She halted in mid-brushstroke—the long pink hair still tangled in the tines, heavy and wet. The halls of the Crystal Palace echoed only faintly with the distant footsteps of staff members. Few would be in the residential quarters at this time of night. Her room was quiet, punctuated only by the gentle breathing of the nearby kitten curled up on the comforter. Her ears strained for other sounds, but there was nothing.
Small Lady smiled to herself and shook her head. How silly she was, to feel so uneasy for no reason at all. She adjusted her grip on the hair brush and continued the nightly ritual.
She sat at her vanity table, her back turned to the mirror and her eyes and thoughts focused elsewhere. This was often how she spent the half hour or so before bed, reflecting on her day or planning for tomorrow. She had a few exams tomorrow, and Mercury may have mentioned something about an event or rally the royal family needed a representative for—apparently it would be the princess this time. She couldn't quite tell if Mama and Papa had other important work, or if they were just looking for an excuse to take a break. She supposed it didn't matter, either way.
It still felt strange being in the Crystal Palace. It shouldn't; it was her home, after all. Yet she found herself thinking of her attic bedroom in 20th century Tokyo. Her mind wandered to little things, like the way this room smelled: cleaning products and perfumes. Not at all cozy in the way the Tsukino house had been. She missed the sounds of other people close underfoot in the house, going about their own schedules and rituals. The quiet in the palace made her lonely.
Small Lady was older now, and supposedly more grown up, but she didn't feel any different. All these years and she didn't feel like a mature lady. Her childhood nickname seemed just as appropriate now as it was then, even as she yearly neared her mother's height. She might even be taller someday soon.
The princess sighed as she turned around, groping on the table's surface for one of her hair ribbons. Something caught her attention, and ruby eyes glanced up at the mirror, widening in confusion.
The long pink hair was the same shade as her own, but the long pigtails seemed thinner and lacked the intensity of her own hair's spiral curl. The face seemed narrower, the lips fuller and lined with lipstick. The eyes glinted, sparkling with malice. Centered on the forehead there gleamed an inverted black crescent moon.
Small Lady reflexively jolted backwards, and in that instant the image disappeared. The noise awakened Diana, the pale lavender-gray feline sleepily inquiring over.
The rush of her own blood and heartbeat thudded in her ears. "It's... nothing, Diana," she lied.