Yuu approached the towering mirror, fingers curled at her sides, her pulse thrashing in her ears.


    This was it…At least, it could be.


    The moment she’d been hurtling toward ever since she remembered who she was, and Yuu was so tired of having choices taken from her. This. This would be her choice, and hers alone. She could do it.


    All she had to do now… was step through.


    She took a breath, lifted a hand to the mirror’s surface, raised a foot—


    And the doors to the mirror chamber slammed open.


    Yuu jerked her head around just in time to see Azul storming inside. He was disheveled, breathless, hair slightly out of place, glasses askew. Had he actually run here? She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, so she just stood there.


    But the most important thing?


    He didn’t look at the mirror.


    He looked straight at her.


    Yuu stiffened, bracing herself for…something. Why was he here? Final demands? Pleas? To persuade her to stay? If any of those were the case, she absolutely wouldn’t. She wouldn’t bend to the demands of Wonderland anymore, even if they did come from Azul, but Yuu had forgotten the obvious— Azul Ashengrotto was, above all else, a businessman.


    And he did not plead.


    Instead, he slowed to a composed stroll, glancing around the room like he was sizing up a conference hall. He brushed imaginary dust from his wind-swept coat, and—smiled.


    “Leaving so soon, Prefect?”


    Her throat tightened. She didn’t know what to say. She didn’t even know if she could say anything. Azul, being himself, didn’t wait for her to figure it out. He clasped his hands behind his back, every inch the collected entrepreneur.


    This was the Azul of her memories. He watched her, never looking quite directly at the mirror, though he gave careful attention to everything else. The distance between them, an between herself and the door. Her position on the dais. His gaze flicked to her feet like he was measuring how close she was to stepping through.


    And he was already moving, slow as a creeping tide, not toward her, no—just past her. Just far enough to make her instinctively turn a little, step back a fraction—


    A fraction farther from the mirror.


    Azul, the slippery bastard, smiled.


    He tapped a finger to the side of his face, looking contemplative, but on anyone else that gesture would have been mocking. “Now, Prefect, I must say, for someone who’s made quite a name for herself as an intelligent individual, you do make the most reckless choices.”


    “I—I beg your pardon?” she spluttered.


    He gestured vaguely to the room, hand landing on the mirror in front of her.


    She folded her arms tightly. “I think leaving behind a world where people regularly try to kill me is the opposite of reckless. Present company included, actually.”


    Azul clicks his tongue, unperturbed. “A fair point. And yet, you stand at the precipice of a one-way trip to a world you haven’t set foot in for over a year without so much as a test run.”


    Yuu frowns.


    “I mean, really, what kind of business model is that? You wouldn’t buy a product without testing it first, would you?”


    “Are you comparing my entire reality to a scam product?” Yuu deadpanned.


    He lifted a hand, eyes glinting behind his glasses.“Am I wrong? Tell me, what will you do if you do make it home and realize you’re a poor fit for either world? Will you come crawling back, begging the great and mighty Dark Mirror for a refund?”


    Yuu glared. “I am not crawling anywhere.”


    Azul wore a displeasingly smug smirk.


    “Oh, I quite agree. And you shouldn’t. While I would pay to see you grovel, you’d be atrocious at it.”


    She was just about to fire back when—


    Azul cleared his throat casually, taking another step forward. She took another back, away from the mirror, driven by his sudden cold earnestness.


    “What I meant was: How’s your exit strategy?”


    Yuu blinked.


    “… I step through. I leave.”


    Azul’s smirk widened.


    “No, no. I mean rour exit strategy. You know—contingency plans, financial considerations, housing arrangements.”


    He gestured vaguely with one hand.


    “For example, when you get back, your family has already made other arrangements, or so I surmise. Where are you going to live?”


    Yuu opened her mouth. And stopped.


    … Oh.


    Azul leaned in. “Ah. You don’t know.”


    “… I’ll figure it out. I always do. I suspect I’ll have to do…more rebuilding than that. It’s hardly my largest concern.”


    “Mm, yes. A bold plan. Very strategic.”


    She scowled, stepping toward him now, and as quickly and smoothly as when he’d entered, he angled himself away so that when she marched up to him—Wait. Wait—he made her step away from the mirror.


    Azul saw the moment she realized, and his grin was wicked.


    “Oh, no, don’t let me keep you. I’m sure you’ll land on your feet—assuming you do land at all and not in, say, the middle of the ocean?”


    She hesitated, suspicious. “What makes you say that.”


    Azul shrugged. “Who’s to say? Have you ever seen the mirror work in reverse? No? Neither have I. What fascinating odds. It’s meant to bring people in from all sorts of locations, but without a destination mirror—without a portal—you could go back to your world as arranged, but did you ever specify an address? Is that even possible, all things considering?”


    “Do you genuinely believe I could land in the middle of the Atlantic, or is this a last attempt to sell me breathing potions?”


    Azul only smiled, letting her come to him, a little farther away from the mirror, and a little closer to considering what inane scheme he was after.


    “It would be quite ironic, wouldn’t it? Finally leaving Twisted Wonderland, only to die at sea.”


    Yuu groaned, rubbing her temples.


    Azul was, by all visual signs, entirely unaffected by her distress. “I find that a little healthy fear is the best deterrent.”


    “And then there are the people,” he sighed dramatically.


    “The ‘people’ already know this might happen,” Yuu argued.


    Azul’s face lit up, ever so briefly, when she said ‘might,’ but that change in expression was so brief, she could easily have imagined it…which begged the question, had she wanted to imagine it?


    “Tell me, Prefect, do you really intend to leave without a proper farewell?”


    Yuu narrowed her eyes. “I’ve said my goodbyes.”


    It was a lie, and she knew it. No ‘goodbye would ever be satisfactory to Ace and Deuce, and though she’d told Grim that she was going—in silent ways, over and over again, she still hadn’t convinced him, and she certainly hadn’t given him a formal goodbye. Of all the people in Twisted Wonderland, he deserved that from her the most before she did anything like this.


    A pang of guilt shot through her ribs. But that was none of Azul’s business. Azul, who wasn’t serious about her, and had never been. Azul who….who was the first thing she thought of when she recalled the many, many things she would miss about this place—but only because he was the one she’d spent the most time with recently…yes.


    Azul tilted his head, as though he could read her dissatisfaction. She winced.


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    “Oh? And that was sufficient?” he asked as though he already knew the answer.


    Yuu crosses her arms, weight shifting as she glared at him. “Was there something in those that you found insufficient?”


    Azul exhaled dramatically, feigning disappointment. “How very practical of you. So efficient. So… boring.”


    She bristled.  “Boring?!”


    He tsked. “Where is your grandeur, Prefect? Your sense of ceremony? Would you abandon a world that has shaped you without a final night to revel in its madness?”


    “… Are you trying to guilt-trip me into staying for a farewell party?”


    Azul gasps, pressing a hand to his chest in mock offense. “I would never!”


    “You absolutely would,” she said flatly.


    Azul hummed, unbothered.


    Then he moved in a little closer.


    Just enough that she had to tilt her head to meet his gaze.


    “No, no, my dear Prefect… I’m suggesting something far more exclusive,” he said smoothly.


    She blinked, her so-called ‘practical,’ ‘effective’ thoughts fleeing from her head like rabid weasels from a brush fire.


    Azul smiled, slow and smug.


    “One last night. Just you. And me.”


    She stared at him, trying her best to catch a few of the mental weasels before she lost absolutely all reason.


    “Are you… asking me on a date? Now?” she got out after a long, painful minute.


    Azul placed a hand over his heart. “Perish the thought. Of course not!”


    She frowned as he tangled his head down toward hers. He spoke in a low voice, as if worried the mirror might overhear.


    “I am persuading you to accept a deal. ”


    She shivered, and he was briefly delighted.


    “Come now, Prefect. Have I ever given you a bad deal?”


    Yuu opened her mouth. Then closed it again. On sheer technicality, any deal he’d given anyone was technically, functionally, in principle…good.


    Azul grinned, one of the longer strands of his hair brushing hers. “See? You hesitated.”


    She grumbled. “That doesn’t mean—”


    “One night, Yuu. Not even a night. An evening. And I promise I’ll show you something no human has ever seen before. In fact… not many merfolk have seen it either.”


    Yuu looked up at him, skeptical.


    “Oh, come, Yuu. It’s a singular evening with me. You’ve survived them before, and this time, you get to see one of Twisted Wonderland’s greatest treasures. You’ve been gone a long time, I know, but—”


    “I’m still leaving, Azul. I still have to go.”


    Azul just smiled, ever unflappable when he was rested.


    “Of course. But after an evening with me, I can have you outfitted for any event when you arrive. A sample of the breathing potions, hydration potions, a portable signal flare… you have the general picture.”


    Her arms were still folded across her ribcage, and she was beginning to feel hot, but wasn’t ready to unravel herself just yet.


    “And that would take you…another few days?”


    “Naturally,” he said brightly. ‘But I do already have the components. I can promise you wouldn’t be waiting long.”


    A smile tugged at the corner of her own mouth.


    “Well when you put it that way, I really shouldn’t refuse should I?”


    “I don’t know of any intelligent individual who would,” he said breezily.


    She met his eyes head on, and he hovered infinitesimally closer, his forehead a heartbeat away from her skin.


    “I’ll see you tonight at sunset, then. The pier off the north dock. Try your best not to be late.”


    Then just like the space between them was back, filling with cold empty air as Azul escorted her from the room. It didn’t escape her how he didn’t let her out of his sight until she was safely out of the mirror room, and down the hall.


    *


    When Yuu stepped into Ramshackle Dorm, she was already bracing herself for whatever weird magical anomaly, forgotten chore, or Grim-related disaster awaited her. At this point, she wouldn’t have been surprised if the ghosts had restarted their not-so-silent protests as well.


    What she wasn’t expecting was a package, wrapped with impeccable precision in the Octavinelle colors, sitting neatly on the old coffee table in the lounge.


    Grim, lounging on the couch, didn’t even look up when she came in. “Oh good, you’re back. Now you can open that creepy box that mysteriously appeared instead of leavin’ me to deal with it.”


    Yuu arched an eyebrow. “You didn’t try to open it?”


    Grim huffed. “Tried. It zapped me.”


    She snorted. “Jade probably wrapped it, then. And he probably knew you’d try to—to—”


    As she spoke, she undid the ribbon and lifted the lid, only to find—


    A dress? No, it was a swimsuit. A very, very formal swimsuit. Yuu choked back a laugh.


    It was a formal, high-class oceanic ensemble, the kind of thing someone would wear to a dignified undersea event. Elegant, sleek, ridiculously expensive-looking—and suspiciously similar to what she should have worn to the wedding she attended but hadn’t, because no one had told her formal swimwear was a thing.


    A neatly folded note sat atop the fabric.


    "For next time. —A"


    Yuu blinked at it, then burst out laughing.


    Grim peered over, ears twitching. “What’s so funny?”


    Still giggling, Yuu held up the swimsuit. “Azul sent me this.”


    Grim squinted. “What is it?”


    She put a hand on her hip. “It’s a swimsuit, Grim.”


    That’s a swimsuit? Looks like somethin’ for one of those snooty noble guys.”


    “Exactly!” Yuu grinned. “This is what I was supposed to wear at the wedding.”


    Grim’s tail flicked. “Pffft. Thinks he’s so clever.”


    Yuu sighed, still smiling as she folded the suit neatly back into the box. “Well, I can’t exactly say he’s wrong.”


    Grim watched her carefully, then, with deliberate casualness, said, “So. You’re gonna be gone again tonight?”


    Yuu hesitated. "Yeah… I promised Azul."


    Grim groaned loudly, flopping back against the couch. “Unbelievable! Leavin’ yer best pal to go schmooze with that fish again!”


    “Oh, don’t be dramatic,” Yuu teased, ruffling his ears. “I’ll make it up to you.”


    “You better,” Grim grumbled. “And don’t come cryin’ to me if he gets all sappy and weird again. You’re on your own with that one.”


    Yuu just laughed again, rolling her eyes. But even as Grim whined, she could see his tail swishing, his ears still turned toward her. He was mad, sure. But mostly? She knew he was anxious about her leaving.


    Another pang of guilt caught at her. She needed to talk to Grim….and she needed to do it when he wasn’t so grumpy. Yuu flopped onto the couch next to him, stretching her arms with a sigh.


    “Alright, Grim. What do you want for dinner?”


    Grim rolle dover dramatically on his cushion, scoffing. “Oh, so now you remember I need to eat?”


    Yuu rolled her eyes. “I fed you breakfast.”


    “That was days ago!”


    “It was literally this morning.”


    Grim ignored that, waving a paw dismissively. “Doesn’t count. I demand a feast worthy of a great mage such as myself!”


    Yuu arched an eyebrow. “We have instant noodles.”


    Grim sat up, scandalized. “Instant noodles?! That’s peasant food!”


    “You ate three cups of it yesterday.”


    “That was survival. Desperation! Tragedy! This is dinner.”


    Yuu sighed, tapping her chin.


    “Oh. The. Drama. Okay, we’ve got… some bread, half a jar of peanut butter, and one—no, half—a potato.”


    Grim made a face. “Ugh, how are you still alive?”


    “By making smarter food choices than you.”


    Grim huffed. “Well, do you at least have tuna?”


    Yuu peered into the pantry. “…I have something that might’ve once been tuna.”


    Grim sniffed. “Hmmm…..”


    “No, Grim. It’s going. In the trash.” “There’s this…”


    Yuu held up a tiny, sad piece of jerky. “This is all that’s left.”


    Grim couldn’t have looked more betrayed if she’d just suggested they live peddling themselves on a street corner. “That’s it?! That wouldn’t even last me a snack!”


    “Well, I could go to the cafeteria and bring something back…”


    Grim’s eyes lit up. “Yes! Yes! Do that!”


    “…or you could come with me.”


    “NO.” Grim shuddered violently. “And be seen in PUBLIC?! With my fur looking like this? Pfft. No thanks. I have dignity.”


    Yuu shrugged. “Alright. Guess it’s instant noodles.”


    Grim groaned, flopping dramatically onto the couch. “This is inhumane! This is cruelty! This is—”


    “I’ll put an egg in it.”


    Grim immediately sat up. “An egg?”


    “Yep.”


    “…A soft-boiled egg?”


    Yuu narrowed her eyes. “I’ll try.”


    Grim stroked his chin, deep in thought. “…And you won’t skimp on the seasoning?”


    Yuu smirked. “Chef’s honor.”


    Yuu got to boiling the kettle.


    “Malleus put something in the mailbox, by the way.”


    She paused in her ‘cooking,’ processes. “Malleus?”


    “Yeah, told me to tell you to look in there soon. That guy is scary, Yuu. Why is he allowed to wander around the grounds again?”


    “Because he’s nice, and probably the most personable guest we have,” she said, annoyed.


    Grim snorted. “The bar’s real high…”


    “Yeah, yeah…”


    Yuu set the water next to the bone-dry noodles and eggs and wandered out to the letterbox, thrown back to the breezy morning when the invitation to Mallory’s wedding had arrived with its lack of warning labels, and overpriced calligraphy. Her fingers brushed the box, wondering at how much had happened since then, and if she had the chance? Would she go back?


    No, came the resounding answer. At long last, she had answers to questions she’d been asking for years. It was no one’s fault that she’d gotten a few more answers than she’d bargained for, and she wouldn’t trade those for anything either.


    Curious, she opened the letterbox and pulled out the letter inside—a letter made of paper not produced in Twisted Wonderland. It was her mother’s handwriting on the back.


    Hands shaking, Yuu opened it and read, hungry for every word. Then, she brushed the tears away and read it again. And again.


    “Heeeey, human! Water’s doing that whistling thing!” Grim called from inside.


    That snapped her out of her reverie.


    She came inside, holding the paper in her hand like a lifeline.


    “Noodles, human! We are minutes away from—”


    “Grim…” she said, stumbling back through the doorway. “Grim, I have a few things to talk to you about.”