Esperanza continued to gaze into the mirror before her. Hazel-green and amber eyes studied the shimmering surface as the reflections of herself and Serin slowly faded to black, only to be replaced by a vision of bright day and a younger version of herself standing on a train platform conversing with a couple many years her elder with a distinct resemblance to her features.

"Mom…Dad…" she whispered quietly to herself as she watched the scene before her unfold, her voice holding a cracked note to it as her eyes glistened with tears. Esperanza's gaze never left the scene of the couple with their 17 year old daughter before her, even as she sensed Serin's presence when he placed a comforting and gentle hand on her shoulder. It had been so long since she had seen her parents. A train pulled into the station as the two watched one of the memories from her past play out. Her younger self, innocent and naïve, hugged her parents and boarded the train alone, taking a window seat to look out at her parents again and wave goodbye.

"I had been so excited about going on that trip, " she murmured softly, "Now I wish my parents had never thought of it." As the two looked on, the scene before them began to fade while the train started to pull out of the station.

"It was your destiny to be on that train," Serin told her, the blackness of the mirror disappearing while another scene began to take shape, "When are you going to believe me? You are a part of something much bigger than you could ever dream of."

Esperanza remained silent at his words, her watchful eyes captured by what was happening next. The train had stopped in the middle of a rugged forest area for "inexplicable reasons." The passengers milled about the forest near their respective cars, casting nervous glances at each other, the unspoken suspicion of magic use in the air and in their ready-to-accuse eyes. Something caught the young Esperanza's attention, and she felt compelled to satisfy her curiosity. She glanced behind her at the others from her car before heading off in to the thick of the forest alone.

"I was such a fool to leave the train alone," she sighed as she watched her younger self forge through the under brush of the forest, a determined look in her eyes as she walked an unseen path with purpose.

"Don't you remember what you felt that day Esperanza? The strong force pushing and guiding you? You had no choice but to answer that pull within you. That excuse for a wizard may have been a fool, but his binding and summoning spell was incredibly strong. There was no way, with your lack of training at the time, that you could resist him." Serin spoke quietly to her as they watched the young Esperanza stumble into a clearing, a cabin at one end beckoning her on. As she neared, the door opened, and a young man stepped out. It wasn't until he had a firm grasp on her arm that a sudden fear gripped her, but it was too late. He bound and gagged her to a chair, wild-eyed and afraid in the large one room cabin cluttered with all a practising wizard could want or need.

"He was an ambitious one, he was," Serin muttered quietly, "But all too sloppy in his work, and far too eager to play God for his own good. He was out of his league with that spell he planned."

Again, Esperanza said nothing, her eyes never leaving the scene before her as the all still too vivid memories raced through her mind.

~ ¤ ~ ¤ ~

He had been a young man, somewhat tall in stature, and had the situtation been different, Esperanza might have thought him to be handsome. Things weren't different, however, and he was her captor.

While Esperanza struggled against her bonds, she watched as the young wizard set about his preparations for his spell. Esperanza's wide, fearful eyes scanned the room, searching for anything that could help her. Off to her left a little, she spied a cage, a cage much too small for the large shadow of a beast within it. As Esperanza studied the cage and its inhabitant, the creature within shifted, moving around to face her, and suddenly a pair of narrowed, glittering eyes of amber-yellow fire stared out through the bars of the cage. The animal's lips pulled back to form a quiet snarl, white fangs flashing in the dim light of the cabin. Esperanza froze in fear as she stared unblinking into those feral eyes. Anger…pain…hurt…fear…intelligence; all of these she could see reflected in the creature's fiery gaze.

Abruptly, the young wizard was next to her, striding towards the cage as the animal's growls grew louder, and it was then Esperanza knew the creature's snarlings were directed at the man alone. He gave the cage a swift kick with a booted foot, a short bark of a laugh escaping him when he heard the shadowy beast's answering hiss. Esperanza caught sight of what she thought looked like a syringe folded secretively in one of his hands, and indeed this proved to be true as the sorcerer kneeled down next to the cage. He deftly plunged the needle into the neck of the wild creature, a series of snarls and growls issuing forth from it as it struggled in its small confines, but it was useless. The wizard succeeded in administering the small dose of tranquilizer, and within minutes, the animal was still.

The young man smirked lightly to himself as he opened the cage. He reached within and begin to haul out the large beast, then drag it along the ground towards her. As he worked, Esperanza realized just exactly what the dark-furred animal truly was, a full grown female black panther. The sorcerer smiled slyly at her as he neared, hauling the panther along with him to drop the creature near her feet, and suddenly Esperanza was overcome with a sense of dread. He murmured a few words she couldn't make out as he waved his right hand before her face. The last thing Esperanza remembered was the wizard reaching for her, and then blackness.

When she came to, Esperanza found herself somehow bound to the panther, and from her palms, a low, dull pain throbbed. She fought through the slight fuzziness in her mind to lift her head and look at her hands, and what she saw instantly cleared her mind as her eyes widened in surprise. Her palms had been slashed, blood still dripping from the wounds to coat her hands. Too shocked and angered to do anything else but stare at the source of the pain in her hands, Esperanza was quickly brought back to her present condition as she felt movement against her. The panther was awake.

Esperanza heard the panther growl quietly while she fought against their bonds, her newest cage. The ties seemed just loose enough that maybe one of them could slink free with enough effort, and both she and the panther realized this. As they struggled to win free, Esperanza's attention was diverted by a low, husky voice chanting close by. She turned around as best she could to look to the source, knowing full well it had to be the sorcerer, what she saw pushed her to redouble her efforts to break free. The wizard had changed into dark, almost crimson, red robes that seemed to flutter about him like a candle in the wind as he moved. His face was a blank mask of concentration as he gazed at the make-shift alter before him on which rested a chalice, as well as a jeweled ceremonial dagger covered in red rivulets of blood, her blood. Anger flashed through her, when the rope that had been so secure around her suddenly slackened, and the pressure of the panther against her was gone. They were free.

Esperanza sat up, the rope falling away as she watched the panther crouch low, slowly stalking her way towards the oblivious wizard, a dangerous fire blazing in her amber eyes. With a loud snarl of a war cry, the dark creature leapt for the man, sharp claws and fangs bared. At the last moment, the wizard seemed to sense the attack, and he grabbed for the dagger on the alter, even as the panther slammed into him, throwing him away from his spell and hurtling them both to the ground.

The creature wasted no time in slashing at the fallen wizard, only to let out a loud scream of pain as the man began to stab wildly at the panther's side, the urge for survival and anger at the attack spurring him on. The animal's efforts at clawing the sorcerer grew weaker until at last, she stopped, slumping her heavy form against the man. He cursed to himself as he struggled to shove the panther off him and to the side and then sit up, his robes ripped and ruined, blood dripping from the deep gashes that appeared on his chest, and yet he did not seem fazed. A wild, angry look flashed in his eyes as he looked from the prone panther to Esperanza, a look that seemed to cast all the blame upon her. The wizard then rose to his feet with a grunt, then staggered a little back to the altar. The spell, which he had begun, now roiled as a dark cloud of black above the chalice, dangerous and unfinished.

While the sorcerer fought to regain control of the remnants of his spell, Esperanza quietly did her best to crawl towards the still panther, biting down on her lip when the pain throbbing in her palms began to intensify with the effort. When she reached the creature's side, she rolled her over with incredible effort, looking at the deep wounds as they continued to bleed, soaking the panther's once lustrous coat. Tears of anger welled in her eyes as she tried to stop the bloodflow with her own wounded hands, applying pressure with her body. The large cat stirred, lifting her head to look at the young woman who fought to help her. Yes, the panther still lived, but every labored breath shook her once powerful frame.

The wizard, unable to harness the power of the spell he had conjured and fearing the unavoidable backlash of magic that must inevitably come, turned his angered gaze to the Esperanza and her feeble attempts to save the fallen panther's life. With a shout of pure anger and hatred, the sorcerer flung the chaotic remnants of the spell at the two figures, and a burst of light went off in Esperanza's mind.

~ ¤ ~ ¤ ~

Esperanza's body was shaking as she gripped the mirror before her, her gaze narrowed as she stared intensely upon its shining surface, the reflection on it having once more changed. She looked on as the young Esperanza was found by those from her train, her body, bloodied and bruised, was discovered slumped over that of a dead panther. She had been delirious those first few hours; something was different, something was wrong.

Serin's grip on her shoulder tightened comfortingly as Esperanza still fought to get her increased breathing and heartbeat back to normal. Slowly, she loosened her hold on the mirror and her hands fell to her side, tears once more threatening to overcome her.

"Why…why did he have to do that to me…to her?" she cried quietly, pleading with her former mentor, "I never wanted to be different! I only wanted to be happy, to live my life as it should have been lived! Why?!"

"This is how it was meant to be."