Chapter Ten: Inner battle

Reala stood in front of the hall of mirrors, he was completely terrified of what he saw, but, every time he passed the hall he couldn't help looking and his ridiculous and carefree reflection.

"Hello again," Reala's reflection smiled at him, "have you been swimming?"

"No!" Reala said irritability to his reflection, "I was being an idiot."

"What did you do?"

"I saved Nights from drowning and then just left him on the beach; I should have brought him back with me."

"Why," His reflection traced around his eyes where his persona would be, if he was wearing it, "Are you lonely?"

"No I am not lonely, and would you quit doing that!"

"Doing what?" His reflection said innocently.

"Tracing your eyes it's really starting to bug me."

"Oh, sorry." His reflection crossed his arms over his chest.

Reala's reflection faded to the real Reala as a young female Nightmaren stopped and stood in front of the mirror with him.

"Who are you talking to?" The Nightmaren asked.

Oy, Reala thought, a freshy, "Name and rank freshy."

The freshy stood at attention realizing who she was talking to, "Teara sir, ninth level sir, just on my way to familiarize my self with my new surroundings sir!"

"Never forget your place Teara, you are a freshy and will be treated as such until your training is over, I'm letting you off with a warning this time, next time you approach me treat me the way you should."

"May I ask what to call you sir?"

"You call me lord Reala."

"Yes sir lord Reala sir!"

"As you were."

The young Nightmaren saluted and walked away.

"People must really like you here," His reflection faded back to its bubbly ridicules behavior, "Them calling you lord Reala and all, is there a Reala fan club?" his reflection Looked at him excitedly, "I want to be in the Reala fan club, I wonder If they would give me a discount if I told them I was your reflection?"

Reala covered his mouth, he didn't want his reflection to see he was laughing, but his reflection was to smart.

"Oh, I see that I see that, you're smiling you're smiling, Nights must have really warmed your heart this time."

"No he did not, I hate that brat, he just confuses me that's all."

Reala's reflection snorted, "You can't hide stuff from me ReRe, I'm your reflection."

Reala's anger flared and the glass cracked from the force of his aura.

"You are not my reflection you're and idiot just like that pitiful excuse for a Nightmaren, I hate him."

The broken mirror showed many reflections of Reala's fear; his face was calm and sad, "then why did you save him?"

The glass shattered and fell to the floor of the hall many stories below.

Reala let go of his whip shaped aura and it disappeared with a sinister hiss. Reala was shaking in terror. His reflection had said the very thing that had been torturing his mind since he had walked into the safety and comfort of the Castile walls.

What was he to do know? He couldn't go to the master's chamber not after disgracing himself the way he did, he wasn't going out into Nightopia again until he was Certain the scatterbrained Nights had totally forgotten the whole incident, so he floated slowly down the black polished stone hall to his room.

When Reala passed the large doors that opened to Nights' "inner sanctum" and saw that something was out of place, he stopped, Reala didn't exactly know what it was, and then he found it. The door was open just slightly but just enough for Reala to know that someone was prying.

Reala pushed open the large doors into the only bright room in the whole of Nightmare Castile. Nights had insisted upon having the ceiling totally removed and replaced with a giant pane of glass, "I'll be able to read better in the light of the Sun." he had said, and, of coarse, master Wizemin had done what Nights Wanted. The Wizemin was always so obsessed with Nights; he gave him books, let him laze about, and made Reala his private tutor.

Not a tutor, Reala thought, I was more like a babysitter.

Reala looked around, everything was the same. White walls, high ceiling, and rows of book selves that went on for miles. Reala looked to the left where a large firm cushion sat, that was where Reala had taught Nights how to fight,

Lot of good that did me. Reala thought.

Reala looked to the right where a beautiful, white, grand piano stood. Nights had played it for a while but had figured out that he was able to play the flute without actually having one. Reala, however, was taken in by the amazing sound of the piano; he had played it while Nights had studied. Nights had said he didn't mind it, "It's nice to have background music anyway."

Reala had totally forgotten about the instrument. He walked over and opened the top of the grand piano, "Maybe just once more." He sat down on the piano bench caressed the ivory keys. Reala played a soft cord and listened as it echoed around the large room; he closed his eyes and played the song that Nights had made up so many years ago. He took his hands off the keys and listened as the last notes echoed through room.

"Did you make that up?"

Reala spun around. It was that ninth level girl. She was sitting in the chair that Reala liked to call the bubble chair; well actually it was more like a half bubble. It hung a few inches off the floor held up by a long chain that hung from the rafters.

"What are you doing in here?" Reala asked the freshy.

"Well," The young girl began, "I was looking around, like I said I doing, and I found this place and I thought it was pretty cool so I was going to hang out in here for a while and a few minutes later you came in and looked around and you went to the piano and played that pretty tune and I asked you if you made it up and then you said 'what are you doing here?' And I said well I-"

"O.k. o.k. that's enough information," Reala kneaded his forehead; this is just like talking to Nights.

"Are you o.k. sir? You look like you're going to be sick." The girl came over and felt his forehead. Reala went rigid anger pulsing through him, how dare that little ingrate touch me.

The girl sat on the knees in front of him and felt his cheek and Reala looked into her concentrated eyes. They were a soft saffron color and seemed to twinkle when she was concentrating, just like Nights' did. Reala let a tear slip down his cheek and it hit the young girl's finger.

"What's wrong?" her eyes met Reala's they were filled with kindness, and light dance in them as she smiled, she's just like Nights, Reala thought, I don't want to be reminded of him anymore, he's a traitor, he is dead to me, why do I still care about what happens to him, what's wrong with me?

"You look unhappy," The girl thought for a moment and then smiled, "I know what will make you happy!" she skipped over to the half bubble chair and pulled a book out of it, then skipped back over to Reala, and held it out for him to see, "A ridiculous Grimm fairytale!" she smiled widely thinking she had made everything better, but she had only made it worse.

"Get out," Reala said through gritted teeth.

"What?"

"I said get out!"

The girl dropped the book in shock and ran for the door; she managed to get through it before Reala picked the book up and threw it at the door. The book hit the door with a loud thump and fell to the floor fallowed soon after by Reala, who laid down and rested his cheek against the cool, white, tile floor. Reala stayed there and refused to get up until his master needed him.