Chapter Text
Ah, my dear esteemed benefactor…
My proud, beautiful flower of evil.
You are truly the fairest one of all.
O magic mirror, thy wisdom I entreat…
Reveal unto me the visage I seek…
Standing before them was a large beast, all black and blue and full of sharp teeth and claws. Fire bursts from its mouth.
You, who’s image the Dark Mirror did beckon forth…
If your heart bids it, take the hand of the one reflected in the mirror.
Someone grabbed her hand and pulled her aside, another grabbed her friend.
“Don’t do this…please don’t go…”
As flame reduces even the stars to ash
As ice seals away even time itself
As great trees swallow even the sky
Fear not the power of darkness.
Now—demonstrate your power.
The beast roars, swiping at them. But its attacks do nothing for the two, as they are placed in a protective barrier. Only then does it get engulfed in flames, ice forms at its mouth, giant tree roots wrapping around its legs.
The two begin banging against the barrier, screaming, as the beast begins to fall. Almost as if they were the ones hurt.
To me. To them. To yourself.
The hour grows long, and time is scarce.
Keep steady your grip, no matter what may come…
In a town, close to sunset, there is a high school, where our story begins. And like most stories, this one starts with one girl, as she walks out of the auditorium. Most people in the school only know her by reputation alone, as she transferred from the city over.
She had brown hair, fair skin, and two different colored eyes, one pink, one silver. She wore a brown jacket with a white t-shirt underneath, ripped jeans, and black tennis shoes. On her head, she wore a black beanie.
Her name was Izzy, a member of the theater club, and she was looking at her phone, her eyes narrowed with bitterness.
Mom canceled on me. Again, she thought in frustration. It’s the second time this month she’s done this.
Izzy brushed aside a strand of her hair from her face. She got it, her mom was busy with her job back at home. But still, she never managed to get the time for Izzy, even when it mattered.
She sighed as she put her phone in her bag. Well, guess it’s time for takeout ag–
She lost her train of thought when she bumped into someone. Or someone bumped into her
“Geez, what the…” she started, until she got a good look at who she ran into, and immediately was filled with dread.
The person she ran into? The head of the school’s newspaper and a member of the music club:
Niko Yuukiyama, or Nyx, as most people tend to call her.
She had purple eyes, dark skin, and black hair with light green highlights. She wore a black t-shirt and skirt, with a pale yellow cardigan over it, grey socks, and black tennis shoes. She had a mole under her right eye.
“Heeey, Izzy!” She exclaimed. “It’s nice to see you again!” Nyx and Izzy shared the same English class together. Unfortunately for Izzy, they are right next to each other.
“We only saw each other yesterday though,” Izzy said.
“I know, I know.” she chuckled. “Anyways, want to walk with me for a bit?”
Izzy wasn’t surprised for her to ask this. She seemed like the type of person who would want to ask someone to hang out, whether they want to or not. But usually, she is surrounded by a group of people, no matter the number, whenever she leaves school. Come to think of it, they were both alone.
Before Izzy could even answer, Nyx grabbed her wrist and pulled her along, against Izzy’s chagrin. Nyx began chatting with Izzy, or tried to (it was more one-sided. Izzy decided that if she was walking with her, then it would be best to ignore her. She popped in her earbuds and began to play music on her phone.
She didn’t really pay attention to what Nyx was saying, until she said, “I wish I got to know you dad sooner, because–”
Izzy stopped her. “What the hell do you mean by that?”
Nyx scratched the back of her head. “Well, I mean, our dads knew each other, so…”
“Let me get this straight,” Izzy rubbed her hands together. “You thought that just because my dad knew yours meant that I was in the grounds for hanging out? With me of all people?!”
She hesitated. “...I just thought–”
Izzy rolled her eyes, “Listen, I do not care about who you are, because I think it's better if you leave me alone.”
Nyx’s eyes widened. “Why?”
“...Because I’d prefer it be that way.”
She pushed past Nyx and began to cross the road.
But, she didn’t hear Nyx call after her.
She didn’t notice the sound of the crows, or the sound of something barreling towards her.
Until Nyx tackled her. Before Izzy could even protest, she looked at what Nyx was staring at:
A black horse-drawn carriage.
And it was coming right towards them.
For both of the girls, that’s what they last saw before everything went black.
Izzy woke in total darkness. She didn’t know where she was or what was going on.
She clutched her head. It felt like her brain was going to burst out of her skull. It didn't take her long to realize that she could’ve been kidnapped. She began to move around in her confined space.
“I better hurry up and find that uniform before someone spots me,” an unknown voice said nearby. “Urgggh…..This thing weighs a ton!” There was the sound of something right next to her trying to open something.
“Try this on for size! Mya-ha!” Suddenly the temperature began to rise. She panicked. Izzy kicked as hard as she could against whatever was holding her back. The lid flew off and she stepped out.
She immediately noticed that she was in a coffin. She nearly let out a curse.
“Now, to grab the goods…What?! You ain’t supposed to be awake!”
She looked over at the person who was in the coffin next to her, who had managed to get out of her own, and stumbled. Unfortunately for Izzy, it was Nyx.
“Augh, my head,” she looked around, until her eyes landed on Izzy.
The first thing Nyx said when she looked at Izzy was this: “What are you wearing?”
She looked down. Her old clothes were gone. Instead, she was wearing black robes, with a bit of purple and gold here and there. “What am I wearing?” Izzy pointed at Nyx. “It’s the same thing as yours!” Nyx looked down and shrieked.
“What’s going on?”
Izzy raised her hands. “I don’t know!”
“Hey, you two! How DARE you both ignore me!” The unknown voice shouted next to them.
They both turned to see who the voice belonged to. Izzy had honestly no idea what she was looking at. It belonged to a small grey cat standing on its hind legs. It had blue flames emitting from his ears? Izzy had no idea why, and his tail was a pitchfork.
They stood silent for a moment, looking at each other.
“Is that a–” Izzy scratched her head.
“Talking cat?” Nyx finished.
The cat huffed. “I’m NOT a cat! I’m the great magnificent Grim! Now, one of you give me your uniform, and be quick about it!”
“No!” they both said.
“'Cause if you don't...you're gonna regret it!” He grinned, as blue flames began to rise around them.
“Oh, hell no!” Izzy got up and ran towards the exit. She heard Nyx get up and follow her.
They both went down several hallways, went outside to a building and closed the door behind them. As they stopped to catch their breath, they began to take in their surroundings. They were in a library of sorts, except a lot of the books were floating in the air.
Izzy then spoke the question that was on their minds:
“Where are we?”
Nyx looked around in astonishment. The library was huge. There were books as far as the eye can see. “Am I dreaming?” She wondered aloud.
“Well, if this is a dream, I’m ready to wake up.” Izzy said. Nyx looked over at her classmate. The only thing that whoever decided to change their clothes for them (seriously, who does that) was the fact that her beanie was still on. Nyx lifted her hand, and sure enough, her crescent moon hairpin was still there.
She stopped to think about what happened moments before they woke up. What Izzy said to her.
It’s better if you leave me alone.…because I prefer it to be that way.
Nyx didn’t understand. Why didn’t she want to hang out with anyone else? The only people she hung out with were the people at the theater department, so why not her? Did something happen at her old school? As she was opening her mouth to speak to Izzy, she got interrupted by the cat. It caught up to them.
“Foolish humans! You think you can run away from me?!” He yelled at them. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Izzy changing her posture, almost as if she was preparing to fight. “Now, unless either of you wanna get burned to a crisp, take off that–” Then, out of nowhere, the sound of a whip, and it quickly wrapped itself around the cat. “Me–YEOW! That hurt! What gives?”
“Consider it tough love.” a male voice said. This man was now holding the cat-no, Grim— in his arms. He was tall, and he was wearing a black mask in the shape of a crow. Two glowing yellow orbs were staring at her where the eyes should be. The pommel on his cane was either a raven or a crow, possibly to match his mask. He wore a three piece suit, a top hat and a cape that made him look more bird-like.
“Ah, I’ve found you two at last,” he said with relief, as he looked at the girls. “Splendid. I trust that you both are some of this year’s new students?”