At Arden's insistence, Viki had been on time for her appointment with the dressmaker. She had chosen the fabrics and the colours herself, having already ran them by Tara. Tara didn't necessarily want her bridesmaids to match, and Viki was happy about it. After all, who knows what sort of tastes these friends of Tara's had! Their tastes in bridesmaid dresses could in fact be quite terrible!

She had some difficulty standing still for the designer. The dressmaker, a woman in her mid-40s with glasses that seemed much too big for her face, tsked and frowned as Viki twitched and moved about restlessly. Finally, after three attempts to take in the skirt of the dress, the woman pricked her finger so bad due to Viki's movements that she shouted at the princess and stomped into the back room for a bandage.

Viki sighed and studied herself in the fitting room's mirror. The dress was coming along nicely. The skirt was a deep blue which shimmered in unnatural light, and the top was a corset, a tasteful corset, deep blue with a lovely burgundy pattern. Viki was careful not to ruffle the dress too much, as she wasn't properly fitted yet, and she didn't want to cause the dressmaker further heartache. It was then that her reflection changed.

"Well, well, well."

Viki blinked.

"Who said tha'?"

The voice sounded strangely familiar.

"I did." The girl in the mirror rapped her fist upon the glass. Viki just stared, speechless.

"Ya know, you've really outdone yerself this time," said Viki's reflection. "Taking up with the likes of those who murder and rape and..."

"Pillage?" Viki asked. It seemed to fit.

"Yah. That's a good word." Her reflection smirked. "I couldn't believe it. You just stood idly by and watched that woman disintegrate before your very eyes. Nine years ago, you would've knifed the man."

Nine years? Had it really been nine years? And what was a year anyway? But Viki opted against talking semantics.

"Wha' do ye want me tae do?!" Viki huffed. This was ridiculous. Not only was her reflection talking to her, but it was judging her! Sure, it was true. Last night in the local tavern, she watched a lady disintegrate. Her attacker was a man her cousin seemed to know quite well, and all he did was touch the lady's forehead. That act alone horrified her, but the realization that he could do so with a simple touch terrified her beyond words. Who was this mysterious stranger and what was her cousin doing hanging around him?

"Why dun you ask her?" The reflection giggled. Viki frowned.

"Stay out of my head."

"You should really find out about this demon sword. It's important. There's a war on. I feel it. You'd feel it too if ye only remembered how you used tae be!"

"Wha' are you referring too, exactly?" Viki sneered.

"There are other things, too. Yer taking up with vampires again - not just Tara, mind you, but yer new lover. Tsk. What's going tae follow? Slavers? Did you know tha' Tara's new fiance has a slave? You did, didn't you? I think you met her!"

This was too much. Viki placed both palms against her Elven ears and hummed.

"La-la-la."

"Oh, that's mature. That'll solve everythin'! Remember when you used to free the slaves, and nuh sit idly by because you were too scared of gettin' caught?"

She stopped humming. "I was bad at that. I always got caught."

"Yes, yes, but at least ya weren't a coward!" The girl in the mirror hissed. "Back in the day, you wore leather armor - nuh frilly ball gowns - an' fought for the weak and knew certain magicks but now its all lost to you, isn't it?! You've forgotten ab-so-lute-ly everythin'! What would yer brother think of you?"

"Go away." Victoria sniffed. It was all too much. Frankly, she didn't care what her brother thought of her. She hadn't seen him in years. He never even crossed her mind!

"Tha's a lie."

"Stay outta muh head!"

"Yer jus' as vile and wretched as the things you once fought. And now, you've fallen in love with one! A vampire! Well, tell me, Princess," the mirror-girl emphasized her title sarcastically, "what would your lover think of you if he knew tha' you once tried tae kill his own kind!"

Hmm. Mirror-girl referenced her vampire slaying days. This was bad.

"I nevah killed anyone. I was bad at tha' too!"

"You killed Kat."

That hit a nerve. Viki was now in near hysterics.

"I DIDN'T KILL KAT! KAT WAS MURDERED!"

"But you couldn't save her."

And it was then that Viki's fist found her reflection's face, and the glass shattered beneath it.