A young, silver-haired woman stared blankly out of the open window of her carriage towards the razorlike mountains of Southern Alaran, wondering how she might have felt in a past life. She typically didn't dwell on such questions for long. Why bother? She wasn't that girl. Not anymore.

So why was today different? It was her birthday. She felt like an impostor. She always did. The previous four birthdays were the same. She hated it. She wasn't an impostor. The Good Lords trusted her. They gave her purpose.

She would serve them well.

*****

It was early evening when the woman arrived at her destination — a small Manor House in Southern Alaran. She was greeted by a portly man wearing finery and sporting an incredibly generous, golden yellow moustache on his top lip.

He greeted her with a smile as full as his paunch. “You must be Siri.”

The woman nodded.

“Excellent. You may call me Lord Alvarik. I'll be serving as your uncle for this mission. Do you have any questions before we enter the Manor?”

Siri shook her head. “They can wait until the mission briefing.”

“Wonderful! Come on inside. Make yourself at home. We'll have the mission briefing after dinner.”

From the rumbling of his stomach, Siri was confident she wouldn't be waiting long.

*****

It was dark when they finally sat down for the mission briefing. Dinner ended up being a full five-course meal that took the better part of three hours to complete. Even with her reduced portion sizes, Siri was full to bursting.

When they were settled, Lord Alvarik cleared his throat to signify he was ready. “Tell me, Siri, in your own words, what is your mission?”

A simple question. Siri didn't even need to give her response much thought. “I am to establish myself as your niece so that I can befriend the daughter of Jarl Tyrog, a prominent Lord of the Hunt in Karik. He is to be eliminated in a way that promotes conflict between Alaran and Karik.”

Lord Alvarik smiled at her response, but his gaze was cold. “An apt summary. Concise and to the point. I can appreciate that. You will indeed be taking on the role of my niece. We'll be spending the next month refining your character and ensuring you don't need any additional training.”

“Is that necessary? I've been training for this mission for almost two years now.”

“I believe you. You wouldn't be here if your handler had any doubts about you. I still need convincing. If you can't sell the lie, Karik will look to the west. They will blame Særis. We can't let that happen.”

Siri nodded. She didn't see any flaws in his reasoning. “When do we start?”

Alvarik's smile grew wider, and his gaze went from cold to sinister and calculating. “We already have. I've been assessing you from the moment you stepped inside the Manor.”

Siri's brow furrowed ever so slightly in confusion. “I thought…”

“That we wouldn't start until we finished our mission briefing? You'd be correct. I've been briefed three times. How about you?”

“Twice,” Siri admitted.

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“So it's reasonable to say we've finished our respective mission briefings, then?”

Siri didn't say anything. The downwards cast of her eyes was enough of a response.

“You see, Siri, this mission started for you the moment you left the Lodge. It was clear to me when you arrived that you hadn't adopted the role of my niece. You could have jeopardised the narrative I've crafted before we ever left the prologue. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir!” Siri answered. Her back was straight, and her voice was clear as crystal. She had failed. Alvarik was right to reprimand her. Even with him not being one of the Good Lords, the disappointment in his voice was enough to make her scars burn.

“If you really do understand, step outside for a second. Compose yourself and be sure to introduce yourself properly when you return.”

Siri stood up immediately. She was not about to fail a second time. The hallway outside of the reading room they had been talking in was empty. It was just her and the decor. It was peaceful; a brief respite from the hollowness of her shame.

She took a few moments to collect herself and think about everything Lord Alvarik had said. It was true that she had assumed they wouldn't be starting immediately. The responsibility of selling the lie for almost two years now was on her double, a seventeen-year-old girl with the Gift of the Mirror.

Even when they eventually switched places in the morning, all Siri had to do was wear the dress and ride inside the carriage for what remained of their journey. She didn't think she would need to fully embrace the role until Lord Alvarik gave the order. He was her new handler, after all, and the Lodge failed to adequately define the confines of the mission.

It was time to don the Masque.

When Siri returned, it was with a smile that was not her own. She was channelling a memory she could not feel and filling it with emotions she did not have.

Upon seeing Alvarik again, she leapt into his arms. “Uncle. Uncle. Uncle! Did you miss me?”

To punctuate her greeting, she squeezed him fiercely with all of her non-existent love.

Alvarik responded with the same jovial energy he had when they first met. “Have I ever! Let me look at you.”

Siri fumbled her way back to her feet and did a spin. Alvarik beamed at her.

“You've grown,” he laughed. “I remember when you barely reached my knee.”

“Of course, I've grown!” Siri protested. “It’s my birthday, remember!”

“How could I forget my niece’s fourteenth birthday?”

“I’m nineteen!”

“You are? Since when?”

“Today!”

Alvarik furrowed his brows.

“Are you sure?”

He was starting to doubt himself. Even his moustache seemed to hesitate.

Before Siri could respond, however, Lord Alvarik filled the room with a full-on belly laugh. In between two especially loud guffaws, he told Siri, “You should have seen the look on your face. It was priceless!”

A few guffaws later, he added, “Scratch that. Your new look is even better.”

Siri was unsure of how to respond or even feel. She was flabbergasted. Stranger yet, it was genuine. Her feelings were her own. They weren’t hollow.

Amidst her confusion, the room fell quiet again. Alvarik had stopped laughing.

“That was much better, Siri. Relax. The Masque will rob you of any strength you have if you aren’t careful.”

At first, Siri felt like he was exaggerating, but the moment she relinquished her hold on the Masque, she collapsed. Her body was on fire. It was as if she had just chased a storm for the entire length of the Særis–Ferran border

“Much of this coming month will be focused on teaching you how to use the Masque without keeling over. We’ll start first thing tomorrow. Until then, you should sleep. Ama will show you to your rooms. Rest well.”

Siri tried to respond in kind, but she was already falling asleep. She couldn’t even manage a proper good night before sleep vanquished her. When she woke up several hours later, she was in bed wearing her night clothes. Rather than worry about how she got there, she started drifting off again.

Your life is a lie. You’re nothing.

The words echoed deep within her mind. Even now, her past self was fighting. If she wasn’t completely exhausted, Siri would have smiled; her past self could not win. There was still something Siri could do in her exhausted state, however. Three simple words.

“Good night, Kiriin.”

Thank you.

Huh. Strange.

Siri didn’t know why her past self responded with gratitude. She was too tired, and sleep had all but consumed her. When she woke up the next morning, she barely remembered the exchange. By the time she finished breakfast, it was as if it had never even happened. All that mattered now was her training and the mission.