AN: Let's see what the Queen says to Weiss after all of this. More to come. I hope you enjoy! -CakeLegends
The Lonesome Road - Chapter 9
Weiss Schnee stood still, paralyzed with shock. Her eyes shot wide open. Her breath faltered. She felt her fingernails dig into her palms at the sight.
The Queen merely smirked.
The Heiress quickly closed the door behind her. She whipped back around, unable to take her gaze off the oddity for more than a second. She stood in fear of the clone lying in her own bed, right before her eyes.
"We've met twice and still no greeting?" The Queen mused disappointedly. "That, my attractive friend, is fucking rude."
Weiss attempted to speak. Only a dry whimper escaped her nervous lips.
"I'll settle for that, I guess..." The Queen mumbled. "Sit down, Schnee. We should catch up."
The Heiress swallowed the dry lump out of her throat. Her racing breaths made her speech faint. "You're not real."
The Queen rose from the bed and strode towards the Heiress. Weiss let out a nervous gulp as the Queen approached. The Tyrant stood directly in front of her double, towering a few inches taller. Weiss felt small.
"Do you think that fact gives you any power over me?" The Tyrant asked with a frighteningly soft voice. She placed a hand on her double's shoulder.
Weiss winced at the realism behind the touch. She could feel the stronger girl's hand weighing down on her. The realization struck her. It didn't matter whether the clone was real or not. It was real to the one perceiving it all. It was real to her.
"N-No, Ma'am." Weiss responded nervously. She'd felt pain in dreams before. Just because it was an illusion didn't mean it couldn't hurt her.
The Queen's serious facade broke away in an instant. Her warm smile and harmonic laughter washed Weiss' fear away instantly. The Tyrant gave her a few reassuring pats on the shoulder. "I'm just fucking with you, Gorgeous."
"I'm fucking insane." Weiss declared somberly. Her eyes locked with the floor.
"Don't get like that." The Queen commanded as she pulled her double in for a hug. "I'm here for you, Schnee."
"You're just an alter ego that has evolved into a mental construct." Weiss explained defiantly.
"And you're a girl standing in an empty room having a two-sided conversation with herself." The Queen retorted. "Not to mention you look like you'd try to destroy Gotham right now, Two-Face."
The Heiress' shaking hand slowly made its way to the bandage on her face. "...Is it really that bad?"
"We're the same person. I can't know any more than you do." The Tyrant informed. "Maybe you should stop being a pussy and take a look. It's only going to deteriorate even worse if you don't take care of it."
The Heiress swallowed her nerves. Her eyes trailed to the mirror on the wall a short distance away.
With heavy feet, Weiss trudged to the mirror.
She leaned her face in front of the glass. Her own reflection stared emotionlessly back. The identical face of the Queen was visible in the mirror, standing behind her.
Weiss let out a shaky sigh. She raised her trembling hands to the knot of the bandages at the back of her head. She pulled the lace away, feeling the wrap loosen and fall away to the floor.
She stared at the creature in the mirror. Her left eye was a ghastly light-blue. The entire upper left half of her face was darkened. The skin around her pale eye was torn and bruised, making it appear sunken in. The upper left half of her face looked like a skeleton's skull.
And her scar still shined through the injuries like a symbol. It had gained a partner. Another scar crossed her previous, leaving a morbid cross.
Weiss stared into the unsymmetrical eyes in the mirror. She hated the thing in the mirror. She hated what she had become. The road her mistakes had led her down, and the punishment it dished.
Her gaze shifted to the mental construct's reflection in the mirror. It stood, looming over her shoulder. Taller, funny, attractive, wise- It was everything she desired to be.
Everything she could now never become.
She started to cry. Her left eye struggled to produce tears. The few it made burned salty against the exposed layer of her flesh.
As it seemed to be from now on, she didn't feel pain, only punishment. Punishment for all her mistakes. At one point the scar represented them. Now she had made so many, two scars and shredded skin were needed to compensate.
The words Ruby told her weeks ago were right: They were badges. Badges Weiss no longer desired.
The cold gaze of the ideal girl behind her burned against the back of Weiss' head. Weiss focused through her blurred, one-eyed vision on the Queen's reflection. She didn't even have a scar. Lucky Bastard.
"Tell me why you're crying." The Tyrant commanded.
Weiss' voice was solemn. "You're better than me in every way. You've got it all, and the reality is...I have nothing right now. I had the perfect girlfriend and I couldn't keep her without hurting us."
Weiss heard the Queen walk around to her side. The Tyrant raised a finger and propped Weiss' chin towards her.
A sharp, painful slap erupted on the left side of the Heiress' face. She let out a faint cry as the wound was struck. Even if it was produced by her mind, it hurt like hell.
"That is stupid." The Queen commented bluntly.
"..I know it is..."
"You're not listening to me." The Queen announced, placing her comforting hand on Weiss' shoulder once more. "That is stupid. You can't long to be me. You are me just as I am you."
The Tyrant straightened, indicating for Weiss to do the same. "Everyone has a perfect mental image of themselves. Why would you try to copy good looks and height when you could copy charm and charisma? Don't try to look like your ideal you: try to act like your ideal you."
Weiss felt her spirit cheer up at the statement. A spark of confidence appeared.
And a spark can be the instigator of a roaring flame.
"You said I have another thing in my head." Weiss remembered. "What about my monster?"
"...I'd use that term lightly. If you keep yourself a good person, even the worst of you won't be uncontrollable." The Queen informed. "Maybe you'll reach a time when you want to feel...nothingness. If you're ready...you can call her then."
Weiss nodded.
"Just, be careful." The Tyrant instructed worriedly. "You've felt the need to...harm something. That's her. Don't let that side come out at the wrong time."
Weiss nod became more confused.
"You'll understand soon enough, you crazy fuck." The Queen informed with a smirk.
The Heiress' eyes widened as her mental construct gave her another full on kiss. And just as quickly as she appeared, the construct was gone.
But she was never gone.
Weiss' heart took a second to calm down. She gave a sigh.
"I have a little crush on myself." Weiss laughed. "I'm fucking insane and narcissistic. What a combo."
It's important to love yourself, no matter what scars and badges you have. The Heiress had learned an important life lesson from the greatest teacher she could have: herself.
Weiss could now say with confidence that she was probably her 2nd favorite person...After the crimson bubble of quirks that brightens her day with a single gaze.
The Heiress smiled at the thought of Ruby Rose. Even she couldn't top that.
