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@rusted-knight @anne_the_noob14 @beth20 Forgive me if I got any details wrong. I’m still trying to familiarize myself with all the characters. 🙂

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The book in Marlowe’s hands was readable. The kings and queens of olden days kept their peace in warring ways… Some sort of history? No, just a poem. A poem in her native dialect. Either she had somehow returned to the Homeworld, or she had discovered a high-ranking citizen’s private vacation castle. I would almost rather believe that aliens abducted me. 

Or that I am in a coma. 

Or that this is all just a really, really weird dream. 

Shut up. No more distractions. She snapped the book closed, then placed it down gently. When she glanced up, she found the other individuals eyeing her warily. Most of them were armed with primitive swords. One had a gun and several other weapons stashed away.

Words are powerful, she considered, her expression unchanging. Especially if it comes to fighting for my life. 

What am I talking about? They could kill me in at least five different ways. 

So could I, and much more creatively. Marlowe chose not to revisit that train of thought.

Three of them approached a mirror. Whatever they beheld in it caused them to react in various ways. Dharin’s reaction was particularly interesting. He appeared mentally disturbed and stormed out of the library. With a wary glance around, the fellow with the gun slipped after him.

If I hear a gunshot or a death cry, that’s one less to worry about. 

Shut up. They’re not stupid.

What about Dharin? What’s wrong with him? 

Obviously, he has a backstory. A very interesting one. 

Marlowe silenced the deliberations as the boy from earlier, Jaylin, glanced over at her. The mirror had caused him to shed tears, though he wouldn’t want to draw attention to that. He smiled at her—genuine but slightly uncertain. “I didn’t see you come in.”

A serene smile flitted across her face, smoothing out the stern lines across her brow. Put him at ease. “I heard voices and followed them here. I was distracted by all these books.” She gazed around, feigning admiration. “It’s magnificent.”

Jaylin nodded slowly. “What happened to that other girl?”

The corners of her mouth twisted into a puzzled frown. “That’s what I’m wondering. She ran off, and when I tried to follow her, all I found was you, Dharin, and that other fellow. Any idea who he is?”

The boy shrugged. “He doesn’t seem very talkative.”

Too bad. Talkative people are always such founts of information. Marlowe brushed a speck of dust off the sleeve of her white Ensign uniform. “You’re Jaylin, right? I didn’t have a chance to properly introduce myself earlier.” Lying about one’s name was usually more trouble than it was worth. Lying about rank…not so much. She maintained her easy smile as she addressed Jaylin. “I’m Commodore Marlowe Reynolds. You can call me Marlowe if you like.”

“Nice to meet you, Marlowe.”

“Likewise.” She glanced at the mirror, which was distorted at this distance. “What’s the deal with that mirror?”

He followed her gaze, his expression thoughtful. “It’s not an ordinary mirror, that’s for sure. I think it shows everyone a different reflection.”

“What kind of reflection?”

His forehead scrunched up. “It’s hard to explain. You would have to look for yourself.”

A sense of warning tingled in the back of Marlowe’s mind. The mirror was something she didn’t have the ability to control. Her hand closed around the spine of a book on a nearby table. One instinct prompted her to shatter the looking glass. Another stayed her hand and instead moved her to flip absently through the book’s pages.

Information in any form was power. As long as no one else saw what she would see in the mirror, she still had control. I must have control. This directive was the one thing all the players in the stage of her mind agreed upon.