Since then, this place had become her sanctuary, the one space where she could truly be alone.
Yet tonight, she ignored the inviting sofa meant for rest and walked straight toward the large flat stone standing before the wall.
Facing the black mirror that gleamed like the night itself, she poured her magic into it.
The mirror stone was a rare treasure, it was purchased from a merchant who had traveled from faraway lands.
It came from deep within the northern mountains, where only a few fragments could ever be found.
A piece this large was priceless and worth more than one or two grand estates.
Her reflection appeared on the mirror's surface, it was a woman in a blue robe that crossed neatly in front, her fiery red hair tied high like a flame reaching for the sky.
The green lines traced her eyelids and red touched the corners of her blue eyes.
Her cheeks and chin were soft and full, yet for a woman of thirty seven, she was still strikingly youthful and beautiful.
