Kajar studied the mirror. Solid gold frame. Should be worth something. Be too heavy though. Shame. Those candlesticks though…
A movement in the mirror caught his eye. Someone’s in the room! He span around, but the room was empty. Turning back to the mirror, he found himself looking directly at a young woman.
“I’m Princess Empriva. I’m being held captive at the top of the tallest tower. I can talk through this mirror, but cannot leave. Please rescue me. You will be richly rewarded.”
Aha, thought Kajar, the magic words, ‘rich rewards’.
“Very well, Princess, I’ll help you.”
Kajar found the tower and started climbing the stairs. Strange, she’s being held captive, but there are no guards. At the top of the tower, a single door stood ajar. Puzzled, Kajar unsheathed Drowsos, cautiously opened the door and peered into the room. There stood the Princess in front of an identical mirror. Kajar looked around and gasped in horror. Piled against the walls were hundreds of human bones.
“Ahh. My rescuer. Just in time for a feast – you!” The Princess laughed, revealing a pair of glistening fangs. She sprang.
Kajar reacted instinctively, stepped aside and swung his sword at the Princess. It passed straight through, leaving her unscathed but stood between him and the door.
The Princess edged forwards and Kajar edged backwards until his heels reached the wall holding the mirror.
The mirror! When speaking before, the Princess had sounded like she was in the same room. Was it possible?
The Princess sprang again. In hope, Kajar hurled himself against the mirror. Instead of cracking his head as half-expected, he crashed to the floor of the original room.
Hah! Not a mirror, a portal!
Laughing, Kajar jumped up, snatched the candlesticks and ran, eager to continue his quest…
My entry in the April 2020 300 Word Story Challenge at SFFChronicles
Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy, or other Speculative Fiction
M. Robert Gibson 