Dreams, Secrets, and Transformations: Beyond the Enchanted Looking Glass

it's time ch6

Dad took a seat in his oversized recliner, still not saying anything and not once taking his eyes off of Ellie while his wife placed a pizza order using her smartphone. She then took a seat in her own chair next to her husband. "Where to began," she started.

"How about," Dana began, taking control of the conversation. "Where did the mirror come from and how did you know this was related to it? You can start there, mom."

"Wait, what? Mom knew?" Ellie asked her sister in shock.

Dana turned to her sister, "Yeah, she knew as soon as I said mirror."

Dana and Ellie both immediately turned toward their mom, waiting for an explanation.

"It's a long story, guys," their mom began. "That mirror has been in my family since medieval times. We can't get rid of it. Arthurian legend, as it's been passed down in my family, says that the mirror originated with Merlin himself. There's a book up there in a chest in the the attic that explains it all in great detail along with a geneology of everyone affected throughout the generations."

"I have it in my room, mom." Ellie told her.

"Good, you can read it later. It'll explain everything in a lot more detail. There's also hand written stories in there too, from every affected girl. The short version of the story of the mirror involves the legendary magician, Merlin. Yes, you guys are related to the famous magician Merlin.

"Anyways, Merlin's wife, Guinevere, gave birth to sixteen children, all of them boys. Guinevere desperately wanted a daughter, but over sixteen pregnancies it never happened. She believed there was something wrong with her and she went into a deep depression over it. What she didn't know at the time was that Merlin had used magic to ensure every baby his wife gave birth to would be born male. By the time she found out what he had done, she was beyond her birthing years, so it was too late.

"However, she found a way to get even with her husband. She enlisted the help of Merlin's magical saviour and protector, the beautiful Morgan Le Fay. For years, Morgan actually hated Guinevere because she wanted Merlin for herself and tried to seduce him many times, unbeknownst to Guinevere. However, every time Morgan tried, Merlin not only rebuffed her advances, but nine months later Guinevere would give birth to another son. This angered Morgan and although she was a sorceress charged with watching over Merlin, there was an unpredictable duality to her nature, with potential for both good and evil, so when Guinevere approached Morgan for assistance with getting back at Merlin, she eagerly agreed, because she herself wanted to hurt him for the pain he caused her when he rejected her advances."

"Hold on," Dana interupted. "You're telling me this is all real? And not only was Merlin an actual magical person who really lived, but we're decendents of his?"

"Yes, exactly."

"Okay, so how does this relate to the mirror and my situation?" Ellie added.

"Stay with me, I'm getting there. Where was I......Oh, yes, Morgan Le Fay agreed to help Guinevere get revenge on her husband for preventing her from having a daughter. Guinevere asked Morgan to magically turn their youngest and Merlin's favorite son, eleven years old at the time, into a girl. Guinevere knew this would destroy Merlin. Morgan gleefully conjured a spell that Merlin wouldn't be able to undo and transformed the boy into the fairest young lady in the land, a girl that would very, very soon have the lustful eye of every eligible batchlor in the known world upon her, and cause son's of  kings to come calling, prepared to fight to the death for her hand in marriage. At the same time she also turned their second youngest son into a girl. He was thirteen and Guinevere's favorite son. Guinevere got angry at Morgan for this and had King Authur's knights banish her from the kingdom. Morgan vowed her revenge and over the next two years, every single one of Merlin and Guinevere's remaining sons ended up dying, each seperately, in an increasingly horrific manner.