Unauthorized Entrance

Lisette slipped through the crack she had opened in the closet door. She knew she shouldn't be in here; this was the property room. It was the place that they put all the items that were confiscated from inmates, and her beloved mirror was certain to be in here somewhere. She quietly closed the door behind her. "Mirror, oh beloved looking glass, where are you?" Lisette whispered in her thick French accent. Just then, she spotted a large object draped in striped fabric. Could that be it? She rushed over and threw back the cloth. It was! Her beautiful mirror was right in front of her again. She sighed with relief, but then screamed in rage. When it was transported, it had apparently been dropped, for there were multiple cracks in the reflective surface, and a shard lay on the cement floor. A tear ran down her furious visage. She shouted in vengence, "Mirror, mirror, on the wall, he who hid you here must fall!" and she meant that with extreme seriousness. She would hunt down the monster and murder him with the shard in her hand. Then she clamped her hand on her mouth in fear and hoped to God that no one had heard her in the forbidden closet.

Angelica, on her normal travels around the Asylum in the night, saw a figure come out of the property closet. Anglica quickly hid behind a wall, as not to be seen if it were a nurse or orderly. She soon noticed the scars, and decided it was a patient. She slowly creeped from behind the wall and whispered loudly to the other inmate,

"Do you know we are not supposed to go in there?"

Monique grumbled in Angelica's mind, "stupid question!"

Being a rather jumpy girl, Lisette was a bit startled at the sound of someone else's voice. She quickly turned and tried to hide her mirror behind her back, which was a useless effort due to it's size.

"Oui, je desole, mais..."

But she stopped herself, realizing she wasn't speaking English.

"Sorry! I have a bad habit of speaking in French when I'm nervous. And yes, I know I shouldn't be in there, but my mirror...well, I couldn't have gone another day without it! Mon dieu!"

She then hugged the looking glass to her chest lovingly.

"Non, non, non. Bon! Vous-parlez fraincais? Je m'appelle Angelique!"
Angelica was thrilled to find another french inmate! Monique was also pleased, which rarely ever happens. This was the trigger and Angelica didn't really resist it. Monique came with a hiccup.
"Bonjour! Je suis Monique! J'adore ton glace! Je regarde, s'il te plait?"
She noticed the girl tence up...

Monique? Lisette thought she heard her say Angelique first. Oh well, perhaps it's another inmate with a personality disorder, she guessed. Lisette examined the inmate, and decided it would be safe to socialize with her. She was extremely excited to have met another French inmate, but you never know who could be spying for the staff these days...

"Oui, je parle francais. Je m'appelle Lisette. But everyone calls me Lisette Looking Glass, because of my mirror friends."

Lisette hoped her habit of switching languages (which is caused by her schizophrenia and mutiple personality disorder) wouldn't annoy Angelique/Monique, she seemed like a nice person...she eased her grip on the mirror and tucked the extra shard in her dress.

"Oui, you can see it. Just be careful, there are some cracks. Quelqu'un l'a casse."

The last phrase was said with great anger, and Lisette once again thought about slitting the throat of the horrible person who ruined it.

Lisette was glad that the girl handled it carefully.

"Well, they confiscated it from me, and one of the orderlies must have dropped it. Mais je jure that whoever did this will pay dearly for it."

Then, she said softly, "J'aurai ma vengeance!"

After Angelique/Monique handed it back, she asked,

"If you don't mind me asking, pourquoi sont vous ici? Did you do something wrong? Or were you really diagnosed?"

Lisette knew that there were a few poor souls who were here for no medical reason, and it was always good to get to know someone before saying too much.

Lisette smiled. Then she answered,

"Well, the doctors say I have schizophrenia and multiple personality disorder, but I don't! I'm the only one whose really in my head. I act differently because my friends in the mirror tell me to, not because I'm more than one person. The doctors don't believe me though, and I'm constantly getting sent in for leech treament with that horrible Dr. Lymer. Je deteste des sangsues."

She shivered at the thought of all those teeth biting into her skin.

(I assume we're allowed to be in two places at once, since everyone is everywhere? XD After all, it does seem all the French inmates are here)

Nicholas wandered down the hall, playing a slow waltz, when over the sound of the music he heard voices speaking in French. French! Growing very excited, he finished off the waltz with a wild run of sixteenth notes and turned the corner.

"Bonsoir! Je ne savais pas qu'il y avait d'autres personnes le français ici, combien il est passionnant!" he let loose in a string of rapid French, relieved to be back in his native language.

((Oui, you are indeed. I myself usually stick to one, but we are free to wander threads.))

Lisette jumped at the sound of a new voice and almost dropped her beloved mirror. The she slowly turned around.

"Oh! Oui, je parle français. But I can also speak English. I tend to switch rapidly between the two, je désolé. Je m'appelle Lisette. But I am usually refered to as Lisette Looking Glass because of my amis du miroir. Quel est ton nom?"

Lisette hoped her bad switching habit didn't bother this new inmate. It wasn't her fault! Some of the voices spoke in french and some in english and she didn't know who to listen to sometimes. She was a bit desperate for interaction with people other than the ones she saw in the mirror.

"Mon nom est Nicolas. Je suis une violoniste de Vienne. C'est un plaisir de rencontrer ceux qui parlent ma langue. Is English easier for you? I do apologize if I am confusing you. Both languages come easily to me."

(**My name is Nicholas. I am a violinist from Vienna. It is a pleasure to meet those who speak my language<-- just in case :] )

Lisette smiled slightly and replied,

"C'est un plaisir de voux rencontrer aussi, Nicholas. Non, they are equally easy for me. Mais, due to my exposure to English here at l'asile, I am more prone to using l'anglais."

((It's fine. I not entirely fluent, but I understand French very well. Actually I understand it better than I can write/speak it. Is that odd?))

"I may just pick up your habit of switching while I am here, Lisette," he said, smiling. "Il est assez amusant d'aller d'avant en arrière, vraiment. If I may ask, que fais-tu ici? I'm quite new, and I am not familiar with this place, but isn't the property closet off limits?" He smiled broadly. "My, mais c'est un soulagement de parler français de nouveau."

He began playing his violin absently without diverting his attention from Lisette, a Paganini caprice.

(I am just learning, so excuse me if I get things wrong. No, my dad is the same way with Danish :])

Lisette bit her lip when he mentioned the property closet. She knew she shouldn't have gone in! But she needed her mirror!

"Oui, je sais. Mais j'ai eu besoin de mon miroir! I missed it so. My friends were getting annoyed, and it's always best not to anger them."

She looked down at her mirror as Nicholas began to play a beautiful piece on his violin. Then she looked up at him as he continued to play.

"C'est magnifique!"

((It's fine! I only have two years of French anyway, so I may mess up a bit too.))

"Merci! It's Paganini... they call him the mad Russian." He smiled a bit. "C'est un miroir belle."

Lisette blushed.

"Merci beaucoup, Monsieur. I think so too."

She looked down at it lovingly.

Nicholas could see that the relationship between Lisette and her mirror was similar to the one between himself and his violin and was glad that someone else felt the way he did.

"Alors, mademoiselle, que devons-nous faire pour vous amuser fous ici?"

Lisette didn't know a whole lot about this place either, but she decided to share what she did know.

"Well, nous avons un studio d'art, une pièce de musique et beaucoup d'autres magnifiques activités. And we have a residential poet and philosopher who sometimes gives classes on said subjects. Oh! Et nous avons une compagnie de théâtre et un choeur."

She was quite certain that that was most of it. She didn't care to mention the more illegal activites right now...such as sneaking into the property room and stealing back possessions. Sometimes other inmates would grab things for the more timid ones. The staff didn't usually notice.

Lisette gave a confused look as she said,

"Au revoir, ma amie."

She wasn't sure why Angelique was leaving so suddenly, but she wasn't going to protest.