The mirror of Epona's Temple was much more similar to it than was Lena's house to MacCallan Castle; although it did have the modern twist of electricity, and the flowers filling the property were much less wild. They were arranged in the shape of a wheel, framing a walkway that circled around a spurting, three-tiered fountain. The castle itself had pointy rooftops trimmed in a bluish hue that complemented the stone walls, which looked fancy; featuring decorative corbels, dentils and columns. Under the disguise of Lena MacLeod, Kaina walked with other guests, trying to mask her amazement at the sheer luxury of the castle. She was hated and feared, and so never really left MacCallan Castle; the beauty of which she had kind of stopped seeing. Here, the beauty was fresh. In place of frescoes on the ceiling, there was only a continuation of the shiny golden panels that decorated the walls; and in place of skull candle holders mounted on those walls, there was an embarrassment of crystal.

The ballroom was all set up for the dance, and Kaina was dressed for the occasion. Her new dress had a full back, enabling her to impersonate a human. The long sleeves and long hemline were an extra benefit to her modesty. Mirroring Epona's Temple so completely, navigating through it had been quite the exercise to Kaina's world-weary body; and she needed to sit for awhile before the music started. She pulled out an ostentatiously gilded chair and took her place, staring at the candles and the bouquet while she let her thoughts run rampant.

"Hey, may we join you?"

Kaina looked up and opened her mouth, watching the cluster of guests become starstruck. She carefully kept her face impassive, thoroughly enjoying their delight. "You may join me," she said.

And one of the guests fainted, deftly caught in the arms of her friend.

"You're…you're…" he blathered.

"You're," another guest tried to fill in. But he, too, was incapable of speech.

Kaina chuckled, careful to keep her lips shut. "Here you are, standing in a kingdom with royalty. And you're impressed by me," she said.

He eagerly sat next to her. "Lena, I just want you to know how important you are to me. I own everything you've done. Hey, are you working on anything right now?"

"Nope. Is that a job offer?" she asked. She had to check—for Lena's sake.

"Nah. But listen, if I ever become a casting agent, I'll give you a call."

The second male friend finally deposited their lady friend into a chair, and he turned his eyes to Kaina at last. "Ms. MacLeod, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, I'm…Rosalind's cousin."

"No way!" he exclaimed. "Boy, between the two of you, you're like Meghan Markle."

Kaina was nodding cluelessly when the other friend tensed in his seat. "Look at that. Look at that. Look at that," he began to ramble breathlessly. "It's him."

"The king?" his friend asked eagerly, peering. Then his eyes widened.

"No—it's Jarrod Richie!"

Kaina felt herself freezing to the chair. What? What was he doing here? Lena was supposed to be breaking up with him! Oh, no, what if she already had? What if there was no possible way she could have beaten him here? Kaina collected herself and whirled around. Each of her hands were caught by a mysterious stranger, who began dancing with her even though no music was playing.

"Good afternoon, my love."

"Uh…hi…Jarrod," Kaina stuttered. She pulled her hands away and found his hands immediately on her hips. Her eyes shot to his face, and she felt her heart quicken at the way he was looking at her. "What are you doing here?"

"What do you mean? I'm your plus one."

"You are?"

"Yeah. You invited me four months ago." He waited for her to remember. "Are you alright? Do you need a doctor?"

"No!" she practically shrieked. She pushed his hands away. "No," she repeated calmly. "It just slipped my mind."

"Alright." His eyes began to lower, and she felt the heat rushing from his eyes to her cheeks. "What happened to the dress you showed me?"

"Yeah. It—I, uh, I ruined it. By accident."

He gave her a peculiar glance. "Is something bugging you?"

"Yes. No," she said hastily. "No, nothing. Not a thing."

He didn't look convinced, but leaned forward. Kaina watched his face come closer, and closer. She couldn't dodge him; she couldn't tell one person about mirror images. How could she tell an entire ballroom filled with guests? She had to act normal…or start acting normal. So she leaned in, put a hand on his arm and kissed him back. He was soft, warm and tender; and she felt something dormant inside her, something she didn't know she had. She desired him.

Pulling away, he smiled when he recognized the look in her eyes. Draping an arm around her shoulder he looked at their attentive audience. "Hey, guys, what's up?"

"Can we get your autographs?"

Jarrod pulled out a pen and tiny notebook, and started writing his name. Kaina watched as he ripped off the first paper, handed it to the guy, and started writing his name again. Then it was her turn. Catching herself about to write her own name, she correctly finished the autographs, only to realize they were all giving her strange looks. "What?" she asked innocently.

"You spelled your name wrong."

Kaina winced, floundering for an excuse.

Jarrod looked at their flustered fans. "You know what, she and I are gonna talk. See ya later." He grabbed Kaina by the hand and pulled her from the table. As they escaped the ballroom, the band began to play a lively song.

In a seating area, he closed the doors to the ballroom and turned to face her. He looked at her for a moment, then strode into her personal space. "Now look, you swore to be honest with me. You remember who I am and you enjoyed that kiss, I know you did. I know something's buggin' you, Lena, you're not that good an actress; so why don't you just say it."

Kaina didn't know how to respond.

Jarrod grabbed her by the shoulders and gave her a demanding kiss. She gave in to it, and feeling her respond he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. Much too soon he pulled away, looking at her tranquil face. He squeezed her shoulders and she opened her eyes, looking dreamily at him. "If you can't be honest with me, Lena, I can't be with you."

She was quiet.

Jarrod let go of her arms. The room was so quiet they could hear the music from the ballroom.

Kaina took a deep breath. "Okay. Here's the thing. Lately…occasionally," she added, "I get bored."

"Bored?"

"Yes. I haven't gotten a single stupid acting job in forever. It's like I'm old news and I feel unwanted." She couldn't meet his eyes as she recycled Lena's inebriated complaints. "I mean, Rosalind gets it all without trying and now on top of it all, she's getting married, and…" Her words ended on a sigh. Their situations were worlds apart, but their feelings were the same.

"We could get married."

Her eyes snapped up to his face. "What?"

Suddenly he was kneeling before her. Taking out a ring. "Lena…change is a part of life. There's one part of my life that is always constant, and that is how much I love you." He opened the box. "Will you marry me?"

Kaina stared at him, totally unsure of how to proceed. Here she was, speaking for another woman. Another woman whose drunken opinion might have changed. She didn't want to do irreparable damage. She knelt in front of him and cupped his cheek.

"Not today," she said gently. "Not on my cousin's wedding night."

He looked hopefully at her. "Maybe another night, then."

"I don't know. Jarrod, I don't want to marry you just because I'm bored. You deserve more," for all she knew.

He smiled sadly at her. "Okay."

She raised her hand, framing his face with both hands and smiling when he kissed her wrist. "Would you like to dance?"

"Yeah," he whispered, stroking her wrist. They stood up together and reentered the ballroom just as a slow song began to play. Before she could retract her offer, he turned to face her; putting one hand on her waist. His other hand held hers away from their bodies, and they slowly began to move across the dance floor. Everything was lovely. Kaina was dancing with a man for the first time and having fun.

And then he decided to change positions. His hand left hers and he pulled her in close. He ran his hands up her back and across the large lump beneath her hair. They froze as he groped her folded wings. "What is that?"

Paralyzed with fear, Kaina could only groan as his wandering hands fondled her hypersensitive wings. She pushed him away. "I have to go," she said breathlessly. She turned and walked away. Too quickly. Her talons came up and snagged on the dress, ripping the hemline away. The other dancers heard the noise and looked down, immediately noticing her exposed Fomorian legs. The ballroom echoed with cries of shock and fear.

The music stopped and whispered speculations swept through the hushed crowd.

"What is that?"

"Birth defect?"

"She's a mutant!"

Kaina's eyes took in one horrified face after another. Then, unable to face them any longer, she broke into a run. And as she fled the dance, the pathetic belt restraint gave in to the inhuman strength of her powerful wings. They broke free, bursting out of her dress. And the kingdom stretched endlessly before her, filled with people. She didn't know where she was going. She didn't know which way was out!

"Capture it!" commanded a voice that sounded like her father. "Don't let it get away!"

"Cut it off!"

Kaina let out a cry of desperation. Cut what off? She didn't want anything to get cut off! She flung out her hands. "Please, leave me alone!" she cried. "Get out of the way! Please!"

She ran through a doorway into the quadrangle. Seeing an archway across from her, she began to run. But only halfway across the field, the portcullis began to lower; barricading her inside. Kaina slid to a stop in the center of the quadrangle and spun wildly in a circle, watching all the gates come down.

From up above she heard a door open. She cranked her head up and saw Rosaine's mirror image standing on a balcony, looking down at her. Then the voices, taunting and jeering, floated to her on the wind, and Kaina looked at the people watching her from the other side of all the gates.

Kaina stood still, hyperventilating with panic - and feeling her madness stir.