“There’s one thing I still don’t understand,” I said, “how will we escape?”

Marcin opened a cupboard –it looked very exotic, with lacquer- and handed us some grapes form a golden bowl.

“Obviously, the ship is out of the question,” I continued.

“You will find that us pirates are quite capable of sailing it on our own, with your assistance, of course,” Verdi said.

He laughed at my shocked expression.

“It is quite a simple task, we must build our own boat,” said Marcin, “but there are complications. We need to use the wood from the island, because only that wood can survive the sharp rocks beneath the water. This means we will have to craft a boat while we are still on the island, without the others noticing.”

“Sounds like we have about enough time for a raft, if you ask me,” said Verdi.

“We must be in time to warn Jane’s mother. And it will be only a matter of time before the guards, or someone else, will notice.”

Before Marcin could reply, he was interrupted by a sharp voice.

“It’s too late for that now!”

I jumped up and let out a loud screech, my eyes in search of the owner of the voice. Only to be intensely relieved.

Asni was standing in the doorway, her brother nonchalantly stood behind her, undoubtedly used to his sister doing most of the talking.

Asni’s index-finger was about to violently attack the two pirates.

“How dare you,” she said, eyeing Verdi in particular, her voice possessing a gradation of venom only second to Agueda’s.

“How dare you treat my mother and Jane in this manner. Have you no shame? It was bad enough for you to develop feelings for her! How could you keep her identity a secret? Do not think I wouldn’t find out just because I was not there when you told her majesty!”

“I assure you he wasn’t really concerned about your being there,” I tried, immediately regretting it when at once all her anger turned to me.

“Are you DEFENDING him?”

Aro smiled.

“No, not at all. There have just been some… complications.”

“Why, did he kiss you?” she spat.

My face turned beet red.

“Dear me, he did!”

“That is not important right now!” I argued.

“I beg your pardon, I am of the opinion it will always be important,” Verdi said mockingly.

Asni glared at him.

“Do not think you are forgiven!”

“He wouldn’t dare,” Marcin said, offering her some grapes as a peace-offer. She took them, thankfully. Aro now eyed the bowl as well, seemingly very hungry. Having a sister like Asni was probably very tiring.

“So,” he said, while munching on the grapes, “I heard you are about to build a boat. I would have taken advantage of that, had my sister not been here. I like those cupboards of yours.”

“There is enough time to take his cupboards after they’re gone,” said Asni, “he will not take them with him anyway, will he? So you might as well help them make a boat, while I watch over Jane.”

“While I’m doing all the work!” argued Aro.

After some persuasion, Aro, Marcin and Verdi left the tower. The first two were going to look for wood, and Verdi had to return to the queen.

I remained with Asni inside the tower, feeling utterly useless. Asni appeared to feel the same way. She immediately began to pace up and down. Her frown, however, appeared a little too angry.

“What is the matter?” I asked, confused.

“Nothing.”

I continued to stare at her.

“I think he’s after something.”

“You mean, the possessions of the fairy folk?” I said, recalling what Marcin had said.

“Exactly,” she said, looking rather paranoid, before removing something from her embroidered satchel. Out came a hand mirror, decorated with eyes at the top and the bottom.

“It looks like the mirror from your room!” I recalled.

“It is,” she whispered, “It is a very important mirror. I keep it with me now, just in case Marcin tries to steal it before he leaves the island.”

“He wouldn’t!”

Asni frowned at me.

“You are still quite naïve, he is a pirate you know.”

She began to look around, before opening a cabinet, revealing a large book. She quickly opened it. The smell of old paper made my nose wrinkle. She showed me an image, which looked like the exact mirror she was holding in her hand. On the next page, a larger one could be seen. Both the handmirror and the larger mirror had eyes on them. The bottom one open, the top one closed. I gasped, recognising the larger mirror.

“I saw that one in your room!”

Asni closed the book, putting it back rather carelessly. I frowned at her, but she just shrugged.

“I will not show respect to that vile man’s possessions. I know for a fact that he will not be satisfied until he has my own. That mirror is my mirror, and it is also the very one you saw in my room,” she said, caressing her mirror.

“But this is only a handmirror,” I said, trying to reason with her.

“It can change its size.”

She walked towards me, caressing the mirror. The eye on top of the mirror suddenly opened, as if startled by her touch, or perhaps by my sight. My hair was rather indecent.

I screeched when the face of a man appeared in the mirror. He had the darkest skin I had ever seen. His eyebrows and moustache were thick and brushy. An orange cloth was draped over his head, which looked rather curious.

“I was wondering if you weren’t asleep,” said my friend, to the strange man in her mirror.

“You know him?” I asked her, perplexed.

“I’m sorry for being unable to shake your hand, miss. My name is Raveen,” said the man in the mirror.

“He is my father,” explained Asni.

Seeing my face was enough for her to understand that that sentence wasn’t nearly enough to make me understand the current situation.

“Why, didn’t your read the text in the book I just showed you?”

“I didn’t have enough time to read it before you shut it!”

She sighed, as if it was somehow my fault. Raveen smiled awkwardly, used to his daughter’s mysterious ways.

“Why is your father inside a mirror?” I nearly screeched again. Good heavens, one would think I had gotten used to all the bizarre situations I somehow got involved in, but this was rather too much for me, after Agueda’s audience and Verdi’s kiss.

Oh Verdi. I sure he would be back soon. I hoped he would come back at all. He was so changeable.

“My father has died a long time ago. I never met him while he was alive, until my mother gifted me this mirror.” She caressed it again, lovingly.

“What happened to him? Excuse me, what happened to you, mister Raveen?”

The eye on top of the mirror blinked.

“I fell ill,” he said , after a very short moment of hesitation.

“I am so sorry,” I said, not entirely believing this statement. Then again, why would he lie about this? Raveen seemed like a kind man. Surely, not every man that had been courting Niobe could be a pirate.

“Do not be, it was a long time ago,” Raveen said.

“This mirror has the ability to capture a fraction of the soul of a mortal, before they die,” Asni explained.

“That sounds rather dangerous, and painful.”

“I assure you, I didn’t feel a thing,” said Asni’s father. Asni smiled faintly.

“But you are under the impression that Marcin wants to steal your mirror?”

“Under the impression?” she sneered.

“He has been eyeing it since the day he came to the island. I found him sneaking in my room in the ship one day, luckily it wasn’t there at the time.”

An anxious feeling came over me. Could I really trust these men? Asni’s sharp eyes observed my feelings immediately.

“Not to worry, Aro is with them. And I think Verdi really wants to help you.”

“He better,” I spat. I had become less and less ladylike since Verdi swept me away from my old world.

“If you want, we can go after them,” Asni said, a mischievous look in her eyes.

“It will be dangerous, for they must not see you.”

I shook my head. I had lived in fear for long enough.

We ran down the stairs of the tower, as giddy as two little girls. Asni quickly ran a hand over her mirror, to silence the protests of her father.

“If we stay around the edge of the forest, no one will see you, and it will be easier to hide behind a tree, instead of being helpless on the road,” whispered Asni, although there was no one in sight.

“Where are all the soldiers?”

“Probably guarding the prisoners,” Asni said, as if it was nothing.

“What is going to happen to them?”

I knew the answer already.

Asni frowned.

“Nothing to concern yourself with.”

I glared at her.

“What if it had been me among the prisoners?”

She sighed, a sad look came over her.

“I cannot help them. It would put me in jeopardy, and that would break my mother’s heart. I have thought about helping these people more times than you can imagine. But I can’t, and it took me a long time to accept it. You are no prisoner, Jane. And that will have to do.”

“We will see about that,” I mumbled, “where do you think they went?”

“If they are sensible, they’ll stay out here, like we are currently doing. There is no one who can see us now, because the only lookout is the tower, and that one is empty.”

She frowned, noticing my absent-mindedness. I was still looking at the prisoners I had stayed with for some time after arriving at the ship. The only difference between me and them had been that I had managed to stay in the mind of a lure.

We were both distracted by a large group of prisoners, walking in the opposite direction from the others. Chains were bound around their ankles. Asni gave them a startled look.

“We need to go,” she began to walk deeper into the forest, but I didn’t follow her.

“Why are they walking back?”

Asni’s face looked furious when she realised I had stayed behind. She pulled me behind a tree, while I protested. She tried to cover my mouth with her hand, but I dodged her.

“Idiot! You can’t be seen, or you might not even survive.”

“I will! Agueda needs me.”

“She doesn’t! How will your mother find you are dead? It will be too late once she arrives.”

I kept looking at the prisoners. Their faces were pale and hollow, yet they were very conscious of their surroundings. They looked around in fear, and got startled when one of their fellow prisoners accidentally touched them. That moment, I discovered Mister Twiggins and the little girl from the ship. They held each other’s hands as they walked towards the shore. Trying to stay behind the trees, I followed them, ignoring Asni’s curses. I heard my own voice inside my head, instead.

“For food, sir?”

The other side of the island ended abruptly in a cliff. I no longer tried to hide myself and stepped aside from the trees, but no one noticed me, for the loud flapping of wings deafened the ears of all. The most beautiful, yet battered wings spread themselves into the sky. Guards had stationed themselves at both sides of the line in which the prisoners had assembled themselves. The little girl and Mister Twiggins were standing at the head of it. What was going to happen, I wondered. This set-up seemed rather strange. Eileen circled around the prisoners, and they seemed in awe of her. Perhaps she was humming a song for them.

The trance she had put all in came to an end abruptly when one of the guards pushed the little girl down. I thought perhaps Eileen was truly an angel when she dived down to catch her, until her sharp claws ripped open her throat.