Reflection of the Shattered Mirror

Liralia stands up and whispers something to the guard, who's standing next to her, before she shoos him off.

Then, she looks at me and motions for me to follow, to which I comply with a small nod and following her outside the tree house.

I follow after her, and she leads me behind the tree. There, stands a small stone altar that's slightly cracked on the top.

She touches it, mumbling something very quietly before a sudden entrance appears, reminding me of a portal.

"Follow me, Alaire. Or at least try to." She mutters the last part, and I only hear the word 'try' out of the whole sentence. 'It seems like there's something she's hiding. Multiple things.'

I follow her through the portal, and we find ourselves in an enormous garden filled with various flowers, plants, and even small spirits flying around and taking care of the whole space.

When I enter, I can feel something trying to push me out of the gardens, but I simply follow Liralia, enduring the uncomfortable and slightly painful sensation, forcing through it.

"About the favour..." Liralia starts speaking once we're at a rather nice place with a small fountain. It has two heads engraved on each side with flowers separating them.

She turns to look at me, and her violet eyes widen subtly. 'Why does she look surprised?' I tilt my head a bit at her surprised expression, although she quickly recovers from the surprise and resumes her unfinished sentence.

"I want you to find someone." Once she finishes her words, curiosity takes over me. "Who?" I ask her rather bluntly, albeit not intentionally.

I can be blunt when I want to know an exact answer... I should work on that since it can come off as rude to some people.

She stays quiet for a moment before she gazes at the fountain, the sound of water gently drizzling, leaves rustling, and wind howling fills the background.

"My twin sister, Liralia." She finally answers and runs her hand over the bumpy wall of the fountain, her fingers lingering on the engraved face that looks identical to her own

'Wait. Liralia is her twin? Then who is this woman? And why is she pretending to be her twin?' A lot of questions flood my mind as I gape at her, obviously dumbfounded.

"Ellirith. That's my real name." Her voice resonates through the area, the background noise now only a distant buzz. When she fixes her eyes on me, her expression is full of grief.

Before I can even open my mouth to ask her about the details, she continues, not letting me speak. "She got kidnapped a few months ago. I'm not even sure if she's alive or not. Liralia was the rightful heir to the seat of the Village Elder."

She takes a moment to gather herself and keeps on explaining. "As I didn't want the village to fall into chaos, I started to pretend to be her and declared myself missing. The village without an Elder couldn't work. Just like how elves are given powers by the Life Tree."

I take in all the information, trying to remember everything. The mention of the Life Tree rouses my curiosity, but i refrain myself from asking her anything unrelated to the topic.

"The only thing that sets us apart is this small birthmark." She removes her blonde locks from the left side of her face, revealing a small birthmark near her eyebrow and a green tattoo that's leaf-shaped with three tear-like ornaments underneath it.

I want to ask her about it, but I don't because something, or rather someone, interrupts me before I can utter even a single word.