Vanity

The Xiaolin dragon-in-training let down his silky, long black hair and brushed it, looking at his own, carefully preened reflection. Mirrors weren't forbidden in the Temple, just... weren't used. Chase was the only warrior who had one.

At night, he lay in his room, unable to sleep. His mirror safely hidden, so no one would find it. They didn't know about it anyways, and he would prefer to keep it that way. Chase briefly thought of his masters, with their bald heads and wrinkles and well... lack of beauty. He thought of how, before monks were accepted into the Temple, they had to shed all seven "Immoralities" that tied humans to the mortal world, in order to become "enlightened" or whatever. They were: Lust (and/or Vanity), Envy, Pride, Sloth, Greed, Gluttony, and Wrath. His mind then flitted back to the not-so-long-ago memories of being inducted into the Xiaolin temple, and how he pleaded not to get his hair cut. His classmates, no... everyone, would glare at him as he strode out of his room: flowing hair, no blemish or flaw in sight. Of course, he always took care of that. He had a blemish remover recipe that he had found, and it wasn't all that hard to make. When asked whether it was natural, he would reply, "Of course it is!" A lie, but lies were accepted in the temple. Bottom line: the mirror made him feel... confident.

He didn't understand what was so wrong with him. Why everyone... hated him. I mean, it's not like... Vanity is so wro-

~xXx~

Chase awoke to his shallow, rapid breathing and the calm, normal one of the feline beside him on the floor. Those memories again. But why, all of a sudden, now? The Prince of Darkness turned to the other side, and slipped back into unconsciousness.

The next morning he shattered all the mirrors in his palace. Chase never wanted to look at himself again. It would made him feel... sick.