When the void leapt forward to swallow her up, Edreina cried out and thrust forward to hands, attempting to shield herself from a blow. When no injury made itself known, she opened her eyes and immediately felt incredibly silly. Somehow, they had been transported to another place entirely. This one was unlike anything Edreina had ever seen or imagined. Great machinations occupied the far wall, framing a throne made small by distance. It was utterly still and silent save for the rumbling clunks as the largest piece of metal crashed down upon its neighbor, forcing it to turn. There had once been a tinkerer upon the Anchorage, but Edreina had been young and only remembered that he would sit on his deck manipulating small discs of metal.
As they passed through the throne room, the maid silently and Edreina with squeaking pants and softly knocking boots, she noticed that many things looked to be from books she had read or dreams she had dreamt. It was strange to her, but familiar in the oddest way. The large crystals housing small gyres of soft light caught her eye for they did not flicker as traditional sources of light did. That paired with their oddly blue light, compared to the dull orange of a lantern, gave the entire room a surreal quality.
Slowly they ascended the stairs and, by this point, Edriena's heart was hammering with anticipation. She wondered who dwelled in so grand a place and what in the world they could want with a simple Svefra so far from the Suvan.
When finally they topped the stairs, Edreina stopped dead in her tracks. Sitting in the throne was none other than herself. Mind you she was years younger and had obviously been fed better with less need for constant physically activity... But the curve of her lips, the shade of her hair, the angle of her cheekbones... even the light in her eyes belonged to Edreina. Immediately, her hand tightened on her whip, lips pressing together warily. What sorcery is this? There was a tremble of fear, of panic in her thoughts.
Chills raced across the aged reflection's skin as the small girl in the chair laughed, voice a mockery of her own song. The disappearance of the ghost meant little to Edreina as she stared herself down, fingers clenching and unclenching as she fought her own fear. Nothing about this situation made any sense to her. No story she had read or heard ever spoke of this! It must be a trick... I must have fallen from Jorven and knocked my head upon a stone... There is no way that this can be real!
When she was approached by a familiar stride, she automatically took a half-step back, placing her foot on a lower stair. Big sis... Edreina had never heard those words leave her own lips, nor the haunting giggle that followed. There was age behind the words that the true Edreina had not yet even come to possess. An answer was expected, she realized with a spell of dread settling in her gut.
With a deep breath she cleared her throat and forced her hard-pressed lips to part around her words. "Your castle is lovely... And I haven't a clue why you've called for me... There must be something you... want." The possibilities of what exactly the pseudo-Svefra could desire caused Edreina's coppery hair to stand on edge on her scalp and her legs to tremble lightly, begging to be put into use as she fled this cursed place.
Gods... What had she gotten herself into now?
I hope I gave you some pretty unexpected things like you wanted!