all her life, yuri has only ever known this dingy attic. these same four walls, dusty chests, and random nick-nacks covered in cloth greeted her every waking moment.

 

when she grew up with her legs basically non-functional, she was shunned by her parents, locked away from public eye. she was a shame to the jo family, seen as less than a slave by society. and so she was tossed into this tiny room where no one ever goes, and nobody bothers to ask about it.

 

with her only human interactions being when their housekeeper brings her meals, it’s no wonder that yuri feels lonely. she has no one to laugh with, no one to tell stories to (not that she has much), no one to cry with. absolutely no one. surrounding her was just indescribable sadness, and yet she still held on to hope. hope for happiness

 

it was her only wish.

 

>>>

 

"...aaaand, done."

 

yuri smiles proudly at her work, her hands working the wheels of her wheelchair as she goes over to place her washcloth on a nearby table. she wheels herself back and stares at her reflection in the giant mirror.

 

the girl in the mirror looked like such a mess it was laughable. she looked so frail and weak, like she would break at a moment's touch. she looked sad, no, absolutely miserable, sitting on an old rickety wheelchair. she looked so much like who jo yuri is.

 

until she wasn't.

 

"heya there!"

 

yuri's eyes widen in shock and horror, her hands flying to wheel herself away from the mirror.

 

her reflection just...it just said something! yuri wouldn't have believed it had she not heard and seen it before her very eyes. her wide eyes never leave the mirror, her reflection smiling at her with a cheeky grin.

 

she must have finally gone insane from being cooped up in this attic for so long... that explains it. her reflection talking is just a figment of her imagination. it's not real, she's just tired. a good night's sleep would do her some good.

 

with that thought, yuri makes a move to turn her wheelchair around when she hears her reflection shout.

 

"wait!"

 

yuri shuts her eyes tight, willing her weird hallucination to fade out of existence.

 

it's not real, it's not real, it's just a figment of her imagination, it's not real, it's not real it's not realit's not re-

 

"hey, it's not very nice to call someone 'it', much less say they're 'not real'."

 

yuri opens her eyes and sees her reflection pouting, now only realizing that she had very prominent lips, almost like a duck's bill.

 

now that she stops to look, she can see that what's in the mirror isn't really her reflection; for one, the girl she's looking at right now isn't bound to some stupid, rickety wheelchair whose wheels squeak with every turn of her hands.

 

second, the girl in the mirror looked to be much taller than her (well, she's stuck in a wheelchair so that's not saying much, but in a world where she had normal functioning legs, she'd say the girl in the mirror would be taller than her).

 

lastly, the girl wears a different attire than what yuri dons. she has on a navy cloak that covers most of her body, with black pants and a pair of dress shoes to complete the look, a stark contrast to yuri's moth-eaten, faded orange dress. she had completely forgone wearing shoes because at this point, why bother? she's stuck in a wheelchair, and isn't even allowed outside.

 

the only thing she and this weird reflection had in common were the almost completely alike facial features. she could say for certain that in another life, they could have been twins, or could have been mistaken for each other time and time again.

 

yuri, still a bit skeptical about the whole 'there's suddenly a weird girl in my mirror instead of my reflection and she can also apparently talk to me' thing, hesitantly wheels herself back towards the mirror.

 

"wow i've really gone crazy," yuri mutters. "first, this whole situation, and now i’m going closer to the weird mirror."

 

"hey, i have ears you know! i can literally hear what you're saying even from way across the room." the girl pouts, arms crossing in front of her cloak.

 

"well, can you blame me?!" yuri says, throwing her hands up in the air, "i mean, if your mirror suddenly started talking to you, wouldn't you be mildly freaked out?" she pointedly looks in the eyes of the girl in front of her, hoping to get her bewilderment about this whole thing across.

 

the girl raises her hands up in mock-surrender, "okay, fair point, but i promise i’m not a hallucination! i mean, i'd probably know if i was..."

 

when yuri just crosses her arms, obviously still skeptical, the girl remembers why she suddenly appeared.

 

"i’m a magician sent to make your life not-hell! see, wishes are my specialty, so anything you ask for, i can give it to you!" the girl finishes with a flourish, one hand on her hip and...

 

...and a smile that looked so much like her own.

 

shaking her head to get rid of the thought, yuri wanted to just outright ignore this weird girl in the weird, old mirror, but a fleeting thought passed through her mind. a thought that maybe this magician could actually grant wishes, a thought that maybe this magician could help her, could make her life less miserable.

 

so, against her better judgment, yuri let the magician stay.

 

and from that day forward, all the gears of fate began turning.

 

>>>

 

"so what do you exactly do here?" the girl, yena as she soon learns, asks. "i can’t really imagine you being able to go to places often since...y'know," she vaguely gestures to her legs and then fails at mimicking yuri in a wheelchair.

 

yuri couldn't help the giggle that bubbled; she had warmed up to the wacky magician so much in the span of a few days it was honestly scary. the magician was just so easy to be around with and talk to; she made yuri comfortable and safe, like nothing could hurt her as long as she was there.

 

or maybe she has been so deprived of human interaction that the mirror magician was like a god send, but she digresses.

 

"hello? jo yuri-ssi?"

 

snapping out of her thoughts, yuri turns to yena who was leaning towards her through the mirror. she has a wide grin plastered on her face and an expectant glint in her eyes.

 

"were you thinking about a wish?"

 

yuri tilts her head, "a wish?" she asks.

 

"yeah, a wish. did you forget what i am?"

 

yuri would have been lying if she said she hadn't forgotten. yena's demeanor didn't really scream "magician" so the fact that she was actually a magician flew from her mind.

 

yena, taking yuri's silence as a yes, begins to pout, her lips comically looking like a duck's bill.

 

"aw, come on, yuri-ssi~" she whines, "a magician visits you through a mirror and tells you they can grant any wish, and you just forget?"

 

"i'm sorry, yena-ssi, but you really don't give off the aura of someone who's a magician." yuri laughs at yena's duck-like lips, "if anything, you seem more like a comedian than a magician."

 

"hey!" yena yells, faux-hurt in her voice. "my magic cape and magic shoes are very offended by that!"

 

this is the first time she's laughed this much in the fifteen years of her existence, and with yena's laughter joining in with hers, she feels like she's not alone anymore.

 

as their laughter subsides, yuri smiles at yena. "you know, i think you're my first friend."

 

"huh?!" yena exclaims, pressing her palm against the mirror, disbelief written all over her face. "...are you serious?"

 

closing her eyes, yuri nods with a pained smile. "my parents they..." she takes in a shuddering breath. "well, they treat me like i don't exist. it's why i’m here in this attic in the first place. i’m nothing to them, because i’m crippled."

 

"yuri-ssi..." yena whispers. yuri opens her eyes again to see yena's clouded with sympathy and another emotion she couldn't quite pinpoint. "i... i’m so sorry you've had to go through that. i’m so, so sorry."

 

"hey, you don't need to apologize for something you didn't do." yena appears conflicted but decides to stay mum. yuri reaches her hand out to rest on yena's. it isn't the same as actually holding her hand, but she'll take what she can get.

 

"i’m used to it already, so it's okay."

 

suddenly, yuri felt warmth underneath her fingertips. staring into yena's eyes, she can see the shock she's feeling as they glance to their hands on their respective sides of the mirror.

 

yuri couldn't reach into the mirror, and she assumes yena couldn't do the same, but they could feel their palms against each other. she feels yena curl her fingers, resting them on top of hers, and it's the closest they could ever get to holding hands.

 

"yuri," she hears yena call.

 

and it was all so warm. so, so warm. nothing like the cold of the attic, like the cold of the mirror, just pure warmth. before she knows it, there are tears running down her cheeks, and even that feels warm.

 

she places her other hand on the mirror, seeking comfort, and the tears nearly double as she feels yena's hand on her own. oh, how she wishes she could just hold her hand, but this is more than what she could have ever expected.

 

yuri feels her lonely world expand, enough to accommodate her, and the magician whose warmth she feels beneath her fingertips.

 

>>>

 

"hey, look at you go!" yena cheers from her place as she watches yuri walk around the room for the first time. yuri, with her arms outstretched, carefully puts one foot in front of the other as she tries to walk the length of the attic.

 

"that's it, yuri! slow and steady, slow and steady," yena continues to shout encouragement from the side. "just a few more steps and you're back here!"

 

taking utmost care as to not suddenly topple over, yuri walks over to the mirror that holds a grinning yena. yuri can’t help her own smile as she approaches; yena's smiles were infectious like that.

 

"welcome back!" yena greets her happily as she sits down in front of the mirror.

 

"i’m back," yuri says. she feels exhausted after having to suddenly exert so much energy to walk, but more than that, she feels happy.

 

after her little breakdown a few days ago, yuri had finally thought of a wish. she had asked yena to cure her illness so that she could walk again. yena had told her that the magic takes effect after good night's sleep, so she went to bed that day feeling giddy and hopeful.

 

waking up, she had almost cried when she felt her legs move for the first time in fifteen years. she had stretched them out, moved her feet, wiggled her toes, all to verify that this was not a dream. she had even pinched her thigh to confirm that, yes, this is all real.

 

yena had reappeared in the mirror just as she had tried (and failed) to stand on her own. a good, hearty laugh and a scolding from yuri later, yena took it upon herself to coach yuri as best as she can.

 

she still stuck to the wheelchair whenever the housekeeper knocked to bring her meals. yena had asked why when she first saw her do it, peeking from the mirror.

 

"i want to surprise my parents," yuri had said, determination burning in her eyes. if she showed them that she could walk, then they might love her.

 

and so here they are now, three days after yuri regained all feeling in her legs. yuri could barely stand on the first day, but her she is now walking along her room; nobody could blame her if she felt particularly high-spirited.

 

"yuri," she hears yena call, snapping her out of her musings. she turns to see yena with her hand pressed to the mirror, looking expectant. smiling, she brings her own hand up to rest against yena's, feeling the warmth of the other's palm.

 

they've done this how many times throughout, but it still felt like something new to yuri every time.

 

"you think you're ready to show your parents?" yena asks. she has a worried look on her face; for what, yuri doesn't know.

 

she laughs off the magician's concern. "i've never been more ready. i wish you could come with me, though."

 

laughing, yena curls her fingers on top of yuri's. "i'll still be here when you come back. besides, your parents wouldn't appreciate being introduced to a mirror."

 

that gets a laugh out of yuri. breaking away from yena's hold, she shakily stands up. as she walks to the door, she chances a look behind her and sees yena with the biggest smile on her face, two thumbs up accompanying it

 

she nods to herself in determination and opens the door to bring the good news.

 

---

 

she thought her parents would be happy. she thought they would be absolutely ecstatic about her recovery. she thought that she would finally earn their love.

 

she thought wrong.

 

when her parents had seen her walking towards the living room, yuri hadn't seen so much fear and disgust in their eyes (not that she's seen them a lot). they had immediately shouted at her to get back, to stay away, as if she were some unknown creature. in their eyes, she might as well have been.

 

her mother had slapped her across the face, calling her a mistake and a freak of nature. she had fallen to the ground, sobbing as she held her cheek.

 

"m-mother..." yuri had whispered, disbelief in her eyes.

 

her mother sneered. "do not ever call me mother. it was a mistake to have made you."

 

and yuri, with her heart already broken, wailed louder. her father was angered by that.

 

he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back towards her room, leaving her stumbling to keep up, not used to walking at such a fast pace. once or twice she had stumbled up the staircase, but her father paid no mind and continued to drag her, leaving yuri to catch up on her own.

 

once they reached the door to the attic, her father flung the door open and threw her in.

 

"never, and i mean, NEVER show your face to us again, girl. if i see even a glimpse of your figure, say your greetings to the bloodhounds." with that, he had slammed the door. yuri later heard a click, the telltale sign of the door being locked from the outside.

 

she had ignored yena's pleas to talk to her, and shakily walked over to her bed.

 

her tears had stopped as she was being dragged upstairs. all she felt was a dull ache in her chest, something ten times worse than sharp, stabbing pain.

 

with her second wish in mind, yuri drifted off into a fitful sleep.

 

 

(

 

"yuri..." yena mutters, her eyebrows furrowed in worry. yuri doesn't respond, instead staring straight at yena.

 

she knows it's unethical. she knows it's downright wrong, but she's desperate; so, so desperate to be loved by her parents. she'd do anything.

 

a beat passes.

 

"ok. anything to make you happy." yena finally says; there's a tremble in her voice but yuri, in her grief-stricken state, doesn't seem to notice. with another glance at yuri's tear-stained face, yena nods resolutely to herself.

 

with one last squeeze to yuri's hand, yena sets off.

 

"you know how the magic works, yuri. i'll see you in the morning."

 

)

 

>>>

 

yuri wakes up the next day to the delicious smell of eggs and butter toast. opening her eyes, she flinches when she sees her parents looking at her with the most loving looks she's ever received from them.

 

her parents didn't seem to notice the flinch as they smile at her.

 

"good morning, love," her mother coos. "we've prepared breakfast for our sweet princess today! you did say you were feeling a bit under the weather last night."

 

yuri is still scared and visibly confused, flinching again when her father brings a hand up to her forehead. her father notices, mistaking it for a shiver.

 

"are you still not feeling well, honey? mother and i will leave your breakfast on the table here." her father says, standing up. "we'll come back to check on you in the evening, alright? ring for nanny kwon if you need anything."

 

her mother places the tray she was holding onto her bedside table (since when has she had one?), patting her hand before standing up. "get well soon, our little yuri. mother and father love you so much."

 

they both exit the room after that, leaving yuri dazed at what she had suddenly experienced. her mother and father love her. they love and care for her.

 

she jumps up in joy, almost knocking over her breakfast tray, rolling in her sheets to somehow express her happiness. they love her, they love her, they love her. her. jo yuri. the child they had said they never wanted. they love her.

 

she squeals as she thinks that, kicking the sheets of her bed. snapping out of her high, yuri bends to pick up the sheets when she catches a glimpse of her room.

 

no more are the decaying wooden walls with peeling wallpaper, replaced by beautifully painted stone walls with drapes. gone are the dusty chests and cloth-covered nick-nacks littered about her room; instead it's been furnished by a lush carpet and a living room set with a center table to boot.

 

intricately carved dressers and cabinets lined the walls of her room with a few shelves filled to the brim with books. hell, even her bed received an extreme makeover, becoming a four-poster bed.

 

everything had changed, but the one thing that had remained from her old room is the old mirror containing a grinning yena.

 

"fabulous, isn't it? i worked out the color scheme myself, and let me tell you, it wasn't easy." yena says, arms crossed with her face turned up with pride.

 

yuri, absolutely stunned, walks around the room, running her hand over the books on the shelves. "yena... this is... this is amazing."

 

reaching the mirror, yuri can’t help the waterworks as she sees the genuine care in yena's eyes. coupled with the sudden love from her parents and the extreme makeover her room got, it's no wonder she couldn't keep it in.

 

"i–i’m so ha–happy," she chokes out. "ye–yena, thank y-you, so, so much."

 

yena smiles, and yuri feels warmth seep into her. "don't sweat it, yuri. i said i could grant anything you wish for, right?"

 

yena places her hand onto the mirror, yuri following with her own. yuri feels their hands come into contact, but she suddenly feels like it isn't enough; she can't convey her emotions properly through just this.

 

she leans her forehead against the cool glass, looking into the other girl’s eyes. yena takes it as a cue to lean her own forehead against the mirror. and yuri feels like crying all over again when she feels a weight settle against her forehead, warmth following a few seconds later.

 

feeling yena curl her fingers on top of her own, yuri fleetingly thinks that she wouldn't mind spending her everyday with yena by her side.

 

>>>

 

yuri approaches yena with a sketchbook in hand, filled to the brim with little sketches of what looks to be a castle blueprint.

 

"yena, would you mind lending an ear?" yuri calls, wondering not for the first time about what's kept yena busy.

 

"whatcha got there, yul?" yena looks up from whatever she's been writing, full attention shifting to her. she wouldn't admit it, but yuri secretly loves that yena would drop anything and pay full attention to her.

 

she holds up the first page of the sketchbook to yena, showing a detailed sketch of a beautiful castle. the magician's eyes widen in amazement, taken aback.

 

"woah, yul! i didn't know you could draw so well! look at all that detail..." yena exclaims as leans in to get a closer look. she whistles as she sees yuri's even drawn people enjoying festivities in the castle's courtyard.

 

yuri appears bashful as yena compliments her drawing. "i-it's not much, i suddenly just got inspiration from my dream a few weeks ago."

 

"dream?"

 

"yes. in that dream i was a princess of this castle, and that there was a banquet being held with all the people making merry, and oh! it was just so lovely." yuri gushes, flipping the pages to one depicting what seems to be a banquet in a grand ballroom. "i remember this scene so vividly, you know? as if it were a memory and not a dream..."

 

yuri really does think it odd though. whenever she dreams of the castle, it has always been the same; same color, same architecture, same floor plan. yuri swears that she could almost make a map of the castle at this point.

 

she had told a bit of a white lie when she said that she had gotten inspiration from her dream a few weeks ago, as these dreams kept recurring. there was no harm in telling yena the truth, but yuri felt like she needed to lie about it for some reason.

 

yuri swears she saw an unreadable look on yena's face, but it disappeared as she blinked, yena's signature smile plastered onto her face once more.

 

the magician looks at her meaningfully, as if she knows something yuri doesn't, but doesn't say anything. instead, she rises from her sitting position, stretching her limbs out. yuri, confused, rises as well and gives yena a questioning look.

 

"i've got a surprise for you," yena winks. "i think you're going to love it."

 

"is that what you had been working on for the past few days?" yuri inquires, a curious glint in her eyes. yena merely hums and brings a finger to her lips, teasing the girl.

 

"that's a secret. see you tomorrow, yul!"

 

---

 

yuri had went to sleep that night feeling giddy and excited. she couldn't fathom what yena's surprise would be, and so she had been a bit restless before finally falling asleep.

 

she dreams the same dream again. well, not exactly the same dream, but it's the castle again. its furbished white walls filled with portraits of the royal family gleam as the sunlight from the gigantic windows hit it. yuri runs her hands along the walls as she walks, quietly taking it all in.

 

she stops walking at the painting hung at the end of the hallway. it's a painting of her and her parents. her father stands tall and proud, as clean-shaven as he is now, with his gold crown perched atop his head. yuri couldn't help but think that that crown belongs there.

 

her mother stands beside her father, posture perfect and poised with a gentle smile on her face. her dress looks expensive and absolutely gorgeous, complimenting the silver diadem on her head. her hand rests on top of a shoulder. and then there was yuri.

 

she looks picture-perfect. her blonde hair falls in waves around her, the little tiara on her head looking as if it really belonged there. she has a big smile on her face, and yuri feels that she was looking directly at her.

 

turning away from the painting, she continues down the hallway, stopping once in a while to look at a few very familiar nick-nacks; a small statue of a horse, a suit of armor, a red cloak (pristine and washed, unlike the version of it she saw in her attic).

 

she stops once again when her eyes spot a very, very familiar mirror resting against the wall. she feels a smile on her face as she hastily approaches the mirror.

 

it's been kept clean and polished, no cracks or scratches to be seen on the smooth glass. its ornamental frame, also kept in good condition, is waxed to keep its shine.

 

"yena?" yuri calls out. she hopes that the magician would appear, even if it's just in her dream. after a few minutes of waiting, yena doesn't appear. yuri tries to call for her again, with the same result.

 

she shouldn't feel like yena's truly gone, it was just a dream after all, but the tightness in her chest and the stinging in her eyes think otherwise. she reaches out to touch the mirror, recoiling in surprise when her hand completely passes through the glass.

 

gulping, yuri tests if her arm can pass through, shivering at the cold sensation she feels as her arms touches the cool, liquid-like surface of the mirror. she closes her eyes, and with one last burst of courage, jumps through the mirror.

 

>>>

 

yuri wakes up with a start. she sits up with sweat pouring down her back, breathing heavy and labored. she brings a hand up to her chest to calm her erratic breath.

 

truthfully, yuri doesn't remember much from her dream after she jumped into yena's mirror. all she remembers is a bitter cold seeping into every inch of her skin. almost as if she had suddenly walked into a simulation of antarctica.

 

but other than the biting cold, she had felt such a raw feeling of... not belonging. it was like her body was refusing the very thought of being there, along with a physical force seemingly trying to push her out of wherever she had ended up in.

 

suddenly, the tightness in her chest that she had felt from her dream resurfaced. with fear gripping her heart, she bolts up and brisk-walks to the mirror. she might seem paranoid and a little silly for this, but nonetheless, she has to check.

 

she brings a hand up to the mirror's surface and softly calls out.

 

"yena?"

 

yuri waits. she sighs in relief when after a few minutes, yena appears, looking fresh with a wide smile on her face.

 

"what is it, yul?" yena asks, concern laced into her voice. "did you just wake up? was it a bad dream?"

 

yena brings her own hand up and holds yuri's, silently sending her comfort through her touch. yuri appreciates it greatly. especially so when her dream left her all rattled and anxious.

 

not wanting to worry yena any more than she already has, yuri shakes her head. "no, no," she reassures. putting on a wide smile, she redirects the conversation. "anyway, didn't you tell me that you had a surprise?"

 

yena takes the bait, smile matching yuri's as she pulls something out of thin air. she presents it to yuri, her face filled with pride.

 

the paper seems to be a document of some sort; of what, yuri doesn't know yet. squinting a bit since she just woke up, she gasps once she reads the contents of the document. she looks up to yena in disbelief, once again flabbergasted at what the magician is capable of.

 

"yena..." she whispers. "this—this can't be real..."

 

yena laughs, and yuri feels the familiar warmth fill every fiber of her being.

 

"it's as real as me, yul." she grins at yuri.

 

"then it can't be..." yuri jabs playfully, still in denial about what she's seeing.

 

"hey! i’m super real, mind you." yena pouts in indignation, upset that yuri even insinuated such a thing. her gaze soon turns soft, squeezing yuri's hand tighter to reassure her.

 

"you deserve this much, after all,

 

crown princess jo yuri."

 

yuri returns yena's gaze, and soon gets lost in the deep hazel of her eyes, not even surprised anymore that yena's even granted a wish she didn't know she had.

 

but now that she has it, now that everything's sinking in, just like in her dream, everything felt so right. as if the title truly did belong to her. it may seem pretentious but yuri knows what she feels, and all she feels is that she truly belongs.

 

 "i, i really can't thank you enough, gosh," yuri stammers, eyes still focused on yena's own. "you've given me so much already, how am i ever going to repay you?"

 

yena laughs once again, shaking her head. "i've already told you this. i’m a magician sent to help you. sent to make everything right."

 

"but still..." she manages to get out before yena shushes her.

 

"seeing you happy is enough payment for me, yul." and yuri feels the warmth overwhelm her, eyes pricking with tears as yena once again makes her cry with her words.

 

the magician, for her part, looks panicked as yuri lets go of her hand to wipe away her tears. in her panic, she forgets the mirror boundary for a moment and moves to cup yuri's face in her hands, leading to her smacking her hands into the mirror.

 

yena yowls in pain, dramatically falling backwards and disappearing from sight. yuri couldn't help the laugh bubbling up; she wasn't even sad, yet yena had found a way to cheer her up.

 

the other girl reappears just as yuri is wiping away the last of her tears from laughing. when yena sees yuri's wide smile, she mirrors it with her own, laughing at her blunder.

 

"this is better,"

 

yuri hums. "what is?"

 

"when you laugh," yena clarifies. "when you're happy, everything is ten, no, one hundred times better! so please keep smiling for me, okay?"

 

the warmth. its blazing hot now, burning under her skin. yuri looks down, trying in vain to hide the redness of her face. yena has showered compliments on her before, but why is this only happening now? it must be because of the dream, yuri decides, amplifying everything that is yena.

 

shyly, she looks up to see the same warm smile as earlier on yena's face, and yuri has never wanted anything more than to hug her; feel more of that warmth to the point of getting burned. instead, she timidly nods, her lips trembling as she says,

 

"if it's for you, i'll smile whenever. so please, always stay by my side?"

 

if yuri hadn't suddenly hid her face in her hands after her declaration, she would have seen the pained look on yena's face. as she looks up, the look is gone, replaced with a cheery grin.

 

"don't worry, yul, i'll be around for as long as you need me."

 

 

(

 

later that night, yuri couldn't get to sleep, the emotions she had felt from her dream earlier never letting her have a moment's rest. she tosses and turns, kicking her blanket off only to replace it once again.

 

she sits up, blankly staring at yena's mirror by her dresser.

 

the mirror looked so devoid of life, unlike whenever the quirky magician would be there to talk up a storm. it looked almost wrong for it to be this lifeless.

 

staring at the mirror, yuri is suddenly hit by such a ferocious wave of loneliness, even she's a bit taken aback by it. she's so used to seeing yena always there, smiling or laughing or doing the silliest things that would make yuri laugh all the same. so to see that same mirror dark and magician-free left a hollow feeling in her chest.

 

slowly, she gets up from her bed and walks over to the mirror, settling down in front of it.

 

she brings a hand up to the cool surface. "yena?" she whispers, not really expecting an answer this late at night. when her expectations hold true, she sighs and stares at her reflection.

 

"you know," she says softly. "i really want to meet you. where we can hold hands and hug and lean on each other."

 

a few beats pass with yuri just looking at the mirror forlornly. and then, she continues.

 

"yena, i'm lonely, you know? i can't sleep. i want to hear you say my name with so much warmth and kindness like you do every day."

 

another pause.

 

"i'll always be waiting for you, okay?"

 

)

 

>>>

 

"yena!" yuri shouts as she enters her room, finally done with her lessons for the day. yuri didn't think being the crown princess was this much work, but she feels right at home in her lessons as if she had taken them her whole life.

 

right now, yuri wants to brag about the first ever business trip she's going to go on with her mother; they're going to be observing the common folk in their kingdom and take in some complaints from the town.

 

she feels a bit sad that she has to leave yena for a whole three days, but she's sure that the magician would be happy for her for going out and fulfilling her duties as crown princess.

 

when she doesn't hear an instant reply like what yena would normally give, yuri scurries over to the mirror.

 

not there. huh.

 

she raps her knuckles on the glass, hoping that the mirror functioned like a door that way. she heaves a sigh of relief when yena appears not a moment later.

 

her relief doesn't last long, though, as she takes note of the uncharacteristically sad smile on yena's face.

 

"yena?" she asks carefully. "are you—"

 

"yuri."

 

she pauses at that. yena didn't use the nickname she gave her sometime after she made her second wish.

 

an uneasy feeling sets in her stomach.

 

"y-yena? is something wrong?"

 

"i've become useful to you right?" yena asks with the same sad smile on her face.

 

"what do you mean by that? of course you've become useful! thanks to you, i’m the most fortunate girl in the world!" yuri says with a bit if cheer in her voice, hoping that that would brighten up yena's smile.

 

the smile remains intact. "that's, that's good. that's really good."

 

yuri is starting to loathe that smile. but more than that, the uneasy feeling she got is starting to double the longer yena doesn't say a word.

 

"yena, you're scaring me."

 

"the magic. i've run all out."

 

yuri feels her blood run cold. "wh–what are you saying?"

 

"i have to go, yuri."

 

the smile is what does it for yuri. she feels tears well up and fall from her eyes, blurring her vision of the mirror. of yena.

 

"please, please don't go." she pleads, hastily wiping the tears from her eyes. in front of her, yena's image in the mirror is slowly starting to distort, and yuri feels another bout of tears start to well up.

 

"the magic will disappear if i don't," yena quietly says. "i... i have to say goodbye, yul." all with that same blasted smile on her face.

 

"please, don't say it, don't say it," yuri repeats like a chant, hoping that it would somehow make yena stay.

 

"yul..." yena reaches a hand out towards her, and on instinct, she holds her own hand up towards the mirror. the warmth she feels from yena's hand serves to make her cry harder, making her grasp onto it as if it were a lifeline tossed towards her while drowning.

 

"yul, please... please don't cry." the magician grasps her hand as tight, hoping to send at least some kind of comfort.

 

"then don't go," yuri sobs. "please."

 

"i can't, yul. i can't stay any longer. i've granted your true wish, haven't i? to be happy. you don't need me anymore to grant your wishes."

 

"but what if i wished for you to stay? you said you can grant any wish, right?"

 

the look in yena's eyes could only be described as heartbreak. she takes in a shuddering breath, staring straight into yuri's eyes as she speaks.

 

"through this mirror, everything is set in reverse. you and i... we—we were never supposed to meet. our destinies are connected, but i'm testing fate itself by continuing to see you. staying is the only wish i can't grant."

 

and yuri's heart shatters when she hears yena's voice waver at the end. usually sunshine and full of smiles, the yena before her right now looked so much the opposite. she grips yena's hand as tightly as yena did a moment ago with her own hand, surging forward that her nose is almost touching the mirror's surface.

 

"i—i haven't even repaid you for everything you've done for me!" yuri screams. "...please. please. you can't go. please." she mutters like a mantra, her grip tightening with every utterance.

 

"didn't i already tell you that i don't need anything?" yuri looks up when she hears yena chuckle. her tears let up at the familiar smile on the other's face, making her feel warm inside.

 

yena leans her forehead on the mirror as yuri does the same. "everything i gave you was me paying you back for everything you gave me."

 

not letting yuri reply, yena carries on. "your smile, your tears; i'll never forget them," with every word, her image gets more and more distorted, until yuri could only discern her face.

 

"so please,

 

 

don't forget me."

 

with one last smile, yena completely disappears from view, the sound of shattering glass reverberating throughout yuri's room as she stares at the mirror in anguish. she doesn't know where the sound came from seeing as the mirror was just fine, but she couldn't bring herself to care right now.

 

hot, fresh tears roll down her cheeks, a different kind of warmth filling her being; unfamiliar and hostile, laced with so much sadness that yuri collapses against the mirror, its cool surface doing nothing to stop the warmth from spreading.

 

she cries, screams, begs for yena to come back, to not leave her side. she said she'll never leave her, but here she is on the floor of her bedroom, wailing for her shattered heart to be fixed.

 

it feels like hours has passed when yuri finally calms down, her exhaustion from crying her heart out evident at the tear tracks on her face and her bloodshot eyes. looking at her reflection in yena's mirror, she can't help imagining that the magician was still there, especially with the fact that they looked so much alike.

 

"i didn't need your magic, yena..." she whispers, talking to the mirror as if yena were still there. "i just needed you."

 

she runs a hand along the glassy surface. "so please, if you're listening, i want to meet you once again. i don't care if it takes days, weeks, months, or years."

 

"until then, i'll polish this mirror so that when you come back, it'll be as good as new!" she chokes back another sob, willing the tears to not fall.

 

"i'll always be waiting for you."

 

 

 

---

and we're done! i honestly think i didn't do the song justice, but i really, really wanted to see a magical mirror + yulyen au because it was just too perfect to pass up.

i took a lot of liberties during the middle and changed up a few things from the song, but a lot of the dialogue (especially near the end) was taken directly/heavily referenced from the song itself.

if you somehow still haven't heard the song, please listen to it. the vocaloids might sound awkward (this was back in 2013 after all where v2 was super new), but the song is just so genuinely, heartbreakingly beautiful, i cry.