Mirror. Tell me something.

Tell me who's the loneliest of all...

...

Weiss Schnee paced before the dingy stall on the cobblestone that had been washed out by thousands of pedestrians over many years of walking. Every time she heard a noise from the inside - a shuffle, a tweet, or soft clanging metal - she would pause and turn to stare intently at the tinted glass door of the shop. It glowed yellow under the soft incandescent glow of a modest bulb sign, Salem's Maiden. It was a pretty name, if not completely obvious.

No sound followed the one that spurred her out of her trance, and with a frustrated huff, she marched into her restless pacing again. Why was she here again?

Oh yes, how could she have forgotten? - the dreams.

She reached for an itch at the back of her ear - the thought of lice made her skin recoil, it was definitely just her hair irritating it - but she retracted her hands before she could scratch at her pointy ears to her hand's content. No one would have noticed it of course, but she had the nagging suspicion that the inhabitant of the quaint little shop would see past any glamour that hid the oddities that were her hearing appendages.

Another sound startled her into pause - this time the sound of what sounded like a kitten. The last of Weiss's thin patience ran helplessly out and she clenched her fists before marching towards the door to knock for the umpteenth time.

It was improper to knock more than thrice and on a good day, the snow haired girl would be horrified at the idea of being precisely that - impolite. But being kept waiting for foe so long had robbed whatever good was left of the day. Weiss inhaled deeply and raised her hand to knock on the door with an anger that she was sure would rattle the glass till it shattered.

'Cinder! Is Emerald back yet?'

The loud masculine voice caused Weiss to flinch into stillness, her hand just short of hitting the glass. The door swung wide open at the question and she cautiously retreated a few backpedals down the steps. When she looked up soft glows of gold and red could be seen from her angle, but they were too dim to illuminate to the doorway. She kept her eyes focused to see this so-called Cinder who had essentially ignored her relentless knocking for so long.

'She isn't with you? I thought she went after you because you were stalling?'

The calm reply left the door before the female speaker did. The shopkeep stepped out of the door, just enough to be illuminated by the purple light. She reached for her gold-lined black cloak and pulled it around her to cover the limbs that her red sleeveless tunics threatened to expose while Weiss scowled at her. In truth, she looked older than Weiss but the way she carried herself spoke of years beyond her appearance. The woman let out a forlorn sigh and shook her head, her long black hair swaying with the movement.

'I'm afraid Emerald is still chasing her ghosts for tonight then. We can only wait till she can put her find some peace of mind and she finds her way back to us.' Cinder palmed down her face as she spoke, before turning to Weiss and giving her a tired smile. The Schnee heiress was shocked by the effrontery to attempt pleasantness and she raised a disdainful brow at the expression. 'Nevermind that though. We have kept our guest waiting too long; a late-night patron, by some stroke of luck she's sure to be an interesting one.'

'Do you dare have the gall to mock me at this moment?' Weiss' low voice rang with indignation, but Cinder only gave her a warm albeit taunting smile and shook her head again.

'Cinder... she looks kinda angry to be goaded right now.' The one called Mercury spoke from behind her, the boredom in his voice hard to miss. Weiss glanced back to cast the aloof silver-haired young man a look of utter contempt. He looked a mix of unimpressed and unamused at the expression before fastening his grey eyes onto the more familiar face, but that quickly blanched into helplessness and exasperation. 'How long did you keep her waiting for Cinder? You've got to stop doing that before we're run out of business!' Cinder's eyes twinkled with amusement at his mannerisms, but she didn't respond. Instead, she returned her amber gaze to a silently seething Weiss.

'What a stroke of luck indeed. An heiress beckoning at our lair at this hour - one who would not leave even when kept waiting - a desperate one at that,' the brunette sounded a tad bit smug, though her polite expression gave nothing away. She bowed her head slightly in apology. 'Forgive me for keeping you waiting, Miss Schnee. I am Cinder Fall and the boy outside is my apprentice, Mercury Black. Do come in.'

'So you know who I am and yet you dared to keep me waiting for anyways.'

The shopkeeper raised her head, her face sporting another warm but testing smile.

'I had to know how desperate you were. There are many a fortune-telling stalls in Vale, and as an Atlesian noble you would have little need for any of them - much less to be kept waiting by them if you were not so pressed with urgency for our services specifically.'

Weiss narrowed her eyes at the redhead, knowing her to be somewhat right. No shop in their right mind would keep a Schnee waiting, never mind the way of birth of which she came. On one at hand, it told of a possible self-confidence in their services that they were not jumping to impress. But on the other, it told of the chances of them using her desperation to financially extort her. Cinder tilted her head slightly as the heiress stomped her way into the store, before letting out a deep sigh and turning to query Mercury with her eyes. He hastily shuffled his way up the stairs, his hands full of brow bags that told of his errands.

'I got the pink lotus flowers and white oak acorn seeds and the sage. We still have Mugwort right? Cause I forgot to get those.'

'That was our top priority herb for you to get, Mercury.' A waning frustration crept into Cinder's sigh and she glanced up at the door frame as she waved him in. 'Just go. Go go go before I lose my patience with you...' Once he had done that she leaned out to make sure no one was watching. She whispered a protection spell under her breath and had her fingers conjure wisps of gold and red, before finally shutting the door. 'Eindika Foreiss Edvermy.'

'You can't touch that princess! Hands off the glass!' Mercury let out in a frustrated yell from somewhere inside the stall.

'Get your grubby, gardening hands off me or I will remove them for you.' Weiss' voice responded in a solemn promise and Cinder would swear she heard him laugh mockingly.

'Ou the snow kitten has claws~ I'm coming from a gardening store but I assure you, my manicure would put yours to shame, princess!'

'I am starting to think that coming here was a mistake.' A light groan followed the lament and the brunette could practically see the heiress attempting to massage her brain through her temple with her fingers.

'No, you aren't. Cinder said you're desperate for our help, remember~?' it was hard to miss the smugness in Mercury's voice as he waved their trump card over Weiss' head. Cinder figured it was time to intervene before someone was murdered in her shop. And while she didn't mind some blood, Mercury had muscles too useful to her for them to waste serving time for murder.

'Mercury you may set up our divination room from Miss Schnee now. I'm sure she'd agree that we've kept her waiting long enough!'

There was silence, and then petulant grumbling on both ends.

'Yes ma'am.'

Soon enough Mercury was out of the room of glass artefacts and moments passed before Weiss exited the room as well. The heiress gave Cinder a levelled, appraising stare then cleared her throat.

'I was made to understand that you treasure your glass collection? I did not mean to intrude but I needed to be sure I was in the right place.'

The black-haired woman nodded solemnly and flipped her hair over her shoulder, her head held high as she appraised the heiress herself.

'And have you found the confirmation you need, Miss Schnee?'

Weiss was suddenly uneasy under the intense gaze of those amber eyes that seems to glow amidst the dim lighting. They spoke of hidden power and something dark and ruthless, but she'll be damned if she showed it. She straightened her back and pulled herself to her full height, before holding out the scimitar sword made of black glass between them.

Ethereal ice-blue flames glowed where the relief engraving of flames had been crafted along its middle and she handed it to Cinder. The older woman wordlessly took her sword from her by the hilt and the blue flames melted away like ice to give way for a physical ember-like glow. She turned her attention from Weiss to the blade and then back to Weiss, her expression giving nothing away. The Schnee nodded in understanding, her shoulders raised and head held high.

'I have.'

'So what has brought you to seek me?'

'Dreams.'

'Say no more, Schnee. Now come with me.' And just like that scales of power dipped. Cinder Fall spun on the heels of her leather boots and led Weiss to the location of their meeting.

...

Weiss breath's hitched as she stood at the junction of the main street, waiting for her driver to pick her up and take her back to the hotel where the family had lodged for their visit. She shivered when a wind blew past and she restrained from hugging herself for warmth. She would think the arctic climate of Atlas would have accustomed her to cold, but then she was willing to bet the chill that she felt was not a natural one. She opened her hand to stare at the diamond-shaped black glass resting in her palm. Its core glowed that an unnatural ice-blue, but the heat in her hand reminded her of what it was - ember hot, like the magic of the witch who crafted it. She held it to her chest to salvage its heat, a tired sigh leaving her lips.

I'm the loneliest...

Of all~