Spirits of the Earth

@Eckhart_Von_Musel
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"Shards?" Teryn asked, knocking on the door to her room. "You in there?" After about twenty seconds of silence, he felt the door was unlocked. Inside, Teryn saw Vivianne's long legs crossed, as she sat on the bed with her hands on separate mirrors. Her right hand had a dagger between it and the mirror.

She smirked, feeling his presence. She blinked a few times to clear the mirror-like shade from her eyes, relaxing her posture and taking her hands off of the mirrors. Vivianne combed her bangs back over her forehead, swinging her legs off the bed and crossing them. "You want information," she said.

"No small talk with you," he said, sitting in the wooden chair in the corner. "Yes, I do. It's been a few days since I asked you about the Von Musel woman. Did you get anything?"

Vivianne folded her arms across her chest with a slight frown. "Of course I have information. Why her, Teryn? She's all the way in Zantaric. What do you care?" He shook his head, and she scoffed, smiling condescendingly at him. "You need something from me, Teryn. I don't need anything from you."

"It's her little brother," Teryn said. Vivianne's eyes widened. "His name's Eckhart. Melissa had a little meeting with him, which ended with a chunk of wood in his side and one of her daggers in his back. I need to get as much information about his sister as possible because I know this isn't going to have a happy ending."

A little brother? Vivianne thought to herself, feeling a brand new hit of betrayal. Why didn't she ever tell me about him? Shaking the thought from her mind, she shrugged. "Well, Hildegarde loves fashion, probably more than I do. Pink seems to be her go-to look. She's kind of narcissistic, thinking she's the best. And she has major anger issues! Seriously, that woman overreacts like no one else I've ever seen."

Teryn nodded, frowning at the last point. "She's definitely not going to be happy with what happened."

"No shit." Vivianne squinted at him slightly, not wanting to beat around the bush in a conversation. "What's Eckhart like?"

"Uh, he's a thin kid with blond hair. Maybe twenty years old? Dirty clothes with an old cat. Very skittish. Melissa is deadset on taking him out." He put his right ankle on his left knee. "I'm a little worried she'll succeed." All he needed was Vivianne's brow to arch for him to know she wanted to spy. He waved his hand and nodded.

She flopped back on the bed, moving the dagger out of the way and laid on her stomach with her ankles crossed in the air. Vivianne uncovered the mirror shards on her forehead, put her hands on the mirrors, and blinked to reveal the mirror-like eyes. "-thinks he can get away from me. I'm gonna ring the little asshole's neck," Vivianne heard Wasp say to herself.

Not while I'm around, Vivianne thought, coming back to the room. "Teryn, I have another contract," she said. "If that's all you need at the moment..."

He nodded, standing up. "Let me know what you come up with."

Teryn disappeared from her room, and she sat up with her hands on the mirrors again. "Alright, Eckhart," she mumbled. "Let's see just who you are."

"Eckhart! Wake up, we're out of fish!"

Sunlight poured through Eckhart's window and onto his face as the healer groggily opened his eyes. "Wha... Whuzzat?"

"Come on Tuna Fish! I need to eat!"

Eckhart sat up, stretching his arms. "Alright, alright! I'll go get some food, hold your horses." He slipped out of bed and began to get dressed. "You couldn't have gotten food yourself?"

"Don't sass me." the cat replied. "Most people can't hear me, remember? How am I supposed to pay if I can't talk?"

"You still could've figured something out..." the boy muttered as he buttoned up his white cardigan. "Alright, I shouldn't be long."

"You'd better not be!" Belladonna called after him as he walked out the door. "If you take too long I'll eat your reagents!"


Eckhart stepped outside the hostel door, taking a deep breath as he did so. It was decently warm outside- for mid-fall, at least. As Eckhart made his way to Maestoso's market district, he uttered a silent prayer to whatever gods may be listening.

"Please, don't let anything go wrong today..."

Traveling through mirrors seems like a fun adventure, but it can actually leave someone with a nasty headache. With all of the reflections from all different angles, it can be extremely challenging. Fortunately, over many years, Vivianne had perfected it.

From the safety and comfort of her room at the inn, she was able to travel wherever she wanted. In this case, Vivianne wanted to find a young man related to a woman she once considered her best friend.

If Teryn had encountered him with Melissa, he had to be somewhere in Serendipity. To narrow the field even more, he had to be somewhere that allowed pets.

She bounced around mirrors in every tavern and inn that she could think of. Then, she saw the back of a young man with blond hair. He had on what she thought was a newer white cardigan. Can't be him, she thought. Teryn said he wore dirty clothes.

Still... There was an old cat. She stuck around, peering through the mirror for a moment more. The young man turned partially around, enough for Vivianne to have a three-year-old memory resurface.

Holy shit, they look exactly alike. She stayed, knowing she had found who she was looking for. He's talking to the cat. Her eyes narrowed, studying the way the cat regarded him. Maybe the cat's like Blexoir. When Eckhart left the hostel, Vivianne could only assume he was going out for breakfast. That meant he had to be heading towards the market district.

Vivianne left the hostel mirror, quickly locating a surface in the market. Turned out to be a glass that someone was about to drink out of. "Hey!" She shouted, making the guy drop the glass in shock. It shattered, so she hopped to the nearest mirror, waiting to catch a glimpse of the younger Von Musel again.

Hogtail street was bustling that morning, and Eckhart could barely see any of the market stalls through the crowds of people. The noise was deafening, and the steady hum of laughter and haggling made it difficult for Eckhart to hear his own thoughts. For a moment Eckhart just stood and watched the commotion, until the sound if a glass shattering broke him out of it. "Right! Fish! I need to buy fish!"

Walking to the nearest fishmonger, Eckhart put on his best "needy young man" impression. "E-excuse me sir?" he asked timidly. "Do you have red snapper?"

The fishmonger looked at him, the ghost of a frown on his face. "Yes, we do. It's thirty glints a pound."

Eckhart's face drooped. "Oh..." he said glumly as he turned to leave. "Thanks anyway..."

"Wait!" the fishmonger said hurriedly. Eckhart stopped and turned to face him. "Look, business has been slow, and I'm feeling generous. How does twenty five glints sound?" he said with a clearly fake grin.

"Um..." Eckhart said slowly. "That's really nice of you, but I just can't afford it..." The boy smiled sheepishly. "Could you do twenty?"

The man sighed. "Twenty three."

"Deal! I'll take two." Eckhart said, handing the man a fistful of coins. Walking away with a parcel of fish under his arm, the boy chuckled to himself. "Why did I even do that? I don't need to haggle now that I have Kaida's money..."

Jumping from mirror to mirror, Vivianne kept up with Eckhart quite well. She didn't quite understand how she knew which mirror to appear in, but she would best describe it as a form of intuition.

He's a haggler, Vivianne thought to herself. Interesting. Wait... Red snapper? She unconsciously scrunched her nose. That's disgusting. Why would he pick red snapper? Fluke is so much better.

Realizing she had lost herself in thought, she glanced around for Eckhart again. When she spotted his white top, Vivianne skipped past a few surfaces to get slightly ahead of him.

"Shards, do this," she spat, rolling her eyes and mocking Teryn's voice. "Shards, find him. Shards, I'm causing a war; help me! Doesn't he know I have my own life?"

Subtly waving at Eckhart as he passed her, she smirked. She didn't want to draw his attention, but she did want to see just how observant he was. If he looked, she'd simply disappear into another reflective surface. Her little skill definitely had its perks.

"I really ought to spend some of that money on me." Eckhart thought absentmindedly as he walked back towards his hostel. I mean, I bought the sweater- but that really didn't put a dent in Kaida's wallet, it only cost one sun..."

As if on cue, a sign that Eckhart hadn't noticed before caught his attention.


Eckhart looked at the fish in his hand, then back at the shop. "Bella can wait a few minutes." he decided. "She makes me do this nearly every morning, she should feel lucky that I feed her at all."

Upon walking inside, Eckhart grew slightly nervous. The place absolutely packed with bizarre looking objects precariously stacked on top of ancient looking pieces of furniture. "If I so much brush up against something here, this entire place could collapse."

"Need help finding something?" An old man walked out from behind a shelf. "We have a sale on clown statues today!"

"Ehehehe, no thank you..." Eckhart said nervously, walking deep into the shop. "That guy is weird, I don't wanna talk to him."

There were many things in the shop that caught the boy's eye, but none more so than the books. The shop had stacks upon stacks of old tomes and scrolls, and Eckhart was really beginning to enjoy shifting through them all. "I wonder if they have books on life magic I haven't read!" the healer thought excitedly. "I bet they do, this seems like- whoa!"

One of the books slipped, causing something to fall from the top of the pile. Eckhart reached out to grab it, and was shocked to find it wasn't a book that had fallen- but an old hand mirror. "Huh." Eckhart said, wiping the thick layer of dust off the glass. "I think this is in the wrong place..."

Vivianne entered a mirror and grew quickly confused: she couldn't see anything out of it.

What the hell? She thought. There was never a mirror she couldn't see out of! Must be some kind of magical mirror...

A sudden light shone in her eyes, and she squinted at the unexpected brightness. When her eyes adjusted, Vivianne froze. It was too late to jump to another mirror. The mirror wasn't magical at all, just dusty. The light was the dust being removed. The one who removed the dust, the person she was spying on.

Shit! Say something clever! Vivianne threw her finger to her lips, shushing him before he had the chance to make a noise.

"Thank goodness!" She said in a loud whisper that only Eckhart would be able to hear. "I thought no one would find me." Her voice emanated an exaggerated sense of relief, while her eyes threw out a look of desperation. "Please, sir. I-I need help. I'm trapped. This mirror... It's some kind of cage that a madman put me in!"

Really? Vivianne thought to herself. Trapped in a mirror? That's what you're going with?

She shook her head sadly. "I don't even know how long I've been in here. Last thing I remember in the real world is playing in the snow! Please, tell me you can help me?"

Eckhart stared at the mirror in utter disbelief. "This- this isn't my face!" he thought, beginning to freak out a bit. Almost immediately the boy reached out and touched his face, making sure he himself hadn't changed. "Ok. It's just some kind of-"

Then the girl in the mirror spoke to him.

"What? What?" the healer thought. "Why does this shit always happen?' His shoulders slumped. "I suppose I gotta help though..."

"It's not your problem that she's stuck. Why should you help her?" asked a small voice in his head. "You should just set her down and leave."

"Look at her though!" Eckhart argued. "She looks so upset..."

"Not your fault." the voice said back. "Besides, she could be lying."

Eckhart shook his head. "No. Leaving her here isn't right."

"Um..." he began awkwardly. "I can help you, yeah. My name is Eckhart." The boy looked both ways. "Does the guy who runs the shop know you're in here? He'll charge me a fortune for you if he does..."

"Eckhart," she said, smiling. "Thank you so much! My name's Vivianne. And no. He has no idea. He didn't really check his stock too often from what I can tell."

And now you're insulting an old man, she thought, sighing. Classy, Shards.

"I'm going to disappear for a minute or two, so you can pay without him noticing me," she said with a short nod. "When it's safe to come back, just call my name."

She gave him a relieved smile and a small wave before fading. Vivianne took her hands off of the mirrors in her room at the tavern. She looked into her own mirror and combed her bangs back over the mirrored eye on her forehead. There were mixed feelings swimming around her about what she was doing.

On one hand, it was remarkably easier to keep an eye on him with Eckhart willingly carrying her around. On the other hand, she's disrupting his entire life - yeah, he probably has his own life - to go on some fake quest to free her from a mirror. That should be an interesting reveal... On the figurative third hand, he was Hildegarde's younger brother. By doing this, she was consciously inviting the Von Musel name back into her life. What would that mean?

It was almost to much to take in. Eckhart nodded numbly, waving goodbye as Vivianne's face faded from the mirror. "Sweet Ansgar, why am I just going along with this? I really gotta grow a spine, this could be some awful trick."

This thought did not stop Eckhart from approaching the shopkeeper. "Um, excuse me sir? How much for this?" He help up the mirror apprehensively. "I found it with the books, and there isn't a price tag."

The man gave him a funny look. "You realize this is meant for women, right? Why do you want it?"

Eckhart went red in the face. "What?" He looked at the mirror, and his heart sank- it was very girly. The frame was made of what appeared to be gold filigree, and there was a large moonstone set into the back. "Um..." the healer said nervously. "It's, uh, for my wife!"

"Yeah-huh." the shopkeeper said flatly. "It's twenty suns..." The shopkeeper trailed off when her saw Eckhart pull a handful of gold coins from a rather ornate looking coin purse. "I- er, you're serious are you?" He took the coins, and waved the healer off. "Whatever. Have fun with your makeup and nail polish, kid."

Still red in the face, Eckhart walked out of the shop. "Sweet Ansgar, what a hassle..." he thought. Looking at the mirror apprehensively, Eckhart tapped on the glass. "Um, Vivianne? It's okay to come out now..."

Aside from traveling and looking through mirrors, Vivianne was able to hear through them. She was able to listen to every conversation in front of a mirror that she wanted. It was useful, but it could drive a weaker person to madness.

Keeping an ear out, she heard Eckhart's voice telling her it was safe to come back. She had no idea what mirror she had appeared in, but it had to be some kind of handheld one, judging by the movements Eckhart had made upon first seeing her.

The tapping wasn't exactly good for her, though. He doesn't know what's going on, she thought. Don't be too hard on him.

Putting her back back to reveal the mirror shards on her forehead, Vivianne put her hands back on her own mirrors. She located the right one and smiled when she saw Eckhart. "For future notice, you just need to say my name." She pretended to tap on the glass. "This is unnecessary. I'll be able to hear you."

The girl saw how red Eckhart's face was and softened her voice. "Oh, gods. I'm sorry. I really hope I'm not putting you out. I don't mean to be any trouble."

Eckhart sighed in relief when Vivianne's face reappeared in the mirror- a small part of him thought he must have imagined the entire thing. He then frowned slightly. "Is... is she actually chiding me? How the fuck am I supposed to know what it's like in a mirror?" Vivviane apologized almost immediately afterwards, but Eckhart was already annoyed.

"No trouble at all!" Eckhart said passive aggressively. "Your mirror only cost twenty suns, so it's not like I had to bankrupt myself!" He smiled inwardly. "That's more than what my house cost! I bet you're gonna feel terrible!"

Vivianne frowned, folding her arms over her chest. "Hey, I apologized! I didn't ask for this to happen to me!"

She stopped herself, taking a deep breath. Vivianne, you're starting to believe your own lie, she thought. Just relax. He paid a shitload for your lying ass.

"I'll make it up to you," she said with a sigh. "I promise. Once this is over and done with, I'll repay you for everything." In truth, she had no idea what she would do to repay him, but over the time they had, Vivianne would be able to come up with something. "I'm sorry. If you don't want to help me, I understand. I know it's a lot to ask of someone."

"Hey, hey!" Eckhart said, pointing to the reflection angrily. "I already paid for you, didn't I? You can't ask me to leave, you're stuck with me now!"

"Sweet Ansgar, what a bitch..."

The boy sighed. "But really, it's fine. I'm already helping a magical cat save her best friend from an evil fae prince, so a girl in a mirror should be a piece of cake! I think..." He began to walk towards his hostel once more. "I bet Maladies has something to get you out of there..."

I'm stuck with you? Vivianne thought. If you knew my power, I would flick you so hard right now!

At least he was going to try to help her. She felt a little bad for lying to him, but she didn't think telling him that she was spying on him would be the best way to go.

Vivianne smirked when he said the cat was magical. I knew it! He was actually having a conversation with her! She smiled softly at his reluctant acceptance. "Thanks, Eckhart. I appreciate this. Who's Maladies? A friend of yours?"

Eckhart shook his head. "No, it's... Um.... Well..."

"Shit, how the fuck do I explain this?"

"Well, I... Kinda have a book of forbidden knowledge? But it's all herbal remedies. My cat wrote it, and..." The boy trailed off. "Sweet Ansgar, I sound demented. I gotta change the subject, like, now."

"So, uh, who put you in the mirror? Was it a sorcerer?"

Forbidden knowledge? Vivianne thought. Well, that might be an interesting read!

She completely passed over him saying that his cat wrote it. Regardless of how crazy that might've sounded, she was much more interested in what that book contained.

Vivianne's eyes widened when Eckhart asked about how she was trapped in the mirror. "It was," she said, shaking her head. "It all happened so fast." That was when she realized that she didn't have to lie...entirely. "It wasn't his fault, though. It was my parents' fault. They hated me my whole life. I was a troublesome child, always pranking people with magic. Eventually, when I was seventeen, they took me to a man that could control my powers. He trapped me in a mirror, and my parents forgot me."

She wiped away a forced tear from her cheek, blinking her golden eyes a few times. "I'm sorry. I don't usually get emotional like this."

Eckhart listed to the reflections story in disbelief. "You mean... They just sold you to that curio shop guy without a second thought?" he asked, appalled by what he was hearing. "But that's awful! I can't believe there are parents who'd just abandon their kid like that!"

"Yes you can. When was the last time Mom and Dad sent Hilda a letter?"

Eckhart clutched the mirror to his chest for a moment. "I'm going to get you out of there. I promise." He looked at Vivianne sadly. "Don't worry about paying me back, okay?"

When Eckhart hugged the mirror, Vivianne felt a pang in her chest. It wasn't because of the story, even though she wasn't completely lying. Her parents really did just forget about her. She was the one who left, but her family made no attempt to contact her or keep her around.

The pain in her chest was something she hadn't felt in a very long time. Vivianne didn't expect to impact him like that. She especially never expected to feel so guilty for leading him on a bullshit quest.

Damn all the Von Musels! She thought to herself. First Hildegarde, now her brother! Gods! Why do I have to let these people into my life?

"Thank you, Eckhart," she said. "I-I know I keep saying that, but really. All I can tell you about the spell was that it bound my spirit to the mirror." Maybe I can bend the lie a bit to the point it at least touches the truth. "My body is kept somewhere else. I don't know where. If you free my soul from the mirror, I'll be back to my body and in your world, instead of this reflective prison!"

Vivianne swallowed nervously, shaking her head. Oh, what the hell have I gotten myself into?

Eckhart frowned. "Oh... Oh no..." He swallowed nervously. "Um..." he began. "I, uh, don't want to be a wet blanket, but..." The healer trailed off. "Shit, how do I tell her this?"

"Um... You see... My cat, Belladonna, she knows a lot about stuff like this. I, ah, remember her telling me that the body doesn't need a soul to survive, it just... Stops moving?" He shook his head. "Um... Your real body might..." The boy steeled himself. "If your parents abandoned you, then your real body might have died of thirst of starvation. It... It would have needed to be kept alive."

Eckhart gave Vivianne a pained look. "If we free your soul, you might... Just, you know... Pass on." The guilt was very clearly visible on the boy's face. "Um... If you don't want my help after all, I'll understand..."

"Sweet Ansgar, that is not something I ever wanted to have to explain to somebody."

In her room at the tavern, Vivianne couldn't help but chuckle a little bit. Her reflection smiled and waved her hand. "No!" She said. "My parents forgot about me, yes. The man who trapped me didn't."

She bit her lip slightly, trying to think quickly. Let's see if I can do this, she thought.

"The man bound my spirit to the mirror, but he kept my body alive. He wanted to. It was some kind of weird turn on for him to feel powerful. He visited my mirror for about a year, so I know. After a year, my parents sold me to the curio shop, and I guess didn't tell him." Vivianne smiled softly. "I know him well enough to know he wouldn't let my body die."

You're a total bitch, she thought to herself. Why can't you just let him be? Oh, right... Because apparently he has a target on his back. I should've killed Melissa when I first met her. I knew I'd be stuck cleaning up her mess.

Eckhart looked at Viviane in utter shock. "Sweet Ansgar, that's awful!" Tears began to well up in the boy's eyes, and he hugged the mirror tightly to his chest. "I'll get you out of there, I promise."

Eckhart didn't waste any more time getting to the hostel. Upon entering the building he immediately rushed up the stairs to his room. "Bella!" he yelled as he rushed through his door. "Bella, do herbal remedies work on mirrors? Because-"

"Um, excuse me?" the cat meowed disparagingly. "Fish first. Training later."

"But Bella!" Eckhart whined. "It's an emergency! Can't breakfast wait?" He looked at the mirror apologetically. "I'm really sorry about this..."

Vivianne stayed quiet for the rest of the time it took to get back to the hostel he was staying at. He sure changed his attitude quickly, she noted. I guess he's a sap for a sob story.

He entered the room in which she had first seen him, and the cat was still in the same place.

Cat's name is Bella, she thought, trying to gather information about Hildegarde's little brother. Every time Vivianne looked at Eckhart, she couldn't help but see her old friend. Still, there were significant differences between their personalities. Hopefully, they were different enough that she could see Eckhart apart from his sister.

She snapped herself out of her own mind and back into reality when Eckhart apologized for the delay. "Don't worry about it," Vivianne said with a slight shake of her head. "I've been stuck in here since I was seventeen, Eckhart. I'm disrupting your life. I'm sure I can wait until after breakfast."

"Since you were seventeen?" Eckhart asked as he set down Vivianne and unpacked the fish. "Um... How old are you now?"

"Wait!" Belladonna jumped onto the counter. "The mirror talks?"

"Yes."Eckhart said flatly. "I was trying to tell you, we need to free her soul from it!"

Belladonna looked at the reflection, then back at Eckhart. "Why would you want to free her?" she asked, completely deadpan. "You finally have a friend as fragile as you are."

The healer's face flushed in embarrassment. "B-Bella! That's mean!"

"Uh, twenty-one?" She said, sounding convincingly unsure. "Twenty-two? I don't know. Time moves differently in here."

She exchanged looks with the cat. Vivianne loved cats. Her last cat died when she was nineteen, and she just never got a new one. Maybe that's what she would do when this was all over.

Seeing Eckhart grow embarrassed again, Vivianne couldn't help but smile slightly. "Is she being snarky?" She asked, looking at Eckhart, then back to the cat. "Hi, Bella. I'm Vivianne." She sensed the slight reflection that Belladonna had in the mirror. The girl glanced at Eckhart, then scratched behind the ear of Bella's reflection.

Belladonna smiled inwardly as the boy got flustered. "Ha! That will never not be funny." The cat swished her tail. "Calm down, I'm just-"

Belladonna stopped mid-sentence as she felt something scratch behind her ear. Immediately she turned around, batting the hand away with her paw- only to find that there was no hand. "Eckhart, what the fuck are you doing? I told you, I don't like snuggles!"

Vivianne giggled, something very out of character for her. She covered her mouth for a second, biting her lip. "You're softer than I would think!"

Feeling a burning sensation, Vivianne glanced at her hand to see a scratch mark. No way, she thought, quickly hiding it from Eckhart and Bella. Can I be hurt that way, too?

That was far from a comforting idea. "Sorry, Bella," she said. "I just wanted to say hi."

Eckhart didn't really understand what had happened until Vivianne apologized. "Wait... You can touch people from in there?"

Belladonna turned to glare at the mirror. "Don't you dare touch me again you filthy whore!" she hissed. "I'll bite next time!"

Eckhart scratch the back of his head anxiously. "Um... I don't think she can understand you..."

"Good!" the cat meowed. She jumped off the counter, fish levitating in the air behind her. "I'm eating by myself, thank you. Have fun with your new girlfriend."

Eckhart went red, then looked at his feet. "Damnit, that was my breakfast too..." he thought glumly. He looked at the reflection. "Uh, sorry. She's a bit temperamental..."

"Don't worry about it," Vivianne said with a grin. "I've dealt with worse."

Her mind flashed to her the contract she had gotten a little over a year ago. She had to kill someone, but it turned out to be a vampire. That wasn't a fun surprise. He had no reflection, so it wasn't exactly a simple task for someone used to killing through reflections.

She bit her bottom lip slightly. "Uh, yeah, I can. Check it out." Since part of him was reflected in the mirror, Vivianne was able to access any part of him. She could've been much more forward, but decided against it; that was Hildegarde's thing.

With a soft touch, she placed her hand on his left cheek, stroking her thumb twice. Her smile that time was a little more genuine than it had previously been.

Eckhart went red in the face. "She- she's stroking my cheek?" he thought, getting very flustered. "I... I, um..." he stammered, trying to push Viviane's hand away by waving his hand in front of her mirror. When that didn't work, he took a few steps back, feeling her touch disappear as his reflection left hers. "I... I can't believe she'd just do that!"

After a moment, he returned to where he was in her reflection once more. He clasped his hands together. "Um... For future reference, please don't touch my face." the healer said uncomfortably. "It's, ah, really kinda inappropriate..."

Eckhart smiled nervously. "Oh Ansgar, please don't get mad.. "

Vivianne chuckled, waving her hand dismissively at him. "Eckhart, don't worry," she said. "It had no hidden meaning. Completely innocent, I promise."

The blush that had crept not so subtly onto his face was a little endearing, but she felt kind of bad for making him feel uncomfortable. Either way, she had gotten across what she wanted to. He asked a question and got his answer.

I don't know why I'm surprised Hildegarde's brother would be so skittish, she thought. I can't imagine what hell she put him through while growing up.

"So," Vivianne made a motion that appeared to be her knocking on the glass, "how do I get out of here?"

"Oh, um, right!" squeaked Eckhart, who was more than a bit flustered. "Ah, hang on one second please!"

Rushing to his bed with his cheeks flushed, the young healer grabbed Maladies Most Unusual off of his nightstand. "Sweet Ansgar, she's just a reflection. I'm totally losing it today..." Walking back to the counter, he opened the book to the section on curses. "Um, ok. So..."

Eckhart flipped through the book. "Do you know if this was an entrapment charm? Because there's a cure for that..." He frowned. "Oh no, wait, that one is taken orally..." Eckhart looked at Vivianne curiously. "What kind of 'mancer was this sorcerer? Knowing will make this a lot easier."

"I really don't know," Vivianne said, lying convincingly.

She couldn't have him solve the mystery too quickly, or else this entire thing would blow up in her face. Just need to stay with him long enough to make sure Wasp doesn't do anything stupid.

"All I know is that he had the ability to take magic," she said. "Not like a mordecai, though. This guy would be able to take magic forever." At least this part of the story was true. "Instead, he trapped me in the mirror and gave me this."

Vivianne pulled her bangs away from her forehead, revealing the shards of mirror forever embedded in her skin with the shape of a third eye.

"The ability to take magic?" Eckhart thought, eyes wide. "That's a thing?" His brow furrowed. "If that's the case, I should just tip off Hildegarde that this guy exists- she'd be sure to kill him so he could never use his powers on her..."

The Vivianne pulled back her hair, leaving Eckhart dumbstruck. "Um..." he began. "Uh, hang on..." He turned around. "Bella! I need you, this is way past my skill level!"

The cat came slinking from around a corner, glowering. "What now?" she meowed unenthusiastically. "Is it really so important you need to interrupt my breakfast?" Jumping onto the counter once more she looked at the mirror. "Huh. Haven't seen one of these in a while..."

Eckhart ran his hand through his hair nervously. "...Well? What's is it?"

Belladonna looked up at the boy, exasperated. "That's a curse of sealing. To get the girl out, you'll need to find her physical body and gouge the curse mark out of her forehead."

Eckhart went pale, then looked at Vivianne. "Um, so, she says we need to remove that..." The boy laughed nervously. "Haha, good thing I have surgical skills, right?"

Vivianne feigned shock, her eyes widening and a nervous energy surrounding her. "R-remove it?" She shook her head tensely. "It's literally in my head, Eckhart! I like you, but I don't know if I trust you to cut my head open!"

What does the cat know? Vivianne thought to herself.

She covered her forehead again, thinking for a moment. "How much experience do you have in this area?"

Vivianne sighed, biting her lip nervously. I'm so switching to dogs, she thought. Unless... If he pulls this off, I might not have to be bound to mirrors! This could benefit me more than I thought.

Eckhart waved his hands in front of him as if he trying to ward something off. "No no! Please don't panic!" he squeaked nervously. "Sweet Ansgar, I could have phrased that better." he thought, kicking himself. "I'm a fucking joke..."

Eckhart looked to where Belladonna had been, only to see she had left- presumably to finish her breakfast. "Um..." he started nervously. "Well, I've removed arrows and bullets from people before..." The boy scratched the back of his head. "Oh! There was the one time I had to cut my friend's chest open and move one of her ribs by hand so it didn't pierce her lungs!" He beamed. "I don't think you have too much to worry about, if you're up for it- we'd just need to find your physical body."

Eckhart tilted his head. "Do you know where it's being held?"

Sucker, Vivianne thought. Any idea that her watching over Eckhart was completely selfless vanished. She knew that, if the younger Von Musel had the ability to free her from what could realistically be called a mirror prison, her abilities would be nearly unstoppable. She'd have to teach herself a few new tricks, but she liked learning new things!

Still, she knew she had to put on the unsure and nervous face of a girl whose only hope was Eckhart. "Uh, yeah!" She said, thinking briefly. Though her home was in Adela, she had taken a room in Serendipity for this mission. "It's near Arca. At least, that's where I last remember. And you know what? Let's do it. If it's the only option, I guess it'll have to be."

Eckhart frowned slightly. "Near Arca, huh?" The boy's shoulders slumped. "Well, you see-"

"We're not going to Arca! We're going to Altas Verde!" cried Belladonna from the other room. "Tell that bitch to wait her turn!"

"I was getting to that!" Eckhart called back angrily. "Sweet Ansgar, calm down..." He looked at Vivianne, cheeks flushed in embarrassment. "Ah, um, you see... We also need to go to Altas Verde to find information about Bella's problem, and that's closer, so, um..."

"Oh Ansgar, I feel like such a dick..."

"Uh, we can go there after that, okay?"

Vivianne shrugged slightly with a small huff. "That's fine with me," she said. "I'm not going anywhere in a hurry!"

Just let him do his thing to help the cat, she thought to herself. Once that's done with, he might be able to help you get free.

If she was being honest with anyone, even herself, it did bother Vivianne a bit that she would have to be second in line to a cat. She understood that it was technically fair because Bella's problem came first and Vivianne's wasn't even real, but still! The woman wasn't exactly accustomed to, or fond of, waiting her turn.

"Alright," she said, taking a breath. "So, what's Bella's problem? What's in Atlas Verde that'll help her?"

Eckhart sighed in relief. "Thank Ansgar she's not mad."

"Well you see..." Eckhart began. "Bella's... Kind of a hand-me-down?"

"What did you just say?" Belladonna meowed from the other room. "You're the hand-me-down, Tuna Fish!"

"Ah! I-I'm sorry!" Eckhart cried. "Y-you're right." He looked at Vivianne sheepishly. "Um, so, yeah. Her old master's soul was stolen by a fairy because she wanted recipes and was never told she had to pay for them. Altas Verde has..."

"Shit, why are we going to Altas Verde?"

"Um, something. It has something we need."

"Eckhart, It's the only part of Le'Raana that overlaps with the Faery World." Belladonna meowed, scampering towards the two. "I've told you that five times now." 

"Eckhart went red in the face. "Um, right! It overlaps with the fairy world." He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Um, that's the story..."

"Sweet Ansgar, I really fucked that up. I hope Bella's not too upset..."

Listening to one side of the conversation between Eckhart and his cat was one of the entertain parts of this little job. She was interested in how they had come into each other's company, but that really wasn't important. Better left to another time.

Ugh, Vivianne thought. Of course this has to do with a fucking fairy! They're all shitty creatures.

"That's an interesting story," Vivianne lied convincingly. She didn't give a shit about the cat, more why her own aid has to be delayed. "So, sorry if I'm being pushy. I'm sure you can understand that I just want to make sure this whole remove part of my head thing goes right. How exactly do you expect to get the mirrors off of me?"

Eckhart pulled his scalpel out of his pocked and uncapped it for Vivianne to see. "I'm a healer. I do surgery stuff alot." He smiled. "I have a lot of experience with removing foreign objects... I, um, kinda get shot at sometimes."

Eckhart scratched the back of his head. "Shards of glass shouldn't be much harder then arrows, I think."

Well, he clearly isn't as bright as his sister, Vivianne thought.

She shook her head with a slight scowl that she didn't even try to hide. It had never occurred to her that getting her full power back was possible. Now that it was actually within reach, she couldn't let the chance slip through her fingers.

"Eckhart, if it was that easy, I would've figured out a way to do it by now!" Vivianne took a breath, calming her racing heart. "The glass isn't stuck in my head, it's part of my body. It's not as simple as cutting it out."

Eckhart crossed his arms, frowning. "You don't know that." he said pointedly. "You're in that hand mirror, remember? What you feel when you touch your head might just feel like it's part of your body- I mean, it's gotta be some kind of illusion magic, right?" He looked at Belladonna for approval. "...Right?"

The cat flicked her tail impatiently. "I don't know, probably."

The young healer swallowed nervously. He looked at Vivianne apprehensively. "Um, well, that, or it's a pocket dimension..." He shifted in his feet uncomfortably. "Look, ah, why don't we go to to the library? They'll probably have a book about this kind of stuff..."

"Yeah, that's probably the best course of action," she said, nodding slowly.

He doesn't know what he's talking about, she thought. He'll probably find something at the library. Don't freak out on him.

Just then, she heard a knock at the door; not Eckhart's door, but the one where her body was. "Um, Eckhart, I'm going to take a break for a little bit. It's actually surprisingly draining to speak through the mirror, so I'll be back in a little bit. If you need anything, just call my name." With that, she faded from his view, not caring if he was going to say anything.

In the inn, she got up off the bed, combed her hair over her forehead, and opened the door. A thin boy, couldn't have been older than Eckhart, stood with a sealed letter. "Notice for Miss Vivianne DeGrance," he said. She took the letter and closed the door on the boy. It was dated about a week and a half ago.

letter (http://www.spiritsoftheearth.net/smf/index.php?topic=24462.new#new)

Her heart started racing. This is bad, she thought, taking her mirrors, daggers, the letter, and her coin purse outside. She saw a carriage and jogged over. "Atlas Verde, as quickly as you can," she said to the driver. "I can pay you well." He nodded, and she climbed in, placing the mirrors on the seat next to her. It would've been faster to ride there herself, but she needed access to the mirrors in case he called for her.

Eckhart nodded. "Don't worry about it! I'll try to be at the library by the time you get back!" The healer watched as the face in the mirror disappeared, then put it in his sweater pocket and began to head out the door. He looked back at Belladonna. "You coming?"

Belladonna turned away, jumping onto the bed. "Pfft, no. She's your problem, not mine." She began to knead the bed sheets with her paws. "Me? I'm taking a nap."

Eckhart frowned. "Well... Okay then..." He stepped out the door, waving goodbye to the cat as he left. "Stupid, selfish asshole..."

Eckhart stepped out of the hotel feeling angry. "The nerve! Don't kidnap me and make me help you and then act like I shouldn't help anybody else! Ugh, pisses me off..." The boy began to walk down the street, muttering under his breath.

Vivianne sat in the back of the carriage, feeling every bump and ditch along the road as the horses trotted along. She drummed her fingers on the seat impatiently, reading and rereading the letter multiple times.

That bee bitch has always been a thorn in my side, she thought to herself. I knew I'd be the one to fucking clean up her mess!

Leaning up to the seat where the driver sat, she huffed. "Can you go any faster?" She snapped. "You would think four horses could make better time!"

"My apologies, miss," the driver said, doing a wonderful job at hiding his sudden hatred for the woman. "One of my horses twisted her ankle."

Fuck it all, she thought, sitting back and pinching the bridge of her nose.

Eckhart was still muttering angrily as he walked up the steps to the main branch of the Maestoso Public Library. "Fuck her and her stupid teleportation spells! I could have been in Arca with Kino and Ewan right now!" Reaching the top, the boy opened the door and stepped inside.

"Whoa..."

It was enormous. The library had three floors- one for fiction, one for nonfiction, and one for spellbooks and tomes. "This is so much bigger than the one at home!" Eckhart thought, completely awestruck. "I didn't even know this many books had been written!"

As the boy ascended the staircase to the third floor, he pulled Vivianne's mirror out of his pocket. "Hey." he whispered softly. "We're here. What kind of stuff do you want to look at first? Cursebreaking? Illusion magic stuff?"

Just as she started getting unbearably antsy, Vivianne heard the distinct sound of Eckhart's whisper. At least he listened and didn't bang on the mirror again!

She put the mirrors on either side of herself, combing her bangs away from her forehead. That was a tedious little step, but that part of her had to be exposed to use her power. Oh, well... She crossed her legs and placed her hands on the mirrors.

Reappearing in the mirror, Vivianne's jaw opened slightly. The library was beautiful. She could stay there forever and still not be able to read everything. "Oh, uh." She shook her head, focusing on the task at hand. "I think we should start with cursebreaking. Specifically binding curses because I have a feeling this wasn't a typical spell."

Please, let this not just be a waste of time.

Eckhart nodded. "Okay, sounds like a plan!" He beamed. "They're sure to have a book here that will help us, don't worry."

Reaching the third floor, the healer was met by rows upon rows of bookshelves. His eyes darted around the room as he walked, searching for any clue as to what shelf he should be looking through. There were signs on the ends of the shelves, but they only had the library's decimal code thing written on them. "Damnit, who designed this place? Do I just need to search randomly?"

Eckhart held up Vivianne's mirror so she could see the different codes. "Um... I don't suppose you know where I should start looking? I don't really know how library's work..."

Vivianne sighed, rolling her eyes when Eckhart held the mirror up. He really thinks I know how a fucking library works? She thought to herself.

"Well, uh, we could start..." She squinted, trying to see if she could spot a book instead of blindly guessing. That was a complete fail. "Yeah, I have no idea," she confessed. "I've never been in a library a day in my life."

With an inaudible groan, Vivianne bit her lip. At this rate, I'll be stuck in here forever! She frowned, rubbing her hand along her upper arm. I might not make it out of this mirror before Melissa catches up to us.

She hummed softly. "Hey, Eckhart? Where are we exactly? How far from Atlas Verde and in what direction?" There was a slight urgency in her voice, but she doubted it would be enough to really alert him.

Eckhart screwed up his face in confusion. "Never been in a library? I practically spent my whole childhood in the library!"

"And in your sister's shadow." a small voice in his head nagged.

Pushing that thought to the side, Eckhart tried to focus on Vivianne's question. "Um, well, we're in Maestoso now..." he said, wandering through the isles aimlessly. "And that's in Tiral, so we're..." The boy paused, doing the math in his head. "Um, maybe four hundred miles from Altas Verde's border?"

Eckhart picked a book up off of it's shelf. "Smoke and Mirrors: A Basic Guide To Illusions. Do you think this could help at all?"

"Smoke and mirrors?" Vivianne said a little too sarcastically. "Those are about as basic as it gets! They're cheap parlor tricks. Try to find something about enchantments or curses."

She quickly faded from the mirror, looking at the carriage driver. "Change of plans," she said. "I need to get to Maestoso as quickly as possible."

The driver turned over his shoulder to look at her. "But miss-"

"It's a matter of life and death, you brainless-" Vivianne took a breath. "I'll double the payment if you can get me there within two days."

The carriage started at a quicker pace, and Vivianne went back into the mirror. She opened her eyes to the library again, hopefully before Eckhart realized she had gone. Even if he noticed, she'd probably be able to come up with something on the fly.

"Oh... Ok." Eckhart said dejectedly, putting the book back on it's shelf. "I guess I should have known that..." the boy thought sadly as he began to peruse the shelf again. "It looks like it's written by the author that did the "life magic for beginners" book I had as a kid..."

Eckhart was silent for a few minutes as he continued to browse the shelves. "Potions, no.... Jinxes, no..." Finally, the boy found something that looked like it could help. He held the mirror up to the shelf, showing the girl an oversized tome. "Hey Vivianne, look! Curing the Cursed: An Encyclopedia of Cursebreakers! Does that look good?"

He didn't notice, Vivianne thought, relief settling over her.

She instantly snapped to attention, squinting slightly to read the title, as Eckhart read it to her. Rubbing the back of her neck, Vivianne frowned ever so slightly. "I mean... It definitely could work! Encyclopedias are good for that stuff. Maybe flip through it and see if it even has anything about mirrors?"

The girl bit her bottom lip. You don't have time to read that whole thing. Is there seriously nothing on this fucking spell? Without even realizing it, Vivianne huffed and blew her bangs out of her face. That was something she had done since she was a child when she got frustrated. If he doesn't find something soon, I might have to come clean. I won't let Wasp get to him, but let's see how long I can give him.

"Alright, cool!" Eckhart said, beaming. Taking the book off of the shelf, the young healer stepped out of the aisle. "Um, there are usually... Ah, yep, chairs!"

Tucked into the corner of the room were a couple of stiff looking armchairs. Walking towards them, Eckhart sat in the most worn out looking one. It creaked beneath his weight, the cushion buckling slightly. Eckhart frowned slightly. "Damn, and I thought the chairs at Hyoite's library were bad..."

Eckhart leaned the mirror against his chest, and opened the book to it's index. "Ok, so, it looks like mirrors are going to be on page two hundred forty-nine..." The boy paused. "Oh, but there's information on binding people to objects on page seventy-three!" Eckhart scratched his head. "Um, any preference?"

Vivianne looked at the index, frowning slightly at the options. If I answer this wrong, she thought, the whole thing could be exposed. Mirrors are too close to my specific situation. Plus, they are known for being a powerful means of entrapment. If we go for general binding spells, I might not get what I'm looking for. Or he'll read something too close to binding the soul. Damn, this is harder than I thought.

"I think we should start with binding spells," Vivianne said nervously.

I can't let him find out the truth unless it's absolutely necessary.

Nodding, Eckhart moved his hand to turn the page... And then stopped. His finger had passed over the phrase "healing curse", and the boy's curiosity overtook him. "Ah, Vivianne? Gimme a sec, I think I found something interesting..."

Flipping to page one hundred fifty-six, Eckhart scoured the page until he found a tiny blurb written on the margins.

QuoteOnly a single curse based in life magic has ever been documented. The so called "healing curse" was reportedly cast on a Adelan nobleman during the first dragon rebellion. Said curse reportedly caused the man's cells to regenerate so rapidly that he dies of terminal cancer after an hour.

Eckhart swallowed nervously. "Sweet Ansgar..." he said under his breath. "I didn't know curses were even possible to do..."

Reading along with Eckhart, Vivianne furrowed her brows. "Of course curses are possible," the girl said. "Curses can be cast from all kinds of magic, whether or not it's healing magic doesn't matter."

Why does that story sound familiar? She thought to herself.

"Have you really never hurt anyone with your power?" Vivianne asked. "Everyone causes some kind of harm when learning to control their powers in the beginning." She smiled softly. "Even the ones with the purest hearts can have magical accidents."

Eckhart lifted his eyebrows, an odd grimace on his face. "Um, no." he said rather indignantly. "Life magic can't hurt people. Like, you're familiar with the magical theory behind it, right?" The boy lifted his index finger. "Every force of destruction has it's antithesis." he stated. "Faustisole said that."

"You gave yourself ataxia trying to fix the nerve damage Kaida gave you." a nagging voice reminded him. "Stop lying to yourself."

"No, I learned how to numb people so they won't feel pain during surgery." he argued back. "It wasn't harmful at all, it was a good thing."

"Anyway." The healer said, pushing his thoughts to the back of his mind. "I've read a ton about life magic so I could get better at it. This curse stuff has gotta be bullshit, or some weird Thanatos flesh-shaper thing."

Eckhart suddenly frowned, processing what Vivianne had said. "Wait, um... Are you a mage too?"

Shit, Vivianne thought, how do I answer this?

"Well, yeah," she said truthfully. "I actually used to be very powerful with illusion and tracking magic before I was trapped in the mirror." She smiled, knowing that she didn't need to lie about that. It wasn't the entire truth, but it wasn't a total lie.

"So, I am familiar with the magic theory. I just find it a bit flawed. Yes, dark magic or death magic or whatever you want to call it is generally a force of destruction, but it can be used for good. Just like healing magic is generally a pure magic, but can be used for destruction. You have to be pretty creative, but I refuse to believe that it's impossible."

I just have to keep this conversation away from me and this'll work.

"I don't want to talk about this." Eckhart thought. It was a topic that caused a lot of stress- he was already feeling a bit nauseous thinking about it. "I gotta relax. Change the subject, that will help."

"Illusion magic?" Eckhart asked curiously. "Like, full blown glamour? That's neat." The boy smiled. "Were you planning a career around it? What kind of options are there?"

And he's back on me, she thought with an unnoticeable sigh. Perfect. Let's see how close to the truth I can keep this...

Vivianne shrugged slightly. "I liked illusion magic," she started, "but I didn't do it too often. Most people went to the Fae people for that kind of thing. Actually, I was planning a career around my dance skill. I'm a self-taught ballerina, so I wanted to use that somehow."

With a short nod, the girl smiled in reminiscence. Nailed it.

Eckhart's face grew visibly brighter. "Really?" he asked excitedly. "But that's awesome! My big sister used to take me to her ballet practices when I was younger, it was really fun to watch!"

"Sweet Ansgar, did I just say that out loud?" The boy's face flushed red. "Um, I mean, I don't do ballet, I, ah, can't dance..."

"Please don't laugh at me..."

Biting back pained laughter, Vivianne smirked. Oh, I'm aware she does ballet. She wears a fucking tutu.

Not that she would admit she knew his sister, but it was a bitter sweet memory stirrer. "That's awesome!" She said. "I could teach you to dance, if you'd like." Vivianne told herself to just stop talking before she tripped over herself completely. "You have a sister? If she's anything like you, I'm sure she's an absolutely wonderful person."

Why would I say that? She thought, instantly kicking herself.

Eckhart stared blankly at the girl in the mirror. "You..." he began slowly. "...recognize the family name, don't you?" It wasn't the kind of thing the boy enjoyed talking about, but if Vivianne was going to make comments in that tone of voice, then it was better to clear the air rather than let it fester.

"With my luck, I'll find out Hildegarde put her in the mirror and Vivianne wants revenge or something." the healer thought bitterly. "Sweet Ansgar, can't I ever get a break?"

Vivianne rubbed the back of her neck. I have to be careful, she thought. If I don't play this right, he'll find out about my history with his sister. Gods only know how bad that would turn out...

She looked away from him sheepishly. "Well, I'm not exactly updated on all of the families... Your name's Von Musel, right?" She put on a shocked face. "Wait... The Von Musel family? You're Hildegarde Von Musel's brother?" Vivianne dropped her jaw. "No way! I've heard stories, but...wow!"

Okay, don't oversell it!

Eckhart grimaced. "Okay, that was weird. She connected the dots way too quickly..." The boy's eyes darted to the side nervously, and he began to fiddle with his necklace. "Um... Were these good stories, or bad stories?"

"She's either gonna be afraid, or really dissapointed..."

"Well, both, I suppose," she said, seeing him grow anxious. "She isn't exactly a good person... No offense! I-I know she's family: I don't mean to make you feel uncomfortable."

Vivianne sighed. I don't know how much longer I can do this.

"They were interesting stories," she said finally. "Hildegarde is a powerful lady with a temper, as you obviously already know. It's just... It's hard to believe her brother could be so kind."

Eckhart gave the face in the mirror a bitter smile. "Thanks." he sad flatly. "It's nice to know the kind of expectations people have for me."

"This shouldn't surprise you." a voice in his head told him. "Your sister is a well-known murderer and drug smuggler. Of course people will look at you funnily."

Eckhart abruptly shook his head. "Sweet Ansgar, I don't want to talk about her. Can we, um, change the subject?"

Vivianne felt a pang of guilt when she heard the tone in which he spoke. "Sure," she said softly.

We've known each other for barely three hours! Why do I actually feel bad? The girl closed her eyes momentarily, sifting through nearby mirrors. She reopened her eyes, feeling her heart racing. I have to see how he handles lies.

"So, I wasn't completely honest with you before," she started. "I can still do one of my illusions from a mirror, but I need a large mirror so I can fit my whole body in it." She pointed to her left - Eckhart's right - to show him the full body mirror against the wall. "I didn't want to surprise you too much."

Vivianne faded from the hand mirror, reappearing in the other one. She gave a small smile and a gaseous form of her stepped out of the mirror and into the room with him. "Just, uh, don't freak out?"

Standing up, Eckhart let out a quiet, confused whimper. "Oh holy hell, what the fuck is happening?" he thought, a chill running down his spine. "Um, uh, err..." the boy stammered, trying to keep his composure. "When... When were you planning on telling me this?"

"Why can't the people I meet ever be normal?"

"Eckhart, calm down," she said, smiling. Vivianne put her hand out, showing that she wasn't going to do any harm. In all fairness, his reaction was to be expected. It wasn't everyday that someone would be presented with that kind of new information. "There wouldn't have been any point in telling you without being able to show you. What would you have done with that piece of information?"

She walked over to him, giving another soft smile. "Besides, I thought you would feel a little more comfortable being in the same room when I did this..." Vivianne lifted slightly onto her toes and wrapped her arms around him. Because her soul was still bound to the mirror, she could only hold that form for about a minute, but it felt nice to actually be able to touch him.

Something felt off about Vivianne's demeanor as she approached. It all seemed too sudden, and without purpose. "Oh fuck..." Eckhart thought nervously as the girl's illusory form drew closer. "What if she's not stuck in the mirror at all? What if it's all a ruse to gain my trust? That could be why she was asking about-"

Eckhart lost his train of thought as Vivianne gave him a hug. It was an odd sensation- the boy could feel her arms around him, but there was none of the warmth that a hug normally brought. Eckhart gently shrugged her off of him, taking a step back. "Um..." he murmured, playing with his necklace in his hands. "I- I don't know you well enough for that yet..." The healer looked at his feet. "Vivianne... How do I know I can trust you?"

"How do I know I can trust you?"

Vivianne's heart fell at the question. Never in her entire life had she been plainly asked that: people usually assumed that she was telling the truth. She didn't like the question. The girl slowly shook her head with a solemn look in her eye. "You don't," she said simply.

The illusion faded, and Vivianne appeared back in the full body mirror. Don't tell him... You're doing this for him... She glanced down at her feet and swallowed nervously. He won't forgive you. Then, you'll have lost him and Hildegarde...

She took a breath and looked back up at him, shaking her head slightly. "I want you to stop trying to help me, Eckhart. I want you to go back to the inn or whatever, get Bella and pack anything you need to take with you, and leave. Get going on the road to Atlas Verde, okay? Trying to help me will only slow you down, and I don't want that."

At first, Eckhart felt a pang of guilt- Vivianne was clearly hurt when Eckhart stepped away. She faded into the mirror on the wall, a look of sadness on her face. He was about to apologize, but then said something truly bizarre. "I can't trust her?"

It was an odd twist- Eckhart had fully expected an explanation, but he ended up getting an admission of guilt. He slowly backed away, unable to look the reflection in the eyes. "S-sorry I couldn't help..." he said quietly. "Um... Goodbye, I guess..."

With that, the boy would set the mirror on one of the bookshelves and hurriedly walk away.

Watching Eckhart walk away was one of the hardest things Vivianne had ever done. Last time she lost someone, she had been the one to walk away: that had been Hildegarde. To have Eckhart walk away from her was more than Vivianne was ready for.

She wanted to call out to him, but she didn't know what to say. That is...until she realized she could just be honest. Watching him leave was painful, but him dying would be so much worse.

"I'm sorry!" She called after him. "I had to lie to protect you!" The girl's chest was tight, and her lips had turned downward. "Please, hear me out. If you want to leave after that, I can't stop you. Just...give me two minutes."

Eckhart froze as the girl called out to him. "Hear her out." he thought. "Give her the benefit of the doubt."

"Don't hear her out, it's a trap." a second, more cynical voice told him. "If you turn around, she'll dig her claws into you. Your sister used to do this all the time, remember?"

"But she sounds so hurt!" Eckhart argued back. "What if she really is trying to help me?"

"She may be the one trying to hurt you. You don't know that she's not dangerous, and we already know there are people who want you dead."

"But- but she might be trying to save me from them!"

"Your sister is the one trying to keep you alive, and her goons are open about working for her." the voice reminded him. "You need to throw the pot at this dragon."

Eckhart glanced back at the mirror, his eyes watering. "I'm sorry." he mouthed wordlessly. With that the boy walked away, hating himself for what he'd just done.

Eckhart stood still for a moment, and Vivianne thought he was actually going to stay. The second that lasted forever was his wordless apology. She was thrown back two years to when her fight with his sister had shattered their relationship.

Vivianne watched Eckhart disappear and felt a fiery sensation grow to be a hot ball of lead in her chest. He can't leave me, she thought, her breathing rapid and unsteady. Melissa's going to kill him. I can't let that happen. The girl sank to her knees, clutching her hair in her fists to just try to think straight with her eyes watering.

Her eyes opened, and she raised her head with her lips parted slightly. She's my link.

Regaining her composure, Vivianne wiped her eyes and took a few deep breaths to calm her nerves, not that it mattered. She faded from the library's mirror, searching for the mirror that she had only appeared in once before and never expected to visit again.

Seeing the scarcely decorated room, Vivianne felt a warmth and familiarity wash over her. She didn't want to feel at home, but something about being there brought back the feelings of how close she and Hildegarde once were. Then again, she knew that the chances of this meeting going well were pretty low... Pink pillows on the couch, chemistry set in the corner... It seemed like nothing had changed. Not even the woman in the pink dress yet to look at the mirror.

"Hildegarde," Vivianne said softly, though her tone reflected her strength. "We need to talk about Eckhart."

Everything had been going great until she showed up.

It was nearing lunchtime when her "guest" arrived. Hildegarde smoothed out her dress in the mirror, having just put the finishing touches on her makeup. "There we go!" she though, a proud smirk on her face. "Now Terry will think I'm not wearing any! Maybe he'll stare at my face for once!" She had just turned to leave when she heard the voice.

"No. Fuck you."

It was a voice Hildegarde knew all to well. Memories began to flood back to her, and she was having trouble keeping her head clear.

"Vivianne you double crossing cunt..."

Whipping around, Hildegarde instinctively created a shield of chlorine gas around her. It wasn't much, but it would prevent the reflection in the mirror from seeing her properly. "Where is he?" the pink-clad woman asked, shaking with rage. "If you've so much as touched him or Sarah, I'm coming for you."

Vivianne furrowed her brows. "Sarah?" She asked. "Who the fuck is..." She shook her head. "I don't have time for that. Hildegarde, I'm not here to hurt you! Believe me, this is not my first choice, but I don't know what else to do. Get rid of that fucking gas so I can look you in the eye."

She took a deep breath, folding her arms over her chest. "Right now, Eckhart's fine. But I don't know how much longer he will be. You know me better than anyone else does, so you know that I would never come back here if I had any other option."

Oh, for fuck's sake, the girl thought, this is so not going well. I just need her to listen to me.

Hildegarde glowered behind her smokescreen. "Do you take me for a fool, Vivianne? I know you work with The Silence now." She narrowed her eyes. "And we both know how your powers work."

Deep beneath her anger, Hildegarde was conflicted. "I don't want to believe you. I really, really don't." she thought, mouth twitching. "But if there's even the smallest chance you're being truthful..."

The gang leader crossed her arms. "Why should I believe anything you say?"

"Why would I come back here if I was just going to lie to you?" Vivianne asked, her voice a little louder than normal. She pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head. "You know I don't think you're a fool, but I think you're being very foolish right now."

Vivianne looked at the shape behind the smokescreen and sighed. I don't why I thought she'd listen to me, she thought. I wouldn't have listened to her if she'd come to me.

"I don't work with the Silence. I know everyone in the gang because the leader thinks of me as a friend, but I just use them. They mean nothing to me." She shrugged slightly, rubbing her upper arm. "That's why I'm here. One of them, her codename is Wasp, is after Eckhart for a second time. Clearly you already know what happened the first time, so you know how dangerous this woman is. For gods' sakes! I would never lie about your brother's life: you mean too-" She cut herself off before finishing that rant. "It's too serious a matter."

"Lying piece of shit." Hildegarde thought bitterly. "She probably killed him already. Still, if there's a chance..."

"I already know that Wasp us after Eckhart." she said flatly. "I also know that you were sent by Spider to 'protect' him." Hildegarde took a few paces to the left, taking the chlorine with her. "If you actually care enough about my useless brother to come here..."

Hildegarde stopped pacing. She looked back towards the mirror, eyes steely. "...You'll tell me Spider's real name."

Vivianne's heart started racing. She knew that Hildegarde would've known most of the information that she had given her, but she was dreading being asked for information not freely offered.

It wasn't that Vivianne was loyal to Teryn because she really wasn't. She knew that he needed her far more than she needed him. Still... They'd known each other longer than she and Hildegarde were close, and he had never done anything to hurt her.

I can't... she thought. He's done nothing to me... She took a shaky breath, pursing her lips together. "Teryn Alut."

"Huh." Hildegarde wasn't expecting Vivianne to actually answer. There was still the possibility of her lying though, so she followed up with a second question- something Hildegarde already knew the answer to. "Alright then. What's Fly's name?"

"Just wait. Viv's gonna slip up."

"Phoenix Contel," Vivianne said without batting an eye. Outing Teryn was a difficult moral dilemma, but she absolutely hated Phoenix. The woman was pathetic and desperate and impulsive, everything Vivianne had come to despise.

If it hadn't been for her, Vivianne thought, none of this would have even started.

The girl tilted her head slightly to the right, narrowing her eyes. "So, did I pass?" She asked, a bit condescendingly. "I already told you I'm not here to lie to you."

Hildegarde's eyes widened. "Y-you're being truthful?" The chlorine began to fade. For a brief moment, the shock in the woman's face was visible. Almost immediately she regained her composure, an angry look on her face. "Well then."

Running a hand through her hair, Hildegarde shifted on her feet uncomfortably. "Where is he, exactly? I can have him brought here in five minutes."

Vivianne smiled softly, as the gas faded away. She bit her tongue because she secretly hated that Hildegarde actually looked amazing. She always looked good, the girl thought. I don't know what I was thinking she'd look like...

"Of course I'm being truthful." She nodded briefly. "He's in Maestoso. He was leaving the Maestoso Public Library when I came here. Couldn't have gotten far. He's staying at a hostel a few minutes' walk away from there with his cat. Wasp is still at least a day away by horse, so you have time. Just..." Vivianne looked down momentarily, drawing a short breath. "Make sure he's safe."

With a slight smirk, she shrugged. "And after this is all over, we should catch up." It was a half hollow invitation. She honestly did miss Hildegarde, but she didn't hold any real expectation that the pink-clad woman would actually agree to it.

It was funny, Hildegarde decided, that the two people she thought she'd never speak to again showed up at her doorstep on the same day. The woman seemed to shrink as she stared at the reflection of her old friend, a wistful look on her face. "Fuck it. I'm already going to try and fix things with Ecks, so why not her too?"

The facade of a confident grin grew on Hildegarde's face. "Tell ya what, Viv. If you get me the name of the hostel and his room number, I'll catch up with you after I catch up with him. Deal?"

"Sweet Ansgar, I'm getting way to soft for this job."


"...And then she told me she was sorry, but I didn't want to risk her being evil so I left."

Eckhart sat on the hostel bed, fiddling with his necklace. Belladonna sat next to him, tail curled around her legs. "Wow." the cat said, clearly bemused. "You just attract these people, huh?"

"Bella, it's not funny!" the boy said indignantly. "What if she comes out of the mirror to kill me now?"

"Oh, calm down Tuna Fish. When she touched me, I was able to claw her. You can just bust her head in with your hammer if she shows up."

Eckhart shrunk back. "Bella, that's really violent..."

The cat licked her paw and began to smooth out the fur on her head. "That's just it." she meowed. "I've been thinking, if you were less passive, these girls would stop showing up. They're attracted to that."

The boy shrunk back even further. "W-what do you mean, 'attracted'?"

Belladonna looked up at Eckhart, purring. "I mean all these women are trying to get into your pants, Eckhart."

"Ew!" the boy cried as the cat laughed. "Come on, don't even joke like that!"

"Damn it, now I'm going to start believing it too. Fuck my life."

The girl was actually taken aback when Hildegarde agreed to catch up with each other. She had mainly said it just as a way to clear the air, but the unexpected acceptance of the invitation seemed to rekindle a warmth.

"It's the Red Bird. Room..." she thought briefly. "I think it was room eight." She smirked, not completely believing that they'd ever see each other again. It would be a nice surprise, but Vivianne felt she needed to hold her guard. She started to fade from the mirror. "It was good to see you again, Hildegarde."

Hildegarde watched as Vivianne faded from the mirror. She lingered in her room for a few minutes, taking in everything that had happened. "No." she thought, shaking her head. "The more I wait, the more I'll over think this." She walked briskly out of her apartment, taking the stairs down to Addie's room on the second floor...


"I'm telling you, Wasp totally had the hots for you."

Eckhart went red in the face. "She tried to kill me!"

"On orders from Spider." Belladonna purred, flicking her tail. "If she wasn't on orders, she'd have chased you romantically instead." 

"Shut uuuup!" Eckhart whined, visibly flustered. "She didn't like-"


Eckhart stopped mid-sentence, whipping his head around. A familiar looking woman had opened his door to his room, and was now looking at him the way somebody would look at a puppy. "Hey Eric!" she said cheerily. "Hildegarde wants to talk to you, so get your stuff and things and walk through the door, okay?"

Eckhart's body froze up, and he looked at the brunette timidly. He turned his head to Belladonna, who had begun to rub up against his legs. "I'll get your stuff, kiddo." she meowed comfortingly. "You go through."

Eckhart nodded slowly, and stood up. He gingerly stepped forwards, giving the woman an awkward nod. Finally he steeled himself, and walked through the door...