"Brace yourself, my dear boy," said Linas as we made our way toward the Aether Hill estate.
We had been travelling for at least a day or two, but Linas insisted we arrive without a moments hesitation. I was beginning to think he was just an old lunatic, but given all the stories he had told me of his adventures, I would say he had his moments in life. The professor sat directly opposite me in the carriage, he was wearing his trusty brown coat, a matching fedora hat perched upon his head. He was currently paying attention to the beautiful scenery that shrouded throughout Aether Hill.
I, on the other hand, was clearly outmatched by his ever increasing knowledge. I was simply a professors assistant, but I had learned a great deal from him during our frequent encounters. I remember the day we first met, I accused him of poppycock when he stated that he was in fact a professor.
"Professor Linas, this place looks like it hasn't been used in a very long time," I said.
"Quite right," he replied, pausing for a brief moment before averting his gaze back to me. "We will be the new occupants of it, I trust you haven’t forgotten your research notes,” he added.
I grabbed my briefcase and began searching through the vast amount of documents that were inside. It wasn’t long before I noticed that a key part in the professors research was missing. Looking up to him with a grief stricken face, he placed his hand on the inside of his coat and pulled out a pile of documents, chuckling as he did so.
“You ought to be careful with this information, we wouldn’t want it falling into the wrong hands now,” he said before handing over my research.
“I’m terribly sorry, Professor. I don’t know what came over me,” I replied.
He cleared his throat and gestured for me to look out of the window, I did just that and what I saw was magnificent. Aether Hill mansion looked like something you would only read about in fairy tales. It made me wonder why such a place had been abandoned in the first place, but I guess i’ll leave that mystery for another day.
We came to a halt just a few short steps from the front door, as I looked up at the second floor of the house a strange feeling came over me, it was almost as if the house was calling me in.
I grabbed my briefcase and we departed from the carriage, I gave my condolences to the driver, he left shortly afterwards, my attention turning once again to the professor.
“Let’s get to it then, we have no time to waste,” he said merrily.
He pulled out a small set of keys from the inside of his coat and proceeded to the door, I wasn’t surprised when the first key he chose, amongst the many keys that had been on the brass ring, unlocked the door.
“How did you know which key to choose?” I asked, slightly bedazzled by his stroke of luck.
He turned the handle and the door slowly creaked open, the dust from the old house poured out into the light. He turned to me and held up the ring of keys, I began pondering for a moment and then it finally came to me, a small smile crept upon his face as I figured out the small mystery of the keys.
“Correct me if I am wrong, but I am making the assumption that you chose the key which was most flawed. Since this is the front door of the house, it would only be right that the key would get used quite often, making the end of the key worn out,” I said with great confidence, adjusting my hat.
The professor simply chuckled and handed me the set of keys, I began inspecting them as we made our way into the main hall of the house.
“That was an impressive analysis, my apprentice. But the reason I chose this key out of the many that are there, is because the groundskeeper told me that this was the front door key,” he placed his belongings down and removed his coat, placing it on the coat rack that stood next to the stairs.
“I guess one should sometimes keep his assumptions under the hat,” I said as I joined the professor, who had situated himself in the study.
“Why don’t you take your things upstairs and get settled, we have lot’s of work to do within the next few days,” he said, gesturing for me to explore the house.
“Right you are, professor,” I replied.
Grabbing my briefcase from beside the coat rack, I made my way up the stairs, remembering to take a left at the top. I continued down the long corridor, past the many locked doors and opened the second last door.
I stepped inside the dark room and gently closed the door behind me, trying to avoid unsettling the dust which settled everywhere. I placed my briefcase down and walked over to the window, sunlight ignited the room as I pulled the old curtains apart. I took a moment to admire the scenery from the window, to see such a beautiful landscape like this was simply divine.
I portrayed a childish smile and turned to my briefcase, which lay by the king size poster bed. The short steps I took toward it had been halted by a strange object which caught my eye, I could see the corner of what appeared, to be a letter of some sort. I pulled the letter out from under the pillow using my index finger and thumb and placed myself on the bed.
Many investigative thoughts were currently going through my mind at this time, the priority of which had been whom the letter belonged to. The envelope itself was addressed to one Maria Wright. I turned the envelope over and tore off the wax seal, what was most peculiar at this point was the letter, it had the scent of new paper, as if it had been wrote today.
I slowly pulled out the paper and unfolded it, placing the envelope on the bed beside me, I began to read the letter.
My dearest Maria,
I am writing to you with the greatest of discoveries, I believe I have found another dimension right here in this very house.
You may think I am just an old fool blabbering on about such nonsense, but it is true. Sadly, I am needed greatly in the land they call Equestria and thus I shan’t be returning for some time. If there is ever a time when you need me, gaze upon your reflection via the Mirror of Eden and think of the great times we had together.
I’ll always be there for you,
your father,Edgar Wright.
P.S I have recently become friends with a Pegasus who can perform a ‘Sonic Rainboom’, at least that’s what I think they call it.
“The land of Equestria?” I questioned my sanity, I knew as well as anybody that Pegasus horses were simply mythological creatures.
With the letter in my hand, I shot up off of the bed and to the door. Turning the handle and quickly departing from the room, “Professor, I-” my words had been cut short by the sudden creaky opening of the door directly opposite my sleeping quarters.
I became bewildered as I slowly pushed the door open and made my way into the room, the curtains were blowing in the breeze, giving the empty room an eerie chill. I made my way to the window, the wooden floor creaking after every few steps, once I got there I looked out toward the forest.
I closed the window and proceeded to leave the room, suddenly stopping just a few feet from the door. I could hear it now, it had slowly crept up on me and I didn't even realize it. The sound of silence was engulfing the entire house, I could hear the grandfather clock in the hallway,
Tick, tock, tick... Silence.
I felt a small chill on the back of my neck and slowly turned my attention to the back of the room, the drapes which had been motionless just a moment ago were now moving, almost as if-
“Impossible,” I whispered, dropping the letter. It made no noise as it hit the floor, I began cautiously making my way toward the illusion which lay before my eyes.
I placed my hand on the soft fabric, my mind was giving me the falsity that I could feel wind coming through from the other side. I pushed my hand further into the drapes and pulled back quickly, falling to the floor in shock.
“Is everything alright,” shouted the professor from the stairs, the sound of silence had gone.
I shot up from the floor and tore off the drapes, revealing a giant mirror. Placing my hands in various places, I for one was determined to find the source of the wind. Linas made his way into the room and picked up the letter from the floor, after quickly scanning the contents he came and stood beside me.
“This is it,” I said, still bemused by what had occurred.
“The Mirror of Eden,” replied Linas, pulling a cloth from his trousers and wiping off the smeared marks from where my hands had been. “Meet me downstairs once you are finished, I have found something that I think you might want to see,” he added before shortly returning to his work in the study.
I stood there for a few moments, trying to piece together what happened. This was probably the most bizarre thing that has happened to me during my time with the professor, I was determined to discover the mystery of this mirror.