Mirror, Mirror

1.01 Fight

"It's good to be back," Starla said pleasantly to her reflection in the dresser mirror as she did her makeup. "Riv dear, tell me how the standings have changed since I was gone. I want to hear that I'm still the best at everything." She did this with her cousins every time she came back from a big trip. Poppy-Anne, a woman with dark hair and bangs, braided Starla's long white hair. Meanwhile, Poppy-Anne's brother Rivero, a lanky man with light brown hair, read off the monthly Winter Palace Academy rankings. Starla knew it was unrealistic to expect she was still rank one in everything after being gone for so long, but she still liked to hear what she was still excelling at. She could worry about ranking up in the areas she dropped in later.

"Well, you're still rank one in art, literature, music, science," Rivero said. "And you still hold the best run time."

"What?" Starla said sharply, lowering her brush. "That's it?"

"Oh, and you're also still at the top for philosophy," Rivero added.

"I don't care about philosophy," Starla snapped. "You didn't say martial arts." Rivero exchanged a nervous glance with his sister in the mirror. Starla clocked this and frowned.

"Tell me I still rank number one in martial arts," Starla said quietly. Rivero balked.

"Someone else is number one for martial arts," Rivero said with a a wince. Starla stood up suddenly, and Poppy-Anne yelped, still mid-braid on Starla's hair. "We warned her, Starla, I swear! Everyone knows that's the one rank you've kept number one for years."

"Who is it? Who's rank one for martial arts?" Starla demanded. "Is it Hollybeth? She's been eyeing my spot for months, I just know it. Or is it Mistine? I swear, if Mistine took my spot while I was gone... She knows better."

"It was Cinderetta," Riv replied quickly.

"Cinderetta?" Starla blinked. "Like, the runner girl?" Riv nodded, unsure how to respond. Starla sat back down, and Poppy-Anne scrambled to follow her, continuing to braid her hair.

"Cinderetta," Starla said again with a laugh. She relaxed and continued her makeup routine. "Cute. Well that's no competition at all. I just hope she knows she messed with the wrong bitch."

"Exactly," Rivero said, looking relieved. "It's just a matter of waiting out this cycle, and you'll be back on top again. Cinderetta's victory will be short-lived."

"Yeah," Poppy-Anne agreed, tying off Starla's braid. "This is obviously a fluke."

"Oh, I'm not waiting out the cycle," Starla said, snapping closed her makeup kit. "I'm challenging her now."

"Oh," Poppy-Anne said, jumping back as Starla stood up. "Oh! You mean like, now now. Don't you think you should wait a bit to at least recover from your trip?" She and Rivero followed Starla as she made her way to the door.

"And let Cinderetta bask in the glory from my spot? Absolutely not," Starla said, leaning over to put on her shoes. "Everyone loves an underdog, Poppy. I need to nip this in the bud before other people think they can also get away with this too."

"Right," Riv said, following her toward the door. "Of course, but-"

"See you all at lunch," Starla said, opening the door. "In the meantime, I expect you all to look into Cinderetta and find any dirt you can on her. Bye!" And with that, she shut the door on her cousins' baffled faces.

❖

To Cinderetta's credit, she fought well. Really well. Clearly, she had been training while Starla was gone. Why would a nobody like Cinderetta go out of her way to challenge the only rank everyone knew to back off from?

Still, although Starla was initially caught off guard, she fought brutally. She didn't play games or leave openings that Cinderetta could possibly take advantage. She cleanly and viciously attacked, winning round after round.

In short, it was over pretty quickly.

"And the winner is, Ice Princess Starla!"

It was an utterly humiliating defeat, which drove the message home: no one crosses the princess on her home turf.

"Well fought, Miss Cinderetta," Starla said with a cold smile. She offered her hand to Cinderetta, who was breathing heavily on the ground, dark bruises already taking color up and down her arms. Cinderetta didn't Starla's hand. She just stared with open hatred. Starla shrugged and glided away, satisfied. Cinderetta was no longer her problem.