Boooooooo...Amanda pointed out that it says that there are zero comments when there's actually two! GARG! I have posted in the Enetation forums, seeking help and is waiting for an answer... [UPDATE: It's MAGICAL!!! The comments thing works completely now. How strange. I'll post something either today or tomorrow...I had a post written up, but now I'm changing my story a bit. UPDATE OF THE UPDATE: It's not working again...I'm going to go look for a new comments provider...UPDATE OF THE UPDATE OF THE UPDATE: New commenting system. It's HaloScan! And it works! I'm sorry, =( but Amanda's and Mallory's comments were erased.]

Oy, it's works now! Comment away!

Nyla had been back in the States for a month now. She checked her little mirror constantly, but there hadn’t been a single message. Nyla tried to keep busy in her antiques store, she acquired a number of new items, and had done some good business with the richer residents of the town. Recently the rich population in the town had been skyrocketing - it contributed much to the success of her store.

It had been a slow day in her shop when she finally received word of what she was suppose to do. She’d been starring at the mirror when a face appeared in it. Nyla was still able to faintly see her reflection, but the face staring back at her commanded all her attention.

“Hello there, you must be Nyla.” The mirror acted like a videophone. “I’m Sterling Murphy Sullivan.” Sterling, the British “agent” of the group Nyla had joined, had pale hazel eyes and rich red-brown hair.

“Hi.” Nyla couldn’t think of anything else to say.

“I’m in charge of contacting agents in our group and from other agencies. Whenever its time for you to do something, you’ll get a lovely call from me.”

“I see. So what’s the mission?” She could feel a spark of excitement in her gut - she was finally going to be able to do something!

“Whoa there, you’re a bit eager to go. We’re not going to send you off on a mission right now - we’d never do that without giving you some training first. Unfortunately you are our sole operative in the United States for the moment, so you’ll have to go to France for your diplomatic and physical skills training.”

“Physical skills training? What would that entail?”

“A vast array of things - self-defense, swordsmanship, arms training, and a bit of archery.”

“Unfortunately?!” Nyla couldn’t help but let out a little laugh. “I get to go to France and learn how to kick ass? I think unfortunately would be the last word I’d use. When do I go?”

“Tomorrow morning. Your flight is already scheduled - walk up to the first ticket counter and request the tickets under your name. Pierre will be at the airport to pick you up in France.”

“Sterling, you have just made my day.”

Sterling smiled. “I’m glad I could make someone happy today. Have a nice flight and be careful with your training. I know its only training, but I don’t want you to end up in hospital.”

“Thank you for your well-wishing - I’ll be careful.”

And that was it. She was going to France.

“Great.” Andre reached into a worn-looking messenger-style bag on his lap and pulled out a small black compact. He flipped open the flat, rectangular two inch by three inch compact and handed it to Nyla. “Looks like a regular compact mirror, right?”

Nyla nodded her head as she gazed at her reflection in the little mirror.

“Well, when we need to get in contact with you, messages will be displayed in the mirror. You’ll still slightly be able to see a reflection, but what you’ll mostly see are the words and pictures we need you to see. The compact is only a receiver though, we will give you instructions later on how you can contact us. There are a number of items Franz concocted before he was murdered - he was quite the technical genius. Now we’ll need to replace him, but for the moment we should be fine.”

“What do I do now?”

“For now, finish your vacation in Germany, then go home. Do what you normally do, and we’ll contact you when we need you to make your first move.”

“That’s it?” Nyla felt a little surprised at the simplicity of it all.

“That’s it.”