Through all this Time (a tenrose fanfic)

Mirror Image

But from atop that wheel, there was something that caught my eye. A magical looking house, covered in pinwheels, rainbow paint, and funny looking mirrors. My feet had barely touched earth again and I was dragging mum to where I'd seen the peculiar looking place. When I'd found it, mum had laughed, saying I was always looking for places of mischief like this one. The sign on the door read Tinker Timothy's Trailer of Tricks, and before mum could refuse, I'd dragged her inside.

The Trailer of Tricks was a run of the mill fun house, complete with dizzying optical illusions, spinning doors, rooms that seemed to be upside down and inside out, and pathways which seemed to lead no where and somewhere at the same time. It was full of funny looking people in clownish costumes going on about tricks, treats, and magics.

But what captivated me most had been the mirrors. Hundreds of them, on the floor, walls, ceiling. Mirrors that were doors, and doors that were mirrors. Mirrors which made a person look two feet tall or ten feet wide. Mirrors that made mums ears seem to stick three feet out from her head.

But also mirrors that made me cover my eyes and clutch tight to mum's hand. Mirrors that distorted a face and revealed a monster. Mirrors that showed something completely alien, and if not for the eyes, couldn't be recognized as your own reflection.

It was the same skin-crawling feeling I felt now staring at this creature in front of me, as I did those many years ago in Tinker Timothy's Trailer of Tricks.

For staring back at me, from a mess of rotting flesh and blackening scabs, were my own eyes.

I stood frozen, eyes locked on eyes.

Hssssssshhhhhhhhhhh the thing spat and shuffled closer.

'Tardis...' I whispered, tearing my gaze away and backing up slightly.

"Do not be afraid daughter. Each person viewing a Sahsarri will view a different being. Whatever it is showing you is a figment built to cripple you with doubt and uneasiness."

I swallowed once, the lump in my throat not subsiding in the slightest.

'Tardis what do I do.' I whispered as quietly as I could manage.

"I cannot aid you here my daughter. Each person must deal with the Sahsarri in his or her own way. I can get you to our Doctor, but fighting the monsters we come across is left to you. I cannot see what you see daughter."

'Bloody fantastic.' I murdered. The word brought a sudden flash of black leather, big ears, and bananas to mind and I found myself smiling slightly. Sometimes I missed the old Doctor.

A shuffling noise snapped me back to attention and I curled my lip in disgust as the thing in front of me pushed a clump of blond aside with a bony hand. The hair stuck to the side of its scalp, seemingly glued there by a mixture of filth and blood.

I raised my gaze once again to its eyes, and found it staring straight back into mine.

Hsssssssssshhhhhhhhhhh the thing hissed.

I lowered my gaze and the noise stopped. Interesting. Trying once again to see if my quickly forming theory was correct, I looked up once more.

Hsssssssssshhhhhhhhhh.

Quickly I lowered my eyes, and it stopped once again.

A creature who disliked being looked in the eyes.

I was reminded of a childhood friend who once tried to rescue a mutt of the street. It was a scrawny thing, but mean—rough and aggressive from years living on the streets. When caught, the animal would look anywhere except directly into a person's gaze. Something to do with dominance and obedience.