Mirror
Pale porcelain skin, perfectly unblemished. Seashell pink hair that fell just past a pair of round ears. Eyebrows so light in color they were difficult to see, along with similarly light eyelashes framing a gentle lilac gaze. A narrow, pointed nose. Thin lips that formed a straight line, not quite enough to strain and wrinkle the delicate skin surrounding them.
Louterstella.
She was met with the same sight each morning, when she stood before the grand mirror of the bathroom and adjusted her clothes. Lala was so generous and kind to give her a space of her own, and such a beautifully made mirror.
Slender fingers trailed the frame of the mirror, following lines and swirls and the edges of stars. It was larger than she was, and she already stood quite tall for a girl her age. She always had to wear tights with her dresses, which were shorter on her than they were meant to be. The dress she had chosen for that day was one of her longer ones, going down to her knees. Perhaps floor length dresses would be better for her, but she would hate to wear something so…motherly.
A sigh escaped her, fogging up a small part of the mirror. Her doey eyes lit up with excitement. It was such a small thing, but it was so strangely entertaining to watch her face disappear behind the fog, only to reappear moments later. She sighed against the glass again, watching in awe as the fog returned.
She spent the next few minutes fogging up the mirror with her breath. She tried to cover the mirror, but could only get a small portion covered before it began to go away. So she settled for covering her face, watching it disappear and return over and over until…
Pale porcelain skin, perfectly unblemished. Sky blue hair that fell just past a pair of round ears. Eyebrows so light in color they were difficult to see, along with similarly light eyelashes framing a gentle lilac gaze. A narrow, pointed nose. Thin lips that frowned at their edges, making the bottom lip pout out rather childishly.
Not Louterstella.
The girl on the other side of the mirror looked just like her, save for their differing hair colors. She wore a shorter skirt and stockings, along with a dress shirt that gave her a more uptight appearance.
“Hello…?” Louter’s voice was quieter than she meant it to be. Perhaps she was afraid Lala would hear and find out about…whatever she had done wrong to make someone else appear on the other side of the mirror, but she wasn’t sure. Would Lala even be angry with her? She had never seen Lala get angry, or even stern, with anyone. But Louter had never done anything to incur her wrath, either.
And now this beautiful mirror Lala gave her was broken. It no longer showed her reflection, but someone else’s.
The blue-haired girl didn’t speak, she only stared. It put Louter on edge, but she also felt something familiar when she looked at her. A small, pale hand pressed against the glass barrier between them. So close…
Louter matched the girl and placed her own hand on the glass on top of hers. It was warm, almost as if they were really touching.
Another hand on the glass. Louter’s followed.
Fingers curled around her hands, holding them with a death grip. With wide eyes she looked at the other girl again, her eyebrows now furrowed with determination.
Louter was pulled through the mirror.
She gasped. Her body was sprawled on the floor, familiar white and gold tiles there to greet her when she opened her eyes. A strong whiff of blueberries invaded her senses. When she looked up, she was met with a bathroom nearly identical to hers, the keyword being nearly because there were certainly some differences. Most notably, the accents were blue instead of pink. And almost as notably, the other girl she saw through the mirror stood above her.
“How…” the blue-haired girl muttered under her breath. Her voice was a bit deeper than Louter’s, but still quite soft and gentle to the ears.
“Hello. Where am I?” She slowly got to her feet, stumbling a bit from her dizziness. The room around her was spinning, or perhaps her head still felt fuzzy from…whatever just happened.
Speaking of which–
The mysterious girl took a few steps back. “M-My bathroom…why are you here…”
It seemed this girl couldn’t pronounce certain sounds, and Louter had to stop herself from giggling. She found it endearing, but she didn’t want her to get the wrong idea. Lala had scolded her plenty enough times for “laughing” at others to make the same mistake again. “I don’t know, but I’m Louterstella. I came from my bathroom, and now I’m here?” She awkwardly smiled and shrugged, trying to lighten the mood and ease the girl’s nerves.
“Um…Stella?”
She nodded. “Yes, my name is Louterstella. You can just call me Louter if it’s easier.”
“I’m…” The girl tried to sound out her own name, though it took a moment and a lot of stuttering to finally get it out. “Klarkstella.”
“Klarkstella? So…we’re like twins!” Louter’s smile turned to an ear-to-ear grin and hugged Klark before she could move away. “Do you think we’re sisters? Like the ones in fairytales?”
“Wha…?”
Louter let out a soft sigh, her features softening in the face of Klark’s confusion. This girl was so adorable! “Fairytales! Like the ones about long lost twins who find each other and swap places!”
This earned her another frown. “I don’t wanna…”
Louter laughed. “Don’t worry, we won’t actually swap places. I like my home too, with Lala! Um…is this your home?”
Klark shook her head, though she still seemed a little nervous to speak. “Kiki…” She didn’t say anything else and looked at the pink-haired girl, awaiting a response.
“This is Kiki’s home?” To this, Klark nodded. “Hm…can you take me to Kiki?” It was clear she had to be patient with Klark. She wanted them to be friends, after all.
“‘Kay…” Klark took Louter by the hand and led them out of the bathroom. They passed through what she assumed to be Klark’s bedroom, which was also similar to hers besides the blue accents and a few miscellaneous items. The hallways were familiar too, as were each room they passed.
Was Louter really in a fairytale?
They arrived at one large room, and in the center of it, was…someone who looked almost identical to Lala! This must have been Kiki, because Klark approached the sleeping figure almost eagerly.
“Kiki…” Klark’s voice was tentative as he tried to get Kiki’s attention. “Kiki, someone…someone’s here…”
She struggled for a minute to get the attention of Kiki before he awoke. When her eyes landed on Louter, he seemed shocked.
She gave her a small smile and waved. “Hello. I’m-”
“Louterstella.”
What?
“Yes, I’m Louterstella, and I–”
“You came from Lala’s palace.”
“Yes, I did–”
“Through the mirror in your bathroom.”
She didn’t know what to say, so she just nodded.
Kiki’s gaze turned to Klark, and he gestured to Louter. “Klark, child of the stars, this is your sister.”
They turned to each other in sync, both in complete shock. After a moment of disbelief, Louter’s shoulders relaxed and she embraced Klark again. “I was right, you are my sister, just like in the stories.”
However, Klark didn’t respond. When she pulled away, she didn’t see a smile on the other girl’s face, only tears.
Louter brought a hand up to her cheek, gently wiping the tears away. “Oh, Klark…” she whispered softly. “Why are you crying? Do you not want a sister?”
“I…” Klark sniffed and sobbed, trying her best to speak to no avail.
“Take your time…” Louter’s hands moved down to hold Klark’s. She rubbed her knuckles, hoping to comfort the other girl. “Do you want me to be your sister? You can just nod or shake your head to answer.”
Klark nodded, then to her surprise, ripped her hands away from Louter in favor of hugging her once more. And oh, did that make her heart flutter. This sweet, adorable girl—her sister now—who seemed so shy and timid, was hugging her. If that wasn't the most precious thing in the world, she didn’t know what was.
After many tears and many more hugs, Kiki took them to Lala’s palace, back to Louter’s home. Klark nervously clung to Louter’s arm the entire way, wordlessly placing her trust in her hands. She could feel the fragility of such trust, the way it trembled and threatened to break with every step they took, but Louter wouldn’t let that happen. She would protect her sister with everything she had.
Lala was delighted to see them, and doted on Klark in the same way Louter did. Klark wasn’t as receptive of the attention at first, but he grew more comfortable around Lala upon finding out she and Kiki were twins, just like them.
According to Lala and Kiki, their castles were connected, but the twins were kept on opposite ends of the castles. Each ruler had chosen one twin to take in and raise, and those mirrors in their bathrooms were there to bring them together when the time was right. It was proclaimed in the stars, Kiki had said.
Klark was bitter upon finding out they had purposely been kept away from each other, and that made Louter’s heart melt. How cute was her younger twin, to feel so close to her after only just meeting? Not that Louter felt any different, she could feel the kinship between them.
In her mind, it didn’t matter if they had been kept apart. The stars brought them together, and now Louter wouldn’t let go of her sister ever again.