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The old place in town was a standard magical supply shop, selling the usual sorts of wares. Esther found quite a few things she had uses for, bones, herbs, amulets. There were other things too, such as spellbooks and crystal balls, that she would have liked, but they were rather beyond her means.
The elderly witch who owned the shop watched her with interest as she browsed through the goods on display. She eventually paused in front of a tall standing mirror that was covered over with a thick black cloth.
"What does this mirror do?" she asked. There had to be a reason it was kept covered, maybe it was dangerous.
"Shows you your future," the witch intoned in her creaking voice. She moved to stand behind the girl and rested a bony hand on her shoulder. "The mirror is not for sale, but I allow people to look into it for a fee. Five dollars."
"I haven't got five dollars to spare," Esther pointed out. She was a child, for crying out loud, she didn't just have money at her disposal in the same way that adults did.
The witch concurred that point. "As you're underage, I'll give you a discount. Two dollars?"
Esther thought for a second. Well, why not? She could spare two dollars and it sounded interesting.
"Okay," she agreed, handing over the money.
The witch pocketed the money somewhere in her layered skirts and dramatically pulled back the cloth to reveal the mirror. The glass looked like any other mirror, but the frame wasn't a disappointment; made of ancient wood so dark it was almost black, carved full of sigils and arcane symbols.
"Cool!" she enthused, and leaned forward, peering into her own reflected eyes as she wondered what she was supposed to see.
The mirror's surface shimmered, revealing a brief image of a young woman, maybe in her mid-twenties, that was gone again almost as soon as it appeared. She caught a glimpse of red hair, long and flowing down the woman's back, a long black dress, a tall dark towering crown, and gigantic red flames that licked around her, seemingly without causing her any harm; then it was gone again, leaving only her ordinary reflection.
That image could have been her, she considered, the hair had at least been the right colour, although she had always worn her hair short.
"That's my future?" she asked, trying to decipher what exactly the mirror had shown her. Towering flames, a black crown.
"One possible future. The future is not set, you must walk your own path and forge your own destiny, whatever you saw is one possible outcome of your choices. If it's a future that you think you want, you need to find the path that leads to it."
"I didn't get much chance to look. But I think I was the Queen of Hell."
The old woman looked taken aback. "Well... I've never heard of anyone seeing that before," she admitted. "That's got to be a new one. Do you have any idea what path could possibly lead you to such an outcome?"
Esther stuffed her hands deep into the pockets of her old green coat and gazed down at her shoes as she considered matters. There was one obvious path that she could think of. She thought of her demonic companion, Abaddon, who she had already suspected was developing romantic feelings for her. He was currently trapped in a weak childlike body that bound him to Earth, but if he was able to break out of it, and return to his original form, surely he could then return to Hell. Was the mirror telling her that Abaddon would one day rule Hell and make her his queen?
"Yes," she admitted eventually. She turned back to the mirror, examining her own face again and hoping for another glimpse of a vision. "Can the mirror show anything else?" she asked hopefully. "Can it show my husband?"
"No, it can only show you yourself." The witch looked exasperated by the girl's disappointment. "It's a mirror, not a television! Anyway, you've had your turn." She threw the black cloth back over the frame, covering the mirror once again. "You only get one vision. Now it's for you to decide."
So, it seemed Esther had a possible path to follow in life which would involve her helping Abaddon to escape his earthly form and return to full power. She was becoming a powerful witch, it seemed plausible that if she continued in her studies of dark magic she would eventually have the knowledge and skill to free Abaddon from his current prison.
The question was, should she? Was it right to free an imprisoned demon and set him lose on the world, even one she liked to think she could trust? The priest who had originally imprisoned him must have had a good reason for doing so; after all, he had sacrificed his own son in the process.
Was Queen of Hell something she ought to aspire to be? Or something that anybody should aspire to be? A year ago, she would have been thrilled by the idea, but she was gradually maturing as she learned and grew.
"I know what I'd need to do," she mused. "But I'm not sure if I should."
"No one can decide for you," the witch creaked. "We must all make our own choices."
Esther looked down at her handful of cheap purchases. "I'll just take these for now."
She took the shortest route back to the hotel and hurried up to her room, trying to avoid bumping into anybody else, especially Abaddon. She had a lot to think about.