Conform or Suffer

Chapter 5 In Reflection

Yoleta's elite guards stood outside the bathroom while she visited the hospital's intensive care unit on the third floor.

A flat-screen TV played in the beige-colored lobby.

Three of her five guards watched a weekly beauty contest, where the top twenty contestants punched and scratched at each other. Females wore black or muted green, and the men wore suits in every color of the rainbow except the contestants, with an R sewn into muted green uniforms.

Frantic hands yanked at the other contestants' sashes. Rose petals fell over their collapsed forms as the announcer, Vex, sang in the background, clutching a microphone that was shaped to look like a cane. He only went by one name and always dressed as a Victorian funeral director instead of the celebrity host he was. His face appeared youthful, despite being older than the prime minister by twenty years.

An assistant changed Vex's ascot tie live on air.

More guards watched and waited for him to speak again.

"These contests are like game shows, and Vex shoots five episodes a day. Most of his time is spent touring his workhouses or at parties," a purple-haired guard said.

"I hate him, but he's got swagger," another guard said.

Vex started going over the rules of the contest. "A contestant who maims or kills enough of their competitors wins by default, but it can be foolish." He combed through his slick black and purple hair and placed his top hat back on. "Three unacceptable citizens have saved themselves from the workhouse, and their badges will be removed from their arms. I, for one, can't wait to see their plastic surgery makeovers. Sadly, ten unlucky losers are being tossed back inside one of my workhouses." His face morphed partially into a dragon, and another year vanished from his face. Everything appeared to be special effects, but he possessed some sort of ability or forgotten magic that kept him young.

"Turn that off. I'm stuck in here," Yoleta shouted from the other side of the bathroom door. Her pink uniform's black and gold buttons glistened. She appeared every bit the muscular elf warrior, and her once-long hair was cut short and bleached.

Harsh overhead lights faded into near darkness. Rhythmic sounds of boots echoed around her.

Her guards slammed into the steel door. Their lean bodies struggled to break into the bathroom.

"Madd-Ox, help me." Yoleta jostled the handle, but an invisible hand yanked her back. She swung her fist and hit the air, and the tapping footsteps stopped. "Who is there?"

A phantom glow lit the room.

"Protect Grew-Ella," Quig's oldest sister said from behind the mirror.

Yoleta's features morphed into Ida's face. Her features resembled her brother's, but her nose appeared as if it had hit a stone wall, or rather, a drunk plastic surgeon's fist. Gray patches of skin spread.

Wavy black hair fell over her shoulders as she touched the mirror on the opposite side. "I used borrowed magic to be reborn and save my family." Whatever creature Ida became pounded against the glass. Her white wings expanded. Cracks developed, distorting her image.

"Are you dead?"

Ida stepped out of the mirror. "No, I've become a reborn elemental. I need sleep, food, and water, and I can die again, just not by drowning. I have new powers and travel by reflection, crawl up walls, and do parlor tricks like invading dreams." Moths flew out of the cracked mirror. "Don't tell Prime Minister Sean-Mack. He must think I'm dead. My visions are gone, but I know I lived in the future and that I'm supposed to be here."