Sawyn sat at her desk, pressing the metal seal into the wax of the letter she had written to Skarr. She placed the item back into its box with the small candle that was now blown out, and the small wax warmer once she wiped it out with cloth. She lowered the lid of the box slowly and placed it neatly into the corner of her desk before looking at the mirror.
She took a deep breath and felt a tinge of pain from where Beatrice had stabbed her well over a year ago now. She put a hand on the healed wound.
"Forever a thorn in my side," Sawyn said, standing up and looking around the room. "Even from whatever plane you find yourself on now."
"And yet, you still talk to me, hon," a voice said from her mirror. Sawyn spun around quickly and saw Beatrice sitting on the other side. "As if killing me wasn't enough, now you want to torture me with your company."
Beatrice was younger than when Sawyn last saw her. She looked like she did on that day. Her platinum blonde hair was braided, and looked white in the light. Her green eyes flickered like sunlit leaves in the wind. She wore her signature armor, the pauldrons, and chest piece covered in nicks and dents from heavy use. Sawyn walked back over to her desk and sat down.
Beatrice grabbed a bottle from off to the side and put two glasses down in front of her. She poured what looked like mead into the glasses, but the stinging smell of the strong alcohol made Sawyn's eyes water. Beatrice picked one up and held it out to Sawyn, offering the glass. After a moment, Sawyn nodded and took it, swirling it around before taking a sip that burned all the way down.
"Gods, you always had the most terrible taste in alcohol," Sawyn said as the warmth hit her stomach and began spreading like a wildfire. "This is that awful stuff you made from that fruit we were gifted by those western traders."
Beatrice knocked back the drink and poured herself four fingers before putting down the bottle again. She looked at Sawyn sternly through the glass.
"What am I doing here, Winny?" Beatrice asked, her eyes scanning the folded letter and the straightened-up room. "I've never known you to be so neat. You really don't think you're making it out alive, hm?"
"Even if I do... I'm not sure who I'll be afterwards," Sawyn said as she swirled the drink again, watching a small layer of the liquid cling to the glass like honey. "But I know that I have to, and all it takes is the blood of four people."
"What's a little bit of blood to make sure you're safe, right?" Beatrice said as she leaned back in her chair. "I mean, you could train, make alliances, maybe discipline your own people. But no, let's spill some innocent blood to keep the gears turning."
Sawyn rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh before responding.
"I'm their leader. They look to me for their protection. They lost their homes and their lives, and I gave them one. I gave you one too," Sawyn said, pointing accusingly at Beatrice. "And what did you do to the people that followed you at Eldrun? You led them to their deaths. Stellar leadership."
"And following your orders would have led to the deaths of thousands of people living in the city. Those soldiers knew what was at risk. They followed me into that tower because they didn't want others to lose their homes like they did," Beatrice said, snapping back at Sawyn. "Being a leader isn't about how you protect those that swore an oath to you, Winny. It's about how you use your strength to protect those that didn't."
"You don't know what you're talking about, Bea. You lost all of your friends because of that bleeding heart of yours," Sawyn waved an arm, dismissing her. "Two Hundred Soldiers have their blood on your hands. And I finally got them their justice when I killed you. You were wrong."
Beatrice looked down at the table sadly before raising her glass to her lips and finishing her drink, exhaling as she put the glass on the table.
"I thought about them every day. I would say the names of all those I lost before I went to sleep every night," she said, before looking back up at Sawyn. "But I know you had your doubts after I deserted and you put the bounty on me. Why else did you start leaving protective crystals hidden in the small villages and trading posts outside the border of your territory?"
Sawyn's ears burned as Beatrice leaned forward, putting her hand on the glass now between them.
"Don't do this," Beatrice pleaded softly. "Don't kill that part of you. No amount of power is worth losing your heart. You'd be able to protect your people on your own, but what kind of world would you build? What example would you set for the next little girl that finds herself on her own."
Sawyn's features softened for a moment as her hand moved to touch Beatrice's. Just as she was about to put her hand on the glass, she froze, those last words echoing in her mind.
"That little girl should seek the means to crush anybody that tries to hurt her," Sawyn said, lowering her hand back to the desk. "Power is the only way to protect yourself."
"Sawyn. I-" Beatrice started.
"Shut UP," Sawyn screamed, her voice cracking with the strain. The room jolted as she slammed the table, a shock running through her as she startled awake, her face resting on the wood of her desk.
Disoriented, Sawyn looked up at the mirror, feeling the lingering emotions of the dream clinging to her like a second skin. She saw the red imprint of her cloth sleeves on her cheek, which she began to rub as she stood up. She cleared her throat and wiped a cold tear from her opposite cheek as she took in her surroundings, the remnants of the dream still haunting her. She took a deep breath, and her heartbeat began to regulate again, but as she looked at the mirror once more, it skipped a beat. Next to her face on the mirror was the imprint of a hand slowly fading away, but it didn't look like it was on this side.