REXANNA
The door opens too easily, and she freezes for a moment as she stares at herself, reflected in a dozen mirrors. Each one is a lure that calls to her, each for a different reason. In that one she stands tall and proud. She is free of responsibilities to kingdoms and governments, charting her own course. In this one she is alone, having sacrificed everything for that freedom, including friends, lovers, and children. Further away she catches a glimpse of regal grace, the glimmer of a crown upon her brow while beside it her reflection seems to cower and flinch away, fearful of the worlds that have sought to break her down again and again.
And then, off to the side, she sees a flicker of light and shadow that resolves into her pale skin and dark hair and beside her stands Bastien holding a bundle wrapped in cloth. The bundle squirms and she feels her heart hammering in her chest as she steps towards it, leaving Adam behind as she reaches the mirror and presses her cool fingertips to the glass, hungrily drinking in the site of her family – their child - in her husband’s arms.
And then, off to the side, she sees a flicker of light and shadow that resolves into her pale skin and dark hair and beside her stands Bastien holding a bundle wrapped in cloth. The bundle squirms and she feels her heart hammering in her chest as she steps towards it, leaving Adam behind as she reaches the mirror and presses her cool fingertips to the glass, hungrily drinking in the site of her family – their child - in her husband’s arms.
