Since she wasn’t required to participate in the matters that the Masters and her husband would discuss with Lord Narthoss, she decided to dedicate all her time entirely to the enjoyment of her own solitude during her whole stay, though she was always accompanied by a group of elf women who remained mostly silent as they guided her through different parts of the palace, which included countless rooms for practicing different kinds of art, like dancing, singing, sculpture, painting and weaving, and even for meditation. All of them were equally decorated with fountains and floral motifs.

But where she spent most of her time was in the library with its towering shelves, whose only allowed books contained ancient symbols she couldn’t recognize, though she spent hours reading them and delighting in the beauty of their forms.

She also never got tired of wandering through the inner gardens, whose variety of fountains and plants was even more impressive. To her greater pleasure, she never once encountered any other member of her party, and she even began to suspect that the elf women had guessed her secret desire and were deliberately avoiding the rest of the humans. She wondered what they might have told her husband about her prolonged absence, but in the end, she realized she preferred not to know.

They didn’t speak much and barely smiled, but as the days passed, Rovenna grew accustomed to their presence and even learned to read their reserved expressions, which no longer made her feel uncomfortable. In fact, she learned to enjoy their company, and they seemed to enjoy teaching her their dances and songs, which were a delight to the senses.

The only thing she missed were her training sessions with Eldrin, but although she thought about asking about his whereabouts, she decided to leave him alone. He must have been busy figuring out how to secure an audience with the elf, and she didn’t want to bother him. He had already taken plenty of time to teach her all he could.

The one person she did run into by accident during her walks through the gardens was Lord Narthoss, who was staring intently at a water fountain as if he were in deep meditation.

Upon seeing him, Rovenna tried to turn back the way she came, but the crunch of her footsteps was loud enough to pull the elf out of his trance, and he turned his head to look at her.

“Is the Baroness enjoying her stay? I haven’t seen you since your arrival.”

“Yes, yes, my Lord,” she replied, flustered, while bowing. “I’m delighted to be here.”

She remained silent, unsure of what to say, but he observed her only for a moment before turning away and walking off.

To her relief, she didn’t run into him again during her walks. She felt guilty because he had been nothing but kind to her, yet his presence intimidated her to the point where she found it hard to breathe in his mere presence.

Despite the gentle pace of that peaceful routine, her days at the castle trickled by like slow drops filling a glass until it overflowed. Every time Rovenna thought about returning, her heart clenched even tighter, so painfully that she was certain she would stop hearing her own heartbeat at any moment, and all that would return to Nemertya would be nothing more than a shell of what she had once been.

“Courage,” she told herself. Her life with the Baron couldn’t last forever. She had to survive and wait for her moment. She was still very young. Thanks to Eldrin’s teachings, she would become stronger.

It was the day before of the their departure that the Acolyte finally made his appearance.

“Rovenna! Where have you been? I’ve been looking for you everywhere!” he came running through the gardens. In the short time she had known him, Rovenna had never seen him so agitated.

Under the impassive gaze of the elf women, the two of them sat down on a bench as he recounted everything he had seen in the castle, a bit different from Rovenna’s experience since he had access to other areas along with the rest of the Masters.

“But that’s not what’s important,” he took a deep breath before continuing. “Tonight, Lord Narthoss has agreed to grant me an audience.”

Rovenna expressed her happiness for him. The wizard took her hands in his, though for some reason, the gesture didn’t evoke any feelings in her, something she would have expected after all they had shared.

“I want you to come with me,” he said suddenly.

“Me?” Rovenna gasped.

“Lord Narthoss has asked me to bring a witness.”

“But why would he want a witness?”

Eldrin seemed annoyed by the question.

“I don’t know, but if Lord Narthoss requests it, I’m not the one to question his wishes.”

They agreed to meet after the farewell dinner when everyone had already retired to their rooms.

Rovenna was confused when he led her to the entrance of the castle and down the stairs to the stone dock. She had thought the audience would take place in the grand hall or another part of the castle, but in the end, they boarded one of the white boats that crossed the lake toward the trees.

Curiously, the elf women didn't do anything to stop, as she initially had thought, but maybe they were just following Narthoss instructions, which began to unsettle Rovenna.

Unlike the first day, among the darkness the shapes of the trees now gave off a sinister air. At first, they could see something thanks to the lanterns hanging from the small houses of the elves who lived in the trees, but as they ventured deeper into the forest, the branches grew closer together, even blocking the moonlight.

Her initial bad feeling grew bigger. She didn’t understand why they had to go so far from the palace.

Finally, the boat hit something that prevented it from continuing, surprising both of them. A series of lights began to ignite, coming from glowing stones arranged in a circle around a clearing where Lord Narthoss was waiting with his back to them.

He was dressed in a wide silver robe, like the light of the full moon shining on him. There was a huge mirror standing behind him, framed by silver, intertwined branches. Despite the distance, the reflection of his violet eyes seemed to look directly at her. Rovenna wished at that moment that she had refused Eldrin's invitation.

The elf turned around. He didn’t seem surprised to see Rovenna.

“Acolyte Eldrin,” he greeted, then bowed. “Lady Rovenna.”

It was the first time the elf had called her by her name, and it made her heart skip a beat. She nodded in response. Nothing was expected of her there except to be a witness.

“I greet the Lord of the Mirror Forest,” said Eldrin, bowing. “And I deeply thank you for granted me the opportunity to speak with you.”

“It’s not very common for someone to dare to request to be my apprentice,” the elf continued abruptly. “What makes you think you can succeed?”

“I could speak of my abilities, but I know that wouldn’t be enough. I’m only human, and you are an elf lord with unmatched power. But if you would grant me the honor, I’d be willing to do whatever it takes to surpass my limits.”

“Whatever it takes?”

“I’m willing to endure anything, any training, any obstacle you put before me, any pain. I’m even willing to betray the Council and serve the elves!”

“Serve the elves...” watching the elf closely, Rovenna thought Eldrin’s words had amused him.

The elf remained silent for a moment before continuing.

“For me to accept your request, you must first pass the test of the Dark Mirror,” he turned his gaze to the mirror behind him.

“So... it’s true, it really exists,” Eldrin’s voice cracked, and his entire body began to tremble from head to toe.

“Then you know what you must do,” said the elf.

“Yes,” Eldrin said, slowly advancing toward the dark mirror.

“I warn you, it will be anything but pleasant. Death never is.”

That word made Rovenna even more afraid. Was Eldrin going to die?

“Eldrin, wait!” she spoke without thinking. “What does that mean?”

“Shut up, Rovenna!” Eldrin’s voice felt like a lash to her chest. “You know nothing!”

“But I don’t want you to die!” Rovenna threw herself at him, tugging at his blue tunic. “There is no power in the world that can be worth your life.”

In response, she received a hard blow to the face that left her nose bleeding.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“You foolish girl! How dare you stop me? You’re nothing but the wretched wife of a noble who treats you like an insect! I did what I could with you! I even invited you out of pity when I could have asked any of the Masters! By the Nymph, you’re an Astra! Did you think I didn’t know? Of course, I knew! The only reason I helped you was because I wanted to measure the extent of your power and confirm if it was true that you had inherited your ancestors' abilities, but I’ve concluded that your family’s blood has become very weak. No wonder your parents gave up and sold you like cattle.”

With half of her face burning with pain, the first tears sprang from Rovenna’s face, mixing with the blood dripping onto the grass. She made no attempt to get up and remained lying on the ground, wishing with all that was left of her bruised heart that the Nymph would grant her death at that very moment.

Narthoss watched the scene attentively but without saying a word.

Eldrin finally reached the mirror and lifted his eyes to see himself in it. In what felt like an eternity, Rovenna lifted her gaze but couldn't see anything reflected in the mirror. Only darkness. However, when she focused on Eldrin's face, his arrogant expression had vanished, replaced by terror, as if he were standing before a monstrous creature.

“No... this isn't me,” he whispered loud enough for her to catch the words.

“No, not yet. It is what you will become,” the elf responded calmly.

“But... why? I don't want to end up like this.”

“The Dark Mirror never lies. That is your destiny.”

“No! I can't end up like this! What's the point? After everything I've done, everything I want to do!” Eldrin turned to the elf. “Please!”

“You said you'd do anything.”

“Yes!”

“Then it's time to prove it.” Narthoss turned his now dull violet eyes toward Rovenna. “To avoid that fate, the Mirror requires a sacrifice.”

“No, no!” Rovenna began to back away, terrified by Eldrin’s crazed look as he raised his arms to unleash a blast of energy at her.

At that moment, before the energy from the seal could hit her, a realization struck her hard.

She didn't actually want to die.

Her body reacted accordingly. Her feet planted firmly on the ground, and with quick movements, her fingers traced the lines of the seal that Eldrin had made her practice until exhaustion, just to test her limits.

Eldrin’s blast collided with Rovenna’s shield, but the impact was so strong that she was still pushed backward and her body sank into the dark waters.

She had never swum in her life. With all her strength, she tried to push herself upward, but her foot had gotten caught in a root. Suddenly, a whirlpool began to form on the surface of the water, growing deeper until it reached her. The force of the whirlpool snapped the root holding her, but it ended up sucking her in, spinning her around until she lost all sense of direction. Eldrin was trying to drown her, and she couldn’t defend herself.

In a desperate move, she changed her strategy and stopped resisting the force of the whirlpool that wouldn’t let her make any movements.

It was Eldrin himself who had explained that if she could manifest her intention clearly, it wouldn’t require as much effort to summon the seal. It would be enough to have it clear in her mind and to control the energy.

There was no other way out,

I want to live, I want to live, I want to live. As she repeated this to herself, the image of the seal formed in her mind, just like when, in her early years as an Initiate, she would write it over and over on the parchments.

I want to live.

It wasn’t her best attempt, but the force that emanated from her hands was strong enough to propel her upward until her body burst out of the water, suspended in the air for a moment. Before falling back into the water, her hands reacted in time to grab onto a branch, leaving her body hanging with her feet in the air.

Soaked and exhausted, unable to invoke a new seal in that position, Rovenna observed the astonished look on Eldrin’s face and how, behind him, the elf tilted his head as if he were suddenly interested in what he was seeing.

If she fell back into the water, Eldrin would attack her again in the same way, so, using her legs for momentum, she climbed onto the branch, and began crawling along it with a speed she had forgotten she possessed. Her childhood mischiefs in Nemertya, jumping across rooftops to escape punishments from her parents or other kids who tried to hurt her, was serving her well.

She relied on the darkness to keep him from seeing her move through the branches, though she narrowly escaped several blasts that he began firing blindly into the dark foliage. When Rovenna was close enough, she wasted no time tracing the forms of the seal before dropping directly onto Eldrin and striking him with another blast.

He managed to block it with a shield in time, but she didn’t wait to attack again. Both of them rolled on the ground, but this time Rovenna wasn’t fast enough to prevent Eldrin from pinning her down with his own body.

She was at the limit of her strength when she saw the golden lines in the hand Eldrin was pointing at her neck. She closed her eyes, doing everything she could to free her hands and defend herself, while a voice in her head told her it was all over.

Then everything stopped, and her desperate hands flailed in the air with nothing holding them back. She no longer felt the weight of Eldrin’s body on her, and when she opened her eyes, she saw the elf restraining the Acolyte with one hand and throwing him away from Rovenna.

Eldrin, confused and stunned, stared at the elf without being able to speak.

“I've seen enough," the elf said, while his dark gazed focus on Rovenna. “Now it's your turn.”

Rovenna struggled to get up from the ground, feeling pain in every muscle of her body. She could no longer fight. The elf could kill her right there if he wanted to.

“My turn for what?” she let out a cry as she tried to straighten her back.

“To look into the mirror. Only then can you...”

Rovenna was sick of listening to the elf, and didn’t hold back from interrupting him.

“I don’t want to look into the damned mirror, I don’t want to kill anyone, and I surely don’t want to be your apprentice,” she said, dragging herself along the ground in a pathetic manner but not without directing a furious glance at the arrogant creature before her.

The elf raised his eyebrows.

“What is that you want then?”

“Peace!”, Rovenna shouted.

The elf frowned.

“You want peace?”

“Yes! I want to be left alone!”

“I see...” Narthoss brought a hand to his mouth, looking thoughtful.

“If this is what you ask to study magic,” Rovenna continued, pointing at the mirror, “then I don’t have what it takes to be a wizard. So kill me or let me go!”

The elf continued staring at her for what felt like an eternity until he finally said:

“Very well, I think you’ll do.”

Rovenna didn't understand.

“What?”

“From today, you’ll be my apprentice,” the elf clarified.

Eldrin's scream didn’t take long to follow.

“But, but she... she’s an Astra!” despite herself, the accusing finger of the wizard hurt Rovenna as if a knife had been driven straight into her heart. “Her family hunted chimeras!”

The elf just kept looking at Rovenna.

“Girl, by any chance, are you hunting chimeras at the moment?” the elf’s voice sounded as if he were trying to make a joke.

“Of course not!” she exclaimed, outraged.

“Then...” Narthoss turned his cold gazed to Eldrin. “I don’t see what the problem is.”

“My lord cannot be serious!”, screamed the Acolyte.

The elf didn’t even bother to look at him as he helped Rovenna to her feet and then moved his hand over her injured body. She felt the pain from her wounds subside as they miraculously healed and disappeared completely without leaving scars, as if they had never occured.

“You’re here because of me!” Eldrin continued shouting at Rovenna. “Everything you are now and everything you will be is thanks to me! Don’t forget it! I’ll tell the Baron what you’ve done, and he’ll put you in your place as the harlot you are!”

“You talk too much.” With a slight nod of his head, Narthoss make some branches to stretch out from the trees and wrap around the wizard from head to toe until they silenced his screams. The branches carried him to the boat, where they dumped him, and then it began to move on its own.

“Where are you taking him?” Rovenna asked.

“Out of the forest. I don’t want him in my castle any longer. Since he arrived, my subjects have not stopped complaining about his rude manners and insolent questions.”

“Why did you choose me as your apprentice? I don’t have enough...”

Narthoss brought his head closer to the Rovenna, their foreheads almost touching.

“I chose you because it’s my will.”

Rovenna’s lips trembled.

“And... and the trial?”

The elf stood up straight again, and air returned to the girl's lungs.

“Ah, that is just an excuse to scare the wizards. They always fall for it.” The elf's lips curled as if he were about to smile. He looked at the mirror with disgust. “I hate using this mirror. I should throw it away.”

“But what did Eldrin see?”

“His death.”

“I figured.”

“Although I couldn’t say if what he saw was real... My twin brother Phrondyr always insists the mirror was created by the giant Yorgad as a joke for our grandfather.”

“So this was all just a game to you,” she said accusatorily.

The elf tilted his head again. Rovenna had already figured out that he did this when something amused him.

“I was never going to let him kill you,” said he. “I don’t know how much of a bad reputation I have in the human kingdom, but I’m not an elf who goes around shedding blood, at least not for fun.”

“But you let him attack me.”

“Consider it your first training session,” the elf smiled with his lips.

Rovenna was exhausted. She had been mistreated by her old and disgusting husband, betrayed by the wizard she had given her friendship to, despised by her family and parents for as long as she could remember, and now this damned elf had used her for his own amusement.

“You’re despicable!” she shouted at the elf.

Narthoss’ eyes widened before he let out a laugh that echoed among the trees.

Despite her anger, Rovenna couldn’t help but stare at him, her mouth open.

The elf had laughed.

And not just any elf, but the fearsome Lord of the Mirror Forest.

“I don’t remember how many centuries it’s been since I had so much fun,” he said, rubbing his eyes, but he soon returned to his enigmatic expression.

He approached Rovenna and lifted her chin with his index finger. He looked directly into her eyes as if he could read everything hidden deep within her being. Her memories, her fears, her desires, even those she didn't want to admit existed inside her.

The uncomfortable sensation Rovenna felt in her stomach whenever the elf looked at her that way returned, and if it weren’t for the fact that he seemed to be holding her up, she would have fallen to the ground due to the trembling in her knees.

However, that ceased to matter once she saw the golden spirals spinning inside the elf’s eyes.

Ethereal Codes.

The elf suddenly released her and moved away.

“Five years,” he said.

Rovenna choked.

“Five years?”

“The wizard is right. Your power leaves much to be desired... but I think five years will be enough. I’m never wrong with this. Are you coming?”

“Lord Narthoss, it’s an honor... I...”

“As long as there are no other humans present, you may simply call me Narthoss...” With that, the elf turned and headed towards another boat that was floating on the water.

“What about Eldrin? He will...”

“In order to hide his own shame, he will never dare to tell what happened here tonight.”

“And my husband?”

The elf let out a derisive snort.

“I’m the Lord of the Mirror Forest. He will do as I say. He can choose between waiting for you or finding a new wife.”

The great fear of causing a political conflict struck Rovenna, but she immediately dismissed it. She’d rather drop dead right there than go through once again the torture of the last few months”.

She looked in the direction of the thicket where Eldrin had disappeared before following the elf.

Narthoss had gifted her five years.

Five years.

Five years to train her magic.

Five years to become a Master.

Five years to face her enemies and anyone who stood in her way.

Including Eldrin.