Before Flint, a castle stood proudly. The day had finally come. After all his hard work, Lord Anvil had acknowledged his valiant efforts. In response to his revealing the unknown secrets of the Mirror Maze, he had gotten his pick of the citadels in the Sword Domain.
Instead, Flint had chosen to conquer and claim his own place, and now Flint was the leader of his own cohort and a trusted advisor to a Sovereign.
What could possibly be a happier thought?!
Flint watched in rapture as his copy knelt at the castle's gate.
Beside him, Steel laid his hand on his shoulder. Flint couldn't hear the words or see his brother's face, but he didn't need to. His reflection's expression said it all.
The man in the mirror was beaming, looking nothing like the Flint that anyone in the present day knew. That could only mean one thing.
Steel was finally proud of him.
The elder brother summoned a sword. Taking a step back, he placed it on each of Flint's shoulders.
He was a Knight of Valor now. Sir Flint did have a nice ring to it. As the mirror copy stood, Steel embraced him. Two Saints on equal footing serving their king and honoring their family.
Now that was a lofty dream…
Beside Flint, Helie smiled softly as she peered into the glass. She remembered when her Uncle Orum had told her about this Nightmare. He had been so enthusiastic! His heart had lifted when she promised to try to join.
With his back to her, Orum hugged the reflection of Helie. They spoke of all of the things they would do together. Although Helie couldn't hear the conversation, she could remember it vividly in her mind. Her mirror image promised Orum that all they wished would come true.
Their family would have a Saint to lead it, and she would do her best to make him proud. Orum told her that he was already proud. That there was nothing she could do to make him any prouder than he already was. He gave her every tip he had learned over the years, and even though she knew them already, she had listened and soaked in the sound of his voice.
Helie wished she could hear his voice just now, but even seeing the scene was enough to make her heart beat faster. All she needed to do was finish this Nightmare and take her rightful place within the ranks of Awakened. She owed that much to her uncle.
He deserved all the best. With her help, Orum could get some much-needed rest from his years of service. Helie yearned to see the look on her uncle's face when she returned. But for now, she would watch the touching scene play out before her. In the mirror, the doting uncle hugged his dutiful niece once more, and Helie felt a tear run down her cheek.
On the other side of Syrce, Aether's happy thought manifested in front of him. He was sailing the seas, feeling the salty air whip against his face as he stood on the deck of a large vessel. It didn't matter how many dangers there were in the depths of the ocean. At that moment, on his first voyage on the shipping lines from South America toward the Northern Quadrant, he didn't care.
Alone in this late hour of the night watch, no one could cause his Flaw to activate. The mirror Aether could think whatever he liked and do as he pleased. Being polite was moot when no one was around to hear it.
As a spray of water washed over him from an errant wave, Aether grinned fiercely and leaned over the side. This was living.
With the stars to guide him and the water stretching out beyond the horizon, everything seemed right with the world. There were no responsibilities or expectations–only sailing and survival.
Aether felt free.
Beside him, Roan's feet, in contrast, were firmly planted on land. Although that land was technically a floating island. Tyris's labor had come early, and rather than waiting for Roan to return to the Waking World or sending a messenger to find him, Tyris had come looking for Roan in the Dream Realm herself.
By the time Roan had been found, Tyris's labor was too far along, and the risk of moving back to the waking world was too great. So the couple had found an Awakened midwife and settled into their stone home.
The conditions were not anything like they would have been in the waking world, but they were nice and comfortable all the same. With her blonde hair obscuring her beautiful face, Tyris pushed with all her might. The mirror Roan dutifully held her hand, whispering words of encouragement that the real Roan had all but memorized over the years.
With one final effort, Tyris collapsed on the bed. Her effort was complete. The mirror Roan kissed her matted forehead as a bundle was being cleaned and wrapped up by the midwife.
By the look on mirror Roan's face, the baby had started to cry. His elation when he took little Telle in his arms was beyond anything he had felt before. This tiny person was born from his love for his wife.
Telle was small and perfect. Life was already better simply because this precious child and her mother were in the world with him.
The real Roan refused to remember that the house and citadel had been taken from them. Someday, they would get it back. For now, he simply reveled in the feeling of new fatherhood.
His heart was full.
As for Noble, she had so many happy memories to look back on. Her life had been full of precious moments that not even the Spell could take from her. But the happiness she most longed for was yet to come. Her happy thought was planted squarely in the future.
On her reunion with her husband and her children.
As Mirror Noble opened her door to her home in Ravenheart, she silently called out the names of the members of her family. Her copy had forgotten to turn back the color of her hair to brown, but for the moment, none of the family seemed to notice.
Rain ran from the other room, her dark hair blowing wildly around her face. She embraced the mirror Noble with abandon, nearly pushing the floating woman back out of the doorway.
The twins appeared. Noble could only see their backs as they tried to tackle her mirror image next in their family hug. Brock and Blaze were both taller than her, but they were not nearly as strong, so their combined strength did little to bring down their more petite mother.
They showered the reflection with silent questions, causing the blonde Saint to laugh and usher them inside. Her eyes searched for the final member of her family.
Fort! The man rushed from his office, government papers flying in every direction as he ran toward his wife. Lifting her from the ground, Fort pressed his face into her hair. Noble melted against his shoulder. The family moved to the couch in a heap of happiness.
They were together again.
Her whole family was there! Well, almost.
Lena walked through the door. Her hat obscured her face. What was she doing there?
Well, this was Noble's dream, so why couldn't she be there? Sooner or later, they would all be reunited. Why not this day?
Noble's smile widened as she viewed the happy scene. If only…
Another figure appeared. Noble expected to see Julius, but instead a light-haired teen ran into the house without knocking.
The young man joined the others like he had always belonged. His tousled hair looked like he had come fresh from one of their old spars in the park.
Noble furrowed her brow. Perfect as it was, something was very wrong. The last young man should be much older, not the same age as her twins.
Still, her heart couldn't help but hope. Happy tears dotted the corners of her eyes as her lips formed the word.
"Seb?"
Seb turned to look at Noble–the real Noble.
Only it wasn't Seb. The body was his, but the glassy eyes and pinched mouth belonged to someone else entirely.
Rain, the boys, and Fort turned too. Four more glassy pairs of eyes joined the first.
Like Seb, their faces had been stolen.