บท 2: Who is 'her'?

There is a scandalous and gorgeous sight in front of me. One I never thought I'd ever see. It's all around me.

Because I've literally been transported somewhere far away back in time. One minute I'm sitting in my car sipping boba tea. The next I'm outside under a tree in the middle of what looks like a filming set of my mother's Chinese dramas.

And I'm being threatened by a cursed mirror, oh great.

After steadying my breathing I take a hold of myself again. I need to consider the situation at hand and assess myself.

I feel normal, nothing wrong with me at all besides my own unease at the situation. No injuries or anything. I'm in the exact same pose as I was in my car, though currently sitting on a rather large tree root. My clothes, hair, and even the box on my lap are all in place as I was not but a few moments ago. I'm still holding on to my bubble tea!

I didn't even fall out of the sky, I just magically appeared here.

A few more deep breaths. Okay, a lot more.

There's no way this could be a prank show, it's physically impossible. Yet here I am and I'm not alone. A few people seem to notice me but they pass by, bent on ignoring me. Some whisper and point but for the most part I'm left unnoticed. Another stranger in the crowd.

Not good, I'm in public.

Survival instinct kicks in and I quickly decide to treat this as getting lost in any foreign city. First I have to put away what is obviously my valuables. Carefully I slide the compact into my coat's inner pocket and rewrap the wooden box.

Luckily my purse was on my person when I teleport-ed. That's the best term I can come up with to describe how I traveled here. It's a medium-sized thing with two different sets of straps, handheld and shoulder slung. With a bit of rearranging the box fits inside reasonably with some room to spare.

Enough for me to close the zipper without too much trouble.

There's really only one thing left to do.

Finish my drink of course. Just kidding!

The drink does finish itself off while I consider my next course of action. According to what I now deem the cursed mirror, I have to find and save someone.

I get up and dust my clothes from the imaginary dirt. I know that I stand out as people avoid looking straight at me. Even though I'm dressed very modestly in funeral clothes. Long black skirt, heeled boots, and coat it's a modern Western style. I'm dressed in all black instead of bright noticeable colors. There's snow on the ground but my clothes are thick enough, especially with my long trench coat and scarf, that I don't feel the cold.

The people I've seen passing are dressed in traditional East Asian clothing, hanfu? I'm not sure. Some are working class and look rough while much fewer people look neat. The majority of the working people are wearing darker or undyed clothes; I hope I'll be able to blend in.

What really catches my eye are the few women I see, dressed in lavishly layered dresses. Some are bundled up in gorgeous furs followed by a procession of servants while others only from what I can see through the crack of windows and courtyards. It's a fashion show here!

It must be normal in these days for women to stay inside but the glimpses of them I see, their beautiful hair, dresses, and overall looks have me dizzy. So many pretty ladies!

What are their beauty techniques here!? Wasn't makeup supposed to be less advanced? Or was the gene pool here just amazing because I hardly see an ugly woman. Sure some are plainer and there are plenty of cute enough servant girls around but for the most part, the ratio of attractive girls here was extremely high!

Ah to be a woman in these times.

I wonder if they're all inside because of bound feet, that was a thing right? As kids, my maa maa would tell my cousins and me the horror stories of the old village woman and their 'beautiful' deformed feet.

What a terrible tradeoff.

I shake off the thought and can't help but let the actual beauty around distract me from the impending sense of doom I have.

3 hours.

The message said I have 3 hours left to save "her". Gulping down my nerves I check, for the first time, the mirror that's been inside my pocket. Annnnnd yep there's still the dammed creepy message reflected up at me with make-up. I think it's red makeup at least. I don't dare touch it.

"Save her or die

Time left: 2 hours 51 minutes"

My face is frozen but inside I'm crying a waterfall of tears. What is this mess? Why does it have to be so scary?

If I could I would fling the mirror far far away and go home. But I can't do that now can I?

Do I believe in the scary mirror? To be honest not really. Am I frightened beyond belief, yes!

Yes yes yes!

I am very scared and I have no doubt the magic mirror could kill me. Who said it already didn't, I've already been proofed into another dimension or something!

So I have no choice but to believe, or at least follow the mirrors instructions. Okay, I just need to save a girl. Easy enough right?

Now, who the hell do I save? Is a fair maiden just going to come out screaming for help? Will one of these beauties come running away from a gang of bad guys or fall from the sky?

I sure hope not because I wouldn't know what to do either. I'm just a normal young woman myself! I don't know kung fu or any of that shit. I doubt my fitness kickboxing and yoga is any help. The most practical experience I have is at most women's self-defense classes at the gym! I do however have a can of pepper spray in my purse.

Ah yes, the modern weapon of all women. Pepper spray.

I highly doubt I'll find the person I'm supposed to 'save' by just wandering around. But what choice do I have? It's a very beautiful town though, ancient or not.

The sun is setting low on the horizon, its last orange rays fading into that blue of dusk and showing the place. The streets are surprisingly clean and made of a certain type of stone. Building are lined up but look tasteful rather than crowded with a well-placed tree or pond or other little scenery markers. The lanterns are beginning to be lit, giving the place a multi-color glow against the light of the sunset.

It looks like a dream.

Or a tourist town, whichever you prefer. As they say, "they are two types of people."

Surprisingly people are getting more active as night approaches rather than settling down. Restaurants are cooking and setting up, the laughter of both men and women increases, the streets fill up slowly but steadily. Nightlife here must greatly be bustling!

If only there was a map or some sort of directions to this place.

Don't get me wrong; I'm not a shy or meek kind of girl but I have a normal sense of manners and social etiquette. Aka I have a normal sense of social anxiety in a new place, and this is very very new. Who do you ask for directions around here, and what would one even say?

"Excuse me can you tell me where I am?"

That's exactly what I ask to a pair of guards I find stationed. At least I assumed they're guard based on their tasseled spears and matching outfits which looked like uniforms. Okay, they looked like guards from my mom's dramas, don't fail me now TV!

"A new girl? At this time of year?" one of them murmurs as I wave them down.

"Ah you're actually such a pretty face! I didn't notice with your strange manner of dress, but you're quite a looker up close." the other one laughs, bending down close.

"She doesn't look like the usual type. Definitely well fed." the first one remarks oddly.

"Don't worry, you'll do pretty well. When you settle down I can see you becoming popular soon."

"Uh…thank you?" I don't know how to respond to that. I just wanted directions.

"I've never seen such clothes before, so foreign. I can't say they're beautiful but they look sturdy and keep you very warm. " the friendly one inspects, not knowing the concept of personal space.

"Where are you heading too? This city can be very intimidating for newcomers. You don't look very much like a country girl though." the first one, colder but not proper, asks.

"I'm not, uh I've just lived abroad for a while. I'm supposed to meet someone, she's in trouble. Except I don't know where I am let alone where she is…." I try putting to simple words my situation.

"Oi such a common story, how can we find anything like that? How about a name? Of the house or the madam, maybe the street? There's a lot of girls here, do you have a name" says the friendly one.

"Too many of them." his coworker nods, agreeing.

"Umm…" I'm left feeling more than lost.

"AIya, don't be so harsh. You know how new girls are, especially the ones from good families. So delicate and helpless, it's why they go for so much. But my friend here is right miss, could you give us a little more to go on?" the friendly one good-naturedly smacks at his coworker.

"I apologize for my ignorance, could you tell me where I am though-" my mind spins, trying to organize itself and my thoughts.

*Crash!*

The sounds of a commotion start up at a nearby establishment, a bar fight from the looks of things.

"Already? It's still too early for this." complains the proper guard.

"Haha you're in between the Southern and East side of the city right now. We have to get going but I hope you find your way miss in black, stay safe!" the friendlier one waves at me as his co-work pulls him to work.

"Hey, flirt later! Don't go wasting your money again either."

With that, they're off to do their job, probably. Police brutality is not too big an issue here I suppose. I don't hear any women screaming and no one looks in need of saving here so it's back to wandering I go.

I take a chance on the cursed mirror again. Come on give me a hint here.

"Save her or die

Time left: 2 hours 27 minutes"

Yes very helpful. I stare at the words for a solid minute watching as the reflection blurs from 27 to 26. Very creepy but fascinating. I'm getting more frustrated though.

"Any hint? Please? I can't save her if I don't even know who or where she is. You give me a bloody hint, I get to her save her, we both win?"

Nothing changed but the time remaining. As I clasp the mirror shut in a defeated sigh I noticed something strange. Not as strange as this whole situation but I'm hyper-alert at this point.

The swirling flowers on the mirror are different. They were previously a variety of plants and flowers but now the design was that of 5 petal blossoms on tree branches. Plum blossoms!

I should head back to the plum blossom trees where I woke up! What's the first thing they teach you when you get lost, stay put duh. I'm such an idiot.

It's been interesting but I can't waste any more time and retrace my steps easily. I'm pretty good at recognizing landmarks and buildings and have no worries about getting back in less than 15 minutes. That would be east right, opposite from where the sun was setting.

The light of the red tinted night lanterns makes the place feel vastly different. It was still beautiful but there was something different in the air. There are a lot more women for one thing.

As I walk further I keep noticing things, it's like a nagging suspicion that builds and builds over time. The scents of perfume flowing like a department store perfume counter mix unpleasantly with that of sour spilled wine. The giggling, there's so much giggling go around, there's a lot of strange laughter.

The people here don't pay me any mind outside the curious look or pointed finger accompanies by giggling women with white powdered faces. It's odd, how easy it is to walk freely down this strange street. The people don't seem to mind, it should be odd.

But I can't place my finger on what it is.

Like a joke you just can't get even though everyone is already done laughing over it. It bothers you to the point it's irritating but your mind is just stuck at a certain point. You need a breakthrough, some sort of catalyst for enlightenment.

It came to me slowly, then all at once.

"I'll have the lass in the pink, with the butterflies in her hair!"

"Excellent choice honored customer, you're her first customer of the night!"

"Haha it's nice getting here early once in a while.

Behind the wooden window, they were speaking of was not a menu though to them it might as well have been one. No it was a line of women, sitting and looking pretty as if they were in a magazine photoshoot. They were all dressed up so prettily…

Oh no.

Oh no no no nononononoon nooooooo. It can't be!

I clutch my bag tight and speed up my pace. But no matter how fast I go, no matter where I look, left-right, all around me are variations of the same sight. The same sort of transactions is going on everywhere.

The truth weighs on me and I don't want to see it. I don't want to know.

An unseen woman moans particularly loud somewhere behind me.

Fuck

Oh fuck I didn't mean that literally, oh no no no no. Please magic mirror, oh great powerful mirror do not tell me that you sent me to that side of town. Do not tell me of all the places I've been magically teleported, like a fictional hero, to a damn brothel neighborhood.

The mirror is silent but the night isn't, the echoing moans and crass laughter doesn't stop. My ear rings till I hear nothing but my own blood rushing up. I shake the most uselessly fucked up magical item of all time. open

"Save her or die

Time left: 2 hours 10 minutes"

That guard was right, there's a lot of girls here. A fuck lot.