On that day, the Lord of Hosts shall return.

He will comfort the persecuted with love and smite the wicked with righteousness.

Then the wolf will lie with the lion, and their little child will lead them.

And the children of Krall will live in peace, with the descendants of men.

- Andanian Chronicles

Saadian lines, six kilometers from the Waters of Merom. Dawn.

The mighty Emperor of Saadian roared as he flexed his pectorals and shredded his shirt from his massive chest. His golden mane glistened brightly with the morning’s dew, as it reflected the rising rays of sunlight, “Victory to Saadian! Deploy the Legions!” he bellowed, and the very earth trembled at his voice. He glanced disdainfully at the Vaishyan encampment sprawled out across the far horizon, and his thighs bulged as he kicked off with a dash that spanned five hundred meters in ten seconds. Then his unleashed Talent gushed like a tsunami across the battlefield, and his doubled speed propelled him like an apocalypse asteroid towards his hapless foes.

…

One kilometer from the Vaishyan lines, at the Waters of Merom. Dawn.

“This sucks,” Laura shivered apprehensively as she eyed the fast-flowing river before her. “Must I cross? Or should I wait here and ambush him as he attempts to ford?” she mused absently to no one in particular.

Just then, the equivalent of a massive psychic supernova roared through the battlefield. And the princess’ eyes widened with worry as the immense power source began accelerating swiftly towards the Vaishyan camp.

“Three kilometers,” her eyes narrowed with determination as she assessed the approaching Talent. “The Vaishyans will take heavy casualties if I confront him here. I’ll have to cross and stop him at the other side somehow.” She smacked at her pale cheeks with her hands and grimaced with determination, “I can take him with me,” she blustered to herself, “that much power is nothing!” Then she retrieved a talisman and unleashed the full extent of her Talent, and the Waters of Merom were frozen beneath her feet. And The Witch of Andania donned her wolf mask and strode forward bravely to duel her mighty foe.

…

Vaishyan camp. Dawn.

The massive tide of Talent sweeping over the tent, followed closely by a sudden wrenching emptiness, jerked Aryan from his stupor, “Laura!” he exclaimed instinctively as he turned and reached out to the girl lying at his side.

“Meow?” the wide-eyed kitten blinked in confusion before biting her lip as she realized her mistake. “Yes Aryan? Need something?” she stuttered as she attempted a feeble coverup.

“Mirror! It was you, so where is Laura!?” Aryan’s blood ran cold as he dressed and dashed desperately for the exit.

“You won’t escape,” Mirror dropped her pretense and shrugged as she observed the prince’s futile attempt at unzipping the tent. “The witch infused this entire structure with a restraining magic that prevents you from breaking out with normal physical force.”

“Damnit Mirror! You conspired with Laura to deceive me and entrap me here!” Aryan yelled furiously.

Mirror blushed as she pressed her small fists against her mouth to hide the drool trickling from her lips, “I love you Aryan. She made me an offer I could not refuse... And I will treasure my first night with you for the rest of time.” She mumbled.

“I hate you!” Aryan screamed, “Get me out of this prison, this very instant!” He demanded as he drew his sword threateningly.

Mirror blinked back the tears of hurt that formed in her crystal blue eyes, “I won’t.” She declined as she mustered all her determination, “The witch is right, you will be safe here. And if she dies at Xerxes’ hand today, you will be freed from her curse.”

Aryan pointed his blade at his own gut, “I’ll kill myself if you won’t release me!” he threatened.

Mirror instantly activated a pre-traced spell that stunned the suicidal prince. Then she dashed forward nimbly and snatched his weapon from his numbed hands and flung it across the room. And she bound him tightly with a piece of twine before he could recover, and deposited him in the center of the tent. “The witch was right after all,” she muttered morosely, “I didn’t actually think that you would be desperate enough to kill yourself for her.” She sighed softly as she circled the livid boy.

“Dagon, damn you!” Aryan cursed vehemently, “I hate you Mirror!”

Mirror drooped forlornly as she retrieved a pair of Laura’s red talismans from beneath their sheets, “The charms are ready, and now all I have to do is to stick one on you, and the other on myself. And we will both forget all the bad stuff and live happily ever after.”

Aryan spluttered with pure trepidation, “What?” he gasped in horrified panic.

“Altering memories is apparently an Andanian specialty.” Mirror explained reluctantly, “According to the witch, you will forget that Mirror ever existed. And mine will be altered so that I will become more like her. In a sense, we will both die for you today.” Mirror’s lips curled with a small sad smile.

“No! Please no…” Aryan moaned as he cringed away from the approaching girl.

“Meow, I will always love you, even if I’m forced to forget. So please don’t hate me when I’m gone.” Mirror wept as she approached the trussed-up prince with the humming charms.

“I’ll hate you Mirror, I’ll curse you forever if you do this to me!” Aryan screamed helplessly.

“But you why won’t you hate the witch instead?” Mirror quizzed dejectedly, “This was her idea and this is all her magic! At least the witch has devised a replacement for herself. After today, poor little Mirror won’t even exist any longer! Please have pity and gift little Mirror with just one last tiny moment of your love, please send Mirror off with a smile.” She begged as she tagged a humming talisman on Aryan’s forehead.

Aryan switched tactics, “You don’t love me Mirror! You wouldn’t subject me to this if you really wanted my love. You’re doing this because you love Laura more than me!” He accused.

“Meow?” Mirror shook her head in confusion, “Why would I ever love that witch? The witch is bad, god Dagon told me so. Aryan is good, the witch is evil… love Aryan!” She nodded with a small frown.

“Then why are you listening to the witch instead of to me?” Aryan hissed.

“Grr… because she said that Aryan would love me if I followed her plan?” Mirror drooled happily as her ears twitched with joy, “And she was right, you loved me and cuddled lucky little Mirror all night!”

“She lies!” Aryan roared, “I only treated you like that, because I thought that you were Laura. If you follow through with her twisted plan, you will only earn my hate for as long as I shall live, and Laura will succeed in capturing my heart forever.”

“I won’t be loved?” Mirror hesitated as she stared warily at the remaining talisman in her hand.

“It’s a trap Mirror.” Aryan warned, “You will perish alone and forgotten, the moment you stick that charm on yourself. Do you really want me to forget all about you? If that happens, I will only love Laura for the rest of my life!”

Mirror yelped in fear as she tore the charms to shreds and flung the remains far away from her, “You are right, the bad witch almost destroyed me with an evil trick!” The girl trembled fearfully as she curled up at the prince’s feet, “You saved me, good prince of Vaishya!” She sighed happily with relief as she rubbed her cheek against his chest.

“Well done, you are a smart girl Mirror,” Aryan praised, “now release me, please.”

Mirror frowned and shook her head in refusal, “Yes, I am very smart. I know you will run off to be with the witch if I do that, and poor little Mirror will be alone again. Mirror doesn’t want that!”

“I can’t pet you if you don’t untie me.” Aryan tempted, “And I will never love you, if you continue to obey Laura...”

“You will pet me!?” Mirror screamed with joy, “Mirror has never been petted before…” she bubbled happily as she tore off Aryan’s bindings and rubbed her head eagerly against his hand.

“Laura was right, you’re just like a lonely lost kitten.” Aryan sighed kindly as he rubbed at her head with his hand.

Mirror purred ecstatically, “I was cold, wet, and alone. But god Dagon came and made me strong! Now I have food, and good Aryan even pets me. This must be heaven.” She beamed as she curled her hands around his waist.

“Can you get us out of this tent?” Aryan inquired gently as he rubbed her behind the ears.

“Very bad idea,” Mirror shook her head fearfully. “There’s a big angry lion roaming outside, hiding inside here is safer.”

“Can Laura defeat that lion?”

Mirror bit her lip and thought for a long silent moment, “The witchy wolf is very sly, she even succeeded in tricking poor little me. Maybe, she will manage to hurt the lion and convince him that we aren’t very tasty?”

“What if the lion doesn’t want to give up?” Aryan prodded.

Mirror frowned, “Why won’t he? The wolf will bite him many, many times before he manages to eat her. And she’s probably not very yummy anyway.”

Aryan sighed, “The lion will come here. He wants to eat me, and all my friends. He will not give up, unless we kill him.”

Mirror whimpered and curled up in a shivering ball of fright, “Am I your friend too? I don’t want to be eaten!”

“We have to kill that lion, Mirror. That’s why I have to go to Laura, will you please help me?” Aryan requested.

“I’m just a poor little kitty, I can’t beat that lion. The hungry lion will eat me!” Mirror sobbed.

“Don’t you love me? I don’t want to be eaten either. Help me out, we need to cooperate with Laura and defeat the lion together.” Aryan persuaded.

Mirror bristled, “I love you Aryan. I won’t let that big bad lion have you!” She scratched the ground with her feet and sniffed analytically at the air, “Thirty minutes. I need thirty minutes to an hour to break the witch’s spell.”

“That’s too long Mirror! Can’t you do it faster?” Aryan protested.

“The witch is strong. And I don’t have any blood for magic, I would have to…” Her eyes trailed down to the prince’s groin, “Maybe if you could give me a liter or two of your fresh milk…” she drooled hopefully.

Aryan groaned, “I’m not a whale. Will my blood do? How much do you need?”

“Two… maybe three little cups…” then Mirror’s eyes widened in shock, “you want me to eat you?” She gasped and backpedaled, “Mirror wouldn’t dare to be so presumptuous, good Aryan’s blood is a priceless treasure!”

“Hurry up! We don’t have time, what must I do?” Aryan demanded as he grabbed at her wrist before she could flee.

“Meow,” Mirror purred as she stepped forward and licked eagerly at his bared neck. Then she frowned unhappily, “The bad witch is very sly. She set a very evil higher magic to punish anyone who tries to bite or eat you. You have to feed me your blood with your mouth.”

“Done!” Aryan snapped, as he gashed his left arm deeply with a dagger. Then he drank deeply, and locked his bloodied lips tightly against Mirror’s.

Mirror gasped and her toes curled with pleasure as she gulped down eagerly before exploring his mouth with her tongue, for every last precious drop. “More! Much more!” she demanded as Aryan finally pulled away and gasped for breath. The prince nodded silently, then he repeated the procedure, again and again.

Finally, the enchantress was sated. She stood before the tightly locked tent and traced a bloody spell circle against the cloth. Then she mustered all her Talent and snarled out a chant, and the witch’s obstructing magic shattered beneath her assault. The third prince of Vaishya wrapped a hasty bandage around his arm to stem his bleeding wound, even as he strode swiftly from his abode and yelled to rally his waking troops. And the ecstatic little kitten purred dreamily, as she licked her fingers clean while trailing in her master’s shadow to confront the Lion of Saadian.