Linh didn’t dare move. The air around her seemed to buzz and ring, the sounds of numbness, the sounds that rang for hours after she got cursed.

[They hurt her,] the glass woman explained. [She doesn’t want to remember.]

And who would want to? Family was supposed to protect and nurture, like Xuan always did. Family was a safe place. To betray that was unforgiveable and yet society insisted that family had to be unconditionally forgiven simply because of a blood tie. It was contradictory and violent, because how could you forgive such a thing?

Some memories were so painful that they were better off gone. Still, Linh could not figure out why the glass woman was present if she was supposed to get rid of Lady Ella’s painful memories. Unless… memories couldn’t exactly be destroyed…?

[Miss, are you—]

A pillow smashed against the glass woman’s face before the words could finish writing on Linh’s hands.

The glass woman shrieked, the sound like thousands of mirrors stabbed in a church. Her hands covered her face, cracks beginning to form. Too fragile to stand.

“Get away from me!” Lady Ella grabbed another pillow, throwing that one too.

[Stop!]  Linh jumped in front of the glass woman, the pillow slamming Linh against the wall. She felt like she’d been hit by a dragon instead.

The glass woman began to crackle, the sounds like haunted laughter, red reflections glimmering in her eyes at the sight of Linh’s literal crumpled form. Anger.

Linh didn’t want to know what angry traumatic memories might do to their owner. She struggled to get up, pushing the pillow back. Her paper fingers jammed up, folding in on themselves, but still she managed to break free.

Another pillow was thrown but the glass woman dodged. Her face was beginning to chip off, leaving behind a dark void where her smile should have been. Words were swirling through that void, like echoes dragged through the mountains.

“…yyyou abandonedddd meeee…” the cool voice hissed through that gaping void.

“Stop!” Lady Ella backed up against the wall. Her hair was wild and tangled, eyes bloodshot and yellow. She didn’t look like married royalty anymore.

The glass woman stepped closer, the red glimmers in her eyes glowing brighter and brighter. Her stretched out her hand, shards beginning to fall from each finger.

[Please stop!] Linh ran up to the woman, pulling at her arms. Her words went unread. The glass woman glanced at her, the red glimmers turning blue for a moment, before she went back to Lady Ella.

“…wwhy ssshould sshe get to wwalk and llive without these mmmemories when I mmmust live in this aagony? Nooo… sshe will be the one trapped in glasss now!”

Lady Ella screamed just as the glass woman’s fists struck down.

Lightning struck down between the Lady and the glass woman, stopping the glass woman in her path. She turned towards the source of the lightning magic. Gretta had her hands out-stretched, and another lightning bolt was beginning to form in her palms.

The glass woman rushed towards Gretta first, flinging shards at her. Linh tried to chase after, but the clash of lightning and shards were too explosive and hot for her skin to handle. She could not call out with written words. She could not fight.

This time, she did not stop herself from curling her fingers into fists. Let them get crumpled and damaged, these fingers that could not help anyone.

Seymour burst through the doors, just as the glass woman began to scream like mirrors being dropped from heaven. She was burning in Gretta’s fire magic, her eyes were wide, glimmers of blue and red clashing. Linh saw her reflection in those eyes, burning in red and blue.

Linh whirled around and shoved her palms in Lady Ella’s face.

[That woman is suffering because you refuse to accept your memories back. You NEED to accept them, even if they hurt, or you will lose her.]

“No,” Lady Ella shook her head and trembled. “I don’t want to remember. You can’t make me. I’m happy! Why can’t you just let me be happy?!”

[Pretending to be happy will only hurt you later.]

“Shut up! You don’t understand what it’s like, you don’t know how much it hurts.”

Giant capital letters screamed at the Lady. [YES. I DO.]