Glauce's Mirror: A Short Story

Glauce stared upon herself with a bold appreciation. Every glance she took served as a reminder to her worth and beauty in the eyes of others. Her viewing lens, a piece of polished bronze, failed to satisfy the exacting image she desired. Dull, blurred and distorted, the slab of metal couldn’t reflect her true form. Glauce met the mirror’s deficiency with minor distain each and every day. It did not reflect all her efforts towards personal beauty, and she could never fully view the fruits of her labor. She dug deep into the confines of her mirror trying to scavenge every last detail of her physical beauty. Like a planet in orbit, Glauce drifted but always revolved around the mirror. It tugged on her every day, nurturing her thirst for aesthetic

Its crisp cut rectangular edges made it difficult to carry but all the more alluring. Each edge dug deep into the cusps of her fingers and the immense weight of it proved burdensome. Drained and fatigued Glauce then started dragging the box down the hallway. It screeched a high pitch frequency, grinding against the floor viciously. Glauce did not mind as she was too distracted with the mirror like qualities of the box. She could view herself more clearly in the bright bronze than she could in her own mirror. She couldn’t quite get a strong grip on the box, and resorted to pushing it. As she neared closer to her room, her palms began to sweat and slipped against the crate. She started to push with her feet but needed a break from the strain. She circled back to her room and reclaimed her spot in front of the mirror. Drenched with sweat, Glauce didn’t realize how much effort she exerted. Her nail was chipped and her feet were sore after the ordeal. The tiring toil of pushing the box down the hall finally became apparent to her, and she decided to stop trying to move the box. She lost all interest and stared at herself contently in the mirror. To her shock, one of the servants entered her room carrying the container with one hand. The young girl retrieved it after seeing it laying in the middle of the hall. She held it as if it was almost weightless. The cumbersome load Glauce struggled so intensively just to move an inch weighed no

The box sounded a sharp click as the hatch opened. Glauce lifted steadily until reaching a heavy wrapping inside. A canvas rag encircle in coarse brown twine encircled the contents of the box. Glauce pried away at the knot trying to break past the almost fortress like barriers in the container. Eventually breaking the knot and canvas loose Glauce slowly revealed a nearly blinding entity. She pulled the ornamented crown from the box with slight hesitancy. The seemed to have an energy exuding from its unnatural shine. Even its jewels sparkled actively incessantly. She slowly bestowed the crown upon her head using the mirror as her guide. It sat snug on her head, fitting her perfectly. Glauce reveled in the beauty of the crown. While staring deeply into her reflection, she began to smell something peculiarly rotten. She scoured around her room and tried to find the source. The odor was repugnant and offensive, and it smelt of rotten food or a dead rat. The smell gradually intensified, following Glauce wherever she went. It seared her nostril and made her tear, but she still could not find the source. Passing by the mirror, Glauce spotted out of the corner of her eye a small blemish. Taking priority over the smell, Glauce made her way back to the mirror. Making her way over, she wondered where the benign mark could have come from. She eventually lost interest and proceeded with the task. Staring deep into