Seishan's grey skin looked lustrous beneath the cloudy sky. She was tantalizingly beautiful, but that only made her look more dangerous.
Her smile resembled a predator welcoming her prey.
'It could be worse. It could be Beastmaster…' Noble kept her thought to herself.
"Lady Seishan," Fort gave a modified bow. "We have met a few times before. I am Ambassador Fort, and this is my wife, Noble."
"Ah, yes, Ambassador, you are not an easy man to forget," Seishan nodded before flicking her eyes to the other woman, "and you are legendary."
Noble had been hoping that Fort would do most of the talking, but she should have known better.
"It is good to see you, Lady Seishan." Noble dipped her head. "It has been a while."
The last time Noble had spent any significant amount of time with the alluring Saint was when she first arrived. Though that encounter had been far from normal.
"Ah, this makes far more sense…" the princess of Song clicked her tongue. "When I heard a couple had flown out of Ravenheart, I assumed Kai had gone on another date with that tall blonde, but I didn't think he was all that interested in her. You two, on the other hand, are very committed."
Fort took his wife's hand. "She's my one and only. We went out for a little joy ride, but want to return in the proper manner per the laws that govern Ravenheart."
"Your beautiful bride discovered the first Skinwalker in Ravenheart. Indeed, she is the reason I know this flower works." Seishan nodded. "You could have saved me a lot of trouble examining that whole line of people for Skinwalkers in an instant, Master Noble."
Noble cleared her throat lightly. "Not many people in Ravenheart know that I have that capability, and if it is all the same to you, I would like to keep it that way. I did not want to hinder your process. It seems to be working quite well."
"I suppose you heard about our little bit of excitement the other day." The princess raised one eyebrow.
"I read the report." Fort adjusted his cap.
"I only heard rumors; it sounds like it was quite an ordeal." Noble furrowed her brow. "What happened?"
"Another of our mutual friends tried to enter the city without permission. I took care of it." Seishan indicated the large object behind her.
"It is good to see that Clan Song is taking the threat so seriously." Fort nodded.
"Can't be too careful," Seishan crossed her arms. "It's dangerous out there."
'Everywhere is,' Noble wanted to say. Her resentment of the Sovereigns' selfish actions had only grown in recent years. Wisely, she kept her thoughts to herself.
"Thank you for your protection," Noble held the other woman's gaze.
"We all do what we can for the betterment of humanity." The grey-skinned woman answered.
Unwilling to start an argument, Noble let the matter go.
Seishan held out the flower. As expected, it did not wilt.
"You are free to enter. Welcome back to…"
'Stall her, please!'
'What? Oh!'
Fort let go of his wife's arm to clap his gloves together. "Yes, thank you for permission. Ravenheart is our home, and we should all do what we can to protect it. On that note, I had an idea I wanted to share. Since I have you here, I don't suppose I could run it by you first…"
Seishan checked the light left in the sky.
"I suppose."
"Great! You see these walls, they are wonderfully strong, but I cannot help but wonder if we might like to find an enchanter who could…"
While the princess of Song listened politely, Noble floated subtly to her left. The mirror was still leaning against the wall, catching the clouds in its reflection as it tilted toward the sky. Up until this point, the mirror had been mostly obscured by Seishan.
Was she just unconcerned with the presence of the object, or was she protecting it from prying eyes?
Or perhaps her position was to protect the mirror in case the Skinwalker wanted to retaliate with another of its thralls before she could examine them.
Whatever the reason, Noble was just now getting her first real look at the glass.
She had had more than enough mirrors in the past day and a half, but her curiosity was stronger than her concern.
The mirror looked normal enough. She didn't feel any particular enchantment from it. She traced the edges with her eyes, looking for any anomaly that might show itself.
'Hmm…Could it be that…'
"That was insightful and informative," Seishan's voice was full of surprise. "If you get that written up, I will be happy to pass the idea along to my sisters and mother."
"Really? That would be amazing," Fort stood a little straighter. "I'll have it to you tomorrow."
"That works for me. And on that note, Noble?" Seishan watched the woman in question flinch.
"Yes?"
"I vaguely remember that you can float things, right?" The princess of Song didn't wait for an answer. "Could you pick up the mirror and bring it inside the gate? You are the last in line, and it's getting dark soon."
Seishan could have snapped her fingers and found any number of people to relocate the object, but Noble wasn't about to point that out. She was getting exactly what she wanted, so there was no reason to complain.
"Of course, allow me." Floating forward, Noble lifted the mirror with her levitation.
'Unless it belongs to someone else, it's not a Memory, or she would have dismissed it.' Coming close to it, Noble brushed her finger along one edge.
It felt completely normal.
But if it were, then how had it attacked the Skinwalker?
Seishan led the way back into the city as the couple followed behind.
Fort shot a glance at Noble.
'Well?'
'I don't know yet…I need more time.' The floating woman lamented.
The ambassador shrugged.
'You have a few more seconds…'
Noble continued to test the mirror, covertly feeling for any trick that might make the object into a weapon.
She found none.
'It seems completely ordinary. Could it have been swapped?'
No, that made no sense. It would be dangerous to do that when another Skinwalker could approach at any time.
Behind them, the gate shut, sealing off the city from any of the horrors that stalked the night of the Dream Realm.
Noble glanced at the gate and then looked at herself in the glass. She blinked, half expecting the reflection to move or even attack. Nothing happened.
"You can set it right there," Seishan pointed to an alcove by the entrance.
Noble nodded in understanding. She took one last look at the glass.
'Think!'
Just when she felt that she would not be able to discover the secret in time, something in her soul pulsed. She felt her eyes trail to the corner of the glass.
Her eyes adjusted once again to see colors beyond the normal range.
Her heart skipped a beat. There in the corner of the glass, she saw it. It was brief, but Noble was certain she had seen it.
Movement.