeared, twisting and struggling in strong hands. His complaints slowly faded as some of those who'd escaped the room cautiously trickled back in. She wondered why it was so desperate to stay...she was getting desperate to leave. She would have loved a free ticket out like that.
Crowley clapped his hands together and turned to the students who were crawling out from their hiding places and once again forming a crowd, this time more subdued. Just like that, as though nothing had happened, his bad mood was gone.
"Well, that was quite the unexpected fracas! I hereby declare that orientation is concluded. Housewardens, please escort your students back to the dorms...hm?" He looked around over everyone's heads. "Come to think of it, I don't see Housewarden Draconia-"
He started spouting strange names, and the students who seemed to be the "housewardens" he'd addressed all started talking about someone whom she didn't know, and themselves whom she didn't care about. Cara huffed and tuned them out again. This was her dream. She would decide what mattered.
...It wasn't just a dream.
That was too terrifying and confusing to think about, so instead, she turned her attention to the single most monumental thing she's encountered here so far.
She approached the side of the Mirror and looked it over. She raised her hand, hovering her fingertips in front of its frame...then ran them over the curved corner, feeling the polished wooden texture, and around the back...the Evil Queen's mirror from Snow White. She was touching the actual Magic Mirror. She blinked and shook her head in a half-daze, staring at her fingers after pulling them away, because what an impossible thing to imagine. This was supposedly what brought her to...this place (she would not think the word "world").
It said she was invisible to it, though, more or less. Empty and vacant. How could it have called for her if it couldn't even sense her?
There were nervous murmurs while she considered all these things, then more students were talking, and then the whole crowd moved at once, this time in a more orderly fashion. They separated into groups and filtered through the door, slowly making their way out until the last echo faded and left the chamber still and quiet.
"Well, Cara," Crowley began once the room was fully emptied. His voice echoed harder with only stone surfaces to catch it. He planted a clawed hand on his hip and shook his head ruefully. "This is a most unfortunate turn of events. I'm afraid you will not be attending Night Raven College after all. Surely you realize that I cannot very well admit a student with no magical ability to my academy."
"Why would that-" She pulled in a sharp breath. "I never asked you to. I wouldn't want you to. All I've wanted this whole time is to leave." After everything, after all her pleading, this was his worry? That she would be disappointed? When the Mirror itself admitted she'd been brought here without good reason! Against her will! Crowley's priorities were way too messed up for him to be human.
He smiled. "Worry not. The Dark Mirror will see you safely home. Now, step into a gate, and visualize the place from whence you came."
...That easy? Cara felt her whole body slowly unwind with relief. It was that easy. She would be home soon, and this nightmare, real or not, would be over. She'd...she would...well, surely she would remember what had happened once she woke up, then she'd go hug her whole family tight, and get ready for school, and do all her chores without complaining, because now she knew how lucky she was to have a perfectly normal life.
She still hesitated after pulling open a coffin. It looked just like a fancy display for a wake, cushioned and clean. She had to will herself to climb inside and hoped it would be the last time she ever did so under her own power. It was too creepy. She squinted her eyes shut and tried to ignore the feeling of the cushions, replaced the sensation with the memory of her well-worn sheets at home. She thought about the way her little bedroom looked in the dark after she turned out the lights, and the sound of the night air outside her window.
"O Dark Mirror! Return this soul to where it belongs!"
A long silence fell. Crowley cleared his throat.
"L-Let us, er...try this again. O Dark Mirror! Return this soul-"
"There is no such place."
Cara kept her eyes shut. She heard Crowley shift.
"What?"
"There is no place in this world where this soul belongs. None."